Thus the conquest of England by Danish Normans, undoubtedly prepared, or, more properly speaking, was the indispensable and necessary foundation of the subsequent French-Norman conquest; and it may therefore be justly called the first act of that great historical drama, “The Norman Conquest,” of which William of Normandy’s conquest is only the concluding act. But many will undoubtedly ask, was the Norman conquest, on the whole, beneficial to England? Would it not have been better had the Anglo-Saxon nationality been permitted to develope itself, instead of being arrested by such violent devastations and by such bloodshed as the Danish-Norman expeditions occasioned? And is it not a proof of the nobleness of the Anglo-Saxon nationality, that it has since prevailed so preponderantly in England? On this point let us hear a learned and impartial Englishman. The latest and most celebrated Anglo-Saxon historian, Mr. Kemble, says, in his preface to the before-mentioned Collection of Anglo-Saxon Diplomas:—“With the close of the fourth volume of this work we arrive at the reign of Harald, and the Norman conquest of England; an event which our contemporary forefathers could only regard as deplorable, but which we must look back upon with gratitude and pride, as the remote origin of our own peculiar character and power. It is hardly possible to compare the signatures to the charters contained respectively in this and in the previous volumes, without seeing how widely a foreign element had become predominant. The Scandinavians of Ingwar, Guðorm, Swegen, and Cnut, successively prepared the way for the descendants of other Scandinavians under William; and the Saxon national character, like the national dynasty, was too weak to offer a successful resistance. Defeated, yet still holding a portion of its domain with unabated perseverance, yielding somewhat in one place, to break out with unshaken obstinacy at another, it accommodated itself partially to the peculiar habits of each successive invader; till, after the closing scene of the great drama commenced at Hastings, it ceased to exist as a national character, and the beaten, ruined, and demoralized Anglo-Saxon, found himself launched in a new career of honour, and rising into all the might and dignity of an Englishman. Let us reflect that defeats upon the Thames and Avon were probably necessary preliminaries to victories upon the Sutlej.”