ENGLAND BY THE CONQUEROR,' and we have all the details portrayed of
the felling of trees, constructing ships, transporting of cavalry, and
the like; we see the preparations for the commissariat, and the curious
implements of warfare, shewing, amongst other things, the lack of iron
in those days; the spades, for use in earthworks and fortifications,
being only _tipped_ with iron. The bustle and excitement attendant upon
the embarcation are given with wonderful reality; and there is many a
quaint and natural touch in the attitudes and expressions of these red
and yellow men.

The landing in Pevensey bay is next given (the horses being swung out of
the ships with cranes and pulleys as in the present day), and soon
afterwards, the preparations for a feast; the artist at this point
becoming apparently imbued with the true British idea that nothing could
be done without a dinner. There must be a grand historical picture of a
banquet before the fight, and so, like Oliver Cromwell and Napoleon,
William the Conqueror has his 'night before the battle,' and, perhaps,
it is the most faithful representation of the three.

Of the battle of Hastings itself, of the consternation at one time
amongst the troops at the report of William's death, of the charge of
cavalry, with William on a tremendous black horse (riding as straight in
the saddle as in our own day), of the cutting to pieces of the enemy, of
the stripping the wounded on the ground, and of Harold's defeat and
death, there are several very spirited representations.

For our illustration we have chosen a scene where the battle is at its
height, and the melée is given with great vigour. These figures on the
tapestry are coloured green and yellow (for there was evidently not much
choice of colours), and the chain armour is left white. The woodcut is