that ever occupied the English throne.




_THE WOOING OF ELFRIDA._


Of all the many fair maidens of the Saxon realm none bore such fame for
beauty as the charming Elfrida, daughter of the earl of Devonshire, and
the rose of southern England. She had been educated in the country and
had never been seen in London, but the report of her charms of face and
person spread so widely that all the land became filled with the tale.

It soon reached the court and came to the ears of Edgar, the king, a
youthful monarch who had an open ear for all tales of maidenly beauty.
He was yet but little more than a boy, was unmarried, and a born lover.
The praises of this country charmer, therefore, stirred his susceptible
heart. She was nobly born, the heiress to an earldom, the very rose of
English maidens,--what better consort for the throne could be found? If
report spoke true, this was the maiden he should choose for wife, this
fairest flower of the Saxon realm. But rumor grows apace, and common
report is not to be trusted. Edgar thought it the part of discretion to
make sure of the beauty of the much-lauded Elfrida before making a
formal demand for her hand in marriage.

Devonshire was far away, roads few and poor in Saxon England, travel
slow and wearisome, and the king had no taste for the journey to the
castle of Olgar of Devon. Nor did he deem it wise to declare his
intention till he made sure that the maiden was to his liking. He,