earth itself. One body thus acts upon any other body, just in proportion to the amount of matter it contains, and its nearness to the other. If I lift up a stone it is heavy, because the earth attracts, or draws it downward; and the more matter the stone contains, the heavier it is."

10. "But what would happen," asked Willie, "if the earth should suddenly lose this power of attraction?" "If the earth should lose this power," said Uncle John, "and the sun and the moon should retain their powers of attraction, the same as now, everything on the earth would be drawn away to the sun or the moon; and the earth itself would fall in pieces, and be drawn away also."

11. "Then the power which makes an apple fall to the earth," said Willie, "is pretty important after all, although I at first thought there was nothing wonderful about it."

12. "It is one of those great laws," said Uncle John, "which God has made to bind the universe together, and which helps to keep the earth and the other planets in their places."

LTHOUGH the Saxons had lost their King, and many of their nobles, many were still left whose strength was still unbroken; and if they had behaved bravely and faithfully, they might yet have driven away the Duke of Normandy, and lived safely under their own true King, Edgar Atheling.

2. But poor Edgar was too young to maintain his own cause, and they were afraid of offending the Conqueror, lest they should lose their lands and their wealth. They therefore made no resistance, but permitted him to enter London, where he was crowned in Westminster Abbey, by the Archbishop of York, on the Christmas-day of the year 1066.

3. It was not long before the Saxon Earls found that they had gained little by their cowardly submission. William's Norman followers expected rewards, and he took away the property of the Saxons, to give to them.

4. Then, though they had not chosen to fight for their King and country, they took up arms for their own property; but they found it was too late. The

enemy had become too strong for them; they were overcome one by one, some being kept prisoners, others slain in battle, and others put to death.

5. When in England, William usually lived at Winchester, and, in order that he might have plenty of space to enjoy his favourite amusement of the chase, he turned all the south-western part of Hampshire into one great hunting-ground. The inhabitants were driven from their homes, the villages and even the churches pulled down, and the fields left desolate, that nothing might disturb the wild boars, deer, and other animals. No one was allowed to hunt there without permission from the King, and those who transgressed the law were punished with great cruelty.

6. The Saxons were much annoyed by a new law, that no fire or candle should be kept burning after eight o'clock at night, when a bell was rung, called curfew, from the French couvre feu, cover the fire. This was the hour when it was usual to go to bed, and the order was intended partly as a precaution against fires, partly against secret plots and conspiracies at night.

7. The Normans had lived so long in France, that they had almost forgotten their former Norwegian language, and usually spoke French. They attempted to make it the language of their new country. It was spoken at court for more than a hundred years after, and was used in the courts of law. Many French words became mixed with the old Saxon, and from these, in process of time, was formed the English language which we now speak.

8. Not long after the cruel devastation of the south of Hampshire, Richard, the second son of William the Conqueror, was killed while hunting in the New Forest, by a thrust from the horn of a stag.

9. The eldest son, Robert, gave his father much uneasiness by his undutiful conduct. He was discontented because he was not permitted to govern the duchy of Normandy, and took for his friends all the worst young nobles of the court, who encouraged him in a spirit of rebellion. At one time, at the Castle of L'Aigle, in Normandy, he was walking in the court with two of his friends, when his two brothers, William and Henry, rude boys of twelve and nine years old, began to play tricks, and at last poured down water upon him from one of the upper windows. This foolish sport so enraged him, that he drew his sword, and rushed upstairs to punish them, and might perhaps have hurt them severely, had not the noise brought his father to the spot.

10. The King took the part of the younger boys, and Robert, still in a violent passion, called for his horse, and with his wicked companions rode off to the court of the King of France, where he declared his father and brothers.

war upon

11. In those days the armour of a warrior usually consisted of a loose shirt of mail, called a hauberk, made of small chains of iron linked closely together, which covered their body and arms. On their hands they wore gauntlets or gloves of stout leather, plated with iron at the back of the hand and fingers; their legs and feet were also guarded with iron;

and the covering of the head was a helmet or iron cap, which had a vizor or front to cover over the face, leaving only two holes for the eyes. Then, with a pointed shield on their left arm, a sword by their side, and a dagger in their belt, they mounted strong horses and rode violently against each other, and whichever could throw down the other in the shock of the encounter was the victor.

12. Being covered with iron from head to foot, it. was very difficult to know one person from another, and thus it happened that, in the course of the battle, Robert met his father without recognising him, overthrew him, and wounded him in the hand. The instant he discovered who he was, he was exceedingly shocked; and after lifting him up, and setting him on his own horse, he knelt down, kissed his foot, and implored his forgiveness; but the King was too deeply offended to listen to him, and rode away without even speaking to him.

13. Robert continued to show his penitence by dismissing the troops given him by the French King, and by remaining quiet, until at length his mother, Queen Matilda, and Archbishop Lanfranc, succeeded in gaining his pardon from his father. He was not, however, cured of his violence and impatience of restraint; in a very short time, he again quarrelled with the King, and leaving the court, remained in France or Germany as long as his father lived.

14. In the year 1087, while making war on the King of France, who had offended him by a foolish jest, William ordered the town of Mans to be burnt.