reading. Albeit they vary
in certain minor matters, they are in one accord concerning the
characters of the rival armies--the drunken English and the pious
Normans. The former spent the night in one big carousal--dancing,
singing, drinking immense quantities of liquor; the latter devoted
their time to prayers and the confession of their sins. And yet,
strange to say, the English seem to have been quite fit in the morning,
for they put up a remarkably good fight. They held their own through
the best part of the day, and in the end were defeated only by their
own eagerness.

Hour after hour the Normans surged up the hill, assailing the English
position, and again and again were they driven back by the terrible
battle-axes of their opponents. So well was Harold's position chosen
that they could make little impression; and it is fair to hazard that
in the end they would have met with defeat, had not some of the
less-disciplined troops forsaken their advantage and impetuously
pursued the panic-stricken enemy into the valley below. Here the
conditions were different, and the sword was more than a match for the
battle-axe and javelin, with the consequence that the rash English were
badly cut up. William noticed this, and determined to try the
"strategic retreat" on a larger scale. Accordingly one wing--the
western--was ordered to turn tail and retire as though in disorder.
This they did. The English, lured on by their wily foes, readily gave
up their more favourable position, and then, as before, the French
turned and engaged them, while a wedge of cavalry inserted itself and
harassed them in the rear. This descending movement had left open a
considerable portion of the English line, and on this William
concentrated the pick of his forces. But still the English fought on
stubbornly. In one place they also saw the advantage of the feigned
flight, and induced the French cavalry to charge into an unsuspected
ravine, whence not a man escaped.

As the shades of evening fell no one might say where the advantage lay:
the English shield-wall was broken in places, but it still presented a
formidable line; the French still pressed on eagerly. Then to Duke
William came the great inspiration which turned the day, and won for
him the battle and the crown. So far his archers had done little to
justify their presence on the field. Now William saw that if they were
ordered to shoot their arrows high into the air these would d