io8 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

chap. enemy. He made a sadden sally on the Danesli. before sun-rising; and taking them unprepared,he put them to rout, pursued them with greatslaughter, killed Hubba himself, and got posses-sion of the famous Rcafen , or enchanted standard,in which the Danes put great confidence iS . Itcontained the figure of a raven, which had beeninwoven by the three sisters of Hinguar and Hub-ba, with many magical incantations, and which,by its different movements, prognosticated, asthe Danes believed , the good or bad success ofany enterprise

When Alfred observed this symptom of success-ful resistance in his subjects, he left his retreat;but before he would assemble them in arms , orurge them to any attempt, which, if unfortunate,might, in their present despondency , prove fatal,he resolved to inspect, himself, the situation ofthe enemy, and to judge of the probability ofsuccess. For this purpose he entered their campunder the disguise of a harper, and passed unsus-pected through every quarter. He so entertainedthem with his music and facetious humours , thathe met with a welcome reception; and was evenintroduced to the tent of Guthrum, their prince,where he remained some days ,0 . He remarkedthe supine security of the Danes, their contempt

3a Asser. p. io. Chron. Sax. p. 84. Abbas Rieval.,p. 395. Alured Reverb p. 105.

*’ Asser. p. 10.

stlalrn. lib. 2. cap. 4.

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