It is very probable that Godwin himself was uncertain, at first,
what course to pursue, and that he intended to have espoused Prince
Alfred's cause if he had found that it presented any reasonable
prospect of success. Or he may have felt bound to serve Harold
faithfully, now that he had once given in his adhesion to him. Of
course, he kept his thoughts and plans to himself, leaving the world
to see only his deeds. But if he had ever entertained any design of
espousing Alfred's cause, he abandoned it before the time arrived for
action. As he advanced into the southern part of the island, he called
together the leading Saxon chiefs to hold a council, and he made
an address to them when they were convened, which had a powerful
influence on their minds in preventing their deciding in favor of
Alfred. However much they might desire a monarch of their own line,
this, he said, was not the proper occasion for effecting their end.
Alfred was, it was true, an Anglo-Saxon by descent, but he was a
Norman by birth and education. All his friends and supporters were
Normans. He had come now into the realm of England with a retinue of
Norman followers, who would, if he were successful, monopolize the
honors and offices which he would have to bestow. He advised the
Anglo-Saxon chieftains, therefore, to remain inactive, to take no part
in the contest, but to wait for some other opportunity to re-establish
the Saxon line of kings.

The Anglo-Saxon chieftains seem to have considered this good advice.
At any rate, they made no movement to sustain young Alfred's cause.
Alfred had advanced to the town of Guilford. Here he was surrounded
by a force which Harold had sent against him. There was no hope or
possibility of resistance. In fact, his enemies seem to have arrived
at a time when he did not expect an attack, for they entered the gates
by a sudden onset, when Alfred's followers were scattered about the
town at the various houses to which they had been distributed. They
made no attempt to defend themselves, but were taken prisoners one by
one, wherever they were found. They were bound with cords, and carried
away like ordinary criminals.

Of Alfred's ten principal Norman companions, nine were beheaded. For
some reason or other the life of one was spared. Alfred himself
was charged with having violated the peace of his country, and was
condemned to lose his eyes. The torture of this operation, and the
inflammation which followed, destroye