The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1912-07-11

to the full-armed "Hus-Carles" OF the
royal bodyguard. The leader was Har
old. Saxon king OF England. He had
rushed his troops by long marches tc
this spot. to check the advance OF a
Norman invader.
In the plain below, toward the hill
side. marched the invading host. Far
In advance OF their line rode the Nor.
man minstrel, Taillefer, gaudily
dressed, throwing his sword into the
air and catching it; singing loudly the
Death Chant or Roland" II was this
minstrel who struck the first blow in
the battle OF Hastings and who was
first to fall.
The Normans flung themselves upon
the Sa1ons, only to be sent reeling
back. Again and again they charged
vainly against that solid battle line.
Out Out"
At last the willy Norman leader,
Duke William, tried craft where force
had failed. He drew off his soldiers in
seeming retreat. The headstrong Sax
ons. disobeying Harold's orders, broke
their own line to dash In disorderly
pursuit of the fleeing foe. The Nor
mans suddenly turned and charged
through the broken line, gaining the
hilltop, scattering the Saxons, Staying
Harold and-winning England.
1t was big day with Destiny. 1t
was also day wherein Might con-
queser Right; and where, out of crush
ing defeat. England made her first
step toward greatness.
Norway, Sweden and Denmark were
peopled by wild, bloodthirsty sea-
rovers. Unable to prosper In their
own bleak lands these Mortimer"
Cor "Norsemen"D had for centuries
made raids on the rich coasts OF Eng
land and France. So dreaded were
these raids that the old English
prayer book contained the petition:
From the fury of the Mortimer, good
Lord, deliver u.s." A band OF Morse
pirates had swooped down on France
and had settled in rich district OF
that country. They called themselves
"Normans" and their province Nor
mandy"
William the Conqueror was the son
OF Duke Robert of Normandy C"Rob-
ert the Devil') and a tanners daugh.
ter. He was born In 1927. From early
boyhood he led life of constant war
fare. peril and treachery. In order to
save his dukedom and his life from the
greed of neighboring potentates he
was forced to acts of brutality and
crime. At length he was safely estab-
lished In his own realm and looked
about him for further conQuests. His
eye fell on England.
The English king, Edward "the Con-
fessor," was childless. William per-
suaded or bribed Edward to bequeath
to him the throne of England.
Edward died early in 1865. Tho
English decided, rightfully, that no
king could legally bequeath his crown
to anyone. So they elected Harold
their king. At once William demand
GU thO NloWh. iloiolu iCluoCu W 6lN0
1t up. William stirred up an invasion
of England by the Norwegans and
landed Norman host on the British
shores at about the same time. Har-
old thrashed the Norwegians. then
hurried his tired army to Hastings to
meet William. The Normans were
and in London, on Christ
mas day, 1866, William was crowned
king Of England. There he built a
fortress that later became the famed
Tower of London"
His conquest OF England was a piece |
of bare highway robbery, with no
shadow of moral right to justify 1t.
Yet, in the end, 1t was the best thing |
that could have happened to the coun-
try. For it infused new blood into the |
rough Saxon strain, modernized the |
old-fashioned British and !
brought them into touch with the |
world at large and with progress.
To create royal hunting park for |
himself (the New ForesD he destroyed |
churches, converts and farms |
for space OF thirty miles in Hamp- |
shire and had a desolate track stocked |
with game for his own pleasure. The |
evicted inhabitants were turned away |
to starve. Williams fathers had been |
sea rovers. He had chosen to become |
a land pirate; merciless. grasping;
Iawless lawmaker
The king of France made fun OF |
Williams fatness. William, in rage. |
found excuse to invade France There,
in 1887, he captured and burned the
town of Nantes. AS he was riding |
through the city's hot embers his |
horse reared and threw him, causing |
mortal injury.
Thus the blackguard who for sixty |
years had braved death in every form
perished at last through bit of care