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gam is decided . If a subject be commonly studied or a character very well known , the introduction of fiction may serve to perplex , — -it is then like a fancy portrait of a living- original , —where it is not it gives life and reality to the dry relics of history . Let us now treat ourselves with one of Miss Taylor ' s pictures . It is of King" Athetstan , grandson ef Alfred the Great ; - ^ -
* One evening 1 , late in the autumn , he was reading * alone in a chamber of his palace , at Winchester ; before him lay his grandfather ' s translation of " Boethius , " a book of Saxon poems , ( all in writing ; of course , printing being then unknown ;) the reed with which his grandfather bad written was hi his hand , and the very lantern which King Alfred caused to be made , gave him light on the table . The figure of the king was about the middle size , his countenance very pleasing , his complexion fair , his eyes blue , and his hair yellowish , hanging long * from his shoulders , and twisted with golden threads . His long loose robe , of purple covered him from the head nearly to the feet , only fastened round the waist with a belt drawn through a buckle ; thfs robe or sur-coat , was embroidered round the bottom , and Athelstan ,, also , wore rings and bracelets of gold ; his feet were girt with sandals , and rested on a stool , the feet of which were carved so as to represent those of a lion , and richly gilt . ' ... * In a recess stood the king ' s bed , a clumsy structure , boarded at the head and feet , with one curtain oil the side farthest from the wall ; a pillow of straw , and a bed probably
made of the same material , a sheet , and a coverlet of bear's skin , composed the luxurious furniture of the King of England . A rude picture of the Saviour , and another of the Virgin Mary , were the only other ornaments in the room ; the earthen floor was strewed with rushes . *
—p . 6 . Such was the palace , and such the attire , of King * Athelstan , when he received an embassy from Harold Harfagre , Monarch of Norway , praying him to receive and instruct his heir-apparent , ' Haco the Good . * The King of Norway , it appears , had other sons , but the rest , according to the custom of the country , were Sea-Kings , plunderers of the public , that is , like the younger sons of modern people of quality . The embassadors were commissioned to present to the kingof the Saxons a beautiful Vessel . * The prow was covered with gold , and wrought into the shape
of a dragon s head ; the sails were purple , and around them were hung a number of shields , such as warriors used in battle , all richly gilt . * The presents being accepted , and the negotiation successful , young Haco is committed to the care of a sturdy son of the north , who is to escort him to England , and serve as his Mentor . The instructions which Harold delivers upon the occasion , are in the main very sensible * Thou must caution him , ' says he to the Mentor , * to beware of men * tioning too often the names of our gods Odin and Thor , seeing that the monks and abbots of England hold them in abomination . ' He had previously expressed his apprehension that his son might make himself enemies by boasting of the victories of the Northmen . * I charge thee , however , not to suffer Haco to become a Christian : this would make him hateful to my people . He may attend the priests to their temples ; this will be courteous towards Athelstan and the English ; and he must be grave and silent while he is there / &c . ' I would have him dress , eat , mid discourse , after the manner of the people of England : I would
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Critical Notteet ^ Tale * of the Sdxdn * . SS&
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), May 2, 1832, page 355, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1812/page/67/
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