r the lapse of a thousand years, the little island feeds and
clothes, directly or indirectly, a very large portion of the human
race, and directs, in a great measure, the politics of the world.

Whether Alfred reasoned upon the capacities of the people whom he
ruled, and foresaw their future power, or whether he only followed the
simple impulses of his own nature in the plans which he formed and the
measures which he adopted, we can not know; but we know that, in fact,
he devoted his chief attention, during all the years of his reign,
to perfecting in the highest degree the internal organization of his
realm, considered as a great social community. His people were in a
very rude, and, in fact, almost half-savage state when he commenced
his career. He had every thing to do, and yet he seems to have had no
favorable opportunities for doing any thing.

In the first place, his time and attention were distracted, during his
whole reign, by continued difficulties and contentions with various
hordes of Danes, even after his peace with Guthrum. These troubles,
and the military preparations and movements to which they would
naturally give rise, would seem to have been sufficient to have
occupied fully all the powers of his mind, and to have prevented him
from doing any thing effectual for the internal improvement of his
kingdom.

Then, besides, there was another difficulty with which Alfred had to
contend, which one might have supposed would have paralyzed all his
energies. He suffered all his life from some mysterious and painful
internal disease, the nature of which, precisely, is not known, as the
allusions to it, though very frequent throughout his life, are very
general, and the physicians of the day, who probably were not very
skillful, could not determine what it was, or do any thing effectual
to relieve it. The disease, whatever it may have been, was a source of
continual uneasiness, and sometimes of extreme and terrible suffering.
Alfred bore all the pain which it caused him with exemplary patience;
and, though he could not always resist the tendency to discouragement
and depression with which the perpetual presence of such a torment
wears upon the soul, he did not allow it to diminish his exertions, or
suspend, at any time, the ceaseless activity with which he labored for
the welfare of the people of his realm.

Alfred attached great importance to the education of his people. It
was not possible, in those days, to