The Washington herald., 1911-07-09

0BOUT eight hundred years ago. viii.
n | liam, Duke of of Normandy, aspred
"a to become King of England, and to
I'M wear the crown whose rightful claim.
ant was Edgar Atheling. He made
-. Harold, another heir to the English
crown, support his claim, and take an oath
to be true t. him. To make Harold feel how
solemn was the oath, he obliged him to swear
it over a chest full Of dead mems bones.
But Harold disreganled the oath that he
had .aken over the chest Of bones nm Nor
ed "The Confessor," died, he seized the
crown an3 royal treasure for himself, being
counsellPd TO do so by an assembly OF mobiles
called The Witenagemote.
Duke William was an ambitious and fiery.
minded man. He gathered an army of sixty
thousand men, and a fleet of thousand YES
sells and transports, and one September day
lie sailed from St. Nalery with his army and
fleet, the trumpets sounding and a thousand
banners rising to the wind. His own ship
hal many coIored sails; from its mast toated
the banner of the Three Norman lions. and
Goslen boy, pointing to England, glittered
on the prov.
This fleet came into the harbor of Peven-
sey. He led his army to Hastings, and there,
on bright afternoon in October, he met the
army of Harold.
Duke William reviewed his army, and caus.
cd his men to pray for victory ere they laid
down beneath the moon and stars to rest. In
the morning they sung an ode, called the War
Song of Roland; then battle was fought,
triumphantly over the field.
Harold was slain, and the monks wandered
over the battle-ground to find his body. 1t
was discovered at last ,despoiled and dis
tiful girl who loved Harold and whom the
dead king had loved.
Then William returned to Normandy. The
camp blazed in his honor and all the cities
received him with loud accaim.
A hard king was Duke William. With his
great army of Normans he marched over Eng
land suppressing all who opposed him. The
rivers were tinged with blood, the beautiful
land was blackened with fire: he is said to
have, killed or MANNED hundred THOUSAND
people.
Having conquered England, he sought enjoy.
ment and turned his attention to field sports
and to hunting. He had sixty-eight royal
forests full of stays and DEER but he per-
mitte1 no one but himself and the people OF
his court 10 hunt in them.
At Winchester, he thought it would be
fine thing to have great hunting park near
his residence. There was a tract Of country
In the county of Hampshire. very picturesque
AID beautiful, that he determined to use for
TINS purpose. But there were churches scat.
tered among the hills, and thousands of peas
homes.
Williar, cared little for the churches and
less ior the homes OF the peasants; so he sent
sol1iers to burn the former and to drive the
people away from the latter ..
Nothing was done by the ruthless king to
supply the wants Of the people, or to relieve
their misery They left their native hills
with wailing and weeping and wringing OF
:iands uttering imprecations on the head of
the CSnquerer and upon his race
Tho stays multiplied, and the deer increased,
and delightful to the Norman was the New
Forest, cL the golden autumn days
Ono day.. one of the kings sons, fair.
hailed youth, named Richard, went to hunt
in this New Forest
He encountered stag The animal, mad.
dtped by the attack, rushed upon the prince
and killed him.
As the dead body was borne from the forest,
broken and stained with blood, the peoplr'
said that this was a beginning OF the reckon
ing God would make with William, and that
the New Forest would prove an unquiet place
10 the (onquerer and to those of his blood.
Foolish and supersttious stories bezan To
ibe circulated. The people SAID that the New