roughout all England, Danish and Saxon, that Harold was now the sole
man on whom rested the state--which, whenever it so favours one
individual, is irresistible. Nor was Edward himself hostile to Harold,
whom alone of that House, as we have before said, he esteemed and loved.

Harold was at once named Earl of Wessex; and relinquishing the earldom he
held before, he did not hesitate as to the successor to be recommended in
his place. Conquering all jealousy and dislike for Algar, he united the
strength of his party in favour of the son of Leofric, and the election
fell upon him. With all his hot errors, the claims of no other Earl,
whether from his own capacities or his father's services, were so strong;
and his election probably saved the state from a great danger, in the
results of that angry mood and that irritated ambition with which he had
thrown himself into the arms of England's most valiant aggressor,
Gryffyth, King of North Wales.

To outward appearance, by this election, the House of Leofric--uniting in
father and son the two mighty districts of Mercia and the East
Anglians--became more powerful than that of Godwin; for, in that last
House, Harold was now the only possessor of one of the great earldoms,
and Tostig and the other brothers had no other provision beyond the
comparatively insignificant lordships they held before. But if Harold
had ruled no earldom at all, he had still been immeasurably the first man
in England--so great was the confidence reposed in his valour and wisdom.
He was of that height in himself, that he needed no pedestal to stand on.

The successor of the first great founder of a House succeeds to more than
his predecessor's power, if he but know how to wield and maintain it.
For who makes his way to greatness without raising foes at every step?
and who ever rose to power supreme, without grave cause for blame? But
Harold stood free from the enmities his father had provoked, and pure
from the stains that slander or repute cast upon his father's name. The
sun of the yesterday had shone through cloud; the sun of the day rose in
a clear firmament. Even Tostig recognised the superiority of his
brother; and after a strong struggle between baffled rage and covetous
ambition, yielded to him, as to a father. He felt that all Godwin's House
was centred in Harold alone; and that only from his brother (despite his
own daring valour and despite his alliance with the blood of Charlemagne
and A