He determined, at all events, to respect their territory, and so he passed along on the southern shore of England till he was beyond their limits, and then prepared to land.
[Illustration: HASTINGS BESIEGED IN THE CHURCH.] He had assembled a large force of his own, and he was joined, in addition to them, by many adventurers who came out to attach themselves to his expedition from the bays, and islands, and harbors which he passed on his way.

His fleet amounted at least to two hundred and fifty vessels.

They arrived, at length, at a part of the coast where there extends a vast tract of low and swampy land, which was then a wild and dismal morass.

This tract, which is known in modern times by the name of the Romney Marshes, is of enormous extent, containing, as it does, fifty thousand acres.

It is now reclaimed, and is defended by a broad and well-constructed dike from the inroads of the sea.