he meant to do with it, he replied, "You know I am not able to stand and fight, but if any of these fellows come within reach of my hammock, I'll mark them."

On the Sunday morning the boats were sent to the ship, which had been set on fire by the Malays, and was still smoking, when some flour, a few casks of wine, and a cask of beer had floated up. This last seasonable supply was announced just at the conclusion of divine service, and a pint of beer was immediately served out to each man, which called forth three cheers. This seems to be the only style in which a British seaman can give vent to the warmer feelings of his heart. It is his mode of thanksgiving for benefits received, and it equally serves him to honour his friend, to defy his enemies, or to proclaim a victory.

Sixteen days elapsed, and there was no relief from Batavia. Want stared them in the face on the one hand, and on the other destruction from the savages, who, to the number of six hundred, were closely pressing upon them. The example of their leader kept up their spirits; no signs of depression appeared on their faces, and all was vigour and preparation, either for attack or defence. The pirates only once came within reach of the sailors, when Lieutenant Hay overtook with his barge two of their boats, one of which was attacked by his crew, who killed three of the savages, while five of them, disdaining quarter, jumped overboard, and drowned themselves. were taken prisoners; but such was the desperate ferocity of these people that one of them, who had been shot through the body, on being removed into the barge with the view of saving him, furiously grasped a cutlass, which was with difficulty wrenched from his hand while in the very act of dying.

Two

On the last evening of their abode in the island, they had every reason to suppose that the savages intended to make another attack. Captain Maxwell addressed his men in a courageous manner, and the sailors cheered him heartily. The attack, however, did not take place; and the next day the Ternate appeared, which had been sent by Lord Amherst from Batavia for the relief of the crew. The whole party got safely on board the Ternate, where they were most hospitably received by Captain Davidson and his officers. On the 9th March they all landed at Batavia.

The conduct of Captain Maxwell on this trying occasion justly endeared him to all on board the Alceste, from Lord Amherst, the ambassador, to the lowest seaman. By his prudent conduct the crew were preserved from all the horrors of anarchy and confusion. His measures inspired confidence and hope, while his personal example in the hour of danger imparted courage and cheerfulness to all around him.

THE BATTLE OF HASTINGS.

Upon the death of Edward the Confessor, on January 5th, 1066, Harold, the son of Earl Godwin, succeeded to the throne. William, Duke of Normandy, alleged, however, that Edward had appointed him his successor, and, to support his claims, invaded England with a large army, landing at Pevensey, in Sussex.

The

duke himself, as he leaped on shore, happened to stumble and fall; but had the presence of mind, it is said, to turn the accident to his advantage by calling out that he had clasped the soil of England, and thus taken possession of the country.

B

Harold had just gained a great victory over a Norwegian army, which had invaded the kingdom in another part, when he heard of the invasion of the Normans. The English and Normans now prepared themselves for this important contest, but the aspect of things on the night before the battle was very different in the two camps. The English spent the time in riot and jollity and disorder; the Normans in silence and in prayer, and in the other functions of their religion.

On the morning, Duke William ordered the signal of battle to be given; and the whole army, moving at once, and singing the hymn or song of Roland, the famous peer of Charlemagne, advanced in order towards the enemy. Harold had seized the advantage of a rising ground, and having likewise drawn some trenches to secure his flanks or sides, he resolved to stand upon the defensive, and to avoid all action with the cavalry, in which he was inferior. The Kentish men were placed in the van, a post which they had always regarded as their due, the Londoners guarded the standard, and the king himself took command of the infantry, and expressed his resolution to conquer or to perish in the action.

The first attack of the Normans was desperate, but was received with equal valour by the English, and, after a furious combat, the invaders, hard pressed by the English, began first to relax their vigour, then to retreat, and confusion was spreading among the ranks, when William, who found himself on the brink of destruction, hastened with a select band to the relief of his dismayed forces. His presence restored the action. The English were obliged to retire with loss; and the duke, ordering his second line to advance,

renewed the attack with fresh forces and with redoubled courage.

Finding that the enemy still made a vigorous resistance, he tried a stratagem which seemed advisable in his desperate situation, where, if he gained not a victory, he was totally undone. He commanded his troops to make a hasty retreat, in order to allure the English from their ground by the appearance of flight. The artifice succeeded, and the English troops, heated by the action and sanguine in their hopes, hurriedly followed the Normans into the plain. William gave

orders that at once the infantry should face about upon their pursuers, and the cavalry make an assault upon their wings, and both of them pursue the advantage which the surprise and terror of the enemy must give them in that critical moment.

The English were repulsed with great slaughter and driven back to the hill, where, being rallied by the bravery of Harold, they were able, notwithstanding their loss, to maintain the post and continue the combat. The duke tried the same stratagem a second time with the same success; but even after this double advantage, he still found a great body of the English who, maintaining themselves in firm array, seemed determined to dispute the victory to the last.

He then ordered his heavy-armed infantry to make an assault upon them; while his archers, placed behind, should gall the enemy, who were intent upon defending themselves against the swords and spears of the Normans. By this arrangement he at last prevailed. Harold was slain by an arrow while he was fighting with great bravery at the head of his men; his two brothers shared the same fate; and the English, discouraged by the fall of their princes, gave ground

on all sides, and were pursued with great slaughter by the victorious Normans. A few English troops, however, had still the courage to turn upon their pursuers, and attacking them in deep and miry ground, obtained some revenge for the slaughter and dishonour of the day. But the appearance of the duke obliged them to seek their safety by flight; and darkness saved them from any further pursuit by the enemy.

Thus was gained by William, Duke of Normandy, the great and decisive victory of Hastings, after a battle which was fought from morning till sunset, and which seemed worthy, by the heroic valour displayed by both armies, to decide the fate of a mighty kingdom. William had three horses killed under him; and there fell nearly 15,000 men on the side of the Normans. The loss was still more considerable on the side of the English, besides the death of Harold and his two brothers.

The dead body of Harold was brought to William, and was generously restored without ransom to his mother. The Norman army left not the field of battle without giving thanks to heaven in the most solemn manner for their victory; and the duke, having refreshed his troops, prepared to push his advantage to the utmost against the divided, dismayed, and defeated English.

WINTER.
I.

When icicles hang by the wall,

And Dick, the shepherd, blows his nail,
And Tom bears logs into the hall,

And milk comes frozen home in pail;