is there any one in it who can dare with impunity to resist my authority. I now command you not to come upon my land, nor to presume to wet my royal vestments/' But as wave after wave rose up and disregarded his injunctions, the sea without any respect wetted the feet and legs of the king ; and then the king, not leaping from his chair till he was almost too late, said, " Let all the inhabitants of the world know that the power of kings is vain and frivolous, and that no one is worthy of the name of king, except Him in obedience to whose nod the heaven, and earth, and sea, and all that is in them, are subject to eternal laws." And from that time forth the king never wore bis crown, but he always placed it on the head of the image of his crucified Master, and so gave a great example of humility to all future kings. He was buried at Winchester, in the old monastery, with all royal honour, and may his soul enjoy eternal glory. But when that most powerful king Canute was dead, the nobles of the kingdom came together to Oxford to a conference, to discuss the subject of the election of a new king* And the general Leofric, and all the Danish nobles in London, elected Harold, the son of Canute by his concubine Algiva. But Godwin, count of Kent, and the chiefs of Wessex, in opposition to them, preferred Hardicanute, the son of Canute by queen Emma, or else one of the sons of king Ethelred and the same Emma, who was living in Normandy. But as Hardicanute was at that time in Dacia, and Alfred and Edward, the sons of king Ethelred, were absent in Normandy, the party of Harold prevailed, and having been invested with the crown of the kingdom of England, he hastened to Winchester, and tyrannically seized all the treasures and riches which king Canute had bequeathed to his queen Emma, and banished Emma herself, his own stepmother, from England. And she, seeking refuge with Baldwin, count of Flanders, received from him the castle of Bruges, to dwell there; for William, duke of Normandy, being still under the guardianship of his guardians, had not as yet absolute power over his dukedom. William of Malmesbury says that this Harold was the son of a cobbler, and that JSlfgina, the queen, had adopted him as her son, without the knowledge of the king, and nad caused him to be brought up as the king's son.1 1 This was Harold Harefoot.