THE ENGLISHMAN'S LIBRARY. PART I. § I.—ENGLISH HISTORY, AND LIVES OF EMINENT STATESMEN. ALFRED THE GREAT. THE name which the general voice of mankind has placed first on the list of those men of England, in whose glory the humblest as well as the highest of their countrymen may feel an honest pride, is Alfred. History, with peculiar truth, has styled this prince the Great. His right to this title, and his claims to the gratitude of every English heart, even after an interval of nine hundred years, are best proved by the following mention of his actions:-He freed his country from a foreign invader, who had long plundered and harassed his people; he overcame the universal vice which had arisen out of these disorders and miseries; he rendered the administration of justice certain and impartial, instead of confused and corrupt; he laid the foundations of Trial by Jury, and of many other Institutions which are our most valued inheritance at this day; he discerned and showed the worth of that Naval force, which has ever since been Britain's best bulwark;-he endeavoured to correct the ignorance of his subjects, by encouraging useful learning of every kind; and last of all, he made his great Victories instruments of the |