The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1899-10-03
THREE o KINGS.
Edmund, Edred and Edwy Were Rul-
ers of England When Young.

1A ~ ~
ers of England When Young.
We Of today always think Of a king
or a prince as being a creature with
nothing much to do but to enjoy life
and be waited on. Kings and princes
do not enjoy life any more-in fact,
not as much-as we common mortals
do, though they may take their ease
and dress in silks and plush. Now,
there was a time when even kings could
not take their ease. but lived in a con-
slant state of turmoil and danger. Hun
dreds and hundreds of years ago there
reigned in England a boy king called
Edmund He was only 10 years old
when he came to the throne, and he
was the first Of six boy kings whose
reigns were short and turbulent. Ed
mund was called the Magnificent be-
cause he tlied to improve the dress and
the living Of the times; but, unfortu-
nately for him, he had a violent tenn
per, which soon ended his reign and his
life.
In those days the kings palace con
sisted of a few sleeping apartments and
a great dining hall, where everybody,
from the king to the meanest servant,
dined at the same table. The king,
however, was at one end on q raised
platform, which distinguished him from
the others who sat below.
1t was the custom then, and a very
beautiful one, to allow any poor way
farer who might be passing to come in,
warm himself and take his place at the
table. One night King Edmund, after
he had eaten heavily and drunk too
deeply, it is to be feared, noticed among
the company at table a noted outlaw
and robber called Leof. This man had
been banished from England, and when
the king saw him sitting there he flew
into a mighty rage at the mans pre-
sumption, and he commanded him to
depart.
Leof said, "I will not depart"
whereupon the foolish king, instead Of
ordering his servants to put him out,
himself seized the bold robber and tried
to throw him out. Leof had a dagger
concealed under his long cloak, and he
stabbed the king. In a minute all the
kings retajners were upon the outlaw
and cut him to pieces, but not before
the king and several of his servants
were killed.
Then came Edred, another boy king,
who was very weak of body, but strong
Of mind. He fought many great battles
against the Danes and the Norsemen
and beat them off, but he only lived to
rule nine years.
Then Edwy, Is years old, became
king, but he was ruled by a monk
named Dunstan, who watched over
him like a guardian. The handsome
young monarch had married his cousin,
the beautiful Elgiva, although he was
SO young. Dunstan did not approve Of
this marriage, fled the country and Sc
cretly worked up a plot to get rid of
Edwy and put his younger brother Ed
gar on the throne. Not content with
this, Dunstan caused the beautiful girl
queen to be seized and her fair face
branded with a redhot iron, and then
sHe Was SOlu luIO slavery III ireland,
for in those days white people were
made slaves just as we made slaves Of
the blacks before the war.
The Irish people, however, were then,
as they are now, a warm hearted race,
and they determined to restore the poor
queen to her husband. First they cured
her of the awful scar on her face, SO
she was as beautiful as ever, and then
sent her on her way back to England.
But IN the way home she was killed.
When the king heard Of her fate, he
died, too, of a broken heart.
You can easily imagine it wasn't
much fun to be a king or a queen Ell
ther in those old days. New York
Herald.