THE KING AND THE BONDMEN.

 time up to the period of the story which I shall pre-
 sently begin, there had been a great deal of fighting,
 and suffering, and misery, all over the country. Every-
 where the native Anglo-Saxon population had been
 forced to submit to the Normans, who treated them
 with great severity and cruelty. In some parts the
 land had been laid waste for scores of miles, and no
 living thing left therein, to punish the inhabitants for
 daring to resist the invaders. When William became
 king, he had more than eight hundred parks, and
 forests, and chases, throughout the realm; and such
 delight did he take in the deer, which were then
 numerous in the great woods that grew thickly in
 almost every shire, that it was said of him he loved
 them as though he were their father. Very strict laws
 were made to punish any one who should attempt to
 kill or injure a deer, and rangers and keepers, who
 were called verderers and regarders, were appointed
 to keep watch in the forests and seize the offenders.
 Besides this, nearly all the land was taken away from
 those to whom it belonged and given to the barons,
 and lords, and captains, as a reward for helping William
 to conquer the country, and when these chiefs took
 possession they became masters also of nearly all the
 people who were living on the estates. At that time
 large numbers of the population were in the condition
 of slaves, and when a farm was bought or sold they
 were made over from one owner to another just as
 though they were a flock of sheep, as though they
were fit for nothing but to work without pay, and
could neither feel hardship nor injustice. They were
forced to do all the hard work, to fight in the battles
whether they would or not, and to fare badly. Any-
thing was good enough for villains, as they were called;
and if ever they dared to complain, they were flogged,