Ambassadors from the Britons were accordingly sent to Witigisel
, the then Saxon general, who immediately summoned an assembly to hear what the Britons had to propose. The latter (like men in absolute despair) offered to submit to any terms that their said assembly should think proper, provided they did but protect and stand by them so far in their pressing necessities, as to enable them to drive their enemies out of their country. The proposal was approved of, and the negociation
[sic]
accordingly concluded.
The terms were, that the Saxons should send 9000 men into Britain, who were to be put into possession of the Isle of Thanet, and to be paid and maintained likewise at the expence
[sic]
of the Britons.
Hengist and Horsa, both sons of the Saxon General Witigisel, who were brave and resolute men, fit for, and fond of such an expedition, were appointed, in the year 450, to command the Saxon troops intended for the relief of Britain.
Tho' these two heroes arrived at Ebbesfleet, in the island of Thanet, with 1500 men only, instead of 9000, yet they were received with the utmost respect by Vortigern, who put them immediately, according to promise, in full possession of that island.
As the Picts and Scots, at that time, were advancing their forces against the Britons, Hengist joined Vortigern, and inspiring the British troops with new courage, a battle was fought near Stamford, in Lincolnshire, wherein the Picts and Scots were so absolutely defeated, that they were obliged to abandon their conquests, and retire into their own country.
Hengist had a beautiful daughter, named Rowena, with whom Vortigern fell deeply in love, and demanded her in marriage of her father, who, ever attentive to enlarge his dominions, refused his consent, unless the amorous Briton would put him in possession of the whole county of Kent. The terms were readily accepted, and the match concluded. In short, this love-sick passion, this seemingly trivial circumstance, occasioned the greatest revolution that had ever been felt in Britain.
TheSAXON HEPTARCHY.
We shall now take a transient view of the Saxon Heptarchy, consequent thereupon.
I.The Kingdom of Kent.
The first was the kingdom of Kent, founded by Hengist, in 453, and contained only that county; being inhabited by the Jutes. It continued 368 years, and ended in 823, having been governed by ten of its own Kings, and seven doubtful or foreign Princes; of whom four were Pagans and three Christians. Its principal places were Canterbury, Dover, Rochester, Sandwich, Deal, Folkstone, and Reculver.
II.The Kingdom of the South Saxons.
The second was the kingdom of the South Saxons, founded by Ella in 491, and contained the counties of Sussex and Surrey, whose principal city was Chichester. It continued about 109 years, and ended about the year 600; having only five monarchs, of whom two were Pagans, and three Christians: it was mostly under the power of the Kings of Kent, and the West Saxons.
III.The Kingdom of the West Saxons.
The third was the kingdom of the West Saxons, founded by Cerdic in 419; and contained Cornwall, Devonshire, Dorsetshire, Wiltshire, Somersetshire, and Hampshire, with the Isle of Wight and Berkshire, though the remains of the Britons likewise inhabited Cornwall: the principal places were Winchester, Southampton, Portsmouth, Salisbury, Dorchester, Sherborne, and Exeter: it continued till the Norman Conquest, being 547 years, and ended in 1066, having been governed by 17 monarchs, during the heptarchy, of whom five were Pagans, and 12 Christians: the last of whom was Egbert, who, in 829, became sole monarch of England.
IV.The Kingdom of the East Saxons.
The fourth was the kingdom of the East Saxons, and contained Middlesex, Essex, and part of Hertforshire; where the principal places were London and Colchester: it was founded in 527, by Erkenwin, and continued 220 years, ending in 747; having been governed by 12 monarchs, of whom two were Pagans, and the rest Christians.
V.The Kingdom of Northumberland.
The fifth was the kingdom of Northumberland, founded by Ina, in 547, and contained Lancashire, Yorkshire, Durham, Cumberland, Westmoreland, Northumberland, and part of Scotland, as far as Edinburgh Frith
: the principal places being York, Durham, Carlisle, Hexham, and Lancaster: it continued 245 years, and ended in 792; having been governed by 20 Princes, of whom four were Pagans, and the rest Christians, whose subjects were Angles, and called the Northumbrian Angles.
VI.The Kingdom of the East Angles.
The sixth was the kingdom of the East Angles, which contained Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambridgeshire, with the Isle of Ely; where the principal places were Norwich, Thetford, Ely, and Cambridge. It was founded by Uffa in 575, and continued 218 years, ending in 792, when it was united to the kingdom of the Mercians.
VII.The Kingdom of the Mercians.
The seventh and last was the kingdom of the Mercians, or the Middle Angles, founded by Cridda in 582; and contained Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Leicestershire, Rutlandshire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, Huntingdonshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, part of Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Nottinghamshire, and Cheshire; the principal places being Lincoln, Nottingham, Warwick, Leicester, Coventry, Litchfield, Northampton, Worcester, Gloucester, Derby
, Chester, Shrewsbury, Stafford, Oxford, and Bristol: it continued 292 years, and ended in 874; having been governed by 18 monarchs, of whom four were Pagans, and the rest Christians.
Egbert the Great, first King of England.
In the year 829, Egbert, the 17th King of the West Saxons, became sole monarch of all the seven kingdoms, and was crowned at Winchester, in Hampshire, by the unanimous consent both of the clergy and laity, King of England; and immediately afterwards a proclamation was published, whereby it was ordered, that no future distinctions should be kept up among the Saxon kingdoms; but that they should all pass under the common name of England.
Though Egbert was a wise and fortunate Prince, and though the English were a brave and numerous people, after the expulsion of the Picts and Scots; yet no sooner was he well established on the throne, but this island was exposed to new invasions.
In 832, the Danes, having made two descents before, landed a third time with great force at the Isle of Sheppey, in Kent; and in some few months afterwards at Charmouth, in Dorsetshire, with 18,000 men.
In 835, they landed again in Cornwall; but Egbert was then prepared for them, and gave them a total defeat. They renewed their depredations, however, in 836, but were again repulsed. Soon after which, this Prince having reigned King of the West Saxons 36 years, and sole monarch of England upwards of eight, died as great as he lived, and was buried at Winchester, where he was crowned. He was the father, in short, of the English monarchy, and therefore justly entitled to the name of Egbert the Great.
Ethelwulf, the Second King of England.
Ethelwulf, the elder surviving son of Egbert, succeeded his father in 836. Till he became a King, he had been only a priest, or, at most, only bishop of Winchester. He obtained, however, a dispensation from Pope Gregory IV. and assumed a secular life.
In the first year of his reign, the Danes landed at Southampton, in Hampshire, but were routed with great slaughter. In 837, however, they made a second descent upon Portland, in Dorsetshire, and succeeded in their attempt.
In 838, they made another descent about Romney, in Kent, with such success, and great slaughter, that they over-ran the country.
In short, they made fresh visits for several years afterwards successively, for the sake of plunder only, without the least intention of making a settlement in the kingdom.
Ethelwulf, however, in 852, assembled a numerous army, with the assistance of his brother Athelstan, met them at Okely, in Surry
[sic]
; and there, after a desperate engagement, proved so victorious, that the slaughter of their enemies was almost incredible.
In 855, Ethelwulf went to Rome, in order to pay a visit to the Pope in person; and, on receiving his benediction, he not only gratified the vanity of the papal see by his devotion, but satisfied likewise its most avaricious expectations by his royal bounty.
In 857, after having reigned one and twenty years, he divided his kingdom between his two eldest sons, Ethelbald and Ethelbert, and soon after died, and was buried at Winchester.
III.[sic]Ethelbald and Ethelbert, joint Kings of England.
Ethelbald, whose reign was but short, and no ways remarkable, died in 800, and was buried at Sherborne, in Dorsetshire.
Ethelbert, the fourth King of England.
Though Ethelbert bore an excellent character, yet he was no favourite of fortune; for from his coronation in 860, to his death in 866, he had one continued conflict with the Danes. He was interred at Sherborne, near his brother.
Ethelred, the fifth King of England.
In 866, Ethelred, third son of Ethelwulf, succeeded to the crown: in whose reign the Danes committed great ravages through the kingdom.
Notwithstanding, in 868, a great famine and plague happened in England, yet those merciless and blood-thirsty Pagans the Danes, in 869, through their aversion to Christianity, set fire to the religious houses in the city of York, murdered the monks, ravished the nuns, and made a sacrifice of Edmund, titular King of the East Angles, by first shooting his body full of arrows, and afterwards cutting off his head. He was soon after interred at St. Edmundsbury, in the county of Suffolk, from whom it has ever since been distinguished by that name, as the manner of that Prince's death entitled him to the honour of martyrdom.
Ethelred, after having reigned six years, was buried at Winbourn, in the county of Dorset.
Alfred the Great, sixth King of England.
In the year 872, Alfred the Great (the fourth son of Ethelwulf) succeeded his brother Ethelred, whose moral virtues endeared him so far to his subjects, that they honoured him with the appellation of the Father of the English Constitution. He was crowned at Winchester.
In the year 878, the Danes settled themselves in divers parts of England, with whom Alfred fought many battles, with various success; but at length gave them a total overthrow at Eddington, in Somersetshire, and not only obliged their leader Guthrun
, the chiefs of their army, and the main body of their people, to be baptized, but afterwards to retire out of the kingdom.
This illustrious Prince, in 882, rebuilt the city of London, which had been burnt and destroyed by the Danes in 839.
As he was an excellent scholar himself, he founded, or at least greatly augmented, the University of Oxford.
In 893, the Danes, with 300 ships, under one Hastings
, invaded England again, but were defeated by Alfred's army, at Farnham, Surry
[sic]
.
In 897, a plague happened, and raged throughout the land for three years successively.
In the year 900, Alfred died of a contraction of the nerves, after he had lived 51 years, and reigned 29.
Edward the Elder, seventh King of England.
On his decease, Edward the Elder (so called to distinguish him from Edward the Martyr, and Edward the Confessor) succeeded his father, and was crowned at Kingston upon Thames.
This Prince was a brave warrior, and tho' invaded by the Danes, in the year 905, he defeated them in Kent.
In the year 911, he improved the University of Cambridge, much after the same manner as Alfred his father had augmented Oxford.
In 921, he was in the height of his glory, all the Princes in Britain either submitting to his allegiance, or courting his favour.
He died in the 24th year of his reign, at Farringdon, in Berkshire, and was buried at Winchester.
Tho' he had three wives, and several children, yet Ethelstan, his son by one Egwinna, a shepherd's daughter, succeeded to his kingdom.
Ethelstan, eighth King of England.
He was crowned in the 13th year of his age, at Kingston upon Thames, in the year 924.
In the year, 938, he defeated both the Danes and Scots, and made the Princes of Wales pay him a tribute of 20 pounds of gold, 300 pounds of silver, and 25,000 head of cattle.
The same year he caused the Bible to be translated into the Saxon, which was then the mother tongue.
Much about this time the renowned Guy, Earl of Warwick, is said to have encountered Colebrand, the famous Danish giant, and, after a sharp contest, to have killed him on the spot at Winchester.
Top
AN ACCOUNTOF THESOLAR SYSTEM,Adapted to the Capacities of Children.
THE SUN, which is the fountain of light and heat, is placed in the centre of the universe; and the several planets, namely, Luna,
luna
(the moon); Mercury,
mercury
; Venus,
venus
; the Earth,
earth
; Mars,
mars
; Jupiter,
jupiter
; Saturn,
saturn
; and Georgium Sidus; move around him in their several orbs, and borrow from him their light and influence: on the surface of the sun are seen certain dark spots, but what they are is not known. They often change their place, number, and magnitude; and if they are really in the sun's body, as to all appearance they are, we must suppose that he moves around his axis in about twenty-five days and six hours; otherwise those various changes and alterations cannot be accounted for on the principles of reason and philosophy. The daily motion of the sun from east to west is not real; for, as I have observed before, the sun is fixed in the centre, and can have no motion but upon its own axis, that is, of turning round in the same space. The apparent motion, therefore, from east to west, must arise from the true and real motion of the earth on which we live, as I shall prove by and by. The body of the sun is so immensely large, that his diameter or thickness is computed to be 822,145 English miles, and a million of times larger than the globe of our earth; stupendous and amazing magnitude! which is supposed to be all fire, and by whose beams of light the whole system of beings about it is made visible.
The fixed stars which enamel and bespangle the concave expanse, or canopy of heaven, by numbers and lustre, make the night beauteous and delightful, which would otherwise be dark and horrible. The UNIVERSE has no determinate form or figure at all; for it is every way infinite and unlimited, and is called the MUNDANE SPACE, in which all worlds have their place and being.
The MOON, which is the next planet, or body, we are to consider, is, as to matter and form, not unlike our earth; for her body is uneven and spherical. The bright portions we see in her are the more prominent and illuminated parts of the land, as mountains, islands, promontories, &c. to which we are obliged for the light that is reflected to us; for the dark parts, which are supposed to be seas, lakes, vales, &c. are incapable of reflecting any light at all. Some of our philosopers
[sic]
assert, that there is an atmosphere of air about her; and, if so, then is she subject to the wind, clouds, rain, thunder, lightning, and other meteors, as well as the earth, and of consequence may be inhabited by men and animals. The diameter or thickness of the moon, is about 2175 English miles. The moon revolves round the earth in about 27 days, 7 hours, and 43 minutes. According to the different position of the moon in her orb, with respect to the sun and earth, she puts on different aspects or phases, as new, horned, full, &c. And since, at the same distance from the sun, she never appears of a different face, it is evident that she has a diurnal motion round her own axis, which is completed in the same time as her periodical revolution is about the earth. So that the Lunarians, or people of the moon, (if there are such) have their days and months perpetually of equal length.
The other planets, i.e. Mercury, Venus, the Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and the Georgium Sidus,* all revolve in the same manner about the sun as the centre of the system; and in the order from the sun as they are named in the following figure of the UNIVERSE.* The Georgium Sidus is a later discovery, having two moons; without the orb of Saturn, and not represented in the following scheme, for want of room.
Universe
The real motion of them all is from west to east, though sometimes they appear to move from east to west; and at other times seem not to move at all. And hence they are said to be direct, retrograde, and stationary. The Earth, Jupiter, and Saturn, are often eclipsed by the interposition of their respective moons, or satellites, between the sun and themselves; and these eclipses are sometimes partial, sometimes total, and sometimes central. The orbit of the earth (or the circle which the sun seems to describe round the earth), is called the ecliptic, which is divided into twelve equal parts, called signs, and are distinguished by the following names and marks, viz. Aries, the Ram,
Aries
; Taurus, the Bull,
taurus
; Gemini, the Twins,
gemini
; Cancer, the Crab,
cancer
; Leo, the Lion,
leo
; Virgo, the Virgin,
virgo
; Libra, the Balance,
libra
; Scorpio, the Scorpion,
scorpio
; Sagittarius, the Archer,
sagittarius
; Capricornus, the Goat,
capricornus
; Aquarius, the Water-bearer,
aquarius
; Pisces, the Fishes,
pisces
.
There are many other things peculiar to the planets; but as they are not within the compass of my design, I shall pass them over, in order to speak more particularly of the earth.
Of theEARTH,considered as aPLANET.
THE Earth, by its revolution about the sun in 365 days, 5 hours, and 49 minutes, makes that space of time which we call a year.
The line, which the centre of the earth describes in its annual revolution about the sun, is called the Ecliptic.
The annual motion of the earth about the sun, is in the order of the signs of the zodiac; that is, from west to east.
Besides its annual revolution about the sun in the ecliptic, the earth turns round also on its own axis in 24 hours.
The turning of the earth on its own axis every 24 hours, whilst it moves round the sun in a year, we may conceive by the rolling of a bowl
on a bowling-green; in which not only the centre of the bowl hath a progressive motion on the green, but the bowl, in going forward, turns round about its own axis.
The turning of the earth on its own axis makes the differences of day and night; it being day in those parts of the earth which are turned towards the sun; and night in those parts which are in the shade, or turned from the sun.
The annual revolution of the earth in the ecliptic is the cause of the different seasons, and of the several lengths of days and nights, in every part of the world, in the course of the year.
If the diameter of the sun be to the diameter of the earth as 48 to 1, (as by some it is computed), the disk of the sun is above 2000 times bigger than the disk of the earth; and the globe of the sun is about 100,000 times bigger than the globe of the earth.
The distance of the earth's orbit from the sun is above 20,000 semidiameters of the earth; so that if a cannon ball should come from the sun with the same velocity it hath when discharged from the mouth of a cannon, it would be 25 years in coming to the earth.
We shall now consider the earth in another sense, and speak of the several divisions made by geographers.
OF THE CIRCLES,Which are used byGEOGRAPHERSto explainthe Properties of theNATURAL GLOBE.
You may suppose the following figure to be a globe or sphere, representing the earth. The outermost circle, marked with the letters A, D, B, C, is called the meridian; and on this circle the latitude is reckoned, either from C towards A or B, or else from D towards A and B.
The equator is the line C, D, which upon the globe is a circle, and is sometimes called the equinoctial: Upon this circle the degrees of longitude are reckoned, beginning at C, and counting all round the globe till you come to C again; and O is the middle of the world between A and B, which are the two poles thereof: A representing the North Pole, B the South Pole.
The circles E F, and G H, are called the Tropics, beyond which the sun never moves.
Circles