fens, see p. 61.
Eth-el-dre'-da, pr. n., daughter of the
King of East Anglia and wife of
Oswy, King of Northumberland.
Danes, n. pl., the people of Denmark,
Norway, and Sweden. They
were pirates, and frequently
invaded England and other
countries of Western Europe.
val'-u-a-bles, n. pl., jewels, precious
metals, ornaments, etc.
stout'-est, adj., strongest.

ELY

Her'-e-ward, pr. n., a brave Saxon
sometimes called England's dar-
ling, celebrated for maintaining
English independance against
William long after the rest of
the country was conquered.
gen'-er-al, n. pl., chief commander
of an army

sedge, n., a coarse grass growing
plentifully in fresh water.
Can-ute', pr. n., a Danish King of
England from 1016 to 1035.

LY is a small city ground which once formed an island in the fens of Cambridgeshire.

situated upon some high

F

It possesses a very beautiful cathedral, from which a very extensive view can be obtained. This noble structure was founded by Queen Etheldreda* in the year 674, and a few years ago a great festival was held to celebrate its twelve hundredth ⚫anni

versary.

When it was founded

the fens were

often covered with water for many months at a time, and at all seasons they were so full of bogs and pools that only fen men could find their way about.

As Ely stood on firm ground in the midst of these fens, it afforded a valuable shelter for the inhabitants in times of trouble. Thus, when in the year 1013 the Danes invaded the country and stole all the valuables they could lay hands upon, the country people came flocking to Ely for shelter, and we are quaintly told by an old historian that "it happened fortunately that this year the inundations had increased to an unusual degree, in consequence of the frequent showers, and consequently rendered the neighbouring fens, as also the marsh-lands adjoining thereto, 'impassable. The stoutest people among them, as well as the young men, kept watch among the sedge and alder beds upon the mouths of the rivers."

So too when William the Conqueror came unto this part, the people gathered round Ely, which received the name of the "camp of refuge," and under the skilful generalship of Hereward beat him at every point. Ely would never have been taken had

not the monks betrayed the city. The great earthworks William threw up are still visible, and the country folks to this day call them after the name of one of William's generals."

Now the fens round Ely are all drained, and form corn lands, but you can still find a few nooks where you can wander breast high among the sedge, or lose yourself among the graceful reeds. Then you can imagine the stirring times of old, or picture to yourself the joy of King Canute when he heard the evening hymn of the monks as he slowly rowed up the river. He told his men to cease rowing, and standing up in the boat, made up a song and sang it. We only know the first two lines, and they are not very clever or beautiful; but as they are among the oldest lines of English poetry, we put them at the end of this lesson,

"Merry sang the monks in Ely,
While Canute the king rowed by."

QUESTIONS.-Where is Ely? For what is it celebrated? Who founded it? When ? How long is that ago? What was the state of the fens then? Why was Ely of value to the people round

about? Who were the Danes? What did they do in 1013 What are valuables? What did the country people do at this time? What made Ely safe? Who was Hereward and for what was he noted? What is a general? What is sedge? Who was Canute? What did he do at Ely? Repeat the two lines of verse about his visit to that place.

THANK GOD.

HILDREN, thank God for the great trees,
That fan the land with every breeze;

Whose drooping branches form cool bowers,
Where you may spend the summer hours:
For these thank God.

For fragrant sweets of blossoms bright,
Whose beauty gives you such delight;
For the soft grass beneath your feet,
For new-mown hay and clover sweet-
For all thank God.

The very cows that lie and doze
Beneath the trees in glad repose;
The birds that in their branches sing,
And make the air with music ring-
All these thank God.

Oh, thank God for the radiant sky,
Whose varying beauty charms the eye-
Now grey and dark, now blue and bright,
Unfailing source of pure delight—

For this thank God.

He gives the life to everything

To beasts that roar and birds that sing;
But thought and speech he gave to men,
While beasts are dumb: oh, children, then,
For this thank God!

CHILD

all the work a farmer has to do to the ground before he can reap the wheat, of which their bread is made. Let me tell you something about it. We will begin with ploughing.

Farmers plough their ground instead of digging it. It would take too long to dig over all the fields; they could not be got ready in time, so the plough is used.

It has a cutting part, called a share, which is like a sharp spade. This is fixed to a frame moving on wheels. The entire machine is called a plough, and is guided by a man, and drawn by one, two, three, or even four horses, according to the stiffness of