and the country was again overrun with those terrible enemies, who fought with the English every where, robbed them of their property, took their houses for themselves, and acted just as if they were the conquerors and lords of the land.
14. At last, the Danish king, Sweyn, landed with a great army, and began a dreadful war with Ethelred, who was then king of England, that lasted about four years, in the course of which he and Ethelred both died; but the war was continued by Canute, the son of Sweyn, and with such success, that, in the end, he was crowned king of England.
15. It was lucky for the English that Canute happened to be a wise and good prince; for he said to himself, "As I am now king of these people, I will behave kindly to them, that they may love me, and then we shall go on comfortably together." So he began to repair the mischief that had been done in the late wars, by setting people to work to rebuild the towns that had been destroyed; which was soon done in those days, when the houses were so roughly built, and only of wood.
16. He also made a law that the Danes should not rob and insult the English, as they had been in the habit of doing; and ordered that they
