by the assaults of Canute*, and as often relieved by the bra very of her native prince. But the incredible effusion of blood on these and other occasions, induced the rivals to a compromise of dominion, and this city, as the capital of Mercia, was doomed to the controul of Canute. Edmund was soon after murdered by means of his traiterous relation, Edric Streon, who was amply recompenced for his treasons by Canute; that sovereign, now sole monarch, ordering him to be decapitated, and his body to be thrown into the Thames.

When Canute arrived at the plenitude of his power, the citizens felt the weight of his resentment. The Danegelt was increased from one shilling to seven shillings for every hide of land throughout the kingdom; and to mark the royal displeasure against London for her attachment to her native prince, the citizens were assessed a full seventh part of the imposition on the whole kingdom. A convincing proof, as well of the tyrannic disposition of her Danish ruler, as of her own increased opulence.

It is but justice to add, that Canute afterwards relaxed his severity, and endeavoured to reconcile the English' to his government by his justice and impartiality; and the city was obliged to him for the extension of her foreign commerce. The metropolis had at this time risen to a very high degree of distinction in the arts of war and peace. But foreign commerce was to be the source of her greatness; and even during the calamitous reign of Ethelred, the trade of London and of the whole country engaged one of the principal attentions of government. We find therefore in the Saxon Chronicle, that

&

In one of those sieges, Canute, it is said, intending to attack the city on the side of the river, found his advances obstructed by the bridge over the Thames, which was strongly fortified and well defended. This is the first mention of a bridge, or by whom or when constructed. Dis. appointed of bringing his ships to bear a part in the seige, he diverted the course of the Thames by a trench, through the marshes on the Surry side, by which he towed round his vessels to act against the city he had thus surrounded. But the bravery of the citizens sustained his assaults till relieved by their champion, king Edmund. William of Maimsbury-Stou's Survey, &c.

in consequence of the demand which obliged every proprietor of three hundred and ten hides of land to furnish a ship for the public service, the amount of ships provided, at this early period of our naval history, was nearly eight hundred; it cannot then be surprising, that so discerning a monarch as Canute, when his irrascibility had subsided, should turn his mind towards cultivating a commercial intercourse, by which the success and security of his subjects might be ensured. This principle induced him to maintain all the laws which had been already enacted for the preservation of mercantile property wrecked on the English coast, as well as to settle the rates of the customs payable at the wharf of Belinsgate. To shew also of what importance an English trade was considered by foreign powers, a company of German merchants was settled in London. The members of this body were denominated "The Emperor's Men," and they annually paid the king as an acknowledgment of his protection, two pieces of grey cloth, and one of brown; ten pounds of pepper; five pairs of gloves,

and two casks of wine.

William of Malmsbury, 1. ii. c. 11. has preserved a curi, ous document of the care which Canute took of the temporal interests of his subjects, whilst he was on a pilgrimage to Rome. Writing to those in England to whom he had committed the administration of justice in his absence, he adds: "I have conversed with the pope, the emperor, and all the princes whom I found here, respecting the grievances imposed on my subjects, whether English or Danes, on visiting their several states; and have insisted, that in future they shall be treated more favourably, and exempted from the tolls, and exactions of various kinds, with which they have been hitherto harrassed. The emperor, king Rodolphus, and the other sovereigns, have accordingly listened to my remonstrances, and have assured me, that henceforth no subject of mine, whether merchant or pilgrim, passing through their territories, shall meet with any obstruction, or be made liable to the payment of any impost whatever."

Thus, under the protection of so powerful, so spirited, and so wise a king as Canute, the trade of England flourish

ed

ed beyond all former example, and the merchants of London acquired a weight and influence in the scale of commerce, as well as in the national councils of their country, hitherto unknown; the event which had nearly extinguished the ancient royal house, and the nobility, became highly beneficial to the community, by procuring domestic peace; by opening the advancement of traffic; and by establishing respectable connexions with foreign powers. But just as Canute began to enjoy the fruit of the benefits he had thus secured, he depart ed this life at Shaftesbury, Nov. 12, 1035, leaving behind him the character of a great prince.

His son Harold, surnamed Harefoot, unlike his father in. any good quality, having imposed himself upon the nobility, in preference to his brother Hardicanute, the son of Emma, Ethelred's widow, obtained the sanction of the Wittena-gemot, which was composed of the Thanes, among which sat the merchants, who on account of their occupation were deno minated the Seamen of London *.

We pass the turbulent reigns.of this monarch and his successor Hardicanute; the first criminally ambitious; the second a ferocious, revengeful drunkard; whose actions had rendered their names so odious, that it reflected in the eyes of the English, a detestation of the Danish character; they therefore resolved to restore the family of their native sovereigns, in the person of Edward the Confessor; but they mistook their aim; for instead of being governed by a mo narch, they had crowned a whining monk, who suffered his kingdom to go to distruction whilst he sought his salvation by building and endowing churches. He re-edified the sarced pile of St. Peter, Westminster; restored it to a style of magnificence, with a munificent endowment; and bestowed on it all the privileges which papal decrees could enforce. His death happened Jan. 5, 1066, and he was interred in his

The comparative importance of commerce was so great, even in these times of ignorance, that by a law of Athelstan, a merchant whe had made three foreign voyages on his own bottom, became entitled to the quality and privileges of a Thane, or nobleman; the pre-eminent title, Seamen of London, above mentioned, is thus accounted for.

new

new finished Abbey, which at present serves" as the grand receptacle of the remains of departed worth-the scene of pride at coronations, and of humility at interments * !"

It appears that at this period, no city, except London and Westminster, had ten thousand inhabitants. York, the largest, after those already mentioned, contained only one thousand four hundred and eighteen houses and of these five hundred and forty were uninhabited; and though the seat of an archbishop and the capital of a vast province, its population amounted only to about seven thousand souls. Hackney at present contains more than three times that number. Singularly as it may appear to our readers, it is extremely probable that the whole population of England, during this dismal period, did very little exceed the number of inhabitants now residing in the cities and neighbouring villages which form our vast metropolis. It also, at this day, appears almost incredible, that, at the age of which we are writing, agriculture was at so low an ebb, and land so very cheap, as to be sold for no more than sixteen Saxon pennies (about four shillings present currency) per acre; and our ancestors paid as much money for four sheep as for an acre of land.

We do not then expect to find any cultivation of arts and sciences, except what the Great Alfred endeavoured to promote; but neither his authority nor example could stimulate a spiritless nobility-and" as he had no model, so he had no imitator!"

In writing the history of the British metropolis, during a period so dark and remote, and in a state of manners and society so very different from the present, it will naturally be expected, that we should nevertheless endeavour to convey some general idea of the period which we have been running over, so as to enable the reader to state sundry important points of comparison between our ancestors and ourselves. It is a period, indeed, of no less than six hundred and

* Among the laws of this king is a statute wherein he acknowledges the pre-eminence of London over all his cities; confirms to it all its ancient customs and usages, so as not to be violated by his successors, and particularly grants to the citizens the privilege of holding and keeping the hustings every Monday.

seventeen.

seventeen years, and produced revolutions more frequent, more sudden, more violent, and more disastrous, than the subsequent period of seven hundred and forty years from the Norman conquest. Seven petty governments had been consolidated into one powerful kingdom. The country had, however, long and grievously to labour under the miseries of civil discord, and of formidable foreign invasion. The death of almost every so vereign kindled a dispute about the succession, the feelings of nature were violated, and the dagger or the sword settled the controversy. The Saxon race was borne down and expelled by the Danish. The Danes were massacred, oppressed, and expelled in their turn. Tyrants acted the parts of madmen, and the people were the victims of their frenzy. This state of perpetual agitation could not be favourable to improvement of any kind. The language of the country continued rude and barbarous; the mixed jargon of various ill-assorted nations. Agriculture, the parent of all other arts, was neglected. Tyranny and slavery were established by law. The seas swarmed with pirates, and the highways were infested by wolves and banditti.

"What a contrast to the present well-ordered state of society in Britain, where we now laugh to scorn the idea of invasion; where the tongue in parliamentary debate, and the pen in political pamphlets, are the only weapons of our warfare; every breath of the wind carries out, or brings home exhaustless mines of treasure; the slave becomes free from his master the moment his foot alights on these hallowed shores; unnumbered palaces swell the cities and embellish the plains, and golden harvests wave on the lately barren waste *."

The above animated picture is surely the work of a great master, who possessed at the same time an expanded and a noble mind.

* Hunter.

LONDON