grew louder, Caedmon saw that his turn was approaching, and, ashamed of his inability to compose a song, he left the hall, and went out and lay down by his herds in the stable. There he fell asleep, and dreamed that an angel came to him and said, "Caedmon, sing!" Caedmon said, "I cannot; for that reason I left the hall." "Nay, but thou canst sing," persisted the angel, "and sing, now, the Song of Creation." Whereupon, the story goes, Caedmon opened his lips and sang such strains as he had never heard before. And when he awoke, he not only could recall the verses of his sleep, but went on making others. Near at hand was the celebrated monastery of Whitby, over which the Abbess Hilda presided. To her Caedmon went, and repeated his poem and the occurrences of the preceding night. Not daring to trust to this single evidence of his power, Hilda caused several stories from the Bible to be told to Caedmon, and then she requested him to go home and turn them into verse. This he did, and so delighted was the Abbess Hilda and the learned monks of the monastery, that they persuaded the poor cowherd to give up his occupation and enter the cloister as a monk.

Caedmon's poems are all on religious subjects, and are mostly paraphrases of the Scripture. His Fall of Man might be termed the framework of Paradise Lost, while his "Satan" seems to be the very archetype of Milton's "Apostate Angel." In his rebellious pride he says:

"What shall I for his favor serve? Bend to him in such vassalage? I may be a God as he.

Stand by me strong associates

"Who will not fail me in the strife,

Heroes stern of mood

They have chosen me for chief.
Renowned warriors!"

CAEDMON, and the unknown author of Beowulf, are the two great poets of the Anglo-Saxon period; but there were a few others of less note, whose names deserve to be mentioned. There was ALDHELM (656–709), the pious monk, who, in minstrel garb, sang his songs on the highways, to incite men to a holier, purer life. CYNEWULF, another Anglo-Saxon poet, whose date is uncertain, wrote several long poems on religious subjects.

Many old Anglo-Saxon poems have been preserved in two different collections, called, from the places in which they were found, the Exeter Book, and the Vercelli Book.

A celebrated song of the eleventh century is the Canute Song, supposed to have been sung by King Canute, the Dane, as he was rowing with his knights past the monastery of Ely:

Merie sungen the muneches binnen
Ely,

The Cnut cyning rew therby.
Roweth cnihtes noer the lant,

And here we thes muneches saeng.

Merry sung the monks that were in

Ely

When Canute king rowed thereby.
Row, knights, near the land,
And hear we these monks' song.

PROSE WRITERS.

All the learned works of this time were written in Latin, so but little prose was contributed to the early English literature. The Venerable BEDE (673-735) produced many scholarly works in Latin, principal of which was his Ecclesiastical History. This being a history of the English Church, was likewise a history of England. Bede left, in English, an interesting Life of Caedmon. He died just as the last sentence of his last work was written-a translation into English of the Gospel of St. John. His friend and disciple, Cuthbert, was writing at his master's dictation, and when the last sentence was ended, "It is well," cried the venerable Bede, sitting upright on the floor of his cell, "you have said the truth; it is ended. Receive my head into your hands, for it is a great satisfaction to me to sit facing my holy place, where I was wont to pray, that I may also, sitting, call upon my Father." "And so," says the chronicler, "singing 'Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost,' when he had named the Holy Spirit he breathed his last, and so departed into the heavenly kingdom."

The philosophy and theology of this time were represented by ALCUIN (735-804) and JOANNES SCOTUS (Erigena) (—— 875). Joannes Scotus was an Irish monk, and the most profound philosopher of that age. AELFRIC (— 1006) wrote a series of Homilies and an English and Latin Dictionary. He translated into English the Pentateuch and the Book of Job, the greatest portion of the Bible that had as yet been translated.

But it is to the good and great king ALFRED (848-901) that early English prose is indebted. This excellent king lived for his people and his country. That the English language might be cultivated, he took upon himself the labor of translating and of teaching his people. The most popular works in

Latin he translated for their use, Bede's History, Pope Gregory's Pastoral Rule, and the works of two of the writers of Rome nearest his own time, Orosius' History, and Boethius' Consolations of Philosophy. He employed scholars from abroad to help him in his great work of educating the people. He established schools and monasteries, "where every free-born youth, who has the means, shall abide at his book till he can well understand English."

At the instigation of this wise ruler the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle was commenced. It was the work of different compilers in Alfred's time, and after his death was continued until 1154. It is a dry collection of the most important events in each year, beginning with the Roman invasion, 55 B. C. Sometimes one line conveys all that the chronicler deemed necessary for the history of a year; as,

“509 A. D. This year St. Benedict, the Abbot, father of all monks, went to heaven."

The last portions of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle show some little variation in the use of the language, so that the termi nation of this work in 1154 marks the close of the First English or Anglo-Saxon Period.

Illustrations of the Literature of the First English or Anglo-Saxon Period.

From ALFRED. Preface to his Translation of Boethius.

Aelfred kuning waes wealhstod thisse bec and hie of bec Ledene on Englisc wende swa hio nu is gedon. Whilum he sette worde be worde, hwilum andgit of andgite, swa swa he hit tha sweotolost and andgitfullicost gereccan mihte, for thaem mistlicum and manigfealdum weoruld bisgum the hine oft aegper ge on mode ge on lichoman bisgodan. Tha bisgu us sint swithe earforth rime the on his dagum on tha ricu becomon the he underfangen haefde, and theah tha he thas boc haefde geleornode, and of Laedne to Engliscum spelle gewende tha geworhte he hi efter to leothe swa swa heo nu gedon is, and nu bit and for Godes naman healsath aelcne thara the thas boc raedan lyste tha he for hine gebidde and him ne wite gif he hit rihtlicor ongite thonne he mihte forthaemde aele mon sceal be his andgites maethe and be his aemettan sprecan thaet he sprecth, and don thaet thaet he deth.

Alfred king was translator (of) this book and he (it) from booklatin into English turned as it now is done. Whiles he set word by word, whiles sense for sense just as he it the clearest and fullest of sense speak might for the distracting and manifold world business (which) him oft both in mind (and) in body busied. The businesses to us are very hard to count which in his days on those kingdoms came that he undertaken had, and yet when he this book had learned and from Latin into English speech turned (it) then wrought he it afterwards to (a) lay so as it now done is, and now prays and for God's name implores each (of) them that this book to read lists, that he for him pray and him not blame if he it rightlier understand than he might; for that each man should by his understanding measure and by his leisure speak that he speaketh, and do that he doeth.

From the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.

449 A. D. Her Martianus] Ualentinus onfengon rice.] rixadon VII winter.] on heora dagum geladode Wyrtgeorn Angelcin hider.] hi

þa comon on brim ceolum hider to Brytene on bam stede Heopwines fleot.

449 A. D. In this year Marcian and Valentinian succeeded to the empire and reigned seven winters, and in their day Vortigern invited the Anglo race hither, and they then came in their ships hither to Britain at the place named Heopwines fleot. King Vortigern gave them land in the south-east of this land on condition that they should fight against the Picts. They then fought against the Picts, and had victory whithersoever they came. They then sent to the Angles; bade them send greater aid; bade them be told of the worthlessness of the Brito-Welsh, and the excellence of the land. They then forthwith sent hither a larger army in aid of the others. Then came men from three tribes of Germany: from the Old-Saxons, from the Angles, and from the Jutes. From the Jutes came the Kentish people and the people of Wight, that is, the tribe which now dwells in Wight, and the race among the West-Saxons, which is yet called the Jute race. From the Old-Saxons came the EastSaxons and South-Saxons and West-Saxons. From Angeln-which has ever since stood waste betwixt the Jutes and Saxons-came the EastAnglians, the Middle-Anglians, the Mercians, and all the Northumbrians. Their leaders were two brothers, Hengist and Horsa. They were sons of Wihtgils. Wihtgils was son of Witta, Witta of Wecta, Wecta of Woden. From Woden sprang all our royal kin, and the Southumbrians also.

SYLLABUS.

Literature is the recorded expression of knowledge and fancy.

A history of literature is a chronological review of the literary productions of a nation.

The history of English literature begins in the seventh century.

The history of the English language begins with the remotest history of the Aryan race.

The seven great branches of the ARYAN family are the Indic, Persic, Greek, Latin, Teutonic, Celtic, and Sclavonic.

The ENGLISH is a Teutonic or Germanic language.

The Goths migrated from the Danube to the Baltic Sea.

Odin was the great Gothic leader.

Caesar marched through Italy and Gaul in a parallel direction.

Caesar invaded Britain 55 B. C.

The Celts were the first known inhabitants of Britain.

Britain was held as a Roman province and a military outpost of Rome

for about four hundred years.