king, and his Norman friends were angry that he would not let them
have more of the English lands, nor break the English laws. So they
were often rising up against him; and each time he had to put them
down he grew more harsh and stern. He did not want to be cruel; but
he did many cruel things, because it was the only way to keep England.

When the people of Northumberland rose against him, and tried to get
back the old set of kings, he had the whole country wasted with fire
and sword, till hardly a town or village was left standing. He did
this to punish the Northumbrians, and frighten the rest. But he did
another thing that was worse, because it was only for his own
amusement. In Hampshire, near his castle of Winchester, there was a
great space of heathy ground, and holly copse and beeches and oaks
above it, with deer and boars running wild in the glades--a beautiful
place for hunting, only that there were so many villages in it that
the creatures were disturbed and killed. William liked hunting more
than anything else--his people said he loved the high deer as if he
was their father,--and to keep the place clear for them, he turned
out all the inhabitants, and pulled down their houses, and made laws
against any one killing his game. The place he thus cleared is still
called the New Forest, though it is a thousand years old.

An old Norman law that the English grumbled about very much was, that
as soon as a bell was rung, at eight o'clock every evening, everyone
was to put out candle and fire, and go to bed. The bell was called
the curfew, and many old churches ring it still.

William caused a great list to be made of all the lands in the country,
and who held them. We have this list still, and it is called Domesday
Book. It shows that a great deal had been taken from the English and