It has been the aim of the Author, in a series of original tales told to thesenior boys of a large school, to illustrate interesting or difficult passagesof Church History by the aid of fiction. Two of thesetales—“Æmilius,” a tale of the Decian and Valerianpersecutions; and “Evanus,” a tale of the days ofConstantine—he has already published, and desires gratefully toacknowledge the kindness with which they have been received.
He is thus encouraged to submit another attempt to the public, having its sceneof action in our own land, although in times very dissimilar to our own; andfor its object, the illustration of the struggle between the regal andecclesiastical powers in the days of the ill-fated and ill-advised King Edwy.
Scarcely can one find a schoolboy who has not read the touching legend of Edwyand Elgiva—for it is little more than a legend in most of its details;and which