g is ever being righted; there is always
enough that is good and right to make us joyful. There is ever sunshine
somewhere; and the brave man will go on his way rejoicing, content to
look forward if under a cloud, not bating one jot of heart or hope if
for a moment cast down; honoring his occupation, whatever it may be;
rendering even rags respectable by the way he wears them; and not only
being happy himself, but causing the happiness of others.

* * * * *

XXXVII.

HAROLD.

THE LAST SAXON KING OF ENGLAND.

The father of Harold, the last Saxon king of England, was named Godwin,
and was the first great English statesman. It was from him that Harold
in a great measure inherited his vigor and power, though, indeed, he
came altogether of a noble race, both by lineage and character, for his
mother was a daughter of Canute the Great.

All the English loved Harold; he was strong and generous, and a better
counselor than Godwin, his father, in many ways. At first he never
sought any thing for himself; but as time went on, and he found how he
was obeyed, and how he was beloved, how the whole country turned her
eyes to him as the fittest king when Edward the Confessor should be
gone, he also took the same idea into his mind, and gave himself to
rule, to teach, and to act as one who should by and by be king.

Edward's queen, Edith, was Harold's sister; but there was another Edith,
who influenced Harold more than any one else in many ways. From his
boyhood he and she had played together, and they grew up, never so much
as thinking that a time would come when they would separate.

The more Harold saw her the more he felt he should like to ask her to be
his wife, and have her always with him; but there were many things which
made that impossible. And then England required Harold. If he thought
only of his own happiness his country must suffer. The great nobles
wished him to establish the kingdom by marrying the daughter of one of
the most powerful lords; this would connect the people and the land more
closely, and prevent quarrels and divisions; and the government required
the whole of Harold's services, and the people required his
watchfulness, his thought, his care, his presence.

All his life through he had consulted Edith, and now at this terrible
moment he consulted her again. He stood before her, and in great trouble
and agony of spirit told her just how things were, scarcely