transcribed from the 1916 chatto & windus edition by david price, email ccx074@pglaf.org the waif woman by robert louis stevenson london chatto & windus 1916 _first edition_, _october_, 1916. _second edition_, _october_, 1916. this unpublished story, preserved among mrs. stevenson's papers, is mentioned by mr. balfour in his life of stevenson. writing of the fables which stevenson began before he had left england and "attacked again, and from time to time added to their number" in 1893, mr. balfour says: "the reference to odin [fable xvii] perhaps is due to his reading of the sagas, which led him to attempt a tale in the same style, called 'the waif woman.'" the waif woman a cue--from a saga this is a tale of iceland, the isle of stories, and of a thing that befell in the year of the coming there of christianity. in the spring of that year a ship sailed from the south isles to traffic, and fell becalmed inside snowfellness. the winds had speeded her; she was the first comer of the year; and the fishers drew alongside to hear the news of the south, and eager folk put out in boats to see the merchandise and make prices. from the doors of the hall on frodis water, the house folk saw the ship becalmed and the boats about her, coming and going; and the merchants from the ship could see the smoke go up and the men and women trooping to their meals in the hall. the goodman of that house was called finnward keelfarer, and his wife aud the light-minded; and they had a son eyolf, a likely boy, and a daughter asdis, a slip of a maid. finnward was well-to-do in his affairs, he kept open house and had good friends. but aud his wife was not so much considered: her mind was set on trifles, on bright clothing, and the admiration of men, and the envy of women; and it was thought she was not always so circumspect in her bearing as she might have been, but nothing to hurt. on the evening of the second day men came to the house from sea. they told of the merchandise in the ship, which was well enough and to be had at easy rates, and of a waif woman that sailed in her, no one could tell why, and had chests of clothes beyond comparison, fine coloured stuffs, finely woven, the best that ever came into that island, and gewgaws for a queen. at the hearing of that aud's eyes began to glisten. she went early to bed; and the day was not yet red before she was on the beach, had a boat launched, and was pulling to the ship. by the way she looked closely at all boats, but there was no woman in any; and at that she was better pleased, for she had no fear of the men. when they came to the ship, boats were there already, and the merchants and the shore folk sat and jested and chaffered in the stern. but in the fore part of the ship, the woman sat alone, and looked before her sourly at the sea. they called her thorgunna. she was as tall as a man and high in flesh, a buxom wife to look at. her hair was of the dark red, time had not changed it. her face was dark, the cheeks full, and the brow smooth. some of the merchants told that she was sixty years of age and others laughed and said she was but forty; but they spoke of her in whispers, for they seemed to think that she was ill to deal with and not more than ordinary canny. aud went to where she sat and made her welcome to iceland. thorgunna did the honours of the ship. so for a while they carried it on, praising and watching each other, in the way of women. but aud was a little vessel to contain a great longing, and presently the cry of her heart came out of her. "the folk say," says she, "you have the finest women's things that ever came to iceland?" and as she spoke her eyes grew big. "it would be strange if i had not," quoth thorgunna. "queens have no finer." so aud begged that she might see them. thorgunna looked on her askance. "truly," said she, "the things are for no use but to be shown." so she fetched a chest and opened it. here was a cloak of the rare scarlet laid upon with silver, beautiful beyond belief; hard by was a silver brooch of basket work that was wrought as fine as any shell and was as broad as the face of the full moon; and aud saw the clothes lying folded in the chest, of all the colours of the day, and fire, and precious gems; and her heart burned with envy. so, because she had so huge a mind to buy, she began to make light of the merchandise. "they are good enough things," says she, "though i have better in my chest at home. it is a good enough cloak, and i am in need of a new cloak." at that she fingered the scarlet, and the touch of the fine stuff went to her mind like singing. "come," says she, "if it were only for your civility in showing it, what will you have for your cloak?" "woman," said thorgunna, "i am no merchant." and she closed the chest and locked it, like one angry. then aud fell to protesting and caressing her. that was aud's practice; for she thought if she hugged and kissed a person none could say her nay. next she went to flattery, said she knew the things were too noble for the like of her--they were made for a stately, beautiful woman like thorgunna; and at that she kissed her again, and thorgunna seemed a little pleased. and now aud pled poverty and begged for the cloak in a gift; and now she vaunted the wealth of her goodman and offered ounces and ounces of fine silver, the price of three men's lives. thorgunna smiled, but it was a grim smile, and still she shook her head. at last aud wrought herself into extremity and wept. "i would give my soul for it," she cried. "fool!" said thorgunna. "but there have been fools before you!" and a little after, she said this: "let us be done with beseeching. the things are mine. i was a fool to show you them; but where is their use, unless we show them? mine they are and mine they shall be till i die. i have paid for them dear enough," said she. aud saw it was of no avail; so she dried her tears, and asked thorgunna about her voyage, and made believe to listen while she plotted in her little mind. "thorgunna," she asked presently, "do you count kin with any folk in iceland?" "i count kin with none," replied thorgunna. "my kin is of the greatest, but i have not been always lucky, so i say the less." "so that you have no house to pass the time in till the ship return?" cries aud. "dear thorgunna, you must come and live with us. my goodman is rich, his hand and his house are open, and i will cherish you like a daughter." at that thorgunna smiled on the one side; but her soul laughed within her at the woman's shallowness. "i will pay her for that word _daughter_," she thought, and she smiled again. "i will live with you gladly," says she, "for your house has a good name, and i have seen the smoke of your kitchen from the ship. but one thing you shall understand. i make no presents, i give nothing where i go--not a rag and not an ounce. where i stay, i work for my upkeep; and as i am strong as a man and hardy as an ox, they that have had the keeping of me were the better pleased." it was a hard job for aud to keep her countenance, for she was like to have wept. and yet she felt it would be unseemly to eat her invitation; and like a shallow woman and one that had always led her husband by the nose, she told herself she would find some means to cajole thorgunna and come by her purpose after all. so she put a good face on the thing, had thorgunna into the boat, her and her two great chests, and brought her home with her to the hall by the beach. all the way in she made much of the wife; and when they were arrived gave her a locked bed-place in the hall, where was a bed, a table, and a stool, and space for the two chests. "this shall be yours while you stay here," said aud. and she attended on her guest. now thorgunna opened the second chest and took out her bedding--sheets of english linen, the like of it never seen, a cover of quilted silk, and curtains of purple wrought with silver. at the sight of these aud was like one distracted, greed blinded her mind; the cry rose strong in her throat, it must out. "what will you sell your bedding for?" she cried, and her cheeks were hot. thorgunna looked upon her with a dusky countenance. "truly you are a courteous hostess," said she, "but i will not sleep on straw for your amusement." at that aud's two ears grew hot as her cheeks; and she took thorgunna at her word; and left her from that time in peace. the woman was as good as her spoken word. inside the house and out she wrought like three, and all that she put her hand to was well done. when she milked, the cows yielded beyond custom; when she made hay, it was always dry weather; when she took her turn at the cooking, the folk licked their spoons. her manners when she pleased were outside imitation, like one that had sat with kings in their high buildings. it seemed she was pious too, and the day never passed but she was in the church there praying. the rest was not so well. she was of few words, and never one about her kin and fortunes. gloom sat on her brow, and she was ill to cross. behind her back they gave her the name of the waif woman or the wind wife; to her face it must always be thorgunna. and if any of the young men called her _mother_, she would speak no more that day, but sit apart in the hall and mutter with her lips. "this is a queer piece of goods that we have gotten," says finnward keelfarer, "i wish we get no harm by her! but the good wife's pleasure must be done," said he, which was his common word. when she was at work, thorgunna wore the rudest of plain clothes, though ever clean as a cat; but at night in the hall she was more dainty, for she loved to be admired. no doubt she made herself look well, and many thought she was a comely woman still, and to those she was always favourable and full of pleasant speech. but the more that some pleased her, it was thought by good judges that they pleased aud the less. when midsummer was past, a company of young men upon a journey came to the house by frodis water. that was always a great day for aud, when there were gallants at table; and what made this day the greater, alf of the fells was in the company, and she thought alf fancied her. so be sure aud wore her best. but when thorgunna came from the bed-place, she was arrayed like any queen and the broad brooch was in her bosom. all night in the hall these women strove with each other; and the little maid, asdis, looked on, and was ashamed and knew not why. but thorgunna pleased beyond all; she told of strange things that had befallen in the world; when she pleased she had the cue to laughter; she sang, and her voice was full and her songs new in that island; and whenever she turned, the eyes shone in her face and the brooch glittered at her bosom. so that the young men forgot the word of the merchants as to the woman's age, and their looks followed her all night. aud was sick with envy. sleep fled her; her husband slept, but she sat upright beside him in the bed, and gnawed her fingers. now she began to hate thorgunna, and the glittering of the great brooch stood before her in the dark. "sure," she thought, "it must be the glamour of that brooch! she is not so fair as i; she is as old as the dead in the hillside; and as for her wit and her songs, it is little i think of them!" up she got at that, took a light from the embers, and came to her guest's bed-place. the door was locked, but aud had a master-key and could go in. inside, the chests were open, and in the top of one the light of her taper shone upon the glittering of the brooch. as a dog snatches food she snatched it, and turned to the bed. thorgunna lay on her side; it was to be thought she slept, but she talked the while to herself, and her lips moved. it seemed her years returned to her in slumber, for her face was grey and her brow knotted; and the open eyes of her stared in the eyes of aud. the heart of the foolish woman died in her bosom; but her greed was the stronger, and she fled with that which she had stolen. when she was back in bed, the word of thorgunna came to her mind, that these things were for no use but to be shown. here she had the brooch and the shame of it, and might not wear it. so all night she quaked with the fear of discovery, and wept tears of rage that she should have sinned in vain. day came, and aud must rise; but she went about the house like a crazy woman. she saw the eyes of asdis rest on her strangely, and at that she beat the maid. she scolded the house folk, and, by her way of it, nothing was done aright. first she was loving to her husband and made much of him, thinking to be on his good side when trouble came. then she took a better way, picked a feud with him, and railed on the poor man till his ears rang, so that he might be in the wrong beforehand. the brooch she hid without, in the side of a hayrick. all this while thorgunna lay in the bed-place, which was not her way, for by custom she was early astir. at last she came forth, and there was that in her face that made all the house look one at the other and the heart of aud to be straitened. never a word the guest spoke, not a bite she swallowed, and they saw the strong shudderings take and shake her in her place. yet a little, and still without speech, back she went into her bad-place, and the door was shut. "that is a sick wife," said finnward, "her weird has come on her." and at that the heart of aud was lifted up with hope. all day thorgunna lay on her bed, and the next day sent for finnward. "finnward keelfarer," said she, "my trouble is come upon me, and i am at the end of my days." he made the customary talk. "i have had my good things; now my hour is come; and let suffice," quoth she. "i did not send for you to hear your prating." finnward knew not what to answer, for he saw her soul was dark. "i sent for you on needful matters," she began again. "i die here--i!--in this black house, in a bleak island, far from all decency and proper ways of man; and now my treasure must be left. small pleasure have i had of it, and leave it with the less!" cried she. "good woman, as the saying is, needs must," says finnward, for he was nettled with that speech. "for that i called you," quoth thorgunna. "in these two chests are much wealth and things greatly to be desired. i wish my body to be laid in skalaholt in the new church, where i trust to hear the mass-priests singing over my head so long as time endures. to that church i will you to give what is sufficient, leaving your conscience judge of it. my scarlet cloak with the silver, i will to that poor fool your wife. she longed for it so bitterly, i may not even now deny her. give her the brooch as well. i warn you of her; i was such as she, only wiser; i warn you, the ground she stands upon is water, and whoso trusts her leans on rottenness. i hate her and i pity her. when she comes to lie where i lie--" there she broke off. "the rest of my goods i leave to your blackeyed maid, young asdis, for her slim body and clean mind. only the things of my bed, you shall see burned." "it is well," said finnward. "it may be well," quoth she, "if you obey. my life has been a wonder to all and a fear to many. while i lived none thwarted me and prospered. see to it that none thwart me after i am dead. it stands upon your safety." "it stands upon my honour," quoth finnward, "and i have the name of an honourable man." "you have the name of a weak one," says thorgunna. "look to it, look to it, finnward. your house shall rue it else." "the rooftree of my house is my word," said finnward. "and that is a true saying," says the woman. "see to it, then. the speech of thorgunna is ended." with that she turned her face against the wall and finnward left her. the same night, in the small hours of the clock, thorgunna passed. it was a wild night for summer, and the wind sang about the eaves and clouds covered the moon, when the dark woman wended. from that day to this no man has learned her story or her people's name; but be sure the one was stormy and the other great. she had come to that isle, a waif woman, on a ship; thence she flitted, and no more remained of her but her heavy chests and her big body. in the morning the house women streaked and dressed the corpse. then came finnward, and carried the sheets and curtains from the house, and caused build a fire upon the sands. but aud had an eye on her man's doings. "and what is this that you are at?" said she. so he told her. "burn the good sheets!" she cried. "and where would i be with my two hands? no, troth," said aud, "not so long as your wife is above ground!" "good wife," said finnward, "this is beyond your province. here is my word pledged and the woman dead i pledged it to. so much the more am i bound. let me be doing as i must, goodwife." "tilly-valley!" says she, "and a fiddlestick's end, goodman! you may know well about fishing and be good at shearing sheep for what i know; but you are little of a judge of damask sheets. and the best word i can say is just this," she says, laying hold of one end of the goods, "that if ye are made up to burn the plenishing, you must burn your wife along with it." "i trust it will not go so hard," says finnward, "and i beg you not to speak so loud and let the house folk hear you." "let them speak low that are ashamed!" cries aud. "i speak only in reason." "you are to consider that the woman died in my house," says finnward, "and this was her last behest. in truth, goodwife, if i were to fail, it is a thing that would stick long in my throat, and would give us an ill name with the neighbours." "and you are to consider," says she, "that i am your true wife and worth all the witches ever burnt, and loving her old husband"--here she put her arms about his neck. "and you are to consider that what you wish to do is to destroy fine stuff, such as we have no means of replacing; and that she bade you do it singly to spite me, for i sought to buy this bedding from her while she was alive at her own price; and that she hated me because i was young and handsome." "that is a true word that she hated you, for she said so herself before she wended," says finnward. "so that here is an old faggot that hated me, and she dead as a bucket," says aud; "and here is a young wife that loves you dear, and is alive forby"--and at that she kissed him--"and the point is, which are you to do the will of?" the man's weakness caught him hard, and he faltered. "i fear some hurt will come of it," said he. there she cut in, and bade the lads tread out the fire, and the lasses roll the bed-stuff up and carry it within. "my dear," says he, "my honour--this is against my honour." but she took his arm under hers, and caressed his hand, and kissed his knuckles, and led him down the bay. "bubble-bubble-bubble!" says she, imitating him like a baby, though she was none so young. "bubble-bubble, and a silly old man! we must bury the troll wife, and here is trouble enough, and a vengeance! horses will sweat for it before she comes to skalaholt; 'tis my belief she was a man in a woman's habit. and so now, have done, good man, and let us get her waked and buried, which is more than she deserves, or her old duds are like to pay for. and when that is ended, we can consult upon the rest." so finnward was but too well pleased to put it off. the next day they set forth early for skalaholt across the heaths. it was heavy weather, and grey overhead; the horses sweated and neighed, and the men went silent, for it was nowhere in their minds that the dead wife was canny. only aud talked by the way, like a silly sea-gull piping on a cliff, and the rest held their peace. the sun went down before they were across whitewater; and the black night fell on them this side of netherness. at netherness they beat upon the door. the goodman was not abed nor any of his folk, but sat in the hall talking; and to them finnward made clear his business. "i will never deny you a roof," said the goodman of netherness. "but i have no food ready, and if you cannot be doing without meat, you must e'en fare farther." they laid the body in a shed, made fast their horses, and came into the house, and the door was closed again. so there they sat about the lights, and there was little said, for they were none so well pleased with their reception. presently, in the place where the food was kept, began a clattering of dishes; and it fell to a bondman of the house to go and see what made the clatter. he was no sooner gone than he was back again; and told it was a big, buxom woman, high in flesh and naked as she was born, setting meats upon a dresser. finnward grew pale as the dawn; he got to his feet, and the rest rose with him, and all the party of the funeral came to the buttery-door. and the dead thorgunna took no heed of their coming, but went on setting forth meats, and seemed to talk with herself as she did so; and she was naked to the buff. great fear fell upon them; the marrow of their back grew cold. not one word they spoke, neither good nor bad; but back into the hall, and down upon their bended knees, and to their prayers. "now, in the name of god, what ails you?" cried the goodman of netherness. and when they had told him, shame fell upon him for his churlishness. "the dead wife reproves me," said the honest man. and he blessed himself and his house, and caused spread the tables, and they all ate of the meats that the dead wife laid out. this was the first walking of thorgunna, and it is thought by good judges it would have been the last as well, if men had been more wise. the next day they came to skalaholt, and there was the body buried, and the next after they set out for home. finnward's heart was heavy, and his mind divided. he feared the dead wife and the living; he feared dishonour and he feared dispeace; and his will was like a sea-gull in the wind. now he cleared his throat and made as if to speak; and at that aud cocked her eye and looked at the goodman mocking, and his voice died unborn. at the last, shame gave him courage. "aud," said he, "yon was a most uncanny thing at netherness." "no doubt," said aud. "i have never had it in my mind," said he, "that yon woman was the thing she should be." "i dare say not," said aud. "i never thought so either." "it stands beyond question she was more than canny," says finnward, shaking his head. "no manner of doubt but what she was ancient of mind." "she was getting pretty old in body, too," says aud. "wife," says he, "it comes in upon me strongly this is no kind of woman to disobey; above all, being dead and her walking. i think, wife, we must even do as she commanded." "now what is ever your word?" says she, riding up close and setting her hand upon his shoulder. "'the goodwife's pleasure must be done'; is not that my finnward?" "the good god knows i grudge you nothing," cried finnward. "but my blood runs cold upon this business. worse will come of it!" he cried, "worse will flow from it!" "what is this todo?" cries aud. "here is an old brimstone hag that should have been stoned with stones, and hated me besides. vainly she tried to frighten me when she was living; shall she frighten me now when she is dead and rotten? i trow not. think shame to your beard, goodman! are these a man's shoes i see you shaking in, when your wife rides by your bridle-hand, as bold as nails?" "ay, ay," quoth finnward. "but there goes a byword in the country: little wit, little fear." at this aud began to be concerned, for he was usually easier to lead. so now she tried the other method on the man. "is that your word?" cried she. "i kiss the hands of ye! if i have not wit enough, i can rid you of my company. wit is it he seeks?" she cried. "the old broomstick that we buried yesterday had wit for you." so she rode on ahead and looked not the road that he was on. poor finnward followed on his horse, but the light of the day was gone out, for his wife was like his life to him. he went six miles and was true to his heart; but the seventh was not half through when he rode up to her. "is it to be the goodwife's pleasure?" she asked. "aud, you shall have your way," says he; "god grant there come no ill of it!" so she made much of him, and his heart was comforted. when they came to the house, aud had the two chests to her own bed-place, and gloated all night on what she found. finnward looked on, and trouble darkened his mind. "wife," says he at last, "you will not forget these things belong to asdis?" at that she barked upon him like a dog. "am i a thief?" she cried. "the brat shall have them in her turn when she grows up. would you have me give her them now to turn her minx's head with?" so the weak man went his way out of the house in sorrow and fell to his affairs. those that wrought with him that day observed that now he would labour and toil like a man furious, and now would sit and stare like one stupid; for in truth he judged the business would end ill. for a while there was no more done and no more said. aud cherished her treasures by herself, and none was the wiser except finnward. only the cloak she sometimes wore, for that was hers by the will of the dead wife; but the others she let lie, because she knew she had them foully, and she feared finnward somewhat and thorgunna much. at last husband and wife were bound to bed one night, and he was the first stripped and got in. "what sheets are these?" he screamed, as his legs touched them, for these were smooth as water, but the sheets of iceland were like sacking. "clean sheets, i suppose," says aud, but her hand quavered as she wound her hair. "woman!" cried finnward, "these are the bed-sheets of thorgunna--these are the sheets she died in! do not lie to me!" at that aud turned and looked at him. "well?" says she, "they have been washed." finnward lay down again in the bed between thorgunna's sheets, and groaned; never a word more he said, for now he knew he was a coward and a man dishonoured. presently his wife came beside him, and they lay still, but neither slept. it might be twelve in the night when aud felt finnward shudder so strong that the bed shook. "what ails you?" said she. "i know not," he said. "it is a chill like the chill of death. my soul is sick with it." his voice fell low. "it was so thorgunna sickened," said he. and he arose and walked in the hall in the dark till it came morning. early in the morning he went forth to the sea-fishing with four lads. aud was troubled at heart and watched him from the door, and even as he went down the beach she saw him shaken with thorgunna's shudder. it was a rough day, the sea was wild, the boat laboured exceedingly, and it may be that finnward's mind was troubled with his sickness. certain it is that they struck, and their boat was burst, upon a skerry under snowfellness. the four lads were spilled into the sea, and the sea broke and buried them, but finnward was cast upon the skerry, and clambered up, and sat there all day long: god knows his thoughts. the sun was half-way down, when a shepherd went by on the cliffs about his business, and spied a man in the midst of the breach of the loud seas, upon a pinnacle of reef. he hailed him, and the man turned and hailed again. there was in that cove so great a clashing of the seas and so shrill a cry of sea-fowl that the herd might hear the voice and nor the words. but the name thorgunna came to him, and he saw the face of finnward keelfarer like the face of an old man. lively ran the herd to finnward's house; and when his tale was told there, eyolf the boy was lively to out a boat and hasten to his father's aid. by the strength of hands they drove the keel against the seas, and with skill and courage eyolf won upon the skerry and climbed up, there sat his father dead; and this was the first vengeance of thorgunna against broken faith. it was a sore job to get the corpse on board, and a sorer yet to bring it home before the rolling seas. but the lad eyolf was a lad of promise, and the lads that pulled for him were sturdy men. so the break-faith's body was got home, and waked, and buried on the hill. aud was a good widow and wept much, for she liked finnward well enough. yet a bird sang in her ears that now she might marry a young man. little fear that she might have her choice of them, she thought, with all thorgunna's fine things; and her heart was cheered. now, when the corpse was laid in the hill, asdis came where aud sat solitary in hall, and stood by her awhile without speech. "well, child?" says aud; and again "well?" and then "keep us holy, if you have anything to say, out with it!" so the maid came so much nearer, "mother," says she, "i wish you would not wear these things that were thorgunna's." "aha," cries aud. "this is what it is? you begin early, brat! and who has been poisoning your mind? your fool of a father, i suppose." and then she stopped and went all scarlet. "who told you they were yours?" she asked again, taking it all the higher for her stumble. "when you are grown, then you shall have your share and not a day before. these things are not for babies." the child looked at her and was amazed. "i do not wish them," she said. "i wish they might be burned." "upon my word, what next?" cried aud. "and why should they be burned?" "i know my father tried to burn these things," said asdis, "and he named thorgunna's name upon the skerry ere he died. and, o mother, i doubt they have brought ill luck." but the more aud was terrified, the more she would make light of it. then the girl put her hand upon her mother's. "i fear they are ill come by," said she. the blood sprang in aud's face. "and who made you a judge upon your mother that bore you?" cried she. "kinswoman," said asdis, looking down, "i saw you with the brooch." "what do you mean? when? where did you see me?" cried the mother. "here in the hall," said asdis, looking on the floor, "the night you stole it." at that aud let out a cry. then she heaved up her hand to strike the child. "you little spy!" she cried. then she covered her face, and wept, and rocked herself. "what can you know?" she cried. "how can you understand, that are a baby, not so long weaned? he could--your father could, the dear good man, dead and gone! he could understand and pity, he was good to me. now he has left me alone with heartless children! asdis," she cried, "have you no nature in your blood? you do not know what i have done and suffered for them. i have done--oh, and i could have done anything! and there is your father dead. and after all, you ask me not to use them? no woman in iceland has the like. and you wish me to destroy them? not if the dead should rise!" she cried. "no, no," and she stopped her ears, "not if the dead should rise, and let that end it!" so she ran into her bed-place, and clapped at the door, and left the child amazed. but for all aud spoke with so much passion, it was noticed that for long she left the things unused. only she would be locked somewhile daily in her bed-place, where she pored on them and secretly wore them for her pleasure. now winter was at hand; the days grew short and the nights long; and under the golden face of morning the isle would stand silver with frost. word came from holyfell to frodis water of a company of young men upon a journey; that night they supped at holyfell, the next it would be at frodis water; and alf of the fells was there, and thongbrand ketilson, and hall the fair. aud went early to her bed-place, and there she pored upon these fineries till her heart was melted with self-love. there was a kirtle of a mingled colour, and the blue shot into the green, and the green lightened from the blue, as the colours play in the ocean between deeps and shallows: she thought she could endure to live no longer and not wear it. there was a bracelet of an ell long, wrought like a serpent and with fiery jewels for the eyes; she saw it shine on her white arm and her head grew dizzy with desire. "ah!" she thought, "never were fine lendings better met with a fair wearer." and she closed her eyelids, and she thought she saw herself among the company and the men's eyes go after her admiring. with that she considered that she must soon marry one of them and wondered which; and she thought alf was perhaps the best, or hall the fair, but was not certain, and then she remembered finnward keelfarer in his cairn upon the hill, and was concerned. "well, he was a good husband to me," she thought, "and i was a good wife to him. but that is an old song now." so she turned again to handling the stuffs and jewels. at last she got to bed in the smooth sheets, and lay, and fancied how she would look, and admired herself, and saw others admire her, and told herself stories, till her heart grew warm and she chuckled to herself between the sheets. so she shook awhile with laughter; and then the mirth abated but not the shaking; and a grue took hold upon her flesh, and the cold of the grave upon her belly, and the terror of death upon her soul. with that a voice was in her ear: "it was so thorgunna sickened." thrice in the night the chill and the terror took her, and thrice it passed away; and when she rose on the morrow, death had breathed upon her countenance. she saw the house folk and her children gaze upon her; well she knew why! she knew her day was come, and the last of her days, and her last hour was at her back; and it was so in her soul that she scarce minded. all was lost, all was past mending, she would carry on until she fell. so she went as usual, and hurried the feast for the young men, and railed upon her house folk, but her feet stumbled, and her voice was strange in her own ears, and the eyes of the folk fled before her. at times, too, the chill took her and the fear along with it; and she must sit down, and the teeth beat together in her head, and the stool tottered on the floor. at these times, she thought she was passing, and the voice of thorgunna sounded in her ear: "the things are for no use but to be shown," it said. "aud, aud, have you shown them once? no, not once!" and at the sting of the thought her courage and strength would revive, and she would rise again and move about her business. now the hour drew near, and aud went to her bed-place, and did on the bravest of her finery, and came forth to greet her guests. was never woman in iceland robed as she was. the words of greeting were yet between her lips, when the shuddering fell upon her strong as labour, and a horror as deep as hell. her face was changed amidst her finery, and the faces of her guests were changed as they beheld her: fear puckered their brows, fear drew back their feet; and she took her doom from the looks of them, and fled to her bed-place. there she flung herself on the wife's coverlet, and turned her face against the wall. that was the end of all the words of aud; and in the small hours on the clock her spirit wended. asdis had come to and fro, seeing if she might help, where was no help possible of man or woman. it was light in the bed-place when the maid returned, for a taper stood upon a chest. there lay aud in her fine clothes, and there by her side on the bed the big dead wife thorgunna squatted on her hams. no sound was heard, but it seemed by the movement of her mouth as if thorgunna sang, and she waved her arms as if to singing. "god be good to us!" cried asdis, "she is dead." "dead," said the dead wife. "is the weird passed?" cried asdis. "when the sin is done the weird is dreed," said thorgunna, and with that she was not. but the next day eyolf and asdis caused build a fire on the shore betwixt tide-marks. there they burned the bed-clothes, and the clothes, and the jewels, and the very boards of the waif woman's chests; and when the tide returned it washed away their ashes. so the weird of thorgunna was lifted from the house on frodis water. printed by billing and sons, limited guildford, england. hadda padda by godmunder kamban foreword the value of this play lies in the fact that, beneath the surface, it vibrates with the quivering, intensely pulsating forces of life. the speeches breathe. the leading characters not only have perspicuity, but each has its own representative melodic theme. there is as music under the text, a constant accompaniment of exquisite passion, rising, sinking, and now rising once more, in a struggle with vacillating sensual pleasure and base inclination to supersede others. around the simple action there is an atmosphere of poetry. the play opens with the superstition of olden times, in the old nurse's tale about the life-egg, suggested to her by a crystal ball, with which the sisters are playing. modern superstition is woven into the beautiful scene, where hadda padda, with heroically mastered despair, meets the herborist who talks of her plants in a calm poetic manner, reminiscent of the way ophelia speaks of the flowers she has picked and collected. the drama stands or falls with hadda padda, that is to say, it stands. she holds it with a firm hand, as the saint in the old paintings bears the church. in her, the iceland of ancient and modern times meets. she has more warmth, more kindness of heart, more womanly affection, than any antique figure from a saga. she gives herself completely, resignedly. she is tender and she is mild, without being meek. in her inmost self, however, she is proud. when first this pride is touched, then hurt, and finally the very woman in her is mortally wounded, it is at once perceptible that she descends from the strong, wild women of olden times. the wildness has become resolution, the pride has become poise, the strength has remained unchanged. she plays with life and death like the heroes of a thousand years ago. she faces death without flinching, and despite all her goodness, her delicacy, her kindly love for the old and the young, for the humble and the poor, for animals and plants, at the bottom of her nature she is heathen. in life's last moments, with death and revenge in mind, she can still pretend, invent, dupe. such profound and exquisite womanhood, such inflexible masculine will, have hardly ever been seen combined on the stage before. georg brandes. introduction iceland has always been famous for the quality of her literature, although nowadays but little of it comes to our shores. it is, therefore, an especial pleasure to introduce the author of "hadda padda." godmundur kamban, son of a merchant of an old and well known icelandic family, was born near reykjavik, the capital of iceland, on june 8, 1888. he was graduated twenty-two years later from the college of reykjavik, where he received honoris causa in literature and language, the first and only time this prize has ever been awarded. while still at college, he was made assistant editor of the best known newspaper in iceland, edited by bjorn jonsson, the late prime minister, in whose home mr. kamban lived during his college career. in 1910, he proceeded to the university of copenhagen, where he specialized in literature and received his master's degree. in copenhagen, peter jerndorff, the famous acteur royal, practically regarded him as his own son. under jerndorff's direction for five years, he obtained that thorough dramatic education which is so essential to the fastidious scandinavian theatre, and to which ibsen also served an apprenticeship. "hadda padda," mr. kamban's first dramatic work, was written in denmark in 1912, while he was still a student at the university of copenhagen. originally written in icelandic, it was translated into danish and submitted to the royal theatre, a fortress difficult of access to the newcomer. this theatre did not even fully recognise such masters as ibsen and bjornson until they stood on the heights of achievement. our author was but twenty-four years old, unknown, and offering his first play. from the outset "hadda padda" caused the directors unexpected trouble. it took them four times as long as usual to come to a decision. they finally accepted it "on account of its literary merit," but without any obligation on their part to produce it, as the scenery of the last act was of "such daring and dangerous character." there was but one thing to do and mr. kamban did it. his play was published by gyldendal, the most distinguished of the scandinavian publishers. he sent a copy to georg brandes, as do thousands of authors from all parts of the world. next evening he received a letter from the great critic, telling him that he had read the play, and asking mr. kamban to call on him at his home. a few days later, when he spent four hours with brandes at and after table, the latter told him that he received on an average twelve volumes a day from different authors of every nationality, and were he to do nothing else, he could not read even one twelfth of them. "but i am going to write an article about your play," he concluded. thus was mr. kamban's place as an artist assured. in spite of the unanimous recognition the play received from the press, the theatre still refused to produce it, as nearly all the authorities agreed that it would be "hardly possible to stage." finally, the new chief of the theatre, count f. brockenhuus-schack, determined to carry the matter through. the author then undertook to stage the play, designed the scenes, and arranged the mise-en-scene to the minutest detail. on november 14, 1914, the first performance took place. he sat in the latticed author's box. the first three acts went smoothly, interrupted at times by applause. the fourth act, the one talked about and difficult, was still to come. the fate of the play depended on this act. the curtain rose, and with the slowness of life the act proceeded. the silence of the audience was uncanny. toward the end, the foremost theatrical critic of the city rose to his feet and raised his hand as if in horror. the curtain fell. not a hand stirred. a whole minute elapsed and mr. kamban left the box, refusing to himself to admit the failure. then suddenly a wild enthusiasm broke loose and lasted several minutes. according to the regulations--unique in europe--of the royal theatre, the curtain may not be raised for any author or actor except at a jubilee. the public, however, refused to leave the theatre till the manager had escorted mr. kamban to the dais in front of the curtain, and there he expressed his thanks to the audience. after four months in copenhagen, "hadda padda" toured the scandinavian countries, and preparations were being made for its production in germany, when the war broke out, and the german theatres were indefinitely closed to foreign dramatists. that is why, two years ago, he came to america. k. characters skuli, the town judge. lady anna, his wife. hrafnhild, called hadda padda; kristrun; their daughters. little skuli, their grandson. rannveig, hadda padda's nurse. the sheriff of breidabol. lady margaret, his wife. ingolf, law student; olof; their children. steindor, olof's husband, the sheriff's secretary. sigga; doddi; magga; steindor's and olof's children. an herborist. native and foreign summer tourists. there is an interval of a year between acts i and ii; of a week between acts ii and iii. one night elapses between acts iii and iv. place: iceland. time: present. hadda padda act i (a luxuriously furnished drawing-room in the house of the town judge. on the right, in front, a door. in the middle rear an open door draped with rich, heavy, deep-red curtains. on the left a large window. in the corner, between the window and the door, a grand piano, behind which stands a palm, the leaves spreading over the piano. in front, on the left, a divan. alongside of it is a pedestal with a black terra cotta statue on it.) (hadda padda and kristrun are sitting toward the front, in large deep arm-chairs, throwing a crystal ball to each other. near by is a small table, covered with a piece of velvet, on which the ball had lain. hadda padda is very sunburnt.) rannveig [enters from behind. she is knitting, keeping the ball of yarn under her arm. she is dressed in an icelandic costume]. take care! don't drop the ball! [drops a stitch, takes it up again--smiles.] who knows--maybe it is your life-egg, children! kristrun. life-egg!... is that a fairy-tale? rannveig. haven't you ever heard it? come, let me tell you about it. [takes a chair and sits down beside them.] once upon a time there lived two giantesses who were sisters. one day, they lured a young prince to them. they let the prince sleep under a coverlet woven of gold, while they themselves slept under one woven of silver. when at last the prince pledged himself in marriage to one of them, he made them tell him how they spent the day in the forest. they went hunting deer and birds, and when they rested, they sat down under an oak, and threw their life-egg to each other. if they broke it they both would die. the next day, the prince went to the forest, and saw the sisters sitting there, under the oak. one of them was holding a golden egg in her hand, and just as she tossed it into the air, he hurled his spear. it hit the egg, and broke it--the giantesses fell down, dead. kristrun. brave giantesses who dared to treat your sacred possession so heedlessly! rannveig. one does not hear the footstep of vengeance. it came to them unexpectedly. kristrun. how i wish my whole fate were held in this ball. rannveig. what would you do if it were? kristrun. i would lay it gently in the hand of the man i loved, saying: take it to a safe place!--and i would shut my eyes--while he were searching for the place. rannveig. if my sister were here, perhaps she could read your fate in the ball, both the past and the future... who knows, but the whole universe may be mirrored in this one glass globe. kristrun. that's your favorite superstition. [smiling surreptitiously.] tell me, veiga--haven't you a life-egg? [turns abruptly from her, throwing the ball to hadda.] rannveig [evasively]. i had one once.... kristrun [catching the ball]. then you haven't it any more? rannveig. no. kristrun. and you are still alive? rannveig. he who lived once in happiness dies twice. [sees the sisters throw the ball faster and faster.] don't throw the ball so carelessly. kristrun. be calm. the prince won't come. and even if he came--do you think we have the same life-egg, i and hrafnhild? rannveig. now stop making fun of me! the ball may hit you in the face--there now!--that's enough!--you nearly dazed my hadda. it is strange to like to do this. [picks up the ball, and puts it back on the velvet.] kristrun. tell me, veiga, perhaps your life-egg was a young man's heart.... rannveig. we won't talk about it any more. kristrun. and how did it break? rannveig [enraged]. at least i didn't play with it. _i_ never played with anybody else's feelings. kristrun. there--there, don't snarl so, you're simply barking--bow, wow! rannveig [furious]. how many have you made fools of already? kristrun. let me see--. [counts on her fingers.] one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, [throws off one shoe, and counts on her toes] eleven... twelve... thirteen--ah! here's a hole in my stocking. thirteen! thirteen, veiga dear! the unlucky number! wonderful! i'll never throw him over! rannveig. you're horribly flippant, kristrun. kristrun [sits down at the small table, shades her face as she looks into the ball]. fancy, veiga, i see your whole fate in the ball. rannveig. leave the crystal alone, it won't hurt you. kristrun. as sure as i live--i can see the most trivial events in your life. i see you by day, in this room here, when your nose begins to itch, and you steal into the kitchen to take a pinch of snuff. i see.... [looks up; rannveig has come up to her, and is about to strike her.] kristrun [slipping away from her]. look out, the snuff is dripping from your nose! [runs out, rannveig shuts the door behind her, and turns around. she passes her finger under her nose, looks at it, shakes her head.] hadda padda. you and runa don't seem to get on any better since i've been away. rannveig. we have never gotten along together.... i don't understand the young people nowadays. they are merely butterflies--all of them. hadda padda. you once told me, dear, that sometime in every one's life there comes a wishing hour. maybe runa had hers when she wished for the joy of living. rannveig. it's a strange joy then, to want to make other people miserable! to use the beauty god has given her, against those who cannot resist it.... why do you suppose the new engineer has stopped coming here since the son of the chief justice returned from copenhagen--and he seemed like such a sweet boy too! it is not the first or the second time she has changed her mind. hadda padda. when a true and deep love comes to her, she will not change her mind. rannveig. it's no use to stand up for her; she wheedles them all. hadda padda. but still you told me, dear, that you would be fonder of me if i did not marry. rannveig. how can you say that, hadda dear? i said that marriage doesn't always bring happiness. hadda padda. i know. you told me that only to console me, because i am now twenty-six years old. runa is nineteen, prettier than most girls, and a wild little imp, surrounded by young men all the time. and they play upon her vanity only to make her cruel. [stands up.] rannveig. at her age you were prettier, and are, still, but you were not like that. no, she hasn't your character. kristrun [enters from behind]. the prince is coming! [rannveig gathers her knitting, and drops the yarn. kristrun jumps at it like a cat, and catches it.] now i'll dance for you, veiga dear. [she whirls around her, singing, yarn in hand, twisting the thread around the old woman. they listen for footsteps. rannveig slips out, on the right, entangled in the yarn, kristrun following.] ingolf [enters. like hadda, he is sunburnt]. hadda padda. how do you do! you promised to be here earlier, dear. [kisses him.] ingolf. what time is it? [about to take out his watch.] hadda padda [catching his hands]. i don't know. but i felt the moment slipping by, when you should have been here. ingolf [kisses her again]. hadda padda. while i was sitting there, in the arm-chair, waiting for you, i closed my eyes, and do you know what i saw? ingolf. no. hadda padda [pointing to the crystal]. i saw the crystal ball through my eyelashes. ingolf [smiling]. then you did not close your eyes-hadda padda. no, i cheated. [they laugh.]... and then i began to throw the crystal ball to runa, do you know why? ingolf. no--? hadda padda. so as to lure back an old recollection.... do you remember, it was your last winter at the latin school. one day you came home, and we two were alone in the room here, you took the ball, threw it to me, and called: wishing--! i caught it, and said:--stone! and so we continued to play, till you called hadda! i didn't quite follow your trick at first, but caught the word: padda! then you laughed and said: from now on, you shall never be called anything but hadda padda. do you remember? ingolf. i do. hadda padda. everybody calls me that now, except my nurse. rannveig [peeping in through the curtain]. don't let me hear that name. hf! padda! that's an insect! [disappears.] hadda padda [walks gently forth, and rolls the door back]. then i asked you what christening gift i was to have. you gave me your first kiss. ingolf [sits down on the divan, takes hadda on his knee]. hadda padda! you don't know how i love that name. you don't know how many times i have wrapped you in it, as in some fantastic mantle. after you had left copenhagen last spring, and i sat reading all the live-long day, until at last i went to bed, my lips did not close on your name, till my eyes had closed on your picture. hadda padda. you must never call me anything but that. each time you say it, it brings back the joy of your first kiss. ingolf. were you really in love with me then? hadda padda. you don't know?... then i did succeed in hiding it? ingolf. why did you hide it, hadda? why, i almost believed you bore me a grudge. you seemed to hold more aloof each day. hadda padda. and even that did not betray me? ingolf. why did you hide it, hadda? (footsteps are heard outside.) hadda padda [kisses ingolf hastily, gets up, and seats herself at his side, takes his hand]. don't you understand, dear, i was afraid of knowing the certainty. the stronger my love grew, the more carefully i had to hide it. i dared not risk those beautiful dream-children of uncertainty for a disguised certainty. whenever we talked together, and you looked up at me, i was startled. i thought you understood, and your hurried glance reached me only after the fear of seeing the answer in it. ingolf. you, the most sincere of women, could cherish so strong a love and seem so cold. hadda padda. now i have made too great a virtue of my love. some of my reserve was pride. just think, you lived with us during your entire schooltime, and in the summer sister and i were by turns at your home. we grew up, you, handsome and manly, and a lord of pleasures; and you always seemed to be careful not to pay me greater attention than the other girls, especially at parties. that was why i drew back.--i was eighteen, you were twenty; you were graduated and went abroad. and poor, proud little hadda padda was left alone. ingolf. poor proud little hadda padda. [they laugh.] hadda padda. then when you came back the next spring, it was kristrun's turn to go to the country. and since then, you have not been home during the summer. ingolf. and when you went to copenhagen the following winter, it just happened to be the only year i stayed home. hadda padda. then i thought it surely was the will of fate to separate us. but i loved you even more. i could not give up hope. not even when you wrote home, the year before last, that you had decided to live abroad. i got that news on the shortest day of the year. i watched the twilight darken into night until the very blackness swam before my eyes in blood-red spots. it was then i made up my mind to go. ingolf. yes, you came in the autumn. hadda padda. and it was not before december, at a meeting of the icelandic society--we sat alone, in an outer room. then i placed my fate in your hand. ingolf. then you placed your hand in mine. hadda padda. then i placed my life in your hand. i willed all my power into my hand and placed it in yours. that instant, nothing but my hand lived. had you thrust it away, i would not now be living. ingolf. how silently happiness steals upon us. we sat alone in the room, far from the din of the dance. then it came. i heard its tread in the quiver of your breath.... then i felt it in my hand. hadda padda. and yet you sat there immovable, and made the very seconds fight for my life. when i held your hand, i was afraid lest a single finger tremble--till you closed your hand around my wrist, and drew me to you. [she leans toward him.] ingolf. do you know what attracted me most to you? hadda padda. you don't know yourself. ingolf. why not...? hadda padda. because you love me. ingolf. but i think i know now. hadda padda. well, what is it? ingolf. the thing that kept us apart so long. hadda padda. and that is?... ingolf. your reticence. that awaiting attitude you just called pride. i have known other women. they came to me without first listening to my heart... but you did not. hadda padda. i looked into your eyes. i saw the flame in them increase, the longer they gazed at me. ingolf. the human heart is like the mountains: they give no echo if we get too near. hadda padda [lets herself slide down at ingolf's knees, so that he sits bending over her]. let me look at you for a long time.--how long your eyelashes are! each time you blink, it is as though invisible petals were sprinkled upon me. ingolf [closing her hands in his]. now you have no hands.... shall i give them to you again? [lets go, but looks at her one hand lying in his.] your nails have a tinge like that of ice in sunshine. hadda padda [withdraws her hand, laughing, and gets up]. i am just thinking... ingolf. what are you thinking? hadda padda [walks a few steps and stops behind him]. i was lying down outside in the garden to-day. i could not keep awake. i dreamed i stood outside the cathedral. it was dark inside, but all along the church floor, on either side, was a straight row of unlit candles. i remember all the white soft wicks, peeping half out, waiting for light. then a sudden gust of wind swept through the whole church, and as it grazed the wicks, all the candles were lighted. ingolf [keeps silent]. hadda padda. what do you think the dream means? i think it means happiness. ingolf. you must not deprive your dream of its beauty by interpreting it. hadda padda. happiness comes to us like a beautiful dream that we don't dare to interpret. ingolf. you have promised to trust me as much as you love me. hadda padda. i see the future mirrored in those days we lived together. ingolf. i love you, hadda padda. hadda padda. your words are the light, your caresses are the warmth. give me both, ingolf. kiss me. ingolf [kisses her]. hadda padda. and i should not trust you? has not a sacred hour welded our hearts together? and have you not placed your life in my hands?--do you remember last summer, when i visited your home, how you lowered me with a rope down the angelica gorge? i have not often lived so exquisite an hour. then i became quite foolhardy. when i came up again, i asked you to go down and let me hold the rope for you. ingolf. i hardly believed you were as strong as you are. hadda padda. if you had not had courage to go down by my hands, i am not quite sure that i could be so fond of you. i shall never forget that moment. i saw you come up again with an angelica crown on your head. i saw you rise up like a green-crowned sea-god from the deep.-ingolf. i can't bear the thought that i shall leave you in a few days. hadda padda [smiles]. ingolf. you smile? hadda padda. i am thinking of something. shall i tell you? little skuli [comes rushing in from the right]. hadda padda! have you seen--? ah, ingolf, are you here? [runs straight up to ingolf, catching hold of both his hands]. why did you leave home so soon, ingolf? ingolf. because i wanted to go to copenhagen. hadda padda. skuli dear, will you be a good boy and make me a ship? little skuli. oh no, not now. hadda padda. oh yes, your last ship was so well cut out, with great big masts. [pats him.] you're a dear. ingolf. then you'll be allowed to come along with us to the country next summer. hadda padda. and sit in front, on the sheriff's horse, many, many times. little skuli. then will the sheriff give me a sheep again? ingolf. yes, my little friend, father will give you a sheep, and i will give you one too; i'll give you one with pretty rounded horns. little skuli. does it butt? ingolf. o, of course not, it eats bread from your hand. little skuli. then i'll saw its horns off, and give them to sigga--she has lots of horns she plays sheep with. [laughter.] ingolf. well, are you going to make that ship? little skuli. are you the one who gets all hadda padda's ships? ingolf. well, i daresay i get most of them.--what makes you think so? little skuli. because, whenever she is with you, she always wants me to make ships. [ingolf and hadda look at each other and laugh.] ingolf. yes, she knows i am very fond of your ships. little skuli. then i'll make ships for you often. [runs out, ingolf and hadda still laughing.] ingolf. what was it you were going to tell me before? hadda padda. something that... ingolf. that..? hadda padda. that... ingolf. are you teasing me? rannveig [enters from the back, knitting, sits down]. what a lovely day it is. hadda padda. veiga, dear, you promised to darn my lilac stockings for me. i haven't any to wear to-morrow. rannveig [considering]. how about the yellow ones? hadda padda. oh, runa must have taken them; i couldn't find them. rannveig [gets up]. well, i can't let you go barefooted. [goes out.] ingolf. you are shrewd, hadda padda!--now, tell it to me. hadda padda. first, kiss me! ingolf [kisses her]. hadda padda. do you think you will miss me very much when you are gone? ingolf. how can you ask? rannveig [enters from the back, with the stockings in her hand]. i knew as much. i was right.--[sees them embracing.]--i might have saved myself the trouble of looking for the stockings. [turns round, and goes out.] hadda padda. ingolf! ingolf. yes-hadda padda. now listen:-the judge [enters from the back]. ingolf [looks impatiently at his watch, and walks toward the door on the right.] the judge. are you going out, ingolf? ingolf. i'm just going up to my room. i have a letter to answer. [goes out.] the judge. well, my dear, to-morrow is the great day. hadda padda. how good you are, father, to make me feel your gladness as you do. the judge [takes her to his side, and sits down with her]. you happy child! i can't believe that you are grown up. it is as if i were beginning to realise it now, for the first time. but still, i shall have you one year more. hadda padda. father! the judge. yes, dear. hadda padda. father....! the judge. what is the matter, dear? hadda padda. there is something i want to ask you. the judge. and that is? hadda padda. i want to ask you--[stops abruptly.] lady anna [enters from the back]. the judge [to hadda]. what did you want to ask me? [smiles to his wife.] something mother may not hear? hadda padda. no, something i have to ask both of you. the judge. let us hear it, then. hadda padda. it is a very great favor, but you must not say no. the judge. ask it. lady anna. well, what is it? [she has taken some work from the basket, and sits down to sew.] hadda padda. i want you to let me go to copenhagen again. i want to go with ingolf. the judge. now? hadda padda. yes, now, tuesday. lady anna. you are not in earnest, hrafnhild. you know, kristrun is going to leave for england next month, your brother has written for her. and she hasn't been abroad yet, while you have been twice. hadda padda. nor do i want her to abandon her plan. lady anna. but do you want me to do without both of you at the same time? hadda padda. would that be hard for you, mother? lady anna. hard--it would be impossible. with all the parties we have, i must have one of you at home. the judge. of course, it would be difficult for mother to manage without your assistance--since kristrun is going away. lady anna. i never thought of that, hrafnhild. besides, i think it in good taste, since your engagement will be announced to-morrow before ingolf leaves, for you to remain at home this year till he has passed his examination and comes back. hadda padda. yes, that would be in very good taste, if i could only bear it. lady anna. you must also remember that you would disturb him in his studies, if you were with him this winter.... just when he wants to concentrate on his work. hadda padda. i want to make his work easier--that's just what i want to do. lady anna. i can't do without you, hadda. the judge [pats his wife on the cheek]. if our dear little hadda padda were sick, we would have to get one girl more in the house. and then, if she had to go away for a year to recover, and we were waiting for her to come back strong and healthy--don't you think we would readily allow her to go? hadda padda [throws her arms around his neck]. father, i was sure that you... lady anna. that would be quite another thing. the judge. then you would realise that you could do without her. lady anna. but you don't mean, that any one else can fill her place-hadda padda. mother, you think so much of helga. i have talked to her, and she is willing to help you. the judge. there you are! can you imagine any one better? lady anna. it is not only that--if they were married, it would be quite proper for them to go abroad together. hadda padda [looks angrily at her mother, but says nothing]. the judge [discovers it. walks up to his wife, and lays his arm on her shoulder]. we have not grown so old as you would have us. [_heartily._] perhaps then, it is not proper for an old venerable judge to be as much in love with his silver-haired wife as when they were engaged. but he can't help it, and that's just the reason, he still understands love in young people. [_to hadda._] ask your mother once more to let you go. maybe she will when she knows you have my consent. lady anna. well, i see what this is leading to. you know i don't usually oppose you. hadda padda. father, you're always so good to me. [_kisses him._] the judge [_in a whisper to hadda_]. now kiss your mother too! hadda padda. nice mother! i will be twice as much pleasure to you when i come back. [_kisses her._] little skuli [_enters_]. hadda padda, do you want the ship to have two or three masts? hadda padda. now let me see, my boy. [_goes out with him._] the judge. to-morrow--that will be a happy day. at last i shall see my fondest wish fulfilled, mine and my dear old friend's--that our children should belong to each other. i never suspected this would happen when hrafnhild went abroad last year. lady anna. and now she is to go with him again. she has much to thank her father for. the judge. i think time has kept them apart long enough.--i had a long talk with helga the other day--they are very good friends, you know, and she was in copenhagen at the same time as hadda last year. she told me that ingolf had quite given up his studies, and it was hadda padda who made him take them up again.... from christmas on, last year, he studied from morning to night,--and now he will pass his examination, and begin here as an attorney. then they will probably marry next autumn. lady anna [_nods_]. he must be kind to hrafnhild--she is more than just fond of him. have you noticed that she is beginning to resemble him? the judge. now, in spite of everything, i think we are beginning to grow old; our sight is failing us. lady anna. not my sight. listen to me. you should have seen her with the flowers this summer while she was home. when she watered them, she talked with them as if they could understand her. it was as if she returned every rise of fragrance with a smile. and the flowers thrived and blossomed, as if they absorbed her tenderness. the judge. i have noticed something else lately: that every time she comes into a room it is as though the air were filled with the beauty of peace. i could have myself blindfolded, and all reykavik could walk through the room on soles of velvet--when she entered i could recognize her by the delightful calm that accompanies her. lady anna. this excessive love... it is worrying me. maybe it was mostly on that account that i delayed agreeing to her departure. the judge. there are so many things that worry you. why doesn't ingolf come back? [kisses her on the cheek.] i will talk to him about it. [goes out.] rannveig [enters]. the servants want to know how many places to lay for dinner. lady anna [putting aside her needlework]. well, i'm coming--[goes out.] rannveig [walks slowly to the centre of the room, stands looking at the terra cotta statue]. when you dream something, you don't want to come true, you ought to tell it to some one--better to a stone than to no one. [hands folded, she walks slowly up to the statue, whispering in its ear,] i dreamed of a beautiful and marvellous diamond palace. i walked around it, but it had no doors. no one could get in. if any one were inside, he could not get out. i heard weeping inside the palace. it seemed to tear my heart. i recognised the weeping?--[she passes her hand over her eyes, looks at the statue a long time, walks away from it, looks back at it once more, and goes out. in the doorway she encounters hadda, looks at her, pats her cheek, and disappears.] hadda padda [enters with a water jug in her hand, walks up to a flower in the window]. ingolf [enters and steals up to her]. ingolf. now i know the secret. you are going with me to copenhagen. hadda padda, hadda padda, i love you! let me sing to you. [he takes both her hands and while he sings, wild with joy, she hums the tune.] you shall stand upon my skis, in a mad precipitation we, together, cleave the breeze: we will, my daffodil! to the place where we'll abide on my white horse you'll be riding: clouds of dust the moon will hide- they will, my daffodil! [he lifts her in his arms. the sun is shining through the window and lights up the room.] hadda padda [stretches her arms toward the light]. it is as though i had wings. [turns round in his arms, and folds him in her embrace.] i will fly to my happiness. curtain act ii (the following summer. a drawing-room in the sheriff's house. the furniture old-fashioned and elaborate. on the left, a door leading to the dining-room. against the wall, in front, a piano. on the right, under a window, a chaise-longue. in the back, an open window, through which can be seen green meadows, rising to a plateau, over the edge of which roars a water-fall. at the horizon, deep blue mountains. bright sunshine, a hot summer's day.) (in the middle of the room, around a table, set for coffee, the sheriff and lady margaret, olof and steindor, ingolf, hrafnhild and kristrun are sitting. the children, little skuli, sigga, doddi and magga are seated at a small table near the window.) olof [to the children]. you may go out now, children. the children [rise]. sigga [to olof]. mother, when may we go berry-picking with hadda padda? hadda padda [smiles at the children]. we'll go next sunday. olof. now go out and play! it's such lovely weather! steindor. and you may build your little play-house, but not in the part that isn't mowed. skuli. come along, children! doddi. come along! [the children go out.] hadda padda. i had a letter from my friend helga to-day. she writes she is coming to see me for the week-end. the sheriff. we expect quite a few people over the week-end. i had a letter from arni, the tourist guide, who says he'll be here with six tourists next sunday. steindor. how are we going to accommodate all these people? lady margaret. yes, it is true, every summer we have more and more guests. but, what difference does it make--the rooms of breidabol are still large enough. olof [to steindor]. you can room with ingolf for the present. [to hadda.] and i'll move in with you. then we'll have an extra room. the sheriff. my, but will you really be here three weeks to-morrow? it's so good to have both sisters at the same time. you haven't been here together since you were tiny little tots--just so high! kristrun. i would have been here last year, if i hadn't been sick. the sheriff.... well, let's not lose any more time, [gets up] steindor, we are behind in our work. [they go out. then all get up. ingolf goes over to the arm-chair near the window, and sits down.] lady margaret [going out]. will you clear the table, olla dear. hadda padda [assists olof]. shall we all go for a walk now? it's a glorious day! olof [taking the coffee things into the dining-room]. yes, i just have some time to spare. kristrun. i'm not going out again, i've just come in. hadda padda [taking ingolf's hand]. you look so tired to-day.... shall we go? ingolf. it's cooler indoors. hadda padda [in the same tone, as if she had not addressed ingolf]. olof, shall we go? olof. yes, hadda dear. [takes her arm--they go. ingolf leans back in the arm-chair and closes his eyes.] kristrun [jumps on top of the chaise-longue, swings her arms crying]. ingolf! ride me pickaback! right now! [ingolf looks at her, smiling, casts a glance at the door and through the window, as he approaches the chaise-longue. kristrun sits gracefully down on his shoulder. her dress is drawn rather tightly, so that one of her legs shows. he takes hold of her leg to support her, and starts walking around the table.] kristrun [raises her head and looks into his eyes]. will you be a good boy and take hold above the dress. [lets go, and raises herself.] you silly boy, do you think you may hold me by my leg? ingolf. well--i don't want to hold you by your leg! kristrun [grasps him around the shoulder]. you silly boy! do you think you can lower your shoulder! i'm falling, i'm falling, hold on to my leg! [ingolf walks on. they hear footsteps.] kristrun [about to spring down]. somebody's coming! oh, it's only the children. [doddi and skuli appear in the doorway.] doddi. isn't father here? [the boys begin to laugh.] kristrun [clicks with her tongue]. there!--now my horse must run!--now run, my colt! [strokes his hair.] if he is spirited, i'll call him goldmane!--ge-yap! ge-yap!... he doesn't want to be called goldmane? skuli, hand me my whip, in the corner there, right by the sideboard. [points into the dining-room.] little skuli. to beat ingolf! no indeed! kristrun. doddi dear, you do it! [doddi runs for the whip, and gives it to her. she swings the whip around, so that it whizzes in the air. as ingolf passes the piano, she runs the knob of the whip along the key-board.] little skuli. let's go, doddi. [they go out.] kristrun. are you tired? ingolf. i seem to feel lighter, in holding you on my shoulder. kristrun. hf--! lighter? ingolf. yes, certainly! kristrun. hf--! in carrying me? ingolf. in feeling the weight of your body. in that way, i could bear you to the end of the world. kristrun [hops down, looks straight into his eyes]. really now, i refuse to listen to such foolishness.... only look kindly at me once, instead of bearing me to the end of the world. [sits down.] ingolf. kindly!--kristrun, do i deserve the cruelty you have shown me these last days.--every moment of the day you have felt my soul streaming out to you, yet you choose the most common terms to describe my feelings, and pretend not to recognize them. i have been inventing new pet-names for you all the time, so that no one should have as pretty a name as you, so that you should have a prettier name to-day than you had yesterday. you pretend not to hear them. i have shown you every tenderness, but by your pretence you keep it at sword's length from you. you have been torturing me in this way now for three days.... look kindly at you! why, every time i look at you, you see my eyes shine through a tear-filled dimness... kristrun. have you seen it in the glass? ingolf [keeps silent for a while, bites his lips, turns away from her]. some women should not be allowed to be pretty. kristrun [laughs, dangling her foot]. quite right. but men in turn, ought to be obliged to be handsome--otherwise they are disgusting. ingolf. kristrun! is it quite impossible to talk seriously with you? is there nothing so sacred to you that you wouldn't ridicule it? kristrun. well--? ingolf. no, i suppose there is not. kristrun.... perhaps more than you think. ingolf. why do you let me suffer, then? haven't i confessed my love to you? kristrun. no, you haven't. ingolf [sits down at her side. while he speaks she sits erect in the chair, her hands folded in her lap, her head raised. a bright smile plays on her half-open lips. it is as if she were listening to a beautiful tale]. are you waiting for me to say just the words: i love you! weren't there moments when i made a greater confession, when one sigh, one glance, told you more than these words? but you are not satisfied with hearing a love like the fluttering of wings in the dead of night, you want to hear it sound like a clarion call in your ears: i love you, i love you! ... to-day i saw you standing at the piano, there; each feature in your face was in repose, each move blended softly into fine lines. i saw you as one of those works of art of an ancient master, which could lure the infidel to believe in the resurrection of the body. what was my surprise, when i saw you move, and walk across the floor!... even your dress, altering its folds with the rhythm of your step, becomes mysterious, like the sea--floating, as it were, with life itself.... only that fleeting sparkle from your eyes as you roll them upward... or when you are lying down, and you stretch your foot out--so supple, that the tension on your arch makes your instep seem higher... and then your everlasting vivacity: when you laugh, the air seems to float with tiny fairies ... i love you, kristrun, only you, you, you. [kristrun still gazes into space, dreamily. ingolf reaches hesitatingly for her hand; discreetly, she withdraws it.] ingolf [gets up]. did you lie to me, kristrun? the other night, when i told you, without speaking, for the first time, just as plainly as now with words, that i loved you: we heard footsteps, you ran away, you turned around and kissed me, and disappeared--did this sweet kiss then lie, was it only a moment's impulse that played with a sacred feeling? kristrun. it was not, ingolf. ingolf. but--? kristrun. it was a moment's impulse that played with a moment's impulse. ingolf. perhaps for you, but not for me. kristrun. i thought your silent confession that evening was sincere. the next day, i overheard a conversation between you and hrafnhild, you didn't know i was there. perhaps she has noticed the change in you. she used her voice, her intelligence, her beauty, her whole appeal, to get your caresses. and she got them, many and warm. ingolf. you yourself say that i have changed. you yourself say that i love you. kristrun. i myself say that you must choose between us. ingolf. my heart has chosen, kristrun. and now my hand chooses. [he slowly takes the ring off his finger.] are you satisfied now? kristrun. why do you ask so sadly? do you do this half-heartedly? ... i don't know whether i can trust you. only yesterday, when she called you away from me, my heart throbbed with joy. the air about me sang: it is you he loves! but after a while, when she came out, she passed me with a look of supremacy in her eyes. i saw it, i saw it... you are completely in her power. ingolf. before the sun sets to-night, you will have to take back those words. kristrun. i fear the strength of her words when she pleads her own cause. it is as though she could charm you into her power by some magic. do you know what she did yesterday? she came up to me afterwards, and tried to arouse my anger, and so sure was she of her victory, that she gloried in it. she said that i could flirt with any one i wanted--she held the love of the finest man in iceland. ingolf. now do you think she said it because she was so sure? kristrun [does not answer]. "she held the love of the finest man in iceland!..." do you love me, ingolf? ingolf. you don't need to ask, kristrun. kristrun. do you love me? ingolf. i love you. kristrun [runs to the chaise-longue, and throws herself upon it; she sobs audibly]. ingolf. what is the matter with you, kristrun? kristrun. why don't you take me in your arms? ingolf. now i am--do you still doubt? i lived behind a dark, dark wall. through a crack in the wall a streak of light came in. i loved this streak. then one day the wall tumbled down, and i bathed in a white sea of sunshine. now i see that i only cared for hrafnhild because of the natural likeness between you. kristrun. do you think i would ever have let you suspect that i cared for you, if i did not know that you had stopped loving hrafnhild. i began to care for you a long time ago, ingolf. when i saw how happy hrafnhild was, it seemed to dawn upon me how splendid you are. every one envied her. you can imagine how i tried to crush my love. but it grew stronger each day,--it grew like a thorn into my heart. yet, that did not matter. as long as i knew you loved hrafnhild, i felt a greater obligation to my sister than to my love. but not any longer. even were i to sacrifice all now, what would she gain, since you don't care for her? ingolf. i'll try to break off our engagement as gently as possible. kristrun. you promised to do it, before the sun sets to-night. ingolf. surely, when i tell her i don't love her, she won't try to hold me any longer. kristrun [looks at him suspiciously. in order to evade her glance, he bends over and takes her in his arms]. ingolf. i will raise you, slowly and carefully, like a cup brimful of intoxicating wine. [kisses her a long time. raises her up. they hear footsteps outside, and listen.] ingolf. it is hrafnhild. [loosens his embrace.] kristrun [throws her arms around his neck, and clings to him]. why don't you want her to see? ingolf [trying to free himself]. you are not so heartless, kristrun! hadda padda [opens the door. in her hand, she has a bouquet of violets, freshly gathered. a subdued smile lights up her face. as soon as she looks in, her features become distorted with horror. she takes half a step backwards, holding her hand before her eyes, as if to ward off a blow. a feeble cry, filled with pain, as if torn by force from the throat is expressed in the word no!] kristrun. it is i you love! it is i you love! ingolf [tears himself away]. let me talk to hrafnhild alone. hadda padda stands motionless in the doorway, so that kristrun has to pass her. ingolf. may i close the door and talk to you? [hadda padda moves within the door frame, and leans against it.] ingolf. hadda, you have seen now that i am no longer worthy of your love. hadda padda. i have seen nothing. [throws the bouquet on the table, and sits down on the chaise-longue, with her face turned toward the window.] ingolf. don't say that, hrafnhild. even forgiveness demands return, and i cannot return yours. hadda padda [_her whole frame trembling_]. ingolf. i didn't think you could mistake my attitude these last few days. [_both keep silent._] ingolf. but now-? from to-day on, you must try to forget me. hadda padda [_gets up_]. forget--? why should i forget my lover? ingolf. because he cannot be your lover any longer. hadda padda. yes, he _can_; he promised. he promised to love me all my life. ingolf. he did not know what he promised. hadda padda [_sees ingolf's hand without the ring, grasps it with horror, whispers_]. what have you done?--ingolf, it cannot be true. it is not she you love. i saw you push her from you, when she clung about your neck. say she told you a lie, when she cried. only say something--say that suddenly an earthquake came, and she threw herself in your arms from fear. i'll believe you. ingolf [_shakes his head._] hadda padda. ingolf, how could you be so hard? [_hides her face._] any other, any other--but _she!_ [_weeps bitterly._] ingolf. it is not that, hrafnhild. now let us talk calmly. even if you could, would you continue to be tied to a man who does not love you any longer? hadda padda. she has separated us. _she_ has caught you in the net of her wantonness. you, too, ingolf, you, too.... when i looked at you, you could see my love in my eyes. but she, she looked at you through a veil of wantonness, so that your imagination might create what it liked behind it--? was that what attracted you? i gave you all that i had. she took back with the left hand what she had given with her right--was that what attracted you? ingolf, do you value such a character? don't you know how she is? i know you think she loves you. so she has told them all. her love is a remorseless beast of prey. she does not even spare her sister, though she knows you are the only man i ever loved. but she must have this triumph--this one, too. are you going to yield to it? ingolf. you are mistaken, hrafnhild. it is not she who parts us. i feel that even if she did not exist, i could no longer love you as before. hadda padda. haven't i seen you in each other's arms? had it been any one else, ingolf, any one else, i might have tried to bear it; but she, in your arms, that thought i cannot endure... i have no enemy but her. the blood that flows in her veins deceives. it understands the secrets of kinship, and knows what weapons can beat me.... she was but a little girl when i saw the smile of the conqueror in her look, if she felt that young men who called on us paid her greater attentions than me. but it did not touch me. i was no rival. in my heart, there was only place for you. don't you see what life would be for me, should she triumph now, too. ingolf [keeps silent.] hadda padda [kneels down, grasping his knee]. ingolf, for nine years have i run up the stairs at home, just as you did, on the day you went away--two steps at a time. ingolf. get up, hrafnhild. [he moves a step nearer to the door. hadda is dragged along on her knees.] hadda padda [strokes her hand over his knee]. ingolf, ingolf,-ingolf [takes a step back]. get up, hrafnhild. hadda padda. ingolf, i laid bare my love, to clothe yours. i did it, so that no one could take you from me. do you remember when i gave you all a woman can give? the past closed behind me, and i was a different being. i took your head in both my hands. "now you must always be kind to me," i said. "always," you said. you are not kind to me now, ingolf. had you not stripped me of the only support which a woman must have to bear life alone, i might have been able to endure it. but you have awakened passions hidden in me, from the very depths of my nature. whenever you were away, they cried out for you with voices like children. ingolf. stop, hrafnhild. i gave you my word, it is true; but since i no longer care for you, will you still hold me to an old promise that was made when i loved you? hadda padda [gets up]. not an old one, ingolf. you aren't telling the truth now. [pointing out of the window.] is it old, the water that flows down the river? hasn't every day we have lived together been a renewal of this promise? ingolf. maybe, but one day the water stopped flowing. hadda padda. now you have spoken the terrible truth. your love was not rich enough, and you knew it from the first. you are not deceiving me to-day. you deceived me the day you made me believe that you loved me, but you were not strong enough to be sincere. you felt that the burning love of a devoted woman would give you a new spirit; that is why you betrayed me. [sinks bending over the table, bursting into tears.] ingolf. you accuse yourself with these angry words. why did you accept this insincerity for so long? hadda padda. because i saw it too late. my soul was spirited up into the mountain, so that no disappointment could take me from you. but so it was. often when you were satiated with pleasure, you failed to show me any regard. what could i do? nothing but continue to believe that i would keep your love alive by the strength of my own. i know now, why you didn't dare to meet my look openly. ingolf, you knew from the beginning, that you might meet a woman you could love more, but meanwhile you took me, intending to turn from me when that time came. [weeps.] if only i had never known you. ingolf. i remember a great many times--you said that you didn't understand how rich life was before you knew me, and that whatever fate would be, you would never regret having given yourself to me. now i know how sincerely you meant those words. hadda padda. you don't hear how cruel your words are.--i know, ingolf, i said it. i said it when i couldn't control my tongue for gladness. but we never know ourselves until we stand on the edge between joy and sorrow, and now, having touched happiness, i cannot live without grasping it. i cannot, ingolf, i cannot live without you. ingolf. could you get any happiness out of life with a man who does not love you? hadda padda [silent, gets up, and walks up to the piano, leaning heavily against it]. ingolf [takes out the ring, and puts it on the table]. hadda padda [does not stir]. ingolf, this is my last request. don't make our separation harder than necessary. i cannot remain in your home when they all know it. do me the favor of wearing the ring till i leave for home. you won't have to wait long. will you promise me that? ingolf [holds the ring in his hand without answering]. hadda padda. this is my last request. ingolf. i promise. [puts the ring on his hand.] hadda padda [watches him as he puts it on]. curtain act iii (slope of a valley overgrown with brush and heather and flowers. toward the rear on the left, a beautiful cataract rushes down from a great height between steep cliffs. on the right, a rock shuts out the bottom of the falls, and part of the river. in the background is a mountainous landscape. it is an exquisite summer evening and the sun is playing on the water in ever changing colours. the stage is empty. from beneath the falls a song is heard, even before the rise of the curtain.) (a little before the song ends, hadda padda enters from the left, accompanied by the children. she wears a light summer dress with a chiffon scarf thrown over her shoulders. the children have come prepared to gather berries. one has a wooden box, one a coloured glass bottle half filled with berries, etc. they stop to listen until the song is finished.) magga. who was singing? hadda padda. the summer guests down at the falls.--well, children, hurry now and gather your berries. we'll be going home soon. [pointing to the right.] see that hollow? there must be lots of berries in there. [sits down on a stone.] sigga. aren't you coming along with us, hadda padda? hadda padda. no, you bring your berries back to me. sigga [turning the bottle over in her palm]. do you want some? hadda padda [staying her off]. no, no--not now. doddi. oh, hadda! i'll gather the bluest berries for you. little skuli. when _i_ come back i'll bring you berries and flowers too. magga. you won't wait for us, hadda padda. hadda padda [_nodding assent--hand under cheek_]. no--no. all the children. aren't you going to wait for us? hadda padda [_with a start, recovering herself_]. wait for you, yes--yes, of course--do you think i would run away from you? i will wait here till you come back. [_the children go off to the right. hadda remains seated for a moment, rises absent-mindedly, walks to and fro thoughtfully, sometimes stumbling. then she sits down again, hiding her face in her hands._] an herborist [_enters from the right. on her shoulder she is carrying a canvas bag, half filled with herbs. she wears a knitted shawl and a parti-colored kerchief on her head. in her hand, she holds a large knife in a leather sheath_]. good evening, young lady! hadda padda [_startled_]. good evening, arngerd! herborist [_putting the bag aside_]. i seemed to recognise one of the sisters. it is you they call hadda padda. hadda padda. i came berrying with the children. herborist. i saw them down in the hollow.--it is lucky to visit the falls to-night.--i heard the song.--what a beautiful day! [_sits down_]--just look at the evening glow on that rock! [_smiles._] its furrows seem like ruddy smiling lips! hadda padda [_looking up_]. like bleeding wounds. herborist. is the young lady in low spirits? hadda padda [_keeps silent_]. herborist [_looking at the slope_]. what a host of blessed flowers! i'll soon get my bag filled here. there are some of the right kind among them i'm sure. hadda padda. that is a pretty bag you have. herborist. i thought it an insult to the flowers to put them in a coarse sack, so i took my pillow case. hadda padda. are there only flowers in it? herborist. they are healing plants. hadda padda. that's true. you heal with herbs.... you believe in their power? herborist. i believe in a fact that cannot be doubted. and i am quite sure that there is no disease that could not be healed by herbs, if people knew enough about their mysteries. hadda padda. there are wounds, i suppose, that only death can heal. herborist [looking down into the bag, she takes out an herb]. i think the young lady is very depressed, shall i show her an herb that can heal many ills? hadda padda. a lady-slipper? herborist. it is also called the love flower.... if you would gain a man's heart you slip it under his pillow. hadda padda. don't you see the ring on my finger? don't you know my sweetheart? herborist. yes, certainly.--he was a handsome boy. [plays with the bag, as she hums.]: "when love is the strongest, it leads to your fall, a maid's happy longest, who heeds no man's call." hadda padda [drawing her scarf more closely around her]. do you hear the flies buzzing? herborist [looking deep down into the bag]. yes. hadda padda. it is like the sound of a burning wick. herborist [does not hear]. hadda padda. now there is only one left.--it is buzzing around my bead. [putting her hand on the arm of the herborist.] say something to me, good healer. herborist. pretty are her hands! were they chapped or sore i would heal them with yarrow ointment. [taking up a yarrow.] hadda padda. can that be done? herborist. oh, yes, with finely cut yarrow, boiled in fresh new butter. [_puts the plant aside, picks up a dandelion._] hadda padda. what do you use the dandelion for? herborist. if the young lady had warts on her hands, i would rub them with the milk of the dandelion, and the warts would vanish. [_takes up a new plant._] hadda padda. what do you call this flower? herborist. doesn't she know the sun-dew? it is a cure for freckles. hadda padda [_taking the flower_]. ah! i know this.--you cruel pretty little flower! with your beauty you lure the insects to you. then you close on them, and kill them. you cruel pretty little flower! do you know my sister? [_puts the sun-dew aside._] herborist [_holding a new plant in her hand_]. this is the grass of parnassus. it makes a good hair-ointment.--pretty is the young lady's hair. hadda padda. you have dug up all the flowers by the roots. herborist [_pointing to the knife_]. i cut them up by the roots. they must not lose their power. they are all alive.--shall i tell you more? hadda padda. not now, thank you. herborist [_puts the flowers into the bag; points to the sky_]. look how red the clouds are!--i think we'll have fine weather to-morrow. hadda padda. do you think so? herborist. evening-glow means warm, morning-glow means storm. hadda padda [_is silent_]. herborist. why do you look at me so long? hadda padda. you have such a peaceful smile on your face. are you always so contented? herborist. i have no reason not to be. hadda padda. have you never been discontented with life? herborist. yes, when i deserved it. but when one is kind to every one, life brings peace and happiness. hadda padda. has kindness never taken revenge? herborist. kindness does not take revenge. it is only evil that takes revenge. hadda padda. then you have been obedient to your fate? herborist. what i say is true, my girl. life treats us as we deserve. we cannot get rid of our past. nature is a righteous judge. hadda padda. nature is heartless and blind. herborist. nature is a righteous judge. i shall never forget something that happened thirty years ago. i lived at the sea-shore then. one day, when i was washing fish with some other girls, we saw a woman from the farm take her child by the hand and lead her out to a jutting rock--when the flood tide came it took her.... hadda padda [looking up]. herborist.... the case was brought before the judge. the mother insisted that she had left the child on the ridge, and that it must have walked down to the shore while she was gathering some dulse. each of us had to point out the spot where she had left the child, but the mother pointed to the ridge. as she raised her three fingers to swear that it was true, a wave rose, and out of it shot a white column of foam. it stretched like an arm into the air--like an arm with three swearing fingers. the sea itself swore against her. hadda padda [a cold shiver runs through her. she draws her scarf more closely around her]. it is so strangely cold here. herborist. the sun is going down. i had better be going. [the bag upsets, and some plants slip out.] hadda padda. the dandelion is slipping out of the bag. grant the dandelion its life. herborist. i can't grant the dandelion its life. perhaps to-morrow a mother will come with her little girl. "rid her of her warts," she will say, "for her hands are so fine."... hadda padda [takes the dandelion in her hands]. grant the dandelion its life. do you see how it stretches its thousand delicate fingers to the fading light? if you plant it again, it will close up and be silent a whole night with joy. herborist. you are silent and you don't smile--is it with joy? hadda padda. you must not ask me that. herborist. smile, and i will grant the dandelion its life. hadda padda. now i am smiling. herborist [thrusts her hand into the bag]. tell me of your joy, young woman. each time you give an answer you grant a flower its life.-of all things,--what is the softest you have ever felt? hadda padda. the hair on my cheek when my lover stroked it. herborist [taking a plant from the bag]. now you have granted the yarrow its life.--tell me of your joy, young woman. what made your hand so pretty? hadda padda. happiness made my hand so pretty. it has smoothed back the hair from the most beautiful forehead. herborist [taking out another plant]. now you have granted the catch-fly its life.--what cast the shade of sorrow in your eyes? hadda padda. now you are not asking me of joy. now i will not answer. herborist [shows her a new plant, fondling the flower]. why shall the violet die? hadda padda. do not ask me why the violet shall die.... i want to be alone. herborist [gets up, puts the bag on her shoulder, takes the knife and flowers]. god bless thee, young woman! the lord be with thee, hadda padda. [disappears to the left.] [the sun sets behind the mountains and twilight gradually descends. hadda padda sits gazing into space. suddenly she is startled by voices, and she disappears into the bushes. native and foreign tourists come from behind the rock, two by two, crossing the stage, conversing. german and french are heard. behind them all, comes] a young woman [waiting till the others are gone, she calls]. hadda padda!... hadda!... hrafnhild! [she shades her eyes with her hand.] there they are! [goes out to the right.] [ingolf and kristrun enter from behind the rock.] ingolf [stops]. look, there are the children gathering berries. ... do you see hrafnhild? kristrun. no, but i see helga walking toward them. ingolf. i wonder if hrafnhild is down in the hollow? kristrun. perhaps she is. ingolf. we won't pass there then. let's rest here for a moment. [sits down.] kristrun. you act as if hrafnhild were still your sweetheart. ingolf. what do you mean? kristrun. i thought you wanted to show me the greater consideration. but it is quite the contrary. sometimes you are positively hard to me, just to spare hrafnhild every conceivable annoyance. ingolf. do you remember the day after--. when she walked around trying to smile to every one. she was like a sick butterfly. you didn't complain then that i was too considerate to her. kristrun [disregarding his remark]. you and she--you wear the rings--you are the lovers in every one's opinion! and i have to endure it. ingolf. you gave your consent for us to wear the rings till we leave here. kristrun. my consent, yes! if it is a consent that you made me pity her. i don't think she needs any pity now. ingolf. yes, it is very strange,--to-day, to-day and yesterday she has been tingling with joy. kristrun [sitting down]. now you can see how deeply her love touched her. after one week she's as though nothing had ever happened. ingolf. hrafnhild is proud by nature. she would never let it be seen that an unfortunate love affair could make her miserable. kristrun. yes, she is proud by nature, she is everything fine.--and i--i am nothing. [tears in her eyes.] ingolf. you are the loveliest woman in the world. [embraces her.] hadda padda [appears between the bushes, seeing them she stops an instant, then goes toward them]. i didn't know you were here. ingolf [gets up]. we have just come from the falls. hadda padda. and i was just gathering berries. aren't my lips blue?... why are you so silent, runa, dear? kristrun [does not answer]. hadda padda [in a changed voice]. i am going away to-morrow. ingolf. going away to-morrow? kristrun. going away--? hadda padda. i leave to-morrow. i'm going with helga.--let us part friends.--i have only one thing to say to you before i go. ingolf. what is that? hadda padda. you may feel safe now. i won't be the shadow in your sunny path.... i don't love you any longer, ingolf. [ingolf and kristrun look at her amazed.] hadda padda. nor do i bear you a grudge... that is why i can tell you this. ingolf. i always knew you were high-minded, hrafnhild, but-hadda padda. and runa, dear, won't we be the same friendly sisters we have always been? [strokes her hair.] do you want to see that i love you as much as ever? [takes her hand.] come, let me take you in my arms. kristrun [bursting into tears, she throws herself into hadda's arms]. hadda, dear-hadda padda [presses kristrun violently to her breast]. kristrun [throwing her head back]. hadda, hadda, you are hurting me! hadda padda [lets go of her--turns to ingolf]. and now i would like to speak to you for a moment. may i? ingolf. yes, certainly. hadda padda, oh, there's helga. she is looking for me, runa, dear, may i say a few words to ingolf? you meet helga, and start for home with her, won't you? kristrun. i'll do that, hadda. [hurries away.] hadda padda [sits down]. i think i have discovered that you don't really enjoy your new happiness. that is why i want to talk to you. ingolf. you have told me all i want to hear. hadda padda [involuntarily frowning a moment]. it is strange how proud the imagination can be, pretending to be a strong reality. if i had really loved you at all, i would still. i do not. so long as you were free, i made myself believe i had a certain claim to you. but once you were engaged to any one else, the same thing would have happened?--i should have forgotten you in a week. ingolf. you need not tell me this, i know it. hadda padda. what do you know? ingolf. i know that you deny your own heart for the sake of others. hadda padda. now you think too highly of both of us. i am not so good as you would make me, and it is not so difficult to forget you as you imagine.--you won't believe that i have succeeded in forgetting you. won't you believe, either, that i have made every effort to do it? the day before yesterday i locked myself in my room, and took out your letters to see whether i could bear to read them. i wanted to test myself,--you know i like to get to the very heart of things. well, i read letter after letter. it is a remarkable power that is given to a trivial matter. if i had not read the letters, i might still have felt unhappy, but i read and read with ever increasing calmness. i don't believe my feelings. i go walking, searching for all the places where the earth must be scorched with burning pleasures, in order to know whether they enkindle memories so sacred that they can again inflame me. everything, everything, is extinguished. what is the matter, little hadda? does everything leave you cold? is this death perhaps? and a mixed feeling of joy and pain seizes me, for this came so unexpected--it came so unexpected--it came so unexpected-ingolf. what is the matter, hrafnhild? are you ill? you are so excited. why are you so eager to tell me all this? hadda padda. because i don't want you to think i am making any sacrifice. you think so, but i am not. ingolf. i understand. hadda padda. no, you don't understand. there was still one place where i was afraid to go, because it meant more to me than any other. i grasped my heart with fear, and there i seemed to find the place. it was the angelica gorge,--where you had put your life in my hands. i was afraid that if i went there, i would instantly lose the peace of mind i had gained. but if i could not bear that, then this peace was nothing but an illusion. i wanted to be sincere with myself--so i went up there last night. ingolf. we saw you walking up the mountain. hadda padda. i lay down on the edge of the cliff and looked down into the depth from which i had seen you come up. "little heart," i said, "try to be calm while i am tormenting you: here it was that he raised himself up on the rope _i_ held. here it was that he showed me how well he loved me." but instead of feeling pain, my whole frame quivered with trembling joy. here, too, i had conquered. tears of gratitude came into my eyes, i stretched myself farther out on the edge to make my tears of joy fall into the chasm, down to the very bottom.--do you see now that i am not going to make a sacrifice. now tell all this to runa, for she should know it too. ingolf [very much moved, throws himself at her feet]. when you have risen i will kiss the ground your feet have marked. hadda padda. then i shall never rise.... don't lie down like that. get up, ingolf, ingolf. i will lie down and forget. let me dream of death for one moment. hadda padda. death! you who are happy! ingolf. death is not unhappiness. hadda padda. come, sit down again. i will tell you what death is. last night i was only a hair's breadth away from it. ingolf [starts, terror stricken, he half arises]. what are you saying? hadda padda. when i lay there on the edge of the gorge, looking down, something dazzlingly white flashed before my eyes. quite instinctively i reached out for it. it was as if my hands perceived what it was, before my eyes had had time to make it clear to me. it was the string of pearls which bad loosened from my hair. i reached for it without considering how unsafely i was lying there, when suddenly i felt myself slipping down. the sensation cannot be described. while my right hand reached for the pearls which were dropping down into the gorge, my left caught hold of the turf on the brink. i was losing my balance and nothing held me up but a few blades of grass. i felt my heart in my throat, and a cold perspiration over my whole body. now the grass was giving way, now i clawed my fingers down into the earth and dug my feet into it, but it was too hard; i tried to press my knees down into the turf--nothing helped, i was slipping. life or death! to the right there was a stone. i let go of the grass, and blindly swung my body to the right, my feet slipped beyond the edge,--but my hands had caught hold of the stone. when i got to the edge again, i lay in a stupour for a long time, and i did not know whether i was at the bottom of the gorge or at the top.--never have i loved life as i do to-day. ingolf. how horrible! but what made you wear the pearls? hadda padda. it was foolish, but i don't know whether you can blame me. one day, when i was almost melancholy, and i could not talk to anybody, i was seized with an unconquerable home-sick feeling. i yearned for mother, and felt how much i loved her. i took the pearls out and looked at this precious heirloom, which she had given me. i fastened it in my hair,--and immediately i felt better. that was why i wore them the nest day too. ingolf. and now they lie at the bottom of the gorge! hadda padda. yes. ingolf. what are you going to tell your mother? hadda padda. i won't tell her anything before i know whether they will be found. ingolf. have you asked any one to search for them? hadda padda. i just thought of asking steindor, but i can hardly bring myself to tell him,--if afterwards they should not be found. ingolf [a vague disquietude takes possession of him. he is silent for an instant, then stares at hadda, trying to read the influence of his words upon her]. well, you are going to-morrow, and the very next day i will go down into the gorge and look for them. hadda padda. will you really, ingolf? and not tell runa that i lost them? mother must not know that i have treated the pearls so carelessly. ingolf. i won't tell any one. hadda padda [looking at him with wide-opened eyes]. i'd like it even more if you would do it before i left. if you looked for them to-morrow morning while i am getting ready to go. then you'd spare me the anxiety. take steindor with you, will you? ingolf [gets up. all doubt leaves his mind as he looks into her face and he is ashamed of the unworthy suspicion that had touched his soul]. yes, hrafnhild, don't be distressed. we shall find your pearls.--aren't you coming with me? hadda. padda. no, i will wait for the children. ingolf. good-night, hrafnhild. [goes.] hadda padda. good-night. [looks after him for a long time. her eyes fill with tears, and she throws herself down weeping violently. soon the voices of children, laughing, are heard near by. she looks up, passes her hand over her eyes, hears the children's footsteps and lies down again as if asleep.] the children [enter. in addition to the berries, each of them carries a bouquet of flowers]. little skuli. she's asleep. [he takes his bouquet, and those of the others, placing them around her head.] the children sit down quietly, eating their berries. curtain act iv (a deep gorge viewed from the side, its walls running obliquely down from right to left. the upper end of the outer edge merges into the mountain slope, which shuts out the view to the left. it is foggy. on the left, as the fog lifts, a waterfall glistens in the distance, like a broad white streak in the air. the sides of the gorge are abruptly terminated by a cliff, the top of which is grass-grown. here, ingolf and steindor are sitting. beside them is a long rope.) steindor. just look how it is drizzling!... i can write on my clothes. [forms letters on his sleeve.] ingolf [strokes his finger along his sleeve]. my suit just matches the drizzle. steindor [is silent]. ingolf [is aroused, as from a reverie]. are you rested? steindor. oh, very nearly. ingolf. you should have let me pull you up. it is too tiring to raise oneself. steindor. i have been lowering myself into this gorge for fourteen years now, to get angelica, and always without help. this is no height at all. ingolf. how high do you think it is? steindor. only half a rope-length. ingolf. how long is a rope-length? steindor. a hundred and twenty feet. ingolf. have you lowered yourself that far? steindor. i guess even a little more. one summer on the westmen isles, i went down three rope-lengths, for fowl; but then, i tied the rope around my waist, and took a stick along, to push myself off from the rock, so that the rope wouldn't turn. ingolf. the rope turned round with me before. steindor. only practice can prevent it. ingolf [_gets up, walks out to the brink, and looks down into the gorge_]. did you look everywhere possible? steindor. i did. ingolf. so did i. but it is very dark in some places, and there are so many holes. did you look in the holes? steindor. well, i wasn't going to crawl into every pit--that would be an endless job. besides, i think it serves these women right, once in a while, to have themselves to blame. it teaches them to take better care next time. ingolf. don't speak to any one about it. she asked me not to tell anybody. i wouldn't have told you, if i'd had any luck in my search. but i thought perhaps you might be able to find them. steindor. you told the family that you had lost your diamond ring. ingolf. yes, then we will say we have found it. [_looks down into the gorge._] how uncanny it looks down there! it is as if the fog were shunning the gully, so inky black!... see how sombre the ravine looks! steindor [_gets up, and walks out on the brink_]. ingolf. it looks uncanny down there! [_warning him._] don't go too near the edge. steindor [_laughing_]. steindor can take care of himself! ingolf. have you ever fallen, steindor? steindor. oh, well, i've had my share of that. ingolf. how did it affect you? steindor. i don't wish myself a better death, if the fall is high enough. one winter i was going over a gully, clogged with a frozen snow-pile. i had to pass it; so i forced my stick down into the pile, and leaped over it. i tried to pull it out as i came over, but it stuck tight, and threw me backwards. i knew nothing more, until i woke up at the foot of the rocks, and saw the blood stains on the snow. i had scratched myself on the edge as i grazed over it. ingolf. and otherwise you got off alright? steindor. quite alright. i landed on the soft snow. had it been rocky below, i would have died instantly. since that day, i say falling from a height isn't the worst death. you lose all consciousness in falling. ingolf. to fall from here would be horrible. steindor. it's more horrible thinking about it than anything else. ingolf. it would be quite a fall. steindor. oh, yes--i think you would get your fill. ingolf. here, take the rope, steindor. let us go. steindor [looking around]. some one is coming up along the ravine. ingolf. where? steindor. there--why, it's hrafnhild. she is nearly here now. ingolf. what is she carrying over her shoulder? steindor. it looks like a spade. ingolf. come, let's go and meet her. [they take a few steps.] hanna padda [is heard calling]. wait! ingolf. what do you think she wants with a spade? hadda padda [is heard calling, almost out of breath]. i wanted to catch you before you went down. [enters.] there was nobody else at home to bring the spade, so i offered to do it. ingolf. did you tell mother we were coming here? hadda padda. she asked. she saw you walk up the mountain. i told her you had lost your diamond ring in the gorge, and you and steindor were going down to look for it. ingolf. did she send you with the spade? hadda padda. no, she said, that if she had known it, she would have asked you to take a spade along, and get some angelicas for the garden. that is why i followed you. [walks out and drives the spade in the ground.] have you been down already? ingolf. yes, we have. hadda padda. did you find your diamond ring? ingolf. we did not find your pearls.--yes, i had to tell steindor. i went down first and searched very carefully; then i asked steindor to go down,--i thought he might have better luck. steindor. they will never be found. hadda padda. they must be found; they shall be found. ingolf [looks questioningly into her eyes]. are you sure they did not fall beyond that lowest rock? [points in the direction.] hadda padda [eagerly, and returning his glance calmly]. no, no. i saw them fall, just by the big stone. you haven't looked carefully enough. it has really taken you no time at all. ingolf. i hunted for them everywhere, as if i were searching for a needle. steindor. i can't search any better than i have. hadda padda. then it is due to the fog. probably i have to wait till later... no, i can't go home without them. steindor. the fog is not so dense, that they couldn't be found on its account. you can see all around, down in the gorge. just look! hadda padda [walks out to the edge, looks down, turns round abruptly]. did you search in the pool near the big stone? it might have fallen there. steindor. i took a look at it, but i didn't see anything. ingolf. i would have seen them glitter in the water, if they were there. hadda padda. glitter in the water! and the pool covered with duck-weed! so that's how you searched!--did you look all through the duck-weed, did you fish it out of the pond, to see if the pearls were hidden in it? ingolf. no, i didn't do that. steindor. no, it may be possible-hadda padda. yes, it is possible, to be sure. hundreds of women might have lost their pearls down there, without your having found them. steindor. no, i think you are the only one... hadda padda [turns quickly toward ingolf]. what do you think mother will say when she hears that i have lost the heirloom?--[resolutely.] men never can find anything, men do not understand how to search. [tears the rope from steindor.] i had better go down myself. ingolf. you don't really intend to go down? hadda padda [ties one end around her waist]. i intend to do what i can to find my lost treasure again. steindor. you will not go far, i think, before you ask us to pull you up. hadda padda. i have been lowered into this gorge before. ingolf [takes the loose end]. i forbid you to go down, hrafnhild. hadda padda. you forbid me?... i forbid you to touch this rope. or, shall we see who is stronger? [pulls the rope.] ingolf [coming nearer to her, he lets the rope slip] i know what you are thinking, hrafnhild. you want us to go down again, and you know this is the only way you can get us to do it. hadda padda. do you think i am afraid to go down? it would only give me joy. and if you didn't find the pearls, when you looked for them the second time, i would go down, anyhow. i would never be at rest until i had searched myself. (ingolf lets go of the rope, takes steindor aside--he nods. they both look at hrafnhild while she fastens the rope around her waist more securely.) ingolf. what are you going to do now? hadda padda (having finished tying the knot, holds the rope out to them). will you hold the rope while i go down? ingolf. no, i won't. steindor. i won't either. hadda padda (bites her lips, stares at the men). go on home! (starts to wind up the rope.) i don't need you. you think i can't do without you? you think the mountain hasn't stones heavy enough to keep me up? (runs away, and disappears toward the mountain.) ingolf. i don't remember exactly--it's quite impossible to enter the gorge from below, isn't it? steindor. so far, only the birds have that privilege. it's a headlong precipice on three sides! ingolf. i won't let hrafnhild go down. steindor. she says she has gone down in the gorge before. is that true? ingolf (nods reluctantly). yes. steindor. when was that? ingolf. last summer. steindor. did you hold the rope? ingolf. i did. steindor. well, then i don't know what you are afraid of. ingolf. it seems strange that hrafnhild should come up here. steindor. she came with the spade. ingolf. it seems strange we didn't find the pearls, if they were in the gorge. steindor. she'll be lucky if they are ever found. ingolf. it seems strange that she dropped them. when i saw that she herself was coming here, it flashed across my mind, that she hadn't dropped the pearls in the gorge after all. steindor. i don't understand--what are you driving at? do you think it is something she invented? why should she? ingolf. i am afraid to let her go down. hadda padda [enters with a large stone in her arms which she places on the edge. she has the coil of rope thrown over her shoulder. laughs]. so you haven't gone yet! [takes the spade and starts to dig.] don't you think i can do without you now? i will dig a deep, deep hole. then i'll tie one end of the rope around the stone, and place it into the hole.--then i'll go and get more stones up in the mountain and pile them up. you will see how well it will hold. ingolf [examining the stone]. so you think it will hold? well--[takes the stone and flings it into the ravine.] hadda padda [smiling, she looks at ingolf]. i shall take better care next time. [running away, ingolf and steindor look after her.] steindor. she is determined to go down. ingolf. i will offer to go down again. let us both offer to go down. steindor. she said she would go down anyhow, if we didn't find the pearls. ingolf. just look how fast she is running! she is holding her hand to her breast. steindor. now she is stopping... she is lifting a stone... now she has thrown it away. ingolf. she runs without stopping. steindor. now she has found a new stone. ingolf. she is bending over it. what is she doing? steindor. she is tying the rope around it. she won't let you hurl this one over. ingolf. she is lifting the stone, and carrying it in her arms. steindor. she is strong, hrafnhild is. now she is running with it. ingolf. see how the earth is slipping from under her feet. see how the pebbles pursue her! she is running away from them with the big stone. she is holding it in her arms as if it were a child she were rescuing. hadda padda [enters, carrying the stone which she cautiously places on the edge. smiles]. you haven't gone yet! what are you waiting for? [takes the spade, and starts to deepen the hole.] ingolf. steindor and i will go down for you. we will search as thoroughly as possible. hadda padda. you are kind. but now i will let nothing prevent me from going down. had you offered to do so before, i would have accepted; but when you say you forbid me to go down, i intend to go. [steindor walks restlessly near the edge.] ingolf. you know that we can prevent you from going down. hadda padda. you can--how? ingolf. we can take the rope from you and go home. hadda padda. yes--you can do that. [turns away.] ingolf. what would you do then? hadda padda [in same position]. go home and get another rope. ingolf. don't be so obstinate, hrafnhild. hadda padda [in a low voice]. why don't you call me by my pretty name any more? we aren't enemies. promise to call me hadda padda always. when i leave to-day, when i mount my horse, and ride away, wave your hat to me and call: good-bye, hadda padda. ingolf. are you determined to go to-day? hadda padda. determined. [rolls the stone into the hole, takes it up again, and digs deeper.] ingolf. you won't accept our offer? hadda padda. no, i won't. ingolf. then stop your digging. it is useless. hadda padda [looks at him, puzzled]. ingolf. you must understand that we will not stand by, and let you go down with only a loose stone to hold you up. hadda padda. true, i wouldn't be as nervous, if i knew you were holding the rope. [puts the spade aside, and looks down into the gorge.] ingolf [unties the rope from the stone]. hadda padda. i don't know whether i dare go down, ingolf. ingolf. don't go--give it up. hadda padda. i never saw the gorge so hushed. how it stretches its cold, greedy stone-fingers into the air!--but imagine my finding the pearls! [determined.] i must go down. is the rope safe? steindor [standing near them]. even if there were three hadda paddas-hadda padda. ingolf! i am not afraid to be lowered down by your hands. [lies down with her feet over the edge.] steindor. there are others beside ingolf, to be sure, who could hold up one woman. ingolf. i hate to see you go down. hadda padda [is silent for an instant, turns abruptly around, looks down the gorge, gets up and takes the spade]. you aren't sitting safely, ingolf. i will deepen the hole, so that you can have something to push your feet against. [digs.] steindor. [with an amused smile]. you believe you are heavier than you are, hadda padda. ingolf. i ask you once again, to give up the idea. hadda padda. are you afraid you will lose me? ingolf. you can spare your scoffing. hadda padda. i am not scoffing. i'm the one who is afraid. you are not so strong as you pretend. steindor, will you hold the rope with him? ingolf. you don't have to sneer at me. [at his glance, steindor turns away.] hadda padda. now set your feet securely, ingolf, and both of you hold the rope. do that for me, and i'll go down quite fearlessly. ingolf. well, we will both hold the rope. [steindor sits down, catching the rope too.] hadda padda. now i am safe. [disappears below the edge. the rope is seen sliding slowly and firmly through their hands.] ingolf [pushing steindor away]. get up! i won't accept an affront like this--not to let me hold the rope alone! get up and keep an eye on her,--but don't let her see you. [steindor gets up. the rope slides down for a time.] the voice of hadda padda. ingolf! ingolf. well? [stops the rope.] the voice of hadda padda. are you both holding the rope? ingolf. yes. the voice of hadda padda. tell me the truth, ingolf. ingolf. we are both holding the rope. the voice of hadda padda. tell me the truth. is steindor holding the rope? ingolf [to steindor]. you have let her see you. steindor. no, no! the voice of hadda padda. why did you deceive me, ingolf! pull me up! [ingolf pulls up the rope.] hadda padda [reappears over the edge]. why did you deceive me? ingolf. i felt ashamed to hold the rope with some one else. hadda padda. the idea flashed upon me. that is why i called. i knew your pride. but suddenly i grew nervous. i seemed so far from all human life. since you don't want steindor to hold the rope, he must stand some place where i can always see him. steindor, stand where i can see you. now and then you'll call to me. you'll just call: hadda padda! and i will answer: yes. then we will get word from each other. here, on the edge, you can see me--[points to the farther edge]--down there on the ledge, i can see you perfectly. ingolf. yes, do that, steindor. steindor. alright. [goes there.] hadda padda. why don't you place your feet in the hole, so that you will sit more securely? ingolf. are you afraid i'm sitting too near the edge? hadda padda [takes the end of the rope]. there is no knot on the end. fancy, if the rope slipped out of your hands. [ties a knot in it.] ingolf. why are you so frightened? hadda padda. i don't know....it wasn't fair to prevent steindor from holding the rope with you. ingolf. if you are so afraid, of course we will both hold the rope. hadda padda. i don't know....oh--no, hold it alone. i also want to see some one, to see him stand there, and hear him call to me. ingolf. i prefer that. hadda padda. but now if it should slip from you--! if you open your hand a hair's breadth too much, you will lose the rope! [she starts with a shudder.] ingolf. i shall let the rope slide over my shoulder--will you be more at ease then? act v hadda padda. if you tie it around your waist, so that it will be impossible for you to let go of me--then i will be at ease. ingolf (gazes intently at her, as if to penetrate the mysterious veil which envelopes her manner, her words, and her actions. suddenly he grasps the end of the rope and ties it around his waist). hadda padda [sits down on the edge]. i nearly forgot the spade. i will dig up an angelica, and take it along with me. (disappears below the edge. the rope slides for a time.) ingolf. you can see her, steindor? steindor. she is like an expert rope-climber. she is keeping herself from the rock with the spade. ingolf. don't lose sight of her. tell me how she is getting along. steindor. i am not anxious about her going down. now she is about passing the ledge. there, now you can let the rope slide quicker. ingolf. it is strange how the rope slides out of my hands. it is as if a living worm were boring out through them. steindor (calls). hadda padda! the voice of hadda padda. yes. steindor. she is flying down... now the rope is turning... it is strange to see some one else lowered down. ingolf. is it still turning? steindor. now it is turning to the other side.--hadda padda! the voice of hadda padda (just audible). yes. steindor. lower her faster, it amuses her. she waved her hand to me. ingolf. she waved her hand to you? steindor. oh, she lost the spade. ingolf. she lost the spade! didn't she throw it? steindor. i think she lost it. act iv ingolf. what is she doing now? steindor. i can't see. ingolf. is she doing anything?--it isn't possible. has she a long way left? (gives the rope as quickly as possible.) steindor. no.--hadda padda! ingolf. now i don't hear her answer. steindor. nor i. (calls louder.) hadda padda! (listens.) ingolf. do you hear her answer? steindor. no... yes, yes, now she has heard--she is waving--she is waving with both hands. ingolf. good--she is alright then. steindor. now i think she is down! ingolf. the rope does not slacken-steindor. i don't see her moving any more. ingolf [as the rope slackens]. well, now she is down! do you see her? steindor. she just picked up the spade. now she is going with it way under the rock. ingolf (he holds the rope so loosely, that it runs freely through his fingers). she evidently intends to dig up some angelica before searching. steindor. the rope is dragging along with her, she has not untied it. ingolf. do you see her? steindor. no. ingolf. let us wait calmly. (rests his chin in his palm.) ingolf. do you see her? steindor. no. ingolf. i wish she would come out soon. ingolf. do you see her? steindor. no. ingolf. i can't understand what is keeping her so long. steindor. you couldn't expect her any sooner. (peers down.) she has just come from under the rock. she has an angelica with her. ingolf. she is jerking the rope--she jerked three times. steindor. she tied the spade and angelica to the rope. pull it up! (ingolf pulls the rope up quickly.) steindor. now she is going to look for the pearls. ingolf (the fear and anxiety seen on his face all this time give place to a more cheerful expression). now we can be at ease. who knows, maybe she will find the pearls! steindor. she is searching in the pool. she is pulling out the duck-weed. ingolf (draws the spade and angelica up over the edge, loosens the rope, coils it up, and throws it down again). steindor. she is walking around the pool. now she has turned her back to me. i can't see--i think she is looking around... she is bending over the pool. ingolf. now i am at ease-steindor. now she jumped up! she is raising her arms--she is waving the pearls at me! ingolf. bravo, bravo! steindor. it was just a piece of luck!--now she is tying the rope around herself.-ingolf. she just pulled,--now i'll be quick about it. (starts pulling.) steindor (after a while). it looks as if she were sleeping on the rope. ingolf. what? steindor. her body is relaxed... should i call to her? ingolf. no, don't disturb her. i know the pleasure of cleaving the air with closed eyes. steindor. now she starts... now she seems to be at rest again. she is crouching like one who is cold in bed. ingolf. tell me when we reach the ledge. steindor. there isn't much left now. aren't you tired pulling? ingolf. not very. steindor (smiling). you will show your sweetheart how strong you are. ingolf. aren't we at the ledge yet? steindor. not quite. ingolf (pulling on). steindor. she looks strange now. she is grasping the rope firmly--she is cringing. she looks like a spider winding her way up. the voice of hadda padda. ingolf! ingolf. well! the voice op hadda padda. i will rest on the ledge. ingolf (continues pulling). you will be up soon! the voice of hadda padda. no, no, ingolf! the rope is too tight.--you must not pull like that.--the rope hurts me so under my breast. (the rope relaxed; ingolf stops pulling.) steindor (motions to him). you must hold the rope tight, so that she can raise herself up to the ledge.--well, now she is there! ingolf. what is she doing? steindor. she is sitting down... she is adjusting the rope around her waist... or, what... yes, she has untied it. the voice op hadda padda. you need not stay here any longer, steindor. i am not afraid any more. steindor. i am very comfortable here. the voice of hadda padda (she is heard laughing). shall i stone the raven away from his nest? beware, you blackbird! (a small stone flies through the air, and falls down near steindor. he starts.) the voice of hadda padda. were you afraid of the stone? steindor. i think it an unnecessary joke! the voice of hadda padda. ha! ha! did you think i would stone you? it is fun to scare you! shall i try to hit you with the rope?--ingolf, let the rope go, please. i will try to hit steindor with it--he is deathly afraid. steindor (who now wants to show that he understands the joke). i wager you won't reach me. ingolf. i bet she hits you. the voice of hadda padda. i would have hit before, if the rope hadn't been too short. steindor. no, you never would have done it--you have to aim better than that! the voice of hadda padda. the rope was too short. steindor. it's easy to lengthen it. ingolf! give her full rope. let us see if she can hit me! ingolf (laughing). you must take care, steindor! (he holds the rope loosely in his hands. gradually it is pulled down entirely, till it is in a straight line with ingolf's waist. soon after the rope-end is seen hitting against the edge, touching steindor's foot.) the voice of hadda padda. didn't it hit? steindor. well, we can call it that. ingolf. you have to be careful, next time, steindor! steindor. what! won't you try any more? are you tying the rope around you? ingolf. is she rested? steindor. she is tying the rope around her and is lowering herself down under the ledge. ingolf (looks at him in astonishment). what are you saying? steindor. but why has she made the rope so taut? (he is amazed.) ingolf. what is the matter? steindor. hadda padda is standing on her head in the air. ingolf...? steindor. she is bracing her feet against the rock. look out! (ingolf braces his feet against the sides of the hole. steindor gets up.) ingolf. stay where you are, and tell me--i'll raise her up in a moment, [he pulls the rope with all his strength. a moment later he is dragged prostrate, out to the edge.] steindor (runs to him, catching hold of him). great god! is she insane? i wouldn't have suspected this. ingolf (in a low voice). where does she get that strength from? (the rope is pulled still more violently than before; they are both dragged forward. ingolf rolls on his back, using all his power to draw up the rope.) ingolf. loosen the rope, quick! ill try to hold on. (steindor hurries to loosen the rope. while he is doing it, ingolf struggles to hold fast. now he is holding his arms high up in the air, rope in hand; now his arms are pulled down. each time steindor thinks he is on the verge of giving up, he lets go of the rope, and catches hold of ingolf.) steindor. now it is free! (supports ingolf. the rope is once more pulled so violently, that it is drawn through ingolf's hands right up to the knot. he holds on to the rope beyond the knot as for life, while they are both dragged further forward.) steindor (frightened). you must let go of the rope. that's all you can do. it is better that she falls alone, than that she drag both of us with her. you must let go. or i'll let go. ingolf (looking directly at him). let go, then, you coward! steindor. why did you want me to untie the rope, if you intend to make her drag you down? ingolf (with icy calmness). have you courage to hold me while i try to get up? (gets up.) steindor (still supporting him). she is probably exhausted, now. ingolf (starts to pull the rope up. he is bare-headed, his hat is lying on the edge; his hair is wet with perspiration, which trickles down on his face. the very shape of his head seems strangely altered.) leave me, steindor, i am through with you. steindor. i won't stand here idle, and see you dragged into the chasm. ingolf. get out of my sight, do you hear? or you'll see what's in store for you. steindor. she's mad, i tell you--she's mad. (takes a few steps and stops.) ingolf pulls the rope up, quickly, and firmly, with caution in each grasp. hadda padda's white and beautiful hand appears above the edge of the gorge, holding a large, shining knife, which cuts the rope. hadda padda (in falling). ingolf! ingolf (is thrown back as the resistance is cut off; he jumps up; rushes to the edge, crying with horror): hadda padda! he gazes down into the gorge for a moment; his knees give way under him; he stretches up his arms, uttering a terrible cry of horror. steindor approaches. ingolf looks down into the gorge. listlessly, he lifts the hand which holds the fragment of rope. his eyes are dim with tears which do not fall. through the moisture of the tears, he looks at the newly cut wound in the rope. curtain the story of ida pfeiffer and her travels in many lands. [queen pomare's palace, tahiti: page4.jpg] "i'll put a girdle round the world."--shakespeare. london: thomas nelson and sons. edinburgh and new york. 1879. contents. i. her biography. ii. journey round the world. iii. northward. iv. last travels. chapter i.--her biography. ida pfeiffer, the celebrated traveller, was born in vienna on the 14th of october 1797. she was the third child of a well-to-do merchant, named reyer; and at an early age gave indications of an original and self-possessed character. the only girl in a family of six children, her predilections were favoured by the circumstances which surrounded her. she was bold, enterprising, fond of sport and exercise; loved to dress like her brothers, and to share in their escapades. dolls she contemptuously put aside, preferring drums; and a sword or a gun was valued at much more than a doll's house. in some respects her father brought her up strictly; she was fed, like her brothers, on a simple and even meagre diet, and trained to habits of prompt obedience; but he did nothing to discourage her taste for more violent exercises than are commonly permitted to young girls. she was only in her tenth year, however, when he died; and she then passed naturally enough under the maternal control. between her own inclinations and her mother's ideas of maidenly culture a great contest immediately arose. her mother could not understand why her daughter should prefer the violin to the piano, and the masculine trousers to the feminine petticoat. in fact, she did not understand ida, and it may be assumed that ida did not understand her. in 1809 vienna was captured by the french army under napoleon; a disgrace which the brave and spirited ida felt most keenly. some of the victorious troops were quartered in the house of her mother, who thought it politic to treat them with courtesy; but her daughter neither could nor would repress her dislike. when compelled to be present at a grand review which napoleon held in schonbrunn, she turned her back as the emperor rode past. for this hazardous manoeuvre she was summarily punished; and to prevent her from repeating it when the emperor returned, her mother held her by the shoulders. this was of little avail, however, as ida perseveringly persisted in keeping her eyes shut. at the age of thirteen she was induced to resume the garb of her sex, though it was some time before she could accustom her wild free movements to it. she was then placed in charge of a tutor, who seems to have behaved to her with equal skill and delicacy. "he showed," she says, "great patience and perseverance in combating my overstrained and misdirected notions. as i had learned to fear my parents rather than love them, and this gentleman was, so to speak, the first human being who had displayed any sympathy and affection for me, i clung to him in return with enthusiastic attachment, desirous of fulfilling his every wish, and never so happy as when he appeared satisfied with my exertions. he took the entire charge of my education, and though it cost me some tears to abandon my youthful visions, and engage in pursuits i had hitherto regarded with contempt, to all this i submitted out of my affection for him. i even learned many feminine avocations, such as sewing, knitting, and cookery. to him i owed the insight i obtained into the duties and true position of my sex; and it was he who transformed me from a romp and a hoyden into a modest quiet girl." already a great longing for travel had entered into her mind. she longed to see new scenes, new peoples, new manners and customs. she read eagerly every book of travel that fell into her hands; followed with profound interest the career of every adventurous explorer, and blamed her sex that prevented her from following their heroic examples. for a while a change was effected in the current of her thoughts by a strong attachment which sprung up between her and her teacher, who by this time had given up his former profession, and had obtained an honourable position in the civil service. it was natural enough that in the close intimacy which existed between them such an affection should be developed. ida's mother, however, regarded it with grave disapproval, and exacted from the unfortunate girl a promise that she would neither see nor write to her humble suitor again. the result was a dangerous illness: on her recovery from which her mother insisted on her accepting for a husband dr. pfeiffer, a widower, with a grown-up son, but an opulent and distinguished advocate in lemberg, who was then on a visit to vienna. though twenty-four years older than ida, he was attracted by her grace and simplicity, and offered his hand. weary of home persecutions, ida accepted it, and the marriage took place on may 1st, 1820. if she did not love her husband, she respected him, and their married life was not unhappy. in a few months, however, her husband's integrity led to a sad change of fortune. he had fully and fearlessly exposed the corruption of the austrian officials in galicia, and had thus made many enemies. he was compelled to give up his office as councillor, and, deprived of his lucrative practice, to remove to vienna in search of employment. through the treachery of a friend, ida's fortune was lost, and the ill-fated couple found themselves reduced to the most painful exigencies. vienna, lemberg, vienna again, switzerland, everywhere dr. pfeiffer sought work, and everywhere found himself baffled by some malignant influence. "heaven only knows," says madame pfeiffer in her autobiography, "what i suffered during eighteen years of my married life; not, indeed, from any ill-treatment on my husband's part, but from poverty and want. i came of a wealthy family, and had been accustomed from my earliest youth to order and comfort; and now i frequently knew not where i should lay my head, or find a little money to buy the commonest necessaries. i performed household drudgery, and endured cold and hunger; i worked secretly for money, and gave lessons in drawing and music; and yet, in spite of all my exertions, there were many days when i could hardly put anything but dry bread before my poor children for their dinner." these children were two sons, whose education their mother entirely undertook, until, after old madame reyer's death in 1837, she succeeded to an inheritance, which lifted the little family out of the slough of poverty, and enabled her to provide her sons with good teachers. [beirut and mountains of lebanon: page15.jpg] as they grew up and engaged successfully in professional pursuits, madame pfeiffer, who had lost her husband in 1838, found herself once more under the spell of her old passion for travel, and in a position to gratify her adventurous inclinations. her means were somewhat limited, it is true, for she had done much for her husband and her children; but economy was natural to her, and she retained the simple habits she had acquired in her childhood. she was strong, healthy, courageous, and accomplished; and at length, after maturing her plans with anxious consideration, she took up her pilgrim's staff, and sallied forth alone. her first object was to visit the holy land, and tread in the hallowed footsteps of our lord. for this purpose she left vienna on the 22nd of march 1842, and embarked on board the steamer that was to convey her down the danube to the black sea and the city of constantinople. thence she repaired to broussa, beirut, jaffa, jerusalem, the dead sea, nazareth, damascus, baalbek, the lebanon, alexandria, and cairo; and travelled across the sandy desert to the isthmus of suez and the red sea. from egypt the adventurous lady returned home by way of sicily and italy, visiting naples, rome, and florence, and arriving in vienna in december 1842. in the following year she published the record of her experiences under the title of a "journey of a viennese lady to the holy land." it met with a very favourable reception, to which the simplicity of its style and the faithfulness of its descriptions fully entitled it. with the profits of this book to swell her funds, madame pfeiffer felt emboldened to undertake a new expedition; and this time she resolved on a northern pilgrimage, expecting in _ultima thule_ to see nature manifested on a novel and surprising scale. she began her journey to iceland on the 10th of april 1845, and returned to vienna on the 4th of october. her narrative of this second voyage will be found, necessarily much abridged and condensed, in the following pages. what should she do next? success had increased her courage and strengthened her resolution, and she could think of nothing fit for her energies and sufficient for her curiosity but a voyage round the world! she argued that greater privations and fatigue than she had endured in syria and iceland she could scarcely be called upon to encounter. the outlay did not frighten her; for she had learned by experience how little is required, if the traveller will but practise the strictest economy and resolutely forego many comforts and all superfluities. her savings amounted to a sum insufficient, perhaps, for such travellers as prince puckler-muskau, chateaubriand, or lamartine for a fortnight's excursion; but for a woman who wanted to see much, but cared for no personal indulgence, it seemed enough to last during a journey of two or three years. and so it proved. the heroic woman set out alone on the 1st of may 1846, and proceeded first to rio janeiro. on the 3rd of february 1847, she sailed round cape horn, and on the 2nd of march landed at valparaiso. thence she traversed the broad pacific to tahiti, where she was presented to queen pomare. in the beginning of july we find her at macao; afterwards she visited hong kong and canton, where the appearance of a white woman produced a remarkable and rather disagreeable sensation. by way of singapore she proceeded to ceylon, which she carefully explored, making excursions to colombo, candy, and the famous temple of dagoba. towards the end of october she landed at madras, and thence went on to calcutta, ascending the ganges to the holy city of benares, and striking across the country to bombay. late in the month of april 1848 she sailed for persia, and from bushire traversed the interior as far as legend-haunted bagdad. after a pilgrimage to the ruins of ctesiphon and babylon, this bold lady accompanied a caravan through the dreary desert to mosul and the vast ruins of nineveh, and afterwards to the salt lake of urumiyeh and the city of tabreez. it is certain that no woman ever accomplished a more daring exploit! the mental as well as physical energy required was enormous; and only a strong mind and a strong frame could have endured the many hardships consequent on her undertaking--the burning heat by day, the inconveniences of every kind at night, the perils incidental to her sex, meagre fare, a filthy couch, and constant apprehension of attack by robber bands. the english consul at tabreez, when she introduced herself to him, found it hard to believe that a woman could have accomplished such an enterprise. at tabreez, madame pfeiffer was presented to the viceroy, and obtained permission to visit his harem. on august 11th, 1848, she resumed her journey, crossing armenia, georgia, and mingrelia; she touched afterwards at anapa, kertch, and sebastopol, landed at odessa, and returned home by way of constantinople, greece, the ionian islands, and trieste, arriving in vienna on the 4th of november 1848, just after the city had been recaptured from the rebels by the troops of prince windischgratz. [constantinople: page21.jpg] ida pfeiffer was now a woman of note. her name was known in every civilized country; and it was not unnatural that great celebrity should attach to a female who, alone, and without the protection of rank or official recommendation, had travelled 2800 miles by land, and 35,000 miles by sea. hence, her next work, "a woman's journey round the world," was most favourably received, and translated both into french and english. a summary of it is included in our little volume. the brave adventurer at first, on her return home, spoke of her travelling days as over, and, at the age of fifty-four, as desirous of peace and rest. but this tranquil frame of mind was of very brief duration. her love of action and thirst of novelty could not long be repressed; and as she felt herself still strong and healthy, with energies as quick and lively as ever, she resolved on a second circuit of the globe. her funds having been increased by a grant of 1500 florins from the austrian government, she left vienna on the 18th of march 1851, proceeded to london, and thence to cape town, where she arrived on the 11th of august. for a while she hesitated between a visit to the interior of africa and a voyage to australia; but at last she sailed to singapore, and determined to explore the east indian archipelago. at sarawak, the british settlement in borneo, she was warmly welcomed by sir james brooke, a man of heroic temper and unusual capacities for command and organization. she adventured among the dyaks, and journeyed westward to pontianak, and the diamond mines of landak. we next meet with her in java, and afterwards in sumatra, where she boldly trusted herself among the cannibal battas, who had hitherto resented the intrusion of any european. returning to java, she saw almost all that it had of natural wonders or natural beauties; and then departed on a tour through the sunda islands and the moluccas, visiting banda, amboyna, ceram, ternate, and celebes. for a second time she traversed the pacific, but on this occasion in an opposite direction. for two months she saw no land; but on the 27th september 1853 she arrived at san francisco. at the close of the year she sailed for callao. thence she repaired to lima, with the intention of crossing the andes, and pushing eastward, through the interior of south america, to the brazilian coast. a revolution in peru, however, compelled her to change her course, and she returned to ecuador, which served as a starting-point for her ascent of the cordilleras. after having the good fortune to witness an eruption of cotopaxi, she retraced her steps to the west. in the neighbourhood of guayaquil she had two very narrow escapes: one, by a fall from her mule; and next, by an immersion in the river guaya, which teems with alligators. meeting with neither courtesy nor help from the spanish americans--a superstitious, ignorant, and degraded race--she gladly set sail for panama. at the end of may she crossed the isthmus, and sailed to new orleans. thence she ascended the mississippi to napoleon, and the arkansas to fort smith. after suffering from a severe attack of fever, she made her way to st. louis, and then directed her steps northward to st. paul, the falls of st. antony, chicago, and thence to the great lakes and "mighty niagara." after an excursion into canada, she visited new york, boston, and other great cities, crossed the atlantic, and arrived in england on the 21st of november 1854. two years later she published a narrative of her adventures, entitled "my second journey round the world." madame pfeiffer's last voyage was to madagascar, and will be found described in the closing chapter of this little volume. in madagascar she contracted a dangerous illness, from which she temporarily recovered; but on her return to europe it was evident that her constitution had received a severe blow. she gradually grew weaker. her disease proved to be cancer of the liver, and the physicians pronounced it incurable. after lingering a few weeks in much pain, she passed away on the night of the 27th of october 1858, in the sixty-third year of her age. * * * * * this remarkable woman is described as of short stature, thin, and slightly bent. her movements were deliberate and measured. she was wellknit and of considerable physical energy, and her career proves her to have been possessed of no ordinary powers of endurance. the reader might probably suppose that she was what is commonly known as a strong-minded woman. the epithet would suit her if seriously applied, for she had undoubtedly a clear, strong intellect, a cool judgment, and a resolute purpose; but it would be thoroughly inapplicable in the satirical sense in which it is commonly used. there was nothing masculine about her. on the contrary, she was so reserved and so unassuming that it required an intimate knowledge of her to fathom the depths of her acquirements and experience. "in her whole appearance and manner," we are told, "was a staidness that seemed to indicate the practical housewife, with no thought soaring beyond her domestic concerns." this quiet, silent woman, travelled nearly 20,000 miles by land and 150,000 miles by sea; visiting regions which no european had previously penetrated, or where the bravest men had found it difficult to make their way; undergoing a variety of severe experiences; opening up numerous novel and surprising scenes; and doing all this with the scantiest means, and unassisted by powerful protection or royal patronage. we doubt whether the entire round of human enterprise presents anything more remarkable or more admirable. and it would be unfair to suppose that she was actuated only by a feminine curiosity. her leading motive was a thirst for knowledge. at all events, if she had a passion for travelling, it must be admitted that her qualifications as a traveller were unusual. her observation was quick and accurate; her perseverance was indefatigable; her courage never faltered; while she possessed a peculiar talent for first awakening, and then profiting by, the interest and sympathy of those with whom she came in contact. to assert that her travels were wholly without scientific value would be unjust; humboldt and carl ritter were of a different opinion. she made her way into regions which had never before been trodden by european foot; and the very fact of her sex was a frequent protection in her most dangerous undertakings. she was allowed to enter many places which would have been rigorously barred against male travellers. consequently, her communications have the merit of embodying many new facts in geography and ethnology, and of correcting numerous popular errors. science derived much benefit also from her valuable collections of plants, animals, and minerals. we conclude with the eulogium pronounced by an anonymous biographer:--"straightforward in character, and endued with high principle, she possessed, moreover, a wisdom and a promptitude in action seldom equalled among her sex. ida pfeiffer may, indeed, justly be classed among those women who richly compensate for the absence of outward charms by their remarkable energy and the rare qualities of their minds." [rio janeiro: page29.jpg] chapter ii.--journey round the world. prompted by a boundless thirst for knowledge and an insatiable desire to see new places and new things, madame pfeiffer left vienna on the 1st of may 1846, and proceeded to hamburg, where she embarked on board a danish brig, the _caroline_, for rio janeiro. as the voyage was divested of romantic incidents, we shall land the reader without delay at the great sea-port of the brazilian empire. the traveller's description of it is not very favourably coloured. the streets are dirty, and the houses, even the public buildings, insignificant. the imperial palace has not the slightest architectural pretensions. the finest square is the largo do roico, but this would not be admitted into belgravia. it is impossible to speak in high terms even of the churches, the interior of which is not less disappointing than their exterior. and as is the town, so are the inhabitants. negroes and mulattoes do not make up attractive pictures. some of the brazilian and portuguese women, however, have handsome and expressive countenances. most writers indulge in glowing descriptions of the scenery and climate of the brazils; of the cloudless, radiant sky, and the magic of the neverending spring. madame ida pfeiffer admits that the vegetation is richer, and the soil more fruitful, and nature more exuberantly active than in any other part of the world; but still, she says, it must not be thought that all is good and beautiful, and that there is nothing to weaken the powerful effect of the first impression. the constant blaze of colour after a while begins to weary; the eye wants rest; the monotony of the verdure oppresses; and we begin to understand that the true loveliness of spring is only rightly appreciated when it succeeds the harsher aspects of winter. [invasion of ants: page33.jpg] europeans suffer much from the climate. the moisture is very considerable, and renders the heat, which in the hot months rises to 99 degrees in the shade, and 122 degrees in the sun, more difficult to bear. fogs and mists are disagreeably common; and whole tracts of country are often veiled by an impenetrable mist. the brazils suffer, too, from a plague of insects,--from mosquitoes, ants, baraten, and sand-fleas; against the attacks of which the traveller finds it difficult to defend himself. the ants often appear in trains of immeasurable length, and pursue their march over every obstacle that stands in the way. madame pfeiffer, during her residence at a friend's house, beheld the advance of a swarm of this description. it was really interesting to see what a regular line they formed; nothing could make them deviate from the direction on which they had first determined. madame geiger, her friend, told her she was awakened one night by a terrible itching: she sprang out of bed immediately, and lo, a swarm of ants were passing over it! there is no remedy for the infliction, except to wait, with as much patience as one can muster, for the end of the procession, which frequently lasts four to six hours. it is possible, to some extent, to protect provisions against their attacks, by placing the legs of the tables in basins filled with water. clothes and linen are enclosed in tightly-fitting tin canisters. the worst plague of all, however, are the sand-fleas, which attach themselves to one's toes, underneath the nail, or sometimes to the soles of the feet. when a person feels an irritation in these parts, he must immediately look at the place; and if he discern a tiny black point, surrounded by a small white ring, the former is the _chigoe_, or sandflea, and the latter the eggs which it has deposited in the flesh. the first thing to be done is to loosen the skin all round as far as the white skin is visible; the whole deposit is then extracted, and a little snuff strewn in the empty space. the blacks perform this operation with considerable skill. rich as the brazils are in natural productions, they are wanting in many articles which europeans regard as of the first importance. there are sugar and coffee, it is true; but no corn, no potatoes, and none of our delightful varieties of fruit. the flour of manioc, obtained from the cassava plant, which forms a staple portion of almost every dish, supplies the place of bread, but is far from being so nutritious and strengthening; while the different kinds of sweet-tasting roots are far inferior in value to our potato. the only fruit which madame pfeiffer thought really excellent, were the oranges, bananas, and mangoes. the pine-apples are neither very sweet nor very fragrant. and with regard to two most important articles of consumption, the milk is very watery, and the meat very dry. * * * * * our traveller, during her sojourn at rio janeiro, made many interesting excursions in the neighbourhood. one was directed to petropolis, a colony founded by germans in the heart of scenery of the most exquisite character. accompanied by count berchthold, she sailed for porto d'estrella in one of the regular coasting barks. their course carried them across a bay remarkable for its picturesque views. it lies calmly in the embrace of richly-wooded hills, and is studded with islands, like a silver shield with emerald bosses. some of these islands are completely overgrown with palms, while others are masses of huge rock, with a carpet of green turf. their bark was manned by four negroes and a white skipper. at first they ran merrily before a favourable wind, but in two hours the crew were compelled to take to the oars, the method of using which was exceedingly fatiguing. at each dip of the oar, the rower mounts upon a bench in front of him, and then, during the stroke, throws himself off again, with his full force. in two hours more they passed into the river geromerino, and made their way through a world of beautiful aquatic plants which covered the tranquil waters in every direction. the river banks are flat, and fringed with underwood and young trees; the background is formed by ranges of low green hills. at porto d'estrella, madame pfeiffer and her companion landed, and proceeded on foot towards petropolis. the first eight miles lay through a broad valley, clothed with dense brambles and young trees, and shadowed by lofty mountains. the wild pine-apples by the roadside were very fair to see; they were not quite ripe, but tinted of the most delicate red. beautiful humming-birds flashed through the air like "winged jewels," and studded the dense foliage with points of many-coloured light. after passing through the valley, they reached the sierra, as the brazilians term the practicable mountain-summits. it was three thousand feet in height, and was ascended by a broad paved road, striking through the depths of virgin forests. madame pfeiffer had always imagined that the trees in virgin forests had very thick and lofty trunks; but such was not the case here; probably because the vegetation was too luxuriant, and the larger trunks have the life crushed out of them by masses of smaller trees, bushes, creepers, and parasites. frequent truppas, or teams of ten mules driven by a negro, as well as numerous pedestrians, enlivened the path, and prevented our travellers from observing that their steps were persistently followed up by a negro. when, however, they arrived at a somewhat lonely spot, this negro suddenly sprang forward, holding a lasso in one hand and a long knife in the other, and with threatening gestures gave them to understand that he intended to murder them, and then drag their dead bodies into the forest! the travellers were without arms, having been told the road was perfectly safe; their only weapons were their umbrellas, with the exception of a clasp-knife. this the brave woman drew from her pocket and opened, in the calm resolution to sell her life as dearly as possible. with their umbrellas they parried their adversary's blows as long as they could; but he caught hold of madame ida's, which snapped off, leaving only a piece of the handle in her hand. in the struggle, however, he dropped his knife, which rolled a few steps away from him. madame ida immediately made a dash at it, and thought she had secured it; but, quicker in his movements than she was, he thrust her away with his hands and feet, and once more obtained possession of it. waving it furiously over his head, he slashed her twice in the upper part of the left arm. all seemed lost; but in her extreme peril the brave lady bethought her of her own knife, and struck at her adversary, wounding him in the hand. at the same moment count berchthold sprang forward, and while he seized the villain with both arms, madame ida pfeiffer recovered her feet. all this took place in less than a minute. the negro was now roused into a condition of maniacal fury; he gnashed his teeth like a wild beast, and brandished his knife, while uttering fearful threats. the issue of the contest would probably have been disastrous, but for the opportune arrival of assistance. hearing the tramp of horses' hoofs upon the road, the negro desisted from his attack, and sprang into the forest. a couple of horsemen turning the corner of the road, our travellers hurried to meet them; and having told their tale, which, indeed, their wounds told eloquently enough, they leaped from their horses, and entered the wood in pursuit. a couple of negroes soon afterwards coming up, the villain was captured, securely pinioned, and, as he would not walk, severely beaten, until, as most of the blows fell upon his head, madame ida pfeiffer feared that the wretch's skull would be broken. nothing, however, would induce him to walk, and the negroes were compelled to carry him bodily, to the nearest house. the colony of petropolis proved to be situated in the depth of a virgin forest, at an elevation of 2500 feet above the sea-level. at the time of madame pfeiffer's visit it was about fourteen months old, having been founded for the special purpose of providing the capital with fruits and vegetables which, in tropical climates, will thrive only in very elevated situations. it was, of course, in a very rudimentary condition, the mere embryo of a town; but the country around it was very picturesque. * * * * * madame pfeiffer's second excursion was into the interior; and it opened up to her a variety of interesting scenes,--as, for instance, a maniocfazenda, or plantation. the manioc plant, it appears, throws off stalks from four to six feet in height, with a number of large leaves at their upper extremities. the valuable portion of the plant is its bulbous root, which frequently weighs two or three pounds, and supplies the place of corn throughout the brazils. it is washed, peeled, and held against the rough edge of a mill-stone, until it is completely ground into flour. this flour is collected in a basket, steeped thoroughly in water, and afterwards pressed quite dry by means of a press. lastly, it is scattered upon large iron plates, and slowly dried over a gentle fire. at this stage it resembles a very coarse kind of flour, and is eaten in two ways;--either mixed with hot water, until it forms a kind of porridge; or baked in the form of coarse flour, which is handed round at table in little baskets. she also saw a coffee plantation. the coffee-trees stand in rows upon tolerably steep hillocks. their height ranges from six feet to twelve; and they begin to bear sometimes as early as the second, but in no case later than the third year. they are productive for at least ten years. the leaf is long and slightly serrated, and the flower white; while the fruit hangs down like a cluster of grapes, and resembles a large cherry, which varies from green to red, then to brown, and almost black. while red, the outer shell is soft; but eventually it becomes perfectly hard, until it may be compared to a wooden capsule. blossoms and ripe fruit are found on the same tree at the same time; so that a crop may be gathered at almost any season of the year. after the berries are plucked, they are spread out in spacious areas enclosed by a wall about twelve feet high, with small drains to carry off the rain-water. here the coffee is allowed to dry in the heat of the sun, and it is then shaken into large stone mortars, where it is lightly pounded with wooden hammers, set in motion by water power. the whole mass falls into wooden boxes attached to a long table, at which sit the negro workers, who separate the coffee from the husk, and put it into flat copper pans. in these it is carefully and skilfully turned about over a slow fire, until desiccation is complete. on the whole, says madame ida pfeiffer, the preparation of the coffee is not laborious, and the harvest much more easily gathered than one of corn. the negro, while plucking the coffee, stands erect, and the tree protects him from the heat of the sun. his only danger is from poisonous snakes, and a sting from one of these is a very rare occurrence. another novelty which much impressed our traveller was the sight of the frequent burning forests. these are set on fire in order to clear the ground for cultivation. in most cases she viewed the tremendous spectacle from a distance; but one day she realized it in all its details, as her road lay between a wood in flames on the one hand, and the brushwood, crackling and seething, on the other. the space between the double rows of fire did not exceed fifty paces in breadth, and was completely buried in smoke. the spluttering and hissing of the fire was distinctly audible, and through the dense mass of vapour shot upward thick shafts and tongues of flame, while now and then the large trees crashed to the ground, with loud reports, like those of artillery. [a forest of fire: page45.jpg] "on seeing my guide enter this fiery gulf," says our traveller, "i was, i must confess, rather frightened;" and her dread was surely very excusable. she plucked up courage, however, when she saw that her guide pushed forward. on the threshold, so to speak, sat two negroes, to indicate the safe, and, in truth, the only path. the guide, in obedience to their warning, spurred on his mule, and, followed by madame pfeiffer, galloped at full speed across the desert of fire. flames to the right of them, flames to the left of them, onward they dashed, and happily effected the passage in safety. * * * * * madame pfeiffer gives a bright description of the beauties of the road as she pushed further into the interior. crossing a small waterfall, she struck right into the depths of the virgin forest, pursuing a narrow path which ran along the bank of a little stream. palms, with their lordly crests, soared high above the other trees, which, intertwined by inextricable boughs, formed the loveliest fairy-bowers imaginable; every stem, every branch was luxuriously festooned with fantastic orchids; while creepers and ferns glided up the tall, smooth trunks, mingling with the boughs, and hanging in every direction waving curtains of flowers, of the sweetest odours and the most vivid colours. with shrill twittering cry and rapid wings flashed the humming-bird from bough to bough; the pepper-pecker, with glowing plumage, soared timorously upwards; while parrots and paroquets, and innumerable birds of beautiful appearance, added, by their cries and motions, to the liveliness of the scene. madame pfeiffer visited an indian village. it lay deep in the forest recesses, and consisted of five huts, or rather sheds, formed of leaves, and measuring eighteen feet by twelve feet, erected under lofty trees. the frames were formed of four poles stuck in the ground, with another reaching across; and the roof was wrought of palm-leaves, by no means impervious to the rain. the sides were open. in the interior hung a hammock or two; and on the earth a few roots, indian corn, and bananas were roasting under a heap of ashes. in one corner, under the roof, a small supply of provisions was hoarded up, and round about were scattered a few gourds; these are used by the puris as substitutes for "crockery." their weapons, the long bows and arrows, leaned against the wall. madame pfeiffer describes the puri indians as even uglier than the negroes. their complexion is a light bronze; they are stunted in stature, well-knit, and about the middle size. their features are broad and somewhat compressed; their hair is thick, long, and of a coal-black colour. the men wear it hanging straight down; the women, in plaits fastened to the back of the head, and sometimes falling loosely down about their persons. their forehead is broad and low, and the nose somewhat flattened; the eyes are long and narrow, almost like those of the chinese; and the mouth is large, with rather thick lips. to enhance the effect of these various charms, the countenance bears a peculiar look of stupidity, which may be attributed perhaps to the way in which the mouth is kept always open. women, as well as males, are generally tattooed of a reddish or blue colour, round the mouth, moustachio-wise. both sexes are addicted to smoking, and look upon brandy as the _summum bonum_ of human life. the indians, ugly as they were, gave madame pfeiffer a hospitable welcome. after an evening meal, in which roasted monkey and parrot were the chief dishes, they performed one of their characteristic dances. a quantity of wood was heaped up into a funeral pile, and set on fire; the men then danced around it in a ring. they threw their bodies from side to side with much awkwardness, but always moving the head forward in a straight line. the women then joined in, forming at a short distance behind the men, and imitating all their movements. a horrible noise arose; this was intended for a song, the singers at the same time distorting their features frightfully. one of them performed on a kind of stringed instrument, made out of the stem of a cabbage-palm, and about two feet, or two feet and a half, in length. a hole was cut in it slantwise, and six fibres of the stem were kept up in an elevated position at each end, by means of a small bridge. the fingers played upon these as upon a guitar, drawing forth a very low, harsh, and disagreeable tone. the dance, thus pleasingly accompanied, was called the dance of peace and joy. a wilder measure was next undertaken by the men alone. they first equipped themselves with bows, arrows, and stout clubs; then they formed a circle, indulged in the most rapid and fantastic movements, and brandished their clubs as if dealing death to a hundred foes. suddenly they broke their ranks, strung their bows, placed their arrows ready, and represented all the evolutions of shooting after a flying foe, giving utterance to the most piercing cries, which resounded through the forestglades. madame pfeiffer, believing that she was really surrounded by enemies, started up in terror, and was heartily glad when the dance ended. [cape horn: page51.jpg] from rio janeiro madame pfeiffer sailed in an english ship, the _john renwick_, on the 9th of december, bound for valparaiso in chili. she kept to the south, touching at santos, where the voyagers celebrated newyear's day, and reaching the mouth of the rio plata on the 11th of january. in these latitudes the southern cross is the most conspicuous object in the heavens. it consists of four stars of much brilliancy, arranged in two diagonal rows. late in the month the voyagers sighted the sterile shores and barren mountains of patagonia, and next the volcanic rocks, wave-worn and wind-worn, of tierra del fuego. through the strait of le maire, which separates the latter from staten island, they sailed onward to the extreme southern point of the american continent, the famous promontory of cape horn. it is the termination of the mighty mountain-chain of the andes, and is formed of a mass of colossal basaltic rocks, thrown together in wild disorder, as by a titan's hand. rounding cape horn they encountered a violent gale, which lasted for several days; and soon discovered, like other voyagers, how little the great southern ocean deserves its name of the pacific. but they reached valparaiso in safety. its appearance, however, did not very favourably impress madame ida pfeiffer. it is laid out in two long streets at the foot of dreary hills, these hills consisting of a pile of rocks covered with thin strata of earth and sand. some of them are covered with houses; on one of them is the churchyard; the others are bare and solitary. the two chief streets are broad, and much frequented, especially by horsemen; for every chilian is born a horseman, and is usually mounted on a steed worthy of a good rider. valparaiso houses are european in style, with flat italian roofs. broad steps lead up into a lofty entrance-hall on the first floor, from which, through large glass doors, the visitor passes into the drawing-room and other apartments. the drawing-room is the pride not only of every european settler, but of every native chilian. the foot sinks into heavy and costly carpets; the walls are emblazoned with rich tapestry; the furniture and mirrors are of european make, and sumptuous in the extreme; and every table presents the evidence of refined taste in gorgeous albums, adorned with the choicest engravings. as to the lower classes of the population, if we would obtain an idea of their manners and customs, we must stroll on a fete-day into one of their eating-houses. in one corner, on the ground, crackles a tremendous fire, surrounded by innumerable pots and pans, between which are wooden spits with beef and pork, simmering and roasting with appetizing savour. a rude wooden framework, with a long broad plank on it, occupies the middle of the room, and is covered with a cloth, the original colour of which it is impossible to determine. this is the guest-table. the dinner is served up in the most primitive fashion imaginable, all the viands being heaped up in one dish; beans and rice, potatoes and roast beef, onions and paradise apples, forming a curious medley. the appetites of the guests are keen, and no time is wasted in talking. at the end of the repast, a goblet of wine or water passes from hand to hand; after which every tongue is loosened. in the evening a guitar strikes up, and dancing becomes general. a singular custom prevails among the chilians on the death of a little child. this incident, in most european families, is attended by much sorrow: the chilian parents make it the occasion of a great festival. the deceased _angelito_, or little angel, is adorned in various ways. its eyes, instead of being closed, are opened as wide as possible; its cheeks are painted red; then the cold rigid corpse is dressed in the finest clothes, crowned with flowers, and set up in a little chair in a flowergarlanded niche. the relatives and neighbours flock in, to wish the parents joy on the possession of such an angel; and, during the first night, they all indulge in the most extravagant dances, and feast with sounds of wildest merriment before the _angelito_. madame pfeiffer heard from a merchant the following story:--a grave-digger, on his way to the churchyard with one of these deceased angelitos, tarried at a tavern to refresh himself with a cup of wine. the landlord inquired what he was carrying under his cloak, and on learning that it was an angelito, offered him a shilling for it. a bargain was soon struck; the landlord quickly fitted up a flowery niche in the drinking-saloon, and then took care that his neighbours should know what a treasure he had acquired. they came; they admired the angelito; they drank copiously in its honour. but the parents hearing of the affair, interfered, carried away their dead child, and summoned the landlord before the magistrate. the latter gravely heard the pleadings on both sides, and as no such case was mentioned in the statute-book, arranged it amicably, to the satisfaction of both parties. [scene in tahiti: page57.jpg] * * * * * wearying of valparaiso, our restless and adventurous traveller, who was bent upon accomplishing a voyage round the world, took her passage for china in the dutch barque _lootpurt_, captain van wyk jurianse. they sailed from valparaiso on the 18th of march, and on the 26th of april came in sight of that gem of the south seas, tahiti, the otaheite of captain cook, and the largest and most beautiful of the society group. from the days of bougainville, its discoverer, down to those of "the earl and the doctor," who recently published a narrative of their visit, it has been the theme of admiration for the charms of its scenery. it lifts its lofty summit out of a wealth of luxuriant vegetation, which descends to the very margin of a sea as blue as the sky above it. cool green valleys penetrate into its mountain-recesses, and their slopes are loaded with groves of bread-fruit and cocoa-nut trees. the inhabitants, physically speaking, are not unworthy of their island-eden; they are a tall, robust, and well-knit race, and would be comely but for their custom of flattening the nose as soon as the child is born. they have fine dark eyes, and thick jet-black hair. the colour of their skin is a copper-brown. both sexes are tattooed, generally from the hips half down the legs, and frequently over the hands, feet, and other parts of the body; the devices being often very fanciful in design, and always artistically executed. the women of tahiti have always been notorious for their immodesty, and the island, notwithstanding the labours of zealous missionaries, continues to be the polynesian paphos. the french protectorate from which it suffers has not raised the moral standard of the population. madame pfeiffer undertook an excursion to the lake vaihiria, assuming for the nonce a semi-masculine attire, which any less strong-minded and adventurous woman would probably have refused. she wore, she tells us, strong men's shoes, trousers, and a blouse, which was fastened high up about the hips. thus equipped, she started off with her guide, crossing about two-and-thirty brooks before they entered the ravines leading into the interior of the island. she noticed that as they advanced the fruit-trees disappeared, and instead, the slopes were covered with plantains, taros, and marantas; the last attaining a height of twelve feet, and growing so luxuriantly that it is with some difficulty the traveller makes his way through the tangle. the taro, which is carefully cultivated, averages two or three feet high, and has fine large leaves and tubers like those of the potato, but not so good when roasted. there is much gracefulness in the appearance of the plantain, or banana, which varies from twelve to fifteen feet in height, and has leaves like those of the palm, but a brittle reed-like stem, about eight inches in diameter. it attains its full growth in the first year, bears fruit in the second, and then dies. thus its life is as brief as it is useful. through one bright mountain-stream, which swept along the ravine over a stony bed, breaking up into eddies and tiny whirlpools, and in some places attaining a depth of three feet, madame pfeiffer and her guide waded or half-swam two-and-sixty times. the resolute spirit of the woman, however, never failed her; and though the path at every step became more difficult and dangerous, she persisted in pressing forward. she clambered over rocks and stones; she forced her way through intertangled bushes; and though severely wounded in her hands and feet, never hesitated for a moment. in two places the ravine narrowed so considerably that the entire space was filled by the brawling torrent. it was here that the islanders, during their struggle against french occupation, threw up stone walls five feet in height, as a barrier against the enemy. in eight hours the bold traveller and her guide had walked, waded, and clambered fully eighteen miles, and had attained an elevation of eighteen hundred feet. the lake itself was not visible until they stood upon its shores, as it lies bosomed in a deep hollow, among lofty and precipitous mountains which descend with startling abruptness to the very brink of its dark, deep waters. to cross the lake it is necessary to put one's trust in one's swimming powers, or in a curiously frail kind of boat, which the natives prepare with equal rapidity and skill. madame pfeiffer, however, was nothing if not adventurous. whatever there was to be dared, she immediately dared. at her request, the guide made the usual essay at boat-building. he tore off some plantain branches, bound them together with long tough grass, laid a few leaves upon them, launched them in the water, and requested madame pfeiffer to embark. she confesses to having felt a little hesitation, but without saying a word, she stepped on board. then her guide took to the water like a duck, and pushed her forward. the passage across the lake, and back again, was in this way accomplished without any accident. having satiated herself with admiring the lake and its surrounding scenery, she retired to a little nook roofed over with leaves, where her guide quickly kindled a good fire in the usual indian fashion. he cut a small piece of wood to a fine point, and then selecting a second piece, grooved it with a narrow and not very deep furrow. in this he rubbed the pointed stick until the fragments detached during the process began to smoke. these he flung into a heap of dry leaves and grass previously collected, and swung the whole several times round in the air, until it broke out into flames. the entire process did not occupy above two minutes. gathering a few plantains, these were roasted for supper; after which madame pfeiffer withdrew to her solitary couch of dry leaves, to sleep as best she might. it is impossible not to wonder at the marvellous physical capability of this adventurous woman, no less than at her courage, her resolution, and her perseverance. how many of her sex could bear for a week the fatigue and exposure to which she subjected herself year after year? the next morning she accomplished the return journey in safety. * * * * * [hong-kong: page65.jpg] on the 17th of may she left tahiti, the dutch vessel in which she had embarked being bound via the philippines. they passed this rich and radiant group of islands on the 1st of july, and the next day entered the dangerous china sea. a few days afterwards they reached hong-kong, which has been an english settlement since 1842. here madame pfeiffer made no long stay, for she desired to see china and the chinese with as little intermixture of the european element as possible. so she ascended the pearl river, the banks of which are covered with immense plantations of rice, and studded with quaint little country-houses, of the genuine chinese pattern, with sloping, pointed roofs, and mosaics of variously coloured tiles, to canton, one of the great commercial centres of the flowery land. as she approached she surveyed with wonder the animated scene before her. the river was crowded with ships and inhabited boats. junks there were, almost as large as the old spanish galleons, with poops impending far over the water, and covered in with a roof, like a house. men-of-war there were, flat, broad, and long, mounted with twenty or thirty guns, and adorned in the usual chinese fashion, with two large painted eyes at the prow, that they may be the better able to find their way. mandarins' boats she saw, with doors, and sides, and windows gaily painted, with carved galleries, and tiny silken flags fluttering from every point. and flower-boats she also saw; their upper galleries decked with flowers, garlands, and arabesques, as if these were barks fitted out for the service of titania and her fairy company. the interior is divided into one large apartment and a few cabinets, which are lighted by windows of fantastic design. mirrors and silk hangings embellish the walls, while the enchanting scene is completed with an ample garniture of glass chandeliers and coloured paper lanterns, interspersed with lovely little baskets of fresh flowers. it is not necessary to attempt a description of canton, with its pagodas, houses, shops, and european factories. let us direct our attention to the manners, customs, and peculiarities of its inhabitants. as to dress and appearance, the costume of both sexes, among the lower orders, consists of full trousers and long upper garments, and is chiefly remarkable for its "excessive filth." baths and ablutions have no charm for the chinaman; he scorns to wear a shirt, and he holds by his trousers until they drop from his body. the men's upper garments reach a little below the knee, the women's about half way down the calf. they are made of nankeen, or dark blue, brown, or black silk. during the cold season both men and women wear one summer garment over the other, keeping the whole together with a girdle; in the extreme heat, however, they suffer them to float as free as "nora creina's robes" in moore's pretty ballad. the men keep their heads shaved, with the exception of a small patch at the back, where the hair is carefully cultivated and plaited into a cue. the thicker and longer this cue is, the prouder is its owner; false hair and black ribbon, therefore, are all deftly worked into it, with the result of forming an appendage which often reaches down to the ankles! while at work the owner twists it round his neck, but on entering a room he lets it down again, as it would be contrary to all the laws of etiquette and courtesy for a person to make his appearance with his cue twisted up. the women comb their hair entirely back from their forehead, and fasten it to the head in the most artistic plaits. the process occupies a considerable time, but when the hair is once dressed it is not retouched for a whole week. both men and women frequently go about with heads uncovered; but sometimes they wear hats of thin bamboo, three feet in diameter. these are not only an adequate protection against sun and rain, but are exceedingly durable. large numbers of chinese live a kind of aquatic life, and make their home on board a river-boat. the husband goes on shore to his work, and his wife meantime adds to the income of the family by ferrying persons from bank to bank, or letting out the boat to pleasure parties--always reserving one half of its accommodation for herself and household. room is not very abundant, as the whole boat does not exceed twenty-five feet in length; but everywhere the greatest order and cleanliness are apparent, each separate plank being enthusiastically scrubbed and washed every morning. it is worth notice how each inch of space is turned to the best advantage, room being made even for the _lares_ and _penates_. all the washing and cooking are done during the day; yet the pleasure party is never in the least degree inconvenienced. of course our traveller was attracted by the diminutiveness of the feet of the chinese women, and she had an opportunity of examining one of these tiny monstrosities _in natura_. four of the toes were bent under the sole of the foot, to which they were firmly pressed, and simultaneously with which they appeared to have grown, if growth it can be called; the great toe alone remained in its natural state. the fore part of the foot had been so swathed and compressed by tight bandages, that, instead of expanding in length and breadth, it had shot upwards, so as to form a large lump at the instep, where it became, so to speak, a portion of the leg; the lower part of the foot was scarcely five inches long, and an inch and a half broad. the feet are always encased in white linen or silk, with silk bandages over all, and are then stuffed into pretty little shoes with very high heels. "to my astonishment," says madame pfeiffer, "these deformed beings tripped about, as if in defiance of us broad-footed creatures, with tolerable ease, the only difference in their gait being that they waddled like geese; they even ran up and down stairs without a stick." she adds, that the value of a bride is reckoned by the smallness of her feet. it was characteristic of madame pfeiffer that she found means to see much which no european woman had ever seen before. she obtained access even to a buddhist temple,--that of houan, reputed to be one of the finest in china. the sacred enclosure is surrounded by a high wall. the visitor enters first a large outer court, at the extremity of which a huge gateway opens upon an inner court. beneath the arch stand two statues of war-gods, each eighteen feet high, with terribly distorted faces and the most menacing attitudes; these are supposed to prevent the approach of evil genii. a second portal, of similar construction, under which are placed the "four heavenly kings," leads to a third court, surrounding the principal temple, a structure one hundred feet in length, and of equal breadth. on rows of wooden pillars is supported a flat roof, from which glass lamps, lustres, artificial flowers, and brightly-coloured ribbons hang suspended. all about the area are scattered statues, altars, vases of flowers, censers, candelabra, and other accessories. but the eye is chiefly attracted by the three altars in the foreground, with the three coloured statues behind them, of buddha, seated, as emblematic of past, present, and future. on the occasion of madame pfeiffer's visit a service was being performed,--a funeral ceremony in honour of a mandarin's deceased wife, and at his expense. before the altars on the right and left stood several priests, in garments strangely resembling, as did the ceremonial observances, those of the roman church. the mandarin himself, attended by two servants armed with large fans, prayed before the central altar. he kissed the ground repeatedly, and each time he did so three sweet-scented wax-tapers were put into his hand. after raising them in the air, he handed them to the priests, who then stationed them, unlighted, before the buddha images. meantime, the temple resounded with the blended strains of three musicians, one of whom struck a metal ball, the other scraped a stringed instrument, and the third educed shrill notes from a kind of flute. this principal temple is surrounded by numerous smaller sanctuaries, each decorated with images of deities, rudely wrought, but glowing with gilt and vivid colours. special reverence seems to be accorded to kwanfootse, a demigod of war, and the four-and-twenty gods of mercy. these latter have four, six, and even eight arms. in the temple of mercy madame pfeiffer met with an unpleasant adventure. a bonze had offered her and her companions a couple of wax tapers to light in honour of the god. they were on the point of complying, as a matter of civility, when an american missionary, who made one of the party, snatched them roughly from their hands, and gave them back to the priests, protesting that such compliance was idolatrous. the bonze, in high indignation, closed the door, and summoned his brethren, who hurried in from all sides, and jostled and pushed and pressed, while using the most violent language. it was not without difficulty they forced their way through the crowd, and escaped from the temple. the guide next led the curiosity-hunters to the so-called house of the sacred swine. the greatest attention is paid to these porcine treasures, and they reside in a spacious stone hall; but not the less is the atmosphere heavy with odours that are not exactly those of araby the blest. throughout their sluggish existence the swine are carefully fed and cherished, and no cruel knife cuts short the thread of their destiny. at the time of madame pfeiffer's visit only one pair were enjoying their _otium cum dignitate_, and the number rarely exceeds three pairs. peeping into the interior of a bonze's house, the company came upon an opium-smoker. he lay stretched upon a mat, with small tea-cups beside him, some fruit, a tiny lamp, and several miniature-headed pipes, from one of which he was inhaling the intoxicating smoke. it is said that some of the chinese opium-smokers consume as much as twenty or thirty grains daily. this poor wretch was not wholly unconscious of the presence of visitors; and, laying by his pipe, he raised himself from the ground, and dragged his body to a chair. with deadly pale face and fixed, staring eyes, he presented a miserable appearance. * * * * * our traveller also visited a pagoda,--the half-way pagoda; so called by the english because it is situated half-way between canton and whampoa. on a small hillock, in the midst of vast tracts of rice, it raises its nine stories to a height of one hundred and seventy feet. though formerly of great repute, it is now deserted. the interior has been stripped of statues and ornaments, and the floors having been removed, the visitor sees to the very summit. externally, each stage is indicated by a small balcony without railing, access being obtained by steep and narrow flights of stairs. a picturesque effect is produced by these projections, as everybody knows who has examined a "willow-pattern" plate. they are built of coloured bricks, which are laid in rows, with their points jutting obliquely outwards, and faced with variegated tiles. even more interesting was madame pfeiffer's peep into the "domestic interior" of mandarin howqua. the house was of large size, but only one story high, with wide and splendid terraces. the windows looked into the inner courts. at the entrance were two painted images of gods to ward off evil spirits, like the horse-shoe formerly suspended to the cottages and barns of our english peasants. the front part was divided into several reception rooms, without front walls; and adjoining these, bloomed bright and gaily-ordered parterres of flowers and shrubs. the magnificent terraces above also bloomed with blossom, and commanded a lively view of the crowded river, and of the fine scenery that spreads around canton. elegant little cabinets surrounded these rooms, being separated by thin partitions, through which the eye could easily penetrate, and frequently embellished with gay and skilfully-executed paintings. the material used was chiefly bamboo, which was as delicate as gauze, and copiously decorated with painted flowers or beautifully-written proverbs. the chairs and sofas were numerous, and of really artistic workmanship. some of the arm-chairs were cunningly wrought out of a single piece of wood. the seats of others were beautiful marble slabs; of others, again, fine coloured tiles or porcelain. articles of european manufacture, such as handsome mirrors, clocks, vases, and tables of florentine mosaic or variegated marble, were plentiful. there was also a remarkable collection of lamps and lanterns pendent from the ceilings, consisting--these lamps and lanterns--of glass, transparent horn, and coloured gauze or paper, ornamented with glass beads, fringe, and tassels. and as the walls were also largely supplied with lamps, the apartments, when lighted up, assumed a truly fairy-like character. [chinese house and garden: page77.jpg] the mandarin's pleasure-garden stretched along the river-side. its cultivation was perfect, but no taste was shown in its arrangement. wherever the visitor turned, kiosks, summer-houses, and bridges confronted her. every path and open spot were lined with large and small flower-pots, in which grew flowers and liliputian fruit-trees of all kinds. in the art of dwarfing trees, if such distortion and crippling of nature deserves to be called an art, the chinese are certainly most accomplished experts; but what can we think of the taste, or want of taste, which prefers pigmies three feet high to the lofty and far-shadowing trees which embellish our english parks and gardens? why should a civilized people put nature in fetters, and delight in checking her growth, in limiting her spontaneous energies? here are some particulars about the tea-plant:--in the plantations around canton, it is not allowed to grow higher than six feet, and is consequently cut at intervals. its leaves are considered good from the third to the eighth year; and the plant is then cut down, in order that it may throw off new shoots, or else it is rooted out. three gatherings take place in the year; the first in march, the second in april, and the third, which lasts for three months, in may. so fine and delicate are the leaves of the first gathering, that they might easily be mistaken for the blossom; which undoubtedly has originated the error that the so-called "bloom or imperial tea" consists of the flowers and not of the leaves of the plant. when gathered, the leaves are thrown for a few seconds into boiling water, and then placed on flat iron plates, inserted slantwise in stonework. while roasting over a gentle fire, they are continually stirred. as soon as they begin to curl a little, they are scattered over large planks, and each single leaf is rolled together; a process so rapidly accomplished that it requires a person's sole attention to detect that only one leaf is rolled up at a time. this completed, all the leaves are again placed in the pans. black tea takes some time to roast; and the green is frequently coloured with prussian blue, an exceedingly small quantity of which is added during the second roasting. last of all, the tea is once more shaken out upon the boards, and submitted to a careful inspection, the leaves that are not entirely closed being rolled over again. [singapore: page81.jpg] madame pfeiffer had an opportunity of tasting a cup of tea made after the most approved chinese fashion. a small quantity was dropped into a delicate porcelain cup, boiling water was poured upon it, and a tightlyfitting cover then adjusted to the cup. after a few seconds, the infusion was ready for drinking--neither milk, cream, nor sugar being added. * * * * * but we must tarry no longer within the borders of the celestial empire. we have to follow madame pfeiffer in her wanderings over many seas and through many countries,--for in the course of her adventurous career she saw more of "men and cities" than even the much-travelling ulysses,--and our limits confine us to brief notices of the most remarkable places she visited. from china she sailed for the east indies. on her way she "looked in" at singapore, a british settlement, where gather the traders of many asiatic nations. the scenery which stretches around it is of a rich and agreeable character, and the island on which it is situated excels in fertility of vegetation. a saunter among the plantations of cloves and nutmegs is very pleasant, the air breathing a peculiar balsamic fragrance. the nutmeg-tree is about the size of a good apricot-bush, and from top to bottom is a mass of foliage; the branches grow very low down the stem, and the leaves glitter as if they were varnished. the fruit closely resembles an apricot, covered with spots of yellowish-brown. it bursts on attaining maturity, and then reveals a round kernel, of the size of a nut, embedded in a network, sold as mace, of a beautiful red colour. this network of fibrous material is carefully separated from the nutmeg, and dried in the shade,--being frequently sprinkled with sea-water, to prevent the colour deepening into black, instead of changing into yellow. the nutmeg is likewise dried, exposed a while to the action of smoke, and dipped several times into sea-water containing a weak solution of lime, to prevent it from turning mouldy. the clove-tree is smaller, and less copiously provided with foliage, than the nutmeg-tree. the buds form what are known to us as cloves; and, of course, are gathered before they have had time to blossom. the areca-nut palm is also plentiful in singapore. it grows in clusters of from ten to twenty nuts; is somewhat larger than a nutmeg, and of a bright colour, almost resembling gilt. the chinese and the natives of the eastern islands chew it with betelleaf and calcined mussel-shells. with a small quantity of the latter they strew the leaf; a very small piece of the nut is added, and the whole is made into a little packet, which they put into their mouth. madame pfeiffer also inspected a sago manufactory. the unprepared farina, which is the pith of the sago palm, is imported from a neighbouring island. the tree is cut down when it is seven years old, split from top to bottom, and the pith extracted from it. then it is freed from the fibres, pressed in large frames, and dried at the fire or in the sun. at singapore this pith or meal, which is of a yellowish tint, is steeped in water for several days until completely blanched; it is then once more dried by the fire or in the sun, passed under a large wooden roller, and through a hair sieve. when it has become white and fine, it is placed in a kind of linen winnowing-fan, which is kept damp in a peculiar manner. the workman takes a mouthful of water, and "spirts it out like fine rain over the fan;" the meal being alternately shaken and moistened until it assumes the character of small globules. these are stirred round in large flat pans, until they are dried. then they are passed through a second sieve, not quite so fine as the first, and the larger globules are separated from the rest. pepper and gambir plantations are also among the "sights" of singapore. the pepper-tree is a small bush-like plant, which, when carefully trained, springs to a height of eighteen feet. the pepper-pods grow in small clusters, and change from red to green, and then to black. white pepper is nothing more than the black pepper blanched by frequent steeping in sea-water. the gambir does not grow taller than eight feet. the leaves, which are used in dyeing, are first stripped from the stalk, and then boiled down in large coppers. the thick juice is placed in white wooden vessels, and dried in the sun; then it is divided into slips about three inches long, and packed up. singapore is an island of _fruits_. it boasts of the delicious mangosteen, which almost melts in the mouth, and delights the palate with its exquisite flavour. it boasts, too, of splendid pine-apples, frequently weighing as much as four pounds. also of sauersop, as big as the biggest pine-apples, green outside, and white or pale yellow inside, with a taste and fragrance like that of strawberries. nor must the gumaloh be forgotten: it is divided, like the orange, into sections, but is five times as large, and not quite so sweet. finally, we must refer to the custard-apple, which is very white (though full of black pips), very soft, and very enticing in flavour. * * * * * from singapore we follow madame pfeiffer to point de galle, in ceylon. the appearance of this fair and fertile island from the sea is the theme of every traveller's praise. "it was one of the most magnificent sights i ever beheld," says madame pfeiffer, "to see the island soaring gradually from the sea, with its mountain-ranges growing more and more distinctly defined, their summits lighted by the sun, while the dense cocoa-groves, and hills and plains, lay shrouded in shadow." above the whole towers the purple mass of adam's peak; and the eye rests in every direction on the most luxuriant foliage, with verdurous glades, and slopes carpeted with flowers. point de galle presents a curious mixture of races. cingalese, kanditons, tamils from south india, and moormen, with crimson caftans and shaven crowns, form the bulk of the crowds that throng its streets; but, besides these, there are portuguese, chinese, jews, arabs, parsees, englishmen, malays, dutchmen, and half-caste burghers, and now and then a veiled arabian woman, or a veddah, one of the aboriginal inhabitants of the island. sir charles dilke speaks of "silent crowds of tall and graceful girls, wearing, as we at first supposed, white petticoats and bodices; their hair carried off the face with a decorated hoop, and caught at the back by a high tortoise-shell comb. as they drew near, moustaches began to show, and i saw that they were men; whilst walking with them were women naked to the waist, combless, and far more rough and 'manly' than their husbands. petticoat and chignon are male institutions in ceylon." * * * * * madame pfeiffer, with unresting energy, visited colombo and kandy, the chief towns of the island. at the latter she obtained admission to the temple of dagoba, which contains a precious relic of the god buddha--namely, one of his teeth. the sanctuary containing this sacred treasure is a small chamber or cell, less than twenty feet in breadth. it is enveloped in darkness, as there are no windows; and the door is curtained inside, for the more effectual exclusion of the light. rich tapestry covers the walls and ceiling. but the chief object is the altar, which glitters with plates of silver, and is incrusted about the edges with precious stones. upon it stands a bell-shaped case about three feet in height, and three feet in diameter at the base. it is made of silver, elaborately gilt, and decorated with a number of costly jewels. a peacock in the middle blazes with jewels. six smaller cases, reputed to be of gold, are enclosed within the large one, and under the last is the tooth of buddha. as it is as large as that of a great bull, one trembles to think how monstrous must have been the jaw of the indian creed-founder! [native boat, madras: page89.jpg] * * * * * madame ida pfeiffer arrived at madras on the 30th of october. she describes the process of disembarkation; but as her details are few, and refer to a comparatively distant date, we propose to rely on the narrative of a recent traveller. from time immemorial, he says, the system of landing and embarking passengers and cargo has been by means of native massulah boats, constructed of mango wood, calked with straw, and sewn together with cocoa-nut fibre. the ships drop their anchors in the roads half a mile from the shore; the massulah boat pulls off alongside, receives its cargo at the gangway, and is then beached through the surf. it is no uncommon circumstance for the boat alongside, assisted by the rolling of the ship, to rise and fall twenty-five feet relatively to the height of the ship's deck at each undulation. ladies are lashed into chairs, and from the ship's yard-arm lowered into the boat. in 1860 some improvement was effected by the construction of an iron pier, about nine hundred feet in length, and twenty feet in height. but a spacious and sheltered harbour is now being provided, by means of piers running out from the shore five hundred yards north and south respectively of the screw pile pier now existing, so as to enclose a rectangular area of one thousand yards in length by eight hundred and thirty yards in width, or one hundred and seventy acres. the foundation-stone was laid by the prince of wales in the course of his indian progress in 1876. madame pfeiffer stayed but a few hours at madras, and her notes respecting it are of no value. we will proceed at once to calcutta, the "city of palaces," as it has been called, and the capital of our indian empire. she speaks of the viceroy's palace as a magnificent building, and one that would ornament any city in the world. other noticeable edifices are the town hall, the hospital, the museum, ochterlony's monument, the mint, and the cathedral. ochterlony's monument is a plain stone column, one hundred and sixty-five feet high, erected in commemoration of a sagacious statesman and an able soldier. from its summit, to which access is obtained by two hundred and twenty-two steps, may be obtained a noble view of the city, the broad reaches of the ganges, and the fertile plains of bengal. the cathedral is an imposing pile. its architecture is gothic, and the interior produces a very fine effect by the harmony of its proportions and the richness of its details. the ill-famed "black hole," in which the rajah surajah dowlah confined one hundred and fifty english men and women, when he obtained possession of calcutta in 1756--confining them in a narrow and noisome cell, which poisoned them with its malarious atmosphere, so that by morning only a few remained alive--is now part of a warehouse. but an obelisk stands at the entrance, inscribed with the names of the victims. the fashionable promenade at calcutta is the maidan. it runs along the bank of the hooghly, and is bounded on the other side by rows of palatial mansions. it commands a good view of the viceroy's palace, the cathedral, the ochterlony column, the strong defensive works of fort william; and is altogether a very interesting and attractive spot. every evening, before sunset, thither wends the fashionable world of calcutta. the impassive european, with all the proud consciousness of a conquering race; the half-europeanized baboo; the deposed rajah,--all may be seen driving to and fro in splendid equipages, drawn by handsome steeds, and followed by servants in gay oriental attire. the rajahs and "nabobs" are usually dressed in gold-embroidered robes of silk, over which are thrown the costliest indian shawls. ladies and gentlemen, on english horses of the best blood, canter along the road, or its turfen borders; while crowds of dusky natives gather in all directions, or leisurely move homewards after their day's work. a bright feature of the scene is the animated appearance of the hooghly: first-class east indiamen are lying at anchor, ships are arriving or preparing for departure, the native craft incessantly ply to and fro, and a babel of voices of different nationalities rises on the air. here is a picture of the maidan, drawn by another lady-traveller, mrs. murray mitchell:-[the maidan, calcutta: page95.jpg] it is, she says, a noble expanse, which, about a hundred years ago, was a wild swampy jungle, famous only for snipe-shooting. strange to say, it is not, like most indian plains, burned up and brown, but, from its vicinity to the river, and the frequent showers that visit it, as fresh and green as an english park. it has a few fine tanks, and is sprinkled with some leafy trees; these, however, not so numerous as they were before the cyclones of 1864 and 1867, which swept away its chief natural beauties. several broad well-kept drives intersect it, and it is ornamented by some graceful gardens and a few handsome columns and statues. indeed, the maidan is the centre of all that is grand and imposing; the shabby and the unsightly is kept behind, out of view. facing it, along its eastern marge, stand the noble pillared palaces of chowringhee. at one end stands the handsome new court house; also the town hall, and other buildings of less pretence; and, further on, the noble pile of government house, with four handsome entrance gates, and surrounded by shrubberies and gardens. in front spread the eden gardens, a delightful addition to the beauties both of government house and the esplanade. from this point the business part of calcutta extends in a northerly direction, including dalhousie square, with its many buildings, among which conspicuous stands the domed post office--the vista closing gracefully with the shapely spire of st. andrew's church. at the further extremity, nearly two miles across the verdant expanse, are seen the cathedral, with its noble spire, the general hospital, and the jail; and still further, the richly-wooded suburbs of kidderpore and alipore. fort william fronts toward the river, and with its ramparts and buildings forms a striking object; while the whole is bordered and "beautified" by the broad river, with its crowd of masts and flags, its almost innumerable boats, its landing-ghats, and all its life and motion. * * * * * [benares: page99.jpg] from calcutta, madame pfeiffer proceeded to the city of temples, the sacred city of hinduism--benares. she visited several temples, but found them all agreeing in their leading details. that of vishnu has two towers connected by colonnades, the summits of which are covered with gold plates. inside are several images of vishnu and siva, wreathed with flowers, and strewn over with grains of rice and wheat. images in metal or stone of the sacred bull are plentiful everywhere; and living bulls wander about freely, the object of special care and adoration. they are free to stray where they will, not in the temple precincts only, but also in the streets. among the other buildings, the one most worthy of notice is the mosque of aurengzebe, famous on account of its two minarets, which are 150 feet in height, and reported to be the slenderest in the world. they resemble a couple of needles, and certainly better deserve the name than that of cleopatra at alexandria. narrow winding staircases in the interior lead to the summit, on which a small platform, with a balustrade about a foot high, is erected. from this vantage-point a noble view of the city, it is said, may be obtained; but few persons, we should think, have heads cool enough to enjoy it. with all madame pfeiffer's adventurousness, she did not essay this perilous experiment. the observatory, constructed for the great mohammedan emperor akbar, is also an object of interest. it is not furnished, like a european observatory, with the usual astronomical instruments, telescopes, raingauges, anemometers, and the like, the handiwork of cunning artificers in glass and metal; but everything is of stone--solid, durable stone. on a raised terrace stand circular tables, semicircular and quadratic curves, all of stone, and all inscribed with mystic signs and characters. benares is celebrated for its bazaars, in which are exhibited some of the rarest productions of the east; but its principal attraction is its sanctity, and crowds of pilgrims resort to its temples, and cleanse themselves of their sins by bathing in the fast-flowing ganges. to die at benares is regarded as a passport to heaven; and one of the most frequent sights is the burning of a corpse on the river-bank, with ceremonies proportioned to the rank and wealth of the deceased--the ashes being afterwards committed to the holy waters. benares is also famous for its palaces. of these the most splendid is that which the rajah inhabits. it was visited by madame pfeiffer, who appears to have gone everywhere and seen everybody at her own sweet will and pleasure, and she was even admitted to the rajah's presence. a handsomely-decorated boat, she says, awaited her and her fellow-traveller at the bank of the river. they crossed; a palanquin was ready to receive them. soon they arrived at the stately gateway which forms the entrance to the palace. the interior proved to be a labyrinth of irregular courts and small unsymmetrical chambers. in one of the courts a hall, surrounded by plain columns, served as a reception-room. this was cumbrously loaded with lamps, glass lustres, and european furniture; on the walls hung some wretched pictures, framed and glazed. presently the rajah made his appearance, accompanied by his brother, and attended by a long train of courtiers. the two princes were gorgeously attired; they wore wide trousers, long under and short over garments, all of satin, covered with gold embroidery. the rajah himself, aged thirtyfive, wore short silken cuffs, glowing with gold, and trimmed with diamonds; several large brilliants shone on his fingers, and rich gold embroidery was woven about his shoes. his brother, a youth of nineteen, wore a white turban, with a costly clasp of diamonds and pearls. large pearls hung from his ears; rich massive bracelets clasped his wrists. the guests having taken their seats, a large silver basin was brought in, with elaborately-wrought narghillies, and they were invited to smoke. this honour they declined. the rajah then smoked in solitary dignity--his pipe being changed as soon as he had taken a few whiffs. a nautchni, or dance by nautches, was next provided for the visitors' entertainment. there were three musicians and two dancers. the latter were dressed in gay gold-woven muslin robes, with wide silk gold-broidered trousers, reaching to the ground, and quite covering their bare feet. one of the musicians beat a couple of small drums; the others played on four-stringed instruments not unlike a violin. they stood close behind the dancers, and their music was wholly innocent of melody or harmony; but to the rhythm, which was strongly accentuated, the dancers moved their arms, hands, and fingers in a very animated manner, and at intervals their feet, so as to ring the numerous tiny bells that cover them. their attitudes were not ungraceful. the performance lasted a quarter of an hour, after which they accompanied the dance with what was intended for singing, but sounded like shrieking. meantime, sweetmeats, fruits, and sherbet were handed round. as a contrast to this gay scene, madame pfeiffer describes the performance of the wretched fanatics called fakeers. these men inflict upon themselves the most extraordinary tortures. thus: they stick an iron hook through their flesh, and allow themselves to be suspended by it at a height of twenty or five-and-twenty feet. {105} or for long hours they stand upon one foot in the burning sunshine, with their arms rigidly extended in the air. or they hold heavy weights in various positions, swing round and round for hours together, and tear the flesh from their bodies with red-hot pincers. madame pfeiffer saw two of these unfortunate victims of a diseased imagination. one held a heavy axe over his head, in the attitude of a workman bent on felling a tree; in this position he stood, rigid as a statue. the other held the point of his toe to his nose. * * * * * in her tour through india our traveller passed through allahabad, situated at the junction of the jumna and the ganges, and the resort of many pilgrims; agra, where she admired, as so many travellers have admired, the lovely taj-mahal, erected by the sultan jehan in memory of his favourite wife,--and the pearl mosque, with its exquisitely delicate carving; delhi, the ancient capital of the moguls, which figured so conspicuously in the history of the sepoy rebellion; the cave-temples of ajunta and ellora; and the great commercial emporium of bombay. quitting the confines of british india, madame pfeiffer, ever in quest of the new and strange, sailed to bassora, and ascended the historic tigris, so named from the swiftness of its course, to bagdad, that quaint, remote oriental city, which is associated with so many wonderful legends and not less wonderful "travellers' tales." this was of old the residence of the great caliph, haroun-al-raschid, a ruler of no ordinary sagacity, and the hero of many a tradition, whom "the thousand and one nights" have made familiar to every english boy. it is still a populous and wealthy city; many of its houses are surrounded by blooming gardens; its shops are gay with the products of the eastern loom; and it descends in terraces to the bank of the river, which flows in the shade of orchards and groves of palm. over all extends the arch of a glowing sky. from bagdad an excursion to the ruins of babylon is natural enough. they consist of massive fragments of walls and columns, strewn on either side of the euphrates. [cave temple at ellora: page107.jpg] on the 17th of june our heroic traveller joined a caravan which was bound for mosul, a distance of three hundred miles, occupying from twelve to fourteen days. the journey is one of much difficulty and no little danger, across a desert country of the most lifeless character. we shall relate a few of madame pfeiffer's experiences. one day she repaired to a small village in search of food. after wandering from hut to hut, she obtained a small quantity of milk and three eggs. she laid the eggs in hot ashes, and covered them over; filled her leathern flask from the tigris; and, thus loaded, returned to the encampment formed by the caravan. she ate her eggs and drank her milk with an appetite for which an epicure would be thankful. the mode of making butter in vogue at this village was very peculiar. the cream was put into a leathern bottle, and shaken about on the ground until the butter consolidated. it was then put into another bottle filled with water, and finally turned out as white as snow. next day, when they rested during the heat, the guide of the caravan endeavoured to procure her a little shelter from the glare of the pitiless sun by laying a small cover over a couple of poles stuck into the ground. but the place shaded was so small, and the tent so frail, that she was compelled to sit quietly in one position, as the slightest movement would have involved it in ruin. shortly afterwards, when she wished for some refreshment, nothing could be procured but lukewarm water, bread so hard that it could not be eaten until thoroughly soaked, and a cucumber without salt or vinegar. at a village near kerka the caravan tarried for two days. on the first day madame pfeiffer's patience was sorely tried. all the women of the place flocked to examine the stranger. first they inspected her clothes, then wanted to take the turban off her head; and, in fact, proved themselves most troublesome intruders. at last madame pfeiffer seized one of them by the arm, and turned her out of her tent so quickly that she had no time to think of resistance. by the eloquence of gesture our traveller made the others understand that, unless they withdrew at once, a similarly abrupt dismissal awaited them. she then drew a circle round her tent, and forbade them to cross it; an injunction which was strictly respected. she had now only to settle with the wife of her guide, who had besieged her the whole day, pressing as near as possible, and petitioning for some of her "things." fortunately her husband came on the scene, and to him madame pfeiffer preferred her complaint, threatening to leave his house and seek shelter elsewhere,--well knowing that the arabs consider this a great disgrace. he immediately ordered his wife to desist, and the traveller was at peace. "i always succeeded," says madame pfeiffer, "in obtaining my own will. i found that energy and boldness influence all people, whether arabs, persians, bedaween, or others." but for this strong will, this indomitable resolution, madame pfeiffer assuredly could not have succeeded in the enterprises she so daringly undertook. even for a man to have accomplished them would have earned our praise; what shall we not say when they were conceived and carried out by a woman? towards evening, she says, to her great delight a caldron of mutton was set on the fire. for eight days she had eaten nothing but bread, cucumbers, and some dates; and therefore had a great desire for a hot and more nutritious meal. but her appetite was greatly diminished when she saw their style of cookery. the old woman (her guide's mother) threw several handfuls of small grain, and a large quantity of onions, into a panful of water to soften. in about half an hour she thrust her dirty hands into the water, and mixed the whole together, now and then taking a mouthful, and after chewing it, spitting it back again into the pan. then she took a dirty rag, strained through it the delicate mixture, and poured it over the meat in the larger vessel. madame pfeiffer had firmly resolved not to touch the dish, but when it was ready her longing for food was so great, and so savoury was the smell, that she reflected that what she had already eaten was probably not a whit cleaner; in short, for once she proved false to her resolution. eating, she was filled; and the viands gave her increased strength. * * * * * on the 28th of june the caravan reached erbil, the ancient arbela, where alexander the great defeated darius and his persian host. next day they crossed a broad river, on rafts of inflated skins, fastened together with poles, and covered with reeds, canes, and plank. rapidly traversing the shrubless, herbless plains of mesopotamia, they reached at length the town of mosul, the point from which travellers proceed to visit the ruins of nineveh. these have been so carefully explored and ably described by layard and the late george smith, that it is needless to quote madame ida pfeiffer's superficial observations at any length. according to strabo, nineveh was the greatest city in the old world--larger even than babylon; the circumference of its walls was a three days' journey, and those walls were defended by fifteen hundred towers. now all is covered with earth, and the ranges of hills and mounds that stretch across the wide gray plain on the bank of the tigris do but cover the ruins of the vast assyrian capital. mr. layard began his excavations in 1846, and his labourers, digging deep into the hills, soon opened up spacious and stately apartments, the marble walls of which were embellished from top to bottom with sculptures, revealing a complete panorama of assyrian life! kings with their crowns and sceptres, gods swooping on broad pinions, warriors equipped with their arms and shields, were there; also stirring representations of battles and hunting expeditions, of the storming of fortresses, of triumphal processions; though, unfortunately for artistic effect, neither proportion, perspective, nor correct drawing had been observed. the hills are scarcely three times higher than the men; the fields reach to the clouds; the trees are no taller than the lotus-flowers; and the heads of men and animals are all alike, and all in profile. intermingled with these scenes of ancient civilization are inscriptions of great interest, in the cuneiform or wedge-shaped character. * * * * * a caravan starting from mosul for tabreez, madame ida pfeiffer determined on joining it, though warned that it would traverse a country containing not a single european. but, as we have already had abundant evidence, madame pfeiffer knew not what fear was. nothing could daunt her fixed purpose. she had made up her mind to go to persia; and to persia she would go. she started with the caravan on the 8th of july, and next day crossed the hills that intervene between mesopotamia and kurdistan. the latter country has never enjoyed a good reputation among travellers; and madame pfeiffer's experience was not calculated to retrieve its character. the caravan was crossing a corn-field which had been recently reaped, when half-a-dozen stalwart kurds, armed with stout cudgels, sprang out from their hiding-place among the sheaves, and seizing the travellers' bridles, poured out upon them what was unmistakably a volley of oaths and threats. one of the travellers leaped from his steed, seized his assailant by the throat, and holding a loaded pistol to his head, indicated his determination of blowing out his brains. the effect of this resolute conduct was immediate; the robbers desisted from their attack, and were soon engaged in quite an amicable conversation with those they had intended to plunder. at last they pointed out a good place for an encampment, receiving in return a trifling _backshish_, collected from the whole caravan. a few days later, the travellers, having started at two in the morning, entered a magnificent mountain-valley, which had been cloven through the solid rock by the waters of a copious stream. a narrow stony path followed the course of the stream upward. the moon shone in unclouded light; or it would have been difficult even for the well-trained horses of the caravan to have kept their footing along the dangerous way, encumbered as it was with fallen masses of rock. like chamois, however, they scrambled up the steep mountain-side, and safely carried their riders round frightful projections and past dangerous, dizzy precipices. so wild, so romantic was the scene, with its shifting lights and shadows, its sudden bursts of silvery lustre where the valley lay open to the moon, and its depths of darkness in many a winding recess, that even madame pfeiffer's uncultured companions were irresistibly moved by its influence; and as they rode along not a sound was heard but the clatter of the horses' hoofs, and the fall of rolling stones into the chasm below. but all at once thick clouds gathered over the moon, and the gloom became so intense that the travellers could scarcely discern each one his fellow. the leader continually struck fire with a flint, that the sparks might afford some slight indication of the proper course. but this was not enough; and as the horses began to miss their footing, the only hope of safety consisted in remaining immovable. with the break of day, however, a gray light spread over the scene, and the travellers found themselves surrounded by a circle of lofty mountains, rising one above the other in magnificent gradation, and superbly dominated by one mighty snow-crowned mass. the journey was resumed. soon the travellers became aware of the fact that the path was sprinkled with spots of blood. at last they came to a place which was crimsoned by a complete pool; and looking down into the ravine, they could see two human bodies, one lying scarcely a hundred feet below them, the other, which had rolled further, half hidden by a projecting crag. from this scene of murder they gladly hastened. * * * * * at a town called ravandus madame pfeiffer rested for some days, making observations on the manners and customs of the kurds. she was not prepossessed in their favour by what she saw: the women are idle, ignorant, and squalid; the men work as little and rob as much as they can. polygamy is practised; and religion is reduced to the performance of a few formalities. the costume of the wealthier kurds is purely oriental, that of the common people varies from it a little. the men wear wide linen trousers, and over them a shirt confined by a girdle, with a sleeveless woollen jacket, made of stuff of only a hand's-breadth wide, and sewed together. instead of white trousers, some wear brown, which are anything but picturesque, and look like sacks with two holes for the insertion of the feet,--the said feet being encased in boots of red or yellow leather, with large iron heels; or in shoes of coarse white wool, adorned with three tassels. the turban is the universal head-covering. the women don loose trousers, and red or yellow boots, with iron heels, like the men; but over all they wear a long blue garment which, if not tucked up under the girdle, would depend some inches below the ankles. a large blue shawl descends below the knee. round their heads they twist black shawls, turban-wise; or they wear the red fez, with a silk handkerchief wound about it; and on the top of this, a kind of wreath made of short black fringe, worn like a diadem, but leaving the forehead free. the hair falls in narrow braids over the shoulders, and from the turban droops a heavy silver chain. as a head-dress it is remarkably attractive; and it is but just to say that it often sets off really handsome faces, with fine features, and glowing eyes. [tartar caravan: page119.jpg] * * * * * in her further wanderings through the wild lands of persia, our traveller came to urumiyeh, on the borders of the salt lake of that name, which in several physical features closely resembles the dead sea. urumiyeh is a place of some celebrity, for it gave birth to zoroaster, the preacher of a creed of considerable moral purity, which has spread over a great part of asia. entering a more fertile country, she reached tabreez in safety, and was once more within the influence of law and order. tabreez, the residence of the viceroy, is a handsomely-built town, with numerous silk and leather manufactories, and is reputed to be one of the chief seats of asiatic commerce. its streets are clean and tolerably broad; in each a little rivulet is carried underground, with openings at regular intervals for the purpose of dipping out water. of the houses the passer-by sees no more than is seen in any other oriental town: lofty walls, windowless, with low entrances; and the fronts always looking in upon the open courtyards, which bloom with trees and flowers, and usually adjoin a pleasant garden. inside, the chambers are usually lofty and spacious, with rows of windows which seem to form complete walls of glass. buildings of public importance there are none; excepting the bazaar, which covers a considerable area, and is laid out with lofty, broad, and covered thoroughfares. the traveller turned her back upon tabreez on the 11th of august, and in a carriage drawn by post-horses, and attended by a single servant, set out for natschivan. at arax she crossed the frontier of asiatic russia, the dominions of the "white tsar," who, in asia as in europe, is ever pressing more and more closely on the "unspeakable turk." at natschivan she joined a caravan which was bound for tiflis, and the drivers of which were tartars. she says of the latter, that they do not live so frugally as the arabs. every evening a savoury pillau was made with good-tasting fat, frequently with dried grapes or plums. they also partook largely of fruits. the caravan wound through the fair and fertile valleys which lie at the base of ararat. of that famous and majestic mountain, which lifts its white glittering crest of snow some sixteen thousand feet above the sealevel, our traveller obtained a fine view. its summit is cloven into two peaks, and in the space between an old tradition affirms that noah's ark landed at the subsidence of the great flood. [mount ararat: page123.jpg] in the neighbourhood of a town called sidin, madame pfeiffer met with a singular adventure. she was returning from a short walk, when, hearing the sound of approaching post-horses, she paused for a minute to see the travellers, and noticed a russian, seated in an open car, with a cossack holding a musket by his side. as soon as the vehicle had passed, she resumed her course; when, to her astonishment, it suddenly stopped, and almost at the same moment she felt a fierce grasp on her arms. it was the cossack, who endeavoured to drag her to the car. she struggled with him, and pointing to the caravan, said she belonged to it; but the fellow put his hand on her mouth, and flung her into the car, where she was firmly seized by the russian. then the cossack sprang to his seat, and away they went at a smart gallop. the whole affair was the work of a few seconds, so that madame pfeiffer could scarcely recognize what had happened. as the man still held her tightly, and kept her mouth covered up, she was unable to give an alarm. the brave woman, however, retained her composure, and speedily arrived at the conclusion that her "heroic" captors had mistaken her for some dangerous spy. uncovering her mouth, they began to question her closely; and madame pfeiffer understood enough russian to tell them her name, native country, and object in travelling. this did not satisfy them, and they asked for her passport,--which, however, she could not show them, as it was in her portmanteau. at length they reached the post-house. madame pfeiffer was shown into a room, at the door of which the cossack stationed himself with his musket. she was detained all night; but the next morning, having fetched her portmanteau, they examined her passport, and were then pleased to dismiss her--without, however, offering any apology for their shameful treatment of her. such are the incivilities to which travellers in the russian dominions are too constantly exposed. it is surprising that a powerful government should condescend to so much petty fear and mean suspicion. [odessa: page127.jpg] from tiflis our traveller proceeded across georgia to redutkali; whence she made her way to kertsch, on the shore of the sea of azov; and thence to sebastopol, destined a few years later to become the scene of an historic struggle. she afterwards reached odessa, one of the great granaries of europe, situated at the mouth of the dniester and the dnieper. from odessa to constantinople the distance by sea is four hundred and twenty miles. she made but a short stay in the turkish capital; and then proceeded by steamer to smyrna, passing through the maze of the beautiful isles of greece; and from smyrna to athens. here she trod on hallowed ground. every temple, every ruin, recalled to her some brave deed of old, or some illustrious name of philosopher, warrior, statesman, poet, that the world will not willingly let die. a rush of stirring glorious memories swept over her mind as she gazed on the lofty summit of the acropolis, covered with memorials of the ancient art, and associated with the great events of athenian history. the parthenon, or temple of pallas; the temple of theseus; that of olympian jove; the tower of the winds, or so-called lantern of demosthenes; and the choragic monument of lysicrates,--all these she saw, and wondered at. but they have been so frequently described, that we may pass them here with this slight reference. from corinth our traveller crossed to corfu, and from corfu ascended the adriatic to trieste. a day or two afterwards she was received by her friends at vienna,--having accomplished the most extraordinary journey ever undertaken by a woman, and made the complete circuit of the world. in the most remarkable scenes, and in the most critical positions, she had preserved a composure, a calmness of courage, and a simplicity of conduct, that must always command our admiration. chapter iii.--northward. in giving to the world a narrative of her journey to iceland, and her wanderings through norway and sweden, madame pfeiffer anticipated certain objections that would be advanced by the over-refined. "another journey !" she supposed them to exclaim; "and that to regions far more likely to repel than attract the general traveller! what object could this woman have had in visiting them, but a desire to excite our astonishment and raise our curiosity? we might have been induced to pardon her pilgrimage to the holy land, though it was sufficiently hazardous for a solitary woman, because it was prompted, perhaps, by her religious feelings,--and incredible things, as we all know, are frequently accomplished under such an impulse. but, for the present expedition, what reasonable motive can possibly be suggested?" madame pfeiffer remarks that in all this a great injustice is, or would be, done to her; that she was a plain, inoffensive creature, and by no means desirous of drawing upon herself the observation of the crowd. as a matter of fact, she was but following the bent of her natural disposition. from her earliest childhood she had yearned to go forth into the wide world. she could never meet a travelling-carriage without stopping to watch it, and envying the postilion who drove it or the persons it conveyed. when she was ten or twelve years old, no reading had such a charm for her as books of voyages and travels; and then she began to repine at the happiness of every great navigator or discoverer, whose boldness revealed to him the secrets of lands and seas before unknown. she travelled much with her parents, and afterwards with her husband, and thus her natural bias was encouraged. it was not until her two sons were of age to be educated that she remained stationary--on their account. as the business concerns of her husband required his presence alternately in vienna and in lemberg, he intrusted to his wife the responsible duty of superintending their education--feeling assured that, with her perseverance and affection, she could supply the place of both parents. when this duty was discharged, and the education of her sons completed, the dreams and fancies of her youth once more revived within her. she thought of the manners and customs of foreign lands, of remote islands girdled by the "melancholy main," and dwelt so long on the great joy of treading "the blessed acres" trodden by the saviour's feet, that at last she resolved on a pilgrimage thither. she made the journey to palestine. she visited jerusalem, and other hallowed scenes, and she returned in safety. she came, therefore, to the conclusion that she was not presumptuously tempting the providence of god, or laying herself open to the charge of wishing to excite the admiration of her contemporaries, if she followed her inward impulse, and once more adventured forth to see the world. she knew that travel could not but broaden her views, elevate her thoughts, and inspire her with new sympathies. iceland, the next object of her desires, was a country where she hoped to see nature under an entirely novel and peculiar aspect. "i feel," she says, "so wonderfully happy, and draw so close to my maker, while gazing upon such scenes, that no difficulties or fatigues can deter me from seeking so great a reward." * * * * * it was in the year 1845 that madame pfeiffer began her northward journey. she left vienna on the 10th of april, and by way of prague, dresden, and altona, proceeded to kiel. thence the steamer carried her to copenhagen, a city of which she speaks in favourable terms. she notices its numerous splendid palaces; its large and regular squares; its broad and handsome promenades. at the museum of art she was interested by the chair which tycho brahe, the astronomer, formerly used; and at the thorvaldsen museum, the colossal lion executed by the great danish sculptor. having seen all that was to be seen, she took ship for iceland, passing helsingborg on the swedish coast, and elsinore on the danish, the latter associated with shakespeare's "hamlet;" and, through the sound and the cattegat, entering upon the restless waters of the north sea. iceland came in sight on the seventh day of a boisterous voyage, which had tried our traveller somewhat severely; and at the close of the eleventh day she reached havenfiord, an excellent harbour, two miles from reikiavik, the capital of iceland. her first impressions of the icelandic coast, she says, were very different from the descriptions she had read in books. she had conceived of a barren desolate waste, shrubless and treeless; and she saw grassy hillocks, leafy copses, and even, as she thought, patches of dwarfish woods. but as she drew nearer, and could distinguish the different objects more plainly, the hillocks were transformed into human habitations, with small doors and windows; and the groups of trees proved to be huge lava masses, from ten to fifteen feet in height, entirely overgrown with verdure and moss. everything was new, was surprising; and it was with pleasurable sensations of excitement and curiosity that madame pfeiffer landed on the shores of ultima thule. [reikiavik: page135.jpg] * * * * * at reikiavik she found the population inhabiting two very different classes of habitations. the wooden houses of the well-to-do are of a single story, she says, with five or six windows in front. a low flight of steps conducts to an entrance in the centre of the building; and this entrance opens into a vestibule, where two doors communicate with the rooms on the right and left respectively. in the rear is the kitchen, and beyond the courtyard. such a house contains four or five rooms on the ground-floor, and a few small chambers under the roof. the domestic or household arrangements are entirely european. the furniture, much of which is mahogany, comes from copenhagen, which also supplies the mirrors and cast-iron stoves. handsome rugs are spread in front of the sofas; neat curtains drop before the windows; english engravings ornament the whitewashed walls; and china, silver, and cut-glass, and the like, are displayed upon the cabinets or corner-tables. but the poor live in huts which are decidedly much more icelandic. they are small and low; built of lava blocks, filled in with earth; and as the whole is covered with turf, they might almost be mistaken for natural elevations of the ground, if the wooden chimneys, and low doors, and almost imperceptible windows, did not betray that they were tenanted by human beings. a dark, narrow passage, not more than four feet high, leads on one hand to the living-room, on the other to the store-room, where the provisions are kept, and where, in winter, the cows and sheep are stabled. the fireplace is generally at the end of this passage, which is purposely built low to keep out the cold. neither the walls nor floors of these huts are boarded; the dwelling-rooms are scarcely large enough for people to sleep in or turn round in; and the whole furniture consists of the bedsteads (very poorly supplied with bedding), a small table, and a few chests--the latter, as well as the beds, being used for seats. to poles fastened in the walls are suspended clothes, shoes, stockings, and other articles; and in each hut is generally found a tiny book-shelf supporting a few volumes. no stoves are needed in these rooms, which are sufficiently warmed by the presence of their numerous inmates. speaking of the better classes of the inhabitants of the icelandic capital, our traveller says: "nothing struck me so much as the great dignity of carriage at which the icelandic ladies aim, and which is so apt to degenerate into stiffness when it is not perfectly natural, or has not become a second nature by habit. they incline their head very coolly when you meet them, with less civility than we should use towards an inferior or a stranger. the lady of the house never accompanies her guests beyond the door of the room, after a call; if the husband is present, he goes a little further; but when this is not the case, you are often at a loss which way to turn, as there is no servant on the spot to open the street door for you, unless it may happen to be in the house of the stiftsamtmann, the first dignitary of the island." the church at reikiavik is capable of accommodating about one hundred and fifty persons; it is built of stone, with a wooden roof, under which is kept a library of several thousand volumes. it possesses an artistic treasure of no ordinary value in a font by thorvaldsen, whose parents were natives of iceland, though he himself was born in denmark. captain burton describes it as the ancient classical altar, with basso-relievos on all four sides--subjects of course evangelical; on the top an altorelievo of symbolical flowers, roses, and passiflorae is cut to support the normal "dobefal," or baptismal basin. in the sacristy are preserved some handsome priestly robes--especially the velvet vestment sent by pope julius ii. to the last roman catholic bishop in the early part of the sixteenth century, and still worn by the chief protestant dignitary at ordinations. the climate at reikiavik would be considered severe by an englishman. the thermometer sometimes sinks as low as 13 degrees below zero, and the sea is covered with ice for several feet from the shore. the storms and snowdrifts are of the most terrible character, and at times even the boldest icelander dares not cross his threshold. daylight does not last more than four or five hours; but the long night is illuminated by the splendid coruscations of the aurora, filling the firmament with many-coloured flame. from the middle until the end of june, however, there is no night. the sun sinks for a short time below the hills, but twilight blends with the dawn, and before the last rays of evening have faded from the sky the morning light streams forth with renewed brilliancy. * * * * * then, as to the people, madame pfeiffer speaks of them as of medium height and strength. their hair is light, and frequently has a reddish tint; their eyes are blue. the women are more prepossessing in appearance than the men; and pleasing faces are not uncommon among the young girls. they wear long skirts of coarse black woollen stuff, with spencers, and coloured aprons. they cover their heads with a man's cap of the same material as their petticoats, ending in a drooping point, to which hangs a woollen or silken tassel, falling as low as the shoulders. this simple head-dress is not inelegant. all the women have an abundance of hair hanging picturesquely about their face and neck; they wear it loose and short, and it is sometimes curled. the men appear to dress very much like the german peasants. they wear pantaloons, jackets, and vests of dark cloth, with a felt hat or fur cap, and the feet wrapped in pieces of skin, either seal, sheep, or calf. * * * * * here, as a corrective, and for the sake of comparison, let us refer to captain burton's description. the men dress, he says, like sailors, in breeches, jackets serving as coats, and vests of good broadcloth, with four to six rows of buttons, always metal, either copper or silver. the fishermen wear overcoats, coarse smooth waistcoats, large paletots, made waterproof by grease or fish-liver oil; leather overalls, stockings, and native shoes. the women attire themselves in jackets and gowns, petticoats and aprons of woollen frieze; over which is thrown a "hempa," or wide black robe, like a jesuit frock, trimmed with velvet binding. the wealthy add silver ornaments down the length of the dress, and braid the other articles with silk ribbons, galloon, or velvets of various colours. the ruff forms a stiff collar, from three to four inches broad, of very fine stuff, embroidered with gold or silver. the conical head-dress, resembling a fool's-cap or sugar-loaf, measures two or three feet high, and is kept in its place by a coarse cloth, and covered with a finer kerchief. the soleless shoes of ox-hide or sheepskin, made by the women out of a single piece, are strapped to the instep. * * * * * having made herself generally acquainted with the icelanders and their mode of living, madame pfeiffer began to visit the most romantic and interesting spots in the island accessible to an adventurous woman. at first she confined herself to the neighbourhood of reikiavik. she journeyed, for instance, to the island of vidoe, the cliffs of which are frequented by the eider-duck. its tameness while brooding is very remarkable. "i had always looked," she says, "on the wonderful stories i had heard on this subject as fabulous, and should do still had i not been an eye-witness to the fact. i approached and laid my hands on the birds while they were sitting; yes, i could even caress them without their attempting to move from their nests; or, if they left them for a moment, it was only to walk off for a few steps, and remain quietly waiting till i withdrew, when they immediately returned to their station. those whose young were already hatched, however, would beat their wings with violence, and snap at me with their bills when i came near them, rather allowing themselves to be seized than to desert their broods. in size they resemble our common duck; their eggs are of a greenish-gray, rather larger than hens' eggs, and of an excellent flavour. each bird lays about eleven eggs. the finest down is that with which they line their nests at first; it is of a dark gray, and is regularly carried off by the islanders with the first eggs. the poor bird then robs itself of a second portion of its down, and lays a few more eggs, which are also seized; and it is not till the nest has been felted for the third time that the ducks are left unmolested to bring up their brood. the down of the second, and particularly that of the third hatching, is much lighter than the first, and of an inferior quality." the salmon-fishery at the larsalf next engaged our traveller's attention. it is conducted after a primitively simple fashion. when the fish at spawning-time seek the quiet waters of the inland stream, their way back to the sea is blocked up by an embankment of loose stones, about three feet high. in front of this wall is extended a net; and several similar barriers are erected at intervals of eighty to a hundred paces, to prevent the fish which have slipped over one of them from finally accomplishing their escape. a day is appointed for a grand _battue_. the water is then let off as much as possible; and the ensnared fish, feeling it grow shallower, dart hither and thither in frantic confusion, and eventually gather together in such a mass that the fishermen have only to thrust in their hands and seize their prey. yet _some_ degree of skill is necessary, for, as everybody knows, the salmon is full of vivacity, and both strong and swift. so the fisher takes his victim dexterously by head and tail, and throws it ashore immediately. it is caught up by persons who are specially appointed to this duty, and flung to a still greater distance from the stream. were not this done, and done quickly, many a fine fellow would escape. it is strange to see the fish turn round in the hands of their captors, and leap into the air, so that if the fishermen were not provided with woollen mittens, they could not keep their hold of the slippery creatures at all. in these wholesale razzias, from five hundred to a thousand fish are generally taken at a time, each one weighing from five to fifteen pounds. [salmon-fishing in iceland: page145.jpg] * * * * * iceland may, with little exaggeration, be described as nothing more than a stratum of snow and ice overlying a mass of fire and vapour and boiling water. nowhere else do we see the two elements of frost and fire in such immediate contiguity. the icy plains are furrowed by lower currents, and in the midst of wastes of snow rise the seething ebullitions of hot springs. several of the snow-shrouded mountains of iceland are volcanic. in the neighbourhood of kriservick madame pfeiffer saw a long, wide valley, traversed by a current of lava, half a mile in length; a current consisting not merely of isolated blocks and stones, but of large masses of porous rock, ten or twelve feet high, frequently broken up by fissures a foot wide. six miles further, and our traveller entered another valley, where, from the sulphur-springs and hills, rose numerous columns of smoke. ascending the neighbouring hills, she saw a truly remarkable scene: basins filled with bubbling waters, and vaporous shafts leaping up from the fissures in the hills and plains. by keeping to windward, she was able to approach very near these phenomenal objects; the ground was lukewarm in a few places, and she could hold her hand for several minutes at a time over the cracks whence the vapour escaped. no water was visible. the roar and hiss of the steam, combined with the violence of the wind, made a noise so deafening that she was glad to quit the scene, and feel a safer soil beneath her feet. it seemed to her excited fancy as if the entire mountain were converted into a boiling caldron. descending into the plain, she found there much to interest her. here a basin was filled with boiling mud; there, from another basin, burst forth a column of steam with fearful violence. several hot springs bubbled and bubbled around. "these spots," says our traveller, "were far more dangerous than any on the hills; in spite of the utmost caution, we often sank in above our ankles, and drew back our feet in dread, covered with the damp exhalations, which, with steam or boiling water, also escaped from the opening. i allowed my guide to feel his way in front of me with a stick; but, notwithstanding his precaution, he went through in one place half-way to his knee--though he was so used to the danger that he treated it very lightly, and stopped quite phlegmatically at the next spring to cleanse himself from the mud. being also covered with it to the ankles, i followed his example." * * * * * we must now accompany our traveller on some longer excursions. and first, to thingvalla, the place where, of old, the althing or islandparliament was annually held. one side of the great valley of council is bounded by the sea, the other by a fine range of peaks, always more or less covered with snow. through the pass of the almannagja we descend upon the thingvallavatn lake, an expanse of placid blue, about thirty miles in circuit. while our attention is rivetted on the lake and the dark brown hills which encircle it, a chasm suddenly, and as if by enchantment, opens at our feet, separating us from the valleys beyond. it varies from thirty to forty feet in width, is several hundred feet in depth, and four miles in length. "we were compelled," says madame pfeiffer, "to descend its steep and dangerous sides by a narrow path leading over fragments of lava. my uneasiness increased as we went down, and could see the colossal masses, in the shape of pillars or columns tottering loosely on the brink of the precipice above our heads, threatening death and desolation at any moment. mute and anxious, we crept along in breathless haste, scarcely venturing to raise our eyes, much less to give vent to the least expression of alarm, for fear of starting the avalanche of stone, of the impetuous force of which we could form some idea by the shattered rocks around us. the echo is very remarkable, and gives back the faintest whisper with perfect distinctness." * * * * * every traveller to iceland feels bound to visit its geysirs, and madame pfeiffer did as others did. from thingvalla she rode for some distance along the side of the lakes, and then struck through a rocky pass of a very difficult character, into a series of valleys of widely different aspect. at last she came to a stream which flowed over a bed of lava, and between banks of lava, with great rapidity and a rushing, roaring sound. at one point the river-bed was cleft through its centre, to the depth of eighteen or twenty feet, by a chasm from fifteen to eighteen feet wide, into which the waters pour with considerable violence. a bridge in the middle of the river spans this rift, and the stranger who reaches the banks feels unable to account for its appearance among the cloud of spray which entirely conceals the chasm in the bed of the stream. into her description of the passage of the river it is to be feared that madame pfeiffer introduces a little exaggeration. the waters roar, she says, with the utmost violence, and dashing wildly into the cavity, they form falls on both sides of it, or shiver themselves to spray against the projecting cliffs; at the extremity of the chasm, which is not far from the bridge, the stream is precipitated in its whole breadth over rocks from thirty to forty feet in height. "our horses began to tremble, and struggled to escape when we drew near the most furious part of the torrent, where the noise was really deafening; and it was not without the greatest difficulty we succeeded in making them obey the reins, and bear us through the foaming waves by which the bridge was washed." either the scene has greatly altered since madame pfeiffer's visit, or her imagination has considerably over-coloured its principal features. that is, if we accept the accounts of recent travellers, and especially that of captain burton, who has laboured so successfully to reduce the romance of icelandic travel to plain matter of fact. [great geysir: page153.jpg] the geysirs lie within a comparatively limited area, and consist of various specimens, differing considerably in magnitude. the basin of the great geysir lies on a gentle elevation, about ten feet above the plain; it measures about one hundred and fifty feet in diameter, while that of the seething caldron is ten feet. both caldron and basin, on the occasion of madame pfeiffer's visit, were full to the brim with crystalclear water in a state of slight ebullition. at irregular intervals a column of water is shot perpendicularly upwards from the centre of the caldron, the explosion being always preceded by a low rumbling; but she was not so fortunate as to witness one of these eruptions. lord dufferin, however, after three days' watch, was rewarded for his patience. the usual underground thunder having been heard, he and his friends rushed to the spot. a violent agitation was convulsing the centre of the pool. suddenly a crystal dome lifted itself up to the height of eight or ten feet, and then fell; immediately after which, a shining liquid column, or rather a sheaf of columns, wreathed in robes of vapour, sprang into the air, and in a succession of jerking leaps, each higher than its predecessor, flung their silver crests against the sky. for a few minutes the fountain held its own, then all at once appeared to lose its ascending power. the unstable waters faltered, drooped, fell, "like a broken purpose," back upon themselves, and were immediately absorbed in the depths of the subterranean shaft. about one hundred and forty yards distant is the strokkr, or "churn," with a basin about seven feet wide in its outer, and eighteen feet in its inner diameter. a funnel or inverted cone in shape, whereas the great geysir is a mound and a cylinder, it gives the popular idea of a crater. its surface is "an ugly area of spluttering and ever boiling water." it frequently "erupts," and throws a spout into the air, sometimes as high as forty or fifty feet, the outbursts lasting from ten to thirty minutes. madame pfeiffer had not the luck to see it in its grandest moods; the highest eruption she saw did not rise above thirty feet, nor last more than fifteen minutes. an eruption can be produced by throwing into the caldron a sufficient quantity of turf or stones. two remarkable springs lie directly above the geysirs, in openings separated by a barrier of rock--which, however, rise nowhere above the level of the ground. their waters boil very gently, with an equable and almost rhythmic flow. the charm of these springs lies in their wonderful transparency and clearness. all the prominent points and corners, the varied outlines of the cavities, and the different recesses, can be distinguished far within the depths, until the eye is lost in the darkness of the abyss; and the luminous effects upon the rocks lend an additional beauty to the scene, which has all the magic of the poet's fairy-land. it is illumined by a radiance of a soft pale blue and green, which reaches only a few inches from the rocky barrier, leaving the waters beyond in colourless transparency. the light, to all appearance, seems reflected from the rock, but is really owing to atmospheric causes. * * * * * from the geysirs, madame pfeiffer proceeded towards hekla; and at the village of thorfustadir, on the route, had an opportunity of seeing an icelandic funeral. on entering the church she found the mourners consoling themselves with a dram of brandy. on the arrival of the priest, a psalm or prayer was screamed, under his direction, by a chosen number of the congregation; each shouting his loudest, until he was completely out of breath. the priest, standing by the coffin, which, for lack of better accommodation, was resting on one of the seats, read in a loud voice a prayer of more than half an hour's duration. the body was then borne to the grave, which was one of remarkable depth; and the coffin being duly lowered, the priest threw earth upon it thrice, thus terminating the ceremony. at the little village of skalholt, where the first icelandic bishopric was established in 1095, madame pfeiffer was invited to visit the church, and inspect its treasures. she was shown the grave of the first bishop, thorlakur, whose memory is cherished as that of a saint; an old embroidered robe, and a plain gold chalice, both of which probably belonged to him; and, in an antique chest, some dusty books in the iceland dialect, besides three ponderous folios in german, containing the letters, epistles, and treatises of martin luther. continuing her journey, she arrived at the little village of salsun, which lies at the foot of mount hekla. here she secured the services of a guide, and made preparations for the ascent of the famous volcano. these included the purchase of a store of bread and cheese, and the supply of a bottle of water for herself, and one of brandy for the guide, besides long sticks, shod with iron, to steady the adventurers' footsteps. the day fixed for the expedition opened brightly and warmly. at first the road led through fields of tolerable fertility, covered with a rich green herbage, soft as velvet; and then traversed patches of black sand, surrounded by hills, and blocks, and currents of lava. by degrees it grew more difficult, and was so encumbered with lava as greatly to impede the progress of the travellers. around and behind them rolled the dark congealed lava; and it was needful to be constantly on the watch, to prevent themselves from stumbling, or to avoid rude contact with the rolling rocks. greater still was the danger in the rifts and gorges filled with snow moistening already in the summer heat; here they frequently broke through the deceptive crust, or at every step slipped backwards almost as far as they had advanced. [mount hekla: page159.jpg] at length they reached a point where it became necessary to leave behind the horses, and trust entirely to their own strength. laboriously, but undauntedly, madame pfeiffer pressed upward. yet, as she looked around on the sterile scene, which seemed to have been swept by a blast of fire, and on the drear expanse of black lava that surrounded her, madame pfeiffer could scarcely repress a sensation of pain and terror. they had still, she says, three heights to climb; the last of which was also the most dangerous. the path clambered up the rocks which covered the entire area of the mountain-summit. frequent were our traveller's falls; her hands were sadly wounded by the sharp jagged projections of the lava; and her eyes suffered severely from the dazzling brilliancy of the snow that filled every gorge and ravine. but every obstacle gives way to the resolute; and at last madame pfeiffer stood on the topmost peak of hekla. here she made a discovery: in books of travel she had read of the crater of mount hekla, but a careful survey convinced her that none existed. there was neither opening, crevasse, nor sunken wall; in fact, no sign of a crater. lower down on the mountain-side she detected some wide fissures; and from these, not from any crater, must have rolled the lava-rivers. the height of the mountain is computed at 5110 feet. during the last hour of the ascent the sun had been veiled in mists, and from the neighbouring glaciers dense clouds now poured down upon them, obscuring or concealing the entire prospect. fortunately, they gradually dissolved into snow, which spread a carpet, white and soft and glittering, over the dreary lava. the thermometer stood at 29.75 degrees f. the snow-storm passed, and the sun once more gladdened earth, and filled with light the clear blue arch of the firmament. on her elevated watchtower stood the adventurous traveller, till the clouds, passing away, opened up to her wondering gaze the glorious view--glorious, yet terrible! it seemed as if the ruins of a burned-up world lay all around: the wastes were strewn with masses of lava; of life not a sign was visible; blocks of barren lava were piled upon one another in chaotic confusion; and vast streams of indurated volcanic matter choked up every valley. "here, on the topmost peak of hekla," writes madame pfeiffer, "i could look down far and wide upon the uninhabited land, the image of a torpid nature, passionless, inanimate, and yet sublime,--an image which, once seen, can never be forgotten, and the remembrance of which will compensate me amply for all the toils and difficulties i have endured. a whole world of glaciers, lava-peaks, fields of snow and ice, rivers and miniature lakes, were comprehended in that magnificent prospect; and the foot of man had never yet ventured within these regions of gloom and solitude. how terrible must have been the resistless fury of the element which has produced all these changes! and is its rage now silenced for ever? will it be satisfied with the ruin it has wrought? or does it slumber only to break forth again with renewed strength, and lay waste those few cultivated spots which are scattered so sparingly throughout the land? i thank god that he has allowed me to see this chaos of his creation; and i doubly thank him that my lot was cast in these fair plains where the sun does more than divide the day from the night; where it warms and animates plant-life and animal-life; where it awakens in the heart of man the deepest feelings of gratitude towards his maker." on her way down our traveller discovered that the snow had not melted for the first five or six hundred feet. below that distance the mountainsides were enveloped in a shroud of vapour. that glossy, coal-black, shining lava, which is never porous, can be found only at hekla and in its immediate vicinity; but the other varieties, jagged, porous, and vitrified, are also met with, though they are invariably black, as is the sand which covers the side of the mountain. as the distance from the volcano increases, the lava loses its jet-black colour, and fades into an iron-gray. after an absence of twelve hours, madame pfeiffer reached salsun in safety. six-and-twenty eruptions of hekla have been recorded,--the last having occurred in 1845-46. one was prolonged for a period of six years, spreading desolation over a country which had formerly been the seat of a prosperous settlement, and burying the cultivated fields beneath a flood of lava, scoriae, and ashes. during the eruption of 1845-46, three new crater-vents were formed, from which sprang columns of fire and smoke to the height of 14,000 feet. the lava accumulated in formidable masses, and fragments of scoriae and pumice-stone weighing two hundredweight were thrown to a distance of a league and a half; while the ice and snow which had lain on the mountain for centuries were liquefied, and rolled in devastating torrents over the plains. hekla is not the only volcanic mountain of iceland. mounts leirhnukr and krabla, in the northeast, are very formidable; and one of the most terrible eruptions recorded in the island annals was that of the skapta jokul in 1783. we have now completed our summary of madame pfeiffer's icelandic excursions. from the country we may pass to its inhabitants, and ascertain the deliberate opinion she had formed of them after an experience extending over several weeks, and under conditions which enabled so shrewd an observer as she was to judge them impartially. her estimate of their character is decidedly less favourable than that of her predecessors; but it is to be noted that in almost every particular it is confirmed by the latest authority, captain burton. and the evidence goes to show that they are not the simple, generous, primitive, guileless arcadians which it had pleased some fanciful minds to portray. their principal occupation consists in the fisheries, which are pursued with the greatest activity during the months of february, march, and april. the people from the interior then stream into the different harbours, and bargain with the coast-population, the fishermen proper, to help them for a share of the profits. on the other hand, in july and august many of the coast-population penetrate inland, and lend their services in the hay-harvest, for which they are paid in butter, wool, and salted lamb. others resort to the mountains in search of iceland moss, which they mix with milk, and use as an article of food; or grind it into meal, and make cakes with it, as a substitute for bread. the labours of the women consist in preparing the fish for drying, smoking, or salting; in tending the cattle, in knitting, and gathering moss. during the winter season both men and women knit uninterruptedly. madame pfeiffer thinks their hospitality has been overrated, and gives them credit for the ability to make a good bargain. in fact, she saw nothing of that disinterestedness which dr. henderson and other travellers have ascribed to them. they are intolerably addicted to brandy-drinking,--indeed, their circumstances would greatly improve if they drank less and worked more. they are scarcely less passionately addicted to snuff-taking, as well as to tobacco-chewing. their mode of taking snuff is peculiar, and certainly not one to be imitated. most of the peasants, and even many of the priests, have no snuff-boxes, but make use instead of a piece of bone, turned in the shape of a little powderhorn. when desirous of indulging in a little titillation, they throw back their heads, and putting the point of the horn to their nostril, empty in the snuff. so little fastidious are these devotees, that they frequently pass on a horn from nose to nose, without the needless formality of cleaning it. the mention of this practice leads madame pfeiffer to comment very severely on the want of cleanliness among the icelanders, who are as dirty in their houses as in their persons. they are also remarkable for their laziness. there are many ample stretches of meadow-land at a short distance from the coast, completely covered with bog, and passable only with great precautions, which the construction of a few ditches would thoroughly drain. capital grass would then spring up in abundant crops. it is well known that such will grow in iceland, for the hillocks which rise above the swamps are luxuriantly overgrown with herbage and wild clover. the best soil is found, it is said, on the north side of the island, where potatoes grow very well, and also a few trees--which, however, do not exceed seven or eight feet in height. the chief occupation of the northerners is cattlebreeding, particularly in the interior, where some of the farmers own three or four hundred sheep, ten or fifteen cows, and a dozen horses. these, it is true, are exceptional cases; but, as a rule, the population here are in much better circumstances than the wretched coast-population, who chiefly rely on the products of their fisheries. * * * * * from iceland madame pfeiffer embarked for copenhagen on the 29th of july, in the sloop _haabet_ (the "hope"), which proved by no means a vessel of luxurious accommodation. our resolute voyager gives an amusing account of her trials. the fare, for instance, was better adapted for a hermit than for a lady of gentle nurture; but it was sublimely impartial, being exactly the same for captain, mate, crew, and passengers. for breakfast they had wretched tea,--or rather, dirty tea-coloured water,--which the common hands drank without any sugar. the officers made use of a small lump of candy, holding it in their mouths, where it melted slowly, while they swallowed cup after cup to moisten the hard ship-biscuit and rancid butter. the dinners, however, showed a daily variation. first, a piece of salted meat, which, having been soaked and boiled in sea-water, was so intolerably hard, tough, and salt that it required the digestion of an ostrich to overtake it. instead of soup, vegetables, or dessert, barley grits were served up, plainly boiled, without salt or butter, and eaten with syrup and vinegar. on the second day, the _piece de resistance_ was a lump of bacon, boiled in salt water; this was followed by the barley grits. on the third day, cod-fish and pease; on the fourth, the same bill of fare as on the first; and so on,--a cup of coffee, without milk, closing the noonday meal. the evening's repast resembled that of the morning, consisting of tea-water and ship-biscuit. so much for the fare. as to the "table appointments," they were miserably meagre. the cloth was a piece of an old sail, so soiled and dirty that it effectually deprived madame pfeiffer and her fellow-passengers of any small appetite with which they might have sat down to dinner. madame pfeiffer began to think that it would be better to have no cloth at all. she was mistaken! one day she saw the steward belabouring a piece of sailcloth, which was stretched on the deck under his feet, to receive a good sweeping from the ship's broom. the numerous spots of dirt and grease showed plainly that it was the table-cloth; and that same evening the table was bare. the consequence was, that the teapot had no sooner been placed upon it than it began to slide; and nothing but the captain's adroitness prevented the entire "bill of fare" from being poured into the laps of the guests. it then became evident that a table-cloth all foul and stained is better far than none at all! the _hope_ was twenty days at sea, and for twelve days out of sight of land. she was wind-driven to the westward, so that her passengers saw but few of the monsters of the northern seas. they caught sight of the spout of a single whale in the distance; it rose in the air exactly like a fountain-jet, but the animal itself was too far off for its huge outlines to be discernible. one shark had the gallantry to swim round them for a few minutes, affording them an opportunity of observing it closely. it appeared to be from sixteen to eighteen feet in length. * * * * * the "unresting" traveller reached copenhagen on the 19th of august, and on the very same day embarked again for sweden and norway. let us accompany her to christiania. this town and its suburbs, the fortress, the royal castle, the freemasons' lodge, and other buildings, surmount the noble harbour in a stately semicircle; which, in its turn, is enclosed by meadows, and woods, and green hills. as if loath to leave a scene so charming, the blue sea winds in among the fields and vales to some distance behind the town. the best part of christiania is, not unnaturally, the latest built, where the streets are broad and long, and the houses, both of brick and stone, substantial. in the suburbs, most of the houses are of timber. some of the public edifices are architecturally conspicuous, particularly the new castle and the fortress, which are finely situated on a commanding elevation, and enjoy a prospect of great extent and splendid variety. madame pfeiffer was much struck by the diverseness of the conveyances that dash through the pleasant, breezy streets of this picturesque city. the most common, but the least convenient, are called _carriols_. they consist of a very long, narrow, and uncovered box, strung between two enormously high wheels, and provided with a very small seat, into which the passenger must squeeze himself, with outstretched feet, and a leathern apron drawn over his legs; nor can he, nor dare he, move, from the moment he gets in until he gets out again. a place behind is provided for the coachman, in case the occupant of the _carriol_ is disinclined to drive; but as it is unpleasant to have the reins shaken about one's head, and the whip constantly flourishing in one's ears, the services of a driver are seldom in requisition. besides these unshapely vehicles, there are phaetons, droschkis, chariots, and similar light conveyances; but no covered carriages. * * * * * from christiania to stockholm. at gothenburg madame pfeiffer embarked on board the steamer which plies on the gotha canal, the great water-way, linking streams and lakes, which affords access to the swedish capital. she found herself before long on the river gotha, and at lilla edet came to the first of the five locks which occur there. while the boat was passing through them she had an opportunity of seeing the gotha falls, which, though of no great height, pour down a considerable volume of water. through fir woods, brown with shadows, the canal winds onward to the magnificent locks of trollhatten--an engineering achievement of which any nation might be justly proud. they are eleven in number, and rise by gradations to a height of 112 feet in a distance of 3550 feet. the wide, deep channel excavated in the rock is literally paved with flagstones; and these locks mount one above the other like the solitary steps of a majestic stairway, and almost lay claim to be ranked among the world's wonders. while the steamer passes through the successive barriers the passengers have time to make an excursion to the falls of trollhatten, which are less remarkable for their elevation than for their flood of waters and the picturesqueness of the surrounding scenery. beyond trollhatten the stream expands to the proportions of a lake, while a number of green and wooded islands divide it into several channels. thence it traverses the lake of wenner, which is ten or twelve miles long, and proceeds onward through a country of no great interest, until at sjotorp it passes into the river again. a few miles further, and it crosses the vilkensoc, which, like all the other swedish lakes, is charmingly studded with islands. it lies three hundred and six feet above the level of the north sea, and is the culminating point of the canal, which thence descends through about seventy locks, traversing the bottensee and lake wetter. after a tedious journey of five days, madame pfeiffer reached the shores of the baltic, which are finely indented by bays and rivers, with long stretches of lofty cliff, and, inland, dense masses of fir woods. leaving the sea again, a short canal conducts the voyager into lake malar, celebrated for its cluster of islands. the lake at first resembles a broad river, but soon widens to a great extent; the beauty of the scenery never fails to excite the traveller's admiration. it is said that a thousand isles besprinkle its surface; they are crowded together in the most picturesque and varied groups, forming streams, and bays, and a chain of smaller lakes, and continually revealing some new and attractive feature. not less charming the shores: sometimes the hills and mountains pass close to the water, and their steep and rocky sides frown like thundersmitten ramparts; but generally the eye is delighted by a constant and brightly-coloured panorama of meadows, woods, and valleys, villages, and sequestered farmhouses. on the summit of a steep declivity a high pole is erected, to which hangs suspended the hat of the unfortunate king erik. it is said of him, that having fled from the field of battle, he was here overtaken by one of his soldiers, whose stern reproaches so stung him to the heart that he drove his spurs into his horse's sides, and clearing the precipice with a bound, sank for ever beneath the waters of the lake. his hat, which fell from his head as he made the plunge, is preserved as a memorial of a king's remorse. * * * * * on arriving at stockholm, several stalwart women offer us their services as porters. they are dalecarlians, who earn a livelihood by carrying luggage or water, by rowing boats, and by resorting to other occupations generally reserved for the stronger sex. honest, industrious, capable of immense fatigue, they never lack employment. they wear short black petticoats, red bodices, white chemises with long sleeves, short and narrow aprons of two colours, red stockings, and shoes with thick wooden soles. around their heads they generally bind a handkerchief, or else wear a very small black cap, which just covers the back of their hair. stockholm proves, on examination, to be a handsome city, situated at the junction of the baltic with the lake malar; or, more strictly speaking, on the banks of a short canal which unites the two. one of its most conspicuous buildings is the stately ritterholm church, which madame pfeiffer describes as resembling rather a vault and an armoury than a religious edifice. in the side chapels are enshrined the monuments of dead swedish kings, whose bones lie in the royal sepulchres below. on both sides of the nave are ranged the equestrian statues of armed knights; while from every vantage-point hang flags and standards. the keys of captured towns and fortresses are suspended in the side chapels, and drums and kettle-drums piled upon the floor--trophies won from the enemies of sweden in the days when she was a great european power. the chapels also contain, enclosed in glass-cases, parts of the dress and armour of some of the swedish monarchs. we notice, with keen interest, the uniform worn by charles xii.--he "who left a name at which the world grew pale, to point a moral or adorn a tale"-at the time of his death, and the hat penetrated by the fatal shot that slew the fiery warrior. a remarkable contrast is afforded by the rich dress and plumed hat of bernadotte, the french soldier of fortune, who founded the present royal house. the royal palace is a stately structure, and its interior is enriched with the costliest decoration. the ritter-house, the museum of ancient art, the crown-prince's palace, the theatre, the bank, the mint, are all deserving of inspection. in the vicinity a trip may be made to the beautiful and diversified scenery of the royal park, or the military school at karlberg, or to the ancient royal castle of gripsholm on the lake of malar. but our last excursion must be directed, by way of upsala, to the ironmines of danemora. the little village of danemora is embosomed in woods. it contains a small church and a few scattered houses of various dimensions. the neighbourhood abounds in the usual indications of a mining locality. madame pfeiffer arrived in what is called "the nick of time," and just opportunely, to witness the blasting of the ore. from the wide opening of the largest mine it is possible to see what passes below; and a strange and wonderful sight it is to peer down into the abyss, four hundred and eighty feet deep, and observe the colossal entrances to the various pits, the rocky bridges, the projections, arches, and caverns excavated in the solid rock. the miners appear so many puppets; their movements can hardly be distinguished, until the eye has grown accustomed to the darkness and to their diminutive size. at the given moment a match was applied to four trains of gunpowder. the man who lighted them immediately sprang back, and hid himself behind a wall of rock. in a minute or two came the flash; a few stones were hurled into the air; and immediately afterwards was heard a loud detonation, and the shattered mass fell in fragments all around. echo caught up the tremendous explosion, and carried it to the furthest recesses of the mine; while, to enhance the terror of the scene, one rock was hardly shivered before another crash was heard, and then a third, and immediately afterwards a fourth. [iron-mine of danemora: page179.jpg] the other pits are still deeper, one of them being six hundred feet beneath the ground; but as they are smaller in their openings, and as the shafts are not always perpendicular, the gaze is soon lost in the obscurity, which produces a dismal effect upon the spectator. the iron obtained from the swedish mines is of excellent quality, and large quantities are annually exported. * * * * * madame pfeiffer now began her homeward journey, and, by way of hamburg and berlin, proceeded to dresden. thence she returned to vienna on the 6th of october, after an absence of six months. chapter iv.--last travels. madame pfeiffer set out on what proved to be her final expedition, on the 21st of may 1856. she proceeded to berlin, thence to amsterdam, leyden, rotterdam; visited london and paris; and afterwards undertook the voyage to the cape of good hope. here she hesitated for a while in what direction she should turn her adventurous steps before she pushed forward to the goal of her hopes--madagascar. at length she decided on a visit to the mauritius; and it is at this part of her journey that we propose to take up her record. [port louis, mauritius: page183.jpg] she saw much scenery in this rich and beautiful little island that moved her to admiration. the volcanic mountains assume the boldest and most romantic outlines. the vegetation is of the most luxuriant character. each deep gorge or mountain-valley blooms with foliage; and the slopes are clothed with stately trees, graceful shrubs, and climbing plants; while shining streams fall from crag to crag in miniature cascades. of course madame pfeiffer visited the sugar-cane plantations, which cover the broad and fertile plains of pamplemousse. she learned that the sugarcane is not raised from seed, but that pieces of cane are planted. the first cane requires eighteen months to ripen; but as, meanwhile, the chief stem throws out shoots, each of the following harvests can be gathered in at intervals of twelve months; hence four crops can be obtained in four years and a half. after the fourth harvest, the field must be cleared completely of the cane. if the land be virgin soil, on which no former crop has been raised, fresh slips of cane may be planted immediately, and thus eight crops secured in nine years. but if such is not the case, "ambrezades" must be planted--that is, a leafy plant, growing to the height of eight or nine feet, the leaves of which, continually falling, decay and fertilize the soil. after two years the plants are rooted out, and the ground is once more occupied by a sugar plantation. when the canes are ripe and the harvest begins, every day as many canes are cut down as can be pressed and boiled at once. the cane is introduced between two rollers, set in motion by steam-power, and pressed until it is quite flat and dry: in this state it is used for fuel. the juice is strained successively into six pans, of which the first is exposed to the greatest heat--the force of the fire being diminished gradually under each of the others. in the last pan the sugar is found half crystallized. it is then deposited on great wooden tables to cool, and granulate into complete crystals of about the size of a pin's head. lastly, it is poured into wooden colanders, to filter it thoroughly of the molasses it still contains. the whole process occupies eight or ten days. before the sugar is packed, it is spread out on the open terraces to dry for some hours in the sun. * * * * * an excursion was made to mount orgueil, in order to obtain a panoramic view of the island-scenery. on one side the lofty ridge of the morne brabant, connected with the mainland only by a narrow neck of earth, stretches far out into the sapphire sea; near at hand rises the piton de la riviere noire, the loftiest summit in the island, two thousand five hundred and sixty-four feet. in another direction are visible the green tops of the tamarin and the rempart; and in a fourth, the three-headed mountain called the trois mamelles. contiguous to these opens a deep caldron, two of the sides of which have broken down in ruin, while the others remain erect and steep. besides these mountains, the traveller sees the corps de garde du port loris de mocca; le pouce, with its narrow peak projecting above the plateau like a thumb; and the precipitous peter botte. the last-named mountain recalls the memory of the daring hollander who first reached its summit, long regarded as impracticable. he succeeded in what seemed a hopeless effort by shooting an arrow, to which a strong cord was attached, over the top. the arrow fell on the other side of the mountain, at a point which could be attained without much difficulty. a stout rope was then fastened to the cord, drawn over the mountain, and secured on both sides; and peter botte hauled himself up by it to the topmost crest, and thus immortalized his name. the ascent has since been accomplished by english travellers. a trip was also undertaken to the trou de cerf, or "stag's hole," a crater of perfectly regular formation, brimful of bloom and foliage. as no sign or mark betrays its whereabouts, the traveller is seized with astonishment on suddenly reaching its brink. his astonishment soon wears off, and he feels an intense delight in contemplating the view before him. it comprises three-fourths of the island: majestic mountains clothed in virgin forests almost to their very crests; wide-spreading plains, green with the leafiness of the sugar-cane plantations; cool verdurous valleys, where the drowsy shadows softly rest; and beyond and around the blue sea with a fringe of snow-white foam marking the indentations of the coast. * * * * * on the 25th of april 1857 madame pfeiffer sailed for madagascar, and after a six-days' voyage reached the harbour of tamatave. madagascar, the reader may be reminded, is, next to borneo, the largest island in the world. it is separated from the african mainland by the mozambique channel, only seventy-five miles wide. it stretches from lat. 12 to 25 degrees s., and long. 40 to 48 degrees e. its area is about ten thousand geographical square miles. [the traveller's tree: page189.jpg] madagascar contains forests of immense extent, far-reaching plains and valleys, rivers, lakes, and great chains of mountains, which raise their summits to an elevation of ten or twelve thousand feet. the climate is tropical, the vegetation remarkable for abundance and variety. the chief products are gums and odoriferous balsams, sugar, tobacco, maize, indigo, silk, spices. the woods yield many valuable kinds of timber, and almost every fruit of the torrid zone, besides the curious and useful traveller's tree. palms are found in dense and beautiful groves; and among them is the exquisite water-palm, or lattice leaf-plant. in the animal kingdom madagascar possesses some remarkable forms; as, for instance, the makis, or half-ape, and the black parrot. the population consists of four distinct races: the kaffirs, who inhabit the south; the negroes, who dwell in the west; the arabs in the east; and in the interior the malays, among whom the hovas are the most numerous and the most civilized. * * * * * tamatave, when visited by madame pfeiffer looked like a poor but very large village, with between four and five thousand inhabitants. of late years, however, it has grown into a place of much commercial importance. there are some decent houses; but the natives live chiefly in small huts, which are scattered over a wide area, with scarcely any attempt at regularity of arrangement. these huts are supported on piles from six to ten feet high. they are built of wood or of bamboo, thatched with long grass or palm-leaves; and they contain only one room, of which the fireplace occupies a disproportionate share. windows are wanting, but light and air are admitted through two opposite doors. the bazaar is situated in the middle of the village, on an irregular piece of ground, and is distinguished alike by its dirt and poverty. the articles exposed for sale are only a supply of beef, some sugar-cane, rice, and a few fruits; and the whole stock of one of the dealers would be dear at a couple of shillings. the oxen are slaughtered on the spot, and their flesh sold in thick hunches, with the skin, which is esteemed a great delicacy. meat is not bought according to weight, but the size of each piece is measured by the eye. the tamatavians are principally malagasys; and, physically, their appearance does not recommend them. they have wide mouths, with thick lips; their noses are broad and flat; their chins protrude; their cheekbones are disagreeably prominent. their complexion may be any shade of a muddy brown. generally, their teeth are regular, and very white; but against this redeeming trait must be put their hideous hair, which is coal-black, very long, very woolly, and very coarse. when worn in all its natural amplitude, its effect is curiously disagreeable. the face seems lost in a "boundless convexity" of thick frizzled hair, which stands out in every direction. but, usually, the men cut their hair quite short at the back of the head, leaving only a length of six or eight inches in front, which stands upright, like a hedge of wool. much pride is felt in their "head of hair" by the women, and even by some of the men; and, unwilling to shorten so ornamental an appendage, they plait it into numerous little tails. some coquettishly allow these tails to droop all about their head; others twist them together into a band or bunch, covering the top of the head like a cap. no wonder that much time is spent in the preparation of so complex a head-gear; but then, on the other hand, when once made up it will last for several days. now as to the costume of these interesting semi-savages. their articles of clothing are two in number--the _sadik_ and the _simbre_. the former, which by many natives is considered quite sufficient, is a strip of cloth worn round the loins. the simbre is a piece of white stuff, about four yards long and three broad, which is worn much like a toga. as it is constantly coming loose, and every minute needing adjustment, it is an exceedingly troublesome though not ungraceful garment, keeping one hand of the wearer almost constantly employed. males and females wear the same attire, except that the latter indulge in a little more drapery, and often add a third article--a short tight jacket, called _kanezu_. simple as is the clothing of the malagasy, their food is not less simple. at every meal, rice and anana are the principal or only dishes. anana is a vegetable very much like spinach, of a by no means disagreeable flavour in itself, but not savoury when cooked with rancid fat. fish is sometimes eaten, but not often--for indolence is a great malagasy quality--by those who dwell on the borders of rivers or on the sea-shore; meat and poultry, though both are cheap, are eaten only on special occasions. the natives partake of two meals--one in the morning, the other in the evening. the rice and anana are washed down with _ranugang_, or rice-water, thus prepared: rice is boiled in a vessel, and purposely burned, until a crust forms at the bottom. the water is poured on, and allowed to boil. the water in colour resembles pale coffee, and in taste is abominable to a european palate. the natives, however, esteem it highly, and not only drink the water, but eat the crust. * * * * * one of the great ceremonies of madagascar, the royal bath-feast, is described by madame pfeiffer. it is celebrated on the malagasy new-year's day, and has some curious features. on the eve, all the high officers, nobles, and chiefs are invited to court; and assembling in a great hall, partake of a dish of rice, which is handed round to each guest with much solemnity that he may take a pinch with his fingers and eat. next day, all reassemble in the same place; and the queen steps behind a curtain, which hangs in a corner of the room, undresses, and submits to copious ablutions. assuming her clothes, she comes forward, holding in her hand an ox-horn that has been filled with water from her bath; and this she sprinkles over the assembled company--reserving a portion for the soldiers drawn up on parade beneath her window. throughout the country this day is an occasion of festivity, and dancing, singing, and feasting are kept up till a late hour. nor does the revel end then; it is prolonged for eight days. the people on the first day are accustomed to kill as many oxen as will supply them with meat for the whole period; and no man who possesses a herd, however small, fails to kill at least one for this annual celebration. the poor exchange rice, and tobacco, and several potatoes, for pieces of meat. these pieces are long thin strips; and being salted, and laid one upon another, they keep tolerably well until the eighth day. madame pfeiffer had an opportunity of witnessing the dances, but did not find them very interesting. some girls beat a little stick with all their might against a thick stem of bamboo; while others sang, or rather howled, at their highest and loudest pitch. then two of the ebony beauties stepped forward, and began to move slowly to and fro on a small space of ground, half lifting their arms, and turning their hands, first outwards, and then towards their sides. next, one of the men made his _debut_. he tripped about much in the same style as the dusky _danseuses_, only with greater energy; and each time he approached any of the women or girls, he made gestures expressive of his love and admiration. * * * * * our traveller obtained permission to enter into the interior of the island, and to visit antananarivo, {197} the capital. as she approached it, she could see it picturesquely planted on a high hill that rose out of the broad and fertile inland plain; and after a pleasant journey through rich and beautiful scenery, she came upon the suburbs, which enclose it on all sides. the suburbs at first were villages; but they have gradually expanded until they have been formed into a compact aggregate. most of the houses are built of earth or clay; but those belonging to the city must, by royal decree, be constructed of planks, or at least of bamboo. they are all of a larger size than the dwellings of the villagers; are much cleaner, and kept in better condition. the roofs are very high and steep, with long poles reared at each end by way of ornament. many houses, and sometimes groups of three or four houses, are surrounded by low ramparts of earth, apparently for no other purpose than to separate the courtyards from the neighbouring tenements. the streets and squares are all very irregularly built: the houses are not placed in rows, but in clusters,--some at the foot of the hill, others on its slopes. the royal palace crowns the summit. madame pfeiffer expressing her surprise at the number of lightning-conductors that everywhere appeared, was informed that perhaps in no other part of the world were thunderstorms so frequent or so fatal. she was told that, at antananarivo, about three hundred people were killed by lightning every year. the interior of the town was in appearance exactly like one of the suburbs, except that the houses were built of planks or of bamboo. at the time of madame pfeiffer's visit, the sovereign of madagascar was queen ranavala, memorable for her sanguinary propensities, her hatred of europeans, and her persecution of the christian converts. it proves the extraordinary power of fascination which our traveller possessed, that she obtained from this feminine despot so many concessions--being allowed to travel about the island with comparative freedom, and being even admitted to the royal presence. the latter incident is thus described:-towards four o'clock in the afternoon her bearers carried madame pfeiffer to the palace, over the door of which a great gilded eagle expands its wings. according to rule, in stepping across the threshold the visitor put her right foot foremost; and this ceremony she also observed on entering, through a second gateway, the spacious courtyard in front of the palace. here the queen was visible, being seated on a balcony on the first story, and madame pfeiffer and her attendants were directed to stand in a row in the courtyard opposite to her. under the balcony some soldiers were going through divers evolutions, which concluded, comically enough, by suddenly lifting up the right foot as if it had been stung by a wasp. the queen was attired in a wide silk simbre, and wore on her head a large golden crown. though she sat in the shade, a very ample umbrella of crimson silk--throughout the east a sign of royal dignity--was held over her head. she was of rather dark complexion, strongly and even sturdily built, and, though seventy-five years of age, remarkably healthy and active. on her right stood her son, prince rakoto; and on her left, her adopted son, prince ramboasalama. behind her were gathered nephews, nieces, and other relatives, and the dignitaries and grandees of her kingdom. the minister who had conducted madame pfeiffer and her companion--m. lambert, a french adventurer, who played a conspicuous part in the affairs of madagascar--addressed a short speech to the queen; after which the visitors had to bow thrice, and to repeat the words, "esaratsara tombokoc" (we salute you cordially); to which she replied, "esaratsara" (we salute you). they then turned to the left to salute king radama's tomb, which was close at hand, with three similar bows; afterwards returning to their former position in front of the balcony, and making three more. m. lambert next held up a gold piece of eighty francs value, and placed it in the hands of the minister who had introduced them. this gift, which is expected from every stranger when first presented, is called "monosina." the queen then asked m. lambert if he wished to put any question to her, or if he needed anything, and also addressed a remark or two to madame pfeiffer. the bowings and greetings were then resumed; obeisance was paid to king radama's monument; and the visitors, as they retired, were again cautioned not to put the left foot first over the threshold. the royal palace is (or was) a very large timber building, consisting of a ground-floor and two stories, surmounted by a singularly high-pitched roof. each story is surrounded by a broad gallery. the roof is supported on wooden pillars, eighty feet high, and rises forty feet above them, resting in the centre on a pillar not less than a hundred and twenty feet in height. all these columns are fashioned each from a single trunk; and when it is considered, says our authority, that the forests containing trees of sufficient size for this purpose lie fifty or sixty miles from the capital, that the roads are nowhere paved, and in some places are quite impassable, and that all the pillars are dragged to the capital without the help of a beast of burden or any single machine, and are afterwards wrought and set up with the simplest tools, the erection of this palace may justly be called a gigantic undertaking, and the palace itself ranked among the wonders of the world. the government of madagascar has always been draconian in its severity, and the penalty exacted for almost every offence is blood. some of the unfortunates are burned; others are hurled over a high rock; others buried alive; others scalded to death with boiling water; others killed with the spear; others sewn up alive in mats, and left to perish of hunger and corruption; and others beheaded. recourse is not unfrequently had to poison, which is used as a kind of ordeal or test. this is applicable to all classes; and as any one may accuse another, on depositing a certain sum of money,--and as, moreover, no accused person is allowed to defend himself,--the ordeal does not fall into disrepute for want of use. if the accused endures it without perishing, a third part of the deposit is awarded to him, a third part goes to the court, and the remainder is returned to the accuser. but if the accused die, his guilt is considered to have been established, and the accuser receives back the whole of his money. the poisoning process takes place as follows:-the material employed is obtained from the kernel of a fruit as large as a peach, called the _tanghinia venenifera_. the lampi-tanghini, or person who administers the poison, announces to the accused the day on which the perilous dose is to be swallowed. for eight-and-forty hours before the prescribed time he is allowed to eat very little, and for the last twenty-four hours nothing at all. his friends accompany him to the poisoner's house. there he undresses, and takes oath that he has had no recourse to magic. the lampi-tanghini then scrapes away as much powder from the kernel with a knife as he judges necessary for the trial. before administering the dose, he asks the accused if he confesses his crime; which the accused never does, because under any circumstances he would have to swallow the poison. the said poison is spread upon three little pieces of skin, each about an inch in size, cut from the back of a plump fowl. these he rolls together, and administers to the supposed culprit. "in former days," says madame pfeiffer, "almost every person who was subjected to this ordeal died in great agony; but for the last ten years any one not condemned by the queen herself to take the tanghin, is allowed to make use of the following antidote. as soon as he has taken the poison, his friends make him drink rice-water in such quantities that his whole body sometimes swells visibly, and quick and violent vomiting is brought on. if the poisoned man be fortunate enough to get rid not only of the poison, but of the three little skins (which latter must be returned uninjured), he is declared innocent, and his relations carry him home in triumph, with songs and rejoicings. but if one of the pieces of skin should fail to reappear, or if it be at all injured, his life is forfeited, and he is executed with the spear, or by some other means." {204} * * * * * during madame pfeiffer's stay at antananarivo a conspiracy broke out, provoked by the queen's cruelty. it failed, however, in its object; and those concerned in it were mercilessly punished. the christians became anew exposed to the suspicions and wrath of ranavala; and madame pfeiffer and her companions found themselves in a position of great peril. the royal council debated vehemently the question, whether they should be put to death? and this being answered in the affirmative, what death they should die? happily, prince rakoto interfered, pointing out that the murder of europeans would not be allowed to pass unavenged, but would bring down upon madagascar the fleets and armies of the great european powers. this argument finally prevailed; and madame pfeiffer and the other europeans, six in all, then in antananarivo, were ordered to quit it immediately. they were only too thankful to escape with their lives, and within an hour were on their way to tamatave, escorted by seventy malagasy soldiers. they had good cause to congratulate themselves on their escape, for on the very morning of their departure ten christians had been put to death with the most terrible tortures. the journey to tamatave was not without its dangers and difficulties, and madame pfeiffer, who had been attacked with fever, suffered severely. the escort purposely delayed them on the road; so that, instead of reaching the coast in eight days, the time actually occupied was three-and-fifty. this was the more serious, because the road ran through low-lying and malarious districts. in the most unhealthy spots, moreover, the travellers were left in wretched huts for a whole week, or even two weeks; and frequently, when madame pfeiffer was groaning in a violent excess of fever, the brutal soldiers dragged her from her miserable couch, and compelled her to continue her journey. at length, on the 12th of september, she arrived at tamatave; broken-down and unutterably weary and worn, but still alive. ill as she was, she gladly embarked on board a ship which was about to sail for the mauritius; and reaching that pleasant island on the 22nd, met with a hearty welcome from her friends--to whom, indeed, she was as one who had been dead and was alive again. the mental and physical sufferings she had undergone, combined with the peculiar effects of the fever, now brought on an illness of so serious a character that for long the doctors doubted whether her recovery was possible. on her sixtieth birthday, the 14th of october, they pronounced the brave lady out of danger; but, in fact, her constitution had received a fatal shock. the fever became intermittent in its attacks, but it never wholly left her; though she continued, with unabated energy and liveliness, to lay down plans for fresh expeditions. she had made all her preparations for a voyage to australia, when a return of her disease, in february 1858, compelled her to renounce her intention, and to direct her steps homeward. early in the month of june she arrived in london, where she remained for a few weeks. thence she repaired to berlin. her strength was now declining day by day, though at first she seemed to regard her illness as only temporary, and against the increasing physical weakness her mind struggled with its usual activity. about september, she evinced a keen anxiety to behold her home once more,--evidently having arrived at a conviction that her end was near. she was carefully conveyed to vienna, and received into the house of her brother, charles reyer; where, at first, the influence of her native air had an invigorating effect. this gave way after a week or two, and her illness returned with augmented force. during the last days of her life, opiates were administered to relieve her sufferings; and in the night between the 27th and 28th of october she passed away peacefully, and apparently without pain,--leaving behind her the memory of a woman of matchless intrepidity, surprising energy, and heroic fixity of purpose. notes. {105} since madame pfeiffer's time this mode of self-torture has been prohibited by the british government. {197} that is, the "city of a thousand towns." {204} we give madame pfeiffer's account, as an illustration of the old ways of madagascar society. but the poison-ordeal has of late been abandoned, owing to christian influence. transcriber's notes: --obvious print and punctuation errors were corrected. --because of the large tables in this book, it is recommended the use of a monospaced font. --there are two sun symbols (a circle with a dot in the middle) in the caption of illustration at page 70 and page 73. they are noted as sun symbol]. --bold text is enclosed in equal signs: =bold text=. across iceland [illustration: the camp at hveravellir.] across iceland by w. bisiker, f.r.g.s. with illustrations and maps and an appendix by a. w. hill, m.a., on the plants collected london edward arnold publisher to the india office 1902 _all rights reserved_ contents chapter i page the party 1 chapter ii the faroes 6 chapter iii the fjords 16 chapter iv across the northern inhabited fringe 26 chapter v the interior--to hveravellir 51 chapter vi the interior--strytur and its lava 61 chapter vii the interior--kerlingarfjöll 72 chapter viii the interior--hvitarvatn and gullfoss 80 chapter ix geysir and thingvellir 95 chapter x the capital--reykjavik 112 chapter xi in the west--to reykholt 121 chapter xii barnafoss and the surtshellir caves 137 chapter xiii gilsbakki to statharhraun 152 chapter xiv to eldborg and helgafell 163 chapter xv stykkisholm and berserkjahraun 172 chapter xvi the north-west peninsula 181 chapter xvii the northern fjords 192 chapter xviii across country from akureyri to husavik 196 chapter xix the eastern fjords 207 appendix i.--on the plants collected 217 appendix ii.--list of the plants 226 index of places 233 list of illustrations the camp at hveravellir _frontispiece_ page in thorshavn (faroes) 9 the waterfall, seythisfjord 20 pack-saddle and boxes 27 akureyri at midnight 29 the spit at oddeyri 31 the oxnadalsá cutting through a hard dyke 33 moraine accumulations and cloud-effects at thverá 37 the wrecked plane-table 40 the northrá 41 saddling up 42 crossing the herradsvötn 44 silfrastathr church. asleep at midnight 47 crossing a small snow slope 52 hveravellir--the sinter terraces 59 a volcanic vent of the fissure type 69 a survey photograph (no. 169) from gránanes 70 a survey photograph (no. 183) looking towards kerlingarfjöll 73 ascending a snow slope 74 kerlingarfjöll--fire and ice 75 immense "erratics" 81 the pack-train crossing the hvitá 86 a fine gorge in the side of bláfell 88 gullfoss--front view with "rainbow" effect 89 gullfoss--side view 89 gullfoss--the upper fall 90 gullfoss--the fall into the ravine 91 gullfoss--the ravine below the falls 92 below gullfoss--castellated dykes 93 the sinter ring of geysir 100 the funnel or crater of geysir 101 almanna-gjá--in the rift near the waterfall 108 glaciated lava surface near thingvellir 110 the business end of reykjavik by the governor's house 115 reykjavik--interior of the cathedral 117 thorlakur and his wife and children at his farm-house 123 the thyrill mountains 128 miss hastie trout-fishing 130 typical icelandic farmers 131 a forest near barnafoss 133 the cascades at barnafoss 139 the northingafljot cutting across the lava 143 the double depression in the lava at the entrance to the surtshellir caves 144 in the surtshellir caves near the entrance, showing the water-worn lines 145 surtshellir--the icicle cave 150 a lava arch 153 ropy lava at barnafoss 154 hannes and the farmer in consultation 160 small vent cones 161 hannes and jón loading up a pony 169 the columnar basalt island, sugandisey 173 the berserkers' road through the lava-field 177 a basalt mountain cone due to erosion 183 a "glorified" shadow on the fog over veithileysa 190 lava pillars near nes 201 uxahver geyser in eruption 203 bathstovukver geyser in eruption 204 the procession at seythisfjord 212 seythisfjord--on the outskirts of the crowd round the monument 213 farewell faroese! 215 list of maps central iceland--plane-table survey by the author _to face page_ 61 author's route near statharhraun _page_ 159 author's route--akureyri to husavik " 197 map of iceland to illustrate the author's route _at end_ chapter i the party these notes, besides describing a journey made during the summer of 1900 across central iceland from the north-east to the south-west, give an account of further travels by land in the west, and by sea along the coast and into the fjords of the north-west, north and east coasts. the voyage to iceland was made in one of the vessels owned by the united steamship company, a danish company trading from copenhagen to leith, and thence to the faroes and iceland. we were six in all--a semi-scientific party. there was miss j. a. hastie, a woman who has travelled much in europe, asia, africa, and america, and who is not unacquainted with our colonies at the antipodes, or with the islands of the south seas. she was specially interested in the botany of the country, in its folklore, and in the people. then there was captain w. h. cope; he had been at sea for the greater part of his life, and had in the course of his journeyings seen much of the world; he was our nautical adviser, and we referred to him in matters connected with the sea. w. glen, miss hastie's cousin, was known as the "handy man" of the party. if anybody was in difficulties, glen was always on the spot to lend a helping hand. he produced all sorts of things at the right moment. did any one require a screw-driver, then glen had it; want a corkscrew, glen could supply it; a pair of scissors, he produced them--some string, a strap, it was all the same. if a camera struck work, glen could render the strike ineffective, for he carried two, and could lend one without interfering with his own photographic work. a. w. hill, of king's college, cambridge, was our botanist--who describes what he saw. h. h. thomas, of balliol, paid special attention to the geological formation of the country that we traversed, and he was frequently to be seen, camera in hand, taking shots at interesting formations--a glaciated lava surface, a volcanic vent, or an immense "erratic" boulder or "perched block," for instance; he also sketched industriously, and sometimes paced the ground compass in hand in order that he might record in his note-book the direction of a line of fissure, or the position of hot springs along that line; or something else of interest to geologists in particular. i was the geographer, whose mission it was to make a map of a small portion of the country traversed, to get a general idea of its conformation, and to note valleys and mountains, ice-fields and snow slopes, lava flows and hot springs, mighty rivers and tiny rivulets. i undertook to chronicle the events of the journey and to "take shots"--photographic shots--at men and things. we were all more or less devoted to sport, and frequently the desire to kill took possession of us, especially when we caught sight of duck, grouse, or golden plover--or, when we came to stream or river where trout or salmon were known to abound, we had a desire to cast a fly. but it was maddening to know that our desires could not be gratified, for where were gun and cartridges, rod and line? the man who had undertaken to look after that branch of our preliminary arrangements had failed us at the last moment, and it was not till too late, when we were embarking at leith, that we learned that he was not coming with us. it was not his fault, poor fellow, but his misfortune. he had come a cropper from his bicycle, falling on his head, had remained unconscious for more than twelve hours, and had been forbidden by his medical advisers to travel--all this we knew nothing of until we were embarking at leith, when it was altogether too late to procure another sporting outfit to replace that which we had fondly believed to be already on board ship, but which was really lying many miles away, far beyond our reach. but i will hasten over a subject that awakens the most tantalising of recollections, for many were the opportunities that were missed. one saturday in june 1900 we embarked upon the steam-ship _ceres_, and early in the afternoon set sail from leith on our voyage north. all the morning the weather had been fine, and it promised to continue so before we started, but we had scarcely reached the open sea before we entered a fog, which increased in denseness as we progressed. as a consequence the steam-whistle was sounded every few minutes, much to the discomfiture of many of the passengers on board; but miss hastie seemed to rise above such petty annoyances, for she took her seat on deck immediately beneath the whistle, and this spot was her resort during the whole voyage, notwithstanding the fact that the fog continued at intervals for the greater part of the journey, and that the steam-whistle frequently made day hideous with its noise. conversation with her when the fog was densest was difficult, for it was punctuated--very incorrectly as a rule--by the shrill blasts that broke in suddenly and without warning, often causing the thread of a discourse to be lost, or an interrupted remark to fall flat on being completed, or perhaps repeated, when silence once more reigned. as a result of the fog we proceeded at half speed only, and during the night the whistle was most aggressive, causing one's slumbers to be somewhat broken. in my own case the steam-whistle was not the only disturbing influence at night, for my cabin companion had a noisy way of enjoying the repose of the just, and often the intervals between the blasts were filled in with sounds that resembled the rumbling of thunder, and not very distant thunder either. the second day out was a repetition of the first as regards fog, progress made, shrill whistling, etc. the vessel glided on slowly and smoothly, and we employed the time, when not eating and drinking, in the way usual at sea--by reading, chatting with our fellow-passengers, and comparing notes of former travels, varied now and then by a "rubber," or a stroll on deck for exercise. meals were served at the following hours: 8 a.m., coffee and rusks; 10 a.m., breakfast; 3 p.m., dinner--the chief meal of the day; 8 p.m., supper. at breakfast and supper there were many dishes of smoked, uncooked food--fish, meats, sausages, etc.; but the members of our party did not take very kindly to these uncooked delicacies, and they were left for those who relished them--the danes, germans, and passengers of other nationalities, of whom there were many on board. the fog cleared in the evening and the south ronaldshay light was sighted. several members of our party looked with no little interest at the headland, especially our nautical adviser, captain cope, for he had had a very unpleasant and dangerous experience thereabouts only two months before: he had been wrecked not far from it in the shetland steamer, the _st. rognvald_, which broke up and became a total loss. the vessel struck in the middle of the night, and he escaped in a very light and airy costume, consisting of a suit of pyjamas and an overcoat. next morning the weather was remarkably clear and bright until breakfast time, when we entered other fog banks and remained more or less in them until late in the afternoon; but on nearing our first port of call we emerged into clear weather. chapter ii the faroes the first sight of the faroes was impressive. the bold outlines of the islands were well-marked features. the dip (or tilt) of the ancient lava flows could be traced from one island to another. a dome-shaped block, lille dimon, was the most striking island, while the almost perpendicular escarpments of skuo stood as evidence of the power of the stormy atlantic, whose seas continually beat at the base of the cliffs. trangisvaag, in the island of sudero, was the first port of call. in the fjord leading to it the cloud-effects were many and very fine. as the warm, moist air coming in from the sea was carried against the cool faces of precipitous lava mountains, so the moisture condensed and swept along their sides, at times completely hiding the highest points from view; but the effects were ever-changing. fine specimens of jointed basalt are these mountains; flow upon flow can be traced for miles in almost horizontal parallel lines. but little vegetation is to be seen--the total absence of trees, a little grass, and much peat moss are the features that first appeal to one who is not a botanist. ashore one is first struck with the faroese themselves: they are a fine race, and retain their native politeness and independence of character; they are courteous in the extreme to strangers. most of the men are fishermen or sailors, and many, through their consequent contact with english-speaking people, can converse in good understandable english. a small trade is done in wool, and we met two of the islanders, fine types of the race, returning from their day's work; they were quite picturesque figures, for, besides being attired in the national costume, they had wound round them a quantity of wool, which in these islands is generally plucked, not shorn, from the sheep's back. the national costume consists of a sort of brewer's cap, having red and blue stripes as a rule, a cloth tunic, a waistcoat, and knee breeches split at the knees, but very rarely buttoned, rough woollen stockings and skin shoes. the fishermen often dispense with tunic and waistcoat, and wear in their place a woollen jersey with long sleeves, that has a strong sheepy smell, having a particular pattern worked in pale blue and red on a white ground. the women i saw wore dresses of white striped cotton stuff, no ordinary head covering, but shawls across the shoulders, which were often pulled over the head, and wooden clogs on the feet. all the buildings at trangisvaag are built of wood so far as the superstructure is concerned, the substructure often being made of blocks of basalt. the roofs of the oldest buildings are covered with grass; the bark of the silver birch is put on the rafters, which is then turfed over, the grass as a rule growing luxuriantly during summer--thus are the roofs made water-tight. the most modern houses are covered with galvanised iron, but as they are not numerous the town is decidedly picturesque. there are several ancient-looking wooden buildings, the church being one of the oldest, with a record of fifty years. i have stated that most of the male population are fishermen, consequently the chief trade of the islands is in fish--cod-fish. the fish, as soon as brought to land, are cut open by women (who all work at this industry also); they are then washed in water, sometimes sea-water and sometimes fresh, and stacked in heaps with plenty of salt between the layers. they remain so for perhaps three months, covered with tarpaulins held down by heavy lumps of basalt. when properly salted the fish are washed and spread on a floor laid with slabs of basalt. when dry, the fish are stored in sheds, where they are packed in bales ready for export to spain or italy, which are the chief markets for salted cod. the town of trangisvaag is on the northern side of the fjord at the base of high weather-worn basaltic crags, which frown down upon it and form a grand background. there is a quantity of peat moss on the slopes at the foot of these mountains, often scored deeply by the numerous watercourses. at trangisvaag it was quite evident that we were approaching the arctic circle, for at midnight there was light enough for the houses and other objects on shore to be seen from the vessel's deck, half a mile distant, and to enable me to write up notes without the aid of artificial light. we steamed out of trangisvaag fjord in the early morning, but as the weather was dull and cloudy we could not see much of the small islands, lille dimon (little diamond) and store dimon (great diamond), for they were cloud-capped and otherwise much obscured by drifting clouds. a few hours later we anchored opposite to thorshavn in the island of stromo, the capital and chief town of the faroes. [illustration: in thorshavn (faroes).] thorshavn is a very quaint and picturesque place, and many are the peculiar buildings and dwellings in the heart of the town, where the streets are very narrow indeed. no general plan has been followed in the laying out of the town, for the streets run in all directions, up and down hill, and along valleys or depressions in the ground. the styles of architecture are various--a single-storied picturesque shanty of ancient style, with grass-covered roof, having opposite to it a pretentious modern building roofed with galvanised iron, which rises high above, its three stories quite overshadowing the humble neighbour. these turf and grass-grown roofs are a feature in the appearance of the town. the general absence of trees is striking, though one notices with something of surprise the almost tropical luxuriance of foliage in some of the gardens that are more or less sheltered from the strong winds which so frequently sweep over the islands. the only tree i saw there worthy of the name was a sycamore in the front garden of a very picturesque cottage standing on a rather elevated site in the middle of the town. we had not all brought oilskins, so thomas and i visited several stores in the course of a search for some--at one of them they had coats only for sale, at another there were nether garments and sou'-westers in addition, but oh, how oily they were, and sticky! and how smelly! had we purchased, no doubt it would have added to our safety when crossing ice-fields or lava flows, or when ascending snow slopes, for we should undoubtedly have found ourselves stuck fast to saddles on the occasions when the ponies were endeavouring to get rid of us by their frequent stumbles. but we would have none of the oily, sticky, and smelly garments. i strolled about, camera in hand, and found that many of the women and girls were quite anxious to be photographed; at one spot i came upon a group of women squatting on the ground; as i approached, several others hastened to join the group, at the same time inviting me to photograph them, which i did. shortly afterwards my films came to an end, so i made a journey to the _ceres_, which was lying at anchor half a mile from the shore, in order to reload the camera. i engaged two young faroese to row me to the vessel, and on arrival enjoined them to await me that they might put me ashore again; when, however, i had changed the films and was ready to return, they were nowhere to be found--the young beggars had gone off with another fare, and had left me to my own devices and to the off chance of a "lift" in another boat. i felt much inclined to make a murderous attack upon the queen's english, to say nothing of the young faroese had they come my way while pacing the deck in impotent wrath; but i was obliged to restrain myself, for there was no one with whom i could with justice quarrel, so i suppressed the rising ire, and went in search of somebody who could speak my native language. in the end i found a faroese with some knowledge of english, and arranged for a passage in a cargo-boat then about to return to the shore. soon i was being conveyed from the _ceres_ at the rapid rate--for a very heavily laden cargo-boat, that is--of about a knot an hour. however, i reached the shore in due course, just in time to join our party at lunch at the hotel, where they were being entertained by a fellow-passenger. a merry meal we had, and in the course of it our host joined us in criticising the appointments of the table, but, in spite of a few makeshifts, they were not at all bad, and the meal itself was decidedly good. the voyage to klaksvig was of much interest, for our course lay in channels between islands and in fjords. the formation of the basaltic hills was most striking, the many pyramidal shapes impressing us greatly. there were numerous dykes in the mountain side, deep ravines scored perpendicularly in the basaltic formation, where softer intrusive material had been eroded more rapidly than the rock on each side. at the entrance to kalsofjord (the channel between the islands of kalso on the west and bordo and kuno on the east side) there was a very strong current flowing against us in a southerly direction; a course was therefore steered close in-shore to avoid the full strength of the current in mid-stream. klaksvig lies in a bay in the island of bordo, and to reach it a turn has to be made eastward between the islands of kuno and bordo. at the entrance to the bay anchor was dropped, and there we remained all night. we were close to the southern end of the island of kuno, where a very fine specimen of a pyramidal mountain frowned down upon us from the height of nearly 2300 feet--it is a pyramid that might well cause the shade of cheops, if ever passing that way, to hide his diminished head and fade into oblivion. we witnessed some very fine cloud-effects in the course of the journey to klaksvig, for the clouds drifting over the high hills often streamed away far to leeward of them. during the voyage i often wrote my notes somewhere about midnight, and this night, while thus employed in my cabin, my "stable companion" took it into his head that i was preventing him from the proper enjoyment of his slumbers, and growled out something to that effect; so, to avoid raising his wrath, i interrupted the course of the notes and turned in; but it was not to sleep, for i had scarcely laid head upon pillow before certain sounds from the bunk below made it evident that unconsciously he was going to turn the tables upon me, and that, by stertorously enjoying his slumbers, he would prevent me from peacefully enjoying mine. after several ineffectual attempts to stop the snoring, i at last fled to the saloon, far out of range of the noise, and there reposed in peace for the rest of the night. at klaksvig miss hastie, hill, thomas, and myself went ashore. we hunted the "lions" in couples: miss hastie going off with hill to seek specimens first of all, while thomas and i were bent on making a trial survey of the bay of klaksvig, just to keep our hands in. we did this before visiting the "lions," which here assume the shape of whales, or rather whales' skulls, a number of which have been built up so as to form a dividing wall between two properties. on one side of this wall there is a cod-liver oil factory, which we inspected; it was not quite so smelly as are some factories where shark or whale oil is produced--but more of that anon! one of the vats was full of a rich brown liquid, which we were informed was unrefined cod-liver oil. the oil is exported in that state after being run into casks, many of which were strewed on the hillside. a pretty picture was seen near the wharf, where several young women were busily engaged washing cod-fish in a bath under cover of an open shed. a portion of the town of klaksvig is built on a narrow strip of land that separates klaksvig bay from borovig bay--a strip that has been formed partly of moraine debris, and partly by the silting up of shingle by the sea. facing borovig bay there is a row of boat-sheds that are peculiar in that they are built of boulders in a small break in the sloping shore, and that the roofs are formed of smaller boulders laid upon a wooden framework. the roofs did not seem capable of keeping out much rain, and doubtless they were not built for that purpose, but for keeping out the snow during winter when the boats are laid up. in the evening we left klaksvig and proceeded into kalsofjord, past the great pyramid; but its lofty head was under a cloud, so we could not admire its full proportions. passing up the fjord the atmosphere cleared, and one could not help being much struck with the grandeur of the scenery. high precipitous mountains rose up on each side of the fjord; at a first glance, one would say that there was very little land at their foot suitable for cultivation, or for grazing purposes, so near to the water's edge did the mountains seem; but we saw many farms there, and several villages, picturesque places with quaint-looking buildings, nestling in hollows at the base of the hills. what soil there is must be very prolific, judging from the population settled on it. on the west side, and near to the north end of the fjord, there are some very fine specimens of common basaltic land forms--two grand corries, a fine dyke, some sheer faces of rock, and as we passed by the end of the land an almost sheer precipice which faced west came into view, while standing out at its foot there was a solitary basaltic column. when coming up the fjord the steam-whistle was frequently sounded in order that we might hear the very fine echoes for which it is noted; the interval is a long one, some three or four seconds. at the corries the sound echoed and re-echoed until it finally died away in the heights above. on emerging from the fjord and putting out to sea, we encountered a slight swell from the west, so the vessel rolled a bit; it was really not much, but being the first time during the voyage, it was much disliked by those who were not proof against _mal de mer_. the clear atmosphere was soon left behind, for we entered another fog bank when only a few miles distant from the land. at once the music (!) of the steam-whistle was resumed, and our ears were again tortured by its shrill blasts. chapter iii the fjords next day rain, fog, and mist prevailed, so there was much whist-playing and smoking below, and much blowing of whistle above. towards evening we were off the coast of iceland; the land was not visible, for we were enveloped in fog, but there was no doubt about it, for we could _hear_ that land was not far distant. it may seem strange, but it was a fact, we were really feeling our way along the coast by the aid of the steam-whistle. the land thereabouts rises abruptly from the sea, and the echoes from the sheer faces of rock enabled the officers of the vessel to judge their distance. we went dangerously near to another vessel in the fog, but soon afterwards it cleared off a bit, and there, just abeam on the starboard side, was the other vessel, sufficiently close to be a dangerous neighbour in thick weather. at midnight we were going full speed ahead, but when i awoke at seven in the morning it was to find that our experiences of fog were not at an end, that we were again in a very dense one, and that we were lying-to. after breakfast it lifted sufficiently to allow of a course being shaped for northfjord, our first port of call in iceland. much of the scenery of this fjord was obscured by the thick atmosphere, but occasional glimpses through rifts proved that we were missing many fine scenes that are on view when the conditions are favourable. the first sight of iceland was obtained at dalatangi point, four or five miles to the north of the entrance to northfjord. in the fog we had gone too far north. other glimpses on the way were of a corrie near dalatangi, and the face of the mountains near mjofifjord. our stay at northfjord was of but short duration, and there was no time to go ashore, so the only view we had of the town was obtained from the vessel's deck. we had a number of faroese passengers on board, bound for various ports in iceland; they were good types of the race, and i obtained permission to photograph some of them. seythisfjord was not far distant, and in a few hours we were steaming up the fjord towards the town at its head. the scenery and geological structure of these fjords were similar to what we had passed through two days before in the faroes. towards the head of the fjord there are many waterfalls on the mountain-sides; in fact, it is a district of waterfalls, for there are some fine ones up the valley, where a fair-sized river and its various tributaries rush down from all sides in a series of great leaps and bounds over ledges of rocks fifty, sixty, a hundred feet high, finally joining and tumbling over the lowest ledge in a grand cascade (which i photographed) to the river below--the "valley of waterfalls" would be a descriptive name to bestow upon it. it was at seythisfjord that we first set foot upon the soil of iceland. we were conveyed to the shore by the steam-launch and boats from a man-of-war, the danish guardship, that was lying in the harbour. we were so honoured because the captain of our vessel was an officer in the danish navy, and it was intended as an attention to him. it seems that some of the vessels belonging to the company are captained by officers of the navy, who are appointed to the command by the danish authorities as a sort of reward for services, for during their term--three years, i think--they draw their pay as officers of the navy in addition to what is due to them from the company. on shore our party split up as usual, miss hastie and hill going off in search of plants, while the "nautical adviser," thomas, and i wandered along the sea-shore and into the town. we were pestered by an icelander having a very crude idea of the english language who had been imbibing the "lemonade" of the country, and if he had not "three sheets in the wind," at least there was one little sheet flapping about, the end of which was flicking at us at inconvenient moments. we tried to shake him off, but it was of no avail. he had a notion that we wanted a guide to conduct us into the interior of iceland, and he claimed to be very competent and to know everything of the country. we did not doubt his competency, or if so we did not inform him, but tried to make him understand that we had made our arrangements for guidance, and that the men we had engaged were teetotallers. for a long while he dogged our footsteps, and it was not until we had got clear of the town and were making tracks up the valley towards the waterfalls that we lost him. on the way we joined miss hastie and hill, who seemed quite satisfied with the result of their grubbing amongst what--to those of us at least who had not been educated botanically--looked like very common weeds. together we slowly, very slowly, made our way up the valley, for there were many stoppages while plants were being dug out and transferred to small tin boxes that looked like tobacco tins--indeed, i think they were originally intended to hold the "weed" of the smoker and not "weeds--various." so much time was occupied by these stoppages, that at last it became a question whether we should be able to reach the lowest and, as we believed, the finest of the waterfalls, for we were expected to be on board at a certain time, in readiness for departure; the question was much debated, and there seemed to be a general desire to discuss the matter rather than to make the attempt to reach the fall. i determined to try, and was informed that i should miss the steamer. i could see the misty spray rising from the fall not a mile distant, so i set out across swamps and peat bogs, caring but little for such trifles, for i had resolved to see that fall. well, i _did_ reach the fall, and after photographing it, crossed the river just below it, and returned on the other side of the valley. it was a rather difficult journey, for i had a severe cross-country course to cover, with a number of fairly long jumps over the mountain streams on the way, but, nevertheless, i reached the _ceres_ half an hour before the other members of the party. then, strange to say, none of them seemed to believe that i had reached the waterfall at all; but the photograph of it is the best evidence that i can offer in support of my contention that i did. [illustration: the waterfall, seythisfjord.] the soil at seythisfjord looked very good, and would doubtless yield good crops were the summer a bit longer and the ripening power of the sun rather stronger. there is much peat and boggy land on the slopes below the steep escarpments on each side of the fjord, and in the river-flats up the valley; many ponies are grazed here, and as some of the boggy land is being drained by deep dykes, the number is likely to increase; the peat that is removed in cutting the dykes is built up at their sides to form dividing fences. the valley at the head of seythisfjord is a fine specimen of the result of sub-aerial erosion, for its form is due to the denuding action of frost and snow, wind and rain, storm and sunshine. there is a vast corrie at the head, which is shelved in a series of steps right down to the flat through which the river meanders. it is at these shelves or ledges of the harder strata that the waterfalls and cascades already mentioned are to be found--there, where the river and its branches rush over the edge of one terrace and plunge down to the next. this being our first experience of the icelanders, our attention was attracted by the peculiar headdress worn by the women, which is common to all classes--a small black knitted cap, about four or five inches in diameter, from which a silver tube hangs suspended at the side of the head; through the tube is strung a number of cords or silken threads that hang down as a tassel. we ought to have sailed late in the evening, but a thick fog settled over the land and prevented a start. wonderful echoes can be produced at seythisfjord; the steam-whistle was sounded several times, and the sound echoed and re-echoed again and again, the reverberation continuing for many seconds before it died away in the distance among the mountain tops. fog and misty rain continued through the night and well into the small hours of the morning; but at about five o'clock it lifted sufficiently to allow the _ceres_ to put to sea. progress was slow, and the frequent blasts of the steam-whistle that disturbed our morning slumbers indicated the state of the atmosphere; however, we entered vopnafjord soon after mid-day, and shortly afterwards came to an anchorage opposite the town. vopnafjord is one of the homes of the eider duck, and it was on the rocky islets opposite to the town that we first saw those birds in their natural surroundings. we borrowed one of the ship's boats and rowed over to the rocks. it was difficult to get near, for the ducks were very shy--more so than usual just then, because many had young; but as they were too young to fly, we did get fairly near by rowing round their rocks. the nesting season was over, and many of the birds had gone away. the production of eider down is an industry that is increasing; the birds are rigorously protected, and a fine of ten kronur (eleven shillings) is the penalty incurred by any one killing an eider duck. in the afternoon we went ashore in a hired boat that leaked very badly; but we reached the shore without anything very exciting happening. the return journey, however, was attended with considerable risk, for in the meantime the wind had risen, and there was a nasty choppy sea beating against us when we attempted to make the _ceres_. water entered the boat through the leaky spots, and more was shipped; we were near being swamped, but we made the gangway, and got on board without anything worse than a wetting. at the various ports of call there was often considerable difficulty in obtaining a boat, and the passenger wishing to get ashore had to take whatever craft was available, for they were very scarce. often they were dirty and very leaky. sometimes a passage was refused, and on one occasion a cargo-boat starting for the shore declined a fare of two kronur, although going direct to the wharf not far distant--the icelander is an independent personage, and unless it suits his convenience he sometimes refuses a job. while at vopnafjord we met with a man, an icelander, who could speak a little english; we soon discovered that he was proud of having acquired a few british swear words. thomas and i were taking shots at a number of fish-cleaners at work on the beach, when this man came along; we had previously been in conversation with him, so he remarked airily as he passed that the result of our snap would be "a hell of a picture." we laughed, but he went on a few paces and then stopped beside a fellow-passenger, a man of strict views and ideas, who was photographing the same subject. the icelander, encouraged, i suppose, because we had laughed, went one better on what he had said to us, and gave his opinion that _this_ result would be "a blank, blanketty blank picture"!--he seemed surprised at the freezingly cold way in which his remark was received. we left vopnafjord in the afternoon and in four hours made langanes, a narrow, flat-topped peninsula several miles long, a perfectly horizontal lava flow, with faces that rise vertically from the sea; the section is exactly the same, whether through the end or side of the peninsula. the whiteness of the points of rock and of the face generally, evidenced the fact that many sea-fowl resort there, and that the rock-face is covered with a deposit of guano. at midnight we were inside the arctic circle, and had the weather been favourable, we should have seen the sun just above the horizon. but his majesty was not on view, for though the fog had lifted in the morning and had enabled us to make vopnafjord, the weather had been dull all day, with the sun quite obscured, and the same conditions prevailed through the night. it was a pity, because it would probably be our only chance of seeing the midnight sun, for next day we should be in akureyri, a town lying at the head of a long fjord, and nearly a degree south of the arctic circle, where the view would, we thought, be obscured by intervening hills and mountains. husavik in skjalfandi was our next port of call, and we arrived there early enough in the morning for us to go ashore before breakfast. thomas and i were interested in a reported "raised beach"--land originally formed on the margin of the sea, and subsequently raised by tectonic (subterranean) disturbances to a height above sea-level. miss hastie was also desirous of seeing the raised beach, and trudged along with us over the hills to the bay where we expected to find it; but on arrival we could see no raised beach: there was some volcanic conglomerate, the rounded and smoothed stones of which had perhaps caused it to be mistaken for a raised beach--unless, indeed, we ourselves were on the wrong track and had mistaken the spot; nevertheless, there was nothing else in view that looked like what we were in search of, so we returned to husavik over the hills again. not long ago these hills were completely covered with fine yellow ferruginous loam--a comparatively recent deposit; but it is now being rapidly eroded, and the older moraine beneath laid bare. at husavik there is a great accumulation of moraine matter that has been brought down from the valley at the back. it is a terminal moraine that comes right down to the sea, which washes at the foot of its almost vertical face, fifty to sixty feet high. the town stands on the edge of the moraine, and the only approach from the pier is by a long flight of wooden steps; goods are conveyed in trucks that run up a steep inclined tramway, and these are raised and lowered by cables and the use of a windlass and friction brakes. behind the town great fields of peat are being excavated and stacked ready for use as fuel. on the voyage from husavik to akureyri, one of our fellow-passengers was the icelandic minister of the church at akureyri, a man who had a very fine tenor voice, the best in iceland according to repute; at our request he sang to an accompaniment played on a small harp by a travelling companion. one thing he sang was the icelandic national hymn, entitled the "hymn of praise," composed by s. sveinbjornsson to celebrate iceland's thousand years of freedom. the thousand years were completed in 1874 (874 to 1874), and the fact was celebrated in that year with festivities and general rejoicing, the king of denmark taking part in them. on our arrival at eyjafjord in the afternoon, the weather was clearing up, and as we steamed up the fjord fine views opened out, and we saw many excellent cloud-effects. after about three hours' steaming up the fjord we reached akureyri, the town next in importance to reykjavik, the capital, and came to an anchorage there at about eight o'clock in the evening. chapter iv across the northern inhabited fringe [illustration: pack-saddle and boxes.] the next day was a busy one with us, because akureyri was to be our starting-point for the journey across the interior, and there were numerous preliminary arrangements to be made. the fogs and thick weather had delayed our arrival at akureyri by a day. we ought to have set out from akureyri on the day after our arrival, but the delay at sea had rendered that quite impossible, as may be imagined when i mention the facts that besides personal effects there were provisions, tents, bedding, etc., to be packed; that we were eleven persons in all (our own party of six, a conductor and manager of affairs, and four guides), and that thirty-eight ponies were required for our transport. of course arrangements had been made for all this long before our leaving england; ponies and everything else were there, but all required a lot of "licking into shape." our manager was up to his eyes in it all day. the members of our party, however, had less to do, for when we had bought oilskins and sundries, and had sorted out and packed our personal effects into boxes specially made for the purpose--boxes that were to be carried on the ponies, one on each side of the pack-saddle--we were free to do as we liked for the rest of the day. it happened to be the anniversary of the celebration of the thousand years of freedom, and a festival was being held in akureyri; so, on attaining _our_ freedom, we made our way towards the fête ground, a spot named oddeyri, a sort of suburb about a mile away, on a spit of land running into the fjord. there we found the icelanders assembled in force. people from all the surrounding country were there--men, women, and children; all had come on ponies, which were dotted about in groups, or straying separately over the spit--there were hundreds of them. the icelanders were amusing themselves much as would the villagers at an english country fête. they were eating and drinking, and engaging in contests of various kinds. races were being run, there were gymnastic competitions on "horse" and horizontal bar, and there was some wrestling also. the last was decidedly good and interesting. each competitor grasped his opponent's right shoulder with left hand, and with the right took a firm hold of the other's waistband. then the fun commenced. the opponents danced around each other, watching for opportunities. their movements were very amusing, but some of the throws were very cleverly effected. in the evening, at about 8 p.m. that is, dancing commenced. a platform had been prepared for the purpose; this was railed round, and there were seats, on which the girls sat awaiting partners. the custom in choosing a partner is for the man to approach the lady of his choice and bow to her; she acquiesces by rising from her seat, when the couple waltz off together. just before the dancing commenced, a good-humoured, rubicund man, short of stature, whose well-rounded figure denoted that he was not averse to the good things provided by the gods, ascended a rostrum at one end of the platform, and from there addressed the assemblage. to us who were not acquainted with the icelandic tongue, his remarks were unintelligible; but by those around who were listening to his utterances, they seemed to be much appreciated, and their smiles and laughter showed that the orator, a fluent speaker, was a popular man and a humorist of no mean order; indeed, one had but to look at his expressive face when he was speaking to learn that he was a "funny" man. [illustration: akureyri at midnight.] between the town of akureyri and the basaltic mountains to the westward that rise to a considerable altitude, there is, filling the interval, a series of morainic hills, the material of which has come down the eyjafjorthará valley, or from the mountains beside it. these hills present the appearance of a terrace partly worn down and scored by the action of water and melting snow. no doubt the basaltic mountains once formed the side of the fjord. an hour or so before midnight, miss hastie, thomas, and i climbed the hills to the terrace, in the hope of getting a glimpse of the midnight sun, for the night was almost cloudless. the sun was shining brightly, but it was quickly approaching some mountains near the entrance to eyjafjord, behind which it would soon be hidden. we failed in the object of our climb, for the mountains referred to were of considerable elevation. time would not allow us to attack the mountains in the rear of akureyri and ascend by midnight to an altitude above that of the obscuring hills, so we had to descend unsatisfied. though we did not actually see the _sun_ at midnight, we could see its _light_ shining on the mountain tops two or three miles away, and we knew that it was above the horizon. so good was the light that thomas and i took photographs of the town, one looking north and the other south, just at midnight--with stop _f32_, exposures of one minute and one minute and a quarter were required for medium plates. we were to have made a start at eleven o'clock the next morning, but fate was against us. at the appointed hour the members of the party were ready and waiting, but guides, ponies, pack and riding saddles, tents, provisions, etc., were _not_ ready, and we could not well start unless they were. saddles and gear required many repairs--most of them had been hired, and they were not in the best condition. our manager of affairs was to be seen flitting about settling up accounts, giving directions to the men, inspecting saddles, bridles, girths, and gear, and generally trying to reduce confusion to order. for an hour or more we were amused, but then we began to get impatient. three of us got hold of a saddle and bridle, and we tried the paces of a few of the ponies. in that way we put in an hour or two that might have proved irksome, for everything was in such a state of confusion and unreadiness, and the space in which the men were working was so confined, that _we_ could render no effective help. instead of starting at eleven, it was half-past three before we got away--four and a half hours late! [illustration: the spit at oddeyri.] we made a slight stir as we clattered along the main street of the town, for it was the largest expedition of the kind that had ever set out from akureyri, and the progress of our thirty-eight ponies was watched with some interest by those of the townspeople who were on the street. our way lay beside the fjord, and we proceeded for several miles in a northerly direction. our _general_ direction across the island was, as a rule, southerly and westerly, but it was necessary to turn the end of a mountain chain before we could shape a more direct course. on we went, past oddeyri, the scene of the previous day's festivities, until we reached the glerá, where we had our first experience of fording an icelandic river. it was not very deep, and it was but a foretaste of a series of more difficult fordings, not a few of which were serious undertakings, and not to be attempted without proper consideration. to this river, the glerá, the formation of the spit at oddeyri is due. the detritus brought down by its waters and deposited in the fjord has been gradually banked up by the tides and storms coming up eyjafjord. along the shores of the fjord we passed over extensive ancient moraines; then by a detour we worked round the edge of the moraines, which form the end of the mountain range, and entered horgadalr (the valley of the horgá). from a spot where we had lunch, or whatever meal it might be called--it was our first since breakfast--we overlooked the valley of the horgá. on the far side there was a green, fertile-looking spot, and large buildings, which we ascertained to be the akureyri agricultural grounds and college, presided over by professor jón hjaltalin. to the right the river ran into the fjord through the valley, once, no doubt, an indentation of eyjafjord. at the mouth of the river a small delta is in course of formation, which should develop into a spit similar to that at oddeyri. [illustration: the oxnadalsá cutting through a hard dyke.] proceeding up the valley of the horgá, many interesting-looking peaks attracted our attention. the valley and its branches having been eroded out of basalt, the mountains and valleys are characteristic formations--pyramidal peaks, steep escarpments, deeply-cut gorges, with roaring torrents rushing down in a series of waterfalls and broken cascades; there are vast quantities of scree on the mountain-sides covering the terraces of the lava flows, and accumulations of similar material at the foot of the mountains, forming a talus. moraine heaps are also numerous. higher up the valley, just above the confluence of the horgá and the oxnadalsá, there is a very striking scene, where the last-named river has carved its way through a very hard dyke, the sides of which extend into the river, and stand there like an immense wall with a gap through it. while proceeding up oxnadalr (the valley of the oxná = oxen), which is very picturesque, we saw some fine cloud-effects as the moist air condensed and drifted just below the mountain tops. the river oxnadalsá takes its name from the valley, oxnadal. this is one of the few exceptions from the general rule, which is for the valley to take its name from the river--_dal_ = valley; so, instead of oxnadalsá, the rule would make it oxná. along this valley all the depressions in the hillsides are filled with quantities of peat. peat, peat bogs, and swamps are very common throughout iceland, and in most of the depressions in the hillsides and along the river valleys a peaty growth is to be found. for several hours in the course of the day we were accompanied by a man travelling the same way and driving a pony laden with pieces of rather ancient shark. when travelling in company, the ponies have a way of crowding together, and unless very careful, one becomes painfully aware of the fact when box or bundle brushes in no gentle way against one's legs. now the strange pony with the ancient shark at its sides was of a very friendly disposition, and evinced a desire to fraternise with our ponies, choosing the riding ponies for his special attentions, the result being that we had some difficulty in avoiding contact with the evil-smelling stuff. with this exception not many incidents worthy of special mention occurred on this our first day in the saddle; there were several breakdowns, however. the saddlery was not in the best possible condition; it was mostly old and weather-worn, and a great deal of it was very rotten. this became more apparent the farther we went: breakages were numerous, straps snapped, and pack-saddles, bundles, and boxes broke away and were deposited by the wayside; while the ponies, glad to have got rid of their loads, careered gaily on. there was much bustle and confusion, rushing of guides (the men, whether acting as guides or not, are all called guides) after the ponies. "helvit!" they would shout, as another strap broke and a bundle trailed on the ground, bumping against lumps of lava, by the pony's side; then they would urge their steeds into a fast run or a canter, whistling a soft, long-drawn-out note to induce the pony in front to stop. to urge on the pony they utter a shout that sounds like a cross between "haw" and "hoch." "hoch! hoch!" they shout, and sometimes bring their whips down with a swish upon the haunches of the nearest pony. when they wish a pony to stop or to slacken speed they whistle gently. we soon found that it was useless to click or to shout "get up!" or "wo!" to a pony. he did not understand it, so we had to make use of the sounds that they could recognise. the first day's journey was not a very long one, seven hours only in the saddle, and we reached our first camping-ground at about half-past ten. thverá was the name of the farm-house beside which we camped. the buildings were of very primitive construction; they were built in the usual icelandic style: turf walls and roof; wooden floors to the best rooms, and earth or lava blocks to the others; glass windows. the kitchen in most of the humbler class of farm-houses is a picture, and this one was typical; it was lighted only from the roof, and the openings served also to ventilate the room and to act as smoke shafts. a peat fire was burning in the corner of the room, and the air was filled with the smoke that rose from it and circulated round the room before escaping through the openings in the roof. it had an earth floor, and at the side of the room there was a well about twenty feet deep, that supplied beautifully clear water for culinary purposes. a large cauldron stood over the fire, containing some savoury mess in course of preparation for the family's next meal. we had four tents, two large ones and two smaller; but on this occasion we only made use of one of them, for four of our number slept at the farm-house. for the rest of the journey across iceland, however, all four were in use. the two large ones were square "bell" tents: one was used for meals, and in it the conductor and his four guides slept at night; in the other, hill, thomas, and i camped. miss hastie used one of the smaller tents; while the "nautical adviser" and the "handy man" occupied the other. we did not make a start the next day till half-past one; it was several hours after that agreed upon, but we very soon learned that unpunctuality, delays in starting, and consequent waste of time would mark the journey; this was chiefly due to the rotten state of the gear, for several hours were spent every morning in patching up and tinkering at the packs, boxes, and saddles that had come to grief during the previous day--each day had its record of breakages and damage, and each morning its hours devoted to making repairs. all this was very annoying, and it made another guide almost a necessity to relieve one of the english-speaking guides, so that he might go on with us while the others were occupied with the repairs. this would have caused things to work better, but unfortunately no other guide was available. we were already on the edge of the fringe of population inhabiting the regions near the seacoast, and we were fast approaching the uninhabited interior; there were no spare hands on the farms that we passed, so we were obliged to go on short-handed--short-handed _only_ because of the continual breakages. the guides that we had could not have been improved upon: they were all first-class men, each was up to his work, and worked with a will; they were all icelanders possessing small farms of their own, and two of them, sigurthur and hannes, spoke excellent english; thorlakur was a beginner at it, but we generally managed to understand one another; the fourth man, josef, was the only one who had no knowledge of our language. we were on excellent terms with all the guides, so things worked smoothly between us. [illustration: moraine accumulations and cloud-effects at thverá.] on leaving thverá our way, as we ascended some three or four hundred feet to the head of the valley, lay at first over a vast accumulation of moraine matter, piled high up on all sides. our camping ground had been at the foot of this accumulation, and opposite to it on the other side of the valley there were also great heaps of similar stuff, while on the highest part of the range there was a very fine pinnacle rock, rising several hundred feet higher, and standing out sharp against the clear sky. i had a bad day of it, being quite out of luck. the conductor accidentally backed his pony upon me, and my right foot was crushed and bruised beneath one of its hoofs; but worse was to come. about an hour after we had started, and when we were getting well up into the moraine, i heard a shout. "helvit! helvit!" cried one of the guides. on looking ahead i saw a pony running amuck through the rough broken lava and great boulders; he had got rid of most of his load, but something green was trailing at his heels. in horror i watched the pony's wild career, for the "something green" i recognised as the cover of my plane-table--one of the instruments that i had brought for the purpose of mapping a portion of the interior. this plane-table had been strapped on the top of some packs containing bedding, in order that it might ride on something soft and in safety. i comprehended what had happened. as usual something had given way, the packs and my plane-table had got loose about the pony's heels, and all had been kicked off _except_ the plane-table, which had been made fast by one of its straps to a ring in the pack-saddle, and as the strap was sound it had held on. well, there was no mistaking its willesden canvas cover--there it was, trailing along at the pony's heels, being kicked and banged against boulders great and small, just as they came in the way. bumpity-thump it went along the ground, and with a crash it struck the boulders! the table was ruined, for it trailed a mere crumpled mass without definite shape. there was an end to prospects of mapping. i watched the pony's career for a moment, more in sorrow than in anger, then i urged my own pony into a canter, and came up with the runaway just as one of the guides caught him. the wreck of the plane-table was soon detached from the pack-saddle; a hasty inspection proved that my fears were confirmed: the table itself was represented by a couple of strips, the rest of it was missing; the tripod stand and the alidade ruler were also missing. the guides scoured the neighbourhood of the pony's course, and after a while one of them turned up with one or two strips of wood, pieces of the plane-table, and placed them beside the others. i looked on listlessly until another guide brought in a long green case. this did not seem to be much damaged, so i hastily examined the contents (the tripod stand and the ruler), and found to my joy that they were practically uninjured; a few bruises to the legs did not matter much, for they did not affect the stability of the stand--both alidade and stand could be used! i then turned to the wreck of the table itself and examined the pieces; they were not complete, two or three were missing, but i noticed that although all the screws had been wrenched out, and the apparatus for fixing the board to the stand had also been wrenched off, yet the breaks and splinters were all along the grain of the wood. the guides went over the ground again, and brought back one or two additional strips. i then roughly put the pieces together, and found that except for a few splinters i had got them all, and that _none_ was broken _across_ the grain; the two cross-bars for the back, the last pieces found, were also unbroken. it looked as if it might be roughly mended, _if_ only the necessary tools were available. [illustration: the wrecked plane-table.] the views in the valley of the oxnadalsá were fine, and the river scenery where the water had carved deep down through the lava and tuff was very bold, the red and blue tints of a quantity of scoria on the steep banks adding to the effect. in the evening we crossed the water-parting, or divide, between the oxnadalsá and the northrá rivers, and at night camped beside a farm known as fremrikot near the head of the valley of the northrá river (northradal). it was a picturesque spot, and the northrá is typical of the smaller rivers of the country, the valley filled with alluvium and the river meandering through it, though when in flood not much of the alluvium can be seen. [illustration: the northrá.] in the morning i amused myself by taking photographs. i caught the women and children from the farm sitting with their backs against an earth-built fence looking with interest at, and discussing, the preparations then being made for a start; these preparations are shown in the view looking down the valley of the northrá where saddling up is nearly completed. we received a check this day, and made very little progress. we started gaily enough and fairly early, as times went with us--that is, we got away a quarter of an hour after mid-day--and pursued our way along northradal. there were several fine gorges with torrents coming down from the mountains into the northrá; one especially attracted us, where a big snow-water torrent rushes between great buttresses of rock standing on each side. there is a bridge across the gorge, for the torrent is quite unfordable. after about two hours' riding down the valley of the northrá to its confluence with the herradsvötn we soon reached silfrastathr, where, in a picturesque spot, there are a farm-house and a small octagonal church. here we lunched and made a long halt while the guides went on to ascertain whether the herradsvötn, one of the big rivers of the journey, was fordable. it was past five when they returned with a local guide and the news that it could not then be forded, because the water from that day's melted snow was coming down and the river too much swollen. on a warm day the snow in the mountains melts rapidly, and a large increase in the volume of the water results; so that there is much more coming down in the afternoon than in the early morning before the sun's heat causes the snow to melt. [illustration: saddling up.] farther on, when describing one of the quicksand rivers that we crossed, i refer to the dangerous nature of their passage; but i find it necessary to make special mention of the subject here, for while revising these notes, bad news reached me concerning the herradsvötn. in july last year an accident happened at this river which resulted in the death of our "conductor" of the previous year. we did not regard the herradsvötn as a quicksand river, but it seems to be one, for the account of the accident states that our conductor's horse got into a quicksand and threw his rider, who was carried down the river so quickly by the swift current that no assistance could be rendered, and he was drowned, his body not being recovered until two days afterwards. poor fellow, his first crossing with us was accomplished safely, and i little thought that i should have to record his death as the result of the second attempt. i happened to take two photographs of this river, one having maelifellshnukr in the background, and showing the many streams into which the river is split up, the other showing the members of our party about to cross the first stream. fourteen of the ponies can be seen in the latter, but the great majority of the pack-ponies were ahead, out of the picture--it was impossible to get a string of thirty-eight ponies into one quarter-plate view; the conductor leads our party, and is the first following the tail of the pack-train, he with right hand behind back. the danger in these quicksand rivers is due to the fact that the sands are continually shifting; in the summer each day has its flood of snow water which scours the bed of the river, removing the sand from one place and depositing it in another, so that one definite course cannot always be followed when crossing; what is a good ford one day is impassable the next. with a river split up into about twenty streams the difficulties of fording can be imagined, but not appreciated until experienced, and the dread with which all the guides regard the rivers where quicksands are known to exist cannot be wondered at. [illustration: crossing the herradsvötn.] as the river was not fordable, there was nothing for us to do but await the falling of the water, and then attempt the passage. the delay enabled me to try my hand at repairing the plane-table. the "handy man" was useful on this occasion, as on many others, for he produced from his capacious pockets a wonderful knife. now this knife had a screw-driver blade that enabled me to countersink a number of holes in the cross pieces, thus permitting the short screws to "bite" in sound places in the broken pieces of the table. in a couple of hours we emerged triumphantly from a room in the farm-house that we had "commandeered" as a workshop, with the patched-up wreck bearing some semblance to a plane-table; it was certainly not in any way perfect, but it looked as if it might with care be used. in the afternoon i was about to take a photograph of the farm-house; there were several girls standing in front of it, who, when they saw me point my camera, at once took to their heels and ran away (much to my surprise), laughing merrily as they disappeared through an open doorway. thereafter when they saw me camera in hand they always bolted for the house; this made me determine to have a photograph of them; so i lay in wait, and when next they were running away, i took a snap as they were making straight for the doorway; the photograph, however, was a failure. maelifellshnukr, a prominent feature in the landscape here, is a mountain between three and four thousand feet high; it is prominent not only from silfrastathr, but it can be seen from many places within a radius of sixty or seventy miles, and i afterwards saw it from several widely separated spots. the pronunciation of some of the icelandic words is rather puzzling to a new-comer; for instance, the first part of the name of this mountain is pronounced as if spelt may-lee-fettle--_tl_ instead of double _l_. the churches in iceland are often put to strange uses (strange to foreigners, that is); many are the property of the farmers on whose land and beside whose houses they are built. a clergyman often has three or four of these farmers' churches in his district, and he holds occasional services in them. it is a custom, when the farm-house has not proper guest-chambers, for travellers to sleep in the church, and _we_ did so in that at silfrastathr, miss hastie using her own tent as usual. our beds were arranged some on the floor and others suspended between the seats. the following photograph of the interior of the church taken at midnight shows some of our party peacefully slumbering in their beds. next day we made an early start, for we got away soon after ten o'clock, in order to ford the river before the melting snow caused the waters to rise. there was a considerable difference in the level, for i found on going down for my tub that a small branch in which i had the previous afternoon tested the temperature of the water was non-existent. this temperature-testing had caused some fun, for in using my sling thermometer for the purpose, i tied it to the end of my riding-whip, and thus held it suspended in the stream. hill, catching me in the act, made a sketch which he entitled: "our lunatic fishing with his thermometer as bait," and handed it round at our evening meal. the report of the local guide as to the state of the river was a favourable one, so we proceeded down to the herradsvötn, and prepared against probable wettings. each had his own fancy for keeping out the water. miss hastie wore india-rubber top-boots--i have omitted to say that she rode astride, by far the best way for the rough work in iceland; the "nautical adviser" used waterproof leggings, the "handy man" top-boots, hill sheep-skin top-boots of native manufacture, thomas did not seem to care whether he got wet or not, while i put on india-rubber shoes and chanced the rest. there were some interesting and picturesque costumes in the group. [illustration: silfrastathr church. asleep at midnight.] when all was ready, the local guide led off with some of the pack, three of our own guides following with other sections of it; the conductor went next, and the members of our party followed; i stayed behind for a few minutes to photograph the crossing of the first branch of the river, and then brought up the rear with the other guide. the river runs over a very broad bed and is divided into something like twenty streams, so a considerable time--about half an hour--was occupied before the last stream had been forded. the water was rather deep in some of the branches, and came up just to our knees. we made a very satisfactory crossing, and reached the other side without incident worth recording; a few hours later it would have been impassable again. the river was no doubt "up" when our conductor lost his life. while crossing the river there was a very distinct mirage effect when looking down it towards the sea. some of us took shots with cameras, but nothing resulted; it was too distant. two days before, and again during this day, there were breakages innumerable; the state of the pack-saddles, packs, straps, girths, bridles, etc., was simply disgraceful--there is no other word for it! several falls had been due to the breaking of reins or girths, and by the end of the day there was scarcely a member of the party who had not come to grief in this way. thomas, who was riding a spirited beast, came two croppers through his reins breaking: the second time his pony rolled upon him and he strained a muscle in his side; this was unfortunate, for he felt the effects more or less to the end of the journey. from the river valley, where thomas had one fall, we ascended to the top of tungusveit, a long narrow ridge that extends for about twenty miles, dividing the herradsvötn and svartá rivers. these long ridges, with rivers flowing in parallel lines on each side, form one of the geographical features of iceland. many of them are to be seen in different parts of the country. from this ridge, on which there were many "erratic" boulders, a fine view of maelifellshnukr was obtained; at the foot of the peak beyond the svartá there is a series of morainic hills. at maeælifell below the mountain there is a parsonage and farm-house, where we halted for a light luncheon. at these farm-houses milk and coffee can always be obtained, and sometimes excellent homemade biscuits and cake also, and these delicacies were forthcoming here. the icelanders are noted for the good quality of their coffee, which may be regarded as the national drink. up to this point we had followed the more or less beaten tracks pursued by farmers and others in travelling from farm to farm; but we were now on the extreme edge of the fringe of population, and were about to plunge into the uninhabited interior. we decided to attack a route that had been used years before by the settlers and farmers--when the present good and frequent service of coasting steamers was not running--to convey fish, other provisions, etc., from and to the coast and across the island, and we found it a very interesting one. we proceeded up the valley of the svartá for a few miles over accumulations of river deposits, till we reached gilhagi farm-house, where we halted for our mid-day meal. this was the last house met with on the north side of the desert and ice-bound interior, and we did not again see signs of habitation till arriving within two days of reykjavik. mention must be made of an amusing misunderstanding that had occurred on the score of matches. it seems that the "nautical adviser" before leaving akureyri had inquired of the conductor whether he had plenty of matches, and the latter had replied that he had plenty--and so he had for the ordinary requirements of the camp, but not for the general use of smokers; the conductor in his reply had thought only of the camp, while the other had asked from a smoker's point of view, hence there was an approach to a famine as regards the smokers, and it was pathetic sometimes to see the "nautical adviser" and the "handy man" carefully husbanding a match, in the hope that the supply would hold out to reykjavik. at gilhagi the women were washing wool; there was a fire in the open beside a small stream of water, and on the fire a cauldron, in which the wool was boiled; it was afterwards washed in the running water. chapter v the interior--to hveravellir we were delayed for about two hours while waiting for the farmer to conduct us over the mountains; it was necessary to take a local guide, for none of our own men had ever been over the ground. when we did move on we tried to make up in pace for the delay; we made good time in ascending steadily from the valley over great accumulations of moraine matter and by ancient tracks through hummocky land. riding through this hummocky ground sometimes requires the exercise of considerable caution. the continuous traffic of generations across the hummocks wore innumerable tracks, which have since been kept open by the weather, and deepened in some cases. many of them are very deep, occasionally reaching almost to the knees. one has to raise first one foot and then the other to prevent their being badly crushed, or to avoid being unhorsed by contact with the sides as the ponies go on at a fast jog-trot. one member of the party caught both feet against the sides of the ruts, with the result that he was thrown forward, when he affectionately clasped his pony round the neck. as we continued to ascend we met with a new experience, for we had to ride up one fairly long snow slope and several smaller ones, following in the tracks of the pack-train over the beaten-down snow. we were then at a considerable altitude, perhaps 2500 feet, and we entered what is known as litlisandr, the little sand waste. its name does not quite describe it--waste it is, and desolate enough, but there is not a great deal of sand in the part that we traversed, and we passed through its middle. it is an elevated moraine, comparatively flat, with a number of small lakes whose existence is due to a series of drift dams. it was very cold while we were crossing litlisandr, for the icy wind was blowing strongly in our faces, so the latter part of the day's journey--a long one, for we did not reach camp till just a quarter of an hour before midnight--was made under considerable personal discomfort. [illustration: crossing a small snow slope.] the going was very rough, and some very steep slopes had to be descended after crossing the _sandr_, and nothing but the sure-footed ponies of iceland could have got down them in safety. these ponies are hardy little beasts, averaging about twelve hands; born and bred in the hills, they are accustomed to forage for a living in the roughest country, and their experiences there cause them to become the sure-footed beasts that they are. they seem to run on three legs, for they always have a spare one ready for emergencies. some of them stumble badly, but as a rule they do not, and it is a very rare thing for a pony to come down. it is wonderful how hard they keep on nothing but green feed; they never see a bit of "hard tack," yet, when required, they can jog along for twelve hours or more and be fresh at the end. after descending from the _sandr_, we traversed more moraine matter until we reached our camping-ground at athalmansvötn. here there are two lakes, and it was on the banks of the more northerly athalmansvatn that we camped. at the end of our journeys, especially when arriving late, as we did on this occasion, our hands and feet were icily cold--so cold that, to induce a better circulation, we were wont to seize mallets and drive in tent pegs, or to do something else requiring vigorous muscular exertion. on our way over the _sandr_ we saw the most magnificent sunset effects. indeed, it was often our luck to witness the glories of an icelandic sunset. towards morning a gale of wind struck us, and threatened to blow our tents into the lake. fortunately the tents and their cords were sound, and the pegs driven well into the ground, so we escaped the discomfort of a sudden exposure to wind and weather. next day we reverted to the usual habit of starting late; but on this occasion it was excusable, for our dinner, or supper, or whatever name may be applied to our third meal, was not finished till past 1 a.m., so a start at 1 p.m. was not so late as it appeared. as it was difficult to draw a line between day and night, an hour or two one way or the other did not matter very much. some of our party had hurts which they nursed tenderly: the "nautical adviser" had a knee, thomas a side, and so on; and great was the consumption of "elliman's" and "homocea," advantage being taken of the halts to rub in one or other of these remedies for ills of all kinds; but the "nautical adviser" and thomas did not seem to take much heed of their hurts when they were in the saddle, for they rode hard enough over the rough moraines that we crossed. at first our course lay over soft peaty ground, but afterwards we were obliged to pick our way over expanses of great boulders. we had to ascend for a while, but suddenly, from the ridge at the highest point in our ascent, there was opened to us a fine panoramic view of two of iceland's great ice-fields, hoff jökull and lang jökull. a number of prominent peaks stood out boldly, chief among them being hrutafell, skeljafiall, kjalfell, and those of kerlingarfjöll. our next experience was in crossing a wind-blown sand desert, where the wind blew the sand in clouds across our path and we had ocular demonstration of the work performed in such regions by the wind, where great clouds of sand sweep onward day after day, encroaching upon the land and continually altering the surface features. although this is a genuine _sandr_ it is not so marked on the maps. we covered several miles before we got clear of this sandblown desert and entered a region of ordinary moraine matter. after lunching beside a small brook we continued over the moraine to the river strangákvisl. the pack had gone on ahead while we were at lunch, but one guide was left behind to pilot us across the river, which is noted for the number of quicksands in its bed. there is a considerable spice of danger in crossing these quicksand rivers, for a pony sometimes gets into the soft treacherous bottom, and the rider runs the risk of a ducking, even if nothing more serious happens. the guides have a wholesome dread of the rivers where quicksands are known to exist, and not without due cause. no definite and fixed course can be taken--the quicksands are always changing their positions. the guide went first, as usual, and we were preparing to follow, when suddenly we saw his pony falter and then plunge wildly as he sank into soft sand. the guide was about to jump into the water in order to relieve the pony, and to distribute the weight over a greater area--this is always done as soon as the nature of the bottom is ascertained--when the pony struggled upon a hard bottom and righted himself. another course was then chosen, and we all got over without finding any quicksand. a succession of moraines brought us to the banks of a broad river, the blandá, having several channels and a reputation for quicksands. by this time we had caught up the pack-train, but we waited while it crossed the river, one guide staying behind to pilot us after the pack had safely accomplished the crossing. the guide marked with big stones the point of entrance and then watched intently--as did we all--the passage of the river by the pack. it was forded, however, without misadventure, so we followed carefully in the track pursued by the train. the conductor's pony slipped in the middle of the river and nearly threw his rider into the water, but a quick recovery by the pony prevented a disagreeable wetting and an uncomfortable ride. we had a third river to cross before the day's fording was over. a quantity of moraine and hummocky land intervened, but that was traversed without incident worth recording. the third river is a second blandá, a branch of the other blandá; it is really the main river whose proper name is the beljandi, but the people do not recognise that name, or so speak of it. although not a quicksand river, most members of the party narrowly escaped coming to grief. it was very deep at the start, and there were some deeper holes not far from the bank; it had to be entered at a very sharp angle, and with a bit of a drop close to the steep bank. miss hastie was the first nearly to come to grief: her pony suddenly dived into one of the deep holes, and she herself was taking a header when her pony made a wonderful recovery from its plunge into the hole, and set her straight again; she, however, was unfortunate in straining her side, but she afterwards pluckily kept on the way; all the others following, with one exception, got into one or another of the deep holes; but they all escaped complete submersion, though wetted about legs and feet. i was the exception, for i was riding last--a position that enabled me to profit by the misfortunes of the others and avoid all the holes. i had a way frequently of bringing up the rear, because of stoppages made to take passing shots with camera at things of interest. this camera was always strapped to one of the rings of my saddle, where, on a comfortable pad on the off-side, it rode in safety--except when i happened to bring my whip down heavily upon it instead of upon the pony. the result of these stoppages was, that there was sometimes a delay in the crossing of a river, or a wait at an awkward spot, or at a point of divergence. it often happened that in coming up with the main party, i found my companions shivering from the effects of inaction in a cold wind--the wind _is_ cold when it blows from one of the ice-fields--and in a frame of mind that must have been affected by the wind, judging from the freezingly cold manner in which i was received. after crossing the river, we continued along near to its banks for several miles. in a pool just below some small rapids, the only rapids we had seen, there were several swans. our course lay, as usual, over moraine matter and hummocky land, but there was a big patch of black sand composed of fine lava particles that we had to cross. thus we proceeded until reaching hveravellir, our next camping-ground, where we found a complete change in the appearance of the country. we seemed to have got clear of hummocks and boulders, and to have reached the margin of fairyland, for we found ourselves, with grass around, looking at a series of hot springs, fumaroles, and sinter terraces, down which azure blue water trickled, lodging in a number of basins in the terraces, and adding by its colour to the beauty of the scene. visions of the delights of a natural warm bath rose before me as i looked upon the terraces, recalling the luxury of bathing at the pink terraces in new zealand, before their destruction by the eruption of mount tarawera. there are many pleasures in anticipation, for we did not enjoy warm bathing here; we had none; the water was too hot and the basins too small--though there was one small pothole in which the water was not very hot, where one could, with the aid of a big sponge, imagine better things, for the water did not look clean and sparkling and blue as in other basins. miss hastie might have had an awkward experience at the spring where she elected to perform her ablutions, of whose periodical activity she was at the time unaware. during breakfast, one of the guides informed us that the small geyser miss hastie had been using as her hot-water tap had "gone off." subsequent experience proved such pools untrustworthy for washing of any kind. a number of handkerchiefs left by themselves to soak were found an hour or two later making their way down an escape hole in the basin, and one that had been entirely absorbed by suction was _not_ returned during a subsequent eruption by the dishonest geyser. we erected our tents beside a blue warm-water stream facing the sinter terraces, and as the next day was sunday, we camped there for two nights. we all took a number of photographs of the terraces and the hot springs, and tried to catch the small geysers when they erupted, as with a few exceptions they did at short intervals; it is true that the eruption was not very violent, and the water was not thrown to a great height, three feet, perhaps, being the maximum. [illustration: hveravellir--the sinter terraces.] the next day was devoted to exploring the surrounding neighbourhood, and the different members of the party were struck with different features. thomas and i set off together. we made for the higher ground, and looked round; we at once saw that we were at the edge of a recent (geologically) lava flow. about four miles distant there stuck up two horns, which we afterwards discovered to be the only prominent remains of the cone of the volcano, strytur, whence the lava had been ejected. strytur stands in the middle of the long strip of country lying between, and about equidistant from, the two great ice-fields, lang jökull and hoff jökull, the area of each of which is roughly about five hundred square miles. the strip is about _fourteen_ miles wide at its narrowest part (not eight as shown on the existing maps), and extends north and south about twenty-five miles. strytur is on the divide, or water-parting, between one system of rivers flowing north and another flowing south, and it stands on the highest part of this strip of land. the lava, as it issued from the volcano, flowed north and south down gentle declivities, and spread out east and west almost to the outlying ranges on the margins of the ice-fields. north it extends to just beyond dufufell, and south almost to lake hvitarvatn. i had come to this part of the country intending to make a quick survey of it as we traversed it from end to end; thomas also wished to note its structure, so we both looked with interest over the expanse of broken lava spread out before us. it was the roughest possible country to survey (as was subsequently proved), and we were not altogether taken with the task before us. we made our way to a prominent peak of lava that rose forty or fifty feet above the general level, and thence looked around. i wanted a line on which to base my survey, and i decided that this peak and a similar peak, lying in an easterly direction about a mile away, would be suitable elevated ends for a base line. chapter vi the interior--strytur and its lava i commenced my survey the next morning before breakfast, when i went out to the first position on the lava-peaks and there set up the plane-table, that table which had so badly come to grief at the heels of the runaway pony a few days before. my drawing-paper had been kicked to pieces and was quite useless, and it was only by a chance that i was able to attempt a survey at all. at edinburgh, just before starting, thomas bought two or three small sheets of drawing-paper for his own work, in order to be independent of my supply; it was lucky that he had done so, for i was thus able to borrow from him. the size of the sheets was much smaller than mine, and they did not nearly fill the table; it did not much matter though, for part of the table was quite unfit to work upon, because of the long holes where splinters were missing; of course, the area of country capable of being mapped on a sheet was reduced according to the size, and it meant the use of a greater number of sheets of paper, which was a disadvantage; but the board of the plane-table _could_ with care be worked upon, and there _was_ paper available. having set up the plane-table in position, i erected a flag-post and returned to camp to breakfast. i found that thomas had, in the meantime, made a small survey on his own account of a line of fissure running through the hot springs of hveravellir, and had located the position of the springs on that line. the morning was so beautifully fine, and the sun shining so brightly, that we breakfasted in the open at tables erected in front of the tents. we photographed the camp and the party, with the guides at ease close by. the frontispiece is from a negative, the property of miss hastie, which was taken by the conductor. our meals were not always taken under such favourable conditions--the weather, as a rule, was not good enough. we generally had them under cover of a tent, where we messed in much closer quarters, small accidents being not uncommon in consequence. one morning they were more numerous than usual: the soup took a long time to boil, and when at last it was hot enough, the conductor stumbled and spilled some of the precious liquid over the "handy man," who would have preferred an internal application; then somebody upset the coffee; soon afterwards ominous creaks were heard to proceed from where the "nautical adviser" was seated on his camp-stool, which finally collapsed, and our heavy-weight measured his length on the ground. but such incidents as these, trivial as they were, served to enliven us; they were specially diverting when the weather was adverse. the weather gave promise of great things, so thomas and i started away for our first position full of good intentions. i soon got to work, and made excellent progress with my plane-tabling; but gradually there was a change, the sky clouded over, and before long rain began to fall; now, to work at a plane-table in the rain is impossible, so i had to stop. we decided instead to measure along our base line towards the second position at the other end of it. we started in a drizzling rain, which increased as we proceeded; it was very difficult work, for the line was over the roughest possible lava-field. we made good progress, however, but when we had measured thirteen-sixteenths of a mile, it was raining so heavily that, wet through as we then were, and with boots filled with water, we resolved to abandon work for the day. after we had started in the morning, the rest of the party proceeded to the next camping-ground, a few miles farther on, at thjofadal--a valley at the foot of the big mountain of the region, hrutafell. for this camp we made tracks over a perfect wilderness, where the fantastic shapes assumed by the lava were most wonderful. there were vents innumerable, including a number of the fissure type; arches, too, that had resulted from side pressure; also many other peculiar forms: pillars, circular vents, etc. on nearing thjofadal we emerged from the lava and entered upon the moraines at the foot of the range bordering the great ice-field of lang jökull. passing over one of the spurs running down from this outlying range, we dropped by a steep descent into the valley of the thjofadalsá, a small stream on the south side of the ridge known as kjalhraun (lava ridge) that crosses the lava-field by way of strytur, the highest spot in it. the next morning thomas and i returned to our first position. originally most of us had intended to make an attack upon hrutafell, the giant peak of lang jökull; but the rain had delayed my work by the greater part of a day, so thomas and i had to give up all idea of attempting the ascent. the idea was finally abandoned by the other members of the party, but a preliminary survey of the difficulties was made by the conductor, who thought that he could see a way that might render a successful ascent possible. the "handy man," being released from the hrutafell expedition, offered to lend a hand in measuring the remainder of the base line, so he accompanied us back to position number one; we also took thorlakur, one of the guides, with us. on the way, which was along the foot of the range outlying lang jökull, we had to pass over a small snow-field, close to which we came upon a good specimen of ropy lava. after taking several photographs from my first position, we proceeded along the base line to where a staff had been left to mark the point already reached, and thence continued our measurements to the second position at the other end of the base. we found the two positions to be nearly a mile and a quarter apart. a more difficult piece of measurement could not be imagined, taken as the line was over the extremely rough surface of a broken-up scoriaceous lava-field. we remained at the peak forming the second end of the base line for several hours, during which period i was very busy at the plane-table. we then proceeded towards the volcano, strytur, across the lava, and found it a scene of the wildest and most fantastic desolation--a constant succession of rough lava, ropy surfaces, vents, arches, snow-fields, and small lakes of icy coldness formed by melting snow. occasionally we had an unpleasant variation, for there were many bogs that appeared to be quite solid until the plunging of a pony, as it sank into one of them, told us that the apparently hard-looking surface was a mass of mud with a number of lava blocks and stones set in it. arrived at strytur, another indescribable scene of desolation met our view. the lava was twisted and contorted in the wildest manner, and mixed in the utmost confusion. the volcano has two craters, inner and outer; the former rather more than three-eighths of a mile, and the latter nearly five-eighths in diameter. the two horns are of peculiar shape: the western horn being but an isolated pinnacle rising less than a hundred feet above its surroundings; the eastern horn is another isolated peak, but though one side of it is perpendicular, and goes deep down into the inner crater, the other side falls gradually away in the typical slope of a volcano. these two horns stand up as distinct landmarks, and can be seen from a great distance to the north; in the south, however, they are hidden, by intervening hills and mountains, from many places that are but a short distance away. the inner crater contains much lava debris, some of the blocks being of enormous size, while in several places there is snow of unknown depth. my third position was on the highest point of the eastern horn. the wind was very cold, blowing as it was direct from the ice-field, and my companions who had but little work to do had a trying time of it in such an exposed position. they stood shivering in the cold, but descended after a while to the foot of the horn, whence they whistled away at short intervals in an endeavour to hurry me over the work; but as there was no rain, i had, in spite of cold winds, to stick to it, and take advantage of the opportunity to work at the plane-table. i was hailed with delight when i did descend--delight at the prospect of getting away from such a bleak, inhospitable spot. the view from strytur looking towards hrutafell and the ice and snow field of lang jökull is very fine. once more we crossed the lava-field and made the best of the way to our camp at thjofadal. next day i was obliged to go on with my work without a companion, and had not a smooth time of it altogether; things did not go right. over-night i had determined to fix my fourth position on the mountain rauthkollur, the highest point at the southern end of the outlying range of lang jökull. i set out alone, for thomas was in trouble with his side, and the "handy man" did not look upon the expedition with much interest, for the weather was most unfavourable for any one not having special work to do--rain, hail, snow, and blow were the conditions that held during the whole of the time that i was away from camp. the way lay up a steep gorge between the mountain and a spur running down from near the end of the range; the slopes of the gorge were covered with scree that gave way at every step, and often i slid back several yards before i could stop myself. the climb was a stiff and very uncomfortable one, laden as i was with instruments, glasses, camera, and plane-table; but by sticking to it i gradually ascended yard by yard. i got off the scree whenever possible, and climbed up the course of a small mountain stream; but there were many waterfalls that could not be climbed, which caused me to return to the scree again and again, often sending the loose material flying down in a series of landslips. higher up i skirted several small snow-fields, where better progress was possible, for the scree at the edges of the snow did not slip away so freely. the ascent would have been easy enough had i not been so heavily and awkwardly laden, or had my hands been free. at the summit of rauthkollur a glorious view rewarded me. in front stretched the great ice-field of lang jökull; away to the left was the giant hrutafell: three of its glaciers faced me, while a fourth could just be seen at right angles to the others. the back of this mountain merges in a series of hills that are set in the ice of lang jökull. below hrutafell, and at the foot of the ice-cap of lang jökull, a perfect network of streams came from the snow and ice; it was interesting to trace their meanderings as they ran into stream after stream, until finally all joined in one swift-running torrent and flowed at the foot of the moraines below hrutafell. away to the right i looked along the outlying range, on the end peak of which i was standing, and down into the valley between the range and the ice-field. in spite of the adverse weather, my plane-tabling was very successful from this station; its commanding position enabled me to obtain a good view of the surrounding country, not only over the ice-field, but also over the country from which the ascent had been made. i looked down into thjofadal, right over the mountain thjofafell, across the lava-field to strytur and kjalfell, and to the ice-field of hoff jökull beyond. showers had to be dodged and plane-tabling done when it did not rain or snow; but i filled up the intervals by taking several photographs, and by making a boiling-point observation for altitude, also clinometer observations for calculating the heights of surrounding peaks. the return to camp was made at a quicker rate than the ascent; but i met with a nasty accident, by slipping on a stone in the gorge and diving head first down a small waterfall into a pool of water below. the plane-table turned over, and coming upon me, pinned me down in the water for a few seconds; the camera was underneath in the water, which was flowing through it, for the outside case was not water-tight. i extricated myself in course of time, not much the worse for the fall; a badly bruised knee, the loss of a quantity of skin from hands, and a few minor bruises, being all the damage that i had received--it might have been much worse, laden as i was. on arrival in camp i was patched up, and the "nautical adviser" busied himself in preparing soup and other comforts for the inner man, for which attentions i was grateful. the other members of the party had not done very much in the bad weather, one or two small excursions to spots in the neighbourhood excepted. late in the afternoon we struck camp and moved on a few miles farther, to a spot known as gránanes, right on the other side of the lava-fields. our way lay round by hrutafell by the side of the river falakvisl, which runs in a deep gorge at the foot of the mountain. from this river we struck across rough lava, then moraine matter, and again lava right up to the river svatá. the rivers, as a rule, run along at the edges of the lava flows; there are some exceptions, however, and one instance, in the west of the island, i will refer to in its proper place. one very fine vent we came upon when crossing the lava. gránanes was on the other side of the svatá, just by a spot where the water falls ten or fifteen feet over a hard ledge of rock extending across the river. beyond the river all was moraine matter, great moraine hills, the material of which has come down from hoff jökull and has been piled up for miles along its margins. many very fine erratics are dotted about on the surface near gránanes. [illustration: a volcanic vent of the fissure type.] it was on the moraine side of the river that we made our camp. round about there was lying a number of twigs and dried roots, the remains of dwarf willows that had grown there when the conditions were rather more favourable. miss hastie suggested that we might be energetic and collect some of these in order to make a fire. it was a cold night, and the idea of a camp-fire commended itself to us. we gathered together a number of the twigs and roots, and hill tried to ignite them. he raised a dense smoke, but though he worked hard and fanned industriously he was unable to induce a satisfactory blaze. anyhow, it was cheering to see the smoke rising into the air, and we did not mind being half stifled when occasionally it was blown into our faces. [illustration: a survey photograph (no. 169) from gránanes ([sun symbol] e) looking towards lang jökull.] next morning, after breakfast, i went up to a terrace of the moraine where i made my fifth station, and fixed its position on the map; i also did some plane-tabling while preparations were being made for an expedition to kerlingarfjöll. chapter vii the interior--kerlingarfjöll [illustration: a survey photograph (no. 183) taken from [sun symbol] e looking towards kerlingarfjöll.] when preparations had been completed, some of us started for the mountains of kerlingarfjöll, where high up, among the snow and ice, there are hot springs, fumaroles, and solfataras. the party was a small one. thomas, hill, and i started with the conductor and two guides. unfortunately thomas's side was giving him "fits," and he had to return after going but a very short distance. we had a big quicksand river, the jokulvisl, to cross--a river that is often highly dangerous, and sometimes, when the water is "up," unfordable. we were accompanied so far by the "nautical adviser" and the "handy man," who afterwards proceeded up the river to view a very fine gorge in it, which we saw from the other side. the journey was most interesting; we crossed vast moraines, where enormous erratics were dotted about on the surface, before we reached the jokulvisl. the guides all had a great dread of this river; but we made a good crossing, for the recent cold weather had retarded the melting of the snow, and there was no flood in the river, though it was running very swiftly. the sensation when crossing these swift-running rivers is very uncanny--one seems to be rushing up-stream against the current, and on looking at the ponies and their riders in front the impression is deepened: they seem to be moving rapidly as the water rushes by and foams round them, but really the pace is very slow, for the ponies plod along steadily through the water. even if those in front could be ignored, the impression of going rapidly up-stream could not be effaced, for the water would rush by and swirl round one's own pony just the same. it might be thought that a glance at the opposite bank of the river ought to dispel the illusion, but even that does not correct the false impression. after crossing the jokulvisl, we proceeded along its banks for nearly a mile to where the river has carved its way deep down through the lava, and left sides that rise vertically for a hundred feet or more. there is a fine hard dyke in one place extending into the river, on the end of which a pinnacle rises that adds much to the grandeur of the scene. after photographing this gorge, we proceeded across more moraine matter until reaching some of the main blocks of the kerlingarfjöll mountains. in these moraines we had very steep slopes to ascend and descend; in one case the descent was so sharp that for safety we all dismounted and led our ponies down the side, at each step sending down a shower of stones and pebbles. at kerlingarfjöll we suddenly came upon a series of inclined snow-fields, one of which we ascended, traversing it from end to end. it was more than a mile long, but the zigzag course that we had to pursue made it seem almost interminable; as it was, we were nearly an hour making the crossing. the photograph shows the members of the party apparently soaring up to heaven on their ponies, who in their wild flight seem to be emulating pegasus. soon after we had started up this snow slope, the clouds descended upon us and we were enveloped in a thick mist; we could see nothing but just a very limited circle of snow around us, and thus we proceeded, zigzagging the whole way. we crossed several other snow-fields, but they were of less extent. [illustration: ascending a snow slope.] [illustration: kerlingarfjöll--fire and ice.] when approaching the hot springs, we became aware of their nearness by the sulphurous smell that came wafting towards us. suddenly, from a ridge, we beheld a most wonderful and awe-inspiring sight. all around there were snow and ice-fields, and from their midst, but on the far side of a deep valley that intervened, there rose a cloud of steam, the strong sulphurous smell of which suggested the nearness of the lower regions. there was a mass of yellow, brown, green, and blue clayey matter--liparite softened by steam it was--that had been cut and shaped by ice, snow, and water into a series of cones and cone-like surfaces, and from crevices in this clay the sulphurous steam escaped. below was the deep intervening valley, the valley of the ásquidsá, a river that flows from the upper heights of kerlingarfjöll. to get down to this stream was a work of no slight difficulty; it required patience, much hard work, and much coaxing of ponies. we rode through the snow, and slid down steep slopes of various-coloured clay. these slopes became so precipitous at last that we all had to dismount and plod along their sides, coaxing our unwilling steeds to follow. presently we reached what looked very much like an _impasse_ at the end of a valley, the sides of which had gradually converged until the channel was then scarcely wider than the ponies were broad. the guides were not to be beaten, however, for they proceeded on foot, and literally dragged the ponies one by one down this channel, to where the snow came to an end and there was a drop of two or three feet into a small stream of water. the guides splashed into this, and by dint of much coaxing induced the ponies to follow, leading them along the stream. right at the end there was a small waterfall, with a deep pool below. down the fall they slid, splashing into the pool, where they stood panting beside the main stream that we had seen from above, which ran at right angles to the smaller stream. meantime, hill, the conductor, and i had been walking at a slightly higher level on the top of a gradually descending spur of clayey matter. down the slope of this we scrambled on all fours, carrying with us several pounds' weight of the clay on each boot, to say nothing of what we had on clothes and hands. from the side of the steep slope we mounted our ponies, considerably heavier than when we had been on their backs a few minutes before. we crossed the stream to the hot springs. some of the ponies objected to passing the hot, steaming holes, and absolutely refused for a long time to do so; but eventually all were coaxed or dragged by. to describe the place is impossible, and mere words are inadequate to explain the nature of the scene. photographs that i took do not give much idea of the place, for they are all more or less failures. it differs from anything that i saw in new zealand, because in the hot spring region in the north island there is no ice and snow. i took a boiling-point observation for altitude, and found the elevation of the stream at the foot of the burning hill to be 3088 feet above sea-level. i hurried over lunch, and set off with hannes, one of the guides, to try to do some plane-tabling; but the fates, in the shape of dense mist, were against me, and prevented me from seeing anything more distant than a few hundred feet. on the upward journey i had noticed a good position for a new station. on the way down to the spot chosen, which was below the long snow slope, we mistook our way in the mist, and went down the wrong slope, coming to an almost sheer descent before finding out our mistake. we learnt this just in time, however, to prevent a catastrophe. we retraced our steps by the tracks in the snow, until we reached the right slope, and there struck the zigzag track made on the ascent. the intended new station was reached without further incident occurring. from the glimpses of the country that i had obtained on the upward journey, i was convinced that to make a map of these mountains (kerlingarfjöll) would require a week of fine weather and a series of camps on the spot. as nothing of much value could be done in a few hours, i did not lose very much by the mist having descended over the country, except the exceedingly fine views. it was disappointing not to be able to get to work with camera, but under the circumstances nothing could be done except growl at adverse luck. after waiting an hour or so for the rest of the party--hill, the conductor, and sigurthur--who came on more at their leisure, we resumed the descent towards the plains. suddenly we got below the line of drifting clouds, and there we beheld some wonderful sights--remarkable scenes due to a series of rapid atmospheric changes. a small lake in the lava-field suddenly came into view as we reached the line of the reflected sunlight. the lake shone out, gradually increasing in intensity, until it glowed brilliantly with a marvellous light. the effect as the scene opened out beneath the clouds was weirdly wonderful. some of the clouds were of a deep blue, almost purple, tint, producing, as they overhung a line of bright light and vivid colouring, a most impressive picture. away in the distance, on lake hvitarvatn, we could see icebergs floating in their hundreds. these bergs were great blocks of ice that had broken away from the glaciers flowing from lang jökull into the lake. the return journey was accomplished, without the occurrence of any untoward incident, at a rate that showed of what stuff the ponies were made, for they cantered over the roughest of moraines with scarcely a stumble, and we made excellent time to our camp at gránanes. there we found that a real fire had been conjured up in our absence, and a successful attempt made to bake bread in a wash-hand basin--an instance of the shifts that had to be made, which were many and various. when passing over the sloping moraine matter towards kerlingarfjöll we crossed a number of peculiar terrace formations, and we often found similar terraces on the hillsides in other places also. these terraces have edges or banks of vegetation, which seem to grow in irregular lines and to arrest the natural descent of alluvial matter, forming a series of terraces or steps that rise, as a rule, but a few inches one above another. the vegetation also collects some of the wind-blown sand of the deserts, which thus assists in the formation of the terraces. chapter viii the interior--hvitarvatn and gullfoss i was early at work next morning, and did some plane-tabling at gránanes before breakfast. afterwards, when i had finished what i wanted to do at that station, thomas and i, accompanied by thorlakur, the guide, proceeded to efriskutur, a mountain four or five miles distant, on the highest point of which i purposed making my sixth station. we rode down the river and along the ridge of a long stretch of moraine where there were some fine "erratics"; one very large specimen being worthy of a photograph, i got thorlakur on horseback to stand beside it while i took a record with camera. along these moraines we went until reaching the slopes of efriskutur, up which we rode to the summit. i set up the table on the highest point, and got to work; but the sorrows of a plane-tabler were very marked. a strong wind was blowing, and my first trouble was when, in an unguarded moment, i had my hand off the paper; the wind, a very cold and strong one, caught up the map and tore it from the pins by which it was fastened to the table; it was being whisked away, when thomas caught it, and so prevented it from disappearing on the wings of half a gale into the valley several hundred feet below. i next found that my tracing-paper had gone, and that it was impossible to use paper of any kind to work out the position of the new station, for the wind was altogether too strong for it to be held down on the map. i got out some drawing-paper, however, in readiness for an attempt, and in a bit of a lull in the wind i managed, by cutting holes along the lines of sight, to find the position--it had not been fixed from other stations, for there was only one ray to it. we were nearly frozen by the intense coldness of the wind that was blowing straight from the ice of lang jökull, but fortunately it abated slightly after a while and enabled me to get to work. lunch soon afterwards, and the reappearance of the sun, tended to restore better circulation, and thenceforward all went well, except that when i wanted to make a boiling-point observation for altitude, the water-bottle was found to be empty. i had lent it to hill the previous day at the kerlingarfjöll hot springs in order that he might collect algæ; he had returned it empty, and i had forgotten to refill it. as we had brought no water with us for lunch, it looked as if the observation could not be made for want of it; but i remembered in time that there was a small patch of snow on the mountain-side, not very far down. thomas kindly went to get some of the snow, which i melted, and was thus enabled to complete the observation. efriskutur is a tuff mountain; at first we supposed that it was composed entirely of moraine matter, for on the kerlingarfjöll side, by which we ascended, the hill is covered with it. on examining the other side there was no trace of moraine; there was scree in places, but a great deal of the tuff was uncovered. when the atmosphere was quite clear in the afternoon, we saw standing out above the ice of lang jökull a prominent peak, a fine specimen of a volcanic neck. [illustration: immense "erratics."] our work done, we made tracks for hvitarvatn, the lake beside which we were to camp that night. to the river svartá we traversed moraine matter; beyond the river, however, which we crossed, there was no moraine--nothing but the recent lava from strytur, which quite covered the intervening country to the falakvisl, a river that has carved its way along the other edge of the lava; on the far side there are great moraine hills. the falakvisl is a deep, swift river, flowing between banks that are very high in places; it drains the valley between the ice of lang jökull and the outlying range north of the mountain hrutafell, round which it flows, collecting the streams that run down from it and from the other mountains and hills south of the divide of kjalhraun, the lava ridge by strytur. this river discharges its waters into lake hvitarvatn, and we followed its course to within a mile or so of the point of discharge. we found the camp beside the lake, about a mile from the water; there was no convenient camping-ground any nearer to it, for the intervening land was a mere swamp. we were in the midst of wonderful and magnificent surroundings. the lake was covered with innumerable icebergs--great lumps broken off from the edges of two great glaciers that flow from lang jökull to the water's edge on the far side of the lake. it was interesting to note the fact that the farther away the icebergs were from the glaciers the smaller they were, until on the margin of the lake where the water was not so cold they disappeared altogether. facing us was a great basaltic mountain, skrutharfell, set in between the two fine glaciers mentioned. to the left was the great solid mass of bláfell (pronounced blou-fettle, the _á_ like _ou_ in blouse), a mountain that had much snow covering its sides; to the right, hrutafell reared its icy head high into the air; behind, there was the mountain range of kerlingarfjöll. all this was affected by the gorgeousness of the sunset effects; the sun was descending behind the ice-flow, and lighting up ice and snow with the most wonderful colouring; it was a thing to be seen and remembered--to describe it in adequate terms is impossible. the lake was the resort of many swans, which disturbed the slumbers of at least one member of the party, for they called and squawked in the most persistent manner through the small hours--i will not say of the night, for we were having twenty-four hours of daylight just then. i was moving early next morning, for i intended to get to work at the plane-table, but the fates were against me once more, this time in the shape of clouds which overhung the tops of kerlingarfjöll and hrutafell, completely hiding two of the points of those mountains that i required to sight in order to fix my position. i set up the plane-table, however, in the hope that the clouds would clear later on, and then took a boiling-point observation. after breakfast i waited in vain for an hour or two for the clouds to rise and the peaks to clear, for otherwise it was impossible to fix the position. the peaks _were_ gradually clearing, but time was passing; we had a long day's journey before us, and a deep and dangerous river to ford on the way, so a guide could not well be spared to wait an hour or two until proper observations were possible. i had to make the best of it, so took sights on a separate sheet of paper to a number of points, hoping that eventually i should be able to complete. the peaks _did_ clear at the last moment, and i took sights to them; but as there was not time to fix the position on the map itself and to take the other sights again, i did all that was possible under the circumstances, hoping that what had been done would fit in properly. on returning to england, i found the observations agreed very well with my previous work. my work, so far as the map was concerned, was at an end. i cannot say that it was completed, for the time spent there was too short to permit of the whole of the country lying between lang jökull and hoff jökull being mapped. i had hoped to complete a map extending from dufufell and hveravellir in the north to the mountains of kerlingarfjöll and the lake of hvitarvatn to the south; but several things conspired to prevent my doing it full justice, the chief of which were that we were two days late in arriving at hveravellir, and that the weather was not quite so good as it might have been. it was about mid-day, if i remember rightly, when we got under way and proceeded along near the shore of the lake; we crossed the svartá close by where it enters the lake, and at a point just below where the river falls over a ledge of hard rock ten to twelve feet high. we passed over great accumulations of moraine matter towards bláfell, gradually rising until an excellent view of hvitarvatn and the myriads of icebergs floating on its surface was obtained. so we proceeded until we came to the river hvitá. this was one of our big rivers, and its crossing was a dangerous undertaking. the pack, as usual, showed the way and made a successful crossing. we stayed behind, for the purpose of photographing the pack when in mid-stream. the photograph that i took shows the pack-train right in the middle of the river. we followed, and crossed without any untoward incident occurring; the water was rather deep, and when in mid-stream it came up to our knees. at this river we saw a number of sheep swimming across, which is quite a common thing for them to do. [illustration: the pack-train crossing the hvitá.] i afforded some entertainment to my companions in the course of the day. the pony i was then riding was a confirmed stumbler, and he blundered along during the whole day, sometimes on four legs, but more often on three; occasionally he shortened his two front legs and tried to make good time on his knees. it was not altogether pleasant riding, for there was great uncertainty as to which mode of progression he would next adopt. after several bad stumbles he came to grief. he stumbled, recovered, went on two paces, and then came right down. he caught me off guard when having a loose seat immediately after his recovery, with the result that i was deposited, very nicely and quietly, however, in a soft sand-patch that was handy. i was much disgusted, for i happened to be just in front of the other members of the party. but this was nothing compared with the next entertainment that i gave soon afterwards. we had not proceeded much farther before some of the rotten saddlery gave way: my crupper broke and a ring at the back of the saddle was dragged out--my oilskins, etc., came adrift and fell; but one of the packages did not get free, it hung by a strong cord at the pony's heels, where it dangled, knocking against them. my pony did what any self-respecting pony would have done in similar circumstances--he promptly bolted! now the ground thereabouts was not remarkable for its evenness; indeed, it was one of the roughest pieces of ground that we passed over in the course of the day. he made excellent time, and the harder he went, the more the package hit against his heels, until he became quite frantic with fright and ran amuck. i was at the rear of the party some distance behind when he started off, but we soon caught up the others, bumping into one, cannoning off a second to a third, and nearly unseating miss hastie, who was not prepared for the charge. my only fear, as he was such a bad stumbler and had already been down, was that he would come a cropper in the course of his wild career and throw me upon a lump of lava; but as he kept his feet, i stuck to him and at last managed to get him under control and pull him up. he stood trembling in affright, for the objectionable package was still at his heels. i dismounted and removed the disturbing cause, afterwards returning in company with the "handy man" to collect the goods and chattels that were lying distributed over the country that had just been crossed in something like record time. in spite of the bumps and knocks that they received, my companions enjoyed the spectacle, and it afforded them an opportunity for some good-natured chaff. [illustration: a fine gorge in the side of bláfell.] during the latter part of the day's journey, which was along the high banks of the river hvitá, we saw some fair specimens of columnar basalt. there were times, when we were travelling along on the edge of these high banks within a few inches of the edge of a drop of two or three hundred feet, that i did not feel quite comfortable, for my pony continued to stumble along to the end of the journey; but he did not come right down again, though several times he had to be pulled up from his knees. [illustration: gullfoss--front view with "rainbow" effect.] [illustration: gullfoss--side view.] we came round bláfell in the course of the day, and there saw a number of very fine gorges in the mountain sides, deep ravines carved out by the streams and torrents on their way to the river, the hvitá. our way lay over moraine accumulations nearly the whole of the day, and during the latter part of it along the right bank of the hvitá (white river), a swift-rushing glacier stream that drains lake hvitarvatn of the water there collected from lang jökull. there are many deep and picturesque gorges in the basalt through which the river flows. [illustration: gullfoss--the upper fall.] we camped beside the hvitá at a spot known as sandá, which lies just below the confluence of the hvitá and sandá. we were then near the southern end of lang jökull, looking upon the very striking mountains that fringe its edge, the jarlhettur (the earl's hats) as they are called, because of the shapes of their upper portions; several of these peaks are interesting inasmuch as they are, without doubt, the hard cores of ancient volcanoes--volcanic plugs or necks. [illustration: gullfoss--the fall into the ravine.] at sandá we remained over sunday, but as it rained hard we were confined to our tents nearly the whole day--our sundays were, as a rule, very wet, and of six or seven that we had in or about iceland only two were fine; it did not matter much, for sunday with us was always a day of rest, and the rain only kept us to our tents. on these occasions much tobacco was consumed and as many matches were used as economy allowed. on leaving sandá our way lay for several miles over a desolate sandy and stony desert. farther on there were many evidences of ice-action: the rounded forms of boulders attracted our attention, as did numerous ice-scratchings on them; some of the outcropping lumps were beautifully rounded, and in one place (in the same valley as gullfoss) after passing the falls, but just before reaching bratholt, there was undoubted evidence that the ice had swept up a slight rise in the valley before descending the steep slope towards the bratholt farm. [illustration: gullfoss--the ravine below the falls.] [illustration: below gullfoss--castellated dykes.] gullfoss is one of the sights of iceland. it is a magnificent waterfall on the hvitá, where the white water of the river cascades over a series of step-like barriers stretching from side to side, and then plunges finally over a ledge of very hard rock into a yawning abyss more than a hundred feet deep, whence it throws up clouds of spray that are carried hither and thither as the wind sweeps first this way and then that; so thick is the spray, that one's clothing soon becomes saturated on incautiously getting into it. gullfoss is one of the finest waterfalls in europe, and it is only surpassed in grandeur, if at all, by one or two others in iceland. we saw the falls at their best, for when we arrived the sun was shining brightly and a rainbow playing over the spray as it rose from the gorge. it is true that the sky clouded over afterwards, and that rain began to fall before we left gullfoss, but we carried away the impression of the broken waters of the cascade sparkling in the sun, and of the colours of the rainbow playing on the spray over the ravine. the water has carved out a deep gorge in the basalt, and below the falls there are many good specimens of basaltic columns. in the lower part of the gorge there are the picturesque remains of a very fine hard dyke that has a much softer one beside it. these remains are to be seen on both sides of the river, and they have assumed the outline and form of a number of castellated buildings perched high upon prominent peaks. chapter ix geysir and thingvellir we were very near the margin of the desert interior, for within two or three miles we arrived at the farm-house of bratholt, the first human habitation that we had seen for ten or twelve days. we had traversed the uninhabited country and were then entering upon the final stage of the journey across the island, where we expected to see some of the better class of farms and farmers. bratholt farm-house seemed to be one of the superior kind--it was certainly the best that we had seen so far. we lunched there, and while the meal was being prepared were shown over the premises by the farmer's wife and daughters. a fine specimen of an old kitchen attracted my attention, and i determined to try to photograph it. the housewife was most anxious to help with the camera. i had a difficulty in setting it up in a suitable position, so she volunteered to hold it wherever i wanted it to stand. i tried to explain that she could not hold it still enough, and that it would have to be kept in one position for nearly ten minutes; she stood in the way looking on till i fetched a guide to explain matters, when she left me to my own devices. it was quite a picture, this kitchen; one of the curiosities it contained was an old quern with a bone (human?) for a handle. the room was as smoky as most of the icelandic kitchens usually are; in the roof there was a number of skins that had been hung up to dry or placed there for preservation. some three-legged pots stood in a corner on the floor; a fire was burning in a fireplace built of lumps of basalt, and the smoke that arose from the smouldering peat bricks hung in the air till it gradually escaped through a hole in the roof. we invaded the work-room and bed-chamber, which is usually called the _bathstofa_. as its name implies, this chamber was once the bath-room of the house; but bathing has gone much out of fashion with the icelander, and he no longer considers a tub at short intervals to be desirable. the _bathstofa_ is now used as a living-room; it is fitted up with a series of open bunks ranged along the sides, in which the various members of the family repose at night; but the bunks serve not only for sleeping purposes--they are often the receptacle for all sorts of things, and we could hardly help noticing in one a miscellaneous collection consisting of sugar, stockings, skin shoes, tea, etc. there were several spinning-wheels in the room, and at our request the lady of the house set to work at one of them. the family made cloth, various articles of clothing from it, sheep-skin shoes, and bone spoons with "gullfoss" carved on them, for the "trippers" who call when on the way to gullfoss. one of the daughters was an expert in the use of vegetable dyes; she was not at home, but we saw some of her work. we bought a few things: shoes, stockings, gloves, rugs, etc., and the "handy man" cleared out the stock of cloth and called for more, but more was not to be had there. later in the day, however, we passed another farm where cloth could sometimes be bought; the "handy man" heard of this, and we lost sight of him for more than an hour while he was, ostensibly, making further purchases, though he did not seem to be overburdened with their weight when at last he turned up. in the evening he remarked on the beauty of a girl that he had seen at the farm, which raised grave doubts as to whether the charms of this beauty had not been the _real_ cause of his long stay there. we thought it mean of him not to have informed us when in the neighbourhood, and told him so; he smiled serenely, for we were then a safe distance away--half a day's journey. we expected to camp that night at geysir; so when the "handy man" appeared with his bundle of cloth, we pushed on for that interesting spot. we had to cross the river tungufljot on the way; it is a rather deep and swift-flowing river, but we made an excellent crossing at a recently discovered ford where the water did not reach much above the level of our stirrups. at geysir there is a region of hot springs, geysers, and blue, boiling cauldrons, where one can stand on the sinter margins, look deep down into the blue waters, and imagine whence they come. there is also a number of holes where liquid mud bubbles and splutters. there are geysers active, and others quiescent and extinct. among the latter is the celebrated strokur--a few years ago it was very active, but now it is quite dead; it died during an earthquake that occurred in 1896. although the earthquake stopped strokur, it seems to have caused great geysir itself to play with increased energy. strokur had to be coaxed into activity, but it was easily done by feeding it with lumps of turf, which were thrown into its yawning mouth, wide open always and ready for a meal. it never failed to give a display when properly fed. it was when it had had a surfeit, and was likely to be choked with the turf, that it erupted, ejecting the turf violently, and at the same time shooting upward a column of boiling water and steam. but all this is of the past--no quantity of turf will provoke it into activity now; it is dead, and there is no indication that it was once the scene of violent disturbance; nothing remains as a record of former glories but a hole in the ground a few feet in diameter. it was late in the evening when we arrived. the weather was not what we should have liked, for it was dull and rainy; there had been much rain at geysir during the previous few days, and we were informed of the fact by a farmer living in the neighbourhood. it is said that geysir erupts more frequently during and after a period of much rain, and also when the wind blows from a certain quarter--i forget which quarter, but that is immaterial now, for the all-important thing is that it was then blowing in the favourable direction. whether there is any real ground for the reports i do not know, but i record the fact that during a stay of about fourteen hours geysir erupted six times, and that the average is said to be one in twenty-four hours. the first eruption occurred while we were at supper at about 10.15 p.m. there was a dull, deep-seated thud somewhere below, a sort of subterranean rumbling that caused us to inquire of our conductor, who was rather deaf, what it was. we had previously been informed that certain premonitory rumblings always preceded an eruption; but we were doubtful whether what we then heard was the warning. the conductor had not heard it, and he was endeavouring to explain to us the nature of the sound when a guide rushed to the door of the tent to inform us that geysir was about to play. we hastily left our meal, made an abrupt exit from the tent, and rushed to the spot. surely enough it was in eruption, for great clouds of steam were rising from the crater and rolling towards us. we got to windward of the steam, and looked towards the crater, and what a sight it was! high into the air, sixty, seventy, eighty feet up, there was shooting stream after stream of boiling water, which fell in showers of spray all around, some descending towards the crater and meeting on its way the outgoing streams. a ring of sinter surrounds the crater; it is raised ten to fifteen feet above the general level of the ground, so the hot water that fell upon it ran off in a ring of little cascades. it was a wonderful sight, this enormous natural fountain; it continued to play for two or three minutes before it gradually subsided and stopped--all was then still, save that the last of the water was streaming over the edges of the sinter ring, whence a little steam was rising. as soon as the eruption came to an end, we climbed upon the ring, which has a diameter of something like a hundred feet; there is a large depression or basin in it that is filled with water before eruption, but it was then empty. in the middle of the basin there is a funnel, said to be about sixty feet deep; at the surface it is about sixteen feet in diameter. we stood on the edge of this funnel or crater, looking down into its depths, the water then standing at a level of something like fifteen feet below that at which we had previously seen it. [illustration: the sinter ring of geysir.] we returned to our interrupted meal, congratulating ourselves that we had arrived just in time to witness the fine display, without at all expecting that we should have another opportunity of seeing such a spectacle. but, as i have stated, we were lucky enough to see in all six eruptions, three of which occurred at short intervals during the night. the first occurred at 10.15 p.m.; the others at 1.30, 3.30, 6.30, 8.30, and the last of the series at 10.45 a.m. the finest displays were the first, second, and last. the second, that at 1.30 a.m., occurred just after we had turned in, but the warning rumblings sounded before we had gone to sleep. each made a dash at some articles of clothing, and hastening into them, made a blind rush through the rain to the side of geysir, where we presented a curious spectacle: we were a very motley assemblage indeed, and the various costumes it would perhaps be better not to describe accurately. i have not a photographic record of the scene--there had been no time to get out cameras, and the light was very bad. [illustration: the funnel or crater of geysir.] there is a smaller geyser, known as little geysir, distant about a quarter of a mile from its more important neighbour. now, this happened to be in good working order, for it erupted while we were finishing our evening meal, sending up spray to a height of from ten to twenty feet, and continued more or less active during the rest of the night. many were the boiling and bubbling springs that we saw along a line of fissure nearly half a mile in extent. the basins of some of them were very beautiful, one especially, where the water was of a bright blue colour and the edges of the sinter basin quite white. the basins and terraces are composed of the silica that was at one time held in solution in the water that flowed over them; it was gradually deposited layer upon layer, slowly lining the vent through which the water was ejected, and building up the terraces and basins. we were loth to leave the neighbourhood of geysir and continue on our way; but we could not linger, because time was of importance to some of the members of the party, who had to reach reykjavik, the capital of the country, in time to catch a certain steamer. another day could not be spared, so on we had to go. we proceeded at first over a quantity of sinter debris, and then through some hummocky land. after a while we came to a wood--an icelandic forest, or one of the nearest approaches to a forest that iceland can boast. it consisted of a quantity of scrubby birch and willow "trees," mere bushes, averaging three to five feet in height, though some, it is true, attained the height of six or even seven feet; interspersed amongst them were some geraniums (_g. silvaticum_). the river bruará flows through the middle of the wood, and we had to cross it on our way. the crossing was a peculiar one. at the spot there is a rapid in the river, with a waterfall just below. hard rock stretches from side to side, forming a barrier that is cleft in the middle of the river; the water flows with very picturesque effect over the ledge and into the cleft, which is bridged by a wooden platform; the crossing is effected by the bridge, and by fording the river on each side of it. while i was photographing the spot with some members of the party on the bridge, my pony ran away, and crossed the river, leaving me on the wrong side of it. however, the runaway did not get very far before its career was checked; it was then brought back, and i followed in the track of the others. farther on in the wood we halted at a wayside farm-house for lunch, and to rest for a while before continuing on what was likely to be a long journey. away we went again, though, through the wood, until we overlooked the bruará at a spot where it had worn down the valley to the level of a plain of denudation, of which it is a fine specimen. there, below, was the river meandering in a winding course over the plain; there also were two small lakes, one of which, laugarvatn, is of historical interest, for it was there that the icelanders on being converted to christianity were baptized; they objected to cold water, but a hot spring in this lake causes the water to be warm, so the objection was overcome, and they were baptized in the warm waters of laugarvatn. we gradually descended to the vicinity of laugarvatnshellirar, a peculiar volcanic district, where a number of castellated-looking rocks on the hillsides are very suggestive of ancient ruins. to the left of them rises the kalfstindar range, the peaks of which are the hard plugs of ancient volcanoes that have become exposed by the erosion of the softer material of the original cones. here we came upon recent lava again, and during the rest of the day's journey we were obliged to travel very slowly, for we had to pick our way over very rough ground. the ponies stumbled along hour after hour, much to the discomfiture of the "nautical adviser," who was in a helpless state, suffering great pain. earlier in the day he had been stung on the eye by an insect. at first he did not feel much inconvenience, but as time passed, his eye became inflamed and very troublesome; so intense was the pain at last, that his eyes had to be bandaged. thus blindfolded he had to ride on, just balancing himself, and allowing his pony to pick its own way through the lava as it followed one or another of us. it was a very dangerous proceeding, because the lava over which he had to pass was of the roughest possible kind; the ponies had to perform all sorts of peculiar antics while dodging from side to side, or in climbing over boulders or outcropping rocks, now going up a steep slope, then descending one at a dangerous-looking angle. when three or four miles from thingvellir, our destination that night, we came to a great rift in the earth known as hrafna-gjá (raven's rift), a crack going deep down into the earth, and extending three or four miles in a line parallel to another even greater rift that will be again referred to. on reaching hrafna-gjá, we had to climb down its steep side, there being a drop of something like a hundred feet to the lava at its foot. the steepness and unevenness of the descent rendered it necessary for us all to dismount and lead our ponies down. the day was dull and the light then becoming bad; but we had to plod on. we were not many miles from our destination, thingvellir. we presently saw right ahead what looked like a line of high precipitous cliffs with a white patch in it. at first we were very doubtful what the patch could be; but on drawing nearer we heard the splash of falling water, and from the sound, judged that the volume was pretty large. we could see nothing distinctly, though, for it was approaching midnight and the light was failing fast, so we pushed on along a line parallel to the cliff, unable to distinguish anything clearly. it was at vallholt, close to the margin of lake thingvallavatn, that we halted. there we reached modern civilisation suddenly, for we came to a large galvanised iron structure which we found to be a hotel, so we pulled up and dismounted. on inquiring for our tents, we were informed that they had not been erected, and that we were to take up our quarters at the hotel. we had not expected this, and as we had all become somewhat attached to our canvas quarters, we grumblingly entered the hotel and went in search of our boxes. the arrangement of the interior was peculiar: a large hall occupied the middle of the building, extending the full width, and reaching from floor to roof; at each end of the hall, a passage led through to the end of the building. on each side of one of these passages there was ranged a number of cabin-like rooms, each of which contained two bunks, one above the other, and in a corner there was a wash-hand basin, the whole being fitted up like the interior of a cabin on board ship--this was accounted for by the fact that the arrangement had been designed by a sailor. thomas and i had piloted the "nautical adviser" and given his pony a lead during the last part of the journey, so we three were rather late in our arrival; but we were met with the cheering intelligence that supper (it was 11.30 p.m.) would be ready in a few minutes, and that we were to "hurry up" and make whatever change of costume we deemed necessary to celebrate the return to some of the conventionalities of modern civilisation. we were hungry, very hungry, and did not waste time over an elaborate toilet, but soon put in an appearance in the large central hall. here we were regaled with a most sumptuous and excellent banquet. the soup was all that could be desired, and it was hot--a very comforting thing when one is half frozen. this whetted our appetite for the other good things that were to follow: salmon that was cooked to perfection; then came another excellent dish, and last of all delicious pastry and cream--the icelanders, as i have already stated, are noted for the quality of their pastry. we had growled on finding that we were to take up quarters in a tourists' hotel, but the quality of the dinner quite reconciled us to the return to civilisation. we had been living for more than a fortnight on tinned foods, so we fully appreciated the good things that "mine host" had provided for us. we were disappointed in one way; but when a hungry man has fed well he is not disposed to quarrel with things in general--especially when they take the form of a fairly comfortable bunk and more room in his cabin than he would have had in his tent. thingvellir and the neighbourhood is a most interesting and historic place, for it was there, in the tenth century, that the althing, or parliament, used to assemble. the spot whereon it once met, known as the logberg (law rock), is now a verdure-covered hill, lying between two remarkable rifts in the lava. thingvallavatn is the name of the largest and most picturesque lake in iceland; the view of it which we had obtained the day before from above hrafna-gjá was very fine, but the atmosphere had not been quite clear; we had seen enough, however, in spite of rain and haze, to enable us to form an idea of the beauty of the scene. we were favoured on this occasion, for the air was clearer and the light brighter, so we were better able, from the elevated site of the logberg, to enjoy the fine view. the meeting-place of the althing was removed from the logberg to one of two islands lying in the lake, but to which of them is questionable, though it is supposed that it used to meet on the long flat island near thingvellir, close to the shore of the lake. not only is this neighbourhood interesting historically, but geologically it claims attention. i have already mentioned the remarkable rift, hrafna-gjá; there is another at thingvellir--i am not referring to the two rifts at the logberg, for though noticeable in themselves, they are but minor rifts when compared with that of hrafna-gjá, and still more so when comparison is made with almanna-gjá (all-men's rift) at thingvellir. it is a most extraordinary break in the earth, extending for three or four miles across the country in a line parallel to hrafna-gjá, showing a face of lava with a drop of something like a hundred feet. now what has happened to cause these extraordinary rifts? the whole of the land between hrafna-gjá and almanna-gjá has fallen in, dropped through about a hundred feet, and forms a "rift valley." the lake derives its water chiefly by underground rivers from the ice-field of lang jökull, though one small stream, the oxará, runs into it. this river tumbles over the edge of the cliffs by a fine cascade into the rift of almanna-gjá; but it does not flow very far (less than a mile) before it escapes through a gap in the outer wall of the rift by a second and smaller fall. above the smaller fall there is a pool known as the murderesses' pool, in which it was once the custom to drown women found guilty of infanticide or adultery. [illustration: almanna-gjá--in the rift near the waterfall.] there are several legends connected with thingvellir. one of them refers to a remarkable jump supposed to have been performed by one flossi, an outlaw, who, on being closely pursued, escaped by jumping across one of the lava rifts of the logberg hill--an impossible feat with the rift at its present width, but it is supposed to have widened considerably. in these rifts of the logberg there is, deep down, some beautifully clear water standing at about the same level as the lake. over one of the rifts there is a small wooden bridge with a hole in the middle of it; beside the hole we saw a bucket with a long rope attached. as the clear water of one of the pools was immediately below, it was not difficult to infer that this was the source of the water-supply of the hotel which was in the immediate neighbourhood. after we had seen all that was of special interest at thingvellir, we started on the last stage of our journey across the island; but before doing so we took leave of two of the guides, josef and sigurthur, who were returning to our starting-point, akureyri, with about a dozen of the ponies; for we had no further use for the full pack, seeing that we expected to reach reykjavik, the capital, in the course of a few hours. from this place to reykjavik a road has been constructed--a rough one at best, but still a road; the only one of any length in all iceland, for it is thirty-six miles long. it commences just below the lower fall of the oxará; after a short ascent, a bridge crosses the river between the waterfall and the murderesses' pool, whence it rises by a steep ascent to the level of the country above the rift. this part of the road has been cut in the side of the fissure of almanna-gjá. from above we obtained a fine view overlooking lake thingvallavatn, but after losing sight of the lake we saw no more of the picturesque until nearing reykjavik. an exceedingly fine specimen of a glaciated lava surface attracted thomas and myself. my photograph shows it excellently: in it there can be seen the undulating surfaces of lava, the _roches moutonnées_, just as they were smoothed by the passing ice, and there on the surfaces are several "perched blocks" which helped in the smoothing and scratching process. there was evidence all along the road not only of the work of frost and ice, but also of that of fire and heat, for we saw in all directions tuff and lava cones and volcanic necks. [illustration: glaciated lava surface near thingvellir.] on nearing reykjavik we met a number of pack-trains conveying goods of all descriptions to the farms. it was just the end of the season when the farmers make their annual journey to the capital. they take in their wool, dispose of it, and then return with whatever goods they have purchased. some of the farmer's women-folk accompany him as a rule. the women ride their ponies on a saddle peculiar to iceland. they balance themselves on their ponies seated sideways, with feet resting on a little platform that hangs suspended from the saddle by two straps; they ride by balance alone, for there is no horn by which they can grip the saddle. all goods have to be transported on the backs of ponies, for as there are no roads (with the exception of that from reykjavik to thingvellir) so there are no carts or waggons in general use--i did see _three_ carts in iceland, one of them in reykjavik, but they were used only for hauling goods from the wharves into the towns. timber and galvanised iron are carried balanced on the backs of ponies, the galvanised iron having to be doubled up. a pony sometimes looks very peculiar as he plods along with an unwieldy load swinging from side to side. he has an awkward time of it whenever there is a heavy or gusty wind blowing, and that in iceland is very frequently. heavy goods that cannot possibly be carried on the backs of ponies are transported when the winter snows cover the ground; rough sleighs are then used for the purpose. chapter x the capital--reykjavik much to our surprise, when about two miles outside reykjavik, we met our fellow-passenger by the _ceres_, him with whom we had lunched at thorshavn on the outward journey. we had left him behind at that port, and he had intended to stay for several weeks at the faroes and to return thence to england; but having found things rather slow there, he had followed us to iceland by the next steamer; hence the meeting on the road. we created some sort of sensation as we entered the capital of iceland. the clocks were striking ten as we clattered down the long main street; it was a time when the populace were at leisure and on the street, and they evinced no little curiosity as we rode by them. they were congregated in small groups, and it was evident to us that we were being discussed--and no wonder, for we were a motley-looking cavalcade! we must have presented a very grotesque appearance, clad as we were in oilskins, and covered with mud from head to foot: it had been raining at intervals on the way, and we had had a rather disagreeable journey. we caught glimpses of faces at most of the windows peering curiously at us and watching our progress through the town. many of the members of the groups, by the wayside saluted as we passed by--the icelanders are a polite people, as a rule, and they doff their head-gear in salutation to strangers. so we progressed, being saluted, and acknowledging the salutes. it was a sort of triumphal entry, for the news had been carried forward by one of the guides, who was some little distance ahead with some of the pack-ponies, that we had just crossed the country by way of the uninhabited interior. all things come to an end, and so did our journey when we reached the end of the main street in reykjavik, for there, at a great wooden building four stories high, we took up our quarters, and the crossing of iceland was an accomplished fact. if reykjavik is not a town to be admired, it must be said that the surrounding scenery is most beautiful; and one of the finest sights i saw in iceland was one evening when sunset effects were on hill and dale and over the sea. glasgow house--why so named we were unable to discover--was where we were quartered. the accommodation was fairly good, though there was a lack of furniture in some of the rooms. we learned that the proprietor had but lately entered into possession, and that the furniture had come from a much smaller house; it certainly required some additions to make the general accommodation equal to the table kept there. we came in hungry after our thirty-six miles' ride, so we fully appreciated the good things set before us by our hostess, a danish woman, who was a capable head of the kitchen. the dining-room was on the ground floor, but a steep staircase led to a large hall-like room above, from which a number of doors opened into bedrooms. after we had eaten a most excellent meal--dinner or supper--we went for a midnight prowl round the town. our fellow-passenger by the _ceres_, an oxford man, whom thomas and i had known there, was staying at glasgow house, so he accompanied us, and we strolled about the more retired parts away from the main street, discussing the incidents of our travels in the interior. [illustration: the business end of reykjavik by the governor's house.] reykjavik is not a very large town, as its population of about four thousand indicates. it is built on the coast and is a long, straggling place; and although just in the business quarter there are several streets running parallel or at right angles to one another, yet, with this exception, the houses are built along the main thoroughfare. the buildings for the most part are of wooden construction, with galvanised iron roofs, though here and there a turf-roofed shanty stands as a reminder that the habitation of the average icelander has no galvanised iron about it. some of the principal business people are danes, and many of the houses have been built more in conformity with danish ideas than with those of the icelander. the natives are fishermen and farmers, and have no very strong predilections for general business--they are inclined to leave that sort of thing to the danes, who are more adapted to it. the clergymen and doctors are, as a rule, the sons of farmers who exhibit signs of greater brightness than the average. they first go through a course at the latin school, and then proceed to the theological college or the medical school; some afterwards go to copenhagen to the university there. both clergy and medical men are paid by the state, though the latter receive a nominal fee from their patients. the finest building in iceland is said to be the bank in the main street of reykjavik. it is a strongly built, solid-looking square structure. the ground floor is used for banking business, but the upper floor contains a good collection of icelandic curiosities and antiquities--it is known as the antiquarian museum, i think. old weapons, ladies' saddles, women's national dress, snuff and various other kinds of carved boxes, gold and silver ornaments, altar-cloths, altarpieces, and other church furniture, etc., are among the exhibits. this collection is never open to the public in the way that similar collections are open in other parts of the world. a visitor cannot walk in at any stated definite hour--the doors are always locked against admission unless an appointment is made with the caretaker of the collection to open them, and if, as in our case, one happens to be a little after the appointed time, a wait of half an hour while the attendant guide goes in search of the caretaker may be necessary. in the ornithological museum--a large room attached to a small house just away from the business part of the town--there is a fine collection of the birds of iceland. we tried to gain admission here without having made an appointment with the caretaker, but quite failed: the door was locked, and we were unable to make known what we wanted. the only person on the premises, a middle-aged icelandic woman, laughed and giggled and talked, and evinced no little curiosity regarding certain articles of our clothing. we thought, in our ignorance of her tongue, that she was making fun of us and of our dress. when we went away from the museum, this woman followed us down town, and on meeting our guide we learnt that our curious friend was not quite in her right mind--a fact that accounted for her peculiar actions and manner. we saw the collection of birds on another occasion by appointment. facing a grassy square there are two buildings of importance--one of these, a wooden structure, is the cathedral; the other, a massive stone building, is the senate house, where the members of the althing, or parliament, meet. [illustration: reykjavik--interior of the cathedral.] iceland has recently been granted home rule, but at the time of our visit the althing consisted of two houses--the upper and the lower. the upper house was composed of twelve members, all of whom were icelanders--six of these were appointed by the king of denmark, the other six being elected by the people. the lower house consisted of twenty-four members, all icelanders, and all elected by the people. each house had a president, who was elected by the members. the president had no vote, so in the upper house the icelanders always tried to elect a president from the members appointed by the king of denmark in order to give the people's representatives a majority of six votes to five. the governor, an icelander appointed by the king, to whom he was answerable, had the right to sit in each house; he occupied a seat beside the presidential chair. the members of each house were elected for three sessions; but as the houses met in every alternate year only, there was an election but once in six years. a prime minister was appointed by the king of denmark, but he did not sit in either house; in fact, the minister of two years ago had never been in iceland. he was a dane, residing in copenhagen and knowing nothing of iceland or its requirements except from report. the prime minister resembled our colonial secretary in his relations with our colonies, though there was a difference in that he was _nominally_ answerable to the icelandic althing as well as to the king of denmark. bills were presented in either house by the whole house, by a section of the house, or by an individual member. the bills were read three times, and the house might go into committee on a bill at any time. the committee might consist of three, five, or seven members in the upper house--it was more often three and five--and of three, five, seven, or nine in the lower house. either house might reject a bill passed by the other house. the king of denmark, acting on the advice of the icelandic prime minister, used to approve a bill passed by both houses, when it became law. in the althing there are no parties as we know them, for all the members are united on high politics, are republican in their feeling, and most anxious to retain their independence of action. the members often have differences of opinion about a particular bill, of course. the session used to last for eight weeks only, and during that period the houses sat daily (sunday excepted), often having two sittings a day. the members assembled at mid-day, and if the business was not got through by four, they adjourned and met again at five. as the althing met but once in two years, and the session was so short, there was a gap of a year and ten months when legislation was at a standstill. during that period, however, the members were often in communication one with another, and any bills that it was desirable should be presented to the althing at the next session were discussed in that way. the press was also the medium for the discussion of desirable legislation. as some of the members contributed to and wrote for the newspapers, the pros and cons of a particular bill were often pretty well thrashed out before being presented to the althing. local affairs were managed by sysselmen, or sheriffs, who had great powers vested in them. when our party broke up, as it did the next day, i went on board the _bothnia_ to see off those who were leaving iceland. the whole party had pulled so well together, and had been so successful, that we separated with feelings of regret that all could not proceed on further travels in the west of the island. the day after the departure of those leaving iceland, miss hastie and i visited engey island, one of the homes of the eider duck. on landing from a rowing-boat that had been hired to convey us from reykjavik, a distance of two to three miles, we were delayed for a while by a heavy shower of rain. when it had abated we could find no one at the wharf able to speak english, so we made our way to the house of the owner of the island, for we had been informed at reykjavik that we should find some one at engey to point out the resorts of the ducks. we found there a young girl who could speak english very well. on learning our desires she at once offered to conduct us to the ducks, and led the way, accompanied by a sister, over a series of slippery stones and rough hummocks, to the ducks' nesting-ground. the season was almost over, so we did not see many birds in the nests. most of the eggs had been hatched, and the parents had departed with their young, or else were swimming about in the waters around the island. nevertheless a few birds still remained in their nests, and we found them comparatively tame; they were not quite undisturbed by our presence, though, for they moved away a few yards in an agitated state, leaving their young to blunder and stumble about all around. in vain we tried to keep the ducklings from wandering, but they would struggle out of the nest time after time, the mother walking round us the while with a watchful eye upon her brood. it is said that the down which the old birds pluck from their breasts to line the nests may be removed two or three times before they abandon them. some of the nests, which were in the hollows between the hummocks, had bad eggs in them; so that, unless care was taken in moving from one hummock to another, a bad odour might make us aware that we had taken a false step. on returning to the house, the girls who had accompanied us showed the process of cleaning the eider-down. it is taken in handfuls and rubbed over a wire grating: the down clings to the wires, while the dirt falls through; the grating is reversed from time to time, and the down removed from the wires and rubbed repeatedly until properly cleaned and freed from dirt and foreign substances. chapter xi in the west--to reykholt we spent two days at reykjavik before renewing our journeyings. we were a much reduced party, for instead of eleven persons in all, we only mustered five when, on the third day from our arrival at the capital, we set out once more. miss hastie and myself were all that remained of the old party, but we were joined by a young icelandic medical student, jón rosenkranz, while we were accompanied by our old conductor as "guide, philosopher, and friend," and hannes as guide. jón we soon found to be of a sportive nature, and he never seemed happier than when something was not going right. when any of the pack strayed, he seemed to be quite in his element, for he would settle into his saddle with a bump and go helter-skelter over the country after the straying ones. hannes was his especial butt, and though hannes himself was a mine of dry humour, yet he at times took things very seriously, and it was then that jón was in good form; his eyes would sparkle, and he would slyly endeavour to "take a rise" out of hannes, though hannes, as a rule, was quite equal to the occasion. we were bound once more for the interior, and expected to get well up towards the lakes of arnarvatnsheithi, to visit the caves at surtshellir, and to see the western side of lang jökull, where we should again enter the uninhabited desert. the greater portion of our journey, though, would be among the western farms, in country rich in folklore and made famous in the sagas. our way lay for several miles along the thingvellir road, then we turned off to the left and skirted the fjord for a mile or two, soon, however, striking inland away from the coast. we passed at the foot of lagafell, a rather striking mountain having an abrupt escarpment, and proceeded thence through grassy country to mosfell. soon after getting clear of reykjavik we were met by one of our old guides, thorlakur, who accompanied us to mosfell, where he possessed a farm, which lay on the hillside overlooking a green plain well besprinkled with cotton grass. after lunch we went up to thorlakur's farm, and made the acquaintance of his wife and two little girls, who entertained us to coffee. i took two photographs of the family: one showing the dwelling--a typical western farm-house of the better class--and the other with thorlakur on his pony, and showing a tuff-capped and protected hill in the background. the grass on this farm was very thick, and in the plain below the cotton grass was so abundant that it looked as if a number of white sheets had been spread over the green. [illustration: thorlakur and his wife and children at his farm-house.] after taking leave of thorlakur and his family, we proceeded on our way, making a gradual ascent until reaching a spot overlooking a stream, beyond which there were some peculiarly-shaped brownish hills that presented a somewhat castellated appearance--from the distance it was difficult to judge whether they were volcanic necks, or liparite or tuff formations. on the way the weather, which had been quite fine to the time of our arrival at mosfell, gradually changed: we could see the moisture condensing on the mountains away to our left and straight ahead, and were much struck with the peculiar way in which the mists hung over the hills and left a valley quite clear. from the spot overlooking the stream just mentioned, we descended into the valley and crossed the river, the leiruvogsá; then we commenced the ascent of a long, steep track up the hillsides, between skalafell on the east and the great mass of the mountain esja on the west, towards the pass known as svinaskarth. beyond the river, we entered the region where the moisture was rapidly condensing, and made our way up the path in a perfect deluge of rain. we passed hundreds of small streams and rivulets that came down the mountain sides across our path. we did not mind the rain, for we were clad in oilskins, and the weather was not cold--there was a great difference in temperature from that of the interior and between the ice-fields: it seemed milder, as indeed it was, and the rain did not strike so cold. we were experiencing the difference due to the warmer winds from the south and south-west, and to the effect of the north atlantic drift, a continuation of the gulf stream. one peak of esja to the left was a sharp-pointed brown cone of liparite, and it stood out as a prominent feature as we ascended. the pass was very steep in places, and had a number of abrupt turns in it, and there were many views that would have made fine pictures for the camera in clearer weather. descending the pass into the valley of the sviná (svinadal) the gradient was rather severe, so we dismounted and led our ponies down the steepest parts to relieve them from our weight for a while. a very noticeable feature in svinadal was the number of streams that emerged from the mountain sides, from beneath the lava flows, and then ran down in a series of cascades to join the river sviná in the valley. we followed this river to its confluence with the laxá, which flows for a short distance through a quantity of outcropping lava, _roches moutonnées_ again, whose rounded and smoothed surfaces stand as evidence that ice once filled the valley. thence we proceeded along the valley of the laxá (laxadal) beside the river and through a quantity of moraine matter to reynivellir, passing the volcanic cone of sandfell to the right. along the sides of this valley the straight lines of the lava flows can be traced for miles dipping but very slightly inland from the fjord (laxavogr), which we were then in sight of. we arrived at reynivellir on saturday evening and stayed there till monday. the weather was not good, and excepting on sunday evening, when there was a break that caused some very fine cloud-effects, it rained almost incessantly. our first camp was made here, but as through a misunderstanding only one tent had been brought, which miss hastie used, the rest of the party had to make shift in another way. i elected to use the church as my place of residence, and had my bed rigged up in the loft or gallery; this loft was a veritable storehouse, so out of curiosity i made a rough inventory of the articles i found. besides several boxes and sea-chests, there was hanging from a number of hooks a wardrobe that would have clothed about half-a-dozen persons of both sexes; then there were some large lockers, ranged along the side of the loft, that were filled with wool; a number of agricultural implements, a rocking armchair, and two forms completed the list. the icelanders are very hospitable, and travellers are made welcome. every farmer who can afford it has one or two guest-chambers that are placed at the disposal of any one passing through. on arrival at the farm the traveller is invited to partake of coffee. when this is served in the best room of the house, the farmer and his wife join the new arrivals in a light meal, consisting of excellent coffee, and fancy pastry of equally excellent quality. some of the icelandic women are very good pastry-cooks, and the cakes and pastry they produce often equal in quality any that could be procured at a first-class london confectioner's. at reynivellir there are a farm-house and a church. the churches are either athalkirkja (principal church) or annexia (farmers' church), and that at reynivellir is athalkirkja. the clergy are appointed and paid by the government; but they have farms which add to their incomes. the religion of the icelanders is lutheran. service was held in the church at reynivellir on the sunday morning while we were there, and all the members of our party attended it. the minister was attired in black robes, which he wore with a white ruff and flattened hat; he looked exactly as if he had just stepped out of a velasquez picture, for his face and dress were quite typical. it is a peculiarity of the icelandic services that the members of the congregation come and go just as they please; evidently they consider the service of too long duration, for many leave the church and absent themselves for periods varying up to fifteen minutes. i inquired why, and was informed that the icelanders being used to open-air life, could not remain still and cooped up for any length of time, so they left while the service was in progress, in order to stretch their legs and occasionally to have a smoke. they were quite regardless of the time of commencement of the service, and came in at any time during its progress. the sexes did not seem to mix, for the men were seated, most of them, in the chancel around the pulpit, while the body of the church was occupied by the women, though a few men sat in the seats right at the back. the rain continued to the time of our departure from reynivellir, for we set out on monday in a depressing drizzle. we had a very stiff climb by a zigzag path up the side of the reynivallahals mountain, a flat-topped range having the valley of the laxá on one side and the waters of hvalfjord on the other. after crossing the highest part of the ridge, we gradually descended to the water of hvalfjord, passing fossá, where there is a small waterfall in a ravine, close by a wooden bridge that spans it. there was a good view from fossá over hvalfjord and to the head of one branch of it. to this branch we descended by a long slope on the steep mountain side, and then passed round the head of the arm, where the brgnjudalsá runs into it over a ledge of basalt. we could not help being struck with the two bold scarped ends of the mountain ranges that come down to the fjord: muláfjall between the two branches, and thyrill beyond. after crossing the brgnjudalsá, we rounded the first headland, and proceeded for some distance along the second arm of the fjord till we came to a black sandy beach, which was then covered with about six inches of water. this was fully a mile from the head of the fjord, but we crossed at this point, the ponies splashing through the water as if they enjoyed that part of the journey--and doubtless they did. our way then lay at the foot of the great escarpment of the thyrill mountains, a range that has been carved by the weather into wondrous fantastic shapes, the end presenting a magnificent castellated appearance--a fine solid block resting on a sloping base. [illustration: the thyrill mountains.] one of the sagas relates how the thyrill family some nine hundred years ago resided on the small island of greirsholmi, which was probably much bigger than it is at the present time. they had a feud with another family, who invaded the island; but the thyrills had received warning of the approach of the enemy, and they escaped to the peninsula of thyrillsnes, where a sanguinary battle was fought. all the thyrills were slain except one woman who had been left on the island, and she escaped by swimming to the mainland with her baby son; she then ascended the castellated end of the thyrill mountains and escaped through the gap between the two blocks into which it is divided. it is said that when the son grew up, he wreaked vengeance upon the family that had almost exterminated his own. from thyrill we proceeded along the shore of hvalfjord for two or three miles, and on looking back, the end of the thyrill mountains presented a remarkably fine appearance. from a base of lava and tuff, with a talus slope above, there rose the main castellated block composed of upright columns of basalt. looking the other way towards the sea, the block of mountains known as akrafjall, round which the fjord bends, stands as a striking feature in the landscape. on leaving the coast we climbed some liparite and tuff rises, and then passed over a range of hills (ferstikluhals) northward. from the divide we had a very good view over the country ahead; in a valley below there were three lakes having an outlet for their water through svinadal, by the river laxá, into a small fjord named leirárvogar--this must not be confounded with the laxá already mentioned. it should be noted that the same name is often applied to more than one mountain, river, or town, and confusion as to the geographical position may arise unless it is clearly understood which of those bearing the same name is indicated; for instance, mosfell (mossy mountain) is applied to several mountains, hvitá (white river) to several rivers, and stathr (a homestead) to several villages or farm-houses of note. we skirted two of the lakes in the valley and then passed between the last two, where hannes made a deal in trout with a man who was fishing in a stream connecting the two lakes. we made our way through rain, which had just recommenced after a fairly fine interval lasting during most of the day's journey, to the head of the third lake, where we found quarters for the night at the farm-house of draghals. miss hastie occupied her tent as usual; but i, not liking the guest-chamber because it was absolutely devoid of ventilation,--the windows were fixed in their frames and could not be opened,--took up my quarters in a drying-shed, a large and airy enclosure running along two sides of the house, which was a fair-sized galvanised iron structure. beside this modern excrescence there stood the old wooden-fronted, turf-walled, and grass-roofed buildings that were formerly used as the dwelling-house, but were then converted into kitchen and dairy buildings--ancient and modern were side by side. [illustration: miss hastie trout-fishing.] there were some pretty scenes on the river draghalsá, an interesting stream having a number of hard and soft dykes cut through by the water that descends in a series of waterfalls to a pool, the overflow from which runs into the lake close by. both pool and stream afford sport for fishermen, and miss hastie and jón got quite a good basket of trout there. i was less fortunate; but as i did not commence until the others had finished, i concluded that they had caught all the fish in the stream and had left none for me to catch--but i am not a fisherman, so lack of skill may have had something to do with the small success met with. [illustration: typical icelandic farmers.] the people here were typical icelandic farmers, and the photographs i took give a very good idea of them. they are not altogether devoid of humour, and enjoyed my photographing our "guide, philosopher, and friend," whom i caught sharpening a knife at a grindstone. he was quite unconscious that i was immortalising him, but the onlooking icelanders grasped the point of the situation, and their appreciation of it was expressed in their faces, which were turned towards me as i took a snapshot at the group. on leaving draghals late in the afternoon we climbed the hills to the north and came in sight of a fine sheet of water about ten miles long. this is skorradalsvatn; it is not very broad, being less than two miles at its widest part. just after passing the divide we came upon a fine waterfall at a spot where the waters of one of the mountain streams fall a sheer hundred feet into a deep pool below. there are two very fine gorges here, and they join at the confluence of two streams that then flow by a meandering course to the lake. the delta of this river has spread half-way across the lake, where the width is gradually narrowing; in course of time it will extend right across, and cut the water into two portions. we then skirted the lake to its head, rounding it just where it narrows to a river, which flows on as the audakilsá towards borgarfjord. just beyond the river we came to the farm-house of grund, where we took up our quarters. we remained at grund a whole day in order that the fishermen might again try their skill with the rod, and they were successful in catching a number of trout. it rained heavily during the afternoon, which was very annoying, for it prevented me from going to explore the mountains of skarthsheithi and the vicinity--a pity, for the group looks a most interesting one. facing grund they form a sort of semicircle, a vast corrie having a yellowish-brown hill in the middle, a liparite mound; to the left of the semicircle there is another brownish mountain that is evidently a series of alternations of tuff and liparite. on the face of the mountains in the centre there are two small glaciers, while to the right there is a remarkable stepped pyramid that shows most distinctly the lava flows--flow above flow being lined out and stepped in the profile, the parallel lines being distinctly marked not only on the pyramid but also round the semicircle. at grund we lost our "guide, philosopher, and friend," whose engagements required his presence in reykjavik in the course of the next few days. in the early morning he departed, and thenceforth we had to look to hannes for guidance. two or three hours after his departure we set out for reykholt. our way lay over some rough rising lava flows at the back of the farm-house, and these we ascended to the divide, whence we had a fine view of the valley of the hvitá. it was fertile-looking country, but the land is not cultivated; grass is the only thing grown, for the sun has not sufficient strength to ripen grain of any kind. haymaking was in full swing just then, and we saw the haymakers at work on all the farms as we passed by. beyond the hvitá valley a long range of mountains stretches from near the sea far inland, the most prominent in the chain being a conical peak (baula) some fifteen to twenty miles distant. after crossing the river grimsá we entered a stretch of country composed of many alluvial river terraces. terrace above terrace had been formed in succession by the hvitá and several of its branches that we crossed in the course of the day, namely, the grimsá, the flokadalsá, the reykjadalsá, and others. between the two last named rivers we had lunch beside the farm-house of kropprmuli. from the reykjadalsá we proceeded to some hot springs, tunguhver, close beside the river. these springs emerge from the side of a small hillock, where they bubble and boil over, and spurt jets a few feet into the air; the water comes down the hillside in a series of small waterfalls or cascades. great volumes of steam rose from the springs, and unfortunately the wind was blowing it in such a way as to obscure the whole of the springs, except for an occasional glimpse when the steam was swirled aside by a strong gust. at one end of the hill, however, where the springs were very active, the steam was partly blown away from us, and we saw several of them in violent ebullition. on leaving this spot we made our way up the valley of the reykjadalsá, a river that we crossed nine times in less than the same number of miles. at a spot close by one of our crossings there was, in the middle of the river, a small mound that is often the scene of eruptive violence; it was the site of the geyser, arhver, which plays at intervals of several days--weeks sometimes, throwing a small stream of water high into the air, sometimes twenty feet or more. at reykholt, where we put up for the night, there are a church, parsonage, and farm. the minister was at home, and he came out to receive us as we clattered into the space in front of the parsonage. he was a big, broad-shouldered man, as broad in mind as in person, and capable of regarding things in a large way. he welcomed us in courtly fashion, and as he spoke good english we at once got on excellent terms with him. an invitation to coffee was of course accepted, and we were entertained by the minister and his wife, a woman in striking contrast to our host in point of size, for she was quite small and slim. the reykholt parsonage is on the site of the house of snorri sturluson, the historian, who lived nearly seven hundred years ago. just below the house, and less than a hundred yards distant from it, there is a hot spring known as skriflir, which seems to have been in existence in snorri's time, for rather nearer to the house there is a bath that is said to have been constructed by him. it is connected to the spring by an aqueduct, also ascribed to snorri. the water on issuing from the spring is boiling, and when it reaches the bath it has lost but little of its original heat, consequently it is impossible to bathe at once. when any one requires a tub, the water is run into it from the spring over-night, then in the morning the temperature is just delightfully warm. this bath was built in twelve hundred and something; and as snorri died in 1241, it is not much short of seven hundred years old. a large iron cauldron that stood just close to the spring served as the laundry, for the family washing was done there. hot springs are often utilised in this way. at reykjavik, the capital, the whole of the washing of the town is done at a hot spring, the laug, just outside the town, and daily numbers of women are to be seen going and returning with their wooden wash-tubs on their backs. the reykholt church was the largest that we had seen away from the towns. the minister informed me that sometimes he had as many as two hundred persons in his congregation, the number varying between that and one hundred. his parish was a large one, there being thirty-five farms included in it. the parsonage was one of the prettiest imaginable, for its grassy roofs and sides were covered with a profusion of camomile flowers. i took photographs of front and back, but they give only a faint idea of the original, devoid as they are of colour. in the valley of the reykjadalsá just below reykholt there is a very thick growth of peat; down by the river it was laid bare for a thickness of more than twelve feet, the thickest seam i saw in iceland. chapter xii barnafoss and the surtshellir caves the sun had crossed the meridian next day before we left reykholt. we had coffee with the minister and his wife, from whom we parted on the best possible terms; they and their children waved their adieux to us as we proceeded on our way up reykholtsdal. we struck across towards the hvitá, and soon came in sight of that river, a swift-flowing stream whose milky-white colour denoted that its source must be up in the snow-and ice-fields of the jökulls. along the hvitá (white river) valley there were many evidences that the river had at one time been far wider, for up the valley sides several terraces marked levels at which alluvium had formerly been deposited. we lunched at stori ás, in view of the conical peaked mountain, strutr, and eyriks jökull. we were then not far from the bridge that spans the hvitá and affords communication between opposite sides of the river, so miss hastie and i walked on while hannes and jón were adjusting pack-saddles, etc. i came upon an interesting specimen of wind erosion at the top of a rise, where the sandy soil had been blown away from round a turf-covered mound. we passed through a small birch wood, but the trees were very diminutive, three to five feet being the average, with a few rather more; a photograph i took gives the impression of much greater height. on the opposite side of the river we could see recent lava, and on the hillside beyond, the farm-house of gilsbakki. this lava had come from a considerable distance, for i traced its course from gilsbakki, right away past the liparite mountain, tunga, and beyond strutr, where it divides and flows in two streams. this lava determines the courses of the principal rivers thereabouts, which flow along its edges. [illustration: a forest near barnafoss.] just below the bridge a very remarkable sight is to be seen. for more than half a mile along the right bank of the river a series of cascades and waterfalls flow into it. the water issues from beneath the lava of which the steep bank is composed, and then flows down its side; it is a very striking proof of the great extent of some of the subterranean rivers. just above the bridge there is a very fine fall in the hvitá, known as barnafoss; though fine, it cannot be compared with gullfoss in grandeur, and the glory of this part of the river is the series of cascades on its right bank. the spot is supposed to have been named from the drowning of two children near the fall--barnafoss, the children's waterfall; but the minister at reykholt declared that the tale is not true, and that the name is more likely to have been corrupted from bjarni, which is a man's name. it is worthy of note that the birch woods seem to flourish best in the decaying lava in the scoriaceous lava-fields; it also seems to do well in soil produced from liparite, for it grows high up on the east side of the liparite mountain, tunga. [illustration: the cascades at barnafoss.] at the hvitá bridge the party split into two--miss hastie going on with hannes to gilsbakki, while jón and i went along the left bank of the hvitá past husafell, thence onward across the river kaldá, where we got among lava and birches. the birches were much of the same height as those in the barnafoss wood, though i saw several that stood about seven to eight feet high. i took a photograph of one of them--one in which the wood had attained a thickness of some three or four inches; it was the finest specimen of a birch-tree that i saw in iceland. there are bigger birches in the land, for i have seen a photograph of a clump of about a dozen that are over twenty feet in height, but they are in a particularly favoured spot on the eastern side of the island. i got jón on his pony to stand while i photographed the wood through which we were passing, for it was a typical icelandic forest. on crossing the next river, the geitá, i found the lava much broken up and denuded, and there was spread over it a quantity of the alluvial pebbles that are brought down in times of heavy rains and melting ice by the rivers flowing from lang jökull--it is a sort of flood plain, in fact. this continued until we reached the hvitá, but on the other side of it we once more found ourselves upon the unbroken rough lava. close beside this river we came to a halt for the night at the farm-house of kalmanstunga, which is situated in a very picturesque spot facing lang jökull, the glaciers and ice-fields of which are in full view; it has the liparite mountain, tunga, and a portion of eyriks jökull on the right, and the extinct volcano, strutr, on the left. [illustration: map] in the morning i ascended the rising ground at the back of kalmanstunga, and thence obtained an interesting view over the country. in the foreground beneath lang jökull a long valley filled with lava from beyond strutr stretches away from left to right; two rivers flow down the valley, one on each side of the lava, which determines their course along its edges. the hvitá flowed on the edge of the lava just at the foot of the hills whereon i stood; on the far side of the valley, on the other edge of the lava, the geitá flowed at the foot of the outlying hills of lang jökull. away to the right in the valley between the two rivers, towards their confluence, i could see the denuded alluvium-covered lava noticed on the way. this alluvial matter is deposited during floods, when the waters of the swollen rivers unite and flow over the lava as one. it was nearly mid-day before we got a start, for there had been delay over a very important matter. jón had awakened me several hours earlier to inform me that there were no candles in the house! now, candles would not seem to be a matter of much importance to us, considering that it was then broad daylight and that we had but little use for candles in the ordinary way, because daylight continued practically during the whole twenty-four hours; nor would the lack of them seem to be a thing to cause a delay in starting; but it was really the case, for we were about to proceed to the surtshellir caves, and candles were required to enable us to explore their passages. that being so, a messenger had to be sent to the farm-house at husafell, where a stock was generally kept for anybody wanting to visit the caves. the caves were distant about two hours' ride--one rarely mentions distance in the ordinary way when travelling in iceland, because ten miles, say, might represent a journey of three or four hours, or the same distance might be traversed in little more than an hour in very favourable ground. after crossing the rise at the back of kalmanstunga, we descended into the valley of the northingafljot, a clear-water river having its source in a number of lakes of glacial origin known as fiskivötn, lying beyond eyriks jökull. the valley is filled with lava from the same source as that on the hvitá side of strutr, whence i had just come. here the lava is noted for the number and extent of the caves that underlie it. there is a sharp rise as the river is ascended, the stream in consequence being a swift one--so swift, indeed, that it has been able to carve a way through the lava, which it crosses from one side of the valley to the other, a very unusual thing. the upper portion flows on the western edge of the lava and at the foot of the hills on that side; while the lower, after crossing the lava, flows along by the eastern edge at the foot of the mountains strutr and tunga. [illustration: the northingafljot cutting across the lava.] the caves at surtshellir are remarkable for several things. their origin is probably due to a big bubble formation, helped partly, perhaps, by a crust of lava being forced upward in the form of an arch by pressure acting from the sides; though there is no doubt that they have been much enlarged and deepened by the eroding action of flowing water. an underground river used to flow through the caves, but as it does not do so now, some lower channel has doubtless been found. there was evidence of lower caves beneath those visited, for on stamping on the ground in several places, distinctly hollow sounds were produced. the falls into the hvitá at barnafoss, which are only a few miles away, lie in the surtshellir line of drainage, and are proof that very large quantities of water are still flowing underground in this neighbourhood; in fact, it is highly probable that a great deal of water from the numerous lakes, the fiskivötn, on arnarvatnsheithi, escapes underground. there are two entrances to the caves--one near what is known as the bone cave, the other close by the icicle cave. the caves are in a picturesque spot, and beyond the entrance that we used there lies the great ice-covered eyriks jökull, one of the highest mountains in iceland. there is a depression in the lava at this spot--a double depression, in fact, for inner and outer rims indicate them very distinctly, and it is obvious that the opening in the caves is due to the falling in of part of the roof. access to the caves is obtained by scrambling down the loose broken lava to an opening at the bottom. the photographs do not give much idea of the roughness of the "going"; from end to end, except in the icicle cave, where difficulties of another kind were met with, the floor of the caves was strewn with broken lava. the fragments that have become detached from the roof and now lie upon the floor are angular blocks of extreme raggedness and hardness, piled up in confused heaps that test quality of boots, strength of ankles, and toughness (or tenderness) of skin, to say nothing of the mysterious capability of hanging on "by one's eyelids" that is almost absolutely necessary in places. [illustration: the double depression in the lava at the entrance to the surtshellir caves.] [illustration: in the surtshellir caves near the entrance, showing the water-worn lines.] jón and i were accompanied by the farmer from kalmanstunga, a man acquainted with the caves, who had come with us in the capacity of guide. we scrambled down to the entrance and then lighted our candles. when once inside, there could be no doubt as to one of the causes of their existence or enlargement, for there along the sides of the caves, indicating the different levels of the old river, were numerous water-worn lines. the photograph shows this very clearly; it also shows the lava fragment bestrewn floor, and the roof from which the fragments have fallen. we followed our guide into the main channel, but he soon turned to the left into a branch known as the bone cave, because of the number of animal remains (bones) that bestrew the floor. it is said that some twenty to thirty outlaws at one time occupied the cave, and that the bones are the remains of the sheep and oxen which the outlaws stole from the flocks and herds in the neighbourhood, and which they consumed for food. that may have been so, or it may not, but it would account for the presence of the bones; except for some such tale it would be difficult to do so, for the animals could hardly have strayed so far from daylight, to say nothing of the difference of level between the floor of the main channel and that of the bone cave. this branch cave was soon explored, for in about two hundred yards the roof gradually converged to meet the floor, and we found it necessary to crawl on hands and knees--a painful thing to do over the rough angular lava blocks. retracing our steps we descended to the old river-bed again and scrambled over rough boulders for a considerable distance, to emerge after awhile by a long rising snow slope into the open air. the snow remains in the caves all the year round; it drifts in through the opening during the winter, and the warmth of the whole summer's sun does not suffice to melt it--it was then the end of july. the opening has been caused by the falling in of the roof, but there is no way out--the edges overhang quite beyond reach. on again we went, down another snow slope to the second section of the caves, where the "going" was indescribable. our way lay over the roughest and sharpest-edged blocks of lava that it is possible to imagine, where nothing but the strongest of boots would have withstood the wear and tear; it was one continuous scramble on hands and feet. i found it most difficult, for in addition to the candle in my hands, a camera was slung from my shoulders, and the wretched thing would continually work round in front and get mixed up with arms or legs at critical moments when my body was contorted in scrambling up, down, or over, a particularly awkward series of sharp-edged boulders. at last we reached another long snow slope, at the top of which there was another opening to the caves--the second entrance already mentioned. the snow-drifts are not very deep in places, for i went through twice, though i was able to scramble out again without assistance. the last section of the caves is most remarkable. after descending into it by another snow-drift, we found ourselves in a region of frost and ice. water trickled everywhere from the roof, crystallising into long icicles, and the drops that fell upon the floor were converted into smooth ice, or gradually built up ice stalagmites. for several hundred yards the whole floor was coated with ice; there were myriads of icicles pendent from the roof, and on the floor stood ice stalagmites, pillars and columns innumerable. one of the first features to notice was a fine group of clear ice columns, while we came upon the most beautiful thing in the caves a little farther on, after descending an ice slope that was most difficult to negotiate without alpenstock and ice nails in boots. however, by the exercise of great care we got down without tumbles, and were rewarded by the sight of a very beautiful snow-white cascade of ice; the scene was very pretty and fairy-like, illumined as it was by the light shed upon the surroundings by our candles. it was after passing the cascade that the real difficulty of the journey began. for several hundred yards we had to make our way over countless lava boulders, but no longer were they sharp and angular, and rough to the touch; no, they were far otherwise, for they were coated with ice and were as smooth as glass, and oh, so cold! and as slippery as the proverbial glass, only more so, for no glass could be so slippery. up and down we went at the slowest possible rate of progression, climbing over huge blocks of ice-coated lava, hanging on with hands to some of the ice stalagmites that, fortunately for our safety, were in hundreds--nay, thousands, and feeling cautiously with feet for projecting pieces of ice on which to rest them and get a sort of foothold; but our slips were many in the pitchy darkness that was but faintly relieved by the dull light from the candles we carried, which we clasped convulsively in our hands as we clutched at the icy stalagmites, and slid and slipped and blundered along. at last we emerged from the ice-bound region to find ourselves on scoriaceous lava, coated in places with a thin layer of a loamy deposit. over this we crunched for a few hundred yards till we came to a cairn built in the middle of the cave. in a recess of the cairn there was a tin box, which the guide soon brought to our notice. it contained a number of visiting cards that had been left from time to time by tourists wishing to immortalise themselves, for this is one of the least visited of the "lions" of iceland. on the top of the cairn, which stood nearly shoulder high, there was a wooden board, having on it a number of coins, ancient as well as modern, for one of them, a danish coin, bears the date 1743. it is a time-honoured custom for visitors to leave a coin there; but as water drops from the roof upon the board containing the coins, they speedily decompose; indeed, many of them were already unrecognisable from decay. the end of the cave was but a short distance beyond, perhaps a hundred yards, and there two staves, about three feet long, with hollow ends, rested in an upright position on the floor at a spot where the roof and floor rapidly converged; they were kept in place by the sloping roof, which meets the floor a few yards beyond. in the hollows of the staves there were several old coins, one of them being a danish piece about the size of an english crown. to get out of the caves we had to retrace our steps over the ice-covered boulders and through the icicle cave to the second entrance. the photograph shows the view looking towards the entrance just before ascending the snow slope; we had already passed most of the icicles, but on the floor, which is of ice, a few of the very small stalagmites are shown. [illustration: surtshellir--the icicle cave.] in the icicle cave we met miss hastie and hannes, who had come over from gilsbakki because the day was so fine and summer-like--it was one of the few days that really felt summery. after lunch beside the northingafljot we started for gilsbakki, proceeding down the lava in the northingafljot valley. we crossed the river at a convenient ford not far away, and rode along on the right side of the valley. we passed by the liparite mountain, tunga, this time on the western side of it; the lower slopes were covered with birch, though it did not grow so far up as on the eastern side. the colouring of the bare exposed rock was brown, yellow, purple, etc.--just the same as that at the hot springs at kerlingarfjöll, and it looked as if several places were the sites of hot springs, then extinct. i had no time to examine the mountain, but i should doubtless have found the matter quite hard, whereas that by the hot springs at kerlingarfjöll was of the consistency of soft clay. beyond tunga, the northingafljot lava joins that coming from the other side of the mountain in the hvitá valley, and thence they continue as one flow down the hvitá valley to just beyond gilsbakki. we travelled for several miles beside the river thorvaldsdalsá, and could not help noticing that it decreased in volume as we descended, although several streams flowed into it from the mountain-sides; its waters drain underground, and doubtless contribute to the falls on the right bank of the hvitá, a few miles distant at barnafoss. chapter xiii gilsbakki to statharhraun arrived at gilsbakki i took up my quarters in the church, for the house was then rather full: besides the minister and his wife, and family of five sons and three daughters, the haymakers had to be accommodated, the total number sleeping there being twenty-six. in looking at the outside of the house, it was difficult to believe that so many persons could be stowed away there. haymaking was in full swing on the farm, and the haymakers worked far into the night--i could hear them laughing and talking at intervals through the open door of the church, for they were in the fields all around. as there was bad weather impending, and the next day would be sunday, they probably worked till the whole of the hay had been raked into small stacks in readiness for the rain, which fell, as expected, during most of the following day. it is noteworthy that we escaped much of the discomfort of travelling in bad weather by our sunday rests, for it rained continuously nearly every sunday we were in iceland. [illustration: a lava arch.] though it poured nearly the whole day, there was an interval in the evening when it became a mere drizzle, so miss hastie and i again visited the barnafoss falls. i took several photographs thereabouts, for i saw many interesting features. at the falls the river has several times changed its course in eroding first one soft spot, then another. a hard dyke stretches half-way across the gorge, and there is a series of terraces in the old course of the hvitá, where the river had formerly flowed, foaming and tumbling over great steps in the rock. the gaps in the upper terrace are clearly seen, and a little water still flows through some of them; but the main volume now escapes through a great gap where the water has carved its way down to a lower level through softer rock. there are some interesting formations in the lava on the banks of the hvitá, one being an arch illustrating the origin of some of the caves; it is obvious that this arch is due to pressure acting from the sides, which has forced the crust of lava upwards. this on a large scale might have been the origin of the surtshellir caves, which were subsequently enlarged by the action of flowing water, though their origin was probably due to bubble formation. there were also some exceedingly good specimens of "ropy" lava, so named because of the ropy appearance and rope-like structure of the surface. [illustration: ropy lava at barnafoss.] on leaving gilsbakki we proceeded down the valley of the hvitá for a considerable distance on the right side of the river, where there are indications, which are quite as plain as those we saw on the other side, that the river was at one time very much wider, for there is much alluvial material, forming a series of river terraces one above another, and these are intersected by various streams from the mountains. while lunching at sithumuli we saw great clouds of steam rising from the valley of the reykjadalsá. a mountain range separates the valleys of the reykjadalsá and the hvitá where we were, but we could just see into the former round the end of the spur of the range. the steam arose from the geysers at tunguhver, which were in great agitation and violent eruption; but we could not get across to see them, for the hvitá intervened, and there was but one way--that over the bridge at barnafoss, several hours distant. the track diverged from the hvitá at sithumuli, and our way lay over a ridge of basalt and across a series of scarped rises to the valley of the kjarrá, a river that lower down towards its confluence with the hvitá is known as the thverá. the river is bridged at northtunga by a small iron suspension bridge. a feature in the landscape hereabouts is the conical peak of baula; there is also a smaller peak known as little baula, but the former stands out prominently for many miles around. it has the appearance of a volcanic cone, but i think (i did not visit the place) the shape is entirely due to erosion; and there are many instances of this erosion, one being a peak in arnarfjord, a photograph of which appears in its place. we had to recross the kjarrá, and soon afterwards one of the pack-ponies took it into its head to go for a swim in the river. i laughed until i discovered that _my_ box was on its back, but then my laughter was turned to concern as to the fate of the contents. i expected to find everything saturated, but was agreeably surprised, on opening it, to find that the box had proved to be almost water-tight; the damage done was practically nothing, the contents were uninjured. it was no uncommon thing for the ponies to take a swim on their own account. on another occasion one of the provision boxes was immersed, and damage to sundry articles of food resulted. we crossed the kjarrá again, and close by came upon the tents of an englishman who had hired the salmon-fishing for the season. no salmon-fishing was to be had in that district, as all the good rivers had been hired out. we camped at hjartharholt, where we managed to get eggs for our evening meal; but as egg-cups were unattainable, we had difficulty in holding the eggs in our fingers, for their temperature was near boiling-point. next morning i got a very good picture of the haymakers at hjartharholt just before we set out for statharhraun. we proceeded down the valley of the northrá, passing, on the way to stafholt, a number of scarped ridges of lava--these escarpments were on both sides of the river, which flowed in the depression between two of them; in the background was the conical peak of baula, and just to the left of it a peculiar pyramidal hill formation. there are two ways from hjartharholt to statharhraun--one via a valley known as vestri-skarthsheithi, and the other, less interesting, by way of stafholt and across the low swampy level country lying between the headlands at the end of the mountain ranges and the open sea of faxafloi. through a misunderstanding we started along the wrong route, and before the mistake was discovered we were well on the journey over the swamps. a peculiar feature, common in the stony and sandy regions, must be mentioned. the surface of the ground often appears as if it had been laid out in a sort of rough design, for large stones are to be seen arranged in lines, forming irregular figures with sandy and stony matter between. the sandy waste regions in which this feature is common is known by the name _melr_, a word originally meaning "a kind of wild oat, especially bent grass, _arundo arenaria_, growing in sandy soil"; hence the term became applied to expanses of sand, or any waste place where _melr_ might grow. the explanation of these irregular figures seems to be that the earth becomes dry during the summer, and cracks under the influence of the sun's heat; when rain falls, the particles of sand and small stones are separated from the larger lumps and drain into the cracks, leaving a network of the large stones to mark their site. another peculiar feature was often met with, not only in desert regions, but elsewhere. i refer to the hard-looking surfaces--apparently gravelly areas with a few stones in them--that are really a kind of bog. a pony comes to a halt on the edge of one of them, and sniffs; its rider, a new-comer, unused to the country, urges his beast onward, but as a rule it will not go. if it does consent to move on a few paces it suddenly sinks in, and then makes a wild endeavour at recovery. after one or two experiences of this kind, the new-comer sometimes thinks it better to allow the pony to have its own way, for it seems that it knows more about the country and the nature of the ground than its rider does. our journey across the swamps was not devoid of incident, for the ponies were continually sinking into the boggy ground and performing violent gymnastics in their endeavours to reach something more solid. we had some compensation farther on, for after crossing the river langá we had to round the headland locally named mular, a word that means simply a jutting crag or headland, being equivalent to the scottish _mull_. here there are some very fine bold scarps of basalt having a number of hard and soft weathered dykes running through them, the former sticking out in places like horns; there was a quantity of birch scrub growing on the scree slopes (the talus) at the foot of the scarps. thence we went on over broken lava and through birch scrub, past the entrance to the valley of vestri-skarthsheithi and the headland of svarfholsmuli into the lava-filled valley of the grjotá (grjotardalr), where at statharhraun we came to a halt. for the next day i planned a circular journey which the local people soberly informed me would take twenty-four hours to cover. i wanted to see vestri-skarthsheithi, the valley that we had missed by coming across the swamps to hjartharholt, and having formed the opinion that nothing like that time should be required, i strongly suspected that an endeavour was being made to "choke me off" the journey, and therefore announced my intention of trying whether it could be done in less time. we set out with only a moderate food-supply, which seemed to imply that hannes did not consider the journey would occupy such a long time as that first estimated. we proceeded for some distance along the track that we had traversed the previous day, and rounded svarfholsmuli, where just at the entrance to vestri-skarthsheithi we pulled up at hraundalur to consult with the farmer as to the route. i obtained a very good picture of hannes and the farmer when in consultation. [illustration: author's route near statharhraun] [illustration: hannes and the farmer in consultation.] at this farm i found a woman with a dislike for cameras; she ran away when i happened to be pointing mine in her direction. i took a snapshot, but the shutter did not work properly, so it was a failure. afterwards when pointing the camera in fun at her child, who was standing beside her close to the door of the farm-house, she mistook my intention, and snatching up the boy, ran hurriedly indoors with him, much to my amusement. we arranged with the farmer to come with us in the capacity of guide; so we started off together up vestri-skarthsheithi, along a track in the alluvium at the foot of the mountains of svarfholsmuli, where the "going" was very good. the valley is filled with the lava from two volcanoes quite close to langavatn, a lake just beyond the head of the valley. these are extinct volcanoes covered with brown scoriaceous lava, and the craters are well-marked depressions, though in each case there is a gap in the side through which much of the lava must have flowed. in the lava just below there are several small vent cones, miniature volcanoes that are quite hollow, which spurted up small streams of lava when the locality was a scene of eruptive activity. from this spot we struck up over the mountains in a north-easterly direction, and from the high altitudes attained, got some exceedingly fine views over a wide stretch of country, comprising the ice-fields of eyriks jökull and lang jökull, the mountain group of skarthsheithi, etc. much nearer we looked down upon lake langavatn and towards the conical peak, baula. on the other side we saw into the valley of the grjotá, in which reposed lake grjotarvatn, and across to the range beyond, where very curious four-sided and three-sided pyramids rise high above the mountain ridge. [illustration: small vent cones.] the ponies had some very stiff work in climbing these mountains and in scrambling down to the grjotá valley; but we occasionally dismounted to give them a rest. once in the valley, we were able to make good progress beside the river to the lake, where the shore on one side was composed of small shingle. the opportunity for a gallop was too good to be missed, so we scampered the ponies along as hard as they could go, and they seemed to enjoy it quite as much as their riders did, for it is a rare thing to be able to gallop in iceland. just beyond the end of the lake we came to an extinct volcano, its truncated cone being covered with brown scoria; from this flowed the lava that now fills the valley of the grjotá. there is no trace of lava on the lake side of the volcano, for it all flowed down towards the sea from a rift on the valley side. on we went down the valley, carefully picking our way through the lava, and travelling at a vastly different rate from that at which we had galloped beside the lake. about half a mile from statharhraun we crossed the river grjotá and made our way back to the farm-house, arriving there in something less than twenty-four hours from the start--to wit, within seven! on our return there was an excellent supper ready, the result of a fishing expedition undertaken by miss hastie, the clergyman, and jón. when returning, miss hastie's rod was broken beyond immediate repair by a collision with a pony, and it became the property of jón, who doubtless patched it up at his leisure. chapter xiv to eldborg and helgafell next day, before proceeding on the direct route, miss hastie and i, with a local guide, made a short detour up hitadalr. at first we picked our way through the lava, and then went on by the side of a comparatively small stream, a branch of the grjotá. a few miles up the valley we came upon what was left of several volcanic cones, the tuff remains of which were spread over the valley. at one of these about one-third of the lip of the crater still existed, having on it a quantity of reddish scoria. the cindery tuff of these remains has weathered into very fantastic shapes. farther up the valley the brown scoria-covered cone of a more recent volcano could be seen, but we had not time to go on, for we had to meet jón and hannes two or three miles beyond statharhraun for lunch. returning on the other side of the valley (the west), we rode along the alluvial deposits of the hitá, a river that we crossed and recrossed several times. near to the end of fagraskogarfjall, a range of basalt, there is a peculiar hill, known as gretisbali, standing away from it; this hill is a mass of cindery tuff in course of rapid denudation, the result being a somewhat conical-looking hill very fantastically weather-worn. in a view that i took, the hill is on the left; to the right there is the main mass of the range, the horizontal lines of some of the basalt flows being just distinguishable. in between the basalt range and the tuff hill there is, coming down the valley, what looks (in the photograph) like a fan-shaped glacier, with a vertical face at the end, but it is merely the alluvium resulting from the denudation of the hill; the clean-cut face is due to the river hitá, which flows very rapidly at the foot of the range, and carries away the alluvial matter as it falls over the edge of the fan. the foreground is part of a broken-up lava-field, where the vegetation is typical: birch scrub, dwarf willow, coarse grass that grows all over iceland, mosses, etc.; they grow in the soil formed of the decomposed lava and wind-blown material filling the interstices. opposite the hill and at the end of the range we found jón and hannes awaiting us, and as lunch was ready, we had our mid-day meal before proceeding on our way. after passing the end of the fagraskogarfjall range we crossed the river kaldá, a stream running down to the sea from the valley between the range just mentioned and that of kolbeinstathafjall; thence we crossed a quantity of alluvium brought down from the valley and deposited by the kaldá in a wide belt extending from the mountains to the sea. we were making for eldborg (fire burgh, or fortress), a "recent" volcano often referred to in the sagas. we soon passed from the alluvium to the lava-field around eldborg, and then ascended by a gradual slope to the foot of the volcano, which is a mere ring of green scoria. up the steep slope we scrambled to the top, and there found ourselves on the ridge of a very narrow ring of loose lava surrounding a deep crater--a great yawning hole in the earth below us. the lip is much serrated and weather-worn, and the broken lava of the sides is held together by the moss that grows in the interstices. from eldborg we struck across a cotton-grass swamp, and had a bad time on the way--perhaps, however, the ponies had the worst of it, for we were seated on their backs, sticking on for "all we were worth," while they plunged and scrambled along, performing a series of remarkable feats as first a hind-leg, then a fore-leg, and sometimes two, three, or even all four legs, sank deep down into the soft, spongy matter of which the ground was composed. at last we came to the river kaldá again, and crossed to the firmer alluvial ground, over which we cantered to the farm-house of kolbeinstathir, where we camped for the night. as usual i occupied the church, which was now to be put to a new use. the farm-house was very small, and there being no guest-chamber in which we could take our meals, the church had to be requisitioned to supply the accommodation it lacked. we dined and breakfasted in it, and i took a photograph showing the corner in which the breakfast-table was laid. as a special mark of attention we were here supplied with coffee flavoured with cinnamon; now miss hastie had a firmly-rooted dislike to the flavour of cinnamon, so the attention fell flat in her case, and i dropped in for the good things the local goddess had sent. jugs and basins were rather scarce, and miss hastie had to perform her ablutions in the porridge bowl, while the water for that purpose was brought in the coffee-pot. at this farm haymaking was completed and the hay being brought in by ponies. the bundles were hooked upon a pack-saddle, one on each side of the pony. we had before us an interesting journey across the peninsula of snaefellsnes from near faxafloi, the sea south of it, to the great fjord on the north side, breithifjord. from kolbeinstathir to rauthimelr we made our way chiefly over a series of swamps, where we had the usual experiences, and the ponies the usual bad times. hannes' pony got bogged, and he was obliged to dismount in a particularly soft place. we skirted a plain of lava, or rather a series of lava flows surrounding the old volcanic cones from which they had issued; many of these were so distinct that there could be no difficulty in apportioning the lava to particular volcanoes, for the ends of some of the flows were vertical faces. rauthimelr lies just at the foot of the mountains, and from the farm we struck up into them, for several miles following up a branch of the haffjathurá, a river that we had previously crossed in the plain just by the edge of the lava. after awhile we reached a spring of water--a "carbonic acid" spring it is called. the water bubbles up from the ground under cover of a shed that has been erected over it; it contains soda in solution, and is strongly impregnated with carbonic acid gas. were this spring in a more accessible place and the property of a mineral-water manufacturer, it would no doubt bring him a considerable accession of wealth. the quality of the water is excellent, as i ascertained on taking a whisky and soda from it--that is, the soda-water came from it, the whisky being abstracted from our stock of medical comforts. rauthamisolkaldá is the name of the spring--i did not trouble to commit it to memory, but made a note of it! the mountains over which we were passing were composed of a series of flows of basalt one upon another, and as usual in this formation we found many waterfalls in the course of the branch of the haffjathurá that we continued to follow up. i took a photograph of the confluence of this branch with another (i could not ascertain their names--they did not seem to have any), and also of two of the waterfalls that we saw; there is a conical mountain in the background of one of them, but it is not a volcano--it is merely another instance of the typical weathering of a series of basalt flows. we caught sight of many fine peaks as we ascended, but just beyond the divide they were gradually shut out as we descended into what would have been a rather dull and uninteresting valley, but that after a mile or so the river flowing there (which at first increased in volume) gradually became smaller and smaller as we descended, and this in spite of the fact that a number of mountain streams coming down on each side of the valley added their waters to it; finally, the river disappeared altogether. i further noticed that the mountain streams had gradually been contributing less and less of their waters, and when the river was no more, the streams coming down the valley sides also disappeared before arriving at its bottom. there was an underground river of considerable magnitude flowing down the valley beneath the great accumulations of moraine pebbles with which it was filled; as the pebbles were all of large size they were separated by large vacant spaces, and the thickness of the deposit must have increased very rapidly to allow the much greater volume of water to flow through it below the surface. several miles lower down, where an area of flat land was met with, the river reappeared, flowing on the surface of the land once more, through fine grass country--a striking contrast to the dry valley of pebbles. we then came in view of the sea on the north side of snaefell peninsula at alftafjord, a fjord that is dotted over with hundreds of islands, the majority of which are very small. from here we made a rapid descent to the shores of the fjord, where at narfeyri we camped, later in the evening witnessing a very fine red sunset over the fjord. my pony behaved rather badly this day, stumbling frequently: he fell with me twice, nearly unseating me on the second occasion. it is really wonderful, when the state of the ground is considered, that the ponies do not stumble more often; some of them rarely ever make a mistake, others get a bit careless at times, and then they stumble along in a free and easy sort of way, though they rarely come a real "cropper." next morning miss hastie was amused at the persistent staring of a small boy, who stolidly looked at her, in spells of ten to fifteen minutes without a blink, through the window of the guest-chamber where we were breakfasting. afterwards, when i sallied out camera in hand, the same small boy turned his attention to me, and eyed me just as attentively as he had miss hastie. i thought that a boy who could stare so well deserved to be immortalised, so i brought my camera to bear upon him, with the result that i have him in a characteristic attitude, staring for "all he was worth"; he was _quite_ unconscious of what i was doing, and was not posing for his photograph. i have him in another picture, that below, in which jón and hannes are loading up a pony, and are hooking two of the boxes upon the pack-saddle; but though he was paying some attention to his collar, he still had his weather eye on me. [illustration: hannes and jón loading up a pony.] i obtained an excellent view of a field of cotton grass, in which several of our ponies were grazing, looking across the waters of breithifjord. i also caught an old woman busy stacking peat, while smoking her pipe with evident enjoyment. on leaving narfeyri we skirted the foot of the mountains at the back of the farm-house, and passed round them towards the head of alftafjord, a name signifying swan-fjord. this is one of the places where numerous swans resort during the breeding season. we had timed our start so as to catch the tide at the ebb when nearly low water; this enabled us, by crossing the fjord some little distance from its head, to cut off more than a mile. when in the middle of the water some of the bedding broke loose and got wetted. while the packs were being adjusted, the ponies stopped for a drink of salt water, for which they have a taste, and they indulge it whenever opportunity occurs. our destination was stykkisholm, whence we expected to embark in three or four days' time on board the ss. _vesta_. after crossing the fjord we skirted it for awhile, proceeding in a northerly direction just at the foot of the mountains, which there came down close to the water's edge. we passed over a quantity of moraine material, and then entered green fertile-looking fields once more, where a number of farm-houses were dotted over an undulating tract of country. before long we came upon a road, a _made_ road leading over a series of basalt rises to stykkisholm. when near helgafell we made a slight divergence from the road to a farm-house, where we halted for lunch. afterwards we went across to helgafell, a hill of columnar basalt rising two or three hundred feet above the surrounding low-lying land. it was curious to note that wherever the columns were broken, there on the top, where a little soil had gathered, vegetation was growing in comparative luxuriance. from the hilltop we obtained a most excellent view of the surroundings, comprising mountain and hill, sea and lake, a meandering river, islands and islets. there was plenty of light and shade and colour, sunshine and cloud, to make up a picture; but the scene could not be done justice to by camera, which only records physical features, and could not reproduce effects that impressed me. the hill is situated on a peninsula jutting into breithifjord; it is the site of one of the earliest of the christian churches built in the land. in "heathen days the hill was sacred to the god thor," and before any one was permitted to look upon the holy place, he had to perform certain rites. helgafell and the neighbourhood is often referred to in the sagas. at the foot of the hill there are now a farm-house and a church. while passing the farm-house, one of the iceland dogs made demonstrations of friendship--they are all more or less friendly--and he stood very nicely to have his photograph taken. from helgafell to stykkisholm is but a short distance, and we covered it in less than an hour. on the way we saw a very fine reflection of clouds in one of the branches of the fjord where the water was perfectly still, the beauty of the scene being due chiefly to the colours. chapter xv stykkisholm and berserkjahraun stykkisholm is a very picturesque little town built in a valley and on the slopes of the enclosing hills. it is situated at the extreme end of the peninsula, overlooking breithifjord and its branch, hvammsfjord. in front of the town, the island of sugandisey acts as a sort of breakwater, and affords shelter from storms to small craft. this island is composed of columnar basalt; it is a striking feature in the surrounding scenery, where hundreds of smaller islands dot the fjord. we were put up at the house of the rural dean of the district, where we remained for two or three days exploring the neighbourhood until the steamer from reykjavik called on its way to the fjords of the north-west, north and east coasts. here at stykkisholm miss hastie and i changed about as regards sleeping apartments, for she occupied the guest-chamber in our host's house, while i camped in the tent that she had abandoned. the tent was pitched in the grounds of an adjoining house, the owners of which did not seem to mind at all, for they readily granted permission for it to be put up there. the next day, sunday, it rained as usual, so we did not go very far from the house. [illustration: the columnar basalt island, sugandisey.] on monday, accompanied by our host, we set out for a mountain to the south of helgafell, where it was rumoured specimens of coal, lignite, and gold were to be seen, but we had doubts as to what we should find. on the way i had a difference of opinion with my pony. he had lately developed a habit of suddenly jumping aside from all pools of water that lay in his path. i had previously not checked the growing habit, but after the previous day's rain the road was a series of puddles, so i objected to being continually switched off to right or left at the pony's sweet will, and therefore brought him up to all the puddles. at first he would not go through unless brought up to them from ten to twenty times; at last, however, he consented to do it in fewer, and at the end of the day's journey he was completely broken in. we took the road via helgafell to saurar, and thence traversed a swamp, some moraine matter, and alluvium to the foot of the mountain that was our destination, drapuhlitharfjall--a name that miss hastie vainly endeavoured for days to get the correct pronunciation of, and i am not at all sure that i was quite successful myself. the mountain is a mass of liparite, which is there found in all its varieties. i had strongly suspected the so-called coal to be obsidian, the black form of liparite; and on ascending the mountain to the spot where it was supposed to exist, obsidian it was found to be. having camera in hand, i had an awkward scramble up a very steep scree slope, and i often started small avalanches, which scattered in all directions on their descent. our host ascended by a longer and easier route: he was up before me, and crossed the scree at a higher altitude, with the result that he started an avalanche of big jagged boulders that passed perilously near to where i was lying flat upon the slope and endeavouring to wriggle upward--a yell from me caused him to wait until i had reached his level before proceeding farther. we lunched on the mountain-side, and then went down to the supposed gold mine at its foot. on the way up we had called at a farm-house on the lower slopes of the mountain, and had there enlisted the services of the farmer to show us the shortest way up to the coal (!) and to dig out some gold. he had come provided with pick and shovel, so on reaching the mine he set to work and soon handed up a quantity of earth having a number of bright, shining, yellow metallic crystals in it, and these he pointed out as the gold. i smiled, having seen much of the same sort of thing in other parts of the world. it was iron pyrites! the mistake was not to be wondered at, for the metal had deceived many people before. i told the man that he would not get much gold out of it; but he did not seem to believe me, for he stated that a quantity of it had been sent to america, had there been tested, and had been reported on to the effect that of gold there was "a trace." the search for gold having proved abortive, we returned to the farm-house. it was then raining hard. i wanted, before leaving the neighbourhood, to pay a visit to a lava-field some two hours distant, so i let hannes decide whether we should go on through the rain, or make a separate journey there on the morrow. hannes elected to go on then, because he wanted, if possible, to give _all_ the ponies a rest the next day, for he was to start with them on the way back to reykjavik the following day. we set out in torrents of rain--hannes and i, the rest of the party remaining under shelter at the farm-house, where they were regaled with coffee, etc. i fancy they thought me a lunatic, but i was bent on seeing the lava-field of the berserkers, where two members of that race are reported to lie buried. we started with the rain beating in our faces; the going was good, for the ground was alluvial, so hannes led off at a hand gallop, in the evident intention of "getting through with it" as quickly as possible. i followed close at his pony's heels, and away we went through a perfect deluge of rain. it beat violently in our faces, but we did not care, enveloped in oilskins as we were; and save for my face, which was thoroughly well washed, and for a few drops of water that trickled down my neck, i rode through it all with dry skin. the rate at which we travelled brought us to the edge of the lava-field in far less than the two hours stated as necessary for the journey; in fact, we got there in about an hour and a quarter. in the last quarter of an hour the weather, as so often happens in iceland, underwent a very rapid change: the rain ceased, the clouds condensed over the hills and finally rolled away, and by the time that we were ready to return, it was a fine clear evening. the story connected with the berserkers' lava-field (berserkjahraun) is related in the eyrbyggja saga; it is as follows. there were two berserkers, or berserks, brothers named halli and leiknir, one of whom was anxious to obtain in marriage ásdisa, the daughter of one styr; but styr had no fancy for the marriage, for he regarded him as unworthy of his daughter; yet he had not the courage to decline the match, because the berserks were men of valour, and he did not think it safe to decline; so he was diplomatic and sought a way to circumvent them. he consulted one snorri, a priest, with the result that styr imposed a task upon the berserks, that they should make a road through the lava-field within a time that he considered an impossible one, agreeing that on the successful completion of the work his daughter should be given in marriage to one of them, though which was the suitor is not mentioned in the saga. the berserks willingly undertook the task, for they were strong men and had confidence in their own powers, and they set about the work in earnest. it soon became apparent to styr that he had misjudged the capabilities of the two berserks, and that they would complete their undertaking within the allotted time; so he thought out a scheme and built a bath-house. when the berserks had finished making the road--and a very good road it is, as the photograph shows, certainly the best pathway that i met with in lava--styr invited them to take a warm bath, remarking that they would find it very refreshing after their arduous labours. he had prepared for their reception, and the furnaces had been heated far beyond what was necessary. the berserks accepted the invitation and entered the bath unsuspectingly. they thought it hot, but on finding the water becoming much hotter, they concluded that something must be wrong, and their suspicion was confirmed when they discovered that the door had been barricaded against them. they were strong men, as has been stated, and their strength was equal to the occasion, for they broke down the door. now this contingency had been provided for: a fresh ox-hide had been spread outside the door, so when the berserks emerged with a rush, they fell when crossing the slippery hide; one was slain as he lay sprawling on the ground, while the other was thrust back into the bath and soon became boiled berserk. styr afterwards went around bragging of his prowess! the pith of the story lies in the sequel, for snorri, the priest, married ásdisa! [illustration: the berserkers' road through the lava-field.] in the lava, just beside the road through it, there is a mound where the berserks are said to lie buried; that may be so or not, but the mound was opened some time ago and human remains there found. the mound is shown in the picture of the lava-field--a small square patch just in front of the two ponies that we left standing on the pathway to indicate the spot. the berserkjahraun farm-house lies in the middle of some hummocky land adjoining the lava-field; it is built on the site of styr's house and named after the berserks. the weather was most unfavourable next day, for it rained during the greater part of it, the result being that we were confined to the house until late in the evening. however, we made an inspection of the library, where there is the nucleus of a good collection of books; it is questionable, though, whether the books will last long, for the dampness of the atmosphere is already playing havoc with them: many that i took down from their shelves were in a badly mildewed state, the leaves and binding being already in an advanced stage of decomposition. the following day we were to have embarked on board the _vesta_, and to have set sail from stykkisholm. the vessel hove in sight at about ten in the morning, but a very strong wind was blowing--straight in shore, too; so she remained all day under shelter of an island a few miles out to sea, and did not come to stykkisholm till about eleven at night. the weather was fine overhead during the day, so we were able to get out a bit. i took a number of photographs, including several of the town; one showing the sea-front was taken from a small headland a few yards away from my tent. our hostess kindly sat for her photograph attired in the national costume, which is donned on high days, holidays, and festivals. the headdress (_faldr_ is the icelandic name) is peculiar; it is in shape somewhat like the french cap of liberty, with a horn curling over to the front, and having a short veil which is thrown back from the head; a gold or silver band is, as a rule, worn round the forehead just below the cap. when wearing the ordinary head-gear a lady's dress is not considered complete unless an apron is worn, and it is not at all the thing to appear in public without one. with the _faldr_ an apron is _not_ necessary. jón and hannes set out early in the afternoon on the return journey to reykjavik. i attempted to photograph them just as they were leaving the grounds at the back of our host's house, and again when the pack-train was ascending the main street, with jón and hannes bringing up the rear--the last i saw of them; but the shutter of the camera jammed, so the pictures were failures. in the afternoon miss hastie went for a ride, using an icelandic lady's saddle, but she did not go far, for she did not take kindly to it. we took leave of our kind host and hostess after coffee next morning, and went on board the _vesta_ for breakfast. as we proceeded to the wharf, we passed some women who were carrying goods on bearers and loading up small cargo-boats for shipment by the _vesta_. chapter xvi the north-west peninsula the _vesta_ set sail at about 1 p.m., shaping a course northward in breithifjord through a sea of small islands, which i thought to be the remains of old lava flows denuded and perhaps sunk below sea-level. i had no opportunity of examining them, but they are said to be "crater islets," most of them. the sea in breithifjord is very shallow, and on the journey to the island of flatey, and afterwards thence towards the open ocean, our course was anything but a straight one; so shallow was the water in one place after leaving flatey, that the wash of our vessel raised breakers on the edge of a long line of submerged bank lying parallel to and not far from our course. flatey is one of the remains of a broken-up lava flow; a small island opposite the town has a peculiar circular harbour whose shape is rather suggestive of a coral atoll, but perhaps this is one of the "crater islets." i did not examine it, because we had no opportunity of going ashore: we arrived just as dinner was announced, and steamed away within ten minutes of the completion of the meal. the waters of breithifjord were alive with thousands of puffins, which flapped along the surface of the water or dived beneath it as our vessel approached. we passed through miles of them while skirting the southern coast of the north-west peninsula. the sea was quite calm as we steamed out of the fjord and rounded the south-western corner of the peninsula, in strong contrast to the heavy winds and stormy seas of the day before. we entered patreksfjord when it was growing dark, and came to an anchorage just at midnight. in the early morning i turned out to look at the scenery in patreksfjord; it was rather forbidding. we were surrounded by high mountains which came steeply down to the water's edge, there being but little land available for cultivation or for grazing purposes in consequence. i found that there would be no time to go ashore, for we were to start in half an hour's time, and there was no boat available to take me; in any case, there was nothing much but the wild surroundings to be seen, and they could be viewed just as well from the vessel's deck. at about breakfast-time we arrived opposite to biludalr in arnarfjord. we were in a decidedly picturesque spot, and no doubt we were more favourably impressed because of the clear bright sky and sunny weather. ashore, the chief interest centred in the cod-fish curing and storing station, where many women, assisted by a few men, were employed in the various branches of the industry. it was the best-equipped station that i saw in iceland; everything seemed to be in order, and to be carried on in a thoroughly business-like way. there was a tram line running between two long rows of well-built galvanised iron sheds that lined the track. [illustration: a basalt mountain cone due to erosion.] it was in this fjord while on the way out that i obtained, on the north side, a photograph showing excellently the typical cone-like form to which a succession of basalt flows are reduced by erosion. there were other features of interest: on the south side of the fjord there were many fine specimens of corries, but the position of the sun prevented a successful attempt being made to photograph them, though, just when turning into dyrafjord, i caught a good specimen in a suitable light. a little farther on, at hraun, there was a view looking up a valley where the face of a moraine is kept straight by the wash of the sea at its base. we proceeded up dyrafjord as far as thingeyri, where we anchored. distant about three miles, at framnes, there was a whale-fishing station, where whales, brought in by the whalers, were being reduced to the commercial forms of oil, bone, and manure. we--a party of four--obtained a boat and sailed across to the station. we were courteously received by the foreman, who kindly showed us over the factory and explained matters as we proceeded; he was a norwegian who had been whale-fishing for seventeen years before he was appointed foreman of these works. the first thing that struck us--so severely, indeed, that we were nearly bowled over--was a very choice assortment of "smells" of the most objectionable kind: they had a distinct flavour of ancient whale, and were all more or less (generally more, and sometimes most) disgusting. we were conducted by the foreman to a platform where the whales were cut up. a dozen or more were floating in the water beyond some wooden staging that jutted out into the fjord. they are kept there until required to be cut up and placed in the boiling-down vats; then one is hauled upon the platform and cut into big slabs. the platform was a horrible sight, covered as it was with slimy offal and refuse; this stuff, being valueless, is disposed of by being shot into the fjord, there to pollute its water. below the platform a similar state of things existed, and the stench that arose from the decomposing matter was too disgusting for words to describe. the slabs of blubber are thrown into a rotary machine, where a number of knives reduce them to pieces of much smaller size; thence the blubber is taken into the boiling-down room and boiled for ten hours in great cylindrical tanks by having steam passed through. at the expiration of that time the oil has been set free and is floating on the top, whence it is drawn off into casks; it is then shipped to glasgow to be refined. the whale-bone, which is taken from the upper jaw of the head, is cut away and piled in heaps in a yard near the cutting-up platform. the bones are sent to another room, and are there boiled; they are then dried and ground to a fine powder; this bone dust is exported in sacks for manure. the refuse of the blubber, after the extraction of the oil, is dried in special revolving machines, which reduce it to the consistency of coarse meal; this also is used as manure, and commercially is called guano. the whale-bone is taken from the heaps to the shed; it is first pulled apart and then washed in vats containing soda and water; it is afterwards dried, when it is ready for exportation. in the blacksmith's shop we were shown the harpoons used on the whaling-vessels in securing the whales. they are shot from a short cannon into the whale; the head is hollow, and is filled with gunpowder; when the whale dashes off, the tension on the line attached to the harpoon causes the arrowheaded blades to expand and the charge of gunpowder to explode; the shell bursts and usually kills the whale. a vessel carries two harpoons, to each of which three hundred fathoms of rope is attached; the second harpoon is discharged if the first does not kill the whale. i took a photograph at thorshavn in the faroes showing a modern whaling-vessel. the bird's-nest where the look-out man is posted is on the foremast, and the harpoon gun is in the bows of the vessel. we returned to the _vesta_ with the distinct impression that we were taking along with us on boots and clothes some remnants of smelly whale, for the odour seemed to stick to us and accompany us wherever we went; it was days before all suspicion of whale wore away. the next port of call, in onundarfjord, was not very interesting as regards scenery. the chief industry is carried on at a large whale-fishing and boiling-down station at flateyri, where we anchored opposite the town. the presence of the station was made evident to me as i lay in my bunk in the small hours of the morning, by the fine full-flavoured aroma that came wafting into the cabin through the open port-hole. we made but a short stay at this port, for we departed before breakfast, and were thus enabled to enjoy that meal free from the disturbing influences of whale. we entered skutilsfjord, a branch of isafjord, at about mid-day, and anchored opposite the town of the same name, isafjord. miss hastie and i went ashore soon afterwards and proceeded up the valley towards flateyri, intending to walk to the ridge overlooking onundarfjord; but the fates, in the form of bad weather, were against us, for it rained so heavily that we abandoned our original intention after we had ascended to a considerable altitude and had become thoroughly wetted. we stood for awhile with our backs against the leeward side of a cairn on the mountain-side, trying to imagine that we had effectual shelter; but as the cairn was of rather less height than we ourselves, and as we could feel the raindrops trickling down the backs of our necks, the reality was rather at variance with our attempts at imagination. shelter or no shelter, we stuck to our posts while devouring biscuits and cheese, and sandwiches made of danish sausage and such like greasy delicacies, and did not abandon our post, or the intention of going to the summit of the divide, until we had finished lunch and had become uncomfortably soaked. then we retraced our steps down the valley, by the side of a small stream that descended in a series of rapids and waterfalls. on the way we met some men road-making, and found them using a cart for conveying material for the purpose from a quarry on the road-side--the first cart that i had seen in use in iceland. almost opposite to our anchorage there was a good example of a small corrie high up above the water of the fjord, but the photograph proved a failure. isafjord is reputed to be the third town in iceland in point of population; its importance is due to the cod and herring fisheries, and to the establishments where curing is carried on. a small cod-liver oil factory emitted an odour that caused us to avoid its immediate vicinity. with regard to this oil, it has been said that some of the so-called cod-liver oil is not derived from the cod at all, but is really produced from the liver of the greenland shark, known locally as _hakarë_ (danish name _haukal_). i was assured, however, by one danish merchant that this is not the case. modern inventions were brought to mind on seeing telephone posts and the wire that connects isafjord with eyri. i ought to mention that one modern invention, the cream separator, is in common use on the best farms throughout iceland. i was often awakened in the morning by hearing the whirring of the rapidly rotating cylinder of the machine. a whale-fishing establishment was said to be somewhere in the main branch of isafjord away round the point, but we could not see it when coming in, and we were quite content not to smell it. it was doubtless several miles distant, though that avails but little when the wind blows from the direction of decaying or boiling whales. we left isafjord in the early morning, and between 7 and 8 a.m. rounded the northernmost point of the north-west peninsula, known as the horn, or north cape. it is said to be a bold, striking headland; but as the upper portion was enveloped in fog, we could not see it properly. fog soon afterwards descended over the sea, and the vessel slowed down to half speed; while the steam-whistle screeched out at short intervals its warning to other vessels. the result was, that we saw nothing whatever of the coast along which we were passing. it was a great pity, for that part of the peninsula, which faces north-east and is known as the hornstrandr, is the wildest, most inhospitable, and one of the least productive regions of iceland. there the inhabitants eke out a precarious livelihood chiefly by wild-fowling--a most dangerous occupation in that region, and it is carried on at the cost of not a few human lives; they have a very hard struggle for existence and are often on the verge of starvation. the habitations are exposed to the rigours of the weather, which are very severe, for the coast is blocked with drift ice during more than half the year, and its effect is felt for a much longer period. in consequence of the fog we did not reach reykjarfjord until the afternoon was well advanced; but at its entrance we experienced a delightful change, for we suddenly emerged from the sea fog into bright sunshine. we anchored opposite the small settlement known as kuvikr, in a picturesque fjord where the mountains on the south side rise to a sharp-looking ridge between reykjarfjord and veithileysa, a fjord lying to the south. after enjoying the sunshine on deck for an hour, miss hastie and i went ashore and ascended the lower part of the ridge just mentioned to a sort of secondary ridge, overlooking much of the surrounding country. we found a continuation of the sea fog lying below us over veithileysa and the valley at its head, the peaks of the mountains on the far side of the fjord standing out clear and bright in the sunshine. [illustration: a "glorified" shadow on the fog over veithileysa.] a few minutes later we had an unusual experience. the fog was being blown up the fjord and over the valley at its head towards us, while the sun, which was shining brightly behind us, was rather low down in the heavens. the time was just 7 p.m. i moved away from miss hastie, who was sitting on a rock, to some higher ground about a hundred yards distant; as i reached the highest point, i was astonished to see, cast upon the fog, an elongated dark shadow of myself, with an oval halo of brilliant colours around the shadow. my head was the centre of the halo, and there around it shone a bright golden yellow light; this gradually changed in the outer rings to green, and so on through blue and indigo to violet; then the colours of the spectrum were continued outward in the reverse order, from violet to indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, while the outside ring was a brilliant red. the effect was rather startling at first, as may be imagined from the sketch i made on the spot, and superstitious persons would have thought it to be a very strong omen of something or other--good or otherwise. i was very unfortunate in having just exposed the last film (isochromatic) in my camera, so i was unable to secure any better record than that sketched in my note-book. it is further unfortunate that, in developing the negative i took only a few seconds before the "glorified" shadow appeared,--a view looking across the fog or clouds to the mountain peaks rising above it,--i completely destroyed the only photographic record i had of the scene; for instead of pouring pyro into the solution to hasten development, i inadvertently took up the hypo bottle and used some of its contents, with the result that the negative was absolutely destroyed before i guessed what i had done--my annoyance can be imagined, but not expressed in words! the appearance in the sketch was that produced while i was drawing with arms bent and book held before me. when i held my arms in different positions, the shadow of course varied, but without affecting the form or position of the oval-shaped halo. when i had finished the sketch, i saw miss hastie coming towards me, and beckoned to her to hurry, but she arrived when the fog was clearing and the halo fading away. i then learned that she had had a similar experience from the spot where i had left her seated, and that she had seen her own shadow surrounded by a halo, which accompanied her for a considerable distance as she came towards me, but faded away as the atmospheric conditions gradually changed. these halos are known as _anthelia_ (greek = "opposite the sun") or _glories_. the rings may be circular if the shadow is thrown in an upright position upon the fog, but when the shadow is elongated through being thrown at an angle upon it, as in my own case, they are elliptical in consequence. in all cases the observer sees the rings round the shadow of his head, and they have a common centre "in the point where a line from the sun through the eye of the observer meets the fog." i saw two brilliant _sets_ of coloured rings, though more are sometimes seen; but those beyond are much fainter. chapter xvii the northern fjords bortheyri in hrutafjord was our next port of call. it was by no means an interesting place: the country was low-lying, and the settlement consisted of a few houses only. we left early in the afternoon, and steamed almost due north out of the fjord. when in hunafloi beyond the promontory that separates hrutafjord and mithfjord, we obtained an excellent view, looking straight up mithfjord, of eyriks jökull. later on, after rounding the promontory of vatnsnes, and when crossing hunafjord towards blonduos, we caught sight of lang jökull, and could trace distinctly the line of the ice-field, although nearly seventy miles distant. we anchored opposite blonduos late in the evening. the settlement consists of a store or two, a few houses, and a church. we did not go ashore, for no boat was available until the sun had set, and it was getting quite dark. it was about a quarter-past nine when the sun descended below the horizon. the sunset effects were very fine--one of those magnificent sights that iceland is famous for. the blandá, one of iceland's largest rivers, discharges its waters into the fjord at blonduos, which lies at its mouth. the river rises at lang and hoff jökulls, and brings down thence considerable quantities of glacier water, proof of which is the whitish colour of the water of hunafjord round about blonduos. seals were said to abound there; one was seen, i believe, but my own eyes did not fall upon it. skagastrond was not much more than an hour's sail. the coast hereabouts is not so precipitous as that all round the north-west peninsula: there is more lowland between the shore and the mountains, which stand back several miles from the coast, and the nature of the country is more undulating. the original level of the lava flows of this peninsula, hegranes, can be well seen, as we saw it, from the western side of hunafloi. the land has been much more worn down than has that of the north-west peninsula, and only comparatively small fragments of the upper flows remain. i went ashore in the afternoon and found the land rather swampy, with peat bogs in places. a very small boy and a dog bigger than the boy both made friendly overtures to me when i was strolling along by the beach; they were both sportively inclined, and engaged in several rough-and-tumble scrambles. there are several small islands in the vicinity whereon the eider duck has its home, and where it brings forth its young during the nesting season in the spring. the eider-duck industry is an increasing one, and year by year the birds are more cared for. we reached sautharkrokr early the next morning, and after breakfast i went ashore. the town is built under the steeply sloping face of an old moraine, the material of which was brought down the valley at the back of the town; a stream runs down the valley by a channel which it has eroded through the old moraine matter. from a prominent situation above the town i obtained a good view up the herradsvötn (the left bifurcation of it, that is), where there is a lake several miles long close to the mouth of the river. the lake was no doubt at one time part of skagafjord, and it is probable that the northerly seas rolling up the fjord met the waters of the river laden with solid particles, and caused the deposition of the detritus and the gradual formation of a bar; the final stages were doubtless the gradual widening of the alluvial dam, and the gradual filling up of one side of the lake itself. looking up the valley i saw our old friend maelifellshnukr standing out prominently to the right at a distance of but twenty-five miles. in sautharkrokr a peculiar dwelling attracted my attention; it was the deck-house of an old wrecked vessel. one of the few wild animals found in iceland is the blue fox; we had two on board the _vesta_. though in a hopeless state of captivity they were quite untamed, and snapped at any one who attempted to be friendly with them. on leaving sautharkrokr and sailing two or three miles north into skagafjord, kolbeinsdalr opened out on the east side. this valley has been fairly well worn down: there is a mass of moraine matter on the sea front, which is cut through by a mountain stream from the unadal and myrkar jökulls. farther north the valleys of deildardalr and unadalr came into view. then we passed between a tuff hill that almost hides lake hofthavatn, and drangey island, where an outlying kerling rock (old woman) stands pillar-like beside it; there was a karl rock (old man) also, but it fell recently. malmey island was next passed. the section of this island is peculiar, for a thick stratum of what looks like iron-stone lava lies on the top, then there are two or three layers of basaltic lava with what is apparently sedimentary strata between them, and beneath all there is some tuff. the situation of lake hofthavatn is also peculiar. the tuff hill in front of it is connected with the mainland by the merest strips on each side; the hill was no doubt an island not long ago, and the strips of land are beaches washed up by the action of the sea on the north side, and on the south by the effect of the current when the herradsvötn river is in flood. the entrance to siglufjord is very fine, and it is remarkable for its bold masses of lava. on the western side the flows are clearly indicated, as also is the peculiar erosion. there are bands of red tuff between some of the lava flows, also several scree slopes and alluvial fans at the foot; on the eastern side there are pyramidal peaks. inside the fjord and at its head the bold scenery is continued. all this was made brilliant by some wonderful sunset effects later in the evening. chapter xviii across country from akureyri to husavik the next port at which we touched was akureyri in eyjafjord, the place from which we had started several weeks before to cross the island. we arrived at about nine in the morning, and the vessel was timed to stay there two days before departing for husavik. i had formed the plan that if we reached akureyri in good time, i would make a two days' trip across country to husavik, and there pick up the steamer again. fortune favoured me, for on going on deck to get a boat to take me ashore, where i intended to hunt up a guide and ponies, i came face to face with sigurthur, one of our guides on the akureyri-reykjavik journey. sigurthur had just come aboard to look for old friends. as he was disengaged as a guide, a few minutes sufficed to arrange with him to act as conductor, and to supply ponies, etc., for the journey, and in a few more he was rowing back to the shore to make arrangements. after breakfast i went ashore to purchase some provisions, etc., and an hour or so after mid-day, all being ready, we started from the hotel akureyri with four ponies: two were for riding, one was for the packs, and there was a spare animal. we proceeded south along the shore of the fjord for about a mile, and then, as the tide was low, we struck off at right angles straight through the water, by that means saving about an hour and a half that would have been required to round the head of the fjord. the distance across was something between a mile and a half and two miles; the water was rather deep in the channels cut by the current from the river, and in one the water reached to the saddle-flaps; but i escaped a wetting by balancing myself on the saddle, with feet tucked up. [illustration] on the eastern side of eyjafjord we ascended the steep side of vathlaheithi by a long gradually-sloping path to the top, whence we looked down upon oddeyri, the suburb of akureyri, whose formation has already been noted. a good view up the valley of the eyjafjorthará was also obtained, showing the deltaic formation of the river where it enters the head of the fjord. from the top of vathlaheithi there is a sharp descent by a zigzag road to the valley of the fjnoská, an excellent specimen of a meandering river, on each side of which there are fine river-terraces. after crossing the river and ascending the terraces, we struck into ljosavatnskarth. on the south side of this valley i came across a good example of various forms due to erosion. below the upper lava flows there were some alluvial fans, and below that, cones and river-terraces. just beyond, we passed along the northern shore of ljosavatn, and proceeded to the farm-house of the same name, about a mile farther on, where we put up for the night. when coming along the valley i learned the cause of what had sometimes struck me as strange. towards evening i had often heard children uttering peculiar cries away up valley slopes, and i had imagined that they were calling to one another, but the real reason had never suggested itself to me: by their cries they were directing the dogs to "round up" and drive the milking-sheep to the farm-houses. towards the end of the summer the sheep recognise the cries, and congregate without much rounding up by the dogs. next day was an interesting one, and we had fifteen hours in the saddle. starting at eight in the morning, we did not get through to husavik till eleven at night. the first point of interest on the day's journey was the gothafoss, a fine waterfall on the river skjalfandafljot, which we reached after proceeding a few miles across some broken lava that was partially covered by a deposit of clayey matter. the fall is split into two main divisions by a hard dyke, and it is probable that the rock on each side of it has different degrees of hardness also, for the water flows over at different levels. the central mass itself has a depression in it, and a narrow stream of water runs through it at much the same level as the higher of the two big divisions. there is another fall a few hundred yards lower down the river, but it is not so impressive, and the height is only about one-fourth that of the other. just below the second fall, the river is spanned by a bridge--a light wood and iron structure supported on strong pillars built up from the lava beneath. a few hundred yards below the bridge there is a remarkably good example of river erosion: the river has split at a hard dyke, which stands in the middle of the stream resisting the rush of the water. from the bridge we made the gradual ascent to fljotsheithi, which we crossed, and then descended into reykjadalr to the farm-house of einarstathir. in a way, this day's journey was one of the most annoying and tantalising of all i spent in iceland. gun i had not, nor ammunition; but i could have counted grouse by the thousand, ducks by hundreds, and golden plover by tens! i could almost have wept had there been time. i did not say very much--if i had, the tears would have been apparent in my voice; but--i thought just about as deeply as the sailor's parrot did. fljotsheithi, over which we had just come, had been alive with grouse! just think of it--thousands of grouse, and--no gun! from einarsthathir we followed down the river reykjadalsá to helgastathir, crossed it just beyond, and continued down stream, past a number of lakes, the chief of which is known as vestmannsvatn. the reykjadalsá flows through these lakes; but from vestmannsvatn to its confluence with the laxá it is known as eyvindarlaekur. just beyond muli, which we left on our right, we got upon lava again, and came to the laxá, which we crossed three times in the course of the day. we made the first crossing at the spot where we first touched it, and it proved to be the widest and deepest fording-place in all the rivers i crossed in iceland. it was nearly half a mile wide, and i entered without thinking it was very deep; but soon i found otherwise, for the water often reached nearly to the level of my knees. i was very anxious to get across with dry feet, for it was comparatively early in the day, and i knew that we had a long journey before us. i had once suffered from the discomfort of getting my boots filled with water and having to ride for a considerable distance without change, so did not wish to repeat the experience. by tucking up my legs upon the saddle, and balancing somehow, i did get over with dry feet, but my legs were fearfully cramped on reaching the other side. my pony, however, did his best to give me a complete cold bath, for he stumbled and went down on his knees in one of the deepest spots; but i did not lose my balance, and i succeeded in pulling him up without getting more than just a few drops of water in one boot. on we went over lava beside the laxá for awhile, but the river had to be recrossed a short distance from nes, a farm-house at which we pulled up for lunch. here we arranged for fresh ponies to take us to a very fine lava-field a few miles to the north, and induced the farmer to act as guide. [illustration: lava pillars near nes.] in the lava-field there were many examples of circular vents, through which lava had spurted in times of volcanic activity. these vents were rounded lava excrescences and circular pillars, all of which were hollow inside. they were of somewhat similar formation to two i saw in vestri-skarthsheithi on the western side of iceland, of which i took a photograph. the vegetation hereabouts is that common in decomposing lava, and is chiefly birch scrub. there was an opening in the side of one of the largest vents, through which i was able to crawl with my camera; unfortunately, i misjudged the light, so the negative was much under-exposed, and the view of the interior a complete failure. the country about nes is dotted over with cones covered with cindery-looking scoria, and having small central depressions; there are hundreds of them, and all around they stick up above the general level of the country. all these cones threw up more or less lava or cindery matter when volcanic activity was in progress. [illustration: uxahver geyser in eruption.] on our return to nes we were met by the farmer's wife, who informed us that during our absence _our_ ponies had got away and were then missing! there was a pretty mess! what were we to do? abandon them, and go on with the farmer's ponies seemed to be our only resource! time was pressing and precious, for the light was failing, and to see the uxahver geysers was one of the objects of my expedition, and--we were still two hours distant from the geysers! while we were discussing the matter, we were overjoyed to see the ponies suddenly come up from between some of the farm outbuildings, followed by the farmer's son, who had been in search of them. we did not waste time then, but saddled up and away; but in less than a quarter of a mile we were brought to a standstill by the river laxá, at a spot where we were to be ferried over. of course the ferry-boat was not _there_; it was some distance up the river, and had to be sent for. on its arrival, however, there was no further delay, for we crossed at once, and the ponies followed by swimming the river. after saddling up again we set off for uxahver, taking with us the farmer's son to show the shortest and quickest way to the geysers. we crossed hvamsheithi and forded the reykjavisl and a smaller branch stream on the way to reykir farm-house. on arrival there we saw a quantity of steam rising from several places up the valley, so we hastened towards the desired goal. a stream of hot water runs down the valley from the geysers, which are continually ejecting large volumes of it: the stream's course is indicated by the light clouds of steam that rise from it. we reached the geysers at last, at about seven o'clock, in a bad and failing light. i proceeded at once to the chief of the geysers, uxahver, and got to work with my camera. uxahver very obligingly made one or two of its best efforts, and i was fortunate to snap once or twice at the right moment. i also took a shot at it when quiescent, with good result. the next geyser of importance, bathstovukver, also gave an excellent display that i took advantage of, and the resultant picture gives a better idea of a small geyser in eruption than any of the others. [illustration: bathstovukver geyser in eruption.] when i had finished my shots at the geysers, sigurthur informed me that we were then only about three hours distant from husavik, where i had to pick up the steamer the next morning. it was not quite eight o'clock, and the ponies seemed to be comparatively fresh after their rest in the middle of the day; so i thought it would be better, and sigurthur agreed, to push on to husavik, instead of staying at reykir till the morning as we had originally intended when uncertain about procuring change ponies for part of the day's work. this arrangement would enable me to get on board without delay, if the weather should prove bad enough in the morning to prevent the _vesta_ from staying to take in cargo. at husavik there is an open roadstead, and in stormy weather vessels do not remain long; sometimes they pass without calling at all. we _did_ push on, and the farther we went the fresher the ponies seemed to get, until during the last hour they raced along at their best pace, evidently knowing their way and where they were going. the night was dark--_i_ could not see the track, so i simply sat tight and let my pony go, without attempting to steer, trusting to him to make the best of the way; this he did at top speed without a single stumble the whole way--a feat that he had not accomplished in broad daylight. we arrived at the hotel at husavik just at eleven o'clock, after fifteen hours in the saddle. in the earlier part of the day, sigurthur had several times hinted that what i wanted to do could not be done in the time at our disposal; but i intended to try. so it happened that, with the aid of extra ponies and guides, and by dint of impressing sigurthur with my determination, he gradually came round to the same view, and at last expressed agreement that it _might_ be done if things went smoothly; from that time he made no further suggestion as to the desirableness of "cutting" some part of the journey, and we got through it all successfully. i found the accommodation at the hotel quite good, and at breakfast an excellent meal was served. one of the dishes was "whale"--a thick gelatine kind of stuff, cut from the fin of the whale. i took a small piece and found it almost tasteless. i have omitted previously to note that _skyr_ is one of the articles of food served at all the farm-houses. it is a kind of clotted cream, eaten with powdered sugar, and milk or ordinary cream poured over it. at the hotel at husavik the _skyr_ was of the best quality, as indeed it was at most of the farms, though sometimes it had a distinctly peaty flavour that was due to the nature of the surrounding country. another article of food in general use, which we obtained from time to time from the farm-houses, is a sort of flat pancake introduced by the danes. it is of a very leathery nature, and we used to tear off pieces as we wanted it, though more often one took a piece of the stuff and offering a corner to another the two would pull it apart. in spite of its leathery qualities, when eaten with butter and jam, and with good appetite as sauce, it is not so bad! chapter xix the eastern fjords the _vesta_ was late in arrival, and as the taking in of cargo occupied several hours, we did not get away from husavik till the afternoon; we then headed straight for the arctic circle, passing the island of lundey on the way out of skjalfandi. when we entered within the arctic circle in the evening, the atmospheric conditions and the temperature were in keeping with our position on the earth's surface, for it was cold and bleak, and the night promised to be a dirty one; but the weather during the night was not so bad after all, and when i awoke in the morning it was to find the sunshine streaming into my cabin through the open port. at vopnafjord we remained from early morning till late at night. we climbed the hills at the back of the town and made our way over towards nypsfjord. from an elevated spot we obtained a view looking into that fjord. it was not a scene of striking beauty, but i was interested to see that the entrance to the inner fjord was narrowed considerably by a spit that extended well into it, perhaps two-thirds across. this had been formed, as usual, by the sea beating in and banking up the detritus brought down by the river, the vestradalsá. up there on the rises i succeeded in stalking some sheep and in photographing them. i had tried several times before, but had always failed. nearly all the sheep in iceland are horned, while most of the cattle are without horns. there were several things of interest in vopnafjord that i photographed--the interior of a cod-fish store being one of them; another was the home of "socrates," a notification to that effect being prominent on the front of the house. there were several stores on a point near the middle of the town, and in front of them there were about a dozen fish-drying grids lying on the slope of the beach. here at vopnafjord we found the people to be most curious regarding us and our movements. it was sunday, and having nothing to do, they displayed to the fullest extent the icelander's worst characteristic, that of staring hard and persistently. in the afternoon while cargo was being taken in, a little mild excitement was caused by the capsizing of nine bales of wool into the water, and by their subsequent rescue from drifting out to sea by a boat that went in pursuit. before departing from vopnafjord we had an invasion of icelanders. they came on board, boatloads at a time; the smoking-room was soon full of them, and there were crowds on deck. i was writing in a recess just above the companion-way to the saloon; small crowds descended by it to the regions below and did not reappear--goodness knows where they managed to stow themselves. a fellow-passenger came up from a visit to his cabin and informed me that he had stumbled over two of the icelanders, who had taken possession of his cabin. helvit!--to use the mild icelandic swear-word--what about mine? i went down to see what was going on in _my_ cabin, and returned on deck breathing more freely (in two ways!), for i found that my cabin companion had early taken possession and had so far kept out all invaders, in spite of repeated attacks upon his stronghold. the atmosphere below was becoming quite oppressive, and one could almost have cut out a chunk of it!--hence, as i have stated, i breathed more freely on deck. but it occurred to me that if i took possession of my own bunk, i could help my companion in resisting future attacks of the enemy; so i went down again. "there's a cry and a shout, and a deuce of a rout" going on generally, for we had arrived at seythisfjord, and the invading horde was preparing to leave the vessel--it had come to take part in the ceremony of unveiling a monument that was to be performed that day, and to enjoy the subsequent festivities and gaieties. the trampling of feet above informed me that the natives were congregating round the companion-ladder. i shoved my head through the port-hole, and there, but a few yards off, were two or three boats. one was just pulling away very fully laden, another was loading up with passengers, and a third awaiting its turn to take on its human cargo. i went to my tub, and so, for a few minutes, escaped from the noise. during breakfast i listened to the tales of woe as related by my fellow-passengers. one had had four of the natives camped in his cabin. in the morning they severally made use of his sponge and soap in performing their ablutions, while his tooth-brush only just escaped service. whatever of his effects were lying loose about his cabin were subjected to inspection and examination: a bottle of "elliman's" was uncorked and smelt, and the icelanders seemed inclined to taste, but in their discretion refrained; had they but tested its virtues, they would no doubt have found it a most excellent pick-me-up. after performing his own toilet he went on deck, but on returning to his cabin a few minutes later, found two women in possession, and busy at his wash-basin. my fellow-passenger was a man who did not object to cleanliness in a general way, but for the native icelander, both sexes, to take possession of his cabin and make use of his toilet things, was too much for his nerves. if he did not take a leaf out of the icelanders' book and make use of their swear-word, helvit! it was only because he was a clergyman; but i have no doubt that he thought that and much more of a similar kind! another passenger reported that he had lost one of his native companions in a very extraordinary way. i must state that some of the icelanders have the disgusting habit of spitting in all sorts of places, and they are not, as a rule, particular where--to them the whole world is a spittoon! this passenger stated that he had found a big icelander in his cabin the night before, who remarked that he was going to sleep there, and immediately afterwards made some noisy throaty sounds, inquiring where he could spit. on being informed that it was not customary for anybody to spit anywhere in a cabin, and that there was no place where _he_ could do so, he looked surprised and expressed himself to that effect. much to this passenger's relief, the icelander then took himself off from the cabin, and was seen there no more. no doubt the native had found some spot where he was able to indulge his habit to his heart's content. i went ashore after breakfast, and landed just in time to see a procession of icelanders and others. the occasion was the unveiling of a memorial stone that had been erected by the inhabitants of seythisfjord and the surrounding country to the memory of a norwegian, one otto andreas wathue, who died in 1898. this man had been instrumental in making seythisfjord a place of considerable importance, and its prosperity was due entirely to him. [illustration: the procession at seythisfjord.] the ceremony had drawn to seythisfjord all the notabilities of the neighbourhood, as well as others from the near fjords, and a few from such distant places as akureyri; it had also drawn thither two danish men-of-war, and there were in port three vessels belonging to the united steamship company: the _ceres_, the _vesta_, and another. some of the chief of the officers from the war-ships attended in their official capacity, while others from the company's three vessels also attended the ceremony; several joined in the procession, which started from the veiled monument at the head of the fjord near the heart of the town. the norwegian, wathue, had lived on the south side of the fjord in a large house about a mile from the monument, and there the widow still lived. the procession made its way along the road by the side of the fjord, and then passed the house, where everybody saluted the widow, who, with her relatives and a few friends, was a spectator from an elevated grass plat. i was standing just beside the house taking snap-shots. my picture shows the head of the procession: some of the leading figures may be seen in the act of saluting the party assembled on the grass in front of the house. the procession halted a short distance beyond, and then returned to the starting-point at the monument, round which the members of it congregated. the ceremony of unveiling was performed after some speechifying had been got through and several poems, composed by icelandic poets for the occasion, had been recited or sung. those assembled then adjourned to the fête ground on the other side of the river, where dancing and running and other athletic sports were carried on during the rest of the day, and where fireworks were displayed in the evening. i took several photographs on the outskirts of the crowd round the monument while the ceremony of unveiling was going on; in them are two young women attired in the national costume. one is dressed in white and the other in a dark dress, but both have on the peculiar national state headdress. [illustration: seythisfjord--on the outskirts of the crowd round the monument.] we called at northfjord in the early morning, and after less than an hour there, set sail for eskefjord, arriving there just before breakfast-time. though we remained for several hours, i did not get ashore, for there was so much uncertainty about the time of departure that we might have started at any moment; there was also the usual difficulty of getting a boat. faskruthsfjord is a very picturesque place; bold and peculiarly shaped mountains are all around. a liparite and tuff mountain on the southern side is noticeable chiefly for the inclined strata that lie upon its southern slopes. behind the town a huge pyramid (a fine example of the result of denudation) towers high above. faskruthsfjord is the chief resort of the french fishermen who carry on their avocation on the coast of iceland, and though there are a few icelanders in the settlement, yet the greater number are french. during the latter part of the voyage we had a passenger, an englishwoman, lying dangerously ill. the doctor from ashore, an icelander, came on board here to see her, as other doctors had at other ports of call; but he did not go away decently as the others had--no, he remained on board drinking and smoking, and talking at the top of his voice, with a number of men from shore, the carousal being carried on just outside the cabin-door of his patient! a specimen of the customs of the country as observed by at least _one_ icelander! our last port of call in iceland was in berufjord, where we arrived at about six in the morning. as it was rainy and misty, i could not well judge of the scenery. it looked an interesting place, and there were several sharp conical peaks showing dimly through the thick atmosphere. we put to sea about an hour later, in weather that promised to be blowy, and the promise was fulfilled, for we were soon in a fairly heavy sea, which increased as the day wore on; it continued bad until we approached the faroes next day, when it cleared up, and we had bright, fine weather while amongst those islands. we obtained excellent views of the various headlands at the north end of the faroes; it was noticeable that all had perpendicular precipices facing the north, where the sea is continually at work eroding their bases. we passed through kalsofjord, the channel between the island of kalso on the west and those of kuno and bordo on the east. the islands have many corries, soft dykes, and mountains of pyramidal shape. there are several villages most picturesquely situated in the valleys and corries, but as we steamed along in mid channel we were not near enough for the camera to be of service. we reached thorshavn in the early afternoon, so i went ashore for an hour to have another look at the picturesque town and at the faroese. in the evening we set sail for leith. [illustration: farewell faroese!] appendix i notes on plants collected in the faroes and iceland by a. w. hill, m.a. the decumbent character of the vegetation and the practical absence of trees form the most striking features of the flora in both the faroes and iceland. in the faroes the steep and rocky hillsides are very exposed and wind swept, and the vegetation is in consequence characteristically dwarfed, and most plants raise themselves but little above the general level of the grass. the dwarfed habit was well shown by some plants, such as _orchis maculata_, which was very common on the slopes, and was only a few inches high. the inflorescences did not, as a rule, bear more than five to ten flowers, which, however, were large and pale in colour. the ovaries in many cases were not twisted, so that the labellum was consequently uppermost. another example of the effect of the conditions on the vegetation was afforded by the dandelion _taraxacum deus leonis_, which exhibited the prostrate habit exceedingly well, for in order to protect the flowers from the wind, the flower scapes were bent over and laid parallel to the surface of the ground and the inflorescence was exposed to the light by a right-angled bend of the scape just below the head of the flowers. the inflorescence was by this means protected from the wind by being kept just below the general level of the vegetation. _cardamine pratensis_ was also influenced in a similar way on the lower slopes, but at higher altitudes plants were found bearing single radical flowers on short stalks instead of the usual raceme. we proceeded to akureyri in the north of iceland by way of the east coast, and it was interesting to notice the difference in the condition of the vegetation on the northern and eastern shores of the island. on the east coast, at seythis-and vopnafjords, the plants were stunted and for the most part only in bud; but in the north, at husavik and akureyri, similar plants were much earlier, and were not only in full flower, but were also much less stunted, and showed a more robust growth than those found on the eastern side. for example, _plantanthera hyperborea_, which was in tight bud on the east coast, and also _thymus_ and other plants, were in full flower at husavik. _thalictrum alpinum_, which grows abundantly all over the hillsides, was found to be attacked by the æcidial stage of one of the rust fungi, _puccinia septentrionalis_;[1] and at seythisfjord, where it was especially noticed, it was found that only the topmost leaflets were affected, that is to say, only those leaflets which protruded above the general level of the vegetation, and which were in consequence infected by wind-blown spores. at seythisfjord the leaflets were only slightly attacked, the fungus being in a young state; but at husavik it was much more advanced, and the hypertrophied purple tissues were very conspicuous. the effect often extended some way down the petioles. the case of the fungus is a further example of the greater forwardness of the plants in the north. there can be no doubt that the characteristics of the east coast vegetation are due to the prevalence of cold winds and the occurrence of cold currents. whilst crossing the island several interesting features of the vegetation were noticed. between akureyri and our first camp (thverá) several "forests" were passed through, consisting of _betula nana_, _vaccinium uliginosum_, and willows, _salix lanata_ and _s. glauca_ rising to a height of from nine to eighteen inches, with an undergrowth of other small plants. the hillsides all round were covered by _dryas octopetala_, which was by far the commonest plant in the northern half of the island, and it was abundant also on the east coast. travelling along the oxnadal and then turning off towards silfrastathir, _dryas_ at first was the most conspicuous feature of the vegetation covering the rocky moraines and talus slopes; but about three miles from the head of the valley the _dryas_ was replaced by _cerastium alpinum_ and _potentilla maculata_, which then in their turn became the dominant plants for a considerable distance. as we traversed the island we kept passing through well-marked zones of different plants, whose limits seemed largely to be determined by the character of the soil. after crossing the "col" some very rough screes were passed, on which the iceland poppy, _p. nudicaule_, was growing abundantly. the screes were formed of rough angular blocks with very little soil between them, and the poppy was only growing in the most barren spots; where moraines occurred the poppy did not grow. it was also found on the stony ground by the river at silfrastathir. the hillsides were covered in many places by large tracts of _equisetum_ (_e. arvense_ and _e. pratense_). the various species of the equisetaceæ seem to be among some of the commonest plants of the island. the swampy regions by the rivers are covered with _equisetum_ and _scirpus cæspitosus_; and they are very abundant on the mountains. from the river until we reached gilhagi, the flora showed no features of any particular note; but a meadow there with large plants of _saxifraga cernua_ in full flower was a very beautiful sight. on ascending from gilhagi a change in the flora was gradually seen. after about 2000 feet _pedicularis flammea_ appeared and became common; on the lower slopes the leaves were green and the plants tall, but at greater elevations the plants became short and stunted, with deep red leaves. the high ground was very much broken up, being of a deep hummocky character and covered by a dwarfed growth of willows, _empetrum_, mosses, etc. passing over ground from which the snow had just melted, the willows were found to be either still quite bare or just coming out into leaf, but everywhere in such barren places cones of _equisetum_ were seen sticking up on pale brown stalks some six inches above the soil; the sterile green shoots do not grow up until some time after the appearance of the cones. all around athalmansvatn the ground was very hummocky, the mounds being from a foot to eighteen inches high, with narrow depressions or ruts between. the elevation of this region was about 2500 feet, and as the snow had only recently melted, everything was in consequence backward, _thalictrum_ and willows, etc., not yet being in flower. leaving athalmansvatn a large tract of hummocky ground was crossed, covered chiefly by _cassiope hypnoides_, _empetrum_, willows, _salix lanata_ and _s. herbacea_, grey lichens, such as _cladonia_, and mosses. after this our route lay across a piece of the northern desert land or _sandr_, which is a barren, sandy, and stony expanse. the soil was a light brownish loam, and was easily blown about by the wind, and scattered all over it were large angular or rounded blocks of stone. _arabis petræa_ was the only plant occurring in any quantity over this region, and it formed a very conspicuous feature in the landscape, growing in rosettes closely adpressed to the soil with the racemes of flowers growing out horizontally. as we travelled on in a southerly direction, _silene acaulis_ appeared and then a little thrift, _armeria sibirica_, and the _arabis_ became less frequent. here the soil was more sandy, and the strong wind blew clouds of dust. still farther south, _armeria_ reigned supreme over the desert; but occasional patches containing _silene acaulis_, _potentilla_, _cerastium alpinum_, and _silene maritima_ occurred. where the soil became more loamy, _arabis petræa_ again came in. at the edge of the desert the willows were seen encroaching on the sand, and soon a willow and birch (_betula nana_) scrub was passed through, which in its turn gave place to moister land with _empetrum_, _pedicularis flammea_, etc. near blandá, _salir phyllicifolia_ was noticed for the first time. a good deal of hummocky ground was also passed over, and its characteristic and invariable features were noticed (_v_. later). after passing over very rough morainic ground with snow still lying in patches and quite devoid of vegetation, we reached hveravellir, a perfect oasis in the desert. the hot springs and fumaroles occur along a long line of fissure, and warm up the soil of a considerable tract of country in their neighbourhood. the effect on the vegetation is most striking, for a strip of verdant meadow-land occurs in the middle of bare country, covered in many places with snow at the end of june. all the flowers occurring there were in a very forward state, and a large number of different plants were obtained; some spots were yellow with buttercups, and the ground was carpeted with thyme in full bloom. _botrychium lunaria_ occurred in quantity, and a very small variety of _ophioglossum vulgatum_, _o. vulgatum_, var. _polyphyllum_, was found in a warm place. _selaginella spinosa_ was also abundant. on the edges of this warm tract barren land occurred and in many places snow, so that there was a very sharp contrast between the warm and cold earth; and on the latter the willows were only just coming into leaf. this tract of country occurs at the edge of the great lava flow from strytur. towards strytur the lava was in places covered by "hummocky ground," which showed the usual features noticed elsewhere. the characteristic plants seem invariably to be:- *_carex vulgaris_ (_rigida_), a creeping variety. *_salix lanata._ *_salix herbacea._ *_cassiope hypnoides._ *_empetrum nigrum_ (very abundant). *_vaccinium uliginosum._ _loiseleuria procumbens._ _armeria sibirica._ _silene acaulis_ (not very frequent). _bartsia alpina._ _pedicularis flammea._ *two or three lichens, species of _cladonia_, and a moss, _rhacomitrium lanuginosum_. those marked with an asterisk appear to be invariably present, the others are not so constant, but some are usually found. shortly after leaving hveravellir the watershed of the island was crossed, and a marked difference in the flora was noticed in the valley, thjofadal, on the southern side of the ridge, owing no doubt to the much greater rainfall which occurs on this, the south-western, side of the island. among plants noticed in this region, which had not been met with before, were:- _draba alpina._ _cardamine bellidifolia_, and _ranunculus pygmæus_ (which grew upright in the valley, but was prostrate and creeping on the surrounding hillsides). fungoid diseases were very prevalent in the valley, and _saxifraga cæspilosa_, which was extremely dwarfed on the high ridges, was in many places badly attacked by a rust fungus. _saxifraga cernua_ was also affected by the conditions in this region, for in other localities north of the watershed all the plants were found with the usual terminal flower, but here no terminal flower was developed, and the upright stems bore leaves and bulbils only. _epilobium latifolium_ occurred among the stones in the glacier streams, and a very decumbent form of _epilobium alpinum_ was common on the hillsides. the hills all round were formed of loose morainic matter, the slopes consisting of fine sandy earth with pebbles, and the vegetation is distributed on the hillsides in the form of banks and terraces, thus giving the hills a peculiar appearance with very gentle steps. in some cases the vegetation has spread and grown over the edges of the terraces, and by further growth hummocks have been formed. the formation of hummocky ground on a morainic hillside appears to be somewhat as follows:-if conditions, such as snow-line, wind, etc. (on a bare hillside of sandy and stony ground) permit, isolated plants begin to appear, and collect soil around them by their prostrate habit of growth and with their roots; in consequence of the loose nature of the soil, and owing to the action of snow or water, slipping frequently takes place, and the plants tend to keep up the earth. as the plants spread, terraces get formed and the plants bank up the loose earth, and the mountain-side is then broken up into broad steps. the vegetation continues to grow over the edges of the terraces, and in consequence more soil is collected by the plants, and small mounds result, and later on, if the slope is not too great, true hummocks may be formed. if the slope is steep, the hummocks are usually flat-topped, but this is also often due to snow, wind, etc. the hummocky ground usually seen occurs in fairly level country, and its origin may probably have been somewhat different from that just described; the hummocks are from one to two feet high, and the ruts between are often so narrow that two hummocks have frequently united. the normal breadth of a hummock is from one to two feet across, and it is closely covered by _empetrum_ or _cassiope_, with _carex vulgaris_, the moss _rhacomitrium lanuginosum_, and the other plants already enumerated. hummocky ground was also met with in meadows at gilhagi (near maelifell); here they were covered by grass and other meadow-plants, and _saxifraga cernua_ grew in masses in the depressions. these hummocks were on a hillside, and may have been originally formed in the manner already described; but owing to some change in the snow-line, meadow-land plants may have wandered up the hillside, and ousted the characteristic plants of the hummocks. our journey from thjofadal to gránanes lay for the most part over the lava-flows from strytur, which were covered by a close-growing vegetation, large tussocks of moss, very dwarf _saxifrages, s. cæspitosa_, _empetrum_, _salix herbacea_, and other plants usually found on the hummocks. true hummocks were, however, rare. near our camp and before the svatá was reached we came to the end of the lava and crossed a sandy tract, and the usual change in the flora was at once noticeable; large clumps of willows bound the sand together, around which the soil collected, forming mounds, and patches of _armeria_, _arabia petræa_, _silene_, and _arenaria_ were scattered about. in some places the willows were killed by having been buried in the blown sand. between gránanes and hvitarvatn the country is at first hummocky, and then covered by birch and willow scrub. on the hummocks, especially in the patches of moss, _saxifraga hirculus_ was not uncommon. the large tract of swampy ground at the edge of the lake was covered by masses of cotton grass. leaving hvitarvatn our way lay through willow scrub until the hvitá was reached. after crossing the river the ground was very rough, being composed of morainic matter from the adjacent mountains and covered with large angular blocks of lava. the only flowers growing here were _arenuria_, _armeria_, _thymus_ and _dryas_ in isolated patches. as we travelled farther south, the plants were noticed to be taller and more vigorous than those seen in the interior, and the flora was more home-like in character. _juniperus_, _betula odorata_, _calluna_, and _arctostaphylos uva ursi_ were noticed for the first time. both birches (_b. odorata_, _b. nana_) were very plentiful, and from two to three feet high (in the north _b. nana_ was only six to nine inches high) willows were not common. between sandá and gullfoss another small desert area was traversed where earth-pillars occurred. the plants were hardly able to exist, as the smaller ones were blown away, and the willows and birches were in many places buried by the blown sand. around gullfoss the vegetation was luxuriant, _geum rivale_, _geranium sylvaticum_, and _alchemilla vulgaris_ covered the ground, and above _rubus saxatilis_ and _frugaria vesca_ were abundant, whilst _arctostaphylos uva ursi_ also grew in profusion. at bratholt we reached civilisation again, and were presented with some of the lichen from which the orange dye, still used in the island, is obtained. between geysir and thingvellir we passed through one of the largest forests in the island; the hillsides were covered with birch-bushes, and in places they were quite six feet high; usually they did not rise to a height of more than three or four feet, and the topmost branches became entangled in our legs as we rode among the bushes. all four species of birch were noticed, and the scent of the bruised leaves was very pleasant. by way of undergrowth, the ground was carpeted with _geranium sylvaticum_, _ranunculus repens_, and large patches of _orchis maculata_, etc. it was altogether a beautiful spot, and we spent nearly four hours wending our way through it. the river bruará runs through the middle of this forest. at thingvellir _gentiana nivalis_ was found among other plants. the rarity of blue flowers in the part of the island visited by us, and indeed throughout the island, was very striking, as the only other blue flowers noticed, besides the gentian, were the _veronicas_, and the _myosotis_ and _viola tricolor_ found at akureyri, and _campanula rotundifolia_ and _pleurogyne rotata_, which were found on the east coast on the return journey. _gentiana campestris_ and _g. nivalis_ were also found on the west coast. _white_, _pale pink_, and _yellow_ were the common colours, white being the predominant. the three most common orchids, _habenaria albida_, _habenaria viridis_, and _plantanthera hyperborea_ were green and fairly inconspicuous. perhaps the most striking flowers are the large rose-coloured _epilobium latifolium_, which grows on bare islands of stones and black sand in the glacier streams, the yellow _saxifraga hirculus_, and _dryas octopetala_, which covers vast tracts of country. between thingvellir and keykjavik is an extensive _heithi_, over which we rode rapidly. there appeared to be no features of any special interest, and as the day was very wet it was not possible to study the flora carefully. on the beach at reykjavik _mertensia maritima_ is a fairly common plant. the hot springs at hveravellir and other places contain large quantities of algæ, mostly belonging to the blue-green family or _cyanophyceæ_. specimens were collected from various springs at hveravellir, kerlingarfjöll, and geysir, and the temperature of the water in which they were growing was carefully recorded. as i was unable to examine them in detail, i sent them to professor west of cirencester, who has worked through my material and published a paper on hot-spring algæ in the _journal of botany_,[2] in which he gives a list of all the algæ we brought back from iceland. the highest temperature at which algæ were found was 85° c. (185° f.). most of the forms found had not been previously recorded from iceland, and there was one new species belonging to the genus _aulosira_, _a. thermalis_. full details of these interesting algæ will be found in the paper to which a reference has been given. appendix ii a list of plants collected in the faroes and iceland in june and july 1900 caltha palustris i. f. ranunculus flammula f. hyperboreus i. seythisfjord, kerlingarfjöll. pygmæus i. thjofadal. repens i. f. thalictrum alpinum i. f. papaver nudicaule i. near silfrastathir on screes and among stones in river bed. arabis alpina i. thjofadal. petræa i. the desert between athalmansvatn and hveravellir, near gránanes. cardamine bellidifolia i. thjofadal. pratensis i. f. cochlearia officinalis i. f. groenlandica i. draba alpina i. thjofadal. rupestris i. verna i. f. incana i. silfrastathir, etc. tomentosa i. viola cricetorum i. f. palustris i. f. tricolor i. akureyri. polygala vulgaris f. alsine arctica[3] i. athalmansvatn, thjofadal. cerastium alpinum i. trigynum i. akureyri. triviale i. halianthus peploides f. klaksvig. lychnis flos cuculi f. silene acaulis i. f. silene maritima i. lychnis alpina i. stellaria uliginosa i. seythisfjord. arenaria norvegica i. rubella i. montia fontana i. f. hypericum pulchrum f. klaksvig. linum catharticum i. geranium sylvaticum i. f. vicia cracca i. narfeyri. alchemilla alpina i. f. vulgaris i. f. comarum palustre i. f. dryas octopetala i. f. geum rivale i. f. fragaria vesca i. potentilla anserina i. reykholt. maculata i. tormentilla i. f. rubus saxatilis i. modruvellir, gullfoss, etc. sibbaldia procumbens i. athalmansvatn, hveravellir. hippuris vulgaris i. epilobium alpinum i. thjofadal. latifolium i. gránanes. palustre i. alsinefolium i. kerlingarfjöll. rhodiola rosea i. thjofadal. sedum villosum i. saxifraga aizoides i. vopnafjord. cernua i. gilhagi and thjofadal. cæspitosa i. f. hirculus i. hypnoides i. nivalis i. oppositifolia i. rivularis i. thjofadal, sandá, etc. stellaris i. f. parnassia palustris i. hveravellir, near springs, etc. angelica sylvestris i. hydrocotyle vulgaris i. galium boreale i. uliginosum i. f. achillea millefolium i. f. bellis perennis i. f. erigeron alpinus i. gnaphalium norvegicum i. isafjord, hveravellir. supinum i. isafjord, hveravellir. taraxacum dens leonis i. f. campanula rotundifolia i. vopnafjord, seythisfjord. pyrola media i. hveravellir, sandá. vaccinium uliginosum i. arctostaphylos uva ursi i. near thingvellir. cassiope hypnoides i. (especially on hummocky ground.) calluna vulgaris i. near thingvellir. loiseleuria procumbens i. seythisfjord, athalmansvatn. pinguicula vulgaris i. hveravellir, near springs. f. gentiana campestris i. helgafell. nivalis i. thingvellir. pleurogyne rotata i. vopnafjord. menyanthes trifoliata i. vopnafjord, etc. mertensia maritima i. reykjavik. myosotis arvensis i. akureyri. versicolor f. bartsia alpina i. (on hummocky ground.) euphrasia officinalis et. varr. i. f. pedicularis flammea i. gilhagi, athalmansvatn. rhinanthus minor i. sandá. veronica alpina i. saxatilis i. serpyllifolia i. f. officinalis i. thymus serpyllum i. f. galeopsis tetrahit i. geysir. prunella vulgaris i. grund. armeria sibirica i. plantago maritima i. konigia islandica i. oxyria digyna i. polygonum viviparum i. rumex acetosa i. acetosella i. empetrum nigrum i. salix glauca i. herbacea i. f. lanata i. phyllicifolia i. s.w. iceland. arctica i. and others, hybrids, etc., which could not be determined. betula nana i. alpestris i. intermedia i. odorata i. triglochin palustre i. corallorhiza innata i. vopnafjord and husavik. habenaria viridis i. f. albida i. orchis maculata i. f. plantanthera hyperborea i. tofieldia borealis i. juncus balticus i. trifidus i. luzula campestris i. multiflora i. spicata i. scirpus cæspitosus i. carex capillaris i. rigida i. vulgaris i. (common on hummocky ground.) elyna spicata i. eriophorum capitatum i. angustifolium i. agrostis stolonifer i. hveravellir. aira alpina i. elymus arenarius i. skagastrond. festuca ovina i. hierochloe borealis i. phleum alpinum i. poa alpina i. anthoxanthum odoratum i. juniperus communis, v. nana i. near thingvellir. selaginella spinosa i. hveravellir, etc. lycopodium alpinum i. hveravellir. f. selago i. blechnum spicant f. cystopteris fragilis i. botrychium lunaria i. ophioglossum vulgatum, var. polyphyllum i. hveravellir. equisetum arvense i. pratense i. [illustration: map of iceland to illustrate the author's route in 1900] index of places akrafjall, 129 akureyri, 24-32, 50, 109, 196, 211, 218, 224 alftafjord, 168, 170 almanna-gjá, 107-109 althing, 107, 116, 118, 119 arctic circle, 8, 24, 207 arhver, 134 arnarfjord, 155, 182 arnarvatnsheithi, 122, 143 ásquidsá, 76 athalmansvatn, 53, 219 athalmansvötn, 53 audakilsá, 132 barnafoss, 138-140, 143, 151, 153-155 bathstovukver, 203, 204 baula, 133, 155, 156, 161 baula, little, 155 beljandi, 56 berserkjahraun, 172, 176, 178 berufjord, 214 biludalr, 182 bláfell, 83, 85, 88 blandá, 55, 56, 192, 220 blonduos, 192, 193 bone cave, 143, 146 bordo, 12, 215 borgarfjord, 132 borovig, 13 bortheyri, 192 bratholt, 92, 95, 223 breithifjord, 166, 169, 171, 172, 181, 182 brgnjudalsá, 127 bruará, 102, 103 copenhagen, 1, 118 dalatangi point, 17 deildardalr, 194 draghals, 130, 132 draghalsá, 131 drangey island, 195 drapuhlitharfjall, 174 dufufell, 60, 85 dyrafjord, 183 efriskutur, 80, 82 einarstathir, 199, 200 eldborg, 163-165 engey island, 119 esja, 123, 124 eskefjord, 213 eyjafjord, 25, 29, 32, 196, 197 eyjafjorthará, 29, 198 eyri, 187 eyriks jökull, 137, 140, 142, 144, 161, 192 eyvindarlaekur, 200 fagraskogarfjall, 163, 164 falakvisl, 69, 82 faroes, 1, 6, 9, 185, 214, 215, 217 faskruthsfjord, 214 faxafloi (or faxafjord), 156, 166 ferstikluhals, 129 fiskivötn, 142, 143 fjnoská, 198 flatey, 181 flateyri, 186 fljotsheithi, 199 flokadalsá, 134 fossá, 127 framnes, 184 fremrikot, 40 geirsholmi, 128 geitá, 140, 141 geysir, 95, 97-102, 223, 224 geysir, little, 101 gilhagi, 49, 50, 219, 222 gilsbakki, 138, 140, 149, 150, 152, 154 glerá, 31, 32 gothafoss, 198 gránanes, 68-70, 79, 80, 222, 223 gretisbali, 163 grimsá, 133, 134 grjotá, 158, 161-163 grjotardalr, 158 grjotarvatn, 161 grund, 132, 133 gulf stream, 124 gullfoss, 80, 89-93, 96, 139, 223 haffjathurá, 166, 167 hegranes, 193 helgafell, 163, 170, 171, 173, 174 helgastathir, 200 herradsvötn, 42-44, 47, 48, 194, 195 hitá, 163, 164 hitardalr, 163 hjartharholt, 156, 158 hoff jökull, 54, 60, 68, 69, 85, 193 hofthavatn, 195 horgá, 32, 33 horgadalr, 32 horn, the, 188 hornstrandr, 188 hrafna-gjá, 104, 107, 108 hraun, 183 hraundalur, 159 hrutafell, 54, 63, 64, 66-68, 83, 84 hrutafjord, 192 hunafjord, 192, 193 hunafloi, 192, 193 husafell, 140, 142 husavik, 24, 25, 196, 198, 204-207, 218 hvalfjord, 127, 129 hvammsfjord, 172 hvamsheithi, 202 hveravellir, 57, 59, 62, 85, 220, 221, 224 hvitá, 85, 86, 88, 90, 92, 129, 133, 137, 139, 140-143, 150, 151, 153-155, 223 hvitarvatn, 60, 79, 80, 82, 83, 85, 90, 223 icicle cave, 143, 144, 149, 150 isafjord, 186-188 jarlhettur, 91 jokulvisl, 72, 73 kaldá, 140, 164, 165 kalfstindar, 103 kalmanstunga, 140-142, 145 kalso, 12, 215 kalsofjord, 12, 14, 215 karl rock, 195 kerling rock, 195 kerlingarfjöll, 54, 71-76, 78, 79, 82-85, 150, 224 kjalfell, 54, 68 kjalhraun, 63, 83 kjarrá, 155, 156 klaksvig, 11-13 kolbeinsdalr, 194 kolbeinstathafjall, 164 kolbeinstathir, 165, 166 kropprmuli, 134 kuno, 12, 215 kuvikr, 189 lagafell, 122 lang jökull, 54, 60, 63, 64, 66, 67, 70, 79, 81-83, 85, 90, 108, 122, 140, 141, 161, 192, 193 langá, 158 langanes, 23 langavatn, 160, 161 laug, 135 laugarvatn, 103 laugarvatnshellirar, 103 laxá, 124, 125, 127, 129, 200, 202 laxadal, 125 laxavogr, 125 leirárvogar, 129 leiruvogsá, 123 leith, 1, 3, 215 lille dimon, 6, 9 litlisandr, 52 ljosavatn, 198 ljosavatnskarth, 198 logberg, 107, 109 lundey island, 207 maelifell, 49, 222 maelifellshnukr, 43, 45, 49, 194 malmey island, 195 mithfjord, 192 mjofifjord, 17 mossfell, 122, 123, 129 mount tarawera (n.z.), 58 muláfjall, 127 mular, 158 muli, 200 murderesses' pool, 108, 109 myrkar jökull, 194 narfeyri, 168, 169 nes, 201, 202 north atlantic drift, 124 north cape, 188 north island (n.z.), 77 north-west peninsula, 182, 188, 193 northfjord, 16, 17, 213 northingafljot, 142, 143, 149, 150 northrá, 40-42, 156 northradal, 41, 42 northtunga, 155 nypsfjord, 207 oddeyri, 27, 31, 32, 198 onundarfjord, 186 oxará, 108, 109 oxnadalr, 33, 218 oxnadalsá, 33, 40 patreksfjord, 182 pink terraces of n.z., 58 rauthamisolkaldá, 167 rauthimelr, 166 rauthkollur, 66, 67 reykholt, 133-137, 139 reykholtsdal, 137 reykir, 203, 204 reykjadalr, 199 reykjadalsá, 134, 136, 155, 200 reykjarfjord, 189 reykjavik, 25, 49, 50, 102, 109-115, 117, 119, 121, 122, 133, 135, 172, 175, 179, 224 reykjavisl, 203 reynivallahals, 127 reynivellir, 125-127 sandá, 90, 223 sandfell, 125 saurar, 174 sautharkrokr, 193 seythisfjord, 17, 20, 21, 209, 211-213, 218 siglufjord, 195 silfrastathr, 42, 45, 46, 47, 218, 219 sithumuli, 155 skagafjord, 194 skagastrond, 193 skalafell, 123 skarthsheithi, 132, 161 skeljafiall, 54 skjalfandafljot, 199 skjalfandi, 24, 207 skorradalsvatn, 132 skriflir, 135 skrutharfell, 83 skuo, 6 skutilsfjord, 186 snaefell peninsula, 168 snaefellsnes, 166 south ronaldshay, 5 stafholt, 156 statharhraun, 152, 156, 158, 159, 162, 163 stathr, 129 store dimon, 9 stori ás, 137 strangákvisl, 55 strokur, 97, 98 stromo, 9 strutr, 137, 138, 141, 142 strytur, 60, 61, 63-66, 68, 82, 83, 221, 222 stykkisholm, 170-172, 179 sudero, 6 sugandisey, 172, 173 surtshellir caves, 122, 141-145, 150, 154 svarfholsmuli, 158-160 svartá, 48, 49 svatá, 69, 82, 85, 223 sviná, 124 svinadal, 124, 129 svinaskarth, 124 thingeyri, 183 thingvallavatn, 105, 107, 110 thingvellir, 95, 104-111, 122, 223, 224 thjofadal, 63, 66, 67, 221, 222 thjofadalsá, 63 thjofafell, 68 thorshavn, 9, 185, 215 thorvaldsdalsá, 151 thverá (river), 155 thverá (in oxnadal), 35, 37, 218 thyrill, 127-129 thyrillsnes, 128 trangisvaag, 6-8 tunga, 138, 140, 142, 150 tungufljot, 97 tunguhver, 134, 155 tungusveit, 48 unadal jökull, 194 unadalr, 194 uxhaver geyser, 202, 203 vallholt, 105 vathlaheithi, 197, 198 vatnsnes, 192 veithileysa, 189, 190 vestmannsvatn, 200 vestradalsá, 208 vestri-skarthsheithi, 156, 158-160, 201 vopnafjord, 21-23, 207, 208, 218 the end _printed by_ r. & r. clark, limited, _edinburgh_. telegrams: 37 bedford street, 'scholarly, london.' strand, london. _october, 1903._ mr. edward arnold's new and popular books. my memoirs. by henri stephan de blowitz. edited by stephan lauzanne de blowitz. _second impression. demy 8vo. with portrait. 15s. nett._ contrary to the general belief, the late m. de blowitz, who was for nearly thirty years the paris correspondent of _the times_, had been engaged for some time before his death in putting into shape for publication some of the more remarkable incidents of his career. these characteristic chapters of autobiography, which have been arranged for the press by m. de blowitz's adopted son, the editor of _le matin_, reveal some of the methods by which the best-known of modern correspondents achieved his greatest journalistic triumphs. m. de blowitz describes in his own inimitable manner his early youth; how he became a journalist; his interview with alphonso xii., when the latter was proclaimed king of spain; how he averted the german invasion of france in 1875; the part he played at the berlin congress, when he secured the publication of the treaty in _the times_ on the very morning that it was signed; the subsequent attempt made, through the agency of a woman, to discover how he did it; what the sultan told him during his visit to constantinople; and the circumstances of prince bismarck's retirement. on these and many other topics which have been the source of world-wide curiosity, m. de blowitz takes the reader into his confidence. he was the only man who could have written such memoirs--or who would have written them as he has done. london: edward arnold, 37 bedford street, strand. further recollections of a diplomatist. by the right hon. sir horace rumbold, bart., g.c.b., g.c.m.g. _demy 8vo. 15s. nett._ sir horace rumbold begins the second series of his recollections in the year 1873, at the point to which he brought his readers in the volumes already published. he begins by describing his stay in chile, where he filled the position of minister, and had the handling of the well-known tacna affair; it required all a diplomatist's skill to prevent this curious episode from developing into a serious crisis between great britain and chile. returning home in 1876, sir horace enjoyed a period of leisure that enabled him to meet in society all the most famous men and women of the day; about this time he began to keep a diary, 'of almost pepysian fulness,' to the no small advantage of the readers of his 'recollections.' later on we follow him to appointments in greece and sweden, retaining, wherever he found himself, that cosmopolitan interest in his surroundings that has made his earlier book such charming reading. sir horace has not had time to prepare more than one volume for this autumn, but he hopes in due course to complete his 'recollections,' and bring them down to the date of his retirement from the diplomatic service. odds and ends. by francis pigou, d.d., dean of bristol, author of 'phases of my life,' etc. _demy 8vo. 16s._ this is another instalment of dean pigou's apparently inexhaustible fund of anecdote and reminiscence. readers of his 'phases of my life' will be prepared to enjoy the feast of good stories set before them in this new volume. whether the subject be boyhood and schoolboy life, or sunday schools, or preaching, or parochial missions, or cathedrals, or the relation of disease to crime, or club-life, or odd people i have met, and odd sayings and doings, they will rely on finding abundance of good wit, good humour, and good sense; and they will not be disappointed. the diary of sir john moore. edited by major-general sir j. f. maurice, k.c.b. _two vols. demy 8vo. with portrait and maps. 30s. nett._ this diary covers the whole of sir john moore's military career from the time when he first saw service in corsica in 1793 to within a fortnight of his death at corunna in 1809. it seems to have been written with the minute care and perspicacity that characterized all moore's work, and has been printed with scarcely the change of a word from the original. it not only contains a vivid record of military events during a momentous period, but gives free expression to the writer's views on his contemporaries, civil and military, on the policy pursued by ministers, and the means adopted to face the gravest danger that has ever threatened the existence of great britain as an independent power. but the diary is, above all, interesting from the light it throws upon the character of sir john moore himself; no one can read unmoved the unconscious testimony to his own virtues of this great man's private reflections, intended for no eye but his own. in modesty, in devotion to duty, in integrity, in military skill, he stands out in striking contrast to most of his contemporaries. the diary has been edited by general sir frederick maurice, k.c.b., with appropriate introductions to moore's various campaigns in corsica, the west indies, flanders, egypt, sweden, sicily, and the peninsula; while the abortive french invasion of ireland provides not the least interesting chapter in a valuable book. the portrait of sir john moore is reproduced from the picture by sir thomas lawrence in the national portrait gallery. the problem of the army. by l. s. amery, editor of '"the times" history of the war in south africa.' _crown 8vo. 5s._ this is a reprint of the striking articles originally published in _the times_. it is believed that many will be glad to possess in a permanent form this important contribution to the literature of the subject, consisting as it does of a serious inquiry by one of the leading writers of the day into the military needs of the empire and the means of satisfying them. the book is rendered additionally interesting by the incorporation of extracts from the evidence given before the war commission, which justifies the author's argument in the most remarkable manner. thirty seasons in scandinavia. by e. b. kennedy. _demy 8vo. with numerous illustrations. 10s. 6d. nett._ 'no one has properly seen norway,' says mr. kennedy, 'until he has been up and sojourned on the roof of that grand country'; and surely mr. kennedy has a right to speak, for he has spent thirty seasons in exploring every part, not only of its 'roof,' but of its fjords, lakes, rivers, and islands, and knows perhaps as much as any living man of scandinavia from the sporting point of view. in this record of his adventures he writes of every kind of sport with delightful freshness and appreciation. he is a true sportsman, and as one reads one realizes the secret of his keen enjoyment of his life; for he understands men and loves animals, and has that observant sympathy with nature in all its forms which many men who live in the open air either lack or are unable to express in words. his pages teem with anecdotes of fishing, shooting, hunting, and _ski-ing_, and contain incidentally many valuable hints on camping and cooking. there is also much interesting information about the people, their manners and customs; nor are the lemmings, beavers, and ponies forgotten. the book, which is illustrated with some remarkable photographs, cannot fail to delight all lovers of the rod and gun. fratribus. sermons preached mainly in winchester college chapel. by john trant bramston, m.a. _crown 8vo. 5s. nett._ mr. bramston has found, from an experience as a winchester college house-master extending over thirty-four years, that the preacher most likely to influence a school congregation is not the professor or the lecturer, or even the schoolmaster, but the man who will speak to the boys as _brothers_, and endeavour to look at the problems of school-life from their own point of view. among the twenty-seven sermons in this volume are included some specially addressed to the younger boys at the outset of their career. it is believed that schoolmasters and parents alike will find the collection a valuable one. round kangchenjunga. by douglas w. freshfield, f.r.g.s., lately president of the alpine club. _royal 8vo. with maps and numerous illustrations. 18s. nett._ the magnificent range of kangchenjunga is perhaps, in one sense, the best-known portion of the himalaya mountains, inasmuch as it is visible from the popular hill-station of darjiling; but till quite recently it was almost unexplored and very inadequately mapped. the complete circuit of the great mountain had never been made, and its possibility was uncertain, till it was demonstrated by mr. freshfield's remarkable journey. the map which was the first-fruit of that journey is in itself an invaluable addition to our geographical knowledge, but the volume which describes it has a far wider range of interest. its results have been dealt with by professor garwood, but the book will appeal first and foremost to mountaineers and lovers of adventurous travel. the country traversed has also its own crop of frontier questions and political and racial problems, and these, too, are dealt with by mr. freshfield with his usual clearness, while his descriptive powers have found abundant scope in what is, perhaps, the most superb scenery in the world. in connection with the numerous photographs which adorn his narrative, it is enough to mention the name of signor vittorio sella. memories of the months. third series. by the right hon. sir herbert maxwell, bart., m.p. _large crown 8vo. with photogravure illustrations. 7s. 6d._ it is now three years since the second series of 'memories of the months' appeared, and it is hoped that the public will welcome this fresh instalment, which, while dealing with sport and natural history on the same general lines as its predecessors, is, of course, entirely different from anything that has hitherto been published in the 'memories.' sir herbert is, indeed, continually adding to his stock of memories by fresh experiences, so that his books afford a valuable index to the condition of angling and deer-stalking at the time of writing; while it is rare to find a sportsman who has so keen an interest in all matters of natural history, forestry, etc. this volume is uniform in style and binding with the first and second series. three rolling stones in japan. by gilbert watson. _demy 8vo. with numerous illustrations. 12s. 6d. nett._ japan is proverbially a young man's paradise, and when three young men wander through the country with the fixed intention of enjoying themselves, one expects to hear a glowing account of their proceedings. but it is not often that the story combines literary charm with its other merits. the adventures of these 'rolling stones' are not only interesting--that they could hardly fail to be--but are described with quite exceptional skill. mr. watson gives a picture of japan and its people which fills one with a great longing. possessing an artist's appreciation of the beautiful as well as a keen sense of humour, he sketches his scenery and characters with a light and sympathetic touch. the heroine karakamoko, a rickshaw-man's daughter, who accompanies the party as interpreter and guide, is a most fascinating creature, with whom the reader will inevitably fall in love. the book is copiously illustrated with photographs. australind. a narrative of wanderings in western australia and the maylay east. by henry taunton. _one volume 8vo. 10s. 6d. nett._ there are few of the wilder aspects of life in australia of which mr. taunton does not possess an intimate first-hand knowledge, and a remarkable knack of vivid writing has enabled him to turn his varied material to excellent account. whether he is lying in wait for wild cattle, riding after wild horses, or striving gallantly to sit a buck-jumper, the reader hears and sees and struggles with him. equally graphic are his sketches of australian types and of the aborigines, and his chapters on pearl-fishing give an interesting picture of this curious industry. imperial fiscal reform. by sir vincent h. p. caillard. _crown 8vo. 3s. 6d. nett._ sir vincent caillard has long been meditating a comprehensive work on imperial trade and finance. but in view of the general inquiry into the fiscal policy of the empire suggested by mr. chamberlain last may, he has postponed for a time the completion of this work, thinking that he would render greater service to those who wish to take part in the inquiry by showing them in less voluminous form the figures and arguments which have led him to his well-known economic conclusions. the present book is especially remarkable for the care taken to eliminate the effect on trade of the south african war, and to keep in view the conditions prevailing in normal circumstances. a large portion of the earlier chapters have already appeared in a more condensed shape in the pages of the _national review_, but the concluding chapters are entirely fresh matter, and have been written with the express purpose of discussing the scheme for the preferential treatment of the colonies, as understood up to the present time. sir vincent caillard directs the attention of all who desire earnestly to search for the truth to two propositions: (1) that preferential treatment of the colonies must only be looked upon as a step towards free trade within the empire; and (2) that it is a very great error to draw hard-and-fast conclusions from the present conditions of the world without any regard to the future. knowledge is power. a guide to personal culture. by philip gibbs. _crown 8vo. 3s. 6d._ this book is a revised and much enlarged edition of the volume of essays on self-education, by mr. gibbs, already so favourably received by the public to whom the name of 'self-help' is familiar as that of an attractive writer in weekly newspapers. it contains a series of articles on the various elements which contribute to the true culture of the mind, short sketches of great writers and studies on great subjects, together with many valuable suggestions for serious inquiry into 'the things which matter' and upon which every thoughtful man or woman should have an opinion. pat m'carty, farmer of antrim: his rhymes. by j. stevenson. _crown 8vo. 6s. nett._ a good deal has been written lately about the coming poet of ireland. without going so far as to claim that rôle for pat m'carty, we are confident that he will be welcomed as _an_ irish poet, whose native notes are thoroughly racy of the soil. a poet must make his own way with his readers; but we can at least promise this to those who will give pat a trial--that, whether they like him or not, they will find him something entirely unexpected. lady anne's walk. by eleanor alexander. _large crown 8vo. with photogravure illustrations, 7s. 6d._ to miss alexander, residing in the historic palace of armagh, with her father the archbishop, and deeply sensitive to the _religio loci_, it was a natural and pretty fancy to find its embodiment in lady anne, who lived there in her day with a former primate, her brother, and to weave about her memory pleasant pictures of an age and a generation that have passed away. but she draws her inspirations from other sources, too--from legend and old-world history, and from the present as well as from the past--the beauties of the venerable precincts as they are to-day, and the humours of its inhabitants and visitants. the result is a charming pot-pourri, which should appeal to all who are susceptible to the charm and romance of ireland. the sad end of erica's blackamoor by f. claude kempson. _super royal 4to. 3s. 6d._ this is a delightful children's picture-book, full of amusing fancy and clever black-and-white drawing. the 'story' is written in capitals by hand, and reproduced in facsimile. new novels. _crown 8vo. 6s. each._ the beryl stones. by mrs. alfred sidgwick. author of 'cynthia's way,' 'the thousand eugenias,' etc. the river of vengeance. by philip laurence oliphant. author of 'the little red fish.' god's scholars. by charles fielding marsh. the nebuly coat. by j. meade falkner. author of 'moonfleet.' the longshoremen. by george bartram. the key of paradise. by sidney pickering. author of 'verity.' mr. page's wild oats. by charles eddy. author of 'winifred and the stockbroker' and 'the taint of the city.' the boy, some horses, and a girl. a tale of an irish trip. by dorothea conyers. new editions. the life of father dolling. by the rev. c. e. osborne, vicar of seghill, northumberland. crown 8vo. 6s. talks with mr. gladstone. by the hon. l. a. tollemache. large crown 8vo. with a portrait of mr. gladstone. 6s. a memoir of anne j. clough, principal of newnham college, cambridge. by her niece, blanche a. clough. crown 8vo. with portrait. 6s. essex house press publications. mr. edward arnold has much pleasure in calling attention to the fact that almost without exception these interesting books have all been bought up and become out of print before publication, while one or two that have found their way into the sale-rooms have commanded a high premium. these books are printed by the guild of handicraft, at essex house, on the hand presses used by the late mr. william morris at the kelmscott press. members of mr. morris's staff are also retained at the essex house press, and it is the hope of the guild of handicraft by this means to continue in some measure the tradition of good printing and fine workmanship which william morris revived. subscribers to the complete series of essex house publications are given priority for any new book issued, and the number of subscribers is constantly increasing. intending subscribers and persons who desire to receive announcements of the forthcoming publications are recommended to enter their names as soon as possible. _orders may now be given for the following:_ =wordsworth's 'ode on the intimations of immortality.'= with frontispiece drawn by walter crane. vellum series. 150 copies. £2 2s. nett. =heine's 'selected songs.'= edited by edmond holmes. this book will contain a frontispiece by reginald savage, and will be uniform in size with the 'endeavour.' it will be printed in the original german. the edition will consist of 250 paper copies bound in boards at 1 guinea, and 12 vellum copies at 2 guineas each. =the guild of handicraft song-book.= with cuts and music in four-page sheets at 1s. a sheet, to be issued in sets of ten at a time, or bound up subsequently by arrangement. cicero's 'de amicitia' in latin and english (john harrington's translation, elizabethan). _copies may yet be obtained of the following:_ =the 'parentalia' of sir christopher wren.= the life and account of the works of the great architect by his son. containing a series of illustrations of the remaining city churches. £3 13s. 6d. nett. =benvenuto cellini's treatises on metal work and sculpture.= by c. r. ashbee. 600 copies. a few still left. 35s. nett. =bunyan's pilgrim's progress.= edited from the earlier editions by janet e. ashbee, with a frontispiece by reginald savage. vellum cover. 750 copies. 30s. nett. =american sheaves and english seed corn.= by c. r. ashbee. 300 copies. 30s. nett. =the doings of death.= folio volume of large woodcuts. by william strang. 140 copies. £6 6s. =the old palace of bromley-by-bow.= by ernest godman. 350 copies, of which 200 are for the use of the committee for the survey of the memorials of greater london, leaving 150 for sale. 21s. nett. =the masque of the edwards of england.= by c. r. ashbee. with a series of pictured pageants by edith harwood. limited to 300 copies at £3 3s. there are also 20 copies on vellum, coloured in water-colours by the artist, at £12 12s. king edward the seventh's prayer-book. this will be a sumptuous edition of the book of common prayer, which, by gracious permission of his majesty, will be entitled 'king edward the seventh's prayer-book.' the new prayer-book will be hand printed at the essex house press, and, whilst conforming to the authorized version, will rank, as a piece of typography, with the great prayer-book of edward vi. it is to be in new type designed by mr. c. r. ashbee, with about one hundred and fifty woodcuts, and is to be printed in red and black on batchelor hand-made paper. there will also probably be a special binding of green vellum with a gold block design and clasps. exceptional circumstances connected with the book of common prayer render it essential that this work, in order to be of historic value, shall be issued with the imprint of the king's printers; the prayer-book will therefore be published by his majesty's printers, messrs. eyre and spottiswoode, acting under the royal letters patent, who will superintend the work of the essex house press. mr. edward arnold, publisher to the essex house press, is now entering subscriptions for the work, and as the few available copies are being rapidly taken up, those who desire to possess this important work are recommended to apply as soon as possible. the edition will be strictly limited to a total of four hundred copies for england and america, at a price of twelve guineas (£12 12s.) nett. there will also be five copies for england on vellum at forty pounds (£40) nett, all of which are already sold. the national review. edited by l. j. maxse. _price 2s. 6d. net._ this important review now occupies the foremost place among the monthly periodicals of the united kingdom. its circulation has shown a steady and continuous increase, and is at present more than double what it was five years ago. it has, moreover, established for itself a unique position from the tone of public-spirited independence in which it approaches the political and social questions of the day. the influence of the national review, and the respect in which it is held, may be gauged from the attention given every month by the press, both english and foreign, to the articles appearing in the current number, as well as from the list of contributors, some of whose names are given below. the national review pays special attention to foreign politics, and each number contains a series of editorial notes, summing up in a masterly fashion the more important 'episodes of the month' both at home and abroad. another special feature is the prominence given to the affairs of the united states. literature and finance are also ably handled, and articles in a lighter vein are to be found in every number. some of the contributors to the 'national review.' the archbishop of armagh. h. o. arnold-forster, m.p. lord alverstone. right hon. h. h. asquith, k.c., m.p. lord avebury. right hon. a. j. balfour, m.p. sir rowland blennerhassett, bart. right hon. st. john brodrick, m.p. sir vincent caillard. right hon. j. chamberlain, m.p. arthur chamberlain. e. t. cook. lord curzon of kedleston. professor a. v. dicey, k.c. right hon. sir mountstuart grant-duff. sir edward grey, bart., m.p. col. lonsdale hale, r.e. right hon. lord george hamilton, m.p. benjamin kidd. rudyard kipling. sidney j. low. captain a. t. mahan. j. a. fuller maitland. w. h. mallock. george meredith. dr. max nordau. h.m. king oscar ii. right hon. sir horace rumbold, bart., g.c.b., g.c.m.g. the marquis of salisbury, k.g. sir leslie stephen, k.c.b. the times atlas. this well-known and magnificent work, which is generally considered the finest reference atlas that has ever been produced, is issued in the following editions: handsome cloth binding 27s. 6d. nett. half morocco, gilt edges 35s. nett. fully bound edition de luxe 55s. nett. _published in the spring of 1903._ recollections of a town boy at westminster, 1849-1855. by captain f. markham, late rifle brigade. demy 8vo. with illustrations. 10s. 6d. nett. nature's laws and the making of pictures. by w. l. wyllie, a.r.a. with over eighty illustrations from drawings by the author, and a few finely executed reproductions of famous paintings in the national gallery. super royal 4to., 15s. nett. with macdonald in uganda. by major herbert h. austin, c.m.g., d.s.o., r.e., fellow of the royal geographical society. demy 8vo. with numerous illustrations 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[2] "on some algæ from hot springs," g. s. west, _journal of botany_, july 1902, p. 242. [3] not in _warming's_ list, but given by _babington_ from akureyri. transcriber's note: minor typographical errors have been corrected without note. irregularities and inconsistencies in the text have been retained as printed. words printed in italics are noted with underscores: _italics_. [illustration: "it was rolf in his weapons"] the story of rolf and the viking's bow by allen french author of "the junior cup," "sir marrok," etc. illustrated by bernard j. rosenmeyer boston little, brown, and company 1918 _copyright, 1904_, by little, brown, and company. _all rights reserved_ the university press, cambridge, u.s.a. to my brother hollis french preface from thirty to sixty years ago appeared the greater number of the english translations of the icelandic sagas. since then the reading of these heroic tales has so completely gone out of style that their names are rarely mentioned in schools or even colleges. what boy feels his blood stir at the mention of grettir? how many lovers of good reading know that the most human of all epics lie untouched on the shelves of the public libraries? the wisdom of njal, the chivalry of gunnar, the villainy of mord, the manhood of kari, the savagery of viga-glum, the craft of snorri, and the fine qualities of biarni, of biorn, of skarphedinn, of illugi, of kolskegg, of hrut, of blundketil--all these are forgotten in the curious turn of taste which has made the stories of a wonderful people almost a lost literature. for the icelanders were a wonderful people. to escape the tyranny of kings they settled a new land, and there built up the laws and customs in which we see the promise of modern civilization. few early peoples had such a body of laws; few developed such manhood. no better pictures of a law-abiding, rural, and yet valiant race have ever been made than in the tales which the icelanders had the skill to weave about their heroes, those men who, at home in their island, or so far abroad as constantinople, made the name of icelander respected. we read of these men and this people in stories which, somewhat too "old" for boys and girls, reveal the laws, customs, habits of a thousand years ago. the njal's saga, the grettir's saga, the ere-dwellers' saga, and the gisli's saga are perhaps the greatest of those which have been translated. they are reinforced by such shorter pieces as hen thorir's saga, and the stories of the banded men, the heath-slayings, hraffnkell frey's priest, and howard the halt. the spirit of those days is particularly well given in that wonderful fragment of thorstein staffsmitten which (not being part of any complete saga) has been drawn upon for the closing incidents of the present story. many other such incidents are preserved, a reference to one of which (in a footnote to--i think--the ere-dwellers' saga) gave the suggestion for the main plot of this book. at the same time, in contemporary writings, we may read of the life of other divisions of the scandinavian race; the story nearest to this book is the orkneyingers' saga. the main interest of all these tales is the same: they tell of real men and women in real circumstances, and show them human in spite of the legends which have grown about them. the sagas reveal the characteristics of our branch of the aryan race, especially the personal courage which is so superior to that of the greek and latin races, and which makes the teutonic epics (whether the niebelungen lied, the morte darthur, or the njala) much more inspiring than the iliad, the odyssey, or the aeneid. the prominence of law in almost every one of the icelandic sagas has been preserved in the following story; and the conditions of life, whether at home or abroad, have been described as closely as was possible within the limits of the simple narrative form which the sagas customarily employed. allen french. concord, massachusetts, _may, 1904_. table of contents chapter page i. of the lighting of the beacon 1 ii. of the soursops, and the curse which hung on them 20 iii. kiartan at cragness 28 iv. of einar and ondott 42 v. the summoning of hiarandi 53 vi. of what hiarandi should do 59 vii. how hiarandi received the lesser outlawry 64 viii. of schemings 78 ix. of the outcome of ondott's plottings 91 x. how rolf named witnesses for the death of hiarandi 101 xi. of rolf's search for one to surpass him with the bow 109 xii. of the trial of skill at tongue 121 xiii. of that robber 129 xiv. how rolf and einar summoned each other 145 xv. of suits at the althing 155 xvi. the act of distress 166 xvii. rolf and frodi fare abroad 175 xviii. how those two came into thraldom 180 xix. now men are shipwrecked 192 xx. how rolf won his freedom 206 xxi. how rolf won the viking's bow 230 xxii. now kiartan returns 253 xxiii. of the coming of earl thorfinn 271 xxiv. now rolf and grani quarrel 279 xxv. here rolf comes to cragness 295 xxvi. of grani's pride 313 xxvii. odd doings at cragness 335 xxviii. of that harvest feast 345 xxix. of the trial of grani's pride 369 xxx. of the saying of those two words 385 list of illustrations "it was rolf in his weapons" _frontispiece_ "'now einar dies if my father is hurt'" _page_ 58 "so tall was she that the vikings could not board her" " 184 "there he sat as if he were still alive, but there was no sight in his eyes" " 224 "grani took his sword and his shield, and they stood up to fight by the spring" " 405 the story of rolf chapter i of the lighting of the beacon in the time after iceland had become christian, and after the burning of njal, but before the deaths of snorri the priest and grettir the outlaw, there lived at cragness above broadfirth a man named hiarandi, called the unlucky. and well was he so named, for he got a poor inheritance from his father, but he left a poorer to his son. now the farm of cragness was a fertile fell, standing above the land round about, and girt with crags. below lay broadfirth, great and wide, and cragness jutted out into it, a danger to ships. it had no harbor, but a little cove among the rocks, where hiarandi kept his boat; and many ships were wrecked on the headland, bringing fortune to the owners of cragness, both in goods and firewood. and all the land about once belonged to the farm. rich, therefore, would have been the dwellers at cragness, but for the doings of hiarandi's father. he would always be striving at the law, and he was of ill judgment or ill luck, for what he gained at the farm he always lost. the older he grew, the more quarrelsome he became; and judgments heaped heavy on him, until at last he was so hard put that he must sell all his outlying lands. so the farm, from a wide estate, became only the land of cragness itself, and another holding of a few acres, lying inland on the uplands, within sight of cragness and the sea. in the time when hiarandi was young, iceland was still heathen. he sought his fortune in a trading voyage, and sailed west-over-the-sea, trading in the south isles as a chapman, trafficking in goods of all kinds. and he made money there, so that at last when he sailed again for home he counted on a fair future. but the ship was wrecked in a storm, and few of the men came ashore; and hiarandi himself was saved by means of a maid who dwelt at the place, who dragged him from the surf. so hiarandi came home on foot, his clothes in tatters, having lost money rather than gained it. then his father, whose losses pressed heavy on him, struggled no more with the world, but went to his bed and died. and in that summer when all iceland took to the new faith, hiarandi became master at cragness. hiarandi was a silent man, not neighborly, but hard-working. an unworldly choice he made of a wife, for he took that woman who had saved him from the waves; she was the daughter of a small farmer and brought neither dowry nor kinship of any power. so men said that hiarandi had no wish to rise in the world. he lived upon his farm, with two thralls and a bondservant; and husbanding his goods well, by little and little he made money which he put out at call, and so bade fair to do better than his father, for all his poor start in life. and a loving spouse he had in asdis, his wife, who one day bore him a son. they named the lad rolf, and he grew to be well knit; he was not powerful, but straight and supple, and of great craft in his hands. and from delight in the boy hiarandi changed his ways, and became more gay, going to fairs and meetings for the sake of rolf. and hiarandi taught the lad all he knew of weapon-craft, which was not a little. the lad was swift of foot; he was skilled in the use of the sword and javelin, but most he delighted in the use of the bow. and that was natural, for upon the cliffs sea-birds lived in thousands, hard to catch. the boy went down to their nests with ropes, and took eggs in their season, or the young before they could fly, and both for food. so skilled was he in this that he was called craggeir, the cragsman; and no man could surpass him, whether in daring or skill. but there were times when there were no eggs nor fledglings, and from his earliest boyhood rolf practised in shooting with his bow at the birds, and he kept the larder ever full. happy was hiarandi watching his son, and his pride in him was great. as the lad grew stronger, the father made for him stronger bows and heavier arrows, until at the age of fourteen rolf used the bow of a man. then one winter they went down together into the valley, father and son, and watched the sports and games on the frozen mere. there the men of the place played at ball, and great was the laughter or deep was the feeling. now hiarandi would not let rolf play, for often matters came to blows, and he would not have his son maimed. but when it came to shooting with the bow, hiarandi put rolf forward, and it was seen who was the best at that play. for though the men shot, rolf surpassed them all, not in distance but in skill. he hit the smallest mark at the greatest distance; and when hiarandi brought a pigeon and freed it, then rolf brought it down. no one there had seen such shooting. then those who were not envious named the lad rolf the bowman. but a man named einar stood by, and he lived on the land which hiarandi's father had sold. he was rich but covetous, and fond of show, and fond of praise. there lived with him one named ondott, an eastfirther who had left his district and come west, a man without property. he stood with einar and watched the games. "see," said einar, "how proud is hiarandi of his son!" "thou hast a son as well," said ondott. "how he will shine among these churls when he returns from his fostering in the south isles!" "aye," answered einar. "like an earl will he be, and no farmer of these parts will compare with him." "and as for the shooting of this lad," remarked ondott, "it is not so fine after all." "in the orkneys," said einar aloud, so that others should hear him, "they are better bowmen than here, and the earl will have my son taught everything." now some who stood by brought hiarandi this tale. "have a care," said they. "thy neighbor einar sets himself above thee." "then he must set himself high," answered hiarandi with a laugh, "for his land lies far lower than mine." then others carried that tale to einar, and he laid it up in his mind; but hiarandi forgot all that had been said, nor did he remember to tell of it to asdis when they had returned from the games. then the winter passed on with severe storms, and ships were wrecked on cragness rocks, but no men reached shore. and einar envied the more the riches that came to hiarandi from the wrecks, in firewood, timber, and merchandise. and once a whale came ashore, and that was great fortune. but one evening, as those at cragness sat within the hall, asdis came and stood beside her husband, and said, "listen to the wind." "there is no need to listen," said hiarandi. "the wind howls for a storm, and this night will be bad." then thurid the bondservant, who sat by the fire, looked up and said, "ships are off the land." "hearest thou that?" asked asdis in a low voice. "the woman is strange, but she forecasts well." "aye," answered hiarandi, "it is likely that ships will be on the rocks by morning. "now," asked asdis, "dost thou remember the time thou camest ashore, these many years ago?" "how should i forget it?" responded hiarandi. "but no one can rush into the water here," said asdis, "to save those who are wrecked." "that is true," quoth hiarandi. "i am sorry for the mariners, yet how is one to help?" then the bondservant raised her head and sang this song: "the sea brings money; money is bonny. bless then the sea which brings good to thee." after that she sat silent and sunken as before. "hear the hag," said asdis, shuddering. "but we prosper through the misfortunes of others." "what is to be done?" asked hiarandi. "it is in my mind," said asdis, "that if we made a fire-beacon, people could steer from shore and so into safe harbor farther up the firth." "now," quoth hiarandi, "that might be done." "wilt thou do it?" asked asdis. then the woman raised her head and sang again: "he is a fool who leaves old rule. set heart 'gainst head. how then butter thy bread?" then hiarandi said to asdis: "no man has ever yet set beacons against shipwreck. all men agree to take the fortune of the sea; and what is cast on a man's beaches, that is his by old custom." "thinkest thou that is right?" asked asdis. "moreover," went on hiarandi, "the sea is but giving me again what it took away." "never can the sea," answered asdis, "give thee true happiness through other men's misfortunes." "remember the boy," said hiarandi. "shall i leave him with nothing to begin the world with? for my own earnings bring me at most a mark of silver in the year." "for all that," replied asdis, "it is in my mind that to do otherwise were to do better. now canst thou have the heart that men should die longer on our rocks, and we not do our best to save them?" then hiarandi, answering nothing, rose and paced up and down before the fire. and the carline sang once more: "take what is given. no man is wise who asketh twice if earth or heaven sends him his prize." but asdis stood upright, and she sang: "suffer not wrong to happen long, lest punishment from heaven be sent." now in iceland all men loved the singing of skalds; but though hiarandi had heard the carline sing many times before, never had he heard rhymes from his wife. so he stood astonished. then the bondservant sang again: "ill will attend the beacon's lighting. bad spirit's guiding will bring false friend." but asdis sang with great vehemence: "let god decide what fate shall ride upon the wind. be thou not blind to duty's hest. my rede is best. list to the storm! go! save from harm the mariner whose fate is near. to others do as i did once to you." and it seemed to hiarandi as if she commanded him. moreover, as he listened, the storm roared louder. then he seized his cloak, and cried to his thralls, "up, and out with me to make a beacon!" though they dared not disobey, they grumbled, and they got their cloaks slowly. for they saw slipping away from them the fine pickings from the wreck, which brought them warm clothes and handsome. out they went with hiarandi into the storm, and kindled a great fire at the edge of the cliff. and rolf toiled too; but asdis did best of all, for she brought out in a kettle great strips of whale's blubber, and flung them on the fire. then the flames flared high and wide, as bright as day. and rolf sprang to the edge of the cliffs and gazed upon the water. then, pointing, he cried, "look!" down below was a ship; its sail flapped in rags, and the crew were laboring mightily at the oars to save themselves, looking with dread at the white breakers and the looming rocks. now in the strength of their fear they held the vessel where she was; and by the broad light of the fire every man of them was visible to the cragness-dwellers. to rolf that was a dreadful sight. but the bit of a sail was set, and men ran to the steering-oar to hold the vessel stiff; and behold, she moved forward, staggered past the rocks, made clearer water, and wore slowly out into the firth. even the thralls shouted at the sight. then hiarandi left one of the thralls to keep the fire, and went back to the hall with those others. there the carline still sat. "so he is safe past the rocks?" she asked, yet speaking as if she knew. "aye, safe," answered hiarandi. "now," said she, "thou hast brought thy evil fortune on thyself, and it will be hard to avoid the extreme of it." "i care not," answered hiarandi, "even though i suffer for a good deed." "nevertheless," said the carline, "the future may be safe, though without riches, if thou wilt be guided by me. wilt thou follow my redes?" "no advices of thine do i follow," replied hiarandi. "for methinks thou still servest the old gods, and canst work witchcraft. speak no more of this matter in my house; and practise not thy sorcery before my eyes, for the law gives death as punishment." "now," answered the woman, "like a foolish man, thou rushest on thy fate. and i see clearly that thou art not he who was spoken of in the prophecy. not a fortunate soursop art thou." "since the slaying of kol, who put the curse on all our stock," answered hiarandi, "has but one of the soursops prospered. how then should i be fortunate?" "two were to prosper," the woman replied. "and each was to put an end to the curse in his branch of thy race. snorri the priest is one of those two, as all men know. but thou art not the other; and i believe that thou art doomed to fail, even as thy father was." "so i have long believed," said hiarandi calmly. then the carline rose, and her eyes were strange, as if they saw beyond that upon which she looked. "more misfortune is coming than thou deemest," she said. "outlawry. mayhap even death. be warned!" "thou art a heathen and a witch," said her master. "be still!" but she said: "i will not abide the curse. hiarandi, i have worked long in thy house. give me now my freedom and let me go." "thou hast long been free to go," he replied. "take thy croaking to another man's board! but this little prophecy i give to thee, that no man will believe thine ill-speaking." "no great foresight hast thou in that," she answered. "never have i been believed." then she drew on her cloak and hooded her face. "thou wilt not go in the storm?" asked asdis. "all times are alike," the woman said. "heed thou this, hiarandi. beware the man who came in the ship thou didst save!" "he is one," answered hiarandi, "whom i fear not at all." "beware suits at law," said the carline again, and she turned to go. "it needs no great wisdom to say that," retorted hiarandi upon her. "but stay! i send not people from my door penniless. nothing is owing from me to thee, yet i will give a piece of money." "soon," answered thurid, "thou wilt need all thou hast." and she went out into the night. chapter ii of the soursops, and the curse which hung on them of those things which had been said, rolf heard all, yet he had not spoken. now he drew near to his father, and said to him: "explain to me, father, the things of which the woman spoke. what is the curse upon us, and can such a thing be true?" then hiarandi answered: "thou knowest we are of the soursops, who got their name when they sopped with sour whey the fire which was kindled to burn them in their house. now gisli, the first of us, slew kol, his wife's foster-father, for the sake of his sword graysteel, and kol laid the curse of misfortune on us. slayings arose by means of that sword; there came the outlawing of gisli, the grandson of the first gisli, and death fell in most branches of the house. fourteen years gisli was outlaw, even as has been, to this year, grettir the strong, who is the great outlaw of our day. but gisli was slain, and his brother, while his sister died. son of that sister is snorri the priest, who alone of us has prospered; for though no slayings have ever happened in our branch, unlucky are we all, as is plain to see." "i have often wondered," said rolf, "how it is that we live here in this great hall and have but us three and the servants to fill it. there are places for seven fires down the middle of the hall, yet we use but one. and all the benches were once used, since they are worn: seats for fifty men, and the women's seats besides." "once," said hiarandi, "my father had so many on his farm that nightly the hall was full. but those serving-men are einar's now, and all our riches have passed away to him. yet this house is the finest in all these parts. i was at the building of it in my youth, and" (here he made sure that the thrall was not listening) "i myself made the secret panels by which we can escape in case of burning. for since that burning so long ago, no soursop builds himself a house in which men may trap him." "but thou hast no enemies, father?" asked the lad. "no enemies, i hope," answered hiarandi, "but few friends, i am sure, since only frodi the smith, my mother's cousin, is of our kin; for i count not snorri the priest." "but why not snorri the priest?" asked rolf. "my father," answered hiarandi, "quarrelled with him and called him coward. for snorri would not take up at arms a suit my father lost at law." then rolf thought awhile. all men knew of snorri the priest, who was no temple priest at all but a priest of the law. for the title had come down from heathen times, when leaders had sway over all matters, both in religion and law, and to be priest was to be chieftain. but usage and the new religion changed that by degrees; so that to be priest now meant to be a giver of the law, with a seat at the quarter courts and at the althing, the great yearly gathering to which from all iceland men went to settle suits. and snorri the priest was well known as the richest man in broadfirth dales, the shrewdest and wisest in all things worldly, and a master at the law. "it would be well," said the lad, "to have snorri on our side." "it is better," said asdis, "never to go to the law. lawsuits and quarrels are bad things, and they bring a man's fortune to naught." and hiarandi added, "by law we have ever suffered." then rolf was silent, and thought of what had been said: how the old woman had prophesied trouble at the law, and by what man that trouble should come. and as he thought upon the words she and his father had spoken, he thought that they had spoken with knowledge, though of different kinds: for while the woman prophesied vaguely, his father had seemed to know who the man should be. "father," asked rolf, "knowest thou who the man is that came upon the ship?" "i know," answered hiarandi. asdis asked: "who then is he?" hiarandi said: "saw ye upon the ship, as it lay below us, the faces of any of the men?" "aye," answered they both, "for it was as clear as day." "saw ye then," asked hiarandi, "one who stood by the mast, a tall man with a great beard?" "i saw him," answered rolf. "he stood and held by a rope and the mast, and i thought he should be the captain; but he gave no commands, nor did any man heed him, for all worked of themselves." "yet, as i guess," said hiarandi, "the captain was he, and he was the man of whom the carline spoke." "who is he, then?" asked the boy. "listen," said hiarandi, "and i will tell thee of one in my family of whom i have never yet spoken. there were two of us when i was a lad, brothers; and the other was named kiartan. he was younger than i by a year, and different in all his ways; yet i have often thought that my father had not enough patience with him. for he sent him to bad companions rather than weaned him from them, and at last he drove him from the house altogether. then kiartan took to the sea--he was not bad, remember, but weak perhaps and foolish--took to the sea, and we saw him not for years. once only he came back, out at elbow, and asked my father for money. money he got, but gave the promise to ask nothing from the inheritance; and this was handselled before witnesses, my father giving much, the rest to come to me. then kiartan went away again, and not until this night have i seen him. but if that was his ship, then he has prospered." "yet it was he the woman meant?" asked rolf. "who else?" returned his father. "how should he," asked the boy, "bring trouble on thee?" "i see not," answered hiarandi, "how he should bring either evil or good." then he closed his mouth and became thoughtful, in a manner he had. asdis motioned rolf to be silent, and nothing more was said in the matter. chapter iii kiartan at cragness on the morning of the fifth day thereafter, as rolf stood by the gate of the enclosure which protected the farm buildings, he saw a man coming on a horse, and knew him for his father's brother kiartan. he was a big man, heavily bearded, dressed in bright-colored clothes and hung about with gold chains. his eye was bright and roving; his face was genial, and he looked about him as he came as one who is well contented. yet rolf liked him not. now kiartan rode up to the enclosure and saw the boy. "ho!" he cried, "come hold my horse and stable him." so rolf took the horse by the bridle and held him while the man dismounted. then the boy started to lead the beast to the stable. "where is thy mistress?" asked kiartan. "my mother is in the house," answered rolf. "now," kiartan cried, "i took thee for a stable-boy. but thy father had ever a love of the earth, and so perhaps hast thou. knowest thou me?" "thou art my uncle," replied the lad. "now," cried kiartan, staring, "what spirit told thee of me?" "five nights ago," answered rolf, "thou stoodst below on the deck of thy ship, and lookedst up at cragness. and our beacon saved thee." "aye," said kiartan. "we had work to save our lives, and a close miss we made of the tusks." but he never gave a word of thanks, either to rolf or to hiarandi, for the saving of his life. "thou art wise to stay at home, boy; for see how a sailor's life hangs ever on a thread. now stable the horse, and i will see thy mother. the farmer is likely in the field." so rolf stabled the horse, and called his father from his work; and hiarandi came, muttering (though he meant not that rolf should hear), "poor steel comes often home for a new edge." but he greeted his brother well, and bade him stay with them for the winter. "even for that am i come," answered kiartan. "for my cargo is already sold, and my ship laid up for the winter near hvamm, and i come home to my kinsman. no poor penny am i this time, to need any man's help. perhaps," and he looked about him, "i can even help thee." but the buildings were neat and weather-tight, and the farm was in no need of improvement. "i need nothing," said hiarandi, "and i even have money out at call there in the neighborhood where thy ship is laid. but come, the wife prepares the meal. lay aside thy cloak and be at home." and so kiartan entered on his wintering at cragness. quiet is the winter in iceland, when men have no work to do in the field, save the watching of horses and the feeding of the sheep and kine. weatherwise must a man be to prepare against the storms, which sweep with suddenness from off the water and enfold the land with snow. yet hiarandi's flocks were small, and his sheep-range was not wide, and both he and rolf were keen to see the changes in the weather; and as for their horses, they stayed ever near the buildings. so all were free to go to the gatherings which men made for games and ball-play, in times of fair weather. thither kiartan loved to go, dressed in his fine clothes, and talking much. but nights when he sat at home he would speak of his travels, and what a fine place the world was, and how little there was for a man here in iceland. he said it was nothing to be a farmer, but a great thing to rove the sea, and to live, not in this land where all were equal, but where there were kings, earls, and other great men. once as he spoke thus he provoked hiarandi to words. "meseems, brother," the farmer said, "that thou hast forgotten the way our forefathers thought. for it was to avoid kings and earls that they left their lands in norway and came over the sea hither. and those whom thou prizest so high are so little thought of here that we make nothing of them whatever." "now," answered kiartan, "thy neighbor einar thinks well of earls, for he has fostered his son with the earl of the orkneys." "the lad will understand little of our ways when he returns," replied hiarandi. "for all that," kiartan said, "i name the son of einar luckier than thy son here. a great court is held in the orkneys, and all matters are to be learned there." then hiarandi made response: "no court can teach good sense to a dolt, and no wisdom will flourish unless there be good ground for it to sprout. i have seen wise men bred in this little land, and fools that came out of norway." then kiartan talked not so much before hiarandi of the things he had seen, nor for a time before rolf either. but when there came again the great winter ball-play, to which all went, and rolf shot again with the bow before them all, and proved himself the most skilful, though not yet the strongest: after that kiartan made more of the lad. "men," said he to rolf one day when they were alone, "may be able to shoot farther than thou with the bow, for two did it. but none shot so surely. and some day thou wilt outshoot them as well." "i think not much of it," answered rolf. "now," said kiartan, "thou shouldst learn to prize thyself higher. for in the orkneys good archers are welcome in the earl's body-guard, and a man is honored and well paid." "yet he is no longer his own man," answered rolf. "what of that?" asked kiartan. "if for a few years he can see the world, and make his fortune also, then he is forever after a greater man at home. think more of thyself!" and at other times he spoke in the same strain, bidding rolf value himself higher. and he told of the great world, and described his journeys. for he had been, he said, as far as the great middle sea, had traded in italy, and had even seen rome. and rolf was greatly interested in those tales; for the lands across the sea were of moment to all icelanders, since many a man fared abroad often, and no man thought himself complete who had not once made the voyage. so he listened willingly, when kiartan told his tales at evening in the hall. the parents were inattentive; but sometimes hiarandi, and sometimes asdis, would interrupt the story, sending the lad to some task or to bed. now at last it draws toward spring, and the time approaches when kiartan must go away to his ship, to dight it for the voyage. and it was remembered afterward how one evening he drew hiarandi on to talk of his savings, and learned what money he had out at interest, and with whom. and kiartan spoke the oftener with rolf, praising him for the fine man he was growing to be. then at his last night at cragness the shipmaster said, as all sat together before the fire: "brother, thou knowest i must go away to-morrow." "aye," answered hiarandi. "now," said kiartan, "let me say to thee what is in my mind. take it not ill that i speak freely. but i think it wrong of thee that thou keepest here at home such a fine lad as is rolf thy son." and he would have put his hand upon the boy's shoulder, but rolf drew away. kiartan went on: "now i am going to the south isles. send rolf with me, and let him see the world." then hiarandi grew uneasy, and he answered: "speak no more of this. some day he shall see the lands across the main, but as yet he is too young." "nay," answered kiartan, "he is nearly full-grown. what sayest thou, rolf? wilt thou not go with me?" rolf answered: "i will be ruled by my father." "i have made much money," reasoned kiartan, "and thou canst do the same." "i care not for trading," replied rolf. "there are courts to be seen," said kiartan, "and thou mayest serve in them thyself." "i am not ready to be a servant," quoth rolf. "but thou mayest see wars and fighting," cried kiartan. "i have no quarrels of my own," answered the boy, "and i mix not in the affairs of others." now hiarandi and asdis had listened with both anger and fear,--anger that kiartan should so tempt the boy, and fear at what rolf might answer. but rolf spoke with wisdom beyond his years; and at his last response hiarandi smiled, and asdis clapped her hands. then kiartan started from his seat and cried: "out upon ye all for stay-at-homes!" and he would speak no more with them that night, but went to his locked bed and shut himself in. yet he spoke to the lad once more in the morning, out by the byre while rolf was saddling the horse. "surely," said kiartan, "thou didst not mean what thou saidst last night, for the fear of thy parents was in thy mind. now let me tell thee what we can do. i will go on for the lading of my ship, and that will take a fortnight's time. then i will wait for thee at the mouth of laxriver, and thou canst come thither and join me secretly." "now," said the lad, "if i tell my father this, he will give thee a beating. therefore i will remain silent until thy ship has sailed." then kiartan turned pale, and cursed, and made as if to strike his nephew. but rolf put his hand to his belt, and kiartan drew away. yet rolf had no knife. "i see," said rolf, "that thou art not quick at arms nor sure of thy own strength, even against me. and i knew thou wert a coward long ago, when i saw thee on thy ship's deck, giving no orders, but letting other men save thy ship and thyself. no great deeds of daring would i see with thee as shipmaster." when kiartan rode away, he was as glad at parting as were those of the house. "he is not changed," said hiarandi, "in all the years he has been gone." "where," asked asdis, "is the harm which he was to do us?" and she laughed, but rejoiced too soon. for after six weeks men came to hiarandi, sent from laxriverdale, where traders had given goods to kiartan upon his promise that hiarandi should pay. and it was discovered that kiartan had not only used the money which hiarandi had out at call in that region, but had obtained goods from other men creating debts. and he had filled all his ship at hiarandi's expense. then rolf told to his father his own tale of kiartan's secret offer, and hiarandi was bitterly wroth. and then began those troubles which thurid had foreseen. for when hiarandi refused to pay for the goods, but instead sought to regain his money from those who had supplied kiartan, the matter was brought to the law. and first at the quarter thing, and then at the althing, many small suits were disputed. but the end of the matter was, that hiarandi was beaten by the skill of lawyers; and he had to lose his money and pay more besides, and stood stripped of all which he had laid up against his age, or against that time when rolf should need a start in life. and the farmer was greatly cast down, recalling the misfortunes of the soursops, and how he himself had been always called the unlucky. but asdis and rolf strove to keep him in good heart. chapter iv of einar and ondott now the tale turns to speak of einar and his household, how they dwelt at fellstead, upon the low-lying land. einar was a rich man, and he kept a large household of many thralls and servants. and for his pleasure, that he might seem the greater in the eyes of his neighbors, he kept men who did no work, but bore arms wheresoever they went; yet it had never been known that einar brought any matter to bloodshed. he was not firm in any dealings, but he wished to be thought a great man. his holding was wide, for he owned all that the fathers of hiarandi had had. yet from his yard he often looked with no contented eye toward the hall of hiarandi, where it stood above the crags, looking far over firth and fell. now of the men of einar's household ondott had the ruling, for he pleased einar much, yet they were different in all outward ways. for einar was short and plump, given to puffing and swelling as he spoke, and of many smooth words; but ondott was tall and thin, lean-visaged and sour, and of surly speech. einar was fond of dress, while ondott went in simple clothes; yet they both loved money, and some accused ondott of hoarding, but einar spent freely, seeking to gain by gifts what his wit could not win for him. for he was not loved, and men thought little of his counsels. of the women at fellstead one old freedwoman was chief; and she held in especial care the daughter of einar, helga by name, who was yet young, being but thirteen years of age. she was of a sweet nature. now one morning helga stood with dalla the old woman before the women's door of the hall, and they saw where came toward them a woman much bent, and covered with a cape and hood; when she came near, they knew her for thurid from cragness. she begged them for lodging and work. dalla sent for einar. "how is it come," asked einar, "that thou hast left hiarandi?" "the man," said she, "calls upon his doom, and i will not stay to share it." and she told of the beacon, and how thereby a ship had been saved. "now," quoth einar, "hiarandi is a fool, so to break an old custom." "yet meseems," said helga timidly, "that it was a kind thing to do." "thou art but a child," he answered reprovingly. but she came closer to him and pulled his sleeve. "let not the old woman stay here," she whispered. "for i like not her looks, and i mistrust her." but ondott, who heard, said: "nay, let us keep the old carline, if only to spite hiarandi." and dalla added: "she is a good worker, and handy to have about the place. let us give her room." so einar bade thurid go within, and do what work was set her, in pay for her keep. but he asked her before he went away: "why camest thou here?" "a rat," said she, "will leave a house that is sure to fall, and seek one which will stand." then einar was greatly pleased with her, and bade give her a better cloak. so it was that thurid dwelt at fellstead, and paid well with her work for her keep; but at cragness she was missed, and the work was harder. yet thurid made no more prophecies, nor spoke of those which had been made. but it was known that the thralls of hiarandi were set to light beacons on stormy nights, and he was much laughed at by the dwellers at fellstead. and his thralls found it hard work, and became greatly discontented; yet since it was winter time, they had little else to do. now one of them was named malcolm, a scot, and he came one day to fellstead, when he was not needed at the farm. and ondott met him, and asked him in, and asked him questions of matters at cragness. as they spoke by the fire, thurid passed by, and she sang to herself: "evil and ill come together still." malcolm asked: "does the woman still make her rhymes with you?" "little have i heard her sing," answered ondott. "but what sang she with you?" then malcolm told of the singing of thurid and asdis, and of the prophecies of the old woman. and when he went away, ondott gave him a small piece of money and bade him come again. then ondott called thurid, and asked her of the things she had said at cragness, what they might mean. but he got little from her; for first she would not speak, and then she only muttered, and at last all she said was this rhyme: "no need to teach or trick or speech to him whose mind all wiles will find." and ondott could make nothing out of that; moreover, because it was kiartan whom hiarandi had saved, he thought that the farmer had strengthened himself by his deed. for only when the news came of the trick of kiartan in cheating his brother did ondott think that there might be something in the old woman's forecasting. and he and einar spoke cheerfully together of the misfortune to their neighbor. then summer drew on, and the quarter thing was held, and then came bad news to einar in his hall. for a seafaring man landed at hunafloi, and came across to broadfirth; and he brought word that in the orkneys kiartan had foully slain a man of broadfirth, whose nearest of kin was einar, so that it was einar's duty to follow up the blood-suit. here it must be said, for those who know not the customs of those days, that the death of a man called for atonement from the slayer, either his death or a payment in money, unless the slaying could be justified. the nearest of kin must take the suit against the slayer; and if the slayer should die, then his nearest of kin must take the defence. and the law is clearly shown by the case of the heath-slayings and other famous quarrels, when from small broils great feuds arose, from the duty of kinship and the unwillingness to pay blood-fines for another's deed. thus einar took upon him his duty, and vowed that kiartan should pay with either money or blood. all stood by and heard this, and they applauded. but ondott said: "come now outside with me and speak of this, but give the messenger food and bid him rest here the night." so that was done, and einar went out into the yard with ondott, and walked up and down with him. said ondott: "long are we likely to wait ere we lay hands on kiartan. for he hath set his own brother strong against him, and scarce will he dare return to iceland." "that may be true," said einar gloomily. "i like it not," said ondott, "that hiarandi should know this spite his brother has done thee, and yet be free himself. in the old days, which are not so long past, a man would have gone against hiarandi with weapons. and he hath no relatives to harm thee." "for all that," answered einar, "the men of the quarter would not like it. lawfully must vengeance be taken, or not at all. yet it is hard if my money and thy wit cannot rid me of these brothers, who anger me, and hiarandi more than kiartan." and he looked across at cragness with fretting. "well mayest thou say that," answered ondott, "for there stands hiarandi's hall, which he cannot fill, while thou in thine art cramped for room. it is plainly true what people say, that thou canst never come into the honor which should be thine, while thou livest here, where strangers take thee for hiarandi's tenant, or even his freedman." "they take me for his freedman!" cried einar. "now that is not to be borne! and i say to thee, get me hiarandi's house and i will reward thee well." then ondott laid a plan before him. it should be given out that kiartan was dead: the man who brought the news of the slaying might be bribed to swear to kiartan's death. then the blood-suit could be brought against hiarandi in place of kiartan; and all men knew that hiarandi had no money to pay the fine, so that he must sell his farm. "now," quoth einar in great delight, "i will lengthen thy name, and thou shalt be called ondott crafty." for that was a saying in those days, to lengthen a man's name by giving him a nickname. then they called from the house that man who had brought the news. because he was an outlander he was easily persuaded to swear to kiartan's death. einar gave him money, both for himself and to pay his passage outward. then witnesses were called to hear the oath; and on the morrow the man departed, and took ship for ireland, and he is out of the story. chapter v the summoning of hiarandi when that man who had brought the news and made the false swearing was well out of the country, then ondott bestirred himself to go against hiarandi. said he to einar: "it is time that we summon hiarandi soon to answer to the blood-suit, for the sitting of the althing draws nigh." to that einar assented, and on the morrow ondott bade two men arm themselves and go with them to cragness. "why need we men?" asked einar. "we must have witnesses to the summoning," answered ondott. "but it is not necessary to bear arms," said einar. "we will prepare ourselves," replied ondott, "as becomes thy dignity and as regards thy safety, for hiarandi hath a quick temper." then einar said no more, and they rode to cragness. but ondott knew well that at such summonings quarrels often arose; and he said privily to his men, hallmund and hallvard: "look that your swords be loose in their sheaths." they rode into the yard at cragness and called hiarandi from his house. hiarandi came, and with him rolf, bearing his bow, for he was about to go out for birds. "hiarandi," said einar, "we have come to speak of the blood-suit for the slaying of my kinsman." "that thy kinsman is slain i knew," answered hiarandi, "but i see not how it affects me in any way, so long as my brother be living." "but thy brother is dead," replied einar, and told that kiartan was shipwrecked in the orkneys. "this is the first i have heard of it," said hiarandi. then ondott spoke. "knowing thy suspicious nature," said he, "i brought with us the men who were witnesses to the oath the messenger made. thus canst thou know thy brother is truly dead." hallvard and hallmund said they had witnessed the oath. hiarandi answered no word, but looked from one to the other. "now," said ondott, "these same men will be witnesses to what we say here together." and this he said in a manner to provoke hiarandi, yet he still answered nothing. "is it not better," asked einar, "that this matter be settled here quietly, between neighbors, rather than be brought before the judges at the althing?" "quietly settled is always best," answered hiarandi. "yet i see not how this matter is to be settled at all, seeing i have no money to make atonement." "now," said ondott quickly to einar, "let me speak for thee in this affair." then einar gave the matter into the hands of ondott. "all men know," began ondott then, "that thou art poor, hiarandi." and he saw hiarandi flush with anger. then he went on to propose that an exchange be made of cragness for some parts of einar's land, much less in value. and he spoke with such words that hiarandi would feel insulted, and marked him grow ever redder in the face. when he had finished, hiarandi burst out upon him. "foolish are ye to suppose," cried hiarandi, "that i will ever give up this stead which my fathers have settled. let this matter come to the courts of law." ondott spoke to einar. "there is no reasoning with a madman. thou must recite the summons." then einar, who knew the law well, spoke the summons, and named the deed which was done on his kinsman, and made hiarandi answerable; and called him to appear before the quarter court at the althing, there to justify the slaying, or pay the blood-fine, or be made an outlaw. everything he said in due legal form, and ondott and the two men were named as witnesses. then he prepared to ride away, but ondott spoke once more. "if thou canst not keep land, hiarandi, better than thy father, then must thou lose this place in the end." hiarandi could not restrain his wrath. he spoke no word; but he strode to ondott, and smote with his staff. ondott warded the blow, but the arm was broken at the wrist. then ondott cried to hallvard and hallmund: "set upon him!" those two drew their swords, and in that moment hiarandi stood in danger of his life. but rolf had strung his bow and set an arrow on the string. he drew the shaft to its head, and aimed at einar, and cried: "now einar dies if my father is hurt!" [illustration: "'now einar dies if my father is hurt'"] they drew away hastily, and dared do no more, for they knew the aim of the lad. nothing more was done in violence; yet before he rode away did ondott summon hiarandi for that hurt to him. and there the matter rested, with two suits against hiarandi. then all was quiet until the time came for folk to ride to the althing. chapter vi of what hiarandi should do hiarandi spoke not at all of the suits against him, yet he was continually gloomy. and one day he said: "much better were it now, had i never lighted the beacon that night." "thou knowest," responded asdis, "that thou didst right." "still," said hiarandi, "summer gales oft bring wrecks, and one ship might pay the blood-fine for me." "for all that," asdis answered, "thou hast not now the heart to stop lighting the beacon." then on the second night thereafter came a storm; but nothing was said, except that hiarandi bade the beacon be lighted. yet he was gloomier than ever. one night rolf asked him: "why is it that thou art to answer for that deed which my uncle has done?" "one must answer for a kinsman's deed," answered his father, "when that kinsman is dead." "and what is the punishment," asked rolf, "for slaying?" "a fine or outlawry," replied hiarandi. "tell me of outlawry," begged rolf. "for i hear of outlaws who live and work among men, and of those who flee into hiding, and of those who go overseas." "there are outlaws of many kinds," answered hiarandi. "some outlaws are condemned not to leave a district, or even a farm; but some must leave iceland or else defend their lives. but most outlawries are like this, that a man must go abroad three winters, and then he is free to return. if he stays, his enemies may slay him if they can, and no man may ask atonement. thus they who burned njal in his house did fare abroad; but on the other hand gisli our ancestor lived in hiding, and would not go. and grettir the strong, as all men know, lives to-day an outlaw, in one district or another; and no man has taken him, though there is a great price set upon his head." "if thou art made outlaw," asked rolf, "what wilt thou do?" "ask me not," said hiarandi. "for the matter troubles me. if i go abroad, how will ye all live? and it will profit you nothing if i stay and am slain. yet if i am made outlaw, and go not, my goods and the farm are forfeit." as greatly as hiarandi feared the outcome of these suits, so were those at fellstead pleased by their hopes. and no one heard the carline thurid, who sang to herself when she heard ondott boast: "he laughs too soon who doth forget, soursop blood binds kinsmen yet." but asdis thought rightly in the matter. for she said to hiarandi: "what wilt thou do for thy defence at law? is there no lawyer to help thee?" "help is offered," answered her husband, "to those who have money. and i have none." "then wilt thou ask help of snorri the priest? there is no other to give thee counsel." "not close," replied hiarandi, "is the tie of blood between us, and small is the friendship. moreover, snorri draws ever to those who wax in fortune, and such is einar; and he helps little those whose fortunes wane, and such am i." "now," cried asdis, "be not as a man who sees his own doom, and stirs not to help himself. where is thy manhood? bestir thyself for my sake and rolfs, and do what thou canst for our good! now promise me that thou wilt ask help of snorri." thus she stirred hiarandi to shake off his gloom, so that he promised. and when the time came for him to ride to the althing, he went with a better heart. chapter vii how hiarandi received the lesser outlawry hiarandi travelled to the althing all alone; he had a good horse and stout clothes, but in nothing was he noticeable, so that men who passed him on the road gave him only the good-day, yet asked him not to join their company. and he saw how men of power rode with their thingmen behind them, all in colored clothes and well armed. he saw hrut, the famous swordsman, how he rode with eleven full-grown sons at his back, and men besides, so that all thought that a grand sight. and many others rode to the althing with great pride. then hiarandi recalled that his own father had ridden in holiday guise to bring his suits; and as he compared his father's state with his own, he who went alone and unnoticed, but at home was called the unlucky, then his heart was greatly cast down within him. he came to the thingvalla, where all the plain was a busy hive of men. and he found humble lodging at a booth, and stabled his horse under the cliff, and spent the night alone amid the throng. then on the morrow, at midday, he went out to have speech with snorri. at snorri's booth he was told that snorri was at talk with a client within. "then i will wait," said hiarandi, and sat down on a bench at the door. but it was bitter to him that he should sit there, a poor suitor, at the door of his kinsman. now he had not sat there long when he heard his own name spoken within, and he knew the voice of his neighbor einar. and einar was saying, "thou art not bound to hiarandi in any way." then he heard another voice, the voice of an old man--for snorri was advanced in years--saying: "small enough are the ties between myself and hiarandi." then hiarandi rose and walked away. and he forgot all he had promised his wife, and all she had said to him: how he should forget himself in struggling for her sake and rolf's. but that melancholy came over him which was his greatest weakness. "i am too late," he said to himself, "for einar is before me. my case is lost, and my farm too; for on whose side snorri is, on that side has fallen the judgment for this score of years. and the twists of the law are too hard for me to understand, since meseems right hath no place in a law-finding. yet i will defend myself as i may." then on the morrow the althing was opened, and the four quarter courts sat in their places, and the fifth court sat at the hill of laws. and hiarandi, as he went to the court of the westfirthers, saw where einar walked also thither with snorri, keeping close by his elbow, and laughing as he talked. ondott also was there, slinking behind like a fox. and on that very first day hiarandi's case was called early. now einar had men of the law as his friends, and they had taught him what to say. and he opened the case, speaking loud and clearly, and called on hiarandi to answer the charges. but hiarandi stood up alone, without counsel, and spoke for himself. soon he saw that the case went against him. for einar and his friends knew so much of the law that their wiles were many, and hiarandi was soon confused, so that his answers were not wise. and einar smiled where he stood, so that he confused hiarandi the more. then einar demanded judgment unless hiarandi had more to say. and he was about to give up his case. then came some one and stood at hiarandi's elbow, and said: "thou shouldst demand a stay in the proceedings." hiarandi looked at the man, but he was muffled in a cloak, so that his face was not to be seen. then hiarandi asked: "for what reason can i ask a stay?" the man replied: "it is always permitted to ask it, to get counsel." but hiarandi said: "no counsel can save me here. let an end come now." "foolish art thou," answered the man. "dost thou forget those at home? do as i bid!" then hiarandi asked a stay, and it was granted him until the morrow. but when he turned to ask the man his advice, he was gone, and hiarandi could not see him anywhere. then he went to beg help of those versed in the law, but they said he should have come sooner, for they were now too busy to help him. once more, thinking again of asdis and rolf, he went to ask help of snorri the priest; but he was not at his booth, and men said he would be at the courts all day. at that hiarandi went away again; and he wandered about the thing-field, seeing no one whom he could ask for help, but beholding everywhere men too busy with their own affairs to heed him. at last toward dusk his courage forsook him once more, and he went and sat down on the bank of the river, believing his case lost. as he sat there the light grew dim, and of a sudden he saw at his side the man muffled in the cloak. "now is seen," said the man, "the truth of the old saw: 'he that pleadeth his own cause hath a fool for his client.' for a sound case hadst thou, but it is well-nigh ruined beyond remedy." "what should i have done?" asked hiarandi. "thou shouldst have asked aid of snorri the priest." "but he," said hiarandi, "has been in talk with einar, who sues me." "since when," asked the man, "has snorri been used to pledge himself to all who come to him? hast thou forgotten he is of thy kin?" "we are both come," said hiarandi, "from the stock of gisli the outlaw. but if gisli was his uncle, so also was gisli the slayer of his father. so snorri is both against us and for us by the tie of blood; and he forgetteth and remembereth as he chooseth, or as his interest bids." then said the man: "thou givest him no good character. yet at least thou couldst have let him have the say, which way his interest lies." but hiarandi answered in bitter mood: "snorri casteth his weight where is the greater power, that his own strength may grow." "he would not thank thee should he hear thee," answered the stranger. "yet methinks that even in matters which concern his own advancement, he should be free to choose for himself." "now," asked hiarandi, "shall i go to snorri and crave his help?" "nay," replied the cowled man, "now it is too late. for this evening snorri holdeth counsel on weighty matters concerning chiefs from the south firths, who are to meet him at his booth." "why, then," asked hiarandi, "didst thou persuade me to ask a stay of judgment? for my fate meets me after all." "perhaps even i," said the man, "know more of the law than thou. now wilt thou be ruled by me?" "that i will," answered hiarandi quickly. "then shalt thou do thus and so," said the man. and he instructed hiarandi how he should speak on the next day. "and this shalt thou do even though thou seest snorri in company with einar.--nay, make no question, for else thou art ruined." and with this the man went away. in the morning all men go to the courts again; and hiarandi marks how einar walks with snorri, and they seem merry together, though einar laughs the most. nevertheless, hiarandi stands up when his case is called, and does as the cowled man had said, for he demands of einar what forfeiture he will name. "either," said einar, "that thou shalt pay down the worth of three hundreds in silver, or that thou shalt be outlawed." "now," said hiarandi, "it seems hard that so much shall be my punishment. but wilt thou take this offer, that we handsel this case to snorri the priest, and abide by his finding?" einar hesitated. but many standing by said that was fair; moreover, that was a custom much followed. and again, einar did not wish the outlawing of hiarandi; but he felt sure that snorri would lay a blood-fine, which must force hiarandi to sell his farm. and he thought his cause was sure, so he said after a moment: "i will." so they handselled the suit to snorri, striking hands together before the judges, and agreeing to abide by his decision. then snorri stood up to speak. einar smiled at him that he might remind him of their companionship, but snorri smiled not at all. "thus it seems to me," he said, and all men listened while he spoke--for snorri was one of those who had known the great men of old time, who had seen the great fight at the althing after njal's burning, and who had swayed its event. "thus it seems to me," said snorri. "the case of hiarandi was a good one at the beginning, yet he has well-nigh spoiled it. but the case of einar seems strong, yet it is weak. for he has named as witnesses two men of kin to the slain man; also he has not called a man who is nearer neighbor than one he has called. also these men are neither landholders, nor money owners, nor owners of sheep or cattle; but they live in einar's hall at his expense. now let einar say if all these things are not true." then einar had to speak; and he acknowledged that his witnesses, who should make the jury, were chosen as snorri had said. then snorri set those men out of the jury, and only six were left. "seven men are needed to make the tale of the witnesses complete," quoth snorri. "therefore it is plain that this case of the slaying shall fall to the ground, and no atonement shall be paid. but as to the case of the striking of ondott, that is another matter; and it is a case of contempt of the thing, for one who goes to serve summons in a suit is free to go and come unscathed, and is under the protection of the men of the quarter. therefore i doom hiarandi to the lesser outlawry, after this manner: he shall remain upon his farm for the space of one year, nor go beyond its limits more than the length of a bowshot, upon penalty of full outlawing. but shall he become a full outlaw, then his property, and the inheritance of his son, is not to be forfeit, but only hiarandi's life is to be in danger. and such is my finding." then snorri sat him down. then men murmured together, discussing the judgment; and all said that he knew the law to its uttermost quibble, and he knew men as well, for who told him that the jury was wrongly constituted? and einar was wroth, complaining that snorri was tender of his relative. but hiarandi was glad, and a weight fell from him, for he saw how he had been saved from all that threatened him. he went to snorri to thank him. snorri took his thanks, and smiled at hiarandi. "now is clearly seen," quoth he, "how much snorri thinks of his own honor, and how little of that of his kinsmen." hiarandi had nothing to answer. "and it is also plain," said snorri, "how i always favor the rich, but care nothing for poor men." "now i see," said hiarandi, "that thou wert the man in the cloak." "mayest thou perceive as well," responded snorri, "that thou hast a friend in the world who will help thee when he can." but he would take no more thanks, advising hiarandi to go home and set his affairs in order, since from the rising of the althing to its next sitting he must not quit his farm. "and take heed," quoth snorri, "that thou losest not thy life from carelessness, or from the wiles of thine enemies." then hiarandi betook himself home. chapter viii of schemings until the time when the althing must rise, hiarandi set his affairs in order, and was busy thereat. he arranged who should buy his hay, and who should supply him with this matter and that, although it was clear that many things must be done by the hands of rolf. also frodi the smith, kinsman of the cragness-dwellers, was to come to cragness whenever he might. thus it was all settled; and when the althing rose, then hiarandi withdrew upon his farm for the space of one year. but rolf had to see to the sheep-shearing, since the washing was best done beyond the farm, upon common land. also the selling of the wool came to rolf's lot, and he travelled to the market therewith. through the autumn he was much busied with his father's matters; and it rejoiced his parents that the lad, who had come now into his fifteenth year, was wise and foreseeing, and looked well to all that was trusted to his hand. then the winter drew nigh; and the hay was stored, and the time came when the sheep must be gathered from their summer pastures, when the frosts drove them down from the uplands. all men met at the great sheep-fold which the father of hiarandi had built; but hiarandi might not be there, because the fold was now on einar's land, full five bowshots from the boundaries of cragness. rolf went with the thralls to the separating of the sheep by means of their marks; but hiarandi sat at home, looking out at the gathering of people, and might not be at any of the doings. now ondott crafty had oversight of einar's sheep, and he examined the sheep's ear-marks, and said whose they were. rolf gave to the thralls the sheep to drive home; but frodi the smith, who was the mildest of men, took the sheep from the hands of ondott. this task rolf gave to frodi, because he would not himself have speech with ondott, who was now well of his broken arm, but whose temper was not improved by his hurt. now ondott came to a sheep which had torn its ear, so that the mark was scarred. then said ondott: "this sheep is einar's." "nay," said frodi, "i remember the wether, and he is hiarandi's." "looks not the mark," asked ondott, "like the mark of einar?" "yes," said frodi, "but the mark is scarred, and is changed." "now," quoth ondott, "call hiarandi hither, and let him decide." this he said with a sneer: but frodi answered gravely: "my cousin shall not break his outlawry for a sheep. but call rolf hither." "i call no boys to my counsel," answered ondott. "the matter is between thee and me." then frodi was perplexed, for in disputes and bargains he mixed little. "but," said he, "meseems this is best. drive the sheep to cragness, and let hiarandi see it." "now," said ondott, "i have no time for that. but draw thy whittle, and we can settle the matter here." then frodi looked upon his long knife, and said nothing. "why carriest thou the whittle, then," asked ondott, "if thou art not ready to use it?" "my whittle," answered frodi, "is to cut my bread and cheese, and to mend my shoes on a journey." then all the men who stood about hooted at the simple answer. ondott said: "betake thyself then to bread and cheese, but the sheep is ours." and he sent the sheep away to join einar's flock. now frodi was puzzled, and he said: "i will not follow up the matter, but will pay for the sheep out of mine own savings." but when he offered to pay, rolf and hiarandi were angered, for the wether was a good one. yet they could get no satisfaction from einar, although they might not blame frodi, knowing his peaceful nature. now, as the winter approached, came chapmen, traders, into the neighborhood, and laid up their ship near cragness; and all men went to chaffer with them. but hiarandi must stay at home. then for company's sake he sent and bade the shipmaster dwell with him for the winter; but ondott crafty, learning of it, won the shipmaster, by gifts, to stay with einar. and that pleased hiarandi not at all. then the winter came, and men had little to do, so they held ball-play on the ponds; yet hiarandi could not go thither. and the life began to irk him much. when spring drew near, frodi went back to his smithy, and the household was small. one day ondott said to einar: "still we sit here, and gaze at the house where we should live." "what is there to do?" asked einar. "nothing brings hiarandi from his farm, not even the loss of his wether. i have set spies to watch him, but he never comes beyond the brook which marks his boundary." "yet there is something to be done," answered ondott. "wait awhile." and the winter passed, and the chapmen began to dight their ship for the outward voyage. now malcolm the scot, the thrall of hiarandi, stood often on the crag when his day's work was done, and gazed at the ship of the chapmen. one evening ondott went thither to him, seeing that he was out of sight of the hall. "why gazest thou," asked ondott, "so much at the ship? wouldst thou go in her?" "aye," answered the thrall, "for she goes to my home. but i have not the money to purchase my freedom, though hiarandi has promised in another year to set me free." "wilt thou wait another year when thou mightest slip away now?" cried ondott. "but perhaps thou fearest that the shipmaster would give thee up." "that also," said the thrall, "was in my mind." then ondott said: "the shipmaster has dwelt with us the winter through, and i know well what sort of man he is. now i promise that if thou comest to him three nights hence, he will keep thee hidden, and no one shall see thee when they sail in the morning." the thrall hesitated, but in the end he did as ondott desired, and he gained his freedom by the trick. thus was the work at cragness rendered harder for those who remained, and frodi could not come to help. "hiarandi," said ondott to einar, "is at last coming into those straits where i wished him. now be thou guided by me, and i promise that in the end thy wishes will be fulfilled. come, we will go to cragness as before, and make offer to hiarandi to buy his land." and he persuaded einar to go. they went as before, with hallvard and hallmund. "shall we go armed?" asked the men. "nay," answered ondott, "only witnesses do i desire." now when hiarandi was called forth by einar, rolf also was by, but he saw that they of fellstead bore no arms. again ondott spoke in the place of einar. "hiarandi," said he, "all men can see what fortune is thine, since thy thrall has left thee and thy work is harder. truly thou art called unlucky. but einar pities thy condition, and he offers thus: take from him a smaller farm, and the difference in silver. and since this outlawry is from us, from the time ye two handsel the bargain thou art free to go where thou wilt, without fear of thy life." but hiarandi spoke to einar, and not to ondott. "why comest thou hither," he said, "like a small man to chaffer over little things? this outlawry irks me not, and in two months i am free to go where i wish. go home; and when thou comest again, find thy tongue and speak for thyself!" then he went indoors and left them. so einar and those others rode homeward, and he thought his journey shameful. "see," said he to ondott, "where thy counsels have brought me. i am mocked and sent away." "now," ondott replied, "that has happened which i desired, and i brought men to hear. for thou hast made a fair offer to hiarandi, and hast shown a good heart. now what happens to him is his own fault, and no man can blame us." then he commanded the two men that they should tell everyone what had been said, showing how einar had been generous, but hiarandi insulting. and when they reached the house, ondott said to einar in private: "thou shalt see that hiarandi hath sown the seeds of his own destruction. leave all to me." not many evenings thereafter, ondott put himself in the way of the second thrall of hiarandi, and spoke with him. "how goes all at cragness?" asked ondott. "hard," said the thrall, "for we are at the spring work; and hiarandi spares not himself, nor me either, and the work is heavy since my fellow is gone." "now, why not make thy lot lighter," asked ondott, "by taking service elsewhere?" "i am a slave," said the man, "and not a servant." he did not tell that his freedom had been promised him, for he thought that time far away, since it was three years. for hiarandi had the custom that a thrall should serve with him not for life, but for only seven years, and this man had been with him a less time than malcolm. "the life of a thrall," said ondott, "is very hard." "aye," said the man. "yet thy fellow went away," quoth ondott. "aye," answered the thrall, "but he fled over the sea. no ship is now outward bound, nor is there anyone to hide me. else might i also flee." "come to einar," said ondott. "there shalt thou be safe." "if thou sayest true," answered the thrall, "then it shall be done." "but thou must come," said ondott, "in the way i shall name. thus only shalt thou be of service to einar; but thou shalt be well rewarded if thou showest thyself a man of courage." "who will not dare much for his freedom?" replied the thrall. "but is harm meant to hiarandi?" "that is not thine affair," quoth ondott. then for a time they spoke together, and certain matters were agreed upon between them. chapter ix of the outcome of ondott's plottings now spring was well advanced, but the work was ever hard at cragness, and hiarandi grew very weary. so his melancholy gained on him again. there came a morning when he was troubled in his demeanor, and spoke little. "what ails thee this day?" asked asdis of him. "now," said hiarandi, "for all my words to einar, this life irks terribly. better to be an outlaw, and go where i will--as doth grettir the strong, who lives secure from all his foes." asdis answered: "and what use then couldst thou be to thy wife and son; and is not the time short enough until the ban leaves thee? be a man, and wait with patience a little while yet!" "yet something weighs upon me," pursued hiarandi, "for last night i dreamed, and the dream forebodes ill. methought i was working in the field, and i left my work and my land; some good reason i had, but it is not clear to me now. i did not go a bow-shot beyond the boundary, but from behind a copse wolves sprang out and fell upon me. as they tore me and i struggled, i awoke, yet the fear is heavy on me still." asdis laughed, though with effort, and quoth she: "now take thy boat and fish near the rocks this day. then no wolves can come near thee." "nay," answered hiarandi, "how canst thou ask me to fish when so much must be done on the farm?" "at least," said asdis, "work on the northern slope, at the ploughing, and away from the boundary." "the frost still lies there in the earth in places," replied hiarandi. "but on the south slope, where the sun lies, all is ploughed and to-day we must seed." "take thy sword, then," begged asdis, "and have it at thy side as thou workest. then no wolf will hurt thee." but hiarandi answered, "the day is fine and the wind soft. the sun and the air will clear my head, and we will laugh at this at even-tide. i will take no sword, for it gets in the way." then he called the thrall and rolf; and they took the bags of seed, and went out to work. now that was a fine spring day, so fine that the like of it seldom comes. old farmers in broadfirth still call such a day a day of hiarandi's weather. but asdis detained rolf, and spoke to him earnestly. "dreams often come true, and wolves in dreams mean death. see, i will lay by the door thy father's sword and thy bow, so that thou canst snatch them at need. be near thy father this day, for i fear he is 'fey' [as is said of those who see their fate and avoid it not], and watch well what happens." so rolf stayed near his father all that morning, working with him and the thrall at the sowing. but nothing happened; and the sun and the air cleared from rolf's head all fear of ill. yet hiarandi was still gloomy and absent-minded. then when they stopped for their meal at noon, and ate it as they sat together on a rock, rolf spoke to hiarandi, trying to take his mind from himself. "tell me," he begged, "what sort of man is that outlaw grettir the strong, and for what is he outlawed?" then hiarandi told the tale, and as he spoke he grew more cheerful. "grettir," said he, "is the strongest man that ever lived in iceland, and no three men can master him. for he himself hath said that he hath no fear of three, nor would he flee from four; but with five he would not fight unless he must. all his life he has been rough, impatient of control, and at home only amid struggles and slayings. yet for all that he is a man of ill luck rather than misdeeds, for he hath been greatly hated and provoked. and it is great harm for iceland that grettir ever was outlawed. "now this was the cause of his outlawing. once in norway grettir lay storm-bound with his companions, and they had had much ado to make the land at all. they lay under the lee of a dyke, and had no shelter nor wherewith to make fire, and the weather was exceeding cold, for winter was nigh. then night came on, and they feared they should all freeze; and when they saw lights on the mainland across the sound, they desired greatly to unmoor their ship and cross, but dared not for the storm. then grettir, to save the lives of the others, swam the sound, and came to the hall where those lights were, and therein people were feasting. then he went into the hall; but so huge is he, and so covered with ice were his clothes and hair and beard, that those in the hall thought him a troll. up they sprang and set upon him, and some snatched firebrands to attack him, for no weapons will bite on witch or troll. he took a brand and warded himself, and won his way out, but not before fire had sprung from the brands to the straw in the hall. and he swam back with his brand to his companions, but the hall burned up, and all those that were therein. now there were burned the sons of a man powerful here in iceland; and for that deed, before ever he returned, grettir was made outlaw. because of the injustice he would not go away for his three years, but stayed here. nigh sixteen years he has been outlaw now, and lives where he may, so that many rue his outlawry. and he is not to be overcome by either force or guile; great deeds, moreover, he has done in laying ghosts that walked, and monsters that preyed on men." now so far had hiarandi got in his story, when he turned to the thrall who sat thereby. "at what lookest thou, man?" "nothing," answered the thrall, and turned his face another way. "methought thou wert looking, and signalling with the hand," said hiarandi. "and is there something there in those willows on einar's land? what didst thou see?" "nothing," answered the thrall again. "nevertheless," said hiarandi, "go, rolf, and fetch me my sword; for i repent that i came without weapon hither." now rolf had seen nothing in the bushes; yet he went for the sword, and hastened, but the distance was two furlongs. then after a while hiarandi grew weary of waiting, and he saw nothing at all in the willows, so he said to the thrall: "now let us go again to work." but they had not worked long when the thrall looked privily, and he saw a hand wave in the willows. then he cried aloud: "good-bye, master," and he ran toward the place. hiarandi sprang from his work, and ran after the thrall. now the land at that place lay thus. at the foot of the slope was that brook which was hiarandi's boundary, and toward the sea on einar's land was the thicket of dwarf willows. and a gnarled oak grew at a place away from the willows, standing alone by itself. so when rolf came from the hall, bearing the sword, and having also his bow and arrows, he saw the thrall fleeing, and hiarandi running after. they reached the brook, and leaped it, and ran on, hiarandi pursuing most eagerly. the thrall ran well, but hiarandi used thought; for he turned a little toward the clump of willows, and cut the thrall off from them, where he might have hidden. yet he might not catch the man, who fled past the oak. then hiarandi heard the voice of rolf, calling him to stop; so he remembered himself, and stood still there at the oak, and turned back to go home. but men with drawn swords started up out of the willows, and ran at hiarandi. he leaped to the tree, and set his back against it to defend himself. and rolf, as he came running, saw how the men fell upon his father. the lad strung his bow as he ran, and leaped the brook, and laid an arrow on the string. when he was within killing distance, he sent his arrow through one of the armed men. then that struggle around hiarandi suddenly ceased, and the men fled in all directions, not stopping for their companion; but one of them carried a shaft in his shoulder, and a third bore one in his leg. and then rolf saw how the thrall had loitered to see what was being done, but he ran again when the men fled. rolf took a fourth arrow, and shot at the slave, and it stood in the spine of him. freedom came to the man, but not as he had deemed. then rolf ran to his father, who lay at the foot of the tree. he looked, and saw that hiarandi was dead. chapter x how rolf named witnesses for the death of hiarandi it happened that on that morning frodi the smith had travelled to cragness to see his kinsmen, and he arrived at the hour of misfortune. for he found asdis weeping and wringing her hands by the door of the hall, while below on einar's land rolf stood over the body of hiarandi. then frodi hastened down to rolf and wept aloud when he came there. when he could speak, he said: "come now, i will help thee bear hiarandi's body to the house, as is proper." but rolf had stood without weeping, and now he said: "let us bear him only to our own land, for a nearer duty remains than burial." and he and frodi carried hiarandi across the brook, and there laid him down; and asdis covered him with a cloak. then rolf said to frodi: "well art thou come, who art my only kinsman, and withal the strongest man in broadfirth dales. and i would that thou hadst with thee more weapons than thy whittle. art thou ready, frodi, to help me in my feud?" frodi said uneasily: "a man of peace am i, and never yet have drawn man's blood. i am loth to bare weapon in any cause. and meseems thou hast no feud against anyone; for hiarandi was lawfully slain, since he was beyond the limit which snorri set." "that is to be seen," quoth rolf, and he went to the edge of the brook. "yonder," said he, "stands the tree where my father was slain, and no step went he beyond it. [and that tree, until it decayed entirely, was known as hiarandi's tree.] now see," said rolf, "if i can throw an arrow so far." then he sent an arrow, and it fell short by three roods; and the second shaft went but two yards farther, so that fourteen yards more were needed. then rolf tried again, and put all his skill and strength into the effort, yet the arrow fell scarce a foot beyond the second. rolf dropped the bow and put his face in his hands. "i cannot do it," groaned he. "it is impossible to any man," said frodi. "he gives up easily," answered rolf, "who hath no heart in the cause. yet it remains to be seen if there are not men who can shoot farther than i. try thou for me." frodi replied: "i am strong for the working of iron and the lifting of weights, but to shoot with the bow is another matter. that requires skill rather than strength." "but try!" beseeched rolf. so frodi tried, but he failed lamentably. "said i not," asked he, "that i was not able? and now i say this, that by all thou art accounted the best archer in the district. for last winter, when we tried archery on the ice, and all did their uttermost, only surt of ere and thord of laxriver shot farther than thou, and that by not so much as a rood. yet thou art much stronger each month, while they are grown men, and their strength waxes not at all. and if they surpass thee by no more than a rood, no help is in them for this matter." rolf knew frodi spoke wisely, for that man must be found who could shoot three roods farther than himself. but he said: "would i were the weakest in all broadfirth dales, if only men might be found to surpass me by so much. but i will not leave this matter, and all the rest shall be done as is right." so rolf called frodi to witness that the man whom he had slain, well known to them both, was a man of einar's household. and rolf cast earth upon his face, as a sign that he acknowledged the slaying of him. then the two bore the body of hiarandi to the hall, where asdis prepared for the burial. but frodi and rolf went forth and summoned neighbors, men of property, who were not kinsmen of einar's, to be at cragness at the following morning. twelve men were summoned. and the cragness-dwellers did no more on that day. but at fellstead, although there were some wounds to be dressed, men were cheerful. for hiarandi was gone, and now only a boy stood between einar and the owning of cragness; and a boy would be easy to dispose of. the wounded men were sent out of the way, that they might not be accused of the slaying; and when dark came ondott sent and let bring the body of the man that was slain, and it was buried secretly. then he and einar spoke of the future, feeling no guilt on their souls, since all had been done lawfully. and no one noted how the old woman thurid sat in a corner and crooned a song to herself. now these were the words of her song: "a tree grows and threatens woes. let axes chop so that it fall. let fire burn its branches all. let oxen drag its roots from ground. let earth afresh be scattered round. let no trace stay of oaken tree,- so shall good fortune come to thee. but if the tree shall stand and grow, then comes to einar grief and woe." yet as she sat muttering the song to herself, einar went by and bade her be silent, for he was going to sleep. then she sang to herself: "to-night to sleep, some day to weep." after that she said no more. but on the morrow those witnesses whom rolf had summoned came together. they stood at hiarandi's side, as the custom was, and rolf named the head wound and the body wound by which he had been slain. then they went to the place of the slaying; they viewed the tree, and rolf named it as the spot to which hiarandi went farthest; and he called on those men to witness that the tree stood there; and the distance was measured, and the tree was put under the protection of the men of the quarter, so that it might not be cut. thus all was done that could be done, and the news was taken to fellstead. then einar said to ondott: "where were thy wits? had we last night destroyed the tree and smoothed the ground, no trial of bow-shooting might ever be made. now we may be proved in the wrong, and this slaying turn against us." ondott had nothing to say, save that no man could shoot that distance. and they dared not now cut the tree. that night hiarandi was laid in his cairn, which they made of stones, by the edge of the cliff where all mariners could see it. and he was remembered as the first man in iceland who lighted beacons against shipwreck, so that those who sailed by prayed for his soul. chapter xi of rolf's search for one to surpass him with the bow two vows rolf made before he slept that night: the first was that he would yet show his father's slaying unlawful; the second was that, so long as he might, he would neither stand, sit, nor lie, without weapon within reach of his hand. for hiarandi might have saved himself had he but had his sword. asdis and frodi, who stood by and heard the vows, might not blame him; for such was the custom of those days. then rolf begged frodi to stay with him to help finish the sowing, and that was done. and when the spring work was finished on the farm, then it was within six weeks of the sitting of the althing. but rolf felt that the work had to be done, for his mother's sake. then rolf set forth on that quest of his, to find a man to beat him at the bow. first he went to surt of ere, and begged him to try skill with him. then it was seen that rolf's strength had so waxed during the winter, that surt overshot him by no more than two yards. next rolf went to thord of laxriver, but that failed completely, for by now rolf could shoot even as far as thord. after that he went about in the dales, to find men who were good at archery; but though he heard of many with great names, those men proved to be nothing helpful to rolf, for none could surpass him at all. so he began to learn how much is a little distance, even so much as a palm's breadth, at the end of a race or of the fling of a weapon. and time drew on toward the sitting of the althing, so that rolf feared that he should be able to make out no case against einar. at last, after wide wanderings, he got himself back to cragness, and sat wearily at home for three days, with little to say or to do. that third morning asdis said to him: "leave, my son, thy brooding, and let this matter rest for a while. over-great are our enemies, yet mayhap in time our deliverance will come." rolf answered nothing but: "little comes to those who seek not." now frodi had gone for one night to his smithy, which was ten miles from cragness, beyond helgafell, at the head of hvammfirth, where there was a ferry by a little river. when he came back quoth he: "yesterday crossed at the ferry those two men who are most famous in all the south firths, and they had a great company with them." "who were they?" asked rolf at once, "and what kind was their following, whether fighting-men or not?" "fighting-men were they," answered frodi, "but on a journey of peace. for kari and flosi were on their way to visit snorri the priest at his hall at tongue. great would have been thy pleasure at seeing the brave array." "now, would i had been there!" cried rolf, springing up. "but i would have looked at more than the brave array. so farewell, mother, and farewell, frodi, for i too go on a visit to snorri the priest." they could not stay him; he took food and a cloak, with his bow, and went out along the firth on that long journey to tongue. for he said to himself that in that company or nowhere else in iceland would he find an archer to shoot for him. too long is it to tell of that journey, but it was shortened inasmuch as fishermen set rolf across hvammfirth. then he went from hvamm up to tongue, and came to the hall of snorri the priest. a great sight was that hall, for no other that rolf had seen was equal to it, and the hall at cragness might have been set inside it. long it was, and broad; wide were the porch-doors, and beautiful the pillars that flanked them. men went in and out, carrying necessaries from the storehouse which stood at another side of the great yard. and so noble was the housekeeping of snorri the priest, that at first rolf feared to enter the hall. but at last he asked a servant: "will it be taken well if i enter?" "who art thou," asked the man, "not to know that all are welcome at snorri's house?" so rolf went in where all were feasting, for it was the hour of the noonday meal. many men were there, and none took notice of rolf, save that when he sat down on the lowest bench one came and offered food. rolf would take none. he cast his eyes about the place, where twelve fires burned along the middle of the hall, where were seats for many people, and where continually servants went to and fro. all seats were filled save one or two. but at the further end of the hall, on the dais, sat a small man, gray-haired and thin-bearded, with bright eyes of a light blue. and that was snorri the priest, the greatest man in all the west of iceland. at his sides sat two other men: the one to his right was iron-gray, bearded and strong, a man of sixty summers; and to the left sat a younger man, with no gray in his light hair, slighter in body, and yet of vigorous frame. and it was strange that those two men sat together in peace, who once had been the bitterest of foes. for the older was burning-flosi, who had burned njal in his house; but the other was kari solmund's son, who had been njal's son-in-law, and alone of all the fighting-men had escaped from that burning. and his vengeance upon the burners was famous, for he followed them in iceland, and slew many; and great was his part in the fight at the althing, as may be read in njal's saga. but when the burners were outlawed and fared abroad, then kari followed them by land and sea, and slew them where he met them. no other vengeance is like to that which kari, alone, took for his own son, and for njal and his sons, grim the strong, and helgi the gentle, and skarphedinn the terrible. but kari missed flosi in his searchings; so that flosi came to rome, and was absolved from the sin of the burning, and so journeyed home. but kari came also to rome, and was absolved from the sin of his vengeance, and went home. then kari was wrecked at flosi's door, and went to his house for shelter, to put his manhood to the proof. but flosi welcomed him, and they were accorded; and friends they were thenceforth. now all this tale was known to rolf, as it was to all men in iceland, and as it should be known to all who read of the deeds of great men. so he sat and marvelled at those two, how noble they looked, men who had never done a guileful deed; and in that they were different from snorri, who had won his place by craft alone. rolf looked also at those others who sat by the dais, all men of station who looked like warriors, some one of whom might be the man who should help him against einar. and he took great courage, for there were the men of most prowess in all iceland. now one of the southfirthers had been telling a story of grettir the outlaw, how he flogged gisli the son of thorstein with birch twigs. but when the story was ended, snorri said: "mayhap my son thorod will tell us what he knoweth of grettir." then began a snickering among the servingmen, and those of tongue looked mighty wise. but thorod, snorri's son, got up from his seat and left the hall, saying he would not stay to be laughed at. when he was gone a great laughter rose, so that flosi asked to be told the cause of it. snorri said: "this will show all how grettir has wits in his head. some time ago i was wroth with my son, for he seemed to me not manly enough. so i sent him from me, bidding him do some brave deed ere he returned. and he went seeking an outlaw, to slay him. he found one who had been outlawed for an assault, but he was a lad; and the woman of the house where he worked sent my son further, to find grettir where he lurked on the hillside. and thorod found him and bade him fight. "'knowest thou not,' asked grettir, 'that i am a treasure-hill wherein most men have groped with little luck?' "but for all that my son would fight. so he smote with his sword, but grettir warded with his shield and would not strike in return. so at last when he was weary of such doings, grettir caught up thorod and sat him down beside him, and said: 'go thy ways now, foolish fellow, before i lose my patience with thee. for i fear thee not at all, but the old gray carle, thy father, i fear truly, who with his counsels hath brought most men to their knees.' so my son went away, and came home, and because the story pleased me i received him again." so they laughed again, southfirthers and westfirthers together, and joyous was the feast. but when all was quiet again, men saw that snorri wished to speak, and they listened. snorri called his steward, and said: "fetch a stool, and set it here on the dais, for a new visitor hath come to see me." then the steward fetched a carved stool, and set it on the dais. he put a cushion in it, and threw a broidered cloth over it. and all grew curious to see who should sit on that stool. then snorri said again: "few are my kindred on my mother's side, and not in many years hath one entered this hall. but one sits here whose face recalls the features of my mother thordisa. let that stranger under my roof who claims to bear the blood of the soursops, come forward to me!" rolf arose, and while all men stared at him, he walked to the dais and stood before snorri. chapter xii of the trial of skill at tongue snorri asked of rolf: "art thou the son of hiarandi my kinsman?" "his son am i," answered rolf. "so must thy father be dead," said snorri. "for i feared he would break his bounds." "it is yet to be proven," replied rolf, "whether he be lawfully slain or no." then flosi said: "let us hear this tale, for it hath not yet come to our ears. sit here before us, and tell what hath happened." so rolf sat there on the stool which had been prepared, and he told his story. all who sat there listened, and the men of the south firths drew up close. it was a new thing for rolf thus to speak before great men, and before fighting-men; but he bore himself well and spoke manfully, forbearing to complain, so that they murmured praise of him. and it seemed to them wrong that he had been so treated, and the younger men grew wroth. when rolf had finished telling of the death of hiarandi, one of the southfirthers sprang up and stood before the dais. that was kolbein the son of flosi, and he asked: "may i speak what is in my mind?" they bade him speak. "this place on broadfirth," said kolbein, "is not so far out of our way when we journey back. let us make a stop there, and pull this man einar out of his house, and so deal with him that he shall do no evil hereafter." this he said with fire, for he was a young man. but flosi answered: "now is seen in thee the great fault of this land, for we are all too ready to proceed unlawfully. and men can know by me how violence is hard repaid." all knew he spoke of the burning, and of that vengeance which took from him many kinsmen. "let us do nothing unlawful. what sayest thou, kari?" then kari said that nothing should be done without the law. and the young man sat down again. but kari called on snorri for his opinion. "methinks," said snorri, "that the lad hath some way of his own which may serve." "if that is all," answered kari, "then we will help him." "it is only," said rolf, "that one of you here will shoot with the bow three roods farther than i. thus can my father's death be proved unlawful, and einar stand punishable." with great eagerness the young men sprang up and got their bows. all said they would do their best to help the lad, but it was plain that they regarded the matter an easy one. so rolf took heart at their confidence. then all went out to the mead, where was good space for shooting. "but first," said kari, "let us get our hand in with shooting at a mark. then when we are limber we will shoot to show our distance." so that was done, and all thought that great sport, and a fine opportunity for each to show what man he was. the southfirthers and the westfirthers set apples on sticks and shot them off, and they shot next at the sticks themselves, and last they shot at a moving mark. then they called rolf to show his skill. flosi asked of kari: "thinkest thou the lad can shoot?" "slender is he," answered kari, "but strong in the arms and back, and his eye is the eye of an eagle. our young men will not find their task easy." rolf struck the apples, and then the sticks, and then the moving mark. then they swung a hoop on the end of a pole, and rolf sent his arrow through it, but most of the others failed. kari laughed. "ye forget," quoth he, "that the lad shoots at birds and cannot afford to lose his arrows. who among us hath had such training? but now let us try at the distance." so the ground was cleared for that, and the weaker bowmen shot first, and some good shots were made. rolf was called upon to say what he thought. he shook his head. "ye must do better," he said. then better bowmen shot, all those who were there except kari and kolbein. snorri would not shoot, but flosi did, and a great honor it was deemed that he should oblige the lad. but when all had finished, then rolf took his bow, and his arrow fell upon the farthest which had been sent, and split it. snorri laughed. "so hath my kinsman come here," he said, "and all for naught." but kari said: "kolbein and i have yet to shoot, and we are about alike in skill." so they shot one after the other, and they shot equally, so far that all were pleased, and some ran to measure the distance, finding it three roods and more beyond rolfs arrow. many cried that the matter was now settled. but snorri said: "let rolf shoot once more. mayhap he hath not yet done his best." then rolf took his bow again, and the arrow flew; it fell less than a rood behind the arrows of kari and kolbein. so it was proved that none there might help rolf in his need. then he was greatly cast down; and he wished to go away at once, but they detained him over night. no men could be kinder to him. and in the morning, when he was to start home, they offered him money, but he would take none. so snorri gave him a cape, and flosi a belt, and kari gave a short sword, handsome and well made; much was he honored by those gifts. snorri lent him a horse to take him to hvamm, and there boatmen set him again across the firth. weary and disheartened, he came to cragness on the morning of the second day, and without joy he entered the hall. there asdis met him in great trouble. "here has been," said she, "a great man and a rough, who made me feed him. misfortunes come to us from all sides, for frodi is away, and the man took our milk-ewe, and has driven it away before him, going toward the fells." "when was he here?" asked rolf. "not two hours ago." "i will seek him," said the lad, and turned from the house. "nay," cried asdis in alarm, "i beg thee, go not! for he was huge and fierce of aspect. thou art too tender to meet such as he. put up with this matter and let it pass." "mother," answered rolf, "i am sixteen years old, and since the death of my father i am a man in the eye of the law. wouldst thou have me less than a man in fact?" and he went his way after the robber. chapter xiii of that robber rolf followed that man who had stolen the ewe, and the way led first down into the dales, and then upward to the fells. there had been rain and the paths were soft, so that the tracks of man and sheep were clear. it was strange to rolf that the robber showed such boldness as to go on beaten ways. but when at last he reached the region where all the paths were grassy and tracks could no longer be seen, then rolf knew not what to do until he met a wayfarer. "hast thou seen," asked rolf, "one who goes driving a ewe?" "he is not far before thee," answered the man. "but what seekest thou with him?" "the ewe is mine," said rolf. "i will have it again." "thou art foolhardy," cried the man. "a life is more than a sheep. turn back!" "not i," quoth rolf, and he went on. then in a little while he saw the man before him, going without haste behind the ewe. and rolf marvelled at his confidence, for the man did not even look back to see if he were followed. so rolf strung his bow and went faster, going quietly until he was but fifty feet behind the man. and then he called to the robber. that man turned at once, drawing his sword. grim and harsh was he in face when he found he was followed, but when he saw a lad, alone, then he smiled. "seekest thou me?" he asked. and his voice was harsh, like his face, so that he was a man to terrify many. "that sheep is mine," said rolf. "leave it and go thy way." "go home, boy!" said the man. "i would not hurt thee." "once more," cried rolf, "i bid thee leave the ewe, else will i strive with thee for it." "what," sneered the man, "wilt thou set thyself against me? draw thy sword, then!" but the robber's sword was long and heavy, while rolf's was short and light. "nay," he responded, "but i will hurt thee with my arrows. take thy shield and defend thyself." "no shield do i need," sneered the man again, "against such as thou. shoot, and see if thou canst touch me!" so great was his contempt that he stung rolf to the quick. "let us see, then!" the lad cried. and in great heat of anger, at short range, rolf drove a shaft at the middle of the man's body. but behold! the man swung his heavy sword as lightly as a wand, and brushed the arrow aside! "once more!" quoth he. and then rolf shot again, and yet again, but each time the arrow was swept aside. and the robber called with jeers to shoot faster. so rolf sent his shafts as swiftly as he could, and it was astonishing to see how fast they followed each other; but though he shot half a score of times, each arrow, just as it reached its mark, was brushed aside. of them all, one touched the clothing on the robber's breast, so that it tore the cloth; and one, sent at the face, scratched the skin ere it was turned. when that was done, the man jeered no more, for he saw that rolf was closing in. and what might have happened is not known. but to rolf, even in his anger to be so foiled, there came admiration of the stranger's skill. "now," he thought, "such a thing is a marvel, for it is related of the men of old time, but not of the men of to-day. i had not deemed anyone so quick or so strong." then his own words told him who the man must be; he stopped advancing, and lowered his bow. but in a twinkle the man dropped his sword and strung his own bow, and he laid an arrow on the string. "now," cried he, "we have changed about, and can play the game the other way. perhaps thou also canst guard thyself." he drew the bow. "art thou minded to try?" rolf made no movement to ward himself. "thou art grettir the strong," he said. "grettir asmund's son am i," answered the man, "whom men call grettir the strong. perhaps thou art now the more minded to slay me, even as fools whom i meet from time to time. for nine hundreds in silver is the price set upon my head." "nay," answered rolf, "i would not slay thee." the man laughed mightily. "i owe my life to thee!" he cried. then he changed his manner suddenly. "go, leave me, boy, for my temper is short, and i might do thee a mischief!" and then he went on his way, still driving the ewe before him; but rolf remained in that place. after a time the lad gathered those of his arrows which were not broken, and turned back toward his home. but when he looked behind, and saw that a roll of land hid him from grettir, then he turned again, and followed after the outlaw. a long time rolf followed, warily at first, for grettir looked back once or twice; then the lad might go more boldly. and the outlaw led him up into the hills, where were rocks and crags and much barrenness, a region where men might lurk long and not be found. and grettir made a halt at a strong place, a shelf on the crags, protected from above by a sheer cliff, and reached only from one side. it seemed as if he had often been there before. while he made a fire, rolf lay at a distance, and wondered how he might steal nigher. only one vantage did he see which commanded the outlaw's lair: a great spur of rock which stood out from the cliff, but which it would be hard to reach. then grettir laid himself to sleep while it was yet day, and rolf crept forward till he was under the spur. from above no man might reach it; yet there were crevices here and there in the rock by which rolf could climb. so he slung his bow on his back and tried the ascent. but so slow must he climb, for fear of noise, that it was dark when he reached the flat top; and though grettir was scarce forty feet away, rolf could not see him at all. so he watched there through the night. ever at that little distance he heard grettir labor in his sleep, and oft the outlaw moaned and groaned. at times he started up and looked abroad, but he could see nothing by the light of the stars. but when dawn came, then grettir slept peacefully; and when it was broad day he still lay sleeping. his face in sleep was sad and noble, with signs of a hasty temper; his frame was great indeed. he lay so long that rolf at last strung his bow and shot an arrow into the ground by him. grettir started from his sleep, grasping his weapons and looking about for his foes. never in his life rolf forgot that sight, which few men had seen without ruing it, of grettir angry and ready for the fray. but grettir saw no one, for he looked about on the hillside below him. then rolf spoke: "here am i, grettir." then the outlaw saw him, and put up his shield against a second arrow. rolf said: "had i wished, i could have slain thee in thy sleep." "rather will i believe," answered grettir, "that thou hast shot thy last arrow, and missed." rolf showed him his full quiver, and grettir lowered his shield. "how camest thou here?" he asked. "i made sure that thou wert gone." "not very sure," answered rolf. "and how," asked grettir, "didst thou reach that place? i had weened no man could mount that rock." "i am but a boy," answered rolf, "yet men call me cragsman." "now i am well shamed," cried grettir, "that a boy hath so outwitted me! and this i believe, that thou mightest have slain me; for a good archer i found thee yesterday. still more will i say, that yesterday i had near suffered a hurt at thy hands, so that i was considering whether to retreat before thee, or to take my shield, and neither have i yet done before a single archer. now let me ask thee, why didst thou stop shooting then; and why didst thou not slay me here as i lay?" "because," answered rolf, "thou, or no man in iceland, canst give me the help i need." "come down," said grettir, "and we will eat together." so they breakfasted together, of dried meat and the milk of the ewe. "how was thy sleep there on the crag?" asked grettir. "no worse," answered rolf, "than thine here on the ledge. why didst thou sleep so ill?" then grettir answered soberly: "one of my few good deeds is so repaid that i see shapes in the dark, and my sleep is broken. for i slew glam the ghost who wasted thorhallstead, but ere i cut off his head he laid on me that spell. so i am a fearsome man in the dark, though in the day no man may daunt me. but what can i do for thee?" "let me see," answered rolf, "if with the bow thou canst shoot farther than i." "thou art a vain lad," said grettir, somewhat displeased. "for that alone earnest thou hither?" "be not wroth," begged rolf, "for i have the best of reasons." and he told the story of his father's death and of the need for a good archer. grettir smiled. "and couldst thou find no man," asked he, "who is within the law, to do this for thee?" then rolf told of the trial with those southfirthers at tongue, and grettir looked upon him with surprise. "so skilled art thou then?" he asked. "now string thy bow, and show me how far thou canst shoot." so rolf strung his bow, and shot along the hillside, and the arrow fell far away. "now do i wonder," said grettir. "let me see thy bow." and when he had looked on it he said: "that any one could shoot so far with such light gear i had not thought possible. thou art a good bowman. but what thinkest thou of my bow?" rolf took the bow of grettir in his hand, and a strange weapon it was. for it was shorter than his own bow, and scarcely shaped at all, but was heavy and thick, so that it had seemed not to be a bow, save for the string and the notched ends. "such a bow," said rolf, "saw i never." "canst thou string it?" asked grettir. then rolf tried, but he could scarce bend it a little way. yet grettir took it and strung it with ease. then he showed rolf his arrows, which were heavy, short, and thick, like the bow. he laid one on the string, and drew it to the head, and behold! it rushed forth with a great whir, and with such force that it might pierce a man behind his shield. and it flew far beyond the arrow of rolf, full five rood further. "what thou dost with skill," said grettir, "i do with strength." but rolf cried with great joy: "thou art the man i have been seeking!" then he asked: "wilt thou go with me and shoot an arrow before witnesses, to prove that my father was unlawfully slain?" "that i will," quoth grettir, "and joyfully too, for i see little of men. only one thing i require, that safe conduct be promised me to go and come, for i have enemies in thy dales." "how shall i get thee safe conduct?" asked rolf. "it must be granted," answered grettir, "by the quarter court at the althing." then they talked the matter over, and grettir advised rolf once more to seek snorri the priest, to find what steps should be taken. then it was bespoken where rolf should meet grettir again, and the outlaw offered to lay out in the hills north of the thingvalla, in the valley of the geysirs, and await tidings of the outcome of the suit. "now," said rolf, when he was ready to go, "keep the ewe for thy kindness's sake." "do thou take her," answered grettir. "for had i known that thy mother was a widow, i would never have taken the sheep. and the first booty is this, which ever i rendered again." so rolf returned toward home driving the ewe; and when he reached the highway which led to the south firths, there came riding a company, kari and flosi and their followers, and snorri the priest was with them. they asked tidings. then he told them of grettir, and those three chiefs left their horses, and sat down with rolf on the fell a little way from their company; they had talk what was to be done. for snorri declared he saw a flaw in the case, since grettir was an outlaw, and no outlaw had ever yet come into a suit at law. but at last he said: "now go thy way, and summon einar with a formal summons. [and he taught rolf the form.] but be thou sure that no mention is made of grettir. and i believe that, since no such case has ever yet been tried, it can lawfully be brought about that grettir may shoot." then those chiefs went their way, and rolf went his, and he came back to cragness. chapter xiv how rolf and einar summoned each other because of the state of matters at cragness, frodi the smith journeyed there frequently to see his relatives. here it must be told what kind of man he was. he was tall and heavy-jointed, with a long neck and a long face, and somewhat comic to look upon. frodi the slow was he by-named, for his movements were cumbersome and his mind worked slowly. but since that affair at the sheep-fold, many called him whittle-frodi. now rolf sends for him one day, and tells him all that had happened, and how he was sure of making einar an outlaw. and he asks frodi to go with him to the house of einar, to be witness to the summons. then said frodi: "let me say what i think of this affair. first thou shouldst ask a peaceful atonement. for in the beginning it seems that there is danger to thee, so great is the strength against thee. and in the second place such continual blood-feuds as daily go on are unchristian, and evil for the land." then rolf was thoughtful. "shall i have done all my seeking for nothing?" he asked. "more than that, shall i take money for my father's slaying?" "it is the custom of the land," said frodi, "and many men do it for the sake of peace." "i heard flosi say at tongue," said rolf, "how strife between neighbors was the greatest bane of this land. and i am half minded to do as thou sayest. but why has not einar offered me atonement, if any is to be paid? i tell thee, hard is his heart, and he is glad!" "at least," begged frodi, "let me ask einar what he will do." "so i will," answered rolf, "and a great sacrifice i make, to lay aside my grief and vengeance. nay, i even break my vow which i made before thee. but i think only scorn will be thy portion, and matters will be made worse." then they went together to the house of einar, and were seen from the hall as they entered the yard, and men came and stood in the porch as they approached. there were einar and ondott, and other men of the household. all bore weapons. but no one spoke when the cousins stood before them. "will no one here give us welcome?" asked frodi. ondott mimicked frodi's slow voice, and said: "be welcome." the men of einar laughed. "laugh not," said frodi mildly. "now, einar, it is known how hiarandi came by his death, and men say thou art responsible therefor." "i was not by at his slaying," answered einar. said rolf: "what is done by a man's servants, with his knowledge, is as his deed." and frodi said: "were it not better to atone rolf for the death of his father, rather than have bad blood between neighbors? for thou knowest this, that some day a man may be found to shoot an arrow beyond that little oak." now einar was plainly smitten by the answer of frodi, and the scorn went from his face, and he thought. and here may be seen how the evil which a bad man does is not half so much in quantity as the good which he mars. for ondott crafty saw what was in einar's mind, and he spoke quickly. "an award may be given, einar," said he, "which will honor you both. shall i utter it?" now einar was accustomed to the bitter jokes of ondott, and when he thought he saw one coming, he forgot his design of peace, and said: "utter the award." "but does rolf agree to it?" asked ondott. "i will hear it," answered rolf. "but if thou meanest to scoff, think twice, lest in the end it be bad for thee." meanwhile some of the women of the household had come out of the hall at its other end, by the women's door, and now stood near to hear what was said. helga the daughter of einar was there, but she hung back; nearest of all stood thurid the crone, listening closely. "now this i would award," said ondott, "if i were in thy place, einar. thy son grani is abroad, in the fostering of the orkney earl; but some day he will come home, and then will need men to serve him. let rolf give up his holding and become thy man; so canst thou protect him from all harm. then when thy son returns rolf shall be his bow-bearer, and shall be atoned by the honor for the death of his father." some laughed, but not for long, and so far was this from a jest that the most were silent. then thurid chanted: "for einar's son shall rolf bear bow. which in the end shall bear most woe?" but none paid attention, for rolf was gathering himself to speak. and he cried: "ill jesting is thine, ondott! now hear what i am come hither to say: outlaw shall einar be made, for that man is found who can make the shot beyond the little oak. and thus i summon einar." so he recited the summons. he named the deed and the place, and the wounds of which hiarandi had died. he named witnesses, those householders who had already been summoned. and he called einar to answer for the deed before the westfirther's court at the althing. ondott alone laughed when the summons was spoken in full. "so here are come a boy and a peaceling," quoth he, "to pick a quarrel with men." "heed him not," said frodi to rolf, "for he seeks cause to draw sword on thee." then rolf made no answer to ondott, but he and frodi turned away and started to go home. ondott whispered to einar: "a spear between the shoulders will settle this matter for good." and he signed to hallvard that he should have his spear ready to throw. einar stood irresolute. but the maid helga went forward quickly and walked by rolf's side. "may i go with thee to the gate?" she asked. great anger possessed him against all of einar's house, but the sight of her astonished him, and he said she might come. in silence they went to the gate of the yard; then helga stood there in the way while those two from cragness went homeward. and einar had already bidden that no violence be done, for fear of harming his daughter. he went into the hall and sat down in his seat, brooding over the outcome. ondott said: "too squeamish art thou." einar said: "if thou findest me not a way out of this, it will go ill with thee." now a way out of that would have been hard to find, had not one day ondott met that man who had set rolf on the right road as he pursued grettir. said the man: "so thy neighbor rolf won his sheep again from grettir the strong. that was a great deed!" then ondott learned of the stealing of the sheep, and how rolf had been seen driving it home again. he thought, and knew who must be that man who would shoot for rolf. then he went homeward with a light heart. "now," said he to einar, "thy defence is sure. but come with me, and we will summon rolf for those wounds he dealt, and that man he slew, when hiarandi was slain." "no court," answered einar, "will punish rolf for that." and he would not go, though he gave ondott permission to go in his stead. ondott took a witness and went to cragness, where rolf and frodi were at work in the yard. ondott recited the summons; rolf and frodi went on with the work, and answered naught. and now all is quiet until men ride to the althing. chapter xv of suits at the althing rolf journeyed to the althing, and as he went he fell in with the company of snorri the priest, and travelled with them. snorri heard how the summons had gone, and he asked whether rolf had said anything of grettir. rolf answered that he had not. then he told of the summons which ondott had made, and snorri laughed. it was not many days before they came to the thingvalla, and rolf saw that great wonder of iceland. for from the plain on which they journeyed a large part had fallen clean away, many yards down, and it lay below like the bottom of a pan. the great rift was the name of the western precipice, and there was no way down save by one steep path; snorri had held that path on the day of the battle at the althing, nor would he let flosi and the burners escape that way. when rolf had got down to the plain, he saw all the booths for the lodging of those who came to the althing, ranged along the river. he saw the places where the quarter courts were held, and he went to the hill of laws, where the fifth court sat to hear appeals. now the hill of laws is cut off from the plain by deep rifts, and men showed rolf where, to save his life, flosi had leaped one rift at its narrowest part, and that was a great deed. other wonders were to be seen. then on the second day the sitting of the courts began, and rolf watched closely for the calling of his suit. but that came not until the sitting was near its end. now snorri conducted the case of rolf, and all went in due order. einar answered what was said against him, that he was not present at the slaying of hiarandi. snorri called on the court to say whether einar were not answerable, because his men did the deed. the judges said he was. then it came to proving whether or not the slaying were illegal, and snorri said that a man had been found who could shoot the distance. and this he asked of the judges: "is it not true that when, before witnesses, an arrow is shot from the boundary and falls beyond the tree, that will prove the slaying unlawful?" "that is so," said the judges. "now say further," demanded snorri. "is it not true that in the moment when the slaying is proved unlawful, the guilt of einar is established, so that no suit at law is needed?" "that also is true," answered the judges. "now," said snorri, "one last thing do i ask, whether or not he who goes to make the proof by shooting an arrow, may go and come freely, whatsoever man he be?" "we see no reason why this may not be so," said the judges. "now give that decision here aloud in the open court," required snorri. but einar arose and said: "one exception only shall i ask to this, that no outlaw be allowed to take part in this suit, by shooting the arrow." then said snorri to rolf, "they have learned of grettir." he said to the judges: "well do i know that no outlaw is ever allowed to give witness in court, nor to sit on juries. but no such case as this has ever arisen, and it seems to me that an outlaw might be permitted to shoot." then there was great talking on both sides, for the greater part of an hour: it would be tedious to tell what was said. but the end was, that the judges were divided, so the question was referred to the lawman. and his answer was, that no outlaw might take part in a law matter in any way whatsoever. there was an end to rolf's hopes to prove einar guilty by the means of grettir. but snorri called all men to witness that when some day a man might be found to shoot the distance, then einar was guilty without going to law. now men began to whisper and say that the end of grettir's outlawry was but four years off, and then rolf could be justified. so einar tried to have a limit of three years set on that time when it was lawful to try the shooting; but snorri strove mightily against that, and that question went to the lawman, and he said that seven years should be the limit. that was the end of the suit, and rolf got no satisfaction at all. one more thing was done on that day, for snorri went to einar where he stood with ondott, and he asked of the second suit, for which rolf had been summoned. ondott spoke for einar. "we shall not bring that suit." "that is well," said snorri, "for ye had no case, and i could have a fine laid on you if the case was brought falsely." then he took rolf with him to his booth. but here is the trick which ondott had prepared. for the next day was the last of the sittings, and snorri was busy with many matters; but rolf stayed at the booth, much cast down. then toward the sunset hour the cases were all finished, and men left the courts, all save the judges, who stayed for the formal closing. then ondott brought forward the case against rolf, and summoned him into court, but no one was there to tell either snorri or the lad. nevertheless it was the law that the suit might go on, because lawful summons had been given. and einar stood up and said: "i take witness to this, that i give notice of a suit against rolf hiarandi's son, in that he slew by a body wound, by an arrow, my herdsman thorold. i say that in this suit he ought to be made a guilty man, an outlaw, not to be fed, not to be forwarded, not to be helped or harbored in any need. i say that all his goods are forfeited, half to me, and half to the men of the quarter, who have a right by law to take his forfeited goods; i give notice of this suit in the quarter court into which it ought by law to come. i give notice in the hearing of all men on the hill of laws. i give notice of this suit to be pleaded now, and of full outlawry against rolf hiarandi's son." all that was said in the manner laid down by law. then einar pushed the case, and no one was there to answer him. all steps were taken then and there, and judgment was called for and given, and in his absence rolf was made full outlaw, and his goods were declared forfeited. not till the court had risen, and nothing might be done, was the news brought to snorri and rolf. snorri was angry that he had been tricked, yet he could see no way to help himself. this one thing he brought about, that the judges declared that rolf, outlaw though he was, might shoot to prove his innocence, if he might but get himself safely to the spot. and snorri sought to comfort rolf, but the lad was dazed. "the farm is lost!" he cried. "thou canst win it back," answered snorri. "thou art young and thy strength will grow. before the seven years are past thou canst make that shot." "nay," said rolf. "i can never do it until i find some bow as strong as grettir's, yet which a common man may string. never have i found a bow too stiff for me, save his alone." "skill may beat strength," quoth snorri. "somewhere mayest thou find the bow thou dreamest of." "where?" demanded rolf. snorri was silent, for he feared no such bow was to be found. rolf sighed. "and my mother?" he asked next. "she shall live with me at tongue. and now," said snorri, "meseems best that thou goest home at once. thou knowest all that is to be done?" "i know," replied rolf; and snorri believed him, because to the priest all the ways of the law were so familiar that it seemed all men must know them. yet rolf did not know, and they meant different things. "shall i lend thee money," asked snorri, "or hast thou enough?" "i have plenty," said rolf; yet he had only enough for the journey, whereas much more was needed. then rolf took his leave of snorri, and gave him his thanks; and taking his horse, he went from the thingfield by the path up the great rift. and he passed two men of einar's, who spoke together that they were to start very early in the morning. from the top of the rift rolf looked down on that plain where all men were still busy, and which in years had brought misfortune on all his family. then at last he went his way. now those men of einar's went to their booth, and told that they had seen rolf departing. "hasten back at once," said ondott, "and find what direction he takes." and they went and watched. "he went northwest," said they, "and he took not the straight track toward home." "then he is gone elsewhere," quoth ondott, and seemed glad. "hurry, all of you, for he delivers himself into our hands." meanwhile rolf went northwest to the valley of the geysirs, and on the second day found grettir the strong cooking his food at a boiling spring. chapter xvi the act of distress rolf told grettir all that had happened, and much was the outlaw disappointed thereat. for he had counted upon going again among men, and had hoped to win glory from the shooting, so he was sorry on his own account. but also he consoled the boy. for he spoke of the great world over the sea, how there were places and peoples to be seen, and fame to be won. this is clearly seen by those who read the story of grettir, that all his life he sought fame, and his fate was lighter to him because he knew men would sing of him after his death. but no such thoughts uplifted rolf, since he grieved for his mother and for the loss of the farm, and it seemed no pleasure to go abroad. "now," said he, "far rather would i stay here in this island, until the time of outlawry is past. why may i not stay with thee?" "knowest thou not," asked grettir, "that if one fares abroad the outlawry is for three years, but if one stays it is twenty? and that is a third of most men's lifetime." "yet," said rolf, "i am minded to do it." for he cared not what happened to him. "now," said grettir, "listen to me, and learn what it means to be an outlaw. no man will take thee within his house, so soon as he knows who thou art. so must thou live in the open, like a beast, or else make hiding-places for thyself. and a miserable life it becomes after a while. no man mayest thou trust, lest he take thy head. well do i know that gisli thy ancestor lived an outlaw, fourteen years; yet he lived in holes and caves, and was slain at the end. he was the greatest outlaw of iceland before me, save only gunnar of lithend, who tried to stay in his home and was slain. but i have maintained myself sixteen years, and miserable have they been. too tender art thou of years and frame to bear the life. moreover, i know my mother mourns me at home. think then of thine, and put this idea from thee!" then rolf was ashamed that he had ever thought of such a thing. so he spent a night with grettir, there among the geysirs, and wonderful were the things that he saw. and in the morning they cooked again at the boiling spring. then, as they sat eating, grettir said by chance: "thou saidst thou art poor. did snorri give the money for the priest's dues, and the court's?" "what are those dues?" asked rolf. grettir cried: "has no money been paid for thine outlawry?" "none by me," answered rolf. "and thy neighbor einar," asked grettir. "what was he doing when thou earnest away?" "they were preparing for departure, so that i heard a groom say they would start before sunrise in the morning." then grettir sprang up, and went and caught rolf's pony; he saddled it, and brought it to the lad. "go home!" he cried. "too little dost thou know of the law. for if those dues were paid, then thou hadst a year in which to take ship. but they are not paid, so thy enemy can make thee full outlaw ten days after the rising of the althing, by executing the act of distress at thy house. three days are gone already, and thou art far from home. for this was einar hastening away. now take my advice, and go south, and ship thence." "nay," answered rolf, "first i must see my mother, and perhaps i can reach home in time. now fare thee well, grettir. when thy outlawry is finished, then thou shalt gain me my property again." but grettir said nay to that. "well do i know," said he, "that we two shall never meet again. for from here i go to the island of drangey, to keep myself if i may until my outlawry is over. no stronger place is there in iceland for defence. but hallmund the air-sprite, my friend, foretold i should never come out of my outlawry. thus i shall never again mix in this affair of thine." rolf could answer nothing. "and in my turn," said grettir, "thus i foretell thy fate. no man shall help thee here. with thine own strength and craft must thou regain thine own, or never more be master of thy fathers hall!" then rolf was heavy-hearted as he bade grettir farewell. and grettir did as he had said: he went to his home at biarg, and went thence with his brother illugi to drangey. how he fared there may be read in the grettir's saga. but rolf fared west to his home. he had lost much time, as grettir had feared; yet as he neared cragness on the eleventh day after the rising of the althing he saw no one, and it was just noon. and only at high noon might the act be executed which would make him full outlaw. so he rode into the yard. then there stepped out to meet him from the house ondott crafty, who came forward with a greeting. he spoke well to the boy, and bade him alight, yet seemed to wish to get very near. rolf dismounted on the further side of his horse. "what doest thou here?" he asked. "einar hath sent me," said ondott, still coming closer. "he biddeth thee come to his house, where somewhat can be said concerning this outlawry of thine, to make it easier for thee." but then asdis came running from the house. "flee!" she cried. "einar and his men are at the crags, and there they make thee outlaw. flee!" then ondott snatched at rolf with his lean arms, but the lad felled him with a buffet. rolf would have mounted his horse again to get away, but men appeared at the gate of the yard, so that there was no way out. then rolf passed quickly into the hall, and kissed his mother farewell, and leaped from a window at the other side, meaning to gain the cliffs. his way was all but clear; for spies had seen rolf's coming and reported it to einar, who sent his men to seize the lad. they had gone to right and left around the hall, while einar alone completed the act of distress at the crags; for thus the law said: it must be done at a barren spot where no shade fell, not far from the house of the outlaw. and einar completed the act, and started toward the house. he alone stood between rolf and his escape. so rolf ran at him, drawing his sword. but einar fled when he saw the lad's steel. then rolf ran up behind, put his sword between einar's legs, and tripped him. einar rolled over on his back. "mercy!" cried he, and made no attempt to ward himself. rolf laid the flat of his sword against einar's forehead; he shrank from the cold steel, but still did not struggle. "now," quoth rolf, "i go across the sea, yet thou shalt hear from me again. and if i meet in the outlands thy son, of whom thou boastest, i promise thee to put this sword to his forehead, but with the edge, and to draw his blood." by that, the men of einar were close at hand. rolf ran to the crags and let himself down at a place which he knew well. when men with spears came to the edge and looked after him, nothing of him was seen. chapter xvii rolf and frodi fare abroad rolf comes to frodi where he works in his smithy, there at the head of hvammfirth. now the weather is rough, and a strong sea rages among the islands at the mouth of the firth, and the tide-rips are bad. rolf comes into the smithy, and frodi greets him well. "how went thy suit at the althing?" asks he. then rolf tells him all, how he was now an outlaw, and how he escaped. "and men are out to catch me, for as i came down over the hill, i met one who said that armed men were at the ferry below, waiting for someone. now lend me thy boat, frodi, that i may cross to hvamm, and seek passage on that ship which is there outfitting." "remain with me overnight," answered frodi, "for the wind is rough." but rolf would not stay. "then," said frodi, "i will row with thee, to help against the wind, and coming back i can row easily alone." "thou wouldst thus come into danger for forwarding an outlaw," replied rolf, and on no account would he suffer frodi to go. so perforce frodi lent him the boat, and they bade each other god-speed, and rolf set out. that was a hard row in the face of the wind, yet rolf got safely to hvamm. then, desiring that his enemies should think him dead, he set the boat adrift, and the oars separately, and saw the waves carry them from the shore. then he went on his way to the ship which was fitting for the outward voyage; and because it was the law that no shipmaster might refuse passage to an outlaw, rolf was sure of safety. as he went he met a man of snorri the priest, and rolf sent by him a message to his master: "forget not thy promise to keep my mother till my return." and so he came to the ship, and was sheltered. but that boat drifted across the firth, and the wind and tide brought it again to frodi's smithy, where it lay and beat upon the beach. frodi went out and drew it up, and knew it as his own, and believed that rolf was drowned. he went back to his smithy, and sat there weeping. then came that way men of einar's, hallvard and hallmund, with ondott crafty; and seeing they were three, and frodi so mild of temper, they went into the smithy to taunt him with the misfortunes of rolf. because he wept, they fell to laughing, and asked him: "why weepest thou, whittle-frodi?" frodi told them that rolf was dead. "for he took my boat to row across the firth, and now is the boat come empty to land, without oars or thole-pins." then they laughed the more, and taunted him grievously, saying they were glad at the news, and mocking his weeping. so hallmund came near, and put his hand on frodi, calling him a fool. frodi seized the hand, and rose, and they all saw his face was changed. "never in my life," said frodi, "have i been angry till now!" he drew the man to him, and snapped the bones of his arm; then he raised him and cast him at hallvard, so that the two fell, but ondott remained standing. "now, ondott," quoth frodi, "here is the whittle which once thou badst me draw. let us see if it will cut!" but when he drew the whittle, ondott fled, and the others scrambled together out of the smithy. then frodi was afraid of the law, for he thought: "they will make me an outlaw for this assault." so he took his boat, and got new oars and thole-pins. then he fetched his money from his sleeping loft, and fared across hvammfirth to that same ship where rolf was. great was his joy when he saw rolf. "what dost thou here?" asked rolf. "i will go with thee," answered frodi. then he paid the shipmaster his faring, and paid rolf's also. two days thereafter they sailed down broadfirth, and saw cragness at a little distance. the cairn of hiarandi was to be seen at the edge of the cliff, but many persons were at work in the field. rolf knew that his enemies had already set up their household there; but the ship took him, heavy-hearted, east over the sea. chapter xviii how those two came into thraldom two earls ruled in the orkneys: brusi and thorfinn, half-brothers. of the islands, two thirds were under brusi, the elder; but besides his third thorfinn had inherited caithness and sunderland in scotland from his grandfather the scot king. so thorfinn lived on those lands, and brusi guarded all the isles; but thorfinn complained that the guard was ill-kept, since vikings harried oft in the isles, coming from norway or denmark. there was a man named ar the peacock, who was a thane of brusi the earl and lived on the mainland of orkney. now the mainland of orkney is an island, and ar ruled its northern end, having charge of the tribute to the earl and the keeping of order. he lived at that place called hawksness in hawkdale, below the downs and sheepwalks, where is good harbor in winter. forty men he kept, and a war-ship; his hall was great, and there was a stone church close by; fisher-folk and farmers lived in the same settlement. ar was a vain man and fond of show, kindly but weak. because he had no child he had taken to him a lad to foster, who was called grani the proud, ar's fosterling. grani was tall and fair, of sixteen summers, skilled in games but ignorant of war. he was dear to his foster-father's heart, and ar could deny him nothing. that war-ship of ar's was for the ward of the isles, and ar kept it at all times in readiness. one day news came that vikings were on the west coast, plundering and burning. ar sent for sweyn, the master of his ship. "thou shalt take the best of thy men," said ar, "and search for those vikings. and because earl thorfinn has complained that our work is ill-done, thou shalt take all pains." sweyn said he would. then grani stood before ar, and said: "thou hast many times promised i should go a-fighting. now may i go with sweyn, or wilt thou put me off yet another time?" ar remembered that he had heard of but one viking-ship, so he said: "thou mayest go." "thou hast promised me thralls when the next captives are taken. may i choose them from this ship?" "two thralls mayest thou have," answered ar, "but all orkneymen are to be freed." when they made ready to go, ar said to sweyn that grani should be guarded in the fight, and sweyn promised to look well to that. they went on board and sailed round into the open sea; there they passed first the great cliffs, and then cruised along the shore, looking for the ship of the vikings. now the ship of those chapmen who had given passage to rolf and frodi had a good voyage; those two broadfirthers were the only icelanders aboard. to them the orkneyingers boasted much of their land. "in spite of what ye say," quoth rolf to them, "the orkneys are no such safe place as iceland, as i see clearly, now that we are nearing land." "in what dost thou see it?" asked the others. "with us are no sea-robbers," answered rolf, "but ye have set a watch against vikings, and fear them." this the orkneyingers could not deny, for they had kept a look-out ever since they had neared the land. yet all their care did not avail them, for they met a ship in the pentland firth, a war-ship, weather-stained and hardy; shields hung along its sides, and it sailed swiftly. when the chapmen saw the shields taken from the rail, they knew that was a viking-ship. so the chapmen prepared to defend themselves. rolf got ready to fight; but when the vikings drew near, frodi sat himself down on a rowing bench, and looked troubled. "wilt thou not fight?" asked the shipmaster. frodi answered: "it is not clear to me what i should do." "shame on thee," cried the other, "if thou wilt not fight for the men who harbored thee!" [illustration: "so tall was she that the vikings could not board her"] so frodi, all without arms, stood up as the two ships came together, and knew not where to place himself. the vikings came leaping aboard, and all began fighting in confusion; but the vikings were many and were well armed, and the chapmen had no leader. men fell dead at frodi's side, and a viking came at him with brandished sword. frodi caught him and hurled him into the water. then he took those other vikings who came near him, and cast them overboard one after another; "and it is no affair of mine," thought he, "if they cannot swim." and he cleared a space about him, but one from a distance cast at him a throwing-axe; it struck him flatwise on the head, and down he fell. by this time the chapmen were ceasing to fight; but rolf saw frodi fall, and fought the harder, to avenge him. the vikings penned him by the rail, yet he broke through them; then when he passed near where frodi had fallen, frodi rose up and caught rolf by the waist, and said: "now sit we down comfortably here together, for we have done our part." that was the end of the fight, for no men fought more, and the vikings gave peace to them. now men began to shout from the water, where they were swimming. three were hauled up over the side. "how many," asked rolf of frodi, "threwest thou over?" frodi turned white and would not answer. then the vikings despoiled the ship of the chapmen and set her adrift, but the captives were set to row the war-ship. rolf and frodi toiled at one oar together, and sore was the labor, but not for long. for on the third day, as they rowed under a bright sky with no wind, they heard a clamor among the vikings, who cried that a long ship was bearing down on them--an orkney ship, great in size. some of the vikings snatched their shields from the bulwarks and armed themselves; but many, crying that no mercy would be shown, would take no shields, and instead cast off their shirts of mail, preparing to go into battle baresark. "never have i seen that," said rolf, "though much have i heard of it." for northmen, in danger of death, often went into battle bare of armor, fighting with fury and mindless of wounds. they believed that thus they came surely into valhalla; but that was a custom of the heathen, and was not done by christian folk. rolf and frodi were tied to their bench, and saw nothing of the orkneymen as they came up astern. but at last the splash of oars was heard; next a grapple came flying aboard; then of a sudden the orkney ship loomed alongside, and she was a big ship indeed. so tall was she that the vikings could not board her; but from her the orkneymen sent down arrows, stones, and spears. bodies of men fell among the rowers' benches, and rolf and frodi took each a shield, sat close together, and warded themselves against weapons. then the orkneyingers, having cleared the waist of the viking-ship of fighters, came tumbling aboard. that was a fight with method, for the orkneymen in two parties drove the vikings to the stem and the stern, and so either slew them or thrust them into the sea. very hot was the fighting, but it was short; the sixth part of an hour was not over when the fighting was finished. now that orkney ship was the ship of ar the peacock, and they who led the fighting were sweyn and grani. sweyn drove the vikings to the bow; but grani led those who fought in the stern, and two old fighting-men warded him, one on either side. grani did not know that they were guarding him. when the fighting was finished, sweyn and grani met in the waist, near where rolf sat. sweyn asked grani if he had any wound. grani said nay thereto. "but i gave wounds, and this has been a great fight." "now," said sweyn, "let us free those who worked at the oars." "remember," answered grani, "that i am to have thralls from the captives." but of those who had been taken with the ship, it was found that all the vikings were either dead or sore wounded; and all the rowers were orkneymen save only rolf and frodi. "no orkneymen can i give thee as thrall," said sweyn. grani answered: "then i take the two others." then rolf stood up and said: "icelanders are we. since when are icelanders enthralled in the orkneys, and why is this injustice?" "ye are captives," said grani. sweyn took him aside to speak with him; but he would not listen, and said, pouting: "ar promised me." "take them then," replied sweyn. grani said to rolf and frodi: "ye are my thralls; i will treat you well. what are your names?" rolf answered: "rolf hight i." "of what father and what place?" "a thrall," answered rolf, "hath no father and no home." frodi replied in like manner. "it is plain to see," said sweyn, "that these two should be free men." "let them win their freedom, then," answered grani. then a division of men was made, and sweyn took the chapmen with him in the large ship, but grani stayed on board the viking-ship as its master. they sailed together for the orkney coast. when night came grani called rolf and frodi, and bade them watch by turns while he slept. "i will be a good master so long as ye serve me well." rolf thought grani to be about his age, yet not so old in mind. much pleased was grani to own thralls. he seemed kindly, but petulant and uncertain. chapter xix now men are shipwrecked those two ships sailed together, all that day; but in the night they became separated, for there was a little wind. in the morning grani's ship was close to a shore, and that was the mainland of orkney. for miles great cliffs stood up out of the water, the wind fell, and there was a long ground-swell. then said grani: "often have i seen these cliffs from above; now it will be sport to see them from below. put in close, and sail along under the cliffs." those two old men who had warded him in the fight both spoke to him, saying it were better to keep away. but grani pouted and gave his order again. "all men say," quoth he, "that the water is deep there, and no harm can befall." then they sailed along under the cliffs, and a grand sight that was, to see them high above and stretching far ahead. rolf stood in the bow, and he looked first up at the cliffs, and then down into the green water. there came a great wave, larger than the others, and after it the water fell away. just before the ship, rolf saw a rock break the water with scarcely a ripple, for it was very sharp; sea-weed floated around its sides. another wave came and lifted the ship up, and the rock disappeared as if it had sunk down. rolf shouted in warning. but the wave passed, the ship rushed down into the hollow, and struck the rock. the planks tore apart beneath the bow, and all heard the splintering; then the water poured in, a wave lifted the ship, and she slid back into deep water. she began to sink. there was scarcely time to throw over oars and shields, and to leap after them into the water. the ship went down; the men were swimming, there under the wall of rock. they swam toward the cliff, and those who swam worst clung to the oars. but the cliff rose sharp from the water, only hand-hold was to be had, and the waves bruised the men as they tried to support themselves. eighteen men in all were there, and they swam in a line along the cliff for an hour, until at last they found a foothold where a shelf of rock jutted under water, and all might stand waist deep. then one of the men asked: "is the tide coming or going?" they watched to find out, and at last it was sure: the tide was coming. it rose above their waists, so that the smaller men were lifted by the waves; and it was lucky that there was no storm, for they would all have been killed. then the tide rose still higher, and men began to look anxious. there they stayed half an hour more, and the sea-otters swam about and looked at them. frodi said to rolf: "what dost thou think, and why look'st thou so at the cliffs above us?" "they seem to me like the cliffs at home. were we there i could climb up." "seest thou no way here?" asked frodi. "i see two ways," answered rolf, "yet neither seems good." grani asked: "what are my thralls saying?" "the water," said rolf, "will take thy thralls from thee." but one of the men had heard what had been said, and told grani. grani cried: "why dost thou not try the climb?" "send one of those," answered rolf, "who cares to save his life." this he said of a set purpose, for of the men some were heavy and some were old. they all shook their heads and said they could not win to the top of the cliff. grani said: "i will give thee thy freedom if thou wilt save us." "is there a farm above?" asked rolf. one of the men said: "within a mile." rolf still stayed where he was. "why dost thou not go?" cried grani. "what of the freedom of my fellow?" asked rolf. "he also shall be free," answered grani. then rolf essayed to climb the cliff by the way which seemed surest; he went up quickly until they lost sight of him, so that they began to say that now he was at the top, and would soon bring a rope. then something fell with a great splash in the water. "he hath reached the top and thrown down a rock," cried the men. but that was rolf himself, for he had fallen from near the top; presently they saw his head. all breathless and bruised, he swam to them and waited a while; then he sought to climb by the other way, and that was more in sight of the others; marvellous climbing they agreed it was. after a while he went again out of their sight, and in the end they heard him hail. so they were sure he was at the top. then they waited for him to bring the rope, and the water rose to the breastbone of frodi, who was tallest; but it was at the chin of the shortest, who had to float, while frodi held him. they stayed there a long time, and the water rose still higher; it was cold, and some of the men grew very faint. at last shouts were heard, and a rope came dangling down. then the shortest man climbed the rope, and he was glad. but others were too weak to climb, and had to be drawn up, one after another. grani would not go, but sent up the men in the order of their height. when he and frodi alone were left, grani said to frodi: "go thou next." "great is thy pride," answered frodi, "and thou wishest to do a brave deed, yet thy strength is not sufficient. for see, thou art blue about the lips, and i am holding thee upright. how shouldst thou stay alone after i have gone up? but i could stand here yet another hour. thou must go next." "i will stay to the last," answered grani. then the rope came down again. "i will not go," said grani. "then i shall tie thee by force, and send thee up," said frodi. but then was heard a great shouting, and there came a ship which had seen the work of rescue, and had put in shore. grani said: "i will go in the ship; they are sending a boat." when the boat came from the ship, grani went in it; but frodi climbed the rope and told rolf what had been said. that was a ship of chapmen, and its master asked grani who he was, and gave him food and drink, and carried him round the end of the mainland to hawksness; but those others who had reached the top of the cliff had no other way than to walk. four leagues they fared on foot, reaching hawksness after nightfall. meanwhile grani spoke much with the shipmaster, and they grew very friendly. they came to hawksness about the same time as the other men came from the moors, and they all walked up to the hall together. rolf walks with frodi, but the shipmaster goes with grani, and passes near them; the shipmaster sees them, but they do not mark him. then the shipmaster pulls at grani's sleeve, and draws him aside. the shipmaster asks: "those two who walk there are thy thralls?" grani said so. then the shipmaster said: "didst thou say thou wouldst set them free?" "aye," answered grani. "it hath come to my mind," said the other, "that they did not save thee, but i did. moreover, there was no need for climbing the cliff, for i should have been able to save ye all." "that is true," said grani. "now," quoth the shipmaster, "thou art very reckless of thy possessions if thou settest those thralls free." "truly," answered grani, "i will not free them." when they reached the hall sweyn had arrived before them, and the booty of the vikings lay in the hall; but ar was waiting anxiously for his foster-son, and welcomed him gladly. then a true tale was required of all that had happened. grani told each thing as it had come about. when he told of his thralls, ar said: "since those two are icelanders, who are close to us by ties of blood, it were better to have set them free." "thou didst not reserve any save orkneymen," answered grani. then he told of the wreck and the rescue. said ar: "so those two have their freedom in the end?" grani called rolf and frodi to the dais. "thou didst not save my life," said he. "that is true," answered rolf. "moreover," quoth grani, "the ship would have saved us all." "that also is true," said rolf. "therefore i see no reason," said grani next, "why i should set thee free." rolf and frodi answered nothing. "see," said grani to ar, "they make no objection; therefore i shall keep them as thralls. but i will give each of them what he cares to choose of the spoil, if thou permit." then permission was given, and the spoil of the vikings was spread out there before the dais; there were fine things of many kinds. but rolf put the gold and silver by, and took only a cloak. then said grani: "choose again." rolf took a belt. "choose again," repeated grani. rolf took a short sword. "choose yet again!" cried grani. but rolf would take nothing more, and frodi took naught but a cloak and a whittle. "a strange pair are ye," quoth grani. but ar called them to him and asked them why they had chosen so little. "we take only our own," answered rolf. "sea-worn cloaks and weapons," said ar, "are they dear to ye?" "his mother," said frodi, "made me my cloak, but the whittle belonged to my father." "and thy things," asked ar of rolf. "who gave them to thee?" "snorri the priest," answered rolf, "gave me the cloak, and burning flosi gave the belt; but if ye do not know these names--" "i know them both," said sweyn the sea-captain. "but who gave the sword?" "kari solmund's son," answered rolf, "and that name thou shouldst know best of all." sweyn cried: "i know the man himself, for he is an orkneyman by birth, tribute-taker here under earl sigurd, and of great fame. now tell us the story why he gave thee the sword." but rolf would tell nothing. then sweyn offered to buy rolf of grani, but he puffed out his lips and would not sell his thrall. so nothing came of that rescue by rolf, save to give him a name among the orkneyingers. now all men sit down for the evening meal. that shipmaster wishes to leave the hall, saying he must look to his ship; but grani will not let him go. then frodi sees him, and pushes rolf in the side. says frodi: "men said your uncle was dead." "so they did," answers rolf. but he does not attend, and falls to brooding. so frodi says that again. rolf asks him why. "who sits by the dais?" asked frodi. rolf looked on that shipmaster, and it was his father's brother, kiartan. chapter xx how rolf won his freedom now when that meal was ended, kiartan rose up and said that he must go; he thanked ar, and grani walked with him to the door. but as they passed by the bench whereon rolf and frodi were sitting, grani beckoned them to rise up, and he said to kiartan: "look on my thralls, now that thou canst see them closer, and tell me what thou thinkest of them." kiartan scarcely looked at them. "they seem a good pair," he answered. "it is fitting for thy dignity to have thralls." then he went away. frodi asked of rolf: "did he know us?" "he knew us well," answered rolf. "what wilt thou do?" asked frodi. "i see naught to do," said rolf. "for what he did against my father was done in iceland, so that i could not bring a suit at law here. moreover, no thrall can bring a suit in any land." "wilt thou claim kinship with him?" frodi asked. "wilt thou?" responded rolf. no more words were said, but it was seen in their eyes that for their pride's sake they would make no claim on kiartan. kiartan found that nothing was said in the matter; so he stayed there in the place, and won the friendship of ar by gifts, and traded with success. he ate often at the hall, and slept there whenever he would; but no word passed between him and those kinsmen, nor did they ever look at him. grani was proud that he owned thralls, and he commanded them to show what they could do. so rolf shot with the bow, and grani made him his bow-bearer. but frodi said he knew little of weapons; yet when they gave him a spear he shot it through two shields braced together against posts. he asked for work as a smith, but grani made him spear-bearer. and the youth often walked abroad with those other two attending him. ar was pleased with that show, but the thralls smiled grimly to each other. once kiartan saw that smile, and he said to grani privily: "thy thralls smile at thy back, and make as if they feel shame. now be careful lest they harm thee sometime when thou art alone with them. if i were thee, i would set them at the sheep-herding or the field-work." grani answered: "i fear no harm from them, and indeed i like them more every day. i cannot spare them." now the truth of the matter was this, that grani cast a great love upon rolf, and would have him as a friend, not thinking that no friendship can be between master and slave. he gave rolf gifts, everything but his freedom; he spoke much with rolf, yet the talk was most upon the one side, for rolf grew very silent. yet rolf went everywhere after grani, and did him much service of all kinds, being clever with his hands and wise in his ways; he knew a boat and all the modes of fishing; when it came to cliff-climbing, no man in that place was his match. grani often went seeking adventure with rolf and frodi; they managed in such wise that frodi did the work and rolf directed what should be done. when they went after birds frodi sat at the top of the cliff and held the rope, but on the cliff's face rolf would let grani take no risks. nay, sometimes it seemed as if rolf were the master and grani the man. but when other people were about, rolf did all that grani said. one day a bishop came to hawksness and visited the parish. he held service in the church, and lived at the hall for two days. when he was about to go away, he asked if any man needed from him counsel or comfort. frodi stood up. said he: "lord bishop, are all manslayings sinful?" the bishop answered: "state me the case, for some manslayings are blameless." so frodi spoke thus: "if a man is on a ship, and vikings come, and that man casts a viking overboard, and the viking is drowned--hath the man committed a mortal sin?" many men smiled at these words, for the story of frodi and the vikings had been told. the bishop said: "vikings are the worst plague of the land, and they deserve no mercy. since the viking came to take life, it was no sin to slay him." frodi drew a long breath, but he asked further: "if two vikings were drowned, what of that?" "it is the same," answered the bishop. "but if three men were thus drowned," asked frodi, "what then?" "even if thirty died," answered the bishop, "the answer is still the same." then frodi heaved a great sigh, and looked so relieved that all who stood by shouted with merriment. grani was pleased most of all, and he gave command that frodi should be called drowning-frodi. frodi liked that little, yet by that name he was called for a while. and grani was so pleased with all this that he boasted much about his thralls. one day he spoke of them with kiartan, and told how when they went away together rolf took the lead. "and he cares for me," said grani, "as if i were his brother; but so soon as others are by he is as any other thrall, and says no word unless spoken to." kiartan said: "in that he appears to me sly." "how should that be?" asked grani. "he seeks to gain influence over thee," answered kiartan. "nay," said grani, "he and i are friends." kiartan shook his head. quoth he: "in my country we have a saying: 'ill is a thrall for a friend.' moreover, to lack dignity at any time is not seeming in one of thy station." grani took those sayings much to heart; he went no more away alone with his thralls, but stayed where were other men. now that was the time when the summer had passed by and harvests were all in, but winter had not yet come and the weather was mild. men were saying that when winter should come, it would be with suddenness. there came a day when the wind was high, but it was as soft as summer. a man named thord the weatherwise came to ar and said: "see to it that all is ready for the winter!" and without more words departed. ar inquired of his men if the sheep were yet gathered in from the downs above the cliffs. it was answered that they were not. ar bade send a man quickly to warn the shepherds. it was told ar that the fishers had just come in, and that all the serving-men were busied at the beach, being much needed to save the catch of fish, for the waves were high. ar said to grani: "lend me one of thy thralls to take my message." "thou mayest have both of them," answered grani. so rolf and frodi prepared to go to the downs, and a long jaunt that would be. but when grani saw they were ready he felt desire to go with them, since he had not done much for some days, and needed action. so he said that rolf and frodi should wait till he could go with them. they went outside the hall to wait, and grani bound on his shoes. now kiartan had stood by and heard all that, and he said: "so thou goest out again with thy friends?" grani answered with pride: "i go with my thralls!" he went outside the hall and found rolf and frodi waiting. rolf looked him over, and seeing there was no one by, he said: "take thy cloak, for we may be benighted." "lo," answered grani, "the thrall gives orders to his master! we shall be back before men go to bed. no cloak is needed, and i forbid ye to take yours." so rolf and frodi left their cloaks behind, and went with grani to the moors. the moors were wide and rolling, and lay above those cliffs whereby they had once been wrecked. the three travelled not as had been their wont, all together; but grani went ahead, saying to himself they should remember that they were thralls. in going so he missed his way, and they came to the sheepcotes roundabout and late. there they found the men busy gathering in the sheep, making ready to drive them to the valleys when this gale should pass. some men said that would be on the morrow, for the wind was falling. even while they spoke the wind dropped completely, and there was a calm. "see," said grani, "the storm is over; it was but a gale." the head shepherd said he thought not so, and that more was to be looked for. "moreover, thy icelanders think the same, as i can see by their faces." "i ask not what they think," answered grani. "there is blue sky in the south." "thy thralls and i," replied the shepherd, "look to the north. and now i beg that thou wilt stay here overnight, for company's sake." "i see thou hast fear for me," said grani. "but i will return." "then hasten," begged the shepherd. but grani would not hurry, and started leisurely. the shepherd called a man, and privately told him he should guide those three, for he knew the moors. then the shepherd begged grani that the man might go to hawksness with him, for his work at the folds was done. the four started together. soon a little wind, thin and keen, began to blow from the north; it grew greater quickly until it was half a gale. by that time they were where they could see the sea, and grani looked out upon it. quoth he: "fog is coming from the water." now rolf had been silent so far, all that afternoon; yet he could be so no longer. said he: "not fog is that, but snow, and i beg thee to turn back." "lead forward!" said grani to the shepherd. so they went on as they had been going, another half-hour, and each minute the wind grew stronger. they neared the line of the cliffs, and walked parallel with them at a half-mile's distance. then that which had appeared to be fog on the water at last moved inland, so that they saw it coming like a wall. it left the sea, and swallowed up the land before it; then it swept upon them silently, and they bent before its onslaught. wind buffeted them and roared in their ears; a few snowflakes drove along the ground; then they were enfolded in the swirl of snow. all around them became one gray fleece, they could not see for a rod in front, and they shivered with the cold. they struggled onwards, bending to the wind; and night came down an hour before its time. the snow began to heap thickly, and now it was above the ankle, now a foot in depth; wonderful was that fall of snow. they walked one behind the other, the shepherd in front, then grani, rolf, and frodi, each so close as to touch the next one with his hand. the night grew black, and the wind was loud. then at last rolf shouted that they should stop. "why sayest thou that?" asked grani. "because i think we near the cliffs," said rolf. "i hear no surf," answered grani. but the guide thought that rolf was right. grani asked what they should do. rolf answered: "best stay here till morning." "shall i freeze?" asked grani. "let us turn away and walk further inland." "we cannot keep our direction," said rolf. "wilt thou never be silent?" asked grani. "we will go inland." so they sought to do so, and they walked for another while. then grani asked the shepherd if he knew where he was, and the man could not say. when they went on again, frodi pressed forward and took the place behind the shepherd; and when grani asked for the place frodi would not give it. so they walked thus for another while, their feet clogged by the snow, their faces stung with the wind, plodding with great effort and weariness. then at the end that happened which rolf had feared. for of a sudden the roar of the sea burst up at them from their very feet, and the guide, with a cry, sank in the darkness. frodi clutched at him, but caught only the cloak; the clasp broke, and the man fell to his death. those other three stood at the edge of the cliff, while below the sea thundered, yet they saw nothing. then rolf took grani by the arm and drew him away. frodi followed. the noise of the surf was suddenly lost in the wind, and no one would have known they were near the cliff. rolf led the way inland, and frodi walked last; they went very cautiously, and frodi was ever ready to seize on grani. at last they reached a mound. in its lee the wind was less, and the snow was piling deep; rolf scooped space for them all, and there they sat down side by side. after a space grani said, "it grows cold." frodi wrapped him in the guide's cloak. for another while they sat silent, until grani said again: "i am too weary to walk another step, yet if i sit here i shall freeze. frodi, what can we do?" frodi knew nothing which could be done. "either we should walk over the cliffs, or die of freezing in the first mile. we must stay here. take warmth from us." they sat closer to him, but still he was cold. after a while he said: "i am sorry we brought not our cloaks." they answered nothing. the snow heaped around them, yet grani fell to shivering. then he said: "i am sorry we turned not back." they still said nothing. at last grani could bear it no longer, and he cried: "rolf, if thou hast anything to say, say it before we all die!" rolf answered: "i have been thinking. what is this mound behind us?" "there is but one mound on all the heaths," answered grani. "men call it the barrow of a viking, who died off the coast, and was buried here with his ship, that he might forever look out upon the sea." "then," said rolf, "there is one thing we can do, and only one, to save our lives; and that is to break into the barrow." so they fell to digging with their hands at the mound, and they could have done nothing had the earth been frozen. but it was still soft; and they dug until they came to timbers, two feet within the mound. then frodi thrust his hands between the timbers, and strained at one, and rolf and grani tugged at his waist. the timber broke, and they fell back together in the snow; yet an entrance to the mound was thus made, and when they had enlarged it rolf went in first, and the others followed. within, the air was dead and close; they stayed at the entrance to breathe, yet the place was warmer, and it was a great relief not to feel the wind. but grani was still all of a shiver, so rolf went into the mound further, and they heard him stumbling and slipping in the darkness. after a while he came back to them and said: "here is wood for a fire." then they pulled stalks of grass and shook them free of snow; they found in the shepherd's cloak a flint and steel, and so made a fire at the mouth of the barrow. the wind bore the smoke away, and by degrees the air cleared in the mound. then with brands they went within, and cast the light about. the mound was made of a viking-ship, a small one, which had been borne there on the shoulders of men. it was propped upright with stones, and roofed over with timbers and planks; dirt had been cast over the whole. they climbed into that ship, and saw by the light of the torches where the old viking sat in the stern. he was in such armor as men had worn long before; he had a helm on his head, and held a sword in his hand, and was very stern of face. there he sat as if he were still alive, but there was no sight in his eyes. before him in the ship were precious things of gold and silver, cloths, and weapons. all the oars lay in their places as if ready for men to use them. very strange was that sight, and those three gazed at it in silence. "he looks," said frodi, "as if he would walk." [illustration: "there he sat as if he were still alive, but there was no sight in his eyes"] "now," said grani, "i remember the shepherds say he has been seen, and lights have burned at this mound sometimes of nights. yet he has never done harm." "if he is ever to do it, he will do it now," said rolf. "for he looks as if he mislikes us here." by that time the place was very smoky from the torches, so they went back again to the entrance and lay down to sleep; they took with them cloths and broidered hangings which had lain by the viking, and with these and the fire they made themselves warm. so, very weary from their walking, they fell asleep. in the middle of the night rolf and grani waked, and missed frodi from their side. moreover they heard a noise, which was not the howling of the storm, but was like the splintering of wood and the snarling of men's breaths as they wrestled in fight. then rolf snatched a torch from the fire and ran within the mound; grani followed, and they climbed on board the ship. there lay frodi and the viking together: they had been fighting all about the place, and the thwarts and oars were broken; in one place even the bulwark of the ship was torn away. but frodi had forced the viking into the seat where first he had sat; and there frodi held him, while the viking struggled still, glaring from glassy eyes, and frodi could do naught but keep him where he was. little more breath had frodi, but yet he held his grip on the viking's arms. then rolf drew his short-sword, and sprang in at the viking, and hewed at the neck of him, so that the head sprang off at the stroke; but no blood followed. frodi lay and breathed deeply, but rolf took the head of the viking and laid it at his thigh. with those heathen ghosts which did harm to man, there was no way to quiet them except to hew off the head and lay it at the thigh. and such things happened to many men, even as is here told; but the greatest ghost-layer, says sturla the lawman, was grettir the strong. when frodi had got his breath, they asked him how all that had come about. "nothing do i know about it," answered frodi, "save that he came and dragged me in my sleep hither, and sought to throttle me. i had much ado to master him." they went back and slept until the day came, but the storm was still so violent that they could not travel. then they made larger the entrance to the mound so that light came into the ship; and they buried the viking in the ground. now when they came to examine his treasures, grani and frodi were busy long, casting aside each thing for something better. but after rolf had searched for only a short while, he sat still and looked no further. grani saw that he had something. "what precious thing hast thou there?" asked he. "this," said rolf, "which i found on the back of the viking's seat." he showed them a bow which had hung there in a leathern case. of some foreign wood it was, tipped with horn, and bound at the middle with wire of fine gold to form a grip. it seemed very strong, cunningly made: a wonderful weapon. and there was a quiver with it, bearing thirty arrows, long and barbed for war. "now," said grani, "this is far better than jewels or fine cloths, and it is the best weapon here. thou shalt give it to me." rolf gave him the bow. and when they went again to look out upon the storm, the clouds were breaking and sunbeams were coming through. so they took the bow and some small gear, and started for hawksness, where they found ar nigh wild for fear; but their coming made him happy. and grani told all that had happened to them. said ar: "methinks thy thralls have saved thy life." "that is true," answered grani. "what wilt thou give them?" asked ar. "whatever they wish," answered grani. he called on rolf to say what gift he would like at his hands. "that bow and those arrows," said rolf. "now," asked grani, "which is dearest to thee, that bow, or thy freedom and frodi's?" "our freedom," answered rolf. "your freedom shall you have," said grani. then, before all who were in the hall, he spoke rolf and frodi free. chapter xxi how rolf won the viking's bow grani sent men to the viking's mound, and they fetched home all the precious things which were there, whether gold, silver, cloths or weapons. among these last was the viking's bill. that was a notable weapon, having a curving blade with a hook springing from its back, and set like a great spearhead upon a pole as high as a man's shoulder. grani kept all weapons; but he gave rolf and frodi things to the value of some hundreds in silver, and begged that they should remain with him in the hall of ar the peacock. yet rolf bore himself as if he expected more from grani than gold and silver, and said he could not stay in the hall. grani complained of that to ar. ar asked: "knowest thou not what he will have of thee?" said grani, "the bow, belike." "not so," answered ar. "well," grani said, "i will make amends to him by pressing him again to live here with us." "thou shalt never succeed with him in that," replied ar, "until thou hast said those words which will make him forget that he was once a thrall in this place. but this i beg thee, drive him not away from hawksness; for war with the scots is threatened in the spring, and all fighting-men will be of value." so grani did not press rolf to stay in the hall, and he asked: "where will ye live?" "we go," answered rolf, "to stay a while with that shipmaster who has been living here." but when they searched after kiartan, it was told that he had gone with his ship with great suddenness when he learned that rolf and frodi were set free. yet in his haste he had left merchandise, and had outstanding credits; so rolf took kiartan's lodgings, and said he would wait his return. then winter came on, and the place was snowed and frozen up, so that men had nothing to do save to hold sports on the ice, or to sit long of evenings in the hall, talking of many things. but now all was different from before, and rolf and grani came seldom together. one time when all were at games on the ice, grani sent for his bow, and it was brought out to him. men took it and handled it, admiring it much. "let us see," said grani, "what shooting we can do with it." he tried to string the bow. but it was with him as it had been with rolf and the bow of grettir: it would not bend for him, but was almost as stiff as a spear shaft. he got red in the face, first with trying and then with anger; at last he gave over and said that others should try. but though the strongest of the orkneyingers did their best, they could do no better than grani. thereat he felt better, and offered the bow to frodi. frodi held it in his hands, and turned it this way and that. "break it i might," quoth he, "but string it never." he offered the bow to rolf, saying: "do thou try it, for i have seen thee do with skill what others have failed to do with force." but rolf would not try to string the bow. so grani sent it back to the hall, and let bring the viking's bill, which had lain by his side in the ship. but when it was brought, it proved too heavy for any of the orkneyingers to wield. then said grani: "i will give the bill as a present to ghost-frodi." "why callest thou me that?" asked frodi. grani only said, "why should i not call thee so?" and he pressed the bill on frodi, who drew back. "i know nothing of weapons," said he. then all the orkneyingers shouted to see the strongest man drawing away from the bill; and when grani made him take it, they laughed the more, for he handled it, said all, as if it were the smithy broom. they called him ghost-frodi after that, thinking it fine that he who could master a spirit could not handle a weapon. now in that winter ar was continually sick with little fevers, and he would not let grani stir far from his side. one day a messenger from earl brusi came to say that ar should keep a watch for vemund the pitiless, who had been driven from the north, and had gone toward the south. now no one needed to be told who vemund was. for he was the worst of all vikings who had ravaged in the orkneys, since he not only took tribute, but burnt towns and slaughtered people wantonly. a baresark he was, with the strength of seven men, and so defended by magic that on him no steel might bite. only twenty men had he with him, but they had the power of fifty, being baresarks all, outlawed and reckless of life. they had first done great damage in norway, but were driven thence to the shetland isles, and thence to the northern orkneys, but now were coming further south. rewards and fame were sure to the men who could overcome those baresarks. grani begged of ar that he might go in the war-ship in search of them; but ar said no to that. ar gave orders that sweyn should keep the ship in readiness; men slept near the boat-stand, ready to launch her day or night. one night in a storm, fire was seen on that island which is off hawksness, where dwell only fisher-folk; the cottages were seen to burn to the ground, but the sea was high, and no one crossed over. in the morning a ten-oared boat left that little island, and went away eastward; that was a venturesome thing in a storm, and by that deed that was known for the boat of vemund the pitiless. then sweyn let launch the war-ship, and with all his men went after the baresarks. rolf made no offer to go, and grani watched the chase from the shore, angry that he must stay. the two ships drove away out of sight, and no one could say that the larger gained upon the smaller. nothing more was seen of them all that day. but in the night the baresarks gave sweyn the slip; they came straight back as they had gone, but sweyn went on, first east, then south, searching the coast. vemund's ship came to hawksness; and in the morning, behold, there it was off the landing, and the baresarks were just rowing it to shore. the fisher-folk left their cottages and ran to the hall, and all took hasty counsel. but when word was brought to ar of the baresarks, first he became red in the face, and then he lost power of speech, and there was no leader save grani. grani said: "this is no place for us to stay, for the baresarks will burn us alive. take ar and the women and children into the stone church, and let us men go also thither and defend it." then that was done; and when they reached the church, going hastily and in a body so that none should be left behind, they found rolf and frodi sitting at the door, with their weapons. then all went within the church, but rolf and frodi stayed outside. "come ye not inside?" asked grani. "all those riches which ar has in his hall," responded rolf, "are those to be burned or lost?" then grani said he would go back again, and called for men to help defend the hall. only nine came. but those, with rolf and frodi, went back to the hall; both the hall and the church were barred against the baresarks. those outlaws came up into the place; a strange crew they were, wearing no armor but skins of beasts, and wild to look on. they burned some huts, but the church and the hall they might not force. then, because they feared sweyn's return, and so dared not to lose time, they knew not what to do. men shot at them from the hall and the church; so the baresarks went back again to the shore, and took counsel together. now all the time in the hall frodi had walked up and down, looking very white and knocking his bill against everything, as if he were afraid. so when the outlaws went away, grani scoffed at him. "what dost thou with that bill," asked grani, "if thou canst not stand up like a man, and be ready for what comes?" "truly," answered frodi, "i feel strange inwardly, and my hands are cold. yet what dost thou with that bow, which is so handsome that man never saw finer, yet which no one in these islands has yet strung?" then grani took the quiver from his shoulders and laid down the bow. "i am justly rebuked," said he. he took a lighter bow. "now wilt thou take a smaller weapon?" "no man can say," answered frodi, "what he will do in time of trial. but i will keep the bill." now some voice was heard without, calling; they listened to what was said. that was a messenger from vemund, who made this offer: a champion should be sent out by the orkneyingers, to meet vemund, and whichever champion should fall, his side should yield itself into the other's hands. but if the orkneyingers refused, fire should be set to the hall and also to the roof of the church. and that was the same as offering them one small chance for their lives. grani asked: "what man will go out against vemund?" no one offered. then grani said: "he who goes against the baresark will die swiftest, therefore i am willing to go myself." all the orkneyingers cried out against that, saying they should die together within the hall; it might be sweyn would come in time to save them. then rolf spoke and said: "no man in this place, not even frodi our strongest, will have any chance against vemund, so long as we fight with steel weapons. for i have heard the ways of such men to be these: before fighting they look upon the weapons of the other champion, and when they look, by witchcraft they make steel or iron powerless against them. such a man is vemund named. yet if thou, grani, wilt give me what i desire, i will find a way to slay him." "anything i have," answered grani, "is thine." "give me then," said rolf, "the bow and arrows of the viking." then grani gave him the bow and the quiver, and rolf cried to the messenger to say to vemund that in half an hour one would meet him with the bow. at that great laughter rose among the outlaws, and those in the hall and in the church felt no confidence in rolf. but he said to frodi, "go to the forge and heat it." and he said to grani, "bring me here some silver." then when the forge was heated and the silver was brought, rolf said to frodi: "make me now three silver arrowheads, the best thou canst, after the pattern of these here in the quiver." so frodi made the arrow-heads quickly and with great skill, so that no one could have told them apart from the arrow-heads of iron, for they were black from the fire. and rolf first set a dish of whale-oil to heat by the forge, and then took the heads from three of the arrows. when the new arrow-heads were made, rolf bound them with sinews upon the shafts. a man said: "but what wilt thou do with the arrows if thou canst not string the bow?" rolf answered nothing. he took the whale-oil and oiled those three arrows. then he heated the oil hotter, and began to rub it on the bow. first he oiled the string and rubbed it long; then he oiled the wood. and the wood became darker with the oil, and took a finer polish; fresher it seemed, gleaming in the light of the forge. rolf rubbed for many minutes, and the bow became ever darker; he held it then over the forge, turning it in every way, and it took to itself the fire of the coals. then rolf oiled the string once more, heating it as well; and at last they saw he meant to string the bow. against his foot he set it, and bent it, and slipped the string up to the notch; it seemed as if a child could have done the deed, and the men burst out with a shout. then rolf took one of the old arrows and set it on the string; he drew the bow and shot the arrow along the hall. no one could see that it dropped in its flight; but it struck an oaken beam by the high seat, and when men came to measure it afterward, the arrow had entered the oak by the breadth of a palm. men spoke afterward of the sweet twang of that bow, like as if it were an harp. then the orkneyingers went out of the hall with much shouting, and stood upon a knoll which was between the hall and the church. the baresarks came near, and vemund stood out before them; he was a huge man, very hairy, with a great beard. he asked who was to come against him. "i," answered rolf. vemund laughed, and the other baresarks also, calling rolf a boy. "let me see thy weapons," said vemund. rolf showed him his quiver, and the baresark touched the point of each arrow with his finger. "wilt thou look upon my weapons?" asked vemund. rolf said he would not. "now," said he, "withdraw thy men to the beach, and let us begin." "thou art eager for death," said vemund with a grin. "i will do as thou sayest, and then will come at thee. thou mayest shoot as soon as thou wilt." vemund withdrew his men to the beach, and the orkneyingers went aside from the knoll. frodi wept before he left rolf, commending him to god. then rolf took those three arrows with silver points, and stuck them in the ground by his feet. by then vemund was ready to return; he bore no shield nor armor; he threw down his bow, and shouted that this should be between whatever weapons each man chose. then with sword in hand he began to walk to the knoll. rolf took an arrow from his quiver and laid it on the string. when vemund was nearer, rolf drew the bow; no bow had ever drawn harder, yet none had been so lively in his hand. the arrow sped; vemund turned not aside, but when the shaft struck on his breast the wood flew to splinters, and the point fell down. all the orkneymen cried out in fear, but the baresarks shouted. rolf took a second arrow and waited awhile. then he shot again, and the arrow struck vemund on the throat; it turned aside, and flew sliddering away. some of the orkneymen withdrew to the door of the church, crying that they should be let in. but the outlaws began to come forward. then rolf drew one of those arrows from the ground, and wiped the point, and made ready. when vemund was twenty paces away rolf shot for the third time. the arrow went in a level flight, and struck vemund on the breast; there it sunk to the feathers. those baresarks, coming behind, saw a foot of the shaft stand out from vemund's back. then vemund brandished his sword and ran at rolf; rolf took the second arrow and sent it at him. in the eye it struck him, and pierced to the brain; down fell the baresark, and died before he reached the ground. rolf took the third arrow and put it in his quiver. then the orkneyingers came running from the church with their weapons, and all rushed at the outlaws. grani shouted that the baresarks should lay down their arms; but they, fearing death, drew into a circle and would not yield. they began to cast spears at the orkneyingers. "shoot arrows at them," said grani to rolf. "i have done my share," quoth he. then the orkneyingers ran round that circle of outlaws, and did their best to pry into it; but they got only wounds. the baresarks began to grit their teeth and work themselves to anger as if they had been wolves; that was their way in battle. frodi went nearer to look at that sight. then one baresark shot a spear at frodi, and cut his shoulder so that it bled. at that frodi turned red, and took his bill, and went at that man. the baresark swung his sword, but frodi caught it with the bill and spun it aloft; then he hooked at the man with the back of the bill, and caught him by the neck, and pulled him down grovelling. an orkneyman pierced the outlaw as he lay. so the circle of the baresarks was broken, but they sought to draw again together. then frodi took his bill, and made at the two men to right and left of the opening; one he caught with the point of the bill, and pitched him sideways; that man fell on the circle at another place and broke it there. next frodi pitched the other baresark clean across the circle against the men at the other side; two fell at once. then grani shouted and rushed within the ring, and all the orkneyingers fell on the baresarks at every point. some were slain right there; some broke away and were chased about; one by one they died among the huts and the frames for drying fish. frodi, when he had done that much, stood by rolf and struck no more. when the fighting was finished the orkneyingers looked to their hurts, and it was found that no one was badly wounded. all said that the death of vemund the pitiless was not so bad by half as the living of him. now grani was very happy and talkative, and he praised his men much; but he seemed constrained before rolf, and spoke to frodi. "and thou saidst thou couldst not use the bill!" frodi answered, "so i thought, but it is no different from handling a pitchfork." grani whooped with laughter, and would tell that saying to others. frodi beseeched him: "cease thy talking, lest men give me a new nickname." but grani told frodi's words in the presence of many, and all cried that frodi should be called pitchfork frodi. he grumbled to rolf thereat. "better be glad," said rolf, "that nothing worse has come to thee than a sore shoulder and a new name." now sweyn came sailing back, angered that he had been tricked, but much afraid of what might have happened at hawksness in his absence. as for ar the peacock, he lay without speech until the morrow, when he came to himself; but he was a broken man ever after that shock. grani took the spoil from the baresark ship, and divided it into five parts. two parts he gave to those fishers whose houses the baresarks had burned; one part he divided among those who had wounds; the rest he sent to the lodging of rolf and frodi. grani took nothing for himself, nor did he go with the treasure to rolf; and men said among themselves that, during all these doings, rolf and grani had spoken to each other only when they must. from that time the viking's bow was rolf's own. those two arrows which had slain the baresark were hung up in the church; but rolf took the third arrow with the silver point, and bound it in the quiver with a silken thread. chapter xxii now kiartan returns as weakness grew on him, ar the peacock kept grani much by his side. one day ar said: "i see that thou art troubled at times. is aught weighing on thee?" grani answered: "rolf is on my mind." ar said: "put away the thought of him." "that i cannot do," replied grani, "for i feel i did wrong in enthralling him, and i cannot be easy until he hath forgiven me." "meseems," quoth ar, "that thou expectest rolf to come and say 'i forgive thee,' before ever thou hast shown him that thou art sorry." grani answered nothing. "go now," said ar, "and seek him out. confess thyself in the wrong." "it is hard to do that," responded grani. "thou art well named grani the proud," said ar; but then he added: "never have i blamed thee till now, but thou shouldst have done this thing at the very first. and the longer this estrangement lasts, the harder it will be to forget." grani made no answer, but communed for a while with himself; though it was hard to his pride, at last he decided to humble himself before rolf. he went to the dwelling of rolf and frodi; they were on the headland watching the fishing fleet, and thither grani followed. he sat down at the edge of the cliff beside those two, and had speech with frodi; but between him and rolf passed at the first only the good-day. frodi asked: "war with the scots is expected in the spring?" "aye," answered grani. "i would i were in iceland!" frodi said. "oh ye icelanders!" cried grani. "why is it ye always burn to return--whether ye love your foggy isle and plain men more, or our realm less?" "in your realm," answered frodi, "there are three pests which no icelander can bear. the first is your baresarks, which in iceland are held in restraint, but here they go at large. the second is your vikings, which dare not come to us, but here they harry the coasts. and the third is the habit of burning a man in his house, which by us has been done some few times in great matters, yet is always punished; but here it is done in any little quarrel, and little shame is felt for it. and if i leave this land without being burned, then i am lucky." grani laughed, and then rolf spoke. quoth he: "and as for our land of simple men against thy realm of kings and earls, all i know is that with us there is law to restrain all men. but if thy earls fall out, then the orkneys are rent with war. and at all times your lives lie in the power of the scots, who any summer day may come and sweep the land. nay, the winter is open: why may they not fall upon us now?" "it is possible," said frodi, but grani had nothing to reply. "and consider this," rolf said. "thou art grani, fosterling of ar the thane; thou hast honor, and a part of all spoils are thine. but ar is coming to his end, and some day another thane will rule here. when thy honors fall away, and thou must take thy place like other men: how then wilt thou think of the doings of kings and earls?" "i fear no misfortune," answered grani. "then," quoth rolf, "thou art fitted to be an icelander. and now i will say what i have many times thought: that thy speech is more of iceland than of this place. whence did ar take thee?" grani grew red, but answered: "thou hidest thy parentage." "true," replied rolf. "now i crave thy pardon for questioning thee." that was the end of that talk, for rolf drew within himself, and grani felt shame that he could not ask pardon so easily as the icelander; and the more he looked on rolf's countenance the more it seemed that they should be friends. he ceased speaking, and sat with his back half turned, trying to say the words; but for a long time they would not come. at length he said: "rolf." "aye?" rolf answered. grani said nothing for a while more; at length again he said, "rolf." "what is it?" rolf asked. but for a second time grani could not bring himself to speak. yet at last he made ready to speak without fail and ask forgiveness, and the words were on his tongue. then suddenly rolf rose, and pointed out upon the water, where a ship had come into view; and he cried, "at last cometh he for whom i have waited!" no need to ask whose ship that was, for grani saw that it was kiartan's. and weakly he put aside the chance to set himself right with rolf, and inquired instead why rolf waited there for kiartan so long. "tell me first," responded rolf, "why he cometh in such haste, with oars and sails both. he thinks that by this time i am surely gone; but his debts and goods will not flee from him, and he hath hours before sunset to make the harbor. can he be pursued by aught? let us watch the headland to the eastward." "there comes another ship," cried frodi. they watched that ship appear: a war-ship, long and low. grani cried that that must be a viking, and was for running to the hall; but rolf bade him wait. then there came a second war-ship, and two more together, and then a great ship, very large; after that the nose of yet another vessel pushed around the headland. "is earl thorfinn," asked grani, "coming to visit his realm?" "why should kiartan," responded rolf, "flee before the earl, who hath sold him permission to trade here? that is the fleet of the scots!" "more of them are in sight," said frodi. so they stayed only long enough to see that the fisher fleet, leaving nets and lines, was hurrying to the shore. those three left the headland and ran to hawksness; there they told the tidings and gathered men, arming all those who came to the hall. the women were sent into the church with the children, but the men went down to the beach. there the fishermen first made a landing, and hurried for their arms; but when all were gathered together they were very few against what must be the might of the scots. then the ship of kiartan neared the shore. frodi said to rolf: "before the scots come there will be time to claim thy due of him." "not in the face of this danger," answered rolf. kiartan ran his ship upon the beach, and his men leaped out and pushed her higher up the shingle. kiartan ran to ar, and begged protection. "fight thou with us," quoth ar. "we shall be but six score against six hundred." kiartan turned pale and bit his fingers. frodi said, "he is as big a coward as i." grani laughed. now when the scots neared the shore, the people gave way from the beach and drew a little up the hillside; and the nearer the scots came, the more the orkneymen withdrew. then when the scots were landing, some of the hawksness men threw away their arms and sat down where they were; and some fled away to the downs and the heather, where they might hide. but ar said he would not flee, and went back again to fight. those who went with him were only grani and sweyn, and rolf and frodi followed behind. "this is no icelanders quarrel," said ar. "we go to die, but the scots will give you peace." "nevertheless we will look on a while," answered rolf. then ar took his stand on that knoll whence rolf had slain the baresark; he had his church and his hall at his back, and thinking to die as became a man he seemed to gain his strength again, and shot arrows in marvellous wise. twenty he sent among the scots as they landed, and hurt a man with each; then he took his spear, and waited for the scots to come nearer. "now," said frodi to rolf, "shall we stay or go?" "if we stay," answered rolf, "we never see iceland again. yet i have not the heart to leave those three as they stand there." so he and frodi drew still nearer to ar, and stood at his back. but some archer in the fleet sent forth a shaft, and it smote ar; in the throat it smote him, and he fell. like a man he died there, near his father's hall; and the scots, shouting, began to come forward. "flee!" said sweyn to grani. "wilt thou flee?" asked grani. a spear struck sweyn in the leg, and down he sat. "here i stay," quoth he. "then here stay i," answered grani. but those fisher-folk who had thrown down their arms ran to grani in a crowd, and cried that he should not stay to be killed. some bore sweyn within the church, where no scot would slay him before the altar; and when grani saw that, he suffered himself to be pushed away. so he came to the hillside before ever the scots reached him; and when they began to shoot at him with arrows, he ran. and rolf and frodi ran along the hillside a little higher up. now the scots sent swift archers in chase. grani was armed and had heavy weapons; frodi was slow and rolf would not leave him; so the archers began to come up on them, and it looked bad for them. grani knew the country; he sought the best ways, calling to rolf that they should meet at the vale of the hermit. then he threw off his mail and ran freely, and shook off his pursuers in a little wood. but in that same wood rolf took the wrong course; for thinking he knew the way to the vale he led frodi where should be a glen with a growth of trees.--nothing was there of the kind, but a bare hillside rose, where was no cover, and the scots began to shout as they saw them close in front. now grani knew the way better. when he reached the copse he stood and looked where rolf and frodi ran on the hillside above him. then he heard a panting, and looked down. there was kiartan hiding in the fern. "look up now," said grani, "and see who runneth there above us." when kiartan saw rolf, first he started and then he looked sidewise at grani. "they can never escape," said he. "i will call them hither," replied grani. "that will bring us in danger!" kiartan cried. but grani leaped upon a boulder and prepared to shout. then as he stood there, kiartan snatched up a billet of wood and smote at him from the side: foul was that assault. the stroke fell on the shoulder, but grani twisted his arm and cast the billet aside; he smote in return, and kiartan fell. so grani shouted aloud to rolf, who stood on the hillside with frodi and studied his road. so many copses did rolf see that he knew not where to go, for most were but small clumps, where was no safety; and only one led to the hidden winding watercourse and the secluded dell. but when he heard grani and saw him, he turned thither, although he must go back a little way. he and frodi ran hastily, rushing down the hillside with much speed. and they saw they could avoid all but one of the scots. that man had run wide of their track, flanking them lest they should double back; now he ran in on them and prepared to strike with his sword. on that slope was no good footing; but the scot braced himself where the icelanders must pass, and they could hardly both escape him without a wound. but when rolf rushed down on him, with sword raised, and those two looked into each other's eyes, then the scot did not strike, but stood like stone. neither did rolf smite, but frodi struck hard with the butt of his bill; they left that scot lying in a heap, and sped downward into the hollow. there they found grani with kiartan, and grani had bound the shipmaster's hands behind his back. hastily they went into the copse, driving kiartan before them; they found the crooked watercourse and followed it among the stones; it was dry and they wet not their feet. so in a while they came to a little dell, nestled among the hills; the place was called the vale of the hermit. but no one lived there, only in one place had been a farm; the hall had been burned, but a storehouse still stood stout against the weather. thither they went and rested, knowing that no scot could find them in that place. grani loosed kiartan and bade him gather wood. "and if thou seekest to flee thou wilt carry an arrow in the ribs. make a fire, for i see beef is in the storehouse, drying, and the green hide hangs against the wall. we will sup." so kiartan gathered wood and made a fire. "one thing i fail to understand," said frodi to rolf: "why neither thou nor that scot smote at the other, and it was left to me to knock him down." "that was strange to me also," said grani. rolf said: "i knew that man, and he was malcolm, my father's thrall. for very astonishment we could not strike." "then i gave him a headache," quoth frodi, "to make him remember his manner of gaining his freedom." "preserve me from such headaches as thou dealest!" said rolf. "the butt of thy bill is worse than the point." then grani told why he had bound kiartan. "and now," said he, "thou canst take on him thy vengeance, whatever that may be." "call him here," said rolf. so kiartan was called thither and crouched thereby; it was plain that he expected to be killed. "in what has he offended thee?" asked grani. "now," answered rolf, "that which i say in his hearing will be to him the worst part of his punishment. he is my uncle, and through him my father came to his death." but when they looked to see him weep, or hear him blame himself, kiartan rose and thanked them that his life was spared. in loathing they bade him go into the storehouse and lie; then they laid themselves down inside the door, and slept. for the sake of air, they left the door wide. in the morning they found that kiartan was gone; and while they were asking where he might be, they heard his voice at a little distance, saying that there those three lay in that storehouse, and the scots should slay them. then was heard the rush of feet. chapter xxiii of the coming of earl thorfinn rolf shut the storehouse door, and frodi held it until it was barred. the scots could move neither frodi nor the bars, and knew not what to do. all within was dark, save for light from the crack of the door; and when the scots who stood before the crack felt frodi's bill, they stood back. then rolf shot arrows out through the crack, and the scots stood aside, so that those within could do no more. they heard the scots say that no time should be wasted for three men. "now," said frodi, "they will go away." "be not too hopeful," said grani. when smoke began to puff in, they knew that the thatch had been fired over their heads. "so," quoth frodi, "i shall be burned in the orkneys after all. seest thou, grani, why no icelander loves thy land?" they sat there a while and the place grew hot; then grani began to pace up and down. "would that i," he said at last, "had never seen the orkneys!" "what is this?" asked rolf. grani said after a silence: "i shall never speak again to my father, whom i have not seen these many years." next he said: "my sister must be almost a woman." after that said he: "peaceful was our home." frodi tried to comfort him, but grani would not listen. "let us die in the open," he cried, "and give an account of ourselves!" but when they tried to leave that smothering place, they found the scots had braced the door, and it could not be moved. then a corner of the roof fell down, and burned inside the storehouse. "now," cried grani in despair, "would i were once more on the home-field of fellstead, looking abroad on old broadfirth and the peaceful dales!" "a wonderful thing thou sayest!" exclaimed rolf. "let wonders be," said frodi. "but since we cannot leave this place by the front door, why not by the rear?" "how do that?" asked grani. frodi drew aside the heavy hide which hung at the back of the storehouse, against the rock of the hillside; there were a carved stone doorway and a black cave. "now," cried grani, "rightly is this place called the vale of the hermit; this was his house, though i never knew of it till now. let us be quick!" so they went into that cave and sat there, while the fire burned the storehouse quite away, and its roof-beams fell across the door of the cave and hid it. moreover the green hide did not burn through, and kept out the smoke; and a little air came in through a fissure of the rock. then the scots who watched went their way, and kiartan with them. when they were gone, those three thrust the hide and the beams aside from the cave-mouth, and leaped out over the embers. they were near stifled, and weak from the heat. those scots and kiartan went back to hawksness, and for what he had done they gave him his ship unplundered. but they plundered the hall and the church, and with the riches of ar they had both sport and quarrels, until all was divided. then they sent out vessels to ravage in the orkneys; but the main body, and the leader, sat there at hawksness, and because it was believed earl thorfinn thought them still in scotland, and no ship had been spared to go south and tell of them, they had no fear of him. for it would have been a great undertaking for any small boat to cross the pentland firth. but on a day when the earl sat in his hall, in thurso of caithness, his men came to him, saying: "there are messengers without, and they would speak with thee." but the men laughed. "why laugh ye?" asked the earl. "the messengers say they are from the orkneys, yet no ship has come, and they are the worst of scarecrows." "but bring them in," said the earl. so three men were brought before the earl. one was of middle height, and slender; he bore a bow. one was taller, and carried a sword. the third was as big as any man in that place, and he held in his hand a great bill. all in rags were those men, as if their garments had been scorched. they told the earl that the scots were in the orkneys, and the earl's men laughed mightily. "sailed ye across the firth?" asked the earl. "we rowed," answered they. "in what?" asked the earl. "and where is the boat?" "it sunk off the shore," said those men, "and we swam the last mile." "why are ye so burned?" they said they had been nigh burned to death. then the earl stilled the laughter of his men, and he leaned to that one who bore the bow; he was not much more than a lad. "where didst thou get," asked the earl, "that short-sword which thou wearest? for i know the weapon well, since once it belonged to earl sigurd my father." "that may be so," said the lad, "but it was given me out in iceland." "now," said the earl, "i know the man to whom my father gave the sword, and he went out to iceland. tell me what man gave it thee; if the name is the same, then will i believe this news of thine. but if the name is different, then ye three shall die for your false word." "a light matter on which to hang lives," quoth that one. "who knows how many have owned this sword? but i got it from kari, solmund's son." the earl smote his thigh. "and to kari my father gave it! up, men, and dight yourselves for war! this day we sail for the orkneys." so earl thorfinn sailed north, and with him went grani, rolf, and frodi, those bearers of the tidings. and before ever the scots were ready for them the orkneyingers closed in upon hawksness, and attacked the scottish fleet. some of the scots were away, and some were ashore; those who might fight lashed their ships in a line, as in a line the earl's ships bore down on them. that fight lasted not long, and all the scottish ships were taken; the scots who were on shore were hunted down, and as their ships came in from the other isles, they were taken one by one. kiartan's ship was still on the beach, and he was found in the church. chapter xxiv now rolf and grani quarrel now says the tale that rolf goes before the earl, and tells of kiartan's treachery. "thou shalt have thine own way with him," quoth thorfinn. "shall he die by the hands of my men, or what atonement wilt thou take?" "i ask not his death," said rolf. "give me his ship to return to iceland in, and his goods to repay my mother for all her sufferings." but of those sufferings, nor of all that kiartan had done, the earl did not ask until later. "thou art easy," said he, "upon him who sought thy life; but all shall be as thou sayest." then grani spoke apart with the earl, and after that thorfinn gave orders to his men. where the sward lay greenest (for no snow lay on southern slopes all that winter) they cut a strip of turf; its middle they raised and propped aloft on spears, but its ends were still in the ground. then the earl called rolf to come, and bade all men stand there and hear what grani had to say. before all, grani told that he had wrongfully enthralled rolf, and led by kiartan had treated him unfairly. his sorrow he confessed, and he asked for pardon. answered rolf: "for this i grant pardon readily enough." "meseems thou sayest that coldly, man," said the earl. "now here stands grani to swear blood-brothership with thee, under this turf. what sayest thou to that?" now blood-brothership was a sacred ceremony, and those who swore it must uphold each other until death, if once the oath was taken under such a strip of turf, by letting blood from the arms mingle in the ground. and no greater honor might one man do another than to offer blood-brothership. but again rolf spoke coolly, and said: "mayhap i am willing to do that." "come, then," said thorfinn. "lay aside thy sword, and step under the turf with grani." "once i swore," replied rolf, "never to leave weapon from my reach. and another oath i call to mind, which later i may tell thee here. now since blood-brothership is asked, here i name myself: rolf, son of hiarandi, of cragness above broadfirth in iceland. and remembering what grani said when we were like to be burnt together, i ask his true name, and his father's name, and his birthplace." "grani hight i," answered that one. "years long have i been fostered here, and i remember little of my childhood. but einar is my father, fellstead was our home, and the place is that same broadfirth out in iceland. so much i know and no more." then those who stood by saw rolf draw his short-sword and spring at grani. at his forehead rolf laid the sword, the flat to the skin. "thus," cried he, "i laid this sword to thy father's head. but thus" (and he turned the sword) "i lay it to thine, edge to thy flesh. and because i promised to do it, thus i draw thy blood!" he drew the sword lightly across grani's forehead, and the blood started out in little drops. then rolf dropped his arm, sheathed his sword, and stood quiet; but grani, white with rage, snatched a spear from one of the earl's men, and would have slain rolf had not the earl himself come between. "now," quoth thorfinn grimly, "here is an odd end to blood-brothership. the cause of this shall i hear, from first unto last." then rolf told the story of his father's wrongs and his own, and frodi said it all was true. grani, though he learned what his father had done, stood still and said no word, except that he cried at the end: "great insult hath rolf offered me in drawing my blood, and for that shall he pay with his." "meseems," answered the earl, "that the weight of blood-debt is still on thy side, and it is well for thee that rolf took not payment in full. and this i advise, that here ye two make up the feud; and all money atonements i will make to rolf, if so be i see ye accorded." "i will lay down the feud on these terms," said rolf, "if grani will get me my homestead again." but deep anger burned in grani that his offer of blood-brothership had been so answered, by the shedding of his blood. he strode to the spears that held the strip of turf, and cast them down. "my feud do i keep!" he cried. "then of thee," said the earl, "i wash my hands. but i will take rolf to me, to be of my bodyguard so long as he will." "lord earl," answered rolf, "i thank thee for the honor, but in the ship which thou hast given me i must return to iceland, there to clear me of mine outlawry by means of my bow." and then that meeting of men broke up, and rolf set himself to fit his ship for the outward voyage, and to hire sailors. he had wealth enough, in kiartan's goods, to pay for all his father had lost; but in the viking's bow he had that treasure which he most prized, for it should win him his honor again, and the homestead which his fathers had built. he provisioned his ship, and he hired men and a shipmaster, and soon was ready for the voyage outward. now the spring was early, without storms as yet. but grani went unhappily about, knowing that danger was preparing for his father, through rolf, and seeing not what could be done. for in that place, except rolf's ship, lay no vessels plying either north or south, and none to go to iceland. so there was no way for grani to send warning to einar, and no means by which he himself might go to iceland, to stand by his father's side. he would have challenged rolf to the holm, but holm-gangs and all duels were forbidden by the earl. and now came the day when rolf's ship was ready; the wind was fair from the east, and on the morrow they should start. then grani went and sat on the hillside at sunset, watching the men at a little distance as they worked about the ship where it lay upon the strand; but rolf and frodi had gone to the hall, and were feasting there with the earl and his men. grani thought: "to save my father i must sail on that ship. now the night will be dark, and the men will sleep at the huts, but rolf and frodi at the hall. naught hinders me from hiding myself on the ship, so that on the morrow they will sail with me." that pleased him well. but before dark rolf and frodi returned from the hall, having said farewell to the earl. the ship was then pushed off, and all men got them aboard; they anchored off the boat-steads, ready to sail at first twilight in the morning. then when grani saw his plan spoiled, in great uncertainty of mind he went to the hall and sat down on the lowest bench. quoth the earl: "come forward, grani, and sit here near the dais; for thou didst save my realm as much as did those other two who have just said farewell." "i know that well, lord," answered grani. "come, sit here by my side," said the earl, "and what thou askest in reward for thy deed, that i will give thee." so grani sat there by the earl's side until it was dark out of doors, and he knew the stars were out, but no moon. with the feast, thorfinn waxed joyous, for good tidings had come that day; and he began to press grani to name the reward he would have for crossing the pentland firth to bring him news. so grani said: "stretch forth thy hand now, earl thorfinn, and promise to grant me that thing which i ask, which shall take from no man his right or his own." so the earl stretched forth his hand in promise, and said: "ask what thou wilt." then all the orkneyingers listened while grani made his request. "oh earl," said he, "make me thine outlaw!" "nay," cried the earl, "what request is this? dost thou mock me and my power?" and his men were angry, and some drew their swords. but grani said most earnestly, "i mean no insult, but much lies on it that thou shouldst make me outlaw." wroth indeed were the orkneyingers, and thronged around grani to slay him; but the earl signed them to give peace, and sat with his eye on the youth, and thought. then at last he smiled in his beard, and said: "thou art a clever lad, and bold withal. here i grant thy desire." and he stretched out his hand and said: "outlaw do i make thee in all my lands--not to be fed, not to be forwarded, not to be helped or harbored in any need, save only by masters of ships outward bound. i grant thee three days' space to seek shelter, and here i give notice among my men of thy full outlawry." then grani thanked the earl with all his heart, and went from the hall; after him the earl's men scoffed, but still the earl smiled in his beard. now that night a small boat rowed to the side of rolf's ship, and a man climbed aboard, and the boatmen rowed the boat ashore again. one of the ship's men told rolf, who sent for that one who had thus come aboard. he stood before rolf in the starlight, wrapped in a cloak. rolf asked why he came aboard the ship in that manner. "outlaw am i," said that one, "and by law thou must give me shelter when it is claimed." "good is the law," quoth rolf, "and once it helped me ere now. but thy voice is muffled in the cloak, man. what is thy name?" "no-man is my name," answered the muffled man, "and here is my faring money." rolf laughed. "no-man's fare costs nothing," said he, and would not take the silver. "find thyself a place to sleep; thou art welcome here." so that one found himself a place to sleep, and early in the morning the ship set sail. now it is said that when the ship was gone the earl saw kiartan on the strand bewailing his loss. thorfinn ordered that kiartan be set in a galley as rower, and for two years did kiartan labor at the oar. then he escaped, and fled away southward; but he became thrall to a chapman, and was a thrall to the end of his days. so now he is out of the story. but that outlaw who had come on rolf's ship lay like a log all the first day, while the ship sped westward; and only at night did he rouse to take food. four days he did thus, while the ship ran before the wind until the faroe islands were well astern. then on a morning the man rose and walked by the rail, and looked upon the sea. rolf sent for him to come and speak to him, and when the man was face to face with him, behold, it was grani! then rolf stood and looked on him, and grani stood fast and looked on rolf. and rolf turned away and walked in the stern, but grani waited in the same place. at last rolf came back to him and said: "only one thing will i ask of thee. wast thou indeed outlaw of the earl?" grani stretched out his hand and swore to the truth. "outlaw was i, and the earl gave me but three days to quit his land." "now," said rolf, "thou art on my ship lawfully, and naught will i do against thee. we will leave it to the fates, which of us shall prosper in this affair." so grani was out of danger of his life. now that east wind lasted until they made iceland--a quick voyage. and they sailed along the south of the land, and rounded the western cape, and sailed across the mouth of faxafirth. but when they would round the cape into broadfirth the wind freshened, and blew them off the land a day's sail; there they lay when the wind dropped. but then the wind came from the west, and blew them back to the land, and drove them ever faster till there was a high gale. the smallest sail they could set split from the mast, the mast itself went next, and so they came to broadfirth and drove up it. night drew near, and the sailors were in fear of their lives. now frodi was in great uneasiness, and clung to his place, and looked upon the waters. sometimes he made as he would speak, and yet he said nothing. rolf and grani stayed at opposite sides of the ship, and were steadfast in all danger, though the waves washed over them. then rolf makes his way to grani, and says he: "now we near the land, and it is likely that we shall never need more of it than a fathom apiece, for burial. therefore here i offer thee peace, asking no atonement from thee or thy father, save only my farm again, if we twain get ashore." grani looks upon rolf, and his heart nearly melts: but he makes himself stubborn and drops his eyes. says he: "this is no time to speak of that." rolf clambers back to his place. the moon rises behind broken clouds, and he sees that the ship drives toward cliffs. chapter xxv here rolf comes to cragness now turns the tale to speak of einar, how he took possession of cragness (for he bought the share of the men of the quarter); and how snorri the priest sent for asdis that she should come to him for the sake of rolf her son, and wait the three years of his exile. but asdis answered the messenger of snorri: "i go to our little farm in the upland, where i can look upon my home. we will see if einar sends me away also from that." so she took what goods she might, and drove the milch ewe before her, and went to the turf hut in the upland, there to live alone. now einar might have sent her thence, and ondott was urgent with him that he should; but for very shame einar could not do that wrong, and that one good deed of his stood him after in stead, as the saga showeth. asdis over-wintered there, and folk brought her meal; but snorri sent her much provision and dried fish, to keep her. before they went away his men bought wood and drew it for her, and cut turf for burning; and on parting they gave her a purse of one gold-piece and six silver pennies, so asdis was safe from all want. but no happiness could come to her so long as each day she looked out upon the hall at cragness, and saw strangers there. einar abode in great pride at his new hall, and kept high state, sending to fetch whatever travellers came that way. and when harvest came he had a great feast, with all his house-carles and thralls and bonders and neighbors bidden; notable was the state of that feast. but ondott, when all were merry, and those who were bidden were saying that einar was a great chief, on account of his open-handedness--ondott let call for bows, and said that all should go down to the boundary. there by the brook he held a mock shoot; and one called himself rolf and made as if he would shoot to the oak tree, but shot into the brook, and wept, and besought others to shoot for him. the looser sort hooted and thought that sport, and shot toward the oak a little way. then they cried that hiarandi was lawfully slain, and rolf was outlaw. but the neighbors of the better sort liked that not, and changed their aspect of cheer, and went away early. einar said to ondott, "why didst thou such foolery?" "that we may know," said ondott, "who are of thy friends, and who thy ill-wishers. and now we know who are with us." einar let himself be pleased with that answer. so the harvest passed, and winter went by and spring came on, an early spring without storms. all men looked to their plowing and sowing; and einar took pleasure in the home-fields at cragness, which were so fertile. but he disliked the lack of storms, for since he came to cragness no wealth had come to him from wrecks, which he had counted on as part of his riches. and einar had no custom to light beacons, but all through that spring he and ondott looked for storms. men said that storms must come, and that early farers from overseas might be caught thereby. then at last that steady wind which had blown from the east first dropped, and then shifted, and blew hard from the west, a great gale. all men housed themselves, and a murky night came on. now in the hall at cragness the old crone thurid sat by the fire and sang to herself; and ondott, who was ever prowling to hear what men said, came behind her and listened. she sang: "bad luck and good are both abroad. if beacon light be set this night, comes cragness feud to quickest good." "hearest thou that?" said ondott to einar. he sang the song after her. einar asked, "shall we light the beacon?" for he was easily turned in his purposes. but ondott smote the old woman, and cried: "thou singest otherwise than when thou wert with hiarandi. ill was it with hiarandi when he made the beacon, and ill would it be with us!" he asked if he should thrust the woman from the house, but einar had not the heart for that. the old woman said she would go ere the light came again, and was silent for an hour. now it is said that had einar lighted the beacon, good would have come of it; for he who saves life is minded to continue in right doing. then after a while the carline sang again. she sang: "thy rocks beneath, men fight with death. go, see what woe lies there below!" einar hurries his men out into the storm, and himself after them. now though the gale continues the moon is bright at last, and men can see their way. on the rocks was a ship, and her timbers were breaking away from her and driving down into the cove to the lee. thither einar sent most of his men, to save what they could from the sea, of wood, chests, cloths, and all merchandise. but he watched from the cliffs, with ondott and hallvard and hallmund, to see if men escaped from the fury of the sea. he saw no living thing at all, until at the last one man came climbing the cliff toward him. that one had a rope around his waist; when he reached a shelf of rock he made the rope fast, and drew on it, and pulled up a long case and a bundle: he cast down the rope again, and drew up weapons, and cast again, and drew up clothes. "fishes he," asked einar, "with a hook on that rope?" said hallvard: "other men must be below, helping him." then that man threw down the rope again, and waited a while, and held the rope securely; it seemed as if a weight were on it. then another man climbed to his side, a large man, and they two pulled on the rope together, drawing it up. there came into sight what seemed a dead body; but now, where climbing was easier, those two carried the body to the top of the cliffs, and then drew up the case and the arms. einar and his men went thither in the moonlight, but ere they reached the place the men took the body between them, and carried it to the hall, and into the hall, those others following. einar went to the door to see what the men would do. they laid the body down before the fire, and einar saw it was a handsome youth. then the men looked about them as they stood; their backs were to einar, but the crone thurid saw their faces, and she hobbled up and said "welcome!" "there is no welcome for me here," said the shorter of those men, "till these strange hangings are gone from the hall, and it has been purged with the smoke of fire from their contamination." now einar thought he should know that voice. the seafarer said to the crone: "tell einar that here lies his son, who comes back to him so; and if the beacon had been lighted, grani had come in better wise, for i could have beached the ship in the cove. but yet i think he is not dead. and so farewell to cragness for a space." so those two turned to the door; and einar ran forward and cast himself on the body of his son, not looking at those men. but ondott looked on them, and they were rolf and frodi, spent with toil in the water and on the rocks. and when ondott bade his two men seize them, they were too weary to resist; so they were bound with ropes. now einar saw that grani was not dead, but stunned by some blow. he called the women and bade them bring cloths, and heat water, and use all craft to bring his son to life again. they set to work, and helga grani's sister came and looked on her brother's face for the first time since he had been a little boy. but ondott brought before einar those two, rolf and frodi, and said he: "here we have that ravening outlaw and his cousin; now what is thy will of them? shall they die here under the knife?" einar said: "nay, but rather set them free." ondott cried: "what is thy thought? here they have come again with designs on thee, and wilt thou let them go? and they will dispossess thy son of his heritage; wilt thou suffer that? rolf is out of the law, and no harm will come of the slaying." and ondott pressed einar with other reasons, saying that most of their men were at the cove for the jetsam, and hallmund and hallvard would never tell. now helga heard, and stood before her father, saying: "take not this sin on thy head, but rather let both the men go." yet einar's heart was turned to evil as he saw how but two of his men were there, and those of the trustiest; so that those cousins might be quickly slain, and buried, and none would know that they had come ashore from the wreck. "stand aside," quoth he to helga, "and let these foes of thy heritage die as they should." but helga stepped before rolf and frodi, and fronted the drawn swords of ondott and his men. "unlawful is such a deed," she cried, "until the morning light comes. for all night-slayings are forbidden, even of outlaws, and such slayings are murder." and when she saw her father waver again she told him how even the earl of the orkneys (and he was father of earl thorfinn) dared not slay those sons of njal who came into his hands, and so take the sin of midnight slaying on his soul; but he set them aside till morning should come. "aye," answered ondott, "and in the morning the twain were fled." that helga knew, and had the same thought in her mind; but she begged her father not to take such shame on himself, rather to let rolf and frodi lie in bonds till morning. and at last einar promised her that those two should not die until the day. rolf said to her: "i thank thee, maiden; and when i come into mine own again i shall not forget this. for it has been prophesied me that i shall yet sleep in my father's locked bed, and that means that this house shall be mine again." then ondott laughed. "not so is the prophecy to be read!" he cried. "throw them into the locked room of hiarandi for this night. to-morrow they shall sleep soundly elsewhere." so in that little room where rolf's fathers had slept he was cast with frodi, and there they lay on the floor, and had no comfort of that place because of their bonds. "now," grumbled frodi, "vikings have we escaped, and baresarks, and the scots, and all manner of dangers, and the sea, only to die here at last. what was that foolish tale of thine about a prophecy? i never heard of such a thing." "free me of my bonds," answered rolf, "and thou shalt learn why i made that pretence." frodi strove against his bonds, but they were too strong for him; and so those cousins lay there for a while. but outside in the hall the women worked over grani until at last he moved and groaned, and they saw that he would live. so for joy einar knew not what to do; and he became talkative, and walked about, and so stumbled on those things (the bundle, and the clothes, and the arms, and the case) which had been brought there with grani. when he examined them the arms pleased him right well, for in the case he found the marvellous bow of the viking. all admired the bow. but the old woman thurid muttered to herself as she saw them handling the bow, and at last drew near and asked to see it. the bow she handled, and the arrows she looked on; then at last she shuddered and let the bow fall, and sang of it: "enemy fierce to einar's fame, now lieth here. ere thee it pierce, or bringeth grame, fire it should sear. break it and burn! thus shalt thou turn ill from thy hall, ruin from all. --this i discern." einar looked with aversion on the bow where it lay, but ondott raised it and held it aloft. "now," asked he, "shall such a beautiful weapon be broken for a crone's rhymes?" all cried out that it should not be so; and einar took the bow, and hung it on his high seat, vowing to keep it. then he said to thurid she should be gone ere morning, as she had promised. the old woman took her cloak, and went to the door, but on the threshold she sang: "here got i one gray cloak, one winter's meat: these from einar here got i. --one gray cloak, one winter's meat, be given einar ere he die!" so she went out into the storm. now the moon had clouded again, and snow fell thickly, a blinding squall; so the old woman was bewildered, and very cold. she found herself a place by a rock, and sat there, singing verses, until at last she fell asleep. but while all were admiring the bow in the hall, helga came to the door of the locked bed, and took away the brace that closed it, and cast in a knife, and shut up the door again. rolf and frodi saw; and they conceived this plan, that rolf should hold the knife in his hands, and frodi should rub his bonds thereagainst. then that was done, and they freed themselves. "yet we are not out of the hall," said frodi, "and with helping grani the place will be awake all night." "now remember the prophecy which i coined," answered rolf. "look here and hold thy peace." and he showed frodi how a panel in the wall might be taken out, so that the way was free. "come then," frodi said. but rolf would not. "why stay we here in danger?" asked frodi. "i must have my bow," replied rolf. "how else shall i win my heritage again?" but when they tried the door into the passage which led to the hall, it could not be opened without great noise; and ever they heard the women walking about, as they tended on grani. "remember," said frodi at last, "the choice which grani once offered thee: the bow or thy freedom. freedom was then thy choice, and afterward thou didst win the bow. show now the like wisdom." so they stole away in the first light of the morning. chapter xxvi of grani's pride in the early morning grani slept quietly at last, and the household of einar had peace. then ondott called hallvard and hallmund, and bade them come with him. to the locked bed they went, but though the door was still secure, no sign of those two cousins was to be found, nor any way of their escape. and outside the wind had so drifted the snow that no marks of feet were to be seen. ondott and his men searched, and came at last to the cove where men watched for the wreckage. he asked if they had seen those two. thither had come, said the men, two whom they knew not, bearing between them old thurid the crone. now at that hour a spar from the ship had just come ashore, and in it was fixed a great bill, its blade driven so deep into the wood that with all their might three men could not draw it forth; they were about to hew it out with axes. then the taller of those two men came down to the shingle, and said naught to einar's men; but he laid hold of the bill and with one tug plucked it forth from the spar, and went off brandishing it and muttering to himself. next the two took the old crone again, and went away. ondott and his men hurried on their track, and when they had passed down into the hollows, there the marks of feet were found, pointing straight to the little hut on the hillside where asdis dwelt, a league away. so ondott took more men, and went thither, and knocked on the door. within were asdis, and frodi, and the carline thurid; but no sign of rolf was to be seen. frodi sat by the fire and handled the great bill, and thurid lay muffled on the floor as she was wont; there was a smell of cooking, while very pleased did asdis seem. "where is thy son?" asked ondott. "find him who can," answered asdis. they searched that place and found him not, and there was no room to have hidden a man. so ondott was angry, and he said to frodi: "give us that bill, which is einar's, since it came ashore on his beaches." frodi answered mildly: "i pray thee leave it me." but as he spoke he thrust the butt of the bill down upon the floor, where the earth was tramped as hard as any stone; and the butt made a great dent in the floor. ondott thought it best not to meddle with him, and went home empty-handed. grani lay two days sick and weary, but then he was himself again. neither einar nor any of his men told him how he came ashore, but spoke as if they had saved him. einar sent men everywhere to find rolf and seize him; yet in all the dales no man had seen or heard of him. so when grani asked if others got ashore from the wreck, einar answered: "that outlaw rolf, and his cousin frodi. and frodi is at his smithy again, there not far from the ferry to hvamm." "where is rolf?" grani asked. "no man knows save frodi," answered einar, "and he sayeth not." then spoke grani, lying on his bed. "father, rolf told a hard tale against thee in the orkneys: how thou slewest his father foully, and now holdest his land in spite of right. now tell me the truth of all this, ere i accept aught from thee." then einar was greatly frightened lest grani should learn the truth and despise him; he made as if he were offended, and went away, saying: "and canst thou think that of me?" but when he was out of grani's sight, he sought ondott in haste, and asked him what he should do. quoth ondott: "leave all to me. i will settle this." so he went to grani, and einar with him. einar said: "i have brought ondott to tell the truth, for thou wilt better believe some one else, speaking in my defence." then ondott told a long tale of hiarandi, how he was overbearing and insolent, and preyed on einar's crops and cattle. moreover hiarandi was a dangerous and violent man, going always armed, so that one day when he was in the act of theft and einar's men were about to seize him--but einar had commanded not to harm him--hiarandi had so attacked those men that to save their own lives they had slain him. and rolf had no right to the land, being outlawed at the althing. "now tell me," said ondott, "when ye twain were together in orkney, did not rolf offer peace if thou wouldst but get him this homestead again?" "twice he did that," answered grani. "see now," cried ondott, "the guile that is in him!" then grani believed all that ondott had said, and thought evil of rolf, and craved his father's pardon. einar forgave him. and when grani was well again einar showered him with kindnesses, for fearing lest his son should learn evil of him he did all that he might to earn grani's love, sparing neither words, deeds, nor money. einar gave the finest of clothes, and horses, and attendants, so that not with ar the peacock had grani had such state. wherefore he took to himself such pride as had been his in the orkneys. he went abroad among the iceland folk, and saw that they were a simple people, each man living upon his own farm and dressing in plain clothes, loving direct speech and homely ways. so grani missed the best that was in the people, but thought them mean-spirited. he dressed always in colored clothes, and had attendants with him, and expected such respect from men as he had received when he was ar's fosterling. now at cragness honor was always showed him; but the neighbors of einar were to grani blunt of speech, sometimes biting; and he loved them little, thinking them rough. two more matters troubled grani. for he had little happiness in his sister, who seemed almost always downcast, and as if disappointed in him. and ever deep within his heart lay that love of his for rolf, nor could he forget their comradeship, nor the dangers they had together borne. he took no great satisfaction, therefore, to be a princeling on his land, but away from it to be treated roughly, and always to have that desire to see his friend again. yet he never made to himself any confession of fault, believing rolf in the wrong, both toward himself and toward einar. so he hardened his heart and increased his outward pride, even while he was ever on the watch for news of rolf. now one day he rode abroad with ondott and his men, and they came to the hut on the hillside where dwelt asdis the mother of rolf. summer was come; asdis sat out of doors by the spring combing flax, with thurid cowled by her side. no welcome gave asdis to them, but asked their errand. "to learn whether thou hast news of thy son," ondott said. now that was not true, for they came thither by accident, having hunted higher up in the hills. but grani said nothing, wishing to learn of rolf. "ever thou liest in wait for blood," answered asdis. "but ask not me for news of rolf. rather of those who have been near the isle of drangey shouldst thou inquire, if none resembling my son have been seen on the island-top; and whether he, and grettir the strong, and illugi his brother, are likely to be won thence against their wills." "now," cried ondott, "i thank thee for this news. and one in that land-side, thorstein angle, he is my cousin; he will let me know if ever thy son comes thence." "if thorstein angle is thy cousin," said asdis, "that shows the saying true, that all rogues are akin. but if thou nearest aught from that region, i pray thee let me know if my son is well." now all the time thurid sat there, and combed no flax, nor said a word. "and yet," said ondott, "i hear that the woman works well at times." "speak not so loud in her presence," said asdis, "for methinks now she is tranced. mayhap when she comes to she will prophesy and tell me of my son." "nay," said ondott, "the woman is clean daft, so they say, ever since she left our house to wander in the cold. now who has split the wood that lieth here, and piled it against the house? for thou hast not done it." "i will tell thee," said asdis, and lowered her voice. "on that night the frost got in her brain, mayhap; for she was ever strange, but now she is little short of marvellous. sometimes she works with a man's strength; and at such times she splits wood, or carries water, or spades here in my little field. i have done no heavy work since she came. but she is very silent, nor hath any save me and frodi seen her face or heard her voice. such is her mood." "now let us ride hence," said ondott to grani. "asdis, i wish thee joy of thy mad-woman." "better live with her than alone," quoth asdis. so those men rode away, and they spread abroad the news that rolf was gone from broadfirth dales, for he was in drangey with grettir the strong, and none could draw them from that isle. steep were its rocks and high, to be scaled only by ladders, and three might hold the place against three hundred. word was also spread about of thurid the crone: how she had fits of man's strength, and did work for asdis. men saw her going with great strides, or working in the field; at a distance she seemed taller than before, and bigger across the shoulders; but when one came near she shrank within herself. moreover no one heard her voice now, save when she mumbled hoarsely. now on another day grani rode to the settlement at hvammferry, and on his way homeward came by the smithy of frodi. ondott was in his company, with hallvard and hallmund; they proposed that they should have sport with the smith, and take from him his bill. "sport mayest thou try," said grani, "but beware lest it turn out against thee." "he is soft as custard," quoth ondott. "otherwise was he in the orkneys," replied grani. but for all that ondott rode to the smithy-door, and called frodi to come out. he came, and leaned on the handle of his hammer, which was so big that no man had wielded it since he went away. he asked what they would of him. said ondott: "here is grani earl's fosterling to require something of thee." frodi said to him: "was then grani fostered by the earl?" and he fixed grani with his eye; but that one blushed and said naught. for he knew that his father had boasted of his fostering with the earl, and never had grani said nay thereto. asked ondott, "was he not?" frodi said, "he came last from the earl's court." so frodi, who might have spoken honor away from grani, made him feel more shame than if the truth had been said. "now," said ondott, "bring forth the bill which is einar's, and deliver it to us." "asks grani that?" frodi replied. grani said, "i ask nothing." and he spurred his horse a few rods away. frodi went within the smithy and brought out the bill, but set also a helm on his head. said he: "here is the bill for whomsoever wishes it." but grani said over his shoulder, "leave the bill with him. no use is it to us, for we have none that can wield it." then ondott was wroth that grani did not support him in that claim, and he said: "now, frodi, i call to mind that ere thou wentest away, thou didst assault me here in this smithy. outlaw will i make thee therefor." frodi made a sudden step, and behold! there he was within reach of ondott, holding the bill in such wise that he might have thrust ondott through, albeit frodi neither raised the weapon aloft nor brandished it. he said: "now for the love which has always been between us, be so kind as to speak me free of guilt in that matter, when i drew weapon on thee." in a fright ondott stretched forth his hand and spoke frodi free of that guilt. so frodi suddenly shifted the bill in his hand, and the point touched the ground; none who had not looked close would have supposed any threat had been made. said frodi: "see how kind ondott is to me, in asking no atonement, being in no danger from me. witness ye all that i am clear in that matter." grani smiled and rode away, and the men next; ondott followed, mightily vexed that that simple one had so bested him. now the time came for men to ride to the althing, and with all state einar rode thither with his son. then for the first time grani saw the power of that land which he had despised, for chiefs met there who were greater in riches than orkney thanes, having great followings, all richly dressed. but all were obedient to the law; and a wonderful thing that was, to see men of such power yielding in lawsuits to lesser men, and bringing no cases to weapons. and grani learned that his father was of no consequence at all in that place, for men passed him by and gave him no honor. yet for all that grani's pride grew, and he said that men should some day recognize him there. and he rode home moodily behind his company. now as men rode again toward the west, grani saw one man whom he had oft remarked at the thing: kolbein the son of burning-flosi, destined to be a leader among men. grani wished friendship with him greatly. and kolbein rode to grani and said: "keeps thy father his harvest feast this year as before, asking company thereto?" "yea," answered grani. "wilt thou come?" "gladly will i come," answered kolbein, "and will bring friends with me, if so be we shall be welcome." "welcome will ye all be," said grani, and rode home cheered. now when they were come to cragness, helga met them at the door and welcomed them in. they asked if aught had happened in their absence. said she, "nothing save that the carline thurid was here yestreen, and i am the first that has heard her speak since she left here in the spring." they asked what were her words. "i was here alone in the hall," helga said, "for all the women were making cheeses in the out-bower. and thurid came in and shuffled about the place, looking at things. i bade her be seated, for i would bring her milk and oat-cake; but when i brought them she had the great bow in her hands, and looked at it but would not eat. so i set the food away again; and when i returned she had the bow and the quiver, and was near the door as if to take them away. she said nothing when i asked what she did with those; so i stood in her way, thinking i was stronger than she. with one hand she set me aside, and i might resist her no more than if she were a man. so she bore the bow and arrows from the house, and i thought they were gone; but on a sudden she was back again, and laid them on the bench. and she said in a deep voice not like her own: "'not with women do i strive.' "then with great steps she went out of the hall, and came not again." those three, einar and ondott and grani, looked at each other with alarm. for if that bow, left in the ward of women, had thus been taken, men could know neither the day nor the hour when rolf might come, and make the shot at the oak-tree before witnesses, when all would be over with the house of einar. and ere aught was said einar took the bow and bestowed it under a settle, where it was well hid. then they praised their fortune that they had it still. so all sat down to meat, and ate gladly, for they had journeyed days long from the thing-field. then night fell, and they spoke of many things; at last einar asked his son: "what said to thee kolbein son of flosi, there ere our roads parted?" "he asked me," answered grani, "whether we hold the harvest feast as last year, and if he and his company would be welcome." says einar, rubbing his hands: "now the great folk come to alliance with us; and when a few chiefs have visited here, then thou mayest count thyself their equal in all things, even as thou art in wealth. of course thou badst him come?" "that i did," says grani. so ondott praised him. "men have marked thee, there at the thing, and seek to ally themselves with thee." but helga, who had listened, burst into tears. "what is it," asks grani, "that makes thee weep?" helga dashed the tears from her eyes, and stood before those two, her father and her brother. "much had i hoped," says she, "that wicked doings would cease in this house--for to mock the dead and the unfortunate is wicked. and if ye hold the feast as last year, and shoot at the boundary as then, laughing at hiarandi's fortune, then ye tempt your own fate, for such deeds go not unpunished long." "now," asked grani of his father, "hast thou so mocked that luckless man's fate?" einar said he had, and it was seen that grani thought that act far too strong. "yet see," said ondott, "what friends that brings you now, for from the house of flosi comes this offer of friendship." now as they spoke someone knocked at the door, and there was a housecarle of snorri the priest. "my master," said he, "passes on his way home from the althing, and sends me to ask: hold ye your harvest feast as last year, and will he and his company be welcome?" "oh, hold it not!" cried helga. then einar turned to grani. "the mightiest man in broadfirth dales offers now his friendship, and thy future is sure. shall we not hold the feast?" grani turns to the housecarle of snorri, and says: "beg thy master to come!" chapter xxvii odd doings at cragness now time wears toward harvest, and in the dales all is quiet and busy, so that men when they meet have little gossip, save only of the doings of thurid the crone. for she travelled far and wide in the night, and men saw her so distant from home that it was said she rode the wind; she was seen near the farm of burning-flosi, far to the east, and near the hall of snorri the priest, to the west. ever when seen in the dark she strode furiously; by day she was always bent and slow. old men spoke of her youth, when she was brisk and handy; it seemed as if her youth came again in these fits, foretelling her death. moreover by asdis's work nothing now lagged, and the field was plowed, sowed, and harrowed, so that never had such a crop stood on those poor acres, and that by the work of two women. some questioned whether indeed rolf were not about; but there was no place in the hut for hiding a man, howbeit busybodies pried about there much. now all that they found was what looked to be a grave, not far from the home-mead. so then the tale ran that rolf was dead, and there buried; but when questioned asdis would only laugh and say: "whether it is a grave, or the place where stood a little tree that i uprooted for fuel, that ye may guess." but she was always so blithe that it was sure her son still lived. now on a day word came to ondott from thorstein angle his cousin, that three men for sure dwelt on the island of drangey; they were grettir the strong and illugi his brother and some man unknown; but whether more men dwelt there no one could say, for so high were the cliffs that nothing could be seen from the mainland, and another three might for a twelvemonth lie there hidden. many believed that others were there. so ondott was satisfied that rolf lay in hiding there afar off, and would not trouble the cragness-dwellers for a long time to come. now came harvest rich and full, a bountiful year; men worked hard in the fields, the women too, and at night sleep was sound. there came a morning when it was found that cragness had been entered at night and the whole hall ransacked, its passages, lofts, and store-rooms. goods were taken from their places and laid aside; chests had been moved, opened, and emptied; and there was scarce a corner of the place but had been searched. yet gold and silver, whether in money, rings, or vessels, were left behind, nor were they even gathered together for booty. so it was seen that no common thief had been there, and men wondered wherefore that had been done. but grani sent all his men to work in the field, and the women to righting the house; then he took the bow from under the settle where it was hid with its arrows, and he thrust it within the dais whereon were the seats of honor. now a night passed again, and no one heard the dogs bark; but in the morning it was seen that the thief had come again, and all the settles were out of their places, as if one had searched beneath them. no other places were searched, and nothing had been taken; all thought it strange that the dogs had not barked. then another day passed, and men came home to sleep as tired as before; so then grani took the bow and hid it up under the thatch, when all had gone to their beds. in the morning nothing had happened save that the seats on the dais had all been moved, and the dais was found set up against the wall. now the dais was heavy, and that work had been done with much strength. while men were marvelling the neatherd came in, and said he had been awake early in the byre, with a sick calf. before sunrise he looked out of the window; the light was not strong, but he could see a little way. there he saw the crone thurid standing, near the house; but when he ran out to speak with her, she had moved toward the cliffs. whether she saw or heard him he could not say, but suddenly she began to go with long strides. a little mist hung above the crags; into that mist she went, seeming to walk upon the air; and while he stood astonished the mist wreathed around her, and she was lost from sight. he said to himself that was the end of the old woman; but in an hour, looking toward the upland, he saw her walking to the hut of asdis, and that matter he could not explain. grani sent all men about their work again; he took the bow from the hall, with its quiver, and carried them to the great store-house, and hid them beneath sacks of grain. then a night passed, and nothing happened; but on the second night noises were heard; men took lights and searched in the hall, finding nothing. yet in the morning it was seen that someone had been at work under the thatch of the hall, by every rafter; and it was a bold deed to do that ransacking in the dark, for a fall might mean death. no one had seen thurid nor any living soul; yet a tatter of cloth was found, like as it had been torn from the old woman's gray cloak. now grani takes the bow from the store-house, and thinks much by himself, and at last hides it in a haystack, an old one; and there the bow lies deep within. that night he sets men to watch in the store-house, and fetches dogs from a tenants farm, and hopes now to catch the thief. but one comes by night, and enters the store-house by the thatch, and takes the watchmen asleep, binding them with their heads in the bags that lay there. and all the store-house was searched and everything moved, and the thief away before day, but nothing taken. those dogs which had been brought and tied by the door had had their leashes cut, and were off to their master; but the dogs of the place had given no sign. those were the best watch-dogs in the dales, and had belonged to hiarandi. no footprints were found about the place, and the watchmen said but one person had been there, marvellous silent and strong. grani took much thought where now to hide the bow, and bespoke the matter with einar and ondott; but they found no better place than where it lay, so there they let it bide. and ondott went with men to the hut of asdis, and called for the woman thurid. asdis said she slept within, and would not come out. so ondott spoke to her from the doorway, as the crone lay within by the hearth; a bundle of rags she was. "is it thou that comest to our house," asked ondott, "making this mischief there?" "she speaks to no one save me," said asdis, "and never when questioned." "tell her," said ondott, "that if more searchings go on at cragness, we will hale the old woman before the bishop and exorcise her for sorcery, since there must be witchcraft in these doings. so take heed to her, goodwife, and thyself as well." "thou art brave," said asdis, "to threaten two women." so ondott rides away again, and that was the end of those happenings at cragness. some said the thief could not find what he sought; but some that thurid was the thief, and ondott had frighted her. time now fell for the harvest feast, and all preparations were made for receiving guests; great store of good things was made ready, and food and fodder for man and beast. comes at last helga to grani, and begs him not to hold the feast at all, for her mind misgives her because of it. he says that the guests must be on the way, and bids her work at the cooking, and forget those thoughts. she goes away sorrowful, and says no more of this to anyone. then on the morrow the guests are seen riding, both snorri the priest, that old man, and kolbein flosi's son, each with a large company. chapter xxviii of that harvest feast now einar's shepherd came in haste, and said the folk of the country-side were coming from all directions, and a great number would be at the feast. "yet many," said he, "bear weapons, and i know not what that may mean." so men looked, and it was seen that the farmers and bonders were coming over the hills, in small companies or large. those of keen eyes said that most carried short-swords. then ondott looked at those two large parties that came riding, one from the east and one from the north, and thought them very numerous. "meseems," said he, "that snorri and kolbein bring more men than they need." "fearest thou, ondott?" asked grani. "this only do i fear, that we have not enough food ready. only on going to church do men lay aside weapons; not strange were it if snorri and kolbein, coming from so far, bade their men bring longswords, spears, and shields. yet they wear no mail, and bear only the one weapon--clear token of peace. come, bid the women prepare more food; and do thou, father, let bring out more casks of ale, to welcome so many guests!" thus he shamed the household, and all went quickly to make ready more food and drink. then the neighbors began to arrive, some on horses and some on foot, all in holiday guise save that each man bore a single weapon. grani and einar welcomed each as he came; and then the companies of those chiefs rode in, and there was great bustle to receive them. the horses were taken to the stalls, and the men led within the hall. gracious to einar was snorri the priest, and he said fine words of grani's growth and fair looks, and the goodly house. kolbein was more silent, but looked about him much; and all those at cragness were pleased with their great guests, save only helga, who worked among her women and looked sad. when grani saw that, he sought to cheer her, bidding her mark the pleasure of the visitors. "methinks," said helga, "the old man smiles too much and the young man too little. little good does my heart prophesy of this visit." grani was impatient with her and left her alone. now guests continued to come in, a great number, so many that they were not all able to come into the hall; those of lesser condition sat outside on the mead. and the time drew near noon before all were there. so at last einar asked if more were to be seen coming, and his men looked abroad from the hilltop, and saw no one travelling. they saw only three living souls: two were asdis and thurid where they worked in the garden by the little hut across the valley, and one was a great man who lolled on a nearer hillside and seemed to look out upon broadfirth. something glittered in the grass by his side, but no one knew who or what it might be. so einar let call all forth from the house, and he stood on a stool, and spake to them. first he bade them welcome, and then he spoke of that custom which the last year had seen begun: shooting at the boundary in memory of his ownership of those lands and that hall. some, he knew, had been displeased thereat, yet he trusted that now they saw his reasons for it. "for in the sight of all," quoth einar, "i will have it known that my title is just, and will prove that all which made me master here was done within the law." very reasonable was that speech: snorri smiled and nodded graciously, and einar's folk applauded, but the others not so much. "now," einar said, "men claim that grettir the strong can make this shot and put me from my lands, but since the law allows no outlaw to meddle in suits, he may not make the trial. yet i invite all other men hither to prove me guiltless; therefore come ye with me to the brookside, and let all try who will. few do i think will assay, but all are free to it. in token of peace leave your arms here, and let us go down to the boundary." when they heard that, einar's men laid aside what weapons they had; but those strangers made as if they heard not, yet all together began walking to the meadow by the brook. and einar, when he saw they took no heed to his request, was of two minds: whether to say no more, or to ask them again to lay aside their swords. but that seemed a slight to his guests; so he spoke not of it again, and all together they went down the hillside, leaving at the hall only the women, still cooking for so many people. einar had given orders that no ribald mocking should be made in shooting, such as the baser of his men had done before, for all should be decorous. so bows were brought, the best there were; his bowmen made ready, and one by one they shot before the guests. snorri sat on a dais which einar had let make, and kolbein and einar sat on either hand; but grani stood. he was very anxious to see how near the arrows would fall to the oak; but the nearest fell roods away, and he said to himself, "now my father is completely justified, for not even grettir could shoot so much farther than these men." so he begged the visitors to shoot, and of snorri's men and kolbein's some few made the trial, but shot no better than those who assayed afore. grani was much pleased. then einar stood up with smiles, and said he, "let us now go to the feast, for it is ready at the hall." "here cometh one," said snorri, "who may wish to try; wait we here for yet a little while." men looked, and there was a great man coming down the hill, and they knew him for the huge fellow who had been lolling across the valley. on his shoulder he bore a bill with a shaft big as a beam. coming so, down the hillside above them, he looked so large that einar was uneasy, wondering what champion he should be; the sun was behind him, and he seemed like one who might do all manner of feats of strength, even to making the long shot with the bow. einar felt fear. but when the large man reached the first of the people, and they could see his face, then laughter began among them, and one cried aloud, "'tis only frodi the smith!" so frodi came before them, and einar was wroth because he had feared such an one, who was all softness. said einar: "what dost thou here with that great weapon at our feast, where no man comes in war? seekest thou to take up the feud for this land?" and he gave sign that his men should be near, ready to seize frodi if only cause were given. but frodi laid the bill at the feet of einar, and said: "i bring thee the bill which is thine own, since it came ashore on thy beaches. as for that feud, it is not mine, but it belongs to the nearest of kin. who knows where he is? let me stay here a space, i beg, and watch the shooting." "the shooting is past," said einar, "but stay if it pleases thee. as for that bill, keep it for thine own, if it is at all dear to thee." then he turned to snorri, and said, "shall we not go to the feast?" "but tell us of this great bill," said snorri. "and were there not perchance other heathen weapons which are thine, coming ashore in that great storm?" so grani told of the bill, how it had belonged to that dead viking; and he said there had been a bow with it, which was useless because no one could string it. "much would i like to see that bow," says snorri. grani knows not what to answer and looks at einar, and einar looks back at grani; but at last einar says: "old and useless is the bow, and it is in some out-of-the-way place. come now to the feast, for it is all ready." "it is not yet noon," answered snorri, "and before noon i am never ready to feast. but here comes another one down the hill, who may give us sport until we sit down." so men looked again up the hillside, and there was another figure coming, seen against the sun. (now in iceland, even in summer noon, the sun never stands overhead.) fast the figure strode, all muffled in a cloak which flapped in the wind; and so wild and large did the newcomer seem that again einar was afraid at the strange sight. but when it came near the figure dwindled, and the people laughed again, crying to make way for thurid. with slow and halting step the crone came through the lane of men to einar. "wishes the strange woman anything here?" asked snorri. "give her money," said einar to ondott, "and bid her begone." but she turned her back on ondott with his purse, and went nearer einar; and then she saw the bill which frodi had left lying at einar's feet. a strong shudder seized her, and there she stood shuddering, gazing beneath her hood at that great weapon. "what is wrong with the woman?" asked snorri as if impatient. "bid her to speak." "she speaks never," answered einar. but it seemed as if she were talking to herself, for first she began to mumble hoarsely, and then a little louder, and then at last she began to drone a song, in a cracked voice which, to those who had known her, seemed not her own. she sang thus: "here is come from foreign shore, a heathen weapon and one more. first the bill which can be swung by the peaceful smith alone; next the bow which can be strung nor by him nor anyone. yet i say in one of those, laid in spells by christ his foes, danger lies to einar's house." when she had sung thus, she drew her hood still closer over her head and crouched down there by the dais. mark now all that which next was said and done, as if those visitors knew the fearsome nature of einar, and played with it. first kolbein drew his feet away from the blade of the bill which lay before them; and he looked uneasy, saying to einar: "of human force i have no fear, but evil and witchcraft like i not." but snorri leaned forward and looked in the face of frodi. "tell us," says snorri the priest, "for what reason thou hast brought the bill here." answered frodi: "i live alone in my smithy, and the bill stands always in the corner. now sometimes it gives out a strong humming, there as i work, or as i sit by myself of nights; and at such times i think evil thoughts of vengeance, longing to do violence with the bill, until sometimes i fear i will snatch the weapon and rush forth and slay. and methinks the thing must be like the terrible bill of gunnar of lithend, which before every one of his slayings gave forth a singing sound. yet gunnar got his bill by the mere death of a man; but i won this in fight with a ghost, and so i fear more dreadful things will happen from mine than ever came from his. lest blood-guilt come on my soul i brought the bill hither, to restore it to its rightful owner." "but he gave it thee again," says snorri. "so," answered frodi, "i see no way at all to avoid that blood-guiltiness." "thou canst cast the bill in the sea," says snorri. on a sudden frodi started back from the bill, and clutched at the clothes on his breast, and cried: "heard ye how it hummed even then?" said grani, "i heard naught." but kolbein hitched his stool further away from the bill, saying: "i heard something." snorri looked upon einar, who was pale with fear. "now," said snorri, "what of that bow which, if shooting here at this boundary may cost thee thy life, is mayhap the greater danger to thee of the two?" einar answered nothing. "come," says snorri, "do this if thou wouldst avoid all evil: cast this bill and that bow into the sea." now the crone rose up again, and she sang this song: "bring ye here those weapons forth. lay them crossing, east and north, here upon the fateful ground where death hiarandi found. over them make ye the sign of the church, with holy wine. build ye then a fire great; ere the flames to coals abate, cast those weapons in them here. power of spells will disappear; no fate then need einar fear!" "now," said snorri, "this burning is the best counsel, for weapons cast in the sea would come again to shore." then thurid covered her head again and crouched down as before. but einar rose in a panic and bade grani fetch the bow, the arrows, and some wine. grani departed hastily, and ran to the hall, and called his sister, bidding her bring wine while he got the bow and arrows. "now," cried helga, "wilt thou mock the death of hiarandi, and jeer at rolf, who saved thy life here on the rocks?" "what sayest thou of saving my life?" asked grani. helga told how rolf and frodi had borne him to shore. "be comforted," said grani. "no man shoots with the great bow, for rolf, who alone can string it, is away. but witchcraft lies in it, and it shall be burnt. and when this feast is ended i will send for rolf, and offer him peace and friendship." "no peace comes from rolf," answers helga, "while we own his lands, nor friendship while we sit in his hall. violence meets violence, so says the good book." but she went and got the wine, and grani seized the bow and its quiver from out the rick, and bore all to the brookside again. there the fire was already built. snorri received the bow in his hands, for neither kolbein nor einar would touch it. the priest of snorri's household took the wine, to hallow it; and snorri drew the bow from its case. "let all give back," said he. "make space for the fire and the burning of the bow. let the crone say when all is ready." so all men gave space; and the home-men and the guests, mingled together, made a great circle round the spot where the bow should be burnt with the bill. at only one place the ring was broken: the shelving bank of the brook, where men might not stand. then thurid rose and began to circle the fire. thrice around it she walked, and snorri with the bow came down from the dais and stood near; but kolbein went and stood by grani, and frodi kept his place at the feet of einar. so when the cloaked woman had circled the fire three times, she stopped and said to snorri, "give me the bow." snorri gave it her. all watched to see what she would do, whether mutter spells or breathe upon it. but she looked at it carefully from end to end, and overlooked the string, and after that she raised it and shook it aloft. then first men saw any part of her, namely her arm, which was not withered, but firm and large, like a man's. when she spoke her voice was no longer cracked. "water hath not harmed thee, oh my bow! thou art the same as when thou slewest the baresark. now shalt thou do a greater deed!" and in a moment she set the end of the bow to her foot, and bent the bow, and slipped the string along, and the bow was strung! there stood the homefolk gazing, but the crone cast off the cloak. no woman was she at all, but rolf in his weapons! then frodi laid his hand on einar's knee, and said: "sit still!" kolbein set a knife to grani's throat, saying: "thy life if thou stirrest." and snorri cried on high: "where are ye, men of tongue and swinefell?" all those guests drew their short-swords; and it was seen that by every one of the homefolk was a man of snorri's or kolbein's, or haply two of them. they threatened death to all of einar's folk. rolf looked around on his enemies, and there was not one that could either fight or flee. so he took the quiver from snorri, and looked within it; he chose that arrow with the silver point, and snapped the silken thread that bound it, and drew the arrow forth. at no man he looked, but up to heaven. then he set the arrow on the string; he drew the bow and sped the shaft. high it flew, and far--across the brook, across the mead. it passed through the upper branches of the little oak, and fell to the ground three roods beyond. then in the sight of all rolf bowed his head, nor for a while could he speak at all. but when at last he turned again toward that high seat where einar sat, his eye fell first on ondott who stood by. said rolf: "bring me that fellow here!" yet when they would seize ondott he slipped away, and fearing death ran shrieking up the hill with men in chase. such was his speed that they caught him not, so great was his fright that he recked not where he was going, he ran to the cliffs, nor saw them; from their top he fell and died. "so is the greater villain gone," said rolf when all saw ondott fall, "but the less remains. einar, ondott hath made his choice of death and life; what choice makest thou? wilt thou bring this to the courts, where outlawry is sure; or wilt thou handsel the case to me, to utter my own award for the death of my father and the seizing of my land?" einar said quickly: "on thy mercy i rely, and i handsel all to thee, for i am too old to fare abroad." so he came down from the dais, and hastened to rolf, offering his hand and calling snorri to witness that handselling. there they struck hands before all those witnesses. said rolf: "now i hold in my hands thy death or thy life, even as once thou heldest my father at thy mercy. no pity hadst thou then. shall i spare thee now?" "it was all ondott's doing," said einar. "now," quoth rolf, "this do i award, and thy forgetting it will be thy death. thou shalt go to the little farm where my mother has lived, but now she is on her way to cragness. on those few acres thou shalt abide, and stay within all space a bowshot from it. the one ewe which is there thou mayest have; the store of meat which is in the loft is thine; my mother's gray cloak hangs by the door: take it. but thine own livelihood thou shalt earn from the soil when these are spent; and when thou comest from thy boundary farther than this bow can shoot, thy life is forfeit to me." einar accepted that award. then rolf turned to grani, and said: "grani, it lies in thy power to change all this by uttering two words." grani said nothing. "only two words," said rolf again. but still grani answered nothing, and rolf turned from him sadly. "proud is the heart of youth," quoth snorri. "come, let us sheathe our weapons. the sun stands at noon; now shall we execute the act of distress which will make rolf master of his own--yes, and of the half of einar's wealth, for the rest goes to the men of the quarter. let us go to the hall." so all men went to the hall; and there went not only those guests from afar, but also those from the dales. aye, and the men of einar left him, and went to the hall with the others. only grani stayed with his father, and helga whom anxiety had driven from the hall. "let us go to our new home," said einar. so they went, and from the first hilltop they saw how the act of distress was beginning at the crags; but from the second hilltop they saw that the act was finished. and when they rested on the long climb to the hut, whence asdis had gone to her own old home, they saw how outside the hall men were seated at the long tables, and the women passed the food and drink, and all was merry at cragness. chapter xxix of the trial of grants pride gay was that harvest feast, and all men learned how thurid had died in the snow on the night of the wreck. in her cloak had rolf lived, serving his mother, and he had travelled to tongue and swinefell in order to make the plan for gaining his own; but because flosi could not come he had sent kolbein his son. rolf gave great thanks to snorri and kolbein, and gifts beside; with all good wishes they parted on the morrow. then asdis took over the care of the household of her son, and frodi was bidden to live there with them. they began again the custom of hiarandi, to light beacons against shipwreck. so now rolf dwells at cragness in his honor, but at the hut on the upland those others live with little ease. rolf looks out sometimes at the little farm, and sees grani and his father working in the field to get in the small harvest, hay for the ewe and grain for themselves. now for asdis alone that store had been enough, but for three the outlook was not so good. once frodi saw rolf as he watched them working, and the smith said, "thou takest pleasure in the sight?" rolf asked, "rememberest thou what jewels grani wore, or his father, or helga, that time when they went away?" "grani and einar," said frodi, "had rings on their arms and brooches on their breasts, but helga wore none at all." "silver pennies also they had in their purses," said rolf. "what is their wealth to thee?" asks frodi. "much," answers rolf. now the time draws toward winter. the tale tells next how rolf kept many people by him in the hall, to do the field work and to tend the cattle and horses (but the sheep were in the fold, save twenty which had not come in). now some of those folk of einar still dwelt at cragness, having deserted their master, and none at the hall bade them either go or stay. yet both asdis and frodi showed them little favor, and one by one they slipped away to seek livings elsewhere, save only those two, hallvard and hallmund, men of loud talk, strong of growth but not given to work. evenings in the hall they spoke much, and frodi scowled thereat; but rolf sat in his seat and seemed neither to see nor to hear them. frodi said to him one day: "this one thing i mislike in thee, that thou keepest here those two who deserted their master." rolf asked: "was their master worth devotion?" "maybe not," says frodi, "yet ingrates are they both." "they are free," said rolf, "either to stay or go." frodi grumbled to himself, but said no more to rolf. now october comes in very cold, but no snow as yet; and all harvests are in. grani had stacked his neatly in ricks against the weather, for there was no room in the hut. there was a pen outside for the ewe; she was a good beast and never wandered, coming home at night. on a day rolf called hallvard and hallmund to him, and said: "it were not strange if grani's ewe were to break out of its pen and eat at my ricks, which stand not far away." and he looked hard at hallvard, who was the slyer of those two. said hallvard with a grin: "that is likely to happen." rolf gave them each a piece of money, and said: "beware of that ewe." on a morning not long after came those two, leading the ewe. "master, here have we found this ewe eating at thy ricks, nor know we whose it may be." said rolf: "the ewe is einar's. take it to him, and ask payment for the hay which has been eaten." so they take the ewe to einar, and bring back silver. "keep that for yourselves," rolf said, "but will the ewe stay now at home?" "her pen is not strong," hallvard said. so on the morrow those two came again, bringing the ewe a second time; rolf sent them for money as before. this time they brought back a gold arm-ring; so rolf knew that einar and grani had taken with them nigh empty purses, and he was glad. he took the ring, giving the men silver, and said to them as before: "will the ewe stay now at home?" hallvard answered, "we left grani strengthening the pen, but still it is not high." and on the morrow they brought the ewe, saying, "see how fat she hath gorged herself, master." then said rolf, "go now and say to einar: 'a third time hath thine ewe trespassed; now must thou pay not only damages, but the trespass fine, or else bring this to the courts.'" they went and brought back jewels, one arm-ring and two brooches; and hallvard said, "all that he had einar gave, rather than trust himself to the law." rolf gave them money, saying: "if the ewe wanders a fourth time, she will become mine. is her pen strong?" "grani has no more wood to make the pen higher," answered hallvard, "but he was tying her with a rope." "belike the rope is not strong," said rolf. and that seemed true; for on the morrow those two brought the ewe for the fourth time; they said she had again been eating at rolfs ricks. "go now," said rolf. "say to einar: 'pay me damages and another fine, or yield thine ewe.'" they went and returned, and said to rolf: "the ewe is thine." then rolf gave them silver rings, and they were well content. but frodi came to rolf, and said: "what is this thou hast suffered those two to do to thy neighbor? now einar will have no milk for the winter." rolf answered shortly: "he can use the pen of the ewe for firewood, and sell the hay for money." and he would speak no more of that. now october passed, and november came, and still there was no snow; the land was colder for that. one day when rolf stood and looked at the hut on the upland, hallvard came to him and said, "small cheer is there over yonder, master; yet i have heard that grani has sold his hay, and it is soon to be fetched from his farm." rolf answered: "see now how all their ricks stand in a line, and the wind is in that line, so that a fire which took the weathermost rick would burn them all. it was careless of grani to set them so." "for fire might come by chance," said hallvard, and he went and spoke with hallmund. now that night people were stirring in the hall, for a servingman was sick there; and in the early morning one came knocking at the door of rolfs locked bed, crying, "there is fire across the valley." so rolf threw on a cloak and went out; there was a great fire at the little farm, where the ricks were burning. in their light grani was seen, saving what he might; but einar stood by wringing his hands, and helga weeping. so while those of cragness stood and watched, hallvard and hallmund came up the hill and joined them. "where have ye been?" asks frodi. they had no good answer to give. when it was day rolf sent to inquire of einar if he had had great loss; hallvard was sent. "and ask if they will have any help of me; and mark how much they have saved and where it is bestowed." so hallvard went and returned again, and said that grani needed no help. "but," said he, "the old man would have taken help, yet the young man would not allow it. and they have saved no hay, and but little grain; it is there in the pen of the ewe." "now," rolf said privately to hallvard, "thou and hallmund shall take my shepherd and go into the hills, a day's journey; he shall show thee where are folded those twenty of my sheep which came not with the others, and which men call lost. send him then home before thee, and do ye twain drive the sheep.--and see to it," quoth rolf, "that those sheep do no damage to the fodder which grani saved." so that day those two took their staves, and went with the shepherd to do as rolf had bidden. on the second day the shepherd came again; but on the fourth came hallvard and hallmund, driving the sheep. now one of them was all bloody. "what hath happened to the ram?" asked rolf. "we came home," answered hallvard, "over the fell which is above einar's farm; we pastured the sheep as we came, yet there is now no good grazing, and the beasts were terribly thin. so when we came late at night near to grani's stead, and could not make cragness in the dark, we rested and let the sheep stray. in the morning, behold, the sheep had found the grain which grani had saved from the fire, and were eating the last of it when he came out by the first light. he saw the sheep, and drove them thence with fury; but the ram was obstinate, and would not leave the food, so grani wounded him. and he gave us hard words before we gathered the flock to come away." "take the sheep to the fold," said rolf, and he gave each of the men a piece of money. then he went in and sat down to meat; but frodi followed him and seemed much discontented. "what ails thee?" asked rolf. "this ails me," said frodi, "that thou hast no mercy upon them whose lot is hard enough. i cannot bear that thou shouldst use those base men to do such work against grani, whom once thou lovedst. for i perceive clearly that all this has been done with intention, both the trespassing of the ewe and the burning of the ricks; likewise this last happening is not by chance. what change is on thee, that thou doest so?" also asdis came and said: "thou art hard on those unfortunate ones, my son. leave this persecution and do what is worthy of thee." but rolf said to frodi: "hast thou forgotten that grani made thee thrall?" and of asdis he asked: "who slew hiarandi my father?" the law of vengeance came to their minds, and they were silent, yet not satisfied. then hallvard and hallmund came in and helped themselves to meat, and began talking loudly. said hallvard, "thou art called now, master, to avenge thy honor. einar spoke shame on thee while we were gathering the sheep to drive from his house, for he said thou hadst the hope to starve him and his children." "a great slander is that," quoth hallmund, wagging his head. "many a man hath died for such; and at least a money-fine should einar pay." "hold your tongues!" cried frodi in anger. but rolf rebuked frodi, and said to those twain: "i give thanks for your thought of mine honor. but i do not desire blood, only money-atonement for the slander. einar hath no money; but grani hath yet his sword, a fine weapon. now you who have my honor in your care, go to-morrow to grani. tell him i demand atonement; but if he sends me his sword his father's slander will be forgotten." those two looked at each other in doubt, for that would be a hard thing, to get from grani his sword. but frodi sprang from his seat, and cried: "what dost thou now, to insult grani so? never will an icelander yield his sword! call now to mind when ye two were comrades, and slept together, and fought the scots together, and crossed the pentland firth together in a little boat, and swam the last mile side by side. put all this in thy mind, and unsay what thou hast said." rolf answered: "all this i remember, and that is why i send for grani's sword." "then," frodi cried, "i leave thy roof now, nor ever are we friends again!" "frodi," answered rolf, "sleep one night more under my roof; then if thou art minded thou shalt leave me forever." then frodi called to mind his great love for his cousin, and yielded, and sat down. in the morning hallmund and hallvard sat late at meat. rolf said to them: "why linger ye here? do as i bade!" then they took swords, axes, and shields, and went to the hut across the valley, but had no heart in their going. now rolf watched from the hillside, and he saw them go into the farmyard, very slowly; and he waited a while, and saw them come out, very slowly. and they came back to cragness, and climbed the hill to him; and behold, they had not their arms any more, but were wounded, and complained as they came. "grani," said they, "has done this to us. now, master, avenge us on him!" "now," said rolf, "all is come about as i wished." and he bade bring his sword and his shield. "wilt thou then," asked frodi, "take up the quarrel of these wretched carles?" rolf put on his sword and took his shield; he made no answer to frodi, but he beckoned his housecarles and pointed to hallvard and hallmund. "whip me," said rolf to his servants, "these wretches from this place; if they wait till my return they shall feel the weight of my hand. but as for all the rest of you, bide ye here till i come again." hallvard and hallmund ran with all haste away along the cliffs, but rolf set out across the valley to the little farm. chapter xxx of the saying of those two words now the tale turns to speak of einar and his two children: how they went away from their home with but the clothes on their backs, and with purses nigh empty, and but little jewelry. they came to the hut, to make a home where there was no room for a fourth to sleep, and where there was but a rack of dried meat, and a gray cloak hanging by the door, and little else for comfort. grani looks about the farm, and sees how it has a good spring, and a small garden well tended, and a pen for the ewe. beyond the garden were the other crops; yet the hay had not been cut, nor the grain reaped, and there was nothing stored against the winter. said grani: "rolf awaited this turn of fortune, and why should he lay up food for us?" then he turned about, and looked off from the hillside. there he saw cragness, and the folk feasting; and he saw fellstead and many other farms. there lay broadfirth, and the sea beyond; fishing vessels were thereon. and he saw the ferry to hvamm, with all the four roads which led to it, where people travelled; but the little farm was far away from all these things. now it was a bright warm day, and the ewe bleated in the pasture, and the birds called each other above his head. then grani's heart fainted within him, and he cried to einar: "better hadst thou chosen exile for us all, rather than condemn us to die in this place!" einar sought to excuse himself to his son, but appeased him not. then helga said: "is this all thou didst learn in the orkneys, thus to meet the fate which thou hast brought upon thyself?" then grani was quiet, and went and fetched water, and wood which was there for the cooking (but there was no great store). after a while he said to his sister, "no more will i complain, though worse things come upon us." so in the following days he sets himself to work, and cuts the hay, and stacks it in ricks; and cuts and stacks the grain likewise, working hastily lest the snow should come. einar was of no account in such work, for his body was not used to it; but he watches the ewe upon the mead, and fetches water; and helga works at the house, and when the grain is reaped she begins to grind it in a handmill; a slow labor that was, to make flour each day for their bread. now when grani had finished harvesting he began to cut peat and stack it near the house. it was hard work, for the cold was severe and the ground freezing. einar began to complain as the cold came on; he was not warm enough under the gray cloak, but sat much of the day by the fire. he disliked his food and wanted better, although naught better was to be had. it was not easy to bear his complainings; but helga was patient, and grani sought to lighten her labors, doing woman's work. yet he was troubled for the shame of his life, and slept badly, and lost flesh. now hard frost and bitter winds came, but still no snow. grani's clothes were thin, and he was not used to the rough life; his hands cracked with the cold, all his joints ached, his feet were sore from his thin shoes, and it seemed as if he would perish with the wind. yet still he cut peat, hewing it from the frozen ground in a little boggy place; and he brought it home with fingers all bleeding. then helga bewailed the weather, how without snow the ground froze ever deeper: but though at first grani was minded to complain with her, he bethought himself and spoke cheerily. helga asked: "why dost thou conceal thy thoughts?" "the worst of my thoughts," said grani, "are so bad that i dare not dwell on them. but the better is that i must be manly; and i have a memory to help me." "what is that memory?" asked helga. so grani told of that time when he and his thralls were lost in the snow in orkney, and those two icelanders bore the cold, but he complained of it. "and they gave me the cloak and the warmth of their own bodies, yet i could not be brave. so now when i shiver in the cold i call to mind their hardiness, and strive to copy it." "that is well said," quoth helga, "and i will show courage, even as thou." so those two fortified each other; but einar's mind dwelt always on his misfortunes: the great state he had lost, and the trick that had betrayed him, and all those servants who had deserted him. "years long," said einar, "i fed many of those men, yet they all turned from me at the end. not one had the gratitude to follow me hither." "there is luck in that," answered grani, "for how could we feed them?" "most i hate hallvard and hallmund," said einar, "for i favored them in everything, but now they cling to rolf." "he will get small profit from them," says helga. now at the farm they took much comfort in their ewe, which never wandered far, and came home at night, sleeping always in the pen. but one morning she was gone and the pen broken down, and no trace of her was to be seen. then einar lamented greatly, since her milk was needed: he declared that she was stolen. but in the forenoon came those two, hallvard and hallmund, leading the ewe. "this beast," said hallvard, "was found eating from our masters ricks." "wherefore," asked grani, "ate she not from our ricks, which were nearer?" "i know not," said hallvard, "but she hath been at our ricks; and rolf has said: twenty in silver must you pay." grani took his purse; and though his father scolded he gave silver, all that he had, and hallvard and hallmund went away. now this happened again, and to redeem the ewe grani gave a gold ring. then he built up the pen again of double strength, so that a bullock could not have broken out; but on another morning the ewe was gone, and unless she were a goat she might not have jumped out. einar was terribly enraged with an old mans anger, and swore those two ruffians had killed the ewe; yet after a while they were seen coming, leading the beast. einar said to grani, "take now thy sword and slay them when they come." but grani held his tongue and heard those two quietly when they claimed trespass money; he gave them all the jewels that he had, and the twain went away. then einar cried, "i have no son at all, but two daughters; and no one will defend me from this shameful persecution." grani grew red as blood; but he said naught in answer, and tied the ewe in the pen. when he was alone helga came to him. asks she: "thinkest thou that the ewe broke out those two times, and leaped out the third?" he answers: "those two stole her, yet i cannot prove it, for there is no snow to show their tracks." "i blame not thy mildness at all," says helga, "rather do i praise it. but why art thou so quiet under injustice?" "i call to mind," says grani, "that when i enthralled rolf he never complained, but took what fortune brought him, seeing that he could not help himself. he bided his time and avenged his father; and i suffer in silence, to keep my father alive. that lesson which rolf set me, now i follow; i cannot resist him, save to my death, and what then would become of my father and of thee?" now there came another night, and in the morning the ewe was gone; that day grani yielded her to rolf, as already told, while einar upbraided him that he was so unmanly. and in the next days the old man was miserable, missing his milk, and not eating the broth helga made, though the broth was very good. he made himself sick with his anger and his selfishness, and went to bed in the middle of the day, and scolded from where he lay. "men tell," said he, "of gisli the outlaw, who entered his enemy's house and slew him for the slaying of his blood-brother. but nowadays no man will do such a deed--no, not to save his father." then grani started from his place, and said: "violence enough has been done in this feud, nor will i ever have hand in such." he went out of the house, and helga after him. she said to him: "be comforted, my brother." grani answered: "it is true that i might take rolf unawares, and slay him. but i remember when he was my thrall in the orkneys, going with me everywhere, and my life was daily in his hands. for when we were on the cliffs he might have cast me down, and no man would have known he did it. or when we were fishing he might have drowned me, and have sailed away in the boat. but he never did evil for evil, and i remember it now." then grani planned to sell his fodder, and the money would be welcome. but on another morning they woke in the hut with the crackle and glare of fire, and there were the ricks burning, all of them; grani could save little from the flames. now that was a great loss, and einar bewailed it, saying that since the wheat was gone they would all three starve. then by day they saw hallvard coming. "he comes to insult us," said einar, and egged grani on to meet him with his sword, and wound him for punishment. but grani received hallvard mildly, and said he had no need of help, and sent him away. "now," said einar, "we might have had help of rolf, and thou hast refused it." grani answered naught to his father, but afterward when helga asked why he sent hallvard away, grani said, "what help gave we to rolf when he was shipwrecked at our door? thou savedst his life, else he had been slain in our hall. for very shame we can take no help of him." now some days passed, and einar grumbled ceaselessly, so that life with him was well nigh unbearable; yet he was the cause of all their misfortune. in nothing that she did might helga please him; and though grani had grown thin with labor, his father did not spare the lash of his tongue. it was plain that they had not enough food to keep them through the winter, now that so much grain was gone, and their fate was much on grani's mind; yet he was cheerful. helga came to him at last, and said, "brother, give me of thy courage, for with my fathers harshness and our hard work i feel my heart failing me. on what thought dost thou sustain thyself?" "dost thou remember," asked grani, "that when we first came here i complained, and thou didst ask: had i learned no more in the orkneys than to bewail my fate?" "forgive me that saying," begged helga. "why not forgive?" grani said. "for i was reminded of a boast i made to rolf there on the cliff by hawksness, saying that i feared no misfortune. and he answered: then i was fitted to be an icelander. then, though i had dwelt so long in the orkneys, my heart warmed to my own land whose children love her so; and i resolved to show myself an icelander, for the sake of winning rolf's praise. therefore i strive, my sister, to be a true son of this dear iceland, and to bear my misfortunes even as rolf sends them." "mayhap," says helga, "rolf remembers also that boast of thine." "aye," says grani. "and mayhap," helga says, "he sends these trials only to test thee, for it is clear that they are of design." "so i have thought," grani answers. "either it is that, or it is revenge; yet rolf has no spite in him." "greatly dost thou praise him," helga says. "not overmuch," quoth grani. "and now i will say i repent my pride when i refused his friendship: first at hawksness, when he had done me that slight hurt, and then on the ship. but i have most shame that i offered him no atonement when i was prosperous here in iceland, and he was in hiding." "go to him now," cries helga. "ask forgiveness!" grani answers: "i asked it not when i might with honor; it were cowardice to do so when i am under his feet." now helga wished to argue against that; but their father called them, complaining, and there was no more of their talk. but grani, while helga tended on einar, ground corn in the handmill (but there was little of the grain left) and sang this song: "once i, most fortunate, met swords in fight. now, sin to expiate, i show this plight: grind corn to make my bread.- evil pursues my head." and it seemed to him that scarce ever had a warrior, not in thraldom, come to such fortune. then when he had ground enough meal for another day he stacked the grain carefully against the weather, and went about other tasks, and that night slept soundly. but in the morning, waking with the first light, he heard as it were a scuffling of feet close outside the door; when he opened he saw sheep there, a small flock, eating eagerly at the grain, which was almost all gone. in despair he rushed out upon them, and drove them away; they all fled before him but one lean old ram, who stood his ground and still would eat. then grani took a club and smote the ram, and wounded it, so that it ran away. next he saw how at a little distance were hallvard and hallmund, who came and excused them of the doings of the sheep, which had strayed while the men slept. grani answered nothing, though his sister wept; but einar was nigh out of his mind for anger and despair, and cursed those twain, and rolf their master, until grani took him and led him into the house, when those two drove the sheep away. einar was so spent with rage that he fell at last in a stupor; and grani went and gathered all that remained of the grain. there were but two measures of it left. then as he gleaned those few stalks from the ground, where the sheep had trodden them, and as he cleansed them of dust and saved every small particle: bitterness grew in him, and then wrath, and he nursed his wrath all that day. now helga was busy with her father, and saw not how grani brooded; there was not much food for him, but he fed on his despair. and he slept ill that night, and rose early, and went without food to dig in the garden for roots. there those twain found him, hallvard and hallmund, when they came into the yard that day for his sword. now his back was toward them, and they asked each other: "shall we rush on him and wound him, or slay him, and so search the place at our will for his sword?" that seemed to them the best counsel, and they stole upon him. he was so busy that he heard them not; and but for helga he had been slain. but she saw the men, and cried "beware!" so grani turned with his spade uplifted, and they rushed at him. then he dashed the sword from the hand of hallmund, and struck fiercely at hallvard. hallvard he wounded with the spade, but hallmund with his own weapon, and with their wounds they limped away. then all of grani's anger left him, and he sat in the house by the hearth, and his father waked and looked at him. said grani, "much didst thou do to hiarandi for my sake, and harshly has hiarandi's son repaid me for thy sake. but let us forgive each other, father, before the end of life comes to us." asked einar: "how comes the end of life now?" helga says from the doorway: "i see rolf coming across the valley, and he is armed." "thus comes the end," says grani, and they embraced and kissed each other all three, and grani made ready for death, and he went out to meet rolf. rolf came into the yard, and he had his sword and shield. says rolf: "what hast thou to say to me for the wounding of my house-carles?" grani looked on rolf, and remembered how he had loved him once, and loved him still, yet never might they be friends. "this offer will i make," said grani. "i will fare abroad, and never come back to trouble thee, if so be thou wilt give my father, while he lives, his winter's food." "hast thou nothing better to say?" asked rolf. "i will make this offer," said grani. "i will be thy thrall, and labor for thee, if only thou wilt maintain my father out of thine abundance." "canst thou say no better?" asked rolf again. grani remembered how he might have been friends with rolf, and would not; and how he should have asked forgiveness, and could not. "nothing better to offer have i," said he. "nothing worth offering." for he despised himself, and thought his life ended. [illustration: "grani took his sword and his shield, and they stood up to fight by the spring"] "take then thy weapons," said rolf, "and fight me here on the level space by the spring." so grani took his sword and his shield, and they stood up to fight by the spring and those in the hut heard the clash of steel. the two looked strangely fighting, grani gaunt and ragged, and rolf well fed and in holiday clothes. now grani thought to be slain quickly; but rolf seemed to have no power at first; yet he warmed to the strife, and began to strike manfully, and at last he smote away a part of grani's shield. then grani by a great stroke shore away the half of rolf's shield. "well smitten!" cried rolf, and they fought on; but grani found himself growing weak, and marvelled much that rolf smote no faster. "but if he means to tire me out," thought grani, "he can win me easily." then rolf drew away, and said: "my shoestrings are loose, i will tie them." so he laid aside his shield and sword, and knelt before grani to tie his shoes; grani might have slain him there, but he waited. and not to be tempted to that treachery, grani looked about; he saw the hut where were his father and sister, and looked off on the firth and the wide land, and waited for rolf to rise. then they fought again. but grani grew weary and desperate, and his thoughts grew hard. for there were his sister and father close at hand, and the world was beautiful. and while they fought slowly he thought that cruel, so to prolong death, since for rolf he was no match at all. he wished for death, and exposed his breast to rolf's strokes, and cared not what happened. but rolf drew away again, and said, "i am thirsty," and knelt down by the spring to drink. then in his great weariness grani gave way to an evil thought, and cried, "i will free my father, even if the deed be foul." and he heaved up his sword to slay rolf. but rolf rose upon his knees, looking fair in grani's face; and though rolf made no defence, grani stayed the sword in midair, and cast it far away. then he sat down on a stone and covered his face with his hands. rolf rose, and came to him, and said: "wherefore didst thou not slay me?" grani answered: "because once i loved thee." "grani, grani," cried rolf, "has thy pride at last come to its end? now once more i ask: what hast thou to say to me? "for the wounding of thy henchmen, and for all i ever did to thee since first we met," said grani, "only this i beg: forgive me!" "i forgive thee!" rolf cried, and there they embraced and made peace. this is the end of the tale, that frodi slept yet other nights at cragness than that one, and lived with rolf his life long. but grani took his father home to fellstead, and dwelt there, he and einar and helga. grani was ever the greatest friend of rolf, but einar never came into rolf's sight so long as he lived; and that was not long, for the old man was broken with his shame. then after that rolf took to wife helga the sister of grani, and the curse of the soursops never troubled their children. between the households of cragness and fellstead was ever the closest bond, and famous men are come of both rolf and grani. so here we end the story of rolf. _the summer vacation series_ four on a farm by mary p. wells smith _author of "the old deerfield series," etc._ illustrated. 12mo. $1.35 net it is a pleasing story, which will aid in making young people appreciate the beauties and the delights of country life.--_philadelphia press._ it would be well for american city youth if more such books descriptive of the joys and healthfulness of country life could be written.--_pittsburgh chronicle-telegraph._ _by the same author_ two in a bungalow illustrated. 12mo. $1.35 net the second volume in the "summer vacation series" is, like "four on a farm," a story of out-door life which tells the story of the first summer spent by the strongs in their bungalow on mount pisgah, near the hoosac tunnel, and describes the doings of sydney and clyde strong, eleven and six years old. they built a shack, went swimming, fishing, berrying, etc. the book is wholesome and natural: it will teach children to appreciate the joy and beauty of life out-of-doors and will make many a boy wish for equally happy summers on mount pisgah. little, brown & co., publishers 34 beacon street, boston _bright, lively, and enjoyable_ "jolly good times" series by mary p. wells smith 1. jolly good times; or, child life on a farm 2. jolly good times at school 3. jolly good times at hackmatack 4. more good times at hackmatack 5. jolly good times to-day 6. a jolly good summer 7. the browns 8. their canoe trip illustrated. cloth. each $1.35 net. these books ("jolly good times," etc.) give the best possible picture of new england child life about seventy-five years ago.--miss hunt, _supt. children's dept. brooklyn public library_. allow me to express, unasked, the zest and satisfaction with which i read "jolly good times." i am delighted that the joyous country life of new england is painted in its true colors for children.--col. thomas wentworth higginson. there is a fine fresh flavor of country life in what mrs. smith writes, and her characters, particularly her children, are thoroughly real and human.--r. h. stoddard in _new york mail and express_. a bit of real literature is "jolly good times at hackmatack." it has all the vividness of actual experience.--_new york tribune._ little, brown, & co., _publishers_ 34 beacon street, boston books by allen french the story of rolf and the viking's bow illustrated. 12mo. $1.35 net a stirring tale by the author of "the junior cup," presenting a vivid account of the old norse life and of the people of iceland.--_brooklyn eagle._ boys will follow the fortunes of rolf with ever-increasing attention, for his skill as a marksman, his intrepidity in scenes of peril, and his noble character make him a very engaging hero.--_boston beacon._ the author of this artistic story of iceland has caught the spirit of the times and men he depicts most happily.--_outlook_, new york. pelham and his friend tim illustrated by ch. grunwald. 12mo. $1.35 net one of the very best boys' books. in the two boys, who are the chief characters, he has drawn a picture of manliness and honesty. the plot centres about a mill strike and contains exciting scenes.--_providence journal._ a good, wholesome book for boys, especially to be recommended for the unobtrusive, matter-of-course way in which it makes character, instead of social station, the thing that counts.--_new york times._ heroes of iceland adapted from dasent's translation of "the story of burnt njal," the great icelandic saga, with a new preface, introduction, and notes. illustrated by e. w. d. hamilton. 12mo. $1.35 net he has preserved the spirit of the saga in the abridgment, and even in this form the northland epic makes better and healthier reading for boys than most of the books that are written specially for them.--_new york sun._ the reform of shaun illustrated by philip r. goodwin. $1.20 net two of the best dog stories that we have read in a long time.--_the churchman_, new york. little, brown, & co., _publishers_, boston _depicts the joys of country life_ summer vacation series by mary p. wells smith 1. four on a farm. 2. two in a bungalow. 3. three in a camp. illustrated. cloth. $1.35 _net_ each "four on a farm" is a pleasing story, which will aid in making young people appreciate the beauties and delights of the country.--_philadelphia press._ it would be well for american city youth if more such books like "four on a farm," descriptive of the joys and healthfulness of country life, could be written.--_pittsburgh chronicle-telegraph._ the author knows her ground, for she has reproduced the atmosphere of new hampshire farm life to perfection in "four on a farm."--_washington times._ "two in a bungalow" describes the usual vacation sports of swimming, fishing, berrying, in an interesting and instructive way and gives a pleasant picture of a vacation outing among the mountains.--_chicago post._ this series, as the name indicates, is made up of outdoor books, books that healthy, hearty, happy boys and girls like.--_christian register._ little, brown & co., _publishers_ 34 beacon street, boston transcribed from the 1853 ingram, cooke, and co. edition by david price, email ccx074@pglaf.org; second proof by mike ruffell. visit to iceland and the scandinavian north translated from the german of madame ida pfeiffer. with numerous explanatory notes and eight tinted engravings. to which are added an essay on icelandic poetry, from the french of m. bergmann; a translation of the icelandic poem the voluspa; and a brief sketch of icelandic history. second edition. london: ingram, cooke, and co. 1853 [picture: pictorial title page] advertisement to the first edition the success which attended the publication in this series of illustrated works of _a woman's journey round the world_, has induced the publication of the present volume on a country so little known as iceland, and about which so little recent information exists. the translation has been carefully made, expressly for this series, from the original work published at vienna; and the editor has added a great many notes, wherever they seemed necessary to elucidate the text. in addition to the matter which appeared in the original work, the present volume contains a translation of a valuable essay on icelandic poetry, by m. bergmann; a translation of an icelandic poem, the 'voluspa;' a brief sketch of icelandic history; and a translation of schiller's ballad, 'the diver,' which is prominently alluded to by madame pfeiffer in her description of the geysers. {1} the illustrations have been printed in tints, so as to make the work uniform with the _journey round the world_. london, august 1, 1852. author's preface "another journey--a journey, moreover, in regions which every one would rather avoid than seek. this woman only undertakes these journeys to attract attention." "the first journey, for a woman alone, was certainly rather a bold proceeding. yet in that instance she might still have been excused. religious motives may perhaps have actuated her; and when this is the case, people often go through incredible things. at present, however, we can see no just reason which could excuse an undertaking of this description." thus, and perhaps more harshly still, will the majority judge me. and yet they will do me a grievous wrong. i am surely simple and harmless enough, and should have fancied any thing in the world rather than that it would ever be my fate to draw upon myself in any degree the notice of the public. i will merely indicate, as briefly as may be, my character and circumstances, and then i have no doubt my conduct will lose its appearance of eccentricity, and seem perfectly natural. when i was but a little child, i had already a strong desire to see the world. whenever i met a travelling-carriage, i would stop involuntarily, and gaze after it until it had disappeared; i used even to envy the postilion, for i thought he also must have accomplished the whole long journey. as i grew to the age of from ten to twelve years, nothing gave me so much pleasure as the perusal of voyages and travels. i ceased, indeed, to envy the postilions, but envied the more every navigator and naturalist. frequently my eyes would fill with tears when, having ascended a mountain, i saw others towering before me, and could not gain the summit. i made several journeys with my parents, and, after my marriage, with my husband; and only settled down when it became necessary that my two boys should visit particular schools. my husband's affairs demanded his entire attention, partly in lemberg, partly in vienna. he therefore confided the education and culture of the two boys entirely to my care; for he knew my firmness and perseverance in all i undertook, and doubted not that i would be both father and mother to his children. when my sons' education had been completed, and i was living in peaceful retirement, the dreams and aspirations of my youth gradually awoke once more. i thought of strange manners and customs, of distant regions, where a new sky would be above me, and new ground beneath my feet. i pictured to myself the supreme happiness of treading the land once hallowed by the presence of our saviour, and at length made up my mind to travel thither. as dangers and difficulties rose before my mind, i endeavoured to wean myself from the idea i had formed--but in vain. for privation i cared but little; my health was good and my frame hardy: i did not fear death. and moreover, as i was born in the last century, i could travel alone. thus every objection was overcome; every thing had been duly weighed and considered. i commenced my journey to palestine with a feeling of perfect rapture; and behold, i returned in safety. i now feel persuaded that i am neither tempting providence, nor justly incurring the imputation of wishing to be talked about, in following the bent of my inclinations, and looking still further about me in the world i chose iceland for my destination, because i hoped there to find nature in a garb such as she wears nowhere else. i feel so completely happy, so brought into communion with my maker, when i contemplate sublime natural phenomena, that in my eyes no degree of toil or difficulty is too great a price at which to purchase such perfect enjoyment. and should death overtake me sooner or later during my wanderings, i shall await his approach in all resignation, and be deeply grateful to the almighty for the hours of holy beauty in which i have lived and gazed upon his wonders. and now, dear reader, i would beg thee not to be angry with me for speaking so much of myself; it is only because this love of travelling does not, according to established notions, seem proper for one of my sex, that i have allowed my feelings to speak in my defence. judge me, therefore, not too harshly; but rather grant me the enjoyment of a pleasure which hurts no one, while it makes me happy. the author. chapter i in the year 1845 i undertook another journey; {2} a journey, moreover, to the far north. iceland was one of those regions towards which, from the earliest period of my consciousness, i had felt myself impelled. in this country, stamped as it is by nature with features so peculiar, as probably to have no counterpart on the face of the globe, i hoped to see things which should fill me with new and inexpressible astonishment. how deeply grateful do i feel to thee, o thou that hast vouchsafed to me to behold the fulfilment of these my cherished dreams! the parting from all my dear ones had this time far less bitterness; i had found by experience, that a woman of an energetic mind can find her way through the world as well as a man, and that good people are to be met with every where. to this was added the reflection, that the hardships of my present voyage would be of short duration, and that five or six months might see me restored to my family. i left vienna at five o'clock on the morning of the tenth of april. as the danube had lately caused some devastations, on which occasion the railroad had not entirely escaped, we rode for the first four miles, as far as florisdorf, in an omnibus--not the most agreeable mode of travelling. our omnibuses are so small and narrow, that one would suppose they were built for the exclusive accommodation of consumptive subjects, and not for healthy, and in some cases portly individuals, whose bulk is further increased by a goodly assemblage of cloaks, furs, and overcoats. at the barriers a new difficulty arose. we delivered up our pass-warrants (_passirscheine_) in turn, with the exception of one young man, who was quite astounded at the demand. he had provided nothing but his passport and testimonials, being totally unaware that a pass-warrant is more indispensable than all the rest. in vain did he hasten into the bureau to expostulate with the officials,--we were forced to continue our journey without him. we were informed that he was a student, who, at the conclusion of term, was about to make holiday for a few weeks at his parents' house near prague. alas, poor youth! he had studied so much, and yet knew so little. he had not even an idea of the overwhelming importance of the document in question. for this trifling omission he forfeited the fare to prague, which had been paid in advance. but to proceed with my journey. at florisdorf a joyful surprise awaited me. i met my brother and my son, who had, it appears, preceded me. we entered the train to proceed in company to stockerau, a place between twelve and thirteen miles off; but were obliged to alight halfway, and walk a short distance. the embankment had given way. luckily the weather was favourable, inasmuch as we had only a violent storm of wind. had it rained, we should have been wetted to the skin, besides being compelled to wade ankle-deep in mud. we were next obliged to remain in the open air, awaiting the arrival of the train from stockerau, which unloaded its freight, and received us in exchange. at stockerau i once more took leave of my companions, and was soon securely packed in the post-carriage for transmission. in travelling this short distance, i had thus entered four carriages; a thing sufficiently disagreeable to an unencumbered person, but infinitely more so to one who has luggage to watch over. the only advantage i could discover in all this was, that we had saved half an hour in coming these seventeen miles. for this, instead of 9 fl. 26 kr. from vienna to prague, we paid 10 fl. 10 kr. from stockerau to prague, without reckoning expense of omnibus and railway. it was certainly a dearly-bought half-hour. {3} the little town of znaim, with its neighbouring convent, is situated on a large plain, extending from vienna to budwitz, seventeen miles beyond znaim; the monotony of the view is only broken here and there by low hills. near schelletau the scenery begins to improve. on the left the view is bounded by a range of high hills, with a ruined castle, suggestive of tragical tales of centuries gone by. fir and pine forests skirt the road, and lie scattered in picturesque groups over hill and dale. april 11th. yesterday the weather had already begun to be ungracious to us. at znaim we found the valleys still partly covered with snow, and the fog was at times so thick, that we could not see a hundred paces in advance; but to-day it was incomparably worse. the mist resolved itself into a mild rain, which, however, lost so much of its mildness as we passed from station to station, that every thing around us was soon under water. but not only did we ride through water, we were obliged to sit in it also. the roof of our carriage threatened to become a perfect sieve, and the rain poured steadily in. had there been room for such a proceeding, we should all have unfurled our umbrellas. on occasions like these, i always silently admire the patience of my worthy countrymen, who take every thing so good-humouredly. were i a man, i should pursue a different plan, and should certainly not fail to complain of such carelessness. but as a woman, i must hold my peace; people would only rail at my sex, and call it ill-humoured. besides, i thanked my guardian-angel for these discomforts, looking upon them as a preparation for what was to befall me in the far north. passing several small towns and villages, we at length entered the bohemian territory, close behind iglau. the first town which we saw was czaslau, with its large open square, and a few neat houses; the latter provided with so-called arbours (or _verandahs_), which enable one to pass round the square dry-footed, even in the most rainy weather. journeying onwards, we noticed the fine cathedral and town of kuttenberg, once famous for its gold and silver mines. {4} next comes the great tobacco-manufactory of sedlitz, near which we first see the elbe, but only for a short time, as it soon takes another direction. passing the small town of collin, we are whirled close by the battle-field where, in the year 1757, the great king frederick paid his score to the austrians. an obelisk, erected a few years since to the memory of general daun, occupies a small eminence on the right. on the left is the plain of klephorcz, where the austrian army was drawn up. {5} at eleven o'clock on the same night we reached prague. as it was my intention to pursue my journey after two days, my first walk on the following morning was to the police-office, to procure a passport and the all-important pass-warrant; my next to the custom-house, to take possession of a small chest, which i had delivered up five days before my departure, and which, as the expeditor affirmed, i should find ready for me on my arrival at prague. {6} ah, mr. expeditor! my chest was not there. after saturday comes sunday; but on sunday the custom-house is closed. so here was a day lost, a day in which i might have gone to dresden, and even visited the opera. on monday morning i once more hastened to the office in anxious expectation; the box was not yet there. an array of loaded wagons had, however, arrived, and in one of these it might be. ah, how i longed to see my darling little box, in order that i might--_not_ press it to my heart, but unpack it in presence of the excise officer! i took merely a cursory glance at prague, as i had thoroughly examined every thing there some years before. the beautiful "graben" and horse-market once more excited my admiration. it was with a peculiar feeling that i trod the old bridge, from which st. john of nepomuk was cast into the moldau for refusing to publish the confession of king wenceslaus' consort. {7} on the opposite bank i mounted the hradschin, and paid a visit to the cathedral, in which a large sarcophagus, surrounded and borne by angels, and surmounted by a canopy of crimson damask, is dedicated to the memory of the saint. the monument is of silver, and the worth of the metal alone is estimated at 80,000 florins. the church itself is not spacious, but is built in the noble gothic style; the lesser altars, however, with their innumerable gilded wooden figures, look by contrast extremely puny. in the chapel are many sarcophagi, on which repose bishops and knights hewn in stone, but so much damaged, that many are without hands and feet, while some lack heads. to the right, at the entrance of the church, is the celebrated chapel of st. wenceslaus, with its walls ornamented with frescoes, of which the colours and designs are now almost obliterated. it is further enriched with costly stones. not far from the cathedral is situated the palace of count czernin, a building particularly favoured with windows, of which it has one for every day in the year. i was there in an ordinary year, and saw 365; how they manage in leap-year i do not know. the view from the belvedere of this palace well repays the observer. it takes in the old and new town, the noble river with its two bridges (the ancient venerable-looking stone structure, and the graceful suspension-bridge, six hundred paces long), and the hills round about, clothed with gardens, among which appear neat country-houses. the streets of the "kleinseite" are not particularly attractive, being mostly tortuous, steep, and narrow. they contain, however, several remarkable palaces, among which that of wallenstein duke of friedland stands pre-eminent. {8} after visiting st. nicholas' church, remarkable for the height of its spire and its beautifully arched cupola, i betook myself to wimmer's gardens, and thence to the "bastei," a place of public resort with the citizens of prague. i could now observe the devastation caused by the rising of the water shortly before my arrival. the moldau had overstepped its banks in so turbulent a manner, as to carry along with it several small houses, and even a little village not far from prague, besides damaging all the dwellings upon its banks. the water had indeed already fallen, but the walls of the houses were soaked through and through; the doors had been carried away, and from the broken windows no faces looked out upon the passers-by. the water had risen two feet more than in 1784, in which year the moldau had also attained an unusual height. from the same tower of observation, i looked down upon the great open space bought a few years ago, and intended to be occupied by the termini of the vienna and dresden railroads. although several houses were only just being pulled down, and the foundations of but few buildings were laid, i was assured that within six months every thing would be completed. i have still to mention a circumstance which struck me during my morning peregrinations, namely, the curious method in which milk, vegetables, and other provisions are here brought to town. i could have fancied myself transported to lapland or greenland, on meeting every where carts to which two, three, or four dogs were harnessed. one pair of dogs will drag three hundredweight on level ground; but when they encounter a hill, the driver must lend a helping hand. these dogs are, besides, careful guardians; and i would not advise any one to approach a car of this kind, as it stands before the inn-door, while the proprietor is quenching his thirst within, on the money he has just earned. at five o'clock on the morning of the 15th of april i left prague, and rode for fourteen miles in the mail-carriage, as far as obristwy on the elbe, at which place i embarked for dresden, on board the steamer bohemia, of fifty-horse power, a miserable old craft, apparently a stranger to beauty and comfort from her youth up. the price charged for this short passage of eight or nine hours is enormously dear. the travellers will, however, soon have their revenge on the extortionate proprietors; a railroad is constructing, by means of which this distance will be traversed in a much shorter time, and at a great saving of expense. but at any rate the journey by water is the more agreeable; the way lies through very picturesque scenery, and at length through "saxon switzerland" itself. the commencement of the journey is, however, far from pleasing. on the right are naked hills, and on the left large plains, over which, last spring, the swollen stream rolled, partly covering the trees and the roofs of the cottages. here i could for the first time see the whole extent of the calamity. many houses had been completely torn down, and the crops, and even the loose alluvial earth swept away; as we glided by each dreary scene of devastation, another yet more dismal would appear in its place. this continued till we reached melnick, where the trees become higher, and groups of houses peer forth from among the innumerable vineyards. opposite this little town the moldau falls into the elbe. on the left, in the far distance, the traveller can descry st. george's mount, from which, as the story goes, czech took possession of all bohemia. below the little town of raudnitz the hills gave place to mountains, and as many enthusiasts can only find those regions romantic where the mountains are crowned with half-ruined castles and strongholds, good old time has taken care to plant there two fine ruins, hafenberg and skalt, for the delectation of such sentimental observers. near leitmeritz, a small town with a handsome castle, and a church and convent, the eger flows into the elbe, and a high-arched wooden bridge connects the two banks. here our poor sailors had difficult work to lower the mast and the funnel. the rather pretty village of gross-czernoseck is remarkable for its gigantic cellars, hewn out of the rock. a post-carriage could easily turn round in one of these. the vats are of course proportioned to the cellars, particularly the barrels called the "twelve apostles," each of which holds between three and four thousand gallons. it would be no more than fair to stop here awhile, to give every hero of the bottle an opportunity to enjoy a sight of these palace-cellars, and to offer a libation to the twelve apostles; but the steamer passed on, and we were obliged to make the most of the descriptions furnished by those who were more at home in these parts, and had no doubt frequently emerged in an inspired state from the depths of the cellars in question. the view now becomes more and more charming: the mountains appear to draw closer together, and shut in the bed of the stream; romantic groups of rocks, with summits crowned by rains yet more romantic, tower between. the ancient but well-preserved castle of schreckenstein, built on a rock rising boldly out of the elbe, is particularly striking; the approaches to it are by serpentine walks hewn out of the rock. near the small town of aussig we find the most considerable coal-mines in bohemia. in their neighbourhood is situated the little mountain estate paschkal, which produces a kind of wine said to resemble champagne. the mountains now become higher and higher, but above them all towers the gigantic jungfernsprung (maiden's leap). the beauty of this region is only surpassed by the situation of the town and castle of tetschen. the castle stands on a rock, between twenty and thirty feet high, which seems to rise out of the elbe; it is surrounded by hot-houses and charming gardens, shelving downwards as far as the town, which lies in a blooming valley, near a little harbour. the valley itself, encompassed by a chain of lofty mountains, seems quite shut out from the rest of the world. the left bank of the river is here so crowded with masses and walls of rock, that there is only room at intervals for an isolated farm or hut. suddenly the tops of masts appear between the high rocks, a phenomenon which is soon explained; a large gap in one of the rocky walls forms a beautiful basin. and now we come to schandau, a place consisting only of a few houses; it is a frontier town of the saxon dominions. custom-house officers, a race of beings ever associated with frontier towns, here boarded our vessel, and rummaged every thing. my daguerreotype apparatus, which i had locked up in a small box, was looked upon with an eye of suspicion; but upon my assertion that it was exclusively intended for my own use, i and my apparatus were graciously dismissed. in our onward journey we frequently observed rocks of peculiar shapes, which have appropriate names, such as the "zirkelstein," "lilienstein," &c. the konigstein is a collection of jagged masses of rock, on which is built the fortress of the same name, used at present as a prison for great criminals. at the foot of the rocks lies the little town of konigstein. not far off, on the right bank, a huge rock, resting on others, bears a striking resemblance to a human head. the more distant groups of rocks are called those of "rathen," but are considered as belonging to saxon switzerland. the "basteien" (bastions) of this switzerland, close by which we now pass, are most wonderful superpositions of lofty and fantastically shaped rocks. unfortunately, the steamer whirled us so rapidly on our way, that whilst we contemplated one bank, the beauteous scenes on the opposite side had already glided from our view. in much too short a time we had passed the town of pirna, situate at the commencement of this range of mountains. the very ancient gate of this town towers far above all the other buildings. lastly we see the great castle sonnenstein, built on a rock, and now used as an asylum for lunatics. all the beautiful and picturesque portion of our passage is now past, and the royal villa of pillnitz, with its many chinese gables, looks insignificant enough, after the grand scenes of nature. a chain of hills, covered with the country-houses of citizens, adjoins it; and on the right extends a large plain, at the far end of which we can dimly descry the saxon metropolis. but what is that in the distance? we have hardly time to arrange our luggage, when the anchor is let go near the fine old dresden bridge. this bridge had not escaped unscathed by the furious river. one of the centre arches had given way, and the cross and watchbox which surmounted it were precipitated into the flood. at first, carriages still passed over the bridge; it was not until some time afterwards that the full extent of the damage was ascertained, and the passage of carriages over the bridge discontinued for many months. as i had seen the town of dresden several years before, and the only building new to me was the splendid theatre, i took advantage of the few evening hours of my stay to visit this structure. standing in the midst of the beautiful cathedral-square, its noble rotunda-like form at once rivets the attention. the inner theatre is surrounded by a superb broad and lofty corridor, with fine bow-windows and straight broad staircases, leading in different directions towards the galleries. the interior of the theatre is not so spacious as, judging from the exterior, one would imagine it to be, but the architecture and decorations are truly gorgeous and striking. the boxes are all open, being separated from each other merely by a low partition; the walls and chairs are covered with heavy silken draperies, and the seats of the third and fourth galleries with a mixture of silk and cotton. one single circumstance was disagreeable to me in an acoustic point of view--i could hear the slightest whisper of the prompter as distinctly as though some one had been behind me reading the play. the curtain had scarcely fallen before the whole house was empty, and yet there was no crowding to get out. this first drew my attention to the numerous and excellently contrived doors. april 16th. the dresden omnibuses may be cited as models of comfort; one is certain of plenty of room, and there is no occasion to dread either the corpulent persons or the furs and cloaks of fellow-passengers. a bell-pull is fixed in the interior of the carriage, so that each individual can give the coachman a signal when he or she wishes to alight. these omnibuses call at the principal inns, and wait for a moment; but the traveller who is not ready in advance is left behind. at half-past five in the morning it called at our hotel. i was ready and waiting, and drove off comfortably to the railway. the distance from dresden to leipzig is reckoned at fifty-six miles, and the journey occupied three hours. the first fourteen miles are very agreeable; gardens, fields, and meadows, pine-forests in the plain and on the hills, and between these, villages, farms, country-houses, and solitary chapels, combine to form a very pretty landscape. but the scene soon changes, and the town of meissen (famous for its porcelain manufactory), on the right hand, seems to shut out from our view all that is picturesque and beautiful. from here to leipzig we travel through a wearisome monotonous plain, enlivened at long intervals by villages and scattered farms. there is nothing to see but a great tunnel, and the river pleisse--the latter, or rather the elster, is rendered famous by the death of prince poniatowski. {9} the town of leipzig, celebrated far and wide for its fairs, and more for its immense publishing trade, presents an appearance of noise and bustle proportionate to its commercial importance. i found streets, squares, and inns alike crowded. {10} perhaps there does not exist a town with its houses, and consequently its streets, so disfigured with announcements, in all sizes and shapes, covering its walls, and sometimes projecting several feet, as leipzig. among the public buildings, those which pleased me most were the augusteum and the burgerschule. the bucherhalle (book-hall) i should suppose indebted for its celebrity rather to its literary contents than to its architectural beauty or its exterior. the hall itself is indeed large, and occupies the whole length of the building, while the lower story consists of several rooms. the hall, the chambers, and the exterior are all plain, and without particular decoration. the tuchhalle (cloth-hall) is simply a large house, with spacious chambers, containing supplies of cloth. the theatre stands on a very large square, and does not present a very splendid appearance, whether viewed from within or from without. the plan of having stalls in front of the boxes in the second and third galleries was a novelty to me. the orchestra i could only hear, but could not discover its whereabouts; most probably it was posted behind the scenes. on inquiry, i was told that this was only done on extraordinary occasions, when the seats in the orchestra were converted into stalls, as was the case on the night of my visit. the play given was "the original tartuffe," a popular piece by gutzkow. it was capitally performed. in the leipzig theatre i had a second opportunity of observing, that as regards the love of eating our good saxons are not a whit behind the much-censured viennese. in the dresden theatre i had admired a couple of ladies who sat next me. they came provided with a neat bag, containing a very sufficient supply of confectionery, to which they perseveringly applied themselves between the acts. but at leipzig i found a delicate-looking mother and her son, a lad of fifteen or sixteen years, regaling themselves with more solid provisions--white bread and small sausages. i could not believe my eyes, and had made up my mind that the sausages were artificially formed out of some kind of confectionery--but alas! my nose came forward but too soon, as a potent witness, to corroborate what i was so unwilling to believe! neither did these two episodes take place in the loftiest regions of thalia's temple, but in the stalls of the second tier. beautiful alleys are planted round leipzig. i took a walk into the rosenthal (valley of roses), which also consists of splendid avenues and lawns. a pretty coffee-house, with a very handsome alcove, built in a semicircular form, invites the weary traveller to rest and refreshment, while a band of agreeable music diffuses mirth and good humour around. the rest of the scenery around leipzig presents the appearance of a vast and monotonous plain. april 17th. i had intended to continue my journey to hamburgh via berlin, but the weather was so cold and stormy, and the rain poured down so heavily, that i preferred the shorter way, and proceeded by rail to magdeburg. flying through the dismal plain past halle, kothen, and other towns, of which i could only discern groups of houses, we hurriedly recognised the saale and the elbe; and towards 10 o'clock in the morning arrived at magdeburg, having travelled seventy miles in three hours and a quarter. as the steamer for hamburgh was not to start until 3 o'clock, i had ample time to look at the town. magdeburg is a mixed pattern of houses of ancient, mediaeval, and modern dates. particularly remarkable in this respect is the principal street, the "broadway," which runs through the whole of the town. here we can see houses dating their origin from the most ancient times; houses that have stood proof against sieges and sackings; houses of all colours and forms; some sporting peaked gables, on which stone figures may still be seen; others covered from roof to basement with arabesques; and in one instance i could even detect the remains of frescoes. in the very midst of these relics of antiquity would appear a house built in the newest style. i do not remember ever having seen a street which produced so remarkable an impression on me. the finest building is unquestionably the venerable cathedral. in italy i had already seen numbers of the most beautiful churches; yet i remained standing in mute admiration before this masterpiece of gothic architecture. the monument with the twelve apostles in this church is a worthy memorial of the celebrated sculptor vischer. in order to view it, it is necessary to obtain the special permission of the commandant. the cathedral square is large, symmetrical, and decorated with two alleys of trees; it is also used as a drilling-ground for the soldiers' minor manoeuvres. i was particularly struck with the number of military men to be seen here. go where i would, i was sure to meet soldiers and officers, frequently in large companies; in time of war it could scarcely have been worse. this was an unmistakeable token that i was on prussian territory. the open canals, which come from all the houses, and meander through the streets, are a great disfigurement to the town. half-past three o'clock came only too quickly, and i betook myself on board the steamer _magdeburg_, of sixty-horse power, to proceed to hamburgh. of the passage itself i can say nothing, except that a journey on a river through execrable scenery is one of the most miserable things that can well be imagined. when, in addition to this, the weather is bad, the ship dirty, and one is obliged to pass a night on board, the discomfort is increased. it was my lot to endure all this: the weather was bad, the ship was dirty, the distance more than 100 miles, so that we had the pleasant prospect of a delightful night on board the ship. there were, moreover, so many passengers, that we were forced to sit crowded together; so there we sat with exemplary patience, stared at each other, and sighed bitterly. order was entirely out of the question; no one had time to think of such a thing. smoking and card-playing were perseveringly carried on all day and all night; it can easily be imagined that things did not go so quietly as at an english whist-party. the incessant rain rendered it impossible to leave the cabin even for a short time. the only consolation i had was, that i made the acquaintance of the amiable composer lorzing, a circumstance which delighted me the more, as i had always been an admirer of his beautiful original music. chapter ii morning dawned at length, and in a short time afterwards we reached the great commercial city, which, half destroyed by the dreadful conflagration of 1842, had risen grander and more majestic from its ashes. {11} i took up my quarters with a cousin, who is married to the wurtemburg consul, the merchant schmidt, in whose house i spent a most agreeable and happy week. my cousin-in-law was polite enough to escort me every where himself, and to shew me the lions of hamburgh. first of all we visited the exchange between the hours of one and two, when it is at the fullest, and therefore best calculated to impress a stranger with an idea of the extent and importance of the business transacted there. the building contains a hall of great size, with arcades and galleries, besides many large rooms, which are partly used for consultations, partly for the sale of refreshments. the most interesting thing of all is, however, to sit in the gallery, and looking downwards, to observe the continually increasing crowd passing and repassing each other in the immense hall and through the galleries and chambers, and to listen to the hubbub and noise of the thousands of eager voices talking at once. at half-past one o'clock the hall is at its fullest, and the noise becomes absolutely deafening; for now they are marking up the rates of exchange, by which the merchants regulate their monetary transactions. leaving the exchange, we bent our steps towards the great harbour, and entering a small boat, cruised in and about it in all directions. i had resolved to count only the three-masted ships; but soon gave it up, for their number seemed overwhelming, even without reckoning the splendid steamers, brigs, sloops, and craft. in short, i could only gaze and wonder, for at least 900 ships lay before me. let any one fancy an excursion amidst 900 ships, great and small, which lined both shores of the elbe in tiers of three deep or more; the passing to and fro of countless boats busily employed in loading or unloading these vessels; these things, together with the shouting and singing of the sailors, the rattling of anchors which are being weighed, and the rush and swell of passing steamers, combine to constitute a picture not to be surpassed in any city except in that metropolis of the world, london. {12} the reason of this unusual activity in the harbour lay in the severity of the past winter. such a winter had not been experienced for seventy years: the elbe and the baltic lay for months in icy chains, and not a ship could traverse the frozen river, not an anchor could be weighed or lowered. it was only a short time before my arrival that the passage had once more become free. in the neighbourhood of the harbour are situated the greater number of the so-called "yards." i had read concerning them that, viewed from the exterior, they look like common houses; but that they constitute separate communities, and contain alleys and streets, serving as the domicile of innumerable families. i visited several of these places, and can assure the reader that i saw nothing extraordinary in them. houses with two large wings, forming an alley of from eighty to a hundred paces in length, are to be met with in every large town; and that a number of families should inhabit such a house is not remarkable, considering that they are all poor, and that each only possesses a single small apartment. the favourite walk in the town is the "jungfernstieg" (maiden's walk), a broad alley, extending round a spacious and beautiful basin of the alster. on one side are splendid hotels, with which hamburgh is richly provided; on the other, a number of private residences of equal pretensions. other walks are, the "wall," surrounding the town, and the "botanical garden," which resembles a fine park. the noblest building, distinguished alike as regards luxury, skill, tastefulness of design, and stability, is the bazaar. it is truly a gigantic undertaking, and the more to be admired from the fact that it is not built upon shares, but at the expense of a single individual, herr carl sillem; the architect's name is overdick. the building itself is constructed entirely of stone, and the walls of the great room and of the hall are inlaid with marble. a lofty cupola and an immense glazed dome cover both the great room and the hall; the upper staircases are ornamented with beautiful statues. when in the evening it is brilliantly lighted with gas, and further ornamented by a tasteful display of the richest wares, the spectator can almost fancy himself transported to a fairy palace. altogether the shops in hamburgh are very luxurious. the wares lie displayed in the most tasteful manner behind huge windows of plate-glass, which are often from five to six feet broad, and eight or ten feet high; a single sheet frequently costs 600 florins. this plate-glass luxury is not confined to shops, but extends to windows generally, not only in hamburgh, but also in altona, and is also seen in the handsomest country-houses of the hamburghers. many a pane costs eight or ten florins; and the glass is insured in case of breakage, like houses in case of fire. this display of glass is equalled by the costliness of the furniture, which is almost universally of mahogany; a wood which is here in such common use, that in some of the most elegant houses the very stair-banisters are constructed of it. even the pilots have often mahogany furniture. the handsomest and most frequented street is the "neue wall" (new wall). i was particularly struck with the number of shops and dwellings underground, to which one descends by a flight of six or eight stairs; an iron railing is generally placed before the entrance, to prevent the passers-by from falling down. a very practical institution is the great slaughterhouse, in which all cattle are killed on certain days of the week. concerning the town of altona, i have only to observe that it appeared to me a continuation of hamburgh; from which town, indeed, it is only separated by a wooden door. a very broad, handsome street, or, more properly speaking, an elongated square, planted with a double row of large trees, is the most remarkable thing about altona, which belongs to the danish government, and is considered, after copenhagen, the most important place in the kingdom. it is a delicious ride to the village of blankenese, distant nine miles from hamburgh; the road lies among beautiful country-houses and large park-like gardens. blankenese itself consists of cottages, grouped in a picturesque manner round the sulberg, a hill from which the traveller enjoys a very extended view over the great plain, in which it is the only elevated point. the course of the elbe, as it winds at moderate speed towards the sea, is here to be traced almost to its embouchure at cuxhaven. the breadth of the elbe at blankenese exceeds two miles. another interesting excursion is to the "new mills," a little village on the elbe, not more than half a mile from altona, and inhabited only by fishermen and pilots. whoever wishes to form an idea of dutch prettiness and cleanliness should come here. the houses are mostly one story high, neatly and tastefully built; the brightest of brass handles adorn the street-doors; the windows are kept scrupulously clean, and furnished with white curtains. in saxony i had found many dwellings of the peasantry tidy and neat enough, displaying at any rate more opulence than we are accustomed to find with this class of people; but i had seen none to compete with this pretty village. among the peasants' costumes, i only liked that worn by the women from the "vierlanden." they wear short full skirts of black stuff, fine white chemisettes with long sleeves, and coloured bodices, lightly fastened in front with silk cords or silver buckles. their straw hats have a most comical appearance; the brim of the hat is turned up in such a manner that the crown appears to have completely sunk in. many pretty young girls dressed in this manner come to hamburgh to sell flowers, and take up their position in front of the exchange. the 26th of april, the day appointed for my departure, arrived only too speedily. to part is the unavoidable fate of the traveller; but sometimes we part gladly, sometimes with regret. i need not write many pages to describe my feelings at the parting in hamburgh. i was leaving behind me my last relations, my last friends. now i was going into the wide world, and among strangers. at eight o'clock in the morning i left altona, and proceeded by railway to kiel. i noticed with pleasure that on this railway even the third-class carriages were securely covered in, and furnished with glass windows. in fact, they only differed from those of the first and second class in being painted a different colour, and having the seats uncushioned. the whole distance of seventy miles was passed in three hours; a rapid journey, but agreeable merely by its rapidity, for the whole neighbourhood presents only widely-extended plains, turf-bogs and moorlands, sandy places and heaths, interspersed with a little meadow or arable land. from the nature of the soil, the water in the ditches and fields looked black as ink. near binneburg we notice a few stunted plantations of trees. from eisholm a branch-line leads to gluckstadt, and another from neumunster, a large place with important cloth-factories, to rendsburg. from here there is nothing to be seen but a convent, in which many dukes of holstein lie buried, and several unimportant lakes; for instance, those of bernsholm, einfeld, and schulhof. the little river eider would have passed unnoticed by me, had not some of my fellow-passengers made a great feature of it. in the finest countries i have found the natives far less enthusiastic about what was really grand and beautiful, than they were here in praise of what was neither the one nor the other. my neighbour, a very agreeable lady, was untiring in laudation of her beautiful native land. in her eyes the crippled wood was a splendid park, the waste moorland an inexhaustible field for contemplation, and every trifle a matter of real importance. in my heart i wished her joy of her fervid imagination; but unfortunately my colder nature would not catch the infection. towards kiel the plain becomes a region of low hills. kiel itself is prettily situated on the baltic, which, viewed from thence, has the appearance of a lake of middling size. the harbour is said to be good; but there were not many ships there. {13} among these was the steamer destined to carry me to copenhagen. little did i anticipate the good reason i should have to remember this vessel. thanks to the affectionate forethought of my cousin schmidt, i found one of his relations, herr brauer, waiting for me at the railway. i was immediately introduced to his family, and passed the few hours of my stay very agreeably in their company. evening approached, and with it the hour of embarkation. my kind friends the brauers accompanied me to the steamer, and i took a grateful leave of them. i soon discovered the steamer _christian viii._, of 180-horse power, to be a vessel dirtier and more uncomfortable than any with which i had become acquainted in my maritime excursions. scrubbing and sweeping seemed things unknown here. the approach to the cabin was by a flight of stairs so steep, that great care was requisite to avoid descending in an expeditious but disagreeable manner, by a fall from top to bottom. in the fore-cabin there was no attempt at separate quarters for ladies and gentlemen. in short, the arrangements seemed all to have been made with a view of impressing the ship vividly on the recollection of every traveller. at nine o'clock we left kiel. the day and the twilight are here already longer than in the lands lying to the south and the west. there was light enough to enable me to see, looming out of the surrounding darkness, the fortress "friedrichsort," which we passed at about ten o'clock. april 27th. to-day i still rose with the sun; but that will soon be a difficult matter to accomplish; for in the north the goddess of light makes amends in spring and summer for her shortcomings during the winter. i went on deck, and looked on the broad expanse of ocean. no land was to be seen; but soon a coast appeared, then disappeared, and then a new and more distant one rose out of the sea. towards noon we reached the island of moen, which lies about forty {14} miles distant from copenhagen. it forms a beautiful group of rocks, rising boldly from the sea. they are white as chalk, and have a smooth and shining appearance. the highest of these walls of rock towers 400 feet above the level of the surrounding ocean. soon we saw the coast of sweden, then the island of malmo; and at last copenhagen itself, where we landed at four o'clock in the afternoon. the distance from kiel to copenhagen is 136 sea-miles. i remained seven days at copenhagen, and should have had ample time to see every thing, had the weather been more favourable. but it blew and rained so violently, that i was obliged to give up all thoughts of visiting the surrounding parks, and was fain to content myself with seeing a few of the nearest walks, which i accomplished with some difficulty. the first street in copenhagen which i traversed on coming from the harbour generally produces a great impression. it is called the "broad street," and leads from the harbour through the greater part of the town. in addition to its breadth it is very long and regular, and the splendid palaces and houses on either side give it a remarkably grand appearance. it is a peculiar sight, when, in the midst of this fine quarter, we come suddenly upon a ruin, a giant building resting on huge pillars, but half completed, and partly covered with moss and lichens. it was intended for a splendid church, and is built entirely of marble; but the soft ground would not bear the immense weight. the half-finished building began to sink, and the completion of the undertaking became for ever impossible. many other streets rival the "broad street" in size and magnificence. foremost among them comes the amalienstrasse. the most bustling, but by far not the finest, are the oster and gotherstrasse. to walk in these is at first quite a difficult undertaking for a stranger. on one side of the pavement, which is raised about a foot above the carriage-way, he comes continually in contact with stairs, leading sometimes to warehouses above, at others to subterranean warehouses below the level of the street. the approaches to the latter are not guarded by railings as in hamburgh. the other side of the pavement is bounded by a little unostentatious rivulet, called by unpoetical people "canal," into which tributaries equally sweet pour from all the neighbouring houses. it is therefore necessary to take great care, lest you should fall into the traitorous depths on the one side, or stumble over the projecting steps on the other. the pavement itself is covered with a row of stone slabs, a foot and a half wide, on which one walks comfortably enough. but then every body contends for the possession of these, to avoid the uneven and pointed stones at the side. this, added to the dreadful crowding, renders the street one which would scarcely be chosen for a walk, the less so as the shops do not contain any thing handsome, the houses are neither palace-like nor even tastefully built, and the street itself is neither of the broadest nor of the cleanest. the squares are all large and regularly built. the finest is the kongensnytorf (king's new market). some fine mansions, the chief guard-house, the theatre, the chief coffee-houses and inns, the academy of the fine arts, and the building belonging to the botanical garden, the two last commonly known by the name of "charlottenburg," are among the ornaments of this magnificent square, in the midst of which stands a beautiful monument, representing christian v. on horseback, and surrounded by several figures. smaller, but more beautiful in its perfect symmetry, is the "amalienplatz," containing four royal palaces, built exactly alike, and intersected by four broad streets in the form of a cross. this square also is decorated by a monument standing in the midst, and representing frederick v. in another fine square, the "nytorf" (new market), there is a fountain. its little statue sends forth very meagre jets of water, and the fountain is merely noticeable as being the only one i could find at copenhagen. the traveller can hardly fail of being surprised by the number and magnificence of the palaces, at sight of which he could fancy himself in the metropolis of one of the largest kingdoms. the "christianensburg" is truly imperial; it was completely destroyed by fire in the year 1794, but has since been rebuilt with increased splendour. the chapel of this palace is very remarkable. the interior has the appearance rather of a concert-room than of a building devoted to purposes of worship. tastefully decorated boxes, among which we notice that of the king, together with galleries, occupy the upper part of the chapel; the lower is filled with benches covered with red velvet and silk. the pulpit and altar are so entirely without decoration, that, on first entering, they wholly escape notice. in the "christianensburg" is also the "northern museum," peculiarly rich in specimens of the ornaments, weapons, musical instruments, and other mementoes of northern nations. the winter riding-school, in which concerts are frequently given, is large and symmetrical. i admired the stalls, and yet more the grey horses which occupied them--descendants of the pure arabian and wild norwegian breeds--creatures with long manes and tails of fine silky hair. every one who sees these horses, whether he be a connoisseur or one of the uninitiated, must admire them. adjoining the "christianensburg" is thorwaldsen's museum, a square building with fine saloons, lighted from above. when i saw it, it was not completed; the walls were being painted in fresco by some of the first native artists. the sculptured treasures were there, but unfortunately yet unpacked. in the midst of the courtyard thorwaldsen's mausoleum is being erected. there his ashes will rest, with his exquisitely finished lion as a gravestone above them. {15} the largest among the churches is the "woman's church." the building has no architectural beauty; the pillars, galleries, and cupola are all of wood, covered with a mixture of sand and plaster. but whatever may be wanting in outward splendour is compensated by its contents, for this church contains the masterpieces of thorwaldsen. at the high altar stands his glorious figure of our saviour, in the niches of the wall his colossal twelve apostles. in the contemplation of these works we forget the plainness of the building which contains them. may the fates be prosperous, and no conflagration reach this church, built as it is half of wood! the catholic church is small, but tasteful beyond expression. the late emperor of austria presented to it a good full-toned organ, and two oil-paintings, one by kuppelweiser, the other by a pupil of this master. in the "museum of arts" i was most interested in the ancient chair, used in days of yore by tycho de brahe. {16} the exchange is a curious ancient building. it is very long and narrow, and surmounted by nine peaks, from the centre of which protrudes a remarkable pointed tower, formed of four crocodiles' tails intertwined. the hall itself is small, low, and dark; it contains a full-length portrait in oil of tycho de brahe. nearly all the upper part of the building is converted into a kind of bazaar, and the lower portion contains a number of small and dingy booths. several canals, having an outlet into the sea, give a peculiar charm to the town. they are, in fact, so many markets; for the craft lying in them are laden with provisions of all kinds, which are here offered for sale. the sailors' town, adjoining copenhagen, and situated near the harbour, is singularly neat and pretty. it consists of three long, broad, straight streets, built of houses looking so exactly alike, that on a foggy night an accurate knowledge of the locality is requisite to know one from the other. it looks as though, on each side of the way, there were only one long house of a single floor, with a building one story high in the middle. in the latter dwell the commandant and overseers. the lighting of the streets is managed in copenhagen in the same way as in our smaller german towns. when "moonlight" is announced in the calendar, not a lamp is lighted. if the lady moon chooses to hide behind dark clouds, that is her fault. it would be insolent to attempt to supply the place of her radiance with miserable lamps--a wise arrangement! (?) of the near walks, the garden of the "rosenburg," within the town, pleased me much; as did also the "long line," an alley of beautiful trees extending parallel with the sea, and in which one can either walk or ride. a coffee-house, in front of which there is music in fine weather, attracts many of the loungers. the most beautiful place of all is the "kastell," above the "long line," from whence one can enjoy a beautiful view. the town lies displayed below in all its magnificence: the harbour, with its many ships; the sparkling blue sound, which spreads its broad expanse between the coasts of denmark and sweden, and washes many a beautiful group of islands belonging to one or the other of these countries. the background of the picture alone is uninteresting, as there is no chain of mountains to form a horizon, and the eye wanders over the boundless flats of denmark. among the vessels lying at anchor in the harbour i saw but few three-masters, and still fewer steamers. the ships of the fleet presented a curious appearance; at the first view they look like great houses with flag-staves, for every ship is provided with a roof, out of which the masts rise into the air; they are besides very high out of the water, so that all the port-holes and the windows of the cabins appear in two or three stories, one above the other. a somewhat more distant excursion, which can be very conveniently made in a capital omnibus, takes you to the royal chateau "friedrichsberg," lying before the water-gate, two miles distant from the town. splendid avenues lead to this place, where are to be found all the delights that can combine to draw a citizen into the country. there are a tivoli, a railway, cabinets, and booths with wax-figures, and countless other sights, besides coffee-houses, beer-rooms, and music. the gardens are planted at the sides with a number of small arbours, each containing a table and chairs, and all open in front, so as to shew at one view all the visitors of these pretty natural huts. on sundays, when the gardens are crowded, this is a very animated sight. on the way to this "prater" of copenhagen, we pass many handsome villas, each standing in a fine garden. [picture: copenhagen: from frederiesbourg] the royal palace is situated on the summit of a hill, at the end of the avenue, and is surrounded by a beautiful park; it commands a view of a great portion of the town, with the surrounding country and the sea; still i far prefer the prospect from the "kastell." the park contains a considerable island, which, during some part of the year, stands in the midst of an extensive lake. this island is appropriated to the court, but the rest of the park is open to the public. immediately outside the water-gate stands an obelisk, remarkable neither for its beauty nor for the skill displayed in its erection, for it consists of various stones, and is not high, but interesting from the circumstance to which it owes its origin. it was erected by his grateful subjects in memory of the late king christian vii., to commemorate the abolition of feudal service. surely no feeling person can contemplate without joyful emotion a monument like this. i have here given a faithful account of what i saw during my short stay at copenhagen. it only remains for me to describe a few peculiar customs of the people, and so i will begin as it were at the end, with the burial of the dead. in denmark, as in fact in the whole of scandinavia, not excepting iceland, it is customary not to bury the dead until eight or ten days have elapsed. in winter-time this is not of so much consequence, but in summer it is far from healthy for those under the same roof with the corpse. i was present at copenhagen at the funeral of dr. brandis, physician to the king. two of the king's carriages and a number of private equipages attended. nearly all these were empty, and the servants walked beside them. among the mourners i did not notice a single woman; i supposed that this was only the case at the funerals of gentlemen, but on inquiry i found that the same rule is observed at the burial of women. this consideration for the weaker sex is carried so far, that on the day of the funeral no woman may be seen in the house of mourning. the mourners assemble in the house of the deceased, and partake of cold refreshments. at the conclusion of the ceremony they are again regaled. what particularly pleased me in copenhagen was, that i never on any occasion saw beggars, or even such miserably clad people as are found only too frequently in our great cities. here there are no doubt poor people, as there are such every where else in the world, but one does not see them beg. i cannot help mentioning an arrangement which certainly deserves to be universally carried out;--i mean, the setting apart of many large houses, partly belonging to the royal family, partly to rich private people or to companies, for the reception of poor people, who are here lodged at a much cheaper rate than is possible in ordinary dwellings. the costumes of the peasants did not particularly please me. the women wear dresses of green or black woollen stuff, reaching to the ankle, and trimmed at the skirt with broad coloured woollen borders. the seams of the spenser, and the arm-holes, are also trimmed with smaller coloured borders. on their heads they wear a handkerchief, and over this a kind of shade, like a bonnet. on sundays i saw many of them in small, pretty caps, worked with silk, with a border of lace of more than a hand's breadth, plaited very stiffly; at the back they have large bows of fine riband, the ends of which reach half down to their feet. i found nothing very remarkable in the dress of the peasants. as far as strength and beauty were concerned, i thought these peasants were neither more nor less gifted than those of austria. as regards the beauty of the fair sex, i should certainly give the preference to the austrians. fair hair and blue eyes predominate. i saw but few soldiers; their uniforms, particularly those worn by the king's life-guards, are very handsome. i especially noticed the drummers; they were all little lads of ten or twelve years old. one could almost have exclaimed, "drum, whither art thou carrying that boy?" to march, and to join in fatiguing manoeuvres, carrying such a drum, and beating it bravely at the same time, is rather cruel work for such young lads. many a ruined constitution may be ascribed to this custom. during my stay in copenhagen i spent many very delightful hours with professor mariboe and his amiable family, and with the kind clergyman of the embassy, herr zimmermann. they received me with true politeness and hospitality, and drew me into their circle, where i soon felt myself quite at ease. i shall never forget their friendship, and shall make use of every opportunity to shew them my appreciation of it. herr edouard gottschalk and herr knudson have also my best thanks. i applied to the first of these gentlemen to procure me a passage to iceland, and he was kind enough to use his interest with herr knudson on my behalf. herr knudson is one of the first general dealers in copenhagen, and carries on a larger and more extended commerce with iceland than any other house trading thither. he is already beginning to retire, as the continual journeys are becoming irksome to him; but he still owns a number of great and small vessels, which are partly employed in the fisheries, and partly in bringing all kinds of articles of consumption and luxury to the different harbours of iceland. he himself goes in one of his ships every year, and stays a few months in iceland to settle his affairs there. on the recommendation of herr gottschalk, herr knudson was kind enough to give me a passage in the ship in which he made the journey himself; a favour which i knew how to value. it is certainly no small kindness to take a lady passenger on such a journey. herr knudson knew neither my fortitude nor my perseverance; he did not know whether i should be able to endure the hardships of a journey to the north, whether i would bear sea-sickness philosophically, or even if i had courage enough, in case of storms or bad weather, to abstain from annoying the captain by my fears or complaints at a time when he would only have too much to harass him. the kind man allowed no such considerations to influence him. he believed me when i promised to behave courageously come what might, and took me with him. indeed his kindness went so far that it is to him i owe every comfort i enjoyed in iceland, and every assistance in furthering the attainment of my journey's object. i could certainly not have commenced a voyage under better auspices. all ships visiting iceland leave copenhagen at the end of april, or at the latest in the middle of may. after this time only one ship is despatched, to carry the mails of the danish government. this vessel leaves copenhagen in october, remains in iceland during the winter months, and returns in march. the gain or loss of this expedition is distributed in shares among the merchants of copenhagen. besides this, a french frigate comes to iceland every spring, and cruises among the different harbours until the middle of august. she superintends the fishing vessels, which, attracted by the large profits of the fisheries, visit these seas in great numbers during the summer. {17} opportunities of returning from iceland occur during the summer until the end of september, by means of the merchant-ships, which carry freights from the island to denmark, england, and spain. at length, on sunday the 4th of may, a favourable wind sprung up. herr knudson sent me word to be ready to embark at noon on board the fine brig _john_. i immediately proceeded on board. the anchor was weighed, and the sails, unfolding themselves like giant wings, wafted us gently out of the harbour of copenhagen. no parting from children, relations, or old-cherished friends embittered this hour. with a glad heart i bade adieu to the city, in the joyful hope soon to see the fulfilment of my long-expected journey. the bright sky smiled above us, and a most favourable wind filled our sails. i sat on deck and revelled in the contemplation of scenes so new to me. behind us lay spread the majestic town; before us the sound, an immense natural basin, which i could almost compare to a great swiss lake; on the right and left were the coasts of sweden and denmark, which here approach each other so closely that they seem to oppose a barrier to the further progress of the adventurous voyager. soon we passed the little swedish town of carlscrona, and the desolate island hveen, on which tycho de brahe passed the greater portion of his life, occupied with stellar observations and calculations. now came a somewhat dangerous part, and one which called into action all the careful seamanship of the captain to bring us safely through the confined sea and the strong current,--the entrance of the sound into the cattegat. the two coasts here approach to within a mile of each other. on the swedish side lies the pretty little town of helsingborg, on the danish side that of helsingor, and at the extremity of a projecting neck of land the fortress kronburg, which demands a toll of every passing ship, and shews a large row of threatening cannon in case of non-compliance. our toll had already been paid before leaving copenhagen; we had been accurately signalled, and sailed fearlessly by. {18} the entrance once passed, we entered the cattegat, which already looked more like the great ocean: the coasts retired on each side, and most of the shifts and barques, which till now had hovered around us on all sides, bade us "farewell." some bent their course towards the east, others towards the west; and we alone, on the broad desert ocean, set sail for the icy north. twilight did not set in until 9 o'clock at night; and on the coasts the flaming beacons flashed up, to warn the benighted mariner of the proximity of dangerous rocks. i now offered up my thanksgiving to heaven for the protection hitherto vouchsafed me, with a humble prayer for its continuance. then i descended to the cabin, where i found a convenient bunk (a kind of crib fixed to the side of the ship); i laid myself down, and was soon in a deep and refreshing sleep. i awoke full of health and spirits, which, however, i enjoyed but for a short time. during the night we had left behind us the "cattegat" and the "skagerrack," and were driving through the stormy german ocean. a high wind, which increased almost to a gale, tumbled our poor ship about in such a manner, that none but a good dancer could hope to maintain an upright position. i had unfortunately been from my youth no votary of terpsichore, and what was i to do? the naiads of this stormy region seized me, and bandied me to and fro, until they threw me into the arms of what was, according to my experience, if not exactly after schiller's interpretation, "the horrible of horrors,"--sea-sickness. at first i took little heed of this, thinking that sea-sickness would soon be overcome by a traveller like myself, who should be inured to every thing. but in vain did i bear up; i became worse and worse, till i was at length obliged to remain in my berth with but one consoling thought, namely, that we were to-day on the open sea, where there was nothing worthy of notice. but the following day the norwegian coast was in sight, and at all hazards i must see it; so i crawled on deck more dead than alive, looked at a row of mountains of moderate elevation, their tops at this early season still sparkling with their snowy covering, and then hurried back, benumbed by the piercing icy wind, to my good warm feather-bed. those who have never experienced it can have no conception of the biting, penetrating coldness of a gale of wind in the northern seas. the sun shone high in the heavens; the thermometer (i always calculate according to reaumur) stood 3 degrees above zero; i was dressed much more warmly than i should have thought necessary when, in my fatherland, the thermometer was 8 or 10 degrees _below_ zero, and yet i felt chilled to the heart, and could have fancied that i had no clothes on at all. on the fourth night we sailed safely past the shetland islands; and on the evening of the fifth day we passed so near the majestic rocky group of the feroe islands, that we were at one time apprehensive of being cast upon the rocks by the unceasing gale. {19} already on the seventh day we descried the coast of iceland. our passage had been unprecedentedly quick; the sailors declared that a favourable gale was to be preferred even to steam, and that on our present voyage we should certainly have left every steamer in our wake. but i, wretched being that i was, would gladly have dispensed with the services both of gale and steam for the sake of a few hours' rest. my illness increased so much, that on the seventh day i thought i must succumb. my limbs were bathed in a cold perspiration; i was as weak as an infant, and my mouth felt parched and dry. i saw that i must now either make a great effort or give up entirely; so i roused myself, and with the assistance of the cabin-boy gained a seat, and promised to take any and every remedy which should be recommended. they gave me hot-water gruel with wine and sugar; but it was not enough to be obliged to force this down, i was further compelled to swallow small pieces of raw bacon highly peppered, and even a mouthful of rum. i need not say what strong determination was required to make me submit to such a regimen. i had, however, but one choice, either to conquer my repugnance or give myself up a victim to sea-sickness; so with all patience and resignation i received the proffered gifts, and found, after a trial of many hours, that i could manage to retain a small dose. this physicking was continued for two long, long days, and then i began slowly to recover. i have here circumstantially described both my illness and its cure, because so many people are unfortunately victims to the complaint, and when under its influence cannot summon resolution to take sustenance. i should advise all my friends not to hold out so long as i did, but to take food at once, and continue to do so until the system will receive it. as i was now convalescent, i tried to recruit my wearied mind by a diligent study of the mode of life and customs of the mariners of the northern seas. our ship's company consisted of herr knudson, herr bruge (a merchant whom we were to land at the westmann islands), the captain, the mate, and six or seven sailors. our mode of life in the cabin was as follows: in the morning, at seven o'clock, we took coffee, but whence this coffee came, heaven knows! i drank it for eleven days, and could never discover any thing which might serve as a clue in my attempt to discover the country of its growth. at ten o'clock we had a meal consisting of bread and butter and cheese, with cold beef or pork, all excellent dishes for those in health; the second course of this morning meal was "tea-water." in scandinavia, by the way, they never say, "i drink _tea_," the word "water" is always added: "i drink _tea-water_." our "tea-water" was, if possible, worse than its predecessor, the incomparable coffee. thus i was beaten at all points; the eatables were too strong for me, the drinkables too--too--i can find no appropriate epithet--probably too artificial. i consoled myself with the prospect of dinner; but, alas, too soon this sweet vision faded into thin air! on the sixth day i made my first appearance at the covered table, and could not help at once remarking the cloth which had been spread over it. at the commencement of our journey it might perhaps have been white; now it was most certainly no longer of that snowy hue. the continual pitching and rolling of the ship had caused each dish to set its peculiar stamp upon the cloth. a sort of wooden network was now laid upon it, in the interstices of which the plates and glasses were set, and thus secured from falling. but before placing it on the table, our worthy cabin-boy took each plate and glass separately, and polished it on a towel which hung near, and in colour certainly rather resembling the dingy floor of the cabin than the bight-hued rainbow. this could still have been endured, but the article in question really did duty _as a towel_ in the morning, before extending its salutary influence over plates and glasses for the remainder of the day. on making discoveries such as these, i would merely turn away my eyes, and try to think that perhaps _my glass_ and _my plate_ would be more delicately manipulated, or probably escape altogether; and then i would turn my whole attention to the expected dishes. first came soup; but instead of gravy-soup, it was water-soup, with rice and dried plums. this, when mingled with red wine and sugar, formed a most exquisite dish for danish appetites, but it certainly did not suit mine. the second and concluding course consisted of a large piece of beef, with which i had no fault to find, except that it was too heavy for one in my weak state of health. at supper we had the same dishes as at dinner, and each meal was followed by "tea-water." at first i could not fancy this bill of fare at all; but within a few days after my convalesence, i had accustomed myself to it, and could bear the sea-diet very well. {20} as the rich owner of the vessel was on board, there was no lack of the best wines, and few evenings passed on which a bowl of punch was not emptied. there was, however, a reason found why every bottle of wine or bowl of punch should be drunk: for instance, at our embarkation, to drink the health of the friends we were leaving, and to hope for a quick and prosperous voyage; then, when the wind was favourable, its health was drunk, with the request that it would remain so; when it was contrary, with the request that it would change; when we saw land, we saluted it with a glass of wine, or perhaps with several, but i was too ill to count; when we lost sight of it, we drank a farewell glass to its health: so that every day brought with it three or four distinct and separate occasions for drinking wine. {21} the sailors drank tea-water without sugar every morning and evening, with the addition of a glass of brandy; for dinner they had pease, beans, barley, or potatoes, with salted cod, bacon, "or junk;" good sea-biscuit they could get whenever they chose. the diet is not the worst part of these poor people's hardships. their life may be called a continual fight against the elements; for it is precisely during the most dreadful storms, with rain and piercing cold, that they have to be continually upon deck. i could not sufficiently admire the coolness, or rather the cheerfulness and alacrity with which they fulfilled their onerous duties. and what reward have they? scanty pay, for food the diet i have just described, and for their sleeping-place the smallest and most inconvenient part of the ship, a dark place frequently infested with vermin, and smelling offensively from being likewise used as a receptacle for oil-colours, varnish, tar, salt-fish, &c. &c. to be cheerful in the midst of all this requires a very quiet and contented mind. that the danish sailors are contented, i had many opportunities of observing during the voyage of which i am speaking, and on several other occasions. but after all this long description, it is high time that i should return to the journey itself. the favourable gale which had thus wafted us to the coast of iceland within seven days, now unfortunately changed its direction, and drove us back. we drifted about in the storm-tost ocean, and many a spanish wave {22} broke completely over our ship. twice we attempted to approach the westmann islands {23} (a group belonging to iceland) to watch an opportunity of casting anchor, and setting ashore our fellow-traveller herr bruge; but it was in vain, we were driven back each time. at length, at the close of the eleventh day, we reached havenfiord, a very good harbour, distant nine miles from reikjavik, the capital of iceland. in spite of the very inopportune change in the direction of the wind, we had had an unprecedentedly quick passage. the distance from copenhagen to iceland, in a straight line, is reckoned at 1200 geographical miles; for a sailing vessel, which must tack now and then, and must go as much with the wind as possible, 1500 to 1600 miles. had the strong wind, which was at first so favourable, instead of changing on the seventh day, held on for thirty or forty hours longer, we should have landed in iceland on the eighth or ninth day--even the steamer could not have accomplished the passage so quickly. the shores of iceland appeared to me quite different from what i had supposed them to be from the descriptions i had read. i had fancied them naked, without tree or shrub, dreary and desert; but now i saw green hills, shrubs, and even what appeared to be groups of stunted trees. as we came nearer, however, i was enabled to distinguish objects more clearly, and the green hills became human dwellings with small doors and windows, while the supposed groups of trees proved in reality to be heaps of lava, some ten or twelve feet high, thickly covered with moss and grass. every thing was new and striking to me; i waited in great impatience till we could land. at length the anchor descended; but it was not till next morning that the hour of disembarkation and deliverance came. but one more night, and then, every difficulty overcome, i should tread the shores of iceland, the longed-for, and bask as it were in the wonders of this island, so poor in the creations of art, so rich in the phenomena of nature. * * * * * before i land in iceland, i must trouble the reader with a few preliminary observations regarding this island. they are drawn from mackenzie's _description of iceland_, a book the sterling value of which is appreciated every where. {24} the discovery of iceland, about the year of our lord 860, is attributed to the spirit of enterprise of some swedish and norwegian pirates, who were drifted thither on a voyage to the feroe isles. it was not till the year 874 that the island was peopled by a number of voluntary emigrants, who, feeling unhappy under the dominion of harold harfraga (fine hair), arrived at the island under the direction of ingold. {25} as the newcomers are said to have found no traces of dwellings, they are presumed to be the first who took possession of the island. at this time iceland was still so completely covered with underwood, that at some points it was necessary to cut a passage. bringing with them their language, religion, customs, and historical monuments, the norwegians introduced a kind of feudal system, which, about the year 928, gave place to a somewhat aristocratic government, retaining, however, the name of a republic. the island was divided into four provinces, over each of which was placed an hereditary governor or judge. the general assembly of iceland (called allthing) was held annually on the shores of the lake thingvalla. the people possessed an excellent code of laws, in which provision had been made for every case which could occur. this state of things lasted for more than 300 years, a period which may be called the golden age of iceland. education, literature, and even refined poetry flourished among the inhabitants, who took part in commerce and in the sea-voyages which the norwegians undertook for purposes of discovery. the "sagas," or histories of this country, contain many tales of personal bravery. its bards and historians visited other climes, became the favourites of monarchs, and returned to their island covered with honour and loaded with presents. the _edda_, by samund, is one of the most valued poems of the ancient days of iceland. the second portion of the _edda_, called _skalda_, dates from a later period, and is ascribed by many to the celebrated snorri sturluson. isleif, first bishop of skalholt, was the earliest icelandic historian; after him came the noted snorri sturluson, born in 1178, who became the richest and mightiest man in iceland. snorri sturluson was frequently followed to the general assembly of iceland by a splendid retinue of 800 armed men. he was a great historian and poet, and possessed an accurate knowledge of the greek and latin tongues, besides being a powerful orator. he was also the author of the _heims-kringla_. the first school was founded at skalholt, about the middle of the eleventh century, under isleif, first bishop of iceland; four other schools and several convents soon followed. poetry and music seem to have formed a staple branch of education. the climate of iceland appears to have been less inclement than is now the case; corn is said to have grown, and trees and shrubs were larger and thicker than we find them at present. the population of iceland was also much more numerous than it is now, although there were neither towns nor villages. the people lived scattered throughout the island; and the general assembly was held at thingvalla, in the open air. fishing constituted the chief employment of the icelanders. their clothing was woven from the wool of their sheep. commerce with neighbouring countries opened to them another field of occupation. the doctrines of christianity were first introduced into iceland, in the year 981, by friederich, a saxon bishop. many churches were built, and tithes established for the maintenance of the clergy. isleif, first bishop of skalholt, was ordained in the year 1057. after the introduction of christianity, all the icelanders enjoyed an unostentatious but undisturbed practice of their religion. greenland and the most northern part of america are said to have been discovered by icelanders. in the middle of the thirteenth century iceland came into the power of the norwegian kings. in the year 1380 norway was united to the crown of denmark; and iceland incorporated, without resistance, in the danish monarchy. since the cession of the island to norway, and then to denmark, peace and security took the place of the internal commotions with which, before this time, iceland had been frequently disturbed; but this state of quiet brought forth indolence and apathy. the voyages of discovery were interfered with by the new government, and the commerce gradually passed into the hands of other nations. the climate appears also to have changed; and the lessened industry and want of perseverance in the inhabitants have brought agriculture completely into decline. in the year 1402 the plague broke out upon the island, and carried off two-thirds of the population. the first printing-press was established at hoolum, about the year 1530, under the superintendence of the bishop, john areson. the reformation in the icelandic church was not brought about without disturbance. it was legally established in the year 1551. during the fifteenth century the icelanders suffered more from the piratical incursions of foreigners. as late as the year 1616 the french and english nations took part in these enormities. the most melancholy occurrence of this kind took place in 1627, in which year a great number of algerine pirates made a descent upon the icelandic coast, murdered about fifty of the inhabitants, and carried off nearly 400 others into captivity. {26} the eighteenth century commenced with a dreadful mortality from the smallpox; of which disease more than 16,000 of the inhabitants died. in 1757 a famine swept away about 10,000 souls. the year 1783 was distinguished by most dreadful volcanic outbreaks in the interior of the island. tremendous streams of lava carried all before them; great rivers were checked in their course, and formed lakes. for more than a year a thick cloud of smoke and volcanic ashes covered the whole of iceland, and nearly darkened the sunlight. horned cattle, sheep, and horses were destroyed; famine came, with its accompanying illnesses; and once more appeared the malignant small-pox. in a few years more than 11,000 persons had died; more than one-fourth of the whole present population of the island. iceland lies in the atlantic ocean; its greatest breadth is 240 geographical miles, and its extreme length from north to south 140 miles. the number of inhabitants is estimated at 48,000, and the superficial extent of the island at 29,800 square miles. chapter iii on the morning of the 16th of may i landed in the harbour of havenfiord, and for the first time trod the shores of iceland. although i was quite bewildered by sea-sickness, and still more by the continual rocking of the ship, so that every object round me seemed to dance, and i could scarcely make a firm step, still i could not rest in the house of herr knudson, which he had obligingly placed at my disposal. i must go out at once, to see and investigate every thing. i found that havenfiord consisted merely of three wooden houses, a few magazines built of the same material, and some peasants' cottages. the wooden houses are inhabited by merchants or by their factors, and consist only of a ground-floor, with a front of four or six windows. two or three steps lead up to the entrance, which is in the centre of the building, and opens upon a hall from which doors lead into the rooms to the right and left. at the back of the house is situated the kitchen, which opens into several back rooms and into the yard. a house of this description consists only of five or six rooms on the ground-floor and a few small attic bedrooms. the internal arrangements are quite european. the furniture--which is often of mahogany,--the mirrors, the cast-iron stoves, every thing, in short, come from copenhagen. beautiful carpets lie spread before the sofas; neat curtains shade the windows; english prints ornament the whitewashed walls; porcelain, plate, cut-glass, &c., are displayed on chests and on tables; and flower-pots with roses, mignonnette, and pinks spread a delicious fragrance around. i even found a grand pianoforte here. if any person could suddenly, and without having made the journey, be transported into one of these houses, he would certainly fancy himself in some continental town, rather than in the distant and barren island of iceland. and as in havenfiord, so i found the houses of the more opulent classes in reikjavik, and in all the places i visited. from these handsome houses i betook myself to the cottages of the peasants, which have a more indigenous, icelandic appearance. small and low, built of lava, with the interstices filled with earth, and the whole covered with large pieces of turf, they would present rather the appearance of natural mounds of earth than of human dwellings, were it not that the projecting wooden chimneys, the low-browed entrances, and the almost imperceptible windows, cause the spectator to conclude that they are inhabited. a dark narrow passage, about four feet high, leads on one side into the common room, and on the other to a few compartments, some of which are used as storehouses for provisions, and the rest as winter stables for the cows and sheep. at the end of this passage, which is purposely built so low, as an additional defence against the cold, the fireplace is generally situated. the rooms of the poorer class have neither wooden walls nor floors, and are just large enough to admit of the inhabitants sleeping, and perhaps turning round in them. the whole interior accommodation is comprised in bedsteads with very little covering, a small table, and a few drawers. beds and chests of drawers answer the purpose of benches and chairs. above the beds are fixed rods, from which depend clothes, shoes, stockings, &c. a small board, on which are arranged a few books, is generally to be observed. stoves are considered unnecessary; for as the space is very confined, and the house densely populated, the atmosphere is naturally warm. rods are also placed round the fireplace, and on these the wet clothes and fishes are hung up in company to dry. the smoke completely fills the room, and slowly finds its way through a few breathing-holes into the open air. fire-wood there is none throughout the whole island. the rich inhabitants have it brought from norway or denmark; the poor burn turf, to which they frequently add bones and other offal of fish, which naturally engender a most disagreeable smoke. on entering one of these cottages, the visitor is at a loss to determine which of the two is the more obnoxious--the suffocating smoke in the passage or the poisoned air of the dwelling-room, rendered almost insufferable by the crowding together of so many persons. i could almost venture to assert, that the dreadful eruption called lepra, which is universal throughout iceland, owes its existence rather to the total want of cleanliness than to the climate of the country or to the food. throughout my subsequent journeys into the interior, i found the cottages of the peasants every where alike squalid and filthy. of course i speak of the majority, and not of the exceptions; for here i found a few rich peasants, whose dwellings looked cleaner and more habitable, in proportion to the superior wealth or sense of decency of the owners. my idea is, that the traveller's estimate of a country should be formed according to the habits and customs of the generality of its inhabitants, and not according to the doings of a few individuals, as is often the case. alas, how seldom did i meet with these creditable exceptions! the neighbourhood of havenfiord is formed by a most beautiful and picturesque field of lava, at first rising in hills, then sinking into hollows, and at length terminating in a great plain which extends to the base of the neighbouring mountains. masses of the most varied forms, often black and naked, rise to the height of ten or fifteen feet, forming walls, ruined pillars, small grottoes, and hollow spaces. over these latter large slabs often extend, and form bridges. every thing around consists of suddenly cooled heaped-up masses of lava, in some instances covered to their summits with grass and moss; this circumstance gives them, as already stated, the appearance of groups of stunted trees. horses, sheep, and cows were clambering about, diligently seeking out every green place. i also clambered about diligently; i could not tire of gazing and wondering at this terribly beautiful picture of destruction. after a few hours i had so completely forgotten the hardships of my passage, and felt myself so much strengthened, that i began my journey to reikjavik at five o'clock on the evening of the same day. herr knudson seemed much concerned for me; he warned me that the roads were bad, and particularly emphasised the dangerous abysses i should be compelled to pass. i comforted him with the assurance that i was a good horsewoman, and could hardly have to encounter worse roads than those with which i had had the honour to become acquainted in syria. i therefore took leave of the kind gentleman, who intended to stay a week or ten days in havenfiord, and mounting a small horse, set out in company of a female guide. in my guide i made the acquaintance of a remarkable antiquity of iceland, who is well worthy that i should devote a few words to her description. she is above seventy years of age, but looks scarcely fifty; her head is surrounded by tresses of rich fair hair. she is dressed like a man; undertakes, in the capacity of messenger, the longest and most fatiguing journeys; rows a boat as skilfully as the most practised fisherman; and fulfils all her missions quicker and more exactly than a man, for she does not keep up so good an understanding with the brandy-bottle. she marched on so sturdily before me, that i was obliged to incite my little horse to greater speed with my riding-whip. at first the road lay between masses of lava, where it certainly was not easy to ride; then over flats and small acclivities, from whence we could descry the immense plain in which are situated havenfiord, bassastadt, reikjavik, and other places. bassastadt, a town built on a promontory jutting out into the sea, contains one of the principal schools, a church built of masonry, and a few cottages. the town of reikjavik cannot be seen, as it is hidden behind a hill. the other places consist chiefly of a few cottages, and only meet the eye of the traveller when he approaches them nearly. several chains of mountains, towering one above the other, and sundry "jokuls," or glaciers, which lay still sparkling in their wintry garb, surround this interminable plain, which is only open at one end, towards the sea. some of the plains and hills shone with tender green, and i fancied i beheld beautiful meadows. on a nearer inspection, however, they proved to be swampy places, and hundreds upon hundreds of little acclivities, sometimes resembling mole-hills, at others small graves, and covered with grass and moss. i could see over an area of at least thirty or forty miles, and yet could not descry a tree or a shrub, a bit of meadow-land or a friendly village. every thing seemed dead. a few cottages lay scattered here and there; at long intervals a bird would hover in the air, and still more seldom i heard the kindly greeting of a passing inhabitant. heaps of lava, swamps, and turf-bogs surrounded me on all sides; in all the vast expanse not a spot was to be seen through which a plough could be driven. after riding more than four miles, i reached a hill, from which i could see reikjavik, the chief harbour, and, in fact, the only town on the island. but i was deceived in my expectations; the place before me was a mere village. the distance from havenfiord to reikjavik is scarcely nine miles; but as i was unwilling to tire my good old guide, i took three hours to accomplish it. the road was, generally speaking, very good, excepting in some places, where it lay over heaps of lava. of the much-dreaded dizzy abysses i saw nothing; the startling term must have been used to designate some unimportant declivities, along the brow of which i rode, in sight of the sea; or perhaps the "abysses" were on the lava-fields, where i sometimes noticed small chasms of fifteen or sixteen feet in depth at the most. shortly after eight o'clock in the evening i was fortunate enough to reach reikjavik safe and well. through the kind forethought of herr knudson, a neat little room had been prepared for me in one of his houses occupied by the family of the worthy baker bernhoft, and truly i could not have been better received any where. during my protracted stay the whole family of the bernhofts shewed me more kindness and cordiality than it has been my lot frequently to find. many an hour has herr bernhoft sacrificed to me, in order to accompany me in my little excursions. he assisted me most diligently in my search for flowers, insects, and shells, and was much rejoiced when he could find me a new specimen. his kind wife and dear children rivalled him in willingness to oblige. i can only say, may heaven requite them a thousand-fold for their kindness and friendship! i had even an opportunity of hearing my native language spoken by herr bernhoft, who was a holsteiner by birth, and had not quite forgotten our dear german tongue, though he had lived for many years partly in denmark, partly in iceland. so behold me now in the only town in iceland, {27} the seat of the so-called cultivated classes, whose customs and mode of life i will now lay before my honoured readers. nothing was more disagreeable to me than a certain air of dignity assumed by the ladies here; an air which, except when it is natural, or has become so from long habit, is apt to degenerate into stiffness and incivility. on meeting an acquaintance, the ladies of reikjavik would bend their heads with so stately and yet so careless an air as we should scarcely assume towards the humblest stranger. at the conclusion of a visit, the lady of the house only accompanies the guest as far as the chamber-door. if the husband be present, this civility is carried a little further; but when this does not happen to be the case, a stranger who does not know exactly through which door he can make his exit, may chance to feel not a little embarrassed. excepting in the house of the "stiftsamtmann" (the principal official on the island), one does not find a footman who can shew the way. in hamburgh i had already noticed the beginnings of this dignified coldness; it increased as i journeyed further north, and at length reached its climax in iceland. good letters of recommendation often fail to render the northern grandees polite towards strangers. as an instance of this fact, i relate the following trait: among other kind letters of recommendation, i had received one addressed to herr von h---, the "stiftsamtmann" of iceland. on my arrival at copenhagen, i heard that herr von h--happened to be there. i therefore betook myself to his residence, and was shewn into a room where i found two young ladies and three children. i delivered my letter, and remained quietly standing for some time. finding at length that no one invited me to be seated, i sat down unasked on the nearest chair, never supposing for an instant that the lady of the house could be present, and neglect the commonest forms of politeness which should be observed towards every stranger. after i had waited for some time, herr von h--graciously made his appearance, and expressed his regret that he should have very little time to spare for me, as he intended setting sail for iceland with his family in a short time, and in the interim had a number of weighty affairs to settle at copenhagen; in conclusion, he gave me the friendly advice to abandon my intention of visiting iceland, as the fatigues of travelling in that country were very great; finding, however, that i persevered in my intention, he promised, in case i set sail for reikjavik earlier than himself, to give me a letter of recommendation. all this was concluded in great haste, and we stood during the interview. i took my leave, and at first determined not to call again for the letter. on reflection, however, i changed my mind, ascribed my unfriendly reception to important and perhaps disagreeable business, and called again two days afterwards. then the letter was handed to me by a servant; the high people, whom i could hear conversing in the adjoining apartment, probably considered it too much trouble to deliver it to me personally. on paying my respects to this amiable family in reikjavik, i was not a little surprised to recognise in frau von h--one of those ladies who in copenhagen had not had the civility to ask me to be seated. five or six days afterwards, herr von h--returned my call, and invited me to an excursion to vatne. i accepted the invitation with much pleasure, and mentally asked pardon of him for having formed too hasty an opinion. frau von h---, however, did not find her way to me until the fourth week of my stay in reikjavik; she did not even invite me to visit her again, so of course i did not go, and our acquaintance terminated there. as in duty bound, the remaining dignitaries of this little town took their tone from their chief. my visits were unreturned, and i received no invitations, though i heard much during my stay of parties of pleasure, dinners, and evening parties. had i not fortunately been able to employ myself, i should have been very badly off. not one of the ladies had kindness and delicacy enough to consider that i was alone here, and that the society of educated people might be necessary for my comfort. i was less annoyed at the want of politeness in the gentlemen; for i am no longer young, and that accounts for every thing. when the women were wanting in kindliness, i had no right to expect consideration from the gentlemen. i tried to discover the reason of this treatment, and soon found that it lay in a national characteristic of these people--their selfishness. it appears i had scarcely arrived at reikjavik before diligent inquiries were set on foot as to whether i was _rich_, and should see much company at my house, and, in fact, whether much could be got out of me. to be well received here it is necessary either to be rich, or else to travel as a naturalist. persons of the latter class are generally sent by the european courts to investigate the remarkable productions of the country. they make large collections of minerals, birds, &c.; they bring with them numerous presents, sometimes of considerable value, which they distribute among the dignitaries; they are, moreover, the projectors of many an entertainment, and even of many a little ball, &c.; they buy up every thing they can procure for their cabinets, and they always travel in company; they have much baggage with them, and consequently require many horses, which cannot be hired in iceland, but must be bought. on such occasions every one here is a dealer: offers of horses and cabinets pour in on all sides. the most welcome arrival of all is that of the french frigate, which visits iceland every year; for sometimes there are _dejeuners a la fourchette_ on board, sometimes little evening parties and balls. there is at least something to be got besides the rich presents; the "stiftsamtmann" even receives 600 florins per annum from the french government to defray the expense of a few return balls which he gives to the naval officers. with me this was not the case: i gave no parties--i brought no presents--they had nothing to expect from me; and therefore they left me to myself. {28} for this reason i affirm that he only can judge of the character of a people who comes among them without claim to their attention, and from whom they have nothing to expect. to such a person only do they appear in their true colours, because they do not find it worth while to dissemble and wear a mask in his presence. in these cases the traveller is certainly apt to make painful discoveries; but when, on the other hand, he meets with good people, he may be certain of their sincerity; and so i must beg my honoured readers to bear with me, when i mention the names of all those who heartily welcomed the undistinguished foreigner; it is the only way in which i can express my gratitude towards them. as i said before, i had intercourse with very few people, so that ample time remained for solitary walks, during which i minutely noticed every thing around me. the little town of reikjavik consists of a single broad street, with houses and cottages scattered around. the number of inhabitants does not amount to 500. the houses of the wealthier inhabitants are of wood-work, and contain merely a ground-floor, with the exception of a single building of one story, to which the high school, now held at bassastadt, will be transferred next year. the house of the "stiftsamtmann" is built of stone. it was originally intended for a prison; but as criminals are rarely to be met with in iceland, the building was many years ago transformed into the residence of the royal officer. a second stone building, discernible from reikjavik, is situated at langarnes, half a mile from the town. it lies near the sea, in the midst of meadows, and is the residence of the bishop. the church is capable of holding only at the most from 100 to 150 persons; it is built of stone, with a wooden roof. in the chambers of this roof the library, consisting of several thousand volumes, is deposited. the church contains a treasure which many a larger and costlier edifice might envy,--a baptismal font by thorwaldsen, whose parents were of icelandic extraction. the great sculptor himself was born in denmark, and probably wished, by this present, to do honour to the birth-place of his ancestors. to some of the houses in reikjavik pieces of garden are attached. these gardens are small plots of ground where, with great trouble and expense, salad, spinach, parsley, potatoes, and a few varieties of edible roots, are cultivated. the beds are separated from each other by strips of turf a foot broad, seldom boasting even a few field-flowers. the inhabitants of iceland are generally of middle stature, and strongly built, with light hair, frequently inclining to red, and blue eyes. the men are for the most part ugly; the women are better favoured, and among the girls i noticed some very sweet faces. to attain the age of seventy or eighty years is here considered an extraordinary circumstance. {29} the peasants have many children, and yet few; many are born, but few survive the first year. the mothers do not nurse them, and rear them on very bad food. those who get over the first year look healthy enough; but they have strangely red cheeks, almost as though they had an eruption. whether this appearance is to be ascribed to the sharp air, to which the delicate skin is not yet accustomed, or to the food, i know not. in some places on the coast, when the violent storms prevent the poor fishermen for whole weeks from launching their boats, they live almost entirely on dried fishes' heads. {30} the fishes themselves have been salted down and sold, partly to pay the fishermen's taxes, and partly to liquidate debts for the necessaries of the past season, among which brandy and snuff unfortunately play far too prominent a part. another reason why the population does not increase is to be found in the numerous catastrophes attending the fisheries during the stormy season of the year. the fishermen leave the shore with songs and mirth, for a bright sky and a calm sea promise them good fortune. but, alas, tempests and snow-storms too often overtake the unfortunate boatmen! the sea is lashed into foam, and mighty waves overwhelm boats and fishermen together, and they perish inevitably. it is seldom that the father of a family embarks in the same boat with his sons. they divide themselves among different parties, in order that, if one boat founder, the whole family may not be destroyed. i found the cottages of the peasants at reikjavik smaller, and in every respect worse provided, than those at havenfiord. this seems, however, to be entirely owing to the indolence of the peasants themselves; for stones are to be had in abundance, and every man is his own builder. the cows and sheep live through the winter in a wretched den, built either in the cottage itself or in its immediate neighbourhood. the horses pass the whole year under the canopy of heaven, and must find their own provender. occasionally only the peasant will shovel away the snow from a little spot, to assist the poor animals in searching for the grass or moss concealed beneath. it is then left to the horses to finish clearing away the snow with their feet. it may easily be imagined that this mode of treatment tends to render them very hardy; but the wonder is, how the poor creatures manage to exist through the winter on such spare diet, and to be strong and fit for work late in the spring and in summer. these horses are so entirely unused to being fed with oats, that they will refuse them when offered; they are not even fond of hay. as i arrived in iceland during the early spring, i had an opportunity of seeing the horses and sheep in their winter garments. the horses seemed to be covered, not with hair, but with a thick woolly coat; their manes and tails are very long, and of surprising thickness. at the end of may or the beginning of june the tail and mane are docked and thinned, their woolly coat falls of itself, and they then look smooth enough. the sheep have also a very thick coat during the winter. it is not the custom to shear them, but at the beginning of june the wool is picked off piece by piece with the hand. a sheep treated in this way sometimes presents a very comical appearance, being perfectly naked on one side, while on the other it is still covered with wool. the horses and cows are considerably smaller than those of our country. no one need journey so far north, however, to see stunted cattle. already, in galicia, the cows and horses of the peasants are not a whit larger or stronger than those in iceland. the icelandic cows are further remarkable only for their peculiarly small horns; the sheep are also smaller than ours. every peasant keeps horses. the mode of feeding them is, as already shewn, very simple; the distances are long, the roads bad, and large rivers, moorlands, and swamps must frequently be passed; so every one rides, both men, women, and children. the use of carriages is as totally unknown throughout the island as in syria. the immediate vicinity of reikjavik is pretty enough. some of the townspeople go to much trouble and expense in sometimes collecting and sometimes breaking the stones around their dwellings. with the little ground thus obtained they mix turf, ashes, and manure, until at length a soil is formed on which something will grow. but this is such a gigantic undertaking, that the little culture bestowed on the spots wholly neglected by nature cannot be wondered at. herr bernhoft shewed me a small meadow which he had leased for thirty years, at an annual rent of thirty kreutzers. in order, however, to transform the land he bought into a meadow, which yields winter fodder for only one cow, it was necessary to expend more than 150 florins, besides much personal labour and pains. the rate of wages for peasants is very high when compared with the limited wants of these people: they receive thirty or forty kreutzers per diem, and during the hay-harvest as much as a florin. for a long distance round the town the ground consists of stones, turf, and swamps. the latter are mostly covered with hundreds upon hundreds of great and small mounds of firm ground. by jumping from one of these mounds to the next, the entire swamp may be crossed, not only without danger, but dry-footed. in spite of all this, one of these swamps put me in a position of much difficulty and embarrassment during one of my solitary excursions. i was sauntering quietly along, when suddenly a little butterfly fluttered past me. it was the first i had seen in this country, and my eagerness to catch it was proportionately great. i hastened after it; thought neither of swamp nor of danger, and in the heat of the chase did not observe that the mounds became every moment fewer and farther between. soon i found myself in the middle of the swamp, and could neither advance nor retreat. not a human being could i descry; the very animals were far from me; and this circumstance confirmed me as to the dangerous nature of the ground. nothing remained for me but to fix my eyes upon one point of the landscape, and to step out boldly towards it. i was often obliged to hazard two or three steps into the swamp itself, in order to gain the next acclivity, upon which i would then stand triumphantly, to determine my farther progress. so long as i could distinguish traces of horses' hoofs, i had no fear; but even these soon disappeared, and i stood there alone in the morass. i could not remain for ever on my tower of observation, and had no resource but to take to the swamp once more. i must confess that i experienced a very uncomfortable feeling of apprehension when my foot sank suddenly into the soft mud; but when i found that it did not rise higher than the ankles, my courage returned; i stepped out boldly, and was fortunate enough to escape with the fright and a thorough wetting. the most arduous posts in the country are those of the medical men and clergymen. their sphere of action is very enlarged, particularly that of the medical man, whose practice sometimes extends over a distance of eighty to a hundred miles. when we add to this the severity of the winter, which lasts for seven or eight months, it seems marvellous that any one can be found to fill such a situation. in winter the peasants often come with shovels, pickaxes, and horses to fetch the doctor. they then go before him, and hastily repair the worst part of the road; while the doctor rides sometimes on one horse, sometimes on another, that they may not sink under the fatigue. and thus the procession travels for many, many miles, through night and fog, through storm and snow, for on the doctor's promptitude life and death often hang. when he then returns, quite benumbed, and half dead with cold, to the bosom of his family, in the expectation of rest and refreshment, and to rejoice with his friends over the dangers and hardships he has escaped, the poor doctor is frequently compelled to set off at once on a new and important journey, before he has even had time to greet the dear ones at home. sometimes he is sent for by sea, where the danger is still greater on the storm-tost element. though the salary of the medical men is not at all proportionate to the hardships they are called upon to undergo, it is still far better than that of the priests. the smallest livings bring in six to eight florins annually, the richest 200 florins. besides this, the government supplies for each priest a house, often not much better than a peasant's cottage, a few meadows, and some cattle. the peasants are also required to give certain small contributions in the way of hay, wool, fish, &c. the greater number of priests are so poor, that they and their families dress exactly like the peasants, from whom they can scarcely be distinguished. the clergyman's wife looks after the cattle, and milks cows and ewes like a maid-servant; while her husband proceeds to the meadow, and mows the grass with the labourer. the intercourse of the pastor is wholly confined to the society of peasants; and this constitutes the chief element of that "patriarchal life" which so many travellers describe as charming. i should like to know which of them would wish to lead such a life! the poor priest has, besides, frequently to officiate in two, three, or even four districts, distant from four to twelve miles from his residence. every sunday he must do duty at one or other of these districts, taking them in turn, so that divine service is only performed at each place once in every three or four weeks. the journeys of the priest, however, are not considered quite so necessary as those of the doctor; for if the weather is very bad on sundays, particularly during the winter, he can omit visiting the most distant places. this is done the more readily, as but few of the peasants would be at church; all who lived at a distance remaining at home. the sysselmann (an officer similar to that of the sheriff of a county) is the best off. he has a good salary with little to do, and in some places enjoys in addition the "strand-right," which is at times no inconsiderable privilege, from the quantity of drift timber washed ashore from the american continent. fishing and the chase are open to all, with the exception of the salmon-fisheries in the rivers; these are farmed by the government. eider-ducks may not be shot, under penalty of a fine. there is no military service, for throughout the whole island no soldiers are required. even reikjavik itself boasts only two police-officers. commerce is also free; but the islanders possess so little commercial spirit, that even if they had the necessary capital, they would never embark in speculation. the whole commerce of iceland thus lies in the hands of danish merchants, who send their ships to the island every year, and have established factories in the different ports where the retail trade is carried on. these ships bring every thing to iceland, corn, wood, wines, manufactured goods, and colonial produce, &c. the imports are free, for it would not pay the government to establish offices, and give servants salaries to collect duties upon the small amount of produce required for the island. wine, and in fact all colonial produce, are therefore much cheaper than in other countries. the exports consist of fish, particularly salted cod, fish-roe, tallow, train-oil, eider-down, and feathers of other birds, almost equal to eider-down in softness, sheep's wool, and pickled or salted lamb. with the exception of the articles just enumerated, the icelanders possess nothing; thirteen years ago, when herr knudson established a bakehouse, {31} he was compelled to bring from copenhagen, not only the builder, but even the materials for building, stones, lime, &c.; for although the island abounds with masses of stone, there are none which can be used for building an oven, or which can be burnt into lime: every thing is of lava. two or three cottages situated near each other are here dignified by the name of a "place." these places, as well as the separate cottages, are mostly built on little acclivities, surrounded by meadows. the meadows are often fenced in with walls of stone or earth, two or three feet in height, to prevent the cows, sheep, and horses from trespassing upon them to graze. the grass of these meadows is made into hay, and laid up as a winter provision for the cows. i did not hear many complaints of the severity of the cold in winter; the temperature seldom sinks to twenty degrees below zero; the sea is sometimes frozen, but only a few feet from the shore. the snowstorms and tempests, however, are often so violent, that it is almost impossible to leave the house. daylight lasts only for five or six hours, and to supply its place the poor icelanders have only the northern light, which is said to illumine the long nights with a brilliancy truly marvellous. the summer i passed in iceland was one of the finest the inhabitants had known for years. during the month of june the thermometer often rose at noon to twenty degrees. the inhabitants found this heat so insupportable, that they complained of being unable to work or to go on messages during the day-time. on such warm days they would only begin their hay-making in the evening, and continued their work half the night. the changes in the weather are very remarkable. twenty degrees of heat on one day would be followed by rain on the next, with a temperature of only five degrees; and on the 5th of june, at eight o'clock in the morning, the thermometer stood at one degree below zero. it is also curious that thunderstorms happen in iceland in winter, and are said never to occur during the summer. from the 16th or 18th of june to the end of the month there is no night. the sun appears only to retire for a short time behind a mountain, and forms sunset and morning-dawn at the same time. as on one side the last beam fades away, the orb of day re-appears at the opposite one with redoubled splendour. during my stay in iceland, from the 15th of may to the 29th of july, i never retired to rest before eleven o'clock at night, and never required a candle. in may, and also in the latter portion of the month of july, there was twilight for an hour or two, but it never became quite dark. even during the last days of my stay, i could read until half-past ten o'clock. at first it appeared strange to me to go to bed in broad daylight; but i soon accustomed myself to it, and when eleven o'clock came, no sunlight was powerful enough to cheat me of my sleep. i found much pleasure in walking at night, at past ten o'clock, not in the pale moonshine, but in the broad blaze of the sun. it was a much more difficult task to accustom myself to the diet. the baker's wife was fully competent to superintend the cooking according to the danish and icelandic schools of the art; but unfortunately these modes of cookery differ widely from ours. one thing only was good, the morning cup of coffee with cream, with which the most accomplished gourmand could have found no fault: since my departure from iceland i have not found such coffee. i could have wished for some of my dear viennese friends to breakfast with me. the cream was so thick, that i at first thought my hostess had misunderstood me, and brought me curds. the butter made from the milk of icelandic cows and ewes did not look very inviting, and was as white as lard, but the taste was good. the icelanders, however, find the taste not sufficiently "piquant," and generally qualify it with train-oil. altogether, train-oil plays a very prominent part in the icelandic kitchen; the peasant considers it a most delicious article, and thinks nothing of devouring a quantity of it without bread, or indeed any thing else. {32} i did not at all relish the diet at dinner; this meal consisted of two dishes, namely, boiled fish, with vinegar and melted butter instead of oil, and boiled potatoes. unfortunately i am no admirer of fish, and now this was my daily food. ah, how i longed for beef-soup, a piece of meat, and vegetables, in vain! as long as i remained in iceland, i was compelled quite to give up my german system of diet. after a time i got on well enough with the boiled fish and potatoes, but i could not manage the delicacies of the island. worthy madame bernhoft, it was so kindly meant on her part; and it was surely not her fault that the system of cookery in iceland is different from ours; but i could not bring myself to like the icelandic delicacies. they were of different kinds, consisting sometimes of fishes, hard-boiled eggs, and potatoes chopped up together, covered with a thick brown sauce, and seasoned with pepper, sugar, and vinegar; at others, of potatoes baked in butter and sugar. another delicacy was cabbage chopped very small, rendered very thin by the addition of water, and sweetened with sugar; the accompanying dish was a piece of cured lamb, which had a very unpleasant "pickled" flavour. on sundays we sometimes had "prothe grutze," properly a scandinavian dish, composed of fine sago boiled to a jelly, with currant-juice or red wine, and eaten with cream or sugar. tapfen, a kind of soft cheese, is also sometimes eaten with cream and sugar. in the months of june and july the diet improved materially. we could often procure splendid salmon, sometimes roast lamb, and now and then birds, among which latter dainties the snipes were particularly good. in the evening came butter, cheese, cold fish, smoked lamb, and eggs of eider-ducks, which are coarser than hen's eggs. in time i became so accustomed to this kind of food, that i no longer missed either soup or beef, and felt uncommonly well. my drink was always clear fresh water; the gentlemen began their dinner with a small glass of brandy, and during the meal all drank beer of herr bernhoft's own brewing, which was very good. on sundays, a bottle of port or bordeaux sometimes made its appearance at our table; and as we fared at herr bernhoft's, so it was the custom in the houses of all the merchants and officials. at reikjavik i had an opportunity of witnessing a great religious ceremony. three candidates of theology were raised to the ministerial office. though the whole community here is lutheran, the ceremonies differ in many respects from those of the continent of europe, and i will therefore give a short sketch of what i saw. the solemnity began at noon, and lasted till four o'clock. i noticed at once that all the people covered their faces for a moment on entering the church, the men with their hats, and the women with their handkerchiefs. most of the congregation sat with their faces turned towards the altar; but this rule had its exceptions. the vestments of the priests were the same as those worn by our clergymen, and the commencement of the service also closely resembled the ritual of our own church; but soon this resemblance ceased. the bishop stepped up to the altar with the candidates, and performed certain ceremonies; then one would mount the pulpit and read part of a sermon, or sing a psalm, while the other clergymen sat round on chairs, and appeared to listen; then a second and a third ascended the pulpit, and afterwards another sermon was preached from the altar, and another psalm sung; then a sermon was again read from the pulpit. while ceremonies were performed at the altar, the sacerdotal garments were often put on and taken off again. i frequently thought the service was coming to a close, but it always began afresh, and lasted, as i said before, until four o'clock. the number of forms surprised me greatly, as the ritual of the lutheran church is in general exceedingly simple. on this occasion a considerable number of the country people were assembled, and i had thus a good opportunity of noticing their costumes. the dresses worn by the women and girls are all made of coarse black woollen stuffs. the dress consists of a long skirt, a spencer, and a coloured apron. on their heads they wear a man's nightcap of black cloth, the point turned downwards, and terminating in a large tassel of wool or silk, which hangs down to the shoulder. their hair is unbound, and reaches only to the shoulder: some of the women wear it slightly curled. i involuntarily thought of the poetical descriptions of the northern romancers, who grow enthusiastic in praise of ideal "angels' heads with golden tresses." the hair is certainly worn in this manner here, and our poets may have borrowed their descriptions from the scandinavians. but the beautiful faces which are said to beam forth from among those golden locks exist only in the poet's vivid imagination. ornamental additions to the costume are very rare. in the whole assembly i only noticed four women who were dressed differently from the others. the cords which fastened their spencers, and also their girdles, were ornamented with a garland worked in silver thread. their skirts were of fine black cloth, and decorated with a border of coloured silk a few inches broad. round their necks they wore a kind of stiff collar of black velvet with a border of silver thread, and on their heads a black silk handkerchief with a very strange addition. this appendage consisted of a half-moon fastened to the back of the head, and extending five or six inches above the forehead. it was covered with white lawn arranged in folds; its breadth at the back of the head did not exceed an inch and a half, but in front it widened to five or six inches. the men, i found, were clothed almost like our peasants. they wore small-clothes of dark cloth, jackets and waistcoats, felt hats, or fur caps; and instead of boots a kind of shoe of ox-hide, sheep, or seal-skin, bound to the feet by a leather strap. the women, and even the children of the officials, all wear shoes of this description. it was very seldom that i met people so wretchedly and poorly clad as we find them but too often in the large continental towns. i never saw any one without good warm shoes and stockings. the better classes, such as merchants, officials, &c. are dressed in the french style, and rather fashionably. there is no lack of silk and other costly stuffs. some of these are brought from england, but the greater part come from denmark. on the king's birthday, which is kept every year at the house of the stiftsamtmann, the festivities are said to be very grand; on this occasion the matrons appear arrayed in silk, and the maidens in white jaconet; the rooms are lighted with wax tapers. some speculative genius or other has also established a sort of club in reikjavik. he has, namely, hired a couple of rooms, where the townspeople meet of an evening to discuss "tea-water," bread and butter, and sometimes even a bottle of wine or a bowl of punch. in winter the proprietor gives balls in these apartments, charging 20 kr. for each ticket of admission. here the town grandees and the handicraftsmen, in fact all who choose to come, assemble; and the ball is said to be conducted in a very republican spirit. the shoemaker leads forth the wife of the stiftsamtmann to the dance, while that official himself has perhaps chosen the wife or daughter of the shoemaker or baker for his partner. the refreshments consist of "tea-water" and bread and butter, and the room is lighted with tallow candles. the music, consisting of a kind of three-stringed violin and a pipe, is said to be exquisitely horrible. in summer the dignitaries make frequent excursions on horse-back; and on these occasions great care is taken that there be no lack of provisions. commonly each person contributes a share: some bring wine, others cake; others, again, coffee, and so on. the ladies use fine english side-saddles, and wear elegant riding-habits, and pretty felt hats with green veils. these jaunts, however, are confined to reikjavik; for, as i have already observed, there is, with the exception of this town, no place in iceland containing more than two or three stores and some half-dozen cottages. to my great surprise, i found no less than six square piano-fortes belonging to different families in reikjavik, and heard waltzes by our favourite composers, besides variations of herz, and some pieces of liszt, wilmers, and thalberg. but such playing! i do not think that these talented composers would have recognised their own works. in conclusion, i must offer a few remarks relative to the travelling in this country. the best time to choose for this purpose is from the middle of june to the end of august at latest. until june the rivers are so swollen and turbulent, by reason of the melting snows, as to render it very dangerous to ride through them. the traveller must also pass over many a field of snow not yet melted by the sun, and frequently concealing chasms and masses of lava; and this is attended with danger almost as great. at every footstep the traveller sinks into the snow; and he may thank his lucky stars if the whole rotten surface does not give way. in september the violent storms of wind and rain commence, and heavy falls of snow may be expected from day to day. a tent, provisions, cooking utensils, pillows, bed-clothes, and warm garments, are highly necessary for the wayfarer's comfort. this paraphernalia would have been too expensive for me to buy, and i was unprovided with any thing of the kind; consequently i was forced to endure the most dreadful hardships and toil, and was frequently obliged to ride an immense distance to reach a little church or a cottage, which would afford me shelter for the night. my sole food for eight or ten days together was often bread and cheese; and i generally passed the night upon a chest or a bench, where the cold would often prevent my closing my eyes all night. it is advisable to be provided with a waterproof cloak and a sailor's tarpaulin hat, as a defence against the rain, which frequently falls. an umbrella would be totally useless, as the rain is generally accompanied by a storm, or, at any rate, by a strong wind; when we add to this, that it is necessary in some places to ride quickly, it will easily be seen that holding an umbrella open is a thing not to be thought of. altogether i found the travelling in this country attended with far more hardship than in the east. for my part, i found the dreadful storms of wind, the piercing air, the frequent rain, and the cold, much less endurable than the oriental heat, which never gave me either cracked lips or caused scales to appear on my face. in iceland my lips began to bleed on the fifth day; and afterwards the skin came off my face in scales, as if i had had the scrofula. another source of great discomfort is to be found in the long riding-habit. it is requisite to be very warmly clad; and the heavy skirts, often dripping with rain, coil themselves round the feet of the wearer in such a manner, as to render her exceedingly awkward either in mounting or dismounting. the worst hardship of all, however, is the being obliged to halt to rest the horses in a meadow during the rain. the long skirts suck up the water from the damp grass, and the wearer has often literally not a dry stitch in all her garments. heat and cold appear in this country to affect strangers in a remarkable degree. the cold seemed to me more piercing, and the heat more oppressive in iceland, than when the thermometer stood at the same points in my native land. in summer the roads are marvellously good, so that one can generally ride at a pretty quick pace. they are, however, impracticable for vehicles, partly because they are too narrow, and partly also on account of some very bad places which must occasionally be encountered. on the whole island not a single carriage is to be found. the road is only dangerous when it leads through swamps and moors, or over fields of lava. among these fields, such as are covered with white moss are peculiarly to be feared, for the moss frequently conceals very dangerous holes, into which the horse can easily stumble. in ascending and descending the hills very formidable spots sometimes oppose the traveller's progress. the road is at times so hidden among swamps and bogs, that not a trace of it is to be distinguished, and i could only wonder how my guide always succeeded in regaining the right path. one could almost suppose that on these dangerous paths both horse and man are guided by a kind of instinct. travelling is more expensive in iceland than any where else, particularly when one person travels alone, and must bear all the expense of the baggage, the guide, ferries, &c. horses are not let out on hire, they must be bought. they are, however, very cheap; a pack-horse costs from eighteen to twenty-four florins, and a riding-horse from forty to fifty florins. to travel with any idea of comfort it is necessary to have several pack-horses, for they must not be heavily laden; and an additional servant must likewise be hired, as the guide only looks after the saddle-horses, and, at most, one or two of the pack-horses. if the traveller, at the conclusion of the journey, wishes to sell the horses, such a wretchedly low price is offered, that it is just as well to give them away at once. this is a proof of the fact that men are every where alike ready to follow up their advantage. these people are well aware that the horses must be left behind at any rate, and therefore they will not bid for them. i must confess that i found the character of the icelanders in every respect below the estimate i had previously formed of it, and still further below the standard given in books. in spite of their scanty food, the icelandic horses have a marvellous power of endurance; they can often travel from thirty-five to forty miles per diem for several consecutive days. but the only difficulty is to keep the horse moving. the icelanders have a habit of continually kicking their heels against the poor beast's sides; and the horse at last gets so accustomed to this mode of treatment, that it will hardly go if the stimulus be discontinued. in passing the bad pieces of road it is necessary to keep the bridle tight in hand, or the horse will stumble frequently. this and the continual urging forward of the horse render riding very fatiguing. {33} not a little consideration is certainly required before undertaking a journey into the far north; but nothing frightened me,--and even in the midst of the greatest dangers and hardships i did not for one moment regret my undertaking, and would not have relinquished it under any consideration. i made excursions to every part of iceland, and am thus enabled to place before my readers, in regular order, the chief curiosities of this remarkable country. i will commence with the immediate neighbourhood of reikjavik. chapter iv may 25th. stiftsamtmann von h--was to-day kind enough to pay me a visit, and to invite me to join his party for a ride to the great lake vatne. i gladly accepted the invitation, for, according to the description given by the stiftsamtmann, i hoped to behold a very eden, and rejoiced at the prospect of observing the recreations of the higher classes, and at the same time gaining many acquisitions in specimens of plants, butterflies, and beetles. i resolved also to test the capabilities of the icelandic horses more thoroughly than i had been able to do during my first ride from havenfiord to reikjavik, as i had been obliged on that occasion to ride at a foot-pace, on account of my old guide. the hour of starting was fixed for two o'clock. accustomed as i am to strict punctuality, i was ready long before the appointed time, and at two o'clock was about to hasten to the place of rendezvous, when my hostess informed me i had plenty of time, for herr von h--was still at dinner. instead of meeting at two o'clock, we did not assemble until three, and even then another quarter of an hour elapsed before the cavalcade started. oh, syrian notions of punctuality and dispatch! here, almost at the very antipodes, did i once more greet ye. the party consisted of the nobility and the town dignitaries. among the former class may be reckoned stiftsamtmann von h--and his lady; a privy councillor, herr von b---, who had been sent from copenhagen to attend the "allthing" (political assembly); and a danish baron, who had accompanied the councillor. i noticed among the town dignitaries the daughter and wife of the apothecary, and the daughters of some merchants resident here. our road lay through fields of lava, swamps, and very poor grassy patches, in a great valley, swelling here and there into gentle acclivities, and shut in on three sides by several rows of mountains, towering upwards in the most diversified shapes. in the far distance rose several jokuls or glaciers, seeming to look proudly down upon the mountains, as though they asked, "why would ye draw men's eyes upon you, where we glisten in our silver sheen?" in the season of the year at which i beheld them, the glaciers were still very beautiful; not only their summits, but their entire surface, as far as visible, being covered with snow. the fourth side of the valley through which we travelled was washed by the ocean, which melted as it were into the horizon in immeasurable distance. the coast was dotted with small bays, having the appearance of so many lakes. as the road was good, we could generally ride forward at a brisk pace. occasionally, however, we met with small tracts on which the icelandic horse could exercise its sagacity and address. my horse was careful and free from vice; it carried me securely over masses of stone and chasms in the rocks, but i cannot describe the suffering its trot caused me. it is said that riding is most beneficial to those who suffer from liver-complaints. this may be the case; but i should suppose that any one who rode upon an icelandic horse, with an icelandic side-saddle, every day for the space of four weeks, would find, at the expiration of that time, her liver shaken to a pulp, and no part of it remaining. all the rest of the party had good english saddles, mine alone was of icelandic origin. it consisted of a chair, with a board for the back. the rider was obliged to sit crooked upon the horse, and it was impossible to keep a firm seat. with much difficulty i trotted after the others, for my horse would not be induced to break into a gallop. at length, after a ride of an hour and a half, we reached a valley. in the midst of a tolerably green meadow i descried what was, for iceland, a farm of considerable dimensions, and not far from this farm was a very small lake. i did not dare to ask if this was the _great_ lake vatne, or if this was the delicious prospect i had been promised, for my question would have been taken for irony. i could not refrain from wonder when herr von h--began praising the landscape as exquisite, and farther declaring the effect of the lake to be bewitching. i was obliged, for politeness' sake, to acquiesce, and leave them in the supposition that i had never seen a larger lake nor a finer prospect. we now made a halt, and the whole party encamped in the meadow. while the preparations for a social meal were going on, i proceeded to satisfy my curiosity. the peasant's house first attracted my attention. i found it to consist of one large chamber, and two of smaller size, besides a storeroom and extensive stables, from which i judged that the proprietor was rich in cattle. i afterwards learnt that he owned fifty sheep, eight cows, and five horses, and was looked upon as one of the richest farmers in the neighbourhood. the kitchen was situated at the extreme end of the building, and was furnished with a chimney that seemed intended only as a protection against rain and snow, for the smoke dispersed itself throughout the whole kitchen, drying the fish which hung from the ceiling, and slowly making its exit through an air-hole. the large apartment boasted a wooden bookshelf, containing about forty volumes. some of these i turned over, and in spite of my limited knowledge of the danish language, could make out enough to discover that they were chiefly on religious subjects. but the farmer seemed also to love poetry; among the works of this class in his library, i noticed kleist, muller, and even homer's _odyssey_. i could make nothing of the icelandic books; but on inquiring their contents, i was told that they all treated of religious matters. after inspecting these, i walked out into the meadow to search for flowers and herbs. flowers i found but few, as it was not the right time of the year for them; my search for herbs was more successful, and i even found some wild clover. i saw neither beetles nor butterflies; but, to my no small surprise, heard the humming of two wild bees, one of which i was fortunate enough to catch, and took home to preserve in spirits of wine. on rejoining my party, i found them encamped in the meadow around a table, which had in the meantime been spread with butter, cheese, bread, cake, roast lamb, raisins and almonds, a few oranges, and wine. neither chairs nor benches were to be had, for even wealthy peasants only possess planks nailed to the walls of their rooms; so we all sat down upon the grass, and did ample justice to the capital coffee which made the commencement of the meal. laughter and jokes predominated to such an extent, that i could have fancied myself among impulsive italians instead of cold northmen. there was no lack of wit; but to-day i was unfortunately its butt. and what was my fault?--only my stupid modesty. the conversation was carried on in the danish language; some members of our party spoke french and others german, but i purposely abstained from availing myself of their acquirements, in order not to disturb the hilarity of the conversation. i sat silently among them, and was perfectly contented in listening to their merriment. but my behaviour was set down as proceeding from stupidity, and i soon gathered from their discourse that they were comparing me to the "stone guest" in mozart's _don giovanni_. if these kind people had only surmised the true reason of my keeping silence, they would perhaps have thanked me for doing so. as we sat at our meal, i heard a voice in the farmhouse singing an icelandic song. at a distance it resembled the humming of bees; on a nearer approach it sounded monotonous, drawling, and melancholy. while we were preparing for our departure, the farmer, his wife, and the servants approached, and shook each of us by the hand. this is the usual mode of saluting such _high_ people as we numbered among our party. the true national salutation is a hearty kiss. on my arrival at home the effect of the strong coffee soon began to manifest itself. i could not sleep at all, and had thus ample leisure to make accurate observations as to the length of the day and of the twilight. until eleven o'clock at night i could read ordinary print in my room. from eleven till one o'clock it was dusk, but never so dark as to prevent my reading in the open air. in my room, too, i could distinguish the smallest objects, and even tell the time by my watch. at one o'clock i could again read in my room. excursion to vidoe. the little island of vidoe, four miles distant from reikjavik, is described by most travellers as the chief resort of the eider-duck. i visited the island on the 8th of june, but was disappointed in my expectations. i certainly saw many of these birds on the declivities and in the chasms of the rocks, sitting quietly on their nests, but nothing approaching the thousands i had been led to expect. on the whole, i may perhaps have seen from one hundred to a hundred and fifty nests. the most remarkable circumstance connected with the eider-ducks is their tameness during the period of incubation. i had always regarded as myths the stories told about them in this respect, and should do so still had i not convinced myself of the truth of these assertions by laying hands upon the ducks myself. i could go quite up to them and caress them, and even then they would not often leave their nests. some few birds, indeed, did so when i wished to touch them; but they did not fly up, but contented themselves with coolly walking a few paces away from the nest, and there sitting quietly down until i had departed. but those which already had live young, beat out boldly with their wings when i approached, struck at me with their bills, and allowed themselves to be taken up bodily rather than leave the nest. they are about the size of our ducks; their eggs are of a greenish grey, rather larger than hen's eggs, and taste very well. altogether they lay about eleven eggs. the finest down is that with which they line their nests at first; it is of a dark grey colour. the icelanders take away this down, and the first nest of eggs. the poor bird now robs herself once more of a quantity of down (which is, however, not of so fine a quality as the first), and again lays eggs. for the second time every thing is taken from her; and not until she has a third time lined the nest with her down is the eider-duck left in peace. the down of the second, and that of the third quality especially, are much lighter than that of the first. i also was sufficiently cruel to take a few eggs and some down out of several of the nests. {34} i did not witness the dangerous operation of collecting this down from between the clefts of rocks and from unapproachable precipices, where people are let down, or to which they are drawn up, by ropes, at peril of their lives. there are, however, none of these break-neck places in the neighbourhood of reikjavik. salmon fishery. i made another excursion to a very short distance (two miles) from reikjavik, in the company of herr bernhoft and his daughter, to the laxselv (salmon river) to witness the salmon-fishing, which takes place every week from the middle of june to the middle of august. it is conducted in a very simple manner. the fish come up the river in the spawning season; the stream is then dammed up with several walls of stone loosely piled to the height of some three feet; and the retreat of the fish to the sea is thus cut off. when the day arrives on which the salmon are to be caught, a net is spread behind each of these walls. three or four such dams are erected at intervals, of from eighty to a hundred paces, so that even if the fishes escape one barrier, they are generally caught at the next. the water is now made to run off as much as possible; the poor salmon dart to and fro, becoming every moment more and more aware of the sinking of the water, and crowd to the weirs, cutting themselves by contact with the sharp stones of which they are built. this is the deepest part of the water; and it is soon so thronged with fish, that men, stationed in readiness, can seize them in their hands and fling them ashore. the salmon possess remarkable swiftness and strength. the fisherman is obliged to take them quickly by the head and tail, and to throw them ashore, when they are immediately caught by other men, who fling them still farther from the water. if this is not done with great quickness and care, many of the fishes escape. it is wonderful how these creatures can struggle themselves free, and leap into the air. the fishermen are obliged to wear woollen mittens, or they would be quite unable to hold the smooth salmon. at every day's fishing, from five hundred to a thousand fish are taken, each weighing from five to fifteen pounds. on the day when i was present eight hundred were killed. this salmon-stream is farmed by a merchant of reikjavik. the fishermen receive very liberal pay,--in fact, one-half of the fish taken. and yet they are dissatisfied, and show so little gratitude, as seldom to finish their work properly. so, for instance, they only brought the share of the merchant to the harbour of reikjavik, and were far too lazy to carry the salmon from the boat to the warehouse, a distance certainly not more than sixty or seventy paces from the shore. they sent a message to their employer, bidding him "send some fresh hands, for they were much too tired." of course, in a case like this, all remonstrance is unavailing. as in the rest of the world, so also in iceland, every occasion that offers is seized upon for a feast or a merry-making. the day on which i witnessed the salmon-fishing happened to be one of the few fine days that occur during a summer in iceland. it was therefore unanimously concluded by several merchants, that the day and the salmon-fishing should be celebrated by a _dejeuner a la fourchette_. every one contributed something, and a plentiful and elegant breakfast was soon arranged, which quite resembled an entertainment of the kind in our country; this one circumstance excepted, that we were obliged to seat ourselves on the ground, by reason of a scarcity of tables and benches. spanish and french wines, as well as cold punch, were there in plenty, and the greatest hilarity prevailed. i made a fourth excursion, but to a very inconsiderable distance,--in fact, only a mile and a half from reikjavik. it was to see a hot and slightly sulphurous spring, which falls into a river of cold water. by this lucky meeting of extremes, water can be obtained at any temperature, from the boiling almost to the freezing point. the townspeople take advantage of this good opportunity in two ways, for bathing and for washing clothes. the latter is undoubtedly the more important purpose of application, and a hut has been erected, in order to shield the poor people from wind and rain while they are at work. formerly this hut was furnished with a good door and with glazed windows, and the key was kept at an appointed place in the town, whence any one might fetch it. but the servants and peasant girls were soon too lazy to go for the key; they burst open the lock, and smashed the windows, so that now the hut has a very ruinous appearance, and affords but little protection against the weather. how much alike mankind are every where, and how seldom they do right, except when it gives them no trouble, and then, unfortunately, there is not much merit to be ascribed to them, as their doing right is merely the result of a lucky chance! many people also bring fish and potatoes, which they have only to lay in the hot water, and in a short time both are completely cooked. this spring is but little used for the purpose of bathing; at most perhaps by a few children and peasants. its medicinal virtues, if it possesses any, are completely unknown. the sulphur-springs and sulphur-mountains of krisuvik. the 4th of june was fixed for my departure. i had only to pack up some bread and cheese, sugar and coffee, then the horses were saddled, and at seven o'clock the journey was happily commenced. i was alone with my guide, who, like the rest of his class, could not be considered as a very favourable specimen of humanity. he was very lazy, exceedingly self-interested, and singularly loath to devote any part of his attention either to me or to the horses, preferring to concentrate it upon brandy, an article which can unfortunately be procured throughout the whole country. i had already seen the district between reikjavik and havenfiord at my first arrival in iceland. at the present advanced season of the year it wore a less gloomy aspect: strawberry-plants and violets,--the former, however, without blossoms, and the latter inodorous,--were springing up between the blocks of lava, together with beautiful ferns eight or ten inches high. in spite of the trifling distance, i noticed, as a rule, that vegetation was here more luxuriant than at reikjavik; for at the latter place i had found no strawberry-plants, and the violets were not yet in blossom. this difference in the vegetation is, i think, to be ascribed to the high walls of lava existing in great abundance round havenfiord; they protect the tender plants and ferns from the piercing winds. i noticed that both the grass and the plants before mentioned throve capitally in the little hollows formed by masses of lava. a couple of miles beyond havenfiord i saw the first birch-trees, which, however, did not exceed two or three feet in height, also some bilberry-plants. a number of little butterflies, all of one colour, and, as it seemed to me, of the same species, fluttered among the shrubs and plants. the manifold forms and varied outline of the lava-fields present a remarkable and really a marvellous appearance. short as this journey is--for ten hours are amply sufficient for the trip to krisuvik,--it presents innumerable features for contemplation. i could only gaze and wonder. i forgot every thing around me, felt neither cold nor storm, and let my horse pick his way as slowly as he chose, so that i had once almost become separated from my guide. one of the most considerable of the streams of lava lay in a spacious broad valley. the lava-stream itself, about two miles long, and of a considerable breadth, traversing the whole of the plain, seemed to have been called into existence by magic, as there was no mountain to be seen in the neighbourhood from which it could have emerged. it appeared to be the covering of an immense crater, formed, not of separate stones and blocks, but of a single and slightly porous mass of rock ten or twelve feet thick, broken here and there by clefts about a foot in breadth. another, and a still larger valley, many miles in circumference, was filled with masses of lava shaped like waves, reminding the beholder of a petrified sea. from the midst rose a high black mountain, contrasting beautifully with the surrounding masses of light-grey lava. at first i supposed the lava must have streamed forth from this mountain, but soon found that the latter was perfectly smooth on all sides, and terminated in a sharp peak. the remaining mountains which shut in the valley were also perfectly closed, and i looked in vain for any trace of a crater. we now reached a small lake, and soon afterwards arrived at a larger one, called kleinfarvatne. both were hemmed in by mountains, which frequently rose abruptly from the waters, leaving no room for the passage of the horses. we were obliged sometimes to climb the mountains by fearfully dizzy paths; at others to scramble downwards, almost clinging to the face of the rock. at some points we were even compelled to dismount from our horses, and scramble forward on our hands and knees. in a word, these dangerous points, which extended over a space of about seven miles, were certainly quite as bad as any i had encountered in syria; if any thing, they were even more formidable. i was, however, assured that i should have no more such places to encounter during all my further journeys in iceland, and this information quite reconciled me to the roads in this country. for the rest, the path was generally tolerably safe even during this tour, which continually led me across fields of lava. a journey of some eight-and-twenty miles brought us at length into a friendly valley; clouds of smoke, both small and great, were soon discovered rising from the surrounding heights, and also from the valley itself; these were the sulphur-springs and sulphur-mountains. i could hardly restrain my impatience while we traversed the couple of miles which separated us from krisuvik. a few small lakes were still to be crossed; and at length, at six o'clock in the evening, we reached our destination. with the exception of a morsel of bread and cheese, i had eaten nothing since the morning; still i could not spare time to make coffee, but at once dismounted, summoned my guide, and commenced my pilgrimage to the smoking mountains. at the outset our way lay across swampy places and meadow lands; but soon we had to climb the mountains themselves, a task rendered extremely difficult by the elastic, yielding soil, in which every footstep imprinted itself deeply, suggesting to the traveller the unpleasant possibility of his sinking through,--a contingency rendered any thing but agreeable by the neighbourhood of the boiling springs. at length i gained the summit, and saw around me numerous basins filled with boiling water, while on all sides, from hill and valley, columns of vapour rose out of numberless clefts in the rocks. from a cleft in one rock in particular a mighty column of vapour whirled into the air. on the windward side i could approach this place very closely. the ground was only lukewarm in some places, and i could hold my hand for several moments to the gaps from which steam issued. no trace of a crater was to be seen. the bubbling and hissing of the steam, added to the noise of the wind, occasioned such a deafening clamour, that i was very glad to feel firmer ground beneath my feet, and to leave the place in haste. it really seemed as if the interior of the mountain had been a boiling caldron. the prospect from these mountains is very fine. numerous valleys and mountains innumerable offered themselves to my view, and i could even discern the isolated black rock past which i had ridden five or six hours previously. i now commenced my descent into the valley; at a few hundred paces the bubbling and hissing were already inaudible. i supposed that i had seen every thing worthy of notice; but much that was remarkable still remained. i particularly noticed a basin some five or six feet in diameter, filled with boiling mud. this mud has quite the appearance of fine clay dissolved in water; its colour was a light grey. from another basin, hardly two feet in diameter, a mighty column of steam shot continually into the air with so much force and noise that i started back half stunned, and could have fancied the vault of heaven would burst. this basin is situated in a corner of the valley, closely shut in on three sides by hills. in the neighbourhood many hot springs gushed forth; but i saw no columns of water, and my guide assured me that such a phenomenon was never witnessed here. there is more danger in passing these spots than even in traversing the mountains. in spite of the greatest precautions, i frequently sank in above the ankles, and would then draw back with a start, and find my foot covered with hot mud. from the place where i had broken through, steam and hot mud, or boiling water, rose into the air. though my guide, who walked before me, carefully probed the ground with his stick, he several times sank through half-way to the knee. these men are, however, so much accustomed to contingencies of this kind that they take little account of them. my guide would quietly repair to the next spring and cleanse his clothes from mud. as i was covered with it to above the ankles, i thought it best to follow his example. for excursions like these it is best to come provided with a few boards, five or six feet in length, with which to cover the most dangerous places. at nine o'clock in the evening, but yet in the full glare of the sun, we arrived at krisuvik. i now took time to look at this place, which i found to consist of a small church and a few miserable huts. i crept into one of these dens; it was so dark that a considerable time elapsed before i could distinguish objects, the light was only admitted through a very small aperture. i found in this hut a few persons who were suffering from the eruption called "lepra," a disease but too commonly met with in iceland. their hands and faces were completely covered with this eruption; if it spreads over the whole body the patient languishes slowly away, and is lost without remedy. churches are in this country not only used for purposes of public worship, but also serve as magazines for provisions, clothes, &c., and as inns for travellers. i do not suppose that a parallel instance of desecration could be met with even among the most uncivilised nations. i was assured, indeed, that these abuses were about to be remedied. a reform of this kind ought to have been carried out long ago; and even now the matter seems to remain an open point; for wherever i came the church was placed at my disposal for the night, and every where i found a store of fish, tallow, and other equally odoriferous substances. the little chapel at krisuvik is only twenty-two feet long by ten broad; on my arrival it was hastily prepared for my reception. saddles, ropes, clothes, hats, and other articles which lay scattered about, were hastily flung into a corner; mattresses and some nice soft pillows soon appeared, and a very tolerable bed was prepared for me on a large chest in which the vestments of the priest, the coverings of the altar, &c., were deposited. i would willingly have locked myself in, eaten my frugal supper, and afterwards written a few pages of my diary before retiring to rest; but this was out of the question. the entire population of the village turned out to see me, old and young hastened to the church, and stood round in a circle and gazed at me. irksome as this curiosity was, i was obliged to endure it patiently, for i could not have sent these good people away without seriously offending them; so i began quietly to unpack my little portmanteau, and proceeded to boil my coffee over a spirit-lamp. a whispering consultation immediately began; they seemed particularly struck by my mode of preparing coffee, and followed every one of my movements with eager eyes. my frugal meal dispatched, i resolved to try the patience of my audience, and, taking out my journal, began to write. for a few minutes they remained quiet, then they began to whisper one to another, "she writes, she writes," and this was repeated numberless times. there was no sign of any disposition to depart; i believe i could have sat there till doomsday, and failed to tire my audience out. at length, after this scene had lasted a full hour, i could stand it no longer, and was fain to request my amiable visitors to retire, as i wished to go to bed. my sleep that night was none of the sweetest. a certain feeling of discomfort always attaches to the fact of sleeping in a church alone, in the midst of a grave-yard. besides this, on the night in question such a dreadful storm arose that the wooden walls creaked and groaned as though their foundations were giving way. the cold was also rather severe, my thermometer inside the church shewing only two degrees above zero. i was truly thankful when approaching day brought with it the welcome hour of departure. june 5th. the heavy sleepiness and extreme indolence of an icelandic guide render departure before seven o'clock in the morning a thing not to be thought of. this is, however, of little consequence, as there is no night in iceland at this time of year. although the distance was materially increased by returning to reikjavik by way of grundivik and keblevik, i chose this route in order to pass through the wildest of the inhabited tracts in iceland. the first stage, from krisuvik to grundivik, a distance of twelve to fourteen miles, lay through fields of lava, consisting mostly of small blocks of stone and fragments, filling the valley so completely that not a single green spot remained. i here met with masses of lava which presented an appearance of singular beauty. they were black mounds, ten or twelve feet in height, piled upon each other in the most varied forms, their bases covered with a broad band of whitish-coloured moss, while the tops were broken into peaks and cones of the most fantastic shapes. these lava-streams seem to date from a recent period, as the masses are somewhat scaly and glazed. grundivik, a little village of a few wretched cottages, lies like an oasis in this desert of lava. my guide wished to remain here, asserting that there was no place between this and keblevik where i could pass the night, and that it would be impossible for our horses, exhausted as they were with yesterday's march, to carry us to keblevik that night. the true reason of this suggestion was that he wished to prolong the journey for another day. luckily i had a good map with me, and by dint of consulting it could calculate distances with tolerable accuracy; it was also my custom before starting on a journey to make particular inquiries as to how i should arrange the daily stages. so i insisted upon proceeding at once; and soon we were wending our way through fields of lava towards stad, a small village six or seven miles distant from grundivik. on the way i noticed a mountain of most singular appearance. in colour it closely resembled iron; its sides were perfectly smooth and shining, and streaks of the colour of yellow ochre traversed it here and there. stad is the residence of a priest. contrary to the assertions of my guide, i found this place far more cheerful and habitable than grundivik. whilst our horses were resting, the priest paid me a visit, and conducted me, not, as i anticipated, into his house, but into the church. chairs and stools were quickly brought there, and my host introduced his wife and children to me, after which we partook of coffee, bread and cheese, &c. on the rail surrounding the altar hung the clothes of the priest and his family, differing little in texture and make from those of the peasants. the priest appeared to be a very intelligent, well-read man. i could speak the danish language pretty fluently, and was therefore able to converse with him on various subjects. on hearing that i had already been in palestine, he put a number of questions to me, from which i could plainly see that he was alike well acquainted with geography, history, natural science, &c. he accompanied me several miles on my road, and we chatted away the time very pleasantly. the distance between krisuvik and keblevik is about forty-two miles. the road lies through a most dreary landscape, among vast desert plains, frequently twenty-five to thirty miles in circumference, entirely divested of all traces of vegetation, and covered throughout their extreme area by masses of lava--gloomy monuments of volcanic agency. and yet here, at the very heart of the subterranean fire, i saw only a single mountain, the summit of which had fallen in, and presented the appearance of a crater. the rest were all completely closed, terminating sometimes in a beautiful round top, and sometimes in sharp peaks; in other instances they formed long narrow chains. who can tell whence these all-destroying masses of lava have poured forth, or how many hundred years they have lain in these petrified valleys? keblevik lies on the sea-coast; but the harbour is insecure, so that ships remain here at anchor only so long as is absolutely necessary; there are frequently only two or three ships in the harbour. a few wooden houses, two of which belong to herr knudson, and some peasants' cottages, are the only buildings in this little village. i was hospitably received, and rested from the toils of the day at the house of herr siverson, herr knudson's manager. on the following day (june 6th) i had a long ride to reikjavik, thirty-six good miles, mostly through fields of lava. the whole tract of country from grundivik almost to havenfiord is called "the lava-fields of reikianes." tired and almost benumbed with cold, i arrived in the evening at reikjavik, with no other wish than to retire to rest as fast as possible. in these three days i had ridden 114 miles, besides enduring much from cold, storms, and rain. to my great surprise, the roads had generally been good; there were, however, many places highly dangerous and difficult. but what mattered these fatigues, forgotten, as they were, after a single night's rest? what were they in comparison to the unutterably beautiful and marvellous phenomena of the north, which will remain ever present to my imagination so long as memory shall be spared me? the distances of this excursion were: from reikjavik to krisuvik, 37 miles; from krisuvik to keblevik, 39 miles; from keblevik to reikjavik, 38 miles: total, 114 miles. chapter v as the weather continued fine, i wished to lose no time in continuing my wanderings. i had next to make a tour of some 560 miles; it was therefore necessary that i should take an extra horse, partly that it might carry my few packages, consisting of a pillow, some rye-bread, cheese, coffee, and sugar, but chiefly that i might be enabled to change horses every day, as one horse would not have been equal to the fatigue of so long a journey. my former guide could not accompany me on my present journey, as he was unacquainted with most of the roads. my kind protectors, herr knudson and herr bernhoft, were obliging enough to provide another guide for me; a difficult task, as it is a rare occurrence to find an icelander who understands the danish language, and who happens to be sober when his services are required. at length a peasant was found who suited our purpose; but he considered two florins per diem too little pay, so i was obliged to give an additional zwanziger. on the other hand, it was arranged that the guide should also take two horses, in order that he might change every day. the 16th of june was fixed for the commencement of our journey. from the very first day my guide did not shew himself in an amiable point of view. on the morning of our departure his saddle had to be patched together, and instead of coming with two horses, he appeared with only one. he certainly promised to buy a second when we should have proceeded some miles, adding that it would be cheaper to buy one at a little distance from the "capital." i at once suspected this was merely an excuse of the guide's, and that he wished thereby to avoid having the care of four horses. the event proved i was right; not a single horse could be found that suited, and so my poor little animal had to carry the guide's baggage in addition to my own. loading the pack-horses is a business of some difficulty, and is conducted in the following manner: sundry large pieces of dried turf are laid upon the horse's back, but not fastened; over these is buckled a round piece of wood, furnished with two or three pegs. to these pegs the chests and packages are suspended. if the weight is not quite equally balanced, it is necessary to stop and repack frequently, for the whole load at once gets askew. the trunks used in this country are massively constructed of wood, covered with a rough hide, and strengthened on all sides with nails, as though they were intended to last an eternity. the poor horses have a considerable weight to bear in empty boxes alone, so that very little real luggage can be taken. the weight which a horse has to carry during a long journey should never exceed 150lbs. it is impossible to remember how many times our baggage had to be repacked during a day's journey. the great pieces of turf would never stay in their places, and every moment something was wrong. nothing less than a miracle, however, can prevail on an icelander to depart from his regular routine. his ancestors packed in such and such a manner, and so he must pack also. {35} we had a journey of above forty miles before us the first day, and yet, on account of the damaged saddle, we could not start before eight o'clock in the morning. the first twelve or fourteen miles of our journey lay through the great valley in which reikjavik is situated; the valley contains many low hills, some of which we had to climb. several rivers, chief among which was the laxselv, opposed our progress, but at this season of the year they could be crossed on horseback without danger. nearly all the valleys through which we passed to-day were covered with lava, but nevertheless offered many beautiful spots. many of the hills we passed seemed to me to be extinct volcanoes; the whole upper portion was covered with colossal slabs of lava, as though the crater had been choked up with them. lava of the same description and colour, but in smaller pieces, lay strewed around. for the first twelve or fourteen miles the sea is visible from the brow of every successive hill. the country is also pretty generally inhabited; but afterwards a distance of nearly thirty miles is passed, on which there is not a human habitation. the traveller journeys from one valley into another, and in the midst of these hill-girt deserts sees a single small hut, erected for the convenience of those who, in the winter, cannot accomplish the long distance in one day, and must take up their quarters for the night in the valley. no one must, however, rashly hope to find here a human being in the shape of a host. the little house is quite uninhabited, and consists only of a single apartment with four naked walls. the visitor must depend on the accommodation he carries with him. the plains through which we travelled to-day were covered throughout with one and the same kind of lava. it occurs in masses, and also in smaller stones, is not very porous, of a light grey colour, and mixed, in many instances, with sand or earth. some miles from thingvalla we entered a valley, the soil of which is fine, but nevertheless only sparingly covered with grass, and full of little acclivities, mostly clothed with delicate moss. i have no doubt that the indolence of the inhabitants alone prevents them from materially improving many a piece of ground. the worst soil is that in the neighbourhood of reikjavik; yet there we see many a garden, and many a piece of meadow-land, wrung, as it were, from the barren earth by labour and pains. why should not the same thing be done here--the more so as nature has already accomplished the preliminary work? thingvalla, our resting-place for to-night, is situate on a lake of the same name, and only becomes visible when the traveller is close upon it. the lake is rather considerable, being almost three miles in length, and at some parts certainly more than two miles in breadth; it contains two small islands,--sandey and nesey. my whole attention was still riveted by the lake and its naked and gloomy circle of mountains, when suddenly, as if by magic, i found myself standing on the brink of a chasm, into which i could scarcely look without a shudder; involuntarily i thought of weber's _freyschutz_ and the "wolf's hollow." {36} the scene is the more startling from the circumstance that the traveller approaching thingvalla in a certain direction sees only the plains beyond this chasm, and has no idea of its existence. it was a fissure some five or six fathoms broad, but several hundred feet in depth; and we were forced to descend by a small, steep, dangerous path, across large fragments of lava. colossal blocks of stone, threatening the unhappy wanderer with death and destruction, hang loosely, in the form of pyramids and of broken columns, from the lofty walls of lava, which encircle the whole long ravine in the form of a gallery. speechless, and in anxious suspense, we descend a part of this chasm, hardly daring to look up, much less to give utterance to a single sound, lest the vibration should bring down one of these avalanches of stone, to the terrific force of which the rocky fragments scattered around bear ample testimony. the distinctness with which echo repeats the softest sound and the lightest footfall is truly wonderful. the appearance presented by the horses, which are allowed to come down the ravine after their masters have descended, is most peculiar. one could fancy they were clinging to the walls of rock. this ravine is known by the name of almanagiau. its entire length is about a mile, but a small portion only can be traversed; the rest is blocked up by masses of lava heaped one upon the other. on the right hand, the rocky wall opens, and forms an outlet, over formidable masses of lava, into the beautiful valley of thingvalla. i could have fancied i wandered through the depths of a crater, which had piled around itself these stupendous barriers during a mighty eruption in times long gone by. the valley of thingvalla is considered one of the most beautiful in iceland. it contains many meadows, forming, as it were, a place of refuge for the inhabitants, and enabling them to keep many head of cattle. the icelanders consider this little green valley the finest spot in the world. not far from the opening of the ravine, on the farther bank of the river oxer, lies the little village of thingvalla, consisting of three or four cottages and a small chapel. a few scattered farms and cottages are situated in the neighbourhood. thingvalla was once one of the most important places in iceland; the stranger is still shewn the meadow, not far from the village, on which the allthing (general assembly) was held annually in the open air. here the people and their leaders met, pitching their tents after the manner of nomads. here it was also that many an opinion and many a decree were enforced by the weight of steel. the chiefs appeared, ostensibly for peace, at the head of their tribe; yet many of them returned not again, but beneath the sword-stroke of their enemies obtained that peace which no man seeketh, but which all men find. on one side the valley is skirted by the lake, on the other it is bounded by lofty mountains, some of them still partly covered with snow. not far from the entrance of the ravine, the river oxer rushes over a wall of rock of considerable height, forming a beautiful waterfall. it was still fine clear daylight when i reached thingvalla, and the sky rose pure and cloudless over the far distance. it seemed therefore the more singular to me to see a few clouds skimming over the surface of the mountains, now shrouding a part of them in vapour, now wreathing themselves round their summits, now vanishing entirely, to reappear again at a different point. this is a phenomenon frequently observed in iceland during the finest days, and one i had often noticed in the neighbourhood of reikjavik. under a clear and cloudless sky, a light mist would appear on the brow of a mountain,--in a moment it would increase to a large cloud, and after remaining stationary for a time, it frequently vanished suddenly, or soared slowly away. however often it may be repeated, this appearance cannot fail to interest the observer. herr beck, the clergyman at thingvalla, offered me the shelter of his hut for the night; as the building, however, did not look much more promising than the peasants' cottages by which it was surrounded, i preferred quartering myself in the church, permission to do so being but too easily obtained on all occasions. this chapel is not much larger than that at krisuvik, and stands at some distance from the few surrounding cottages. this was perhaps the reason why i was not incommoded by visitors. i had already conquered any superstitious fears derived from the proximity of my silent neighbours in the churchyard, and passed the night quietly on one of the wooden chests of which i found several scattered about. habit is certainly every thing; after a few nights of gloomy solitude one thinks no more about the matter. june 17th. our journey of to-day was more formidable than that of yesterday. i was assured that reikholt (also called reikiadal) was almost fifty miles distant. distances cannot always be accurately measured by the map; impassable barriers, only to be avoided by circuitous routes, often oppose the traveller's progress. this was the case with us to-day. to judge from the map, the distance from thingvalla to reikholt seemed less by a great deal than that from reikjavik to thingvalla, and yet we were full fourteen hours accomplishing it--two hours longer than on our yesterday's journey. so long as our way lay through the valley of thingvalla there was no lack of variety. at one time there was an arm of the river oxer to cross, at another we traversed a cheerful meadow; sometimes we even passed through little shrubberies,--that is to say, according to the icelandic acceptation of the term. in my country these lovely shrubberies would have been cleared away as useless underwood. the trees trail along the ground, seldom attaining a height of more than two feet. when one of these puny stems reaches four feet in height, it is considered a gigantic tree. the greater portion of these miniature forests grow on the lava with which the valley is covered. the formation of the lava here assumes a new character. up to this point it has mostly appeared either in large masses or in streams lying in strata one above the other; but here the lava covered the greater portion of the ground in the form of immense flat slabs or blocks of rock, often split in a vertical direction. i saw long fissures of eight or ten feet in breadth, and from ten to fifteen feet in depth. in these clefts the flowers blossom earlier, and the fern grows taller and more luxuriantly, than in the boisterous upper world. after the valley of thingvalla has been passed the journey becomes very monotonous. the district beyond is wholly uninhabited, and we travelled many miles without seeing a single cottage. from one desert valley we passed into another; all were alike covered with light-grey or yellowish lava, and at intervals also with fine sand, in which the horses sunk deeply at every step. the mountains surrounding these valleys were none of the highest, and it was seldom that a jokul or glacier shone forth from among them. the mountains had a certain polished appearance, their sides being perfectly smooth and shining. in some instances, however, masses of lava formed beautiful groups, bearing a great resemblance to ruins of ancient buildings, and standing out in peculiarly fine relief from the smooth walls. these mountains are of different colours; they are black or brown, grey or yellow, &c.; and the different shades of these colours are displayed with marvellous effect in the brilliant sunshine. nine hours of uninterrupted riding brought us into a large tract of moorland, very scantily covered with moss. yet this was the first and only grazing-place to be met with in all the long distance from thingvalla. we therefore made a halt of two hours, to let our poor horses pick a scanty meal. large swarms of minute gnats, which seemed to fly into our eyes, nose, and mouth, annoyed us dreadfully during our stay in this place. on this moor there was also a small lake; and here i saw for the first time a small flock of swans. unfortunately these creatures are so very timid, that the most cautious approach of a human being causes them to rise with the speed of lightning into the air. i was therefore obliged perforce to be content with a distant view of these proud birds. they always keep in pairs, and the largest flock i saw did not consist of more than four such pairs. since my first arrival in iceland i had considered the inhabitants an indolent race of people; to-day i was strengthened in my opinion by the following slight circumstance. the moorland on which we halted to rest was separated from the adjoining fields of lava by a narrow ditch filled with water. across this ditch a few stones and slabs had been laid, to form a kind of bridge. now this bridge was so full of holes that the horses could not tell where to plant their feet, and refused obstinately to cross it, so that in the end we were obliged to dismount and lead them across. we had scarcely passed this place, and sat down to rest, when a caravan of fifteen horses, laden with planks, dried fish, &c. arrived at the bridge. of course the poor creatures observed the dangerous ground, and could only be driven by hard blows to advance. hardly twenty paces off there were stones in abundance; but rather than devote a few minutes to filling up the holes, these lazy people beat their horses cruelly, and exposed them to the risk of breaking their legs. i pitied the poor animals, which would be compelled to recross the bridge, so heartily, that, after they are gone, i devoted a part of my resting-time to collecting stones and filling up the holes,--a business which scarcely occupied me a quarter of an hour. it is interesting to notice how the horses know by instinct the dangerous spots in the stony wastes, and in the moors and swamps. on approaching these places they bend their heads towards the earth, and look sharply round on all sides. if they cannot discover a firm resting-place for the feet, they stop at once, and cannot be urged forward without many blows. after a halt of two hours we continued our journey, which again led us across fields of lava. at past nine o'clock in the evening we reached an elevated plain, after traversing which for half an hour we saw stretched at our feet the valley of reikholt or reikiadal; it is fourteen to seventeen miles long, of a good breadth, and girt round by a row of mountains, among which several jokuls sparkle in their icy garments. a sunset seen in the sublime wildness of icelandic scenery has a peculiarly beautiful effect. over these vast plains, divested of trees or shrubs, covered with dark lava, and shut in by mountains almost of a sable hue, the parting sun sheds an almost magical radiance. the peaks of the mountains shine in the bright parting rays, the jokuls are shrouded in the most delicate roseate hue, while the lower parts of the mountains lie in deep shadow, and frown darkly on the valleys, which resemble a sheet of dark blue water, with an atmosphere of a bluish-red colour floating above it. the most impressive feature of all is the profound silence and solitude; not a sound can be heard, not a living creature is to be seen; every thing appears dead. throughout the broad valleys not a town nor a village, no, not even a solitary house or a tree or shrub, varies the prospect. the eye wanders over the vast desert, and finds not one familiar object on which it can rest. to-night, as at past eleven o'clock we reached the elevated plain, i saw a sunset which i shall never forget. the sun disappeared behind the mountains, and in its stead a gorgeous ruddy gleam lighted up hill and valley and glacier. it was long ere i could turn away my eyes from the glittering heights, and yet the valley also offered much that was striking and beautiful. throughout almost its entire length this valley formed a meadow, from the extremities of which columns of smoke and boiling springs burst forth. the mists had almost evaporated, and the atmosphere was bright and clear, more transparent even than i had seen it in any other country. i now for the first time noticed, that in the valley itself the radiance was almost as clear as the light of day, so that the most minute objects could be plainly distinguished. this was, however, extremely necessary, for steep and dangerous paths lead over masses of lava into the valley. on one side ran a little river, forming many picturesque waterfalls, some of them above thirty feet in height. i strained my eyes in vain to discover any where, in this great valley, a little church, which, if it only offered me a hard bench for a couch, would at any rate afford me a shelter from the sharp night-wind; for it is really no joke to ride for fifteen hours, with nothing to eat but bread and cheese, and then not even to have the pleasant prospect of a hotel _a la villa de londres_ or _de paris_. alas, my wishes were far more modest. i expected no porter at the gate to give the signal of my arrival, no waiter, and no chambermaid; i only desired a little spot in the neighbourhood of the dear departed icelanders. i was suddenly recalled from these happy delusions by the voice of the guide, who cried out: "here we are at our destination for to-night." i looked joyfully round; alas! i could only see a few of those cottages which are never observed until you almost hit your nose against one of them, as the grass-covered walls can hardly be distinguished from the surrounding meadow. it was already midnight. we stopped, and turned our horses loose, to seek supper and rest in the nearest meadow. our lot was a less fortunate one. the inhabitants were already buried in deep slumbers, from which even the barking set up by the dogs at our approach failed to arouse them. a cup of coffee would certainly have been very acceptable to me; yet i was loath to rouse any one merely for this. a piece of bread satisfied my hunger, and a draught of water from the nearest spring tasted most deliciously with it. after concluding my frugal meal, i sought out a corner beside a cottage, where i was partially sheltered from the too-familiar wind; and wrapping my cloak around me, lay down on the ground, having wished myself, with all my heart, a good night's rest and pleasant dreams, in the broad daylight, {37} under the canopy of heaven. just dropping off to sleep, i was surprised by a mild rain, which, of course, at once put to flight every idea of repose. thus, after all, i was obliged to wake some one up, to obtain the shelter of a roof. the best room, _i.e._ the store-room, was thrown open for my accommodation, and a small wooden bedstead placed at my disposal. chambers of this kind are luckily found wherever two or three cottages lie contiguous to each other; they are certainly far from inviting, as dried fish, train-oil, tallow, and many other articles of the same description combine to produce a most unsavoury atmosphere. yet they are infinitely preferable to the dwellings of the peasants, which, by the by, are the most filthy dens that can be imagined. besides being redolent of every description of bad odour, these cottages are infested with vermin to a degree which can certainly not be surpassed, except in the dwellings of the greenlanders and laplanders. june 18th. yesterday we had been forced to put upon our poor horses a wearisome distance of more than fifty miles, as the last forty miles led us through desert and uninhabited places, boasting not even a single cottage. to-day, however, our steeds had a light duty to perform, for we only proceeded seven miles to the little village of reikiadal, where i halted to-day, in order to visit the celebrated springs. the inconsiderable village called reikiadal, consisting only of a church and a few cottages, is situated amidst pleasant meadows. altogether this valley is rich in beautiful meadow-lands; consequently one sees many scattered homesteads and cottages, with fine herds of sheep, and a tolerable number of horses; cows are less plentiful. the church at reikiadal is among the neatest and most roomy of those which came under my observation. the dwelling of the priest too, though only a turf-covered cottage, is large enough for the comfort of the occupants. this parish extends over a considerable area, and is not thinly inhabited. my first care on my arrival was to beg the clergyman, herr jonas jonason, to procure for me, as expeditiously as possible, fresh horses and a guide, in order that i might visit the springs. he promised to provide me with both within half an hour; and yet it was not until three hours had been wasted, that, with infinite pains, i saw my wish fulfilled. throughout my stay in iceland, nothing annoyed me more than the slowness and unconcern displayed by the inhabitants in all their undertakings. every wish and every request occupies a long time in its fulfilment. had i not been continually at the good pastor's side, i believe i should scarcely have attained my object. at length every thing was ready, and the pastor himself was kind enough to be my guide. we rode about four miles through this beautiful vale, and in this short distance were compelled at least six times to cross the river sidumule, which rolls its most tortuous course through the entire valley. at length the first spring was reached; it emerges from a rock about six feet in height, standing in the midst of a moor. the upper cavity of the natural reservoir, in which the water continually boils and seethes, is between two and three feet in diameter. this spring never stops; the jet of water rises two, and sometimes even four feet high, and is about eighteen inches thick. it is possible to increase the volume of the jet for a few seconds, by throwing large stones or lumps of earth into the opening, and thus stirring up the spring. the stones are cast forcibly forth, and the lumps of earth, dissolved by the action of the water, impart to the latter a dingy colour. whoever has seen the jet of water at carlsbad, in bohemia, can well imagine the appearance of this spring, which closely resembles that of carlsbad. {38} in the immediate neighbourhood of the spring is an abyss, in which water is continually seething, but never rises into the air. at a little distance, on a high rock, rising out of the river sidumule, not far from the shore, are other springs. they are three in number, each at a short distance from the next, and occupy nearly the entire upper surface of the rock. lower down we find a reservoir of boiling water; and at the foot of the rock, and on the nearest shore, are many more hot springs; but most of these are inconsiderable. many of these hot springs emerge almost from the cold river itself. the chief group, however, lies still farther off, on a rock which may be about twenty feet in height, and fifty in length. it is called tunga huer, and rises from the midst of a moor. on this rock there are no less than sixteen springs, some emerging from its base, others rather above the middle, but none from the top of the rock. the construction of the basins and the height and diameter of the jets were precisely similar to those i have already described. all these sixteen springs are so near each other that they do not even occupy two sides of the rock. it is impossible to form an idea of the magnificence of this singular spectacle, which becomes really fairy-like, if the beholder have the courage to climb the rock itself, a proceeding of some danger, though of little difficulty. the upper stratum of the rock is soft and warm, presenting almost the appearance of mud thickened with sand and small stones. every footstep leaves a trace behind it, and the visitor has continually before his eyes the fear of breaking through, and falling into a hot spring hidden from view by a thin covering. the good pastor walked in advance of me, with a stick, and probed the dangerous surface as much as possible. i was loath to stay behind, and suddenly we found ourselves at the summit of the rock. here we could take in, at one view, the sixteen springs gushing from both its sides. if the view from below had been most interesting and singular, how shall i describe its appearance as seen from above? sixteen jets of water seen at one glance, sixteen reservoirs, in all their diversity of form and construction, opening at once beneath the feet of the beholder, seemed almost too wonderful a sight. forgetting all pusillanimous feelings, i stood and honoured the creator in these his marvellous works. for a long time i stood, and could not tire of gazing into the abysses from whose darkness the masses of white and foaming water sprung hissing into the air, to fall again, and hasten in quiet union towards the neighbouring river. the good pastor found it necessary to remind me several times that our position here was neither of the safest nor of the most comfortable, and that it was therefore high time to abandon it. i had ceased to think of the insecurity of the ground we trod, and scarcely noticed the mighty clouds of hot vapour which frequently surrounded and threatened to suffocate us, obliging us to step suddenly back with wetted faces. it was fortunate that these waters contain but a very small quantity of brimstone, otherwise we could scarcely have long maintained our elevated position. the rock from which these springs rise is formed of a reddish mass, and the bed of the river into which the water flows is also completely covered with little stones of the same colour. on our way back we noticed, near a cottage, another remarkable phenomenon. it was a basin, in whose depths the water boils and bubbles violently; and near this basin are two unsightly holes, from which columns of smoke periodically rise with a great noise. whilst this is going on, the basin fills itself more and more with water, but never so much as to overflow, or to force a jet of water into the air; then the steam and the noise cease in both cavities, and the water in the reservoir sinks several feet. this strange phenomenon generally lasts about a minute, and is repeated so regularly, that a bet could almost be made, that the rising and falling of the water, and the increased and lessened noise of the steam, shall be seen and heard sixty or sixty-five times within an hour. in communication with this basin is another, situate at a distance of about a hundred paces in a small hollow, and filled like the former with boiling water. as the water in the upper basin gradually sinks, and ceases to seethe, it begins to rise in the lower one, and is at length forced two or three feet into the air; then it falls again, and thus the phenomenon is continually repeated in the upper and the lower basin alternately. at the upper spring there is also a vapour-bath. this is formed by a small chamber situate hard by the basin, built of stones and roofed with turf. it is further provided with a small and narrow entrance, which cannot be passed in an upright position. the floor is composed of stone slabs, probably covering a hot spring, for they are very warm. the person wishing to use this bath betakes himself to this room, and carefully closes every cranny; a suffocating heat, which induces violent perspiration over the whole frame, is thus generated. the people, however, seldom avail themselves of this bath. on my return i had still to visit a basin with a jet of water, in a fine meadow near the church; a low wall of stone has been erected round this spring to prevent the cattle from scalding themselves if they should approach too near in the ardour of grazing. some eighty paces off is to be seen the wool-bath erected by snorri sturluson. it consists of a stone basin three or four feet in depth, and eighteen or twenty in diameter. the approach is by a few steps leading to a low stone bench, which runs round the basin. the water is obtained from the neighbouring spring, but is of so high a temperature that it is impossible to bathe without previously cooling it. the bath stands in the open air, and no traces are left of the building which once covered it. it is now used for clothes and sheep's wool. i had now seen all the interesting springs on this side of the valley. some columns of vapour, which may be observed from the opposite end of the valley, proceed from thermal springs, that offer no remarkable feature save their heat. on our return the priest took me to the churchyard, which lay at some distance from his dwelling, and showed me the principal graves. though i thought the sight very impressive, it was not calculated to invigorate me, when i considered that i must pass the approaching night alone in the church, amidst these resting-places of the departed. the mound above each grave is very high, and the greater part of them are surmounted by a kind of wooden coffin, which at first sight conveys the impression that the dead person is above ground. i could not shake off a feeling of discomfort; and such is the power of prejudice, that--i acknowledge my weakness--i was even induced to beg that the priest would remove one of the covers. though i knew full well that the dead man was slumbering deep in the earth, and not in this coffin, i felt a shudder pass over me as the lid was removed, and i saw--as the priest had assured me i should do--merely a tombstone with the usual inscription, which this coffin-like covering is intended to protect against the rude storms of the winter. close beside the entrance to the church is the mound beneath which rest the bones of snorri sturluson, the celebrated poet; {39} over this grave stands a small runic stone of the length of the mound itself. this stone is said to have once been completely covered with runic characters; but all trace of these has been swept away by the storms of five hundred winters, against which the tomb had no protecting coffin. the stone, too, is split throughout its entire length into two pieces. the mound above the grave is often renewed, so that the beholder could often fancy he saw a new-made grave. i picked all the buttercups i could find growing on the grave, and preserved them carefully in a book. perhaps i may be able to give pleasure to several of my countrywomen by offering them a floweret from the grave of the greatest of icelandic poets. june 19th. in order to pursue my journey without interruption, i hired fresh horses, and allowed my own, which were rather fatigued, to accompany us unloaded. my object in this further excursion was to visit the very remarkable cavern of surthellir, distant a good thirty-three miles from this place. the clergyman was again kind enough to make the necessary arrangements for me, and even to act as my mentor on the journey. though we were only three strong, we departed with a retinue of seven horses, and for nearly ten miles rode back the same way by which i had come from reikholt on the preceding morning; then we turned off to the left, and crossing hills and acclivities, reached other valleys, which were partly traversed by beautiful streams of lava, and partly interspersed with forests--_forests_, as i have already said, according to icelandic notions. the separate stems were certainly slightly higher than those in the valley of thingvalla. at kalmannstunga we left the spare horses, and took with us a man to serve as guide in the cavern, from which we were now still some seven miles distant. the great valley in which this cavern lies is reckoned among the most remarkable in iceland. it is a most perfect picture of volcanic devastation. the most beautiful masses of lava, in the most varied and picturesque forms, occupy the whole immeasurable valley. lava is to be seen there in a rough glassy state, forming exquisite flames and arabesques; and in immense slabs, lying sometimes scattered, sometimes piled in strata one above the other, as though they had been cast there by a flood. among these, again, lie mighty isolated streams, which must have been frozen in the midst of their course. from the different colours of the lava, and their transitions from light grey to black, we can judge of the eruptions which have taken place at different periods. the mountains surrounding this valley are mostly of a sombre hue; some are even black, forming a striking contrast to the neighbouring jokuls, which, in their large expanse, present the appearance almost of a sea of ice. i found one of these jokuls of a remarkable size; its shining expanse extended far down into the valley, and its upper surface was almost immeasurable. the other mountains were all smooth, as though polished by art; in the foreground i only noticed one which was covered with wonderful forms of dried lava. a deathlike silence weighed on the whole country round, on hill and on valley alike. every thing seemed dead, all round was barren and desert, so that the effect was truly icelandic. the greater portion of iceland might be with justice designated the "northern desert." the cavern of surthellir lies on a slightly elevated extended plain, where it would certainly not be sought for, as we are accustomed to see natural phenomena of this description only in the bowels of rocks. it is, therefore, with no little surprise that the traveller sees suddenly opening before him a large round basin about fifteen fathoms in diameter, and four in depth. it was with a feeling of awe that i looked downwards on the countless blocks of rock piled one upon the other, extending on one side to the edge of the hollow, across which the road led to the dark ravines farther on. we were compelled to scramble forward on our hands and knees, until we reached a long broad passage, which led us at first imperceptibly downwards, and then ran underneath the plain, which formed a rocky cavern above our heads. i estimated the different heights of this roof at not less than from eighteen to sixty feet; but it seldom reached a greater elevation than the latter. both roof and walls are in some places very pointed and rough: a circumstance to be ascribed to the stalactites which adhere to them, without, however, forming figures or long sharp points. from this principal path several smaller ones lead far into the interior of this stony region; but they do not communicate with each other, and one is compelled to return from each side-path into the main road. some of these by-paths are short, narrow, and low; others, on the contrary, are long, broad, and lofty. in one of the most retired of these by-paths i was shewn a great number of bones, which, i was told, were those of slaughtered sheep and other animals. i could gather, from the account given by the priest of the legend concerning them, that, in days of yore, this cave was the resort of a mighty band of robbers. this must have been a long, long time ago, as this is related as a legend or a fable. for my part, i could not tell what robbers had to do in iceland. pirates had often come to the island; but for these gentry this cavern was too far from the sea. i cannot even imagine beasts of prey to have been there; for the whole country round about is desert and uninhabited, so that they could have found nothing to prey upon. in fact, i turned over in my mind every probability, and can only say that it appeared to me a most remarkable circumstance to find in this desert place, so far from any living thing, a number of bones, which, moreover, looked as fresh as if the poor animals to whom they once belonged had been eaten but a short time ago. unfortunately i could obtain no satisfactory information on this point. it is difficult to imagine any thing more laborious than to wander about in this cavern. as the road had shewed itself at the entrance of the cavern, so it continued throughout its whole extent. the path consisted entirely of loose fragments of lava heaped one upon the other, over which we had to clamber with great labour. none of us could afford to help the others; each one was fully occupied with himself. there was not a single spot to be seen on which we could have stood without holding fast at the same time with our hands. we were sometimes obliged to seat ourselves on a stone, and so to slide down; at others, to take hands and pull one another to the top of high blocks of stone. we came to several immense basins, or craters, which opened above our heads, but were inaccessible, the sides being too steep for us to climb. the light which entered through these openings was scarcely enough to illumine the principal path, much less the numerous by-paths. at kalmannstunga i had endeavoured to procure torches, but was obliged to consider myself fortunate in getting a few tapers. it is necessary to provide oneself with torches at reikjavik. the parts of the cavern beneath the open craters were still covered with a considerable quantity of snow, by which our progress was rendered very dangerous. we frequently sunk in, and at other times caught our feet between the stones, so that we could scarcely maintain our balance. in the by-paths situated near these openings an icy rind had formed itself, which was now covered with water. farther on, the ice had melted; but it was generally very dirty, as a stratum of sand mixed with water lay there in place of the stones. the chief path alone was covered with blocks of lava; in the smaller paths i found only strata of sand and small pieces of lava. the magical illumination produced by the sun's rays shining through one of these craters into the cavern produced a splendid effect. the sun shone perpendicularly through the opening, spread a dazzling radiance over the snow, and diffused a pale delicate light around us. the effect of this point of dazzling light was the more remarkable from its contrasting strongly with the two dark chasms, from the first of which we had emerged to continue our journey through the obscurity of the second. this subterranean labyrinth is said to extend in different directions for many miles. we explored a portion of the chief path and several by-paths, and after a march of two hours returned heartily tired to the upper world. we then rested a quarter of an hour, and afterwards returned at a good round pace to kalmannstunga. unfortunately i do not possess sufficient geognostic knowledge to be able to set this cavern down as an extinct volcano. but in travelling in a country where every hill and mountain, every thing around, in fact, consists of lava, even the uninitiated in science seeks to discover the openings whence these immense masses have poured. the stranger curiously regards the top of each mountain, thinking every where to behold a crater, but both hill and dale appear smooth and closed. with what joy then does he hail the thought of having discovered, in this cavern, something to throw light upon the sources of these things! i, at least, fancied myself walking on the hearth of an extinct volcano; for all i saw, from the masses of stone piled beneath my feet and the immense basin above my head, were both of lava. if i am right in my conjecture, i do not know; i only speak according to my notions and my views. i was obliged to pass this night in a cottage. kalmannstunga contains three such cottages, but no chapel. luckily i found one of these houses somewhat larger and more cleanly than its neighbours; it could almost come under the denomination of a farm. the occupants, too, had been employed during my ride to the cavern in cleansing the best chamber, and preparing it, as far as possible, for my reception. the room in question was eleven feet long by seven broad; the window was so small and so covered with dirt that, although the sun was shining in its full glory, i could scarcely see to write. the walls, and even the floor, were boarded--a great piece of luxury in a country where wood is so scarce. the furniture consisted of a broad bedstead, two chests of drawers, and a small table. chairs and benches are a kind of _terra incognita_ in the dwellings of the icelandic peasantry; besides, i do not know where such articles could be stowed in a room of such dimensions as that which i occupied. my hostess, the widow of a wealthy peasant, introduced to me her four children, who were very handsome, and very neatly dressed. i begged the good mother to tell me the names of the young ones, so that i might at least know a few icelandic names. she appeared much flattered at my request, and gave me the names as follows: sigrudur, gudrun, ingebor, and lars. i should have felt tolerably comfortable in my present quarters, accustomed as i am to bear privations of all kinds with indifference, if they would but have left me in peace. but the reader may fancy my horror when the whole population, not only of the cottage itself, but also of the neighbouring dwellings, made their appearance, and, planting themselves partly in my chamber and partly at the door, held me in a far closer state of siege than even at krisuvik. i was, it appeared, quite a novel phenomenon in the eyes of these good people, and so they came one and all and stared at me; the women and children were, in particular, most unpleasantly familiar; they felt my dress, and the little ones laid their dirty little countenances in my lap. added to this, the confined atmosphere from the number of persons present, their lamentable want of cleanliness, and their filthy habit of spitting, &c., all combined to form a most dreadful whole. during these visits i did more penance than by the longest fasts; and fasting, too, was an exercise i seldom escaped, as i could touch few icelandic dishes. the cookery of the icelandic peasants is wholly confined to the preparation of dried fish, with which they eat fermented milk that has often been kept for months; on very rare occasions they have a preparation of barley-meal, which is eaten with flat bread baked from icelandic moss ground fine. i could not but wonder at the fact that most of these people expected to find me acquainted with a number of things generally studied only by men; they seemed to have a notion that in foreign parts women should be as learned as men. so, for instance, the priests always inquired if i spoke latin, and seemed much surprised on finding that i was unacquainted with the language. the common people requested my advice as to the mode of treating divers complaints; and once, in the course of one of my solitary wanderings about reikjavik, on my entering a cottage, they brought before me a being whom i should scarcely have recognised as belonging to the same species as myself, so fearfully was he disfigured by the eruption called "lepra." not only the face, but the whole body also was covered with it; the patient was quite emaciated, and some parts of his body were covered with sores. for a surgeon this might have been an interesting sight, but i turned away in disgust. but let us turn from this picture. i would rather tell of the angel's face i saw in kalmannstunga. it was a girl, ten or twelve years of age, beautiful and lovely beyond description, so that i wished i had been a painter. how gladly would i have taken home with me to my own land, if only on canvass, the delicate face, with its roguish dimples and speaking eyes! but perhaps it is better as it is; the picture might by some unlucky chance have fallen into the hands of some too-susceptible youth, who, like don sylvio de rosalva, in wieland's _comical romance_, would immediately have proceeded to travel through half the world to find the original of this enchanting portrait. his spirit of inquiry would scarcely have carried him to iceland, as such an apparition would never be suspected to exist in such a country, and thus the unhappy youth would be doomed to endless wandering. june 20th. the distance from kalmannstunga to thingvalla is fifty-two miles, and the journey is certainly one of the most dreary and fatiguing of all that can be made in iceland. the traveller passes from one desert valley into another; he is always surrounded by high mountains and still higher glaciers, and wherever he turns his eyes, nature seems torpid and dead. a feeling of anxious discomfort seizes upon the wanderer, he hastens with redoubled speed through the far-stretched deserts, and eagerly ascends the mountains piled up before him, in the hope that better things lie beyond. it is in vain; he only sees the same solitudes, the same deserts, the same mountains. on the elevated plateaux several places were still covered with snow; these we were obliged to cross, though we could frequently hear the rushing of the water beneath its snowy covering. we were compelled also to pass over coatings of ice spread lightly over rivers, and presenting that blue colour which is a certain sign of danger. our poor horses were sometimes very restive; but it was of no use; they were beaten without mercy until they carried us over the dangerous places. the pack-horse was always driven on in front with many blows; it had to serve as pioneer, and try if the road was practicable. next came my guide, and i brought up the rear. our poor horses frequently sank up to their knees in the snow, and twice up to the saddle-girths. this was one of the most dangerous rides i have ever had. i could not help continually thinking what i should do if my guide were to sink in so deeply that he could not extricate himself; my strength would not have been sufficient to rescue him, and whither should i turn to seek for help? all around us was nothing but a desert and snow. perhaps my lot might have been to die of hunger. i should have wandered about seeking dwellings and human beings, and have entangled myself so completely among these wastes that i could never have found my way. when at a distance i descried a new field of snow (and unfortunately we came upon them but too frequently), i felt very uncomfortable; those alone who have themselves been in a similar situation can estimate the whole extent of my anxiety. if i had been travelling in company with others, these fears would not have disturbed me; for there reciprocal assistance can be rendered, and the consciousness of this fact seems materially to diminish the danger. during the season in which the snow ceases to form a secure covering, this road is but little travelled. we saw nowhere a trace of footsteps, either of men or animals; we were the only living beings in this dreadful region. i certainly scolded my guide roundly for bringing me by such a road. but what did i gain by this? it would have been as dangerous to turn back as to go on. a change in the weather, which till now had been rather favourable, increased the difficulties of this journey. already when we left kalmannstunga, the sky began to be overcast, and the sun enlivened us with its rays only for a few minutes at a time. on our reaching the higher mountains the weather became worse; for here we encountered clouds and fog, which wreaked their vengeance upon us, and which only careered by to make room for others. an icy storm from the neighbouring glaciers was their constant companion, and made me shiver so much that i could scarcely keep my saddle. we had now ridden above thirteen hours. the rain poured down incessantly, and we were half dead with cold and wet; so i at length determined to halt for the night at the first cottage: at last we found one between two or three miles from thingvalla. i had now a roof above my head; but beyond this i had gained nothing. the cottage consisted of a single room, and was almost completely filled by four broad bedsteads. i counted seven adults and three children, who had all to be accommodated in these four beds. in addition to this, the kvef, a kind of croup, prevailed this spring to such an extent that scarcely any one escaped it. wherever i went, i found the people afflicted with this complaint; and here this was also the case; the noise of groaning and coughing on all sides was quite deplorable. the floor, moreover, was revoltingly dirty. the good people were so kind as immediately to place one of their beds at my disposal; but i would rather have passed the night on the threshold of the door than in this disgusting hole. i chose for my lodging-place the narrow passage which separated the kitchen from the room; i found there a couple of blocks, across which a few boards had been laid, and this constituted the milk-room: it might have been more properly called the smoke-room; for in the roof were a few air-holes, through which the smoke escaped. in this smoke or milk-room--whichever it may be called--i prepared to pass the night as best i could. my cloak being wet through, i had been compelled to hang it on a stick to dry; and thus found myself under the necessity of borrowing a mattress from these unhealthy people. i laid myself down boldly, and pretended sleepiness, in order to deliver myself from the curiosity of my entertainers. they retired to their room, and so i was alone and undisturbed. but yet i could not sleep; the cold wind, blowing in upon me through the air-holes, chilled and wetted as i already was, kept me awake against my will. i had also another misfortune to endure. as often as i attempted to sit upright on my luxurious couch, my head would receive a severe concussion. i had forgotten the poles which are fixed across each of these antechambers, for the purpose of hanging up fish to dry, &c. unfortunately i could not bear this arrangement in mind until after i had received half a dozen salutations of this description. june 21st. at length the morning so long sighed for came; the rain had indeed ceased; but the clouds still hung about the mountains, and promised a speedy fall; i nevertheless resolved rather to submit myself to the fury of the elements than to remain longer in my present quarters, and so ordered the horses to be saddled. before my departure roast lamb and butter were offered me. i thanked my entertainers; but refrained from tasting any thing, excusing myself on the plea of not feeling hungry, which was in reality the case; for if i only looked at the dirty people who surrounded me, my appetite vanished instantly. so long as my stock of bread and cheese lasted, i kept to it, and ate nothing else. taking leave of my good hosts, we continued our journey to reikjavik, by the same road on which i had travelled on my journey hither. this had not been my original plan on starting from reikjavik; i had intended to proceed from thingvalla directly to the geyser, to hecla, &c.; but the horses were already exhausted, and the weather so dreadfully bad, without prospect of speedy amendment, that i preferred returning to reikjavik, and waiting for better times in my pleasant little room at the house of the good baker. we rode on as well as we could amidst ceaseless storms of wind and rain. the most disagreeable circumstance of all was our being obliged to spend the hours devoted to rest in the open air, under a by no means cloudless sky, as during our whole day's journey we saw not a single hut, save the solitary one in the lava desert, which serves as a resting-place for travellers during the winter. so we continued our journey until we reached a scanty meadow. here i had my choice either to walk about for two hours, or to sit down upon the wet grass. i could find nothing better to do than to turn my back upon the wind and rain, to remain standing on one spot, to have patience, and for amusement to observe the direction in which the clouds scudded by. at the same time i discussed my frugal meal, more for want of something to do than from hunger; if i felt thirsty, i had only to turn round and open my mouth. if there are natures peculiarly fitted for travelling, i am fortunate in being blessed with such an one. no rain or wind was powerful enough to give me even a cold. during this whole excursion i had tasted no warm or nourishing food; i had slept every night upon a bench or a chest; had ridden nearly 255 miles in six days; and had besides scrambled about bravely in the cavern of surthellir; and, in spite of all this privation and fatigue, i arrived at reikjavik in good health and spirits. short summary of this journey: miles first day, from reikjavik to 46 thingvalla second day, from thingvalla to 51 reikholt third day, from reikholt to the 19 different springs, and back again fourth day, from reikholt to 40 surthellir, and back to kalmannstunga fifth day, from kalmannstunga to 51 thingvalla sixth day, from thingvalla to 46 reikjavik total 253 chapter vi the weather soon cleared up, and i continued my journey to the geyser and to mount hecla on the 24th june. on the first day, when we rode to thingvalla, we passed no new scenery, but saw instead an extremely beautiful atmospheric phenomenon. [picture: the geysers] as we approached the lake, some thin mist-clouds lowered over it and over the earth, so that it seemed as if it would rain. one portion of the firmament glowed with the brightest blue; while the other part was obscured by thick clouds, through which the sun was just breaking. some of its rays reached the clouds of mist, and illuminated them in a wonderfully beautiful manner. the most delicate shades of colour seemed breathed, as it were, over them like a dissolving rainbow, whose glowing colours were intermingled and yet singly perceptible. this play of colours continued for half an hour, then faded gradually till it vanished entirely, and the ordinary atmosphere took its place. it was one of the most beautiful appearances i had ever witnessed. june 25th. the roads separate about a mile behind the little town of thingvalla; the one to the left goes to reikholt, the right-hand one leads to the geyser. we rode for some time along the shores of the lake, and found at the end of the valley an awful chasm in the rock, similar to the one of almanagiau, which we had passed on such a wretched road. the contiguous valley bore a great resemblance to that of thingvalla; but the third one was again fearful. lava covered it, and was quite overgrown with that whitish moss, which has a beautiful appearance when it only covers a portion of the lava, and when black masses rise above it, but which here presented a most monotonous aspect. we also passed two grottoes which opened at our feet. at the entrance of one stood a pillar of rock supporting an immense slab of lava, which formed an awe-inspiring portal. i had unfortunately not known of the existence of these caves, and was consequently unprepared to visit them. torches, at least, would have been requisite. but i subsequently heard that they were not at all deep, and contained nothing of interest. in the course of the day we passed through valleys such as i had seen nowhere else in iceland. beautiful meadow-lawns, perfectly level, covered the country for miles. these rich valleys were, of course, tolerably well populated; we frequently passed three or four contiguous cottages, and saw horses, cows, and sheep grazing on these fields in considerable numbers. the mountains which bounded these valleys on the left seemed to me very remarkable; they were partly brown, black, or dark blue, like the others; but the bulk of which they were composed i considered to be fine loam-soil layers, if i may trust my imperfect mineralogical knowledge. some of these mountains were topped by large isolated lava rocks, real giants; and it seemed inexplicable to me how they could stand on the soft soil beneath. in one of these valleys we passed a considerable lake, on and around which rose circling clouds of steam proceeding from hot springs, but of no great size. but after we had already travelled about twenty-five miles, we came to the most remarkable object i had ever met with; this was a river with a most peculiar bed. this river-bed is broad and somewhat steep; it consists of lava strata, and is divided lengthwise in the middle by a cleft eighteen to twenty feet deep, and fifteen to eighteen feet broad, towards which the bubbling and surging waters rush, so that the sound is heard at some distance. a little wooden bridge, which stands in the middle of the stream, and over which the high waves constantly play, leads over the chasm. any one not aware of the fact can hardly explain this appearance to himself, nor understand the noise and surging of the stream. the little bridge in the centre would be taken for the ruins of a fallen bridge, and the chasm is not seen from the shore, because the foaming waves overtop it. an indescribable fear would seize upon the traveller when he beheld the venturous guide ride into the stream, and was obliged to follow without pity or mercy. the priest of thingvalla had prepared me for the scene, and had advised me to _walk_ over the bridge; but as the water at this season stood so high that the waves from both sides dashed two feet above the bridge, i could not descend from my horse, and was obliged to ride across. the whole passage through the stream is so peculiar, that it must be seen, and can scarcely be described. the water gushes and plays on all sides with fearful force; it rushes into the chasm with impetuous violence, forms waterfalls on both sides, and breaks itself on the projecting rocks. not far from the bridge the cleft terminates; and the whole breadth of the waters falls over rocks thirty to forty feet high. the nearer we approached the centre, the deeper, more violent, and impetuous grew the stream, and the more deafening was the noise. the horses became restless and shy; and when we came to the bridge, they began to tremble, they reared, they turned to all sides but the right one, and refused to obey the bridle. with infinite trouble we at last succeeded in bringing them across this dangerous place. the valley which is traversed by this peculiar river is narrow, and quite enclosed by lava mountains and hills; the inanimate, silent nature around is perfectly adapted to imprint this scene for ever on the traveller's memory. this remarkable stream had been the last difficulty; and now we proceeded quietly and safely through the beautiful valleys till we approached the geyser, which a projecting hillock enviously concealed from my anxiously curious gaze. at last this hillock was passed; and i saw the geyser with its surrounding scenery, with its immense steam pillars, and the clouds and cloudlets rising from it. the hill was about two miles distant from the geyser and the other hot springs. there they were, boiling and bubbling all around, and through the midst lay the road to the basin. eighty paces from it we halted. and now i stood before the chief object of my journey; i saw it, it was so near me, and yet i did not venture to approach it. but a peasant who had followed us from one of the neighbouring cottages, and had probably guessed my anxiety and my fear, took me by the hand and constituted himself my cicerone. he had unfortunately, it being sunday, paid too great a devotion to the brandy-bottle, so that he staggered rather than walked, and i hesitated to trust myself to the guidance of this man, not knowing whether he had reason enough left to distinguish how far we might with safety venture. my guide, who had accompanied me from reikjavik, assured me indeed that i might trust him in spite of his intoxication, and that he would himself go with us to translate the peasant's icelandic jargon into danish; but nevertheless i followed with great trepidation. he led me to the margin of the basin of the great geyser, which lies on the top of a gentle elevation of about ten feet, and contains the outer and the inner basins. the diameter of the outer basin may be about thirty feet; that of the inner one six to seven feet. both were filled to the brim, the water was pure as crystal, but boiled and bubbled only slightly. we soon left this spot; for when the basins are quite filled with water it is very dangerous to approach them, as they may empty themselves any moment by an eruption. we therefore went to inspect the other springs. my unsteady guide pointed those out which we might unhesitatingly approach, and warned me from the others. then we returned to the great geyser, where he gave me some precautionary rules, in case of an intervening eruption, and then left me to prepare some accommodation for my stay. i will briefly enumerate the rules he gave me. "the pillar of water always rises perpendicularly, and the overflowing water has its chief outlets on one and the same side. the water does indeed escape on the other side, but only in inconsiderable quantities, and in shapeless little ducts, which one may easily evade. on this side one may therefore approach within forty paces even during the most violent eruptions. the eruption announces itself by a dull roaring; and as soon as this is heard, the traveller must hastily retire to the above-named distance, as the eruption always follows very quickly after the noise. the water, however, does not rise high every time, often only very inconsiderably, so that, to see a very fine explosion, it is often necessary to stay some days here." the french scholar, m. p. geimard, has provided for the accommodation of travellers with a truly noble disinterestedness. he traversed the whole of iceland some years ago and left two large tents behind him; one here, and the other in thingvalla. the one here is particularly appropriate, as travellers are frequently obliged, as stated above, to wait several days for a fine eruption. every traveller certainly owes m. geimard the warmest thanks for this convenience. a peasant, the same who guides travellers to the springs, has the charge of it, and is bound to pitch it for any one for a fee of one or two florins. when my tent was ready it was nearly eleven o'clock. my companions retired, and i remained alone. it is usual to watch through the night in order not to miss an eruption. now, although an alternate watching is no very arduous matter for several travellers, it became a very hard task for me alone, and an icelandic peasant cannot be trusted; an eruption of mount hecla would scarcely arouse him. i sat sometimes before and sometimes in my tent, and listened with anxious expectation for the coming events; at last, after midnight--the witching hour--i heard some hollow sounds, as if a cannon were being fired at a great distance, and its echoing sounds were borne by the breeze. i rushed from my tent and expected subterranean noises, violent cracking and trembling of the earth, according to the descriptions i had read. i could scarcely repress a slight sensation of fear. to be alone at midnight in such a scene is certainly no joke. many of my friends may remember my telling them, before my departure, that i expected i should need the most courage on my icelandic journey during the nights at the geyser. these hollow sounds were repeated, at very short intervals, thirteen times; and each time the basin overflowed and ejected a considerable quantity of water. the sounds did not seem to proceed from subterranean ragings, but from the violent agitation of the waters. in a minute and a half all was over; the water no longer overflowed, the caldron and basin remained filled, and i returned to my tent disappointed in every way. this phenomenon was repeated every two hours and a half, or, at the latest, every three hours and a half. i saw and heard nothing else all night, the next day, or the second night. i waited in vain for an eruption. when i had accustomed myself to these temporary effusions of my neighbour, i either indulged in a gentle slumber in the intermediate time, or i visited the other springs and explored. i wished to discover the boiling vapour and the coloured springs which many travellers assert they have seen here. all the hot-springs are united with a circumference of 800 to 900 paces: several of them are very remarkable, but the majority insignificant. they are situated in the angle of an immense valley at the foot of a hill, behind which extends a chain of mountains. the valley is entirely covered with grass, and the vegetation only decreases a little in the immediate vicinity of the springs. cottages are built every where in the neighbourhood; the nearest to the springs are only about 700 to 800 paces distant. i counted twelve large basins with boiling and gushing springs; of smaller ones there were many more. among the gushing springs the strokker is the most remarkable. it boils and bubbles with most extraordinary violence at a depth of about twenty feet, shoots up suddenly, and projects its waters into the air. its eruptions sometimes last half an hour, and the column occasionally ascends to a height of forty feet. i witnessed several of its eruptions; but unfortunately not one of the largest. the highest i saw could not have been above thirty feet, and did not last more than a quarter of an hour. the strokker is the only spring, except the geyser, which has to be approached with great caution. the eruptions sometimes succeed each other quickly, and sometimes cease for a few hours, and are not preceded by any sign. another spring spouts constantly, but never higher than three to four feet. a third one lies about four or five feet deep, in a rather broad basin, and produces only a few little bubbles. but this calmness is deceptive: it seldom lasts more than half a minute, rarely two or three minutes; then the spring begins to bubble, to boil, and to wave and spout to a height of two or three feet; without, however, reaching the level of the basin. in some springs i heard boiling and foaming like a gentle bellowing; but saw no water, sometimes not even steam, rising. two of the most remarkable springs which can perhaps be found in the world are situated immediately above the geyser, in two openings, which are separated by a wall of rock scarcely a foot wide. this partition does not rise above the surface of the soil, but descends into the earth; the water boils slowly, and has an equable, moderate discharge. the beauty of these springs consists in their remarkable transparency. all the varied forms and caves, the projecting peaks, and edges of rock, are visible far down, until the eye is lost in the depths of darkness. but the greatest beauty of the spring is the splendid colouring proceeding from the rock; it is of the tenderest, most transparent, pale blue and green, and resembles the reflection of a bengal flame. but what is most strange is, that this play of colour proceeds from the rock, and only extends eight to ten inches from it, while the other water is colourless as common water, only more transparent, and purer. i could not believe it at first, and thought it must be occasioned by the sun; i therefore visited the springs at different times, sometimes when the sun shone brightly, sometimes when it was obscured by clouds, once even after its setting; but the colouring always remained the same. one may fearlessly approach the brink of these springs. the platform which projects directly from them, and under which one can see in all directions, is indeed only a thin ledge of rock, but strong enough to prevent any accident. the beauty consists, as i have said, in the magical illumination, and in the transparency, by which all the caves and grottoes to the greatest depths become visible to the eye. involuntarily i thought of schiller's _diver_. {40} i seemed to see the goblet hang on the peaks and jags of the rock; i could fancy i saw the monsters rise from the bottom. it must be a peculiar pleasure to read this splendid poem in such an appropriate spot. i found scarcely any basins of brodem or coloured waters. the only one of the kind which i saw was a small basin, in which a brownish-red substance, rather denser than water, was boiling. another smaller spring, with dirty brown water, i should have quite overlooked, if i had not so industriously searched for these curiosities. at last, after long waiting, on the second day of my stay, on the 27th june, at half-past eight in the morning, i was destined to see an eruption of the geyser in its greatest perfection. the peasant, who came daily in the morning and in the evening to inquire whether i had already seen an eruption, was with me when the hollow sounds which precede it were again heard. we hastened out, and i again despaired of seeing any thing; the water only overflowed as usual, and the sound was already ceasing. but all at once, when the last sounds had scarcely died away, the explosion began. words fail me when i try to describe it: such a magnificent and overpowering sight can only be seen once in a lifetime. all my expectations and suppositions were far surpassed. the water spouted upwards with indescribable force and bulk; one pillar rose higher than the other; each seemed to emulate the other. when i had in some measure recovered from the surprise, and regained composure, i looked at the tent. how little, how dwarfish it seemed as compared to the height of these pillars of water! and yet it was about twenty feet high. it did, indeed, lie ten feet lower than the basin of the geyser; but if tent had been raised above tent, these ten feet could only be deducted once, and i calculated, though my calculation may not be correct, that one would need to pile up five or six tents to have the height of one of the pillars. without exaggeration, i think the largest spout rose above one hundred feet high, and was three to four feet in diameter. fortunately i had looked at my watch at the beginning of the hollow sounds, the forerunners of the eruption, for during its continuance i should probably have forgotten to do so. the whole lasted four minutes, of which the greater half must have been taken up by the eruption itself. when this wonderful scene was over, the peasant accompanied me to the basin. we could now approach it and the boiler without danger, and examine both at leisure. there was now nothing to fear; the water had entirely disappeared from the outer basin. we entered it and approached the inner basin, in which the water had sunk seven or eight feet, where it boiled and bubbled fiercely. with a hammer i broke some crust out of the outer as well as out of the inner basin; the former was white, the latter brown. i also tasted the water; it had not an unpleasant taste, and can only contain an inconsiderable proportion of sulphur, as the steam does not even smell of it. i went to the basin of the geyser every half hour to observe how much time was required to fill it again. after an hour i could still descend into the outer basin; but half an hour later the inner basin was already full, and commenced to overflow. as long as the water only filled the inner basin it boiled violently; but the higher it rose in the outer one, the less it boiled, and nearly ceased when the basin was filled: it only threw little bubbles here and there. after a lapse of two hours--it was just noon--the basin was filled nearly to the brim; and while i stood beside it the water began again to bubble violently, and to emit the hollow sounds. i had scarcely time to retreat, for the pillars of water rose immediately. this time they spouted during the noise, and were more bulky than those of the first explosion, which might proceed from their not rising so high, and therefore remaining more compact. their height may have been from forty to fifty feet. the basins this time remained nearly as full after the eruption as before. i had now seen two eruptions of the geyser, and felt amply compensated for my persevering patience and watchfulness. but i was destined to be more fortunate, and to experience its explosions in all their variety. the spring spouted again at seven o'clock in the evening, ascended higher than at noon, and brought up some stones, which looked like black spots and points in the white frothy water-column. and during the third night it presented itself under another phase: the water rose in dreadful, quickly-succeeding waves, without throwing rays; the basin overflowed violently, and generated such a mass of steam as is rarely seen. the wind accidentally blew it to the spot where i stood, and it enveloped me so closely that i could scarcely see a few feet off. but i perceived neither smell nor oppression, merely a slight degree of warmth. june 28th. as i had now seen the geyser play so often and so beautifully, i ordered my horses for nine o'clock this morning, to continue my journey. i made the more haste to leave, as a dutch prince was expected, who had lately arrived at reikjavik, with a large retinue, in a splendid man-of-war. i had the luck to see another eruption before my departure at half-past eight o'clock; and this one was nearly as beautiful as the first. this time also the outer basin was entirely emptied, and the inner one to a depth of six or seven feet. i could therefore again descend into the basin, and bid farewell to the geyser at the very brink of the crater, which, of course, i did. i had now been three nights and two days in the immediate vicinity of the geyser, and had witnessed five eruptions, of which two were of the most considerable that had ever been known. but i can assure my readers that i did not find every thing as i had anticipated it according to the descriptions and accounts i had read. i never heard a greater noise than i have mentioned, and never felt any trembling of the earth, although i paid the greatest attention to every little circumstance, and held my head to the ground during an eruption. it is singular how many people repeat every thing they hear from others--how some, with an over-excited imagination, seem to see, hear, and feel things which do not exist; and how others, again, tell the most unblushing falsehoods. i met an example of this in reikjavik, in the house of the apothecary moller, in the person of an officer of a french frigate, who asserted that he had "ridden to the very edge of the crater of mount vesuvius." he probably did not anticipate meeting any one in reikjavik who had also been to the crater of vesuvius. nothing irritates me so much as such falsehoods and boastings; and i could not therefore resist asking him how he had managed that feat. i told him that i had been there, and feared danger as little as he could do; but that i had been compelled to descend from my donkey near the top of the mountain, and let my feet carry me the remainder of the journey. he seemed rather embarrassed, and pretended he had meant to say _nearly_ to the crater; but i feel convinced he will tell this story so often that he will at last believe it himself. i hope i do not weary my readers by dwelling so long on the subject of the geyser. i will now vary the subject by relating a few circumstances that came under my notice, which, though trifling in themselves, were yet very significant. the most unimportant facts of an almost unknown country are often interesting, and are often most conclusive evidences of the general character of the nation. i have already spoken of my intoxicated guide. it is yet inexplicable to me how he could have conducted me so safely in such a semi-conscious state; and had he not been the only one, i should certainly not have trusted myself to his guidance. of the want of cleanliness of the icelanders, no one who has not witnessed it can have any idea; and if i attempted to describe some of their nauseous habits, i might fill volumes. they seem to have no feeling of propriety, and i must, in this respect, rank them as far inferior to the bedouins and arabs--even to the greenlanders. i can, therefore, not conceive how this nation could once have been distinguished for wealth, bravery, and civilisation. on this day i proceeded on my journey about twenty-eight miles farther to skalholt. for the first five miles we retraced our former road; then we turned to the left and traversed the beautiful long valley in which the geyser is situated. for many miles we could see its clouds of steam rising to the sky. the roads were tolerable only when they passed along the sides of hills and mountains; in the plains they were generally marshy and full of water. we sometimes lost all traces of a road, and only pushed on towards the quarter in which the place of our destination was situated; and feared withal to sink at every pace into the soft and unresisting soil. i found the indolence of the icelandic peasants quite unpardonable. all the valleys through which we passed were large morasses richly overgrown with grass. if the single parishes would unite to dig trenches and drain the soil, they would have the finest meadows. this is proved near the many precipices where the water has an outlet; in these spots the grass grows most luxuriantly, and daisies and herbs flourish there, and even wild clover. a few cottages are generally congregated on these oases. before arriving at the village of thorfastadir, we already perceived hecla surrounded by the beautiful jokuls. i arrived at thorfastadir while a funeral was going on. as i entered the church the mourners were busily seeking courage and consolation in the brandy-bottle. the law commands, indeed, that this be not done in the church; but if every one obeyed the law, what need would there be of judges? the icelanders must think so, else they would discontinue the unseemly practice. when the priest came, a psalm or a prayer--i could not tell which it was, being icelandic--was so earnestly shouted by peasants under the leadership of the priest and elders, that the good people waxed quite warm and out of breath. then the priest placed himself before the coffin, which, for want of room, had been laid on the backs of the seats, and with a very loud voice read a prayer which lasted more than half an hour. with this the ceremony within the church was concluded, and the coffin was carried round the church to the grave, followed by the priest and the rest of the company. this grave was deeper than any i had ever seen. when the coffin had been lowered, the priest threw three handfuls of earth upon it, but none of the mourners followed his example. among the earth which had been dug out of the grave i noticed four skulls, several human bones, and a board of a former coffin. these were all thrown in again upon the coffin, and the grave filled in presence of the priest and the people. one man trod the soil firm, then a little mound was made and covered with grass-plots which were lying ready. the whole business was completed with miraculous speed. the little town of skalholt, my station this night, was once as celebrated in religious matters as thingvalla had been politically famous. here, soon after the introduction of christianity, the first bishopric was founded in 1098, and the church is said to have been one of the largest and richest. now skalholt is a miserable place, and consists of three or four cottages, and a wretched wooden church, which may perhaps contain a hundred persons; it has not even its own priest, but belongs to thorfastadir. my first business on arriving was to inspect the yet remaining relics of past ages. first i was shewn an oil-picture which hangs in the church, and is said to represent the first bishop of skalholt, thorlakur, who was worshipped almost as a saint for his strict and pious life. after this, preparations were made to clear away the steps of the altar and several boards of the flooring. i stood expectantly looking on, thinking that i should now have to descend into a vault to inspect the embalmed body of the bishop. i must confess this prospect was not the most agreeable, when i thought of the approaching night which i should have to spend in this church, perhaps immediately over the grave of the old skeleton. i had besides already had too much to do with the dead for one day, and could not rid myself of the unpleasant grave-odour which i had imbibed in thorfastadir, and which seemed to cling to my dress and my nose. {41} i was therefore not a little pleased when, instead of the dreaded vault and mummy, i was only shewn a marble slab, on which were inscribed the usual notifications of the birth, death, &c. of this great bishop. besides this, i saw an old embroidered stole and a simple golden chalice, both of which are said to be relics of the age of thorlakar. then we ascended into the so-called store-room, which is only separated from the lower portion of the church by a few boards, and which extends to the altar. here are kept the bells and the organ, if the church possesses one, the provisions, and a variety of tools. they opened an immense chest for me there, which seemed to contain only large pieces of tallow made in the form of cheeses; but under this tallow i found the library, where i discovered an interesting treasure. this was, besides several very old books in the icelandic tongue, three thick folio volumes, which i could read very easily; they were german, and contained luther's doctrines, letters, epistles, &c. i had now seen all there was to be seen, and began to satisfy my physical wants by calling for some hot water to make coffee, &c. as usual, all the inhabitants of the place ranged themselves in and before the church, probably to increase their knowledge of the human race by studying my peculiarities. i soon, however, closed the door, and prepared a splendid couch for myself. at my first entrance into the church, i had noticed a long box, quite filled with sheep's wool. i threw my rugs over this, and slept as comfortably as in the softest bed. in the morning i carefully teased the wool up again, and no one could then have imagined where i had passed the night. nothing amused me more, when i had lodgings of this description, than the curiosity of the people, who would rush in every morning, as soon as i opened the door. the first thing they said to each other was always, "krar hefur hun sovid" (where can she have slept?). the good people could not conceive how it was possible to spend a night _alone_ in a church surrounded by a churchyard; they perhaps considered me an evil spirit or a witch, and would too gladly have ascertained how such a creature slept. when i saw their disappointed faces, i had to turn away not to laugh at them. june 29th. early the next morning i continued my journey. not far from skalholt we came to the river thiorsa, which is deep and rapid. we crossed in a boat; but the horses had to swim after us. it is often very troublesome to make the horses enter these streams; they see at once that they will have to swim. the guide and boatmen cannot leave the shore till the horses have been forced into the stream; and even then they have to throw stones, to threaten them with the whip, and to frighten them by shouts and cries, to prevent them from returning. when we had made nearly twelve miles on marshy roads, we came to the beautiful waterfall of the huitha. this fall is not so remarkable for its height, which is scarcely more than fifteen to twenty feet, as for its breadth, and for its quantity of water. some beautiful rocks are so placed at the ledge of the fall, that they divide it into three parts; but it unites again immediately beneath them. the bed of the river, as well as its shores, is of lava. the colour of the water is also a remarkable feature in this river; it inclines so much to milky white, that, when the sun shines on it, it requires no very strong imaginative power to take the whole for milk. nearly a mile above the fall we had to cross the huitha, one of the largest rivers in iceland. thence the road lies through meadows, which are less marshy than the former ones, till it comes to a broad stream of lava, which announces the vicinity of the fearful volcano of hecla. i had hitherto not passed over such an expanse of country in iceland as that from the geyser to this place without coming upon streams of lava. and this lava-stream seemed to have felt some pity for the beautiful meadows, for it frequently separated into two branches, and thus enclosed the verdant plain. but it could not withstand the violence of the succeeding masses; it had been carried on, and had spread death and destruction everywhere. the road to it, through plains covered with dark sand, and over steep hills intervening, was very fatiguing and laborious. we proceeded to the little village of struvellir, where we stopped to give our horses a few hours' rest. here we found a large assembly of men and animals. {42} it happened to be sunday, and a warm sunny day, and so a very full service was held in the pretty little church. when it was over, i witnessed an amusing rural scene. the people poured out of the church,--i counted ninety-six, which is an extraordinarily numerous assemblage for iceland,--formed into little groups, chatting and joking, not forgetting, however, to moisten their throats with brandy, of which they had taken care to bring an ample supply. then they bridled their horses and prepared for departure; now the kisses poured in from all sides, and there was no end of leave-taking, for the poor people do not know whether they shall ever meet again, and when. in all iceland welcome and farewell is expressed by a loud kiss,--a practice not very delightful for a non-icelander, when one considers their ugly, dirty faces, the snuffy noses of the old people, and the filthy little children. but the icelanders do not mind this. they all kissed the priest, and the priest kissed them; and then they kissed each other, till the kissing seemed to have no end. rank is not considered in this ceremony; and i was not a little surprised to see how my guide, a common farm-labourer, kissed the six daughters of a judge, or the wife and children of a priest, or a judge and the priest themselves, and how they returned the compliment without reserve. every country has its peculiar customs! the religious ceremonies generally begin about noon, and last two or three hours. there being no public inn in which to assemble, and no stable in which the horses can be fastened, all flock to the open space in front of the church, which thus becomes a very animated spot. all have to remain in the open air. when the service was over, i visited the priest, herr horfuson; he was kind enough to conduct me to the salsun, nine miles distant, principally to engage a guide to hecla for me. i was doubly rejoiced to have this good man at my side, as we had to cross a dangerous stream, which was very rapid, and so deep that the water rose to the horses' breasts. although we raised our feet as high as possible, we were yet thoroughly wet. this wading across rivers is one of the most unpleasant modes of travelling. the horse swims more than it walks, and this creates a most disagreeable sensation; one does not know whither to direct one's eyes; to look into the stream would excite giddiness, and the sight of the shore is not much better, for that seems to move and to recede, because the horse, by the current, is forced a little way down the river. to my great comfort the priest rode by my side to hold me, in case i should not be able to keep my seat. i passed fortunately through this probation; and when we reached the other shore, herr horfuson pointed out to me how far the current had carried us down the river. the valley in which salsun and the hecla are situated is one of those which are found only in iceland. it contains the greatest contrasts. here are charming fields covered with a rich green carpet of softest grass, and there again hills of black, shining lava; even the fertile plains are traversed by streams of lava and spots of sand. mount hecla notoriously has the blackest lava and the blackest sand; and it may be imagined how the country looks in its immediate neighbourhood. one hill only to the left of hecla is reddish brown, and covered with sand and stones of a similar colour. the centre is much depressed, and seems to form a large crater. mount hecla is directly united with the lava-mountains piled round it, and seems from the plain only as a higher point. it is surrounded by several glaciers, whose dazzling fields of snow descend far down, and whose brilliant plains have probably never been trod by human feet; several of its sides were also covered with snow. to the left of the valley near salsun, and at the foot of a lava-hill, lies a lovely lake, on whose shores a numerous flock of sheep were grazing. near it rises another beautiful hill, so solitary and isolated, that it looks as if it had been cast out by its neighbours and banished hither. indeed, the whole landscape here is so peculiarly icelandic, so strange and remarkable, that it will ever remain impressed on my memory. salsun lies at the foot of mount hecla, but is not seen before one reaches it. arrived at salsun, our first care was to seek a guide, and to bargain for every thing requisite for the ascension of the mountain. the guide was to procure a horse for me, and to take me and my former guide to the summit of hecla. he demanded five thaler and two marks (about fifteen shillings), a most exorbitant sum, on which he could live for a month. but what could we do? he knew very well that there was no other guide to be had, and so i was forced to acquiesce. when all was arranged, my kind companion left me, wishing me success on my arduous expedition. i now looked out for a place in which i could spend the night, and a filthy hole fell to my lot. a bench, rather shorter that my body, was put into it, to serve as my bed; beside it hung a decayed fish, which had infected the whole room with its smell. i could scarcely breathe; and as there was no other outlet, i was obliged to open the door, and thus receive the visits of the numerous and amiable inhabitants. what a strengthening and invigorating preparation for the morrow's expedition! at the foot of mount hecla, and especially in this village, every thing seems to be undermined. nowhere, not even on mount vesuvius, had i heard such hollow, droning sounds as here,--the echoes of the heavy footsteps of the peasants. these sounds made a very awful impression on me as i lay all night alone in that dark hole. my hecla guide, as i shall call him to distinguish him from my other guide, advised me to start at two o'clock in the morning, to which i assented, well knowing, however, that we should not have mounted our horses before five o'clock. as i had anticipated, so it happened. at half-past five we were quite prepared and ready for departure. besides bread and cheese, a bottle of water for myself, and one of brandy for my guides, we were also provided with long sticks, tipped with iron points to sound the depth of the snow, and to lean upon. we were favoured by a fine warm sunny morning, and galloped briskly over the fields and the adjoining plains of sand. my guide considered the fine weather a very lucky omen, and told me that m. geimard, the before-mentioned french scholar, had been compelled to wait three days for fine weather. nine years had elapsed, and no one had ascended the mountain since then. a prince of denmark, who travelled through iceland some years before, had been there, but had returned without effecting his purpose. our road at first led us through beautiful fields, and then over plains of black sand enclosed on all sides by streams, hillocks, and mountains of piled-up lava. closer and closer these fearful masses approach, and scarcely permit a passage through a narrow cleft; we had to climb over blocks and hills of lava, where it is difficult to find a firm resting-place for the foot. the lava rolled beside and behind us, and we had to proceed carefully not to fall or be hit by the rolling lava. but most dangerous were the chasms filled with snow over which we had to pass; the snow had been softened by the warmth of the season, so that we sank into it nearly every step, or, what was worse, slipped back more than we had advanced. i scarcely think there can be another mountain whose ascent offers so many difficulties. after a labour of about three hours and a half we neared the summit of the mountain, where we were obliged to leave our horses. i should, indeed, have preferred to do so long before, as i was apprehensive of the poor animals falling as they climbed over these precipices--one might almost call them rolling mountains--but my guide would not permit it. sometimes we came to spots where they were useful, and then he maintained that i must ride as far as possible to reserve my strength for the remaining difficulties. and he was right; i scarcely believe i should have been able to go through it on foot, for when i thought we were near the top, hills of lava again rose between us, and we seemed farther from our journey's end than before. my guide told me that he had never taken any one so far on horseback, and i can believe it. walking was bad enough--riding was fearful. at every fresh declivity new scenes of deserted, melancholy districts were revealed to us; every thing was cold and dead, every where there was black burnt lava. it was a painful feeling to see so much, and behold nothing but a stony desert, an immeasurable chaos. there were still two declivities before us,--the last, but the worst. we had to climb steep masses of lava, sharp and pointed, which covered the whole side of the mountain. i do not know how often i fell and cut my hands on the jagged points of the lava. it was a fearful journey! the dazzling whiteness of the snow contrasted with the bright black lava beside it had an almost blinding effect. when crossing fields of snow i did not look at the lava; for having tried to do so once or twice, i could not see my way afterwards, and had nearly grown snow-blind. [picture: hecla] after two hours' more labour we reached the summit of the mountain. i stood now on mount hecla, and eagerly sought the crater on the snowless top, but did not find it. i was the more surprised, as i had read detailed accounts of it in several descriptions of travel. i traversed the whole summit of the mountain and climbed to the adjoining jokul, but did not perceive an opening, a fissure, a depressed space, nor any sign of a crater. lower down in the sides of the mountain, but not in the real cone, i saw some clefts and fissures from which the streams of lava probably poured. the height of the mountain is said to be 4300 feet. during the last hour of our ascent the sun had grown dim. clouds of mist blown from the neighbouring glaciers enshrouded the hill-tops, and soon enveloped us so closely that we could scarcely see ten paces before us. at last they dissolved, fortunately not in rain but in snow, which profusely covered the black uneven lava. the snow remained on the ground, and the thermometer stood at one degree of cold. in a little while the clear blue sky once more was visible, and the sun again shone over us. i remained on the top till the clouds had separated beneath us, and afforded me a better distant view over the country. my pen is unfortunately too feeble to bring vividly before my readers the picture such as i beheld it here, and to describe to them the desolation, the extent and height of these lava-masses. i seemed to stand in a crater, and the whole country appeared only a burnt-out fire. here lava was piled up in steep inaccessible mountains; there stony rivers, whose length and breadth seemed immeasurable, filled the once-verdant fields. every thing was jumbled together, and yet the course of the last eruption could be distinctly traced. i stood there, in the centre of horrible precipices, caves, streams, valleys, and mountains, and scarcely comprehended how it was possible to penetrate so far, and was overcome with terror at the thought which involuntarily obtruded itself--the possibility of never finding my way again out of these terrible labyrinths. here, from the top of mount hecla, i could see far into the uninhabited country, the picture of a petrified creation, dead and motionless, and yet magnificent,--a picture which once seen can never again fade from the memory, and which alone amply compensates for all the previous troubles and dangers. a whole world of glaciers, lava-mountains, snow and ice-fields, rivers and lakes, into which no human foot has ever ventured to penetrate. how nature must have laboured and raged till these forms were created! and is it over now? has the destroying element exhausted itself; or does it only rest, like the hundred-headed hydra, to break forth with renewed strength, and desolate those regions which, pushed to the verge of the sea-shore, encircle the sterile interior as a modest wreath? i thank god that he has permitted me to behold this chaos in his creation; but i thank him more heartily that he has placed me to dwell in regions where the sun does more than merely give light; where it inspires and fertilises animals and plants, and fills the human heart with joy and thankfulness towards its creator. {43} the westmann isles, which are said to be visible from the top of hecla, i could not see; they were probably covered by clouds. during the ascent of the hecla i had frequently touched lava,--sometimes involuntarily, when i fell; sometimes voluntarily, to find a hot or at least a warm place. i was unfortunate enough only to find cold ones. the falling snow was therefore most welcome, and i looked anxiously around to see a place where the subterranean heat would melt it. i should then have hastened thither and found what i sought. but unfortunately the snow remained unmelted every where. i could neither see any clouds of smoke, although i gazed steadily at the mountain for hours, and could from my post survey it far down the sides. as we descended we found the snow melting at a depth of 500 to 600 feet; lower down, the whole mountain smoked, which i thought was the consequence of the returning warmth of the sun, for my thermometer now stood at nine degrees of heat. i have noticed the same circumstance often on unvolcanic mountains. the spots from which the smoke rose were also cold. the smooth jet-black, bright, and dense lava is only found on the mountain itself and in its immediate vicinity. but all lava is not the same: there is jagged, glassy, and porous lava; the former is black, and so is the sand which covers one side of hecla. the farther the lava and sand are from the mountain, the more they lose this blackness, and their colour plays into iron-colour and even into light-grey; but the lighter-coloured lava generally retains the brightness and smoothness of the black lava. after a troublesome descent, having spent twelve hours on this excursion, we arrived safely at salsun; and i was on the point of returning to my lodging, somewhat annoyed at the prospect of spending another night in such a hole, when my guide surprised me agreeably by the proposition to return to struvellir at once. the horses, he said, were sufficiently rested, and i could get a good room there in the priest's house. i soon packed, and in a short time we were again on horseback. the second time i came to the deep rangaa, i rode across fearlessly, and needed no protection at any side. such is man: danger only alarms him the first time; when he has safely surmounted it once, he scarcely thinks of it the second time, and wonders how he can have felt any fear. i saw five little trees standing in a field near the stream. the stems of these, which, considering the scarcity of trees in iceland, may be called remarkable phenomena, were crooked and knotty, but yet six or seven feet high, and about four or five inches in diameter. as my guide had foretold, i found a very comfortable room and a good bed in the priest's house. herr horfuson is one of the best men i have ever met with. he eagerly sought opportunities for giving me pleasure, and to him i owe several fine minerals and an icelandic book of the year 1601. may god reward his kindness and benevolence! july 1st. we retraced our steps as far as the river huitha, over which we rowed, and then turned in another direction. our journey led us through beautiful valleys, many of them producing abundance of grass; but unfortunately so much moss grew among it, that these large plains were not available for pastures, and only afforded comfort to travellers by their aspect of cheerfulness. they were quite dry. the valley in which hjalmholm, our resting-place for this night, was situated, is traversed by a stream of lava, which had, however, been modest enough not to fill up the whole valley, but to leave a space for the pretty stream elvas, and for some fields and hillocks, on which many cottages stood. it was one of the most populous valleys i had seen in iceland. hjalmholm is situated on a hill. in it lives the sysselmann of the rangaar district, in a large and beautiful house such as i saw no where in iceland except in reikjavik. he had gone to the capital of the island as member of the allthing; but his daughters received me very hospitably and kindly. we talked and chatted much; i tried to display my knowledge of the danish language before them, and must often have made use of curious phrases, for the girls could not contain their laughter. but that did not abash me; i laughed with them, applied to my dictionary, which i carried with me, and chatted on. they seemed to gather no very high idea of the beauty of my countrywomen from my personal appearance; for which i humbly crave the forgiveness of my countrywomen, assuring them that no one regrets the fact more than i do. but dame nature always treats people of my years very harshly, and sets a bad example to youth of the respect due to age. instead of honouring us and giving us the preference, she patronises the young folks, and every maiden of sixteen can turn up her nose at us venerable matrons. besides my natural disqualifications, the sharp air and the violent storms to which i had been subjected had disfigured my face very much. they had affected me more than the burning heat of the east. i was very brown, my lips were cracked, and my nose, alas, even began to rebel against its ugly colour. it seemed anxious to possess a new, dazzling white, tender skin, and was casting off the old one in little bits. the only circumstance which reinstated me in the good opinion of the young girls was, that having brushed my hair unusually far out of my face, a white space became visible. the girls all cried out simultaneously, quite surprised and delighted: "hun er quit" (she is white). i could not refrain from laughing, and bared my arm to prove to them that i did not belong to the arab race. a great surprise was destined me in this house; for, as i was ransacking the sysselmann's book-case, i found rotteck's universal history, a german lexicon, and several poems and writings of german poets. july 2d. the way from kalmannstunga to thingvalla leads over nothing but lava, and the one to-day went entirely through marshes. as soon as we had crossed one, another was before us. lava seemed to form the soil here, for little portions of this mineral rose like islands out of the marshes. the country already grew more open, and we gradually lost sight of the glaciers. the high mountains on the left seemed like hills in the distance, and the nearer ones were really hills. after riding about nine miles we crossed the large stream of elvas in a boat, and then had to tread carefully across a very long, narrow bank, over a meadow which was quite under water. if a traveller had met us on this bank, i do not know what we should have done; to turn round would have been as dangerous as to sink into the morass. fortunately one never meets any travellers in iceland. beyond the dyke the road runs for some miles along the mountains and hills, which all consist of lava, and are of a very dark, nearly black colour. the stones on these hills were very loose; in the plain below many colossal pieces were lying, which must have fallen down; and many others threatened to fall every moment. we passed the dangerous spot safely, without having had to witness such a scene. i often heard a hollow sound among these hills; i at first took it for distant thunder, and examined the horizon to discover the approaching storm. but when i saw neither clouds nor lightning, i perceived that i must seek the origin of the sounds nearer, and that they proceeded from the falling portions of rock. the higher mountains to the left fade gradually more and more from view; but the river elvas spreads in such a manner, and divides into so many branches, that one might mistake it for a lake with many islands. it flows into the neighbouring sea, whose expanse becomes visible after surmounting a few more small hills. the vale of reikum, which we now entered, is, like that of reikholt, rich in hot springs, which are congregated partly in the plain, partly on or behind the hills, in a circumference of between two and three miles. when we had reached the village of reikum i sent my effects at once to the little church, took a guide, and proceeded to the boiling springs. i found very many, but only two remarkable ones; these, however, belong to the most noteworthy of their kind. the one is called the little geyser, the other the bogensprung. the little geyser has an inner basin of about three feet diameter. the water boils violently at a depth of from two to three feet, and remains within its bounds till it begins to spout, when it projects a beautiful voluminous steam of from 20 to 30 feet high. at half-past eight in the evening i had the good fortune to see one of these eruptions, and needed not, as i had done at the great geyser, to bivouac near it for days and nights. the eruption lasted some time, and was tolerably equable; only sometimes the column of water sank a little, to rise to its former height with renewed force. after forty minutes it fell quite down into the basin again. the stones we threw in, it rejected at once, or in a few seconds, shivered into pieces, to a height of about 12 to 15 feet. its bulk must have been 1 to 1.5 feet in diameter. my guide assured me that this spring generally plays only twice, rarely thrice, in twenty-four hours, and not, as i have seen it stated, every six minutes. i remained near it till midnight, but saw no other eruption. this spring very much resembles the strukker near the great geyser, the only difference being that the water sinks much lower in the latter. the second of the two remarkable springs, the arched spring, is situated near the little geyser, on the declivity of a hill. i had never seen such a curious formation for the bed of a spring as this is. it has no basin, but lies half open at your feet, in a little grotto, which is separated into various cavities and holes, and which is half-surrounded by a wall of rock bending over it slightly at a height of about 2 feet, and then rises 10 to 12 feet higher. this spring never is at rest more than a minute; then it begins to rise and boil quickly, and emits a voluminous column, which, striking against the projecting rock, is flattened by it, and rises thence like an arched fan. the height of this peculiarly-spread jet of water may be about 12 feet, the arch it describes 15 to 20 feet, and its breadth 3 to 8 feet. the time of eruption is often longer than that of repose. after an eruption the water always sinks a few feet into the cave, and for 15 or 20 seconds admits of a glance into this wonderful grotto. but it rises again immediately, fills the grotto and the basin, which is only a continuation of the grotto, and springs again. i watched this miraculous play of nature for more than an hour, and could not tear myself from it. this spring, which is certainly the only one of its kind, gratified me much more than the little geyser. there is another spring called the roaring geyser; but it is nothing more than a misshapen hole, in which one hears the water boil, but cannot see it. the noise is, also, not at all considerable. july 3d. near reikum we crossed a brook into which all the hot springs flow, and which has a pretty fall. we then ascended the adjoining mountain, and rode full two hours on the high plain. the plain itself was monotonous, as it was only covered with lava-stones and moss, but the prospect into the valley was varied and beautiful. vale and sea were spread before me, and i saw the westmann islands, with their beautiful hills, which the envious clouds had concealed from me on the hecla, lying in the distance. below me stood some houses in the port-town, eierbach, and near them the waters of the elvas flow into the sea. at the end of this mountain-level a valley was situated, which was also filled with lava, but with that jagged black lava which presents such a beautiful appearance. immense streams crossed it from all sides, so that it almost resembled a black lake separated from the sea by a chain of equally black mountains. we descended into this sombre vale through piles of lava and fields of snow, and went on through valleys and chasms, over fields of lava, plains of meadow-land, past dark mountains and hills, till we reached the chief station of my icelandic journey, the town of reikjavik. the whole country between reikum and reikjavik, a distance of 45 to 50 miles, is, for the most part, uninhabited. here and there, in the fields of lava, stand little pyramids of the same substance, which serve as landmarks; and there are two houses built for such persons as are obliged to travel during the winter. but we found much traffic on the road, and often overtook caravans of 15 to 20 horses. being the beginning of august, it was the time of trade and traffic in iceland. then the country people travel to reikjavik from considerable distances, to change their produce and manufactures, partly for money, partly for necessaries and luxuries. at this period the merchants and factors have not hands enough to barter the goods or close the accounts which the peasants wish to settle for the whole year. at this season an unusual commotion reigns in reikjavik. numerous groups of men and horses fill the streets; goods are loaded and unloaded; friends who have not met for a year or more welcome each other, others take leave. on one spot curious tents {44} are erected, before which children play; on another drunken men stagger along, or gallop on horseback, so that one is terrified, and fears every moment to see them fall. this unusual traffic unfortunately only lasts six or eight days. the peasant hastens home to his hay-harvest; the merchant must quickly regulate the produce and manufactures he has purchased, and load his ships with them, so that they may sail and reach their destination before the storms of the autumnal equinox. miles. from reikjavik to thingvalla is 45 from thingvalla to the geyser 36 from the geyser to skalholt 28 from skalholt to salsun 36 from salsun to struvellir 9 from struvellir to hjalmholm 28 from hjalmholm to reikum 32 from reikum to reikjavik 45 259 chapter vii during my travels in iceland i had of course the opportunity of becoming acquainted with its inhabitants, their manners and customs. i must confess that i had formed a higher estimate of the peasants. when we read in the history of that country that the first inhabitants had emigrated thither from civilised states; that they had brought knowledge and religion with them; when we hear of the simple good-hearted people, and their patriarchal mode of life in the accounts of former travellers, and which we know that nearly every peasant in iceland can read and write, and that at least a bible, but generally other religions books also, are found in every cot,--one feels inclined to consider this nation the best and most civilised in europe. i deemed their morality sufficiently secured by the absence of foreign intercourse, by their isolated position, and the poverty of the country. no large town there affords opportunity for pomp or gaiety, or for the commission of smaller or greater sins. rarely does a foreigner enter the island, whose remoteness, severe climate, inhospitality, and poverty, are uninviting. the grandeur and peculiarity of its natural formation alone makes it interesting, and that does not suffice for the masses. i therefore expected to find iceland a real arcadia in regard to its inhabitants, and rejoiced at the anticipation of seeing such an idyllic life realised. i felt so happy when i set foot on the island that i could have embraced humanity. but i was soon undeceived. i have often been impatient at my want of enthusiasm, which must be great, as i see every thing in a more prosaic form than other travellers. i do not maintain that my view is _right_, but i at least possess the virtue of describing facts as i see them, and do not repeat them from the accounts of others. i have already described the impoliteness and heartlessness of the so-called higher classes, and soon lost the good opinion i had formed of them. i now came to the working classes in the vicinity of reikjavik. the saying often applied to the swiss people, "no money, no swiss," one may also apply to the icelanders. and of this fact i can cite several examples. scarcely had they heard that i, a foreigner, had arrived, than they frequently came to me, and brought quite common objects, such as can be found any where in iceland, and expected me to pay dearly for them. at first i purchased from charity, or to be rid of their importunities, and threw the things away again; but i was soon obliged to give this up, as i should else have been besieged from morning to night. their anxiety to gain money without labour annoyed me less than the extortionate prices with which they tried to impose on a stranger. for a beetle, such as could be found under every stone, they asked 5 kr. (about 2d.); as much for a caterpillar, of which thousands were lying on the beach; and for a common bird's egg, 10 to 20 kr. (4d. to 8d.) of course, when i declined buying, they reduced their demand, sometimes to less than half the original sum; but this was certainly not in consequence of their honesty. the baker in whose house i lodged also experienced the selfishness of these people. he had engaged a poor labourer to tar his house, who, when he had half finished his task, heard of other employment. he did not even take the trouble to ask the baker to excuse him for a few days; he went away, and did not return to finish the interrupted work for a whole week. this conduct was the more inexcusable as his children received bread, and even butter, twice a week from the baker. i was fortunate enough to experience similar treatment. herr knudson had engaged a guide for me, with whom i was to take my departure in a few days. but it happened that the magistrate wished also to take a trip, and sent for my guide. the latter expected to be better paid by him, and went; he did not come to me to discharge himself, but merely sent me word on the eve of my departure, that he was ill, and could therefore not go with me. i could enumerate many more such examples, which do not much tend to give a high estimate of icelandic morality. i consoled myself with the hope of finding simplicity and honesty in the more retired districts, and therefore anticipated a twofold pleasure from my journey into the interior. i found many virtues, but unfortunately so many faults, that i am no longer inclined to exalt the icelandic peasants as examples. the best of their virtues is their honesty. i could leave my baggage unguarded any where for hours, and never missed the least article, for they did not even permit their children to touch any thing. in this point they are so conscientious, that if a peasant comes from a distance, and wishes to rest in a cottage, he never fails to knock at the door, even if it is open. if no one calls "come in," he does not enter. one might fearlessly sleep with open doors. crimes are of such rare occurrence here, that the prison of reikjavik was changed into a dwelling-house for the chief warden many years since. small crimes are punished summarily, either in reikjavik or at the seat of the sysselmann. criminals of a deeper dye are sent to copenhagen, and are sentenced and punished there. my landlord at reikjavik, the master-baker bernhoft, told me that only one crime had been committed in iceland during the thirteen years that he had resided there. this was the murder of an illegitimate child immediately after its birth. the most frequently occurring crime is cow-stealing. i was much surprised to find that nearly all the icelanders can read and write. the latter quality only was somewhat rarer with the women. youths and men often wrote a firm, good hand. i also found books in every cottage, the bible always, and frequently poems and stories, sometimes even in the danish language. they also comprehend very quickly; when i opened my map before them, they soon understood its use and application. their quickness is doubly surprising, if we consider that every father instructs his own children, and sometimes the neighbouring orphans. this is of course only done in the winter; but as winter lasts eight months in iceland, it is long enough. there is only one school in the whole island, which originally was in bessestadt, but has been removed to reikjavik since 1846. in this school only youths who can read and write are received, and they are either educated for priests, and may complete their studies here, or for doctors, apothecaries, or judges, when they must complete their studies in copenhagen. besides theology, geometry, geography, history, and several languages, such as latin, danish, and, since 1846, german and also french, are taught in the school of reikjavik. the chief occupation of the icelandic peasants consists in fishing, which is most industriously pursued in february, march, and april. then the inhabitants of the interior come to the coasting villages and hire themselves to the dwellers on the beach, the real fishermen, as assistants, taking a portion of the fish as their wages. fishing is attended to at other times also, but then exclusively by the real fishermen. in the months of july and august many of the latter go into the interior and assist in the hay-harvest, for which they receive butter, sheep's wool, and salt lamb. others ascend the mountains and gather the iceland moss, of which they make a decoction, which they drink mixed with milk, or they grind it to flour, and bake flat cakes of it, which serve them in place of bread. the work of the women consists in the preparation of the fish for drying, smoking, or salting; in tending the cattle, in knitting, sometimes in gathering moss. in winter both men and women knit and weave. as regards the hospitality of the icelanders, {45} i do not think one can give them so very much credit for it. it is true that priests and peasants gladly receive any european traveller, and treat him to every thing in their power; but they know well that the traveller who comes to their island is neither an adventurer nor a beggar, and will therefore pay them well. i did not meet one peasant or priest who did not accept the proffered gift without hesitation. but i must say of the priests that they were every where obliging and ready to serve me, and satisfied with the smallest gift; and their charges, when i required horses for my excursions, were always moderate. i only found the peasant less interested in districts where a traveller scarcely ever appeared; but in such places as were more visited, their charges were often exorbitant. for example, i had to pay 20 to 30 kr. (8d. to 1s.) for being ferried over a river; and then my guide and i only were rowed in the boat, and the horses had to swim. the guide who accompanied me on the hecla also overcharged me; but he knew that i was forced to take him, as there is no choice of guides, and one does not give up the ascent for the sake of a little money. this conduct shows that the character of the icelanders does not belong to the best; and that they take advantage of travellers with as much shrewdness as the landlords and guides on the continent. a besetting sin of the icelanders is their drunkenness. their poverty would probably not be so great if they were less devoted to brandy, and worked more industriously. it is dreadful to see what deep root this vice has taken. not only on sundays, but also on week-days, i met peasants who were so intoxicated that i was surprised how they could keep in their saddle. i am, however, happy to say that i never saw a woman in this degrading condition. another of their passions is snuff. they chew and snuff tobacco with the same infatuation as it is smoked in other countries. but their mode of taking it is very peculiar. most of the peasants, and even many of the priests, have no proper snuff-box, but only a box turned of bone, shaped like a powder-flask. when they take snuff, they throw back their head, insert the point of the flask in their nose, and shake a dose of tobacco into it. they then, with the greatest amiability, offer it to their neighbour, he to his, and so it goes round till it reaches the owner again. i think, indeed, that the icelanders are second to no nation in uncleanliness; not even to the greenlanders, esquimaux, or laplanders. if i were to describe a portion only of what i experienced, my readers would think me guilty of gross exaggeration; i prefer, therefore, to leave it to their imagination; merely saying that they cannot conceive any thing too dirty for iceland delicacy. beside this very estimable quality, they are also insuperably lazy. not far from the coast are immense meadows, so marshy that it is dangerous to cross them. the fault lies less in the soil than the people. if they would only make ditches, and thus dry the ground, they would have the most splendid grass. that this would grow abundantly is proved by the little elevations which rise from above the marshes, and which are thickly covered with grass, herbage, and wild clover. i also passed large districts covered with good soil, and some where the soil was mixed with sand. i frequently debated with herr boge, who has lived in iceland for forty years, and is well versed in farming matters, whether it would not be possible to produce important pasture-grounds and hay-fields with industry and perseverance. he agreed with me, and thought that even potato-fields might be reclaimed, if only the people were not so lazy, preferring to suffer hunger and resign all the comforts of cleanliness rather than to work. what nature voluntarily gives, they are satisfied with, and it never occurs to them to force more from her. if a few german peasants were transported hither, what a different appearance the country would soon have! the best soil in iceland is on the norderland. there are a few potato-grounds there, and some little trees, which, without any cultivation, have reached a height of seven to eight feet. herr boge, established here for thirty years, had planted some mountain-ash and birch-trees, which had grown to a height of sixteen feet. in the norderland, and every where except on the coast, the people live by breeding cattle. many a peasant there possesses from two to four hundred sheep, ten to fifteen cows, and ten to twelve horses. there are not many who are so rich, but at all events they are better off than the inhabitants of the sea-coast. the soil there is for the most part bad, and they are therefore nearly all compelled to have recourse to fishing. before quitting iceland, i must relate a tradition told me by many icelanders, not only by peasants, but also by people of the so-called higher classes, and who all implicitly believe it. it is asserted that the inhospitable interior is likewise populated, but by a peculiar race of men, to whom alone the paths through these deserts are known. these savages have no intercourse with their fellow-countrymen during the whole year, and only come to one of the ports in the beginning of july, for one day at the utmost, to buy several necessaries, for which they pay in money. they then vanish suddenly, and no one knows in which direction they are gone. no one knows them; they never bring their wives or children with them, and never reply to the question whence they come. their language, also, is said to be more difficult than that of the other inhabitants of iceland. one gentleman, whom i do not wish to name, expressed a wish to have the command of twenty to twenty-five well-armed soldiers, to search for these wild men. the people who maintain that they have seen these children of nature, assert that they are taller and stronger than other icelanders; that their horses' hoofs, instead of being shod earth iron, have shoes of horn; and that they have much money, which they can only have acquired by pillage. when i inquired what respectable inhabitants of iceland had been robbed by these savages, and when and where, no one could give me an answer. for my part, i scarcely think that one man, certainly not a whole race, could live by pillage in iceland. departure from iceland.--journey to copenhagen. i had seen all there was to be seen in iceland, had finished all my excursions, and awaited with inexpressible impatience the sailing of the vessel which was destined to bring me nearer my beloved home. but i had to stay four very long weeks in reikjavik, my patience being more exhausted from day to day, and had after this long delay to be satisfied with the most wretched accommodation. the delay was the more tantalising, as several ships left the port in the mean time, and herr knudson, with whom i had crossed over from copenhagen, invited me to accompany him on his return; but all the vessels went to england or to spain, and i did not wish to visit either of these countries. i was waiting for an opportunity to go to scandinavia, to have at least a glance at these picturesque districts. at last there were two sloops which intended to sail towards the end of july. the better of the two went to altona; the destination of the other was copenhagen. i had intended to travel in the former; but a merchant of reikjavik had already engaged the only berth,--for there rarely is more than one in such a small vessel,--and i deemed myself lucky to obtain the one in the other ship. herr bernhoft thought, indeed, that the vessel might be too bad for such a long journey, and proposed to examine it, and report on its condition. but as i had quite determined to go to denmark, i requested him to waive the examination, and agree with the captain about my passage. if, as i anticipated, he found the vessel too wretched, his warnings might have shaken my resolution, and i wished to avoid that contingency. we heard, soon, that a young danish girl, who had been in service in iceland, wished to return by the same vessel. she had been suffering so much from home-sickness, that she was determined, under any circumstances, to see her beloved fatherland again. if, thought i to myself, the home-sickness is powerful enough to make this girl indifferent to the danger, longing must take its place in my breast and effect the same result. our sloop bore the consolatory name of haabet (hope), and belonged to the merchant fromm, in copenhagen. our departure had been fixed for the 26th of july, and after that day i scarcely dared to leave my house, being in constant expectation of a summons on board. violent storms unfortunately prevented our departure, and i was not called till the 29th of july, when i had to bid farewell to iceland. this was comparatively easy. although i had seen many wonderful views, many new and interesting natural phenomena, i yet longed for my accustomed fields, in which we do not find magnificent and overpowering scenes, but lovelier and more cheerful ones. the separation from herr knudson and the family of bernhoft was more difficult. i owed all the kindness i had experienced in the island, every good advice and useful assistance in my travels, only to them. my gratitude to these kind and good people will not easily fade from my heart. at noon i was already on board, and had leisure to admire all the gay flags and streamers with which the french frigate anchoring here had been decked, to celebrate the anniversary of the july revolution. i endeavoured to turn my attention as much as possible to exterior objects, and not to look at our ship, for all that i had involuntarily seen had not impressed me very favourably. i determined also not to enter the cabin till we were in the open sea and the pilots had left our sloop, so that all possibility of return would be gone. our crew consisted of captain, steersman, two sailors, and a cabin-boy, who bore the title of cook; we added that of valet, as he was appointed to wait on us. when the pilots had left us, i sought the entrance of the cabin,--the only, and therefore the common apartment. it consisted of a hole two feet broad, which gaped at my feet, and in which a perpendicular ladder of five steps was inserted. i stood before it puzzled to know which would be the best mode of descent, but knew no other way than to ask our host the captain. he shewed it me at once, by sitting at the entrance and letting his feet down. let the reader imagine such a proceeding with our long dresses, and, above all, in bad weather, when the ship was pitched about by storms. but the thought that many other people are worse off, and can get on, was always the anchor of consolation to which i held; i argued with myself that i was made of the same stuff as other human beings, only spoiled and pampered, but that i could bear what they bore. in consequence of this self-arguing, i sat down at once, tried the new sliding-ladder, and arrived below in safety. i had first to accustom my eyes to the darkness which reigned here, the hatches being constructed to admit the light very sparingly. i soon, however, saw too much; for all was raggedness, dirt, and disorder. but i will describe matters in the order in which they occurred to me; for, as i flatter myself that many of my countrywomen will in spirit make this journey with me, and as many of them probably never had the opportunity of being in such a vessel, i wish to describe it to them very accurately. all who are accustomed to the sea will testify that i have adhered strictly to the truth. but to return to the sloop. its age emulated mine, she being a relic of the last century. at that time little regard was paid to the convenience of passengers, and the space was all made available for freight; a fact which cannot surprise us, as the seaman's life is passed on deck, and the ship was not built for travellers. the entire length of the cabin from one berth to the other was ten feet; the breadth was six feet. the latter space was made still narrower by a box on one side, and by a little table and two little seats on the other, so that only sufficient space remained to pass through. at dinner or supper, the ladies--the danish girl and myself--sat on the little benches, where we were so squeezed, that we could scarcely move; the two cavaliers--the captain and the steersman--were obliged to stand before the table, and eat their meals in that position. the table was so small that they were obliged to hold their plates in their hands. in short, every thing shewed the cabin was made only for the crew, not for the passengers. the air in this enclosure was also not of the purest; for, besides that it formed our bed-room, dining-room, and drawing-room, it was also used as store-room, for in the side cupboards provisions of various kinds were stored, also oil-colours, and a variety of other matter. i preferred to sit on the deck, exposed to the cold and the storm, or to be bathed by a wave, than to be half stifled below. sometimes, however, i was obliged to descend, either when rain and storms were too violent, or when the ship was so tossed by contrary winds that the deck was not safe. the rolling and pitching of our little vessel was often so terrible, that we ladies could neither sit nor stand, and were therefore obliged to lie down in the miserable berths for many a weary day. how i envied my companion! she could sleep day and night, which i could not. i was nearly always awake, much to my discomfort; for the hatches and the entrance were closed during the storm, and an egyptian darkness, as well as a stifling atmosphere, filled the cabin. in regard to food, all passengers, captain and crew, ate of the same dish. the morning meal consisted of miserable tea, or rather of nauseous water having the colour of tea. the sailors imbibed theirs without sugar, but the captain and the steersman took a small piece of candied sugar, which does not melt so quickly as the refined sugar, in their mouth, and poured down cup after cup of tea, and ate ship's biscuit and butter to it. the dinner fare varied. the first day we had salt meat, which is soaked the evening before, and boiled the next day in sea-water. it was so salt, so hard, and so tough, that only a sailor's palate can possibly enjoy it. instead of soup, vegetables, and pudding, we had pearl-barley boiled in water, without salt or butter; to which treacle and vinegar was added at the dinner-table. all the others considered this a delicacy, and marvelled at my depraved taste when i declared it to be unpalatable. the second day brought a piece of bacon, boiled in sea-water, with the barley repeated. on the third we had cod-fish with peas. although the latter were boiled hard and without butter, they were the most eatable of all the dishes. on the fourth day the bill of fare of the first was repeated, and the same course followed again. at the end of every dinner we had black coffee. the supper was like the breakfast,--tea-water, ship's biscuit and butter. i wished to have provided myself with some chickens, eggs, and potatoes in reikjavik, but i could not obtain any of these luxuries. very few chickens are kept--only the higher officials or merchants have them; eggs of eider-ducks and other birds may often be had, but more are never collected than are wanted for the daily supply, and then only in spring; for potatoes the season was not advanced enough. my readers have now a picture of the luxurious life i led on board the ship. had i been fortunate enough to voyage in a better vessel, where the passengers are more commodiously lodged and better fed, the seasickness would certainly not have attacked me; but in consequence of the stifling atmosphere of the cabin and the bad food, i suffered from it the first day. but on the second i was well again, regained my appetite, and ate salt meat, bacon, and peas as well as a sailor; the stockfish, the barley, and the coffee and tea, i left untouched. a real sailor never drinks water; and this observation of mine was confirmed by our captain and steersman: instead of beer or wine, they took tea, and, except at meals, cold tea. on sunday evenings we had a grand supper, for the captain had eight eggs, which he had brought from denmark, boiled for us four people. the crew had a few glasses of punch-essence mixed in their tea. as my readers are now acquainted with the varied bill of fare in such a ship, i will say a few words of the table-linen. this consisted only of an old sailcloth, which was spread over the table, and looked so dirty and greasy that i thought it would be much better and more agreeable to leave the table uncovered. but i soon repented the unwise thought, and discovered how important this cloth was. one morning i saw our valet treating a piece of sailcloth quite outrageously: he had spread it upon the deck, stood upon it, and brushed it clean with the ship's broom. i recognised our tablecloth by the many spots of dirt and grease, and in the evening found the table bare. but what was the consequence? scarcely had the tea-pot been placed on the table than it began to slip off; had not the watchful captain quickly caught it, it would have fallen to the ground and bathed our feet with its contents. nothing could stand on the polished table, and i sincerely pitied the captain that he had not another tablecloth. my readers will imagine that what i have described would have been quite sufficient to make my stay in the vessel any thing but agreeable; but i discovered another circumstance, which even made it alarming. this was nothing less than that our little vessel was constantly letting in a considerable quantity of water, which had to be pumped out every few hours. the captain tried to allay my uneasiness by asserting that every ship admitted water, and ours only leaked a little more because it was so old. i was obliged to be content with his explanation, as it was now too late to think of a change. fortunately we did not meet with any storms, and therefore incurred less danger. our journey lasted twenty days, during twelve of which we saw no land; the wind drove us too far east to see the feroe or the shetland isles. i should have cared less for this, had i seen some of the monsters of the deep instead, but we met with scarcely any of these amiable animals. i saw the ray of water which a whale emitted from his nostrils, and which exactly resembled a fountain; the animal itself was unfortunately too far from our ship for us to see its body. a shark came a little nearer; it swam round our vessel for a few moments, so that i could easily look at him: it must have been from sixteen to eighteen feet long. the so-called flying-fish afforded a pretty sight. the sea was as calm as a mirror, the evening mild and moonlight; and so we remained on deck till late, watching the gambols of these animals. as far as we could see, the water was covered with them. we could recognise the younger fishes by their higher springs; they seemed to be three to four feet long, and rose five to six feet above the surface of the sea. their leaping looked like an attempt at flying, but their gills did not do them good service in the trial, and they fell back immediately. the old fish did not seem to have the same elasticity; they only described a small arch like the dolphins, and only rose so far above the water that we could see the middle part of their body. these fish are not caught; they have little oil, and an unpleasant taste. on the thirteenth day we again saw land. we had entered the skagerrak, and saw the peninsula of jutland, with the town of skaggen. the peninsula looks very dreary from this side; it is flat and covered with sand. on the sixteenth day we entered the cattegat. for some time past we had always either been becalmed or had had contrary winds, and had been tossed about in the skagerrak, the cattegat, and the sound for nearly a week. on some days we scarcely made fifteen to twenty leagues a day. on such calm days i passed the time with fishing; but the fish were wise enough not to bite my hook. i was daily anticipating a dinner of mackerel, but caught only one. the multitude of vessels sailing into the cattegat afforded me more amusement; i counted above seventy. the nearer we approached the entrance of the sound, the more imposing was the sight, and the more closely were the vessels crowded together. fortunately we were favoured by a bright moonlight; in a dark or stormy night we should not with the greatest precaution and skill have been able to avoid a collision. the inhabitants of more southern regions have no idea of the extraordinary clearness and brilliancy of a northern moonlight night; it seems almost as if the moon had borrowed a portion of the sun's lustre. i have seen splendid nights on the coast of asia, on the mediterranean; but here, on the shores of scandinavia, they were lighter and brighter. i remained on deck all night; for it pleased me to watch the forests of masts crowded together here, and endeavouring simultaneously to gain the entrance to the sound. i should now be able to form a tolerable idea of a fleet, for this number of ships must surely resemble a merchant-fleet. on the twentieth day of our journey we entered the port of helsingor. the sound dues have to be paid here, or, as the sailor calls it, the ship must be cleared. this is a very tedious interruption, and the stopping and restarting of the ship very incommodious. the sails have to be furled, the anchor cast, the boat lowered, and the captain proceeds on shore; hours sometimes elapse before he has finished. when he returns to the ship, the boat has to be hoisted again, the anchor raised, and the sails unfurled. sometimes the wind has changed in the mean time; and in consequence of these formalities, the port of copenhagen cannot be reached at the expected time. if a ship is unfortunate enough to reach helsingor on a dark night, she may not enter at all for fear of a collision. she has to anchor in the cattegat, and thus suffer two interruptions. if she arrives at helsingor in the night before four o'clock, she has to wait, as the custom-house is not opened till that time. the skipper is, however, at liberty to proceed direct to copenhagen, but this liberty costs five thalers (fifteen shillings). if, however, the toll may thus be paid in copenhagen just as easily, the obligation to stop at helsingor is only a trick to gain the higher toll; for if a captain is in haste, or the wind is too favourable to be lost, he forfeits the five thalers, and sails on to copenhagen. our captain cared neither for time nor trouble; he cleared the ship here, and so we did not reach copenhagen until two o'clock in the afternoon. after my long absence, it seemed so familiar, so beautiful and grand, as if i had seen nothing so beautiful in my whole life. my readers must bear in mind, however, where i came from, and how long i had been imprisoned in a vessel in which i scarcely had space to move. when i put foot on shore again, i could have imitated columbus, and prostrated myself to kiss the earth. departure from copenhagen.--christiania. on the 19th august, the day after my arrival from iceland, at two o'clock in the afternoon, i had already embarked again; this time in the fine royal norwegian steamer _christiania_, of 170 horsepower, bound for the town of christiania, distant 304 sea-miles from copenhagen. we had soon passed through the sound and arrived safely in the cattegat, in which we steered more to the right than on the journey to iceland; for we not only intended to see norway and sweden, but to cast anchor on the coast. we could plainly see the fine chain of mountains which bound the cattegat on the right, and whose extreme point, the kulm, runs into the sea like a long promontory. lighthouses are erected here, and on the other numerous dangerous spots of the coast, and their lights shine all around in the dark night. some of the lights are movable, and some stationary, and point out to the sailor which places to avoid. august 20th. bad weather is one of the greatest torments of a traveller, and is more disagreeable when one passes through districts remarkable for beauty and originality. both grievances were united to-day; it rained, almost incessantly; and yet the passage of the swedish coast and of the little fiord to the port of gottenburg was of peculiar interest. the sea here was more like a broad stream which is bounded by noble rocks, and interspersed by small and large rocks and shoals, over which the waters dashed finely. near the harbour, some buildings lie partly on and partly between the rocks; these contain the celebrated royal swedish iron-foundry, called the new foundry. even numerous american ships were lying here to load this metal. {46} the steamer remains more than four hours in the port of gottenburg, and we had therefore time to go into the town, distant about two miles, and whose suburbs extend as far as the port. on the landing-quay a captain lives who has always a carriage and two horses ready to drive travellers into the town. there are also one-horse vehicles, and even an omnibus. the former were already engaged; the latter, we were told, drives so slowly, that nearly the whole time is lost on the road; so i and two travelling companions hired the captain's carriage. the rain poured in torrents on our heads; but this did not disturb us much. my two companions had business to transact, and curiosity attracted me. i did not at that time know that i should have occasion to visit this pretty little town again, and would not leave without seeing it. the suburbs are built entirely of wood, and contain many pretty one-story houses, surrounded, for the most part, by little gardens. the situation of the suburbs is very peculiar. rocks, or little fields and meadows, often lie between the houses; the rocks even now and then cross the streets, and had to be blasted to form a road. the view from one of the hills over which the road to the town lies is truly beautiful. the town has two large squares: on the smaller one stands the large church; on the larger one the town-hall, the post-office, and many pretty houses. in the town every thing is built of bricks. the river ham flows through the large square, and increases the traffic by the many ships and barks running into it from the sea, and bringing provisions, but principally fuel, to market. several bridges cross it. a visit to the well-stocked fish-market is also an interesting feature in a short visit to this town. i entered a swedish house for the first time here. i remarked that the floor was strewed over with the fine points of the fir-trees, which had an agreeable odour, a more healthy one probably than any artificial perfume. i found this custom prevalent all over sweden and norway, but only in hotels and in the dwellings of the poorer classes. about eleven o'clock in the forenoon we continued our journey. we steered safely through the many rocks and shoals, and soon reached the open sea again. we did not stand out far from the shore, and saw several telegraphs erected on the rocks. we soon lost sight of denmark on the left, and arrived at the fortress friedrichsver towards evening, but could not see much of it. here the so-called scheren begin, which extend sixty leagues, and form the christian's sound. by what i could see in the dim twilight, the scene was beautiful. numerous islands, some merely consisting of bare rocks, others overgrown with slender pines, surrounded us on all sides. but our pilot understood his business perfectly, and steered us safely through to sandesund, spite of the dark night. here we anchored, for it would have been too dangerous to proceed. we had to wait here for the steamer from bergen, which exchanged passengers with us. the sea was very rough, and this exchange was therefore extremely difficult to effect. neither of the steamers would lower a boat; at last our steamer gave way, after midnight, and the terrified and wailing passengers were lowered into it. i pitied them from my heart, but fortunately no accident happened. august 21st i could see the situation of sandesund better by day; and found it to consist only of a few houses. the water is so hemmed in here that it scarcely attains the breadth of a stream; but it soon widens again, and increases in beauty and variety with every yard. we seemed to ride on a beautiful lake; for the islands lie so close to the mountains in the background, that they look like a continent, and the bays they form like the mouths of rivers. the next moment the scene changes to a succession of lakes, one coming close on the other; and when the ship appears to be hemmed in, a new opening is suddenly presented to the eye behind another island. the islands themselves are of a most varied character: some only consist of bare rocks, with now and then a pine; some are richly covered with fields and groves; and the shore presents so many fine scenes, that one hardly knows where to look in order not to miss any of the beauties of the scenery. here are high mountains overgrown from the bottom to the summit with dark pine-groves; there again lovely hills, with verdant meadows, fertile fields, pretty farmsteads and yards; and on another side the mountains separate and form a beautiful perspective of precipices and valleys. sometimes i could follow the bend of a bay till it mingled with the distant clouds; at others we passed the most beautiful valleys, dotted with little villages and towns. i cannot describe the beauties of the scenery in adequate terms: my words are too weak, and my knowledge too insignificant; and i can only give an idea of my emotions, but not describe them. near walloe the country grows less beautiful; the mountains decrease into hills, and the water is not studded with islands. the little town itself is almost concealed behind the hills. a remarkable feature is the long row of wooden huts and houses adjoining, which all belong to a salt-work established there. we entered one of the many little arms of the sea to reach the town of moss. its situation is beautiful, being built amphi-theatrically on a hillock which leans against a high mountain. a fine building on the sea-shore, whose portico rests upon pillars, is used for a bathing institution. a dock-yard, in which men-of-war are built at the expense of the state, is situated near the town of horten, which is also picturesquely placed. there does not seem to be much work doing here, for i only saw one ship lying at anchor, and none on the stocks. about eight leagues beyond horten a mountain rises in the middle of the sea, and divides it into two streams, uniting again beyond it, and forming a pretty view. we did not see christiania till we were only ten leagues from it. the town, the suburbs, the fortress, the newly-erected royal palace, the freemasons' lodge, &c., lie in a semicircle round the port, and are bounded by fields, meadows, woods, and hills, forming a delightful _coup-d'oeil_. it seems as if the sea could not part from such a lovely view, and runs in narrow streams, through hills and plains, to a great distance beyond the town. towards eleven o'clock in the forenoon we reached the port of christiania. we had come from sandesund in seven hours, and had stopped four times on the way; but the boats with new-comers, with merchandise and letters, had always been ready, had been received, and we had proceeded without any considerable delay. chapter viii my first care on arriving in this town was to find a countrywoman of mine who had been married to a lawyer here. it is said of the viennese that they cannot live away from their stephen's steeple; but here was a proof of the contrary, for there are few couples living so happily as these friends, and yet they were nearly one thousand miles from st. stephen's steeple. {47} i passed through the whole town on the way from the quay to the hotel, and thence to my friend. the town is not large, and not very pretty. the newly-built portion is the best, for it at least has broad, tolerably long streets, in which the houses are of brick, and sometimes large. in the by-streets i frequently found wooden barracks ready to fall. the square is large, but irregular; and as it is used as a general market-place, it is also very dirty. [picture: christiania] in the suburbs the houses are mostly built of wood. there are some rather pretty public buildings; the finest among them are the royal castle and the fortress. they are built on little elevations, and afford a beautiful view. the old royal palace is in the town, but not at all distinguishable from a common private house. the house in which the storthing {48} assembles is large, and its portico rests on pillars; but the steps are of wood, as in all stone houses in scandinavia. the theatre seemed large enough for the population; but i did not enter it. the freemasons' lodge is one of the most beautiful buildings in the town; it contains two large saloons, which are used for assemblies or festivities of various kinds, besides serving as the meeting-place of the freemasons. the university seemed almost too richly built; it is not finished yet, but is so beautiful that it would be an ornament to the largest capital. the butchers' market is also very pretty. it is of a semi-circular shape, and is surrounded by arched passages, in which the buyers stand, sheltered from the weather. the whole edifice is built of bricks, left in their natural state, neither stuccoed with mortar nor whitewashed. there are not many other palaces or fine public buildings, and most of the houses are one-storied. one of the features of the place--a custom which is of great use to the traveller, and prevails in all scandinavian towns--is, that the names of the streets are affixed at every corner, so that the passer-by always knows where he is, without the necessity of asking his way. open canals run through the town; and on such nights as the almanac announces a full or bright moon the streets are not lighted. wooden quays surround the harbour, on which several large warehouses, likewise built of wood, are situated; but, like most of the houses, they are roofed with tiles. the arrangement and display of the stores are simple, and the wares very beautiful, though not of home manufacture. very few factories exist here, and every thing has to be imported. i was much shocked at the raggedly-clad people i met every where in the streets; the young men especially looked very ragged. they rarely begged; but i should not have been pleased to meet them alone in a retired street. i was fortunate enough to be in christiania at the time when the storthing was sitting. this takes place every three years; the sessions commence in january or february, and usually last three months; but so much business had this time accumulated, that the king proposed to extend the length of the session. to this fortunate accident i owed the pleasure of witnessing some of the meetings. the king was expected to close the proceedings in september. {49} the hall of meeting is long and large. four rows of tapestried seats, one rising above the other, run lengthways along the hall, and afford room for eighty legislators. opposite the benches a table stands on a raised platform, and at this table the president and secretary sit. a gallery, which is open to the public, runs round the upper portion of the hall. although i understood but little of the norwegian language, i attended the meetings daily for an hour. i could at least distinguish whether long or short speeches were made, or whether the orator spoke fluently. unfortunately, the speakers i heard spoke the few words they mustered courage to deliver so slowly and hesitatingly, that i could not form a very favourable idea of norwegian eloquence. i was told that the storthing only contained three or four good speakers, and they did not display their talents during my stay. i have never seen such a variety of carriages as i met with here. the commonest and most incommodious are called carriols. a carriol consists of a narrow, long, open box, resting between two immensely high wheels, and provided with a very small seat. you are squeezed into this contrivance, and have to stretch your feet forward. you are then buckled in with a leather apron as high as the hips, and must remain in this position, without moving a limb, from the beginning to the end of your ride. a board is hung on behind the box for the coachman; and from this perch he, in a kneeling or standing position, directs the horses, unless the temporary resident of the box should prefer to take the reins himself. as it is very unpleasant to hear the quivering of the reins on one side and the smacking of the whip on the other, every one, men and women, can drive. besides these carriols, there are phaetons, droschkas, but no closed vehicles. the carts which are used for the transport of beer are of a very peculiar construction. the consumption of beer in christiania is very great, and it is at once bottled when made, and not sold in casks. the carts for the transport of these bottles consist of roomy covered boxes a foot and a half high, which are divided into partitions like a cellaret, in which many bottles can be easily and safely transported from one part to another. another species of basket, which the servants use to carry such articles as are damp or dirty, and which my readers will excuse my describing, is made of fine white tin, and provided with a handle. straw baskets are only used for bread, and for dry and clean provisions. there are no public gardens or assemblies in christiania, but numerous promenades; indeed, every road from the town leads to the most beautiful scenery, and every hill in the neighbourhood affords the most delightful prospects. ladegardoen is the only spot which is often resorted to by the citizens by carriage or on foot. it affords many and splendid views of the sea and its islands, of the surrounding mountains, valleys, and pine and fir groves. the majority of the country-houses are built here. they are generally small, but pretty, and surrounded by flower-gardens and orchards. while there, i seemed to be far in the south, so green and verdant was the scenery. the corn-fields alone betrayed the north. not that the corn was poor; on the contrary, i found many ears bending to the ground under their weight; but now, towards the end of august, most of it was standing uncut in the fields. near the town stands a pine-grove, from which one has splendid views; two monuments are raised in it, but neither of them are of importance: one is raised to the memory of a crown-prince of sweden, christian augustus; the other to count hermann wenel jarlsberg. journey to delemarken. all i had hitherto seen in norway had gratified me so much, that i could not resist the temptation of a journey to the wildly romantic regions of delemarken. i was indeed told that it would be a difficult undertaking for a female, alone and almost entirely ignorant of the language, to make her way through the peasantry. but i found no one to accompany me, and was determined to go; so i trusted to fate, and went alone. according to the inquires i had instituted in respect to this journey, i anticipated that my greatest difficulties would arise from the absence of all institutions for the speedy and comfortable progress of travellers. one is forced to possess a carriage, and to hire horses at every station. it is sometimes possible to hire a vehicle, but this generally consists only of a miserable peasant's cart. i hired, therefore, a carriol for the whole journey, and a horse to the next station, the townlet of drammen, distant about twenty-four miles. on the 25th august, at three o'clock in the afternoon, i left christiania, squeezed myself into my carriage, and, following the example of norwegian dames, i seized the reins. i drove as if i had been used to it from infancy. i turned right and left, and my horse galloped and trotted gaily on. the road to drammen is exquisite, and would afford rich subjects for an artist. all the beauties of nature are here combined in most perfect harmony. the richness and variety of the scenery are almost oppressive, and would be an inexhaustible subject for the painter. the vegetation is much richer than i had hoped to find it so far north; every hill, every rock, is shaded by verdant foliage; the green of the meadows was of incomparable freshness; the grass was intermingled with flowers and herbs, and the corn-fields bent under their golden weight. i have been in many countries, and have seen beautiful districts; i have been in switzerland, in tyrol, in italy, and in salzburg; but i never saw such peculiarly beautiful scenery as i found here: the sea every where intruding and following us to drammen; here forming a lovely lake on which boats were rocking, there a stream rushing through hills and meadows; and then again, the splendid expanse dotted with proud three-masters and with countless islets. after a five hours' ride through rich valleys and splendid groves, i reached the town of drammen, which lies on the shores of the sea and the river storri elf, and whose vicinity was announced by the beautiful country-houses ornamenting the approach to it. a long, well-built wooden bridge, furnished with beautiful iron palisadings, leads over the river. the town of drammen has pretty streets and houses, and above 6000 inhabitants. the hotel where i lodged was pretty and clean. my bedroom was a large room, with which the most fastidious might have been contented. the supper which they provided for me was, however, most frugal, consisting only of soft-boiled eggs. they gave me neither salt nor bread with them, nor a spoon; nothing but a knife and fork. and it is a mystery to me how soft eggs can be eaten without bread, and with a knife and fork. august 25th. i hired a fresh horse here, with which i proceeded to kongsberg, eighteen miles farther. the first seven miles afforded a repetition of the romantic scenery of the previous day, with the exception of the sea. but instead i had the beautiful river, until i had ascended a hill, from whose summit i overlooked a large and apparently populous valley, filled with groups of houses and single farms. it is strange that there are very few large towns in norway; every peasant builds his house in the midst of his fields. beyond this hill the scenery grows more monotonous. the mountains are lower, the valley narrower, and the road is enclosed by wood or rocks. one peculiarity of norwegian rocks is their humidity. the water penetrates through countless fissures, but only in such small quantities as to cover the stones with a kind of veil. when the sun shines on these wet surfaces of rock, of which there are many and large ones, they shine like mirrors. delemarken seems to be tolerably populous. i often met with solitary peasant-huts in the large gloomy forests, and they gave some life to the monotonous landscape. the industry of the norwegian peasant is very great; for every spot of earth, even on the steepest precipices, bore potatoes, barley, or oats; their houses also look cheerful, and were painted for the most part of a brick-red colour. i found the roads very good, especially the one from christiania to drammen; and the one from drammen to kongsberg was not very objectionable. there is such an abundance of wood in norway, that the streets on each side are fenced by wooden enclosures; and every field and meadow is similarly protected against the intrusion of cattle, and the miserable roads through the woods are even covered with round trunks of trees. the peasantry in this district have no peculiar costume; only the head-covering of the females is curious. they wear a lady's hat, such as was fashionable in the last century, ornamented with a bunch behind, and with an immense shade in front. they are made of any material, generally of the remains of old garments; and only on sundays better ones, and sometimes even silk ones, make their appearance. in the neighbourhood of kongsberg this head-dress is no longer worn. there they wear little caps like the suabian peasantry, petticoats commencing under the shoulders, and very short spencers: a very ugly costume, the whole figure being spoilt by the short waist. the town of kongsberg is rather extended, and is beautifully situated on a hill in the centre of a splendid wooded valley. it is, like all the towns in norway except christiania, built of wood; but it has many pretty, neat houses and some broad streets. the stream storri elf flows past the town, and forms a small but very picturesque waterfall a little below the bridge. what pleased me most was the colour of the water as it surged over the rock. it was about noon as i drove across the bridge; the sun illuminated the whole country around, and the waves breaking against the rocks seemed by this light of a beautiful pale-yellow colour, so that they resembled thick masses of pure transparent amber. two remarkable sights claimed my attention at kongsberg,--a rich silver-mine, and a splendid waterfall called the labrafoss. but as my time was limited and i could only remain a few hours in kongsberg, i preferred to see the waterfall and believe the accounts of the silver-mine; which were, that the deepest shaft was eight hundred feet below the surface, and that it was most difficult to remain there, as the cold, the smoke, and the powder-smell had a very noxious effect on the traveller accustomed to light and air. i therefore hired a horse and drove to the fall, which is situated in a narrow pass about four miles from kongsberg. the river collects in a quiet calm basin a little distance above the fall, and then rushes over the steep precipice with a sudden bound. the considerable depth of the fall and the quality of water make it a very imposing sight. this is increased by a gigantic rock planted like a wall in the lower basin, and opposing its body to the progress of the hurrying waters. the waves rebound from the rock, and, collecting in mighty masses, rush over it, forming several smaller waterfalls in their course. i watched it from a high rock, and was nevertheless covered by the spray to such a degree, that i sometimes could scarcely open my eyes. my guide then took me to the lower part of the fall, so that i might have a view of it from all sides; and each view seemed different and more splendid. i perceived the same yellow transparent colour which i had remarked in the fall at kongsberg in the waters which dashed over the rock and were illuminated by the sun. i imagine it arises from the rock, which is every where of a brownish-red colour, for the water itself was clear and pure. at four o'clock in the afternoon i left kongsberg, and drove to bolkesoe, a distance of eighteen miles. it was by no means a beautiful or an agreeable drive; for the road was very bad, and took me through passes and valleys, across woods and over steep mountains, while the night was dark and unilluminated by the moon. the thought involuntarily entered my mind, how easily my guide, who sat close behind me on the vehicle, could put me out of the world by a gentle blow, and take possession of my effects. but i had confidence in the upright character of the norwegians, and drove on quietly, devoting my attention entirely to the reins of my little steed, which i had to lead with a sure hand over hill and valley, over ruts and stones, and along precipices. i heard no sound but the rushing of the mountain-river, which leaped, close beside us, over the rocks, and was heard rushing in the far distance. we did not arrive at bolkesoe until ten o'clock at night. when we stopped before an insignificant-looking peasant's cot, and i remembered my icelandic night-accommodations, whose exterior this resembled, my courage failed me; but i was agreeably disappointed when the peasant's wife led me up a broad staircase into a large clean chamber furnished with several good beds, some benches, a table, a box, and an iron stove. i found equal comforts on all the stations of my journey. there are no proper hotels or posthouses on the little-frequented norwegian roads; but the wealthy peasants undertake the duties of both. i would, however, advise every traveller to provide himself with bread and other provisions for the trip; for his peasant-host rarely can furnish him with these. his cows are on the hills during the summer; fowls are far too great a luxury for him; and his bread is scarcely eatable: it consists of large round cakes, scarcely half an inch thick, and very hard; or of equally large cakes scarcely as thick as a knife, and quite dry. the only eatables i found were fish and potatoes; and whenever i could stay for several hours, they fetched milk for me from the hills. the travelling conveniences are still more unattainable; but these i will mention in a future chapter, when my experience will be a little more extensive. august 26th. i could not see the situation of the town of bolkesoe till daylight to-day, for when i arrived the darkness of night concealed it. it is situated in a pretty wooded vale, on a little hill at whose foot lies a beautiful lake of the same name. the road from here to tindosoe, about sixteen miles, is not practicable for vehicles, and i therefore left my carriol here and proceeded on horseback. the country grows more quiet and uninhabited, and the valleys become real chasms. two lakes of considerable size form an agreeable variety to the wildness of the scenery. the larger one, called the foelsoe, is of a regular form, and above two miles in diameter; it is encircled by picturesque mountains. the effect of the shadows which the pine-covered mountain-tops throw on the lakes is particularly attractive. i rode along its shores for more than an hour, and had leisure to see and examine every thing very accurately, for the horses here travel at a very slow pace. the reason of this is partly that the guide has no horse, and walks beside you in a very sleepy manner; the horse knows its master's peculiarities by long experience, and is only too willing to encourage him in his slow, dull pace. i spent more than five hours in reaching tindosoe. my next object of interest was the celebrated waterfall of rykanfoss, to reach which we had to cross a large lake. although it had rained incessantly for an hour, and the sky looked threatening, i at once hired a boat with two rowers to continue my journey without interruption; for i anticipated a storm, and then i should not have found a boatman who would have ventured a voyage of four or five hours on this dangerous lake. in two hours my boat was ready, and i started in the pouring rain, but rejoiced at least at the absence of fog, which would have concealed the beauties of nature which surrounded me. the lake is eighteen miles long, but in many parts only from two to three miles wide. it is surrounded by mountains, which rise in terraces without the least gap to admit a distant view. as the mountains are nearly all covered with dark fir-groves, and overshadow the whole breadth of the narrow lake, the water seems quite dark, and almost black. this lake is dangerous to navigate on account of the many rocks rising perpendicularly out of the water, which, in a storm, shatter a boat dashed against them to pieces, and the passengers would find an inevitable grave in the deep waters. we had a flesh and a favourable breeze, which blew us quickly to our destination. one of the rocks on the coast has a very loud echo. an island about a mile long divides the lake into equal parts; and when we had passed it, the landscape became quite peculiar. the mountains seemed to push before each other, and try whose foot should extend farthest into the sea. this forms numerous lovely bays; but few of them are adapted for landing, as the dangerous rocks seem to project every where. the little dots of field and meadow which seem to hang against the rock, and the modest cottages of the peasants, which are built on the points of the most dangerous precipices, and over which rocks and stones tower as mountains, present a very curious appearance. the most fearful rocks hang over the huts, and threaten to crush them by falling, which would inevitably carry cottage and field with them into the sea. it is difficult to say whether the boldness or the stupidity of the peasants induces them to choose such localities for their dwellings. from the mountains many rivers flow into the lake, and form beautiful falls. this might only have been the case at that time, because it was raining incessantly, and the water poured down from all sides, so that the mountains seemed embroidered with silver threads. it was a beautiful sight; but i would willingly have relinquished it for a day of sunshine. it is no trifle to be exposed to such a shower-bath from morning till night; i was wet through, and had no hope for better weather, as the sky was clouded all round. my perseverance was nearly exhausted; and i was on the point of relinquishing the purpose of my journey,--the sight of the highest norwegian waterfall,--when it occurred to me that the bad weather was most favourable for my plan, as each drop of water would increase the splendour of the waterfall. after three hours and a half's rowing we reached haukaness-am-see, where it is usual to stop a night as there is a pretty farm here, and the distance from the fall is still considerable. august 27th. my first care in the morning was the weather; it was unchanged, and the experienced peasants prophesied that it would remain wet. as i would not return nor wait for better weather, i could only take to my boat again, put on my half-dried cloak, and row on boldly. the termination of the lake, which we soon reached, was already sufficient to compensate for my perseverance. a high mountain advances into the lake, and divides it into two beautiful bays. we entered the left bay, and landed at mael, which lies at the mouth of the river rykaness. the distance from haukaness is a little more than two miles. i had to mount a horse to reach the waterfall, which was yet eleven miles distant. the road runs through a narrow valley, which gradually narrows still more until it can only contain the river; and the traveller is obliged to ascend the heights and grope on along the sides of the mountains. below in the vale he sees the foam of the waves surging against the rocks; they flow like a narrow band of silver in the deep chasm. sometimes the path is so high that one neither sees nor hears the river. the last half mile has to be journeyed on foot, and goes past spots which are really dangerous; numerous waterfalls rush from the mountain-sides, and have to be crossed on paths of tree-trunks laid alongside each other; and roads scarcely a foot wide lead along giddy precipices. but the traveller may trust unhesitatingly to his guide's arm, who has hitherto led every one in safety to his destination. the road from haukaness to the waterfall must be the finest that can be imagined on a bright sunny day; for i was enchanted with the wildly-romantic scenery in spite of the incessant rain and my wet clothes, and would on no consideration have missed this sight. unfortunately the bad weather increased, and thick fogs rolled down into the valleys. the water flowed down from the mountains, and transformed our narrow path into a brook, through which we had to wade ankle-deep in water. at last we reached the spot which afforded the best view of the fall. it was yet free from mist, and i could still admire the extraordinary beauty of the fall and its quantity of water. i saw the immense mountain-rock which closes the valley, the tremendous pillar of water which dashes over it, and rebounds from the rock projecting in the centre of the fall, filling the whole valley with clouds of spray, and concealing the depth to which it descends. i saw this, one of the rarest and of the most magnificent of natural beauties; but alas, i saw it only for a moment, and had scarcely time to recover from the surprise of the first view when i lost it for ever! i was not destined to see the single grandeurs of the fall and of the surrounding scenery, and was fain to be content with one look, one glance. impenetrable mists rolled from all sides into the wild glen, and shrouded every thing in complete darkness; i sat on a piece of rock, and gazed for two hours stedfastly at the spot where a faint outline of the fall was scarcely distinguishable through the mist sometimes this faint trace even was lost, and i could perceive its vicinity only by the dreadful sounds of the fall, and by the trembling of the rock beneath my feet. after i had gazed, and hoped, and raised my eyes entreatingly to heaven for a single ray of sunshine, all in vain, i had at last to determine on my return. i left my post almost with tears in my eyes, and turned my head more backwards than forwards as we left the spot. at the least indication of a clearing away of the fog i should have returned. but i retired farther and farther from it till i reached mael again, where i sadly entered my boat, and proceeded uninterruptedly to tindosoe. i arrived there towards ten o'clock at night. the wet, the cold, the want of food, and, above all, the depressed and disappointed state of my mind, had so affected me, that i went to bed with a slight attack of fever, and feared that i should not be able to continue my journey on the following day. but my strong constitution triumphed over every thing, and at five o'clock in the morning i was ready to continue my journey to bolkesoe on horseback. i was obliged to hurry for fear of missing the departure of the steamer from christiania. the journey to delemarken had been represented to me as much shorter than i found it in reality; for the constant waiting for horses, boats, guides, &c. takes up very much time. august 28th. i had ordered my horse to be ready at five o'clock, but was obliged to wait for it until seven o'clock. although i made only a short trip into the interior, i had sufficient opportunities for experiencing the extortions and inconveniences to which a traveller is liable in norway. no country in europe is so much in its infancy as regards all conveniences for locomotion. it is true that horses, carriages, boats, &c. can be had at every station, and the law has fixed the price of these commodities; but every thing is in the hands of the peasants and the publicans, and they are so skilled in tormenting the traveller by their intentional slowness, that he is compelled to pay the two-fold tax, in order to proceed a little more quickly. the stations are short, being rarely above five or six miles, and one is therefore constantly changing horses. arrived at a station, it either happens that there is really no horse to be had, or that this is an ostensible excuse. the traveller is told that the horse has to be fetched from the mountain, and that he can be served in one and a half or two hours. thus he rides one hour, and waits two. it is also necessary to keep the tariff, as every trifle, the saddle, the carriage, the harness, fetching the horse, the boat, &c., has to be paid for extra; and when the traveller does not know the fixed prices, he is certain to be dreadfully imposed upon. at every station a book lies, containing the legal prices; but it is written in the language of the district, and utterly unintelligible to the stranger. into this book, which is examined by the judge of the district every month, one may enter complaints against the peasant or publican; but they do not seem to fear it, for the guide who accompanied me to the fall of rykanfoss endeavoured to cheat me twice in the most barefaced manner, by charging me six-fold for the use of the saddles and the fetching of the horse. when i threatened to inscribe my complaint in the book, he seemed not to care, and insisted on his demand, till i was obliged to pay him. on my return to mael, i kept my word, asked for the book, and entered my complaint, although i was alone with all the peasants. it was not so much the money which annoyed me, as the shameless imposition. i am of opinion that every one should complain when he is wronged; if it does not benefit him, it will make the matter more easy for his successor. i must confess, in justice to the peasants, that they were very indignant when i told them of the dishonesty of their countryman, and did not attempt to prevent my complaint. to conclude my journey, i need only remark that, although the rain had ceased, the sky was still covered with clouds, and the country shrouded in mist. i therefore took the shorter road to christiania, by which i had come, although i thereby missed a beautiful district, where i should, as i was told, have seen the most splendid perspective views in norway. this would have been on the road from kongsberg over kroxleben to christiania. the finest part is near kroxleben. but the time was too short to take this round, and i returned by way of drammen. in the village of muni, about five miles from kongsberg, where i arrived at seven o'clock in the evening, the amiable host wished to keep me waiting again two hours for a horse; and as this would probably have happened at every station, i was obliged to hire a horse for the whole distance to christiania, at a threefold price. i slept here for a few hours, left in the night at one o'clock, and arrived at christiania the following afternoon at two. on this journey i found all those people very kind and obliging with whom i came into no sort of pecuniary relation; but the hosts, the boatmen, the drivers, the guides, were as selfish and grasping as in any other country. i believe that kindness and disinterestedness would only be found in any district by him who has the good fortune to be the first traveller. this little excursion was very dear; and yet i think i could now travel cheaply even in this country, universally acknowledged to be dear. i would go with the steamer along the coast to hammerfest, buy a little vehicle and a good horse there, and then travel pleasantly, and without annoyance, through the whole country. but for a family who wished to travel in a comfortable covered carriage, it would be incalculably dear, and in many parts impossible, on account of the bad roads. the norwegian peasantry are strong and robust, but their features are not the most comely, and they seemed neither wealthy nor cleanly. they were generally very poorly clad, and always barefooted. their cottages, built of wood and covered with tiles, are more roomy than those of the icelanders; but they are nevertheless dirty and wretched. a weakness of the norwegians is their fondness for coffee, which they drink without milk or sugar. the old women, as well as the men, smoke their pipes morning and night. miles. from christiania to kongsberg is 41 about from kongsberg to the waterfall 5 labrafoss from kongsberg to bolkosoe 14 from bolkosoe to tindosoe 16 from tindosoe across the lake to 16 mael from mael to the waterfall 11 rykanfoss 103 chapter ix august 30th. at seven o'clock this morning i left christiania, accompanied by the good wishes of my countrywoman and her husband, and went back to gottenburg by the same steamer which had brought me thence ten days before. i need only mention the splendid view of a portion of christian's sound--also called fiord--which i lost on the former journey from the darkness of the night. we passed it in the afternoon. the situation of the little town of lauervig is superb. it is built on a natural terrace, bordered in the background by beautiful mountains. in front, the fortress of friedrichsver lies on a mountain surrounded by rocks, on which little watch-towers are erected; to the left lies the vast expanse of sea. we were delayed an hour at friedrichsver to transfer the travellers for bergen {50} to a vessel waiting for them, as we had stopped on our previous journey at sandesund for the same purpose. this is the last view in the fiord; for now we steered into the open sea, and in a few hours we had lost sight of land. we saw nothing but land and water till we arrived the next morning at the scheren, and steered for gottenburg. august 31st. the sea had been rough all night, and we therefore reached gottenburg three hours later than usual. in this agitated sea, the surging of the breakers against the many rocks and islets near gottenburg has a very curious effect. the few travellers who could keep on their feet, who did not suffer from sea-sickness, and remained on deck, spoke much of the dangerous storm. i had frequently marvelled to hear people who had made a journey, if it were even only a short one of forty to sixty leagues, relate of some fearful storm they had witnessed. now i comprehended the reason, when i heard the travellers beside me call the brisk breeze, which only occasioned what seamen call a little swell, a dreadful storm; and they will probably tell at home of the dangers they have passed. storms are, fortunately, not so frequent. i have travelled many thousand leagues, and have often met with stormy weather, especially on the passage from copenhagen to iceland; but i only experienced one real storm, but a violent and dangerous one, as i was crossing the black sea to constantinople in april 1842. we arrived at gottenburg at nine instead of at six o'clock in the morning. i landed at once, to make the celebrated trip through the locks, over the waterfalls of trollhatta, with the next stockholm steamer. by the junction of the river gotha with some of the interior lakes, this great construction crosses the whole country, and connects the north sea with the baltic. i found the town of gottenburg very animated, on account of the presence of the king of sweden, who was spending a few days here on his way to christiania to prorogue the storthing. i arrived on a sunday, and the king, with his son, were in the church. the streets swarmed with human beings, all crowding towards the cathedral to catch a glimpse of his majesty on his departure. i, of course, mingled with the crowd, and was fortunate enough to see the king and prince come out of the church, enter their carriage, and drive away very near to me. both were handsome, amiable-looking men. the people rushed after the carriage, and eagerly caught the friendly bows of the intelligent father and his hopeful son; they followed him to his palace, and stationed themselves in front of it, impatiently longing for the moment when the royal pair would appear at a window. i could not have arrived at a more favourable time; for every one was in holiday attire, and the military, the clergy, the officials, citizens and people, were all exerting themselves to the utmost to do honour to their king. i noticed two peasant-girls among the crowd who were peculiarly dressed. they wore black petticoats reaching half way down the calf of the leg, red stockings, red spensers, and white chemises, with long white sleeves; a kerchief was tied round the head. some of the citizens' wives wore caps like the suabian caps, covered by a little black, embroidered veil, which, however, left the face free. here, as in copenhagen, i noticed boys of ten to twelve years of age among the drummers, and in the bands of the military. the king remained this day and the next in gottenburg, and continued his journey on the tuesday. on the two evenings of his stay the windows in the town were ornamented with wreaths of fresh flowers, interspersed with lighted tapers. some houses displayed transparencies, which, however, did not place the inventive powers of the amiable gottenburgers in a very favourable light. they were all alike, consisting of a tremendous o (oscar), surmounted by a royal crown. i was detained four days in gottenburg; and small consideration seems to be paid to the speedy transport of travellers in sweden. the steamer for stockholm started on the day i arrived from christiania, but unfortunately at five o'clock in the morning; and as in the month of september only two steamers go in the week to stockholm, i was compelled to wait till thursday. the time hung heavily on my hands; for i had seen the town itself, and the splendid views on the hills between the suburbs, during my former visit to the town, and the other portions only consisted of bare rocks and cliffs, which were of no interest. september 4th. the press of travellers was so great this time, that two days before the departure the cabins were all engaged; several ladies and gentlemen who would not wait for the next steamer were compelled to be satisfied with the deck, and i was among them; for the probability of such a crowd of passengers had not occurred to me, and i applied for a place only two days before our departure. during the journey fresh passengers were taken in at every station, and the reader may conceive the misery of the poor citizens unused to such hardships. every one sought a shelter for the night, and the little cabins of the engineer and steersman were given up to some, while others crept into the passages, or squatted down on the steps of the stairs leading to the cabins. a place was offered to me in the engineer's cabin; but as three or four other persons were to share the apartment calculated only for one person, i preferred to bivouac night and day upon deck. one of the gentlemen was kind enough to lend me a thick cloak, in which i could wrap myself; and so i slept much more comfortably under the high canopy of heaven than my companions did in their sweating-room. the arrangements in the vessels navigating the gotha canal are by no means the best. the first class is very comfortable, and the cabin-place is divided into pretty light divisions for two persons; but the second class is all the more uncomfortable: its cabin is used for a common dining-room by day, and by night hammocks are slung up in it for sleeping accommodation. the arrangements for the luggage are worse still. the canal-boats, having only a very small hold, trunks, boxes, portmanteaus, &c. are heaped up on the deck, not fastened at all, and very insufficiently protected against rain. the consequence of this carelessness on a journey of five or six days was, that the rain and the high waves of the lakes frequently put the after-deck several inches under water, and then the luggage was wetted through. it was worse still in a squall on the wenner lake; for while the ship was rather roughly tossed about, many a trunk lost its equilibrium and fell from its high position, frequently endangering the safety of the passengers' heads. the fares are, however, very cheap, which seemed doubly strange, as the many locks must cause considerable expense. and now for the journey itself. we started at five o'clock in the morning, and soon arrived in the river gotha, whose shores for the first few miles are flat and bare. the valley itself is bounded by bare, rocky hills. after about nine miles we came to the town of kongelf, which is said to have 1000 inhabitants. it is so situated among rocks, that it is almost hidden from view. on a rock opposite the town are the ruins of the fortress bogus. now the scenery begins to be a little more diversified, and forests are mingled with the bleak rocks; little valleys appear on both the shores; and the river itself, here divided by an islet, frequently expands to a considerable breadth. the peasants' cottages were larger and better than those in norway; they are generally painted brick-red, and are often built in groups. the first lock is at lilla edet: there are five here; and while the ship passes through them, the passengers have leisure to admire the contiguous low, but broad and voluminous fall of the gotha. this first batch of locks in the canal extends over some distance past the fall, and they are partly blasted out of the rock, or built of stone. the river past akestron flows as through a beautiful park; the valley is hemmed in by fertile hills, and leaves space only for the stream and some picturesque paths winding along its shores, and through the pine-groves descending to its banks. in the afternoon we arrived at the celebrated locks near trollhatta. they are of gigantic construction, which the largest states would be honoured in completing, and which occasion surprise when found in a country ranking high neither in extent nor in influence. there are eleven locks here, which rise 112 feet in a space of 3500 feet. they are broad, deep, blasted out of the rock, and walled round with fine freestone. they resemble the single steps of a giant's staircase; and by this name they might fitly rank as one of the wonders of the world. lock succeeds lock, mighty gates close them, and the large vessel rises miraculously to the giddy heights in a wildly romantic country. [picture: falls of trollhatta] scarcely arrived at the locks, the traveller is surrounded by a crowd of boys, who offer their services as guides to the waterfalls near trollhatta. there is abundance of time for this excursion; for the passage of the ship through the many locks occupies three to four hours, and the excursion can be made in half the time. before starting, it is, however, advisable to climb the rock to which the locks ascend. a pavilion is erected on its summit, and the view from it down over all the locks is exceedingly fine. pretty paths hewn out of the wood lead to trollhatta, which is charmingly situated in a lovely valley, surrounded by woods and hills, on the shore of a river, whose white foaming waves contrast strongly with the dark foliage of the overshadowing groves. the canal, which describes a large semicircle round the chief stream, glitters in the distance; but the highest locks are quite concealed behind rocks; we could neither observe the opening of the gates nor the rising of the water in them, and were therefore surprised when suddenly the masts and then the ship itself rose from the depth. an invisible hand seemed to raise it up between the rocks. the falls of the river are less distinguished for their height than for their diversity and their volumes of water. the principal arm of the river is divided at the point of decline into two equal falls by a little island of rock. a long narrow suspension-bridge leads to this island, and hangs over the fall; but it is such a weak, frail construction, that one person only can cross it at a time. the owner of this dangerous path keeps it private, and imposes a toll of about 3.5d. on all passengers. a peculiar sensation oppresses the traveller crossing the slender path. he sees the stream tearing onwards, breaking itself on the projecting rock, and fall surging into the abyss; he sees the boiling waves beneath, and feels the bridge vibrate at every footstep, and timidly hastens to reach the island, not taking breath to look around until he has found footing; on the firm island. a solid rock projects a little over the fall, and affords him a safe position, whence he sees not only the two falls on either side, but also several others formed above and below his point of view. the scene is so enchanting, that it is difficult to tear oneself away. beyond trollhatta the river expands almost to a lake, and is separated into many arms by the numerous islands. the shores lose their beauty, being flat and uninteresting. we unfortunately did not reach the splendid wennersee, which is from forty-five to sixty-five miles long, and proportionally broad, until evening, when it was already too dark to admire the scenery. our ship remained some hours before the insignificant village wennersborg. we had met six or seven steamers on our journey, which all belonged to swedish or norwegian merchants; and it afforded us a peculiarly interesting sight to see these ships ascend and descend in the high locks. september 5th. as we were leaving wennersborg late on the previous night, and were cruising about the sea, a contrary wind, or rather a squall, arose, which would have signified little to a good vessel, but to which our small ship was not equal. the poor captain tried in vain to navigate the steamer across the lake; he was at last compelled to give up the attempt, to return and to cast anchor. we lost our boat during this storm; a high wave dashed over the deck and swept it away: it had probably been as well fastened as our boxes and trunks. though it was but nine o'clock in the morning, our captain declared that he could not proceed during the day, but that if the weather became more favourable, he would start again about midnight. fortunately a fishing-boat ventured to come alongside, and some of the passengers landed. i was among them, and made use of this opportunity to visit some cottages lying at the edge of a wood near the lake. they were very small, but consisted of two chambers, which contained several beds and other furniture; the people were also somewhat better clad than the norwegians. their food too was not so unpalatable; they boiled a thick mess of coarse black flour, which was eaten with sweet milk. september 6th. we raised anchor at one o'clock in the morning, and in about five hours arrived at the island eken, which consists entirely of rock, and is surrounded by a multitude of smaller islets and cliffs. this is one of the most important stations in the lake. a large wooden warehouse stands on the shore, and in it is stored the merchandise of the vicinity intended for export; and in return it receives the cargo from the ships. there are always several vessels lying at anchor here. we had now to wind through a cluster of islands, till we again reached the open lake, which, however, was only remarkable for its size. its shores are bare and monotonous, and only dotted here and there with woods or low hills; the distant view even is not at all noteworthy. one of the finest views is the tolerably large castle of leko, which lies on a rock, and is surrounded by fertile groves. further off rises the kinne kulle, {51} to which the traveller's attention is directed, because it is said to afford an extended view, not only over the lake, but far into the country. a curious grotto is said to exist in this hill; but unfortunately one loses these sights since the establishment of steamers, for we fly past every object of interest, and the longest journey will soon be described in a few words. a large glass-factory is established at bromoe, which fabricates window-glass exclusively. we stopped a short time, and took a considerable cargo of the brittle material on board. the factory and the little dwellings attached to it are prettily situated on the undulating ground. near sjotorp we entered the river again through several locks. the passage of the wennersee is calculated at about ten or eleven hours. the river at first winds through woods; and while the ship slowly passes through the locks, it is pleasanter to walk a portion of the distance in their shade. farther on it flows through broad valleys, which, however, present no very attractive features. september 7th. early in the morning we crossed the pretty vikensee, which distinguishes itself, like all swedish lakes, by the multitude of its islands, cliffs, and rocks. these islands are frequently covered with trees, which make the view more interesting. the lake is 306 feet above the level of the north sea, and is the highest point of the journey; from thence the locks begin to descend. the number of ascending and descending locks amounts to seventy-two. a short canal leads into the boltensee, which is comparatively free from islands. the passage across this little lake is very charming; the shores are diversified by hills, woods, meadows, and fields. after it comes the weltersee, which can be easily defended by the beautiful fortress of karlsborg. this lake has two peculiarities: one being the extraordinary purity and transparency of its waters; the other, the number of storms which prevail in it. i was told that it frequently raged and stormed on the lake while the surrounding country remained calm and free. the storm sometimes overtakes the ship so suddenly and violently, that escape is impossible; and the sagas and fables told of the deceitful tricks of these waves are innumerable. we fortunately escaped, and crossed its surface cheerfully and merrily. on its shores are situated the beautiful ladies' pensionary, wadstena, and the celebrated mountain omberg, at whose foot a battle was fought. the next canal is short, and leads through a lovely wood into the little lake of norbysee. it is customary to walk this distance, and inspect the simple monument of count platen, who made the plans for the locks and canals,--a lasting, colossal undertaking. the monument is surrounded by an iron railing, and consists of a slab bearing an inscription, simply stating in swedish his name, the date of his death, &c. nearly opposite the monument, on the other side of the canal, is the town of motala, distinguished principally for its large iron factories, in which the spacious work-rooms are especially remarkable. fifteen locks lead from the norbysee into the roxersee, which is a descent of 116 feet. the canal winds gracefully through woods and meadows, crossed by pretty roads, and studded with elegant little houses and larger edifices. distant church-steeples point out the village of norby, which sometimes peeps forth behind little forests, and then vanishes again from the view of the traveller. when the sun shines on the waters of this canal, it has a beautiful, transparent, pea-green colour, like the purest chrysolite. the view from the hill which rises immediately before the lake of roxen is exceedingly fine. it looks down upon an immense valley, covered with the most beautiful woods and rocks, and upon the broad lake, whose arm flows far in land. the evening sun shed its last rays over a little town on the lake-shore, and its newly-painted tiles shone brightly in its light beams. while the ship descended through the many locks, we visited the neighbouring church of the village of vretakloster, which contains the skeletons of several kings in beautifully-made metal coffins. we then crossed the lake, which is from four to five miles broad, and remained all night before the entrance of the canal leading into a bay of the baltic. september 8th. this canal is one of the longest; its environs are very pretty, and the valley through which it runs is one of the largest we had passed. the town of soderkoping is situated at the foot of high, picturesque groups of rocks, which extend to a considerable distance. every valley and every spot of soil in sweden are carefully cultivated. the people in general are well dressed, and inhabit small but very pretty houses, whose windows are frequently decorated with clean white draperies. i visited several of these houses, as we had abundance of time for such excursions while the ship was going through the locks. i think one might walk the whole distance from gottenburg to stockholm in the same time that the ship takes for the journey. we lose some hours daily with the locks, and are obliged to lie still at night on their account. the distance is calculated at from 180 to 250 miles, and the journey takes five days. in the evening we approached the baltic, which has the same character as the scheren of the north sea. the ship threads its way through a shoal of islands and islets, of rocks and cliffs; and it is as difficult to imagine here as there how it is possible to avoid all the projecting cliffs, and guide the ship so safely through them. the sea divides itself into innumerable arms and bays, into small and large lakes, which are formed between the islands and rocks, and are hemmed in by beautiful hills. but nothing can exceed the beauty of the view of the castle storry husby, which lies on a high mountain, in a bay. in front of the mountain a beautiful meadow-lawn reaches to the shores of the sea, while the back is surrounded in the distance by a splendid pine-forest. near this picturesque castle a steeple rises on a neighbouring island, which is all that remains of the ancient castle of stegeborg. nothing can be more romantic than the scenery here, and on the whole journey over the fiord; for it presents itself in ever-varying pictures to the traveller's notice. but gradually the hills become lower, the islands more rare; the sea supersedes every thing, and seems jealously anxious to exclude other objects from the traveller's attention, as if it wished to monopolise it. now we were in the open sea, and saw only water and sky; and then again we were so hemmed in by the rocks and cliffs, that it would be impossible to extricate the ship without the assistance of an experienced pilot. september 9th. we left the sea, and entered another lake, the malarsee, celebrated for its numerous islands, by a short canal. the town of sotulje lies at its entrance, charmingly situated in a narrow valley at the foot of a rather steep hill. this lake at first resembles a broad river, but widens at every step, and soon shews itself in its whole expanse. the passage of the malarsee takes four hours, and is one of the most charming excursions that can be made. it is said to contain about a thousand islets of various sizes; and it may be imagined how varied in form and feature the scenery must be, and, like the fiord of the baltic, what a constant succession of new scenes it must present. the shores also are very beautiful: in some spots hills descend sharply to the water's edge, the steep rocks forming dangerous points; on others dark, sombre pine-forests grow; and again there are gay valleys and meadows, with villages or single cottages. many travellers assert that this lake is, after all, very monotonous; but i cannot agree with their opinion. i found it so attractive, that i could repeat the journey many times without wearying of this lovely sameness. it certainly has not the majestic backgrounds of the swiss lakes; but this profusion of small islands is a pleasing peculiarity which can be found on no other lake. on the summit of a steep precipice of the shore the hat of the unfortunate eric is hoisted, fastened to a long pole. history tells that this king fled from the enemy in a battle; that one of his soldiers pursued him, and reproached him for his cowardice, whereupon eric, filled with shame and despair, gave spurs to his horse and leaped into the fearful abyss. at his fall his hat was blown from his head, and was left on this spot. not far from this point the suburbs of stockholm make their appearance, being spread round one of the broad arms of the lake. with increasing curiosity we gazed towards the town as we gradually approached it. many of the pretty villas, which are situated in the valleys or on the sides of the hills as forerunners of the town, come into view, and the suburbs rise amphi-theatrically on the steep shores. the town itself closes the prospect by occupying the whole upper shore of the lake, and is flanked by the suburbs at either side. the ritterholm church, with its cast-iron perforated towers, and the truly grand royal palace, which is built entirely in the italian style, can be seen and admired from this distance. we had scarcely cast anchor in the port of stockholm, when a number of herculean women came and offered us their services as porters. they were delekarliers, {52} who frequently come to stockholm to earn a livelihood as porters, water-carriers, boatwomen, &c. they easily find employment, because they possess two excellent qualities: they are said to be exceedingly honest and hard-working, and, at the same time, have the strength and perseverance of men. their dress consists of black petticoats, which come half way over the calf of the leg, red bodices, white chemises with long sleeves, short narrow aprons of two colours, red stockings, and shoes with wooden soles an inch thick. they twist a handkerchief round their head, or put on a little close black cap, which fits close on the back part of the head. in stockholm there are entire houses, as well as single rooms, which, as in a hotel, are let by the day. they are much cheaper than hotels, and are therefore more in demand. i at once hired one of these rooms, which was very clean and bright, and for which, with breakfast, i only paid one riksdaler, which is about one shilling. chapter x as my journey was ostensibly only to iceland, and as i only paid a flying visit to this portion of scandinavia, my readers will pardon me if i treat it briefly. this portion of europe has been so frequently and so excellently described by other travellers, that my observations would be of little importance. i remained in stockholm six days, and made as good use of my time as i could. the town is situated on the shores of the baltic sea and the malar lake. these two waters are connected by a short canal, on whose shores the most delightful houses are erected. [picture: stockholm] my first visit was to the beautiful church of ritterholm, which is used more for a cemetery and an armory than for a place of worship. the vaults serve as burial-places for the kings, and their monuments are erected in the side-chapels. on each side of the nave of the church are placed effigies of armed knights on horseback, whose armour belonged to the former kings of sweden. the walls and angles of the church are profusely decorated with flags and standards, said to number five thousand. in addition to this, the keys of conquered towns and fortresses hang along the side-walls, and drums are piled upon the floor; trophies taken from different nations with which sweden has been at war. besides these curiosities, several coats of armour and garments of swedish regents are displayed behind glass-cases in the side-chapels. among them, the dress which charles xii. wore on the day of his death, and his hat perforated by a ball, interested me most. his riding-boots stand on the ground beside it. the modern dress and hat, embroidered with gold and ornamented with feathers, of the last king, the founder of the new dynasty, is not less interesting, partly perhaps from the great contrast. the church of st. nicholas stands on the same side of the canal, and is one of the finest protestant churches i had seen; it is very evident that it was built in catholic times, and that its former decorations have been allowed to remain. it contains several large and small oil-paintings, some ancient and some modern monuments, and a profusion of gilding. the organ is fine and large; flanking the entrance of the church are beautiful reliefs, hewn in stone; and above it, carved in wood, a statue of the archangel michael, larger than life, sitting on horseback on a bridge, in the act of killing the dragon. near the church is situated the royal palace, which needs a more fluent pen than mine to describe it. it would fill a volume were i to enumerate and describe the treasures, curiosities, and beauties of its construction, or its interior arrangement; i can only say that i never saw any thing to equal it, except the royal palace of naples. such an edifice is the more surprising in the north, and in a country which has never been overstocked with wealth. the church of shifferholm is remarkable only for its position and its temple-like form; it stands on the ledge of a rock facing the royal palace, on the opposite shore of the same indentation of the baltic. a long bridge of boats leads from the one to the other. the church of st. catharine is large and beautiful. in an outer angle of the church is shewn the stone on which one of the brothers sturre was beheaded. {53} on the ritterplatz stands the ritterhouse, a very fine palace; also the old royal palace, and several other royal and private mansions; but they are not nearly so numerous nor so fine as in copenhagen, and the streets and squares also cannot be compared with those of the capital of denmark. the finest prospect is from a hill in one of the suburbs called the great mosbecken; it affords a magnificent view of the sea and the lake, of the town and its suburbs, as far as the points of the mountains, and of the lovely country-houses which border the shores of lake and sea. the town and its environs are so interspersed with islets and rocks, that these seem to be part of the town; and this gives stockholm such a curious appearance, that i can compare it to no other city i have seen. wooded hills and naked rocks prolong the view, and their ridges extend into the far distance; while level fields and lawns take up but a very small proportion of the magnificent scenery. on descending from this hill the traveller should not fail to go to sodermalm, and to inspect the immense iron-stores, where iron is heaped up in countless bars. the corn-market of stockholm is insignificant. the principal buildings besides those already enumerated are, the bank, the mint, the guard-house, the palace of the crown-prince, the theatre, &c. the latter is interesting, partly because gustavus iii. was shot in it. he fell on the stage, while a grand masquerade was taking place, for which the theatre had been changed into a ball-room. the king was shot by a mask, and died in a few hours. there is not a representation in the theatre every night; and on the one evening of performance during my visit a festival was to be celebrated in the hall of antiquities. the esteemed artist vogelberg, a native of sweden, had beautifully sculptured the three heathen gods, thor, balder, and odin, in colossal size, and brought them over from rome. the statues had only been lately placed, and a large company had been invited to meet in the illuminated saloon, and do honour to the artist. solemn hymns were to be sung at the uncovering of the statues, beside other festivities. i was fortunate enough to receive an invitation to this festival, which was to commence a little past seven. before that i went to the theatre, which, i was told, would open at half-past six. i intended to remain there half an hour, and then drive to the palace, where my friends would meet me to accompany me to the festival. i went to the theatre at six, and anxiously waited half an hour for the commencement of the overture; it was after half-past six, and no signs of the commencement. i looked again at the bill, and saw, to my annoyance, that the opera did not begin till seven. but as i would not leave until i had seen the stage, i spent the time in looking at the theatre itself. it is tolerably large, and has five tiers of boxes, but is neither tastefully nor richly decorated. i was most surprised at the exorbitant price and the variety of seats. i counted twenty-six different kinds; it seems that every row has a different price, else i don't understand how they could make such a variety. at last the overture began; i listened to it, saw the curtain rise, looked at the fatal spot, and left after the first air. the door-keeper followed me, took my arm, and wished to give me a return-ticket; and when i told him that i did not require one, as i did not intend to return, he said that it had only just commenced, and that i ought to stop, and not have spent all the money for nothing. i was unfortunately too little acquainted with the swedish language to explain the reason of my departure, so i could give him no answer, but went away. i, however, heard him say to some one, "i never met with such a woman before; she sat an hour looking at the curtain, and goes away as soon as it rises." i looked round and saw how he shook his head thoughtfully, and pointed with his forefinger to his forehead. i could not refrain from smiling, and enjoyed the scene as much as i should have done the second act of mozart's _don giovanni_. i called for my friends at the royal palace, and spent the evening very agreeably in the brilliantly-illuminated galleries of antiquities and of pictures. i had the pleasure also of being introduced to herr vogelberg. his modest, unpretending manners must inspire every one with respect, even if one does not know what distinguished talent he possesses. the royal park is one of the finest sights in the neighbourhood of stockholm, and is one of the best of its kind. it is a fine large natural park, with an infinity of groves, meadows, hills, and rocks; here and there lies a country-house with its fragrant flower-garden, or tasteful coffee and refreshment houses, which on fine sundays are filled with visitors from the town. good roads are made through the park, and commodious paths lead to the finest points of view over sea and land. the bust of the popular poet bellmann stands on an open sunny spot, and an annual festival is given here in his honour. deeper in the park lies the so-called rosenthal (rose valley), a real eden. the late king was so partial to this spot, that he spent many hours in the little royal country-house here, which is built on a retired spot in the midst of groves and flower-beds. in front of the palace stands a splendid vase made of a single piece of porphyry. i was told that it was the largest in europe, but i consider the one in the museum of naples much larger. i spent the last hours of my visit to stockholm in this spot, with the amiable family of herr boje from finnland, whose acquaintance i had made on the journey from gottenburg to stockholm. i shall therefore never forget this beautiful park and the agreeable associations connected with it. i made a very agreeable excursion also to the royal palace of haga, to the large cemetery, and to the military school karlberg. the royal castle of haga is surrounded by a magnificent park, which owes little to art; it contains some of the finest trees, with here and there a hill, and is crossed by majestic alleys and well-kept roads for driving and walking. the palace itself is so small, that i could not but admire the moderation of the royal family; but i was informed that this is the smallest of their summer palaces. nearly opposite to this park is the great cemetery; but as it has only existed for about seventeen years, the trees in it are yet rather young. this would be of little consequence in other countries, but in sweden the cemeteries serve as promenades, and are crossed by alleys, ornamented with groves, and provided with seats for the accommodation of visitors. this cemetery is surrounded by a dark pine-forest, and really seems quite shut off from the outer world. it is the only burial-place out of the town; the others all lie between the churches and the neighbouring houses, whose fronts often form the immediate boundary. burials take place there constantly, so that the inhabitants are quite familiar with the aspect of death. from the great cemetery a road leads to the neighbouring karlberg, which is the academy for military and naval cadets. the extensive buildings attached to this seminary are built on the slope of a mountain, which is washed on one side by the waters of the lake, and surrounded on the other by the beautiful park-plantations. before leaving stockholm i had the honour of being introduced to her majesty the queen of sweden. she had heard of my travels, and took a particular interest in my account of palestine. in consequence of this favour, i received the special permission to inspect the whole interior of the palace. although it was inhabited, i was conducted, not only through the state-rooms, but through all the private rooms of the court. it would be impossible to describe the splendour which reigns here, the treasures of art, the magnificent appointments, and the evident taste every where displayed. i was delighted with all the treasures and splendour, but still more with the warm interest with which her majesty conversed with me about palestine. this interview will ever dwell on my memory as the bright salient point of my northern expedition. excursion to the old royal castle of griptholm on the malarsee every sunday morning, at eight o'clock, a little steamer leaves stockholm for this castle; the distance is about forty-five miles, and is passed in four hours; four hours more are allowed for the stay, and in the evening the steamer returns to stockholm. this excursion is very interesting, although we pass the greater part of the time on that portion of the lake which we had seen on our arrival, but for the last few miles the ship turned into a pretty bay, at whose apex the castle is situated. it is distinguished for its size, its architecture, and its colossal turrets. it is unfortunately, however, painted with the favourite brick-red colour of the swedes. two immense cannons, which the swedes once gained in battle from the russians, stand in the courtyard. the apartments in the castle, which are kept in good condition, display neither splendour nor profusion of appointments, indeed almost the contrary. the pretty theatre is, however, an exception: for its walls are inlaid from top to bottom with mirrors, its pillars are gilt, and the royal box tapestried with rich red velvet. there has been no performance here since the death of gustavus iii. the immensely massive walls are a remarkable feature of this palace, and must measure about three yards in thickness in the lower stories. the upper apartments are all large and high, and afford a splendid view of the lake from their windows. but it is impossible to enjoy these beautiful scenes when one thinks of the sad events which have taken place here. two kings, john iii. and eric xiv., the latter with four of his ministers, who were subsequently beheaded, were imprisoned here for many years. the captivity of john iii. would not have been so bad, if captivity were not bad enough in itself. he was confined in a large splendid saloon, but which he was not permitted to quit, and which he would therefore probably have gladly exchanged for the poorest hut and liberty. his wife inhabited two smaller apartments adjoining; she was not treated as a prisoner, and could leave the castle at will. his son sigismund was born here in the year 1566, and the room and bed in which he was born are still shewn as curiosities. eric's fate was much more unfortunate, for he was kept in narrow and dark confinement. a small rudely-furnished apartment, with narrow, iron-barred windows, in one of the little turrets was his prison. the entrance was closed by a solid oaken door, in which a small opening had been made, through which his food was given him. for greater security this oaken door was covered by an iron one. round the outside of the apartment a narrow gallery had been made, on which the guards were posted, and could at all times see their prisoner through the barred windows. the spot is still shewn at one of the windows where the king sat for hours looking into the distance, his head leaning on his hand. what must have been his feelings as he gazed on the bright sky, the verdant turf, and the smiling lake! how many sighs must have been echoed from these walls, how many sleepless nights must he have passed during those two long years in anxious expectation of the future! the guide who took us round the castle maintained that the floor was more worn on this spot than any where else, and that the window-sash had been hollowed by the elbow of the miserable king; but i could not perceive any difference. eric was kept imprisoned here for two years, and was then taken to another prison. there is a large picture-gallery in this castle; but it contains principally portraits of kings, not only of sweden, but of other countries, from the middle ages down to the present time; also portraits of ministers, generals, painters, poets, and learned men; of celebrated swedish females, who have sacrificed themselves for their country, and of the most celebrated female beauties. the name and date of birth of each person are affixed to his or her portrait, so that each visitor may find his favourite without guide or catalogue. in many of them the colouring and drawing are wretched enough, but we will hope that the resemblance is all the more striking. on our return several gentlemen were kind enough to direct my attention to the most interesting points of the lake. among these i must mention kakeholm, its broadest point; the island of esmoi, on which a swedish female gained a battle; norsberg, also celebrated for a battle which took place there; and sturrehof, the property of a great swedish family. near bjarkesoe a simple cross is erected, ostensibly on the spot where christianity was first introduced. indeed the malarsee has so many historical associations, in addition to the attractions of its scenery, that it is one of the most interesting seas not only of sweden but of europe. journey from stockholm to upsala and to the iron-mines of danemora september 12th. the intercourse between stockholm and upsala is very considerable. a steamer leaves both places every day except sunday, and traverses the distance in six hours. tempted by this convenient opportunity of easily and quickly reaching the celebrated town of upsala, and by the unusually fine weather, i took my passage one evening, and was greatly disappointed when, on the following morning, the rain poured down in torrents. but if travellers paid much attention to the weather, they would not go far; so i nevertheless embarked at half-past seven, and arrived safely in upsala. i remained in the cabin during the passage, and could not even enjoy the prospect from the cabin-windows, for the rain beat on them from the outside, while inside they were obscured by the heat. but i did not venture on deck, hoping to be favoured by better weather on my return. at last, about three o'clock, when i had been in upsala more than an hour, the weather cleared up, and i sallied out to see the sights. first i visited the cathedral. i entered, and stood still with astonishment at the chief portal, on looking up at the high roof resting on two rows of pillars, and covering the whole church. it is formed in one beautiful straight line, unbroken by a single arch. the church itself is simple: behind the grand altar a handsome chapel is erected, the ceiling of which is painted azure blue, embossed with golden stars. in this chapel gustavus i. is interred between his two wives. the monument which covers the grave is large, and made of marble, but clumsy and void of taste. it represents a sarcophagus, on which three bodies, the size of life, are laid; a marble canopy is raised over them. the walls of the chapel are covered with pretty frescoes, representing the most remarkable scenes in the life of this monarch. the most interesting among them are, one in which he enters a peasant's hut in peasant's attire, at the same moment that his pursuers are eagerly inquiring after him in front of the hut; the other, when he stands on a barrel, also dressed as a peasant, and harangues his people. two large tablets in a broad gold frame contain in swedish, and not in the latin language, the explanation of the different pictures, so that every swede may easily learn the monarch's history. several other monuments are erected in the side-chapels; those of catharine magelone, john iii., gustavus erichson, who was beheaded, and of the two brothers sturre, who were murdered. the monument of archbishop menander, in white marble, is a tasteful and artistic modern production. the great linnaeus is buried under a simple marble slab in this church; but his monument is in one of the side-chapels, and not over his grave, and consists of a beautiful dark-brown porphyry slab, on which his portrait is sculptured in relief. the splendid organ, which reaches nearly to the roof of the church, also deserves special attention. the treasure-chamber does not contain great treasures; the blood-stained and dagger-torn garments of the unfortunate brothers sturre are kept in a glass case here; and here also stands a wooden statue of the heathen god thor. this wooden affair seems to have originally been an ecce homo, which was perhaps the ornament of some village church, then carried off by some unbeliever, and made more shapeless than its creator, not proficient in art, had made it. it has a greater resemblance now to a frightful scarecrow than to any thing else. the churchyard near the church is distinguished for its size and beauty. it is surrounded by a wall of stone two feet high, surmounted by an iron palisading of equal height, broken by stone pillars. on several sides, steps are made into the burying-ground over this partition. in this cemetery, as in the one of stockholm, one seems to be in a lovely garden, laid out with alleys, arbours, lawns, &c.; but it is more beautiful than the other, because it is older. the graves are half concealed by arbours; many were ornamented with flowers and wreaths, or hedged by rose-bushes. the whole aspect of this cemetery, or rather of this garden, seems equally adapted for the amusement of the living or the repose of the dead. the monuments are in no way distinguished; only two are rather remarkable, for they consist of tremendous pieces of rock in their natural condition, standing upright on the graves. one of these monuments resembles a mountain; it covers the ashes of a general, and is large enough to have covered his whole army; his relatives probably took the graves of troy as a specimen for their monument. it is moreover inscribed by very peculiar signs, which seemed to me to be runic characters. the good people have united in this monument two characteristics of the ancients of two entirely distinct empires. the university or library building in upsala is large and beautiful; it is situated on a little hill, with a fine front facing the town. the park, which is, however, still somewhat young, forms the background. {54} near this building, on the same hill, stands a royal palace, conspicuous for its brick-red colour. it is very large, and the two wings are finished by massive round towers. in the centre of the courtyard, behind the castle, is placed a colossal bust of gustavus i., and a few paces from it two artificial hills serve as bastions, on which cannons are planted. this being the highest point of the town, affords the best view over it, and over the surrounding country. the town itself is built half of wood and half of stone, and is very pretty, being crossed by broad streets, and ornamented with tastefully laid-out gardens. it has one disadvantage, which is the dark brownish-red colour of the houses, which has a peculiarly sombre appearance in the setting sun. an immense and fertile plain, diversified by dark forests contrasting with the bright green meadows and the yellow stubble-fields, surrounds the town, and in the distance the silvery river fyris flows towards the sea. forests close the distant view with their dark shadows. i saw but few villages; they may, however, have been hidden by the trees, for that they exist seems to be indicated by the well-kept high roads crossing the plain in all directions. before quitting my position on the bastions of the royal palace i cast a glance on the castle-gardens, which were lying lower down the hill, and are separated from the castle by a road; they do not seem to be large, but are very pretty. i should have wished to be able to visit the botanic garden near the town, which was the favourite resort of linnaeus, whose splendidly-sculptured bust is said to be its chief ornament; but the sun was setting behind the mountains, and i repaired to my chamber, to prepare for my journey to danemora. september 13th. i left upsala at four o'clock in the morning, to proceed to the far-famed iron-mines of danemora, upwards of thirty miles distant, and where i wished to arrive before twelve, as the blasting takes place at that hour, after which the pits are closed. as i had been informed how slowly travelling is done in this country, and how tedious the delays are when the horses are changed, i determined to allow time enough for all interruptions, and yet arrive at the appointed hour. a few miles behind upsala lies old upsala (gamla upsala). i saw the old church and the grave-hills in passing; three of the latter are remarkably large, the others smaller. it is presumed that the higher ones cover the graves of kings. i saw similar tumuli during my journey to greece, on the spot where troy is said to have stood. the church is not honoured as a ruin; it has yet to do service; and it grieved me to see the venerable building propped up and covered with fresh mortar on many a time-worn spot. half way between upsala and danemora we passed a large castle, not distinguished for its architecture, its situation, or any thing else. then we neared the river fyris, and the long lake of danemora; both are quite overgrown with reeds and grass, and have flat uninteresting shores; indeed the whole journey offers little variety, as the road lies through a plain, only diversified by woods, fields, and pieces of rock. these are interesting features, because one cannot imagine how they came there, the mountains being at a great distance, and the soil by no means rocky. the little town of danemora lies in the midst of a wood, and only consists of a church and a few large and small detached houses. the vicinity of the mines is indicated before arriving at the place by immense heaps of stones, which are brought by horse-gins from the pits, and which cover a considerable space. i had fortunately arrived in time to see the blastings. those in the great pit are the most interesting; for its mouth is so very large, that it is not necessary to descend in order to see the pit-men work; all is visible from above. this is a very peculiar and interesting sight. the pit, 480 feet deep, with its colossal doors and entrances leading into the galleries, looks like a picture of the lower world, from which bridges of rocks, projections, arches and caverns formed in the walls, ascend to the upper world. the men look like pigmies, and one cannot follow their movements until the eye has accustomed itself to the depth and to the darkness prevailing below. but the darkness is not very dense; i could distinguish most of the ladders, which seemed to me like children's toys. it was nearly twelve, and the workmen left the pits, with the exception of those in charge of the mines. they ascended by means of little tubs hanging by ropes, and were raised by a windlass. it is a terrible sight to see the men soaring up on the little machine, especially when two or three ascend at once; for then one man stands in the centre, while the other two ride on the edge of the tub. [picture: mines of danemora] i should have liked to descend into the great pit, but it was too late on this day, and i would not wait another. i should not have feared the descent, as i was familiar with such adventures, having explored the salt-mines of wieliczka and bochnia, in gallicia, some years before, in which i had had to let myself down by a rope, which is a much more dangerous method than the tub. with the stroke of twelve, four blasting trains in the large pit were fired. the man whose business it was to apply the match ran away in great haste, and sheltered himself behind a wall of rock. in a few moments the powder flashed, some stones fell, and then a fearful crash was heard all around, followed by the rolling and falling of the blasted masses. repeated echoes announced the fearful explosion in the interior of the pits: the whole left a terrible impression on me. scarcely had one mine ceased to rage, when the second began, then the third, and so on. these blastings take place daily in different mines. the other pits are deeper, the deepest being 600 feet; but the mouths are smaller, and the shafts not perpendicular, so that the eye is lost in darkness, which is a still more unpleasant sensation. i gazed with oppressed chest into the dark space, vainly endeavouring to distinguish something. i should not like to be a miner; i could not endure life without the light of day; and when i turned from the dark pits, i cast my eyes thankfully on the cheerful landscape basking in the sun. i returned to upsala on the same day, having made this little journey by post. i can merely narrate the facts, without giving an opinion on the good or bad conveniences for locomotion, as this was more a pleasure-trip than a journey. as i had hired no carriage, i had a different vehicle at every station, and these vehicles consisted of ordinary two-wheeled wooden carts. my seat was a truss of hay covered with the horse-cloth. if the roads had not been so extremely good, these carts would have shaken terribly; but as it was, i must say that i rode more comfortably than in the carriols of the norwegians, although they were painted and vanished; for in them i had to be squeezed in with my feet stretched out, and could not change my position. the stations are unequal,--sometimes long, sometimes short. the post-horses are provided here, as in norway, by wealthy peasants, called dschns-peasants. these have to collect a certain number of horses every evening for forwarding the travellers the next morning. at every post-house a book is kept, in which the traveller can see how many horses the peasant has, how many have already been hired, and how many are left in the stable. he must then inscribe his name, the hour of his departure, and the number of horses he requires. by this arrangement deception and extortion are prevented, as every thing is open, and the prices fixed. {55} patience is also required here, though not so much as in norway. i had always to wait from fifteen to twenty minutes before the carriage was brought and the horses and harness prepared, but never longer; and i must admit that the swedish post-masters hurried as much as possible, and never demanded double fare, although they must have known that i was in haste. the pace of the horse depends on the will of the coachman and the powers of his steed; but in no other country did i see such consideration paid to the strength of the horses. it is quite ridiculous to see what small loads of corn, bricks, or wood, are allotted to two horses, and how slowly and sleepily they draw their burdens. the number of wooden gates, which divide the roads into as many parts as there are common grounds on it, are a terrible nuisance to travellers. the coachman has often to dismount six or eight times in an hour to open and close these gates. i was told that these delectable gates even exist on the great high road, only not quite in such profusion as on the by-roads. wood must be as abundant here as in norway, for every thing is enclosed; even fields which seem so barren as not to be worth the labour or the wood. the villages through which i passed were generally pretty and cheerful, and i found the cottages, which i entered while the horses were changed, neatly and comfortably furnished. the peasants of this district wear a peculiar costume. the men, and frequently also the boys, wear long dark-blue cloth surtouts, and cloth caps on their heads; so that, at a distance, they look like gentlemen in travelling dress. it seems curious to a foreigner to see these apparent gentlemen following the plough or cutting grass. at a nearer view, of course the aspect changes, and the rents and dirt appear, or the leathern apron worn beneath the coat, like carpenters in austria, becomes visible. the female costume was peculiar only in so far that it was poor and ragged. in dress and shoes the norwegian and swedes are behind the icelanders, but they surpass them in the comfort of their dwellings. september 14th. to-day i returned to stockholm on the malarsee, and the weather being more favourable than on my former passage, i could remain on deck the whole time. i saw now that we sailed for several miles on the river fyris, which flows through woods and fields into the lake. the large plain on which old and new upsala lie was soon out of sight, and after passing two bridges, we turned into the malar. at first there are no islands on its flat expanse, and its shores are studded with low tree-covered hills; but we soon, however, arrived at the region of islands, where the passage becomes more interesting, and the beauty of the shores increases. the first fine view we saw was the pretty estate krusenberg, whose castle is romantically situated on a fertile hill. but much more beautiful and surprising is the splendid castle of skukloster, a large, beautiful, and regular pile, ornamented with four immense round turrets at the four corners, and with gardens stretching down to the water's edge. from this place the scenery is full of beauty and variety; every moment presents another and a more lovely view. sometimes the waters expand, sometimes they are hemmed in by islands, and become as narrow as canals. i was most charmed with those spots where the islands lie so close together that no outlet seems possible, till another turn shews an opening between them, with a glimpse of the lake beyond. the hills on the shores are higher, and the promontories larger, the farther the ship advances; and the islands appear to be merely projections of the continent, till a nearer approach dispels the illusion. the village of sixtuna lies in a picturesque and charming little valley, filled with ruins, principally of round towers, which are said to be the remains of the roman town of sixtum; the name being retained by the new town with a slight modification. after this follow cliffs and rocks rising perpendicularly from the sea, and whose vicinity would be by no means desirable in a storm. of the castle of rouse only three beautiful domes rise above the trees; a frowning bleak hill conceals the rest from the eye. then comes a palace, the property of a private individual, only remarkable for its size. the last of the notabilities is the rokeby bridge, said to be one of the longest in sweden. it unites the firm land with the island on which the royal castle of drottingholm stands. the town of stockholm now becomes visible; we turn into the portion of the lake on which it lies, and arrive there again at two o'clock in the afternoon. from stockholm to travemunde and hamburgh i bade farewell to stockholm on the 18th september, and embarked in the steamer _svithiold_, of 100-horse power, at twelve o'clock at noon, to go to travemunde. few passages can be more expensive than this one is. the distance is five hundred leagues, and the journey generally occupies two and a half to three days; for this the fare, without food, is four pounds. the food is also exorbitantly dear; in addition to which the captain is the purveyor; so that there is no appeal for the grossest extortion or insufficiency. it pained me much when one of the poorer travellers, who suffered greatly from sea-sickness, having applied for some soup to the steward, who referred him to the amiable captain, to hear him declare he would make no exception, and that a basin of soup would be charged the whole price of a complete dinner. the poor man was to do without the soup, of which he stood so much in need, or scrape every farthing together to pay a few shillings daily for his dinner. fortunately for him some benevolent persons on deck paid for his meals. some of the gentlemen brought their own wine with them, for which they had to pay as much duty to the captain as the wine was worth. to these pleasures of travelling must be added the fact, that a swedish vessel does not advance at all if the weather is unfavourable. most of the passengers considered that the engines were inefficient. however this may be, we were delayed twenty-four hours at the first half of our journey, from stockholm to calmar, although we had only a slight breeze against us and a rather high sea, but no storm. in calmar we cast anchor, and waited for more favourable wind. several gentlemen, whose business in lubeck was pressing, left the steamer, and continued their journey by land. at first the baltic very much resembles the malarsee; for islands, rocks, and a variety of scenery make it interesting. to the right we saw the immensely long wooden bridge of lindenborg, which unites one of the larger islands with the continent. at the end of one of the turns of the sea lies the town of wachsholm; and opposite to it, upon a little rocky island, a splendid fortress with a colossal round tower. judging by the number of cannons planted along the walls, this fortress must be of great importance. a few hours later we passed a similar fortress, friedrichsborg; it is not in such an open situation as the other, but is more surrounded by forests. we passed at a considerable distance, and could not see much of it, nor of the castle lying on the opposite side, which seems to be very magnificent, and is also surrounded by woods. the boundaries of the right shore now disappear, but then again appear as a terrible heap of naked rocks, at whose extreme edge is situated the fine fortress dolero. near it groups of houses are built on the bare rocks projecting into the sea, and form an extensive town. september 19th. to-day we were on the open, somewhat stormy sea. towards noon we arrived at the calmar sound, formed by the flat, uniform shores of the long island oland on the left, and on the right by schmoland. in front rose the mountain-island the jungfrau, to which every swede points with self-satisfied pride. its height is only remarkable compared with the flatness around; beside the proud giant-mountain of the same name in switzerland it would seem like a little hill. september 20th. on account of the contrary wind, we had cast anchor here last night, and this morning continued the journey to calmar, where we arrived about two in the forenoon. the town is situated on an immense plain, and is not very interesting. a few hours may be agreeably spent here in visiting the beautiful church and the antiquated castle, and we had more than enough leisure for it. wind and weather seemed to have conspired against us, and the captain announced an indefinite stay at this place. at first we could not land, as the waves were too high; but at last one of the larger boats came alongside, and the more curious among us ventured to row to the land in the unsteady vessel. the exterior of the church resembles a fine antiquated castle from its four corner towers and the lowness of its dome, which rises very little above the building, and also because the other turrets here and there erected for ornament are scarcely perceptible. the interior of the church is remarkable for its size, its height, and a particularly fine echo. the tones of the organ are said to produce a most striking effect. we sent for the organist, but he was nowhere to be found; so we had to content ourselves with the echo of our own voices. we went from this place to the old royal castle built by queen margaret in the sixteenth century. the castle is so dilapidated inside that a tarrying in the upper chambers is scarcely advisable. the lower rooms of the castle have been repaired, and are used as prisons; and as we passed, arms were stretched forth from some of the barred windows, and plaintive voices entreated the passers-by to bestow some trifle upon the poor inmates. upwards of 140 prisoners are said to be confined here. {56} about three o'clock in the afternoon the wind abated, and we continued our journey. the passage is very uniform, and we saw only flat, bare shores; a group of trees even was a rarity. september 21st. when i came on deck this morning the sound was far behind us. to the left we had the open sea; on the right, instead of the bleak schmoland, we had the bleaker schonen, which was so barren, that we hardly saw a paltry fishing-village between the low sterile hills. at nine o'clock in the morning we anchored in the port of ystadt. the town is pretty, and has a large square, in which stand the house of the governor, the theatre, and the town-hall. the streets are broad, and the houses partly of wood and partly of stone. the most interesting feature is the ancient church, and in it a much-damaged wooden altar-piece, which is kept in the vestry. though the figures are coarse and disproportionate, one must admire the composition and the carving. the reliefs on the pulpit, and a beautiful monument to the right of the altar, also deserve admiration. these are all carved in wood. in the afternoon we passed the danish island malmo. at last, after having been nearly four days on the sea instead of two days and a half, we arrived safely in the harbour of travemunde on the 22d september at two o'clock in the morning. and now my sea-journeys were over; i parted sorrowfully from the salt waters, for it is so delightful to see the water's expanse all around, and traverse its mirror-like surface. the sea presents a beautiful picture, even when it storms and rages, when waves tower upon waves, and threaten to dash the vessel to pieces or to engulf it--when the ship alternately dances on their points, or shoots into the abyss; and i frequently crept for hours in a corner, or held fast to the sides of the ship, and let the waves dash over me. i had overcome the terrible sea-sickness during my numerous journeys, and could therefore freely admire these fearfully beautiful scenes of excited nature, and adore god in his grandest works. we had scarcely cast anchor in the port when a whole array of coachmen surrounded us, volunteering to drive us overland to hamburgh, a journey of thirty-six miles, which it takes eight hours to accomplish. travemunde is a pretty spot, which really consists of only one street, in which the majority of the houses are hotels. the country from here to lubeck, a distance of ten miles, is very pretty. a splendid road, on which the carriages roll smoothly along, runs through a charming wood past a cemetery, whose beauty exceeds that of upsala; but for the monuments, one might take it for one of the most splendid parks or gardens. i regretted nothing so much as being unable to spend a day in lubeck, for i felt very much attracted by this old hanse town, with its pyramidically-built houses, its venerable dome, and other beautiful churches, its spacious squares, &c.; but i was obliged to proceed, and could only gaze at and admire it as i hurried through. the pavement of the streets is better than i had seen it in any northern town; and on the streets, in front of the houses, i saw many wooden benches, on which the inhabitants probably spend their summer evenings. i saw here for the first time again the gay-looking street-mirrors used in hamburgh. the trave, which flows between travemunde and lubeck, has to be crossed by boat. near oldesloe are the salt-factories, with large buildings and immensely high chimneys; an old romantic castle, entirely surrounded by water, lies near arensburg. past arensburg the country begins to be uninteresting, and remains so as far as hamburgh; but it seems to be very fertile, as there is an abundance of green fields and fine meadows. the little journey from lubeck to hamburgh is rather dear, on account of the almost incredible number of tolls and dues the poor coachmen have to pay. they have first to procure a license to drive from lubeck into hamburgh territory, which costs about 1_s._ 3_d._; then mine had to pay twice a double toll of 8_d._, because we passed through before five o'clock in the morning, and the gates, which are not opened till five o'clock, were unfastened especially for us; besides these, there was a penny toll on nearly every mile. this dreadful annoyance of the constant stopping and the toll-bars is unknown in norway and in sweden. there, an annual tax is paid for every horse, and the owner can then drive freely through the whole country, as no toll-bars are erected. the farm-houses here are very large and far-spread, but the reason is, that stable, barn, and shippen are under the same roof: the walls of the houses are of wood filled in with bricks. after passing arensburg, we saw the steeples of wandsbeck and hamburgh in the distance; the two towns seem to be one, and are, in fact, only separated by pretty country-houses. but wandsbeck compared to hamburgh is a village, not a town. i arrived in hamburgh about two o'clock in the afternoon; and my relatives were so astonished at my arrival, that they almost took me for a ghost. i was at first startled by their reception, but soon understood the reason of it. at the time i left iceland another vessel went to altona, by which i sent a box of minerals and curiosities to my cousin in hamburgh. the sailor who brought the box gave such a description of the wretched vessel in which i had gone to copenhagen, that, after having heard nothing of me for two months, he thought i must have gone to the bottom of the sea with the ship. i had indeed written from copenhagen, but the letter had been lost; and hence their surprise and delight at my arrival. chapter xi i had not much time to spare, so that i could only stay a few days with my relatives in hamburgh; on the 26th september, i went in a little steamer from hamburgh to harburg, where we arrived in three quarters of an hour. from thence i proceeded in a stage-carriage to celle, about sixty-five miles. the country is not very interesting; it consists for the most part of plains, which degenerate into heaths and marshes; but there are a few fertile spots peeping out here and there. september 27th. we arrived at celle in the night. from here to lehrte, a distance of about seven miles, i had to hire a private conveyance, but from lehrte the railway goes direct to berlin. {57} many larger and smaller towns are passed on this road; but we saw little of them, as the stations all lie at some distance, and the railway-train only stops a few minutes. the first town we passed was brunswick. immediately beyond the town lies the pretty ducal palace, built in the gothic style, in the centre of a fine park. wolfenbuttel seems to be a considerable town, judging by the quantity of houses and church-steeples. a pretty wooden bridge, with an elegantly-made iron balustrade, is built here across the ocker. from the town, a beautiful lane leads to a gentle hill, on whose top stands a lovely building, used as a coffee-house. as soon as one has passed the hanoverian domains the country, though it is not richer in natural curiosities, is less abundant in marshes and heaths, and is very well-cultivated land. many villages are spread around, and many a charming town excites the wish to travel through at a slower pace. we passed schepenstadt, jersheim, and wegersleben, which latter town already belongs to prussia. in ashersleben and in magdeburg we changed carriages. near salze we saw some fine buildings which belong to the extensive saltworks existing here. jernaudau is a colony of moravians. i should have wished to visit the town of kotten,--for nothing can be more charming than the situation of the town in the midst of fragrant gardens,--but we unfortunately only stopped there a few minutes. the town of dessau is also surrounded by pretty scenery: several bridges cross the various arms of the elbe; that over the river itself rests on solid stone columns. of wittenberg we only saw house tops and church-steeples; the same of juterbog, which looks as if it were newly built. near lukewalde the regions of sand begin, and the uniformity is only broken by a little ridge of wooded hills near trebbin; but when these are past, the railway passes on to berlin through a melancholy, unmitigated desert of sand. i had travelled from six o'clock this morning until seven in the evening, over a distance of about two hundred and twenty miles, during which time we had frequently changed carriages. the number of passengers we had taken up on the road was very great, on account of the leipzic fairs; sometimes the train had thirty-five to forty carriages, three locomotives, and seven to eight hundred passengers; and yet the greatest order had prevailed. it is a great convenience that one can take a ticket from lehrte to berlin, although the railway passes through so many different states, because then one needs not look after the luggage or any thing else. the officials on the railway are all very civil. as soon as the train stopped, the guards announced with a loud voice the time allowed, however long or short it might be; so that the passengers could act accordingly, and take refreshments in the neighbouring hotels. the arrangements for alighting are very convenient: the carriages run into deep rails at the stations, so that the ground is level with the carriages, and the entrance and exit easy. the carriages are like broad coaches; two seats ran breadthwise across them, with a large door at each side. the first and second class contain eight persons in each division, the third class ten. the carriages are all numbered, so that every passenger can easily find his seat. by these simple arrangements the traveller may descend and walk about a little, even though the train should only stop two minutes, or even purchase some refreshments, without any confusion or crowding. these conveniences are, of course, impossible when the carriages have the length of a house, and contain sixty or seventy persons within locked doors, and where the doors are opened by the guards, who only call out the name of the station without announcing how long the stay is. in such railways it is not advisable for travellers to leave their seats; for before they can pass from one end of the carriage to the other, through the narrow door and down the steep steps, the horn is sounded, and at the same time the train moves on; the sound being the signal for the engine-driver, the passengers having none. in these states there was also not the least trouble with the passport and the intolerable pass-tickets. no officious police-soldier comes to the carriage, and prevents the passengers alighting before they have answered all his questions. if passports had to be inspected on this journey, it would take a few days, for they must always be taken to the passport-office, as they are never examined on the spot. such annoying interruptions often occur several times in the same state. and one need not even come from abroad to experience them, as a journey from a provincial to a capital town affords enough scope for annoyance. i had no reason to complain of such annoyances in any of the countries through which i had hitherto passed. my passport was only demanded in my hotel in the capitals of the countries, if i intended to remain several days. in stockholm, however, i found a curious arrangement; every foreigner there is obliged to procure a swedish passport, and pay half-a-crown for it, if he only remains a few hours in the town. this is, in reality, only a polite way of taking half-a-crown from the strangers, as they probably do not like to charge so much for a simple _vise_! stay in berlin--return to vienna i have never seen a town more beautifully or regularly built than berlin,--i mean, the town of berlin itself,--only the finest streets, palaces, and squares of copenhagen would bear a comparison with it. i spent but a few days here, and had therefore scarcely time to see the most remarkable and interesting sights. the splendid royal palace, the extensive buildings for the picture-gallery and museums, the great dome--all these are situated very near each other. the dome church is large and regularly built; a chapel, surrounded by an iron enclosure, stands at each side of the entrance. several kings are buried here, and antiquated sarcophagi cover their remains, known as the kings' graves. near them stands a fine cast-iron monument, beneath which count brandenburg lies. the catholic church is built in the style of the rotunda in rome; but, unlike it, the light falls from windows made around the walls, and not from above. beautiful statues and a simple but tasteful altar are the only ornaments of this church. the portico is ornamented by beautiful reliefs. the werder church is a modern erection, built in the gothic style, and its turrets are ornamented by beautiful bronze reliefs. the walls inside are inlaid with coloured wood up to the galleries, where they terminate in gothic scroll-work. the organ has a full, clear tone; in front of it stands a painting which, at first sight, resembles a scene from heathen mythology more than a sacred subject. a number of cupids soar among wreaths of flowers, and surround three beautiful female figures. the mint and the architectural college stand near this church. the former is covered with fine sculptures; the latter is square, of a brick-red colour, without any architectural embellishment, and perfectly resembling an unusually large private house. the ground-floor is turned into fine shops. near the palace lies the opera square, in which stand the celebrated opera-house, the arsenal, the university, the library, the academy, the guardhouse, and several royal palaces. three statues ornament the square: those of general count bulov, general count scharnhorst, and general prince blucher. they are all three beautifully sculptured, but the drapery did not please me; it consisted of the long military cloth cloak, which, opening in front, afforded a glimpse of the splendid uniforms. the arsenal is one of the finest buildings in berlin, and forms a square; at the time of my stay some repairs were being made, so that it was closed. i had to be content with glimpses through the windows of the first floor, which showed me immense saloons filled by tremendous cannons, ranged in rows. the guardhouse is contiguous, and resembles a pretty temple, with its portico of columns. the opera-house forms a long detached square. it would have a much better effect if the entrances were not so wretched. the one at the grand portal looks like a narrow, miserable church-door, low and gloomy. the other entrances are worse still, and one would not suppose that they could lead to such a splendid interior, whose appointments are indescribably luxurious and commodious. the pit is filled by rows of comfortably-cushioned chairs with cushioned backs, numbered, but not barred. the boxes are divided by very low partitions, so that the aristocratic world seems to sit on a tribune. the seats in the pit and the first and second tiers are covered with dark-red silk damask; the royal box is a splendid saloon, the floor of which is covered with the finest carpets. beautiful oil-paintings, in tasteful gold frames, ornament the plafond; but the magnificent chandelier is the greatest curiosity. it looks so massively worked in bronze, that it is painful to see the heavy mass hang so loosely over the heads of the spectators. but it is only a delusion; for it is made of paste-board, and bronzed over. innumerable lamps light the place; but one thing which i miss in such elegant modern theatres is a clock, which has a place in nearly every italian theatre. the other buildings on this square are also distinguished for their size and the beauty of their architecture. an unusually broad stone bridge, with a finely-made iron balustrade, is built over a little arm of the spree, and unites the square of the opera with that on which the palace stands. the royal museum is one of the finest architectural piles, and its high portal is covered with beautiful frescoes. the picture-gallery contains many _chefs-d'oeuvre_; and i regretted that i had not more time to examine it and the hall of antiquities, having only three hours for the two. from the academy runs a long street lined with lime-trees, and which is therefore called under-the-limes (_unter den linden_). this alley forms a cheerful walk to the brandenburg-gate, beyond which the pleasure-gardens are situated. the longest and finest streets which run into the lime-alley are the friedrichs street and the wilhelms street. the leipziger street also belongs to the finest, but does not run into this promenade. the gens-d'arme square is distinguished by the french and german churches, at least by their exterior,--by their high domes, columns, and porticoes. the interiors are small and insignificant. on this square stands also the royal theatre, a tasteful pile of great beauty, with many pillars, and statues of muses and deities. i ascended the tower on which the telegraph works, on account of the view over the town and the flat neighbourhood. a very civil official was polite enough to explain the signs of the telegraph to me, and to permit me to look at the other telegraphs through his telescope. the konigstadt, situated on the opposite shore of the spree, not far from the royal palace, contains nothing remarkable. its chief street, the konigsstrasse, is long, but narrow and dirty. indeed it forms a great contrast to the town of berlin in every thing; the streets are narrow, short, and winding. the post-office and the theatres are the most remarkable buildings. the luxury displayed in the shop-windows is very great. many a mirror and many a plate-glass window reminded me of hamburgh's splendour, which surpasses that of berlin considerably. there are not many excursions round berlin, as the country is flat and sandy. the most interesting are to the pleasure-gardens, charlottenburg, and, since the opening of the railway, to potsdam. the park or pleasure-garden is outside the brandenburg-gate; it is divided into several parts, one of which reminded me of our fine prater in vienna. the beautiful alleys were filled with carriages, riders, and pedestrians; pretty coffee-houses enlivened the woody portions, and merry children gambolled on the green lawns. i felt so much reminded of my beloved prater, that i expected every moment to see a well-known face, or receive a friendly greeting. kroll's casino, sometimes called the winter-garden, is built on this side of the park. i do not know how to describe this building; it is quite a fairy palace. all the splendour which fancy can invent in furniture, gilding, painting, or tapestry, is here united in the splendid halls, saloons, temples, galleries, and boxes. the dining-room, which will dine 1800 persons, is not lighted by windows, but by a glass roof vaulted over it. rows of pillars support the galleries, or separate the larger and smaller saloons. in the niches, and in the corners, round the pillars, abound fragrant flowers, and plants in chaste vases or pots, which transform this place into a magical garden in winter. concerts and _reunions_ take place here every sunday, and the press of visitors is extraordinary, although smoking is prohibited. this place will accommodate 5000 persons. that side of the park which lies in the direction of the potsdam-gate resembles an ornamental garden, with its well-kept alleys, flower-beds, terraces, islets, and gold-fish ponds. a handsome monument to the memory of queen louise is erected on the louise island here. on this side, the coffee-house odeon is the best, but cannot be compared to kroll's casino. here also are rows of very elegant country-houses, most of which are built in the italian style. charlottenburg this place is about half an hour's distance from the brandenburg-gate, where the omnibuses that depart every minute are stationed. the road leads through the park, beyond which lies a pretty village, and adjoining it is the royal country-palace of charlottenburg. the palace is built in two stories, of which the upper one is very low, and is probably only used for the domestics. the palace is more broad than deep; the roof is terrace-shaped, and in its centre rises a pretty dome. the garden is simple, and not very large, but contains a considerable orangery. in a dark grove stands a little building, the mausoleum in which the image of queen louise has been excellently executed by the famed artist rauch. here also rest the ashes of the late king. there is also an island with statues in the midst of a large pond, on which some swans float proudly. it is a pity that dirt does not stick to these white-feathered animals, else they would soon be black swans; for the pond or river surrounding the island is one of the dirtiest ditches i have ever seen. fatigue would be very intolerable in this park, for there are very few benches, but an immense quantity of gnats. potsdam. the distance from berlin to potsdam is eighteen miles, which is passed by the railroad in three-quarters of an hour. the railway is very conveniently arranged; the carriages are marked with the names of the station, and the traveller enters the carriage on which the place of his destination is marked. thus, the passengers are never annoyed by the entrance or exit of passengers, as all occupying the same carriage descend at the same time. the road is very uninteresting; but this is compensated for by potsdam itself, for which a day is scarcely sufficient. immediately in front of the town flows the river havel, crossed by a long, beautiful bridge, whose pillars are of stone, and the rest of the bridge of iron. the large royal palace lies on the opposite shore, and is surrounded by a garden. the garden is not very extensive, but large enough for the town, and is open to the public. the palace is built in a splendid style, but is unfortunately quite useless, as the court has beautiful summer-palaces in the neighbourhood of potsdam, and spends the winter in berlin. the castle square is not very good; it is neither large nor regular, and not even level. on it stands the large church, which is not yet completed, but promises to be a fine structure. the town is tolerably large, and has many fine houses. the streets, especially the nauner street, are wide and long, but badly paved; the stones are laid with the pointed side upwards, and for foot-passengers there is a stone pavement two feet broad on one side of the street only. the promenade of the townspeople is called am kanal (beside the canal), and is a fine square, through which the canal flows, and is ornamented with trees. of the royal pleasure-palaces i visited that of sans souci first. it is surrounded by a pretty park, and lies on a hill, which is divided into six terraces. large conservatories stand on each side of these; and in front of them are long alleys of orange and lemon-trees. the palace has only a ground floor, and is surrounded by arbours, trees, and vines, so that it is almost concealed from view. i could not inspect the interior, as the royal family was living there. a side-path leads from here to the ruinenberg, on which the ruins of a larger and a smaller temple, raised by the hand of art, are tastefully disposed. the top of the hill is taken up by a reservoir of water. from this point one can see the back of the palace of sans souci, and the so-called new palace, separated from the former by a small park, and distant only about a quarter of an hour. the new palace, built by frederick the great, is as splendid as one can imagine. it forms a lengthened square, with arabesques and flat columns, and has a flat roof, which is surrounded by a stone balustrade, and ornamented by statues. the apartments are high and large, and splendidly painted, tapestried, and furnished. oil-paintings, many of them very good, cover the walls. one might fill a volume with the description of all the wonders of this place, which is, however, not inhabited. behind the palace, and separated from it by a large court, are two beautiful little palaces, connected by a crescent-shaped hall of pillars; broad stone steps lead to the balconies surrounding the first story of the edifices. they are used as barracks, and are, as such, the most beautiful i have ever seen. from here a pleasant walk leads to the lovely palace of charlottenburg. coming from the large new palace it seemed too small for the dwelling even of the crown-prince. i should have taken it for a splendid pavilion attached to the new palace, to which the royal family sometimes walked, and perhaps remained there to take refreshment. but when i had inspected it more closely, and seen all the comfortable little rooms, furnished with such tasteful luxury, i felt that the crown-prince could not have made a better choice. beautiful fountains play on the terraces; the walls of the corridors and anterooms are covered with splendid frescoes, in imitation of those found in pompeii. the rooms abound in excellent engravings, paintings, and other works of art; and the greatest taste and splendour is displayed even in the minor arrangements. a pretty chinese chiosque, filled with good statues, which have been unfortunately much damaged and broken, stands near the palace. these three beautiful royal residences are situated in parks, which are so united that they seem only as one. the parks are filled with fine trees, and verdant fields crossed by well-kept paths and drives; but i saw very few flower-beds in them. when i had contemplated every thing at leisure, i returned to the palace of sans souci, to see the beautiful fountains, which play twice a week, on tuesday and friday, from noon till evening. the columns projected from the basin in front of the castle are so voluminous, and rise with such force, that i gazed in amazement at the artifice. it is real pleasure to be near the basin when the sun shines in its full splendour, forming the most beautiful rainbows in the falling shower of drops. equally beautiful is a fountain rising from a high vase, enwreathed by living flowers, and falling over it, so that it forms a quick, brisk fountain, transparent, and pure as the finest crystal. the lid of the vase, also enwreathed with growing flowers, rises above the fountain. the neptune's grotto is of no great beauty; the water falls from an urn placed over it, and forms little waterfalls as it flows over nautilus-shells. the marble palace lies on the other side of potsdam, and is half an hour's distance from these palaces; but i had time enough to visit it. entering the park belonging to this palace, a row of neat peasants' cottages is seen on the left; they are all alike, but separated by fruit, flower, or kitchen-gardens. the palace lies at the extreme end of the park, on a pretty lake formed by the river havel. it certainly has some right to the name of marble palace; but it seems presumption to call it so when compared to the marble palaces of venice, or the marble mosques of constantinople. the walls of the building are of brick left in its natural colour. the lower and upper frame-work, the window-sashes, and the portals, are all of marble. the palace is partly surrounded by a gallery supported on marble columns. the stairs are of fine white marble, and many of the apartments are laid with this mineral. the interior is not nearly so luxurious as the other palaces. this was the last of the sights i saw in potsdam or the environs of berlin; for i continued my journey to vienna on the following day. before quitting berlin, i must mention an arrangement which is particularly convenient for strangers--namely, the fares for hackney-carriages. one need ask no questions, but merely enter the carriage, tell the coachman where to drive, and pay him six-pence. this moderate fare is for the whole town, which is somewhat extensive. at all the railway stations there are numbers of these vehicles, which will drive to any hotel, however far it may be from the station, for the same moderate fare. if only all cab-drivers were so accommodating! october 1st. the railway goes through leipzic to dresden, where i took the mail-coach for prague at eight o'clock the same evening, and arrived there in eighteen hours. as it was night when we passed, we did not enjoy the beautiful views of the nollendorf mountain. in the morning we passed two handsome monuments, one of them, a pyramid fifty-four feet high, to the memory of count colloredo, the other to the memory of the russian troops who had fallen here; both have been erected since the wars of napoleon. on we went through charming districts to the famed bathing-place teplitz, which is surrounded by the most beautiful scenery; and can bear comparison with the finest bathing-places of the world. further on we passed a solitary basaltic rock, boren, which deserves attention for its beauty and as a natural curiosity. we unfortunately hurried past it, as we wished to reach prague before six o'clock, so that we might not miss the train to vienna. my readers may imagine our disappointment on arriving at the gates of prague, when our passports were taken from us and not returned. in vain we referred to the _vise_ of the boundary-town peterswalde; in vain we spoke of our haste. the answer always was, "that is nothing to us; you can have your papers back to-morrow at the police-office." thus we were put off, and lost twenty-four hours. i must mention a little joke i had on the ride from dresden to prague. two gentlemen and a lady beside myself occupied the mail-coach; the lady happened to have read my diary of palestine, and asked me, when she heard my name, if i were that traveller. when i had acknowledged i was that same person, our conversation turned on that and on my present journey. one of the gentlemen, herr katze, was very intelligent, and conversed in a most interesting manner on countries, nationalities, and scientific subjects. the other gentleman was probably equally well informed, but he made less use of his acquirements. herr katze remained in teplitz, and the other gentleman proceeded with us to vienna. before arriving at our destination, he asked me if herr katze had not requested me to mention his name in my next book, and added, that if i would promise to do the same, he would tell me his name. i could not refrain from smiling, but assured him that herr katze had not thought of such a thing, and begged him not to communicate his name to me, so that he might see that we females were not so curious as we are said to be. but the poor man could not refrain from giving me his name--nicholas b.--before we parted. i do not insert it for two reasons: first, because i did not promise to name him; and secondly, because i do not think it would do him any service. the railway from prague to vienna goes over olmutz, and makes such a considerable round, that the distance is now nearly 320 miles, and the arrangements on the railway are very imperfect. there were no hotels erected on the road, and we had to be content with fruit, beer, bread, and butter, &c. the whole time. and these provisions were not easily obtained, as we could not venture to leave the carriages. the conductor called out at every station that we should go on directly, although the train frequently stood upwards of half an hour; but as we did not know that before, we were obliged to remain on our seats. the conductors were not of the most amiable character, which may perhaps be ascribed to the climate; for when we approached the boundary of the austrian states at peterswalde, the inspector received us very gruffly. we wished him good evening twice, but he took no notice of it, and demanded our papers in a loud and peremptory tone; he probably thought us as deaf as we thought him. at ganserndorf, twenty-five miles from vienna, they took our papers from us in a very uncivil, uncourteous manner. on the 4th of october, 1845, after an absence of six months, i arrived again in sight of the dear stephen's steeple, as most of my countrywomen would say. i had suffered many hardships; but my love of travelling would not have been abated, nor would my courage have failed me, had they been ten times greater. i had been amply compensated for all. i had seen things which never occur in our common life, and had met with people as they are rarely met with--in their natural state. and i brought back with me the recollections of my travels, which will always remain, and which will afford me renewed pleasure for years. and now i take leave of my dear readers, requesting them to accept with indulgence my descriptions, which are always true, though they may not be amusing. if i have, as i can scarcely hope, afforded them some amusement, i trust they will in return grant me a small corner in their memories. in conclusion, i beg to add an appendix, which may not be uninteresting to many of my readers, namely: 1. a document which i procured in reikjavik, giving the salaries of the royal danish officials, and the sources from whence they are paid. 2. a list of icelandic insects, butterflies, flowers, and plants, which i collected and brought home with me. appendix a salaries of the royal danish officials in iceland, which they receive from the icelandic land-revenues. florins {58} the governor of iceland 2000 office expenses 600 the deputy for the western 1586 district office expenses 400 rent 200 the deputy for the northern and 1286 eastern districts office expenses 400 the bishop of iceland, who draws 800 his salary from the school-revenues, has paid him from this treasury the members of the supreme court: one judge 1184 first assessor 890 second assessor 740 the land-bailiff of iceland 600 office expenses 200 rent 150 the town-bailiff of reikjavik 300 the first police-officer of 200 reikjavik, who is at the same time gaoler, and therefore has 50 _fl._ more than the second officer the second police-officer 150 the mayor of reikjavik only draws 150 from this treasury his house-rent, which is the sysselman of the westmanns 296 islands the other sysselmen, each 230 medical department and midwifery: the physician 900 house-rent 150 apothecary of reikjavik 185 house-rent 150 the second apothecary at 90 sikkisholm six surgeons in the country, 300 each house-rent for some 30 for others 25 a medical practitioner on the 110 northland reikjavik has two midwives, 50 each receives the other midwives in iceland, 100 amounting to thirty, each receives these midwives are instructed and examined by the land physician, who has the charge of paying them annually. organist of reikjavik 100 from the school-revenues the bishop receives 1200 the teachers at the high school: the teacher of theology 800 the head assistant, besides 500 free lodging the second assistant 500 house-rent 50 the third assistant 500 house-rent 50 the resident at the school 170 list of invertebrated animals collected in iceland 1. crustacea. pagarus bernhardus, _linnaeus_. 2. insecta. a. _coleoptera_. nebria rubripes, _dejean_. patrobus hyperboreus. calathus melanocephalus, _fabr_. notiophilus aquaticus. amara vulgaris, _duftsihm_. ptinus fur, _linn_. aphodius lapponum, _schh_. otiorhynchus laevigatus, _dhl_. otiorhynchus pinastri, _fabr_. otiorhynchus ovatus. staphylinus maxillosus. byrrhus pillula. b. _neuroptera_. limnophilus lineola, _schrank_. c. _hymenoptera_. pimpla instigator, _gravh_. bombus subterraneus, _linn_. d. _lepidoptera_. geometra russata, hub. geom. alche millata. geom. spec. nov. e. _diptera_. tipula lunata, _meig_. scatophaga stercoraria. musca vomitaria. musca mortuorum. helomyza serrata. lecogaster islandicus, _scheff_. {59} anthomyia decolor, _fallin_. list of icelandic plants _collected by ida pfeiffer in the summer of the year_ 1845 _felices_. cystopteris fragilis. _equisetaceae_. equisetum teltamegra. _graminae_. festuca uniglumis. _cyperaceae_. carea filiformis. carea caespitosa. eriophorum caespitosum. _juncaceae_. luzula spicata. luzula campestris. _salicineae_. salix polaris. _polygoneae_. remux arifolus. oxyria reniformes. _plumbagineae_. armeria alpina (in the interior mountainous districts). _compositae_. chrysanthemum maritimum (on the sea-shore, and on marshy fields). hieracium alpinum (on grassy plains). taraxacum alpinum. erigeron uniflorum (west of havenfiord, on rocky soil). _rubiaceae_. gallium pusillum. gallium verum. _labiatae_. thynus serpyllum. _asperifoliae_. myosotis alpestris. myosotis scorpioicles. _scrophularineae_. bartsia alpina (in the interior north-western valleys). rhinanthus alpestris. _utricularieae_. pinguicula alpina. pinguicula vulgaris. _umbelliferae_. archangelica officinalis (havenfiord). _saxifrageae_. saxifraga caespitosa (the real linnaean plant: on rocks round hecla). _ranunculaceae_. ranunculus auricomus. ranunculus nivalis. thalictrum alpinum (growing between lava, near reikjavik). caltha palustris. _cruciferae_. draba verna. cardamine pratensis. _violariceae_. viola hirta. _caryophylleae_. sagina stricta. cerastium semidecandrum. lepigonum rubrum. silene maritima. lychnis alpina (on the mountain-fields round reikjavik). _empetreae_. empetrum nigrum. _geraniaceae_. geranium sylvaticum (in pits near thingvalla). _troseaceae_. parnassia palustris. _oenothereae_. epilobium latifolium (in clefts of the mountain at the foot of hecla). epilobium alpinum (in reiker valley, west of havenfiord). _rosaceae_. rubus arcticus. potentilla anserina. potentilla gronlandica (on rocks near kallmanstunga and kollismola). alchemilla montana. sanguisorba officinalis. geum rivale. dryas octopela (near havenfiord). _papilionaceae_. trifolium repens. footnotes: {1} in this gutenberg etext only madame pfeiffer's work appears--dp. {2} madame pfeiffer's first journey was to the holy land in 1842; and on her return from iceland she started in 1846 on a "journey round the world," from which she returned in the end of 1848. this adventurous lady is now (1853) travelling among the islands of the eastern archipelago. {3} a florin is worth about 2_s._ 1_d._; sixty kreutzers go to a florin. {4} at kuttenberg the first silver groschens were coined, in the year 1300. the silver mines are now exhausted, though other mines, of copper, zinc, &c. are wrought in the neighbourhood. the population is only half of what it once was. --ed. {5} the expression of madame pfeiffer's about frederick "paying his score to the austrians," is somewhat vague. the facts are these. in 1757 frederick the great of prussia invaded bohemia, and laid siege to prague. before this city an austrian army lay, who were attacked with great impetuosity by frederick, and completely defeated. but the town was defended with great valour; and during the time thus gained the austrian general daun raised fresh troops, with which he took the field at collin. here he was attacked by frederick, who was routed, and all his baggage and cannon captured. this loss was "paying his score;" and the defeat was so complete, that the great monarch sat down by the side of a fountain, and tracing figures in the sand, was lost for a long time in meditation on the means to be adopted to retrieve his fortune. {6} i mention this little incident to warn the traveller against parting with his effects. {7} the true version of this affair is as follows. john of nepomuk was a priest serving under the archbishop of prague. the king, wenceslaus, was a hasty, cruel tyrant, who was detested by all his subjects, and hated by the rest of germany. two priests were guilty of some crime, and one of the court chamberlains, acting under royal orders, caused the priests to be put to death. the archbishop, indignant at this, placed the chamberlain under an interdict. this so roused the king that he attempted to seize the archbishop, who took refuge in flight. john of nepomuk, however, and another priest, were seized and put to the torture to confess what were the designs of the archbishop. the king seems to have suspected that the queen was in some way connected with the line of conduct pursued by the archbishop. john of nepomuk, however, refused, even though the king with his own hand burned him with a torch. irritated by his obstinate silence, the king caused the poor monk to be cast over the bridge into the moldau. this monk was afterwards canonised, and made the patron saint of bridges.--ed. {8} albert von wallenstein (or waldstein), the famous duke of friedland, is celebrated as one of the ablest commanders of the imperial forces during the protracted religious contest known in german history as the "thirty years' war." during its earlier period wallenstein greatly distinguished himself, and was created by the emperor ferdinand duke of friedland and generalissimo of the imperial forces. in the course of a few months wallenstein raised an army of forty thousand men in the emperor's service. the strictest discipline was preserved _within_ his camp, but his troops supported themselves by a system of rapine and plunder unprecedented even in those days of military license. merit was rewarded with princely munificence, and the highest offices were within the reach of every common soldier who distinguished himself;--trivial breaches of discipline were punished with death. the dark and ambitious spirit of wallenstein would not allow him to rest satisfied with the rewards and dignities heaped upon him by his imperial master. he temporised and entered into negotiations with the enemy; and during an interview with a swedish general (arnheim), is even said to have proposed an alliance to "hunt the emperor to the devil." it is supposed that he aspired to the sovereignty of bohemia. ferdinand was informed of the ambitious designs of his general, and at length determined that wallenstein should die. he despatched one of his generals, gallas, to the commander-in-chief, with a mandate depriving him of his dignity of generalissimo, and nominating gallas as his successor. surprised before his plans were ripe, and deserted by many on whose support he had relied, wallenstein retired hastily upon egra. during a banquet in the castle, three of his generals who remained faithful to their leader were murdered in the dead of night. roused by the noise, wallenstein leapt from his bed, and encountered three soldiers who had been hired to despatch him. speechless with astonishment and indignation, he stretched forth his arms, and receiving in his breast the stroke of a halbert, fell dead without a groan, in the fifty-first year of his age. the following anecdote, curiously illustrative of the state of affairs in wallenstein's camp, is related by schiller in his _history of the thirty years' war_, a work containing a full account of the life and actions of this extraordinary man. "the extortions of wallenstein's soldiers from the peasants had at one period reached such a pitch, that severe penalties were denounced against all marauders; and every soldier who should be convicted of theft was threatened with a halter. shortly afterwards, it chanced that wallenstein himself met a soldier straying in the field, whom he caused to be seized, as having violated the law, and condemned to the gallows without a trial, by his usual word of doom: "let the rascal be hung!" the soldier protested, and proved his innocence. "then let them hang the innocent," cried the inhuman wallenstein; "and the guilty will tremble the more." the preparations for carrying this sentence into effect had already commenced, when the soldier, who saw himself lost without remedy, formed the desperate resolution that he would not die unrevenged. rushing furiously upon his leader, he was seized and disarmed by the bystanders before he could carry his intention into effect. "now let him go," said wallenstein; "it will excite terror enough.""--ed. {9} poniatowski was the commander of the polish legion in the armies of napoleon, by whom he was highly respected. at the battle of leipzig, fought in october 1813, poniatowski and marshal macdonald were appointed to command the rear of napoleon's army, which, after two days hard fighting, was compelled to retreat before the allies. these generals defended the retreat of the army so gallantly, that all the french troops, except those under their immediate command, had evacuated the town. the rear-guard was preparing to follow, when the only bridge over the elster that remained open to them was destroyed, through some mistake. this effectually barred the escape of the rear of napoleon's army. a few, among whom was marshal macdonald, succeeded in swimming across; but poniatowski, after making a brave resistance, and refusing to surrender, was drowned in making the same attempt.--ed. {10} leipzig has long been famous as the chief book-mart of germany. at the great easter meetings, publishers from all the different states assemble at the "buchhandler borse," and a large amount of business is done. the fairs of leipzig have done much towards establishing the position of this city as one of the first trading towns in germany. they take place three times annually: at new-year, at easter, and at michaelmas; but the easter fair is by far the most important. these commercial meetings last about three weeks, and during this time the town presents a most animated appearance, as the streets are thronged with the costumes of almost every nation, the smart dress of the tyrolese contrasting gaily with the sombre garb of the polish jews. the amount of business transacted at these fairs is very considerable; on several occasions, above twenty thousand dealers have assembled. the trade is principally in woollen cloths; but lighter wares, and even ornaments of every description, are sold to a large extent. the manner in which every available place is taken advantage of is very curious: archways, cellars, passages, and courtyards are alike filled with merchandise, and the streets are at times so crowded as to be almost impassable. when the three weeks have passed, the wooden booths which have been erected in the market-place and the principal streets are taken down, the buyers and sellers vanish together, and the visitor would scarcely recognise in the quiet streets around him the bustling busy city of a few days ago.--ed. {11} the fire broke out on 4th may 1842, and raged with the utmost fury for three days. whole streets were destroyed, and at least 2000 houses burned to the ground. nearly half a million of money was raised in foreign countries to assist in rebuilding the city, of which about a tenth was contributed by britain. such awful fires, fearful though they are at the time, seem absolutely necessary to great towns, as they cause needful improvements to be made, which the indolence or selfishness of the inhabitants would otherwise prevent. there is not a great city that has not at one time or another suffered severely from fire, and has risen out of the ruins greater than before.--ed. {12} there are no docks at hamburgh, consequently all the vessels lie in the river elbe, and both receive and discharge their cargoes there. madame pfeiffer, however, is mistaken in supposing that only london could show a picture of so many ships and so much commercial activity surpassing that of hamburgh. such a picture, more impressive even than that seen in the elbe, is exhibited every day in the mersey or the hudson.--ed. {13} kiel, however, is a place of considerable trade; and doubtless the reason why madame pfeiffer saw so few vessels at it was precisely the same reason why she saw so many at hamburgh. kiel contains an excellent university.--ed. {14} at sea i calculate by sea-miles, of which sixty go to a degree. {15} this great danish sculptor was born of poor parents at copenhagen, on the 19th november, 1770; his father was an icelander, and earned his living by carving figure-heads for ships. albert, or "bertel," as he is more generally called, was accustomed during his youth to assist his father in his labours on the wharf. at an early age he visited the academy at copenhagen, where his genius soon began to make itself conspicuous. at the age of sixteen he had won a silver, and at twenty a gold medal. two years later he carried off the "great" gold medal, and was sent to study abroad at the expense of the academy. in 1797 we find him practising his art at rome under the eye of zoega the dane, who does not, however, seem to have discovered indications of extraordinary genius in the labours of his young countryman. but a work was soon to appear which should set all questions as to thorwaldsen's talent for ever at rest. in 1801 he produced his celebrated statue of "jason," which was at once pronounced by the great canova to be "a work in a new and a grand style." after this period the path of fame lay open before the young sculptor; his bas-reliefs of "summer" and "autumn," the "dance of the muses," "cupid and psyche," and numerous other works, followed each other in rapid succession; and at length, in 1812, thorwaldsen produced his extraordinary work, "the triumph of alexander." in 1819 thorwaldsen returned rich and famous to the city he had quitted as a youth twenty-three years before; he was received with great honour, and many feasts and rejoicings were held to celebrate his arrival. after a sojourn of a year thorwaldsen again visited rome, where he continued his labours until 1838, when, wealthy and independent, he resolved to rest in his native country. this time his welcome to copenhagen was even more enthusiastic than in 1819. the whole shore was lined with spectators, and amid thundering acclamations the horses were unharnessed from his carriage, and the sculptor was drawn in triumph by the people to his _atelier_. during the remainder of his life thorwaldsen passed much of his time on the island of nyso, where most of his latest works were executed. on sunday, march 9th, 1842, he had been conversing with a circle of friends in perfect health. halm's tragedy of _griselda_ was announced for the evening, and thorwaldsen proceeded to the theatre to witness the performance. during the overture he rose to allow a stranger to pass, then resumed his seat, and a moment afterwards his head sunk on his breast--he was dead! his funeral was most sumptuous. rich and poor united to do honour to the memory of the great man, who had endeared himself to them by his virtues as by his genius. the crown-prince followed the coffin, and the people of copenhagen stood in two long rows, and uncovered their heads as the coffin of the sculptor was carried past. the king himself took part in the solemnity. at the time of his decease thorwaldsen had completed his seventy-second year.--ed. {16} tycho de brahe was a distinguished astronomer, who lived between 1546 and 1601. he was a native of denmark. his whole life may be said to have been devoted to astronomy. a small work that he published when a young man brought him under the notice of the king of denmark, with whose assistance he constructed, on the small island of hulln, a few miles north of copenhagen, the celebrated observatory of uranienburg. here, seated in "the ancient chair" referred to in the text, and surrounded by numerous assistants, he directed for seventeen years a series of observations, that have been found extremely accurate and useful. on the death of his patron he retired to prague in bohemia, where he was employed by rodolph ii. then emperor of germany. here he was assisted by the great kepler, who, on tycho's death in 1601, succeeded him.--ed. {17} the fisheries of iceland have been very valuable, and indeed the chief source of the commerce of the country ever since it was discovered. the fish chiefly caught are cod and the tusk or cat-fish. they are exported in large quantities, cured in various ways. since the discovery of newfoundland, however, the fisheries of iceland have lost much of their importance. so early as 1415, the english sent fishing vessels to the icelandic coast, and the sailors who were on board, it would appear, behaved so badly to the natives that henry v. had to make some compensation to the king of denmark for their conduct. the greatest number of fishing vessels from england that ever visited iceland was during the reign of james i., whose marriage with the sister of the danish king might probably make england at the time the most favoured nation. it was in his time that an english pirate, "gentleman john," as he was called, committed great ravages in iceland, for which james had afterwards to make compensation. the chief markets for the fish are in the catholic countries of europe. in the seventeenth century, a great traffic in fish was carried on between iceland and spain.--ed. {18} the dues charged by the danish government on all vessels passing through the sound have been levied since 1348, and therefore enjoy a prescriptive right of more than five hundred years. they bring to the danish government a yearly revenue of about a quarter of a million; and, in consideration of the dues, the government has to support certain lighthouses, and otherwise to render safe and easy the navigation of this great entrance to the baltic. sound-dues were first paid in the palmy commercial days of the hanseatic league. that powerful combination of merchants had suffered severely from the ravages of danish pirates, royal and otherwise; but ultimately they became so powerful that the rich merchant could beat the royal buccaneer, and tame his ferocity so effectually as to induce him to build and maintain those beacon-lights on the shores of the sound, for whose use they and all nations and merchants after them have agreed to pay certain duties.--ed. {19} the feroe islands consist of a great many islets, some of them mere rocks, lying about halfway between the north coast of scotland and iceland. at one time they belonged to norway, but came into the possession of denmark at the same time as iceland. they are exceedingly mountainous, some of the mountains attaining an elevation of about 2800 feet. the largest town or village does not contain more than 1500 or 1600 inhabitants. the population live chiefly on the produce of their large flocks of sheep, and on the down procured, often at great risk to human life, from the eider-duck and other birds by which the island is frequented.--ed. {20} i should be truly sorry if, in this description of our "life aboard ship," i had said any thing which could give offence to my kind friend herr knudson. i have, however, presumed that every one is aware that the mode of life at sea is different to life in families. i have only to add, that herr knudson lived most agreeably not only in copenhagen, but what is far more remarkable, in iceland also, and was provided with every comfort procurable in the largest european towns. {21} it is not only at sea that ingenious excuses for drinking are invented. the lovers of good or bad liquor on land find these reasons as "plenty as blackberries," and apply them with a marvellous want of stint or scruple. in warm climates the liquor is drank to keep the drinker cool, in cold to keep him warm; in health to prevent him from being sick, in sickness to bring him back to health. very seldom is the real reason, "because i like it," given; and all these excuses and reasons must be regarded as implying some lingering sense of shame at the act, and as forming part of "the homage that vice always pays to virtue."--ed. {22} the sailors call those waves "spanish" which, coming from the west, distinguish themselves by their size. {23} these islands form a rocky group, only one of which is inhabited, lying about fifteen miles from the coast. they are said to derive their name from some natives of ireland, called west-men, who visited iceland shortly after its discovery by the norwegians. in this there is nothing improbable, for we know that during the ninth and tenth centuries the danes and normans, called easterlings, made many descents on the irish coast; and one norwegian chief is reported to have assumed sovereign power in ireland about the year 866, though he was afterwards deposed, and flung into a lough, where he was drowned: rather an ignominious death for a "sea-king."--ed. {24} this work, which madame pfeiffer does not praise too highly, was first published in 1810. after passing through two editions, it was reprinted in 1841, at a cheap price, in the valuable people's editions of standard works, published by messrs. chambers of edinburgh. {25} it is related of ingold that he carried with him on his voyage the door of his former house in ireland, and that when he approached the coast he cast it into the sea, watching the point of land which it touched; and on that land he fixed his future home. this land is the same on which the town of reikjavik now stands. these old sea-kings, like the men of athens, were "in all things too superstitious."--ed. {26} these sea-rovers, that were to the nations of europe during the middle ages what the danes, norwegians, and other northmen were at an earlier period, enjoyed at this time the full flow of their lawless prosperity. their insolence and power were so great that many nations, our own included, were glad to purchase, by a yearly payment, exemption from the attacks of these sea-rovers. the americans paid this tribute so late as 1815. the unfortunate icelanders who were carried off in the seventeenth century nearly all died as captives in algiers. at the end of ten years they were liberated; but of the four hundred only thirty-seven were alive when the joyful intelligence reached the place of their captivity; and of these twenty-four died before rejoining their native land.--ed. {27} this town, the capital of iceland, and the seat of government, is built on an arm of the sea called the faxefiord, in the south-west part of the island. the resident population does not exceed 500, but this is greatly increased during the annual fairs. it consists mainly of two streets at right angles to each other. it contains a large church built of stone, roofed with tiles; an observatory; the residences of the governor and the bishop, and the prison, which is perhaps the most conspicuous building in the town.--ed. {28} as madame pfeiffer had thus no opportunity of attending a ball in iceland, the following description of one given by sir george mackenzie may be interesting to the reader. "we gave a ball to the ladies of reikjavik and the neighbourhood. the company began to assemble about nine o'clock. we were shewn into a small low-roofed room, in which were a number of men, but to my surprise i saw no females. we soon found them, however, in one adjoining, where it is the custom for them to wait till their partners go to hand them out. on entering this apartment, i felt considerable disappointment at not observing a single woman dressed in the icelandic costume. the dresses had some resemblance to those of english chambermaids, but were not so smart. an old lady, the wife of the man who kept the tavern, was habited like the pictures of our great-grandmothers. some time after the dancing commenced, the bishop's lady, and two others, appeared in the proper dress of the country. "we found ourselves extremely awkward in dancing what the ladies were pleased to call english country dances. the music, which came from a solitary ill-scraped fiddle, accompanied by the rumbling of the same half-rotten drum that had summoned the high court of justice, and by the jingling of a rusty triangle, was to me utterly unintelligible. the extreme rapidity with which it was necessary to go through many complicated evolutions in proper time, completely bewildered us; and our mistakes, and frequent collisions with our neighbours, afforded much amusement to our fair partners, who found it for a long time impracticable to keep us in the right track. when allowed to breathe a little, we had an opportunity of remarking some singularities in the state of society and manners among the danes of reikjavik. while unengaged in the dance, the men drink punch, and walk about with tobacco-pipes in their mouths, spitting plentifully on the floor. the unrestrained evacuation of saliva seems to be a fashion all over iceland; but whether the natives learned it from the danes, or the danes from the natives, we did not ascertain. several ladies whose virtue could not bear a very strict scrutiny were pointed out to us. "during the dances, tea and coffee were handed about; and negus and punch were ready for those who chose to partake of them. a cold supper was provided, consisting of hams, beef, cheese, &c., and wine. while at table, several of the ladies sang, and acquitted themselves tolerably well. but i could not enjoy the performance, on account of the incessant talking, which was as fashionable a rudeness in iceland as it is now in britain. this, however, was not considered as in the least unpolite. one of the songs was in praise of the donors of the entertainment; and, during the chorus, the ceremony of touching each other's glasses was performed. after supper, waltzes were danced, in a style that reminded me of soldiers marching in cadence to the dead march in saul. though there was no need of artificial light, a number of candles were placed in the rooms. when the company broke up, about three o'clock, the sun was high above the horizon." {29} a man of eighty years of age is seldom seen on the island.--_kerguelen_. {30} kerguelen (writing in 1768) says: "they live during the summer principally on cod's heads. a common family make a meal of three or four cods' heads boiled in sea-water."--ed. {31} this bakehouse is the only one in iceland, and produces as good bread and biscuit as any that can be procured in denmark. [in kerguelen's time (1768) bread was very uncommon in iceland. it was brought from copenhagen, and consisted of broad thin cakes, or sea-biscuits, made of rye-flour, and extremely black.--ed.] {32} in all high latitudes fat oily substances are consumed to a vast extent by the natives. the desire seems to be instinctive, not acquired. a different mode of living would undoubtedly render them more susceptible to the cold of these inclement regions. many interesting anecdotes are related of the fondness of these hyperborean races for a kind of food from which we would turn in disgust. before gas was introduced into edinburgh, and the city was lighted by oil-lamps, several russian noblemen visited that metropolis; and it is said that their longing for the luxury of train-oil became one evening so intense, that, unable to procure the delicacy in any other way, they emptied the oil-lamps. parry relates that when he was wintering in the arctic regions, one of the seamen, who had been smitten with the charms of an esquimaux lady, wished to make her a present, and knowing the taste peculiar to those regions, he gave her with all due honours a pound of candles, six to the pound! the present was so acceptable to the lady, that she eagerly devoured the lot in the presence of her wondering admirer.--ed. {33} an american travelling in iceland in 1852 thus describes, in a letter to the _boston post_, the mode of travelling:--"all travel is on horseback. immense numbers of horses are raised in the country, and they are exceedingly cheap. as for travelling on foot, even short journeys, no one ever thinks of it. the roads are so bad for walking, and generally so good for riding that shoe-leather, to say nothing of fatigue, would cost nearly as much as horse-flesh. their horses are small, compact, hardy little animals, a size larger than shetland ponies, but rarely exceeding from 12 or 13.5 hands high. a stranger in travelling must always have a 'guide,' and if he does go equipped for a good journey and intends to make good speed, he wants as many as six horses; one for himself, one for the guide, one for the luggage, and three relay horses. then when one set of horses are tired the saddles are exchanged to the others. the relay horses are tied together and are either led or driven before the others. a tent is often carried, unless a traveller chooses to chance it for his lodgings. such an article as an hotel is not kept in iceland out of the capital. you must also carry your provisions with you, as you will be able to get but little on your route. plenty of milk can be had, and some fresh-water fish. the luggage is carried in trunks that are hung on each side of the horse, on a rude frame that serves as a pack-saddle. under this, broad pieces of turf are placed to prevent galling the horse's back." {34} the down of the eider-duck forms a most important and valuable article of icelandic commerce. it is said that the weight of down procurable from each nest is about half a pound, which is reduced one-half by cleansing. the down is sold at about twelve shillings per pound, so that the produce of each nest is about three shillings. the eider-duck is nearly as large as the common goose; and some have been found on the fern islands, off the coast of northumberland.--ed. {35} the same remark applies with equal force to many people who are not icelanders. it was once the habit among a portion of the population of lancashire, on returning from market, to carry their goods in a bag attached to one end of a string slung over their shoulders, which was balanced by a bag containing a stone at the other. some time ago, it was pointed out to a worthy man thus returning from market, that it would be easier for him to throw away the stone, and make half of his load balance the other half, but the advice was rejected with disdain; the plan he had adopted was that of his forefathers, and he would on no account depart from it.--ed. {36} the description of the wolf's hollow occurs in the second act of _der freyschutz_, when rodolph sings: "how horrid, dark, and wild, and drear, doth this gaping gulf appear! it seems the hue of hell to wear. the bellowing thunder bursts yon clouds, the moon with blood has stained her light! what forms are those in misty shrouds, that stalk before my sight? and now, hush! hush! the owl is hooting in yon bush; how yonder oak-tree's blasted arms upon me seem to frown! my heart recoils, but all alarms are vain: fate calls, i must down, down." {37} the reader must bear in mind that, during the season of which i speak, there is no twilight, much less night, in iceland. {38} the springs of carlsbad are said to have been unknown until about five hundred years ago, when a hunting-dog belonging to one of the emperors of germany fell in, and by his howling attracted the hunters to the spot. the temperature of the chief spring is 165 degrees.--ed. {39} history tells of this great icelandic poet, that owing to his treachery the free island of iceland came beneath the norwegian sceptre. for this reason he could never appear in iceland without a strong guard, and therefore visited the allthing under the protection of a small army of 600 men. being at length surprised by his enemies in his house at reikiadal, he fell beneath their blows, after a short and ineffectual resistance. [snorri sturluson, the most distinguished name of which iceland can boast, was born, in 1178, at hoam. in his early years he was remarkably fortunate in his worldly affairs. the fortune he derived from his father was small, but by means of a rich marriage, and by inheritance, he soon became proprietor of large estates in iceland. some writers say that his guard of 600 men, during his visit to the allthing, was intended not as a defence, as indicated in madame pfeiffer's note, but for the purposes of display, and to impress the inhabitants with forcible ideas of his influence and power. he was invited to the court of the norwegian king, and there he either promised or was bribed to bring iceland under the norwegian power. for this he has been greatly blamed, and stigmatised as a traitor; though it would appear from some historians that he only undertook to do by peaceable means what otherwise the norwegian kings would have effected by force, and thus saved his country from a foreign invasion. but be this as it may, it is quite clear that he sunk in the estimation of his countrymen, and the feeling against him became so strong, that he was obliged to fly to norway. he returned, however, in 1239, and in two years afterwards he was assassinated by his own son-in-law. the work by which he is chiefly known is the _heimskringla_, or chronicle of the sea-kings of norway, one of the most valuable pieces of northern history, which has been admirably translated into english by mr. samuel laing. this curious name of heimskringla was given to the work because it contains the words with which begins, and means literally _the circle of the world_.--ed.] {40} a translation of this poem will be found in the appendix. [not included in this gutenberg etext--dp] {41} in iceland, as in denmark, it is the custom to keep the dead a week above ground. it may be readily imagined that to a non-icelandic sense of smell, it is an irksome task to be present at a burial from beginning to end, and especially in summer. but i will not deny that the continued sensation may have partly proceeded from imagination. {42} every one in iceland rides. {43} i cannot forbear mentioning a curious circumstance here. when i was at the foot of mount etna in 1842, the fiery element was calmed; some months after my departure it flamed with renewed force. when, on my return from hecla, i came to reikjavik, i said jocularly that it would be most strange if this etna of the north should also have an eruption now. scarcely had i left iceland more than five weeks when an eruption, more violent than the former one, really took place. this circumstance is the more remarkable, as it had been in repose for eighty years, and was already looked upon as a burnt-out volcano. if i were to return to iceland now, i should be looked upon as a prophetess of evil, and my life would scarcely be safe. {44} every peasant in tolerably good circumstances carries a little tent with him when he leaves home for a few days. these tents are, at the utmost, three feet high, five or six feet long, and three broad. {45} "though their poverty disables them from imitating the hospitality of their ancestors in all respects, yet the desire of doing it still exists: they cheerfully give away the little they have to spare, and express the utmost joy and satisfaction if you are pleased with the gift." _uno von troil_, 1772.--ed. {46} the presence of american ships in the port of gottenburg is not to be wondered at, seeing that nearly three-fourths of all the iron exported from gottenburg is to america.--ed. {47} "st. stephen's steeple" is 450 feet high, being about 40 feet higher than st. paul's, and forms part of st. stephen's cathedral in vienna, a magnificent gothic building, that dates as far back as the twelfth century. it has a great bell, that weighs about eighteen tons, being more than double the weight of the bell in st. peter's at rome, and four times the weight of the "great tom of lincoln." the metal used consisted of cannons taken from the turks during their memorable sieges of vienna. the cathedral is 350 feet long and 200 wide, being less than st. paul's in london, which is 510 feet long and 282 wide.--ed. {48} the _storthing_ is the name given to the norwegian parliament, which assembles once every three years at christiania. the time and place of meeting are fixed by law, and the king has no power to prevent or postpone its assembly. it consists of about a hundred members, who divide themselves into two houses. the members must not be under thirty years of age, and must have lived for ten years in norway. the electors are required to be twenty-five years of age, and to be either burgesses of a town, or to possess property of the annual value of 30_l._ the members must possess the same qualification. the members of the storthing are usually plain-spoken, sensible men, who have no desire to shine as orators, but who despatch with great native sagacity the business brought before them. this storthing is the most independent legislative assembly in europe; for not only has the king no power to prevent its meeting at the appointed time, but should he refuse to assent to any laws that are passed, these laws come into force without his assent, provided they are passed by three successive parliaments.--ed. {49} the present king of sweden and norway is oscar, one of the few fortunate scions of those lowly families that were raised to royal power and dignity by napoleon. his father, bernadotte, was the son of an advocate, and entered the french army as a common soldier; in that service he rose to the rank of marshal, and then became crown-prince, and ultimately king of sweden. he died in 1844. the mother of oscar was desiree clary, a sister of julie clary, wife of joseph bonaparte, the elder brother of napoleon. this lady was asked in marriage by napoleon himself, but her father refused his assent; and instead of becoming an unfortunate empress of france, she became a fortunate queen of sweden and norway. oscar was born at paris in 1799, and received his education chiefly in hanover. he accompanied his father to sweden in 1810, and ascended the throne on his father's death in 1844. in 1824 he married josephine beauharnois, daughter of prince eugene, and granddaughter of the brilliant and fascinating josephine, the first and best wife of napoleon. oscar is much beloved by his subjects; his administration is mild, just, and equable; and his personal abilities and acquirements are far beyond the average of crowned heads.--ed. {50} bergen is a town of about twenty-five thousand inhabitants, situated near the kons fiord, on the west coast of norway, and distant about 350 miles from christiania. it is the seat of a bishopric, and a place of very considerable trade, its exports being chiefly fish. it has given its name to a county and a township in the state of new jersey. there are three other bergens,--one in the island of rugen, one in the netherlands, and another in the electorate of hesse. {51} _kulle_ is the swedish for hill. {52} delekarlien is a swedish province, situated ninety or one hundred miles north of stockholm. {53} the family of sturre was one of the most distinguished in sweden. sten sturre introduced printing into sweden, founded the university of upsala, and induced many learned men to come over. he was mortally wounded in a battle against the danes, and died in 1520. his successors as governors, suante, nilson sturre, and his son, sten sturre the younger, still live in the memory of the swedish nation, and are honoured for their patriotism and valour. {54} the university of upsala is the most celebrated in the north. it owes its origin to sten sturre, the regent of the kingdom, by whom it was founded in 1476, on the same plan as the university of paris. through the influence of the jesuits, who wished to establish a new academy in stockholm, it was dissolved in 1583, but re-established in 1598. gustavus vasa, who was educated at upsala, gave it many privileges, and much encouragement; and gustavus adolphus reconstituted it, and give it very liberal endowments. there are twenty-four professors, and the number of students is between four and five hundred.--ed. {55} see novel of _ivar_, _the skjuts boy_, by miss emilie carlen. {56} at calmar was concluded, in 1397, the famous treaty which bears its name, by which denmark, sweden, and norway were united under one crown, that crown placed nominally on the head of eric duke of pomerania, but virtually on that of his aunt margaret, who has received the name of "the semiramis of the north." --ed. {57} there is now a railway direct from hamburgh to berlin.--ed. {58} a florin is about two shillings sterling.--_tr._ {59} herr t. scheffer of modling, near vienna, gives the following characteristic of this new dipteral animal, which belongs to the family muscidae, and resembles the species borborus: _antennae_ deflexae, breves, triarticulatae, articulo ultimo phoereco; seda nuda. _hypoctoma_ subprominulum, fronte lata, setosa. _oculi_ rotundi, remoti. abdomen quinque annulatum, dorso nudo. _tarsi_ simplices. _alae_ incumbentes, abdomine longiores, nervo primo simplici. niger, abdomine nitido, antennis pedibusque rufopiceis. the sworn brothers the borzoi-gyldendal books the firm of gyldendal [gyldendalske boghandel nordisk forlag] is the oldest and greatest publishing house in scandinavia, and has been responsible, since its inception in 1770, for giving to the world some of the greatest danish and norwegian writers of three centuries. among them are such names as ibsen, bjørnstjerne bjørnson, pontoppidan, brandes, gjellerup, hans christian andersen, and knut hamsun, the nobel prize winner for 1920, whose works i am publishing in america. it is therefore with particular satisfaction that i announce the completion of arrangements whereby i shall bring out in this country certain of the publications of this famous house. the books listed below are the first of the _borzoi-gyldendal_ books. jenny a novel translated from the norwegian of sigrid undset by w. emmé. grim: the story of a pike translated from the danish of svend fleuron by jessie muir and w. emmé. illustrated in black and white by dorothy p. lathrop. the sworn brothers alfred a. knopf, _publisher_, new york the sworn brothers a tale of the early days of iceland translated from the danish of gunnar gunnarsson by c. field and w. emmé [illustration] new york alfred · a · knopf 1921 copyright, 1918, by gunnar gunnarsson copyright, 1921, by alfred a. knopf, inc. printed in the united states of america contents page book i 1 book ii 109 book iii 221 book i i in the red light of the fire in the midst of the hall, the age-browned pillars of the high-seat stood forth strongly lit in the middle of the main wall, against the background of smoky darkness which spread behind. the bright glow threw into relief the carved images of the gods, weird and grotesque shapes which kept changing as the fire blazed up or sank in its embers. upon the broad seat between the pillars of the high-seat, with the dragon-ornaments and gaping beast-heads of its back towering above and behind, sat orn, a broad, grey-haired warrior, leaning forward over the table, his strong, coarse fingers buried in his thick, white beard. upon the table at his side stood a great carved drinking horn. orn sat in silence. it was seldom that he drank much in the evening. one step below, and opposite him, on the other side of the fire, was the table round which his men-servants sat. only now and then a low-voiced exchange of words between man and man broke the silence of the hall. otherwise there reigned an oppressive stillness. often they glanced towards him, but each time looked uneasily at one another afterwards. for he sat very still, with a fixed, absent look in his eyes. a shiver passed through them as they thought that perhaps he saw something which they could not see. it was not comfortable in the hall that evening. all the more swift was the circulation of the beer-mugs. but they were not set down on the tables with a bang, as was the rule when they were empty, but cautiously placed on one side. on a dais at the end of the hall, farthest removed from the entrance door, sat women at work, spinning and carding wool in silence. for once silence prevailed on the women's dais. only a faint rustle was heard now and then when one of them rose to help another or to fetch more wool. the only one who did not feel depressed by the silence in the hall was a fourteen-year-old boy, seated at the table right opposite the high-seat on the other side of the fire. he was content to make holiday by sitting quietly with his thoughts, and felt easy and unoccupied in mind. he sat quite still, letting his gaze linger alternately on his father and the pillars of the seat. he had little resemblance to the stalwart figures round him. his skin was as clear as a young girl's, and his long, bright yellow hair fell in heavy locks over his neck. on his face, with its regular features, there lay an expression of peculiar calm. the mouth under his straight nose appeared firm and composed. the look of his blue eyes was tranquil and fixed. it was ingolf, orn's son. he often sat thus, especially of an evening. his attention was particularly taken up by the pillars of the high-seat. they seemed so strangely alive in the red light of the evening fire. by day they were quite dead. it seemed as if the breath of the gods had crept into the hard, dry wood. perhaps the gods slept by day, or had they possibly flown on adventures to other countries and lands? the gods had tiresome habits, for all that they were gods; one never knew exactly where to find them. anyhow, the pillars stood by day as though they were empty. but in the evening they came to life again. either the gods returned, or breath issued at any rate from the inner part of the wood and seemed to wander over the surface. already in the gloaming, when shadows were gathering in the deep carving, they began to live. but it was a strange, deceitful, and threatening life, as though the gods were ill-humoured on first awakening, as men are sometimes in the early morning hours. ingolf did not like to stay alone in the hall in the evening before the fire was lit. he had a certain consciousness of the gods' discontent in the twilight, and felt by no means sure that they might not cherish some evil purpose. and when the gods were wroth or morose it was best to keep at a respectful distance. but as soon as the fire was kindled on the hearthstones, it became bright and comfortable in the hall. the fire sputtered with a cheerful crackling which seemed as though it were chatting pleasantly with the gods; it blazed up and cast its bright light over them, and diffused a kindly penetrating warmth. then the gods recovered their good-humour; they smiled openly, and their eyes grew somewhat more friendly. then one ventured to look at them calmly and to sit near them. ingolf liked to sit quietly and look at the images carved on the pillars. certainly those in the temple were far more splendid, decked as they were with costly clothes and heavy rings of gold and other valuable metals. but the gods in the temple were those to whom they prayed at solemn festivals and offered sacrifices. it required enormous daring to approach them, for one hardly ever saw them, and knew them but little. although they were the same gods, they seemed strangely distant in the sanctity of the temple. the gods on the pillars of the high-seat, on the other hand, were house-gods. he had grown up in their company, he had seen them in daily intercourse, as far back as he could remember. he had long been confidential with them; they were his and the family's friends. they were quiet and peaceful and made no demands. maybe they had fits of ill-temper in the evenings. but for the most part they were almost like men, saving, of course, that as gods they were naturally higher than men. but one ventured--it was indeed a duty--to count them as friends, as belonging in some degree to the family. one could safely rely upon them, and that led to everyday familiar intercourse with them. they constituted, besides, so to speak, the axis of the home. they were the immovable real centre round which all things revolved. they were the persisting element. they were the visible sign of the family and of the family's continuance. they had become dark brown in the course of time, nay, almost black, and hard as stones from age. ingolf knew well how they felt. he had once, after a long inward struggle, ventured to touch them. and it was not strange that old age could be both felt and seen in them. for no one knew how old they were, or whether indeed they had any age at all. whether they were of the race of gods or men was therefore doubtful. from time immemorial they had belonged to the family. they had passed by inheritance from father to eldest son since as far back as there was any tradition, probably from the earliest dawn of time. the pillar on the right of the throne represented odin, the all-father, the old, one-eyed, and wise. his ravens, hugin and mugin, sat on his shoulders and whispered wisdom and knowledge to him. the ravens told him everything, past and future. so wise was odin that nothing found him unprepared. odin was the head of the gods, consequently the most important to have as a friend. the place on the right side of the high-seat belonged justly to him. the pillar on the left side represented thor, the wielder of the hammer, the slayer of giants, the one whose goats amid thunder-claps kicked fire from heaven when he drove to battle with the giants. proudly stood age-thor, with his legs planted wide apart, his arm lifted up to smite, and in the bent fingers of his mighty hand he gripped the hammer, mjolner. and there in the chief seat, on whose brown, worn plank only the cushions and the sitters changed, sat his father. ay, there he sat, cheerful and comfortable between his gods. every evening he sat there, when he was not out journeying or visiting, with his men sitting at tables round him, a step lower down. he sat calmly, stroking with weather-tanned fingers his thick, white beard, talked wisely, or was silent. there he sat at the feast with the chief guest by his side. and when it chanced that he raised his voice, his ringing tones filled the hall, and an attentive silence prevailed as far as the outer-most seats. though his father, orn, did not often talk in a loud voice, yet when he did, what he said was weighty. he seemed then to ingolf to have a certain resemblance to thor, especially when he raised his powerful clenched fists over his shaggy head. otherwise, when he sat silent and meditated, he reminded him most of odin, except that he had two eyes. in the chief seat his father was at home. there he sat, friendly and comfortable in the place of his ancestors. there had sat his grandfather, bjornulf, who together with his brother, roald, had been obliged to quit the old family estate in telemarken on account of having slain a man. and there had sat also before him, _his_ father, romund greippson. all high-spirited, strong men, whose names were remembered with reverence. and some day he himself would sit there. and after him again his son, and his son's son. generation after generation, family after family, till the earth vanished. whenever he thought of the time when his father would be no more, and he himself should assume the place between the throne-pillars, his cheeks flamed, and a strange, anxious shudder robbed him of strength and will-power. it was this knowledge that he would have to assume a responsibility, and one which he had long ago sworn to sustain with honour, and which he waited to assume with a mixture of joy and suspense, that had impressed on his countenance a composure and on his whole nature and bearing an air of assurance far beyond his years. even before his bones had fairly hardened, he had had impressed on him by his mother, whom he now only indistinctly remembered, who he was and what he should become. with his mother's milk he had imbibed the unbroken traditions of the family. before he understood what was really involved, he had learnt to understand that his life was only partly his own. already, for a long time past, it had become clear to him, that not only his own, but the honour of the dead and the unborn was committed to his hand. for a man without honour cast shadows on two sides. both his ancestors and his descendants had a peremptory claim on him--the claim of honour. and he had no intention of disappointing either himself, the dead, or the unborn. just then it was very quiet in the hall. the confidential crackling of the fire was the only sound audible. then suddenly came the sound of tramping steps without. orn raised his head and was again wide awake. all sat still and listened. there was a knock at the door. orn made a sign to the porter, who pushed back the bolt, and in came rodmar, orn's kinsman, followed by his son, leif, and some servants. the peace and quiet of the hall was suddenly interrupted. orn rose with a dignified air. stately of mien, he left the high-seat and went to meet his relative. his ceremonious "welcome, cousin," sounded cheerful and hearty. ingolf sprang up and ran round behind the seats to meet leif. he greeted his relative, who was his junior by two years, with a kiss and very sincere friendliness. orn laid both his hands heavily on rodmar's shoulders. "i was sure you would come, cousin." "such important news should be looked into," answered rodmar seriously. "we have had prosperous though chequered years. what will happen now?" "the good times are passed," answered orn gloomily. "i guess what will happen. follow me to the high-seat, cousin." orn seated rodmar at his side, and called for fresh beer. they drank to each other with deep draughts. when rodmar had sucked his beard dry, he turned to his kinsman, who was a little older than himself, and asked: "do you think there will be trouble in the country?" "trouble there will be," answered orn, speaking slowly and solemnly. "after peace and prosperous years follow hard times. we have had the good times; now we shall have to face the bad. only it may be that the struggle will not reach these parts. we are getting old, rodmar. our swords are rusty, our arms stiff. and our sons are at the worst age possible--old enough to entangle themselves in difficulties, not old enough to manage them." "i see that you cherish fears for the future, cousin. what do you advise?" "i advise that you stay here with leif and as many of your servants as can be safely spared from home. we should be prepared for everything. in times like these most unexpected things can happen." "i will follow your advice, as i always did. do you think of seeking light on the future from the gods?" "one should not trouble the gods before necessity demands it. but we should offer them sacrifices diligently and without stint." * * * * * it was only a week since rodmar and leif had driven home from the winter festival at orn's. but for ingolf and leif it had been a long week. they had found it difficult to be apart. they had had a cushion drawn up to the fire and lay there on their stomachs right opposite each other, each with a host of things to ask about and report. leif was a tall, loose-knit fellow with a long, bony face, browned with freckles and discoloured by wind and weather. he had a large nose, and a broad mouth with thick lips. the expression of his sparkling grey eyes changed suddenly, and constantly shifted from close attention to distant dreaminess, from icy coldness to beaming warmth. red curly hair hung in long locks down both sides of his smiling face. when the most important news had been told, he could keep quiet no longer. with a teasing look in his eyes, he stretched his head forward and asked in a whisper: "say, ingolf--did your gods dine on the yule meat?" ingolf gave a start of annoyance. his smile disappeared, and over his face spread an expression of vexed seriousness. he looked anxiously round, but discovered to his relief that no one was listening. he made no answer, but looked angrily and warningly at leif. leif laughed softly and in a contented fashion. then he made a funnel of his hands and whispered again: "they are fat, overfed animals, your gods!" he laughed deep down in his stomach, enjoying ingolf's wrath. "and such gods! a decrepit, one-eyed old creature, who has to get his wisdom from ravens! and a stupid braggart who is so poor that he has to drive with goats because he has no horse." ingolf clenched his fists and pressed his chin down hard on his whitening knuckles. "hold your tongue, leif!" he said threateningly, in reply. leif laughed as before. then he sprang up suddenly. by their side stood helga, ingolf's sister, a slim young girl with long, light-yellow hair, shining blue eyes, a small bright face, and a happy smile on her childish mouth. leif, whose gladness at meeting again this girl friend of his own age beamed from his face and was visibly impressed on his whole bearing, embraced her, and saluted her with a kiss. then he suddenly let her go, grew red and embarrassed, and began in his confusion to kick the burning logs. helga watched his action with quiet, smiling eyes. "you are scorching your boots, leif," she said, and laughed softly. he stood straight up, turned towards her, and looked at her. and the smile in her eyes put his embarrassment to flight. immediately he was himself again. beaming over his whole face, he seized her two hands and swung her arms apart. "i should give you greetings from the cat and from old jorun. i have nearly forgotten to do so. the cat caught a huge quantity of mice at yuletide, and then became fat and lazy--just like old jorun, but she can't bear to be told so." "surely you haven't said so to her." "yes. i couldn't help seeing it. and when i saw it, i couldn't help saying it." "you ought to be ashamed of yourself, leif. have you forgotten how kind old jorun has been to you since you lost your mother, and how many stories she has told us?" "i can make up better stories myself. old wives' tales are wearisomely long," answered leif in a quick tone, which concealed the slight wound in his conscience. "do you believe she makes them up?" asked helga, with an air of curiosity. "she talks about gods, trolls, and giants as though they really existed. the other tales are lies too, i suppose." "you are a stupid boy. how do you know that there are not trolls and giants?" "well, you never see them, anyhow." helga was already thinking of something else. "are you not going back at once?" she asked in an expectant tone. "i hope to stay here the rest of the winter and all summer too!" suddenly both were silent, and found no more to say. for a while they stood and looked at each other and were very happy. all at once helga became aware that ingolf lay there, and had not once lifted up his head. she cast herself on her knees beside him and peered into his face. ingolf avoided her glance, but she could see he was depressed. suddenly she knelt up and looked penetratingly at leif. the smiles and brightness had vanished from her face. "now, you have been vexing ingolf again, leif," she said in a tone of deep reproach. leif avoided her look, and took his place, a little embarrassed, at the end of the cushion. he felt ashamed, but wished to laugh it off. when he did not succeed he bent his head, and whispered so low that only they two could hear: "he ought not to get angry because i say what i think. you know quite well that i do not believe in your gods." "but you ought not to laugh at them, when you know that you hurt ingolf by doing so," whispered helga angrily in reply. ingolf lifted his head and looked at them. he spoke calmly, and his voice was quiet and sad. "it is not that alone," he whispered. "i do not mind so much that leif mocks at the gods. but i grieve to think that the gods will some day take vengeance on you, leif, for your mockery." "when i do not believe in the gods, you cannot expect me to be afraid of their vengeance," answered leif, with quiet defiance. he sat with downcast eyes, and a discontented and vexed look in his face. "you can say what _you_ like in return," he continued. "why may i not say what _i_ like? i cannot bear the gods. and i cannot endure that you should believe in them either. but since you make so much of them, i will say nothing." "yes, you promise that now," said helga. "you will have forgotten it tomorrow." "can i help being forgetful? then i will promise again tomorrow." for some minutes they sat silent and out of humour. then helga took leif's hand. "don't be cross, leif. we have wished so much to see you again." leif raised his head suddenly. he raised himself on the cushion, made a place by his side, and looked up at helga with a smile. all ill-humour had passed away from his face. soon after, all three were lying together confidentially discussing their own affairs. the hall was full of the hum of many voices and a stronger odour of beer. the fire burned yellow and bright. and the images of the gods on the carved pillars looked down as if following all that passed with a slow content, and waiting, calmly wise, for what should come. ii a couple of months after, the two boys were riding over the heath. it was towards evening. the day was calm with biting frost; grey storm-clouds lined the whole horizon. the blue patch of sky above the heath grew ever smaller; it seemed as though a storm was brewing. banks of clouds were already threatening to swallow the pale moon. the sun seemed stranded on golden mountains of cloud in the west. the two cousins were returning from a visit to their friends and comrades, haasten, haersten, and holmsten, sons of atle jarl at gaulum. holmsten, the youngest of the brothers, was the same age as ingolf; the others were a little older. the two cousins had come to know atle's sons at the great sacrificial feast of the preceding year at gaulum, and had become friends with them. on leif's side the friendship was not very warm. during the last year they had visited each other regularly. and since there was still no sign of disturbance in that part of the country, they had obtained leave to journey to gaulum again this winter. but they had been obliged to promise to exercise caution, to follow the main roads, to return home quickly on the least sign of trouble, and, finally, to conduct themselves circumspectly, and to remember whose offspring they were if anything happened. they had naturally promised all that had been demanded, ingolf with the firm resolve to keep his word. they had not had any occasion to break their promises until today, when leif had induced ingolf to make a short cut across the heath. he had twitted him with want of courage till ingolf, in a mixture of anger and love of adventure, consented. leif, who was always the most eager for an expedition, was, on the other hand, most quickly and completely seized by homesickness. in the morning he had felt that he must see helga before evening. and now they were riding here at a furious gallop. the long, wide, red cloaks, fastened by silver buckles on their breasts, fluttered behind them. so did as much of leif's red and ingolf's bright yellow locks as were not confined by their helmet-shaped caps. leif rode at haphazard and carelessly, satisfied with things in general, without thought for anything but the exciting present. he rode with arms, legs, and his whole body. ingolf, who sat as though of a piece with his horse, and moving neither arm nor foot, glanced at him sideways, and a faint smile passed over his firm mouth. "you ride like a fluttering chicken, leif!" he shouted to him as they rode on. leif looked quickly at him and was not at a loss for an answer. "and you sit your horse like an old idol, cousin!" the horses' frost-powdered heads stretched forward as they ran. yellow flakes of foam flew now and then from their mouths; their warm breath rose like clouds of vapour from the quivering nostrils. the snow and the splinters of ice which they kicked up flew about the ears of the riders. leif enjoyed travelling without restraint, and his delight found vent now and then in a ringing shout. ingolf, on the other hand, rode in a mood of deep displeasure; but it seemed as if he could not give vent to it at once, for he, also, had become partly intoxicated with the wild ride. the rapid beat of the rough-shod hoofs against the hard, frozen snow sounded pleasantly in their ears. and the strength of the mighty muscles which were supporting them thrilled the young riders with a glorious sensation of invincibility, capacity for anything, and divine exultation which made their hearts light and filled their heads with blissful excitement. the sun, preparing to glide down the golden slopes of cloud, cast long and fantastic shadows of the horses and riders over the glittering plain of snow. leif suddenly became aware of the rushing shadows, and burst into laughter. he shouted to ingolf, and pointed to the shadows, suddenly anxious to make ingolf also amused at them. ingolf must laugh also. but leif's mirth was too violent, too overpowering. he laughed out all the laughter that there was at once, and left nothing for ingolf. leif's uncontrolled glee blocked up all the feeling of amusement in ingolf, and directly evoked his dawning displeasure. he no longer gave himself up to the mere pleasure of riding. his fits of forgetfulness never lasted very long; thought and reason resumed their power over him. there rode leif, and was happy! did he not see that a storm was brewing? did he not know that it was impossible for them to get home that night? did he not reflect that if a regular snowstorm came on they might easily go astray on the heath? no, he saw nothing, knew nothing, thought nothing! he simply rode and was happy. and yet it was all his own fault. as they rode on side by side, a sullen, smouldering anger penetrated deeper and deeper into ingolf's mind. he had great mental stability, which is always something to hold fast to. he tried to struggle against his feelings; he would _not_ ride here and become gradually furious with leif. but the process in his mind had already gone so far that he was powerless to control it. what happened afterwards was in spite of his will and better conscience. leif's ecstasy also blew up the smouldering embers of wrath in his mind like a pair of bellows. leif's joyful shout caused flames to flare up within him. why should leif just now become so senseless, so idiotically happy? why? why? there were innumerable "whys?" to answer when leif was in question. why should leif be always occasioning difficulties and vexations for him? why should he be allowed to transfer all responsibility from himself to him? what was the sense of his alone having to bear inconveniences for them both just because leif did not choose to be inconvenienced? his only fault, after all, had been that he had always been, and still was, too yielding towards leif. leif, who rode there so merrily, without thinking of his broken promise or the gathering storm--did he not remember the gash from holmsten's knife which he carried in his coat as he rode? did he not remember that it was solely due to ingolf's presence of mind and powerful grip that the knife had not been buried in him up to the handle? ingolf was angry now. his perception was distorted by evil powers. he only saw leif's weaknesses and failings, and they were many. ingolf held a reckoning, and was angry. such was leif! a child, a stupid boy! a forgetful and ungrateful beast! not once in friendly games with atle's sons had he behaved properly. although holmsten was two years older than he, he could not endure to give place to him in any matter. times without number they had attacked each other like fiery wolf cubs. times without number he and haasten had reconciled them. each time leif had promised it should be the last time; next time he would be careful not to let his temper run away with him. but leif's promises were like flying snow in a storm. such was leif, the great humbug, unreliable and unintelligible. why should he, because holmsten at parting had given him the knife he had nearly killed him with--why should he for that reason unclasp his most valuable money-belt, and with his own hands clasp it round holmsten? weaker characters could do that! next time they met they would, all the same, attack each other like fiery wolf-cubs. that would certainly end some day with serious enmity between the two; and that would mean a feud with atle's sons. it might well happen that leif would yet entangle him in murder and bloodshed. some day they would certainly have to quit dalsfjord, as their grand-fathers in their time had been obliged to quit telemarken. thus ingolf's thoughts were forced to run on possible division of the family, murder, and exile. why could not leif be content with the difficulties he had stirred up for him at gaulum? why further entice him into breaking the promise he had given his father to follow the main roads and to be cautious? at first ingolf had only been angry with himself for having let leif seduce him into disobedience and breaking his word. but in his present condition he had no power to apportion his anger. he had to heap it all together with the blame on leif. the riders had slackened their pace, and rode quietly side by side, close together. but they avoided looking at each other, and did not say a word. leif perceived that ingolf, for some reason or other, had become very angry. that did not surprise him. ingolf, who was accustomed to preserve his calm on occasions when others became angry, was also wont to become angry at the strangest times. leif searched his conscience. it was fairly uneasy, as usual, but nothing more. it was impossible to see how he had deserved ingolf's wrath at that moment more than at others. he had not mocked at the gods, and he had till just now been so cheerful. he felt a little irritated, and was also curious to see what had happened in ingolf's mind, but he had resolved that it was not worth while to irritate him by speaking. he would see if he could not, by keeping silence, charm the anger out of him. ingolf could not well remain angry indefinitely. still, it was a nuisance; all the pleasure of the ride was gone. they rode on at a rapid trot, and leif remained silent. but he was not accustomed to ride in that way. a great feeling of heaviness came over him, and quenched in its darkness all the lively sparks of his humour. but they would soon be home. he yawned till his jaws seemed to crack. would there be a storm? he felt reckless. but what an endless way back it seemed when they approached the forest which they must go round. what sense was there in the forest lying there and barring their way to the valley? but for that, they might easily be home by bedtime. if the horses only had such long legs as their shadows on the snow possessed, they could stride over the forest. what wretched short-legged jades they were! yes, everything had gone wrong that evening. nothing was as it should be. there rode ingolf with a bee in his bonnet. one dared not even speak to him. and why had they no food with them? he felt suddenly so ravenously hungry that he actually seemed to sniff the scent of roast meat. meat and bread and beer--hm hm! and now that he had once begun to think of food, he continued to do so. he could at last almost taste it upon his tongue. could they not ride through the wood? he suddenly forgot all caution and addressed ingolf in the simplicity of his heart. "i know a path through the forest." it sounded quite naturally, as though he had suddenly thought of it. but for those who knew leif, his voice was too sincere to be able to conceal a lie. ingolf saw through him at once. so leif was not yet content with the harm done! he looked angrily and scornfully at him. "do you?" he answered, with an excessively quiet and indifferent air. "then you'd better make a short cut through." leif looked uncertainly at him. he knew no path through the wood; on the contrary, he had lost his way in it one summer's day, and only with great difficulty got out of it again. it had just occurred to him that if he induced ingolf to try the wood, they would be able to manage it. it was only a matter of keeping the right direction, and that can always be done when there are two going together. the wood could certainly not be impassible. and to try it would at least be a change. to stay here would be tedious in the long run. "shall we see if we can find it?" he braced himself up to ask in a conciliatory and almost submissive tone. he dared not express his request more plainly; he was afraid that ingolf had already seen too much. "i'll share in no more foolishness today," said ingolf coldly and decidedly. leif started as though struck by the lash of a whip. ingolf's tone kindled a flame in him like fire in dry straw. the consciousness of having lied, and the fear of its being perceived, made him sensitive and irritable beyond measure. he was seized with rage, and felt a shiver run through his whole body. senseless evil words and terrible execrations rose in his mind, but in such rapid succession that his tongue could not utter them. with a jerk he turned his horse and rode toward the wood. he wanted to get away from ingolf: he would show him-ingolf looked after him. and as he sat there and saw him ride away, his arms and legs waving all ways at once, a revulsion took place in his mind. his wrath had come to a head, and now began to subside. "there was no sense in that," he thought, and could not recover himself after leif's disappearance. "i did not think to drive him so far. but surely he will have the sense to turn back!" no, leif did not turn back. and ingolf, who had let slip the opportunity of calling him to return, could not yet bring himself to ride after him. "now we shall be separated for life," he thought again. "that is too ridiculous. that must not happen." he would _not_ be separated from leif like that. but the consciousness of his own right and leif's obvious wrong had still too strong a hold on him. it seemed to him impossible to turn his horse round. yet once more he repeated to himself: "it must not happen." but all the same he rode on. he let it happen. iii ingolf rode on. the sun went down. a wind blew from the north, bringing thick clouds of ice-cold snow as fine as sand. he could not see the wood any more. and leif had long disappeared in the sea of snow. night began to come on. a faint glow high above him on the left betrayed the whereabouts of the full moon. with the help of that and the wind he tried to guide himself. he was so alone, so completely forsaken, as he had hitherto never guessed that anyone could be. and he felt his loneliness and desolation as accusation and guilt. he had, as it were, grown smaller since leif had left him. the uneasiness of dissatisfaction gnawed his mind like hunger. he was displeased with himself and also with leif, but more with himself. he was, after all, the elder, and was responsible for them both. also he felt seriously anxious for leif. leif did not know any path through the wood. he had once ventured into it, and lost himself. and if he lost himself in the wood in this cold he would be frozen to death, unless, indeed, the wolves attacked him. ingolf was in despair. he asked himself whether it were yet any use to ride after leif? but now it was too late. he felt a lump rise in his throat. remorse came over him like an avalanche. he had to defend himself in order not to be utterly overwhelmed. as far as leif was concerned, it was his own fault. it was he who actually _would_ ride over the heath. it was he who, in spite of reason, made for the wood. if he were frozen to death, or eaten by wolves, he only had himself to thank. but ingolf soon discovered that these thoughts did not yield him any comfort. in the first place, he was not sure that the fault was really leif's. he ought not to have allowed himself to be persuaded to ride across the heath, and, by doing so, break his word. neither ought he to have become angry with leif because he had allowed himself to be persuaded. least of all should he have let leif observe his anger. for that was what had driven him to the wood. he knew leif, and how susceptible he was. treated in the right way, he was not unreasonable. by means of good-humour and friendly talk one could turn leif's mind from or in any desired direction. but if he saw that any one was angry or embittered against him, immediately he became twice as angry himself. and all sound sense forsook him as soon as he became irritated. and another thing: even if the fault was leif's, that did not make the matter really better. there was, in fact, no satisfaction in being in the right as against leif. leif's whole character was so made up of hastiness and want of sense that nothing was easier than to be in the right against him. but that was not the least relief to his mind. leif was not one of those to be settled with in that way. even if there was not the least doubt that one was in the right, there always remained something unsettled when leif was in question. ingolf rode on. he forgot to pay any attention to the direction of the wind or the light of the moon. an absorbing consciousness of having done wrong, and of remorse, which continually increased, gnawed his mind and destroyed his peace. he could not shake off the thought of leif. how was he now? how would he fare? he tried to persuade himself that leif must really know a path through the wood, and might be home before him. ah, how he wished that he might find leif's horse in the stable when he himself at last reached home! but he knew well that this was only something he _wished_ to believe. leif's voice was so sincere that it betrayed him when he lied. leif was a stupid boy. ah, leif! leif! ingolf struggled hard to keep his tears back. he had not the least idea what to do. what should he do? he was riding here, and had lost his best friend. and it was his own fault. even if he found leif at home they would not be friends any more. and leif, like himself, as far back as he could remember, could not do without him. he did not understand it all. he did not comprehend how it could happen. yesterday, nay, only a little while since, they had been friends. now he was riding alone in the night and the snowstorm, and leif was lost in the wood. leif had left him because he could not overcome himself sufficiently to keep with him longer--leif, who this morning would have sacrificed everything for him, and given his life for him, yes, ten lives if he had possessed so many. he did not know any one else of whom he could safely say the same. half his strength had lain in the consciousness that leif was his friend for life and death; that he had, so to speak, two lives. he was himself also prepared to die for his friend. all the same, a sudden misunderstanding and a few words had parted them. for the first time ingolf realized the dangerous power of anger and evil words. and he made a vow never again to be angry, and never again to speak evil words to a friend. it had a certain soothing effect upon him, thus to take himself to task, to acknowledge his failing, and resolve to overcome it. but this was of no help with regard to leif. there could not be the least doubt now that leif was roaming about lost in the wood. it was hopeless to expect that he should have given up his purpose. it could never occur to him to be so reasonable as to follow the edge of the wood. for leif knew nothing of fear or even caution, bold to the point of madness, daring to folly as he was. yes, leif was by no means merely a mocker of the gods or a practical joker. he was as fearless and brave as any one whom ingolf knew. that was what forced one to love him, and feel that he was indispensable in spite of all his failings and the difficulties he caused. that was also the reason why helga liked him so much, and became restless and lost her balance as soon as she did not see him, but immediately became quiet and peaceful when she knew he was near. how should ingolf look his sister, helga, in the eyes when he came home without leif? ingolf rode on. he no longer knew where he was going, and felt indifferent. without leif he could, at any rate, not go home. he could not get leif out of his mind. leif was in every way difficult and unaccountable. there was no use denying it. as far back as ingolf could remember at all, he had had incredible difficulties with leif. all the troubles he remembered to have had, had been caused by him. numberless times, helga had been obliged to appease greater or smaller quarrels between them. for leif was really impossible as a comrade. one never knew what to expect of him, or what he might devise. there was no feeling secure in leif's society; he always brought, as it were, changes and adventures with him. but such as he was, one could not do without him. in spite of his difficult character he was such that one missed him as soon as he was out of sight. ingolf noticed that his horse suddenly changed the direction in which he was going. he did not take the trouble to check him. it was all the same to him where he went, now that he no longer had leif. he had wound his cape twice round him, yet the cold penetrated it. he felt frozen and shivered, but did not mind. it even had a certain soothing effect on him to be so cold that his teeth chattered. immediately afterwards he had forgotten himself, and began thinking again of leif. hitherto he had always felt vexed that leif was not like others. now he realized suddenly that, in spite of all, he did not want to have leif otherwise. such as he was, he was just leif, and his friend. on his side the friendship was certainly not past. if he met leif again, they would become friends afresh. he knew that leif was always ready for reconciliation so soon as he had worked off his rage. no, leif was not like others. there was no doubt that he was a good and skilful ski-runner. he was always inventing new tricks and difficult feats. wherever he found a rock or a hill he must attempt it. not even the steepest descents made him pause. the fact that he had one fall after another, each worse than the preceding one, had no effect upon him at all. leif did not like learning by experience. and, strangely enough, he had never had any serious accident. when ingolf had once reproached him for his mad foolhardiness, he had merely replied that he trusted his luck blindly for so long as fate had allotted it to him, and not a step further! he was obviously not in the least interested as to where the limit was set. one might be vexed at it, but it was not of the slightest use. he had an incredible faculty for getting into desperate situations, and after all saving his skin. the cause probably was that he was not merely a little unreasonable. in that case he would hardly have completed his twelve winters. he was, on the contrary, so boundlessly unreasonable that it seemed as though the reasonable penalties which always pursued ingolf and all others never exactly knew where to find leif, and therefore could not strike him. ingolf could not explain it to himself in any other way. there was, for example, the adventure with the bear. it was a year ago now, but he was likely to remember it as long as he lived. they had heard from the people in the farm that there was a bear's lair up on the heath, a place about which they only knew that it would be found in the neighbourhood of two hills which had been described to them. they were continually thinking and talking about the bear's lair, and could not get away from the subject. both of them had a great desire to see the place. but ingolf's desire was of the quiet kind which is compatible with patience. in his opinion there was no need to go and scent out a bear's lair when one was grown big and could receive him when he presented himself. leif's desire, on the other hand, was measureless and insatiable. "if you don't come, i will go alone," he said. so ingolf went with him. they set out from the place one morning in late summer; they trudged far, found no hill nor bear's lair, but, on the other hand, came across a slope covered with bilberries, the like of which they had never seen. immediately ingolf was aware of a high-pitched voice within, which shouted, "bilberries! bilberries!" and that leif must have heard a similar voice was easy to see. crouching to the earth they went and gathered bilberries with both hands, eating the little bitter leaves along with them without hesitation, when they found opposite them a bear who was also eating bilberries. for a moment ingolf remained standing, staring at a bear with a blue snout; then he came to his senses and fled for all he was worth. not till he had run a long way did it occur to him that leif was not with him, and that he was not pursued. he stood still and looked round, prepared to see the bear coming after him with leif in his stomach and hungering for more provender of a similar kind. what he did see was almost more terrible. there on the bilberry-slope stood leif and the bear confronting each other. ingolf stood thunderstruck. why did not the bear eat leif? he did not understand it, did not see that there could be anything else to wait for. as though rooted to the spot, he remained standing and staring, and could not stir. it seemed to him as if several days had passed when at last something happened--the bear sneaked off. he could not trust his own eyes! yes, the bear trudged away from the bilberry-slope and left leif alone with the berries. and leif quite quietly resumed his gathering of bilberries. ingolf did not understand it. he found the occurrence so unintelligible that he believed the whole must be a dream. he was soon made aware of his mistake. in dreams one is accustomed to glide comfortably through the air, but he had just to climb back on his weary legs to leif. when ingolf got near him, he stood and looked at him, and was astonished to see nothing remarkable about him. and so he remained standing for a time. there was something which needed explaining before he could go on with the bilberry-picking. at last he asked: "why didn't you run?" "do you think one can run from a bear?" leif answered quite quietly and as a matter of course. "what would be the use of that? no, i made him think that i was not afraid of him. and at last i really was not any more. so he got tired of standing and staring, and went his way." such was leif, and such was his method with bears. was it easy to understand him? how could one get the mind with which to understand him? ingolf answered himself with a meditative, negative shake of the head. and the adventure with the bear was by no means unique. he remembered another incident of the same summer. he lived through it again in his need to occupy himself with leif, and yet at the same time forget that leif at that very moment might be hunted by wolves. they had agreed together that it was time they learnt to swim. naturally it was just when no one had time to teach them. but that kind of trifle had no decisive weight for leif when he had got a fixed idea in his head. one of orn's servants, so he informed ingolf, who was a good swimmer, had shown him that he had only to move his arms and legs in such and such a way and keep afloat. leif straightway laid himself across a piece of timber in the courtyard and showed ingolf how to move his arms and legs. thus; and thus!--that was all! it did not seem very difficult to ingolf. but suppose one sank in spite of all? but leif was unwearied in his persuasions--oh, it was ever so easy. you simply scooped up the water with your arms and kicked with your legs--that was all. at last leif made him lie on the piece of timber and taught him the strokes. so! and so! kick out strongly! stretch your arms properly! now, i bet we swim like a pair of seals as soon as we get in the water. now let us go! they went down to the fjord. on the way he made leif promise that first they should not go farther than where they could touch the bottom. otherwise he said he would not go. leif promised, and swore in addition. as soon as they got near the shore, leif had his clothes off and stood naked and careless and stretched himself in the sun. ingolf stood and looked at the water, and was a good while unclasping his belt. leif jumped about and hurried him on, but at last would not wait any more. as a matter of course, he had either forgotten his promise or did not choose to keep it. instead of wading out where he could reach the bottom he ran out on a rock, flung his arms over his head, launched away, and was off. ingolf, still with most of his clothes on, ran out on the rock with his heart in his mouth. down there lay leif; the water had swallowed him. he lay and worked his arms and legs. now he approached the surface; now his head bobbed up. but only for a moment. his arms and legs moved very much as when he rode. but either he could not manage the swimming-strokes or they were no use. in any case, the water would not support him. he went to the bottom again. never had ingolf been so frightened as when he stood there and saw leif in the water--never so helplessly anxious and despairing. he stood, and could neither move hand nor foot. he felt paralysing terror like a dead weight in his whole body. then he suddenly began to shiver. at the same moment all power of cool reflection deserted him and he forgot that he was no better a swimmer than leif. he must get out and help him. and he was on the point of plunging from the rock with his clothes on when he saw leif come crawling up through the water. leif crawled up and got his head above the surface. he spat and snorted and made grimaces. it did ingolf good to see him. and he did not go to the bottom again. leif, the incredible, swam! not with arms and legs working on both sides as he had practised the motions. no, he simply crawled through the water with a long stroke and did not sink. it looked so ridiculous that ingolf had to laugh aloud. no, leif of course could not be so easily drowned as others die naturally. now he felt the ground under his feet. he stood still, coughed, and spat up water and shook himself so that the red locks flew about his head. he laughed suddenly when he set eyes on ingolf. "what, not yet out of your clothes?" quite calmly he waded to shore. and when he stood opposite ingolf, he said simply and unaffectedly, although he shivered over his whole body: "i was nearly drowned that time! who could guess that it was so difficult? if i hadn't just happened to think, while i was down there, how dogs swim, i should be lying there still!" when at last he had finished spitting and shaking the water out of his ears, he took the same header again as a matter of course. such was leif. he could not break his neck, he could not drown, and bears sneaked off when they met him. could he, then, be lost in a wood and frozen to death? or would he extricate himself again as he alone could? ingolf thought it not quite impossible, and that was his only hope and comfort. it would be just like leif to crash his way through a wood in which anyone else would be lost, and to be first home. if only he were already there, in bed and asleep! ingolf was aroused from his reveries by his horse suddenly coming to a dead stop. he looked round him, and was not long in discovering that he had reached home. the horse had stopped exactly opposite the door of the stable. stiff in all his limbs from the cold, he crawled down and opened the door. his only thought was whether leif's horse might already be inside. he went from horse to horse, felt them, and noted their distinguishing marks. he knocked against his own horse, which had followed after him into the warmth with its saddle and bridle on. he freed it from the bridle, but forgot the saddle, and went on. no, leif's horse was not in the stable. that was only what he had expected. nevertheless, he felt suddenly paralysed with disappointment. leif, then, had not reached home. leif was still somewhere without. at that very moment he was roaming about lost either on the heath or in the wood. leif's horse was not one of those which could find its way home by itself. ah, leif! leif! he hoped that it was not already all over with him. ingolf seemed to see him in front of him lying on his back in a snowdrift with arms and legs stretched out. the snow was drifting over him and already nearly covering him. by the side of him stood his horse, with its head hanging down. ah, leif! leif! ingolf collected himself. he did not feel the cold any more, nor did he notice how hunger was gnawing him. he shut the stable and went to the courtyard. there was something feverish and yet resolute about all his proceedings. he entered the outhouse where the ski were kept, and found his own and leif's. he opened the house-door a little and whistled softly to his dog. the dog was wild with delight at seeing him again, jumped about him, and licked his cold hands with his warm tongue, while ingolf, his fingers stiff with the frost, was buckling on his ski. he had no time to take notice of it. as soon as he had buckled his snow-shoes firmly on, he sped away from the house, the same way he had come. now he again paid attention to the direction of the wind and the light of the moon. leif must be found--there was no question about that. he could not return home alive without him. iv leif had gone riding on till he reached the wood, his mind full of wrath and defiance. there was not one reasonable thought in his brain; he had only the instinct to ride on. the motion cooled his irritation. it did him good to be out in this wild, chaotic expanse. there was a sense of freedom in casting away the yoke of reason, a relief in knowing that one was committed to something which had two sides and might mean life or death. he would show ingolf that though he himself did not know any path through the wood he was not afraid of riding there all the same. he would show him that if he wished to go the straight road home he would do so in spite of woods and other hindrances! he would show him that there was a difference between a man and an old woman in breeches! the snowstorm beat against him from the side, and he had to turn his head so as not to have it directly in his ear, yet all the same he had to ride with his eyes half shut. but he gave no heed to the weather. a man who was intent on performing an exploit could not worry about a trifle! thus, filled with exulting presumption, he approached the border of the wood and rode in among the whistling, crackling trees. here he had to slacken his pace, and, as he did, it struck him all at once that there was a fair chance of his losing himself in the wood and never getting out again. but nothing could stop leif when he had got up the speed for a piece of folly. besides, it was part of his reason for not giving up his project that he was convinced that the worst turn he could do ingolf was to ride through the wood. if he won through it, ingolf would be mortified; if he got lost, ingolf would be grieved. and ingolf, sulky beast, deserved no mercy. how thoroughly he would look down on him if he happened to get home first! and if not, he knew well that ingolf would not have a quiet hour till he saw him again. and serve him right. here in the outskirts of the wood leif made such good progress that he already felt sure of getting home first. at the same time, he found room in his heart and mind for a certain anxiety regarding ingolf. he hoped he would not be lost upon the heath where he had nothing to guide him. now that his fantastic assurance for himself had left room for anxiety for ingolf, his wrath suddenly vanished. should he not ride after ingolf, try to overtake him, and convince him how much better it was to ride through the wood? but then ingolf would only believe that he had turned round because he did not dare to ride through the wood alone, which was just what he was going to show him he could do. his arms and legs came again into action. but the deeper leif penetrated into the wood, the harder it became to make progress. the going was not so good here. the horse went on at an irregular pace. leif had continually to turn because of low branches and fallen trunks. he had to go slowly and gradually, step by step. besides, it was not very comfortable here in the dense parts of the wood. leif did not venture to startle his horse by shouting, though he was not really afraid. but all the sounds which he could not account for made him silent and alert. on all sides there was an uninterrupted whistling, creaking, and groaning. snow fell from the branches with a thump. hasty flappings of wings, which sent a chill through him, penetrated through all other sounds, producing a foreboding sense of vacuity and gloom. besides, it was darker here than was pleasant. he could hardly discern the nearest tree-trunks. he wished he were out on the heath again and in ingolf's company. what had he wanted to go to the wood for? leif was not long in losing himself so completely that he thought it just as well to give up altogether aiming at any particular direction, and go on at haphazard. he felt it really a relief to be free from the trouble. the chief thing now was to sit on his horse and keep warm, which was beginning to be a difficulty. but now leif was in high spirits and proof against blows. he had prepared his mind for troubles and schooled himself to confront fate. he had cast all responsibility from him far into space! let any one who chose undertake it! he was riding here--that was all. could his horse get on? let happen what would! he did not doubt for a moment that the matter would finally turn out well for him. he would get clear. _how_, he did not guess, neither did he trouble himself about it. he had reasonably or unreasonably come to the conclusion that he might just as well stop interfering. yes, he would not venture to interfere. suppose he turned off to the left now, and by doing so lost the right direction? no, he would not touch the bridle, but simply trust to luck. if he must pay the price for his rashness, he might just as well do it with the same coin. and if he got home in that way, the account would be settled. thus he rode for a long time, but not so long as he thought. he was checked in his progress, and therefore the time seemed more than doubled. he thought he got on faster than he actually did. at last he sat half asleep upon his horse, which he kept going by half-mechanical movements of his arms and legs. the horse went slower and slower. it had lost heart, and would rather have stood still, hung its head, turned its back to the storm, and let time and destiny roll over it. leif did not agree with the horse in the matter. he himself sat there and let come what would. but something must be kept going, or there would be a complete full-stop. so the horse must continue. but that was so contrary to the horse's will that leif at last had to shake off his drowsiness in order to keep the animal going. and, in spite of all, it only went step by step. leif was working again with his whole body. nevertheless, he felt how the cold was tightening its clutch on his limbs and already threatening his stomach and chest. leif was no fool. he clearly perceived that his life was in danger. in full consciousness he took up the struggle against weariness, which by its temptation to drowsiness sought to surprise him with sleep, that would be fatal in the frost. leif rallied himself with a firm resolve. that was not at all to his mind. he did not in the least intend to give up. twelve years could not satisfy a hunger for life like his. he had much to do in the world. he was, for one thing, a good way yet from becoming a viking and marrying helga. would the forest never come to an end? at last it did. leif went on riding and riding. and what did he see? tracks of a horse which had been going through the snow. so he had then been riding in a circle. and where was he? that the wood only knew. but now he would follow the tracks in the direction he had come from to see if he could break the circle and, if possible, find his way out of the wood. now it seemed to him the chief thing to find his way out, no matter where. that was for the present object enough. he resolutely avoided looking further in his thoughts. unconsciously he armed himself against the tendency of thought to weaken the mind. he would not have his strength paralysed by too much reasoning. his business was simply to ride on and fight against the cold. he had lost the track again. the horse became more and more unwilling to proceed. it only went on because it must. suddenly and unexpectedly he noticed that he was out of the wood. he saw no more tree-trunks. here there were only whirling clouds of snow around him. his only resource was to go on. he kept riding to see whether he would not come across trees farther on. no, there were no more trees. and what was he to do now? on which side of the wood was he? he rallied his reasoning power and reflected. yes, he must be on the same side by which he had entered. the wind was due north--the direction he came from--there then was the north. so he had been very sagacious as far as _looking_ went. he should only have been sharp enough to see when the wood ended, then he would have had the edge of the wood to guide himself by. should he turn round and try to find the wood again? no, no, he might get among the trees. and he had lost all desire to ride to the wood. the horse had availed itself of leif's reflections to come to a stop. without leif having noticed it, it had turned its back to the storm, and simply stood still with its head drooping. leif sought to rouse it up and set it in motion again. here there was no use in remaining at a standstill. but the horse had formed its own opinion of the whole expedition. it stood immovable, and intended to remain so. leif expended much energy on its back, tugged at the reins, struck it with his whip-handle, since lashing seemed of no avail, but it was useless. the horse had had enough and more than enough. it stood, and intended to remain standing for an indefinite time. leif jumped down and looked with astonishment in its eyes. what was the matter with the beast? had it suddenly got fancies in its head? he pulled at the bridle, tried to tug the horse to one side, and made his whip whistle over it. the horse sighed a little at such a cruel and senseless proceeding. but it had once for all made up its mind to stay where it was. at that moment there was nothing that would make it budge an inch from the spot. leif looked helplessly around him. he could not understand the horse's sudden predilection for precisely _that_ spot of ground. was there perhaps something to guide them? completely exhausted it could not be, as there was still so much refractoriness in it. so he tried to treat it kindly. he talked gently to it, patted it, and scratched it behind the ears. he overwhelmed it with flattery, and sang to it in a high-pitched voice. then he clambered with some trouble on its back again, and hoped that it had now changed its mind. but it had not done so by any means. leif began to get angry, but he patted its neck and kept a friendly tone. since this still proved useless he uttered a wild howl with all his might, and threw his arms, legs, and whole body into motion. at last he was nearly crying with vexation. then he tried it again with friendliness and kind words, but it was all of no avail. so he gave it up. the horse evidently _would_ not go farther. and since he could neither compel nor persuade it, there was nothing to be done with the creature. he slipped from its back and tried to review the situation. on nearer inspection it seemed to be just as threatening and impenetrable as the snow-clouds round him. as he stood there the wind lashed his face and pierced icily cold through his clothes. he perceived clearly the danger of the situation. if the cold and his weariness made him yield a little, it was all over with him. it was no use to let the horse stand and go on with his own strength. the energies he had still in reserve were in no reasonable proportion to the storm and the length of the way. it was only a _little_ strength and endurance which he had remaining. but it was that little which was to rescue him. he kept his hands tightly clenched together as if it were a matter of extracting some device by purely physical pressure from his oozing energies. he intensified his thoughts till he seemed to hear them beating in his skull. but it was as though all possibilities had conspired against him and forsaken him. he stood and set his back against the wind, and sought to combat a creeping foreboding that there was no way of escape. he knew that once he gave up it was all over with him. so long as he could keep erect and resolute there was still hope. his thoughts forsook the beaten paths and travelled in the labyrinths of imagination, seeking a last possibility. a picture came up in his memory. he remembered a yuletide sacrificial feast at home ... the penetrating odour of blood and entrails ... the warm, gaping hollow of an ox's body emptied of its viscera. before he had yet time to connect thought with action, his knife was out. he took the bridle off the horse, with feverish fingers sought a certain spot in its neck, waited a moment while he overcame his repugnance, and then made a thrust. with a groan the horse collapsed on its knees. leif rolled it over on one side, and so it remained, lying with stiff, struggling legs, now and then shaken by a faint shudder. leif made a cut in its neck, so that he could, when possible, extract the windpipe and gullet. a warm stream of blood spouted straight into his eyes and blinded him till he had again rubbed them clean. and now the intoxication of blood overcame him. he had the scent of it in his nostrils and the taste of it on his tongue. with a single long cut from the fore to the hinder-part he slit open its stomach. the warm, smoking entrails bulged out of the streaming gash. leif snatched them out with his hands, but had to stop, because the heat nearly scalded him--shook his hands like a cat its paws--and set to work again. in a very short time he had cleared the animal's stomach of all the entrails, with a round cut of his knife he loosened the diaphragm, extracted the lungs with the grey windpipe adhering to them from the breast, and threw them away. then at last, with trembling fingers, he sheathed his knife, heaved a long sigh, and crawled head-first into the horse's empty stomach. he coiled himself together like an animal, audibly growling with the sense of comfort and the prospect of secure rest. but however he turned and twisted himself, he could not find room for his legs. so he crawled rather crossly out again, stripped off his cloak, wound it several times round his feet and legs above his knees, to preserve them from being frostbitten, and crept in again. he enjoyed the delightful warmth inside. now it would do him real good to have his rest out and sleep. with a light and untroubled heart he lay down comfortably. sleep--sleep. when he awoke again, the snowstorm would doubtless be over. he chuckled inwardly; he would simply stay here till it was quite finished! if it still lasted long he could easily live on frozen horse-flesh. he had still a conviction that he would not die that day. nonsense! here he lay, and liked it. the future seemed bright and cheerful to his inner eye. he wondered whether ingolf would be home by now? in his fulness of satisfaction and quiet he allowed himself to hope so. a little after he was sleeping a sound, untroubled sleep. v ingolf bore towards the west. he had the wind on his right side, a little against him. he had to climb rising ground, although not very steep. he only made slow progress. but he felt his strength and how his body was, as it were, braced together in one strain. and it was as though this consciousness of his own strength continually produced new strength again. he was so absolutely determined to hold out till he found leif or fell dead that there was not the slightest breach in his will, where doubt and fatigue might insinuate their poisonous disintegrating vapours. for the present, his object was only to go round the wood to the other side and see whether he could not find leif's tracks and the place where he had entered the wood. if he could find leif's, or rather the horse's, tracks, his dog would be a considerable help in following them. and if _he_ could not find them, it was not impossible that the dog might. such was ingolf's plan. now and then he looked at the dog faithfully plodding after him. when it ran along unnoticed, it dropped its tail discontentedly. it did not see any object in such an expedition in this weather, and could not possibly approve of it at first. but as soon as ingolf spoke kindly to it, or it only noticed that it was observed, it cocked its tail and sprang forward at his side, gladly barking, and talked to him in dog-language. they went steadily forward, although their progress was slow. to his joy, ingolf noticed that the wind was abating. the snow-clouds were gradually dividing, and the moon's pale disc shone against a background of blue. around him spread a white expanse, abruptly broken by the dark line of the edge of the wood a little to the right. there was no longer an upward incline; he sped along easily and softly on his ski, and looked about him. the snow-clouds as they departed opened an ever-widening horizon to his view. he must clearly ascertain where he was. now he knew the place and could do that correctly for himself. yes, he was up on the heath, and had only to turn to the right and follow the line of the wood. his snow-shoes glided easily upon the smooth, even surface of the snow. with each step he increased his speed. for now a mental tension took hold of him, and filled him with restlessness. he called to his dog, roused it up, and urged it on with short, explanatory shouts. he made it understand that he was seeking something, and counted on its help. suddenly the dog was awake in every nerve. now he could understand his master and feel with him. eagerly he ran on ahead, nosing at the snow. hither and thither he ran, in larger and smaller curves. now and then ingolf seemed to perceive in it an impulse to stand still. but it never came completely to a stop, only making a half pause. the dog was so engrossed in its mission of finding something, though it knew not what, that it completely forgot its tail, and let it hang obliquely down behind, completing the impression of self-forgetting absorption. it was as though ingolf's mental tension had transferred itself to the animal, which continually increased its speed. ingolf had difficulty in keeping up, although he sped as though for his life, so that the sweat poured in streams down over his face and dropped from his eyebrows and chin. thus they sped on for a long time. ingolf knew well that he must husband his strength. but it seemed as though the part of his excitement which had communicated itself to the dog had returned to him with double strength. he completely forgot to economize his forces. he put them all forth, well knowing that by doing so he imperilled the success of his quest. he simply could not do otherwise. the one thing was to hold out and follow the dog. he dared not keep it back. "on!" he said to himself. "as long as you can keep your head up." suddenly the dog stopped and began running round and round. ingolf was a good way behind him. he hurried on as quickly as possible, and gave close attention to the animal, which now stood and sniffed for a time. then it ran a little way in the direction of the wood. oho! here it was, then! but what now? the dog stood still, sniffed, and ran some way back. then it paused again. what was the matter? and see! now it lifted its head, stood and sniffed now towards the wood, now in the opposite direction, with a slight, hasty jerk of its body. its tail was lifted too, and stood straight out. now ingolf felt certain. this was where he should enter the wood. now there remained nothing necessary but to take off his ski and to walk. but before he had quite got up to the dog, the latter had already started again--away from the wood. ingolf shouted to it. it must be mistaken. it stood still as it was ordered, but did not come back. it remained standing, waiting for further directions. ingolf called it again, but it remained standing as before. and now ingolf heard it utter a low whine. what did it want? ingolf shouted encouragingly to it and immediately it started off again. ingolf followed, without yet leaving the edge of the wood. he thought the dog was still on the track, and only following it in the wrong direction. it would soon perceive its mistake and turn round. but it was far from turning round. on the contrary, it came to a stop and remained standing by a slight elevation in the snow. there it paused and ran about, nosing here and there eagerly. it was easy to see that it had found something of great importance. ingolf came to a stop. he had to rally all his will power in order not to collapse. he could not stir from the spot. was leif lying there? had a tragedy happened after all? the gods he had braved had at last taken vengeance on leif for his insolence and mockery. ingolf felt himself struck in a vital nerve. for how could he live after that? as he stood there it occurred to him suddenly that here his race came to an end. leif was dear. only he and helga were left. he with a stain upon his honour--in a fit of temper he had let leif ride unhindered away from him to meet obvious death--a stain he could only wash away in one way--by giving himself a sacrifice to odin. and helga ... yes, helga would not survive that. so here the race would cease. all his dreams, all his purposes blown away like chaff before the wind. suddenly ingolf heard the dog close by him. it stood in front of him, with its snout lifted and its ears laid back, whining up at him. at first he looked down without seeing it and without giving heed to its supplicating look; then suddenly he woke to attention. the dog certainly did not look sorrowful. it looked rather as if it had something special, and to a certain degree joyful, to announce. and its whining also seemed to signify the same. in ingolf's mind there dawned a spark of hope. he set his ski in motion and followed the dog. but the nearer he came to the white mound, by which his dog already stood, looking back beseechingly and whining softly--the slower he moved. suddenly he stood still as though struck. what was it? what sort of a sound was that? he stood still awhile and collected himself to listen. but his own blood's throbbing made it hard for him to interpret the sound he heard. suddenly the sound grew louder, till here was no mistaking it. it was the heavy snoring of one dead tired. here was leif, then, calmly asleep. he was not too dead to lie there snoring, so that it could be heard a long way off. in an instant ingolf was there; he threw off his ski and began to excavate the snow with his bare hands. leif in the horse's stomach was so covered with snow that no one could guess what this mound in the landscape really contained. ingolf took hold of a corner of the cloak and pulled. leif did not follow it, as he had expected. the cloak came up empty, and only exposed leif's legs to view. leif was not interested in what was going on--he continued to lie there and snore. so ingolf began to pull leif's leg with all his might, and at last dragged him out. a hasty look in the hole showed him the ripped-up stomach of a horse. leif opened a pair of sleep-drunken and astonished eyes, rose with a bound, looked closely at ingolf and at the dog, gave a glance into the hole he had been hauled out from, shook off his stiffness, yawned, and began to rub his eyes, as though he wished to look more closely into the matter before he believed it. ingolf stood and stared at him without uttering a word. leif looked dirty and bloody, but it was certainly not his own blood. he did not seem to have lost anything, and was at any rate alive. and how like leif that was. he had at last rubbed his eyes well and was awake. for a moment he sat with his eyes wide open and looked at ingolf. "well, you have been home," he blurted out in a voice that was hoarse and still a little sleepy. "brought anything to eat?" then ingolf sat down and laughed--laughed so that he had to hold his stomach with both hands--laughed so that at last he had to fall backwards, and rolled on one side. leif looked at him, but his mental faculties were still a little benumbed by sleep. then he, too, began to chuckle inwardly. when, a little while after, they had put on their ski, and were on the point of starting homeward, leif stopped suddenly, and reflected. then he looked ingolf in the eyes and reached out his hand. he did not utter a word, but pressed his hand and looked straight in his eyes again. there was a slight quiver about his large mouth. then quickly they loosed each other's hands. and they started off home at full speed. they were as though born again, and did not feel weariness, cold, or hunger. by their side raced ingolf's dog, his warm, bright red tongue hanging far out and his tail cheerfully erect. so they sped along the way by the wood. down the slopes above the house they went at a pelting pace. when at last they were at home in the courtyard, and had stowed away their ski in the outhouse, the dawn was beginning to break. no one was up yet. noiselessly they crept to their beds. they did not feel bold enough to meet any one this morning. the best thing was to take refuge in sleep from all explanations. vi helga, though she had only lived for twelve winters, knew already a good deal of life. she knew what it was to be anxious for one whom she loved. long before she was conscious of her love for leif, she suffered all a lover's anxiety. leif took her thoughts with him wherever he went and travelled. and she could never feel secure about him. she could, on the other hand, be sure that if she had not seen him for the space of a day, not to speak of the occasions when he was absent many days, that during that interval he had been once, or probably many times, near the border of the next world, and that it was at any rate only due to the incredible luck which always followed him that he came home with whole limbs. she knew, in fact, the long days and still longer nights of waiting and anxiety. she knew what it was to lie awake most of the night and see terrible sights. she turned restlessly on her bed, and neither dared to close her eyes nor to stare into the darkness, because everywhere she encountered the figure of him she loved, either dead or dying. she had learnt to prize two things which a woman, who must generally miss and be anxious for him she loves, cannot live without--dreaming and work. she knew how small occupations shorten the day, and the relief won by showing love to animals, being kind to them, and lavishing kind words upon them, and she experienced the joy it gives to be loved by dumb creatures. it was known to her, also, how the way is made easy to the land of dreams, where the hours fly quickly, by busying one's hands with needle and thread. when she sat making something ornamental for herself or small gifts for him, there were moments when she seemed to triumph over distance, and felt her friend so near that she suddenly let her hands sink, looked up, and was quite surprised that he was not standing behind her. was it because she did not look up quickly enough? just before, he _had_ been standing there! helga, with her twelve short winters, knew also happiness. there was the happiness of seeing leif come home radiant, and hearing his dear, glad voice tell of great adventures. leif always came across great adventures, so that his tongue nearly ran away with him. there was the joy of noticing that his eye always sought her first, and really only her. it was a joy that he never found rest when near her, except at her side, and that he could only be quiet and lose himself in dreams when she held his hand. it was a joy finally to see him forget everything, even herself, when he had some purpose in his head, or was bent upon going to some other place. even the pain at seeing herself thus forgotten was mingled with the deepest feelings of joy. for that was just leif's way. he came so near her by leaving her. she loved him exactly as he was, regardless of limits and without consideration. because he was one of those whom no bond holds, it was such a happy thing to know that he was hers, when he only remembered it--hers and no one else's. and, besides, she knew that she could not cease to love him. she was so completely convinced that though in knightly bravery and unbounded courage he might, perhaps, have an equal, he could not have a superior. it was impossible for her to cease loving him. yes, helga knew happiness. she knew what it was to love, and to feel herself beloved. she knew by experience how absence deepens and intensifies affection. she felt how her latent longing slowly grew, and was prepared to burst all bonds. she possessed in full measure woman's pure and unbounded devotion. matured early as she was, helga often reflected on the relation between leif and her brother, ingolf, which caused her distress. she was fond of her brother. ingolf, though fundamentally different from leif, was such that if she once had to leave him in order to follow leif, she would not make leif so complete and happy as she ungrudgingly wished him to be. therefore the great difference in their characters caused her perpetual anxiety--an anxiety which flamed up anew whenever leif and ingolf became angry with each other, or even a little at variance. in her heart she accused them alternately--ingolf, when his phlegmatic character irritated leif; and leif, when, by his hastiness and teasing, he provoked ingolf. neither leif nor ingolf had any suspicion of helga's deep distress each time a trivial misunderstanding divided them for a short time. for helga concealed her anxiety, and fought her battle in silence. she was always on the watch for the fluctuations in their temperaments. she could always perceive when they had been at variance, even when they had been reconciled and had forgotten what had occurred, before they met her. when anything concerned them, she was as sensitive as a feather in the wind. and she did not cease till she had examined the cause of their disagreement to the minutest detail, and cleared away the remnants of ill-humour which might still remain in one or both of their minds. they felt sometimes that it was a little tiresome, being called to account in this way. but they reconciled themselves to it, because both were so fond of her, and because she was wise, quiet, and impartial. they did not guess at all that she fought for her future happiness with a heart torn by anxiety, that her calm had been won by a severe struggle, that her seeming cool, wise impartiality was a screen behind which she concealed herself. helga was the only one who, to a certain extent, discovered the real circumstances connected with their journey over the heath. she was also the only one who discovered that they had separated, and separated in anger. finally, she was the only one who obtained a truthful account of the slaughter of the horse. originally it was by no means their intention that she should find out anything of the matter. when ingolf and leif had slept uninterruptedly for twenty-four hours after their return from gaulum, they woke the second night, towards morning, hungry and depressed, and began to examine the situation. they hastily agreed only to say that they had ridden over the heath, and up there had been obliged to kill their only horse, and for the rest to maintain an obstinate silence. if orn and rodmar were in the mood to punish them, they must submit; and, for the rest, ride out the storm as well as they could. they had soon discovered that orn and rodmar had more important things to think about. it was enough for them that the boys had returned home safe and sound. they told them, seriously, that it was not the custom of a man of honour to break a promise once given, and that, since they had done that, they could not yet be accounted men. that hurt their feelings rather, but had to be borne. ingolf and leif discovered once more that one escapes most cheaply when one has been most anxious. so lightly did their fathers deal with them. with helga it was another matter. she held on, and held on. for many days they fought manfully; they did not want to make her their confidante in the matter. but she was not to be shaken off. and at last there came the moment when their tongues were altogether loosed, and she got a full account, down to the minutest details. it happened in the following way. their plan of defence had been to take care that neither should be alone with her. for many days it had been impossible for her to find them in a remote spot; not once had she succeeded in getting one of them alone. when she saw that it was not a fair fight, she had recourse to stratagem. she kept silence for a few days, and they immediately became less vigilant. then she brought out some wild apples which she had kept since the preceding summer. she made them believe that she had seen her chance to snatch them. the apples smelt delicious. leif and ingolf were immediately willing to share the supposed stolen goods with her. so she succeeded in luring them into her ambush--an outhouse where they could eat them quietly. she let them bolt the door carefully, so that they should not run the risk of being surprised. she took her seat on the edge of a sledge, and let the boys sit, one on each side of her. and then she spoke in a way to cut off all evasions, and made it impossible for them to be silent any longer. too late they discovered that they had been caught in a trap. embarrassed and unhappy, they began their confession. with red faces and downcast eyes, they related brokenly and alternately what had happened between them on the heath in the evening and the night. each of them accused himself and excused the other. but helga, who listened with more than her ears only, became quite clear in her mind regarding what had happened. quite still she sat with bowed head, and let them tell their narrative. when they had finished and were silent, she still remained still, without moving or speaking a word. at last her silence seemed so strange to leif that he lifted his head and looked at her in alarm. and what he saw increased his fear. she sat there by his side with her face white and, as it were, sunk in. her eyes stared straight before her, her mouth was firmly closed, and tears trickled from her despairing eyes and ran down over her pale face. leif felt an icy chill run through his whole body which made him shudder. this drew ingolf's attention, and he also looked up. he had never seen his sister look like that; immediately he seized one of her hands. it was ice-cold, and remained passive in his. tears came to leif's eyes, and he sat there inwardly helpless. it was not possible for him to bring out a word. he found nothing to say, and simply dared not open his mouth, for he was on the point of weeping. ingolf was the first to speak. he pressed his sister's limp hand, shook her arm cheerfully, and said: "you must not be so sad about that, helga. we have forgotten it now. and each of us has certainly vowed in his heart that it shall never happen again." helga opened her mouth to answer him, but her tongue would not obey her. she had to struggle hard to control her emotion. when she had waited a little, she at last began to speak. "that is just it," she said, with a broken voice. "it always gets worse and worse with you--always more dangerous. when you are grown, you will not so easily get over it, nor so easily be reconciled afterwards. perhaps you will even fight each other. perhaps some day one of you will kill the other. if things go on like this, there will at last be hatred between you. and what shall i do?" ingolf and leif sat and felt very uncomfortable. both saw for once the relation between them with her eyes. she was right. things were growing continually worse. it was no use to shut their eyes to the danger. the next time they fell out, it might be under such circumstances as would not admit of their being reconciled again. they had not been far from that this last time. ingolf was the first who found firm ground in his thoughts. a secret purpose was suddenly quickened in him. hurriedly he rose and reached out his hand to leif. "leif, will you be my sworn brother?" he asked quietly, and there was in his voice and bearing that adult composure which made him at times seem older than he was. leif sprang up and took his hand. he could not bring out a word, but gripped hard. helga remained sitting and looked from one to the other. then she rose slowly, laid her hands over theirs, and gave each of them a kiss. "now you are both my brothers," she said, and looked at the same time at leif. her look made leif understand that he was more than a brother. he turned red, and smiled in an embarrassed way. he had the habit of blushing easily. his embarrassed smile was very charming. they had forgotten the apples. now they were produced, and helped them over the slight embarrassment which followed on their extreme seriousness. gradually leif and helga talked fluently. ingolf, on the other hand, did not say much. he sat and took a secret oath that henceforth he would be a man, and no overhastiness of temper should master him. nothing should by any means divide him from leif or helga. now he and leif were actually brothers, and leif and helga would hold by each other, he knew. seldom had he felt so happy as at this moment. quite unconsciously he sat and enjoyed his sense of strength and quiet. he continued so to sit till helga roused him with a question. thus they talked easily and enjoyed being together. when they separated, they had agreed that the solemn ceremony of initiation into blood-brotherhood should take place in the spring at the great festival which was to be held at the chief temple at gaulum. vii orn and rodmar were able to make the winter pass. they sat most days and every evening on the high-seat, drank beer, and enjoyed each other's society. from the north came rumours of disturbance. there was still peace and no danger in dalsfjord and its neighbourhood. but it was best to be prepared for everything. now that halvdan the black was dead, and his son, harald, made king, though but ten years old, there were several kings and chiefs who suddenly conceived a desire for the kingdom which halvdan the black had established. it was rumoured that harald and his uncle, guttorm, who was to be regent during the two years remaining of harald's minority, had already gone out to meet the disturbers of peace. when orn and rodmar heard of it, they remembered the exploits of their youth. the latter had not lost anything by being related through many years. listeners obtained the impression that orn and rodmar had been present at the most important events of the world, and decided their issue. and it was not only men whom they had encountered. they had met evil and hidden powers in manifold forms. and here they sat after all. orn and rodmar were reasonable men, who spoke in moderation. when one had spoken, he gladly let the other have his turn. and while the one who was silent played the part of an attentive hearer, his look became absent, he thought of fresh exploits, brought them forth, and arranged them in his mind. then when the other at last was silent he was fully prepared. but first he nodded courteously and said, "yes! yes!" very thoughtfully, and still kept silence for a moment to show that he had been following. then all at once he became an active narrator. "but now here!" the servants in the hall were amused, but not in any unbecoming way. they winked at each other when the old men did not see it. they did not grudge the old men their reminiscences, and partly believed them. but they were amused. and orn and rodmar showed a startling faculty at their age in discovering how to outdo each other's tales. when they had bragged their best, they went to the temple and offered their fattest animals to the gods, feasted in their honour, and gave them gifts. they did not feel quite sure whether the gods allowed so much pride. and one should not offend the gods, but keep on good terms with them. thus the days passed for orn and rodmar. they grew old, sitting in the high-seat and drinking beer. they drank much beer. viii one morning, shortly after ingolf had offered leif blood-brotherhood, they went to their fathers to tell them, and ask their permission for the ceremony to take place at the feast at gaulum the first day of summer. leif found his father in bed. when he had spoken, rodmar praised his luck in strong language, added that he had always had better fortune than he deserved, further remarked that on the rare occasions that he caused his father joy it was always without any merit of his own, and bade him go his way and leave him, rodmar, to his beer. orn was sitting in the high-seat, slaking his morning thirst, when ingolf came before him and asked permission to speak. orn granted it with a nod of his white-haired head. the slightly absent look did not disappear from his face; he listened without moving to what his son had to say. when ingolf had spoken, orn remained sitting silent. ingolf was not sure whether he had heard what he had said or not. it was easy to see that he sat in deep reflection. ingolf remained standing for a time, waiting for an answer. when he saw that it was in vain, and that his father had probably forgotten that he stood there, he silently departed. orn did not touch his drinking-horn again that day. he busied himself with his thoughts, and was taciturn. long before his usual time he sought his couch. early next morning he summoned ingolf curtly and bade him follow him. he led him to an outhouse where the tools of the house were kept, and bolted the door carefully. then he took his seat on a chopping-block in the middle of the floor and sat silent. ingolf stood before him, awaiting what he had to say, and carefully restraining his impatience. "sit down," said orn at last thoughtfully. ingolf sat down on some lumber which had been piled up against the main wall. so they remained sitting a considerable time. orn was long in commencing. "you have told me," he began at last, speaking very slowly and, with constant pauses, "that you intend to enter into blood-brotherhood with your cousin, leif. i must presume that you are acquainted with duties of blood-brotherhood, and have carefully considered the matter, and also that you have not let yourself be surprised into talking rash vows, or have followed your feelings alone without consulting your understanding. i will not disguise from you that i could have wished a better brother for you in this. and i leave it to your discretion whether the circle of your brotherhood should not be extended so as also to include atle jarl's sons. on many grounds i have been led to understand that these young men, especially haasten, would not be unwilling to exchange the bond of friendship for that of brotherhood. it needs but a word on your part, perhaps only a hint. my opinion is that you would stand stronger alone than with leif as your sworn brother. you ought to be intelligent enough yourself to perceive that. but the three would balance leif, and more than that. you would stand stronger afterwards, especially if another tie subsequently should unite us to atle's sons, which i do not regard as impossible. for the rest, leif is certainly our kinsman. we should therefore look after him, and perhaps he is best bound in that way. i do not wish to say more about the matter." orn was silent for a long time. presently he resumed. "i feel i am growing old. the days depart and do not return to me. they seem, as it were, to go a very little way, and there is nothing to hold fast to in them; they slip through my hands." he coughed, reflected, and began again. "therefore i have considered that perhaps it would be best if i were to make over to you our property to manage. it will be good for you to be early accustomed to command people and to bear responsibility. and you are certainly a child no longer. i will therefore gladly see, before i die, how you prosper when you manage by yourself. for the rest, i leave matters without anxiety to you, and i shall be at hand, and can be useful. i will also advise rodmar to do the same for leif. your task will certainly be increased by that, for you will have to look after your kinsman, at any rate at first. but since you wish to enter into brotherhood with him, you must bear the consequences. there is no more to be said about it at present. we must have time to prepare the matter, and can return to it later. there was also another thing i wished to speak to you about today." orn was silent and reflected. then he commenced again hesitatingly, not without a certain embarrassment. "i often heard in her time your mother speaking with you. it is now long since, and you were little at the time. probably you have forgotten some of what she said. but i have noticed that you have remembered part of it--perhaps you remember every word. i have never spoken to you of your mother. you have never given occasion for it, and one should not talk too much. when one talks too much, words easily become mere wind. therefore i have never hitherto spoken with you about something, of which, however, i wish to speak with you--not because i believe it necessary--perhaps you are already as clear on the matter as myself--but because i want you to remember that i have spoken to you. the fact that i cannot well postpone it has also determined me to speak now. "you know that odin and thor are especially my gods. they have been the gods of our family as far back as tradition goes, and i want you, like your forefathers, to hold them especially in honour. if you do that, it will go well with you. for wisdom and strength are the two things a man must have. if he has them, he has honour too, in valhalla as well as here upon earth. goods and gold, power over men, and great possessions are good things, which you should strive to acquire, and hold fast when you have them. but all those things can, in case of need, be dispensed with. honour is the one indispensable thing, because, after all, it is the only thing that uplifts a man, and the only thing that survives him on earth, when he is dead and done with. and because honour can be lost during a man's lifetime, a dead man with honour preserved is happier than the man who is still alive, and whose honour is exposed to peril. it is not necessary to impress upon you anything else than that; when your honour is concerned, you must be prepared to stake your life. the memory of a man outlives him. and honour casts a glory over a man's memory, just as dishonour casts a shadow. no man in our family has a shadow on his memory. this is the most important thing which i wish to say to you. but if you have the patience to hear me, i have something more to say. and that is this. you shall respect your land's law and justice, for as long as you have not renounced its law, you are bound by it, and dishonour yourself by breaking it. you shall not stir up unnecessary quarrels, but avoid disunion and strife, as long as your honour is not injured. peace in the land produces fruitful fields. but if you have a lawful vengeance to inflict, do so with a heavy hand, as behoves one born to such a place as yours. but be always ready for reconciliation when it is offered sincerely. an honourable reconciliation is preferable to a victory which may carry in it the seed of future defeat. "and never break a treaty, for only a wretch ignores his vows, only a traitor breaks his word. a brave man is prepared to support his least word with his life, thereby the high-born are recognized. the churl, on the other hand, regards his word as nothing more than the breath of his mouth. his tongue shall be eaten of snakes, and his evil memory will ride his soul like a nightmare for ever." orn had become excited. then he was silent, composed himself again, meditated, and was still. when he had finished meditating, he rose solemnly and drew from his arm a heavy gold bracelet graven with runes and signs. ingolf sprang up when his father rose, and remained standing before him with bowed head, and his bright face slightly flushed. orn spoke: "this bracelet has for a long time belonged to our race, and has always been an heirloom in the head branch of the family. some of those who bore it have worn it till their death. others have transferred it to the future wearer when they found that their time was near. my son, i am growing old, and it is no use to deny it or to hide it. forgetfulness is getting more and more the mastery over me. reach me your hand." ingolf stretched out his right hand, and raised his head. there was a moist glimmer in his eyes. deeply moved, orn drew the bracelet on his arm. "now you wear the ring." ingolf fell on his knees before the old man, and orn made the sign of the hammer over his head, and said quietly: "odin give you wisdom, and thor strength. frey make your land fruitful, and njord guide your seafaring! all the bright ases help thee! rise, my son." ingolf rose silently. orn laid his hands on his shoulders, looked for a moment closely at him, and let him go. they went out into the courtyard of the house. for a while they stood there silent, side by side, and looked out over the landscape where the snow-covered mountains rose and the valleys sank. ingolf saw everything, as it were, with new eyes. the fjord was such a crystal blue, and seemed to have something to say to him. the dark edge of the wood, which he caught a glimpse of here and there, held today a secret and certain promise of the spring and the snow-free earth. the sky was high and clear, and the day had a solemn stillness about it. the frost in the air seemed to be relaxing. in ingolf's eyes the whole scene wore a solemn aspect, and seemed in a way newborn. even the low houses with snow-covered roofs seemed to have altered their appearance, and looked twice as home-like. when orn went in, ingolf remained standing there, and enjoyed the freshness of the day. orn went straight in to the high-seat and his drinking-horn. his throat had become dry from much talk. he emptied the horn in a moment and had it filled afresh. he emptied the horn many times that day. ix ingolf informed leif in carefully-chosen words that his father would be glad if they extended the proposed brotherhood so as to include the sons of atle. leif stood looking down while ingolf talked. as soon as ingolf had spoken the first word, he felt sorry that he had brought the question up at all. leif's attitude had an effect on him. he stood and fumbled with words which would not arrange themselves properly. when he finished, leif looked up askance at him. he did not say much at first. ingolf felt a profound and unusual depression. he felt as if he had in some degree deceived leif. "i only wished to tell you that," he tried to add, but was quite sure that his voice did not sound convincing. "what do you think yourself?" asked leif at last quietly, and looked up again, still with a rather unsteady glance. "i have never thought about brotherhood with atle's sons," answered ingolf quietly, suddenly recovering his equilibrium. "i have offered you brotherhood with myself alone, and am therefore prevented from forming brotherhood with another. but i understand from what my father said that there perhaps was a possibility that atle's sons would like to enter into brotherhood with us. and in such a case i would like to know your opinion beforehand." "i have never contemplated forming brotherhood with holmsten," answered leif in a quiet, firm voice, quite different from his usual one. "in fact, i do not choose to be everybody's brother." "well, let us say no more about it." ingolf tried to speak lightly. but leif continued. there was a tremor of swelling wrath and distress in his quiet voice. "i understand well that for you a brotherhood with atle's sons is quite a different thing from brotherhood with me. by entering into the blood-tie with them you gain power and consideration. do you enter _alone_ into brotherhood with atle jarl's sons; i will not stand in the way. i release you from your word. i am able to stand alone." ingolf paused a little and then said: "you misunderstand me, leif. i only want to bring the matter before you. it is possible that i should not have done that. but i took for granted that we might already talk together like brothers. i will gladly confess that, for my part, i might think it good to enter into brotherhood with atle's sons--yes, i should even like to have haasten for a brother. but i could not think of entering into any brotherhood without you. there is no one else whom i would rather be brother to, and that you know well, or ought to know. no power could induce me to release _you_ from your word, leif." leif stood thoughtful awhile. then he raised his head and looked in ingolf's eyes with a firm and trustful look. "i know well," he said in the same quiet tone, "that i am not the best brother you could have. but you shall never have reason to find fault with my faithfulness. i imagine, ingolf, that you are afraid that i shall some day be the cause of enmity between you and atle's sons. with my good will that shall not happen. my temper shall never again get the mastery of me before holmsten. that i swear to you. i know that you like holmsten, and that you wish to preserve that friendship. you shall see that you can trust me." the two cousins pressed each other's hands in silence. they referred no more to the matter. x there came a beggar to the house: an old bent man, clothed in dirty rags and torn leather, entered the hall one evening and took a place by the fire on the outer-most bench. there he sat and warmed his crooked fingers, that were blue with cold, and meanwhile squinted about him with pale, cunning eyes. as he sat there, his yellow beard, in which a quantity of nondescript rubbish had been caught, hung down between his legs. his grey hair lay in tatters over his back. but his powerful eyebrows were the most marked feature in his face. grey and bushy, they almost concealed his eyes when they were lowered, and he had a habit sometimes of drawing them both up together and slightly lifting one at a time, which gave his face a strangely mobile, almost animal, expression. he was questioned regarding news from the north, but had little information to give. as soon as it was evident that he had nothing important to communicate, he was allowed to sit in peace and warm himself. it seemed as if he valued being left to himself. when he had sat for a while and warmed his hands, he loosed the rags from off his legs and stretched his feet to the fire. they were a marvel of knotted bones and dirt. he looked exhausted. some remains of the evening meal were brought him. he received the food with a grunt, set it upon his knee, and began eating. with eager hands he first sought the best bits, and, groping about in the food, turned the contents of the dish round, chewing with his whole head. he certainly could eat. ingolf and leif had sought a place near him, and sat looking attentively at him. "i think he can hold as much in his maw as a cow," whispered leif, absorbed in looking at him. "and he mumbles just like a cow chewing the cud. ha! ha! what an old swine he is!" the beggar emptied the dish so that only bare bones remained. then he gulped comfortably and relieved himself of air. subsequently he fell into a cosy nap while he digested. thus he sat for some time, apparently sound asleep. but suddenly he raised his eyebrows both together and peered round him with wide-open pale eyes. ingolf and leif had come near to him, and were contemplating him closely--one his legs, and the other his face. they had seldom seen anything like him. he was certainly a remarkable object both above and below. he sat for a time and looked at them without saying anything, looked from one to the other, contemplated them closely, and gave himself plenty of time. "point and sword," he said at last in a deep bass tone. "when the point breaks, exploits are over.... but you sit where you should." he turned suddenly to ingolf and thrust his face with his wide-opened eyes close to his. then he drew his head back, murmuring in a deep tone, as though at his own thoughts. the boys believed at first that he talked in delirium. they sat still and only stared at him--leif with his mouth half open. "a curious creature!" he thought, and felt internally much amused. the old man remained still for some time, looking closely and a little cunningly from one to the other. their staring did not seem to affect him. "shall i tell you something?" he asked at last, growling, and winking meaningly with his pale eyes. "shall i tell you about the new land?" he turned his face with his eyebrows elevated, questioning, and turning abruptly from one to the other. in the face of such a direct application from this queer figure, the boys became at first a little embarrassed. they looked at each other, and remained sitting with bowed heads and fumbling fingers. "well, if you don't choose to hear it, i don't choose to tell you," growled the old grumbler, shook himself, let his eyebrows sink, and withdrew into himself. the boys lifted their heads, looked at him and at each other, and suddenly became curious. ingolf nodded to leif to commence, and leif blurted out: "let us hear, old man!" the beggar slowly lifted his eyebrows, but not in order to look at them. it seemed as if he had forgotten them, and did not hear what leif said. he sat staring in front of him into the fire with an absent look in his old, strangely bleached eyes. "yes, yes," he said at last, as if half unwillingly. "anyhow, it is all the same to me. why should i tell you about it? no one escapes his destiny." with a loud and luxurious yawn he showed them an enormous throat behind his yellow teeth. then he closed his chaps and remained sitting silent for a time. it seemed as though he were considering whether he wanted to open his mouth at all again that evening. leif found this tedious, and summoned up his courage. "it was about the new land you were going to tell us," he said persuasively. and when the old man did not hear him he added inquiringly, in order, if possible, to rouse him out of his silent reverie: "has a new land been discovered?" "don't you know that?" asked the old man hastily. "don't you even know that?" he repeated incredulously. the boys shook their heads negatively. "then it is not too early you come to know that, if one told you. so you do not even know that. ah, old norns! how you can spin. you look after the loom without wavering even when the motley yarn is blood-coloured. perhaps the one who sees should be silent. no, some time you will _have_ to know it. have you never heard of the new land?" after a repeated shake of the head on the part of the two boys, he continued: "one late summer, some years back, naddod the viking intended to sail from norway to the faroe islands. but the gods granted him no good wind, either because he had neglected to sacrifice, or in some other way incurred the displeasure of odin and njord. they sent him a storm, and drove him so far westward that at last he believed he was near ginnungagab, where the seas pour down into helheim, but instead of this he came to a great land. he ascended a high mountain to see if he could find a sign that the land was inhabited. but no smoke was to be seen anywhere, nor any other sign of folk did he find. when he sailed from the country again, much snow had fallen on the mountains. therefore he called the country snowland. he and his people said that it was a good land. so some years passed without anything more being heard of the new country. there was a swede, named gardar svavarsson, who had possessions in denmark, who sailed from sealand to fetch his wife's inheritance in the south. when he had sailed through pettlandsfjord, he encountered a storm and went adrift. so he drifted to the west and came to the new land. he sailed farther along its coasts, and discovered that it was an island. he built a house by a bay which he called husevig, and wintered there. when he sailed from the land the next spring the wind tore a boat, which he had in tow, loose. in the boat was a serf named natfare and a serf-woman. perhaps they managed to effect a landing and settled in the place. gardar praised the country much. he reported that it was wooded from the heath to the sea, and had luxuriant pastures. he gave it the name gardarsholme. it retained the name between man and man until floke vilgerdsson had been there. floke, who was a powerful viking, equipped a ship in rogaland to seek gardarsholme. he loaded his ship in smorsund. before he sailed, he arranged a sacrificial feast, at which he sacrificed and conjured magic powers into three ravens. therefore he has since been called 'raven-floke.' a sea-mark was raised where the feast had taken place, and was called 'floke's sea-mark.' it stood on the border between hordaland and rogaland. first raven-floke sailed to hjaltland and cast anchor in a bay which was named floke's bay. at hjaltland his daughter, geirhild, was drowned in a lake, since called geirhild's lake. from hjaltland he sailed to the faroe islands, where he gave one of his daughters in marriage. thence he put out to sea, taking the three ravens with him. when he had sailed for a day and a night, he let the first raven loose. it flew astern and disappeared in the direction from which they had come. then he sailed for a day and a night more, and let the second raven loose. it flew aloft and returned to the ship. again he sailed a day and a night, and let the third raven go. it flew forward and did not return. when they sailed farther in the direction in which it had disappeared, they found the land they sought. floke had on board a man named faxe. when they came to a broad fjord, faxe spoke and said: 'this is certainly a great land we have found--here are mighty rivers.' therefore the fjord was named 'faxe-mouth.' raven-floke did not sail into the fjord. he sailed past a headland with a mighty snow-covered mountain on it, and across a broad bay with many islands and skerries. he landed at a fjord on the north side of the bay, which he called vandfjord, and the coast-line he called bardestrand. the fjord was full of fish. they were so absorbed in catching the quantities of fish that they forgot to procure hay; therefore the sheep and cattle they had brought with them died in the winter from want of fodder. the spring was fairly cold. floke ascended a high mountain one day in spring and saw north of it a fjord packed full with sea-ice. therefore he christened the land and named it iceland. he meant to have sailed away that summer, but before they were ready to sail it was autumn, and the weather became stormy. floke had on his ship two peasants, thorolf and haerjolf. when they were at the last ready to sail, the storm tore away a boat from them, and in the boat sat haerjolf. haerjolf landed at a place, to which he gave his name and called it haerjolf's haven. raven-floke, who did not wish to sail without haerjolf, put back to land and brought his ship uninjured into a fjord which he called havnefjord. at a river's mouth in the fjord they found a whale driven on shore. haerjolf had also scented the whale, and there they met. they called the river's mouth hvalore. they sailed thence and wintered in a fjord, on which raven-floke, who had had enough of the land, did not choose to lavish a name. when, on their arrival home, they were asked about the new land, floke had only evil to report. haerjolf, on the other hand, praised it moderately, mentioned its advantages, and did not conceal its defects. but thorolf declared that butter dripped from every straw in the land, therefore he was afterwards called 'butter-thorolf.' "and i have no more to tell you about the new land," concluded the beggar rather suddenly, and shook himself uncomfortably--"you can yourselves go and see it." when he stopped speaking, ingolf and leif sat for a time and stared at him. "why should we do that?" asked ingolf at last. "we have no mind to change our abode." the old man returned no answer. leif sat thoughtful. when he spoke at last his voice was muffled and seemed far away. "it would be amusing to see that land for once." "you _will_ see it," growled the old man, and there was a peculiar malicious exultation in his harsh voice--"you will have time enough to see it, i think." suddenly life came into him afresh, and his voice became sharp and obtrusive. "get me a jug of beer, and i will tell you much more; i will show you a piece of the norns' web, hoho! a charming piece. they have twisted threads that you can never guess. bring me beer, and you shall hear something." ingolf felt overcome by a strange and unusual bodily depression, and rose hastily. his spirits were suddenly upset, and he felt almost ill. "beer you shall have," he answered curtly and coldly. "but now i think we have heard enough for the evening. come, leif." leif rose a little unwillingly. it was possible that the old man had more information to give about the new land. why not hear him to the end, even if he did talk some nonsense between whiles? but as ingolf did not wish it, it was all the same to him. he could himself speculate further about the island out there in the garden, and go into the whole matter more closely with ingolf. the beggar had a jug of beer brought, which he emptied in small draughts in order to relish it better. then he lay down by the fire, curled himself into a bundle, and slept. he remained lying there for the night; the next morning he wandered farther. when leif sought him, in order to question him more closely, he had gone. leif tried to talk with ingolf about the new land. but ingolf was always occupied with something else when leif began to talk about iceland. leif did not observe that ingolf with deliberate intention avoided the subject. ingolf could not free himself from a certain anxiety that leif might become too interested in the new discovery which the beggar had reported to them. it would be like leif suddenly to begin to make plans to go there, perhaps migrate and settle there. that must not happen, for leif became unstable when he had conceived an idea, especially if it were rather an unusual one. no, ingolf wished to remain in dalsfjord, in his father's house. he was strongly averse from everything which smacked of wandering and adventure. by his prudent methods he soon brought leif to forget the new land. xi the winter was nearing its end. after goi came enemaaned, and then, in the midst of spring, a fine thursday ushered in harpe, the first month of summer. on the first summer day there was held in this part of the land a great sacrificial feast at gaulum, which lasted three days and nights. on that occasion there assembled, at the residence of the jarl, chiefs and yeomen from distant parts, each bringing for himself some food and a large quantity of beer. especially was it obligatory on those who were preparing viking expeditions for the summer not to remain away, if they wished for honour and victory in their undertaking. from the early morning the place began to be alive. great crowds were seen gathering from all sides. the sun was reflected from new-polished weapons, and shone on parti-coloured shields. the house-servants were for the most part dressed in suits of grey home-spun frieze, but the peasants and their sons appeared in splendid foreign-made clothes. red, blue, green, and parti-coloured chequered cloaks were seen in each company. all day people continued to assemble at the house. the days passed in putting up tents, preparing for the festival, seeking out friends and acquaintances, making appointments for the summer, and settling various accounts. atle jarl was invisible that day. only his closest friends, and people who sought him on important business, were taken to the room where he had hid himself, busily absorbed as he was in arranging or preparing arrangements for his own and others' affairs. among those who sought him that day and had audience of him was orn bjornulfsson. their conversation was quite short, and resulted in atle jarl sending for his eldest son, haasten. haasten was only for a moment in the room with his father. his brothers, haersten and holmsten, waited meanwhile outside. haasten told them nothing about his conversation with his father. and when haasten did not speak of his own accord, his brothers did not question him. haasten, haersten, and holmsten went about and bade every newly arrived chief welcome. they wore splendid clothes, and carried valuable weapons and ornaments. over his shoulders each of the brothers wore a long cloak of heavy silk--haasten a red one, haersten a blue one, and holmsten a green one. they were all three fine-looking youths, tall and well-built, fair-haired, with noble features and quiet demeanour. as they went about bidding the guests welcome, side by side, haasten on the right and holmsten on the left, few remembered having seen three such fine-looking fellows together. they were very popular; very many sought their friendship, but few won their confidence. among these few were ingolf and leif. haasten made no attempt to conceal his gladness when he greeted the two cousins. ingolf was the special object of his warm friendship. he included leif because he was once for all inseparable from his cousin, and because in spite of everything he liked him, and silently admired him for his courage. walking slowly, the three brothers turned back to the place where ingolf and leif were superintending the erection of tents, but their fathers had already disappeared. they had found a place of honour in the hall, where individual guests were received. there they sat, tasted the brewing of the house, and compared notes on the latest news with like-minded friends. ingolf observed at last that haasten especially wanted something with him that day, and accordingly arranged that they should be alone for a while. haasten went straight to the point. "i hear, ingolf, that you and leif will tomorrow enter brotherhood. i have expected that some time it would come to that, but it is happening somewhat sooner than i had expected." ingolf interrupted him, though he well understood that he had not finished what he had to say. he told haasten briefly, but without concealing anything, about their journey home after their last visit to gaulum. he hinted that leif and he certainly were both anxious to enter into an unbreakable bond. "you know leif," he concluded. "you know how imprudent he is, and how he needs protection. the shield that shall protect him will receive dints. but a shield he must have, and that shield i will be." "do you think that it would be of use if leif at the same time obtained other shields?" haasten asked quietly. ingolf grew a little pale, a fact which did not escape haasten. for awhile they stood and looked into each other's eyes. there was a strange silence between them. both felt that now their destinies were being settled. at last ingolf reached haasten his hand. "haasten, my friend," he said in a low voice, "i hope that we will always stand side by side where the word of friendship sounds as well as where weapons speak. but i think leif would feel a defence of shields as a prison." haasten remained standing quite still with his friend's hand in his, and looked into his eyes. both had a troubled look. then haasten said quietly: "you have spoken, and it cannot well be otherwise. let us each for himself keep a good watch on our brothers. i have a sure foreboding that it will be needed." he gave ingolf's hand a final pressure and released it. silently they returned to the tents where leif stood engaged in friendly and cheerful conversation with haasten's brothers. leif had produced the knife which holmsten gave him, and was showing with gestures and much hilarity how he had succeeded in killing the horse. "the belt is paid for, holmsten," he concluded cheerfully. "your knife, which once should have taken my life, has saved it. if you have an ax, hew at me and make me a present of it afterwards. i need an ax; my father will not give me one. he fears i might test its usefulness a little too much. i have tried to steal one from him. but he has locked the weapons up in a chest which i cannot open." leif stopped when ingolf and haasten came up. a hasty glance convinced him that something had taken place between the two. they were very quiet. he thrust the knife noisily into its sheath, and involuntarily straightened his body from its careless attitude. soon after, haasten and his brothers withdrew. haasten went straight to his father. "is the matter arranged?" asked atle jarl. "no, i have been considering it," answered haasten, who did not wish to give his father full information. "i fear that brotherhood with leif rodmarsson will cause us too many difficulties." "very possibly," answered atle. "but ingolf is a good fellow, and will inherit much property. his family has many friends, and will be a good support in disturbed times." "my friendship with the cousins is independent of their entering brotherhood." "perhaps," answered the jarl dryly. "you are in any case master over your proceedings. my advice was only advice. may you never regret not having followed it." haasten, who saw that his father was angry, did not answer, but saluted him respectfully and retired. he was depressed and filled with heavy forebodings, but tried to conceal it as much as possible. the day began to decline. atle jarl had taken measures, and all the arrangements for the feast were ready. the animals destined for sacrifice were not allowed out at all that day. the fine, powerful horses which were to be offered to odin stood stamping their hoofs impatiently in the stables. a flock of sheep, likewise meant to appease the all-father, pressed against one another, patiently resigned to their fate, in a pen, rested their heads on each other's backs, and chewed the cud over the last remains of the contents of their stomachs, now and then shaking their ears a little discontentedly. plump oxen and bulls which, with one exception, should soon bleed in honour of odin, bellowed in all kinds of tones and butted against the beams of the stalls. in an outhouse lay nine serfs and criminals with their hands tied behind them. they were to be hung in order to join the storm-god's wild hunt. that day it was chiefly odin who received offerings. but there was also a little diversion destined for thor. away in a corner of the outhouse, where the serfs waited for the rope, lay a ragged bundle. it was the serf-woman, trude, who had been guilty of stealing, and who, as she must somehow say good-bye to life, might as well be utilized as an offering to thor the thunderer. when the pale twilight of the evening had drawn its light veil over the landscape, softened its sharp outlines and changed them to vague, shadowy contours, people began to gather round the temple. all their weapons they had left under guard in their tents. the temple at gaulum was an old chief temple built long before the house became a jarl's seat. the dignity of high priest had from time immemorial descended from father to son, and atle jarl the slender had thus inherited it. the temple was a large and spacious edifice, built of heavy beams, with its entrance by a main-wall furnished with gables. burning and smoking pitch-torches hung fixed in heavy iron rings on the walls, each watched by a serf. on entering, one perceived in this flickering light only indistinct images of gods who sat on their platforms behind a low partition-wall away at the opposite end of the temple. within the wall no ordinary person ventured to tread; only the priest and his consecrated assistants, helpers in the sacrifice, might go there. the gods sat arranged in a spacious semicircle. there were several of them, both male and female. most were splendidly dressed, some even adorned with gold rings and precious stones. but the three chief gods, odin, thor, and frey, who sat in the midst of the semicircle, drew the spectator's chief attention. in the centre was enthroned thor--here, as in many other places in norway, the chief object of worship. thor sat in his thunder-chariot, to which were yoked painted goats with gilded horns. the goats were on wheels, as though on the point of drawing the chariot from its place in the chief procession at thor's festivals. in his right hand thor held his short-handled hammer high uplifted. he had an awe-inspiring aspect. straight in front of him was a thin slab of rock with a sharp upper edge, placed edgewise. on the right of thor sat odin in a wagon, both larger and more magnificent than thor's, but without animals to draw it. odin sat on a chair adorned with runes and sacred signs. he held a long spear in his hand, and stared threateningly with his one eye. on the left of thor sat frey. his platform was a great stone, covered with a parti-coloured carpet. in contrast to the other gods he sat naked, holding a stag's horn, his only weapon, high in his right hand. in the midst of the semicircular space, on a special elevation, stood a great stone basin in which the blood of the offerings was collected. in the bowl lay a rod, used to stir the blood and then to sprinkle it around. on the mound lay, besides, the sacred bracelet, a heavy, open circlet of gold, inscribed with sacred signs, on which all oaths were taken. when the people had assembled in the temple, atle jarl the slender entered, followed by his assistants. he wore white clothes with red borders. his assistants were also dressed in white. when atle jarl entered, carrying a broad-bladed, long-handled ax over his shoulder, taller by head and shoulders than most of those present, thin and erect like the branch-lopped stem of a fir, he caused a gasp in many a young breast, and even old, hardened vikings felt a slight shudder in their backs. this man stood at that moment in covenant with the gods. they were brought into touch with the unknowable. there was a death-like silence in the temple. atle jarl walked with dignity between the thick-packed masses of men on both sides. at the partition-wall his assistants remained standing for a while; only the priest could go within. he placed the ax on the mound where the basin stood. he saluted the three chief gods with a slow and solemn bending of the knee before each, and then included the other gods in one. then he went back muttering secret words, took the sacrificial bracelet from its place, and drew it on his right arm, seized the ax with his left hand, and raised his right arm in command. that was a signal to the door-guard. the most splendid of all the sacrificial animals, a coal-black ox with shining head and large, crooked horns, was brought in by serfs, and led to the partition-wall by other serfs, chosen as sacrificial helpers, and consecrated to the service. at the same time two of the priest's assistants came forward, lifted the bowl from the mound, and placed it a little way off. the ox resisted violently when led in, and uttered angry bellowings. it foamed with frenzy, and showed the whites of its eyes. atle jarl stood with his left foot advanced and his ax lifted in both hands. at the instant the ox was placed in the proper spot the ax fell with a powerful and practised aim on its neck. the beast gave a bellow and sank on its knees. immediately the serfs stood over it with long knives. a stab in the neck and a cut between the neck arteries, and then down with it to the basin, so that the precious sacrificial blood should not be spilt. meanwhile, one of the assistants kept stirring the blood in the bowl with a rod so that it should not coagulate. when the last drop of blood had been drawn off in the bowl, the assistants raised the dead body by a rope and carried it beyond the partition-wall. there it was received by other serfs, who carried it outside and immediately set to work to skin it. other animals were now brought forward. one by one they were killed, and their blood emptied into the bowl. but their bodies were not carried out afterwards, like the ox's. they were thrown on one side, and left to wait till the sacrifices were over. a speckled bull was offered to frey. all the other animals were offerings to odin, the god of battle, so that he should give success and victory to the viking expeditions which would take place in the summer. last came thor's only offering--the serf-woman, trude, was brought forward. a pair of serfs dragged her to the wall, where two assistants received her and stripped her rags from her body. the crowd waited breathlessly. but not a groan or a gasp came from the serf-woman, trude. she was dragged by her hair before the hammer-wielder, lifted up, and laid with the small of her back crosswise over the sharp edge of the stone altar. then atle jarl made the sign of the hammer over the offering, and the serfs pressed her down. a scream of unspeakable terror tore through the air, and died away in a blood-curdling low, quivering wail. with broken back the serf-woman, trude, lay across thor's sacrificial stone. the bowl filled to the brim was now lifted by the assistants and set on its mound again. atle jarl drew the sacrificial bracelet off his arm, rubbed it in the blood, and drew it on his arm again. then he took the rod and began sprinkling the steaming blood around. first he sprinkled odin, then thor, then frey, and afterwards each of the gods. also the walls, ceiling, and floor he sprinkled with the protective sacrificial blood. when atle jarl had finished the ceremonies within the partition-wall, the assistants lifted the bowl, and, sprinkling the blood on the right and the left, he went out of the temple, followed by the assistants bearing the bowl. when it had been emptied of the last drop, the bowl was carried back and set in its place. but the sacrifices were not yet over. odin's chariot was now drawn out of the temple, and two splendid white horses were yoked to it. then a serf came forward, chosen for his stature for the part, and was dressed in the ox's skin, with the horns and hoofs hanging down and the tinkling bells attached to it. the procession to odin's grove was arranged, with atle jarl at the head bearing the bloody ax over his shoulder. after him came the serf with the ox-skin and bells. then came odin in his car drawn by white horses and surrounded by white-robed assistants. the rear of the procession was brought up by the crowd. silently, the creaking of the car and the tinkling bells being the only sounds audible in the bright night, the procession went forward to odin's grove. there were waiting already the nine serfs and the criminals, who, by being strung up as sport for the winds, should appease the storm-god, each tied to his death tree. odin's car was driven forward to an open space, surrounded by sharp stones. only the priest and his consecrated helpers ventured to enter the ring of stones. when odin's car was brought to the place, and the crowd had arranged themselves, the assistants went, two by two, to the waiting victims. one fixed the cord and made sure that both it and the branch were strong, the other loosed the victim's bonds. one of the serfs wailed and begged for his life. he met only contemptuous glances, and was kicked and thumped by the assistants. as he would not be quiet, they forced a stone in between his jaws. when atle jarl saw that his assistants had finished their preparations he gave a sign. at the same instant the victims were strung up all together. just before they had ceased their struggles a whistling sound came through the wood. a gust of wind imparted a swinging motion to the dangling bodies. a thrill of satisfaction mingled with awe went through the hearts of those assembled. odin had accepted the offering. slowly the procession wound its way back from odin's grove. when they reached the temple, the dead bodies of the sacrificed animals had already been carried away by serfs, to be flayed and divided. the body of the serf-woman, trude, had also been removed. it had been sunk in the holy well by the gable-end of the temple. this was not the first victim it had swallowed. odin was drawn to his place on the right hand of thor. atle jarl took the sacrificial bracelet off his arm and laid it on the mound by the side of the bowl. this concluded the first part of the sacrificial feast--the slaughter night. the people went to their tents and crept under their skins, to get a little sleep. the early spring day was already dawning in the east. xii ingolf and leif went silently towards the tent. ingolf was pleasantly fatigued, and felt cheerful. he enjoyed the mental relaxation and dreamy sleepiness which follows when an inner excitement has found its natural relief. he went from the ceremony confirmed in his faith with strengthened will. he felt himself in covenant relation with his ferocious gods. with leif the case was opposite. he had been sickened by the sight and smell of the blood of the sacrificed animals. all the rest, and especially ingolf's behaviour, had had a repelling effect upon _him_ who did not believe in the gods, nay, who had a profound contempt for these ugly, bedizened images of wood. ingolf's thorough absorption in the ceremonies had made him sick at heart. here was something he did not understand. how _could_ ingolf quietly watch helpless men being ill-treated and murdered in honour of the gods? how _could_ he worship gods whom he believed he could appease by hanging serfs and criminals in their honour? leif did not understand it. he felt himself suddenly alone, and an eager longing for helga took possession of him. there was something about ingolf which was beyond his comprehension. in relation to the gods there would always be something to divide them. hitherto this had possessed such a slight significance for leif that he had not given the matter a thought. now it grew suddenly, assumed a shape, and was not to be got away from. ingolf must certainly not become aware how great a difference there was between them in this respect. for if he did, how could he think of entering into brotherhood with him? leif's emotion seethed and fermented. with every step his inward excitement rose higher. to speak out to ingolf would never do; if once he began to speak, wild and uncontrolled words would stream from his tongue. and he had vowed to himself never to let his fiery temperament discharge itself in evil words over ingolf. but, on the other hand, the excitement in his mind gradually became uncontrollable. and now they were so near the tents, that only a few steps more would rob him of the opportunity of relieving himself. he stopped, perplexed, without knowing what he should say or do. "ingolf!" he broke out suddenly, as if in bewilderment; his voice was hoarse and unrecognizable. ingolf stopped, surprised, and turned towards him. in an instant they were confronting each other, ingolf with an astonished, questioning expression in his eyes and face, leif quivering in every limb with an excitement which bid fair to derange his mind. he rushed at his cousin, flung his arms round him tightly, and hissed from between his clenched teeth: "look out!" ingolf did not understand what he was about, and had no time to consider. he needed all his presence of mind to keep on his legs, for leif attacked him with all his might, and his strength seemed to increase with his exertions. ingolf was not long in discovering that this was serious; he had to defend himself or fall. leif hissed and groaned and bellowed like a maniac. ingolf thought it was best to make an end of it, and passed gradually over to the offensive. but it took him time, and he needed to exert all his strength to overcome leif. at last he succeeded. he took advantage of a slip on leif's part, slowly deprived him of his foothold--then came the decisive moment--leif overbalanced and fell. ingolf remained lying on the top of him. he had a good grip, and held him fast. leif's face was purple and swollen, and he foamed at the mouth. his eyes were bloodshot, and were so furious that ingolf suddenly felt pity for him. "cousin, be reasonable now," he begged persuasively. but to be overcome in such a purely physical way had been too much for leif. he struggled hopelessly to get one arm loose, and when he did not succeed he hissed with suppressed rage: "i could kill you!" ingolf let him go at once and sprang up. but leif did not do the same, as he had expected. he had discharged his emotions now and had given up. he remained lying with his eyes closed, while the shame scorched and burnt in his soul. ingolf stood for a little while looking at him. he felt the wrath lurking in ambush within himself, and bravely fought with it. "what have i done?" he asked at last quietly. leif did not answer, but remained lying there, quiet and motionless, with closed eyes. within himself he was silently and hopelessly wondering how he should set about opening his eyes and rising. ingolf stood looking at him. he began gradually to understand him, and to enter into his feelings. leif had madly set himself against the gods. but what was the use of so attacking him, he would like to know? well, leif had his peculiarities in everything. now he lay there and was ashamed, and could not bring himself to open his eyes. the best thing was to give him a little time to collect himself. ingolf remained standing awhile and waited. "come now, leif!" he urged, in a friendly tone, and leif rose. slowly he collected himself and got on his legs. ingolf stood and looked at him with curiosity. his features were relaxed, and his eyes were dull and troubled. "what was the matter with you?" asked ingolf earnestly, and could not suppress a little laugh. leif stood a short while without answering, as though searching his memory for something he had forgotten. "you needn't trouble yourself about it," he answered in a weary and rather shy tone, but not without a certain defiance. "it was not you i hated, but your gods." "so it was not very strange you could not win, cousin," answered ingolf cheerfully. "you are still too slight of build to fight with the gods." "i shall not go with you to a feast any more," answered leif, unaffected by ingolf's cheerfulness. "this once i may be allowed to say it, and i beg you not to forget it. your gods and your worship of them are an abomination to me, and will always be so. even if it should lose me my brother, i must say it." there was a smothered warmth in leif's words which made ingolf serious. "it is just with you, as you are, that i wish to enter into brotherhood, leif," he answered quietly. "your relation to the gods is a matter between you and them. what you think of my worship of them is your own affair. but i am anxious that you should understand that i belong with all my soul and will to the gods. they were my fathers' gods; if i were false to them, i should be false to my fathers. rather would i this very moment sacrifice myself to odin than that that should happen." "but then it is a sacrifice on your part," answered leif quietly, "when you enter into brotherhood with me who despise the gods, and so have been false to my fathers." ingolf was silent for a while. "it is another matter with you than with me," he answered. "i cannot explain it, but i feel that it is quite another matter with you. i should become weaker by not believing in the gods; you would become so by believing in them. we are so different, leif. and i wish to be your brother as you are." "i will do my best that you may never regret that," answered leif quietly. they went to their tents. it was already nearly daylight. in the east the sky was faintly red; there was only a short time to the sunrise. ingolf and leif did not talk any more. they crept silently into their sleeping-bags. but neither of them could close an eye. they remained lying quiet till nearly midday. when the sun was at its zenith that day, their brotherhood was to be sealed. leif was the first who rose. when he had met ingolf's open eyes, he said in a low, cheerful tone: "let us run to the stream." ingolf sprang up. "yes, we will." they ran to a place outside the encampment, where they were in the shelter of a cliff, and where they had been accustomed to wash themselves when, as small boys, they visited their friends at gaulum. ingolf dipped his head in the water, rubbed hard with both hands, and snorted cheerfully. but leif flung away every stitch of clothing and lay down in the running water. when ingolf saw it, he immediately followed his example. and so they lay side by side in the stream, and let the cold running water stream over their bodies, as when they were little boys. leif looked at the sun. "we shall have to hurry." they sat for a little while, squeezed the water out of their hair, and let the sun and the wind dry their skins. but the water remained in drops on their skins and would not be dried. then they took their shirts and rubbed each other, and then dressed in a trice. "let us go slowly back," said leif, when they had their clothes on, and ingolf had to look closer at him, for such a proposal was very unlike him. leif answered his questioning look. "otherwise we shall be so breathless, and we are getting too big now to run like children." when they came up from the little valley in which the stream ran, they saw that the people were already gathered, and hastened their steps. leif looked up hastily at the sun. "it is not yet quite midday," he said, relieved, but went on. they arrived at the place at the same time as atle jarl, who as high priest was to conduct the proceedings. atle jarl, generally a mild and amiable man, wore his severest expression that day. he had the sacrificial bracelet on his arm and a spear in his hand. a serf followed him bearing two turf-cutters and two bright, sharp-pointed knives. the people had gathered round a circular space, marked out with wooden pegs. they readily made way for the two cousins and atle jarl. when they reached the place marked out, atle jarl curtly bade the two future brothers take off their shoes and stockings and step into the ring. while they were doing so, he himself stepped into the ring, and with his spear marked off a semicircle within it. then ingolf and leif each received his turf-cutter with orders to begin, each on his own side of the semicircle, and cut a turf loose, taking care, however, that both its ends remained firm. the turf that was to be cut loose was to remain a living part of the ground. ingolf was set to cut on the outside of the semicircle, leif on the inside. they each dropped on one knee, stuck their turf-cutters into the ground, and began to cut. their task was to cut a solid piece of turf which would hold fast when it was raised. ingolf cut with an even, straight stroke; he was quiet and undisturbed by the people standing and looking at him. leif, on the other hand, was nervous. he began cutting with all his might; his edge became bent and uneven, and sweat was pouring from him before he had got half through. when the spectators saw their different ways of working, they smiled and winked at each other. orn and rodmar stood just outside the ring. orn did not look happy, but he concealed his displeasure under a mask of indifference. rodmar stood and looked angrily at leif. he could hardly restrain himself from shouting to him and correcting him. he saw, however, clearly that it would only make bad worse, and controlled himself. but he leant towards orn and whispered as though making an excuse. "ingolf will need all his quiet and strength before he can get leif tamed." "he cannot be tamed," answered orn in a low tone, but with emphasis in his voice. "a horse with the staggers cannot be broken in; it is a useless animal, and brings ill-luck." "he is my son," answered rodmar, who always found fault with leif but could not bear others doing so. "you judge him too severely." "he is your son and my kinsman," orn whispered back sombrely, "otherwise this ratification of brotherhood would not have taken place--at least as long as i had a breath left in my body." ingolf and leif had now cut loose the piece of turf, and went together to lift it. they raised it carefully till it stood straight up and formed an arch. then atle jarl stepped in and placed his spear in the middle of the arch to hold the turf up. he himself stood and supported the spear while ingolf and leif cut loose an oblong turf under the arch. their blood was not to run on the greensward, but was to mingle on the bare earth. when they had finished they gave up their turf-cutters, and at atle jarl's command stepped in under the turf arch, each on his own side of the spear-shaft. atle jarl now dictated the oath, and they vowed mutual brotherhood, each with his right hand on the sacred bracelet. when the oath had been taken, serfs came with knives. atle jarl received the knives and handed them to the newly-sworn brothers, with the command to confirm the brotherhood they had just inaugurated by letting their blood flow jointly on the sacred earth. atle jarl showed them briefly where they should pierce their calves with the knives. ingolf and leif both did so at the same moment. ingolf thrust his knife-point well in and cut a deep gash. leif put his knife right through so that the point projected a couple of inches on the other side of his calf. he had difficulty in drawing it out again. the blood ran down in red streams. the spectators felt a strange shuddering thrill at seeing how it oozed out from under the naked soles of their feet. leif watched the course of his blood attentively as it approached ingolf's on the brown scar of earth between them. as it seemed to him to go too slowly, he stooped down, directed the streams of blood with the point of his knife, and stirred the blood and earth round between him and ingolf. a laugh then rang out in the air from hundreds of throats. even orn smiled, though against his will, and atle jarl's eyes assumed a milder expression. leif looked hastily up and straightened himself with a jerk. he looked round, a little astonished, and his eyes rested on ingolf. a very pleasant smile lay on ingolf's face, and there was a moist glimmer in his eyes. atle jarl now proclaimed that ingolf arnarson and leif rodmarsson had entered into legal brotherhood, and named the witnesses. with that the solemn ceremony was at an end. the grass-turfs were carefully laid down again in order that they might grow firm and be incorporated with the earth's life. ingolf and leif were now joined together by the strongest bonds that exist--the blood-tie between brothers, the most sacred and inviolable of all blood and family ties. the earth by which they had been formed in different mothers' wombs had now drunk their blood mingled, and had at the same time given them new birth, since they had passed together under the turf arch, a part of earth's living frame. the earth knew now, and had recognized their covenant--a covenant no power could break. the sons of atle were the first who approached to tender their good wishes on the occasion. haasten pressed ingolf's hand and whispered confidentially: "you have in leif made a brother who at any time and without hesitation will give his blood for you to the last drop. keep always a watchful eye on him, for his mind is as easily moved as a willow, but it has also the willow's toughness." holmsten handed over to leif a broad-bladed, long-shafted battle-ax with a handle inlaid with gold, a splendid weapon, which made leif colour with joy. "here is an ax for you, friend leif," he said cheerfully. "swing it bravely, but take care that you do not absent-mindedly come to cleave your friends' heads with it!" leif was moved to tears. he kissed holmsten for the ax. leif and holmsten's friendship lasted for whole days, to the great joy and relief of ingolf and haasten. they had never before been able to keep the peace for even a few hours at a time. ingolf began to believe that the costly gifts which had been exchanged between holmsten and leif must have some special significance. he felt unusually cheerful in spirits that day. leif also felt a peace and sense of security which was strange to him. it was as though the responsibility which he had assumed in entering into brotherhood evoked his manhood. he seemed to have suddenly grown adult. his mind had found an equilibrium, which acted beneficially, and was plainly traceable in his bearing. evening came, and the second night of the sacrificial feast was about to commence. as people began to go to the temple, leif said to ingolf: "i shall not go. i shall remain at home in the tent." "very well, i won't go either," said ingolf, and tried to appear as though it were a matter of indifference to him. but leif would not hear of that. "those who know me will not be surprised that i remain away," he said. "it is another matter with you. if you won't go alone, you will oblige me to go with you, and i don't much like going there." at last ingolf went alone. when he entered the temple the people were already assembled with great jubilation and much noise. on the floor there was burning a fire from one end of the temple to the other outside the partition-wall. this fire, named langildene ("the long fires"), could be crossed at various points, though only by going through the lambent flames. over it hung great cauldrons, whence the fumes of the meat of the sacrifices filled the air with vapour and smoke tempting to hungry stomachs. tables and benches were arranged on both sides of the fire. it was some time before each man had his horn. then atle jarl rose, consecrated the drinking, and proposed the toast in honour of odin. it was a toast for victory and might, and everyone had to empty his horn to the bottom. some made the sign of the hammer over the horn of mead. they were those who trusted in their own power and might. they consecrated their drinking to thor. now other serfs entered, bearing great dishes. they fished the meat out of the cauldrons with hooks, filled the dishes, and bore them round. then began a festive battle for the best morsels, with shouting and laughter which shook the temple. women now entered, lifted the gods down from their platforms, took off their dresses, and began to rub them with the fat of the sacrificial animals. this was a very solemn ceremony. when the guests had appeased their first hunger, full horns stood again before them. atle jarl blessed the drinking, and they all emptied their horns in honour of thor. then they ate again, but now quietly and deliberately. the dishes were emptied and filled anew. there was no scarcity of food or of beer. they drank horns to njord and to frey for peace and fertility. they drank a horn to brage, with which they pledged solemn vows. last of all, atle jarl rose, always steady on his legs and firm in his voice (he had tasted mead before), blessed the drinking, and proposed a toast in memory of their deceased kinsmen. that toast used not to be very widely observed--by that time many lay under the table. others had gone outside, and the rows of the feasters grew thinner. when ingolf had gone to the temple, leif's newly found mental equilibrium suddenly forsook him. he was overcome by a feeling of disquiet, strong and not to be shaken off--a fit of impatience which rankled in his breast, and made him perspire and feel unwell. something must be done, he knew not what, until it suddenly became clear to him that he could not do without helga any longer. he ran home to the house and got hold of a serf, whom he sent with a message to ingolf. then he took a bridle in his hands and a saddle over his shoulders and went off to find his horse. there was a strange feverishness in all his proceedings, but he was cheerful and light of heart, as was always the case when he had overcome uncertainty and betaken himself to action. he found his horse, caught and saddled it, and went straight homewards at full gallop. he dared not think at all, for it was plain to him that it would be too long before he could see helga, and the thought made his heart sick. a feeling of longing was on him, a longing of the strong kind, which grows in force if one gives way to it. his rapid riding gave him relief, and released him from thinking. he entered into a strange relation with the paths he rode by, and every stone and bush which he passed on the way. a pasture which he went by reminded him of the horse, and he dismounted, took off the saddle and bridle, and lay down. the horse rolled on its back awhile, then rose and began grazing eagerly. this haste seemed to quiet leif's longing, and he lay comfortably there. he allowed the horse to still its sharpest pangs of hunger, but soon his patience was over, exhausted and vanished. he saddled the horse again and went off at full gallop. daylight came, and he was forced to stop and let the horse breathe and graze a little. this time leif could not lie still, while it was grazing. he sat a little, walked a little, and was restless. long before the proper time he saddled the horse again, but before mounting this time he patted its neck and head, scratched it behind the ear, and spoke kindly to it: "if you hold out, i will remember you as long as we both live!" so it carried him forward again, over hill and dale, over smooth, grassy plains and stony tracts, over clear streams and roaring rivers. the horse's clattering hoofs awoke in the air alternately falling and rising echoes. so the incredible was accomplished, and the length of the way slowly overcome. one morning at sunrise leif arrived home. helga stood outside the house as though she had expected him, and the world seemed new. "it is you, leif," said helga, and did not conceal her gladness. leif had already sprung from his horse. he ran to her and flung his arms around her. "helga," he said, and kissed her. "i _had_ to come home all at once." helga laughed. "i dreamt of you last night," she said, and kissed him. "_that_ was what i dreamt." "what?" asked leif. "that i kissed you." and she kissed him again. that was a happy day. book ii i years passed and nothing happened. there was much talk of disturbance and disquiet in the north of the country. the young king harald and his uncle, guttorm, were continually engaged in warfare. various raisers of disturbance had already been suppressed, but new ones were continually starting up. the latest rumour current was, that the young king purposed, as soon as he had given peace to his kingdom, to extend it. it did not look as if he had peaceful intentions. dalsfjord as yet was ravaged only by rumours. no events themselves, only the faint thunders they aroused, came near there. orn, however, was always of opinion that it was safest for rodmar to remain; especially as leif had now undertaken the management of the property, and rodmar might as well remain in one place as another. much beer was brewed in orn's house. perhaps it was not without some connection with this that orn and rodmar's talk took all the more a prophetic tinge. obscure and rather disconnected wisdom flowed liberally from their lips. leif called this wise talk nonsense, and was not ashamed to laugh openly in his father's face when he was more wise and obscure than ever. ingolf, on the other hand, although with some difficulty, continued to invest orn with a halo of dignity, and showed him all possible filial reverence. he always consulted him in important questions, although certainly only for form's sake. and he never brought forward a matter without having first procured permission to speak. this pleased orn in a high degree, although he sometimes felt somewhat embarrassed by it, and almost always showed peevishness to his son. orn was by no means easy to deal with. for example, ingolf, at the beginning of the spring when he completed his nineteen winters, went to him to hear his opinion regarding the sowing plans he had made for the summer, and also about a necessary enlargement of the salt-kilns. orn looked up at him with a scornful and malicious look in his drink-swollen eyes, heard fully all he had to say, and at last broke out harshly on him. "you are only a peasant! a good-for-nothing you are, although you are tall and heavy enough! you wear the family bracelet! what honour have i from you? there is no energy in you. do you think one finds honour in the fields? do you think one can plough it out of the ground? food you find, but never any honour. do you think a man keeps fresh by burning salt all his life? keep away from me with your salt-burning and your sowing-plans. would any one believe you were a free man's son, and soon full grown? speak with the serfs about it. no--harald, halvdan the black's son--there is a fellow with some stuff in him! you'll feel his knuckles one day--wait and see! he'll mark you all with the brand of slavery--every man of you. each and all of you will have to pay tribute to him, if you do not want to be shorter by a head or to have your necks stretched! it is said that he intends to subdue all norway and to become sole king. how old are you now? nineteen winters? he is four years younger! you are no king--no! you are right in that. but your forefathers were chiefs, and ruled themselves, and ruled others as the king's peers. go off to your fields and your salt-burning--i won't listen to you any more. i won't _see_ you! go! ha! wait a little. go first to the smith, and have your fathers' weapons smelted down into meat-axes! have you not increased your stock? are you not in want of meat-axes! no, it was something different in my youth. if i had been in my prime now, the good harald would have found at least one neck he could not break. unless, indeed, i had deemed it wisest to assist him. that also might be a way to honour. but you have only thoughts for your fields and your salt-burning. go!" thus orn spoke, and was very irritable. ingolf listened to him patiently without moving a muscle. and when he received the command to go he retired with a respectful salute. he honoured the family in his father, and did not wear the family bracelet in vain on his young arm. ingolf looked after his property; leif neglected his. for the first two years leif had managed remarkably well alone. but when it no longer amused him to rule and give orders to the house-servants, he began to become somewhat careless. it was to his advantage that his people were reliable and fond of him--remarkably so, in fact. he might scold them thoroughly, using the whole of his copious vocabulary until his voice failed him. he might beat them and abuse them, and bid them ten thousand times to go the straight way north or down to hell. they admired his readiness of speech and energetic irritability. it was always enlivening to see him in a rage. and it was characteristic of him that his wrath was forgotten as soon as it had blazed up. it flashed up like a fire of pine-needles and burnt out at once. besides, he was not small-minded, and let every one manage his own affairs, so long as he minded his work. he was a kind and cheerful master to serve under. many plants grew in his track, but never the plant of dullness. ingolf had another way with his people. he immediately became a father and providence for them. he was considerate towards the old, and let them have an easy time. they were never weary of blessing him. he visited them often, and his visit was always like a gift. he showed an equable temper with his people, demanded a certain amount of work from them, and expressed in encouraging words his satisfaction with work well done. on the other hand, no one had ever heard a threat from his mouth. he had his own way of showing displeasure by a certain indifferent silence which did not fail of its effect. no one liked to feel himself the object of that quiet taciturnity. his peaceful manner diffused a peculiar sense of security around him. he was careful in his choice when he engaged new people, which rarely happened. those whom he had once engaged remained with him. leif could not alter his nature; he was just leif, once and for all. when he had managed his property with diligence and watchfulness for three years it amused him no longer. he began to slacken, and let things go at haphazard. and since they did not seem to go altogether badly that way, he gradually preferred not to look after them at all. so ingolf found him going idle for whole months at a time. ingolf wondered at him. how could he choose to go on and undertake nothing? no, that was going too far. ingolf secretly kept an eye on leif's property, and saw that it was managed in some way without him, although not thoroughly. so there was all the less reason for him to interfere in leif's way of living. there resulted a good deal of restraint between the two sworn brothers which was unavoidable. ingolf tried his best not to let himself be irritated by leif's idle ways. he exerted himself to meet him as unconstrainedly as before. but his openness was not natural as it used to be, and seemed forced. leif noticed it without thinking about it, and the feeling of restraint between them continued. only seldom did leif follow ingolf to the fields or to other business. their unconscious inner tension robbed their intercourse of all outer comfort or heartiness. the sense of brotherhood and family feeling between them decreased greatly, and threatened to vanish. ingolf be-took himself to work as a defence. he wrapped himself in business as in a coat of mail, and work shielded him to a certain extent. but the unavoidable vacant hours were like rents in his armour. and the weapons ingolf had to fight against immediately found every exposed place. leif was not the man to notice that something had happened when nothing had really done so. he only felt boredom and emptiness, and the difficulty there is in making time pass when like a refractory horse it begins rearing on its hind-legs. either he sat alone with helga and let the hours fly, or he simply lay and lazed somewhere, staring into space and wondering what purpose there can be in a useless day. his mind became every day more unbalanced, and his temper was like a sportive squirrel. sometimes his restlessness and impatience impelled him to tease and vex those who surrounded him. not even helga escaped; on the contrary, just because she was the most helpless before him, it was she who suffered most. not rarely his words made her cry. afterwards he sat silent and helpless, unable to repair what he had done, and feeling intolerable pain. leif's only excuse was that he was leif and had lost his balance. the hopeless melancholy of youth was upon him. years passed and nothing happened. hitherto each year had had one event. they visited gaulum, or atle's sons visited them. one winter leif and ingolf were invited to the feast at gaulum; the next winter they were the hosts. hitherto in leif's mind there had been a halo about these feasts; he had awaited them with eagerness and taken part in them with a happy fervour of abandonment. now he hardly cared to think of them any more, and had quite ceased to take pleasure in them. for there had gradually risen in leif's mind, although he carefully concealed it, a strong ill-will against atle's sons, especially holmsten. holmsten had always been a thorn in his side. holmsten's voice and vocabulary, his smile, his way of being silent, and his whole character had an irritating effect on leif. at times, when he was not especially sensitive, he could, as it were, lock such feelings out. but there were other times when he stood and actually shivered with irritation merely at seeing and hearing holmsten. but, faithful to his oath of brotherhood and promise to ingolf, he suppressed all feelings of that kind as best he could. in any case, they never broke out. thus it happened that holmsten once in a humourous mood made merry over leif's appearance. he meant nothing serious by it, but an innocent remark about leif's large nose slipped thoughtlessly out of his mouth. when he saw what effect it had upon leif, who became quite red in the face, he was immediately sorry, and said nothing. when leif had thus come to know what he looked like, his eyes were suddenly opened to see how handsome atle's sons were. from that day it was that he began to hate them in his heart, especially the youngest. he now noticed also how they looked at helga, when they were on a visit. he did not like those looks. of course he could well understand that they could scarcely keep their eyes from helga. but helga was his, and that made a difference. and although atle's sons could not know that, yet at any rate they ought not to look at helga so. it was especially holmsten with whom leif found himself angry--holmsten, whose existence from the time that leif was a boy had rankled like a thorn in his mind. holmsten was undeniably the handsomest of the brothers, perhaps because he, as the youngest, was now at the handsomest age. moreover, it was holmsten whose look fastened on helga with the greatest pertinacity. leif was pained, and suffered. the most intolerable part about it almost was that it was impossible for him to let helga notice his jealousy. she did not give the slightest occasion for it, but that did not comfort leif at all--on the contrary. this made leif's behaviour towards her rough and unintelligible. she was almost obliged to believe that he was no longer as fond of her as he had been, since he at times could do without her. it was only the pain in his look, even when he behaved in the most capricious way, which quieted her doubts. yet she went about sometimes with such pensive eyes. there sat leif, with a feeling of emptiness like a man who must see the most precious thing he possesses slip out of his hand, and cannot move a finger. leif could at times become so anxious about helga that all gladness and pleasure in life forsook him. often she looked at him with a questioning and troubled look, and shut herself within herself. the summer after leif had completed seventeen and ingolf nineteen winters, atle's sons for the first time went on a viking expedition. that summer was the worst leif had ever experienced. the want of occupation, and the complete absence of all events, became doubly intolerable now that he knew that other young men, who were not much more than his own equals in age, were sailing out on the wide ways of the sea, making the acquaintance of foreign people and lands, trafficking or fighting with those whom they encountered wherever they went, and, in any case, having new experiences every day and every hour of the day. these thoughts were so painful that leif at times became quite poorly and depressed when they attacked him. that summer there arose besides in his distracted and uneasy mind a besetting idea, which, when it had once taken root, was not to be shaken off. suppose holmsten should be killed that summer, how would helga receive the news when she heard it? he could sit silent and watch her for hours at a time in order to discover an answer to this question. sometimes he introduced the viking expedition of atle's sons as a topic of conversation before her. she did not seem specially interested in it, but talked willingly, though without great interest, about it. these conversations gave leif a strong impression of woman's falsity! at last there came a day when he could hold out no longer, threw away all shame, and went to helga and told her that news had come from atle's sons that holmsten had fallen. helga sat for a while pensive and serious. "so we shall never see him more," she said, with a slight tremor in her voice. "i cannot really imagine atle's sons without thinking of them all three together--so i remember them the first time i saw them, so one always saw them. his brothers will be very grieved at losing him." leif listened breathlessly, but her words and tone made him no wiser. "was it haersten--or haasten?" he thought. "i should have told her that all three had fallen." utterly discomfited by this frustration of his attempt at surprise, he gave it up altogether. now he was reckless. "that is not true," he confessed wearily. "there has come no news from atle's sons." helga became quite silent from surprise. her astonished look rested almost anxiously upon him. "how can you take it into your head to say such things?" leif looked maliciously and despairingly at her. "it is still too early to weep for holmsten," he said coldly and scornfully. then he rose suddenly and went. as he stepped out of the door, a burst of cheerful, rippling laughter broke out behind him. "why does she laugh?" he thought, anxious and angry at the same time, but did not turn round to examine her face. the rest of the day he kept puzzling about her laugh. did she laugh because it was not true that holmsten had fallen, or did she only laugh at him, because she had discovered that he was jealous of holmsten? for the rest it seemed to leif that neither was a laughing matter. so morbid had he gradually become that all laughter seemed to him suspicious and unbecoming. it took helga several days to eradicate the effects of her laughter from leif's mind. even kisses and embraces seemed ineffectual. he suffered from his peculiar obstinate temper, insisting that he had been insulted, but unable to overcome it. it required a severe effort before he could bring himself to repay helga's gentleness with the same. but then he seemed all at once to have become quite different. it seemed as though the exposure he had made of himself had cured him. he felt an immense relief. now he had, at any rate, proof that helga would neither become white as snow, nor fall dead, even if she should hear that holmsten had fallen. he began gradually to surmise that his jealousy was only a cob-web of the brain. besides this, a thought had taken possession of him which drove all spiteful spectres out of his mind. as early as the next summer he would go on a viking expedition himself. he would not remain here and become prematurely old and peevish. it was true that at summer-time he would still be two years short of the regular viking age. but ingolf would at that time be of the right age and could get his going legalized--for ingolf would go too, as a matter of course. they could not go about at home for ever and become moss-grown without and mouldy within. "look at the old men!" he broke out, when in words that stumbled over each other he made helga privy to his plan. "must one not be sorry for them? yet they have been young once. this is what age makes of people. it is better, when one is good for nothing else but boasting, to have something to boast of, than for want of experiences to become a wretched liar." "do you think that you will some day become like--like your father?" asked helga, smiling. she thought rodmar was worse than orn. "without doubt," answered leif decidedly. "i can certainly not realize it. but why should i become otherwise? must they not have once been young and full of life? now they drivel!" helga sat for a little while and thought. and while she thought, her expression changed and became pensive and serious. "you are so imprudent, leif," she said, with anxious eyes, "i fear you will be killed in your first battle." leif laughed arrogantly. "have you not noticed that i am invulnerable," he outbroke, with a beaming smile, "that nothing can injure me? there is something or other which protects me. i have thought about it. it can only be _your_ love, helga. what else should it be?" helga kissed him. she had tears in her eyes. "if my love can protect you, leif, you _are_ invulnerable. my own friend, do whatever you will, only do not quite forget me." leif hurried from the place to meet ingolf. and when he found him he was so completely the old leif, with body and soul intent upon a definite object, that, with the stream of his talk and the irresistible absoluteness of his manner, he swept all ill-humour out of ingolf's mind. now that leif had become quite himself again, ingolf needed no more to be on the watch regarding his own attitude towards him. ingolf stood quite quietly, listened to him, and allowed him to talk freely, without the slightest attempt at interruption. he merely stood and looked at him, and enjoyed feeling how his eagerness infected his own mind like a happy excitement. ingolf felt at that moment a gladness which he had forgotten. he could have embraced his brother. while leif spoke further and developed his plans, ingolf pondered. he only followed leif's stream of talk with one ear, only to ensure that nothing important escaped him. meanwhile, he subjected the project to independent consideration. perhaps it was, at any rate, over early to join in a viking expedition just now. perhaps they ought rather to wait a couple of years; leif was so young, and was still not of the warrior's age. but, on the other hand, leif needed a change just now. and he was quite self-reliant, though not of the proper age. they could also train themselves in the use of weapons in the winter. if they waited, leif would again become strange and not to be understood or put up with. for leif's sake they must go. how completely he was again the old leif, even in his thoughts! ingolf concluded his considerations by saying: "i will talk with my father about the matter," in the middle of leif's stream of words. then leif became uncontrollable for a while. he seized hold of ingolf and whirled him round. he knew that with this sentence the matter was decided. but it seemed to him when, out of breath he let his laughing brother go, that he absolutely must say something about orn. "the old blusterer!" he snorted contemptuously. "to think that we should guide ourselves by _his_ opinion. well, do as you like. only forget not to say that we shall bring wine home for him--much wine. then you will see how tractable he will become. i will promise my father the same, in order to make him willing to give up the keys of the weapon-chest." ingolf went to his father, put the matter in a few words before him, asked him for ships and merchandize, and first and foremost for his consent to their making an expedition the next summer. while ingolf talked, orn sat with a dull look and an unwilling expression in his face, as if it was with difficulty that he heard him to the end. "ships and merchandize are your own," he answered peevishly, when ingolf was silent. "you can do with both what you will, and it would not surprise me if you returned home empty-handed. leif will still prove a costly brother to you. he will be captured, and you will have to pay the ransom. keep a good watch on the ships, and don't let yourself be cheated in trafficking. when they offer you one cask of wine for a bear's skin, you should ask three, then you will get two. for the rest, you can go anywhere in the world as far as i am concerned, if only you do not disgrace your father. go! no, wait a little. if atle's sons go again on an expedition in the summer, show that you have a little intelligence, and go with them. then you will be five together, and can better hold your own where you go. but if you return home without a good stock of red wine from the land of the franks, i will never see you before my eyes, or hear so much as the sound of your voice. go!" leif also talked with his father. he was extravagant in his description of the matter, and lavish in promises. he simply told his father that now in ireland and the british isles grape-wine from all the lands of the earth could be bought. when the old rodmar, made young again by the thought of earth's flowing glories, began to talk of travelling with them, leif changed his tone, and pictured the dangers and fatigues of the journey in vivid colours. then rodmar shrivelled into himself again and gave up the thought of travelling. but leif got the keys of the weapon-chest, and for the first time obtained his father's blessing. ingolf told leif that his father had proposed that they should join with atle's sons in the expedition. at first leif was a little annoyed, but his joy was so great that everything else became of secondary importance in comparison with the prospect that he was going out--out on long journeys in the wide world. he saw at once the reasonableness of the proposed arrangement. they gained in strength by joining with atle's sons, and would be invincible. besides, there would be more ships, and the expedition would be a grander thing all round. and there was, moreover, something enticing in the idea of being with atle's sons and witnessing what good and evil befell them. perhaps he would have the experience of seeing one or more of them fall by the enemy's hand. that would be an experience worth bringing home. when he had got so far in his considerations, he gave ingolf's proposal his unconditional approval. there was much joy in orn's house. the old men were enlivened, their stories became more cheerful, and they were not quite so peevish as before. they already anticipated beforehand in their thoughts how the barrels of red wine from the land of the franks would be trundled up to the house from the landing-place. they knew how a barrel of wine should be handled from the moment the bung was drawn out till it stood empty. they already became fastidious and difficult to please with their thoughts of the red wine. from that time they drank only mead. all other beer tasted sour, they said, and wrinkled their noses. one day orn summoned ingolf and reminded him in an imperious tone of honey: "from henceforth only mead will be brewed here in the house. go!" ingolf smiled to himself when he came out from his father. when no one saw it, he permitted himself now and then a smile. ingolf and leif had their ships examined, and made other preparations. leif spent most days down below at the boat-houses. he was indefatigable, and showed a reflectiveness and care in his preparations which both surprised and rejoiced ingolf. they were to equip three ships, so there was much to do in taking goods on board and arranging them, especially as the ships had not been used for many years, and had therefore to be made taut, tarred and thoroughly overhauled. ingolf and leif divided the work: leif looked after the ships and their equipment, while ingolf managed the properties of both, and arranged for obtaining by exchange goods for the expedition. leif was indefatigable. neither the autumn's clammy rain nor the winter's keen frost and furious snow-storms overcame his energy. the whole day long, and sometimes far into the night, he was at the water-side. helga had to seek him there so that he should not be quite apart from her. she was glad to see him so happy and absorbed. she was very warm-hearted, and when he could spare her some time, it was as though he gave her a treasure. when he thus for a time had forgotten his work, helga's exuberant feeling, mingled with the desire to see leif at work, made her occasionally remind him that he forgot the time. the energy with which he set to work again could be a song of secret gladness in helga's heart for the rest of the day. that winter it was ingolf and leif's turn to visit atle's sons. already during their first day at gaulum, ingolf brought up the subject which was to him at the moment of greatest importance. turning to haasten, he told the brothers that he and leif had resolved to go on an expedition in the summer, and proposed to join them under haasten's leadership, provided the brothers also had determined on a cruise. atle's sons had had a prosperous summer and were going out again. haasten considered it self-evident that they should go in company. he asked his brothers' opinion. haersten agreed with him. "leif is two winters short of the regular viking-age," answered holmsten, with so little reflection that he hardly knew he had said it, before the words were out of his mouth. leif coloured. and as was always the case when he became angry, he involuntarily straightened himself. "let us see if i stand back in any matter, when occasion arises," he answered, keeping calm successfully. "if not, is there any reason for setting me aside on account of my youth?" ingolf stood pale and resolute. "leif and i go together," he said slowly. "i did not think this objection possible, or i would not have brought forward any proposal for fellowship. yet we all know how common it is that the elder lawfully take the younger. now, let us talk no more about it. we brothers are men enough to make our way for ourselves." "i for my part am willing to go in fellowship with you both," answered holmsten quietly and undisturbed, "and willing to take leif. i only meant by what i said to draw attention to the fact that he is not of the legal age." "then your words were incautious and liable to be misunderstood," said haasten reprovingly, in a severe tone which he seldom used towards his brothers. then turning to ingolf he continued: "we brothers offer you our fellowship, and beg you earnestly not to decline our offer. we have been friends since we were boys. we belong together on sea and on land. i will answer for it that we brothers keep our agreement to the last drop of our blood and the last farthing in our possession." thus they agreed to sail together on a viking expedition under the leadership of haasten as the eldest. the place and time of their meeting would be further discussed with ingolf at the time of the spring sacrifice. ii one sunny day in the fresh early summer, when airy white clouds were passing across the bright blue sky and a cheerful breeze was blowing over the dark blue sea, ingolf and leif sailed with their six ships from dalsfjord to meet atle's sons at hisargavl. busy days had preceded their departure. ingolf had in the course of the year collected a quantity of goods. they had to be divided among the ships, put on board, stowed away, and secured carefully. there were dried fish in quantities--some which they had caught themselves, and some bought from lofoten. there were dried skins. there were large bales of wool. there was also a quantity of furs, obtained from inland by commerce with the finns; light wares, minever, and other varieties of skins. when the goods had been stowed together amidships, the whole heap was covered with skins for protection against rain and sea, and well secured besides by long ropes and straps of hide. the two largest of ingolf's and leif's six ships were dragon-ships. each had five-and-thirty oars on board, in all, seventy oar-holes, and were remarkable warships. splendidly carved dragon-heads, which could be taken off and put on at pleasure, towered high over the sharp prows, showing their teeth in war-like fashion and with tongues stretched out contemptuously against sea and sky, storms and enemies. the stern of the ship formed the dragon's tail, was artistically carved, and was, as well as the gunwale, adorned with ingenious intertwined devices. the other ships were smaller. two of them had thirty oars on board, the others five-and-twenty. they were also ornamented with animals' heads on the bows, and devices along the gunwale and stern, although not so splendidly as the leading ships. ingolf and leif stood each on the poop of his dragon-ship when the little fleet rowed out from the landing-place by orn's house. on the higher ground were gathered all those who were to remain behind at home. while the ships were still near the land, loud shouts of farewell were exchanged between those who stayed behind and those who were departing. but very soon the long, slender ships with their rows of oars crept out of hearing. they could then only make signs to one another. all this fuss about departure annoyed ingolf. as soon as they were in somewhat open water, he had the striped, four-sided, square sail hoisted. there was only one sail to each ship, but this one could be turned round the mast and managed with great ease and skill. while they were still near land leif often turned and looked back. he only saw one among the figures of those left behind--a girl whose fair hair floated in the breeze. she stood so still. every time he saw her, his eyes filled with tears, which blotted her from his view. he did his best to refrain from weeping, but was on the verge of tears. for the moment the expedition lost all its attraction for him. he felt suddenly that wherever helga was not, there was only triviality and tediousness. if he could have done so honourably he would have turned back. he felt the separation so acutely that he was neither aware of the blue sea nor the sunny day. he could not understand why he had not before considered how impossible it really was to be parted from helga for a whole summer. he suffered, moreover, from a painful consciousness that in his joyful absorption in the prospect of going on an expedition he had not thought of her at all. he hoped that she would not feel the separation so severely as he did, but immediately retraced the wish. for there was a certain consolation in being missed. his distress and inner confusion were great. rapid oars were rowing away from helga and home, which had always made brightness in his soul, and had now increased indescribably in value and attractiveness--rapid oars were rowing him away, and he had to let it be so. he was also obliged, in order not to let himself fall behind, to pull himself together and, following ingolf's example, give command to hoist the sail. the striped sail bellied out joyfully before the breeze. the heavily loaded ships pitched moderately. the water foamed around their bows and splashed against their sides. it was a voyage of the kind which makes a man feel peaceful and comfortable. the sting of grief in leif's consciousness was dulled. his bereavement was mollified by the joy of journeying. the fjord opened out, and angry-looking waves spoke seriously with the ships, though always in the most friendly way. willingly and yieldingly, if only they were able to float and advance, the ships obeyed the movements of the waves. the crews on board were very cheerful. sailing was a pleasure. they raised their ringing voices in a loud song, while they looked to the weapons, ground their axes, fixed spear-points firm in their shafts, sharpened knives, and tested the strength of their bows. the oars lay in piles on the forks hung up for that purpose, and the wind was friendly enough to do the work. it was all as it should be; it was a happiness to live and a joy to think that they would soon have use for their weapons. arms and legs were stretched out, and muscles were carefully and critically felt. yes, they were all right. some had specially hard and round knots of muscle to show, which were felt by all the bystanders, and the owners were both congratulated and secretly envied. the youngest, and those who had the most copious vocabulary, swore by the salt water and the golden bristles of the holy boar that they would neither admire nor envy. secretly they promised themselves that they would take good swigs from the train-oil barrel. thus the day passed, and it was a glorious day. by the evening there was only a certain, not altogether uncomfortable, depression remaining from the pain leif had felt at parting from helga. the rest of it he threw off in sleep. as he saw before him coasts which he did not know and had not seen before--perfectly new coasts in varied beauty--his mind took its last and decisive turn. henceforth it only looked forward. "is that norway, too?" he asked, rubbing his eyes. "and have we sailed the whole night? norway is great and beautiful! it must be splendid to live here." he swallowed every new view with greedy eyes. these strange coasts aroused an intense desire to live in him. here life was lived and many things happened--many things which one had no idea of. the sworn brothers met atle's sons, who also had each three ships, at hisargavl, as they had agreed. and carried by a breeze, which had increased to what vikings would call a good wind, the fifteen ships steered westward over the sea. they intended to go to the british isles and greet the chiefs there. the ships glided smoothly over the water, keeping together as much as possible. acquaintances were made between the ships, accompanied by mutual promises of beer and wine. the new friends swore to drink each other's healths in horns as soon as opportunity offered. there was much merriment on board. here young and old felt in high spirits. on the sea they were at home, as everywhere where there was a prospect of adventure and the clash of weapons. and as the wind increased in strength their spirits rose. when, next day, there came a storm, their expressions of joy were not quite so boisterous and demonstrative; now each had something to look after with his oar or scoop, but the air on board was full of courage and contentment with events as they might arrange themselves. a demand was made on their strength, and that was not bad, since they had it. they would show the old storm-god, aegir, that they too would gladly have a brush with him. "come on, aegir's daughters, whose kiss is wet and salt and in its way burning! come on, you white-tufted, seaweed-adorned young maidens! the vikings will not shrink from any embrace, not even when willingly offered. even valkyries and aegir's daughters they will embrace with joy. come on! you will see our fellow's strength!" thus they sang and boasted. this voyage made the old feel young in soul again and matured the young. gliding along with oar and scoop, they chewed their dry fish. they had a long time to wait for any real sleep and rest. in the light nights a healthy man sleeps only like the birds. if he is on a sea voyage, he closes one eye, takes what rest he can get amid the waters, and enjoys the night air. for the rest, he chews his dried fish and is content. one must take the wind and water as it chances. if neither sun nor stars are visible, one sails by instinct, which is easy. odin the all-father has had his offerings, and njord also is at hand. perhaps the gods guide when the stars fail. and, anyhow, the norns have not lost them from sight. they received what was due to them, and that was as it should be. after some days and nights of sailing in storm and cloudy weather the vikings sighted land. one sleety morning, after a night of rain, some bare, bleak islands emerged from the fog; otherwise they seemed quite comfortable. the sea sang them lullabies, and bordered them with white foam along the cliffs, like a certain other land. broad billows broke in mighty abandonment against rugged coasts. "it must be splendid to live here," thought leif. he stood and stared at the land with longing in his eyes. now they knew where they were, and could confidently sail farther. one group of islands succeeded another, all equally bleak and bare. the old experienced vikings informed the ignorant that there were the hjaltland and orkney islands. the two brothers had heard the names before. now they knew where they were situated. the orkneys, the hjaltland islands--here they lay. ingolf was almost disappointed, though he regarded the islands with interest. he said: "they are desert islands; what good is there in them?" "they are easy to defend," an old sea-dog answered him. immediately the islands gained in ingolf's estimation, but he did not want to live there. they sailed farther, and came to other islands, equally bleak and bare--islands with small, narrow valleys, and here and there a crooked, worn, storm-hardened fir. those who had not voyaged before, learned that these were the south islands. they lay here in the midst of the sea, exposed to everlasting storms, roared around by unwearied billows, veiled in rain and fog. "here the sun seldom shines," one of leif's company informed him, "and certainly never for a whole day." leif thought that it was a strange and melancholy country. there was something in his mind which responded to these islands. he would gladly live here. they sailed on, and found blue sky and sunshine on the sea. at last they approached the shore of england. when ingolf and leif saw it, each remained standing on his poop dumb with delight, and a song arose in both their souls. this was certainly a rich and glorious land! such fertility they had never thought possible on earth. did the vine grow here? leif asked his fellow-countryman, with quiet awe in his voice. the old greybeard answered him, and said that as far as he knew, when he reflected, the vine did not grow in a land so far north. "this land's fertility and wealth is certainly great, but nothing compared to that of the land of the franks," he concluded. leif willingly believed him, but did not understand. here it must be good to live. in spite of all bedizened wooden gods, here he would dwell. "or let me first see many lands," he added at once with a ravenous, hungry consciousness of not being able to live everywhere. "ah! the glorious lands of this earth--there a life is lived which one has no part in!" he thought to himself, and felt empty in soul. haasten had the peace flag hoisted, and they sailed towards the land. this would be a good place to trade in. they anchored their ships in a little bay among wood-covered hills and heights. a crowd of armed men had already gathered on the place on the shore where they were preparing to land, and stood gazing towards the ships. there was evidently a great deal to find out on both sides. yet they seemed, in spite of their weapons, quite peaceful, and in consequence they also hoisted the trade flag. the ships arranged themselves side by side, according to haasten's directions, the first so near to the land that it could be made fast by a rope to a rock on the shore. men with long hooks stood at the ship's sterns and kept them stationary, till the anchor-stones fell in their proper places, and it was clear that the ships were secured. then a long, slender plank with steps cut in it was pushed towards the land. by it atle's sons and the two sworn brothers with them went ashore. the chiefs of the district inquired of them in courteous language what they had to sell. haasten told them, and asked them in turn what wares could be bought here. when all information had been given it was clear that both parties wished to trade, and they quickly resolved on a two weeks' peace for that purpose. when the peace was made, and hostages given on both sides, serfs dragged cauldrons and iron stands on shore. other serfs were sent to collect fuel. how good it would be to taste hot food again! on board the ships no fire could be made; there one lived on dried fish, dried and smoked meat, and bread which gradually became a trial to their teeth. that was luxurious fare on board, and tasted well in hungry mouths. on land it was another story; there they liked to sit round a smoking pot. the first thing they bought was an ox. therewith _that_ day was finished. leif was very restless; he had to go out and look round the neighbourhood. he chose a number of his best men, obtained leave to kill game, and gave himself up to roaming about the woods, not so much to hunt as to see. he feasted his eyes on the mighty forests and the beauty of the calm lakes. he drank in joyfully the foreign air, and let his mind be charmed by the contours of the foreign landscape. but the unrest in his blood would not be quieted. the wonderful perfume from all the growths of the earth, the sight of the luxurious overarching fruit-trees in blossom, the fragrant scent of the meadows, and the profusion everywhere of brightly coloured flowers--all these combined to intoxicate him. besides, he obtained wine, which he had never tasted before, and was transported in gladness and forgetfulness. he also looked with restless curiosity in the bright, promising eyes of many delightful young women--eyes which tempted like ripe fruit. when a week had passed in this way, ingolf spoke to him in a friendly and smiling fashion, and reminded him that he was forgetting to trade. leif was a little embarrassed by his smile, and suddenly became very busy. it was true he had completely forgotten to trade. he went to the market and looked at the wares. and when he saw there a quantity of silk goods and richly elaborated ornaments of gold, silver, and gilded bronze, he remembered helga, gave himself up to trade, and forgot to chaffer about the things. he bought many ornaments. as soon as he had bought one, he fell in love with another. he bought precious stones, costly clothes, and delicate silks. then his eye fell on some artistic gold-embroidered stuffs he had never seen the like of, and he bought a quantity of them. glasswares of different kinds, goblets, vessels, and pearls were also a speciality; of them he had to make a copious selection. he enjoyed this new experience of looking at things and then buying them. an article which he had never seen before, and had not the faintest idea that it existed in the world, became suddenly his property, and assumed life and significance. that gave expansion to his mind. ingolf kept an eye upon him, and amused himself in his quiet way at his method of trading. in commerce as in everything else leif was simplicity itself, and never learnt to use his reason or to keep within bounds. ingolf let him go on till he found he had gone far enough; then he put the brakes on. "give me now rather power to trade with your wares," he proposed to him. "you are no good at trade; you only buy the most unnecessary things, and let yourself be cheated into the bargain. in the winter you cannot satisfy your hunger with clothes or allay your thirst with empty glass goblets." leif saw that he was right, and willingly granted him the desired authority. he had bought many things, and felt like a king. already he pictured to himself his homecoming. first he would give helga a single article such as he did not possess many of. she would kiss him, and her face would be tinged with a delicate red, as was the case when she was happy or emotionally stirred. then he would come with another thing and still another, till helga stood speechless with her eyes full of tears. then he would draw her to himself.... it seemed to him a very long, dreary summer he was approaching. as he was in the act of leaving the market his eye fell on an ornament with carved figures of gilt bone. he felt he must have it, even if it cost three bearskins. ingolf intervened in the matter, and leif obtained the ornament for one bearskin. so he was at length satisfied and gave up all further trading. then he roamed round again in the woods with his little following, or simply lay and dozed, and let longing and delight pass like swift breezes through his mind. "ah, england," he thought, "your land is fertile and your women are beautiful." he wished gradually that he could live and be married in all the lands of the earth--preferably all at once. he dreamt much of women at that time. he imbibed their various charms with much appreciation. but sometimes his longing for helga drove all others out of his mind. helga sat at home and was faithful to him, and awaited him with longing. how did the days pass with her? his heart began to beat heavily and with a feeling of guilt regarding her. she possessed him once for all. she was his. yes, she was like the year, and the other women were like days--the fleeting days. he compared in his thoughts all the different women, who had made an impression on him, with helga. one by one they faded and disappeared as he remembered helga, who was his. they disappeared--yes! but it is to be observed that this lasted only till he saw them again, when they again kindled his restlessness and manifold longing. the day came when the trade-truce was over. haasten did not think there was any reason to prolong it, and consulted ingolf on the subject. ingolf answered that they had bought what they wanted, and agreed with him. so the hostages were returned on both sides with many precautions, and the viking-ships, disburdened of their cargoes, rowed out of the bay and hoisted sail. but they only sailed away for appearance' sake. by night they ran into another bay. they had a great desire to get some spoil along the fertile coast. but they did not return unexpected. the chief of the district, foreseeing this possibility, had collected all his people, and now stood ready to meet them on the shore. haasten thought it safer not to attempt a landing where so many opposed them, and ordered the ships to row out of the bay again. the old vikings grumbled, his brothers were silent, and leif foamed with rage. but haasten did not care at all. he remained lying outside the bay for two days and nights. the weather was calm, and not suitable for sailing. he held the chief and his people bound to the spot. then what he expected happened. a powerful wind made it possible to set sail at once, to run down along the coast quicker than the people on shore could follow, to anchor up the mouth of a river, and to have the crews drawn up on land in battle-array before the main force of the people of the district could get there. haasten had only allowed a few men to remain on board, but his force was far inferior in numbers to that of the defenders. the fight took place in a flat meadow along the river. haasten quickly saw that he had undertaken more than he could manage. these native troops had obviously encountered the vikings before. haasten quickly gave his people orders to take refuge on board; he did not wish to run the risk of losing men so early in the summer. leif and holmsten happened to be near one another in the fight. each quickly discovered how bravely and boldly the other fought, and that fact, together with the circumstance that they here stood side by side in a battle for life and death, drew them nearer to each other, and banished for a while all hate towards holmsten out of leif's mind. they were vexed at the order to go on board with their task unperformed, but obeyed. when they were safe, holmsten said: "listen, leif; let us take a pair of the smallest and swiftest ships, and make a trip on our own account along the coast." leif immediately agreed. haasten bade them do as they liked, but to be careful not to be too long away. but ingolf gave his vote against the expedition. "let the boys amuse themselves a little," haasten said, with a smile. "it will do them good. they fight smartly by themselves. and we will give them some good men." since haasten promised that the other ships should follow them as soon as a great part of the enemy's forces had dispersed in order to follow the two game-cocks' movements, ingolf yielded, although with reluctance. when the chiefs on shore saw two small ships separate themselves from the fleet and sail away, they believed that it was a stratagem, and dispatched only a small force from the place to keep an eye on them. haasten had reckoned on this, and now ingolf's anxiety was partly quieted. leif and holmsten sailed up along the coast, and succeeded in landing. but they had no experience in drawing up men for battle, and when the land forces sent to watch them suddenly attacked, there was no order among their men. there followed a confused struggle which soon developed into a number of single combats, man against man. leif was opposed by an older fighter than himself, who did not leave or afford him the least opening for an attack. he had enough to do to ward off his rapid and heavy blows with shield and sword. leif already thought that that day would be his last under the sun; he felt a paralysing fear stealing slowly over him and robbing him of strength. he noticed that he had become wet down to his legs, which had begun to shake violently, and shame and fear concentrated themselves to a wild frenzy in his soul. he suddenly saw red. if he were to fall, his opponent should at any rate carry away marks of the battle. he flung away sword and shield, and took hold of his battle-ax. how he killed the other he never understood, but at last he had him stretched flat on the ground. he picked up his sword and shield, completely out of breath, and shaking in his whole body, and looked around for a new opponent. not far away the leader of the land-force was exchanging powerful blows with holmsten. holmsten had had his shield hewn in pieces, but there seemed to be something the matter with his opponent's sword. when leif had stood for a moment looking on, his eye fell on a man who was approaching holmsten from behind with uplifted ax. it was impossible for leif to get near in time, but purely instinctively he grasped his spear, and as instinctively hesitated a moment before throwing it. holmsten's head cloven by an ax was what he in his heart longed to see. but it was as impossible to let it happen as it was desirable. it must not happen! the spear whistled through the air, and a man with lifted ax fell over on his face just behind holmsten's back. holmsten's opponent had become aware that something was happening, and became for a moment off his guard. holmsten took advantage of that moment, drove his sword into his stomach, and thrust hard. the other tottered and fell, with the greatest astonishment in his distorted face. and now that their leader had fallen, the rest of the force fled. some of them were cut down while flying. holmsten and leif gave themselves no time to draw breath. they ran towards the town, followed by their men. the women and children fled in great confusion when they saw the vikings approaching. some of the men wanted to go after them, and leif felt his heart thump in his breast when he saw the young women flying. especially one of them, whom he clearly recognized, and who did not seem to be taking very much trouble to escape, and certainly had set her eye upon him, attracted him. but when he heard holmsten call the men back sharply, he gave up following her. holmsten was obviously strongly excited, though outwardly quite calm. "first work, then play!" he commanded, in a tone which permitted no opposition, and the vikings directed their course further against the deserted town. holmsten and the other sons of atle had not bought anything but corn, honey, and wine. what they wanted in the shape of articles of luxury and clothes, they expected to get without further expenditure. it was plain that there was plenty to take in the town. a rich booty of ornaments, silks, clothes, precious stones, and other similar things was collected in bundles and carried to the waiting ships. when this had been seen to, holmsten gave as many of his men as he could spare leave to go on shore. now they could go and flirt with the girls if they liked. holmsten remained on board and stowed away the booty. so leif could not manage to go on shore, though he greatly wanted to see what was up there in the wood. when sunset approached, and it began to be evening, holmsten told leif to go on shore and blow the signal with the horn for the crews to go on board. they had collected plenty of booty, and there was nothing more to wait for. now they had been long enough on shore. leif had from the ship marked a little height which lay apart, and from which the horn could be heard far around. upon it he meant to stand and give the signal. the ascent to the height was covered with low bushes. in one of these bushes leif's eye fell on a girl. he looked more closely, and knew her again. her eye was soft and timid, and she was very young. leif forgot what he had gone for, and remained with her. he cooled his hot face in the profusion of her dark hair, and lost himself. first he was taken with her extravagant wildness; then he was scared, and rapidly cooled off. when he left her, she wept. leif went slowly farther up the ascent. when he reached the top, he set the horn to his mouth and blew hard. its tones reverberated angrily over the landscape. leif was depressed in mind by disappointment and weariness. it was not a pleasant weariness like that after a battle. he had toyed with the british girls, and dared not think of helga. the remembrance of helga was like a wound in his soul--a wound which he dared not touch lest he should tear it open. it must have time to heal, which it might by forgetfulness. he felt a great relief when they rowed out from the bay and set sail. he never wished to come here again. up on the height a girl sat and wept. in self-defence he hardened himself. let her weep! what was it to him? he was not hers, and she had sought him herself. holmsten and leif were greeted with loud shouts of joy when they returned to the fleet. they gave an account of the battle, showed their booty, and reaped much praise. when haasten and ingolf heard that leif had saved holmsten's life, they exchanged a look, and were both very glad. haasten praised leif for his prowess in battle, and it was a great honour to be praised aloud by haasten. but it gave leif little pleasure now. his unstable mind had lost its balance. now he wished that he had never thrown the spear. ingolf was not long in discovering that a change had taken place in his brother. he knew leif, and guessed the reason. a long sea voyage would be the best for leif now, he thought, and he induced haasten to alter his plan and to sail first to a place on the irish coast which he knew lay far away. haasten complied willingly. he had been successful in trading, and had secured a rich booty. perhaps it was the most prudent course not to visit at once the nearest coasts. it was never certain what connections there might be between the different chiefs of the district. so they hoisted sail and directed their course towards ireland. it was soon evident that ingolf's insight was correct with regard to what leif needed to restore his mind to its balance again. they encountered a lively summer storm in the channel. that was beneficial. the warmth and the fine weather had begun to make the crews somewhat slack. the sea journey ventilated leif's mind. he again became his former self: a young viking with desire for adventures of all kinds and an insatiable thirst to see new lands and to exchange blows with foreign chiefs. iii the vikings travelled far that summer. from england they sailed to ireland, past the isle of man, whose cliff-lined coast they could only salute on that journey. later on they meant to renew and deepen their acquaintanceship with it. they had successful trade with ireland. leif saw many new things which he could not resist. ingolf looked after the purchase of corn, honey, wine, wheat, and the more useful articles of metal for both of them. atle's sons were excellent traders. at first they made considerably more out of their goods than the sworn brothers. but ingolf gave close attention to their proceedings, and learnt the art from them. and when he had learnt all that atle's sons could do in the matter of trade, he did not remain stationary at that point. he developed himself further on his own account. instead of doing trade in single articles, he began to deal with considerable quantities. this brought in greater gains. soon the sons of atle had something to learn from him. the five viking leaders had remained on the best terms together. haasten, with his self-control and sense of fairness, was distinctly marked out as leader. leif had still fits of hatred towards holmsten and of ill-humour towards the other brothers, but he kept his temper under restraint. and whenever they encountered foes he became, as it were, at once their brother, and fought bravely on their side. he much admired atle's sons' skill in handling their weapons and their composure in battle. they fought as coolly and calmly as if nothing at all serious was intended. only when they attacked was a certain excitement apparent. an attack by one of atle's sons meant generally a swift death for the opponent. they played, to be sure, but there was seriousness in their play. it meant nothing less than life or death. leif was greatly taken by the immovable calm with which they let their weapons talk. he did not understand how they could fight and yet at the same time be as it were spectators. he understood ingolf's method of fighting much better. ingolf attacked at once with his full strength and remained steadily on the offensive. his figure seemed to increase in weight. his blows clove shields, and his thrust penetrated where it struck. he never let himself be forced into a defensive attitude, but attacked fiercely, though always under control. his mode of fighting was not so supercilious as that of atle's sons; he gave himself more away, but preserved his composure. this quietness and assurance of ingolf and atle's sons remained a riddle for leif. for him, composure in battle would have meant simply death. he handled his weapons very awkwardly till he began to see red. from that moment he became so sure in his use of them that it was a pleasure to watch him. but he fought unconsciously, and did not know what had happened before his opponent lay prone. then for the first time he took breath and collected himself. it was fine to see him, when he let himself go, tall and disorderly, crouching in the indomitable display of his strength. it seemed easy to take his life, and as if his enemy had it in his hand. leif did not care how many openings he gave his opponent. but it was not easy to take advantage of these openings, for he never remained long in one place. he danced round his enemy, confused him with his apparent want of plan in attack, and pierced or slashed him before he was aware. haasten enjoyed watching leif fight. he insisted that leif was invincible, for he was so thoroughly absorbed in the battle that even a superior opponent must give way before his waspish attack. "leif could only be killed by accident--only a mistletoe branch could strike him," haasten said. he came to be quite fond of leif. the viking expedition sailed farther along the coasts of ireland, and leif was fascinated with the remarkable country he found there. ireland, that unquiet, ever-changing land, appealed in a peculiarly intimate degree to his heart. every time that he thought he knew it, he discovered that he did not. he was continually coming across something new. wild, stony tracts were suddenly succeeded by fertile plains. desert heaths, dark woods, narrow valleys with black rivers at the bottom, friendly coasts, rugged lines of cliff, peaceful towering mountains, placid lakes, roaring rivers--all these ireland had. most wonderful of all, perhaps, were the abruptly changing lights. ireland had its own sky, full of whims like itself, rapidly changing from lofty pure blue depths to a watery layer of clouds over the land. there might be a blazing festival of sunshine over the landscape, and the next moment it was over-shadowed by heavy masses of cloud. a tract of country which had been like a brilliant smile was suddenly completely changed, and became dark and threatening, filled with a special sense of discomfort, deep and unescapable as a dream. ireland played with one's heart, filled it with joy, to oppress it the next moment with fear and foreboding. and ireland's people were like ireland's land and light. they were wild men whose soul was a mixture of gentle dreaminess and fierce rage. people who devoted themselves to fighting with their whole soul and did not know how to give or expect quarter. their polite friendliness, nay, even brotherliness, in peaceful intercourse stood in glaring contrast to the savagery in battle and their cruelty towards fallen or captive enemies. they could amuse themselves by opening a man's stomach and letting him wind the entrails out of his body by leading him round a tree. they counted that a delightful amusement, and their gaiety was enhanced if the captive groaned. they were a nation of singular enthusiasts, bards and warriors, swarthy or red-haired, and alternately irascible or quiet. never in his life had leif seen so many remarkably beautiful women as he did here. there were women with rich red hair, soft gleaming skins, quiet and inviting beings. they aroused his longing. there were also dark women, who were in themselves not less taking. their pale skins and dark eyes filled leif's dreams. there were other dark women with golden skin, pliant and slender. there was abundance of women of all complexions, and nearly all were beautiful. the vikings were enthusiastic about them, but their enthusiasm was moderated by the fact that the women carried daggers hidden in their clothes, so that now and then there was only a step between love and death. generally speaking, the vikings were not unpopular among the irish women. and not seldom an originally loose connection between a norwegian chief and an irish girl developed into marriage. besides these people, the vikings in ireland came across another type still more savage in manners and shape, with tattooed bodies. it was a matter for astonishment to see the contrast between the land and the people. the sworn brothers and atle's sons traded and ravaged far and wide in ireland and the british isles that summer. on the whole, they had had good luck, made good trade, taken much booty, and only lost few men. the last was especially due to haasten's wise moderation and always vigilant foresight. haasten had often since employed the stratagem, which had succeeded so well the first time, of sending leif and holmsten out on a foray with two of the smallest ships, while the rest of the fleet detained the land defenders at another spot. holmsten and leif both equally enjoyed these excursions. and as they always took the best men with them, their expeditions generally succeeded, and brought in rich booty. once, however, it had nearly gone hard with them. a swedish viking-fleet consisting of five well-manned ships came across them as they were rowing out of a bay, where their ships had lain while they made a foray on shore. the swedes inspected them a little, and thought that they could make use both of the ships and of what might be found on board. so they hoisted their battle-flag and set after them. leif and holmsten were obliged to accept battle with the superior forces of the enemy. it was impossible to escape. they cleared their ships for the combat, determining not to surrender. but before the battle had begun, the other ships came rowing round a neighbouring promontory. leif and holmsten had been longer away than usual that time, and haasten, and especially ingolf, had at last become uneasy, and determined to go and look after them. when the swedes saw the other ships approaching, and perceived that they were many and large, they turned sharp round and rowed away as rapidly as possible, but the wind was slack and unreliable, and the swedes were lucky to find a fog-bank, which they ran into and escaped. when this happened, the summer was already approaching its end. the vikings had by that time sold all that they had brought with them from home, and were well provided with foreign goods of every kind. there was really nothing more to wait for. the sea began to awake gradually from its summer lethargy. it was plainly shown by the ships' movements that the waves were already aware of the approach of winter. the ships were all heavily laden. and as they were warships they were not very well adapted for voyaging in the autumn. so the vikings sailed home over the sea, the same way as they had come, under the colourless skies of late summer by day and the clear golden stars by night. they had prosperous winds, and reached norway about the time that the leaves were beginning to fall. leif was full of longing for helga during the voyage home. he counted the days and could not sleep. it seemed to him suddenly that in the course of the summer she had come very close to him. absence and separation had, as it were, intimately united them. his longing, however, was considerably mingled with fear--a fear without shape or distinct substance, yet none the less painful. at hisargavl, atle's sons took leave of ingolf and leif. they thanked each other for the summer they had spent together, arranged to meet there next summer, drank each other's health in dark wine from glass goblets, and swore eternal friendship. ingolf and leif invited atle's sons to come to the feast the first day of the month of goi, with as large a retinue as they liked to bring, and atle's sons promised to come. holmsten, half-intoxicated, happened to mention helga's name, and leif listened with all his ears. but for the rest he could make nothing out of holmsten's confused talk, except that he now knew that helga was in his thoughts. that evening leif threw a spear overboard. so the sworn brothers and atle's sons parted, and each sailed home with the rich booty of the summer. iv helga awoke in the night and heard the sound of oars in the fjord. she dressed hastily and went down to the landing-place. it was full moon, but the sky was covered with dark masses of clouds. out on the dark surface of the fjord the ships looked black and ghostly. a sudden fear made helga's heart tremble. the ships came rowing so silently in the night. the stroke of the oars sounded so lonely in the stillness. was leif with them? she counted the ships and found they were not the full number. but she could not distinguish them clearly, and the larger ones might overshadow the smaller. how silently they rowed! would it not be better if she went home to bed? that would be where she would lie if she came to know that she would no more see leif. she would never wish to get up again. the foremost ship rowed into the somewhat broken moonlight on the surface of the fjord. helga thought she could recognize it. was that not leif's dragon? she strained her eyes till they smarted, and ran down to the edge of the water. the ship over there was so dark and indistinct she could make out neither colour nor shape. it glided nearer like a shadow. the water dripped in silvery drops from the oar-blades. a rift in the masses of clouds let the moon's pale light illumine the shore. helga stood in it thinking intently. was leif with them? that would be an almost incomprehensible happiness. and even if he were, still there would come a day when his ship would return without him, or his people would come some winter day carrying him on a bier, and there would be blood upon the snow. a time must come when leif would be no more. then she must die. helga stood there bathed in the wan light of the moon, and gave herself away to her last breath. she embraced leif with her soul, alive or dead. when the ships came quite near she stepped quickly into the shadow of one of the boat-houses. she would see if leif was with them before she made a mistake. rapidly the ships approached, rowed by long oars, keeping regular time. yes, the foremost was leif's dragon-ship. majestically it glided over the water, and there--yes, there on the poop stood leif. ah, leif! leif! helga wept. she wept and was happy. but she quickly dried her eyes. see how leif had exerted himself. he wished to be the first on shore. she could hear the excited tone of his voice when he gave the order: "inboard!" leif was impatient now; his movements were abrupt and hasty. he urged on his crew, and his voice became sharp. he could not wait--he could never wait the last moments. leif! leif! he did not guess that she stood there. helga did not go out of the shadow and down to the ship. she saw the crew working with the long boat-hooks and pushing the landing-plank out over the ship's side. she could just catch a glimpse of a man who went down it. and then came leif running. how like him it was. when he was right opposite her, she went forward to meet him. leif started, stopped, and stood. all his impetuosity ceased. "could you not see me?" asked helga, with a smile that quivered. she felt so rich and happy, and came gradually nearer. leif was not in a condition to answer or to say a word at all. he stood there, and that was all he could do. he could not even collect himself and kiss her. helga came slowly close up to him and laid her arms quietly round his neck. they drank a long kiss from each other's mouths till their lips were sore. leif wished to say something, but there was a lump in his throat. when he discovered that, he began to weep. helga smiled and kissed him more fervently. her fearless viking was only a long, ungainly boy who wept. he stood and embraced helga violently but helplessly, and tears ran down his freckled, weather-tanned cheeks. helga turned gently in his embrace. he thought she wished to be released, and let her go. but helga did not wish to be out of his arms. she only wished to turn so that they might walk side by side. she did not wish that any one should find them there, and led him away. she wanted to have him for herself now that she had at last got him again after an endless summer. and leif let her have her way; he had forgotten everything else except that he had her again. they did not talk much. only some hasty questions and quiet, hasty answers were exchanged between them. they had, as it were, no time for more talk. there was silence between them--a good and happy silence. they had each other. in the house there was great excitement. morning broke on an apparently hopeless confusion of men and women, who chatted together, kissed, or only sent each other embarrassed and happy glances. there were also children of all ages who jumped and sang and quarrelled together in little private combats, and men who carried loads from the ships to the house, and sauntered back again in knots, talking vigourously. ingolf went quietly to and fro and saw that the work was done. the ships had to be unloaded and the goods carried home to the house, and it was best to get it done soon. at this time of year the weather and the sea were not to be relied upon. ingolf felt a sense of happiness and confidence at being home again. he relaxed a little the strict discipline which he generally maintained in all work, and granted each man sufficient time for embracing friends and for confidential talk. but if any one did not go to work of his own accord, when a reasonable time had passed, he called him by name in a friendly way and aroused him. no more was needed. the work went on vigourously. the men wanted it done as soon as possible. ingolf had promised them a few days' holiday when the goods were in the house and the ships in the sheds. orn came out, bent and aged, blinking with inflamed eyes in the garish light of morning. he gave such an immense yawn that his shaggy jaws cracked and shivered, chilled by the cold autumnal air. old age had come upon him, bent his back, and gnawed the flesh from his limbs. when ingolf saw him, he hastened to him. now that he saw him again, after not having had him daily before his eyes for several months, he suddenly realized how old and decrepit his father had actually become, and was seized by a strong feeling of sympathy. he whispered something as he passed in a man's ear. the man smiled and nodded, and ran down to the ships. then ingolf hastened to his father and greeted him with reverence and tenderness. the old man was always on his guard against too much friendliness. old age had increased his mistrust of people. he was peevish and gruff. he returned his son's greeting very nonchalantly, and began with noticeable haste to question him concerning purely practical matters. had he all the ships with him? how much had he allowed himself to be cheated? he had not, it was to be hoped, brought an irish wife home with him? how many of his men had fallen? he had probably nothing creditable to report? it seemed to ingolf that his voice had become remarkably high-pitched and strident. and when ingolf had answered, the old man repeated his questions time after time. it suddenly occurred to ingolf that his father could no longer hear as well as before. he had to raise his voice, and he found it trying and embarrassing to have to change it. orn noticed the change, and shouted: "yes, i no longer hear so well. it is especially this ear here which is affected. but it is worse with rodmar! he is alive still. but he has gone blind!" orn laughed with a snort. "that is still worse!" his laughter filled ingolf with discomfort. then orn suddenly stopped laughing. he had happened to cast a glance down towards the ships. now he stood, his glance became fixed, and his eyes widened. then he suddenly began to count and point at the same time with a crooked finger. "one, two, three...." when he had counted up to twenty, he broke off and said to ingolf, with a voice trembling with joyful emotion: "how many are there altogether?" ingolf smiled. "there are many," he answered, in a friendly tone. "i took care that you should not want wine, father." from the landing-place below there came a long line of men up towards the house, each one trundling a barrel. as though guided by his sense of smell, rodmar came at the same moment tottering out of the house, supported on two sticks, and carefully feeling his way forward with his legs. orn turned towards him, and shouted in a high and excited voice: "now the barrels of red wine from the land of the franks are coming in a long line rolling up to the house, cousin rodmar!" "ah, my eyes!" answered rodmar, in a trembling and weak voice. "gladly would i have seen that sight. but keep silent, so that i can at any rate hear the wine slopping inside the barrels!" there was a great restlessness in orn's blood. he took short steps, and could not stand still. with his crooked fingers he took hold of ingolf's cloak, drew him down towards him, and gave him a hasty kiss on his forehead. then he tottered on stiff legs up to rodmar and clapped him on the shoulder with a trembling hand. "i cannot hear, and you cannot see, cousin. but let us thank odin that we can both still taste. isn't your tongue dry with knowing that there is so much wine close by? mine rolls in my mouth like birch-bark." it was not long before the two aged kinsmen sat side by side in the high-seat and tasted for the first time the red wine from the land of the franks, which they had been waiting for during a whole long summer. they drank the wine noisily, let it fill their mouths, and tasted it with satisfaction. "how do you like it?" asked orn between gulps. rodmar gave himself barely time to answer. "it tastes good," he answered hastily, and drank, "but i miss seeing the colour." "splash a little in your eyes, cousin," orn answered, and laughed. there they sat, and became very cheerful later in the day. long before the sun went down they were asleep and snoring loudly. drink had come to dalsfjord. not till towards evening did ingolf find leif and helga. ingolf embraced helga, and kissed her with much tenderness. "are you pleased with all the gifts, sister?" he asked, with a smile. helga looked with wide-open eyes first at him and then at leif. then she smiled without comprehension and a little uncertainty. leif looked unhappy. "i quite forgot them," he stammered, blushing and embarrassed. ingolf laughed loud and heartily. but helga threw her arms round leif's neck and kissed him tenderly before the eyes of her brother. v there was a chief and viking named olmod the old, son of horda-kaare. he was a kinsman of leif. olmod the old was popular with all. he was a wise man, quiet and circumspect, a warrior in battle and a hero where drinking-horns were emptied. no one would have guessed that olmod the old concealed a great restlessness under the mask of quiet and imperturbability which he outwardly wore. he talked willingly, and had a flow of cheerful conversation, but was not lavish with his confidence. all thought that they knew his mind, but no one did. olmod the old seldom remained long in one place. in the summer he went on viking expeditions; in winter he was a guest in various places. he had many friends, and wherever he stayed he brought cheerfulness with him. he was very fond of his kinsman, leif, whose character resembled his own. it was a significant fact about olmod that leif was unaware that he possessed a friend in him. leif would have been rather inclined to believe the opposite. olmod seldom talked to him, gave him no presents, did not show him favour or friendship in any degree. but in secret olmod kept an eye on his kinsman, leif, and knew all about his affairs. that winter olmod visited atle jarl at gaulum. in doing so he fulfilled an old promise. he knew that leif and ingolf had been on a viking expedition with atle's sons the previous summer. it had suddenly occurred to him that he knew atle's sons too little. during his visit to gaulum, olmod gave such close attention to atle's sons that he actually came to over-hear a conversation between haersten and holmsten which they did not intend him or any one else to hear. "i hear that helga and leif are fond of each other," said haersten. "that sounds hard to believe," answered holmsten. "women's taste is often strange," continued haersten. "did you see, also, brother, that leif threw a spear overboard at hisargavl?" "why did you not tell me that before?" "because it has only just occurred to me that leif regretted the use he had once made of that spear." "with my good will i shall not give leif reason to deprive himself of many more weapons," said holmsten gloomily. "it would be rather after my mind to take care that he finds full use for all his weapons." olmod had heard enough. now he knew what leif's friends were. shortly after overhearing this conversation he departed. he directed his way towards orn's house, and was welcomed by orn and the brothers. when he had stayed a week in the house, he prepared to go farther. before doing so, he talked confidentially with ingolf. "don't take it ill if i mix in your affairs, ingolf. i begin to get old, and old men are talkative. i only wish to remind you that atle's sons, whom you and leif have invited to the feast this winter, are powerful chiefs, and that it will be advisable for you to show them all possible honour--among other things, by inviting as many of your kinsfolk and friends to the feast as you can." ingolf remained silent after olmod had spoken. he looked attentively at him. olmod met his look with a smile. his smile was quiet and experienced. ingolf became suddenly aware that he had more than a guest in olmod. "you come from gaulum," he said in a low tone and thoughtfully. "is that your advice?" "that is my advice," answered olmod, with a firmness in his voice which left no doubt as to his seriousness. and he added, as though casually: "haasten is only _one_ of atle's sons." "have you talked with leif on this subject?" ingolf asked suddenly. olmod the old said only: "i know my kinsman, leif. and i know you, too, ingolf." ingolf gave olmod some handsome presents on his departure and escorted him part of the way. on the first day of the month of goi, atle's sons came with a large retinue to orn's house. ingolf had followed olmod the old's advice, and invited a large circle of his own and leif's friends to the feast for atle's sons. when haasten saw how many were invited to the feast, he said to ingolf, with a smile: "we sons of atle are not accustomed to receive our friends with such a great force." ingolf looked at him and answered seriously: "one can never show one's friends too great an honour, haasten." haasten became silent and thoughtful. involuntarily he looked at his brothers. they stood there talking confidentially together. there was something in their bearing which made haasten uneasy. he noticed also that ingolf was watching his brothers. haersten and holmsten had withdrawn themselves from the rest, and stood whispering together. "we have never been received in such a magnificent way here before," said haersten, with a smile. "there must be something behind it." "i should not be surprised," answered holmsten, "if olmod the old had been here. where did he go to when he left us? it occurs to me all at once that his bearing was different when he left than when he came." "what can olmod the old have told any here?" asked haersten thoughtfully. "something which he possibly heard," replied holmsten dryly. "what will you do now, brother?" "i don't know yet. but some time leif shall come to miss the spear which he threw overboard at hisargavl!" orn became quite another man as soon as guests came to the house. he livened up and became young again. he did not gulp down his wine, but drank deep and was none the worse for it. he was still capable of filling the high-seat with dignity and of presiding over a festival. rodmar, on the other hand, preferred to remain in bed when anything unusual was going on. the restlessness which the sound of many voices produced in his state of blindness made him unwell. when he could not sit quite peacefully with orn he liked best to be alone with his wine. orn beckoned haasten to a place beside him on the high-seat. outside it he seated the other sons of atle and the sworn brothers, and then the remaining guests according to their age and rank. when the guests had taken their seats the hall was completely filled. orn set great store by such feasts. he liked sitting as chief in his hall. he stinted neither food nor drink. it filled him with inward satisfaction to see people eat and drink and be merry. he became cheerful and resumed something of his old dignity. the fire burnt pleasantly on the flat stone of the hearth. when the guests at last were satisfied, the bowls and wooden dishes were carried out, and the real drinking festival began. the youngest and handsomest women in the house went about in festal attire and poured out beer. among them was helga. she served at the high table. holmsten's eyes followed her wherever she went and stood. he had never shown his liking for her so openly. helga could not help noticing his persistent gaze. it made her afraid. she would rather have remained away from the hall, but, on the other hand, she dared not leave leif out of her sight. leif sat with his mouth compressed and a gloomy expression in his eyes, and drank but little. that was not his usual way at a feast; he was accustomed to drink rather too much than too little. only seldom did helga succeed in catching his eye. he did not return her smile. she went to and fro in great alarm. she took care never to look at holmsten, and she did not smile at him as at the others when she filled his horn. holmsten pretended not to notice it. his eye glowed with the same warmth, and his look followed her with the same persistence about the hall. orn proposed the toasts to the gods. he was still equal to emptying horns in their honour. when he proposed the toast of brage, holmsten rose and struck on his horn. "it is the custom of high-born men," he said in a loud and cheerful voice, "to make vows when brage's toast is called. i have a vow to make which i will beg you kind friends to witness." holmsten stopped and looked round him. he caught a warning and slightly anxious look from his brother, haasten. he saw leif's bowed head and caught a glimpse of his serious face; he saw ingolf's face grow rigid with quiet expectation. and he saw helga standing anxious and uncertain and looking at leif. holmsten smiled. for a while he stood with his burning gaze fixed upon helga, as though waiting to catch her eye. then he lifted his horn and said in loud tones: "i make this vow with brage's toast, that i will marry helga, daughter of orn, or no other woman." there was silence in the hall. helga remained standing still for a while. she looked intently at leif, and saw the blood mount to his face and his shaking fingers grip the foot of the horn. when she saw that he would succeed in controlling himself, she silently left the hall, her face very pale. haasten had sprung up from his place when holmsten made his vow, but had sat down again without saying anything. ingolf sat with a smile on his face but a look in his blue eyes that was as sharp as a knife. orn smiled graciously at holmsten, and haersten laughed contentedly. at last leif looked up. there was a hard and hostile look in his usually cheerful eyes. he looked slowly round, and let his glance dwell for a while on each of atle's sons, and finally on his sworn brother, ingolf, as if he were considering him especially. he looked almost as if he would not be sorry to encounter them all at once should that be necessary. to orn he only vouchsafed a hasty and contemptuous glance. holmsten quite understood the effect his words had produced on each of those whom his speech concerned. he looked round with composure and continued cheerfully: "now i have begun this game. now it is your turn, friend ingolf." ingolf gave no sign of rising. he turned his face towards haasten and said in a quiet and firm voice which was heard over the whole hall: "it seems to me it is now haasten's turn to continue the game. he is our leader, and the wisest of us all besides." haasten met his look and rose slowly. he did not find words at first, and remained standing silent for a while, looking down. a hush of expectation spread in the hall. when haasten at last spoke his voice was quiet and troubled. "i make the vow," he said, "that i will judge justly and impartially, if a judgment should ever be demanded from me." haasten sat down with a melancholy air after speaking. holmsten said cheerfully: "your obscure vow does not seem to me to bear out the assertion that you are the wisest of us all. how will you act, if it is between your friends on one side and your enemies on the other that you must pronounce judgment?" haasten answered in a severe and discouraging tone: "that i intend myself to determine." ingolf rose. he smiled no longer; his look was serious and his tone firm and quiet. "with brage's toast i make the vow that i will not divide my inheritance with any one but my sworn brother, leif. may all bright gods and all good people present hear it." when orn had heard that vow, he rose with some difficulty. suddenly he seemed very old. the look which he cast at ingolf was not friendly. in gloomy silence he left the hall. holmsten was still cheerful. "i don't understand that vow," he said, and laughed. "it is not difficult to understand," answered haasten severely. "ingolf will give his sister, helga, to leif, and no one else." holmsten laughed incredulously, and looked at leif in challenge. leif rose awkwardly with a jerk, and stood erect. "i make the vow," he said in a voice that shook with suppressed anger and emotion, "to show that in nothing do i stand behind my ancestors and other good men of my race!" "that may be an easy vow to keep," shouted haersten. "have you forgotten that your grandfather had to leave telemarken like a criminal?" leif met ingolf's look and controlled himself. ingolf rose slowly. he was just as quiet as before, but those who knew him could see that now he was angry. he directed his words to haasten. "when i invited you, atle's sons, to this feast, i believed that you were my own and my brother leif's sincere friends. from what has happened here this evening, and from the words which have fallen, i can see that i have made a mistake--not as far as concerns you, haasten, but your brothers. holmsten has done us a doubtful honour. his whole behaviour does not show exactly such an attitude towards us brothers that i should like to have him as a brother-in-law--even if no one else were in the way. as regards haersten, he has spoken insulting words against my family here in the hall. you, haasten, will always be welcome in the place which you now occupy as my guest and friend. but your brothers i cannot ask to remain. only with my friends will i continue this feast." haersten and holmsten had sprung up from their places. haasten also rose. "i had no share in, and could not prevent, what has happened this evening," he said quietly, and in a tone of sadness, "otherwise it would not have happened. but i cannot remain here as your guest, ingolf, when you send my brothers away. we, atle's sons, have always kept together." when he had spoken, he left the hall silently, followed by his brothers and all their retinue. but no one else followed them on the way. when they had gone, ingolf set guards on all the roads. he wished to be prepared, in case any more surprises awaited him on the part of atle's sons. it had become clear to him now that haasten had no longer such complete power over his brothers as before. ingolf was depressed in spirits. that which he had long feared had happened at last. but this breach with atle's sons had come in another way than he had thought. he had expected that leif would be a direct cause of it, not, as now appeared, an indirect one. leif had surprised him by his self-controlling bearing. now he knew he had a brother in leif he could completely rely on. ingolf guessed that it was not the first time that leif for his sake had controlled himself in the presence of atle's sons. but, on the other hand, he could not betray leif. he must stand by his side anywhere, and against any one--even against haasten, if necessary. ingolf observed, to his wonder, that he did not really miss atle's sons, now that he was confronted by a breach with them. he had leif; he had on his side only one man. but that was a man he could rely upon, and knew that he could. ingolf felt himself in some degree richer than before. vi for some days after the feast, which had been so abruptly broken off, orn did not speak to any one. a cloud hung over his face. his look was like that of a mad bull. he ignored ingolf entirely; and if ingolf tried to talk to him, he paid no more attention to what he said than to a breath of wind. even the blind rodmar spoke in vain to his kinsman. to rodmar it seemed that the world had become very strange. did orn not hear when he spoke to him? had he become deaf, or perhaps dumb also? he gave up trying to make it out. he did not like trouble of any kind any more. there was always the resource of lying in bed and having wine brought. rodmar retired deeper into his darkness and drank himself into a state of stupor and oblivion. when orn had carried about his fit of wrath in solitude long enough, he began to get tired. wrath also disturbed his intoxication. he did not find the same happiness in wine as before. he considered the matter closely, and found a new standpoint to view it from--a more manly and less troublesome one. he sent for ingolf. "i understand well," he began in a harsh but not unfriendly tone, "that you do not wish to let yourself be cowed by atle's sons. i have considered the matter, and i must confess that it was a very challenging way that holmsten chose in which to appear as a suitor. it was, however, impossible for him to know whether helga had been already promised in marriage, and how far his vows might cross our plans. i think that the answer you gave him was good, and becoming a chieftain. we of our race can afford to marry our children to whom we like. we certainly do not need to trouble about marriage with jarl's sons. it has pleased me to see that you are not afraid to give even such people as atle's sons the rough side of your tongue. i do not deny that till lately it was my idea that a marriage connection with them would be an honour for our family. but now i see that it is no less honour for the family to refuse such a connection. that shows to all and each that we reckon ourselves at least equal to jarls. you are wise, my boy. you may go." it was a long time since orn had spoken so gently to his son. ingolf went about the rest of the day smiling now and then to himself. he felt a great relief. his father's attitude had pained him more than he had been willing to admit to himself. after his conversation with ingolf, orn went to rodmar, who was very glad to observe that he had not become dumb or deaf. a joyous time recommenced for the two kinsmen. they drank copiously of the red wine, and boasted more than ever. it became to them a source of much arrogance that hostility had broken out between their sons and atle jarl's. they even took leif into favour, and willingly listened to his account of his exploits in the viking expedition of the previous summer. leif was in their eyes still a little, loose-minded fellow, but at any rate a man. one could acknowledge him both as a son and a son-in-law. he had split various heads, and saved holmsten's life. there one had a proof that even the worst good-for-nothings could become something if only they had good folk to look up to. leif was ungracious enough to care for their praise no more than he had cared for their blame. but they behaved magnanimously to him in that respect. they excused him by recollecting youth's general want of proper respect for age. when spring approached, the old uneasiness came over leif. he became very restless, and his eyes took an absent expression. one day he went down to the boat-houses and began to inspect his ships. as he did so, it suddenly came into his mind that during the last part of the winter ingolf had not troubled himself at all about goods for the summer's viking expedition. it was not like ingolf to forget a thing of that kind. without delay he sought ingolf and began to speak on the subject. ingolf stood and looked attentively at him while he spoke. when he had finished, ingolf answered with composure: "it seems to me, cousin leif, that it would be better for us to remain at home in our house during the summer than to sail out on a viking expedition. do you remember the vows which were made here in the winter at the feast we gave to atle's sons?" "the vows were not of the kind to be hastily forgotten," answered leif, and looked in his brother's eyes. "you are, i suppose, not afraid of meeting atle's sons on the sea?" "i am not afraid," answered ingolf, in a sharper tone; "but i would rather avoid hostility with atle's sons." leif stood and looked down gloomily. when he had considered a little he said: "atle's sons could easily suppose that we were afraid if, after what happened here in the winter, we gave up the viking expeditions we had planned for the summer. i do not intend to give holmsten reason to call me afraid. do you, brother, decide for yourself what you will do. i shall go." ingolf was silent and considered the matter. he was in great perplexity. he hardly dared to let leif go. on the other hand, he dared not hinder him either. he knew well that when leif had once got restless he must get away. for himself, he did not like to run the risk of meeting atle's sons. he had a presentiment that a collision was inevitable if their way crossed that of his brother. and in any case he wished to avoid lifting hand against haasten. but the reason which especially kept him at home was, that he no longer trusted haersten and holmsten. if both he and leif went away, they might both use the opportunity to carry off helga. on such an occasion both his father and rodmar might easily lose their lives, or be exposed to indignities which he would have to avenge. when ingolf had come to a conclusion, he said: "i do not wish as matters now stand to leave our family and property without someone to look after them. i will no longer prevent your going since you have set your mind upon it. but it will cause me great anxiety to know that you are out on a viking expedition with only three ships. for i cannot spare more men away from home. you may encounter atle's sons, you may meet other hostile vikings, or you may through want of foresight get involved in an unequal battle. i would rather, therefore, that you stayed at home, cousin leif. but if you will promise me not under any circumstances to engage in an unequal battle, as far as it is in your power to avoid it, i will not oppose your going." leif promised that willingly. he never thought about promises. he grasped ingolf's outstretched hand and said: "i promise you to proceed cautiously. if i meet with danger or superior force, i will escape as well as i can. you need not be uneasy for my sake, brother." ingolf remembered that leif had kept his word with regard to atle's sons. there was no longer any reason not to put full trust in leif's promises, even if, in accordance with his whole character, they were given a little hastily, and apparently without thought. and if only leif kept his promise, there was no special reason to be anxious about him. in a battle which was not too unequal, he was safe enough, unless the norns had destined his death, or odin had marked him out. for against the gods and goddesses of fate the best man fought in vain. when the matter had been thus decided, leif began seriously to prepare for the journey. the goods which ingolf had collected at the beginning of winter completely filled three ships. all that remained was to select the crews and to take care to keep the ships fit for sailing. when leif told helga that he was going, she merely nodded assentingly and smiled at him. but her quivering smile concealed bitter grief and great anxiety. helga knew leif--ah! she knew him. this leif of hers was a man whom no bond could hold. that was his character. and she did not wish to spoil his happiness by seeking to hold him fast. never should he guess what she suffered when she saw him sail away. never would she mention her sense of loss and the anxiety she suffered during the time she must be without him. separation and longing were integral parts of the happiness she shared with leif. so young helga smiled bravely and helped leif with his preparations for the journey, giving him cheerful words on the way. but she never showed him her anxiety, and concealed her grief till she was alone. one day in spring, when the wind blew freshly over the fjord, leif sailed away with three ships. he stood on the poop and wondered that he had never thought before how hard it would be to part from helga. his old countryman clapped him on the shoulder and said: "on a voyage it is best to keep the salt water outside the ship." leif smiled with a wry face. his heart had not yet been hardened. helga stood on the edge of the shore and saw the striped sails bellying in the breeze. the ships lay slanting on the water. they glided along as if in play, and became so quickly smaller. helga stood alone on the shore. all the others who had been down to bid farewell to those departing had gone back again to the house. helga stood there alone with the breeze. everything was green and cheerful around her. trees stood covered with new leaves, and flowers grew again from the ground. and there sailed leif, taking the summer away with him. when helga could not see the ships any more, she at last gave up. helplessly she let herself drop down on the young grass. all power had suddenly left her. she could not even weep. she remained lying there long with her heart beating violently. the day after leif had sailed, olmod the old landed at orn's house. he had five ships, and was on a viking expedition. he was able to inform ingolf that of atle's sons haasten was remaining at home that summer. he further said that he had heard that leif was going alone that summer, and he wished to have joined him. when he heard that leif had already sailed he hastened to go on, wishing to overtake him. that spring came young king harald sailing north along the coast. he had made a vow not to let his hair be cut till he had reduced the whole of norway to submission, and was therefore by some called harald luva, and by others harald haarfager. whatever part of the country he came across, he called his own. kings and chiefs had to submit with a good or with a bad grace. all men from the lowest to the highest became his tributaries. he made laws, and appointed chiefs over districts to take care that the laws were obeyed. harald met with no opposition either in the hills or the fjords. all the jarls became his subjects. but there were other chiefs who murmured, and considered that harald paid scant respect to the law and ancient land-rights. these harald dealt with hardly. he killed them when he could lay hold of them, and took from them their property without mercy. many of these chiefs had no other resources, if they wished to preserve their lives and freedom, but to leave the country. they sailed in numbers for the faroe islands, the orkneys, hjaltland, the southern islands, together with the british isles and ireland. king harald found many a norwegian neck that preferred to be broken rather than bend. although himself the most obstinate of all, he would not endure obstinacy in others. there was but one king of norway, and that king's name was harald! vii leif had not sailed long before a great quiet came over him. alone with the sea, and his own master! no one to obey! no one to consider! that was something to his taste, and under such circumstances there was no room in his heart for care and longing. successive days awoke him, each with its own voice. hungry in soul and body he crept each morning out of his sleeping-bag. it suited his plans to sail to the british isles; accordingly he was on his way thither. otherwise he might have sailed to the land far toward the west which a beggar had once told him of. the only objection was that, according to the narrator, there were no people to trade with there and no one to pillage. he was out on a trading and viking expedition. besides, it was an absurd country, so entirely without inhabitants. if ever he had time and opportunity he might still wish to take a closer view of it. "iceland," the beggar had called it, and had prophesied that he should some day see it. he wished to be certain about it, but it lay so far out of the way that he could not well include it in his voyage that summer. if he did, he ran the risk of being obliged to spend the winter there. and he could not endure the idea of a whole winter without helga. but he emphasized the fact to himself that if he now let iceland alone, it was an act of his own free will. the land out there in the west would not run away, so whether one went there a summer earlier or later was a point of minor importance. leif, now voyaging alone, came to be quite intimate with the sea. he enjoyed standing at the helm and feeling the ship under his hand. he liked best sailing with all sails spread, and cutting his way through the water as it foamed. it was to him a great delight to sail in such a way that even old and experienced vikings opened watchful eyes. he tortured his dragon-ship till it seemed to him the sea held its breath, ready to close its foaming jaws round its prey. when he thus kept his ship rocking right on the edge of destruction, clutching the quivering tiller fast in his thin hand, his heart felt light in his breast. he felt himself like a ruler over the sea. the old vikings watched leif closely, and found that they had in him a guide after their own heart. they winked admiringly at each other when he sailed his maddest. his reckless courage filled them with expectation. they showed great willingness in obeying his wishes and orders. his young voice sounded sharply and pleasantly in their ears. they took leif's measure secretly and thoroughly approved of him. though he was not so strong in body as warriors generally were, yet men with such restless eyes were rare. and the strength he had lay in hard lumps of muscle in the right places. when he greeted or thanked a man he clutched his hand as with an iron claw. the vikings found that they had reason to expect an eventful summer with much amusement and many dangers. they thought without regret that some of them might find their way to odin before this viking expedition was over. they had not much objection to sitting round the golden-bristled boar, though it should be this very winter. meanwhile, leif had formed a fixed idea that he would show ingolf he could trade and get on in foreign lands on his own account. accordingly, when he got there, he showed a caution which was not really according to his own mind, and which the vikings had not expected. he traded with great foresight, bought chiefly corn and other necessary commodities, including wine and honey. he was also, in pursuance of his promise to ingolf, cautious with regard to engaging in battle. his men had expected great things in the direction of depredations on the coast, and were to a certain extent disappointed. leif had comparatively few men, and he did not engage in unequal warfare. in order, however, to get some booty, he practised unexpected attacks with quite a few picked men. with five or six followers he would row ashore in a boat in out-of-the-way spots. if they succeeded in getting on shore unobserved they began to steal forward by remote paths and through deep and dark woods. these were occasions of incredible excitement and secret joy. it was possible for days and nights to pass without so small a force. and when they had at last found a their finding a place adapted for making an attack with place, a considerable time might pass in watching for an opportunity. but when their well-prepared attack at length took place, it was overwhelming and irresistible. even old and experienced vikings had to acknowledge that they had never before taken part in such bold and exciting expeditions. and they loved leif for the happiness he provided them in their old age. there was constant emulation among leif's men to get leave to accompany him on these forays. but leif showed an immovable firmness and foresight in choosing his companions. it was counted a great honour to be among those chosen. the summer passed in sailing to and fro along the coasts of england and ireland. leif diligently avoided collisions with other vikings. there were, as a rule, many following him, and he never could be secure from an attack. it was therefore best to exhibit suitable caution. for the rest, he slept peacefully in his bearskin bag at night. should it happen that he was involved in a fight without his own fault, he had nothing to do with that. in many places where he came, he found that haersten and holmsten had been just before him with their six ships. leif took no real trouble to overtake them. he remembered his promise to ingolf, and had resolved to put his trust in chance. chance had before shown him considerable kindness. but when, towards the close of summer, he directed his course homewards, chance had not yet come to his help. it was therefore with a certain disappointment in his mind that he turned homeward from his summer expedition. it was indeed no small disappointment to him that fate had not allowed him to meet atle's sons. olmod the old, who, as has been related, was voyaging with a fleet of five ships, made inquiries about his kinsman, leif, wherever he went. in many places leif had been just before him, but had sailed again no one knew whither. olmod the old was continually on his scent, and sailed, so to speak, in his wake the whole summer, though without any success in overtaking him. he vowed offerings and gifts to odin if he would help him to find his kinsman. but odin seemed to have turned his eyes from him. olmod kept himself likewise informed concerning the voyage of atle's sons. from their movements he could not ascertain whether they intended evil against leif or not. it did not really look as if they were following him. perhaps they did not know what direction he was taking, but olmod considered it best to be on the watch. late in the summer, olmod lost every trace of leif. but as a compensation he so nearly succeeded in overtaking atle's sons that he at last caught a glimpse of their ships making out to sea on their way home. it seemed to olmod that they were sailing rather early. were they thinking of concealing themselves among the rocks and islands off the coast and giving leif a warm reception when he turned home? olmod the old was from his own experience not unacquainted with stratagems. he kept a sharp eye on atle's sons. for some time he kept his ships hidden in a creek near the ordinary route in order to catch leif, if possible. at last he could wait no longer. leif, he thought, must have turned homeward by some other way, and as good sailing weather just then set in, he directed his course towards norway. he had come to the conclusion that the safest thing was to try to find atle's sons, or at any rate to get news of them. if he found that they had sailed the direct way home, there was scarcely anything to fear from them that autumn. on a dark and stormy autumn day, with clouds driving across the sky and a tossing sea, leif came sailing past hisargavl. he was sailing along, thinking of his disappointment, when he suddenly found himself surrounded by ships bearing down upon him with their battle-ensigns hoisted. for the sake of his promise, leif counted the ships; they were six in number. he looked closer at them, and recognized them as those of atle's sons. then leif felt a great contentment fill his mind. here at last came his friends, the sons of atle. and luckily all chance of flight was excluded. it would have been vexatious if he had had to break his word, but now it was all right. for ingolf could not expect of him that he should surrender unconditionally in order to avoid battle with atle's sons. he gathered his ships together and commanded them to lower sail; quickly he had boards for defence fixed on the quarter-deck, and cleared the ships for action. he went about and became gradually agitated with excitement and happy expectation. at last--at last the opportunity had come for seriously exchanging blows with holmsten. one of them should in any case be a guest of odin that evening. how he was to manage with his three ships against the six of atle's sons did not worry leif much. while he issued his orders, he had only eyes for holmsten's dragon-ship. there holmsten came, also in a state of excitement. now the long boat-hooks could reach the gunwale on holmsten's ship. "pull hard, men!" leif had a great longing to salute holmsten. the first spear whistled through the air. from both sides it was greeted with cheerful battle cries and gay laughter. at length the two dragon-ships lay side by side, rocking violently upon the grey sea. blows and shouts were exchanged above the high quarter-deck boards. leif pushed his men roughly to one side. he had set eyes on holmsten. a spear whistled past his ear, and he heard holmsten laugh and shout: "there is a spear in place of the one you sank here last autumn." leif twisted himself to one side, seized the spear, aimed at holmsten, and sent it back. "i have enough weapons, friend holmsten! i will test the ax you once gave me on your own skull." holmsten avoided the spear at the last moment by a leap to one side. now leif was close to the gunwale. the fight went on energetically on both sides of him. the ships reeled violently and crashed noisily against each other. salt spray concealed now and then the hot faces. leif held his ax raised and shook it towards holmsten. "now, when i cleave your head before long, it will not be through carelessness! remember that, holmsten." holmsten laughed derisively. he could not properly reach leif because of his men. "it will double my joy, friend leif, to know you are lying cold at the bottom of the sea, by the side of your spear, while your friend helga makes me comfortable." leif leaped up on the quarter-deck boards, swinging his ax high over his head, but was forced back. he tried again and again, but was met by a wall of weapons. one of atle's sons' other ships hooked itself fast on to the other side of the dragon-ship. the battle raged furiously along both gunwales. during an involuntary pause in the battle, leif found time to look round him a little. one of his ships was already overpowered, and the other surrounded by three of the enemy's smaller ships; his own was so hard pressed that it was obviously only a question of how long he could hold out. leif saw clearly how untenable his position was. he did not envy atle's sons their victory. he called those who had followed him on many bold expeditions to him, and said in a choked voice: "if we are going to valhalla, friends, let us take holmsten with us, and as many of his men as we can!" so he stormed the gunwale, followed by his best men, and succeeded in obtaining a foothold on holmsten's dragon-ship. and now leif was at his ease. generously he dealt out blows and thrusts, and devoted himself energetically to the battle. he saw his men falling round him, and he himself had several wounds which he had not time to think about. he was not afraid of death, but meant to take holmsten with him. while leif stood there, and dealt doughty blows around him in order to get at holmsten, there came in sight a fleet of five ships by hisargavl. the five ships were sailing swiftly, and the water foamed round their bows as they approached. at last olmod the old was about to overtake leif. and he had bestirred himself, as it appeared. he gave himself no time to survey the situation, but drove his ships right in among the combatants. in his green cloak, with a golden helmet on his head, he stood in a dignified attitude by the mast and issued his orders. "it looks as if you wanted a little help, cousin leif!" he shouted in the joy of battle. all other talking he left to his weapons. haersten saw quickly that his position was untenable, and gave orders for flight. but it was by no means so easy to get away in a moment. holmsten's ship soon lay wedged in between those of leif and olmod the old. leif made use of the confusion which ensued among holmsten's men at suddenly finding enemies on both sides, and made his way close up to holmsten. when holmsten saw him coming, he prepared to receive him in his cool and quiet way. but now leif had become quite wild. when it seemed that he could not get forward quickly enough, he flung his ax at holmsten's face. holmsten dropped his weapons, threw up his arms, reeled, and fell. leif's joy at seeing holmsten fall was so great that he forgot to be on his guard. one of his men pushed a shield in front of him just in time. the shield was cloven by the blow of an ax, intended for leif. but leif was not to die that day. now he was himself again, picked up his ax, and continued the attack. after holmsten's fall the opposition was soon broken. a couple of olmod's ships had recovered the ship atle's sons had won from leif. olmod secured for himself holmsten's ship as a reward for his trouble, and in order to be able to provide offerings and gifts to odin. the remainder of atle's sons' ships escaped in disorder. olmod came across leif where he was sitting and binding up his wounds. "you are bleeding much, cousin, and can be glad that you still have blood to bleed." "that i owe to you, cousin olmod. what lucky wind was that which blew you here, just when you were most needed?" "ask, rather, what freak was it of odin's that he did not let me overtake you before. i came to dalsfjord the day after you sailed, and have pursued you in vain all the summer." leif looked up hastily. a sudden fear shot through him. "what did you want me for?" "that you have seen." leif was quiet again. "nothing more?" he asked. "don't you think i had cause enough? did you expect me to follow your tedious tracks, the whole summer, merely to bring you a greeting from helga?" leif rose and drew a bracelet off his arm. it was for olmod. he brought forth his most valuable things, resolved to give olmod all the best he had. objections were useless. when leif gave, he gave what he had, and kept nothing back till he had no more. "finally, don't think that by killing holmsten and putting haersten to flight you have finished with atle's sons," olmod said warningly. "i think, cousin leif, you had better come home and spend the winter with me." leif thanked him warmly for the invitation. "it is such a short way home to the fjords that i don't care about making a circuit. but what if you came home with me and remained with us for the winter, cousin olmod?" but olmod declined. a whole winter in one and the same place did not tempt him at all. "you brothers have enough friends round you, but be careful, cousin. i should be surprised if haersten let the grass grow over the matter he has to settle with you. i am glad that this time i could be a little use to you, leif. you have rewarded my help, as one might expect from you, spendthrift that you are! may good fortune follow you wherever you go." olmod and leif parted with great friendliness, and each sailed to his own home. viii it was really a surprise to ingolf when he heard from his brother what had happened at hisargavl. he had gradually come to fear a collision between leif and atle's sons. he did not trust atle's sons any more since the feast of the previous winter. with a gloomy and slightly absent expression he heard leif's account to the end. "i do not grieve for holmsten," he said severely, when leif finished. "i am glad that both brothers did not escape alive from the game. the norns often strike accurately." "it was by my ax that holmsten fell," leif answered curtly. "i will not share the honour of having slain him with any one, not even with the norns!" ingolf smiled, but there was no laughter in his mind. "the most important point, leif, is that you returned home alive," he said cordially. "thank yourself for it, but allow me to thank the gods and goddesses of fate." helga was very quiet when leif told her about the battle. there rose in her soul a yet greater tenderness towards him. every day, yes, every hour, with leif became precious. a foreboding told her that leif was scarcely destined to live long. her happiness was like the flying birds. orn became quite enlivened by hearing of the fight at hisargavl. ingolf related it to him with much detail. as soon as he had finished, orn demanded to have the whole told over again. it was entirely after his mind--a proof that the race was not extinct. he put many questions and asked for incidents. time after time, when the talk concerned leif, he nodded approvingly. when his curiosity was at last satisfied, he sat silent and thoughtful, and still kept nodding to himself. rodmar sat in his darkness and heard the account through at one sitting. when ingolf began again, he sighed deeply, rose, and, supported on his two sticks, tottered to his chamber and crept into bed. he could not understand that there was still so much disturbance in the world. when ingolf came out again from his father he was silent and thoughtful. he sought leif, and found him in helga's room. ingolf sat down silently by his side and remained for a while without speaking. "now haasten remains behind with one arm," he said at last, in a subdued tone, more as though speaking to himself than to the others. helga looked hastily at him. "one must feel a great longing after a brother one loves," she said quietly. leif laughed sarcastically. "it will scarcely be a one-armed haasten who comes out to take vengeance for holmsten." ingolf looked at him. there was a troubled, but firm and quiet, look in his eye. "i should be surprised if haasten took vengeance," leif laughed scornfully. ingolf rose quietly and said: "but it would be best to be on our guard against haersten." ingolf took home to the chief house as many of his own and leif's men as could be spared from the rest of their property. moreover, he collected his friends from the surrounding district. he always had many people round him in the winter. he set guards on all the roads to secure himself against an unexpected attack, and for the rest watched events quietly. what had happened, had happened, and could not be altered. and whose fault was it? neither his nor his sworn brother's, it seemed to him. he made offerings to odin and thor, and relied on them and on the good luck of the family. already, on the day after his arrival, leif had to go to bed. for a considerable time he had to keep quiet. he suffered a good deal from his wounds. they were on various parts of his body, so that it was difficult for him to find rest. leif was not good at keeping quiet. he was tormented by an intolerable impatience. time after time when his wounds were on the point of healing up they opened again, because of his want of care. the fever which accompanied the wounds had a wearing effect both on his flesh and his temper. he became even more bony and thin than he had been before. long and wasted he lay there in bed, and vexed himself over the loss of the days, of which he was unjustly deprived. helga nursed him patiently, and always sat by him. that was the only thing which reconciled him with this kind of existence. he could not look away from her even for a moment. leif discovered that there was a happiness and soothing effect in the touch of helga's hands, which he had not hitherto known. all the time he had to have her hands busy about him. leif was not easy to manage. in vain did helga beg and pray him to leave the bandages alone and not continually look at his wounds at the wrong time. at last she went in despair to ingolf, and ingolf found a means. on the same day that helga had spoken to him, he said to leif in his usual composed manner: "your wounds are a long time healing, cousin leif. you will hardly be fit for fighting by the time haersten attacks us." that was effectual. ingolf knew his brother. from that day leif lay rigidly still and did not touch the bandages. with a mighty effort he kept his mind in control and curbed his impatience. with a mysterious smile in her eyes, which leif could not understand, helga continued to nurse him. leif could not make out why her eyes had suddenly become so bright. here he lay, tortured both outwardly and inwardly. one would think that was nothing to be amused at. at last he asked her plainly, and in a rather morose tone, why she was so cheerful. helga laughed, and promised to tell him as soon as his wounds were healed; for now that could hardly be long. leif sighed. it seemed to him that already the time had been incomprehensively long. at last the day came when leif could go about on his legs again. but it was plain that he had quite got out of the habit of going with his head high and his legs down. his head was not so high aloft, and his legs tottered. he had to laugh at them. they were really silly legs--to speak plainly--miserable legs of dough. he went about laughing and waddling, and was obliged every minute to sit down and rest his legs. he had never guessed that such a simple thing as walking could become so difficult. but one day it was difficult no longer, and leif rapidly forgot both his sickness and his weakness. what was haersten about? it seemed to leif plain that he had a claim that haersten should come now, and quickly. now that he was in a condition to receive him in a suitable manner, he began to long for him deeply. leif went and exercised his arm-muscles by cutting logs for the fire. ah! so he intended to split haersten's head. but haersten still kept them waiting. it was not according to leif's mind to go and wait for an attack, which did not come. had he had sufficient hope that ingolf would go with him on a journey to gaulum he would have proposed it. in his leisure time leif imagined for himself an attack on atle jarl and his sons, picturing it down to the minutest details. he would himself strike down haersten and atle jarl. but he would prefer to let haasten escape with his life. it was a shame that such a splendid plan of attack should always be shipwrecked on ingolf's obstinacy. at last haersten came. it was lucky that ingolf had set guards upon the roads. haersten did not come alone. he had planned his attack with care. he wished to wait till the brothers perhaps might not be so much on the alert. and he wished to come with a picked and numerous band, which it took time to assemble secretly, as the sworn brothers had friends also in those parts. haersten had resolved that _one_ life was too little compensation for holmsten. they should both die. preferably he would strike them both to earth with his own hand. haersten had to do without haasten's help in planning and carrying out his attack. on the other hand, haasten did not put difficulties in his way. haasten gave his mind to taking what vengeance he could, and to the extent he was able. "but my mind and my sense of justice tell me," he said, "not to go with you against the sworn brothers." haersten asked him whether his mind and his sense of justice did not also bid him to leave both his brothers unavenged in case he also should fall. haasten answered him that time would show, but that it was conceivable. "it might seem that you care more for ingolf than for your own brothers," haersten said coldly. "i have a great regard for ingolf," answered haasten. "you brothers were not afraid to profit by your greater force when you attacked leif." so the conversation ended. when haersten had quietly collected as many men as he thought would ensure a victory over the sworn brothers, even if he found them prepared, he started one night and took the way to dalsfjord. he advanced by secret paths, and hid in the woods. he marched only by night, resting by day. but though he showed all possible caution, ingolf's guards got news of his expedition. they were able to inform ingolf in time that haersten was approaching with a numerous following. in great haste the brothers collected a still larger number, and marched against him to meet him before he expected it. the encounter took place one winter morning on the heath. haersten and his men had spent the night on the outskirts of the wood. it was a still morning, with mild air, and the ground was heavy. the weather was admirably adapted for a battle, save that the snow became slippery when it had been trodden hard. haersten and the sworn brothers prepared themselves, each on his own side, for a trial of strength, in all quietness and at their leisure. the result of the battle was of great importance to both parties, and they urged their men to be cautious and keep together. haersten seemed to seek leif. and leif was not the man to avoid a willing opponent. it was not long before they stood opposite each other, both fierce and vigilantly watching. but the fight between them was of short duration. they had only exchanged a few blows, and neither of them had yet been wounded, when haersten slipped on the smooth ground. in the same instant leif's ax descended on his neck. haersten fell and remained lying. red blood streamed profusely out of a deep wound in his neck. smoking, it oozed into the cold white snow and formed holes with reddish edges. thus fell haersten. when he had fallen, ingolf had the trumpet blown for a truce, and invited haersten's followers to go in peace. as no one wished for more fighting, haersten's men marched, carrying his body, from their unsuccessful attempt, back to gaulum. leif was quite jubilant. he never remembered having been so glad. now he had avenged the attack at hisargavl, and settled all the rest of the account which he had with atle's sons. there was a high degree of intoxication in his mind. he composed and sang with a strong voice a victor's song. but ingolf did not show any joy at the victory. he was silent and thoughtful. as soon as he had returned home with his men, he went to his father and told him of haersten's fall. "it will not be in the neck of atle's sons alone that leif's ax has struck wounds," screamed orn, with his heavy cutting voice, when he had heard ingolf to the end. "trust me! it is all over with our peace in dalsfjord. even though we have many friends, atle jarl and haasten will in the long run prove too strong for us. make peace with haasten, my son, before it is too late. for old friendship's sake he will be satisfied with taking your property and driving you away from this district. i am too old, i know, to leave dalsfjord myself. but don't you trouble about that. i am full of days, and will die soon. i had a foreboding that leif would cause misfortune. but he is a plucky fellow. and what has happened has happened. let me see him." it had never been the case before that orn had wished to see leif. once the sight of leif had been to him a plague and an unceasing source of annoyance. now he wished to see him. leif was called, and willingly let himself be inspected by orn's red, inflamed, swollen eyes. his spirits were so cheerful that he felt impelled to show himself friendly even towards orn. "your appearance does not answer to your exploits," orn exclaimed. "you are rather slight in body to be a warrior. but, at any rate, i will give you helga since she wants you. take her and marry her, but do it quickly. for i will gladly drink your health at your marriage before i die. and i shall die soon." leif smiled and thanked him and was very friendly. it amused him to think that the permission was really rather superfluous. but that day he did not wish for any trouble. haersten's death made him feel so prosperous and benevolent. ingolf had all day long been meditating. in the evening he asked leif to speak with him in private. "what do you think of sending messengers to haasten and offering him an agreement on terms to be fixed by himself?" he asked quietly. "that seems to me to be unnecessary weakness to submit the matter to haasten's decision alone," answered leif arrogantly. "if he wishes to pay us a call we shall know how to receive him." "you forget, brother," said ingolf calmly, but in a troubled voice, "that only in the utmost extremity can i use weapons against haasten. you have deprived him of both his brothers. even apart from the manner in which it happened it is a great loss for him. i, for my own part, will gladly purchase peace with haasten at the price which he agrees upon." the tone of ingolf's voice moved leif to the heart. "if you, for your part, wish to submit to haasten's decision, i dare say i can consent," he said, in a compliant tone. "hitherto i have not lost by letting you decide matters." ingolf chose the men whom he considered best suited for such a mission, and bade them go to gaulum and offer haasten terms. haasten received ingolf's envoys silently, and without returning their salutations. they had, however, been his companions on a summer viking expedition, and several of them had been his friends. they did not know haasten again. he had aged, and all signs of youthfulness had been obliterated from his face. though his skin was still soft and smooth it was deeply furrowed. his look was cold and solitary. when he had heard the object of their errand, he said in an icy tone: "i will answer some day. meanwhile i offer you shelter and food." haasten let them wait a whole week for an answer. he had a hard battle to fight first with his father and then with himself. atle jarl would at first hear nothing about an agreement. he demanded unconditionally, although coldly and without passion, the lives of the sworn brothers. he blamed haasten for what had happened, because he had at the time refused to follow his advice and offer ingolf and leif blood-brotherhood. haasten did not answer at length. but he did not give up till atle jarl agreed to lay the matter in his hand. when haasten had thus become solely responsible, he had a hard battle to fight with himself. his family instinct demanded blood and not compensation. even multiplied _weregeld_ could not compensate him for the loss of his brothers. but could leif's and ingolf's lives do it either? the fact was that nothing could compensate for the loss of his brothers. but large fines might sustain the outward honour of the family. to bear weapons against ingolf, who had not committed any crime, was in itself unthinkable. besides, haasten remembered his vow to decide impartially if at any time a decision should be demanded from him. when he had at last arrived at unity with himself he bade ingolf's messengers be called, and spoke as follows: "the sworn brothers have desired me to judge between them and myself. my judgment is this. no compensation shall be asked for holmsten because of his unjustified attack on leif. but as compensation for haersten, who went to take righteous vengeance for his brother, and by doing so lost his life at leif's hand, i adjudge to myself all the sworn brothers' real property. before three winters have passed they shall have left all their land and territory and fjords and hills. otherwise they will be treated as outlaws wherever they may be found in the district." the messengers went home and informed the brothers of haasten's sentence. when ingolf had heard it, he said quietly: "that was to be expected." leif, on the other hand, was furious. he never remembered to have heard of such an unreasonable sentence. ingolf bade him take the matter quietly. "the sentence is certainly hard," he said, "but haasten's loss is harder. i would not willingly change my circumstances with his." all bitterness against haasten vanished comparatively quickly from leif's mind. the question, where they should now go and settle, absorbed him, all at once, so completely that he had no thoughts to spare for anything else. leif was glad enough to go and settle in a new country. one day he wished to go to england. another day ireland had suddenly assumed a great attraction for him. the faroe islands, hjaltland, the southern islands--at least once a day in his thoughts he settled in all these. all at once the idea of iceland occurred to him; strange to think that he had not come upon it at once. making a leap in the air, he went there in his own thoughts and settled in a strange land, and so sought ingolf in hot haste. "we will go to iceland!" he shouted in his delight, and was already absorbed, body and soul, in his idea. "there we shall have a whole country to ourselves." "is it not somewhat lonely?" asked ingolf, smiling. leif thought over that, and conceded that in the long run it might be rather lonely. "but you will see many will follow after us. many in norway are discontented with harald, who will not tolerate any will by the side of his own. the best people will follow us thither--people who can no more find complete freedom in this country. harald is already seeking to kill many of the best men. there his arm cannot reach them. sooner or later the land will be colonized; it is said to be fertile. let us be the first. ingolf, do you hear, let us be the first." there was something in leif's plan which attracted ingolf. if he had to depart and find himself a new dwelling, why not seek it in a new country? ingolf the imperturbable felt his heart beat. leif was all fire and flame, and consequently not to be resisted. at last ingolf yielded. "we can journey there in the summer and survey the country," he said. when leif had got ingolf so far, he became wild with joy and dangerous to approach. ingolf had to wrestle with him; there was no getting out of it. a little after they were both lying in the soft snow. when the wrestle was thus over, they began to pile snow on each other, till they had to stop for laughing. the boy was uppermost in each of them. they were happy, and forgot to be troubled and anxious at the loss of their property. blood and life surged through them. they could still fight as in the old days. ix ingolf kept deeply secreted in his heart the image of a young girl. her name was hallveig, and hers was the only woman's look which had ever stirred his soul. her grey eyes lived so vividly in his memory, he could see them before him when he wished. the thought of them made his usually quiet heart quiver. her name was hallveig, and her image was painfully and distinctly impressed on his mind. he had seen her for the first time in the preceding winter when, on one of his trading journeys, he had spent the night at the house of her father, frode. and that first time had hitherto been the only one. he had made the acquaintance of her father, frode, and her brother, lopt, before, at various sacrificial feasts. lopt and himself had much in common. lopt was a quiet and rather reserved man. his whole appearance bore the stamp of the well-to-do yeoman farmer's firmness and self-possession. lopt and ingolf had always felt attracted by each other. they were both strong, high-born men without deceit or flaw in their minds. a mutual consciousness of their inner affinity had from the beginning brought them near each other. thus ingolf came to the house one winter evening and saw lopt's sister. her name was hallveig, and she was only eighteen. she was very serious. ingolf never saw her smile like other young women. already her inner seriousness roused great disquiet in his mind. hallveig did not go about lavishing her smiles. her look was watchful and critical. she looked at people, and had a scale to weigh them by. one became clear about one's value under her look. and her look did not flinch nor change like that of other women when one encountered it. it met one like a man's. it was in some degree a boy's look, thought ingolf. he sat there that evening and could take neither his eyes nor his thoughts from hallveig. lopt and frode often had to repeat their questions to him. the whole of ingolf's listening faculty was turned inward and not outward. he sat by her side and forgot both them and himself. all that he knew was that now and then he cast a furtive glance at hallveig. and yet he sat the whole time and looked at her. it was the first time that ingolf had been in love, and it was of benefit to him. the next day was fixed for his departure, but he did not go. he was travelling with important objects, and it would be very extraordinary if he delayed his journey without special reason. but he remained all the same, and forgot to give himself or others a reason for it. he simply remained because it was impossible for him to go that day. he had a long talk with hallveig, sitting by her side in the morning. a little after (so it seemed) he was surprised to find it already evening. how the day had gone was a puzzle to him. he was lost. ingolf did not find it at all surprising that he found such a good opportunity to talk with hallveig undisturbed. he had neither time to notice nor to reflect upon the fact that lopt and frode had left them alone the whole day. he had no idea that any one could look at him and observe from his behaviour what impression hallveig had made upon him. the whole of that day, which he afterwards did not know what had become of, he sat and talked with hallveig. not once did she smile at him. but there was in her look a charm which surpassed every smile. there was a warmth in her look and a secret confidence which put him at his ease. her nearness filled him with a peculiar quivering consciousness of security. he felt that there was already a deep intimacy between him and this woman whom he did not know and yet knew. the next day ingolf went on his journey. when he gave hallveig his hand at parting their eyes met. the look of both was firm and serious. suddenly hallveig smiled. her eyes became bright with a beaming smile. all at once ingolf perceived that there was something he had forgotten or neglected--something which could not be omitted. he stood there with her hand in his, uneasy and irresolute, quite otherwise than he was accustomed. but he now already held her hand at departure and must go. confused and dissatisfied with himself, and yet at the same time filled with a tremulous happiness, he went away. ingolf did not forget hallveig's solitary smile. he reflected much whether she had ever given any other man her smile, in the same way as she had to him. he did not believe it. but if she had, the man must die. how ingolf passed the year, before he returned to hallveig, he did not know. it was quite unconsciously that he gave the memory of her time to grow and blossom in his soul. all that he knew about it was that every time he had resolved with himself that now he would go to frode's house and visit her, his mind was filled with anxiety and unrest. he found no solid reason for waiting. his longing urged him almost irresistibly to make the journey. he was also quite certain that he ran a risk by postponing it. all the same he waited. at a feast at gaulum the previous autumn he had met lopt. during the three days of the feast they had been inseparable. quite involuntarily they had kept together. once, when the talk had turned on lopt's and frode's affairs, lopt said, smiling: "we cannot get my sister, hallveig, married. she rejects all suitors." as lopt spoke, ingolf's heart began to beat violently and joyfully. the day seemed to expand around him and become beautiful. the colours of the heavens and earth crowded at once upon his sight. the air itself became fresh and reviving. he found no answer to make to lopt's remark, and therefore pretended not to have heard him. soon afterwards he began to talk of something else. but he did not succeed in deceiving lopt, who, when alone, smiled to himself. soon after ingolf's meeting with lopt, leif returned from his viking expedition. ingolf had enough to do, and was for a time cut off from all possibility of travelling. but when the agreement with haasten was settled, and the journey to iceland to look for a residence determined on, it became at once as impossible for ingolf to postpone the decisive interview with hallveig as it had been for him before to resolve on a visit. ingolf, according to his custom, first spoke with his father on the subject. orn was highly pleased, and declared himself in every way satisfied with his choice. "frode," he said, "is rich and well-born. it is time that you settled in life. leif and you can celebrate your marriage in the autumn. you should not put off the journey for a day. you can go, my son." ingolf went to leif and asked for his companionship on a journey without disclosing further the object or the direction of it. leif needed no pressing. he was always ready for a journey, he did not care where. if ingolf did not reveal to him his object and the place whither he was bound, it was because he had good reasons for concealing it. the brothers left home with a select but not very numerous retinue. leif received a strong impression that this mysterious journey was of great importance. could it possibly be a wooing expedition? leif studied ingolf closely, and came to the conclusion that it was. it amused him to guess whom ingolf had pitched upon. he could not make out. in that respect he knew nothing of ingolf. had ingolf really fallen in love dumbly and silently? leif could not picture ingolf to himself as an enamoured suitor. in secret he was immensely amused at his brother's seriousness and taciturnity. but he showed great caution in his behaviour towards him. he observed that a great deal was at stake for ingolf. he surmised that his quiet demeanour was not so genuine as it usually was. when one evening they reached frode's house, leif did not guess that they had already arrived at their journey's end. but as soon as he saw hallveig, he knew; and he was immediately filled with a warm and brotherly affection for her. when hallveig heard that ingolf had come, she at once knew the reason. she put on her finest dress, and displayed her most valuable ornaments. any one might think what they would; for her it was a festal day. in this attire she went to meet ingolf. quietly and seriously she returned his greeting. her whole manner told ingolf that he was expected. one evening she led ingolf to her room. the next day ingolf spoke with lopt and frode, and asked hallveig in marriage. frode gave him his daughter gladly. lopt said that there was no one he would prefer as a brother-in-law. they quickly settled all the conditions. the sworn brothers' loss of their property was not mentioned at the time. hallveig was summoned and questioned. willingly and with deep earnestness she gave her mind to the matter. when, later on, she was alone with ingolf, she wept and kissed him fervently. ingolf was a constant surprise to her. afterwards she smiled at him through her tears. there was a peculiar power and a complete abandonment in all her caresses. ingolf felt beyond the shadow of a doubt that she was completely his, and for the whole of life. and her demeanour showed just as certainly that she was happy. frode and lopt celebrated the betrothal by a great feast. ingolf and leif remained a whole week in the house. when they left, the wedding was fixed for about three weeks later. in accordance with ingolf's wish it was to take place in orn's house, since his father felt too old to travel. ingolf and hallveig were agreed on having the shortest possible interval before their marriage. they did not wish to wait a day longer than necessary, now that they at last had each other. they found it almost impossible to separate, though it was only for three weeks. they could not comprehend how they had hitherto been able to live without each other. ingolf felt now that the two years which had passed since he saw hallveig for the first time were as though lost for him. yes, his whole youth seemed as though lost for him since he had not met hallveig before. never had ingolf before reflected how short life really was. he had not measured it with love's measuring-rod. x orn was peculiarly restless during the first days after ingolf's departure. he became gradually alarmed, though he had considered it the wisest course to conceal his alarm from his son, lest frode should perhaps make difficulties, now that the agreement with haasten had deprived ingolf of all his real property. it was quite clear to orn that it was on this point the prestige of his family would be tested. if frode did not refuse to give his daughter in marriage to a man who had been judicially deprived of all his landed property, it was because the man was ingolf, orn's son. as the days passed, and it became evident that the brothers, at any rate, were not returning at once, orn became quieter, and with every succeeding day his calm increased. the continued absence of the brothers could be only due to their having succeeded in their object. orn and rodmar celebrated this by a justifiable drinking bout. before the fumes of their intoxication had quite passed off, ingolf and leif returned home, having, as was apparent, quite succeeded in their object. orn and rodmar went on drinking to celebrate the good news. then orn went to bed and slept for a night and half the following day. when he had had his sleep out, he began to arrange everything for the double marriage which was imminent. he also wished to have a hand in the preparations for the feast. he let all and each know that since the gods had been so kind as to allow him to celebrate both his children's weddings, and that at the same time, there should be a feast which should be known far and wide and be long remembered. he had the temple, together with every house and every cottage on the estate, swept from roof to floor, and all the woodwork cleaned. he himself selected the cattle and the swine which should be fattened for the feast. he tasted the liquors brewed, measured out the meal and the corn, and was everywhere. rodmar was homeless in all this disquiet. he tried his old device of going to bed and keeping himself to himself in his darkness. he counted the days and was morose. about three weeks were to be occupied with preparations for the wedding, and then a week with the festivities themselves. rodmar drained his drinking-horn deep. the future looked very empty to him. orn sent leif and ingolf out to invite people to the feast. they spent many days in travelling from house to house. orn questioned them every evening as to where they had been, and made plans for the next day. he was indefatigable. a peculiar excitement, which he did not remember to have felt before a festival since his early youth, deprived him of his appetite for food, and partly also of his tendency to drink. he was about from early morning to late in the evening. all the same, it was difficult for him to sleep at night. helga sat in her room and sewed at her bridal dress. every hour of leisure which leif found he spent there with her. he was considerate towards helga, and avoided disturbing her with talk or caresses. he could stand for hours together and watch her, as she sat and sewed, eager and absorbed, with busy hands and hot cheeks. leif was very happy at that time. but as soon as he had not helga before his eyes, he could not realize that in a few days they should be man and wife, and had to go in again and watch her sewing the bridal dress. orn had the banqueting hall draped with costly tapestry, and shields hung up. at last the day dawned. and the same day spring made its entry with southern winds and genial temperature. already from the early morning guests began to assemble at the house. somewhat before noon came frode with his daughter and son and a splendid retinue. then the wedding could begin. with eight days' unbroken festivities the marriage bonds between ingolf and hallveig, helga and leif, were sealed. frode showed great gladness at the connection, and celebrated his daughter's marriage with all the customary sports and pageants. orn only celebrated his son's with sacrificial feasts, with, as became a host, the usual meals and drinking bouts. the meals were many and luxurious, and the drinking bouts were long. quantities of mead and wine were drunk, and many swine and oxen eaten, besides game and other food common at festivals. once more orn was able to sit in stately fashion in the high-seat and preside over a feast. during the days of this festival frode shared the high-seat with him. they knew each other well by the wounds received in their youth and manhood. many cheerful memories were revived, and they shared in great friendliness their drink and the high-seat. orn had become an old man. age had bent his back, made his face puffy, and dulled his hearing. nevertheless, he wore an air of dignity on such an occasion. the chieftain was uppermost in him, and his natural courage blazed up in one last victorious flame. ingolf had rather feared that his father would not be equal to preserving his dignified bearing through such a trying festival, but his fear proved groundless. orn rallied all his powers and held out. he took part in every meal. he emptied his drinking-horn at every health. he sat as host in the high-seat, and still on the last day of the feast his spirits were unequalled, his thinking power unaffected. he held out till the last guest had left the place. then the spring had already done its work. the snow had gone. everywhere one caught glimpses of the first signs of summer's approaching splendour. the next day orn lay dead in his bed. his right hand clasped the knife with which he had just succeeded in cutting the sign of the hammer on his breast. he had secured his seat in valhalla. thus died orn. his death did not especially surprise ingolf or any one else. age and debility had during the last years handled him roughly. in spite of all, he had been a chieftain to the end. xi it was very still in the house after orn's death. his harsh, irascible voice was suddenly lost in a great silence. and this silence was doubly impressive just after the concluded festivities. ingolf at once set his people to brew drink, slaughter animals, and prepare for the funeral feast. orn should begin his last journey with all suitable honour. but this time the work was done without the noise which usually attended preparations of that kind. in ingolf's soul there remained a special sense of bereavement. he had always shown his father reverence; now he realized that he had also been very fond of him. ingolf selected with care a spot down by the fjord where a funeral barrow would look well in the landscape. he caused a little natural hollow to be filled with potter's clay; then had one of his smaller dragon-ships rolled on logs thither and fixed on the bed of clay with its bow turned towards the south. orn's journey should be towards the south and the sun. when the ship was settled in its place and shored up, ingolf traced a wide circle round it. orn perhaps was the last of the race who should rest in the soil of his fatherland, therefore his funeral barrow should be a notable landmark. ingolf collected a large number of workmen from his own and leif's estate, and set them to work at erecting the barrow. it was to be done quickly. for nothing is quite sure for a dead man till he rests in earth under the sign of the hammer. ingolf sent messengers round to invite all those in the district and many distant friends and relatives to the funeral feast at a few days' notice. he and leif superintended the work at the barrow, and it went forward rapidly. the voracious earth was not to be allowed to devour orn's ship, therefore stones were fixed everywhere between the earth and the woodwork. outside it were piled gravel, earth, and turf. amidships, round the mast, which was hoisted as though for sailing and so that the roof of the barrow might form an arch over it, was the burial chamber, as broad as the ship and two fathoms in length, timbered with thick oak-beams. it was to resist the pressure both of the stones and the earth: there should orn lie, warm and comfortable, ready for his journey. all was arranged with a view to a journey by land and by water. in the stern of the ship were stored up all possible articles which could be of use in cooking. there were iron cauldrons of various sizes, with the iron claws belonging to them and swivels for hanging them up on; a large barrel for the supply of the ship's drinking water, together with other larger and small oaken barrels with hoops of tough kinds of wood; different vessels with and without lids, together with wooden dishes, some in the shape of fishes; pails with handles of iron and bands of bronze or wood; scoops of iron and of wood; knives; a stone hand-mill and a stick to turn it with; a frying-pan; a three-legged kitchen-stool; axes; and many other articles. some of the wooden ones were splendidly carved, and on others many-coloured designs were painted. in the stern was also the ship's anchor. the rudder was, of course, fixed in its place. ingolf further furnished the ship with all that was necessary: cordage, sails, oars, tent-cloths and poles, hooks, oar-forks, and other articles for a voyage. a landing-plank was not forgotten. in the fore-part of the ship he placed a carved and fully equipped sledge, with the harness and bearskin bags belonging to it. thither he had also brought a painted and carved carriage, with a driving-seat and harness. orn's saddle was brought on board, together with bridle and reins, and all things needed for a horse. orn should never be in difficulties regarding his land-journey. ingolf had many things brought into the burial chamber. he filled several boxes with useful articles belonging to a chieftain's equipment and placed them in it. a bed and bedding were brought in, and he gave his father costly coverlets for the journey. he did not forget to supply a comb, so that his father might arrange his hair and beard when he presented himself before the ases. he gave him also rings, ornaments, and other valuables, so that all should at once know whom they had before them. moreover, he provided him with thunder-stones, small thor-hammers, and other sacred articles for his protection on the journey, together with a money-box to defray the possible expenses. orn should certainly not want coin. ingolf also had several barrels of wine and meat brought to the burial chamber, together with costly drinking-horns to drink from and to proffer. an ox and a swine and many other animals had already been selected for slaughter. orn should suffer neither hunger nor thirst on his long journey. when all these things had been arranged, and the barrow was already partially erected so that there was only a wide passage to the burial chamber, and all that remained was to pile stones and earth over the ship, the day came which was fixed for the funeral feast and committal to the barrow. a swarm of people had collected to do the last honours to orn. ingolf himself conducted the ceremonies, both at the temple and at the barrow. he had inherited the office of priest of the district from his father, and now himself discharged the priestly functions. with the sign of the hammer he consecrated his father for the last journey. stretched on a bier, clad in his splendid garments, orn left his house for the last time. a golden-winged helmet crowned his white hair. a sword gleamed by his side. a shield painted in many colours covered his breast. equipped for a chieftain's journey, orn was carried to his burial chamber. the serf who was selected and already consecrated to follow him, for it was not fitting that orn should journey quite alone, stood ready, and only waited for the knife, with which he was to stab himself, to be given him. then came rodmar, who in these busy and restless days had been forgotten by all, tottering on two sticks hither from the house, led by two of his men and followed by another man carrying a chair. he was not dressed as a chieftain. looking untidy, as he had just got out of bed, in clothes which he had not changed for a long time, and with his grey locks floating freely in the wind, came rodmar, staring stiffly and blankly with his blind eyes. rodmar had had a bad time in his darkness and loneliness since orn's death. he had hoped that death would come and fetch him before the barrow over orn had been finished. he would so gladly share the barrow with him, and follow him on his journey. it was impossible to remain behind now that his only friend had departed. the solitude became intense and oppressive around him, and the pain of his darkness was doubled. at last he took the resolve to follow his elder kinsman in death, as he had always followed him in life. rodmar crawled over the gunwale on his crooked legs and groped his way forward to the opening of the burial chamber. then he turned and spoke to the air. "is there wine on board?" he asked in an impatient and peremptory tone. leif sprang on board and led his father from barrel to barrel so that he could feel them with his own hands. rodmar shook the barrels to see whether they were full, and sniffed them distrustfully. he chose one of them, and demanded to have one hoop knocked off. this was done. afterwards he asked that the tool for opening it should remain with him and be close to his hand. he was also allowed to retain the tool. his seat was fixed in its place, and rodmar sat down with a long sigh of relief, as it were. on one side of him he had an open barrel of red wine, on the other a horn filled to the brim, standing on a little table, which had been quickly brought to the place. rodmar borrowed leif's sword, and, baring his breast with fumbling fingers, cut on it with his own hand the sign of the hammer. then he said farewell to ingolf and the others standing round, and in a slightly morose and curt tone gave leif his last blessing. then the opening to the burial chamber was closed up. rodmar sat, as long as they could see him, motionless on his chair. he had secured orn's society for ever. he was prepared for anything that might come. a man should be able both to live and die with a light heart. he had drink for the journey, and there is also wine in valhalla. ingolf killed with his own hand an ox that was laid on an oak-plank by the side of the kitchen utensils. its mouth was held open with a wooden gag and turned towards the south. he also slew with his own hand four horses, two dogs, and a swine. the swine was laid by the side of the box; the other animals were taken to the fore-part of the ship. the serf who was to have accompanied orn was now spared, as orn had better company. stones were heaped over the ship and all its contents, and then the barrow was hastily filled up. this closed the funeral ceremonies. orn and rodmar had departed to odin. xii it soon became evident to ingolf that on that spring day he had not buried orn only. he had also interred with his father his home-feeling, his peace and confidence in this region of his childhood and youth. already, when on the first morning after the burial he stepped out of the house and saw his father's mighty barrow lift its dome in the landscape, it struck him all at once that the district had assumed an alien aspect. the confidence in the contours and colours, which has its root in the child's free look and strong, unconscious sense of belonging to the spot where he has grown up, was gone. the landscape had suddenly lost its light in his eyes. he felt thrust out and lonely. it was not here that he should live his life. hitherto it had not been really clear to him what a profound change his life would undergo because of haasten's sentence. the fact that he was now homeless had, as it were, not yet broken on him in its full extent. now he saw suddenly what haasten's sentence really implied--a complete alteration of his whole life. first, years perhaps must be spent in search and insecurity. and then a battle for life and death with inner and outer powers, in order to gain home-feeling and home-rights in a foreign land. ingolf felt from his own experience that the race which has not its own soil to grow in is doomed to misfortune and ruin. the possession of land stamps the race. the man who could be sentenced to lose his possessions was exiled from the earth--this was what ingolf felt now. such a man must gain earth's favour anew by his honest will to live in peace on earth's fruits. ingolf's hitherto unconscious instinct of opposition to force of all kinds was now suddenly revealed to him. that which had now happened to him was not undeserved, even if the blame for the outer cause of the misfortune could not be imputed either to him or to leif. he had continued to ravage foreign lands and to pillage people with whom he had not the least quarrel. from a kind of secret cowardice he had suppressed the unwillingness he had felt in doing so, as unworthy of a man and a viking. but now he saw that law and right extend beyond the borders of one's own country. they are valid wherever there is land and sea. the man who aims at living by force and pillage, not only sins against the law which he carries within him, but also against the earth--the sacred earth, which by the grace of the gods is so luxuriant and fruitful that every year it is ready to fill the peaceful barns. as long as the ases had still reigned undisputed there was peace in their dwellings. the ases had been driven to conflict and war by the dark powers who were responsible for all disturbance. thus all disturbance and violence came from the evil power. ingolf vowed to himself that from that day he would never lift a weapon against any man except to protect his own and his family's life and property. that resolve somewhat soothed the disquiet and restlessness which had seized him when he became conscious of his homelessness, and suddenly felt himself exiled from the kindness of the earth. the bright ases would still grant his family a home and prosperity when they saw his honest purpose and clean struggle. the earth would yet take him into favour again when he no longer defiled it with blood and violence, would fulfill his most sacred, yes, his only wish, that his family-tree might be leafy and strong-stemmed. since fate had granted him hallveig as a wife, it could scarcely intend to exclude him from the earth. ingolf thought much of the far and foreign land away in the west which he was to travel to. was it there that his family's cradle for the future should be? was it there that the pillars of his high-seat should consecrate the earth for him? he dared not believe it yet. neither did he dare to go to the gods and ask them. he himself had to seek his future home. he must win again what had been lost here by his own fault. he wished to commit himself to the power of the sky and sea without first seeking instruction from the gods. he would match his own strength and will against storm and sea as a pledge and sign. he would not beg; he would gain by fighting the favour of fate and of the gods. now that his father was dead, he was himself the eldest and chief of the family. the responsibility for the honour of the dead, and the honour and prosperity of the unborn, rested principally on him. for now he alone wore the family bracelet, and now the high-seat was also his. book iii i ingolf and leif equipped themselves in great haste for their journey to seek the land which raven-floke had last visited, and which he had given the name of iceland. they wished to be there as early in the year as possible, in order to be the better able to explore the distant and unknown island. therefore there was no time to be lost. the first thing they did was to acquire a trading vessel, a strong sea-ship, in exchange for two of their smallest ships, which, in all probability, they would not want to use again. a trading vessel was just what they now needed. in the conflict they were proceeding to, there was no use for small, light battleships. their new vessel was certainly neither little nor light. it was a regular ox to look at. high and broad, clumsy and solid, it lay, and the movements of the water only made it rock sluggishly. by the side of the long, slim, low-decked dragon-ships, it was seen to great disadvantage. leif laughed at it, called it his rock and his old woman's boat, said that it had a stomach like an old cow, and expressed his fixed opinion that it certainly cherished secret designs of going to the bottom at the first opportunity. but leif did it great injustice. the vessel was good enough for its purpose, even if it was a little slow in turning and no beauty to look at. it had a half-deck at prow and stern and a small side-deck along the gunwales. the rest of it was one large hold, in the midst of which towered a great, solid, strongly supported mast. it was exclusively built for the purpose of long trade-journeys, and therefore quite excellently suited for such an expedition in which the chief object was to convey as much as possible. there were but a few banks of oars fore and aft; one might as well try to row a rock over the sea. it was not adapted to be propelled by slender oars. the oars were only there to turn it and to facilitate going on shore. it was to sail, not to be rowed. therefore it was entirely dependent on wind and weather. but, on the other hand, it took the wind and weather with a composure and immovability which came near to justifying its nickname of a "rock." it only had one enemy--lack of wind. it certainly did not dance on the billows like a dragon-ship. it was too contemptuous of the unstable element around it, whose humours it only yielded to when compelled, and then as little as possible. it entered into no brotherly alliance with the wind. _that_ it took into its service and allowed to further its object. such was the new ship, inspiring confidence in a high degree and independent, both in form and behaviour--free from all kinds of levity. storm and sea were its--certainly often somewhat wayward--servants, but not its masters. hallveig took an eager part in the loading of the vessel and in all preparations for the journey, and showed ingolf in numberless little ways that she had no intention of remaining at home. when ingolf was aware of it, it seemed to him that he had all along known that hallveig was like that. and yet it gave his happiness an increased fullness and weight. without inquiries of any kind, with a silent agreement, as though it were a matter of course, hallveig prepared to follow him always and everywhere, to belong to him and to be near him. for helga, who already went about with a hidden foreboding of coming separation in her mind, the spring suddenly became really spring when she saw hallveig's preparations. if hallveig could travel with them, so could she. of herself, helga would never have hit upon so bold an idea, though not from want of courage. her courage and readiness to sacrifice herself where leif was concerned were boundless. her backwardness was from an inherited fear of causing trouble and being inconvenient, and a deep anxiety not to displease leif in any thing great or small. helga wept for gladness when it was decided that she should also go with them. she did not often weep in the sight of others. her weeping made leif quiet and thoughtful. he guessed that he often, for the most part through thoughtlessness, caused helga grief which she did not show. for some time his tenderness towards her knew no bounds, and helga was happier than she had been for a long time. hallveig and helga had been at first somewhat shy of each other. helga was in her own way independent enough. she certainly had a will, and knew in every case what she wanted. but hallveig's whole resolute way of behaving and acting alarmed her a little. it took her some time to understand that hallveig was far from being inconsiderate and selfish, that, on the contrary, she had a recklessness and warmth in her devotion which was apparent in each of her words and deeds in such a decisive way that to superficial observation it might look like want of consideration and self-will. yes, in her devotion hallveig was certainly reckless. every one could easily see that she loved ingolf and belonged to him with body and soul. the quiet and apparently cold hallveig displayed a peculiar latent warmth and energy in all that she undertook. she did not lavish smiles and caresses; that was not her nature. no one had heard her speak tenderly or lovingly to ingolf. but out of all her actions shone love and tender solicitude. an invisible fire burned around the apparently cold-natured woman. when helga first became convinced that she had at the beginning mistaken her sister-in-law and done her injustice in her heart, a specially warm devotion for hallveig broke forth in her soul. and from the moment that hallveig saw that the reserve helga had hitherto displayed towards her had been a veil she had covered herself with in the presence of a stranger, she embraced her also with the latent warmth of her nature. hallveig showed helga that outside the house also a woman may be a benefit and do good service. even when it was a question of loading a ship for a long journey there were many things a woman could help and participate in. hallveig, who was never at ease when ingolf was occupied with the ship, from this time always took helga with her when she went down to it. she had an amusing way of walking, helga thought. she took long, resolute, manly strides, and her legs were obviously legs under her skirts. helga found it difficult to follow her when she was in a hurry, as she almost always unconsciously was. hallveig examined even the smallest details that concerned the loading of the ship, with her husband and leif, and did so in a matter-of-course tone which aroused helga's astonishment and admiration. in everything she said, hallveig showed her practical sense. she did not hesitate either to give help where it was needed. her help and advice were gladly welcomed. her advice was advice and not child's prattle. it was nearly always followed. hallveig had a peculiar rapid way of surveying matters. this was the best place for this, and for that. she demanded that everything which might be needed on the voyage should be as easily accessible as possible. ingolf and leif had never given a thought to that. they only thought of packing things so that they fitted in, took the least possible room, and were so distributed according to weight and size that the ship might lie on the water as level as possible. now hallveig showed them that with a little reflection all these objects might be excellently combined. hallveig's and helga's presence and hearty participation in the work--for helga also quickly began to use both eyes and hands--put ingolf and leif in high spirits, which helped them over many difficulties and trifling annoyances. the vessel was loaded amid much merriment. corn in chests, dried fish in great bundles, butter in small barrels, and boxes of dried flesh and salt meat, beer and wine in barrels--a whole year's provision of food and drink--were brought on board and packed carefully in the great hold. but the vessel's stomach had to find space for much more. small compartments had to be made for the animals which were to be taken with them. a cow and a pair of goats; they could not be entirely without milk. there was also an ox to be slaughtered, and a bull-calf to be company for the cow through the winter and grow large and fat and ready to be slaughtered in the spring. a sow with small pigs was also useful to have with them, together with some sheep, and a couple of horses were simply indispensable. and, at any rate, there was room for a hut for hallveig and helga. the hut was hallveig's idea. she did not wish only to be with them; she wished to live on board and to be comfortable. leif jumped like a boy with delight when hallveig put forward her proposal about the hut. from that day not even the smallest thing seemed to him quite right till hallveig had expressed her satisfaction with it. he would rather have hallveig's help in counsel and action than that of most men, he declared decisively. and he was absolutely resolved to teach her to swing an ax and to hurl a spear. hallveig did not often laugh, but she had to laugh sometimes at leif. there was the same completeness and power in hallveig's laughter as in all the rest of her character and behaviour. when hallveig laughed, there was something to laugh at. she could never be imagined laughing at any one or anything she did not like. so these spring days passed. liveliness and activity reigned everywhere. this journey to a foreign land, which at the beginning seemed so difficult to carry into effect, so improbable and unrealizable, became through all these preparations imminent and a matter of course for all those who took part in it. here ingolf now stood in the smithy and forged scythes to cut grass in a land which he had never seen and really only heard a tale about. who was naddod the viking? who was gardar svavarsson? who was raven-floke? or thorolf smor? could one be sure they had not imagined that land over there? or that others had imagined _them_ and the whole affair? one might be foolish to believe it, but he was going to get a sight of it. and while ingolf forged scythes to cut grass in that legendary land of the west, and made spades to dig in its soil, that fact became firmly fixed in his mind. in spite of all doubt, the land lay and actually existed over there in the sea. and, in fact, it became more than real to him. it lay there and spoke secretly to his soul; it waited for him almost like a friend. and thus it seemed at last to have a claim on him, which he could not disregard. for the land lay there and expected to be taken in possession, as is the right of every land. such and similar thoughts filled ingolf. and yet he did not guess that while he stood there in his smithy and forged scythes and prepared implements with which to till the new land's soil, the land took _him_ in possession by help of the secret power a land possesses--never again to let him go. ingolf and leif had to prepare themselves to build winter dwellings and to store hay for their animals, therefore they took implements with them, without considering what power the earth and implements together have over a man's soul. they did not guess that only homeless men wander their free ways, which are no ways, or rather that secret earth-powers guide all other steps. ingolf and leif provided themselves with fishing-gear and nets for catching birds. they also took a pair of boats. when the boat was loaded and everything else was in order for the journey, ingolf concluded his preparations with a great sacrificial feast, at which he made abundant offerings to the gods, in order that they should grant him and his fellow-travellers good fortune and happiness on the voyage. nevertheless, the days went by without the commencement of the hoped-for sailing weather. these days of waiting were hard for leif to bear. he became morose. any kind of waiting was the worst thing leif knew. it made his hasty and adventurous spirit full of discontent. he cursed the vessel, called it a wretched old woman's bath, and invented even worse names for it. ingolf took the matter quietly. certainly he had already made his offerings to the gods, and copiously. but it was a special voyage they were to make--the gods were to protect them, and on wide and strange ways. he therefore brought fresh offerings, and also secretly gave odin and njord private gifts, besides vowing yet greater ones if they would prosper his journey there and back and on the way. this expedient helped. there came a day with splendid sailing weather--a sunshiny day full of light and warm wind. before midday all was ready--the animals brought on board, the crew in their places (ingolf and leif took only the smallest possible crew with them), and the vessel cleared for sailing. under a heavily bellying sail it glided out between the skerries. hallveig and helga stood on the poop by their husbands and watched the shores glide past on either side. hallveig was quiet in mind, and felt only glad at the fine day and the journey. sea and land were all the same to her, if only she had ingolf. here they were sailing out to find a new land, to seek a new home. she was ready with all her soul to remain fixed in the spot on the earth which ingolf might choose for them, no matter where it might be. but with helga it was otherwise. she was calm and quiet enough, but her calm was, as so often on other occasions, only outward. the strong scent of the pines from the spruceand fir-clad islands they were sailing by, roused a profound longing in her soul. this was the place where she was at home. there in the house down there by the shore, which seen from the fjord here looked so strange. there seemed to be a sob in helga's soul. she, the faithful, had only one home. she did not at all wish to turn or to remain behind, for she stood here by leif's side. but she felt as though her heart were being split asunder and her soul divided. for this place which she now left, to return to it next spring only for a time, had shared with her happiness and solitude. there was hardly a stone in the house which she had not patted with her hand and made her confidant in joy or sorrow. she was bound to the house and the surroundings of her childhood with ties which could not be loosed or cut asunder. she knew with certainty that she would always feel strange and homeless outside dalsfjord. she reproached herself for this feeling--for she had leif--but she could not overcome it. all she could do was to vow to herself never to betray it. thus helga took a secret with the scent of the pine trees from the islands. ii ingolf and leif sailed by the guidance of the sun and the stars, and steered directly westward. for the first two days and nights a steady east wind filled the square sail and carried them steadily forwards. there were high spirits and much excited expectation on board. indeed, it seemed as though the wind had been sent by odin with the sole purpose of furthering their journey. but just as they had settled down in confidence that they were under the god's special protection the weather began to shift and change. now it seemed, for the most part, as if one or another of the divinities had set himself fiercely against them, or as if odin had suddenly become busy elsewhere. the wind took the wrong direction, and seemed uninterruptedly occupied in settling private accounts with the towering waves of the sea. in the course of two days and nights it had gone several times round the horizon and varied through all degrees of strength from a moderate calm to what vikings would mildly call a storm. and then all of a sudden it disappeared. they looked longingly for it--east, west, south, and north--for though they had cursed its vagaries heartily enough, it was still preferable to a dead calm. but it was absent, and remained absent. unreliable as it had always been, it had gone off to other regions, and left them alone here in the midst of the sea. there lay the vessel, pitching lazily, and making no way at all. where they were no one knew, and there was nothing to show them. whither the wind had carried them, while it was still with them and blew alternately from all points of the compass, they could not find out. the sun and stars had only rarely been visible. the spirits of all on board were rapidly sinking. matters were not improved when, after several days and nights of calm, there came gliding a cunning, silent bank of fog and swallowed them up, blotted them out from the eyes of heaven, swept all sight of sea and sky out of the world, and left the vessel lying, rocking lonelily, forgotten by all good powers on a strange sea. there they lay while the days came and went--grey days which could only make marks on ingolf's time-stick. for even though ingolf was displeased enough with these days he kept a steady count of them, marked each of them off on his stick with the little notch that was their due, and, for the rest, execrated them in silence. leif had given up all hope now; morose and aggrieved, he surrendered himself to the power of chance. he sat most of the days on the gunwale with his legs dangling outside, singing from sheer despair. only now and then he interrupted his song to hurl a violent succession of sanguinary curses in a penetrating, angry voice into the damp, foggy air. with every day that passed, ingolf became more silent and introspective. what was the obstacle in their way? were the gods so much opposed to this journey that they were absolutely determined to prevent it? he did not like being questioned regarding the number of days he had marked off. the days were quite bad enough without making them more by talking about them. and at last he flatly refused to answer questions regarding the number of the days. for long periods he would sit silent looking at his stick, forgetting to mark the days, with his mind full of inward longing and powerful exorcisms. he heard that the crew were talking about drawing lots for a sacrifice. ingolf was not narrow-minded. but he remembered the offerings which before his journey he had made to odin, as well as the vows he had made of further offerings if the journey prospered. odin had often fulfilled his wishes for less sacrifices than those. he really did not understand what was the matter with odin this time. hallveig and helga were the only ones on board who, to some extent, kept up their spirits. to hallveig it seemed quite natural; they were very well off, and the fog and the calm must some time come to an end. every morning she awoke with the firm conviction that that day the fog would lift. helga, on the other hand, had to pull herself together, in order not to be infected by the depression of the rest. yet she was accustomed to do this, and on this occasion she had, besides, hallveig's good-humour to support her. but their good temper seemed almost to put the crew into a still worse humour. even ingolf--not to speak of leif--could sometimes be impatient at their unconcern. and one day, in answer to a cheerful remark of hallveig's, he very curtly drew her attention to the fact that the water-casks were seriously near becoming empty. hallveig looked at him steadily and a little astonished. ingolf had never before seen that look in her eyes. she went to her hut without saying anything more. ingolf looked round for helga. she stood by the gunwale, playing with leif's hair. when ingolf had thus ascertained that hallveig was alone in the hut, he followed her into it. hallveig was sitting and looking before her when he came. she did not meet his glance as usual, but remained sitting and staring into space with a troubled expression on her serious face. ingolf stopped before her and laid his hand on her shoulder. then hallveig looked up at him. "it can do no good to give up," she said seriously; "that will not make things better. have you not noticed how the men follow you with their eyes, and are disturbed by your looks? there is nothing left us, ingolf, but to take things as they come. the fog may lift some time. and since it has not rained for a long time, it may soon rain, so that we can again have the water-casks filled. and we have also beer and wine on board, so that we can get along for some time." "what makes me uneasy," answered ingolf, "is that we seem to be pursued by misfortune, and that i don't know at all where we are. it might almost seem as if the gods had forgotten us, or as if we had fallen under their displeasure. if the fog and the calm continue, and there is no rain for some time, it will soon be all over with us. you and helga ought never to have been taken with us on this journey. i have also heard that the crew are beginning to talk among themselves of casting lots. perhaps a sacrifice will be necessary." hallveig was silent for a long time. at last she sighed deeply and said: "i have never been able properly to understand how the gods can desire human sacrifices. perhaps, however, i would have agreed on this occasion if i was quite sure that the lot would not fall on you. but i cannot rely on the gods so absolutely. let us rather wait awhile, ingolf." ingolf left her with the firm resolve henceforth to alter his outward demeanour. he saw that the first and foremost thing was his duty and obligation to exhibit to the crew a calm and untroubled face, be the outlook never so hopeless. the first man he met he greeted with a cheerful remark, and after that day he was altogether more lively and communicative. when the crew saw what an alteration had taken place in ingolf, they thought in themselves that he must in some way or another have received a token from the gods. their desire for a sacrifice and drawing of lots ceased. ingolf's altered demeanour inspired them with hope and courage. but the days went on, and one day the supply of drinking water ran out. during the night following the day when the last scoop of water had been equally divided among all on board, ingolf did not sleep. and he could easily see that hallveig lay awake by his side. but they did not talk. ingolf was more and more convinced that the gods had for ever withdrawn their favour from him. perhaps it was their intention to let him miserably perish here at sea. would they not even grant him to die on land? could they not even spare a place for a funeral mound for him and his? ingolf reproached himself severely that he had involved hallveig in his own and his race's ill-luck. towards morning they began at last to talk together in a whisper. ingolf opened his whole mind to hallveig, and confided to her his most secret thoughts and anxieties. hallveig said that she had married him because she intended to share his fortunes whether they were good or bad. she feared neither life, nor death, nor the displeasure of the gods, if only she had him. while they were still lying there and whispering together, leif stood suddenly in the doorway and shouted. he had kept watch during the night, and had good news to tell. the fog was gone and the wind was gradually rising. he had given orders to hoist the sail, and now only wished to ask whither they should sail, for he did not know. the sky was overclouded all the time, and the sun could not be seen. would ingolf come and see if _he_, perhaps, could scent out the right direction? ingolf was on his legs in an instant. all anxiety and trouble was blown away from his soul by the first puff of wind. he took counsel with his deepest instincts, and found a direction to sail in. the wind was rather slack at first, but then it had got out of the habit of blowing. in the course of the day it freshened to splendid sailing weather. there were birds on the water; they must be near some land. towards evening they caught a glimpse of a dark streak ahead, which showed distinctly against the fog-banks on the horizon. there rose a shout on board: "land in sight!" then helga wept. no one was astonished at it. some of the men also felt a flutter at their hearts this time on sighting land again. but hallveig stood quiet and undisturbed, staring at the dark streak ahead. what sort of land was it? were they already there? that night no one thought of seeking sleep or rest. early in the morning they were among some precipitous green islands which were divided by narrow straits with strong currents. from the vessel they could here and there catch sight of smoke from houses and huts. this, then, was an inhabited land, and not the one they sought. one of the old men on board had been here before, and was able to inform them that these were the faroe isles. that reassured ingolf; it meant they had not come out of their course. there was great joy on board. here they could go on shore, feel firm ground under their feet, and provide themselves with water. there were some among the crew who ventured to hint that the voyage had lasted long enough, but a look from ingolf was enough to reduce them to silence. all depression and doubt had been swept out of his mind along with the fog. the brothers now had all tubs, buckets, together with the empty barrels and casks which were on board, filled with water from a spring on the coast. when that had been seen to, they were so fortunate as to get good weather with a stiff breeze. it was again possible to sail by the sun and stars, straight to the west. they left the faroe isles astern and made for the open sea. the weather remained fine, with a light breeze blowing. the wind was certainly somewhat capricious both as regards force and direction. but it blew all the time, and that was what was needed. only seldom could the vessel hold on a straight course; they were obliged to tack, and so the way became somewhat uncertain. still they made progress. on the seventh day after leaving the faroes they at last sighted land. a large and wide-stretching land, crowned by white glaciers behind blue mountains, and land with broad, open fjords and bright streams which wound down green mountain-sides, rose from the sea before their wondering eyes. this must be the land they sought. here then it lay, solitary and uninhabited, far away in the uttermost part of the sea. it lay silent and patient, expecting them. the land greeted them with sunshine and summer and blue mountains. majestic it lay there, with skyward towering promontories and broad mouths of fjords which, like open arms, offered them a royal welcome. no other land had ever received them with such a festal and solemn greeting as this gave them. a strange silence spread on board the vessel. it was early in the morning that they sailed into a fjord full of swans. the blue surface of the fjord was completely covered with these white birds, which, with proudly lifted necks and in great flocks, swam to one side as the ship glided on. many other birds swam among them--variegated eider-ducks and handsome water-fowl. but one did not notice them because of the white swans. hallveig named the fjord svanefjord. the brothers had chosen this fjord because it was protected by a little group of islands which might make it more secure as a winter haven than the open fjords. they tacked a little to and fro, using a corner of their sail, and surveyed the land. bare mountains rose on either hand. on the north was a strip of fertile land along the fjord; on the east side the waves broke freely at the base of the mountain. the land at the end of the fjord seemed fertile and inviting, but they could not find a landing-place which suited them. ingolf proposed that they should inspect a little more closely the nearest fjord south of the one they were in. he had seen from the ship that there lay a broad fjord sheltered by a small, low group of islands. they tacked past a promontory and entered the other fjord. it was both broader and deeper than the one they had just come from, but was likewise full of swans! hallveig laughed with gladness when she saw it. this fjord also must be called "svanefjord," she declared. they might be called north and south. she did not know there were so many swans to be found in the world. "birds love this land," she said to herself. helga stood by her side. she compelled herself to smile and share hallveig's gladness, but her heart was full of pain, for the beautiful land she saw here and which hallveig already seemed to love, could never be _hers_. she saw the swans, the mountains, and the green dales. but in her heart there was no room for anything but a quiet, slightly strange emotion. the scent of the pines from the islands at home was too keen in her memory. ingolf and leif stood silent and in a solemn mood, side by side; they looked at the land and did not say a word. they had stood thus a long time when ingolf turned to his brother and said quietly: "what do you think of the land, leif?" "it is a big land and seems a good one," answered leif, in a low voice. "if only most of it was not barren mountain," said ingolf, but his voice lacked the reservation which his words expressed. "i think we might soon feel at home among these mountains," said leif. "it does not look unfriendly," ingolf admitted. in his inmost heart he was deeply moved. the strength and sternness of the mountains filled his mind with a peculiar excitement. among these mountains the green dales and fertile stretches of land, which he caught a glimpse of at the end of the fjord, assumed a doubly home-like aspect. suddenly leif awoke from his long reflection and silent contemplation. abruptly and unexpectedly, as always, a resolve had been born in his mind, and aroused him. "it is all the same to me what sort of a land it is--i shall settle here," he declared in an excited tone. "since i have come, i think it would disappoint the land if i left it again. and i will not disappoint this land, which lies here so ready to receive me--so much is certain." ingolf was silent. leif had given expression to his own thoughts. he felt so convinced at this moment that here it was his lot to settle and remain. but this feeling was followed in his mind by a peculiar anxiety which almost made him sorry. was it a good land--a land where one could peacefully build and settle, and where his family could flourish in happiness and prosperity? not himself alone, but his children and children's children should dwell here, if he determined to settle himself in the place. the brothers chose a landing-place on the north side of the fjord, and steered thither. it was with strange feelings that they set foot on this new land, which from time immemorial had lain here behind the sea and the distance, alone with its birds. on sea and land, everywhere the birds swarmed. the questioning whistle of the golden plover and the rippling quaver of the curlew were the first sounds that greeted them as they trod the stones of the shore. ingolf and leif immediately set the crew to work to bring the animals on land and to unload the vessel. they themselves proceeded to pitch their tents, after having selected a spot with thick green grass, well protected from wind and weather by a projection of rock, and close to the brink of a small, clear stream. the kitchen utensils were brought up, and a fire kindled. the shore was covered with driftwood, so that there was plenty of fuel. pots containing salted flesh were hung up; at last they got hot meat again. they could not remember that any meat had tasted so good as this hot salt flesh after the dried fish, preserved flesh, and hard and finally mouldy bread they had had on the sea voyage. they baked bread, too, and ate it warm from the embers. it was splendid to have soft bread between their teeth again. round them the animals dispersed, grazing eagerly over the fertile pastures. it was a pleasure to see the satisfaction with which they swallowed the green grass. towards evening the vessel was so far unloaded that it could be brought ashore and rolled on logs over the ground. they had chosen a little cleft in the rocks for it to lie in shelter during the winter. by the evening, when the men had crept into their skin bags and had lain down to sleep, ingolf and leif, hallveig and helga, still sat round the remains of the fire, but did not think of sleep. they sat silent, close to one another, and did not talk. the night was bright and still, and dew was falling. the fire gleamed palely in the night. red ember-snakes writhed at the bottom of it. the fjord spread a shining surface, dotted white with sleeping swans. there was a peace and stillness over the land which filled their minds with a peculiar awe and sense of expectation. iii the summer they spent in south svanefjord was, for the brothers and their wives, an unbroken succession of beautiful days. there was a peculiar atmosphere of peace and prosperity about the lonely settlement, where the fire burnt day and night under the cliff behind the tents, while on a rising ground close at hand their winter dwelling rose slowly from the ground. it was a house sixty feet in length, thirty in breadth, which the brothers were having built--a house with thick turf walls for a protection against the cold of winter, and adapted to be partitioned according to their needs when they had first roofed it in. while their men worked at the dwelling and gathered in hay as winter fodder for the cattle, ingolf and leif let the days come and go. and whether they were sunny days or the fog hung in grey, soft, gliding belts down to the middle of the mountain-sides, all the days had a peculiar solemn solitariness and charm about them. the land they had come to was after leif's heart. it made quite a different impression on him to any other land he had visited. the sense of power that brooded over it, and the almost palpable solitude, swallowed up the unrest of his mind and gave him peace. the mountains' strongly marked and infinitely varied shapes, a little copse hidden among grey cliffs, close up to a glacier, the heavily pouring rivers in deep ravines, the fjords where the swans swam among other fowls like royal dragon-ships among peaceful freighters, a seal bathing in the sun on a rock by the fjord, not wise enough to be afraid of men, the countless birds' nests with the snugly hidden, different-coloured eggs one came across everywhere, and then the soft, downy young ones hopping about between little hillocks--all filled his soul with a sense of wonder and calm hitherto unknown. ingolf and leif made little excursions on their horses in the neighbourhood. they soon ascertained that the fjords north of the svanefjords were very poor in pasture-land; the mountains descended for the most part steeply to the sea, while the land, on the other hand, seemed to become better the farther southward they went. when they had made that discovery they equipped themselves for a journey of some days in order to examine the land south of the svanefjords more closely. over a low, stony stretch of tableland they came to another inlocked fjord which was much broader than even the broad south svanefjord. the greater part of the upland of this fjord was, however, covered with gravel and clay. quite outside by the sea was a stretch of luxuriant meadow, and here and there stood rock-islets amid the sand, round which there were large green pastures. farther up, right under the mountains, there was also pasture-land, and there they found the largest and most luxuriant wood they had yet seen. they came to a river with many rapidly flowing courses which streamed with clay-coloured, turbid water over a sandy and unsafe bottom. but they had caught sight of some sharp mountain-peaks far to the south-west, and since it could scarcely be difficult to cross the ravines between them, they resolved to proceed thither and see what was to be found on the other side. it was generally the case with this land, that one was not satisfied till one had seen what there was on the other side of all the mountains which came in view. they passed with some difficulty the dangerous river-current, and rode farther along high, steep mountain declivities striped with many-coloured gravel. they found a ravine between the mountain-peaks, and when they had reached the other side of the mountains, there opened on them, while they rode along the edge of the steep descents which led down to the lowland, a view, the like of which they had never seen. a fjord dotted with small green islands, wide-stretching meadows and pastures intersected by gleaming watercourses, a wide bluish ring of mountains which locked in the luxuriant region with a mighty curve, and behind all this in the south and west, glaciers--an immense, slightly arched stretch of sparkling snow with white offshoots to all ravines. it was on a clear, sunny day at noon that they stood there and surveyed this region, which arrested their minds with a sense of solemn wonder and irresistible fascination such as no view had ever done before. in his rapture, leif laid his hand upon ingolf's shoulder and pressed it; he had tears in his eyes, and his large mouth quivered. they had dismounted from their horses and stood silent for a long time. and when they mounted again to examine the district further, they rode on in silence. from that hour they were icelanders; the land was theirs, and they belonged to it. in silence the compact was finally and irrevocably solemnized. when they came back from their trip, hallveig and helga had an important and, as they themselves thought, serious piece of news to tell them. they had one day climbed up the green ascent above the encampment, quite up to the base of the cliffs, in order to get a wider view over the fjord and the district. and just as they sat and contemplated the low group of islands and a little island beyond it, they saw smoke rising from the island. it had been a perfectly calm and clear day; there could be no doubt that they had seen correctly. they had not said anything to the men, and they now only wished to ask ingolf and leif to be careful, and not to go about any more alone. ingolf and leif immediately put the larger of the two boats in the water, called some of their men, and bade them take their weapons with them. they wished to find out what kind of people they had for neighbours. it was in vain that hallveig and helga begged and prayed them not to insist on going out, and least of all in a little rowing-boat. the brothers were too resolved on finding out more about the smoke from the island. in answer to their wives they objected that the ship was too unwieldy, and was, moreover, not a ship of war. there was scarcely any chance of fighting; if there were people on the island, they were probably some peaceful, starving, shipwrecked men, whose vessel had been driven to sea and lost. for the rest, they promised to be careful, but they were resolved to go out to the island that day. so they rowed out thither. even when they had got quite close to it, they could see no sign that it was inhabited. they rowed round it, and still saw no inhabitants or buildings. they determined to land, and chose a creek on the south side of the island. as soon as they had landed, they saw a wretched little boat, in which they would hardly have trusted themselves to cross a fjord, hidden among the rocks. they went farther up on the island, and found a hut well concealed in a hollow. as they approached, a man came forth in a splendid cloak and head-dress, with a staff in his hands, and followed by some lean shapes black with dirt, and meanly clad. they came out from the hut, but remained standing before the door, without going towards them. they had seen this kind of people before, and immediately perceived that they had what were called irish monks before them. both leif and ingolf, as well as several of their men, knew some irish, and therefore went nearer in order to hear a little why these people dwelt here on a desert island. the monks, one of whom carried a cup of water, evidently did not wish them to come too near them or their dwelling. the sworn brothers remained standing at some distance and questioned them. the monks answered their questions reluctantly, but they gathered from them that they had lived here for several years, that they had long since heard reports of this land, and that other monks before them had journeyed to seek it out. they had not seen any of them, but the land was wide, and they had remained here on the island where they had first landed. this information ingolf at last extracted from the monks, with many questions answered, for the most part, in monosyllables. when the brothers could not think of anything more to ask them, and were going down to their boat again, the man with the head-dress, cloak, and staff stopped them with a question. "why had they come hither?" ingolf told them that they had come here to look at the land, and intended to settle here. his words aroused a movement and disturbance among the monks, and their leader gave him to understand plainly that the land was sanctified and reserved by god for christian men; no heathen had ever settled here, nor ever could. every kind of misfortune would strike them if they migrated hither, unless they first let themselves be baptized and went over to the christian faith. ingolf answered them quietly that they must grant him that it would ill become him to be less faithful to his gods than they were to theirs. the monk answered that heathen did not trust in gods but in idols. ingolf answered that the ases had hitherto protected him and his family. then bidding them farewell, he went off, followed by leif and his men. they saw the monks sprinkling with water the places where they had trod. then ingolf smiled and leif laughed aloud. the monks sprinkled even the waves which had licked the heathen's boat. when ingolf and leif returned, they were able to quiet hallveig and helga with the news that they were peaceful and harmless people who inhabited the little island. their only weapon was a little water in a cup! after that they called the island "monks' island." when the autumn came with cold and sleet the sworn brothers already sat warm in their turf-house. before the dwelling ingolf had caused to be built a smaller edifice, where he set up small, roughly carved wooden images of odin and thor. and when the time for the autumn sacrificial feast was come, he offered them an ox (they must share the offering as best they could), and had a little feast. leif held aloof from all things of that sort. during the twenty-four hours of the feast, he went out catching birds by day and slept quietly in his bed by night. in his lonely wanderings the brown leaves of the autumn rustled round his feet and spoke to him. leif did not think much about catching birds. he enjoyed being alone with the mountains and the blue sky. wherever he met a family of grouse who held faithfully together he let them go. he only aimed at solitary birds, caught them round the neck with a practised fling of his light line, and drew them to himself with one sweep through the air. ingolf's sacrificial feast and all his devotion to the gods was a continually recurring trial to leif's brotherly feeling. he could not reconcile himself to ingolf's constant and devoted adherence to the worship of these ugly wooden idols. time after time he was obliged, in order to control his rising displeasure, to remind himself that ingolf never interfered in his beliefs and thoughts concerning the gods, and therefore had a right to expect the same from him. but in his heart leif scorned and despised ingolf's gods, and it was inevitable that some of this violent antipathy should sometimes glance on his brother. singularly enough, on the other hand, leif did not take it at all ill that helga held fast to her own and her fathers' faith, without its being clear to him that he possessed in that, as it were, a proof of her steadfastness. he did not at all wish that helga should forsake her gods to follow him in his want of faith and contempt for them. the day that she did so would have given a severe blow to leif's happiness. so and no otherwise was his nature. the winter came with hard frost but without much snow. the weather for ski-ing, which ingolf and leif were waiting for in order to show hallveig and helga a little of the country south of the svanefjords, did not come. their disappointment was, however, mitigated by the fact that their sheep and goats could, contrary to expectation, go out and get their food the whole of the winter, with the exception of a few stormy days. the brothers came to the conclusion that it was a land where relatively few people might possess many sheep. they also noticed that sheep and goats both in winter and summer went up to the mountains and did not remain below in the luxuriant pastures. it was evident that the grass they grazed among the stones upon the apparently barren mountains must be of peculiar strength, for the sheep's bodies remained stout and their wool white. the goats had found some holes in the mountain near the house. there they remained at night, took refuge there in bad weather, and were comfortable. in spite of the short days and long nights and the great solitude the winter proved by no means long. neither the brothers nor hallveig nor helga felt the solitude oppressive; it brought them into closer intimacy with each other in a way that no summer days could have done. they sat round the fire, busy with their little occupations, and talked cheerfully and confidentially together. ingolf and leif carved wood, hallveig and helga spun yarn and dyed it in different shades of heather-colour, made mittens and handkerchiefs, or artistically woven bands of it. in the middle of the winter hallveig gave birth to a boy, whom ingolf sprinkled with his own hand with water and named thorsten after thor, and in remembrance of his former friend, haasten, from whom fate had so painfully severed him. when hallveig had given birth to her boy, helga became extremely solitary in soul. she never could find any sign that she was with child. when no one could see her, she wept bitter tears about it, but gave no outward sign. outwardly she was uniformly cheerful and bright, and showed to each and all an untroubled demeanour. it was something she kept to herself, like the scent of the pines from the islands. spring came, with mildness in the air and vernal winds. as soon as it could be managed, the ship was launched, loaded, and made fit for sea. the sworn brothers needed as much as possible of the summer to make preparations for their migration here the next spring, to exchange those of their movable goods and the live-stock which they could not take with them for useful wares, and in general to arrange their affairs in norway before they left the country for good. all of them, except helga, left the new land, though they had only been there a year, with regret. the land had been a good friend to them, and they were loth to bid it farewell even for a short time. when they sailed away from it, it lay there so quiet and silent, gazing after them, as it were. before they departed, the migratory birds had all come back. the land lay bathed in sunshine, with cheerful bird-life on the fjord and on the shore. leif, the restless, was no more eager for journeys. he would rather have remained where he was, and not have travelled to norway at all. but even leif had to grant that the plan was impracticable. the provisions for the journey, which they had brought with them, were rapidly decreasing, and, moreover, it would be difficult for ingolf when he came back to find just the same spot in the land, dependent as he was on weather and sea. besides, leif saw clearly that helga, though she had unhesitatingly acquiesced in his wild proposal, preferred that they should travel with the others. helga was willing to sacrifice everything for leif, even the scent of the pines from the islands at home. but when she gave her brave assent to remain, her self-command failed her a little, and her lips quivered slightly. the whole winter she had looked forward with joy to the moment when she should sail between the islands to dalsfjord. like a secret treasure, she had concealed the consciousness that _that_ was in store for her, in her steadfast heart. that remained there till leif started with the others. but when he sailed away from the land, the old unrest was again awake in his soul. iv the brothers were favoured by a good wind as they crossed the sea to norway. only ten days after they had sailed out between the skerries outside the svanefjords, the vessel lay before ingolf's house in dalsfjord. when they disembarked, it was only helga who felt as though she had come home. ingolf and leif had already separated themselves in their hearts from their birthplace, and hallveig, whose home was wherever ingolf was, had never been intimately acquainted with this district. leif had already on the return journey expressed his wish to go on a viking expedition in the summer. he gave many reasons--among others, that he needed serfs. further, he alleged that it was the simplest way of obtaining goods for their journey to iceland the next spring. ingolf could arrange their affairs in dalsfjord while he was out trading for them both. leif spoke much about this important trading and about his very inconvenient want of serfs. they were dear to buy, and it was easiest to take them where one could find them. all these and more reasons were adduced by leif. but he concealed his real reason for the journey, which was that it was impossible for him to conceive how he should spend a summer at home at dalsfjord. his blood had suddenly become restless. his mind was like a bow which had been long on the strain. helga, who, as was her way, always left matters to leif, made no objection to his plan. on the contrary, she gave it her warmest assent. but now it appeared that there would be no more sunshine in the summer which would be the last she spent at home. ingolf, for his part, knew leif. and he was forced to admit that the arrangement was not a bad one. they certainly needed goods, and would obtain them most cheaply by fetching them themselves. for the rest, whatever private plans leif had in his expedition were his own affair. it was thus already decided on the way that leif should go on a viking expedition. as soon as they landed at dalsfjord, leif set to work equipping himself for his expedition. he was somewhat late in that, and had therefore to hurry his preparations as much as possible. he allowed himself leisure neither for sleep nor meals. in great haste he collected all the goods which he and ingolf had in stock, and loaded his dragon-ship with them, together with the other ship which he still had in reserve. this time he had to be content with two ships; he could not well man more, and, moreover, they had not goods for more than two. only a few days after his homecoming leif sailed out again from dalsfjord and left helga alone with the pine-tree scent from the islands. leif did not guess that the pain of separation which left in his mind only a fleeting pang, filled helga with burning anxiety and unrest, which should not vanish till she had him again. leif sailed out over the sea and let the sea-breezes, the sense of solitary independence, together with the expectation of dangers and adventures, absorb his mind. he sailed to ireland, and traded and ravaged wherever he came. this time ingolf had forgotten to exact any promises of caution from him. leif had latterly appeared to him so altered that he simply had not considered it necessary. leif was therefore completely free, unfettered by promises or considerations of any kind. and in the consciousness that this was now the last time he was on a viking expedition, be displayed a daring and exuberance in his conduct which filled his men with joy and sent several of them to odin. during the summer leif acquired, more by pillaging than by commercial genius, a very large supply of all kinds of goods, mostly valuable cloths and metals. in the course of the summer he succeeded in catching ten serfs--ten wiry, grimy men--who bore names like duftak, gerrod, skjoldbjarn, haldor, drafdrit, and the like, sour-looking men with evil eyes, but good enough as serfs, tough at rowing as they sat chained to the oars, and enduring in all kinds of work. luck, which only unwillingly forsakes the bold, followed leif wherever he went. on one occasion, towards the close of the summer, it nearly went ill with him. he had landed with his men on an apparently deserted coast, which was protected by skerries and rocky islands with strong currents between them--a place which only leif could think suitable for landing. he caused his ships, loaded with the costly booty of the summer, to be rowed in between these skerries, in order to hide them in a rocky creek, which he had selected during a solitary excursion, while he with his men went for a foray in the neighbourhood. for this expedition he needed as many of his men as possible, the object being a very large and presumably rich town. leif left the ships in the creek with only a few men to look over the chained serfs, whom he dared not allow to go free as long as he was so near their native place. with the rest of his men leif went on shore and he be-took himself to the wood. they were all full of great excitement and expectation. this was to be the last great adventure of the summer, and leif expected a booty which might perhaps make it necessary to conquer a vessel to carry it in. time would show! the wood they intended to cross covered a steep mountain-side, from the summit down to the coast, and it was traversed by deep, rocky ravines covered with bushes. leif and his men had not penetrated far into this very impassable wood when they were attacked by an armed force far superior to their own. the people of the town must have had spies out along the coast. they were not only outwardly but really prepared for their coming. leif had just shouted to his men to fight each for himself, first and foremost to get away and save the ships, when the enemy was on them with strident war-cries and loud clashing of weapons. leif had no time to see how his men fared. the people of the town had at once seen who was the leader, and since it was the leader whom it was the most important to strike, they flocked round him with lifted axes and upraised swords. leif had to sacrifice his spear to one of the two nearest attackers; the other's head he split with his ax, but next moment a swarm of howling irish were pressing on him. they did not, however, surround him, a fact which leif, who was striking doughtily about him with ax in one hand and sword in the other--his shield he had thrown away--had no time to think about. they pressed him back in between the trees. leif, who at the moment only thought that six was the smallest number he could reasonably take with him to valhalla, and was still short of two, suddenly lost his foothold. it happened so unexpectedly that his sword dropped from his hand, but with his ax he hooked himself fast to a tree-root in falling, and there he hung, swinging in the air, over the edge of a ravine. his attackers had raised a great shout of victory when he fell. they now gathered on the edge of the ravine, stood there and laughed at him, and made themselves merry at his plight. they pricked at him for amusement with their spears, while in loud tones they debated which would be the most amusing way to see him die. a proposal that they should slowly prick the life out of him gained the day. so they began to prick him in turn, each of them wishing to have his share of the pleasure. leif was in a desperate situation. he looked down at the bottom of the ravine, where there grew heather and bushes. he had no other resource than to let himself fall and see if he escaped with life. he wasted no time in reviewing the situation; he simply let go and let himself fall. at the moment he fell he perceived that men spread themselves on both sides of him, to find a way down to the ravine and to surround him there if he escaped from the fall with his life and whole limbs. the fall absorbed both his body and his thoughts. he turned two somersaults in the air and struck against something hard; there was a singing in his ears, and he fainted for a time. when he came to himself again, he was lying on his back in some high heather and staring up at the light green leaves on some scattered stunted trees. he had a distinct consciousness of danger without at once remembering where it threatened him, and grasped involuntarily after his ax and spear. he grasped in vacancy, and when he discovered that he was weaponless, the whole situation was suddenly clear to him. in an instant he was on his legs, satisfied himself that no bones were broken, picked up his helmet, and, involuntarily stooping to half his height, set off, running as hastily as his somewhat stiff limbs allowed, into the thickest part of the wood, and took the way down to the coast. he had already run a good way when he heard men approaching, talking loudly, farther down the ravine. he halted and stood stiff and motionless. only his eyes roamed round to seek a hiding-place, but he saw nothing resembling one anywhere. a little hollow in the ground close to his feet might perhaps afford room for his body, but by no means could it conceal him. with every moment that passed, while he stood there without any chance of escape, he could more distinctly hear his heart beating. he already imagined to himself how it would be to have his entrails drawn out and to be led round a tree. but at the same instant, when he was on the point of giving up and of flying up the ravine where he was quite sure to meet other foes, his eye fell on a large flat stone. there was salvation! trembling over his whole body with excitement, he raised the stone on its edge and rolled it towards the hollow. then he lay down, wrapped his cloak round him, shrunk himself up as well as he could, and pushed the stone right over him. there he lay and heard his pursuers come tramping. from their talk he understood that they were quite sure that he still lay where he had fallen, and feared that he had broken his neck, so that all further amusement for them was over. all the same, they urged each other to have a good look for him. if they found the red-haired devil, he should be flayed alive. leif lay there under his flat stone with a corner of his cloak between his teeth. an irresistible convulsive fit of laughter seized him and shook his whole body. every moment he might be prepared for them to raise the stone; he did not know whether it covered him completely. but here he lay, and there they went, rejoicing at the idea of flaying him alive. less than that was needed to make leif merry. the men passed. their voices died away gradually farther up the ravine. leif let some moments pass, then cautiously raised the stone. after taking a good look round he set out, crouching as he ran, to the harbour. he reached the shore without seeing more enemies. he stood for a little, recovering himself in the cool air from the sea. he was tolerably sure that they would remain so keenly on the watch that he could hardly in full daylight get to his ship, if indeed he still had a ship at all! it was impossible for him to know if things had gone better with his men than with himself, or if the ships had already fallen into the enemies' hands. it was really a nice mess that he had got into! when would he see helga again? leif let his gaze wander over the fjord, and caught sight of an island with some stunted fir trees a little distance out. this island was surrounded by smaller ones, and appeared to him, at that moment, very attractive. his enemies would scarcely think of looking for him outside the borders of the land. leif did not reflect very long. he hid his cloak, helmet, and whatever might be in his way when swimming thither, piled stones up on them, and let them lie. then he flung himself into the waves. he swam on his back the first part of the way in order to be able to keep an eye on the land and to see if he was noticed. he could not see the least sign of life on shore. he reached the island safe and sound, and crawled, wet and weary, up its smooth, rocky side. he dragged himself under the shelter of a stone where he could lie and let the sun bathe him; luckily it shone brightly and warmly, in spite of the lateness of the season. he settled himself comfortably and closed his eyes. shortly afterwards he fell asleep. he awoke from uneasy dreams; the light of the setting sun fell dazzling on his face. he had, then, slept the whole day. and what sort of a coverlet was that which he had over him? closer inspection showed it to be a grey cloak of coarse material. leif looked round him with wide-open eyes, and caught sight of a man squatting a little distance off, and regarding him with mild, attentive eyes. leif did not place much confidence in the mildness of his glance. involuntarily he felt around for his weapons. there were no weapons there--now he remembered the whole affair--but the man there seemed likewise unarmed. also, he smiled, and for the rest was so thin and wasted that he could hardly be dangerous. what sort of a man was he? he looked ragged and starving. his hair and beard were tangled like a bird's nest. there was an atmosphere of death about him. only in his eyes and smile was there life--a gentle and, at the same time, intense life. the man rose and disappeared behind a projecting rock. leif thought this very strange conduct, and remembered, when he was out of sight, that he had not heard his step at all. was he still asleep and dreaming? was it a living man he had seen or a ghost? no, there he came again, whoever he was. he had bare legs, which explained why he walked noiselessly, and, for the rest, appeared altogether wretched and harmless. this time he came up close to leif with some shellfish, which he opened with a practised hand, merely with the help of a sharp-edged stone. leif ate a couple of the shellfish, being ravenously hungry, and would have gladly thanked this friendly and strange man, but his disgust was too strong for him, and he declared himself satisfied. then the strange man smiled anew, an indulgent smile, and ate the rest of the shellfish himself. when he had finished, he asked leif how he was, if he could rise, and how he came to be lying here on his island. leif trumped up a long story about having fallen overboard from a ship. "the current had seized him," he said, "and carried him hither." he found it best at the same time to show the man quite clearly, in order that he might make no mistake, that he not only could rise, but that he was altogether quite sound. the man smiled again, whether on account of his story or his slightly threatening gestures, leif was not sure, and asked him no more, but rose quietly and bade leif follow him. he led him over to the other side of the island to the mouth of a little cave. "i live here," he said in his gentle voice. "you are the first guest who has paid me a visit, and the only man i have seen for many years. assuredly god had his special purpose in sending you hither, my brother, however that may have happened. if you will share my cave with me for the night, you are welcome. in the morning you can swim to the shore, if you will, and are a strong swimmer. you can also perhaps remain here, if you prefer it." "what are you doing here?" asked leif, who, to his astonishment, could discover neither the roving eye nor mistrustful behaviour of an outlaw in this mild, quiet man. "why do you live alone on this desert island?" "i serve my god," answered the man gently and seriously, making the sign of the cross. then leif suddenly became aware that it was one of the mad irish monks whom he had before him. from that moment he did not fear the man any more. the monks were peaceful people, mad though they were. but there was something mysterious about the man which caused leif to feel by no means comfortable in his society. "how do you live?" leif asked, after a long pause. the man smiled his gentle smile, and pointed to a pot-shaped hollow in the rock, which stood filled to the brim with sea-water. "at high tide god sends me sometimes a little food," he said contentedly, "or i dive for shellfish when i am hungry. there is also plenty of seaweed here. i do not need much. shall not god who feeds the birds also feed me?" "how do you serve your god?" asked leif, growing curious. "i pray, fast, and lead a pure life," answered the monk quietly. "who is your god?" leif questioned further. "the one true god, the trinity--god the father, god the son, and god the holy ghost," answered the monk in his gentle voice, and again made the sign of the cross. "what is his name?" leif continued. he had sat down on a stone step outside the mouth of the cave and fixed his wondering eyes on the monk. "he is called jehovah; his son, whose sacred name is jesus christ, let himself be born as man, and shed his blood for men, to wash away their sins." leif was silent. he remembered carved and painted images he had seen of a god they called jesus christ. he hung nailed to a cross, with blood dripping from his hands and feet, from his thorn-crowned head, and from a wound in his side. leif had always despised this god, who, according to the narrative, had willingly let himself be killed and hung up upon a cross of wood. he did not comprehend the love of such a wretched divinity which could make a man like this monk live his life on this desert island, merely to pray to him and thank him. a powerless god he must be--much more wretched than even odin and thor. and yet he could obtain such power over men. the monk had seated himself on a stone directly opposite leif. the last rays of the sun fell on his back, and made his grey hair glow like a golden glory round his head. leif remembered having seen this gold ring round the head, and he sat and began to feel quite strange and uneasy in his mind. "shall i tell you about jesus christ?" asked the monk at last, in a voice that was soft and ingratiating like a woman's. "no," answered leif, not without a certain fear in his soul, which distinctly betrayed itself in his voice. "tell me rather of something else." the monk sighed sorrowfully. "as you will, my brother. the lord is mighty, and i am but the least of his instruments. perhaps he has reserved the grace of delivering your soul for another and worthier than myself. what shall i tell you, brother?" "tell me something about foreign lands," said leif, who had a dim consciousness that there could hardly be anything which this man did not know. "i cannot tell you about foreign lands," answered the monk gently. "i have not seen any other country except ireland. and i do not feel the want of it. the wickedness of the world is great in the lands. the devil rules most lands where people dwell. the lord has of his mercy granted me this lonely island, and my only wish is to live here in peace till he takes me to himself in his glory." he was silent for a while, and reflected. "but i can read to you of a place called paradise," he said, breaking off his meditations. then he rose and crept into the low mouth of the cave. a little while after he came back with a roll in his hand. when he opened it, leif saw that it consisted of some pieces of skin covered over with strange signs. the monk sat down and began to read in a monotonous and devout voice: "there is a place that is called paradise. it is not in heaven nor upon earth, but between heaven and earth, at an equal distance from both, as it was fixed there by god. paradise is forty miles higher than the flood rose at its highest. paradise is of the same length and breadth on all sides. there is no hill nor valley there. there comes never frost, there falls never snow. the earth is luxuriant and fruitful there, but there are no evil beasts nor dangers nor defects of any kind. there is a pure well, which is called the well of life. there is a splendid and beautiful wood called 'radion saltus,' the leaves of which never fade. each of its trees is straight and round like a spar, and so high that the top is invisible. there are all kinds of trees which stand in complete beauty and bear all manner of blossoms and beautifully coloured apples and fruits of all kinds. there no leaves fall from the branches. the wood stands in the midst of paradise. one of the fruit trees was forbidden to adam; in its fruit was hidden the knowledge of good and evil. there is neither hate nor hunger, and never is there night nor darkness, but always perpetual day. the sun shines there seven times more strongly than in this world, for its light is increased with the light of all the stars. there walk angels, keeping all things in order in joy and pleasure. thither have the souls of good men gone (and shall go and dwell there till doomsday) since god opened the place when he took thither the soul of the thief who died upon the cross. "in paradise there is a bird which is called the phoenix. it is very large, and wonderful is the fashion of its creation, and it is the king of all birds. it bathes in the well of life, and then flies up on that tree which is the highest in paradise, and sits in the sun. then it shines with a light like that of the sun's rays. its whole body gleams like gold, its feathers are like god's angels, its breast is beautiful, and its beak resembles its feathers. its eyes are like crystal, and its feet like blood. but when this beautiful bird, the phoenix, flies from paradise to the land of egypt and dwells there five weeks, all kinds of birds gather there and sing round it in all manner of ways. then the men who dwell there hear that and gather round it from everywhere, and speak as follows: 'welcome, phoenix, to our land! thou shinest like red gold; thou art the king of all the birds!' then the people of the land make another phoenix of wax and copper which resembles the old one as much as possible. all the birds fall at its feet and honour it with a glad voice. along its back there runs a red stripe, beautiful as burnt gold. when its fifth week is passed, the beautiful phoenix flies again to paradise. all the birds fly with it, some below it, some above it, on both sides. but when they cannot follow it any longer they return home." the monk paused and looked at leif, who sat bowed opposite him with open mouth and eyes. when the monk saw how absorbed his hearer was, he smiled and continued: "it happened four thousand years before the birth of christ (one millennium had passed) that the phoenix had become old, and gathered round it a great number of birds, in order to bring together a great pile of fuel. but by god's will it happened so that the sun shone on the pile of fuel and the sun's warmth kindled a fire in it. but the phoenix fell in the midst of the fire and was burned to ashes. but the third day afterwards it rose from the dead and was young again, and went to the well of life and bathed. then its feathers grew again, as beautiful as they had ever been. it becomes old in the course of a thousand winters, then it burns itself again to ashes, and rises each time young once more. but no one knows, except god alone, whether it is a male or a female bird." the monk stopped. the sun had gone down, and the dusk of twilight filled the air. he could no longer see to distinguish the characters. he rolled up his skin-scroll carefully together and tied a band round it. leif had swallowed his words to the end with eager ears. at the same time the monk's droning way of reading had had a soporific effect upon him. when the monk was silent for a moment, leif gave a deep yawn and felt a strange weariness in all his limbs. the next moment he fell asleep where he sat, with his head propped on his hands. the monk let him sit and sleep while he uttered a long and humble prayer to god, that it might be granted him to save this heathen's soul from destruction and the outer darkness. then he awoke leif gently, and bade him follow him into the cave and share his straw bed and his cloak with him, for it was now cold outside. leif awoke and saw that it was already night, with a pale glimmer of the moon behind black clouds. now the time had really come. but he was not a little curious to learn more about the monk's cave, and, besides, it was perhaps best to let him fall asleep before he left the island. the monk struck a light and kindled a shaving. then he crept into the low mouth of the cave. leif crept after him, and the first thing he set eyes upon was a magnificent sword with a golden hilt and gold inlaid blade. it stood set up against the wall in the inner-most part of the cave. it was the most beautiful sight which at the moment could meet leif's eyes, and it was impossible for him to avert his gaze from the shining sword. when he noticed the monk's look fixed on him, he compelled himself to ask, in an indifferent tone, how it was he possessed such a valuable sword, as he was so poor and peaceful. "that sword i inherited from my father," answered the monk gently and as it were apologetically. "i brought it with me here so that it should not do more harm than it has already done among men. i first intended to throw it into the sea, but it is so splendid. i have never been able to bring myself to do that, and it does no harm here in my cave." he took it in his hand with obvious tenderness, and showed it to leif. leif dared not touch it for fear of betraying his covetousness. the monk stood and contemplated the sword, and said, as though reflecting: "they who slay with the sword shall perish with the sword." leif believed that he was pronouncing a spell which belonged to the sword, and smiled incredulously. immediately afterwards he threw himself down on the pallet of straw, as though he were weary and sleepy, and only thought of rest. the monk replaced the sword, put out the light, laid himself down at leif's side, and arranged his cloak over them both, so that his guest had a brother's share. leif lay wide awake, wondering whether he should succeed in finding his men, and whether he should see his ships again. soon afterwards leif heard the monk snoring, and began to twist and turn himself, to see if that would wake him. no, the monk slept deeply and soundly; his snoring filled the cave with the peace of sleep and night. then leif rose stealthily from the pallet, groped his way to the sword, took hold of it, although with a little prick in his conscience, and crept on all fours noiselessly out of the cave, followed by the unconscious snoring of the monk. when he stood outside in the dark night, he raised himself erect and breathed freely. he was not at all sure whether he still had his ships and men, or whether all his men were killed, and the ships taken possession of by the enemy. but he again held a sword in his hand. leif only stopped for a moment outside the mouth of the cave. then with long, noiseless strides he crossed over the island and plunged into the water. he held the sword between his teeth and swam as best he could. leif found his cloak and other articles of clothing where he had left them. he had much feared lest they should be gone, and the discovery of them have served as a guide to the enemy. he put his clothes on and then began to listen intently in all directions. when he could not hear any movement or noise anywhere, he set off running along the shore in the direction of the creek where he had left his ships. the last part of the way he crept through the wood. he reached the creek without having come across hindrances of any kind. and out there lay his ships. they were lying farther out than when he had left them, and to leif it seemed a good sign. this time he tied his cloak in a bundle on his back, took the sword between his teeth, and, thus equipped, swam out to the ships. he swam as noiselessly and cautiously as possible, so that he might be able to turn quickly if it should prove that it was not his men who were in possession of the ships. when he got within a bowshot of the ships, his old headman gave the alarm, and asked in a grim voice: "who goes there?" leif answered with a low whistle, which they all knew, and there was great excitement and gladness on board. he had a rope thrown to him. immediately afterwards he swung himself over the gunwale and stood wet and dripping among his men, with a strange sword between his teeth. "leif! leif!" they shouted, and all wanted to touch him. leif asked hastily how many men they had lost. it appeared that they had only three killed and two wounded. the rest had got on board safe and sound. questions hailed down upon him. his men had really not expected to see him again, and were frenzied with delight and impatient to hear what had happened to him. before leif would tell them anything, he questioned them thoroughly, and learnt that they had intended to remain lying here for some days, if the weather allowed, in case he should return, or hoping at least that they might learn something of his fate in some other way. all the men on board the dragon-ship were gathered in a cluster round leif, their eyes fixed on his splendid sword. leif took off his wet clothes and put on dry ones. then he crept into his bearskin bag and shook himself with a sense of satisfaction. the men took their places round him and waited patiently to hear his story. lying stretched on his back among his sitting men, with the pale moonlight flickering over his face, leif began his narrative. he began with his fall down the ravine. he told them how he had first hooked himself firm with his ax, and then had been obliged to let go of it and to drop when the men had begun to prick him. he told of his awaking without a weapon, and of his flight. he only related briefly the adventure with the flat stone under which he had concealed himself. his men listened, breathless with excitement. when leif was about to tell of his visit to the cave he suddenly paused. he noticed, to his surprise, that he really did not like to tell how he had got possession of his sword. but it was precisely about the sword that his men were most curious to hear. "the sword?" asked the old headman in a husky voice, when he had been silent for a while. "yes, now comes the most wonderful thing of all," answered leif reflectively. and, staring at the pale sickle of the moon, he rallied all his inventive powers and continued: "i had at last come up out of the ravine and was wandering in the wood. i do not know how long i ran about without an idea where i was. but suddenly i stood at the entrance of a great cave in the earth. i slipped into it in order to let the darkness hide me. when i had gone a good way in, i heard a strange sound farther on in the cave. i stole forward and caught sight, in the dark, of a man who sat and sang. his head waggled forward and backward and to the sides, and his song penetrated my bones and marrow. his eyes rolled about in his head as though he were possessed. his face was yellow and blue, and there issued a strong odour from him, for he was not a living man, but a dead one. a little behind him hung this sword, and it shone on the wall of the cave. as i was weaponless, my life depended on my getting hold of the sword. i stole, therefore, farther on, and succeeded in slipping past him without his noticing me. but, just as i was going to seize the sword, i stumbled over a stone on the floor of the cave, and at the same instant i had the dead man on me." leif was so absorbed in his story that a cold sweat burst out on his forehead at the narrative of this imaginary fight. his men listened in death-like silence, staring at him with wide-open eyes, and pressing involuntarily closer to each other. "so near to the dead i have never been," leif continued, and took a deep breath. "you have no idea what power there is in a dead man's bones. he crushed me as though with claws of iron. the most uncomfortable part was, that wherever i seized hold of him the flesh slipped away under my grip, and i held the bare bone-pipes with my hands. and there was a most intolerable smell which nearly suffocated me. moreover, the whole time he kept wheezing foam into my face." leif stopped with a groan, and with the back of his hand wiped the sweat from his brow. he lay there white as a corpse, with burning eyes, in the pale moonlight. "at last i succeeded in getting him under me," he said in a lowered voice, "and putting out my utmost strength i pushed him against the stone he had sat upon, and at last i broke his back. while he lay there, and before i had seized the sword to cut off his wretched head, his rotten tongue continued to spit out curses. i will not repeat them, for they were terrible. only so much i will tell you, that he said that there was a spell on this sword, that whosoever should kill with it should die with it." leif's old headman, who during the last part of this narrative had panted like a sick man, suddenly sprang up in great excitement. "throw the cursed sword overboard," he shouted in a shaky voice, with his whole body trembling. leif reached after the sword, and clutched its golden hilt firmly. "no!" he answered decidedly. "i have risked too much to gain it." the old man broke down with a hiccoughing sob, which sent an ice-cold shudder through the bones and marrow of leif and all the rest. "what did you do then with the dead man?" asked one at length, with his teeth chattering. "i cut his head off and laid it by his feet," leif answered curtly, and gave a sigh of relief. since there was no more to tell, leif remained lying silent. his men continued sitting silent and motionless round him. leif found himself wondering that his meeting with the monk had suddenly become so distant and unreal. was it not something which he had dreamt? how was it, really? had he not been fighting with a dead man? his body was so strangely stiff. and if not, why should he have this smell in his nostrils? leif no longer knew himself what to believe. the drowsiness of sleep slurred the clearness of his thought and confused the real with the unreal. the old man had gradually become silent. for a while he sat motionless, with his head wrapped in a corner of his cloak. then he let the corner fall and continued to sit and look at leif. when at last he spoke, his voice had resumed its deep, quiet tone. "in memory of your wonderful experience and great adventure, you shall hereafter be called 'hjor-leif,'" he said solemnly to leif. leif smiled with half-closed eyes; then they closed quite. he slept peacefully and calmly as though he had never been engaged in fighting a dead man. his men remained sitting quite silent around him. they did not talk together. they had conceived a great fear in their souls which the moon's unearthly light considerably increased. they were simply afraid to lie down and close their eyes and fall asleep. they could not understand how leif could lie there and sleep so comfortably after such an adventure. their admiration for him had never been greater than now. they would like to know whether he would be afraid to encounter the gods themselves. they had never seen fear in his eyes. it was certainly right that he should have the sword affixed to his name and be called hjor-leif. leif awoke of his own accord at sunrise. then he saw his men still in a circle round him. he broke into a loud fit of laughter when he saw their stupid eyes and faces weary with watching. "beer! beer!" he shouted, and sprang up. "plenty of beer for all the men! drink now, boys!" he cheered them up. the most slack of them he whirled round and capsized and thumped till there was a roar of merriment around him. when leif had emptied a couple of jugs of beer he felt hungry and demanded food. for a whole day and night he had had nothing except two raw shellfish, if _that_ were not something which he had only dreamt. at any rate, his hunger was keen and insatiable. with continually increasing wonder his men stood round him and watched him devour a hearty meal. he was the only one on board who had an appetite. an icy dread instilled by the moonlight still possessed his men like bodily nausea. even the beer which he had given them they drank more from obedience than from pleasure. when leif had made them first stir themselves and then totter a little on their legs, he set them at the oars and bade them set to work like the boys they were! they should only think of their wives and dearest ones, and for the rest row as though a dead man were after them. leif had had enough adventures for the present. now he wanted to get home to norway. v helga, the faithful and anxious, was once more to see the summer die on the fields and in the wood and leif return home over the autumn sea. the foggy, raw, cold autumn day became great and festive when she caught sight of leif's ship out on the fjord. a red flag waved from the mast, a signal which had been agreed upon. there came leif sailing with her happiness on board. merely the fact of his being alive was like a boon from the gods. it filled her soul with summer to feel herself warm and living in his arms. every time that leif came home from an expedition, it was equally new and incomprehensible that he lived--lived and was near her again. leif came home with spring and renewal of life in his soul. that was always the case with him. the evil and dangerous unrest was gone. he had swept it out of his soul with adventures. leif was again leif. his cheerful laughter betokened his inner quiet. there was noise and bustle wherever he moved, but there was a contented assurance in his voice and look. to helga, at any rate, it seemed worth while to have endured the pain of longing and anxiety during the summer in order to have him home again. the eager tone of his voice alone, when he asked questions or related incidents, made her heart swell with happiness. she could forget both to answer and to listen, and just cast herself on his neck because she must, because it was so delightful to weep and laugh out her happiness with his arms round her. leif never returned empty-handed from an expedition. besides the serfs and goods which he had this time gained, he had acquired a new name--hjor-leif. ingolf, hallveig, and helga were all obliged to laugh loudly the first time they heard him called by this new name. leif began at once to explain eagerly, and with a little embarrassment, that it was not a name which he had himself assumed--one of his men had bestowed it on him of his own accord. but it was plain to see that he was proud of the addition to his name, and did not like their laughing at it. they questioned him with curiosity about the sword which had given occasion for the name--a valuable sword which few remembered to have seen the like of. leif answered with great seriousness that there was a ludicrous story connected with that sword. he had told it once to his men. but it was not a story one went spreading about. he had no intention of repeating it. his old headman, on the other hand, was fond of relating it. he was by no means disposed to let leif's adventure pass into oblivion. and he related it in such a way that one did not sleep quietly for several nights after hearing the old man's quavering voice relate the unheard-of terrors which leif had experienced in the cave. he certainly deserved to be called hjor-leif, especially since he himself liked it--on that all were agreed, when they had heard of the way in which leif had gained his sword. and so from that day he was called hjor-leif, and nothing else. neither ingolf nor any one else doubted that the story was true. the sword in itself was sufficient proof. moreover, it was so entirely like leif not to be satisfied with fighting living men, but also to have to test his strength with the dead, and to come well out of the encounter. hjor-leif was, as we have said, not to be persuaded to narrate the story himself. he was not at all fond of being reminded of it. his other adventures, small and great, he was generally willing enough to relate. and he took them by no means seriously. his description of the way he hung out over the cliff, clinging to the handle of his ax and being thrust at by sharp spear-points, might have made even a dead man writhe with laughter, although in itself there was nothing pleasant in the situation. the leif who revealed himself behind such experiences, and could relate them in such a light and completely artless way--that was the leif whom ingolf loved and could not resist. for a long time after he had heard hjor-leif tell of the little hollow and the flat stone, ingolf could have a fit of laughter merely by thinking of it. hjor-leif confided to helga, and helga alone, a wonderful story regarding which he was not sure whether it was an actual experience or a dream. upon an island he had swum to he had met a hermit who from some mysterious characters on some pieces of skin had deciphered a long and wonderful account of a place which was called paradise, and a bird he called the phoenix. had helga ever heard the name of the place or the bird? no, helga had not. and even though helga in her heart thought that there was no limit to hjor-leif's possible experiences, she gave it, nevertheless, as her view that it was very likely a dream. hjor-leif also thought it might be. for part of the story or dream was that the hermit had given him shellfish to eat, and that he really had eaten them. that could in any case not be the fact, for he cherished the most decided dislike to raw shellfish. _that_ must at least be something he had dreamt. all the same, the story about the monk continued to haunt hjor-leif's mind and disquiet him. for a part of the dream which he had not confided to helga was--that he had stolen his sword from the monk. that was a bad dream. when hjor-leif returned home from the viking expedition of the summer, ingolf had already sold such of their goods and cattle as could not be stowed on board the two ships. he had also sold his dragon-ship. he confided in a quiet voice to his brother that he intended hereafter to lead a perfectly peaceful life. hjor-leif once more remembered his dream of the hermit on the island, and said that he also had had enough of these expeditions. they agreed that ingolf should purchase from hjor-leif his share in the vessel, and that hjor-leif should then exchange his two ships for a powerful trading-ship. ingolf had in his journeys seen one that might suit him. the matter was arranged, and everything was now ready for their departure in the next spring. it was the season when the first winter nights were powdering the earth with frost. and now began a lively and unquiet time for the sworn brothers. relatives and friends came from near and far to spend some days with them. the whole of this last winter in dalsfjord there was a festivity and bustle which made them all giddy with hilarity, especially hjor-leif. his irrepressible mood infected helga. she gave herself away and forgot everything, even her most secret troubles--she forgot everything in the one fact that she just had leif. they let day be day, and night be night, and merely lived--lived in a state of blissful intoxication, which excluded everything except absorption in the present happiness of their souls. often when helga was falling asleep, she thought, "you will not wake in the morning," and smiled happily. her happiness was so deep that death and life ran into one. there was no pause in the festivities. when there was no feast being held in the house, they and their guests and servants were invited to week-long feasts in other houses. among their kinsmen and friends there were already at this time many who said that if ingolf and hjor-leif prospered in the new land, they also would sell their properties in norway and migrate thither. norway was no longer what it had been. they knew no longer whether they were free yeomen or king harald's lease-holders. lately one of harald's jarls had murdered atle jarl the slender. haasten held his right and inheritance by harald's permission. and there were many situated as he was. every one who dared to murmur had forfeited life and land. it would certainly be a good thing to find a free place so far away that harald's hard arm could not reach. hjor-leif reminded ingolf that he had long fore-told that. there was no need to fear solitude in the new land. before many years had passed, the whole of the great island would be taken in possession by the best men of norway. hjor-leif spoke contentedly and undisturbedly about the matter. he was himself, as usual, not aware of any responsibility. upon ingolf the prospects of many following them thither had a different effect. he was quite weighed down with a sense of responsibility and anxiety. was the land out there in the west so good that he could justify drawing others by his example from their inheritance and the country of their race? and, above all: _was_ it the gods' will that he should journey thither? ingolf arranged a great yuletide sacrificial feast. and now he wished to ascertain the will of the gods. on the first night of the feast he cast lots. some chips or sticks, dipped in sacrificial blood, were tossed in a cloth, and he read off the characters formed by the positions which the chips assumed towards each other. far to the left lay a chip by itself, straight up and down, a clear character, an "i." that signified "ice," and seemed to mean that he should travel. the next character was even clearer. some chips had so arranged themselves that they formed the runic character "f." that signified "cattle"; goods and wealth. there was no fear of making a mistake. ingolf read off still more characters, but they were all propitious, with the exception of a single death-rune. well, one could not escape death by not travelling. that came to each one on the day assigned by the fates. ingolf was reassured. winter passed, and the days increased in light and length. then came a spring day. it was a warm and festal spring which fell in step with winter's mood. the sworn brothers launched their vessel and loaded it with goods and implements, men and cattle. ingolf had taken the pillars of his high-seat on board, together with all the images of the gods from the temple. leif sat doubled up with laughter and watched ingolf and his men dragging with solemn intentness the worm-eaten and bedizened pillars of the gods from the temple down to the ship. was ingolf, then, no wiser? helga awoke from her trance of happiness as she stood with her hand in hjor-leif's and sailed out between some small islands covered with spruce and fir, from whence a strong pine-scent was carried towards her by a gentle breeze. hjor-leif felt her hand grow cold in his. he clasped the slender fingers more closely. had he clasped them too closely? her little hand began suddenly to tremble in his. he looked into her eyes with a searching and slightly troubled look. but there was nothing the matter. she smiled her quietest and happiest smile at him. he kissed her, made her sit in shelter, and wrapped a skin round her, so that she should not feel cold. soon they were outside the islands. the wind blew stronger and more steadily. before the bellying sails the two heavily loaded ships steered over a sea blue with spring. vi the sworn brothers' ships lay rolling violently, rocking and pitching in the heavy swell south of iceland. the day was calm and warm. high light clouds were spread over the deep blue vault of heaven. the sun poured his strong spring light in broad floods over sea and land. that day it was fourteen days since they had sailed out from dalsfjord. for fourteen days they had been in the power of the wind. a storm which tore the sails and broke the yards had driven them about over a raging sea, which ceaselessly sent cold showers of spray over the low gunwales. from morning till evening, from evening till morning, four men had stood in each vessel with the two baling scoops, working for life to keep the water out. in spite of being continually relieved the men were at last so worn out and wasted that they could scarcely eat, and fell asleep and rolled over wherever they sat down even for a moment. by continual watchfulness and clever seamanship the brothers had succeeded in keeping their vessels together. each stood day and night at the rudder. only in the short intervals when the wind turned, or there was a short pause, did they throw themselves down to sleep for the moment as if dead. they had no time to think of helga and hallveig. helga was careful not to be in the way. she rendered the small service she was able to do under these circumstances as much as possible without making herself observed. hallveig sat with her boy in her lap and let the wind blow and the storm rage. she kept her eyes on ingolf and felt safe. the sworn brothers fought for life and death with storm and sea. the great thing was to hold out, not to give up, not to think of anything but what concerned the steering and the quantity of canvas they should carry, not to be wearied, not to lose one's head--to hold out, to hold out. it was just this unceasing struggle which kept up their courage and spirits. the animals were ill and starving; some of them died and had to be thrown overboard, others lay in their last agonies, pitiable to see. much of their corn and other food-stores was spoilt by the dense showers of spray. the fresh water in the casks sank regularly and irremediably. the men went about slackly, and had to be kept going with a hard hand. there was hardly anything on board which was not otherwise than it should be, and giving reason for deep anxiety. but the brothers held out. when at last on the previous day they had seen on the extreme verge of the northern horizon a light from the snow-covered interior of the new land like a faint white gleam, each had thought within himself that it was not a day too soon. during the last twenty-four hours the storm had at last slowly quieted down, and now they lay here, held up by a presumably only short calm, a few hours' sail from the coast, and gazed curiously and expectantly over the sea at the land in the blue distance. the ships lay side by side, kept in their places by long boat-hooks, only so far from each other as was necessary in order to prevent their chafing and injuring their sides. hjor-leif and helga had gone on board ingolf's vessel in order to greet him and hallveig and to talk over the situation. all four were seated, hallveig with her little boy in her arms, on the stern poop. after the severe trial they had passed through there was a silence over them which was difficult to break. they had not yet grown properly accustomed to the fact that life and death did not hang on each moment as it passed. therefore they spoke but little. towards the north-east and north-west the soft lines of the slightly rising and falling glaciers stood out behind the blue mountains that crowned this flat land. the brothers followed the changing contours of the country with a peculiar tenderness in their eyes. but their gaze always turned back to the glaciers which shone sparkling white in the strong sunshine. hallveig and helga also could not turn away their eyes from the glaciers. the few words which they now and then exchanged were said in low tones, as if they sat in a temple, and not at sea on a swaying vessel. ingolf and hjor-leif had long sat silent side by side, inspecting the land with keen eyes. between a projecting point a long way to the east, and another far to the west, there stretched a flat, unbroken coast-line, distinctly marked by a white edge of rolling surf. "it will be difficult to land here," concluded leif at last, in a slightly hard and irritated tone. "also, it seems as if most of the land nearest the shore is barren sand." "there are enough landing-places by the points," ingolf answered quietly, "and behind the sands the land may be good and fertile, even close up to the glaciers. we saw that on the eastern side last summer." ingolf was in secret rather disappointed that they had not found the svanefjords again. but he did not speak about it. it was not possible to look for them now. at present, the great thing was to get on land as quickly as possible, and almost anywhere, so that the men and animals could have a good rest and recover. the sworn brothers had agreed that they must settle for the summer and the coming winter on the spot where they landed. afterwards they might look out for a permanent residence. ingolf had very decided views with regard to the choice of a dwelling-place. these views, however, he had not yet confided to hjor-leif, nor to any one else. the matter concerned the gods, and in all that concerned them his brother's attitude was a foregone conclusion. hjor-leif, on his part, only thought of finding a pleasant and fertile spot, preferably by the sea, and protected by the mountains, where he could feel himself at home and be comfortable. for a long time they sat in silence, each deep in thought. ingolf reflected how he had best communicate his plan to hjor-leif. he saw at once that it was no good to be silent about it longer. for already, before they departed from here, it must be put into execution. he sat and felt rather perplexed inwardly, and could not find words. at that moment hjor-leif was sitting and reflecting over an experience which he had had the previous night. he had lain asleep in his bearskin bag while his old headman took charge of the tiller. suddenly he started up from sleep, having certainly dreamt of something or other he could not remember, and as he did so he collided with a man who must have been stooping over him. it was one of his irish serfs, duftak, a man whose evil eye had followed him since he once in wrath had stretched him on the ground with a well-deserved blow. hjor-leif was not certain, but it seemed to him that the serf had thrown something or other which he had in his hand overboard, just as he had stumbled against him and stood opposite him. he thought he had heard a little splash as when a hard object strikes the water. but he was by no means certain of the matter, and neither the serf's eyes nor his behaviour had betrayed anything. he had asked him what he was doing here, and it seemed that he had come to look after a roll of rope which lay close by. hjor-leif had had his thoughts occupied the whole day by this occurrence. he had already observed for a long time that the serf's eyes followed helga wherever she went and stood, with an evil and at the same time covetous look. he could not understand why he had not already thrown the serf overboard, and why he did not intend to do so. he was quite sure that it was not from fear, although there seemed to be a peculiar understanding among his irish serfs. it was rather because he could not do without serfs, and because if he killed one of them it would be safest to kill them all. at length leif unwillingly shook these thoughts off, and asked curtly: "we shall sail southward, i suppose, when the wind gets up again?" ingolf was silent. it was certainly about an equal distance to the two points, and he had a very great desire to seek a landing-place near the more easterly of the two. instead of giving a direct answer, he began cautiously: "i have thought, brother, that i for my part will let the gods decide where i should settle in this new land." leif, whose temper at the moment was a little off its balance because of the incident with the serf, gave a hard laugh: "how will you go about it?" ingolf pointed to the pillars of his high-seat, which lay lashed together with strong skin straps above a pile amidships. "i will throw the pillars of my high-seat overboard. wherever they drift to land, i will settle." "even if they drift to land in the middle of the sands here?" asked hjor-leif incredulously and a little scornfully. "the gods will know how to find the place where it will be best for me and my family to settle," answered ingolf, undisturbed. "i lay with confidence the choice of a dwelling in their hand." hjor-leif was silent for a long time. there was a hard and pitiless line round his large mouth. there was ingolf again with his cursed gods! at last he spoke, without looking at anything: "instead, then, of our choosing a place for ourselves where the earth is fertile and luxuriant we are to settle wherever it pleases the wind and current to wash up a pair of dead planks on shore." he talked himself into a bad temper. and he wound up bitterly: "we shall hardly be neighbours, then, brother!" ingolf sprang up from his place. he was on the point of giving an angry answer when he remembered suddenly a snowy day when he and hjor-leif had ridden alone over a desolate heath. he shut his lips tightly, and stood for a while silent, leaning against the tiller. in his eyes there was a seeking look which wandered in perplexity over the water. the sun's glimmer dazzled his eyes. he could not find a word kind and cautious enough to answer with. but his resolve stood immovably firm. suddenly he collected himself, and, calling a couple of his men, bade them take the high-seat pillars down from the pile and lay them on the gunwale. so he stood for a little and let his hands glide carefully over the age-browned wood. hjor-leif sat watching with a hard, evil look in his grey eyes. cautiously ingolf let the pillars glide overboard. he remained standing, and followed them with his eyes as they lay there floating on the bright, oily water. hjor-leif could only see his back. there was an air of decision and resolve about that back which irritated him still further. hallveig and helga had followed the conversation, and now sat silent and anxious, not daring to look at each other. helga did not at all reflect which of the two was more in the right. she was simply troubled. in her gentle mind there rose a strange, impotent fear which made her heart beat heavily and painfully. hallveig, on the other hand, was at first in her inmost heart on the point of justifying hjor-leif. at the first moment it appeared to her that one's own eyes' choice of a dwelling could always be as good as that of blind gods, nay, really much safer. but when she had sat for a while with her firm, open gaze fixed on ingolf's back, a change took place in her mind. the air of security and assurance which was about her husband's whole person, and which his back just now so distinctly expressed, had an unconscious effect upon her. she understood all of a sudden that it was just this sign from the gods which was needed in order to attach her husband's heart firmly and unbreakably to his new home. there, where the pillars of his high-seat drifted on shore, ingolf would feel himself at home with all his soul and in spite of reason. the gods' choice of the place would give his strength and will the firm ground without which, in spite of all his strength, he could not thrive. on a spot so chosen ingolf would force happiness and prosperity to dwell in the face of every imaginable difficulty. for in alliance with his gods he was invincible. hallveig sat there and became assured and peaceful in mind. she understood that it was from an unwaveringly sure and wise instinct that ingolf acted when he cast the pillars overboard. it was of vital importance to him to feel himself in covenant with his gods and in possession of their favour. hallveig stooped over her little boy and kissed him on the forehead, and remained sitting for a while with bowed head, lest any should see she had tears in her eyes. with beating heart ingolf stood and watched his treasured pillars tossed by the billows, lightly, aimlessly, as though they were ordinary pieces of driftwood. it was not without severe internal conflicts that he had resolved to deliver his dearest possession to the power of the sea. but here life was at stake. it was not only a matter of finding a place where his cattle could graze and his house stand, but of finding exactly _that_ place which the gods willed to grant him and his family. the place where they could know he would stay for the future. the place where his and his family's happiness and prosperity were not only under his but under their care and responsibility. when ingolf had stood for a long time watching the pillars, which gradually drifted astern in an easterly direction, his displeasure towards his brother disappeared. he turned slowly, and, with a peculiar smile upon his young face towards the others, went quietly and seated himself by the side of hjor-leif. "what do you think of our choosing the eastern point as a landing-place, brother?" he asked in a quiet and friendly tone. the question irritated leif. there was no talk of choice; it was merely a question where a piece of driftwood should decide their landing. "i have already for my part chosen the west," he answered firmly, and at the same time as quietly as he could, and not without a certain satisfaction at the effect of his words. but it was not only on ingolf that leif's answer had the effect of a well-directed blow. both hallveig and helga felt that here was something evil and dangerous going on. quite involuntarily helga called hjor-leif's name in a supplicating tone. she had no idea of wishing to influence him in the least degree. she knew him, and was aware that it was hopeless. the word fell like a prayer from her gentle and anxious soul. in one hot wave the blood mounted to hjor-leif's head when he heard helga's voice. "you can remain with your brother, since you prefer that to following me." the bitter words leapt from his mouth. helga broke down in a heavy and despairing fit of weeping. leif sat motionless, and apparently un-moved. but in his breast there tore and tugged a fierce and intolerable pain which was not far from making him powerless. it was not at all, as it now appeared, a sudden whim which caused him not to wish to have helga on board again. it was the scene by night with the serf, duftak, which from the beginning had given rise to the thought in him that helga would be really safer on ingolf's ship. some vague and groundless presentiment or other, which made him still more sensitive and impatient, told him that there was danger in the journey for him and helga. it was nothing but pure tenderness for helga which made him resolve that they should part before they were all quite on shore. this time he had not thought of parting from ingolf. but in a moment hjor-leif was completely in the power of his restless temperament which, as so often before, distorted his words and actions and drove him to hasty resolves. to separate from the others, and seek another landing-place, with the prospect perhaps of not seeing them for a whole year, was for him a much greater trial than for ingolf, to whose equable temperament a year's separation contained nothing unthinkable or alarming. hjor-leif could really not imagine how he could hold out merely a month, much less a whole year, without them. and if he now chose to land in another place than ingolf, each for the present would have to remain where he landed. but it was completely impossible for him to expose his dependence and pain at parting. he could neither humble himself nor subdue his spirit so far as to enable them to discuss matters reasonably. as soon as the fateful words were out of his mouth he was helplessly in their power. while thoughts and feelings were rushing like violent streams through hjor-leif's lacerated soul, ingolf had already succeeded in reviewing the matter reasonably. in separation there was the advantage that the one who first found a landing-place could, by kindling a fire on his point, inform the other, who perhaps would be seeking a landing-place in vain, where he could look for one. ingolf, with a seaman's practised eye, had long before discovered that the coast here was difficult, not to say impossible to land on. it confronted the open sea. the heavy swells, which were certainly almost always prevalent here, would shatter any ship that tried to land on the sands. it was by no means unlikely that the character of the coast near the two points might be equally difficult. and it was impossible to know if the coast east or south of the points was better. since leif now wished it, ingolf had for his part nothing against their separation, for some days or for a year, as it might happen. he therefore quietly proposed that whoever first succeeded in landing should kindle a fire on his point as a signal to the other. the latter could then make for that place, if he had not found another harbour before, or in the contrary case might answer with a fire on his point. hjor-leif briefly agreed to this arrangement. it was he who had settled that they should separate, and yet it was a severe disappointment to him that it was now finally decided on. "i may come southward in the spring, if i have not by that time found my pillars," said ingolf quietly, when the matter of the fires had been settled. "but if i should not come, i will send you a messenger, if i have not heard from you before." hjor-leif nodded curtly. it was incomprehensible to him that ingolf could sit there and talk so quietly, as if nothing had happened between them and everything was all right. "if you find my pillars," ingolf continued, with the same immovable calm, "take good care of them, and let me know of the discovery as soon as possible." hjor-leif made no answer. internally he swore that if he had the luck to find the infernal pillars it would be a joy to him to let the fire devour them. all conversation gradually died out among the four persons who sat there, swinging on the sea, swayed by the balance of fate, each mind filled with its characteristic inner thoughts, peace or unrest, wearing pain or assured contentment--sat there in the grip of their own souls and of blind powers, while the brilliant spring day glided into a light, soft night. the red sun-gold over the sea in the west faded and died away into other and colder colours. the world was new and strange, and charged with presentiment as always on the boundary between day and night. the four sat there, and let the day go and night come over their peaceful or irritated silence. ingolf's little boy, thorsten, slept quietly in his mother's bosom. all around was quiet. peace was there for whomsoever had a mind to receive it. the brothers sat side by side, yet each in his own world. ingolf, as always, kept his mind collected, was his natural self, and knew it. just as he ate what nourished his body of the good things of sea and earth, so his mind absorbed whatever benefited him from the changing moods of day and night, sea and heaven and earth. everything else remained lying untouched and harmless outside the tightly closed circle of his mind. with hjor-leif it was otherwise. he had no collectedness in his mind. every kind of experience or mood which approached him was seized by the tentacles of his restless heart. evil and good, health and injury--his hungry nature swallowed and satiated itself with all, without any other result than merely to increase his burning desire for something--a condition or an experience--he knew no name for it. in a measure he was himself just as ingolf was. but his self was volatile and difficult to grasp. it died away in grief and gladness, as though it were a part of them. thus the night passed. and when day again bordered the east, it was followed by a gentle breeze from the sea which could be used for sailing equally westward or eastward. hjor-leif rose and heaved a heavy sigh in the cool morning air. his last hope: a stiff breeze from the west, which would oblige him to follow his brother, was gone. helga and ingolf both rose with hjor-leif. helga went to him, put her arm round his neck, and pressed close to him. no prayer came from her lips, but her whole soul was a prayer. hjor-leif examined his mind and found a fear there--some misty foreboding of impending disaster, which determined him to stand firm, to be hard both towards himself and towards her. he responded to her caress, but not in the whole-hearted way which would allow him to forget his words and revoke his determination not to let her follow him. there was a distinct air of separation in his kiss and in the gentle passing of his hand over her luxuriant fair hair. so helga gave up her hope and submitted silently to his will, as she had always done. hjor-leif silently gave hallveig his hand in farewell. she looked firmly and inquiringly at him, and pressed his hand silently. there was something about hjor-leif, the man who was so unlike ingolf, and whom she did not understand, that stirred something in her heart. when he had left her, she suddenly called after him: "good-bye, hjor-leif, till we meet again. we shall take good care of helga." hjor-leif turned towards her with a forced and wry smile on his irregular features--a smile which betrayed such a pathetic and involuntary gratitude that, immediately after he had turned and gone, helga fell into hallveig's arms, and both wept. they had suddenly divined, with the sure instinct of women, that it was out of tenderness and love that hjor-leif had let helga remain behind. there was much in the whole sudden arrangement which they did not understand, but this they did. ingolf followed hjor-leif to the gunwale amidships. the men were engaged in drawing the ships close together with boat-hooks. the distance between them had gradually become so small that he could soon spring over into his own ship. "i do not rightly understand why you let helga remain behind," ingolf said at last, when hjor-leif already had his foot on the gunwale. hjor-leif paused, and stood still a little, without meeting ingolf's searching look. "i cannot give you any reason," he answered at last, and the hardness and gruffness in his voice spoke of feelings of quite another sort in his heart, "except that in my judgment it is the best for her." ingolf's whole bearing clearly showed that the answer did not satisfy him. hjor-leif became irritated. "i have ten serfs and only ten freemen," he continued in a firm and rather annoyed tone, for he did not like, not only before ingolf, but also before himself, to clothe his forebodings in such a distinct shape. "i cannot always be at hand, and the serfs are not reliable. i may fall sick and misfortune come upon us. many things may happen. are you satisfied?" hjor-leif's tone was still equally hard and unyielding. but ingolf had seen through him, and smilingly reached him his hand. hjor-leif squeezed it with his iron claw so that it hurt, and stood meanwhile with averted face; his features worked visibly, and he bit his lip till the blood came. hastily he let go of ingolf's hand, and at the same moment sprang into his own ship. immediately afterwards ingolf heard his voice from it. it was cuttingly sharp, and rose higher and higher in a torrent of words. it soon appeared that hjor-leif had quickly succeeded in putting life into his men. soon after, his ship, with sail hoisted, glided away before the light breeze. ingolf stood and thought that such a lonely year might do hjor-leif good. he would be a different man the next time they saw him. ingolf only lent a momentary hearing to the voice of a strange wounded and groundless sense of loss in his soul. quietly he turned round, roused his tired men mildly, and bade them hoist sail and make the vessel clear. as early as the next night hjor-leif saw a fire shine from ingolf's point. so ingolf was already on land, and everything was right there. hjor-leif had not fared so well. the westerly breeze he had so strongly desired had come when he had no more use for it. it had come too late, and very inopportunely. after forty-eight hours he lay here pitching in the choppy seas, tacking as well as he could without getting much nearer his object. there was not a drop of fresh water on board. the irish serfs had discovered how to knead meal and butter into a mess they called _mintak_, and declared that it was a food one did not get thirsty by eating. none the less, all were suffering with thirst, and the animals were in a miserable condition, unable to swallow a straw of the hay they had brought with them. the _mintak_ quickly fermented, and the whole mass had to be thrown overboard. it was only hjor-leif's wretched and indomitable obstinacy which prevented him from taking advantage of the wind and quickly running his ship to ingolf's point. by doing so all his sufferings would have been got rid of at once. it needed only a little resolution, a slight change of mind. the wind was there, the light was there. the fire gleamed and beckoned. all was well so far. the only difficulty was that the deciding little possibility was wanting--the possibility of hjor-leif's bending his mind the little bit that was necessary--the possibility of giving way. in hjor-leif's volatile soul there towered a steep rock. he would see his animals perish of hunger and thirst, his crew perish one by one, and himself die by any death whatever rather than turn his vessel and use the favourable wind. at last, on the evening of the third day, a little rain fell, and hjor-leif succeeded in collecting some water in the outspread sail. that refreshed both men and animals. not till four days after ingolf had kindled his fire did he see a fire burning in answer on hjor-leif's point. when he told helga that, she went up on the point, sat by herself, and stared fixedly at the faint red light, sometimes hardly visible, far to the south-west. there she remained sitting for two days and nights, as long as hjor-leif kept up his fire in order to be sure that it should be seen. ingolf and hallveig had at last begun to be anxious for helga, for she ate nothing, did not sleep, and hardly answered when they spoke to her. but when after these two days spent up there on the point she returned to the tents, she was herself again, and had recovered her old self-command. there was nothing to show either ingolf or hallveig that she carried about a burning sense of bereavement. neither did they know that she lay whole and half nights sleepless, breathing in fancy the rich, delicious scent of pine trees. vii for the second time in his life hjor-leif lost his spirits completely. after closer reflection he found his lonely situation so meaningless and unjust, so devoid of all reconciling elements such as, for example, a prospect of adventures or opportunity for exploits--in brief, so utterly irrational, that he involuntarily began to show his teeth at existence by drowning himself in perpetual melancholy, only now and then interrupted by isolated attacks of ill-temper. the days encountered him heavily and sulkily. it seemed as if all their endeavours were directed to show him in earnest _how_ empty and tedious and intolerable they could be, if they seriously set about it. the bright, cloudless summer days sneered at him when they met him with ice-cold scornful light from sunrise to sunset. grey and rainy days, on the other hand, showed him without disguise their dull side. hjor-leif could not come to an agreement with himself which of the two kinds of days was really the more intolerable. they were all alike impossible. the one point he was clear about with regard to the days was that he had without doubt still the worst remaining. he cursed them with oaths which were powerful both in length and strength, and derived from an inexhaustible supply. but they were no help--not even momentarily. in the battle with the days he suffered one defeat after another; they were far stronger than he. they were invincible. and they possessed, although he daily experienced that, in spite of all, they did pass, a peculiarity of appearing endless, which deprived him of all hope. hjor-leif tried in every way to put a little meaning into them. he set his freemen to build a winter dwelling, a house nineteen fathoms long. it was to contain them all, together with their wives. he had only taken young, newly married people with him from norway, with the single exception of his old headman. hjor-leif did what he could to take a little interest in the work. but it was only self-deception. the days did not for a moment let go their wild-beast clutch on his neck. he set the serfs to build a house eighteen fathoms long, and bullied them till they quailed and shivered and fell into helpless embarrassment merely at the sight of him. yes, he instilled a wholesome terror into the irish serfs. they slunk about, and hardly knew whether to walk upright or on all fours. and they had no eyes--at any rate, there seemed no more any sight in their eyes. regarding them, he felt sure that he had made them harmless for ever. but it brought him no comfort either to treat them like dogs or to realize their harmlessness. that did not bring a spark of his spirits back. there was nothing to rouse them in that quarter. one of the items in hjor-leif's despairing and hopeless struggle with the days was going along the shore and choosing driftwood for his buildings. when he found a stout, solid plank, he marked it with a stroke of his ax; then he bade the serfs find the planks so marked and bring them home. sometimes in these wanderings, hjor-leif found himself standing and hewing wildly and meaninglessly at a plank, as though his life depended on cutting it into a plaything for the winds. whenever he awoke from such an attack of frenzy he looked round him with a shamefaced expression, and began eagerly, with a strong sense of humiliation, to efface the traces of it, watched by the evil eye of a hostile day. hjor-leif had one hope, and only one. his longing, strongly reinforced by his despair, had treated with the rocky pride of his soul, and the result was a reasonable agreement. therefore he went everywhere and searched for ingolf's high-seat pillars. not in order to do away with them by means of fire, but to get an excuse for seeking ingolf at once, and so obtaining an honourable and acceptable victory over all that pained and plagued him. hjor-leif wanted to see what the day would look like when by finding the pillars he was able to escape from his wretchedness with a bound. this hope sustained him. but day after day passed without his finding the pillars. not even the sea and tides were friendly disposed towards him. he talked in a loud voice with the sea, and reminded it of all the honourable bouts they had had with each other. but either the sea did not hear or would not recognize him. it had perhaps become hostile towards him, like everything else in heaven and earth. hjor-leif had been as far eastward along the coast as the impassible glacier streams would let him go. now he turned westward. he took food with him, and remained away four days and nights. during his expedition he came to know a new part of the country which he liked, and where he could well imagine himself settling. below the green mountains, which first in a steep ascent and then with a more gradual incline rose towards the white glacier which with its two domes reminded one of a female giant's breasts, the low land stretched with fertile meadows and picturesque bush-covered valleys and luxuriant pastures towards the shining sea. in the south-west green precipitous isles rose from the sea. hjor-leif gave the mountains names after these islands, which simultaneously limited and enriched the view, and called them island-mountains. the western dome of the glacier he named the island-mountains' glacier; the eastern he had already, after a more eastern district, baptized myrdals-glacier. hjor-leif did not turn round, for he saw the land open into a wide bay towards the west. he examined the shore outside the island-mountains and myrdal very closely. it was a great disappointment to him that the pillars had not drifted on shore here. hjor-leif returned home from this excursion still more taciturn and depressed than he had started. wearing unrest received him with open arms every morning and did not release him from its evil embrace till sleep at night had pity on him. he set some of his men to get in hay, others he made go out fishing, the rest he kept occupied with the houses. it was an insignificant alleviation of his trouble to see his men busily occupied. for himself he had no patience for anything. on the walks which he now and then took along the coast to assure himself if the pillars had not drifted on shore in his immediate neighbourhood, he was no more accompanied by even the smallest hope. during these walks helga was always in his mind. but not openly and consciously--he scarcely had patience enough to think of her in that way. no, secretly and hidden away she lived in his mind. through memories and reminiscences she was near to him, without his being obliged to face the fact that they were divided from each other by a long distance and a sea of days, and that this separation was due to a stupid and certainly quite groundless foreboding. he carried these memories about very tenderly and cautiously, without any intention of letting them slip quite out of the fog of unconsciousness. as a man dying of thirst sips dew, he cheated himself into a reminiscent happiness. it was a dangerous proceeding. for _if_ he woke from the dream, his agony flung him on the ground in a passion of tears, unworthy of a man, and which, moreover, brought no relief. hjor-leif became at last weary of the sea and shore. he turned his mind against them and made enemies again--evil emptiness and helpless melancholy--nature's immovable answer to all discontent. so hjor-leif became hostile to all things round him. the echo of his own mind met him everywhere and tortured him as only self-inflicted pain can torture. he extended his lonely wanderings to the wide-stretching pastures, overgrown with spreading coppice-wood, which reached from his point right up to the blue mountains. but also in this region he soon became homeless. his inner want of peace drove all peace around him away. when winter came, hjor-leif sat like a bear in his lair, alone with the fire and his half-share of the nineteen-fathom-long house. it was uncomfortable near him. therefore his men kept together in their end of the house, even though no fire burned there. they were newly married, and felt neither cold nor dull. the serfs slunk in now and then, by twos, with fuel for the fire. they shivered, and came hurriedly away from their task, even though hjor-leif sat with his head in his hands and did not look at them at all. hjor-leif was poor now. he was so poor that he caught himself longing for the break in the evening's brooding silence, which the serf's coming caused. so poor, that in order not to betray his poverty he showed himself perverse and ungracious towards his old headman, when the latter once overcame his embarrassment and, out of devotion and sympathy, sat with him one evening. either he was silent with the old man in his own comfortlessness, or he pained him with scornful words and malicious laughter. the old man could not understand how hjor-leif had lost all his good temper and indomitable spirits, unless the evil spirits of this strange land had deprived him of them. he could not endure this land where hjor-leif, his favourite, had neither living nor dead foes to fight with. there were plenty of wizards and goblins here, as he had himself experienced. there was an unearthly life in the rocks and heights. but these were creatures without value for a man eager for battle. one could not attack them weapon in hand. the sacred iron could only protect one against them, and keep them out of the house. hjor-leif's old headman fought bravely with his fear and discomfort for an obviously bewitched man. but there came an end, and he also gave up hjor-leif and let him sit alone by the fire. for days and nights together the storm and hail beat on the house with howlings and threatening hootings. the winter days were often only an indistinct glimmer. and in the uncanny winter night all evil spirits were loose. hjor-leif sat through the long evenings in his bitterness alone by the fire. and even the fire, his only friend in the wintry emptiness, now showed fits of enmity, and spat out evil smoke which struck his breast like a tearing cough. hjor-leif sat most often with his face in his hands. by doing so he, as it were, shut himself into himself, and cheated in a measure the evil powers in him and round him. but there was a danger in thus sitting hugging his pain. solitude used the opportunity to whisper words of madness in his ear. and often hjor-leif was near forgetting himself, and beginning to listen to its alluring, unbridled talk. but then sleep came, and saved him, and gave him some hours' forgetfulness. a forgetfulness which, however short it was, armed him for the morrow's encounter with a hostile, desolate, and lonely day. viii now there is this to be told of ingolf, that when he had found a practicable harbour, and unloaded his ship and drawn it on land, he set his men immediately to work at building winter dwellings for men and animals. he himself rode about on horseback, followed by a young serf, vifel, who had grown up in his father's house, and whom he valued greatly. he examined the district, and took long rides along the shore to look for the pillars of his high-seat. he made use of his opportunities, and was satisfied. the district suited him in many ways. from his point he commanded a wide view eastward and westward along the coast--the most extensive view he remembered to have seen. some distance inland, exactly opposite the point, divided from it by luxuriant pasture-land, there rose a steep, high mountain. on both sides of it the circle of mountains retired, on the south-west side in a wide curve. behind this mountain rose the glacier, a gigantic pile of ice glittering white in the distance, which sent wrinkled feelers down all the ravines as if to taste the lowland. remarkably enough, no cold emanated from this huge mass of ice; on the contrary, it seemed to warm the air, perhaps by attracting all the bad weather and cold to its far summit, which was only seldom visible. on both sides of the point there stretched barren sand along the coast intersected by countless glacier streams. these sands in some places spread themselves inland till they met the edge of the glacier. but the wide-stretching pasture-land along the mountains, which this barren sand surrounded, was of a peculiarly rich fertility. there was abundance of coppice-wood, which in places grew close up to the glacier and presented a singular appearance. the cattle throve well here. the air was full of warm moisture, and was suitable for grass and cattle and men. ingolf had to admit that the summer was better and the soil more luxuriant here than in the svanefjords. at the same time, he wished his pillars would drift ashore in the svanefjords. and in this hallveig was one with him. secretly he derived not a little hope from the circumstance that the pillars had apparently taken an eastward direction when he saw them drift away from the ship. who could say?--perhaps it was to the svanefjords! he did not dare to wish anything in that way; it was for odin to decide it. and it would be presumptuous of him to wish to instruct or to influence the one-eyed with the ravens. but many things pass through one's thoughts which one cannot control. odin must know that and would excuse it. ingolf endured the suspense for two months. then he prepared for a long expedition with his serf, vifel. hallveig did not like this journey. both ingolf and his men had told her so much about the impassable glacier streams. ingolf, however, quieted her by promising to show all possible caution. but he wished to go and look for himself in the svanefjords. ingolf and his serf rode over the sand-dunes. on each sand-hill sat a gull. full of an injured sense of proprietorship, the birds sat there and followed silently with an inscrutable look these strange animals who brought disturbance into the landscape. these sands were intersected by a countless number of powerful glacier streams. but fortunately the glacier proved passable in that part, so that ingolf and his companion succeeded in circumventing the rivers in that way. on the evening of the second day they were again stopped by a glacier stream as broad as a fjord, and with a treacherous bottom of fine sand. it traversed the district ingolf and leif had penetrated on their expedition southward from the svanefjords the previous summer. ingolf tried to circumvent it in the same way as he had the other river. but here the glacier was so full of deep crevasses along and across its course, that after many vain attempts he had to give it up. there was nothing for it but to turn round and put off the examination of the coast till the winter had bridged with ice the impassable rivers. the remainder of the summer passed in winter preparations of all kinds. there were plenty of things to take in hand and look after. ingolf kept an eye on his sister, helga, and showed her great friendliness in his words and behaviour. he could not exactly ascertain the real state of her feelings. she was quiet as ever, and all smiles and good-humour. she played with the boy, helped hallveig, and there was apparently nothing in the least the matter with her spirits. but ingolf had now and then, early in the morning, before any one else was up, surprised her standing staring with a long look towards the distant mountains that showed bluish in the south-west. in that direction lay hjor-leif's point, although so far away that it could not be discerned. it cut ingolf to the heart to see his sister stand gazing so--her face was so unusually pale in the mornings, and her blue eyes darker than at other times, as though shadowed by a twilight below them. he had been many times on the point of telling her about the last words he had exchanged with leif. for he knew that she was not aware of hjor-leif's real reason for letting her remain behind with himself and hallveig, and had no idea what she thought about it. but on further reflection he gave up the thought of telling her every time. perhaps by doing so he would only cause her unnecessary anxiety and sorrow. she would certainly hardly be so quiet as now, if she were seriously anxious for hjor-leif. best not to interfere with her thoughts. for his own part, ingolf was not for an instant afraid of anything happening to hjor-leif, though he agreed with him that it was best not to expose helga to the results of any conspiracy among the serfs, which he might well have reason to fear. but ingolf knew hjor-leif. even if his brother had been alone with the ten seditious serfs he would not have felt anxious for him. hjor-leif was on the watch, and he had successfully managed worse situations. the winter began with slight frost and much snow. it was past yuletide before the rivers were frozen. as soon as possible, ingolf equipped vifel and another of his serfs, named karle, and sent them eastward along the coast with orders to examine closely every creek and every promontory, and not to return till they had inspected both svanefjord's, except in the event of their finding the pillars before. the serfs experienced wretched weather, with snow-storms and intense frost. they remained away for two weeks, and returned hungry and weary. they had examined the coast-line as far as north of the svanefjords, but seen nothing of the pillars anywhere. when they had informed ingolf, he heaved a deep sigh and gave up the svanefjords. he allowed the serfs time to rest and recover after their severe experience. then he ordered them to get ready again. this time he gave them horses and sent them westward along the coast. he enjoined them not to return till they had found hjor-leif. if they had not found the pillars before they met him they were to tell hjor-leif to come westward with his men and cattle as soon as summer was in the air and a sea-passage was safe. but spring came this time earlier than it was expected. already in the night before the serfs started, a warm and strong south-west wind began to melt the snows and melt the ice that covered the rivers. the serfs only succeeded in passing the nearest rivers on ice. by the second day they could neither get forward nor backward by reason of furious rivers which carried huge volumes of muddy water and great blocks of ice. but they had to push on, and did so with the horses' help, although they often wasted days in finding a ford, and sometimes had to let themselves be dragged through the water, hanging on to the horses' tails or manes. it was the worst journey that vifel and karle had ever been out on, and it was only due to vifel's endurance and fidelity that they went forward and escaped with their lives. on the way they met men--irish monks--who here far inland had built a temple with a brazen voice which shook the air. the monks questioned them, and seemed displeased with what they had to narrate. they did not show them much friendliness. but vifel and karle were eternally thankful for merely escaping with life from these strange men who were in covenant with a god, the sound of whose voice alone cast them terror-struck to the earth. at last the serfs reached hjor-leif's point. they had been fourteen days on the journey. they found the houses empty and the place forsaken. they went down to the shore and found the ship. the boats, on the other hand, were gone. not the slightest sign of life was visible anywhere. ix hjor-leif saw the winter come to an end at last. he lay one night and heard the tone of the wind change. he knew the eager and implacable voice of the south-east wind. it did not surprise him then to hear a dripping indoors and out. his heart began to beat a little as he lay there. but he lay still, did not jump from his bed, did not run to salute the spring and bid its warm wind take the bad weather from him, as in other circumstances he would have done. there was not much left of hjor-leif's strength now. he did not awake with the spring. generally he was accustomed to avoid the house when spring had first come. but this time he remained within, sick in mind, and without power to shake off the burden of winter and his bereavement. he remained sitting indoors while the young year awoke the earth from winter's sleep, without paying attention to it. that was not like hjor-leif. indeed, it was so unlike him, that his men avoided each other's looks and did not speak about him. he got out of his bed each morning with a sigh, clothed himself wearily, and went slowly and sluggishly out to see how far the spring was advanced, and if the weather held. if it was bright he went up on the point and looked eastward over the land and over the sea. then he went home again, dragging his feet like an old man or an invalid, and wrapped himself in his solitude and waited. it was still too early in the year for ingolf to be coming--ingolf and helga. he hardly dared to think of her name. the very thought scorched and burnt his wounded soul that by this separation which he had insisted on he had caused helga fresh grief. his own sufferings were indeed bitterly deserved--that he had to acknowledge--but that did not make them any easier. the thought made the wilderness of his soul even more desolate. self-caused, self-deserved, every torturing day, every sleep-forsaken night, every suffering, every whip-lash of longing, altogether self-caused, without reason and to no use. that was bad enough to think about. but it was worse with helga--helga who might have reason to believe that he had left her behind in cold blood, and to think that perhaps he looked forward without longing to seeing her again. the thought was so intolerable that at times it seemed as if his head would split and his heart stop beating. these and similar thoughts tortured hjor-leif, but he sat and let the tedious hours pass. outside, the spring winds raged, while he sat within. the spring's gladness found no way to his soul. his exhausted heart could not welcome the days in its embrace and rejoice at the prospect of soon meeting helga. hjor-leif used every opportunity of bullying the serfs. he heaped on them kicks and blows whenever the fancy took him, and often without cause. he hated these serfs, who crept before him like vermin, so dog-like and abject that they did not dare to show the glances of their eyes. his fear of their combining and attacking him and his men had long ago died out of his mind to the last spark, and it seemed to him now both ridiculous and incredible that he had ever cherished such a thought. these abject animals, these crook-backed creatures! _their_ fault it was--all that he had had to suffer this year. and they should pay for it! to the end of their wretched days they should pay for it! blows they should have--blows and kicks. he would fill their currish hearts with never-appeased fear. he would not kill them; they should live and suffer. in all that concerned the serfs, hjor-leif was implacable. he had succeeded in inspiring them with such terror that there was not a look in their eyes, nor speech in their tongue, save when they were alone and sure of not being seen or heard. as soon as the earth was released from the frost to a spade's depth hjor-leif set his serfs to plough a piece of pasture-land west of the point. they had an ox to draw the plough. and now the serfs' time had come. duftak, who had many kicks and cuffs to avenge, had hatched a plan. the opportunity was ready to hand. when duftak and another serf went off in the morning with ox and plough, he gave the other serfs a signal. they had knives and clubs hidden here and there. now these were produced and concealed in their rags. the serfs were ready. as soon as hjor-leif's free men had gone into their morning meal, duftak stabbed the ox with a knife in its neck and set out running home with the other serfs close on his heels. breathlessly duftak burst in to hjor-leif, and stammered, apparently in the greatest terror: "a bear! a bear!" the serf's fear seemed quite genuine. hjor-leif seized him by the neck, shook him, and quickly learnt from him that a bear had come out of the wood and had killed the ox. everything happened as duftak had foreseen. hjor-leif let him go, strangely enough without the usual kick, shouted to his men, and bade them follow him and look for the bear, and scatter themselves well in the thickets, so that the beast should not escape. then he seized his ax and spear and ran. ah, this meant something for hjor-leif. his heart was again in its place, and beat gladly and quietly. the bear came as though sent by good fortune itself. his soul expanded with a great and happy sense of freedom. he sprang like a boy out of doors, and forgot in his haste to take his sword with him. duftak only hesitated a brief moment--then he seized the sword and ran after hjor-leif. he had undertaken to tackle him by himself alone, and the sword was better than his short knife. everything happened as duftak had calculated--while his men dispersed in the thicket, hjor-leif ran to the ox. duftak had counted on this curiosity in his master. he knew that he _must_ see how the bear had treated the ox, before he began the pursuit. hjor-leif set off in long bounds, light at heart and untroubled. the old love of adventure had awakened in him. he was too much absorbed to notice that the serf was close at his heels. hjor-leif reached the ox, stopped and started, bent down over it, then slowly raised himself. his thoughts stood still for a moment in surprise. what was this? the ox had been stabbed. was the story about the bear only a lie? he turned quietly and as though stupefied, and looked round him. just opposite him stood duftak, with hjor-leif's sword lifted--the point quivered straight in front of his breast. the recollection of the monk's saying flashed through hjor-leif's mind, like a momentary weakness and irresolution. then--before he knew it--the gold-inlaid blade of the sword flashed, and he collapsed with a chill sensation between his ribs--a strange, not uncomfortable sensation, which, however, was immediately followed by a pang and a loud crash, in which earth and sky disappeared. as hjor-leif sank, a lightning thought reminded him that helga was in safety. ah, helga was safe! a dim consciousness that he had not suffered in vain settled like a faint smile on his large mouth. the blood poured steaming and gushing out of his neck. and so the world passed from him.... hjor-leif had lived, and life had done with him. he had paid the price of life, as was meet and right. once more the mistletoe branch had struck down the invulnerable. x one night towards morning ingolf was awakened by the tramping of horses' hoofs. he had begun to be anxious lest the serfs, who had been away the best part of a month, might have perished, and, springing out of bed, dressed quickly and threw a cloak over him. yes, it was vifel and karle home at last. when he came out, they were standing outside in the half-light night and talking softly together. they had not yet taken the saddles off the horses. their manner showed clearly that they were the bearers of evil tidings. both turned their heads when ingolf opened the door, but remained standing irresolute, and forgot to salute. ingolf stood still for a moment. then he went up to them, greeted them quietly, and bade karle take the saddles off the horses and go and sleep. "you had better not talk to any one," ingolf concluded, turning to karle. then he laid his hand on vifel's shoulder and led him round behind the house. there they could best stand and talk undisturbed. vifel was so silent that stillness seemed to envelop him like an invisible vapour in the air. when they had come to the back of the house, ingolf let go of vifel's shoulder and leaned against the wall of the house. his first heavy foreboding had quickly turned into a dawning certainty--a certainty which all but overpowered him. for a few interminable moments he remained standing there, leaning against the wall, and staring to the eastward, where a faint flush on the steel-blue vault of the sky announced the coming of the sun. he avoided looking at vifel, whose expression and behaviour so inexorably revealed what had happened. he shrank from having his last despairing hope annihilated. he must have an interval before he could endure to have his fears, his all but certain foreboding, confirmed by the pitiless word. the sun rose and was free of the clouds on the horizon before his mind had slowly reached the point that uncertainty was intolerable to him. he cast a glance at the serf. vifel stood and wept, silent and motionless. the tears ran in streams over his cheeks, and left light streaks behind them. "what have you to tell?" ingolf asked at last, with forced quietude. "hjor-leif's death," stammered the serf, with chattering teeth. there was a long pause. ingolf had bowed his head, and stood with closed eyes and compressed lips. he wept. at last, without raising his head or opening his eyes, he gave the serf a sign to continue. vifel finished weeping and began stammeringly: "when we came to the point we found the houses empty. we saw no one anywhere. we found the ship in its place down by the shore, but both boats had gone. we began to search the fields and the undergrowth round the point. first we found hjor-leif. he lay in a field near the house by the side of a piece of ploughed earth. he had been killed by a stab in the breast. we continued searching, and found gradually most of his men, scattered about in the undergrowth, all dead. some of them had been obviously stabbed from behind, others had many wounds, which witnessed to a fight having taken place. the serfs and women we saw nowhere." "hjor-leif had a foreboding of that," was the thought that passed through ingolf's mind when the serf was silent. ingolf remained standing quite still. his heart hammered and beat, "leif! leif!" at last he lifted his head and looked round him with weary eyes. his look had become very desolate. otherwise there was nothing to notice in him, now that there was no more doubt and the first strong burst of grief was over. in a quiet voice he questioned the serf more closely, and learned that he and karle had buried those of hjor-leif's men whom they had found. hjor-leif himself they had covered and left lying where they had found him. a strange slackness had come over ingolf. now and then he roused himself and put a question to the serf. each time the serf had answered, there was again a long pause. ingolf gradually got an account of their journey. vifel told him of the difficult rivers, of the monks and their temple, and how he and karle had caught and killed one of hjor-leif's sheep, which they had found in the thicket, as food for their home journey. helga was up this morning early as usual. she was generally out before any one else, especially when the weather was bright. it was in the early morning that she could best go out, unseen and undisturbed, to stand and gaze towards the distant mountains in the south-west which hid hjor-leif in their blue mist. this morning, as soon as she stepped out of the door, she heard quiet voices behind the house. she could not distinguish words, but only heard the sound. this half-heard conversation filled her at once with a peculiar fear, and when she recognized vifel's voice her heart beat violently. a vague alarm filled her breast and rose choking to her throat. for some time she remained standing and could not move from the spot--stood leaning heavily against the house-wall, and pressed her hand to her heart. then the voices were suddenly silent. there was stillness behind the house. what could ingolf and vifel have to talk about in such a tone? why had ingolf not roused her at once? she knew how restlessly he was expecting the serf's arrival. at last helga dragged herself the few steps round the house. she both hoped and feared that she must have made a mistake--that it was not vifel's voice she had heard. but she _must_ have certainty. her fear was crushing her. yes, there stood vifel, and there stood ingolf. helga only needed to see them; the first glance told her everything. ingolf immediately saw his sister, and by a powerful effort succeeded in collecting himself and going quietly towards her. as he went, he said quietly to the serf: "go and sleep, vifel. you are a free man." vifel departed silently. he did not take the opportunity to thank ingolf. his highest hope was at last and unexpectedly fulfilled, yet he wept as he went. when ingolf had reached his sister he stood still in perplexity. there was in her look a mingling of prayer and certainty which made it impossible for him to say anything. there was a restlessness about helga which made it impossible for her to stand still. "let us go," she said appealingly. side by side brother and sister went over the ground without speaking a word. where the coppice wood began, they turned and went back towards the houses. so they continued walking to and fro, silently, side by side. the sun had risen, and already stood high. ingolf's men, who had learnt of hjor-leif's death from vifel, kept within doors. none wished to disturb ingolf and helga. hallveig had been out and glanced towards the pair. then she had slipped in again to her boy. helga's grief made her very heavy at heart. to and fro, keeping step, ingolf and helga went. helga felt as if she could not stop. as long as she could walk so, keeping herself in movement, it seemed as if there was nothing which had ceased--ended. so long as she had heard nothing, perhaps nothing had happened. there were life and happiness at stake in continuing to walk--to walk, and not stand still. there was no sobbing in helga's breast. it was so empty within. a clammy pressure held her heart imprisoned in apathy. there were no tears in her eyes. she was far past the narrow limits of weeping. only a great and threatening stillness and emptiness in her soul, and round her a waste wilderness that would swallow her as soon as she stood still. at last she was so exhausted that she had to drag herself forward with the help of her brother's arm. ingolf helped her, supported her, and held her up. he was in great distress. she walked there quivering on his arm, and he had no comfort to give her. such heavy hours ingolf had never experienced. he forgot his own sorrow: it was as nothing beside his sister's mute despair. his whole soul was engrossed in her. his powerlessness, his complete perplexity, his lack of any word to comfort her, drove all other feelings out of his mind. at last helga had to give up. her strength was spent. exhausted, she sank in his arms. he laid her carefully down, and she remained lying with half-closed eyes, breathing heavily and slowly; then she fell asleep. ingolf remained sitting by her side and gazing intently on her pale, tired face. she continued sighing in her sleep. ingolf could not take his eyes from her. "this was what leif feared," was the thought that echoed within him. there were not very many thoughts in his brain, stunned as it was by his own and his sister's grief. when he had been sitting thus for some time, hallveig came out to him from the house with her boy on her arm. she could no longer endure the loneliness. she sat down silently by ingolf's side. her eyes were circled with red rims, and there was a peculiar wry smile on her face, called forth by the struggle to keep her tears down. when she had sat a little and looked at the sleeping helga, she could do no more; she leant her head against her husband, hid her face, and wept. little thorsten prattled cheerfully, and struggled to get down to helga. ingolf had to begin to play with him in order to make him sit still. the child's untroubled chatter cut him to the heart. helga slept but a short time. suddenly she opened her eyes, rose abruptly, and looked about her in bewilderment. "what is this? why am i lying here?" she asked in an astonished voice. as soon as she spoke, she felt a choking in her throat, and remembered all of a sudden what had happened, and why she lay there. then she collapsed with a groan, and remained sitting for a while with her face hidden in her hands. then she straightened herself abruptly. "how did it happen?" she asked in a hoarse, uncontrolled voice, and looked straight in front of her with a hard expression on her young face. and when ingolf did not answer at once, she added in a still more unrestrained tone: "tell me at once!" ingolf told her, hesitatingly and in disconnected words, that his serfs had found hjor-leif and his men dead. it looked as if hjor-leif's irish serfs had killed them. "but the women?" helga asked in the same tone as before. ingolf gave it as his opinion that the serfs must have taken the women with them to whatever hiding they had sought. he added a few cautious words to the effect that he had grounds for supposing that hjor-leif already a year ago had been afraid of what had now happened, and that therefore he had let her remain with him and hallveig. then helga laughed, if the sound which issued from her throat could be called laughter. "it is all the same now," she said in a hard voice. then she collected herself and stretched out her hand toward the child. for a while she sat stroking his hair and trying to smile at him. then suddenly she gave hallveig the boy and looked up at her brother with a look that revealed all her hopeless despair without disguise, and said: "i want to see him. can we not go there?" her voice was hoarse and passionate as before. there was nothing to recall her former soft and gentle tone, but the hardness was gone. "we will go as soon as we can," answered ingolf quietly. helga rose impatiently. she was a little unsteady on her legs, but declined all support both from her brother and her sister-in-law. "let us not waste time," she said irritably, and stumbled towards the houses. ingolf and hallveig followed her in silence. hallveig took the boy on her arm again. that same day the ship was launched. day and night they worked with feverish haste to load it. the next day it lay ready for sea, and in the evening the weather was fair for sailing. ingolf wondered a little at helga. she did not weep. she did not seek solitude. she went about among them much as usual--did her accustomed work, took charge of the boy, and helped hallveig. only the change in her voice and her strange, fixed look betrayed her grief--a grief which made ingolf fear, and troubled him more than any weeping and open despair. xi the next day at sunrise they were there. helga was supported by her brother to shore on the slender landing-plank. when she stood on the shore before hjor-leif's point and looked over towards the houses, her strength failed her for the second time. she could do no more. she leant against her brother to save herself from falling. he put his arm round her and led her to a stone where she could sit and recover her strength. there she sat down, and remained sitting, staring out over the sea, that lay resplendent in the glow of sunrise, but her eyes saw nothing. a light morning breeze played with her hair and gently caressed her pale face. ingolf stood by her side, waiting. since she so much wished to see hjor-leif he would not oppose it, but he wished to follow her and be near her. helga had forgotten him, and why she sat there. for the moment she remembered nothing except that she was alone and had hjor-leif no more. there were times when this fact seemed incomprehensible. if hjor-leif was dead, why was she alive? she did not understand that. but so it was--she was alive. and die she could not. death would not come to her, though she prayed for it to all imaginable powers. when ingolf had stood for a while motionless by her side, he bent down over her and said quietly that he must go for a little to give his men orders. helga started when he spoke to her, and looked hastily up at him with a terrified look in her eyes. then she came to herself, remembered why she sat here, why ingolf stood waiting for her, and she seized his hand. she sat for a while holding it convulsively in hers and moaning softly. then she said in that strange, distant voice which quite seemed to have displaced her own: "ingolf--i cannot, after all--let me just sit. i cannot rise. ah, i can do nothing," she said, half-wailing, and hid her face in her hands. ingolf stood a little irresolute; then he bent over her and said softly: "i will come again and fetch you." she nodded impatiently with her bowed head, as if begging him only to go--to go! as soon as she no longer heard his steps she began a low, heart-rending wail. ah, she had no hope now. her heart was dead. but she lived, and could not die. ingolf went back to the ship, helped hallveig and her boy on shore, and asked hallveig to look to helga while he went and buried hjor-leif. then he told vifel and several of his men to take spades and a bier and follow him. the others he set to work unloading the ship. ingolf was quite composed now. the stamp of the resolute firmness, which was the real expression of his character, was more distinct than ever before. he had reconciled himself to his brother's death as a healthy man reconciles himself to the inevitable. he had sought comfort in his faith, and had eradicated all despair from his mind, so that only a healthy, hardening, beneficial pain remained behind. he remembered the death-rune among the omens at the sacrificial feast; it had then pointed at hjor-leif. yes, fate shields a man till she strikes him--nothing can alter that. against fate even the bravest fight in vain. not even odin can shake the sentence of the norns. such were ingolf's thoughts as, with a composed mind, he went to carry out his last duty to his brother. there had been an old agreement between him and hjor-leif that, if ingolf died first, hjor-leif should inter him in a funeral barrow with exact observation of all the ritual of the ase-religion. in return, ingolf had pledged himself, if he were the survivor, to bury hjor-leif in the ground without any kind of solemnity. all that hjor-leif wished, when he no longer lived, was to be buried in a dry spot, at the depth of a man's stature, and to lie there with clean earth round him. it was no more than reasonable that he should have his will, though ingolf in his inmost heart felt a strong impulse to inter him in a barrow and to do him all the honour which became a chieftain. the birds were singing in the dewy morning when the sailcloth with which vifel had covered hjor-leif was lifted. their song sounded all at once piercingly in ingolf's ears. he stood for a while and looked at his brother's decomposed remains. he had seen many dead men, without being specially moved thereby. but now his self-control deserted him a moment. he wept. when he had grown calm again he made the sign of the hammer over the body, and said softly, as though to himself: "a mean fate here befell a good man, that a serf should cause his death, and so it will happen to each one who will not sacrifice to the gods." hjor-leif's corpse was laid on the bier, and ingolf covered it with his cloak. then he went on ahead up to the point to seek for a burying-place. step by step the men carried his brother's body after him. ingolf quickly found a place towards the south and the sun. the grave was dug, and hjor-leif was lowered into it, wrapped in his brother's cloak. then they cast clean earth over him, and trampled it well down. ingolf remained standing by the grave till his men had gone. then he spoke for the last time to his sworn brother. "hjor-leif," he said with emotion and in a natural tone, as though he were quite sure of being heard, "if no duty had bound me to life, i would have followed you in death. the days are poor without you, brother. but i comfort myself with the thought that we shall meet again in valhalla, and that you by that time will have made your peace with the gods." when ingolf had spoken, he took a thunder-stone which hung on a chain round his neck, a gift from his mother, of whom he had an indistinct memory, pressed it deep down in the earth, and covered it up. nothing in his eye was so sacred as this lucky stone. therefore he gave it to his brother to take with him on the way. ingolf found his sister where he had left her. she sat in the same attitude; not once had she moved since he left her. her wailing had died away. she sat silent. and when he laid his hand on her shoulder she did not start, only turned her head quietly, and looked up wearily at him. she tried to rise, but had become stiff from sitting in the same position. it was some time before she could stand and walk. ingolf led her gently over the shore, up the point, to hjor-leif's grave. at the grave she remained standing motionless, clinging to his arm, and gazing down at the brown scar in the earth. for the first time since she had heard of hjor-leif's death her eyes filled with tears. she loosed her hold of ingolf's arm and asked him impatiently to leave her. when ingolf had gone, she threw herself on the grave, pressed her face down in the loose earth, and lay there weeping, silently and ceaselessly. now she could weep.... long after helga had wept all power of weeping out of her soul she remained lying there, with her arms thrown out as though clinging to the earth. then at last she fell asleep, worn out with sorrow and fatigue. when she woke again it was evening. she rose and looked around her in alarm, suddenly afraid lest any one should see her lying thus. as she stood there and looked around her, she perceived a black round patch on the greensward a little distance off. there had burnt the fire, which about a year ago she had sat gazing at from ingolf's point.... ah, that red fire.... and now it was quenched ... quenched for ever. helga sat down, looking alternately at the grave and the burnt patch. now and then her eyes filled with tears. but she could weep no more. later in the evening hallveig came silently and sat down by her side. they did not speak. hallveig wept now and then. helga sat motionless, gazing before her with eyes that scorched and burned, but seeing nothing. the two women remained sitting there the whole night. when sunrise streaked the horizon next day they rose quietly and went silently homeward to the houses. xii ingolf sent his men to search for the irish serfs. as the boats were gone, there was reason to suppose that they had sought flight by sea. and as they knew ingolf was in the east, it was likely they had rowed farther westward along the coast. ingolf's men searched the coast westward for many days' journey. they saw nothing of the serfs anywhere--not even a sign that they had landed. and even if they had been drowned, their bodies must have been cast ashore. neither did they find the pillars of ingolf's high-seat, which they were also looking for. when they returned home and told ingolf that they had neither found the serfs nor the pillars, he said in his quiet way: "the pillars shall be found and the serfs too, if i have to search the whole country." ingolf sent vifel with fifteen men in a boat out to the islands, which from the mountains near the point were visible in the south-west. there vifel found the irish serfs. they were living in caves scattered about on the largest of the islands. when they found that they were discovered, panic seized them, and they did not even try to offer resistance. when they saw ingolf's men coming over the island they scattered in wild confusion. some of them were cut down while flying; others, among whom was duftak, flung themselves down from the cliffs and promontories and perished. the women, whom the serfs had taken with them out to the islands, and the most obstinate of whom were still kept bound, were able to tell how hjor-leif and their husbands had been murdered. they spoke coolly and calmly of the matter. they had forgotten how to weep and how to rejoice. vifel buried the serfs on the edge of the shore, where the ground is dry at ebb and covered at full tide, as criminals should be buried. then he searched each creek and promontory in vain. the pillars had not drifted to shore there. afterwards he distributed his men in three boats with the women and the valuables which the serfs had stolen and taken with them to the islands, among them hjor-leif's costly sword. ever since then the islands have been called the westman islands after the irish serfs. ingolf met the boats down on the shore. vifel told him of the death of the serfs, recounted the women's narrative of hjor-leif's murder, and handed him the sword. ingolf took it cautiously. he remembered the story about hjor-leif's fight with the dead man, who was reported to have said that a charm attached to the sword whereby everyone who killed with it should himself die by it. ingolf had comforted himself with the thought that so long as hjor-leif had not killed anyone with the sword there was no danger for him from it. now, however, hjor-leif had been slain by it. perhaps the saying meant that whoever possessed that sword should perish by it. at any rate he would not have it. sorcery was not to be trifled with. ingolf went straight to hjor-leif's grave with the sword and stuck it in the earth so that the golden handle projected from the black mould. it was the only thing left by his brother which he was unwilling to receive. there was no danger of anyone taking it there. his men kept at a distance from hjor-leif's grave. they asserted that he walked again, and believed that helga met the dead man when she went up there at night, as she often did. ingolf did not share their superstition in that respect. but, on the other hand, he well understood how helga's appearance might give rise to such thoughts in his men. she looked more like a dead man's bride than a young living woman. her fair hair had become white, and hung dishevelled about her head. the light of her glance was quenched, and the skin that stretched over her wan, emaciated face was grey and without brightness or colour. the only signs of life she gave were eating and breathing. she carefully took charge of thorsten, with a peculiar absent tenderness, since hallveig had now a little girl to watch over. she did nothing else. that summer and the following winter ingolf remained by hjor-leif's point. the next spring he departed and went farther westward. he stopped at a river whose mouth formed a comparatively safe harbour. good landing-places were generally scarce on these shores. thither he had his ships brought. some way inland, west of the river, he built winter dwellings under a hill, which was named ingolf's hill. in the summer, as always, he had his men out to search for the pillars. when they came back they were able to inform him that they had reached a great promontory. north of the mountains there was a broad fjord. in the winter, ingolf sent vifel and karle to search the coast-line north of the hills. out on a barren promontory in a creek, which because of some warm, densely smoking springs in the neighbourhood received the name "rogvig" ("smoke-creek"), vifel and karle at last found the pillars. they had drifted ashore just below a little rounded height. on the height there sat an eagle. it did not move when vifel and karle approached. it sat there still when they went away, after having secured the pillars. vifel and karle were much afraid of the eagle. only once before had they been equally afraid--that was when the brazen voice from the monks' house had cast them to the ground. vifel and karle went back and informed ingolf of their find. then ingolf was glad. now he knew where he should dwell. now he caught a glimpse of meaning again in his life. he immediately arranged a great sacrificial feast, and made sacrifices to odin and thor and gave them thank-offerings. when he heard about the eagle he became thoughtful. neither he nor anyone else believed that the eagle's having sat there was accidental. there was in ingolf's mind not the least doubt that the eagle had really been his old father, who, in a shape corresponding to his name, had been sent by odin to guide and keep watch over the pillars. never again was an eagle seen on that height, which received the name "orn's height." as soon as spring came, and the roads were passable, ingolf left ingolf's hill and went over to rogvig. the place where ingolf's pillars had drifted ashore was a large, bare promontory. the district was stony, and there was not much pasture-land. by far the greatest number of the parts he had traversed had been better and more suitable for settling. but here it was _his_ lot to dwell. and, besides, he could take possession of as large a territory as he chose, and build houses for his people and cattle-sheds where he found fertile soil. already that summer ingolf began to mark out his lands. for himself and his posterity he took possession of the whole of the great promontory, from the river-mouth where his ships lay up along its curving course and across the hills to a fjord on the north side of the promontory, which was named hvalfjord, between two rivers, which received the names of brynjedal river and okse river. many of ingolf's men were dissatisfied at having to settle in this unfertile region. the serf karle, in great vexation, ran away with a serf-woman. ingolf found them long afterwards settled inland. ingolf gave land to his freed serf, vifel. he settled on vifestofte, and vifel's hill bears his name. he became a well-to-do man. the next summer ingolf went to norway to fetch timber for his houses. he built a residence at rogvig, which was not at all inferior to the chief seat of the family at dalsfjord in norway. to the residence was attached a temple which in its size and splendid equipment did not fall far short of that at gaulum. ingolf was faithful to his gods and showed them great honour. since they had given him a new place of abode he felt confidently assured that he had regained their favour. ingolf, who daily had his sister helga before his eyes, was often reminded of his sworn brother, hjor-leif. now he understood much which he had not understood before, and caught a sight of the connection between events, which taken separately seemed accidental. he remembered the beggar's words: "point and blade!" now he understood what the beggar had meant. it was owing to hjor-leif's prompting that they had journeyed to iceland. hjor-leif was really the first occupant, even though he had not come to settle there permanently. fate, the blind and immovable, had been out after him prematurely. ingolf's heart was moved when he remembered how hjor-leif had grown fond of this land from the first. it was accordingly hjor-leif whom iceland had first taken in its embrace. hjor-leif was the first who had consecrated the soil of the new land with flesh and blood. had the gods, or perhaps the guardian spirits of the country, claimed him as a sacrifice? it was at any rate a great sacrifice. but ingolf did not dare to find fault with the gods. already the year after ingolf had settled in rogvig people began to flock to the country. they were for the most part norwegian chieftains who could not come to terms with king harald. ingolf gave several of the settlers land in his territory. among the first settlers was hallveig's brother, lopt, who was called lopt the old, and many of his family, which was a good and noble one. haasten, atle jarl's son, was also among the first occupants. he had at last been obliged to leave his own lands and property and flee the country to save his life. he took some land, guided by his high-seat pillars, due east of the river which bordered ingolf's territory. haasten lost his ship when landing, but his property and men were saved. the very next winter he visited ingolf in rogvig. on the evening of haasten's coming, ingolf sat as usual in the high-seat with his men at the table round him, a step lower. the fire burned cheerfully on the hearthstones and spread a genial and penetrating glow. the coarsely carved images of the gods on the strongly illumined age-browned pillars of the high-seat laughed broadly in the glaring light. the talk was lively around the tables, and the beer-jugs were diligently emptied and filled. ingolf was not grudging of beer to his men. he sat with a contented look in his peaceful blue eyes and listened to their talk. he himself spoke but seldom, except when questioned. then suddenly there came three knocks at the door. all the talking round the tables ceased. ingolf turned his head and gave a signal to the man at the door. the bolt was pushed to one side, and in stepped a tall, erect, fair-bearded man in a red silk cloak with a golden helmet on his head, followed by three other men. ingolf immediately recognized haasten, in spite of his beard and the ageing and weary expression of his thin face. he sprang up and went to meet him. he was too much moved to speak. for a while the two former friends stood silent, pressing each other's hands and looking each other straight in the eyes. then they fell into each other's arms. when, shortly after, they sat side by side in the high-seat and had drunk to each other, ingolf said: "i did not know, haasten, that you were on this road." haasten smiled his weary, steady smile, and answered: "yes, king harald has driven me from the country, as i in my time drove you two brothers. have you forgiven me that, ingolf?" "i have never been angered with you for it," ingolf answered. they spoke together of many things, and their talk was light and untroubled. there was in haasten's attitude towards ingolf the same deference that all other chieftains who came there showed the quiet, confident, simple, taciturn man, who by his example had drawn all the others to this new land. ingolf was indeed his friend, and as such he showed him confidence, but he was also the first settler in the land, and as such he evinced for him a great and undisguised deference. they talked of hjor-leif. "it happened as i fore-told," said haasten, and smiled sadly. "the mistletoe branch at last struck the invulnerable." "we all owe odin a death," said ingolf quietly, and drew a deep sigh. "it is most often the survivors whose lot is the hardest." his look involuntarily sought the women's dais. there sat helga, gazing before her without expression in her eyes, with his son, thorsten, in her lap. ingolf pointed out the boy to haasten. "his name is built of thor's name and yours," he said in a gentler voice. while ingolf talked, he noticed how attentively his son's quiet blue eyes dwelt on the high-seat pillars. thus he had himself sat as a boy, he remembered suddenly. and now he met his son's look. were thorsten's thoughts something like his had been when he was a child? haasten had been sitting in silence, watching the boy. then he said suddenly: "he must have been born soon after _that_ winter." "the winter after," ingolf answered, a little curtly. "he bears thor's name and mine," haasten continued thoughtfully. "may that bring him good luck!" he was silent a short time. then he asked: "but who is the woman?" "my sister, helga," answered ingolf quietly. the two friends sat silent a long time. then haasten beckoned to the boy, and when he came he took him between his knees, and looked closely at him. "you have honest, intelligent eyes; you will be a brave man," he said at last, and stroked his fair hair. then he took a heavy gold ring off his arm and gave it to thorsten. "that is because you are in some part my name-sake," he explained, smiling at the boy, who stood with the ring in his hand, staring alternately at gift and giver. thorsten tried the ring on his slender arm. "it is too large," he declared, a little offended. then he suddenly brightened up. "but it will fit me well enough by the time father is dead, and i sit in the high-seat." both ingolf and haasten laughed. thorsten went to show helga and his mother the ring. then silence came over the two friends. shortly after, ingolf proposed that they should drink to their dead brother. the friends' glances met over the rim of the drinking-horns. there were tears in their eyes. they sat late that night and drank and talked together. they were very happy to sit side by side again. the solitude which had threatened to imprison each severally was suddenly banished. now they had each other again, and felt the joy of friendship. the fire burned yellow and brightly on the hearthstones. in its genial warm light the images of the gods on the carved pillars looked down as if following all that passed with slow content, and waiting, calmly wise, for what should come. the end the bondman. a new saga. by hall caine, author of "the deemster," etc., etc. "vengeance is mine, i will repay." new york: a. l. burt, publisher. to my son "little sunlocks." note. the central date of this story (a saga in the only sense accepted among icelanders) is 1800, when iceland, in the same year as ireland, lost the last visible sign of her ancient independence as a nation. but, lest the historical incidents that stand as a background to simple human passions should seem to clash at some points, i hasten to say that i have not thought it wise to bind myself to the strict chronology of history, manx or icelandic, for some years before and after. i am partly conscious that the iceland i have described is the iceland of an earlier era; but icelanders will not object to my having tried to bring within my too narrow limits much of what is beautiful and noble and firing to enthusiasm in their old habits, customs and laws. to the foolish revolt which occurred at reykjavik early in this century i have tried to give the dignity of a serious revolution such as, i truly think, icelanders may yet make in order to become masters in their own house. for a great deal of my data towards this sort of secondary interest i am indebted to many books, icelandic and english; and for some personal help i owe my thanks to herra jon a. hjaltalin of modruvellir, who is not, however, to be charged with my mistakes--too numerous i have no doubt. for my descriptions of icelandic scenes and character i can claim no authority but that of my own observation. h. c. hawthorns, keswick. the bondman. "vengeance is mine--i will repay." proem. there is a beautiful northern legend of a man who loved a good fairy, and wooed her and won her for his wife, and then found that she was no more than a woman after all. grown weary, he turned his back upon her and wandered away over the mountains; and there, on the other side of a ravine from where he was, he saw, as he thought, another fairy, who was lovely to look upon and played sweet music and sang a sweet song. then his heart was filled with joy and bitterness, and he cried, "oh, that the gods had given me this one to wife and not the other." at that, with mighty effort and in great peril, he crossed the ravine and made towards the fairy, and she fled from him; but he ran and followed her and overtook her, and captured her and turned her face to his face that he might kiss her, and lo! _she was his wife!_ this old folk-tale is half my story--the play of emotions as sweet and light as the footsteps of the shadows that flit over a field of corn. there is another northern legend of a man who thought he was pursued by a troll. his ricks were fired, his barns unroofed, his cattle destroyed, his lands blasted, and his firstborn slain. so he lay in wait for the monster where it lived in the chasms near his house, and in the darkness of night he saw it. with a cry he rushed upon it, and gripped it about the waist, and it turned upon him and held him by the shoulder. long he wrestled with it, reeling, staggering, falling and rising again; but at length a flood of strength came to him and he overthrew it, and stood over it, covering it, conquering it, with his back across his thigh and his right hand set hard at its throat. then he drew his knife to kill it, and the moon shot through a rack of cloud, opening an alley of light about it, and he saw its face, and lo! _the face of the troll was his own!_ this is the other half of my story--the crash of passions as bracing as a black thunderstorm. chapter i. stephen orry, seaman, of stappen. in the latter years of last century, h. jorgen jorgensen was governor-general of iceland. he was a dane, born in copenhagen, apprenticed to the sea on board an english trader, afterwards employed as a petty officer in the british navy, and some time in the command of a danish privateer in an alliance of denmark and france against england. a rover, a schemer, a shrewd man of affairs, who was honest by way of interest, just by policy, generous by strategy, and who never suffered his conscience, which was not a good one, to get the better of him. in one of his adventures he had sailed a welsh brig from liverpool to reykjavik. this had been his introduction to the icelandic capital, then a little, hungry, creeping settlement, with its face towards america and its wooden feet in the sea. it had also been his introduction to the household of the welsh merchant, who had a wharf by the old canning basin at liverpool, a counting-house behind his residence in wolstenholme square, and a daughter of five and twenty. jorgen, by his own proposal, was to barter english produce for icelandic tallow. on his first voyage he took out a hundred tons of salt, and brought back a heavy cargo of lava for ballast. on his second voyage he took out the welshman's daughter as his wife, and did not again trouble to send home an empty ship. he had learned that mischief was once more brewing between england and denmark, had violated his english letters of marque and run into copenhagen, induced the authorities there, on the strength of his knowledge of english affairs, to appoint him to the governor-generalship of iceland (then vacant) at a salary of four hundred pounds a year, and landed at reykjavik with the icelandic flag, of the white falcon on the blue ground--the banner of the vikings--at the masthead of his father-in-law's welsh brig. jorgen jorgensen was then in his early manhood, and the strong heart of the good man did not decline with years, but rode it out with him through life and death. he had always intended to have a son and build up a family. it was the sole failure of his career that he had only a daughter. that had been a disaster for which he was not accountable, but he prepared himself to make a good end of a bad beginning. with god's assistance and his own extreme labor he meant to marry his daughter to count trollop, the danish minister for iceland, a functionary with five hundred a year, a house at reykjavik, and another at the danish capital. this person was five-and-forty, tall, wrinkled, powdered, oiled, and devoted to gallantry. jorgen's daughter, resembling her welsh mother, was patient in suffering, passionate in love, and fierce in hatred. her name was rachel. at the advent of count trollop she was twenty, and her mother had then been some years dead. the count perceived jorgen's drift, smiled at it, silently acquiesced in it, took even a languid interest in it, arising partly out of the governor's position and the wealth the honest man was supposed to have amassed in the rigorous exercise of a place of power, and partly out of the daughter's own comeliness, which was not to be despised. at first the girl, on her part, neither assisted her father's designs nor resisted them, but showed complete indifference to the weighty questions of whom she should marry, when she should marry, and how she should marry; and this mood of mind contented her down to the last week in june that followed the anniversary of her twenty-first birthday. that was the month of althing, the national holiday of fourteen days, when the people's law-givers--the governor, the bishop, the speaker, and the sheriffs--met the people's delegates and some portion of the people themselves at the ancient mount of laws in the valley of thingvellir, for the reading of the old statutes and the promulgation of the new ones, for the trial of felons and the settlement of claims, for the making of love and the making of quarrels, for wrestling and horse-fighting, for the practice of arms and the breaking of heads. count trollop was in iceland at this celebration of the ancient festival, and he was induced by jorgen to give it the light of his countenance. the governor's company set out on half-a-hundred of the native ponies, and his daughter rode between himself and the count. during that ride of six or seven long danish miles jorgen settled the terms of the intended transfer to his own complete contentment. the count acquiesced and the daughter did not rebel. the lonely valley was reached, the tents were pitched, the bishop hallowed the assembly with solemn ceremonies, and the business of althing began. three days the work went on, and rachel wearied of it; but on the fourth the wrestling was started, and her father sent for her to sit with him on the mount and to present at the end of the contest the silver-buckled belt to the champion of all iceland. she obeyed the summons with indifference, and took a seat beside the judge, with the count standing at her side. in the space below there was a crowd of men and boys, women and children, gathered about the ring. one wrestler was throwing everyone that came before him. his name was patricksen, and he was supposed to be descended from the irish, who settled, ages ago, on the westmann islands. his success became monotonous; at every fresh bout his self-confidence grew more insufferable, and the girl's eyes wandered from the spectacle to the spectators. from that instant her indifference fell away. by the outskirts of the crowd, on one of the lower mounds of the mount of laws, a man sat with his head in his hand, with elbow on his knee. his head was bare, and from his hairy breast his woolen shirt was thrown back by reason of the heat. he was a magnificent creature--young, stalwart, fair-haired, broad-chested, with limbs like the beech tree, and muscles like its great gnarled round heads. his coat, a sort of sailor's jacket, was coarse and torn; his stockings, reaching to his knees, were cut and brown. he did not seem to heed the wrestling, and there rested upon him the idle air of the lusty icelander--the languor of the big, tired animal. only, when at the close of a bout a cheer rose and a way was made through the crowd for the exit of the vanquished man, did he lift up his great slow eyes--gray as those of a seal, and as calm and lustreless. the wrestling came to an end. patricksen justified his irish blood, was proclaimed the winner, and stepped up to the foot of the mount that the daughter of the governor might buckle about him his champion's belt. the girl went through her function listlessly, her eyes wandering to where the fair-haired giant sat apart. then the westmann islander called for drink that he might treat the losing men, and having drunk himself, he began to swagger afresh, saying that they might find him the strongest and lustiest man that day at thingvellir, and he would bargain to throw him over his back. as he spoke he strutted by the bottom of the mount, and the man who sat there lifted his head and looked at him. something in the glance arrested patricksen and he stopped. "this seems to be a lump of a lad," he said. "let us see what we can do with him." and at that he threw his long arms about the stalwart fellow, squared his broad hips before him, thrust down his head into his breast until his red neck was as thick as a bullock's, and threw all the strength of his body into his arms that he might lift the man out of his seat. but he moved him not an inch. with feet that held the earth like the hoofs of an ox, the young man sat unmoved. then those who had followed at the islander's heels for the liquor he was spending first stared in wonderment at his failure, and next laughed in derision of his bragging, and shouted to know why, before it was too late, the young man had not taken a bout at the wrestling, for that he who could hold his seat so must be the strongest-limbed man between the fells and the sea. hearing this patricksen tossed his head in anger, and said it was not yet too late, that if he took home the champion's belt it should be no rude bargain to master or man from sea to sea, and buckled though it was, it should be his who could take it from its place. at that word the young fellow rose, and then it was seen that his right arm was useless, being broken between the elbow and the wrist, and bound with a kerchief above the wound. nothing loth for this infirmity, he threw his other arm about the waist of the islander, and the two men closed for a fall. patricksen had the first grip, and he swung to it, thinking straightway to lay his adversary by the heels; but the young man held his feet, and then, pushing one leg between the legs of the islander, planting the other knee into the islander's stomach, thrusting his head beneath the islander's chin, he knuckled his left hand under the islander's rib, pulled towards him, pushed from him, threw the weight of his body forward, and like a green withe patricksen doubled backwards with a groan. then at a rush of the islander's kinsmen, and a cry that his back would be broken, young man loosed his grip, and patricksen rolled from him to the earth, as a clod rolls from the ploughshare. all this time jorgen's daughter had craned her neck to see over the heads of the people, and when the tussle was at an end, her face, which had been strained to the point of anguish, relaxed to smiles, and she turned to her father and asked if the champion's belt should not be his who had overcome the champion. but jorgen answered no--that the contest was done, and judgment made, and he who would take the champion's belt must come to the next althing and earn it. then the girl unlocked her necklace of coral and silver spangles, beckoned the young man to her, bound the necklace about his broken arm close up by the shoulder, and asked him his name. "stephen," he answered. "whose son?" said she. "orrysen--but they call me stephen orry." "of what craft?" "seaman, of stappen, under snaefell." the westmann islander had rolled to his legs by this time, and now he came shambling up, with the belt in his hand and his sullen eyes on the ground. "keep it," he said, and flung the belt at the girl's feet, between her and his adversary. then he strode away through the people, with curses on his white lips and the veins of his squat forehead large and dark. it was midnight before the crowds had broken up and straggled away to their tents, but the sun of this northern land was still half over the horizon, and its dull red glow was on the waters of the lake that lay to the west of the valley. in the dim light of an hour later, when the hills of thingvellir slept under the cloud shadow that was their only night, stephen orry stood with the governor's daughter by the door of the thingvellir parsonage, for jorgen's company were the parson's guests. he held out the champion's belt to her and said, "take it back, for if i keep it the man and his kinsmen will follow me all the days of my life." she answered him that it was his, for he had won it, and until it was taken from him he must hold it, and if he stood in peril from the kinsmen of any man let him remember that it was she, daughter of the governor himself, who had given it. the air was hushed in that still hour, not a twig or a blade rustling over the serried face of that desolate land as far as the wooded rifts that stood under the snowy dome of the armann fells. as she spoke there was a sharp noise near at hand, and he started; but she rallied him on his fears, and laughed that one who had felled the blustering champion of that day should tremble at a noise in the night. there was a wild outcry in thingvellir the next morning, patricksen, the westmann islander, had been murdered. there was a rush of the people to the place where his body had been found. it lay like a rag across the dyke that ran between the parsonage and the church. on the dead man's face was the look that all had seen there when last night he flung down the belt between his adversary and the governor's daughter, crying, "keep it." but his sullen eyes were glazed, and stared up without the quivering of a lid through the rosy sunlight; the dark veins on his brow were now purple, and when they lifted him they saw that his back was broken. then there was a gathering at the foot of the mount, with the parson for judge, and nine men of those who had slept in the tents nearest to the body for witnesses and jury. nothing was discovered. no one had heard a sound throughout the night. there was no charge to put before the law-givers at althing. the kinsmen of the dead man cast dark looks at stephen orry, but he gave never a sign. next day the strong man was laid under the shallow turf of the church garth. his little life's swaggering was swaggered out; he must sleep on to the resurrection without one brag more. the governor's daughter did not leave the guest room of the parsonage from the night of the wrestling onwards to the last morning of the althing holiday, and then, the last ceremonies done, the tents struck and the ponies saddled, she took her place between jorgen and the count for the return journey home. twenty paces behind her the fair-haired stephen orry rode on his shaggy pony, gaunt and peaky and bearded as a goat, and five paces behind him rode the brother of the dead man patricksen. amid five hundred men and women, and eight hundred horses saddled for riding or packed with burdens, these three had set their faces towards the little wooden capital. july passed into august, and the day was near that had been appointed by jorgen jorgensen for the marriage of his daughter to the count trollop. at the girl's request the marriage was postponed. the second day came nigh; again the girl excused herself, and again the marriage was put off. a third time the appointed day approached, and a third time the girl asked for delay. but jorgen's iron will was to be tampered with no longer. the time was near when the minister must return to copenhagen, and that was reason enough why the thing in hand should be despatched. the marriage must be delayed no longer. but then the count betrayed reluctance. rumor had pestered him with reports that vexed his pride. he dropped hints of them to the governor. "strange," said he, "that a woman should prefer the stink of the fulmar fish to the perfumes of civilization." jorgen fired up at the sneer. his daughter was his daughter, and he was governor-general of the island. what lowborn churl would dare to lift his eyes to the child of jorgen jorgensen? the count had his answer pat. he had made inquiries. the man's name was stephen orry. he came from stappen under snaefell, and was known there for a wastrel. on the poor glory of his village voyage as an athlete, he idled his days in bed and his nights at the tavern. his father, an honest thrall, was dead; his mother lived by splitting and drying the stock-fish for english traders. he was the foolish old woman's pride, and she kept him. such was the man whom the daughter of the governor had chosen before the minister for iceland. at that jorgen's hard face grew livid and white by turns. they were sitting at supper in government house, and, with an oath, the governor brought his fist down on the table. it was a lie; his daughter knew no more of the man than he did. the count shrugged his shoulders and asked where she was then, that she was not with them. jorgen answered, with an absent look, that she was forced to keep her room. at that moment a message came for the count. it was urgent and could not wait. the count went to the door, and, returning presently, asked if jorgen was sure that his daughter was in the house. certain of it he was, for she was ill, and the days were deepening to winter. but for all his assurance, jorgen sprang up from his seat and made for his daughter's chamber. she was not there, and the room was empty. the count met him in the corridor. "follow me," he whispered, and jorgen followed, his proud, stern head bent low. in the rear of the government house at reykjavik there is a small meadow. that night it was inches deep in the year's first fall of snow, but two persons stood together there, close locked in each other's arms--stephen orry and the daughter of jorgen jorgensen. with the tread of a cat a man crept up behind them. it was the brother of patricksen. at his back came the count and the governor. the snow cloud lifted, and a white gush of moonlight showed all. with the cry of a wild beast jorgen flung himself between his daughter and her lover, leapt at stephen and struck him hard on the breast, and then, as the girl dropped to her knees at his feet, he cursed her. "bastard," he shrieked, "there's no blood of mine in your body. go to your filthy offal, and may the devil damn you both." she stopped her ears to shut out the torrent of a father's curse, but before the flood of it was spent she fell backward cold and senseless, and her upturned face was whiter than the snow. then her giant lover lifted her in his arms as if she had been a child, and strode away in silence. chapter ii. the mother of a man. the daughter of the governor-general and the seaman of stappen were made man and wife. the little lutheran priest, who married them, sigfus thomson, a worthy man and a good christian, had reason to remember the ceremony. within a week he was removed from his chaplaincy at the capital to the rectory of grimsey, the smallest cure of the icelandic church, on an island separated from the mainland by seven danish miles of sea. the days that followed brought rachel no cheer of life. she had thought that her husband would take her away to his home under snaefell, and so remove her from the scene of her humiliation. he excused himself, saying that stappen was but a poor place, where the great ships never put in to trade, and that there was more chance of livelihood at reykjavik. rachel crushed down her shame, and they took a mean little house in the fishing quarter. but stephen did no work. once he went out four days with a company of englishmen as guide to the geysers, and on his return he idled four weeks on the wharves, looking at the foreign seamen as they arrived by the boats. the fame of his exploit at thingvellir had brought him a troop of admirers, and what he wanted for his pleasure he never lacked. but necessity began to touch him at home, and then he hinted to rachel that her father was rich. she had borne his indifference to her degradation, she had not murmured at the idleness that pinched them, but at that word something in her heart seemed to break. she bent her head and said nothing. he went on to hint that she should go to her father, who seeing her need would surely forgive her. then her proud spirit could brook no more. "rather than darken my father's doors again," she said, "i will starve on a crust of bread and a drop of water." things did not mend, and stephen began to cast down his eyes in shame when rachel looked at him. never a word of blame she spoke, but he reproached himself and talked of his old mother at stappen. she was the only one who could do any good with him. she knew him and did not spare him. when she was near he worked sometimes, and did not drink too much. he must send for her. rachel raised no obstacle, and one day the old mother came, perched upon a bony, ragged-eared pony, and with all her belongings on the pack behind her. she was a little, hard featured woman; and at the first sight of her seamed and blotted face rachel's spirit sank. the old woman was active and restless. two days after her arrival she was at work at her old trade of splitting and drying the stock-fish. all the difference that the change had made for her was that she was working on the beach at reykjavik instead of the beach at stappen, and living with her son and her son's wife instead of alone. her coming did not better the condition of rachel. she had measured her new daughter-in-law from head to foot at their first meeting, and neither smiled nor kissed her. she was devoted to her son, and no woman was too good for him. her son had loved her, and rachel had come between them. the old woman made up her mind to hate the girl, because her fine manners and comely face were a daily rebuke to her own coarse habits and homely looks, and an hourly contrast always present to stephen's eyes. stephen was as idle as ever, and less ashamed of his sloth now that there was someone to keep the wolf from the door. his mother accepted with cheerfulness the duty of bread-winner to her son, but rachel's helplessness chafed her. for all her fine fingering the girl could finger nothing that would fill the pot. "a pretty wife you've brought me home to keep," she muttered morning and night. but rachel's abasement was not even yet at its worst. "oh," she thought, "if i could but get back my husband to myself alone, he would see my humiliation and save me from it." she went a woman's way to work to have the old mother sent home to stappen. but the trick that woman's wit can devise woman's wit can baulk, and the old mother held her ground. then the girl bethought her of her old shame at living in a hovel close to her father's house, and asked to be taken away. anywhere, anywhere, let it be to the world's end, and she would follow. stephen answered that one place was like another in iceland, where the people were few and all knew their history; and, as for foreign parts, though a seaman he was not a seagoing man, farther than the whale-fishing lay about their coasts, and that, go where they might to better their condition, yet other poor men were there already. at that, rachel's heart sank, for she saw that the great body of her husband must cover a pigmy soul. bound she was for all her weary days to the place of her disgrace, doomed she was to live to the last with the woman who hated her, and to eat that woman's bitter bread. she was heavy with child at this time, and her spirit was broken. so she sat herself down with her feet to the hearth, and wept. there the old mother saw her as often as she bustled in and out of the house from the beach, and many a gibe she flung her way. but stephen sat beside her one day with a shame-faced look, and cursed his luck, and said if he only had an open boat of his own what he would do for both of them. she asked how much a boat would cost him, and he answered sixty kroner; that a scotch captain then in the harbor had such a one to sell at that price, and that it was a better boat than the fishermen of those parts ever owned, for it was of english build. now it chanced that sitting alone that very day in her hopelessness, rachel had overheard a group of noisy young girls in the street tell of a certain jew, named bernard frank, who stood on the jetty by the stores buying hair of the young maidens who would sell to him, and of the great money he had paid to some of them, such as they had never handled before. and now, at this mention of the boat, and at the flash of hope that came with it, rachel remembered that she herself had a plentiful head of hair, and how often it had been commended for its color and texture, and length and abundance, in the days (now gone forever) when all things were good and beautiful that belonged to the daughter of the governor. so, making some excuse to stephen, she rose up, put off her little house cap with the tassel, put on her large linen head-dress, hurried out, and made for the wharf. there in truth the jew was standing with a group of girls about him. and some of these would sell outright to him, and then go straightway to the stores to buy filigree jewelry and rings, or bright-hued shawls, with the price of their golden locks shorn off. and some would hover about him between desire of so much artificial adornment and dread of so much natural disfigurement, until, like moths, they would fall before the light of the jew's bright silver. rachel had reached the place at the first impulse of her thought, but being there her heart misgave her, and she paused on the outskirts of the crowd. to go in among these girls and sell her hair to the jew was to make herself one with the lowest and meanest of the town, but that was not the fear that held her back. suddenly the thought had come to her that what she had intended to do was meant to win her husband back to her, yet that she could not say what it was that had won him for her at the first. and seeing how sadly the girls were changed after the shears had passed over their heads, she could not help but ask herself what it would profit her, though she got the boat for her husband, if she lost him for herself? and thinking in this fashion she was turning away with a faltering step, when the jew, seeing her, called to her, saying what lovely fair hair she had, and asking would she part with it. there was no going back on her purpose then, so facing it out as bravely as she could, she removed her head-dress, dropped her hair out of the plaits, until it fell in its sunny wavelets to her waist, and asked how much he would give for it. the jew answered, "fifty kroner." "make it sixty," she said, "and it is yours." the jew protested that he would lose by the transaction, but he paid the money into rachel's hands, and she, lest she should repent of her bargain, prayed him to take her hair off instantly. he was nothing loth to do so, and the beautiful flaxen locks, cut close to the crown, fell in long tresses to his big shears. rachel put back her linen head-dress, and, holding tightly the sixty silver pieces in her palm, hurried home. her cheeks were crimson, her eyes were wet, and her heart was beating high when she returned to her poor home in the fishing quarter. there in a shrill, tremulous voice of joy and fear, she told stephen all, and counted out the glistening coins to the last of the sixty into his great hand. "and now you can buy the english boat," she said, "and we shall be beholden to no one." he answered her wild words with few of his own, and showed little pleasure; yet he closed his hand on the money, and, getting up, he went out of the house, saying he must see the scotch captain there and then. hardly had he gone when the old mother came in from her work on the beach, and, rachel's hopes being high, she could not but share them with her, and so she told her all, little as was the commerce that passed between them. the mother only grunted as she listened and went on with her food. rachel longed for stephen to return with the good news that all was settled and done, but the minutes passed and he did not come. the old woman sat by the hearth and smoked. rachel waited with fear at her heart, but the hours went by and still stephen did not appear. the old woman dozed before the fire and snored. at length, when the night had worn on towards midnight, an unsteady step came to the door, and stephen reeled into the house drunk. the old woman awoke and laughed. rachel grew faint and sank to a seat. stephen dropped to his knees on the ground before her, and in a maudling cry went on to tell of how he had thought to make one hundred kroner of her sixty by a wager, how he had lost fifty, and then in a fit of despair had spent the other ten. "then all is gone--all," cried rachel. and thereupon the old woman shuffled to her feet and said bitterly, "and a good thing, too. i know you--trust me for seeing through your sly ways, my lady. you expected to take my son from me with the price of your ginger hair, you ugly baldpate." rachel's head grew light, and with the cry of a bated creature she turned upon the old mother in a torrent of hot words. "you low, mean, selfish soul," she cried, "i despise you more than the dirt under my feet." worse than this she said, and the old woman called on stephen to hearken to her, for that was the wife he had brought home to revile his mother. the old witch shed some crocodile tears, and stephen lunged in between the women and with the back of his hand struck his wife across the face. at that blow rachel was silent for a moment, trembling like an affrighted beast, and then she turned upon her husband. "and so you have struck me--me--me," she cried. "have you forgotten the death of patricksen?" the blow of her words was harder than the blow of her husband's hand. the man reeled before it, turned white, gasped for breath, then caught up his cap and fled out into the night. chapter iii. the lad jason. of rachel in her dishonor there is now not much to tell, but the little that is left is the kernel of this history. that night, amid the strain of strong emotions, she was brought to bed before her time was yet full. her labor was hard, and long she lay between life and death, for the angel of hope did not pull with her. but as the sun shot its first yellow rays through the little skin-covered windows, a child was born to rachel, and it was a boy. little joy she found in it, and remembering its father's inhumanity, she turned her face from it to the wall, trying thereby to conquer the yearning that answered to its cry. it was then for the first time since her lying-in that the old mother came to her. she had been out searching for stephen, and had just come upon news of him. "he has gone in an english ship," she cried. "he sailed last night, and i have lost him forever." and at that she leaned her quivering white face over the bed, and raised her clenched hand over rachel's face. "son for son," she cried again. "may you lose your son, even as you have made me to lose mine." the child seemed likely to answer to the impious prayer, for its little strength waned visibly. and in those first hours of her shameful widowhood the evil thought came to rachel to do with it as the baser sort among her people were allowed to do with the children they did not wish to rear--expose it to its death before it had yet touched food. but in the throes, as she thought, of its extremity, the love of the mother prevailed over the hate of the wife, and with a gush of tears she plucked the babe to her breast. then the neighbor, who out of pity and charity had nursed her in her dark hour, ran for the priest, that with the blessing of baptism the child might die a christian soul. the good man came, and took the little, sleep-bound body from rachel's arms, and asked her the name. she did not answer, and he asked again. once more, having no reply, he turned to the neighbor to know what the father's name had been. "stephen orry," said the good woman. "then stephen stephensen," he began, dipping his fingers into the water; but at the sound of that name rachel cried, "no, no, no." "he has not done well by her, poor soul," whispered the woman; "call it after her own father." "then jorgen jorgensen," the priest began again; and again rachel cried, "no, no, no," and raised herself upon her arm. "it has no father," she said, "and i have none. if it is to die, let it go to god's throne with the badge of no man's cruelty; and if it is to live, let it be known by no man's name save its own. call it jason--jason only." and in the name of jason the child was baptised, and so it was that rachel, little knowing what she was doing in her blind passion and pain, severed her son from kith and kin. but in what she did out of the bitterness of her heart god himself had his own great purposes. from that hour the child increased in strength, and soon waxed strong, and three days after, as the babe lay cooing at rachel's breast, and she in her own despite was tasting the first sweet joys of motherhood, the old mother of stephen came to her again. "this is my house," she said, "and i will keep shelter over your head no longer. you must pack and away--you and your brat, both of you." that night the bishop of the island--bishop petersen, once a friend of rachel's mother, now much in fear of the governor, her father--came to her in secret to say that there was a house for her at the extreme west of the fishing quarter, where a fisherman had lately died, leaving the little that he had to the church. there she betook herself with her child as soon as the days of her lying-in were over. it was a little oblong shed, of lava blocks laid with peat for mortar, resembling on the outside two ancient seamen shoving shoulders together against the weather, and on the inside two tiny bird cages. and having no one now to stand to her, or seem to stand, in the place of bread-winner, she set herself to such poor work as she could do and earn a scanty living by. this was cleaning the down of the eider duck, by passing it through a sieve made of yarn stretched over a hoop. by a deft hand, with extreme labor, something equal to sixpence a day could be made in this way from the english traders. with such earnings rachel lived in content, and if jorgen jorgensen had any knowledge of his daughter's necessities he made no effort to relieve them. her child lived--a happy, sprightly, joyous bird in its little cage--and her broken heart danced to its delicious accents. it sweetened her labors, it softened her misfortunes, it made life more dear and death more dreadful; it was the strength of her arms and the courage of her soul, her summons to labor and her desire for rest. call her wretched no longer, for now she had her child to love. happy little dingy cabin in the fishing quarter, amid the vats for sharks' oil and the heaps of dried cod! it was filled with heaven's own light, that came not from above but radiated from the little cradle where her life, her hope, her joy, her solace lay swathed in the coverlet of all her love. and as she worked through the long summer days on the beach, with the child playing among the pebbles at her feet, many a dream danced before her of the days to come, when her boy would sail in the ships that came to their coast, and perhaps take her with him to that island of the sea that had been her mother's english home, where men were good to women and women were true to men. until then she must live where she was, a prisoner chained to a cruel rock; but she would not repine, she could wait, for the time of her deliverance was near. her liberator was coming. he was at her feet; he was her child, her boy, her darling; and when he slumbered she saw him wax and grow, and when he awoke she saw her fetters break. thus on the bridge of hope's own rainbow she spanned her little world of shame and pain. the years went by, and jason grew to be a strong-limbed, straight, stalwart lad, red-haired and passionate-hearted, reckless and improvident as far as improvidence was possible amid the conditions of his bringing up. he was a human waterfowl, and all his days were spent on the sea. such work as was also play he was eager to do. he would clamber up the rocks of the island of engy outside the harbor, to take the eggs of the eider duck from the steep places where she built her nest; and from the beginning of may to the end of june he found his mother in the eider down that she cleaned for the english traders. people whispered to rachel that he favored his father, both in stature and character, but she turned a deaf ear to their gloomy forebodings. her son was as fair as the day to look upon, and if he had his lazy humors, he had also one quality which overtopped them all--he loved his mother. people whispered again that in this regard also he resembled his father, who amid many vices had the same sole virtue. partly to shut him off from the scandal of the gossips, who might tell him too soon the story of his mother's wrecked and broken life, and partly out of the bitterness and selfishness of her bruised spirit, rachel had brought up her boy to speak the tongue of her mother--the english tongue. her purpose failed her, for jason learned icelandic on the beach as fast as english in the house; he heard the story of his mother's shame and of his father's baseness, and brought it back to her in the colors of a thrice-told tale. vain effort of fear and pride! it was nevertheless to prepare the lad for the future that was before him. and through all the days of her worse than widowhood, amid dark memories of the past and thoughts of the future wherein many passions struggled together, the hope lay low down in rachel's mind that stephen would return to her. could he continue to stand in dread of the threat of his own wife? no, no, no. it had been only the hot word of a moment of anger, and it was gone. stephen was staying away in fear of the brother of patricksen. when that man was dead, or out of the way, he would return. then he would see their boy, and remember his duty towards him, and if the lad ever again spoke bitterly of one whom he had never yet seen, she on her part would chide him, and the light of revenge that had sometimes flashed in his brilliant blue eyes would fade away and in uplooking and affection he would walk as a son with his father's hand. thus in the riot of her woman's heart hope fought with fear and love with hate. and at last the brother of patricksen did indeed disappear. rumor whispered that he had returned to the westmann islands, there to settle for the rest of his days and travel the sea no more. "now _he_ will come," thought rachel. "wherever he is, he will learn that there is no longer anything to fear, and he will return." and she waited with as firm a hope that the winds would carry the word as noah waited for the settling of the waters after the dove had found the dry land. but time went on and stephen did not appear, and at length under the turmoil of a heart that fought with itself, rachel's health began to sink. then patricksen returned. he had a message for her. he knew where her husband was. stephen orry was on the little island of man, far away south, in the irish sea. he had married again, and he had another child. his wife was dead, but his son was living. rachel in her weakness went to bed and rose from it no more. the broad dazzle of the sun that had been so soon to rise on her wasted life was shot over with an inky pall of cloud. not for her was to be the voyage to england. her boy must go alone. it was the winter season in that stern land of the north, when night and day so closely commingle that the darkness seems never to lift. and in the silence of that long night rachel lay in her little hut, sinking rapidly and much alone. jason came to her from time to time, in his great sea stockings and big gloves and with the odor of the brine in his long red hair. by her bedside he would stand half-an-hour in silence, with eyes full of wonderment; for life like that of an untamed colt was in his own warm limbs, and death was very strange to him. a sudden hemorrhage brought the end, and one day darker than the rest, when jason hastened home from the boats, the pain and panting of death were there before him. his mother's pallid face lay on her arm, her great dark eyes were glazed already, she was breathing hard and every breath was a spasm. jason ran for the priest--the same that had named him in his baptism. the good old man came hobbling along, book in hand, and seeing how life flickered he would have sent for the governor, but rachel forbade him. he read to her, he sang for her in his crazy cracked voice, he shrived her, and then all being over, as far as human efforts could avail, he sat himself down on a chest, spread his print handkerchief over his knee, took out his snuffbox and waited. jason stood with his back to the glow of the peat fire, and his hard set face in the gloom. never a word came from him, never a sign, never a tear. only with the strange light in his wild eyes he looked on and listened. rachel stirred, and called to him. "are you there, jason?" she said, feebly, and he stepped to her side. "closer," she whispered; and he took her cold hand in both his hands, and then her dim eyes knew where to look for his face. "good-bye, my brave lad," she said. "i do not fear to leave you. you are strong, you are brave, and the world is kind to them that can fight it. only to the weak it is cruel--only to the weak and the timid--only to women--only to helpless women sold into the slavery of heartless men." and then she told him everything--her love, her loyalty, her life. in twenty little words she told the story. "i gave him all--all. i took a father's curse for him. he struck me--he left me--he forgot me with another woman. listen--listen--closer still--still closer," she whispered, eagerly, and then she spoke the words that lie at the heart of this history. "you will be a sailor, and sail to many lands. if you should ever meet your father, remember what your mother has borne from him. if you should never meet him, but should meet his son, remember what your mother has suffered at the hands of his father. can you hear me? is my speech too thick? have you understood me?" jason's parched throat was choking, and he did not answer. "my brave boy, farewell," she said. "good-bye," she murmured again, more faintly, and after that there was a lull, a pause, a sigh, a long-drawn breath, another sigh, and then over his big brown hands her pallid face fell forward, and the end was come. for some minutes jason stood there still in the same impassive silence. never a tear yet in his great eyes, now wilder than they were; never a cry from his dry throat, now surging hot and athirst; never a sound in his ears, save a dull hum of words like the plash of a breaker that was coming--coming--coming from afar. she was gone who had been everything to him. she had sunk like a wave, and the waves of the ocean were pressing on behind her. she was lost, and the tides of life were flowing as before. the old pastor shuffled to his feet, mopping his moist eyes with his red handkerchief. "come away, my son," he said, and tapped jason on the shoulder. "not yet," the lad answered hoarsely. and then he turned with a dazed look and said, like one who speaks in his sleep, "my father has killed my mother." "no, no, don't say that," said the priest. "yes, yes," said the lad more loudly; "not in a day, or an hour, or a moment, but in twenty long years." "hush, hush, my son," the old priest murmured. but jason did not hear him. "now listen," he cried, "and hear my vow." and still he held the cold hand in his hands, and still the ashy face rested on them. "i will hunt the world over until i find that man, and when i have found him i will slay him." "what are you saying?" cried the priest. but jason went on with an awful solemnity. "if he should die, and we should never meet, i will hunt the world over until i find his son, and when i have found him i will kill him for his father's sake." "silence, silence," cried the priest. "so help me god!" said jason. "my son, my son, vengeance is his. what are we that we should presume to it?" jason heard nothing, but the frost of life's first winter that had bound up his heart, deafening him, blinding him, choking him, seemed all at once to break. he pushed the cold face gently back on to the pillow, and fell over it with sobs that shook the bed. they buried the daughter of the governor in the acre allotted to the dead poor in the yard of the cathedral of reykjavik. the bells were ringing a choral peal between matins and morning service. happy little girls in bright new gowns, with primroses on their breasts yellowing their round chins, went skipping in at the wide west doorway, chattering as they went like linnets in spring. it was easter day, nineteen years after stephen orry had fled from iceland. next morning jason signed articles on the wharf to sail as seaman before the mast on an irish schooner homeward bound for belfast, with liberty to call at whitehaven in cumberland, and ramsey in the isle of man. chapter iv. an angel in homespun. the little island in the middle of the irish sea has through many centuries had its own language and laws, and its own judges and governors. very, very long ago, it had also its own kings; and one of the greatest of them was the icelandic seadog who bought it with blood in 1077. more recently it has had its own reigning lords, and one of the least of them was the scottish nobleman who sold it for gold in 1765. after that act of truck and trade the english crown held the right of appointing the governor-general. it chose the son of the scottish nobleman. this was john, fourth duke of athol, and he held his office fifty-five bad years. in his day the island was not a scene of overmuch gaiety. if the memory of old men can be trusted, he contrived to keep a swashbuckler court there, but its festivities, like his own dignities, must have been maimed and lame. he did not care to see too much of it, and that he might be free to go where he would he appointed a deputy governor. now when he looked about him for this deputy he found just six and twenty persons ready to fall at his feet. he might have had either of the deemsters, but he selected neither; he might have had any of the twenty-four keys, but he selected none. it was then that he heard of a plain farmer in the north of the island, who was honored for his uprightness, beloved for his simplicity, and revered for his piety. "the very man for me," thought the lord of the swashbucklers, and he straightway set off to see him. he found him living like a patriarch among his people, surrounded by his sons, and proud of them that they were many and strong. his name was adam fairbrother. in his youth he had run away to sea, been taken prisoner by the algerines, kept twenty-eight months a slave in barbary, had escaped and returned home captain of a guineaman. this had been all his education and all his history. he had left the island a wild, headstrong, passionate lad; he had returned to it a sober, patient, gentle-hearted man. adam's house was lague, a loose, straggling, featureless and irresolute old fabric, on five hundred hungry acres of the rocky headland of maughold. when the duke rode up to it adam himself was ringing the bell above the door lintel that summoned his people to dinner. he was then in middle life, stout, yet flaccid and slack, with eyes and forehead of sweetest benevolence, mouth of softest tenderness, and hair already whitening over his ears and temples. "the face of an angel in homespun," thought the duke. adam received his visitor with the easy courtesy of an equal, first offering his hand. the duke shook hands with him. he held the stirrup while the duke alighted, took the horse to the stable, slackened its girths, and gave it a feed of oats, talking all the time. the duke stepped after him and listened. then he led the way to the house. the duke followed. they went into the living room--an oblong kitchen with an oak table down the middle, and two rows of benches from end to end. the farming people were trooping in, bringing with them the odor of fresh peat and soil. bowls of barley broth were being set in front of the big chair at the table end. adam sat in this seat and motioned the duke to the bench at his right. the duke sat down. then six words of grace and all were in their places--adam himself, his wife, a shrewd-faced body, his six sons, big and shambling, his men, bare-armed and quiet, his maids, with skirts tucked up, plump and noisy, and the swashbuckler duke, amused and silent, glancing down the long lines of the strangest company with whom he had ever yet been asked to sit at dinner. suet pudding followed the broth, sheep's head and potatoes followed the pudding, then six words of thanks and all rose and trooped away except the duke and adam. that good man had not altered the habit of his life by so much as a plate of cheese for the fact that the "lord of mann" had sat at meat with him. "the manners of a prince," thought the duke. they took the armchairs at opposite sides of the ingle. "you look cosy in your retreat, mr. fairbrother," said the duke; "but since your days in guinea have you never dreamt of a position of more power, and perhaps of more profit?" "as for power," answered adam, "i have observed that the name and the reality rarely go together." "the experience of a statesman," thought the duke. "as for profit," he continued, "i have reflected that money has never yet since the world began tempted a happy man." "the wisdom of a judge," thought the duke. "and as for myself i am a completely happy one." "with more than a judge's integrity," thought the duke. at that the duke told the purpose of his visit. "and now," he said, with uplifted hands, "don't say i've gone far to fare worse. the post i offer requires but one qualification in the man who fills it, yet no one about me possesses the simple gift. it needs an honest man, and all the better if he's not a fool. will you take it?" "no," said adam, short and blunt. "the very man," thought the duke. six months later the duke had his way. adam fairbrother, of lague, was made governor of mann (under the duke himself as governor-general) at a salary of five hundred pounds a year. on the night of midsummer day, 1793, the town of ramsey held high festival. the _royal george_ had dropped anchor in the bay, and the prince of wales, attended by the duke of athol, captain murray and captain cook, had come ashore to set the foot of an english prince for the first time on manx soil. before dusk, the royal ship had weighed anchor again, but when night fell in the festivities had only begun. guns were fired, bands of music passed through the town, and bonfires were lighted on the top of the sky hill. the kitchens of the inns were crowded, and the streets were thronged with country people enveloped in dust. in the market place the girls were romping, the young men drinking, the children shouting at the top of their voices, the peddlers edging their barrows through the crowd and crying their wares. over all the tumult of exuberant voices, the shouting, the laughter, the merry shrieks, the gay banter, the barking of sheep-dogs, the snarling of mongrel setters, the streaming and smoking of hawkers' torches across a thousand faces, there was the steady peal of the bell of ballure. in the midst of it all a strange man passed through the town. he was of colossal stature--stalwart, straight, and flaxen-haired, wearing a goatskin cap without brim, a gray woollen shirt open at the neck and belted with a leathern strap, breeches of untanned leather, long thick stockings, a second pair up to his ankles, and no shoes on his feet. his face was pale, his cheek bones stood high, and his eyes were like the eyes of a cormorant. the pretty girls stopped their chatter to look after him, but he strode on with long steps, and the people fell aside for him. at the door of the saddle inn he stood a moment, but voices came from within and he passed on. going by the court house he came to the plough tavern, and there he stopped again, paused a moment, and then stepped in. after a time the children who had followed at his heels separated, and the girls who had looked after him began to dance with arms akimbo and skirts held up over their white ankles. he was forgotten. an hour later, four men, armed with cutlasses, and carrying ship's irons, came hurrying from the harbor. they were blue-jackets from the revenue cutter lying in the bay, and they were in pursuit of a seaman who had escaped from the english brig at anchor outside. the runaway was a giant and a foreigner, and could not speak a word of english or manx. had anyone seen him? yes, everyone. he had gone into the plough. to the plough the blue-jackets made their way. the good woman who kept it, mother beatty, had certainly seen such a man. "aw, yes, the poor craythur, he came, so he did," but never a word could he speak to her, and never a word could she speak to him, so she gave him a bit of barley cake, and maybe a drop of something, and that as all. he was not in the house then? "och, let them look for themselves." the blue-jackets searched the house, and came out as they had entered. then they passed through every street, looked down every alley, peered into every archway, and went back to their ship empty-handed. when they were gone mother beatty came to the door and looked out. at the next instant the big-limbed stranger stepped from behind her. "that way," she whispered, and pointed to a dark alley opposite. the man watched the direction of her finger in the darkness, doffed his cap, and strode away. the alley led him by many a turn to the foot of a hill. it was ballure. behind him lay the town, with the throngs, the voices, and the bands of music. to his left was the fort, belching smoke and the roar of cannon. to his right were the bonfires on the hilltop, with little dark figures passing before them, and a glow above them embracing a third of the sky. in front of him was the gloom and silence of the country. he walked on; a fresh coolness came to him out of the darkness, and over him a dull murmur hovered in the air. he was going towards kirk maughold. he passed two or three little houses by the wayside, but most of them were dark. he came by a tavern, but the door was shut, and no one answered when he knocked. at length, by the turn of a byroad, he saw a light through the trees, and making towards it he found a long shambling house under a clump of elms. he was at lague. the light he saw was from one window only, and he stepped up to it. a man was sitting alone by the hearth, with the glow of a gentle fire on his face--a beautiful face, soft and sweet and tender. it was adam fairbrother. the stranger stood a moment in the darkness, looking into the quiet room. then he tapped on the windowpane. on this evening governor fairbrother was worn with toil and excitement. it had been tynwald day, and while sitting at st. john's he had been summoned to ramsey to receive the prince of wales and the duke of athol. the royal party had already landed when he arrived, but not a word of apology had he offered for the delayed reception. he had taken the prince to the top of the sky hill, talking as he went, answering many questions and asking not a few, naming the mountains, running through the island's history, explaining the three legs of its coat of arms, glancing at its ancient customs and giving a taste of its language. he had been simple, sincere, and natural from first to last, and when the time had come for the prince to return to his ship he had presented his six sons to him with the quiet dignity of a patriarch, saying these were his gifts to his king that was to be. then on the quay he had offered the prince his hand, hoping he might see him again before long; for he was a great lover of a happy face, and the prince, it was plain to see, was, like himself, a man of a cheerful spirit. but when the _royal george_ had sailed out of the bay at the top of the tide, and the great folk who had held their breath in awe of so much majesty were preparing to celebrate the visit with the blazing of cannon and the beating of drums, adam fairbrother had silently slipped away. he lived at government house, but had left his three elder boys at lague, and thought this a happy chance of spending a night at home. only his sons' housekeeper, a spinster aunt of his own, was there, and when she had given him a bite of supper he had sent her after the others to look at the sights of ramsey. then he had drawn up his chair before the fire, charged his long pipe, purred a song to himself, begun to smoke, to doze, and to dream. his dreams that night had been woven with vision of his bad days in the slave factory at barbary--of his wreck and capture, of his cruel tortures before his neck was yet bowed to the yoke of bondage, of the whip, before he knew the language of his masters to obey it quickly, of the fetters on his hands, the weights on his legs, the collar about his neck, of the raw flesh where the iron had torn the skin; and then of the dark wild night of his escape when he and three others, as luckless and as miserable, had run a raft into the sea, stripped off their shirts for a sail, and thrust their naked bodies together to keep them warm. such was the gray silt that came up to him that night from the deposits of his memory. the tynwald, the prince, the duke, the guns, the music, the bonfires, were gone; bit by bit he pieced together the life he had lived in his youth, and at the thought of it, and that it was now over, he threw back his head and gave thanks where they were due. at that moment he heard a tap at the windowpane, and turning about he saw a man's haggard face peering in at him from the darkness. then he rose instantly, and threw open the door of the porch. "come in," he called. the man entered. he took one step into the house and stopped, seemed for a moment puzzled, dazed, sleepless, and then by a sudden impulse stepped quietly forward, pulled up the sleeve of his shirt and held out his arm. around his wrist there was a circular abrasure where the loop of a fetter had worn away the skin, leaving the naked flesh raw and red. he had been in irons. with a word of welcome the governor motioned the man to a seat. some inarticulate sounds the man made and waved his hand. he was a foreigner. what was his craft? a tiny model of a full-rigged ship stood on the top of a corner cupboard. adam pointed to it, and the man gave a quick nod of assent. he was a seaman. of what country? "shetlands?" asked the governor. the man shook his head. "sweden? norway?--" "issland," said the man. he was an icelander. two rude portraits hung on the walls, one of a fair boy, the other of a woman in the early bloom of womanhood--adam's young wife and first child. the governor pointed to the boy, and the man shook his head. he had no family. the governor pointed to the woman, and the man hesitated, seemed about to assent, and then, with the look of one who tries to banish an unwelcome thought, shook his head again. he had no wife. what was his name? the governor took down from a shelf a bible covered in green cloth, and opened at the writing on the fly-leaf between the old and new testaments. the writing ran:--"adam fairbrother, son of jo: fairbrother, and mar: his wife, was born august the 11th, 1753, about 5 o'clock in the morning, half flood, wind at southwest, and christened august 18th." to this he pointed, then to himself, and finally to the stranger. an abrupt change came over the man's manner. he grew sullen and gave no sign. but his eyes wandered with a fierce eagerness to the table, where the remains of the governor's supper were still lying. adam drew up a chair and motioned the stranger to sit and eat. the man ate with frightful voracity, the perspiration breaking out in beads over his face. having eaten, he grew drowsy, fell to nodding where he sat, and in a moment of recovered consciousness pointed to the stuffed head of a horse that hung over the door. he wished to sleep in the stable. the governor lit a lantern and led the way to the stable loft. there the man stretched himself on the straw, and soon his long and measured breathing told that he slept. hardly had the governor got back to the house when his boys, his men, and the maids returned from ramsey. very full they all were of the doings of the day, and adam, who never asked that son or servant of his should abridge the flow of talk for his presence, sat with his face to the fire and smoked, dozed, dreamt or thought, and left his people to gossip on. what chance had brought the poor man to his door that night? an icelander, dumb for all uses of speech, who had lain in the chains of some tyrant captain--a lone man, a seaman without wife or child in his own country, and a fugitive, a runaway, a hunted dog in this one! what angel of pleading had that very night been busy in his own memory with the story of his similar sufferings? all at once his ear was arrested by what was being said behind him. the talk was of a sailor who had passed through the town, and of the blue-jackets who were in pursuit of him. he had stolen something. no, he had murdered somebody. anyway there was a warrant for his arrest, for the high bailiff had drawn it. an ill-looking fellow, but he would be caught yet, thank goodness, in god's good time. the governor twisted about, and asked what the sailor was like, and his boys answered him that he was a foreigneering sort of a man in a skin cap and long stockings, and bigger by half a head than billy-by-nite. just then there was the tramp of feet on the gravel outside and a loud rap at the door. four men entered. they were the blue-jackets. the foreign seaman that they were in search of had been seen creeping up ballure, and turning down towards lague. had he been there? at that one of the boys, saying that his father had been at home all evening, turned to the governor and repeated the question. but the good adam had twisted back to the fire, and with the shank of his pipe hanging loosely from his lips, was now snoring heavily. "his excellency is asleep," said the blue-jacket. no, no; that could not be, for he had been talking as they entered. "father," cried the lad, and pushed him. then the governor opened his eyes, and yawned heavily. the blue-jacket, cap in hand, told his story again, and the good adam seemed to struggle hard in the effort to grasp it through the mists of sleep. at length he said, "what has the man done?" "deserted his ship, your excellency." "nothing else--no crime?" "nothing else, your excellency. has he been here?" "no;" said the governor. and at that the weary man shut his eyes again and began to breathe most audibly. but when the blue-jackets, taking counsel together, concluded that somewhere thereabouts the man must surely be, and decided to sleep the night in the stable loft, that they might scour the country in the morning, the governor awoke suddenly, saying he had no beds to offer them, but they might sleep on the benches of the kitchen. an hour later, when all lague was asleep, adam rose from his bed, took a dark lantern and went back to the stable loft, aroused the icelander and motioned him to follow. they crossed the paved courtyard and came in front of the window. adam pointed, and the man looked in. the four blue-jackets were lying on the benches drawn round the fire, and the dull glow of the slumbering peat was on their faces. they were asleep. at that sight the man's eyes flashed, his mouth set hard, the muscles of his cheeks contracted, and with a hoarse cry in his throat, he fumbled the haft of the seaman's knife that hung in his belt and made one step forward. but adam, laying hold of his arm, looked into his eyes steadfastly, and in the light of the lantern their wild glance fell before him. at the next instant the man was gone. the night was now far spent. in the town the forts were silent, the streets quiet, the market place vacant, and on the hilltops the fires had smouldered down. by daybreak next morning the blue-jackets had gone back empty to ramsey, and by sunrise the english brig had sailed out of the bay. two beautiful creeks lie to the south of ramsey and north of maughold head. one is called lague, the other port-y-vullin. on the shore of port-y-vullin there is a hut built of peat and thatched with broom--dark, damp, boggy and ruinous, a ditch where the tenant is allowed to sit rent free. the sun stood high when a woman, coming out of this place, found a man sleeping in a broken-ribbed boat that lay side down on the beach. she awakened him, and asked him into her hut. he rose to his feet and followed her. last night he had been turned out of the best house in the island; this morning he was about to be received into the worst. the woman was liza killey--the slut, the trollop, the trull, the slattern and drab of the island. the man was stephen orry. chapter v. little sunlocks. one month only had then passed since the night of stephen orry's flight from iceland, and the story of his fortunes in the meantime is quickly told. in shame of his brutal blow, as well as fear of his wife's threat, he had stowed away in the hold of an english ship that sailed the same night. two days later famine had brought him out of his hiding place, and he had been compelled to work before the mast. in ten more days he had signed articles as able seaman at the first english port of call. then had followed punishments for sloth, punishments for ignorance, and punishments for not knowing the high-flavored language of his boatswain. after that had come bickerings, threats, scowls, oaths, and open ruptures with this chief of petty tyrants, ending with the blow of a marlin-spike over the big icelander's crown, and the little boatswain rolling headlong overboard. then had followed twenty-eight days spent in irons, rivetted to the ship's side on the under deck, with bread and water diet every second day and nothing between. finally, by the secret good fellowship of a shipmate with some bowels of compassion, escape had come after starvation, as starvation had come after slavery, and stephen had swum ashore while his ship lay at anchor in ramsey bay. what occurred thereafter at the house whereto he had drifted no one could rightly tell. he continued to live there with the trull who kept it. she had been the illegitimate child of an insolvent english debtor and the daughter of a neighboring vicar, had been ignored by her father, put out to nurse by her mother, bred in ignorance, reared in impurity, and had grown into a buxom hussy. by what arts, what hints, what appeals, what allurements, this trollop got possession of stephen orry it is not hard to guess. first, he was a hunted man, and only one who dare do anything dare open doors to him. next, he was a foreigner, dumb for speech, and deaf for scandal, and therefore unable to learn more than his eyes could tell him of the woman who had given him shelter. then the big icelander was a handsome fellow; and the veriest drab that ever trailed a petticoat knows how to hide her slatternly habits while she is hankering after a fine-grown man. so the end of many conspiring circumstances was that after much gossip in corners, many jeers, and some tossings of female heads, the vicar of the parish, parson gell, called one day at the hut in port-y-vullin, and on the following sunday morning, at church, little robbie christian, the clerk and sexton, read out the askings for the marriage of liza killey, spinster, of the parish of maughold, and stephen orry, bachelor, out of iceland. what a wedding it was that came three weeks later! liza wore a gay new gown that had been lent her by a neighbor, bella coobragh, a girl who had meant to be married in it herself the year before, but had not fully carried out her moral intention and had since borne a child. wearing such borrowed plumes and a brazen smile of defiance, liza strutted up to the communion rail, looking impudently into the men's faces, and saucily into the women's--for the church was thronged with an odorous mob that kept up the jabbering of frogs at spawn--and stephen orry slouched after her in his blowzy garments with a downward, shame-faced, nervous look that his hulky manners could not conceal. then what a wedding feast it was that followed! the little cabin in port-y-vullin reeked and smoked with men and women, and ran out on to the sand and pebbles of the beach, for the time of year was spring and the day was clear and warm. liza's old lovers were there in troops. with a keg of rum over his shoulder nary crowe, the innkeeper, had come down from the "hibernian" to give her joy, and cleave kinley, the butcher, had brought her up half a lamb from ballaglass, and matt mylechreest, the net maker--a venal old skinflint--had charged his big snuff horn to the brim for the many noses of the guests. on the table, the form, the three-legged stool, the bed and the hearth, they sat together cheek by jowl their hats hung on the roof rafters, their plates perched on their knees. and loud was their laughter and dubious their talk. old thurstan coobragh led off on the advantages of marriage, saying it was middlin' plain that the gels nowadays must be wedded when they were babies in arms, for bye-childers were common, and a gel's father didn't care in a general way to look like a fool; but nary crowe saw no harm in a bit of sweetheartin', and cleave kinley said no, of course, not if a man wasn't puttin' notions into a gel's head, and matt mylechreest, for his part, thought the gels were amazin' like the ghosts, for they got into every skeleton closet about the house. "but then," said matt, "i'm an ould bachelor, as the sayin' is, and don't know nothin'." "ha, ha, ha! of course not," laughed the others; and then there was a taste of a toast to liza's future in nary's rum. "drop it," said liza, as nary, lifting his cup, leaned over to whisper. "so i will, but it'll be into your ear, woman," said nary. "so here's to the king that's comin'." by this time stephen had slipped out of the noisome place, and was rambling on the quiet shore alone, with head bent, cheeks ashy pale, eyes fixed, and his brawny hands thrust deep into his pockets. at last, through the dense fumes within the house, bella coobragh noted stephen's absence, and "where's your man?" she said to liza, with a tantalizing light in her eyes. "maybe where yours is, bella," said liza, with a toss of the head; "near enough, perhaps, but not visible to the naked eye." the effects of going to church on liza killey were what they often are of a woman of base nature. with a man to work for her she became more idle than before, and with nothing to fear from scandal more reckless and sluttish. having hidden her nakedness in the gown of marriage, she lost the last rag of womanly shame. the effects on stephen orry were the deepening of his sloth, his gloom and his helplessness. what purpose in life he ever had was paralyzed. on his first coming to the island he had sailed to the mackerel fishing in the boats of kane wade--a shrewd manxman, who found the big, dumb icelander a skilful fisherman. now he neglected his work, lost self-reliance, and lay about for hours, neither thinking nor feeling, but with a look of sheer stupidity. and so the two sat together in their ditch, sinking day by day deeper and yet deeper into the mire of idleness, moroseness, and mutual loathing. nevertheless, they had their cheerful hours together. the "king" of nary's toast soon came. a child was born--a bonny, sunny boy as ever yet drew breath; but liza looked on it as a check to her freedom, a drain on her energy, something helpless and looking to her for succor. so the unnatural mother neglected it, and stephen, who was reminded by its coming that rachel had been about to give birth to a child, turned his heart from it and ignored it. thus three spirit-breaking years dragged on, and stephen orry grew woe-begone and stone-eyed. of old he had been slothful and spiritless indeed, but not a base man. now his whole nature was all but gone to the gutter. he had once been a truth-teller, but living with a woman who assumed that he must be a liar, he had ended by becoming one. he had no company save her company, for his slow wit had found it hard to learn the english tongue, and she alone could rightly follow him; he had no desires save the petty ones of daily food and drink; he had no purpose save the degrading purpose of defeating the nightly wanderings of his drunken wife. thus without any human eye upon him in the dark way he was going, stephen orry had grown coarse and base. but the end was not yet, of all this than was to be and know. one night, after spending the day on the sea with the lines for cod, the year deepening to winter, the air muggy and cold, he went away home, hungry, and wet and cold, leaving his mates at the door of the "plough," where there was good company within and the cheer of a busy fire! home! on reaching port-y-vullin he found the door open, the hearth cold, the floor in a puddle from the driving rain, not a bite or sup in the cupboard, and his wife lying drunk across the bed, with the child in its grimy blueness creeping and crying about her head. it was the beginning of the end. once again he fumbled the haft of his seaman's knife, and then by a quick impulse he plucked up the child in his arms. "now god be praised for your poor face," he said, and while he dried the child's pitiful eyes, the hot drops started to his own. he lit the fire, he cooked a cod he had brought home with him, he ate himself and fed the little one. then he sat before the hearth with the child at his breast, as any mother might do, for at length it had come to him to know that, if it was not to be lost and worse than orphaned, he must henceforth be father and mother both to it. and when the little eyes, wet no longer, but laughing like sunshine into the big seared face above them struggled in vain with sleep, he wrapped the child in his ragged guernsey and put it to lie like a bundle where the fire could warm it. then all being done he sat again, and leaning his elbows on his knees covered his ears with his hands, so that they might shut out the sound of the woman's heavy breathing. it was on that night, for the first time since he fled from iceland, that he saw the full depth of his offence. offence? crime it was, and that of the blackest; and in the terror of his loneliness he trembled at the thought that some day his horrible dumb secret would become known, that something would happen to tell it--that he was married already when he married the woman who lay behind him. at that he saw how low he had fallen--from her who once had been so pure and true beside him, and had loved him and given up father, and home, and fame for him; to this trull, who now dragged him through the slush, and trod on him and hated him. then the bitter thought came that what she had suffered for him who had given him everything, he could never repay by one kind word or look. lost she was to him forever and ever, and parted from him by a yet wider gulf than eight hundred miles of sea. such was the agony of his shame, and through it all the snore of the sleeping woman went like iron through his head, so that at last he wrapped his arms about it and sobbed out to the dead fire at his feet, "rachel! rachel! rachel!" all at once he became conscious that the heavy breathing had ceased, that the house was silent, that something had touched him on the shoulder, and that a gaunt shadow stood beside him. it was the woman, who at the sound of his voice had arisen from her drunken sleep, and now gasped, "who is rachel?" at that word his blood ran cold, and shivering in his clothes, he crouched lower at the hearth, neither answering her nor looking up. then with eyes of hate she cried again, "who is rachel?" but the only voice that answered her was the voice that rang within him--"i'm a lost man, god help me." "who is rachel?" the woman cried once more, and the sound of that name from her lips, hardening it, brutalizing it, befouling it, was the most awful thing by which his soul had yet been shaken out of its stupor. "who is she, i say? answer me," she cried in a raging voice; but he crouched there still, with his haggard face and misty eyes turned down. then she laid her hand on his shoulder and shook him, and cried bitterly. "who is she, this light o' love--this baggage?" at that he stiffened himself up, shuddered from head to foot, flung her from him and answered in a terrible voice. "woman, she is my wife." that word, like a thunderbolt, left a heavy silence behind it. liza stood looking in terror at stephen's face, unable to utter a cry. but next day she went to parson gell and told him all. she got small comfort. parson gell had himself had two wives; the first had deserted him, and after an interval of six years, in which he had not heard from her, he had married the second. so to liza he said, "he may have sinned against the law, but what proof have you? none." then she went to the deemster at ramsey. it was deemster lace--a bachelor much given to secret gallantries. she got as little cheer from this source, but yet she came away with one drop of solace fermenting in the bitterness of her heart. "tut, woman, it's more common than you think for. and where's the harm? och! it's happened to some of the best that's going. now, if he'd beaten you, or struck you"--and the good man raised both hands and shook his head. then the thought leapt to her mind that she herself could punish stephen a hundredfold worse than any law of bishop or deemster. if she could she would not now put him away. he should live on with her, husband or no husband, and she with him, wife or no wife. on her way home she called at the house of kane wade, sat down with old bridget, shed some crocodile tears, vowed she daren't have tould it on no occount to no other morthal sowl, but would the heart of woman belave it? her man had a wife in his own counthry! bridget, who had herself had four husbands, lifted her hands in horror, and next day when stephen orry went down to the boats kane wade, who had newly turned methodist, was there already, and told him--whittling a stick as he spoke--that the fishing was wonderful lean living gettin', and if he didn't shorten hands it would be goin' begging on the houses they'd all be, sarten sure. stephen took the hint in silence, and went off home. liza saw him coming, watched him from the door, and studied his hard set face with a grim smile on her own. next day stephen went off to matt mylechreest, the net maker, but matt shook his head, saying the manxmen had struck against foreign men all over the island, and would not work with them. the day after that stephen tried nary crowe, the innkeeper, but nary said of course it wasn't himself that was partic'lar, only his customers were gettin' nice extraordinary about a man's moral character. as a last hope stephen went up to cleave kinley, who had land, and asked for a croft of five acres that ran down to the beach of port-y-vullin. "nothing easier," said kinley, "but i must have six pounds for it, beginning half-quarter day." the rent was high, but stephen agreed to it, and promised to go again the following day to seal his bargain. stephen was prompt to his engagement, but kinley had gone on the mountains after some sheep. stephen waited, and four hours later kinley returned, looking abashed but dogged and saying he must have good security or a year's rent down. stephen went back home with his head deep in his breast. again the woman saw him coming, again she studied his face, and again she laughed in her heart. "he will lift his hand to me," she thought, "and then we shall see." but he seemed to read her purpose, and determined to defeat it. she might starve him, herself, and their child, but the revenge she had set her mind upon she should not have. yet to live with her and to contain himself at every brutal act or bestial word was more than he could trust himself to do, and he determined to fly away. let it be anywhere--anywhere, if only out of the torture of her presence. one place was like another in man, for go where he would to any corner of the island, there she would surely follow him. old thurston coobragh, of ballacreggan, gave him work at draining a flooded meadow. it was slavery that no other christian man would do, but for a month stephen orry worked up to his waist in water, and lived on barley bread and porridge. at the end of his job he had six and thirty shillings saved, and with this money in his pocket, and the child in his arms, he hurried down to the harbor at ramsey, where an irish packet lay ready to sail. could he have a passage to ireland? certainly he could, but where was his license? stephen orry had never heard until then that before a man could leave the isle of man he must hold a license permitting him to do so. "go to the high bailiff," said the captain of the packet; and to the high bailiff stephen orry went. "i come for a license to go away into ireland," he said. "very good. but where is your wife?" said the high bailiff. "are you leaving her behind you to be a burden on the parish?" at that stephen's heart sank, for he saw that his toil had been wasted, and that his savings were worthless. doomed he was for all his weary days to live with the woman who hated him. he was bound to her, he was leashed to her, and he must go begrimed and bedraggled to the dregs of life with her. so he went back home, and hid his money in a hole in the thatch of the roof, that the touch of it might vex his memory no more. and then it flashed upon him that what he was now suffering from this woman was after all no more than the complement and counterpart of what rachel had suffered from him in the years behind them. it was just--yes, it was just--and because he was a man and rachel a woman, it was less than he deserved. so thinking, he sat himself down in his misery with resignation if not content, vowing never to lift his hand to the woman, however tormented, and never to leave her, however tempted. and when one night after a storm an open boat came ashore, he took it and used it to fish with, and thus he lived, and thus he wore away his wretched days. and yet he could never have borne his punishment but for the sweet solace of the child. it was the flower in his dungeon; the bird at its bars. since that bad night, when his secret had burst from him, he had nursed it and cherished it, and done for it its many tender offices. every day he had softened its oatcake in his broth; and lifted the barley out of his own bowl into the child's basin. in summer he had stripped off shoes and stockings to bathe the little one in the bay, and in winter he had wrapped the child in his jacket and gone bare-armed. it was now four years old and went everywhere with stephen, astride on his broad back or perched on his high shoulders. he had christened it michael, but because its long wavy hair grew to be of the color of the sun he called it, after the manner of his people, sunlocks. and like the sun it was, in that hut in port-y-vullin, for when it awoke there was a glint of rosy light, and when it slept all was gloom. he taught it to speak his native icelandic tongue, and the woman, who found everything evil that stephen did, found this a barrier between her and the child. it was only in his ignorance that he did it. but oh, strange destiny! that out of the father's ignorance was to shape the child's wisdom in the days that were to come! and little sunlocks was eyes and ears to stephen, and hope to his crushed spirit and intelligence to his slow mind. at sight of the child the vacant look would die away from stephen's face; at play with him stephen's great hulking legs would run hither and thither in ready willingness; and at hearing his strange questions, his wondrous answers, his pretty clever sayings, stephen's dense wit would seem to stand agape. oh, little sunlocks--little sunlocks--floating like the day-dawn into this lone man's prison house, how soon was your glad light to be overcast! for all at once it smote stephen like a blow on the brain that though it was right that he should live with the woman, yet it was an awful thing that the child should continue to do so. growing up in such an atmosphere, with such an example always present to his eyes, what would the child become? soured, saddened, perhaps cunning, perhaps malicious; at least adopting himself, as his father had done before him, to the air he had to breathe. and thinking that little sunlocks, now so sweet, so sunny, so artless, so innocent, must come to this, all the gall of stephen orry's fate rose to his throat again. what could he do? take little sunlocks away? that was impossible, for he could not take himself away. why had the child been born? why had it not died? would not the good god take it back to himself even now, in all the sweetness of his childhood? no, no, no, not that either; and yet yes, yes, yes! stephen's poor slow brain struggled long with this thought, and at length a strange and solemn idea took hold of it: little sunlocks must die, and he must kill him. stephen orry did not wriggle with his conscience, or if he cozened it at all he made himself believe that it would not be sin but sacrifice to part with the thing he held dearest in all the world. little sunlocks was his life, but little sunlocks must die! better, better, better so! and having thus determined, he went cautiously, and even cunningly, to work. when the little one had disappeared, he himself would never be suspected, for all the island would say he loved it too tenderly to do it a wrong, and he would tell everybody that he had taken it to some old body in the south who had wished to adopt a child. so, with sunlocks laughing and crowing astride his shoulder, he called at kane wade's house on ballure one day, and told bridget how he should miss the little chap, for sunlocks was going down to the calf very soon, and would not come home again for a long time, perhaps not for many a year, perhaps not until he was a big slip of a lad, and, maybe--who can tell?--he would never come back at all. thus he laid his plans, but even when they were complete he could not bring himself to carry them through, until one day, going up from the beach to sell a basket of crabs and eels, he found liza drinking at the "hibernian." how she came by the money was at first his surprise, for nary crowe had long abandoned her; and having bitter knowledge of the way she had once spent his earnings, he himself gave her nothing now. but suddenly a dark thought came, and he hurried home, thrust his hand into the thatch where he had hidden his savings, and found the place empty. that was the day to do it, he thought; and he took little sunlocks and washed his chubby face and combed his yellow hair, curling it over his own great undeft fingers, and put his best clothes on him--the white cotton pinafore and the red worsted cap, and the blue stockings freshly darned. this he did that he might comfort the child for the last time, and also that he might remember him at his best. and little sunlocks, in high glee at such busy preparations, laughed much and chattered long, asking many questions. "where are we going, father? out? eh? where?" "we'll see, little sunlocks; we'll see." "but where? church? what day is this?" "the last, little sunlocks; the last." "oh, i know--sunday." when all was ready, stephen lifted the child to the old perch across his shoulders, and made for the shore. his boat was lying aground there; he pushed it adrift, lifted the child into it, and leapt after him. then taking the oars, he pulled out for maughold head. little sunlocks had never been out in the boat before, and everything was a wonder and delight to him. "you said you would take me on the water some day. didn't you, father?" "yes, little sunlocks, yes." it was evening, and the sun was sinking behind the land, very large and red in its setting. "do the sun fall down eve'y day, father?" "it sets, little sunlocks, it sets." "what is sets?" "dies." "oh." the waters lay asleep under the soft red glow, and over them the seafowl were sailing. "why are the white birds sc'eaming?" "maybe they're calling their young, little sunlocks." it was late spring, and on the headland the sheep were bleating. "look at the baby one--away, away up yonder. what's it doing there by itself on the 'ock, and c'ying, and c'ying, and c'ying?" "maybe it's lost, little sunlocks." "then why doesn't somebody go and tell its father?" and the innocent face was full of trouble. the sun went down and the twilight deepened, the air grew chill, the waters black, and stephen was still pulling round the head. "father, where does the night go when we are asleep?" "to the other world, little sunlocks." "oh, i know--heaven." stephen stripped off his guernsey and wrapped it about the child. his eyes shone brightly, his mouth was parched, but he did not flinch. all thoughts, save one thought, had faded from his view. as he came by port mooar the moon rose, and about the same time the light appeared on point of ayre. a little later he saw the twinkle of lesser lights to the south. they were the lights of laxey, where many happy children gladdened many happy firesides. he looked around. there was not a sail in sight, and not a sound came to his ears over the low murmur of the sea's gentle swell. "now is the time," he thought. he put in his oars and the boat began to drift. but no, he could not look into the child's eyes and do it. the little one would sleep soon and then it would be easier done. so he took him in his arms and wrapped him in a piece of sail-cloth. "shut your eyes and sleep, little sunlocks." "i'm not sleepy, i'm not." yet soon the little lids fell, opened again and fell once more, and then suddenly the child started up. "but i haven't said my p'ayers." "say them now, little sunlocks." "gentle jesus, meek and mild, look upon a little child, guard me while in sleep i lie, take me to thy home on--on--" "would you like to go to heaven, little sunlocks?" "no." "why not?" "i want to keep with--with--my fath----" the little eyes were closed by this time, and the child was asleep on stephen's knees. now was the time--now--now. but no, it was harder now than ever. the little face--so silent, so peaceful--how formidable it was! the little soft hand in his own big hard palm--how strong and terrible! stephen looked down at the child and his bowels yearned over it. it cost him a struggle not to kiss it; but no, that would only make the task harder. suddenly a new thought smote him. what had this child done that he should take its life? who was he that he should rob it of what he could never give it again? by what right did he dare to come between this living soul and heaven? when did the almighty god tell _him_ what the after life of this babe was to be? stephen trembled at the thought. it was like a voice from the skies calling on him to stop, and a hand reaching out of them to snatch the child from his grasp. what he had intended to do was not to be! heaven had set its face against it! little sunlocks was not to die! little sunlocks was to live! thank god! oh! thank god! but late that night a group of people standing at their doors on the beach at port lague saw a tall man in his shirt sleeves go by in the darkness, with a sleeping child in his arms. the man was stephen orry, and he was sobbing like a woman whose heart is broken. the child was little sunlocks, and he was being carried back to his mother's home. the people hailed stephen and told him that a foreigner from a ship in the bay had been asking for him that evening. they had sent the man along to port-y-vullin. stephen hurried home with fear in his heart. in five minutes he was there, and then his life's blood ran cold. he found the house empty, except for his wife, and she lay outstretched on the floor. she was cold--she was dead; and in clay on the wall above her head, these words were written in the icelandic tongue, "so is patricksen avenged--_signed s. patricksen_." avenged! oh, powers of heaven, that drive the petty passions of men like dust before you! chapter vi. the little world of boy and girl. three days later the bad lottery of liza killey's life and death was played out and done. on the morning of the fourth day, some time before the dawn, though the mists were rolling in front of it, stephen orry rose in his silent hut in port-y-vullin, lit a fire, cooked a hasty meal, wakened, washed, dressed and fed little sunlocks, then nailed up the door from the outside, lifted the child to his shoulders, and turned his face towards the south. when he passed through laxey the sun stood high, and the dust of the roads was being driven in their faces. it was long past noon when he came to douglas, and at a little shop by the harbor-bridge he bought a penny worth of barley cake, gave half to sunlocks, put the other half into his pocket, and pushed on with longer strides. the twilight was deepening when he reached castletown, and there he inquired for the house of the governor. it was pointed out to him, and through heavy iron gates, up a winding carriage-way lined with elms and bordered with daffodils, he made towards the only door he saw. it was the main entrance to government house, a low broad porch, with a bench on either side and a cross-barred door of knotted oak. stephen orry paused before it, looked nervously around, and then knocked with his knuckles. he had walked six and twenty miles, carrying the child all the way. he was weary, footsore, hungry, and covered with dust. the child on his shoulder was begrimed and dirty, his little face smeared in streaks, his wavy hair loaded and unkempt. a footman in red and buff, powdered, starched, gartered and dainty, opened the door. stephen orry asked for the governor. the footman looked out with surprise at the bedraggled man with the child, and asked who he was. stephen told his name. the footman asked where he came from. stephen answered. the footman asked what he came for. stephen did not reply. was it for meal? stephen shook his head. or money? stephen said no. with another glance of surprise the footman shut the door, saying the governor was at dinner. stephen orry lowered the little one from his shoulder, sat on the bench in the porch, placed the child on his knee, and gave him the remainder of the barley cake. all the weary journey through he had been patient and cheerful, the brave little man, never once crying aloud at the pains of his long ride, never once whimpering at the dust that blinded him, or the heat that made him thirsty. holding on at his father's cap, he had laughed and sung even with the channels still wet on his cheeks where the big drops had rolled from his eyes to his chin. little sunlocks munched at his barley cake in silence, and in the gathering darkness stephen watched him as he ate. all at once a silvery peal of child's laughter came from within the house, and little sunlocks dropped the barley cake from his mouth to listen. again it came; and the grimy face of little sunlocks lightened to a smile, and that of stephen orry lowered and fell. "wouldn't you like to live in a house like this, little sunlocks?" "yes--with my father." just then the dark door opened again, and the footman, with a taper in his hand, came out to light the lamp in the porch. "what? here still?" he said. "i am; been waiting to see the governor," stephen orry answered. then the footman went in, and told the governor that a big man and a child were sitting in the porch, talking some foreign lingo together, and refusing to go away without seeing his excellency. "bring them in," said the governor. adam fairbrother was at the dinner table, enveloped in tobacco clouds. his wife, ruth, had drawn her chair aside that she might knit. stephen orry entered slowly with little sunlocks by the hand. "this is the person, your excellency," said the footman. "come in, stephen orry," said the governor. stephen orry's face softened at that word of welcome. the footman's dropped and he disappeared. then stephen told his errand. "i shall come to have give you something," he said, trying to speak in english. adam's wife raised her eyes and glanced over him. adam himself laid down his pipe and held out his hand towards sunlocks. but stephen held the child back a moment and spoke again. "it's all i shall have got to give," he said. "what is it?" said adam. "the child," said stephen, and passed little sunlocks to adam's outstretched hand. at that adam's wife dropped her knitting to her lap, but stephen, seeing nothing of the amazement written in her face, went on in his broken words to tell them all--of his wife's life, her death, his own sore temptation, and the voice out of heaven that had called to him. and then with a moistened eye and a glance at sunlocks, and in a lowered tone as if fearing the child might hear, he spoke of what he meant to do now--of how he would go back to the herrings, and maybe to sea, or perhaps down into the mines, but never again to port-y-vullin. and, because a lone man was no company for a child, and could not take a little one with him if he would, he had come to it at last that he must needs part with little sunlocks, lending him, or maybe giving him, to someone he could trust. "and so," he said, huskily, "i shall say to me often and often, 'the governor is a good man and kind to me long, long ago, and i shall give little sunlocks to him.'" he had dropped his head into his breast as he spoke, and being now finished he stood fumbling his scraggy goatskin cap. then adam's wife, who had listened in mute surprise, drew herself up, took a long breath, looked first at stephen, then at adam, then back at stephen, and said in a bated whisper-"well! did any living soul ever hear the like in this island before?" not rightly understanding what this might mean, poor stephen looked back at her, in his weak, dazed way, but made her no answer. "children might be scarce," she said, and gave a little angry toss of her head. still the meaning of what she said had not worked its way through stephen's slow wit, and he mumbled in his poor blundering fashion: "he is all i have, ma'am." "lord-a-massy, man," she cried, sharply, "but we might have every child in the parish at your price." stephen's fingers now clutched at his cap, his parted lips quivered, and again he floundered out, stammering like an idiot: "but i love him, ma'am, more nor all the world." "then i'll thank you to keep him," she answered, hotly; and after that there was dead silence for a moment. in all stephen's reckoning never once had he counted on this--that after he had brought himself to that sore pass, at which he could part with sunlocks and turn his back on him, never more to be cheered by his sunny face and merry tongue, never again to be wakened by him in the morning, never to listen for his gentle breathing in the night, never to feed him and wash him, never to carry him shoulder high, any human creature could say no to him from thought of the little food he would eat or the little trouble he would ask. stephen stood a moment, with his poor, bewildered, stupefied face hung down and the great lumps surging hot in his throat, and then, without a word more, he stretched out his hand towards the child. but all this time adam had looked on with swimming eyes, and now he drew little sunlocks yet closer between his knees, and said, quietly: "ruth, we are going to keep the little one. two faggots will burn better than one, and this sweet boy will be company for our little greeba." "adam," she cried, "haven't you children enough of your own, but you must needs take other folks'?" "ruth," he answered, "i have six sons, and if they had been twelve, perhaps, i should have been better pleased, so they had all been as strong and hearty; and i have one daughter, and if there had been two it would have suited me as well." now the rumor of stephen orry's former marriage, which liza had so zealously set afoot, had reached government house by way of lague, and while stephen had spoken adam had remembered the story, and thinking of it he had smoothed the head of little sunlocks with a yet tenderer hand. but adam's wife, recalling it now, said warmly: "maybe you think it wise to bring up your daughter with the merry-begot of any ragabash that comes prowling along from goodness knows where." "ruth," said adam, as quietly as before, "we are going to keep the little one," and at that his wife rose and walked out of the room. the look of bewilderment had not yet been driven from stephen orry's face by the expression of joy that had followed it, and now he stood glancing from adam to the door and from the door to adam, as much as to say that if his coming had brought strife he was ready to go. but the governor waved his hand, as though following his thought and dismissing it. then lifting the child to his knee, he asked his name, whereupon the little man himself answered promptly that his name was sunlocks. "michael," said stephen orry; "but i call him sunlocks." "michael sunlocks--a good name too. and what is his age?" "four years." "just the age of my own darling," said the governor; and setting the child on his feet he rang the bell and said, "bring little greeba here." a minute later a little brown-haired lassie with ruddy cheeks and laughing lips and sparkling brown eyes, came racing into the room. she was in her nightgown, ready for bed, her feet were bare, and under one arm she carried a doll. "come here, greeba veg," said the governor, and he brought the children face to face, and then stood aside to watch them. they regarded each other for a moment with the solemn aloofness that only children know, twisting and curling aside, eyeing one another furtively, neither of them seeming so much as to see the other, yet neither seeing anything or anybody else. this little freak of child manners ran its course, and then sunlocks, never heeding his dusty pinafore, or the little maiden's white nightgown, but glancing down at her bare feet, and seeming to remember that when his own were shoeless someone carried him, stepped up to her, put his arms about her, and with lordly, masculine superiority of strength proceeded to lift her bodily in his arms. the attempt was a disastrous failure, and in another moment the two were rolling over each other on the floor; a result that provoked the little maiden's direst wrath and the blank astonishment of little sunlocks. but before the tear-drop of vexation was yet dry on greeba's face, or the silent bewilderment had gone from the face of sunlocks, she was holding out her doll in a sidelong way in his direction, as much as to say he might look at it if he liked, only he must not think that she was asking him; and he, nothing loth for her fierce reception of his gallant tender, was devouring the strange sight with eyes full of awe. then followed some short inarticulate chirps, and the doll was passed to sunlocks, who turned the strange thing--such as eyes of his had never beheld--over and over and over, while the little woman brought out from dark corners of the room, and from curious recesses unknown save to her own hands and knees, a slate with a pencil and sponge tied to it by a string, a picture-book whereof the binding hung loose, some bits of ribbon, red and blue, and finally three tiny cups and saucers with all the accompanying wonder of cream jug and teapot. in three minutes more two little bodies were sitting on their haunches, two little tongues were cackling and gobbling, the room was rippling over with a merry twitter, the strange serious air was gone from the little faces, the little man and the little maid were far away already in the little world of childhood, and all the universe beside was gone, and lost, and forgotten. stephen orry had looked down from his great height at the encounter on the floor, and his dull, slow eyes had filled, for in some way that he could not follow there had come to him at that sweet sight the same deep yearning that had pained him in the boat. and seeing how little sunlocks was rapt, stephen struggled hard with himself and said, turning to the governor: "now's the time for me to slip away." then they left the room, unnoticed of the busy people on the floor. two hours later, after little sunlocks, having first missed his father, his life's friend and only companion, had cried a little, and soon ceased to cry out of joy of his new comradeship, and had then nestled down his sunny head on the pillow where little greeba's curly poll also lay, with the doll between him and her, and some marbles in his hand to comfort his heart, stephen orry, unable to drag himself away, was tramping the dark roads about the house. he went off at length, and was seen no more at castletown for many years thereafter. now this adoption of little sunlocks into the family of the governor was an incident that produced many effects, and the first of them was the serious estrangement of adam and his wife. never had two persons of temperaments so opposed lived so long in outward harmony. her face, like some mountain country, revealed its before and after. its spring must have been keen and eager, its summer was overcast, and its winter would be cold and frozen. she was not a manxwoman, but came of a family of french refugees, settled as advocates on the north of the island. always vain of show, she had married in her early womanhood, when adam fairbrother was newly returned from barbary, and his adventures abroad were the common gossip and speculation. but adam had disappointed her ambition at the outset by dropping into the ruts of a homely life. only once had she lifted him out of them, and that was after twenty years, when the whim and wisdom of the duke had led him to visit lague; and then her impatience, her importunity, her fuss and flurry, and appeals in the name of their children, had made him governor. meantime, she had borne him six sons in rapid succession during the first ten years of marriage, and after an interval of ten other years she had borne a daughter. four and twenty years the good man had lived at peace with her, drained of his serenity by her restlessness, and of his unselfishness by her self-seeking. with a wise contempt of trifles, he had kept peace over little things, and the island had long amused itself about his pliant disposition, but now that for the first time he proved unyielding, the island said he was wrong. to adopt a child against the wish of his wife, to take into his family the waif of a drunken woman and an idle foreigner, was an act of stubborn injustice and folly. but adam held to his purpose, and michael sunlocks remained at government house. a year passed, and sunlocks was transformed. no one would have recognized him. the day his father brought him he had been pale under the dust that covered him; he had been timid and had trembled, and his eyes had looked startled, as though he had already been beaten and cuffed and scolded. a child, like a flower, takes the color of the air it breathes, and sunlocks had not been too young to feel the grimy cold of the atmosphere in which he had been born. but now he had opened like a rose to the sun, and his cheeks were ruddy and his eyes were bright. he had become plump and round and sturdy, and his hair had curled around his head and grown yet warmer of hue, like the plumes of a bird in the love season. and, like a bird, he chirruped the long day through, skipping and tripping and laughing and singing all over the house, idolized by some, beloved by many, caressed by all, even winning upon mrs. fairbrother herself, who, whatever her objection to his presence, had not yet steeled herself against his sweetness. another year passed, and the children grew together--sunlocks and greeba, boy and girl, brother and sister--in the innocent communion of healthy childhood, with their little whims, their little ways, their little tiffs, and with the little sorrows that overcast existence. and sunlocks picked up his english words as fast as he picked shells on the beach, gathering them on his tongue as he gathered the shells into his pinafore, dropping them and picking them up again. yet another year went by, and then over the luminous innocence of the children there crept the strange trail of sex, revealing already their little differences of character, and showing what they were to be in days to come--the little maid, quick, urgent, impulsive and vain; the little man, quiet, unselfish and patient, but liable to outbursts of temper. a fourth year passed, and then the little people were parted. the duchess came from london, where her nights had no repose and her days no freshness, to get back a little of the color of the sun into her pallid cheeks, and driving one day from mount murray to government house she lit on greeba in the road outside castletown. it was summer, and the little maid of eight, bright as the sunlight that glistened on her head, her cheeks all pink and white, her eyes sparkling under her dark lashes, her brown hair rippling behind her, her frock tucked up in fishwife fashion, her legs bare, and her white linen sunbonnet swinging in her hand, was chasing a butterfly amid the yellow-tipped gorse that grew by the roadside. that vision of beauty and health awakened a memory of less charm and freshness. the duchess remembered a little maiden of her own who was also eight years old, dainty and pretty, but pale and sickly, peaked up in a chill stone house in london, playing alone with bows and ribbons, talking to herself, and having no companion except a fidgety french governess, who was wrinkled and had lost some of her teeth. a few days later the duchess came again to government house, bought a gay new hat for greeba, and proposed that the little maid should go home with her as playfellow for her only child. adam promptly said "no" to her proposal, with what emphasis his courtesy would permit, urging that greeba, being so much younger than her brothers, was like an only child in the family, and that she was in any case an only daughter. but adam's wife, thinking she saw her opportunity, found many reasons why greeba should be allowed to go. for would it be right to cross the wish of so great a lady?--and one, too, who was in a sense their mistress also. and then who could say what the duchess might do for the child some day?--and in any event wasn't it a chance for which any body else in the island would give both his ears to have his daughter brought up in london, and at the great house of the duke of athol? the end of it was that adam yielded to his wife now, as he had often yielded before. "but i'll sadly miss my little lassie," he said, "and i much misdoubt but i'll repent me of letting her go." yet, while adam shook his head and looked troubled, the little maid herself was in an ecstasy of delight. "and would you really like to go to london, greeba ven?" "but should i see the carriages, and the ladies on horseback, and the shops, and the little girls in velvet--should i, eh?" "maybe so, my ven, maybe so." "oh!" the little maid gave one glance at the infinite splendor of her new bow and feather, and her dark eyes sparkled, while the eyes of her father filled. "but not michael sunlocks, you know, greeba ven; no, nor mother, nor father." at that word there was a pretty downward curve of the little lip; but life had no real sorrow for one with such a hat and such a prospect, and the next instant the bright eyes leapt again to the leaping heart. "then run away, greeba ven--run." the little maiden took her father at his word, though it was but sadly spoken, and bounded off in chase of michael sunlocks, that she might tell him the great news. she found him by the old wooden bridge of the silver burn near the malew church. michael sunlocks had lately struck up a fast friendship with the carrier, old crazy chalse a'killey, who sometimes lent him his donkey for a ride. bareheaded, barefooted, with breeches rolled up above the knees, his shoes and stockings swung about his neck, and his wavy yellow hair rough and tangled, michael sunlocks was now seated bareback on this donkey, tugging the rope that served it for curb and snaffle, and persuading it, by help of a blackthorn stick, to cross the river to the meadow opposite. and it was just when the donkey, a creature of becoming meekness and most venerable age, was reflecting on these arguments, and contemplating the water at his shoes with a pensive eye, that greeba, radiant in the happiness of her marvellous hat, came skipping on to the bridge. in a moment she blurted out her news between many gusts of breath, and michael sunlocks, pausing from his labors, sat on his docile beast and looked up at her with great wonder in his wide blue eyes. "and i shall see the carriages, and the ladies on horseback, and the ships, and the waxworks, and the wild beasts." the eyes of sunlocks grew hazy and wet, but the little maiden rattled on, cocking her eye down as she spoke at her reflection in the smooth river, for it took a world of glances to grow familiar with the marvel that sat on her head. "and i shall wear velvet frocks, and have new hats often and lots of goodies and things; and--and didn't i always say a good fairy would come for me some day?" "what are you talking of, you silly?" said michael sunlocks. "i'm not a silly, and i'm going away, and you are not; and i'll have girls to play with now, not boys--there!" michael sunlocks could bear no more. his eyes overflowed, but his cheeks reddened, and he said-"what do i care, you stupid? you can go if you like," and then down came his stick with a sounding thwack on the donkey's flank. now startled out of all composure by such sudden and summary address, the beast threw up his hinder legs and ducked down his head, and tumbled his rider into the water. michael sunlocks scrambled to his feet, all dripping wet, but with eyes aflame and his little lips set hard, and then laid hold of the rope bridle and tugged with one hand, while with the stick in the other he cudgelled the donkey until he had forced it to cross the river. while this tough work was going forward, greeba, who had shrieked at michael's fall, stood trembling with clasped hands on the bridge, and, when all was over, the little man turned to her with high disdain, and said, after a mighty toss of his glistening wet head: "did you think i was drowned, you silly? why don't you go, if you're going?" not all the splendor of bow and feather could help the little maiden to withstand indifference like this, so her lip fell, and she said: "well, you needn't say so, if you _are_ glad i'm going." and sunlocks answered, "who says i'm glad? not that i say i'm not, neither," he added quickly, leaping astride his beast again. whereupon greeba said, "if _you_ had been going away _i_ should have cried," and then, to save herself from bursting out in his very face, she turned about quickly and fled. "but i'm not such a silly, i'm not," michael sunlocks shouted after her, and down came another thwack on the donkey, and away he sped across the meadow. but before he had ridden far he drew rein and twisted about, and now his blue eyes were swimming once more. "greeba," he called, and his little voice broke, but no answer came back to him. "greeba," he called again, more loudly, but greeba did not stop. "greeba!" he shouted with all his strength. "greeba! greeba!" but the little maid had gone, and there was no response. the bees were humming in the gold of the gorse, and the fireflies were buzzing about the donkey's ears, while the mountains were fading away into a dim wet haze. half an hour later the carriage of the duchess drove out through the iron gates of government house, and the little maiden seated in it by the side of the stately lady, was crying in a voice of childlike grief-"sunlocks! sunlocks! little sunlocks!" the advantage which the governor's wife proposed to herself in parting with her daughter she never gained, and one of the secret ends of her life was thereby not only disappointed but defeated; for while the duchess did nothing for greeba, the girl's absence from home led adam to do the more for michael sunlocks. deprived of his immediate object of affection, his own little maiden, adam lavished his love on the stranger whom chance had brought to his door; being first prompted thereto by the thought, which came only when it was too late, that in sending greeba away to be company to some other child he had left poor little sunlocks at home to be sole company to himself. but michael sunlocks soon won for himself the caresses that were once due merely to pity of his loneliness, and adam's heart went out to him with the strong affection of a father. he throve, he grew--a tall, lithe, round-limbed lad, with a smack of the man in his speech and ways, and all the strong beauty of a vigorous woman in his face. year followed year, his school days came and went, he became more and yet more the governor's quick right hand, his pen and his memory, even his judgment, and the staff he leaned on. it was "michael sunlocks" here, and "michael sunlocks" there, and "michael sunlocks will see to that," and "you may safely leave it to michael sunlocks;" and meantime the comely and winsome lad, with man's sturdy independence of spirit, but a woman's yearning for love, having long found where this account lay in the house of governor fairbrother, clung to that good man with more than the affection, because less than the confidence, of a son, and like a son he stood to him. now, for one who found this relation sweet and beautiful, there were many who found it false and unjust, implying an unnatural preference of a father for a stranger before his own children; and foremost among those who took this unfavorable view were mrs. fairbrother and her sons. she blamed her husband, and they blamed michael sunlocks. the six sons of adam fairbrother had grown into six rude men, all big, lusty fellows, rough and hungry, seared and scarred like the land they lived on, but differing much at many points. asher, the eldest, three-and-thirty when sunlocks was fifteen, was fair, with gray eyes, flabby face, and no chin to speak of, good-hearted, but unstable as water. he was for letting the old man and the lad alone. "aisy, man, aisy, what's the odds?" he would say, in his drawling way of speaking. but ross, the second son, and stean, the third, both cruel and hot-blooded men, reproached asher with not objecting from the first, for "och," they would say, "one of these fine days the ship will be wrecked and scuttled before yer very eyes, and not a pound of cargo left at her; and all along of that cursed young imp that's after sniffin' and sniffin' abaft of the ould man,"--a figure of speech which meant that adam would will his belongings to michael sunlocks. and at that conjecture, thurstan, the fourth son, a black-bearded fellow in top boots, always red-eyed with much drinking, but strong of will and the ruler of his brethren, would say, "aw, well, let the little beachcomber keep his weather eye liftin';" and jacob, the fifth son, sandy as a fox, and as sly and watchful, and john, the youngest, known as gentleman johnny, out of tribute to his love of dress, would shake their heads together, and hint that they would yet find a way to cook the goose of any smooth-faced hypocrite shamming abraham. many a device they tried to get michael sunlocks turned away. they brought bad stories of his father, stephen orry, now a name of terror to good people from north to south of the island, a secret trader running between the revenue cutters in the ports and the smugglers outside, perhaps a wrecker haunting the rough channels of the calf, an outlaw growing rich by crime, and, maybe, by blood. the evil rumors made no impression on old adam, but they produced a powerful effect where no effect had been expected. bit by it, as his heart went out to the governor, there grew upon michael sunlocks a deep loathing of the very name and thought of his father. the memory of his father was now a thing of the mind, not the affections; and the chain of the two emotions, love for his foster father and dread of his natural one, slowly but surely tightened about him, so that his strongest hope was that he might never again set eyes on stephen orry. by this weakness he fell at length into the hands of the six fairbrothers, and led the way to a total rupture of old adam's family. one day when michael sunlocks was eighteen years old a man came to him from kirk maughold with an air of wondrous mystery. it was nary crowe, the innkeeper, now bald, bottled-nosed, and in a bad state of preservation. his story, intended for michael's ear alone, was that stephen orry, flying from the officers of the revenue cutters, was on the point of leaving the island forever, and must see his son before going. if the son would not go to the father, then the father must come to the son. the meeting place proposed was a schooner lying outside the calf sound, and the hour midnight of the day following. it was as base a plot as the heart of an enemy ever concocted, for the schooner was a smuggler, and the men of the revenue cutter were in hiding under the black head to watch her movements. the lad, in fear of his father, fell into the trap, and was taken prisoner on suspicion in a gig making for the ship. he confessed all to the governor, and nary crowe was arrested. to save his own carcase nary gave up his employers. they were ross and stean fairbrother, and ross and stean being questioned pointed to their brothers jacob and gentleman johnny as the instigators of the scheme. when the revelation was complete, and the governor saw that all but his whole family was implicated, and that the stain on his house was so black that the island would ever remember it against him, his placid spirit forsook him and his wrath knew no bounds. but the evil was not ended there, for mrs. fairbrother took sides with her sons, and straightway vowed to live no longer under the same roof with an unnatural father, who found water thicker than blood. at that adam was shaken to his depths. the taunt passed him by, but the threat touched him sorely. "it would be but a poor business," he said, "to part now after so many years of life together, with seven children that should be as bonds between us, in our age and looking to a longer parting." but mrs. fairbrother was resolved to go with her sons, and never again to darken her husband's doors. "you have been a true wife to me and led a good life," said adam, "and have holpen me through many troubles, and we have had cheerful hours together despite some crosses." but mrs. fairbrother was not to be pacified. "then let us not part in anger," said adam, "and though i will not do your bidding, and send away the lad--no, nor let him go of himself, now that for sake of peace he asks it--yet to show you that i mean no wrong by my own flesh and blood, this is what i will do: i have my few hundreds for my office, but all i hold that i can call my own is lague. take it--it shall be yours for your lifetime, and our sons' and their sister's after you." at these terms the bad bargain was concluded, and mrs. fairbrother went away to lague, leaving adam with michael sunlocks at government house. and the old man, being now alone with the lad, though his heart never wavered or rued the price he had paid for him, often turned yearningly towards thoughts of his daughter greeba, so that at length he said, speaking of her as the child he had parted from, "i can live no longer without my little lass, and will go and fetch her." then he wrote to the duchess at her house in london, and a few days afterwards he followed his letter. he had been a week gone when michael sunlocks, having now the governor's routine work to do, was sent for out of the north of the island to see to the light on the point of ayre, where there was then no lighthouse, but only a flase stuck out from a pole at the end of a sandstone jetty, a poor proxy, involving much risk to ships. two days he was away, and returning home he slept a night at douglas, rising at sunrise to make the last stage of his journey to castletown. he was riding goldie, the governor's little roan; the season was spring, and the morning, fresh from its long draught of dew, was sweet and beautiful. but michael sunlocks rode heavily along, for he was troubled by many misgivings. he was asking himself for the hundredth time whether it was right of him, and a true man's part, to suffer himself to stand between adam fairbrother and his family. the sad breach being made, all that he could do to heal it was to take himself away, whether adam favored that course or not. and he had concluded that, painful as the remedy would be, yet he must needs take it, and that very speedily, when he came up to the gate of government house, and turned goldie down the path to the left that led to the stables. he had not gone far when over the lowing of the cattle in the byres, and the steady munching of the sheep on the other side of the hedge, and through the smell of the early grass there came to him the sweetest sounds he had ever heard, and some of the queerest and craziest. without knowing what he did, or why he did it, but taking himself at his first impulse, he drew rein, and goldie came to a stand on the mossgrown pathway. then he knew that two were talking together a little in front of him, but partly hidden by a turn of the path and the thick trammon that bordered it. rising in his stirrups he could see one of them, and it was his old friend, chalse a'killey, the carrier, a shambling figure in a guernsey and blue seaman's cap, with tousled hair and a simple vacant face, and lagging lower lip, but eyes of a strange brightness. and "aw, yes," chalse was saying, "he's a big lump of a boy grown, and no pride at all, at all, and a fine english tongue at him, and clever extraordinary. him and me's same as brothers, and he was mortal fond to ride my ould donkey when he was a slip of a lad. aw, yes, him and me's middlin' well acquent." then some linnets that were hiding in the trammon began to twitter, and what was said next michael sunlocks did not catch, but only heard the voice that answered old chalse, and that seemed to make the music of the birds sound harsh. "'what like is he?' is it like it is?" old chalse said again. "aw, straight as the backbone of a herrin' and tall and strong; and as for a face, maybe there's not a man in the island to hold a candle to him. och, no, nor a woman neither--saving yourself, maybe. and aw, now, the sweet and tidy ye're looking this morning, anyway: as fresh as the dewdrop, my chree." goldie grew restless, began to paw the path, and twist his round flanks into the leaves of the trammon, and at the next instant michael sunlocks was aware that there was a flutter in front of him, and a soft tread on the silent moss, and before he could catch back the lost consciousness of that moment, a light and slender figure shot out with a rhythm of gentle movement, and stood in all its grace and lovely sweetness two paces beyond the head of his horse. "greeba!" thought michael sunlocks; and sure enough it was she, in the first bloom of her womanhood, with gleams of her child face haunting her still and making her woman's face luminous, with the dark eyes softened and the dimpled cheeks smoothed out. she was bareheaded, and the dark fall of her hair was broken over her ears by eddies of wavy curls. her dress was very light and loose, and it left the proud lift of her throat bare, as well as the tower of her round neck, and a hint of the full swell of her bosom. in a moment michael sunlocks dropped from the saddle, and held out his hand to greeba, afraid to look into her face as yet, and she put out her hand to him and blushed: both frightened more than glad. he tried to speak, but never a word would come, and he felt his cheeks burn red. but her eyes were shy of his, and nothing she saw but the shadow of michael's tall form above her and a glint of the uncovered shower of fair hair that had made him sunlocks. she turned her eyes aside a moment, then quickly recovered herself and laughed a little, partly to hide her own confusion and partly in joy at the sight of his, and all this time he held her hand, arrested by a sudden gladness, such as comes with the first sunshine of spring and the scent of the year's first violet. there was then the harsh scrape on the path of old chalse a'killey's heavy feet going off, and, the spell being broken, greeba was the first to speak. "you were glad when i went away--are you sorry that i have come back again?" but his breath was gone and he could not answer, so he only laughed, and pulled the reins of the horse over its head and walked before it by greeba's side as she turned towards the stable. in the cowhouse the kine were lowing, over the half-door a calf held out his red and white head and munched and munched, on the wall a peacock was strutting, and across the paved yard the two walked together, greeba and michael sunlocks, softly, without words, with quick glances and quicker blushes. adam fairbrother saw them from a window of the house, and he said within himself, "now god grant that this may be the end of all partings between them and me." that chanced to be the day before good friday, and it was only three days afterwards that adam sent for michael sunlocks to see him in his room. sunlocks obeyed, and found a strange man with the governor. the stranger was of more than middle age, rough of dress, bearded, tanned, of long flaxen hair, an ungainly but colossal creature. when they came face to face, the face of michael sunlocks fell, and that of the man lightened visibly. "this is your son, stephen orry," said old adam, in a voice that trembled and broke. "and this is your father, michael sunlocks." then stephen orry, with a depth of languor in his slow gray eyes, made one step towards michael sunlocks, and half opened his arms as if to embrace him. but a pitiful look of shame crossed his face at that moment, and his arms fell again. at the same instant michael sunlocks, growing very pale and dizzy, drew slightly back, and they stood apart, with adam between them. "he has come for you to go away into his own country," adam said, falteringly. it was easter day, nineteen years after stephen orry had fled from iceland. chapter vii. the vow of stephen orry. stephen orry's story was soon told. he desired that his son, being now of an age that suited it, should go to the latin school at reykjavik, to study there under old bishop petersen, a good man whom all icelanders venerated, and he himself had known from his childhood up. he could bear the expense of it, and saying so he hung his head a little. an irish brig, hailing from belfast, and bound for reykjavik, was to put in at ramsey on the saturday following. by that brig he wished his son to sail. he should be back at the little house in port-y-vullin between this and then, and he desired to see his son there, having something of consequence to say to him. that was all. fumbling his cap, the great creature shambled out, and was gone before the others were aware. then michael sunlocks declared stoutly that come what might he would not go. why should he? who was this man that he should command his obedience? his father? then what, as a father, had he done for him? abandoned him to the charity of others. what was he? one whom he had thought of with shame, hoping never to set eyes on his face. and now, this man, this father, this thing of shame, would have him sacrifice all that was near and dear to him, and leave behind the only one who had been, indeed, his father, and the only place that had been, in truth, his home. but no, that base thing he should not do. and, saying this, michael sunlocks tossed his head proudly, though there was a great gulp in his throat and his shrill voice had risen to a cry. and to all this rush of protest old adam, who had first stared out at the window with a look of sheer bewilderment, and then sat before the fire to smoke, trying to smile though his mouth would not bend, and to say something more though there seemed nothing to say, answered only in a thick under-breath, "he is your father, my lad, he is your father." hearing this again and again repeated, even after he had fenced it with many answers, michael sunlocks suddenly bethought himself of all that had so lately occurred, and the idea came to him in the whirl of his stunned senses that perhaps the governor wished him to go, now that they could part without offence or reproach on either side. at that bad thought his face fell, and though little given to woman's ways he had almost flung himself at old adam's feet to pray of him not to send him away whatever happened, when all at once he remembered his vow of the morning. what had come over him since he made that vow, that he was trying to draw back now? he thought of greeba, of the governor, and again of greeba. had the coming of greeba altered all? was it because greeba was back home that he wished to stay? was it for that the governor wished him to go, needing him now no more? he did not know, he could not think; only the hot flames rose to his cheeks and the hot tears to his eyes, and he tossed his head again mighty proudly, and said as stoutly as ever, "very well--very well--i'll go--since you wish it." now old adam saw but too plainly what mad strife was in the lad's heart to be wroth with him for all the ingratitude of his thought, so, his wrinkled face working hard with many passions--sorrow and tenderness, yearning for the lad and desire to keep him, pity for the father robbed of the love of his son, who felt an open shame of him--the good man twisted about from the fire and said, "listen, and you shall hear what your father has done for you." and then, with a brave show of composure, though many a time his old face twitched and his voice faltered, and under his bleared spectacles his eyes blinked, he told michael sunlocks the story of his infancy--how his father, a rude man, little used to ways of tenderness, had nursed him when his mother, being drunken and without natural feelings, had neglected him; how his father had tried to carry him away and failed for want of the license allowing them to go; how at length, in dread of what might come to the child, yet loving him fondly, he had concluded to kill him, and had taken him out to sea in the boat to do it, but could not compass it from terror of the voice that seemed to speak within him, and from pity of the child's own artless prattle; and, last of all, how his father had brought him there to that house, not abandoning him to the charity of others, but yielding him up reluctantly, and as one who gave away in solemn trust the sole thing he held dear in all the world. and pleading in this way for stephen orry, poor old adam was tearing at his own heart woefully, little wishing that his words would prevail, yet urging them the more for the secret hope that, in spite of all, michael sunlocks, like the brave lad he was, would after all refuse to go. but michael, who had listened impatiently at first, tramping the room to and fro, paused presently, and his eyes began to fill and his hands to tremble. so that when adam, having ended, said, "now, will you not go to iceland?" thinking in his heart that the lad would fling his arms about him and cry, "no, no, never, never," and he himself would then answer, "my boy, my boy, you shall stay here, you shall stay here," michael sunlocks, his heart swelling and his eyes glistening with a great new pride and tenderness, said softly, "yes, yes--for a father like that i would cross the world." adam fairbrother said not a word more. he blew out the candle that shone on his face, sat down before the fire, and through three hours thereafter smoked in silence. the next day, being monday, greeba was sent on to lague, that her mother and brothers might see her after her long absence from the island. she was to stay there until the monday following, that she might be at ramsey to bid good-bye to michael sunlocks on the eve of his departure for iceland. three days more michael spent at government house, and on the morning of friday, being fully ready and his leather trunk gone on before in care of chalse a'killey, who would suffer no one else to carry it, he was mounted for his journey on the little roan goldie when up came the governor astride his cob. "i'll just set you as far as ballasalla," he said, jauntily, and they rode away together. all the week through since their sad talk on easter day old adam had affected a wondrous cheerfulness, and now he laughed mightily as they rode along, and winked his gray eyes knowingly like a happy child's, until sometimes from one cause or other the big drops came into them. the morning was fresh and sweet, with the earth full of gladness and the air of song, though michael sunlocks was little touched by its beauty and thought it the heaviest he had yet seen. but adam told how the spring was toward, and the lambs in fold, and the heifers thriving, and how the april rain would bring potatoes down to sixpence a kishen, and fetch up the grass in such a crop that the old island would rise--why not? ha, ha, ha!--to the opulence and position of a state. but, rattle on as he would, he could neither banish the heavy looks of michael sunlocks nor make light the weary heart he bore himself. so he began to rally the lad, and say how little he would have thought of a trip to iceland in his old days at guinea; that it was only a hop, skip and a jump after all, and, bless his old soul, if he wouldn't cut across some day to see him between tynwald and midsummer--and many a true word was said in jest. soon they came by rushen abbey at ballasalla, and then old adam could hold back no longer what he had come to say. "you'll see your father before you sail," he said, "and i'm thinking he'll give you a better reason for going than he has given to me; but, if not, and bishop petersen and the latin school is all his end and intention, remember our good manx saying that 'learning is fine clothes to the rich man, and riches to the poor one.' and that minds me," he said, plunging deep into his pocket, "of another good manx saying, that 'there are just two bad pays--pay beforehand and no pay at all;' so to save you from both, who have earned yourself neither, put you this old paper into your fob--and god bless ye!" so saying, he thrust into the lad's hand a roll of fifty manx pound notes, and then seemed about to whip away. but michel sunlocks had him by the sleeve before he could turn his horse's head. "bless me yourself," the lad said. and then adam fairbrother, with all his poor bankrupt whimseys gone from his upturned face, now streaming wet, and with his white hair gently lifted by the soft morning breeze, rose in the saddle and laid his hand on michael's drooping head and blessed him. and so they parted, not soon to meet again, or until many a strange chance had befallen both. it was on the morning of the day following that michael sunlocks rode into port-y-vullin. if he could have remembered how he had left it, as an infant in his father's arms, perhaps the task he had set himself would have been an easier one. he was trying to crush down his shame, and it was very hard to do. he was thinking that go where he would he must henceforth bear his father's name. stephen orry was waiting for him, having been there three days, not living in the little hut, but washing it, cleaning it, drying it, airing it, and kindling fires in it, that by such close labor of half a week it might be worthy that his son should cross its threshold for half an hour. he had never slept in it since he had nailed up the door after the death of liza killey, and as an unblessed place it had been safe from the intrusion of others. he saw michael sunlocks riding up, and raised his cap to him as he alighted, saying, "sir" to him, and bowing as he did so. there were deep scars on his face and head, his hands were scratched and discolored, his cheeks were furrowed with wrinkles, and about his whole person there was a strong odor as of tobacco, tar, and bilge water. "i shall not have ought to ask you here, sir," he said, in his broken english. "call me michael," the lad answered, and then they went into the hut. the place was not much more cheerful than of old, but still dark, damp and ruinous; and michael sunlocks, at the thought that he himself had been born there, and that his mother had lived her shameful life and died her dishonored death there, found the gall again in his throat. "i have something that i shall have to say to you," said stephen orry, "but i cannot well speak english. not all the years through i never shall have learn it." and then, as if by a sudden thought, he spoke six words in his native icelandic, and glanced quickly into the face of michael sunlocks. at the next instant the great rude fellow was crying like a child. he had seen that michael understood him. and michael, on his part, seemed at the sound of those words to find something melt at his heart, something fall from his eyes, something rise to his throat. "call me michael," he said once more. "i am your son;" and then they talked together, stephen orry in the icelandic, michael sunlocks in english. "i've not been a good father to you, michael, never coming to see you all these years. but i wanted you to grow up a better man than your father before you. a man may be bad, but he doesn't like his son to feel ashamed of him. and i was afraid to see it in your face, michael. that's why i stayed away. but many a time i felt hungry after my little lad, that i loved so dear and nursed so long, like any mother might. and hearing of him sometimes, and how well he looked, and how tall he grew, maybe i didn't think the less about him for not coming down upon him to shame him." "stop, father, stop," said michael sunlocks. "my son," said stephen orry, "you are going back to your father's country. it's nineteen years since he left it, and he hadn't lived a good life there. you'll meet many a one your father knew, and, maybe, some your father did wrong by. he can't undo the bad work now. there's a sort of wrong-doing there's no mending once it's done, and that's the sort his was. it was against a woman. some people seem to be sent into this world to be punished for the sins of others. women are mostly that way, though there are those that are not; but she was one of them. it'll be made up to them in the other world; and if she has gone there she has taken some of my sins along with her own--if she had any, and i never heard tell of any. but if she is in this world still, perhaps it can be partly made up to her here. only it is not for me to do it, seeing what has happened since. michael, that's why you are going to my country now." "tell me everything," said michael. then stephen orry, his deep voice breaking and his gray eyes burning with the slow fire that had lain nineteen years asleep at the bottom of them, told his son the story of his life--of rachel and of her father and her father's curse, of what she had given up and suffered for him, and of how he had repaid her with neglect, with his mother's contempt, and with his own blow. then of her threat and his flight and his coming to that island; of his meeting with liza, of his base marriage with the woman and the evil days they spent together; of their child's birth and his own awful resolve in his wretchedness and despair; and then of the woman's death, wherein the almighty god had surely turned to mercy what was meant for vengeance. all this he told and more than this, sparing himself not at all. and michael listened with a bewildered sense of fear and shame, and love and sorrow, that may not be described, growing hot and cold by turns, rising from his seat and sinking back again, looking about the walls with a chill terror, as the scenes they had witnessed seemed to come back to them before his eyes, feeling at one moment a great horror of the man before him, and at the next a great pity, and then clutching his father's huge hands in his own nervous fingers. "now you know all," said stephen orry, "and why it is not for me to go back to her. there is another woman between us, god forgive me, and dead though she is, that woman will be there forever. but she, who is yonder, in my own country, if she is living, is my wife. and heaven pity her, she is where i left her--down, down, down among the dregs of life. she has no one to protect and none to help her. she is deserted for her father's sake, and despised for mine. michael, will you go to her?" the sudden question recalled the lad from a painful reverie. he had been thinking of his own position, and that even his father's name, which an hour ago he had been ashamed to bear, was not his own to claim. but stephen orry had never once thought of this, or that the dead woman who stood between him and rachel also stood between rachel and her son. "promise me, promise me," he cried, seeing one thing only--that michael was his son, that his son was as himself, and that the woman who was dead had been as a curse to both of them. but michael sunlocks made him no answer. "i've gone from bad to worse--i know that, michael. i've done in cold blood what i'd have trembled at when she was by me. maybe i was thinking sometimes of my boy even then, and saying to myself how some day he'd go back for me to my own country, when i had made the money to send him." michael trembled visibly. "and how he'd look for her, and find her, and save her, if she was alive. and if she wasn't--if she was dead, poor girl, with all her troubles over, how he'd look for the child that was to come when i left her--my child, and hers--and find it where it would surely be, in want and dirt and misery, and then save it for its mother's sake and mine. michael, will you go?" but still michael sunlocks made him no answer. "it's fourteen years since god spared your life to me; just fourteen years to-night, michael. i remembered it, and that's why we are here now. when i brought you back in my arms _she_ was there at my feet, lying dead, who had been my rod and punishment. then i vowed, as i should answer to the lord at the last day, that if _i_ could not go back, _you_ should." michael covered his face with hands. "my son, my son--michael, my little sunlocks, i want to keep my vow. will you go?" "yes, yes," cried michael, rising suddenly. his doubt and pride and shame were gone. he felt only a great tenderness now for the big rude man, who had sinned deeply and suffered much and found that all he could do alone would avail him nothing. "father, where is she?" "i left her at reykjavik, but i don't know where she is now." "no matter, i will hunt the world over until i find her, and when i have found her i will be as a son to her, and she shall be as a mother to me." "my boy, my boy," cried stephen. "if she should die, and we should never meet, i will hunt the world over until i find her child, and when i have found it i will be as a brother to it for my father's sake." "my son, my son," cried stephen. and in the exultation of that moment, when he tried to speak but no words would come, and only his rugged cheeks glistened and his red eyes shone, it seemed to stephen orry that the burden of twenty heavy years had been lifted away. chapter viii. the going of sunlocks. it was then past noon. the irish brig was in the harbor taking in manx cloth and potatoes, a few cattle and a drove of sheep. at the flow of the tide it was to go out into the bay and anchor there, waiting for the mails, and at nine o'clock it was to sail. in the meantime michael was to arrange for his passage, and at half-past eight he was to meet his father on the quay. but he had also to see greeba, and that was not easy to do. the family at lague had heard the great news of his going, and had secretly rejoiced at it, but they refused to see him there, even for the shortest leave-taking at the longest parting. and at the bare mention of the bargain that greeba had made with him, to bid him farewell on the eve of his departure, all the fairbrothers were up in arms. so he had been sorely put to it to devise a means of meeting greeba, if he could do so without drawing suspicion down on her; for come what might of risk or danger to himself he meant to see her again before ever he set foot on the ship. the expedient he could not hit on did not long elude a woman's wit, and greeba found the way by which they were to meet. a few of last year's heifers were grazing on barrule and at nightfall somebody went up for them and brought them home. she would go that night, and return by the glen, so that at the bridge by the turn of the river and the low road to lague, where it was quiet enough sometimes, she could meet anybody about dusk and nobody be the wiser. she contrived a means to tell michael of this, and he was prompt to her appointment. the day had been fair but close, with a sky that hung low, and with not a breath of wind, and in the evening when the mist came down from the mountain a fog came up from the sea, so that the air was empty and every noise went through it as if it had been a speaking-trumpet. standing alone on the bridge under the quiet elms, michael could hear the rattle of chains and the whistling of horns, and by that he knew that the brig had dropped anchor in the bay. but he strained his ears for other sounds, and they came at last; the thud of the many feet of the heifers, the flapping of their tails, the cattle-call in a girl's clear voice, and the swish of a twig that she carried in her hand. greeba came along behind the cattle, swinging her body to a jaunty gait, her whole person radiant with health and happiness, her long gown, close at the back and loose over her bosom, showing well her tall lithe form and firm bearing. she wore no bonnet, but a white silk handkerchief was tied about her head, half covering her mouth, and leaving visible in the twilight only the tip of her nose, a curl of her hair, and her bright dark eyes, with their long bright lashes. she was singing to herself as she came up to the bridge, with an unconcerned and unconscious air. at sight of michael she made a start and a little nervous cry, so that he thought, poor lad, not knowing the ways of women, that for all the pains she had been at to fetch him she had somehow not expected him to be there. she looked him over from head to foot, and her eyes gleamed from the white kerchief. "so you are going, after all," she said, and her voice seemed to him the sweetest music he had ever heard. "i never believed you would," she added. "why not?" he asked. "oh, i don't know," she said, and laughed a little. "but i suppose there are girls enough in iceland," and then she laughed outright. "only they can't be of much account up there." "but i've heard they are very fine girls," he answered; "and it's a fine country, too." she tossed her head and laughed and swung her switch. "fine country! the idea! fine company, fine people and a good time. that's what a girl wants if she's worth anything." "then i suppose you will go back to london some day," he said. "that doesn't follow," she answered. "there's father, you see; and, oh, what a pity he can't live at lague!" "do you like it so much?" he said. "like it?" she said, her eyes full of laughter. "six big hungry brothers coming home three times a day and eating up everything in the house--it's delightful!" she seemed to him magnificently beautiful. "i dare say they'll spoil you before i come back," he said, "or somebody else will." she gave him a deliberate glance from her dark eyes, and then threw back her head and laughed. he could see the heaving of her breast. she laughed again--a fresh, merry laugh--and then he tried to laugh too, thinking of the foolish thing he had said. "but if there are plenty of girls up there," she said, slyly glancing under her long lashes, "and they're so very wonderful, maybe you'll be getting married before you come home again?" "maybe so," he said quietly, and looked vacantly aside. there was a pause. then a sharp snap or two broke the silence and recalled him to the maiden by his side. she was only breaking up the twig she had carried. there was another pause, in which he could hear the rippling of the river and the leaping of a fish. the heifers were munching the grass by the roadside a little ahead. "i must go now," she said, coldly, "or they'll be out seeking me." "i'll walk with you as far as lague--it's dark," he said. "no, no, you must not!" she cried, and fumbling the loose fold about her throat she turned to go. but he laid hold of her arm. "why not?" he asked. "only think of my brothers. your very life would be in danger." "if all six of them were ranged across the other end of this bridge, and you had to walk the rest of the road alone, i would go through them," he said. she saw the high lift of his neck and she smiled proudly. then they walked on some distance. he was gazing at her in silence. there was a conscious delight of her beauty in the swing of her step and the untamed glance of her eyes. "since the country is so fine i suppose you'll stay a long while there?" she said in her sweetest tone. "no longer than i must," he answered. "why not?" "i don't know." "but why not?" she said again, looking at him sideways with a gleam of a smile. he did not answer, and she laughed merrily. "what a girl you are for laughing," he said. "it may be very laughable to you that i'm going away----" "but isn't it to you? eh?" she said, as fast as a flash of quicksilver. he had no answer, so he tried to laugh also, and to take her hand at the same time. she was too quick for him, and swung half a pace aside. they were then at the gate of lague, where long years before stephen orry first saw the light through the elms. a late rook was still cawing overhead; the heifers had gone on towards the courtyard. "you must go now, so good-bye," she said, softly. "greeba," he said. "well? only speak lower," she whispered, coming closer. he could feel the warm glow of her body. "do you think, now, if i should be a long time away--years it may be, perhaps many years--we should ever forget each other, we two?" "forget? no, not to say forget, you know," she answered. "but should we remember?" "remember? you silly, silly boy, if we should not forget how ever could we fail to remember?" "don't laugh at me, greeba; and promise me one thing," and then he whispered in her ear. she sprang away and laughed once more, and started to run down the path. but in three strides he had her again. "that will not do for me, greeba," he said breathing fast. "promise me that you will wait for me." "well," she said softly, her dark eyes full of merriment, "i'll promise that while you are away no one else shall spoil me. there! good-bye!" she was tearing herself out of his hands. "first give me a token," he said. daffodils lined the path, though in the dusk he could not see them. but she knew they were there, and stopped and plucked two, blew upon both, gave one to him, and put the other into the folds at her bosom. "good-bye! good-bye!" she said in an under-breath. "good-bye!" he answered. she ran a few steps, but he could not let her go yet, and in an instant he sprang abreast of her. he threw one arm about her waist and the other about her neck, tipped up her chin, and kissed her on the lips. a gurgling laugh came up to him. "remember!" he whispered over the upturned face in the white kerchief. at the next instant he was gone. then, standing under the dark elms alone, she heard the porch door opening, a heavy foot treading on the gravel, and a deep voice saying: "here are the heifers home, but where's the little lass?" it was her eldest brother, asher, and she walked up to him and said quite calmly:-"oh! what a bad hasp that gate has--it takes such a time to open and close." * * * * * michael sunlocks reached the harbor at the time appointed. as he crossed the quay some fishermen were lounging there with pipes between their teeth. a few of them came up to him to bid him godspeed in their queer way. stephen orry was standing apart by the head of the harbor steps, and at the bottom of them his boat, a yawl, was lying moored. they got into it and stephen sculled out of the harbor. it was still very thick over the town, but they could see the lights of the irish brig in the bay. outside the pier the air was fresher, and there was something of a swell on the water. "the fog is lifting," said stephen orry. "there'll be a taste of a breeze before long." he seemed as if he had something to say but did not know how to begin. his eye caught the light on point of ayre. "when are they to build the lighthouse?" he asked. "after the spring tides," said michael. they were about midway between the pier and the brig when stephen rested his scull under his arm and drew something from one of his pockets. "this is the money," he said, and he held out a bag towards michael sunlocks. "no," said michael, and he drew quickly back. there was a moment's silence, and then michael added, more softly:-"i mean, father, that i have enough already. mr. fairbrother gave me some. it was fifty pounds." stephen orry turned his head aside and looked over the dark water. then he said:-"i suppose that was so that you wouldn't need to touch money same as mine." michael's heart smote him. "father," he said, "how much is it?" "a matter of two hundred pounds," said stephen. "how long has it taken you to earn--to get it?" "fourteen years." "and have you been saving it up for me?" "ay." "to take me to iceland?" "ay." "how much more have you?" "not a great deal." "but how much?" "i don't know--scarcely." "have you any more?" stephen made no answer. "have you any more, father?" "no." michael sunlocks felt his face flush deep in the darkness. "father," he said, and his voice broke, "we are parting, you and i, and we may not meet again soon; indeed, we may never meet again. i have made you a solemn promise. will you not make me one?" "what is it, sir?" "that you will never, never try to get more by the same means." "there'll be no occasion now." "but will you promise me?" "ay." "then give me the money." stephen handed the bag to michael. "it's fourteen years of your life, is it not?" "so to say." "and now it's mine, isn't it, to do as i like with it?" "no, sir, but to do as you ought with it." "then i ought to give it back to you. come, take it. but wait! remember your promise, father. don't forget--i've bought every hour of your life that's left." father and son parted at the ship's side in silence, with throats too full for speech. many small boats, pulled by men and boys, were lying about the ladder, and there was a good deal of shouting and swearing and noisy laughter there. some of the boatmen recognized michael sunlocks and bellowed their farewells to him. "_dy banne jee oo?_" "god bless you! god bless you!" they said, and then among themselves they seemed to discuss the reason of his going. "well, what's it saying?" said one; "the crab that lies always in its hole is never fat." the air had freshened, the swell of the sea had risen, and a sharp breeze was coming up from the east. stephen orry stepped to his mast, hoisted mainsail and mizzen, and stood out to sea. he had scarcely got clear away when he heard the brig weigh its anchor and beat down behind him. they were making towards the point of ayre, and when they came by the light stephen orry slackened off, and watched the ship go by him in the darkness. he felt as if that were the last he was ever to see of his son in this world. and he loved him with all the strength of his great broken, bleeding heart. at that thought the outcast man laid his head in his hands, where he sat crouching at the tiller, and sobbed. there were none to hear him there; he was alone; and the low moan of the sea came up through the night from where his son was sailing away. how long he sat there he did not know; he was thinking of his past, of his bad life in iceland, and his long expiation in the isle of man. in the multitude of his sensations it seemed impossible to his dazed mind to know which of these two had been the worst, or the most foolish. together they had left him a wreck. in the one he had thrown away the wife who loved him, in the other he had given up the son whom he loved. what was left to him? nothing. he was a waif, despised and downtrodden. he thought of what might have happened to him if the chances of life had been different, and in that first hour of his last bereavement all the softening influences of nineteen years, the uplooking and upworking, and the struggle towards atonement, were as much gone from him as if they had never been. then he thought of the money, and told himself that it was not now that he lost his son for the first time; he had lost him fourteen years ago, when he parted with him to the governor. since then their relations had been reversed. his little sunlocks was his little sunlocks no longer. he felt humiliated, he felt hardened, and by a strange impulse, whereof he understood but little, he cursed in his heart his sufferings more than his sins. they had been useless, they had been wasted, and he had been a fool not to live for himself. but in that moment, when the devil seemed to make havoc of good and evil together, god himself was not doing nothing. stephen orry was drifting with the tide, when all at once he became conscious of the lapping of the water on stones near at hand, and of a bright light shed over the sea. then he saw that he had drifted close to low ground off the point of ayre. he bore hard aport and beat out to sea again. very soon the white water way was behind him; nothing was visible save the dark hull of the vessel going off towards the north, and nothing audible save the cry of a few gulls that were fishing by the light of the flare. it had been the work of three minutes only, but in that time one vivid impression had fixed itself on stephen's preoccupied mind. the end of the old sandstone pier had been battered down by a recent storm; the box that once held the light had gone down with it, a pole had been thrust out at an angle from the overthrown stones, and from the end of this pole the light swung by a rope. no idea connected itself with this impression, which lay low down behind other thoughts. the fog had lifted, but the night was still very dark. not a star was shining and no moon appeared. yet stephen's eye--the eye of a sailor accustomed to the darkness of the sea at night--could descry something that lay to the north. the irish brig had disappeared. yes, her sails were now gone. but out at sea--far out, half a league away--what black thing was there? oh, it must be a cloud, that was all; and no doubt a storm was brewing. yet no, it was looming larger and larger, and coming nearer and nearer. it was a sail. stephen could see it plainly enough now against the leaden sky. it was a schooner; he could make out its two masts, with fore and aft sails. it was an irish schooner; he could recognize its heavy hull and hollowed cutwater. it was tacking against wind and tide from the northeast; it was a dublin schooner and was homeward bound from iceland, having called at whitehaven and now putting in at ramsey. stephen orry had been in the act of putting about when this object caught his eye, but now a strange thing occurred. all at once his late troubles lay back in his mind, and by a sort of unconscious mechanical habit of intellect he began to put familiar ideas together. this schooner that was coming from iceland would be heavy laden; it would have whalebone, and eider down, and tallow. if it ran ashore and was wrecked some of this cargo might be taken by some one and sold for something to a french smuggler that lay outside the chicken rocks. that flare on the point of ayre was the only sea-light on this north coast of the island, and it hung by a rope from a pole. the land lay low about it, there was not a house on that sandy headland for miles on miles, and the night was very dark. all this came up to stephen orry's mind by no effort of will; he looked out of his dull eyes on the dull stretch of sea and sky, and the thoughts were there of themselves. what power outside himself was at work with him? did anything tell him that this was the great moment of his life--that his destiny hung on it--that the ordeal he had just gone through was as nothing to the ordeal that was yet before him? as he sat in his boat, peering into the darkness at the black shadow on the horizon, did any voice whisper in his ear:--"stephen orry, on the ship that is yonder there is one who hates you and has sworn to slay you? he is coming, he is coming, and he is flesh of your flesh? he is your own son, and rachel's!" stephen orry fetched his boat away to leeward, and in two minutes more he had run down the light on the point of ayre. the light fell into the water, and then all was dark. stephen orry steered on over the freshening sea, and then slackened off to wait and watch. all this time he had been sitting at the tiller, never having risen from it since he stepped his mast by the side of the brig. now he got on his feet to shorten sail, for the wind was rising and he meant to drift by the mizzen. as he rose something fell with a clank to the boat's bottom from his lap or his pocket. it was the bag of money, which michael sunlocks had returned to him. stephen orry stooped down to pick it up; and having it in his hand he dropped back like a man who has been dealt a blow. then, indeed, a voice rang in his ears; he could hear it over the wind that was rising, the plash of the white breakers on the beach, and the low boom of the deep sea outside. "remember your promise, father. i have bought every hour of your life that's left." his heart seemed to stand still. he looked around in the dull agony of a fear that was new to him, turning his eyes first to the headland that showed faintly against the heavy sky, then to the pier where no light now shone, and then to the black cloud of sail that grew larger every instant. one minute passed--two--three. meantime the black cloud of sail was drawing closer. there were living men aboard of that ship, and they were running on to their death. yes, they were men, living men--men with wives who loved them, and children who climbed to their knees. but perhaps they had seen the light when it went down. merciful heaven, let it be so--let it be so! the soul of stephen orry was awake at length. another minute he waited, another and another, and the black shadow came yet nearer. at her next tack the ship would run on the land, and already stephen seemed to hear the grating of her keel over the rocks below the beach. he could bear the suspense no longer, and hoisted sail to bear down on the schooner and warn her. but the wind was strong by this time, driving hard off the sea and the tide ran faster than before. stephen orry was now some thirty fathoms space to the north of the broken pier, and at that point the current from across maughold head meets the current going across the mull of galloway. laboring in the heavy sea he could barely fetch about, but when at last he got head out to sea he began to drive down on the schooner at a furious speed. he tried to run close along by her on the weather side, but before he came within a hundred fathoms he saw that he was in the full race of the north current, and strong seaman though he was, he could not get near. then he shouted, but the wind carried away his voice. he shouted again, but the schooner gave no sign. in the darkness the dark vessel scudded past him. he was now like a man possessed. fetching about he ran in before the wind, thinking to pass the schooner on her tack. he passed her indeed: he was shot far beyond her, shouting as he went, but again his voice was drowned in the roar of the sea. he was almost atop of the breakers now, yet he fetched about once more, and shouted again and again and again. but the ship came on and on, and no one heard the wild voice, that rang out between the dark sea and sky like the cry of a strong swimmer in his last agony. chapter ix. the coming of jason. the schooner was the peveril, homeward bound from reykjavik to dublin, with a hundred tons of tallow, fifty bales of eider down, and fifty casks of cods' and sharks' oil. leaving the icelandic capital on the morning after easter day, with a fair wind, for the outer hebrides, she had run through the north channel by the middle of the week, and put into whitehaven on the friday. next day she had stood out over the irish sea for the isle of man, intending to lie off at ramsey for contraband rum. her skipper and mate were both englishmen, and her crew were all irish, except two, a manxman and an icelander. the manxman was a grizzled old sea dog, who had followed the manx fisheries twenty years and smuggling twenty other years, and then turned seaman before the mast. his name was davy kerruish, and when folks asked if the methodists had got hold of him that he had turned honest in his old age, he closed one rheumy yellow eye very knowingly, tipped one black thumb over his shoulder to where the government cutters lay anchored outside, and said in a touching voice, "aw, well, boy, i'm thinking castle rushen isn't no place for a poor man when he's gettin' anyways ould." the icelander was a brawny young fellow of about twenty, of great height and big muscles, and with long red hair. he had shipped at reykjavik, in the room of an irishman, who had died on the outward trip and been buried at sea off the engy island. he was not a favorite among the crew; he spoke english well, but was no good at a yarn in the forecastle; he was silent, gloomy, not too fond of work, and often the butt of his mates in many a lumbering jest that he did not seem to see. he had signed on the wharf on the morning the schooner sailed, and the only kit he had brought aboard was a rush cage with a canary. he hung the bird in the darkness above his bunk, and it was all but his sole companion. now and again he spoke to old kerruish, but hardly ever to the other men. "och, sollum and quiet lek," old davy would say at the galley fire, "but none so simple at all. aw no, no, no; and wonderful cur'ous about my own bit of an island yander." the icelander was jason, son of rachel and stephen orry. there is not a more treacherous channel around the british isles than that which lies between st. bee's head, the mull of galloway, and the point of ayre, for four strong currents meet and fight in that neck of the irish sea. with a stiff breeze on the port quarter, the peveril had been driven due west from whitehaven on the heavy current from the solway frith, until she had met the current from the north channel and then she had tacked down towards the isle of man. it was dark by that time, and the skipper had leaned over the starboard gangway until he had sighted the light on the point of ayre. even then he had been puzzled, for the light was feebler than he remembered it. "can you make it out, davy?" he had said to old kerruish. "aw, yes, though, and plain as plain," said davy; and then the skipper had gone below. the manxman had been at the helm, and jason, who was on the same watch, had sidled up to him at intervals and held a conversation with him in snatches, of which this is the sum and substance. "is it the isle of man on the starboard bow, davy?" "i darn' say no, boy." "lived there long, davy?" "aw, thirty years afore you were born, maybe." "ever known any of my countrymen on the island?" "just one, boy; just one." "what was he?" "a big chap, six feet six, if an inch, and ter'ble strong; and a fist at him like a sledge; and a rough enough divil, too, and ye darn' spit afore him; but quiet for all--aw, yes, wonderful quiet." "who was he, davy?" "a widda man these teens of years." "but what was his name?" "paul?--no! peter?--no! chut, bless ye, it's clane gone at me; but it's one of the lot in the ould book, any way." "was it stephen?" "by gough, yes, and a middlin' good guess too." "stephen what?" "stephen--shoo! it's gone at me again! what's that they're callin' the ould king that's going buryin' down laxey way?" "orry?" "stephen orry it is, for sure. then it's like you knew him, boy?" "no--that is--no, no." "no relations?" "no. but is he still alive?" "aw, yes, though. it's unknownced to me that he's dead, anyway." "where is he living now?" "down port erin way, by the sound, some place." "davy, do we put into the harbor at ramsey?" "aw, divil a chance of that, boy, with sperrits comin' over the side quiet-like in the night, you know, eighteen-pence a gallon, and as much as you can drink for nothin'." "how far do we lie outside?" "maybe a biscuit throw or two. we never useder lie farther, boy." "that's nothing, davy." after that the watch had been changed, and then a strange thing had happened. the day had been heavy and cold, with a sky that hung low over the sea, and a mist that reduced the visible globe to a circle of fifty fathoms wide. as the night had closed in the mist had lifted, and the wind had risen and some sheets of water had come combing over the weather quarter. the men had been turned up to stow the yards and bring the schooner to the wind, and when they had gone below they had been wet and miserable, chewing doggedly at the tobacco in their cheeks, and growling at the darkness of the forecastle, for the slush-lamp had not yet been lighted. and just then, above the muttered curses, the tramping of heavy boots and the swish of oilskins that were being shaken to drain them, there arose the sweet song of a bird. it was jason's canary, singing in the dark corner of his bunk a foot above his head, for on coming below the lad had thrown himself down in his wet clothes. the growling came to an end, the shuffling of feet stopped, and the men paused a moment to listen, and then burst into peals of laughter. but the bird gave no heed either to their silence or their noise, but sang on with a full throat. and the men listened, and then laughed again, and then suddenly ceased to laugh. a match was struck and the slush-lamp began to gleam out over mahogany faces that looked at each other with eyes of awe. the men shook out their coats and hung them over the stanchions. still the bird sang on. it was uncanny, this strange singing in the darkness. the men charged their cuddies, fired up, and crouched together as they smoked. still the bird sang on. "och, it's the divil in the craythur," said one; "you go bail there's a storm brewin'. it's just ould harry hisself rej'icing." "then, by st. patrick, i'll screw the neck of him," said another. "aisy, man, aisy," said old davy; "it's the lad's." "the lad be----" said the other, and up he jumped. jason saw the man coming towards his bunk, and laid hold of the wrist of the arm that he stretched over it. "stop that," said jason; but the lad was on his back, and in an instant the man had thrown his body on top of him, leaned over him and wrenched open the door of the cage. the song stopped; there was a short rustle of wings, a slight chirp-chirp, and then a moment's silence, followed by the man's light laugh as he drew back with the little yellow bird dangling by the neck from his black thumb and forefinger. but before the great hulking fellow had twisted about to where his mates sat and smoked under the lamp, jason had leapt from his bunk, stuck his fist into the ruffian's throat and pinned him against a beam. "---you," he cried, thrusting his face into the man's face, "shall i kill you after it?" "help! my god, help!" the man gurgled out, with jason's knuckles ground hard into his windpipe. the others were in no hurry to interfere, but they shambled up at length, and amid shouts and growls of "let go," "let go the hoult," and "god's sake, slack the grip," the two were parted. then the man who had killed the bird went off, puffing and cursing between his chattering teeth, and his mates began to laugh at the big words that came from his weak stomach, while old davy kerruish went over to jason to comfort him. "sarve him right, the craythur," said davy. "he's half dead, but that's just half too much life in him yet, though. it's what i've tould them times on times. 'lave him alone,' says i; 'the lad's quiet, but he'll be coorse enough if he's bothered. and my gough, boy, what a face at ye yander, when you were twissin' the handkercher at him! aw, thinks i, he's the spittin picsher of the big widda man orry--stephen orry--brimstone and vinegar, and gunpowder atop of a slow fire." and it was just at that moment, as old davy was laughing through his yellow eyes and broken teeth at young jason, and the other men were laughing at jason's adversary, and the dim forecastle under its spluttering slush-lamp echoed and rang with the uproar, that a wild voice came down from the deck--"below there! all hands up! breakers ahead!" now the moment when the watch had been changed had been the very moment when stephen orry had run down the lamp, so that neither by the manxman who gave up the helm nor by the irishman who took it had the light been missed when it fell into the sea. and the moment when stephen orry shouted to the schooner to warn it had been the moment when the muffled peals of laughter at the bird's strange song had come up from the watch below in the forecastle. the wind had whistled among the sheets, and the flying spray had smitten the men's faces, but though the mist had lifted, the sky had still hung low and dark, showing neither moon nor stars, nor any hint of the land that lay ahead. but straight for the land the vessel had been driving in the darkness, under the power of wind and tide. after a time the helmsman had sighted a solitary light close in on the lee bow. "point of ayre," he thought, and luffed off a little, intending to beat down the middle of the bay. it had been the light on the jetty at ramsey; and the little town behind it, with its back to the sea, lay dark and asleep, for the night was then well worn towards midnight. after that the helmsman had sighted two stronger lights beyond. "ramsey," he thought, and put his helm aport. but suddenly the man on the lookout had shouted, "breakers ahead," and the cry had been sent down the forecastle. in an instant all hands were on deck, amid the distraction and uproar, the shouting and blind groping of the cruel darkness. against the dark sky the yet darker land could now be plainly seen, and a strong tide was driving the vessel on to it. the helm was put hard to starboard, and the schooner's head began to pay off towards the wind. then all at once it was seen that right under the vessel's bow some black thing lay just above the level of the sea, with a fringe of white foam around it. "davy, what do you make of it?" shouted the skipper. "lord-a-massy, it's the carick," screamed davy. "let go the anchor," roared the skipper. but it was too late even for that last refuge. at the next moment the schooner struck heavily; she was on the reef in ramsey bay, and pitching miserably with every heave of the sea. the two bright lights that led the vessel to her ruin came from the two little bays that lie under maughold head. the light in port-y-vullin was in the hut of stephen orry, who had lit his lamp and placed it in the window when he went out to bid farewell to michael sunlocks, thinking no evil thereby to any man but only that it would guide him home again when he should return in the boat. the light in port lague was from the cottage of three old net weavers, who had lived there without woman or girl, or chick or child, through more than forty years. two or three were brothers, danny and jemmy kewley, both over seventy years old, and their housemate, who was ninety, and had been a companion of their father, was known as juan mclady. danny and jemmy still worked at the looms year in and year out, every working hour of the day and night, and juan, long past other labor, cooked and sewed and cleaned for them. all three had grown dim of sight, and now groped about like three old earthworms. every year for five years past they had needed an extra candle to work by, so that eight tallow dips, made in their own iron mould, swung from the open roof rafters over the meshes on that night when the peveril struck on the carick. it was supper-time, though old danny and old jemmy were still at the looms. old juan had washed out a bowl of potatoes, filled the pot with them, hung them on the chimney hook and stirred the peats. then to make them boil the quicker he had gone out with the tongs to the side of the house for some dry gorse from the gorse heap. while there he had peered through the darkness of the bay for the light on the point of ayre, and had missed it, and on going back he had said: "it's out again. that's the third time inside a month. i'll go bail something will happen yet." he had got no answer, and so sat down on the three-legged stool to feed the fire with gorse lifted on the tongs. when the potatoes had boiled he had carried them to the door to drain them, and then, with the click-clack of the levers behind him, he had thought he heard, over the deep boom and plash of the sea in front, a voice like a cry. going indoors he had said, "plague on the water-bailiff and commissioners and kays and councils. i'll go bail there's smuggling going on under their very noses. i'd have the law on the lot of them, so i would." old danny and old jemmy knew the temper of their housemate--that he was never happy save when he had somebody to higgle with--so they paid no heed to his mutterings. but when juan, having set the potatoes to steam with a rag spread over them, went out for the salt herrings, to where they hung to dry on a stick against the sunny side of the porch, he was sure that above the click of the levers, the boom and plash of the sea and the whistle of the wind, he could hear a clamorous shout of many voices, like a wild cry of distress. then he hobbled back with a wizzened face of deadly pallor and told what he had heard, and the shuttles were stopped, and there was silence in the little house. "it went by me same as the wind," said old juan. "maybe it was the nightman," said old danny. at that old jemmy nodded his head very gravely, and old juan held on to the lever handles; and through those precious minutes when the crew of the schooner were fighting in the grip of death in the darkness, these three old men, their nearest fellow creatures, half dead, half blind, were held in the grip of superstitious fears. "there again," cried old juan; and through the door that he had left open the cry came in above roar of wind and sea. "it's men that's yander," said old jemmy. "ay," said old danny. "maybe it's a ship on the carick," said old juan. "let's away and look," said old jemmy. and then the three helpless old men, trembling and affrighted, straining their dim eyes to see and their deaf ears to hear, and clinging to each other's hands like little children, groped their slow way to the beach. down there the cries were louder than they had been on the brows above. "mercy me, let's away to lague for the boys," said old juan; and leaving behind them the voices that cried for help, the old men trudged and stumbled through the dark lanes. lague was asleep, but the old men knocked, and the windows were opened and night-capped heads thrust through. very soon the house and courtyard echoed with many footsteps, and the bell over the porch rang out through the night, to call up the neighbors far and near. ross and stean and thurstan were the first to reach the shore, and there they found the crew of the peveril landed--every man safe and sound, but drenching wet with the water they had passed through to save their lives. the schooner was still on the carick, much injured already, plunging with every hurling sea on to the sharp teeth of the shoal beneath her, and going to pieces fast. and now that help seemed to be no more needed the people came flocking down in crowds--the fairbrothers, with greeba, and all their men and maids, kane wade the methodist, with chalse a'killey, who had been sleeping the night at his house, nary crowe, and matt mylechreest and old coobragh. and while davy kerruish shook the salt water from his sou'wester, and growled out to them with an oath that they had been a plaguy long time coming, and the skipper bemoaned the loss of his ship, and the men of their kits, chalse was down on his knees on the beach, lifting up his crazy, cracked voice in loud thanksgiving. at that the growling ended, and then asher fairbrother, who had been the last to come, invited the ship-broken men to lague, and all together they turned to follow him. just at that moment a cry was heard above the tumult of the sea. it was a wild shriek that seemed to echo in the lowering dome of the sky. greeba was the first to hear it. "there was some one left on the ship!" she cried. the men stopped and looked into each other's faces one by one. "no," said the skipper, "we're all here." the cry was heard once more; it was a voice of fearful agony. "that's from port-y-vullin," said asher fairbrother: and to port-y-vullin they all hastened off, following the way of the beach. there it was easy to see from whence the cries had come. an open fishing boat was laboring in the heavy sea, her stern half prancing like an unbroken horse, and her forepart jammed between two horns of the rock that forks out into the sea from maughold head. she had clearly been making for the little bay, when she had fallen foul of the shoal that lies to the north of it. dark as the night was, the sea and sky were lighter than the black headland, and the figure of a man in the boat could be seen very plainly. he was trying to unship the mast, that he might lighten the little craft and ease her off the horns that held her like a vice, but every fresh wave drove her head deeper into the cleft, and at each vain effort he shouted again and again in rage and fear. a boat was lying high and dry on the shore. two of the fairbrothers, stean and thurstan, ran it into the water, jumped into it, and pushed off. but the tide was still making, the sea was running high, a low ground swell was scooping up the shingle and flinging it through the air like sleet, and in an instant the boat was cast back on the shore. "no use, man," shouted many voices. but greeba cried, "help, help, help!" she seemed to be beside herself with suspense. some vague fear, beyond the thought of a man's life in peril, seemed to possess her. did she know what it was? she did not. she dared not fix her mind upon it. she was afraid of her own fear. but, low down within her, and ready at any moment to leap to her throat, was the dim ghost of a dread that he who was in the boat, and in danger of his life on the rock, might be very near and dear to her. with her hood fallen back from her head to her shoulders, she ran to and fro among the men on the beach, crying, "he will be lost. will no one save him?" but the other women clung to the men, and the men shook their heads and answered, "he's past saving," and "we've got wives and childers lookin' to us, miss--and what's the use of throwing your life away?" still the girl cried "help," and then a young fellow pushed through to where she stood, and said, "he's too near for us to stand here and see him die." "oh, god bless and keep you forever and ever," cried greeba; and, lifted completely out of all self-control, she threw her arms about the young man and kissed him fervently on the cheek. it was jason. he had found a rope and coiled one end of it about his waist, and held the other end in his hand. the touch of greeba's quivering lips had been as fire to him. "lay hold," he cried, and threw the loose end of the rope to thurstan fairbrother. at the next moment he was breast-high in the sea. the man must have seen him coming, for the loud clamor ceased. "brave lad!" said greeba, in a deep whisper. "brave, is it? it's mad, i'm calling it," said old davy. "who is it?" said the skipper. "the young icelander," said davy. "not the lad jason?"---"aw, yes, though--jason--the gawk, as they're saying. poor lad _there's_ a heart at him." the people held their breath. greeba covered her eyes with her hands, and felt an impulse to scream. wading with strong strides, and swimming with yet stronger strokes, jason reached the boat. a few minutes afterwards he was back on the shore, dragging the man after him. the man lay insensible in jason's arms, bleeding from a wound in the head. greeba stooped quickly to peer into his face in the darkness, and then rose up and turned away with a sigh that was like a sigh of relief. "he's done for," said jason, putting him down. "who is he?" cried a score of voices. "god knows; fetch a lantern," said jason. "see, there's a light in old orry's hut yonder. let's away there with him. it will be the nearest place," said kane wade. then shoulder-high they raised the insensible man and carried him to stephen orry's hut. "what a weight he is!" said kane wade. "slip along, somebody, and get the door opened." chalse a'killey ran on ahead. "where's stephen, to-night, that he's not out with us at work same as this?" said matt mylechreest. "he's been down here all week," puffed nary crowe. in another minute chalse was knocking at the door, and calling loudly as he knocked: "stephen! stephen! stephen orry!" there came no answer, and he knocked again and called yet louder: "stephen, let us in. there's a man here dying." but no one stirred within the house. "he's asleep," said one. "stephen--stephen orry--stephen orry--wake up, man--can't you hear us? have you no bowels, that you'd keep the man out?" "he's not at home--force the door," kane wade shouted. one blow was enough. the door was fastened only by a hemp rope wound around a hasp on the outside, and it fell open with a crash. then the men with the burden staggered into the house. they laid the insensible man on the floor, and there the light of the lamp that burned in the window fell upon his face. "lord-a-massy!" they cried, "it's stephen orry hisself." chapter x. the end of orry. when the tumult was over, and all lives appeared to be saved, and nothing seemed lost save the two vessels--the schooner and the yawl, which still rose and fell on the carick and the forked reef of the head--and the people separated, and the three old net weavers straggled back to their home, the crew of the peveril went off with the fairbrothers to lague. great preparations were already afoot there, for asher had sent on a message ahead of them, and the maids were bustling about, the fire was rekindled in the kitchen, and the kettle was singing merrily. and first there was a mouthful of grog, steaming hot, for every drenched and dripping seaman, with a taste of toast to sweeten it. then there was getting all the men into a change of dry clothes in order that they might wait for a bite of supper, and until beds were shuffled about and shakedowns fetched out. and high was the sport and great the laughter at the queer shifts the house was put to that it might find clean rigging for so many, on even so short a cruise. when the six fairbrothers had lent all the change they had of breeches and shirts, the maids had to fish out from their trunks a few petticoats and some gowns, for the sailors still unfurnished. but the full kit was furnished out at length, and when the ship's company mustered down in the kitchen from the rooms above, all in their motley colors and queer mixture of garments, with their grizzled faces wiped dry, but their hair still wet and lank and glistening, no one could have guessed, from the loud laughter wherewith they looked each other over, that only an hour before death itself had so nearly tricked them. like noisy children let out of school they all were, now that they were snugly housed; for a seagoing man, however he may be kicked about on the sea, is not used to be downhearted on the land. and if two or three of the company continued to complain of their misfortunes, their growlings but lent zest to the merriment of the rest. so that they laughed loud when old davy, cutting a most ridiculous figure in a linsey-wolsey petticoat and a linen bodice that would not meet over his hairy chest, began to grumble that he had followed the sea forty years and never been wrecked before, as if that were the best of all reasons why he should not come by such rough harm now, and a base advantage taken of him by providence in his old age. and louder still they laughed at the skipper himself when still sorely troubled by his evil luck, he wanted to know what all their thanking god was for, since his good ship lay a rotten hulk on a cruel reef; and if it was so very good of providence to let them off that rock, it would have been better far not to let them on to it. and loudest of all they laughed, and laughed again, when an irish sailor told them, with all his wealth of brogue, of a prayer that he had overheard old davy pray while they hung helpless on the rock, thinking never to escape from it. "oh, lord, only save my life this once, and i'll smuggle no more," the manxman had cried; "and it's not for myself but ould betty i ax it, for thou knowest she's ten years dead in maughold churchyard with twenty rolls of good scotch cloth in the grave atop of her. but i had nowhere else to put it, and, good lord, only remember the last day, and save my life till i dig it up from off of her chest, for she was never a powerful woman." and the danger being over, neither davy nor the skipper took it ill that the men should make sport of their groanings, for they laughed with the rest, and together they waked a most reckless uproar. all this while, though mrs. fairbrother had not left her bedroom, the girls' feet had been jigging about merrily over the white holy-stoned floor to get some supper spread, and greeba, having tapped jason, on the shoulder, had carried him off quietly to the door of the parlor, and pushed him in there while she ran to get a light, for the room was dark. it was also cool, with crocks of milk standing for cream, and basins of eggs and baskets of new-made cheese. and when she returned with the candle in one hand, shaded by the luminous fingers of the other, and its bright light on her comely face, she would have loaded him with every good thing the house contained--collared head, and beef, and binjeen and manx jough, and the back of the day's pudding. nothing he would have, however, save one thing, and that made great sport between them: for it was an egg, and he ate it raw, shell included, crunching it like an apple. at that sight she made pretence to shudder. and then she laughed like a bell, saying he was a wild man indeed, and she had thought so when she first set eyes on him on the shore, and already she was more than half afraid of him. then they laughed again, she very slyly, he very bashfully, and while her bright eyes shone upon him she told him how like he was, now that she saw him in the light, to some one else she knew of. he asked her who that was, and she answered warily, with something between a smile and a blush, that it was one who had left the island that very night. by this time the clatter of dishes mingled with the laughter and merry voices that came from the other side of the hall, and the two went back to the kitchen. asher fairbrother, who had been dozing like a sheep dog in the ingle, was then rising to his feet, and saying, "and now for supper; and let it be country fashion, girls, at this early hour of the morning." country fashion indeed it was, with the long oak table scrubbed white like a butcher's board, and three pyramids of potatoes, boiled in their jackets, tossed out at its head and foot and middle, three huge blocks of salt, each with its wooden spoon, laid down at the same spaces, and a plate with a boiled herring and a basin of last night's milk before every guest. and the seamen shambled into their places, any man anywhere, all growling or laughing, or both; and the maids flipped about very lightly, rueing nothing, amid so many fresh men's faces, of the strange chance that had fetched them out of their beds for work at double tides. and seeing the two coming back together from the parlor, the banter of the seamen took another turn, leaving old davy for young jason, who was reminded of the kiss he had earned on the beach, and asked if ever before a sailor lad had got the like from a lady without look or longing. such was the flow of their banter until greeba, being abashed, and too hard set to control the rich color that mounted to her cheeks, fled laughing from the room to hide her confusion. but no rudeness was intended by the rude sea dogs, and no offence was taken; for in that first hour, after they had all been face to face with death, the barrier of manners stood for nothing to master or man or mistress or maid. but when the rough jest seemed to have gone far enough, and jason, who had laughed at first, had begun to hang his head--sitting just where stephen orry had sat when, long years before, he took refuge in that house from the four blue-jackets in pursuit of him--old davy kerruish got up and pulled his grizzled forelock, and shouted to him above the tumult of the rest: "never mind the loblolly-boys, lad," he cried, "it's just jealous they are, being so long out of practice; and there's one thing you can say, anyway, and that's this--the first thing you did on setting foot in the isle of man was to save the life of a manxman." "then here's to his right good health," cried asher fairbrother, with his mouth in a basin of milk; and in that brave liquor, with three times three and the thud and thung of twenty hard fists on the table, the rough toast was called round. and in the midst of it, when greeba, having conquered her maiden shame, had crept back to the kitchen, and mrs. fairbrother, aroused at length by the lightsome hubbub, had come down to put an end to it, the door of the porch opened, and crazy old chalse a'killey stood upon the threshold, very pale, panting for breath, and with a ghastly light in his sunken eyes, and cried, "he's dying. where's the young man that fetched him ashore? he's crying out for him, and i'm to fetch him along with me straight away." jason rose instantly. "i'll go," he said, and he snatched up a cap. "and i'll go with you," said greeba, and she caught up a shawl. not a word more was said, and at the next instant, before the others had recovered from their surprise, or the laughter and shouting were yet quite gone from their lips, the door had closed again and the three were gone. chalse, in his eagerness to be back, strode on some paces ahead in the darkness, and jason and greeba walked together. "who is it?" said jason. "do you know?" "no," said greeba. "chalse!" she cried, but the old man, with his face down, trudged along as one who heard nothing. she tripped up to him, and jason walking behind heard the sound of muttered words between them, but caught nothing of what passed. dropping back to jason's side, the girl said: "it's a man whom nobody holds of much account, poor soul." "what is he?" said jason. "a smuggler, people say, or perhaps worse. his wife has been long years dead, and he has lived alone ever since, shunned by most folks, and by his own son among others. it was his son who sailed to iceland to-night." "iceland? did you say iceland?" "yes, iceland. it is your own country, is it not? but he hadn't lived with his father since he was a child. he was brought up by my own dear father. it was he who seemed to be so like to you." jason stopped suddenly in the dark lane. "what's the name?" he asked, hoarsely. "the son's name? michael." "michael what?" "michael sunlocks." jason drew a long breath, and strode on without a word more. very soon they were outside the little house in port-y-vullin. chalse was there before them, and he stood with the door ajar. "whist!" the old man whispered. "he's ebbing fast. he's going out with the tide. listen!" they crept in on tiptoe, but there was small need for quiet. the place was a scene of direful uproar and most gruesome spectacle. it was all but as thronged of people as it had been nineteen years before, on the day of liza killey's wedding. on the table, the form, the three-legged stool, and in the chimney corner, they sat together cheek-by-jowl, with eyes full of awe, most of them silent or speaking low behind their hands. on the bed the injured man lay and tossed in a strong delirium. the wet clothes wherein he had passed through the sea had been torn off, his body wrapped in a gray blanket, and the wound on his head bandaged with a cloth. his lips were discolored, his cheeks were white, and his hair was damp with the sweat that ran in big drops to his face and neck. at his feet nary crowe stood, holding a horn cup of brandy, and by his head knelt kane wade, the methodist, praying in a loud voice. "god bring him to thy repentance," cried kane wade; "restore him to the joy of thy salvation. the pains of hell have gotten hold of him. hark how the devil is tearing him. he is like to the man with the unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs. the devil is gotten into him. but out wi' thee, satan, and no more two words about it! thanks be unto god, we can wrestle with thee in prayer. gloom at us, satan, but never will we rise from our knees until god hath given us the victory over thee, lest our brother fall into the jaws of hell, and our own souls be not free from blood-guiltiness." in this strain he prayed, shouting at the full pitch of the vast bellows of his lungs, and loudest of all when the delirium of the sick man was strongest, until his voice failed him from sheer exhaustion, and then his lips still moved, and he mumbled hoarsely beneath his breath. jason stood in the middle of the floor and looked on in his great stature over the heads of the people about him, while greeba, with quiet grace and gentle manners, thinned the little hut of some of the many with whom the dense air smoked and reeked. after that she lifted the poor restless, tumbling, wet head from its hard pillow, and put it to rest on her own soft arm, with her cool palm to the throbbing brow, and then she damped the lips with the brandy from nary crowe's cup. this she did, and more than this, seeming to cast away from her in a moment all her lightness, her playfulness, her bounding happy spirits, and in the hour of need to find such tender offices come to her, as to all true women, like another sense. and presently the delirium abated, the weary head lay still, the bleared eyes opened, the discolored lips parted, and the dying man tried to speak. but before ever a word could come, the change was seen by kane wade, who cried, "thank god, he has found peace. thank the lord, who has given us the victory. satan is driven out of him. mercy there is for the vilest of sinners." and on the top of that wild shout old chalse struck up, without warning, and in the craziest screech that ever came from human throat, a rugged hymn of triumph, wherein all the lines were one line and all the notes one note, but telling how the lord was king over death and hell and all the devils. again and again he sang a verse of it, going faster at every repetition, and the others joined him, struggling to keep pace with him: and all but greeba, who tried by vain motions to stop the tumult, and jason, who looked down at the strange scene with eyes full of wonder. at last the mad chorus of praise came to an end, and the sick man said, casting his weak eyes into the faces about him, "has he come?" "he is here," whispered greeba, and she motioned to jason. the lad pushed through to the bedside, and then for the first time he came face to face with stephen orry. did any voice, unheard of the others, cry in his ear at that moment, "jason, jason, this is he whom you have crossed the seas to slay, and he has sent for you to bless you, for the last sands of his life are running out?" "leave us alone together," said stephen orry; and greeba, after beating out his pillow and settling his head on it, was about to move away, when he whispered, "not you," and held her back. then with one accord the others called on to him not to tarry over carnal thoughts, for his soul was passing through dark waters, and he should never take rest until he had cast anchor after a troublous voyage. "get religion," cried kane wade. "lay hoult of a free salvation," cried old chalse. "all flesh is as grass," cried matt mylechreest. "pray without ceasing," they all cried together, with much besides in the same wild strain. "i cannot pray," the sick man muttered. "then we'll pray for you, mate," shouted kane wade. "ah, pray, pray, pray," mumbled stephen orry, "but it's no good; it's too late, too late." "now is the 'pointed time," shouted kane wade. "the lord can save to the uttermost the worst sinner of us all." "if i'm a sinner, let me not be a coward in my sins," said stephen orry. "have pity on me and leave me." but kane wade went on to tell the story of his own conversion:--it was on a saturday night of the mackerel season down at kinsale. the conviction had been borne in upon him that if he did not hear the pardoning voice before the clock struck twelve, he would be damned to all eternity. when the clock began to warn for midnight the hair of his flesh stood up, for he was still unsaved. but before it had finished striking the saviour was his, and he was rejoicing in a blessed salvation. "how can you torture a poor dying man?" muttered stephen orry. "call on the lord, mate," shouted kane wade, "'lord, i belave, help thou my unbelafe.'" "i've something to do, and the pains of death have hold of me," muttered stephen orry. "he parthoned the thafe on the cross," cried old chalse, "and he's gotten parthon left for you." "cruel, cruel! have you no pity for a wretched dying man?" mumbled stephen orry. "ye've not lived a right life, brother," cried kane wade, "and ye've been ever wake in yer intellects, so never take rest till ye've read your title clear." "you would scarce think they could have the heart, these people--you would scarce think it, would you?" said stephen orry, lifting his poor glassy eyes to greeba's face. then with the same quiet grace as before, the girl got up, and gently pushed the men out of the house one by one. "come back in an hour," she whispered. it was a gruesome spectacle--the rude methodists, with their loud voices and hot faces and eyes of flame, trying to do their duty by the soul of their fellow creature; the poor tortured sinner, who knew he had lived an evil life and saw no hope of pardon, and would not be so much a coward as to cry for mercy in his last hours; the young icelander looking on in silence and surprise: and the girl moving hither and thither among them all, like a soft-voiced dove in a cage of hoarse jackdaws. but when the little house was clear, and the methodists, who started a hymn on the beach outside, had gone at last, and their singing had faded away, and there was only the low wail of the ebbing tide where there had been so loud a babel of many tongues, stephen orry raised himself feebly on his elbow and asked for his coat. jason found it on the hearth and lifted it up, still damp and stiff, from the puddle of water that lay under it. then stephen orry told him to put his hand in the breast pocket and take out what he would find there. jason did as he was bidden and drew forth the bag of money. "here it is," he said; "what shall i do with it?" "it is yours," said stephen orry. "mine?" said jason. "i meant it for my son," said stephen orry. he spoke in his broken english, but let us take the words out of his mouth. "it's yours now, my lad. fourteen years i've been gathering it, meaning it for my son. little i thought to part with it to a stranger, but it's yours, for you've earned it." "no, no," said jason. "i've earned nothing." "you tried to save my life," said stephen orry. "i couldn't help doing that," said jason, "and i want no pay." "but it's two hundred pounds, my lad." "no matter." "then how much have you got?" "nothing." "has the wreck taken all?" "yes--no--that is, i never had anything." "take the money; for god's sake take it, and do what you like with it, or i'll die in torture," cried stephen orry, and with a groan he threw himself backward on the bed. "i'll keep it for your son," said jason. "his name is michael sunlocks, isn't it? and he has sailed for iceland, hasn't he? that's my country, and i may meet him some day." then in a broken voice stephen orry said, "if you have a father he must be proud of you, my lad. who is he?" and jason answered moodily, "i have no father--none i ever knew." "did he die in your childhood?" "no." "before you were born?" "no." "is he alive?" "ay, for aught i know." stephen orry struggled to his elbow again. "then he had wronged your mother?" he said with his breath coming quick. "ay, maybe so." "the villain! yet who am i to rail at him? is your mother still alive?" "no." "where is your father?" "don't speak of him," said jason in an under-breath. "but what's your name, my lad?" "jason." with a long sigh of relief stephen orry dropped back and muttered to himself, "to think that such a father should never have known he had such a son." the power of life ebbed fast in him, but after a pause he said, "my lad." "well?" said jason. "i've done you a great wrong." "when did you do me a wrong?" "to-night." "how?" "no matter. there's no undoing it now; god forgive me. but let me be your father, though i'm a dying man, for that will give you the right to keep my poor savings for yourself." "but they belong to your son," said jason. "he'll never touch them," said stephen orry. "why not?" said jason. "don't ask me. leave me alone. for mercy's sake don't torture a dying man," cried stephen orry. "that's not what i meant to do," said jason, giving way; "and, if you wish it, i will keep the money." "thank god," said stephen orry. some moments thereafter he lay quiet, breathing fast and loud, while greeba hovered about him. then in a feebler voice he said, "do you think, my lad, you'll ever meet my son?" "maybe so," said jason. "i'll go back when i've done what i came to do." "what is that?" greeba whispered, but he went on without answering her. "though our country is big, our people are few. where will he be?" "i scarce can say. he has gone to look for someone. he's a noble boy, i can tell you that. and it's something for a father to think of when his time comes, isn't it? he loves his father, too--that is, he did love me when he was a little chap. you must know he had no mother. only think, i did everything for him, though i was a rough fellow. yes, i nursed him and comforted him as any woman might. ay, and the little man loved me then, for all he doesn't bear his father's name now." jason glanced up inquiringly, first at stephen orry and then at greeba. stephen saw nothing. his eyes were dim, but full of tenderness, and his deep voice was very gentle, and he rambled on with many a break and between many a groan, for the power of life was low in him. "you see i called him sunlocks. that was because it was kind and close-like. he used to ride on my shoulder. we played together then, having no one else, and i was everything to him and he was all the world to me. ah, that was long ago, sunlocks! little sunlocks! my little sunlocks! my own little----" at that point he laughed a little, and then seemed to weep like a child, though no tears came to his eyes, and the next moment, under the pain of joyful memories and the flow of blood upon the brain, his mind began to wander. it was very pitiful to look upon. his eyes were open, but it was clear that they did not see; his utterance grew thick and his words were confused and foolish; but his face was lit up with a surprising joy, and you knew that the years had rolled back, and the great rude fellow was alone with his boy, and doating on him. sometimes he would seem to listen as if for the child's answer, and then he would laugh as if at its artless prattle. again he would seem to sing the little one to sleep, crooning very low a broken stave that ran a bar and then stopped. again he would say very slowly what sounded like the words of some baby prayer, and while he did so his chin would be twisted into his breast and his arms would struggle to cross it, as though the child itself were once more back in his bosom. at all this greeba cried behind her hands, unable to look or listen any longer, and jason, though he shed no tears, said, in a husky voice, "he cannot be altogether bad who loved his son so." the delirium grew stronger, the look of joy and the tender words gave place to glances of fear and some quick beseeching, and then jason said in a tremulous whisper, "it must be something to know you have a father who loves you like that." but hardly had the words been spoken when he threw back his head and asked in a firm voice how far it was to port erin. "about thirty miles," said greeba, looking up at the sudden question. "not more?" asked jason. "no. _he_ has lived there," she answered, with a motion of her head downwards towards the bed. "he?" "yes, ever since his wife died. before that they lived in this place with michael sunlocks. his wife met with a terrible death." "how?" "she was murdered by some enemy of her husband. the man escaped, but left his name behind him. it was patricksen." "patricksen?" "yes. that must be fourteen years ago, and since then he has lived alone at port erin. do you wish to go there?" "ay--that is, so i intended." "why?" "to look for someone." "who is it?" "my father." for a moment greeba was silent, and then she said with her eyes down: "why look for _him_ if he wronged your mother?" "that's why i meant to do so." she looked up into his face, and stammered, "but why?" he did not appear to hear her: his eyes were fixed on the man on the bed; and hardly had she asked the question when she covered her ears with her hands as though to shut out his answer. "was _that_ why you came?" she asked. "yes," he answered. "if we had not been wrecked to-night i should have dropped overboard and deserted." "strange," she said. "it was just what _he_ did, when he came to the island nineteen years ago." "yes, nineteen years ago," jason repeated. he spoke like a man in a sleep, and she began to tremble. "what is the matter?" she said. within a few minutes his face had suddenly changed, and it was now awful to look upon. not for an instant did he turn his eyes from the bed. the delirium of the sick man had deepened by this time; the little, foolish, baby play-words in the poor broken english came from him no more, but he seemed to ask eager questions, in a tongue that greeba did not understand. "this man is an icelander," said jason. "didn't you know that before?" said greeba. "what is his name?" said jason. "haven't you heard it yet?" "what is his name?" then for one quick instant he turned his face towards her face, and she seemed to read his thought. "oh god!" she cried, and she staggered back. just then there was a sound of footsteps on the shingle outside, and at the next moment stean and thurstan fairbrother and old davy kerruish pushed open the door. they had come to fetch greeba. "the methodee man tould us," said davy, standing by jason's side, "and, my gough, but it's mortal cur'ous. what's it saying, 'talk of the divil, and sure enough it was the big widda man hisself we were talking of, less nor a half hour afore we struck." "come, my lass," said thurstan. "no, no, i'll stay here," said greeba. "but your mother is fidgeting, and this is no place for a slip of a girl--come!" "i'll stay with him alone," said jason. "no, no," cried greeba. "it's the lad's right, for all," said old davy. "he fetched the poor chap out of the water. come, let's take the road for it." "will no one stay instead of me?" said greeba. "where's the use?" said davy. "he's raelly past help. he's outward bound, poor chap. poor orry! poor ould stephen!" then they drew greeba away, and with a look of fear fixed on jason's face she passed out at the door. jason was now alone with stephen orry, and felt like a man who had stumbled into a hidden grave. he had set out over the seas to search for his father, and here, at his first setting foot on the land, his father lay at his feet. so this was stephen orry; this was he for whom his mother had given up all; this was he for whom she had taken a father's curse; this was he for whom she had endured poverty and shame; this was he who had neglected her, struck her, forgotten her with another woman; this was he who had killed her--the poor, loving, loyal, passionate heart--not in a day, or an hour, or a moment, but in twenty long years. jason stood over the bed and looked down. surely the lord god had heard his great vow and delivered the man into his hands. he would have hunted the world over to find him, but here at a stride he had him. it was heaven's own justice, and if he held back now the curse of his dead mother would follow him from the grave. yet a trembling shook his whole frame, and his heart beat as if it would break. why did he wait? he remembered the tenderness that had crept upon him not many minutes ago, as he listened to the poor baby babble of the man's delirium, and at that the gall in his throat seemed to choke him. he hated himself for yielding to it, for now he knew for whom it had been meant. it had been meant for his own father doating over the memory of another son. that son had supplanted himself; that son's mother had supplanted his own mother; and yet he, in his ignorance, had all but wept for both of them. but no matter, he was now to be god's own right hand of justice on this evil-doer. dawn was breaking, and its woolly light crept lazily in at the little window, past the lamp that still burned on the window board. the wind had fallen, and the sea lay gloomy and dark, as if with its own heavy memories of last night's work. the gray light fell on the sick man's face, and under jason's eyes it seemed to light up the poor, miserable, naked soul within. the delirium had now set in strong, and many were the wild words and frequent was the cry that rang through the little house. "not while he is like that," thought jason. "i will wait for the lull." he took up a pillow in both hands and stood by the bed and waited, never lifting his eyes off the face. but the lull did not come. would it not come at all? what if the delirium were never to pass away? could he still do the thing he intended? no, no, no! but heaven had heard his vow and led him there. the delirium would yet pass; then he would accuse his father, face to face and eye to eye, and then-the current of jason's thoughts was suddenly arrested by a cry from the sick man. it was "rachel! rachel! rachel!" spoken in a voice of deep entreaty, and there came after it in disjointed words of the icelandic tongue a pitiful appeal for forgiveness. at that a great fear seized upon jason, and the pillow dropped from his hands to the ground. "rachel! rachel!" it was the old cry of the years that were gone, but working with how great a difference--then, to stir up evil passions--now, to break down the spirit of revenge. "rachel! rachel!" came again in the same pitiful voice of supplication; and at the sound of that name so spoken, the bitterness of jason's heart went off like a wail of the wind. it was a cry of remorse; a cry for pardon; a cry for mercy. there could be no jugglery. in that hour of the mind's awful vanquishment a human soul stood naked behind him as before its maker. jason's great resolve was shaken. had it been only a blind tangle of passion and pain? if the almighty had called him to be the instrument of his vengeance, would he have delivered his enemy into his hands like this--dying, delirious, with broken brain and broken heart? still his mother's name came from his father's lips, and then his mind went back to the words that had so lately passed between them. "let me be your father, though i am a dying man." ah! sweet, beautiful, blind fallacy--could he not let it be? the end was very near; the delirium passed away, and stephen orry opened his eyes. the great creature was as quiet as a child now, and as soft and gentle as a child's was his deep hoarse voice. he knew that he had been wandering in his mind, and when he looked into jason's face a pale smile crossed his own. "i thought i had found her," he said, very simply, "my poor young wife that once was; it was she that i lost so long ago, and did such wrong by." jason's throat was choking him, but he stammered out, "lie still, sir, lie still and rest." but stephen orry talked on in the same simple way: "ah, how silly i am! i forgot you didn't know." "lie still and rest," said jason again. "there was someone with her, too. i thought i was her son--her child and mine, that was to come when i left her. and, only think, i looked again, and it seemed to be you. yes, you--for it was the face of him that fetched me out of the sea. i thought you were my son indeed." then jason could bear up no longer. he flung himself down on his knees by the bedside, and buried his face in the dying man's breast. "father," he sobbed, "i _am_ your son." but stephen orry only smiled, and answered very quietly, "ah, yes, i remember--that was part of our bargain, my good lad. well, god bless you, my son. god bless and speed you." and that was the end of orry. the book of michael sunlocks. chapter i. red jason. now the facts of this history must stride on some four years, and come to a great crisis in the lives of greeba and jason. every event of that time seemed to draw these two together, and the first of the circumstances that bound them came very close on the death of stephen orry. only a few minutes after greeba, at the bidding of her two brothers, stean and thurstan, had left jason alone with the dying man, she had parted from them without word or warning, and fled back to the little hut in port-y-vullin. with a wild laboring of heart, panting for breath and full of dread, she had burst the door open, fearing to see what she dare not think of; but, instead of the evil work she looked for, she had found jason on his knees by the bedside, sobbing as if his heart would break, and stephen orry passing away with a tender light in his eyes and a word of blessing on his lips. at that sight she had stood on the threshold like one who is transfixed, and how long that moment had lasted she never knew. but the thing she remembered next was that jason had taken her by the hand and drawn her up, with all the fire of her spirit gone, to where the man lay dead before them, and had made her swear to him there and then never to speak of what she had seen, and to put away from her mind forever the vague things she had but partly guessed. after that he had told her, with a world of pain, that stephen orry had been his father; that his father had killed his mother by base neglect and cruelty; that to wipe out his mother's wrongs he had vowed to slay his father; and that his father, not knowing him, save in the vision of his delirium, had died in the act of blessing him. greeba had yielded to jason, because she had been conquered by his stronger will, and was in fear of the passion which flashed in his face; but hearing all this, she remembered michael sunlocks, and how he must stand as the son of the other woman; and straightway she found her own reasons why she should be silent on all that she had that night seen and heard. this secret was the first of the bonds between them; and the second, though less obvious, was even more real. losing no time, adam fairbrother had written a letter to michael sunlocks, by that name, telling him of the death of his father, and how, so far as the facts were known, the poor man came by it in making the port in his boat after seeing his son away in the packet. this he had despatched to the only care known to him, that of the lord bishop petersen, at his latin school of reykjavik; but after a time the letter had come back, with a note from the bishop saying that no such name was known to him, and no such student was under his charge. much afraid that the same storm that had led stephen orry to his end had overtaken michael sunlocks also, adam fairbrother had then promptly re-addressed his letter to the care of the governor-general, who was also the postmaster, and added a postscript asking if, after the sad event whereof he had thought it his task in love and duty to apprise him, there was the same necessity that his dear boy should remain in iceland. "but, indite me a few lines without delay," he wrote, "giving me assurance of your safe arrival, for what has happened of late days has haunted me with many fears of mishap." then in due course an answer had come from michael sunlocks, saying he had landed safely, but there being no regular mails, he had been compelled to await the sailing of english ships to carry his letters; that by some error he had missed the first of these, and was now writing by the next; that many strange things had happened to him, and he was lodged in the house of the governor-general; that his father's death had touched him very deeply; being brought about by a mischance that so nearly affected himself; that the sad fact, so far from leaving him free to return home, seemed to make it the more necessary that he should remain where he was until he had done what he had been sent to do: and, finally, that what that work was he could not tell in a letter, but only by word of mouth, whenever it pleased god that they should meet again. this, with many words of affection for adam himself, in thanks for his fatherly anxiety, and some mention of greeba in tender but guarded terms, was the sum of the only letter that had come from michael sunlocks in the four years after stephen orry's death to the first of the events that are now to be recorded. and throughout these years jason had lived at lague, having been accepted as housemate by the six fairbrothers, when the ship-broken men had gone their own ways on receiving from their dublin owners the wages that were due to them. though his relation to stephen orry had never become known, it had leaked out that he had come into orry's money. he had done little work. his chief characteristics had been love of liberty and laziness. in the summer he had fished on the sea and in the rivers and he had shot and hunted in the winter. he had followed these pursuits out of sheer love of an idle life; but if he had a hobby it was the collecting of birds. of every species on the island, of land or seafowl, he had found a specimen. he stuffed his birds with some skill, and kept them in the little hut in port-y-vullin. the four years had developed his superb physique, and he had grown to be a yet more magnificent creature than stephen orry himself. he was rounder, though his youth might have pardoned more angularity; broader, and more upright, with a proud poise of head, long wavy red hair, smooth cheeks, solid white teeth, face of broad lines, an intelligent expression, and a deep voice that made the mountain ring. his dress suited well his face and figure. he wore a skin cap with a peak, a red woollen shirt belted about the waist, breeches of leather, leggings and seaman's boots. the cap was often awry, and a tuft of red hair tumbled over his bronzed forehead, his shirt was torn, his breeches were stained, and his leggings tied with rope; but rough, and even ragged, as his dress was, it sat upon him with a fine rude grace. with a knife in his sheath, a net or a decoy over his arm, a pouch for powder slung behind him, a fowling piece across his shoulder, and a dog at his heels, he would go away into the mountains as the evening fell. and in the early gleams of sunrise he would stride down again and into the "hibernian," scenting up the old tavern with tobacco smoke, and carrying many dead birds at his belt, with the blood still dripping from their heads hung down. folks called him red jason, or sometimes jason the red. he began to visit government house. greeba was there, but at first he seemed not to see her. simple greetings he exchanged with her, and that was all the commerce between them. with the governor, when work was over, he sat and smoked, telling of his own country and its laws, and the ways of its people, talking of his hunting and fishing, calling the mountains jokulls, and the tynwald the lã¶berg, and giving names of his own to the glens, the chasm of ravens for the dhoon, and broad shield for ballaglass. and adam loved to learn how close was the bond between his own dear isle and the land of the great sea kings of old time, but most of all he listened to what jason said, that he might thereby know what kind of world it was wherein his dear lad michael sunlocks had to live away from him. "a fine lad," adam fairbrother would say to greeba; "a lad of fearless courage, and unflinching contempt of death, with a great horror of lying and treachery, and an inborn sense of justice. not tender and gentle with his strength, as my own dear sunlocks is, but of a high and serious nature, and having passions that may not be trifled with." and hearing this, and the more deliberate warning of her brothers at lague, greeba would remember that she had herself the best reason to know that the passions of jason could be terrible. but nothing she recked of it all, for her heart was as light as her manners in those days, and if she thought twice of her relations with jason she remembered that she was the daughter of the governor, and he was only a poor sailor lad who had been wrecked off their coast. jason was a great favorite with mrs. fairbrother, notwithstanding that he did no work. rumor had magnified the fortune that stephen orry had left him, and the two hundred pounds stood at two thousand in her eyes. with a woman's quick instinct she saw how jason stood towards greeba, almost before he had himself become conscious of it, and she smiled on him and favored him. a whisper of this found its way from lague to government house, and old adam shook his head. he had nothing against jason, except that the lad was not fond of work, and whether jason was poor or rich counted for very little, but he could not forget his boy sunlocks. thus while greeba remained with her father there was but little chance that she could wrong the promise she had made to michael; but events seemed to force her into the arms of jason. her mother had never been of an unselfish spirit, and since parting from her husband she had shown a mean penuriousness. this affected her six sons chiefly, and they realized that when she had taken their side against their father she had taken the cream of their living also. lague was now hers for her lifetime, and only theirs after she was done with it; and if they asked much more for their work than bed and board she reminded them of this, and bade them wait. soon tiring of their lenten entertainment, they trooped off, one after one, to their father, badly as they had dealt by him, and complained loudly of the great wrong he had done them when he made over the lands of lague to their mother. what were they now, though sons of the governor? no better than hinds on their mother's farm, expected to work for her from light to dusk, and getting nothing for their labor but the house she kept over their heads. grown men they all were now, and the elder of them close on their prime, yet none were free to marry, for none had the right to a penny for the living he earned; and all this came of their father's unwise generosity. old adam could not gainsay them, and he would not reproach them, so he did all that remained to him to do, and that was to exercise a little more of the same unwise generosity, and give them money. and finding this easy means of getting what they wanted, they came again and again, all six of them, from asher to gentleman johnny, and as often as they came they went away satisfied, though old adam shook his head when he saw how mean and small was the spirit of his sons. greeba also shook her head, but from another cause, for though she grudged her brothers nothing she knew that her father was fast being impoverished. once she hinted as much, but old adam made light of her misgivings, saying that if the worst came to the worst he had still his salary, and what was the good of his money if he might not use it, and what was the virtue of charity if it must not begin at home? but the evil was not ended there for the six lumbering men who objected to work without pay were nothing loth to take pay without work. not long after the first of the visits to government house, lague began to be neglected. asher lay in the ingle and dozed; thurstan lay about in the "hibernian" and drank; ross and stean started a ring of gamecocks, jacob formed a nest of private savings, and john developed his taste for dress and his appetite for gallantries. mrs. fairbrother soon discovered the source of the mischief, and railed at the name of her husband, who was ruining her boys and bringing herself to beggary. thus far had matters gone, during the four years following the death of stephen orry, and then a succession of untoward circumstances hastened a climax of grave consequence to all the persons concerned in this history. two bad seasons had come, one on the end of the other. the herring fishing had failed, and the potato crop had suffered a blight. the fisher folk and the poor farming people were reduced to sore straits. the one class had to throw the meal bag across their shoulders and go round the houses begging, and the other class had to compound with their landlords or borrow from their neighbors. where few were rich and many were poor, the places of call for either class were not numerous. but two houses at least were always open to those who were in want--lague and government house; though their welcome at the one was very unlike their welcome at the other. mrs. fairbrother relieved their necessities by lending them money on mortgage on their lands or boats, and her interest was in proportion to their necessities. they had no choice but accept her terms, however rigid, and if in due course they could not meet them they had no resource but to yield up to her their little belongings. in less than half a year boat after boat, croft after croft, and even farm after farm had fallen into her hands. she grew rich, and the richer she grew the more penurious she became. there were no banks in the north of the island then, and the mistress of lague was in effect the farmer's banker. government house, in the south of the island, had yet more applicants; but what the governor had he gave, and when his money was gone he served out orders on the millers for meal and the weavers for cloth. it soon became known that he kept open house to the poor, and from north and south, east and west, the needy came to him in troops, and with them came the idle and the dissolute. he knew the one class from the other, yet railed at both in threatening words, reproaching their improvidence and predicting his own ruin, but he ended by giving to all alike. they found out his quarter-day and came in throngs to meet it, knowing that, bluster as he would, while the good man had money he was sure to give it to all who asked. the sorry troop, good and bad, worthy and unworthy, soon left him without a pound. he fumed at this when greeba cast up his reckoning, but comforted himself with the thought that he had still his stipend of five hundred pounds a year coming in to him, however deeply it might be condemned beforehand. at the first pinch of his necessity his footman deserted him and after the footman went the groom. "they say the wind is tempered to the shorn sheep, greeba," said he, and laughed. he had always stood somewhat in awe of these great persons, and his spirits rose visibly at the loss of them, for he had never yet reconciled himself to the dignity of his state. "it's wonderful how much a man may do for himself when he's put to it," he said, as he groomed his own horse next morning. his sons were not so easily appeased, and muttered hard words at his folly, for their own supplies had by this time suffered curtailment. he was ruining himself at a breakneck pace, and if he came to die in the gutter, who should say that it had not served him right? the man who threw away his substance with his eyes open deserved to know by bitter proof that it had gone. jason heard all this at the fireside at lague, and though he could not answer it, he felt his palms itch sorely, and his fists tighten like ribs of steel, and his whole body stiffen up and silently measure its weight against that of thurstan fairbrother, the biggest and heaviest and hardest-spoken of the brothers. greeba heard it, too, but took it with a gay lightsomeness, knowing all yet fearing nothing. "what matter?" she said, and laughed. but strange and silly enough were some of the shifts that her father's open-handedness put her to in these bad days of the bitter need of the island's poor people. it was the winter season, when things were at their worst, and on christmas eve greeba had a goose killed for their christmas dinner. the bird was hung in one of the out-houses, to drain and cool before being plucked, and while it was there greeba went out, leaving her father at home. then came three of the many who had never yet been turned empty from the governor's door. adam blustered at all of them, but he emptied his pockets to one, gave the goose to another, and smuggled something out of the pantry for the third. the goose was missed by the maid whose work it was to pluck it, and its disappearance was made known to greeba on her return. guessing at the way it had gone, she went into the room where her father sat placidly smoking, and trying to look wondrous, serene and innocent. "what do you think, father?" she said; "someone has stolen the goose." "i'm afraid, my dear," he answered, meekly, "i gave it away to poor kinrade, the parish clerk. would you believe it, he and his good old wife hadn't a bit or a sup for their christmas dinner?" "well," said greeba, "you'll have to be content with bread and cheese for your own, for we have nothing else in the house now." "i'm afraid, my dear," he stammered, "i gave away the cheese too. poor daft gelling, who lives on the mountains, had nothing to eat but a loaf of bread, poor fellow." now the rapid impoverishment of the governor was forcing greeba into the arms of jason, though they had yet no idea that this was so; and when the crisis came that loosened the ties which held greeba to her father, it came as a surprise to all three of them. the one man in the island who had thus far shown a complete indifference to the sufferings of the poor in their hour of tribulation was the bishop of sodor and man. this person was a fashionable ecclesiastic--not a manxman--a murray, and a near kinsman of the lord of the island, who had kept the see four years vacant that the sole place of profit in the island might thereby be retained for his own family. many years the bishop had drawn his stipend, tithe and glebe rents, which were very large in proportion to the diocese, and almost equal in amount to the emoluments of the whole body of the native clergy. he held small commerce with his people, and the bad seasons troubled him little until he felt the pinch of them himself. but when he found it hard to gather his tithe he began to realize that the island was passing through sore straits. then he sold his tithe charges by auction in england, and they were knocked down to a scotch factor--a hard man, untroubled by sentiment, and not too proud to get his own by means that might be thought to soil the cloth of a bishop. when news of this transfer reached the island the manx clergy looked black, though they dared say nothing; but the poor people grumbled audibly, for they knew what was coming. it soon came, in the shape of writs from the bishop's seneschal, served by the bishop's sumner. then the cry of the poor reached the governor at castletown. no powers had he to stay the seizure of goods and stock, for arrears that were forfeit to the church courts, but he wrote to the bishop, asking him to stay execution at such a moment of the island's necessity. the bishop answered him curtly that the matter was now outside his control. at that the governor inquired into the legality of the sale, and found good reason to question it. he wrote again to the bishop, hinting at his doubts, and then the bishop told him to mind his own business. "my business is the welfare of the people," the governor answered, "and be you bishop or lord, or both, be sure that while i am here i will see to it." "such is the penalty of setting a beggar on horseback," the bishop rejoined. meantime the scotch factor went on with his work, and notices were served that if arrears of tithe rent were not paid by a given date, cattle or crop to the value of them would then be seized in the bishop's name. when the word came to government house, the governor announced to greeba his intention to be present at the first seizure. she tried to restrain him, fearing trouble; but he was fully resolved. then she sent word by old chalse a'killey to her brothers at lague, begging them to go with their father and see him through, but one and all refused. there was mischief brewing, and if the governor had a right to interfere, he had a right to have the civil forces at the back of him. if he had no right to the help of castle rushen he had no right to stop the execution. in any case, they had no wish to meddle. when old chalse brought back this answer, red jason chanced to be at castletown. he had been at government house oftener than usual since the clouds had begun to hang on it. coming down from the mountains, with his pipe in his mouth, his fowling piece over his shoulder, and his birds hanging from his belt, he would sometimes contrive to get up into the yard at the back, fling down a brace of pheasants on to the kitchen floor, and go off again without speaking to anyone. greeba had been too smart for him this time, and he was standing before her with a look of guilt when chalse came up on his errand. then jason heard all, and straightway offered to go with the governor, and never let wit of his intention. "oh, thank you, thank you!" said greeba, and she looked up into his bronzed face and smiled proudly, and her long lashes blinked over her beautiful eyes. her glance seemed to go through him. it seemed to go through all nature; and fill the whole world with a new, glad light. the evil day came, and the governor was as good as his word. he went away to peel, where the first seizure was to be made. there a great crowd had already gathered, and at sight of adam's face a great shout went up. the factor heard it, as he came on from bishop's court with a troop of his people about him. "i'll mak' short shrift of a' that, the noo," he said. when he came up he ordered that a cow house door should be opened and the cattle brought out for instant sale, for he had an auctioneer by his side. but the door was found to be locked, and he shouted to his men to leap on to the roof and strip off the thatch. then the governor cried "stop," and called on the factor to desist, for though he might seize the cattle there would be no sale that day, since no man there present would take the bread out of the mouths of the poor. "then they shall try the milk," said the factor, with a hoarse laugh, and at the same moment the bishop's seneschal, a briefless advocate, stepped out, pushed his hot face into adam's, and said that, governor as he was, if he encouraged the people to resist, the sumner should there and then summon him to appear before the church courts for contempt. at that insult the crowd surged around, muttering deep oaths, and factor and seneschal were both much hustled. in another moment there was a general struggle; people were shouting, the governor was on the ground and in danger of being trodden under foot, the factor had drawn a pistol, and some of his men were flourishing hangers. by this time red jason had lounged up, as if by chance, to the outskirts of the crowd, and now he pushed through with great strides, lifted the governor to his feet, laid the factor on the broad of his back, and clapped his pistol hand under one heavy heel. then the hangers flashed round jason's face, and he stretched his arms and laid out about him. in two minutes he had made a wide circle where he stood, and in two minutes more the factor and his men, with seneschal, sumner, auctioneer, and all the riffraff of the church courts, were going off up the road with best foot foremost, and a troop of the people, like a pack of hounds at full cry, behind. then the remnant of the crowd compared notes and bruises. "man alive, what a boy to fight," said one. "who was it?" said another. "och, jason the red, of coorse," said a third. jason was the only man badly injured. he had a deep cut over the right brow, and though the wound bled freely he made light of it. but adam was much troubled at the sight. "i much misdoubt me but we'll rue the day," he said. jason laughed at that, and they went back to castletown together. greeba saw them coming, and all but fainted at the white bandage that gleamed across jason's forehead; but he bade her have no fear, for his wound was nothing. nevertheless she must needs dress it afresh, though her deft fingers trembled woefully, and, seeing how near the knife had come to the eye, all her heart was in her mouth. but he only laughed at the bad gash, and thought with what cheer he would take such another just to have the same tender hands bathe it, and stitch it, and to see the troubled heaving of the round bosom that was before him while his head was held down. "aren't you very proud of yourself, jason?" she whispered softly, as she finished. "why proud?" said he. "it's the second time you have done as i have bidden you, and suffered for doing so," she said. he knew not what reply to make, scarcely realizing which way her question tended. so, feeling very stupid, he said again, "but why proud?" "aren't you, then?" she said. "because _i_ am proud of you." they were alone, and he saw her breast heave and her great eyes gleam, and he felt dizzy. at the next instant their hands touched, and then his blood boiled, and before he knew what he was doing he had clasped the beautiful girl in his arms, and kissed her on the lips and cheek. she sprang away from him, blushing deeply, but he knew that she was not angry, for she smiled through her deep rich color, as she fled out of the room on tiptoe. from that hour he troubled his soul no more with fears that he was unworthy of greeba's love, for he looked at his wound in the glass, and remembered her words, and laughed in his heart. the governor was right that there would be no sale for arrears of tithe charges. after a scene at bishop's court the factor went back to england, and no more was heard of the writs served by the sumner. but wise folks predicted a storm for adam fairbrother, and the great people were agreed that his conduct had been the maddest folly. "he'll have to take the horns with the hide," said deemster lace. "he's a fool that doesn't know which side his bread is buttered," said mrs. fairbrother. the storm came quickly, but not from the quarter expected. since the father of the duke of athol had sold his fiscal rights to the english crown the son had rued the bargain. all the interest in the island that remained to him lay in his title, his patronage of the bishopric, and his governor-generalship. his title counted for little, for it was unknown at the english court, and the salary of his governor-generalship counted for less, for, not being resident in the island, he had to pay a local governor. the patronage of the bishopric was the one tangible item of his interest, and when the profits of that office were imperilled he determined to part with his truncated honors. straightway he sold them bag and baggage to the crown, for nearly six times as much as his father had got for the insular revenues. when this neat act of truck and trade was complete he needed his deputy no more, and sent adam fairbrother an instant warning, with half-a-year's salary for smart money. the blow came with a shock on greeba and her father, but there was no leisure to sigh over it. government house and its furniture belonged to the government, and the new governor might take possession of it at any moment. but the stock on its lands was adam's and as it was necessary to dispose of it, he called a swift sale. half the island came to it, and many a brave brag came then from many a vain stomach. adam was rightly served! what was there to expect when jacks were set in office? with five hundred a year coming in for twenty years he was as poor as a church mouse? aw, money in the hands of some men was like water in a sieve! adam's six sons were there, looking on with sneering lips, as much as to say, "let nobody blame us for a mess like this." red jason was there, too, glooming as black as a thundercloud, and itching to do battle with somebody if only a fit case would offer. adam himself did not show his face. he was ashamed--he was crushed--he was humiliated--but not for the reason attributed to him by common report. alone he sat, and smoked and smoked, in the room at the back, from whence he had seen greeba and michael sunlocks that day when they walked side by side into the paved yard, and when he said within himself, "now, god grant that this may be the end of all parting between them and me." he was thinking of that day now: that it was very, very far away. he heard the clatter of feet below, and the laughter of the bidders and the wondrous jests of the facetious auctioneer. when the work was over, and the house felt quiet and so, so empty, greeba came in to him, with eyes large and red, and kissed him without saying a word. then he became mighty cheerful all at once, and bade her fetch out her account books, for they had their own reckoning yet to make, and now was the time to make it. she did as she was bidden, and counted up her father's debts, with many a tear dropping over them as if trying to blot them out forever. and meanwhile he counted up his half-year's smart money, and the pile of silver and gold that had come of the sale. when all was reckoned, they found they would be just fifteen pounds to the good, and that was now their whole fortune. next morning there came a great company of the poor, and stood in silence about the house. they knew that adam had nothing to give, and they came for nothing; they on their part had nothing to offer, and they had nothing to say; but this was their way of showing sympathy with the good man in his dark hour. the next morning after that old adam said to greeba, "come, girl, there is only one place in the island that we have a right to go to, and that's lague. let's away." and towards lague they set their faces, afoot, all but empty-handed, and with no one but crazy old chalse a'killey for company. chapter ii. how greeba was left with jason. it was early summer, and the day was hot; there had been three weeks of drought, and the roads were dusty. adam walked with a stout blackthorn stick, his flaccid figure sometimes swaying for poise and balance, and his snow-white hair rising gently in the soft breeze over his tender old face, now ploughed so deep with labor and sorrow. chalse was driving his carrier's cart, whereon lay all that was left of adam's belongings, save only what the good man carried in his purse. and seeing how heavy the road was to one of adam's years, though his own were hardly fewer, poor old chalse, recking nothing of dignity lost thereby, would have had him to mount the shafts and perch on the box behind the pony's tail. but adam, thinking as little of pride, said no, that every herring should hang by its own gills, and the pony had its full day's work before it; moreover, that it was his right to walk at his own expense now, having ridden twenty years at the expense of the island. so he kept the good blackthorn moving, and greeba stepped along nimbly by his side. and when the castletown coach overtook and passed them on its way to douglas, and some of the farming folk who rode on it leaned over saucily and hailed adam by his christian name, he showed no shame or rancor, until, when the coach was gone, he caught a glimpse of the hot color that had mounted to greeba's cheeks. then, without a word, he turned his mellow old face to his feet, and strode along a good half mile in silence. and meantime, chalse, thinking to lighten the burden of the way with cheerful talk, rattled along in his crazy screech on many subjects, but found that all came round, by some strange twist, to the one subject that might not be discussed. thus, looking at his pony, he told of the donkey he had before it, the same that michael sunlocks rode long years ago; how he himself had fallen sick and could not to keep it, and so gave it without a penny to a neighbor for feeding it; and how when he got better he wanted to borrow it, but the neighbor, in base ingratitude and selfishness, would not lend it without pay. "faith, it's alwis lek that," said chalse. "give a man yer shirt, and ye must cut yer lucky or he'll be after axing ye for yer skin." when they came by douglas, chalse was for skirting round by the spring valley through braddon, but old adam, seeing his drift, would not pretend to be innocent of it, and said that if there were dregs in his cup he was in the way of draining them without making too many wry faces about it. and as for the people of the town, if they thought no shame to stare at him he thought no shame to be stared at, yet that what was good enough for himself might not be so for one who had less deserved it, and greeba could go with chalse by braddon, and they would meet again on onchan hill. to this greeba would not consent; and as it chanced there was little need, for when they got into douglas the town was all astir with many carriages and great troops of people making for the quay, so that no one seemed so much as to see the little company of three that came covered with dust out of the country roads. "aw, bad cess, what jeel is this?" said chalse; and before they had crossed the little market place by the harbor, where the bells of old st. matthew's rang out a merry peal, they learned for certain the cause of the joyful commotion; for there they were all but run down by the swaying and surging crowds, that came shouting and cheering by the side of an open carriage, wherein sat a very old gentleman in the uniform of a soldier. it was, as adam had already divined, the new governor-general, colonel cornelius smelt, newly arrived that day in the island as the first direct representative of the english crown in succession to the lords of man. and at that brave sight poor old chalse, who jumbled in his distraught brain the idea of adam's late position with that of his master the duke of athol, and saw nothing but that this gentleman, in his fine rigging, was come in adam's place, and was even now on his way to castletown to take possession of government house, and that the bellowing mob that not a month before had doffed their caps before adam's face, now shoved him off the pavement without seeing him, stamped and raved and shook his fist over the people, as if he would brain them. they slept at onchan that night, and next day they reached kirk maughold. and coming on the straggling old house at lague, after so long an absence, adam was visibly moved, saying he had seen many a humiliation since the days when he lived in it, and might the lord make them profitable to his soul; but only let it please god to grant him peace and content and daily bread, and there should be no more going hence in the years that were left to him. at that greeba felt a tingling on both sides her heart, for her fears were many of the welcome that awaited them. it was nigh upon noon, and the men were out in the fields; but mrs. fairbrother was at home, and she saw the three when they opened the gate and came down under the elms. "now, i thought as much," she said within herself, "and i warrant i know their errand." adam entered the house with what cheer of face he could command, being hard set to keep back his tears, and hailed his wife in a jovial tone, although his voice threatened to break, and sat himself down in his old seat by the chimney corner, with his blackthorn stick between his knees and his hands resting upon it. but mrs. fairbrother made no answer to his greeting, and only glanced from him to greeba who tripped softly behind him, and from greeba to chalse, who came shambling in after them, vacantly scratching his uncovered head. then, drawing herself up, and holding back her skirts, she said very coldly, while her wrinkled face twitched-"and pray what ill wind blows you here?" "an ill wind indeed, ruth," adam answered, "for it is the wind of adversity. you must have heard of our misfortune since the whole island knows of it. well, it is not for me to complain, for god shapes our ways, and he knows what is best. but i am an old man now, ruth, little able to look to myself, still less to another, and----" while he spoke, mrs. fairbrother tapped her foot impatiently, and then broke in with-"cut it short, sir. what do you want?" adam lifted his eyes with a stupefied look, and answered very quietly, "i want to come home, ruth." "home!" cried mrs. fairbrother, sharply. "and what home if you please?" adam sat agape for a moment, and then said, speaking as calmly as before, "what home, ruth? why, what home but this?" "this, indeed! this is not your home," said mrs. fairbrother. "not my home!" said adam, slowly, dropping back in his seat like one who is dumbfounded. "not my home! did you say that this was not my home?" he said, suddenly bracing up. "why, woman, i was born here; so was my father before me, and my father's father before him. five generations of my people have lived and died here, and the very roof rafters over your head must know us." "hoity-toity!" cried mrs. fairbrother, "and if you had lived here much longer not a rafter of them all would have been left to shelter us. no, sir. i've kept the roof on this house, and it is mine." "it is yours, indeed," said adam slowly, "for i gave it you." "you gave it me!" cried mrs. fairbrother. "say i took it as my right when all that you had was slipping through your fingers like sand, as everything does that ever touches them." at that hard word old adam drew himself up with a great dignity of bearing, and said-"there is one thing that has indeed slipped through my fingers like sand, and that is the fidelity of the woman who swore before god forty and odd years ago to love and honor me." "crinkleum-crankum!" cried mrs. fairbrother. "a pretty thing, truly, that i should toil and moil at my age to keep house and home together ready and waiting for you, when your zany doings have shut every other door against you. misfortunes, indeed! a fine name for your mistakes!" "i may have made mistakes, madam," said adam; "but true it is, as the wise man has said, that he who has never made mistakes has never made anything." "tush!" said mrs. fairbrother. "ruth, do you refuse to take me in?" said adam. "this house is mine," said she; "mine by law and deed, as tight as wax can make it." "do you refuse to take me in?" said adam again, rising to his feet. "you have brought ruin on yourself by your shilly-shally and vain folly," said she; "and now you think to pat your nose and say your prayers by my fireside." "ruth," said adam once more, "do you refuse to take me in?" "yes, and that i do," said she. "you would beggar me as you have beggared yourself, but that i warrant you never shall." then there was a grim silence for a moment. old adam gripped convulsively the staff he leaned on, and all but as loud as the ticking of the clock was the beating of his heart. "god give me patience," he said. "yes, i'll bear it meekly. ruth," he said, huskily, "i'll not trouble you. make yourself sure of that. while there's a horse-wallet to hang on my old shoulders, and a bit of barley bread to put in it, i'll rove the country round, but i'll never come on my knees to you and say, 'i am your husband, i gave you all you had, and you are rich and i'm a beggar, and i am old--give me for charity my bed and board.'" but, unable to support any longer the strife for mastery that was tearing at his heart, he gave way to his wrath, and cried out in a loud voice, "out on you, woman! out on you! god forgive me the evil day i set eyes on you! god forgive me the damned day i took you to my breast to rend it." while this had been going forward greeba had stood silent at the back of her father's chair, with eyelashes quivering and the fingers of both hands clenched together. but now she stepped forward and said, "forgive him, mother. do not be angry with him. he will be sorry for what he has said: i'm sure he will. but only think, dear mother: he is in great, great trouble, and he is past work, and if this is not his home, then he is homeless." and at the sound of that pleading voice adam's wrath turned in part to tenderness, and he dropped back to the chair and began to weep. "i am ashamed of my tears, child," he said; "but they are not shed for myself. nor did i come here for my own sake, though your mother thinks i did. no, child, no; say no more. i'll repent me of nothing i have said to her--no, not one word. she is a hard, a cruel woman; but, thank heaven, i have my sons left to me yet. she is not flesh of my flesh, though one with me in wedlock; but they are, they will never see their father turned from the door." at that instant three of the six fairbrothers, asher, ross and thurstan, came in from the stackyard, with the smell of the furze-rick upon them that they had been trimming for the cattle. and adam, without waiting to explain, cried in the fervor of his emotion, "this is not your will, asher?" whereupon asher, without any salutation, answered him, "i don't know what you mean, sir," and turned aside. "he has damned your mother," said mrs. fairbrother, with her morning apron to her eyes, "and cursed the day he married her." "but she is turning me out of the house," said adam. "this house--my father's house." "ask her pardon, sir," asher muttered, "and she will take you back." "her pardon! god in heaven!" adam cried. "you are an old man now, sir," said thurstan. "so i am; so i am," said adam. "and you are poor as well." "that's true, thurstan; that's true, though your brother forgets it." "so you should not hold your head too high." "what! are you on her side, also? asher, thurstan, ross, you are my sons--would you see me turned out of the house?" the three men hung their heads. "what mother says he must agree to," muttered asher. "but i gave you all i had," said adam. "if i am old i am your father, and if i am poor you know best who made me so." "we are poor, too, sir; we have nothing, and we do not forget who is to blame for it," thurstan growled. "you gave everything away from us," grumbled ross; "and, because your bargain is a rue bargain, you want us now to stand aback of you." and stean, and jacob, and john coming in at that moment, jacob said, very slyly, with something like a sneer-"ah, yes, and who took the side of a stranger against his own children? what of your good michael sunlocks now, sir? is he longing for you? or have you never had the scribe of a line from him since he turned his back on you, four years ago?" then greeba's eyes flashed with anger. "for shame," she cried, "for shame! oh, you mean, pitiful men, to bait and badger him like this." jacob threw up his head and laughed, and mrs. fairbrother said, "chut, girl, you're waxing apace with your big words, considering you're a chit that has wasted her days in london and hasn't learned to muck a byre yet." adam did not hear her. he sat like a man who is stunned by a heavy blow. "not for myself," he mumbled, "no, not for myself, though they all think it." then he turned to his sons and said, "you think i came to beg for bed and board for myself, but you are wrong. i came to demand it for the girl. i may have no claim upon you, but she has, for she is one with you all and can ask for her own. she has no home with her father now, for it seems that he has none for himself; but her home is here, and here i mean to leave her." "not so fast, sir," said john. "all she can ever claim is what may one day be hers when we ourselves come into anything. meantime, like her brothers, she has nothing but what she works for." "works for, you wagtail?" cried adam; "she is a woman! do you hear?--a woman?" "woman or man, where's the difference here?" said gentleman john, and he snapped his fingers. "where's the difference, you jackanapes? do you ask me where's the difference here? here? in grace, in charity, in unselfishness, in faith in the good; in fidelity to the true, in filial love and duty! there's the difference, you jackanapes." "you are too old to quarrel with, sir; i will spare you," said gentleman john. "spare me, you whipper-snapper! _you_ will spare _me_! but oh, let me have patience! if i have cursed the day i first saw my wife let me not also curse the hour when she first bore me children and my heart was glad. asher, you are my firstborn, and heaven knows what you were to me. you will not stand by and listen to this. she is your sister, my son. think of it--your only sister." asher twisted about, where he sat by the window nook, pretending to doze, and said, "the girl is nothing to me. she is nothing to any of us. she has been with you all the days of her life except such as you made her to spend with strangers. she is no sister of ours." then adam turned to ross, "and do you say the same?" he asked. "what can she do here?" said ross. "nothing. this is no place for your great ladies. we work, here, every man and woman of us, from daylight to dark, in the fields and the dairy. best send her back to her fine friends in london." "ay," said jacob, glancing up with a brazen smile into greeba's face, "or marry her straight off--that is the shortest way. i heard a little bird tell of someone who might have her. don't look astonished, miss, for i make no doubt you know who it is. he is away on the mountains now, but he'll be home before long." greeba's eyes glistened, but not a muscle of her countenance changed. only she clutched at the back of her father's chair and clung to it. and adam, struggling hard to master the emotion that made his whole body to sway and tremble in his seat, said slowly, "if she is not your sister, at least she is your mother's daughter, and a mother knows what that means." then turning to mrs. fairbrother, who still stood apart with her housewife's apron to her eyes, he said, "ruth, the child is your daughter, and by that deed you speak of she is entitled to her share of all that is here----" "yes," said mrs. fairbrother, sharply, "but only when i am done with it." "even so," said adam, "would you see the child want before that, or drive her into any marriage, no matter what?" "i will take her," said mrs. fairbrother deliberately, "on one condition." "what is it, ruth?" said adam; "name it, that i may grant it." "that you shall give up all control of her, and that she shall give up all thought of you." "what?" "that you shall never again expect to see her or hear from her, or hold commerce of any kind with her." "but why? why?" "because i may have certain plans for her future welfare that you might try to spoil." "do they concern michael sunlocks?" "no, indeed," said mrs. fairbrother, with a toss of the head. "then they concern young jason, the icelander," said adam. "if so, it is _my_ concernment," said mrs. fairbrother. "and that is your condition?" "yes." "and you ask me to part from her forever? think of it, she is my only daughter. she has been the light of my eyes. you have never loved her as i have loved her. you know it is the truth. and you ask me to see her no more, and never more to hear from her. now, god punish you for this, you cold-hearted woman!" "take care, sir. fewer words, or mayhap i will recall my offer. if you are wise you will be calm for the girl's sake." "you are right," he said, with his head down. "it is not for me to take the bread out of my child's mouth. she shall choose for herself." then he twisted about to where greeba stood in silence behind his chair. "greeba," he said, with a world of longing in his eyes, "my darling, you see how it is. i am old and very poor, and heaven pity my blind folly, i have no home to offer you, for i have none to shelter my own head. don't fear for me, for i have no fear for myself. i will be looked to in the few days that remain to me, and, come what may, the sorry race of my foolish life will soon be over. but you have made no mistakes that merit my misfortunes. so choose, my child, choose. it is poverty with me or plenty with your mother. choose, my child, choose; and let it be quickly, let it be quickly, for my old heart is bursting." then the brave girl drew herself proudly up, her brilliant eyes aflame, and her whole figure erect and quivering. "choose?" she cried, in a piercing voice; "there is no choice. i will go with my father, and follow him over the world, though we have no covering but the skies above us." and then adam leapt from his chair to his feet, and the infirmity of his years seemed gone in an instant, and his wet face shone with the radiance of a great joy. "do you hear that, you people?" he cried. "there's grace, and charity, and unselfishness, and love left in the world still. thank heaven, i have not yet to curse the day her body brought forth children. come, greeba, we will go our ways, and god's protection will go with us. 'i have been young and now am old, yet have i not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.'" he strode across to the door, then stopped and looked back to where his sons stood together with the looks of whipped dogs. "and you, you unnatural sons," he cried, "i cast you out of my mind. i give you up to your laziness and drunkenness and vain pleasures. i am going to one who is not flesh of my flesh, and yet he is my son indeed." again he made for the door, and stopped on the threshold, and faced about towards his wife. "as for you, woman, your time will come. remember that! remember that!" greeba laid one hand softly on his shoulder and said, "come, father, come," but again he looked back at his sons and said, "farewell, all of you! farewell! you will see me no more. may a day like this that has come to your father never, never come to you." and then all his brave bearing, his grand strength broke down in a moment, and as the girl laid hold of his arm, lest he should reel and fall, he stumbled out at the threshold, sobbing beneath his breath, "sunlocks, my boy; sunlocks, i am coming to you--i am coming to you." chalse a'killey followed them out, muttering in an under-breath some deep imprecations that no one heeded. "strange," said he, "the near i was to crucifying the lord afresh and swearing a mortal swear, only i remembered my catechism and the good john wesley." at the gate to the road they met jason, who was coming down from barrule with birds at his belt. with bewildered looks jason stood and looked at them as they came up, a sorry spectacle, in the brightness of the midday sun. old adam himself strode heavily along, with his face turned down and his white hair falling over his cheeks. by his side greeba walked bearing herself as proudly as she might, with her head thrown back and her wet eyes trying hard to smile. a pace or two behind came chalse with his pony and cart grunting hoarsely in his husky throat. not a word of greeting did they give to jason, and he asked for no explanation, for he saw it all after a moment: they being now homeless had drifted back to their old home and had just been turned away from it. and not a word of pity did he on his part dare to offer them, but in the true sympathy of silence he stepped up to adam and gave him his strong arm to lean upon, and then turned himself about to go their way. they took the road to ramsey, and little was said by any of them throughout the long two miles of the journey, save only by chalse, who never ceased to mutter dark sayings to himself, whereof the chief were praises to god for delivering them without loss of life or limb or hand or even out of a den of lions, for, thanks be to the lord! he had drawn their teeth. now though the world is hard enough on a good man in the hour of his trouble, there are ever more tender hearts to compassionate his distresses than bitter ones to triumph over his adversity, and when adam fairbrother came to ramsey many a door was thrown open to him by such as were mindful of his former state and found nothing in his fall to merit their resentment. no hospitality would he accept, however, but took up his abode with greeba in a little lodging in the market place, with its face to the cross and its back towards the sea. and being safely housed there, he thanked jason at the door for the help of his strong arm, and bade him come again at ten o'clock that night, if so be that he was in the way of doing a last service for a poor soul who might never again have it in his power to repay. "i'll come back at ten," said jason, simply, and so he left them for the present. and when he was gone adam said to greeba as he turned indoors, "a fine lad that, and as simple as a child, but woe to the man who deceives him. ay, or to the woman either. but you'll never do it, girl? eh? never? never?" "why, father, what can you mean? are we not going away together?" said greeba. "true, child, true," said adam; and so without further answer to her question, twice repeated, he passed with her into the house. but adam had his meaning as well as his reason for hiding it. through the silent walk from lague he had revolved their position and come to a fixed resolution concerning it. in the heat of his emotion it had lifted up his heart that greeba had chosen poverty with him before plenty with her mother and her brothers, but when his passion had cooled he rebuked himself for permitting her to do so. what right had he to drag her through the slough of his own necessities! he was for going away, not knowing the fate that was before him, but on what plea made to his conscience dare he take her with him? he was old, his life was behind him, and, save herself, he had no ties. what did it matter to him how his struggle should end? but she was young, she was beautiful, she might form new friendships, the world was before her, the world might yet be at her feet, and life, so sweet and so sad, and yet so good a thing withal, was ready and waiting for her. once he thought of michael sunlocks, and that the arms that would be open to himself in that distant land would not be closed to greeba. and once he thought of jason, and that to leave her behind was to help the schemes that would bring them together. but put it as he would, no farther could he get than this, that she must stay, and he must go away alone. yet, knowing the strength of her purpose, he concealed his intention, and his poor bewildered old head went about its work of preparation very artfully. it was friday, and still not far past noon, when they reached their lodging by the cross. after a hasty meal he set out into the town, leaving greeba to rest, for she had walked far since early morning. at the quay he inquired the date of a vessel that called there sometimes in summer on its passage from ireland to iceland, and to his surprise he found that she was even then in the harbor, and would go out with the first tide of the next day, which would flow at one o'clock in the morning. thereupon he engaged his berth, and paid for his passage. it cost six pounds, besides a daily charge of four shillings for rations. the trip was calculated to last one month with fair wind and weather, such as then promised. adam counted the cost, and saw that with all present debts discharged, and future ones considered, he might have somewhat between six and seven pounds in his pocket when he set foot in reykjavik. being satisfied with this prospect, he went to the high bailiff for his license to leave the island. greeba had heard nothing of this, and as soon as night fell in she went up to bed at her father's entreaty. her room was at the back of the house and looked out over the sea, and there she saw the young moon rise over the waters as she undressed and laid down to sleep. prompt to his hour jason came, and then adam told him all. "i am going away," he said, "far away, indeed into your own country. i go to-night, though my daughter, who is asleep, knows nothing of my intention. will you do me a service?" "try me," said jason. and then adam asked him to stay in ramsey over night, that he might be there when greeba came down in the morning, to break the news to her that her father had gone, and to take her back with him to lague. "they will not say no to her, seeing her father is not with her; and the time is coming when she will hold her right to a share of all they have, and none of them dare withhold it." jason who had been up to lague, had heard of all that had passed there, and played his own part too, though he said nothing of that. he was now visibly agitated. his calm strength had left him. his eyes were afire, his face twitched, his hands trembled, and he was plainly struggling to say what his quivering lips refuse to utter. "is there no other way?" he asked. "must she go back to lague? is there no help for it?" "none," said adam; "for she is penniless, god forgive me, and beggars may not be choosers." at that word jason was unable to support any longer the wild laboring of his heart. "yes, yes, but there _is_ a way," he cried, "for there is one to whom she is rich enough though he is poor himself, for he would give his life's blood if so be that he could buy her. many a day he has seen all and stood aside and been silent, because afraid to speak, but he must speak now, or never." hearing this, adam's face looked troubled, and he answered-"i will not misdoubt you, my good lad, or question whom you mean." and jason's tongue being loosed at last, the hot words came from him like a flood. "i have been an idle fellow, sir, i know that; good for nothing in the world, any more than the beasts of the field, and maybe it's because i've had nobody but myself to work for; but give me the right to stand beside her and you shall see what i can do, for no brother shall return her cold looks for her sweetness, and never again shall she go back where she will only be despised." "you are a brave lad, jason," said adam, as best he could for the tears that choked him; "and though i have long had other thoughts concerning her, yet could i trust her to your love and keeping and go my ways with content. but no, no, my lad, it is not for me to choose for her; and neither is for her to choose now." pacified by that answer jason gave his promise freely, faithfully to do what adam had asked of him. and the night being now well worn towards midnight, with the first bell of the vessel rung, and old chalse fussing about in busy preparation, the time had come for adam to part from greeba. to bid her farewell was impossible, and to go away without doing so was well-nigh as hard. all he could do was to look upon her in her sleep and whisper his farewell in his heart. so he entered on tiptoe the room where she lay. softly the moon shone through the window from across the white sea, and fell upon the bed. pausing at the door he listened for her breathing, and at last he heard it, for the night was very still, and only by the sea's gentle plash on the beach was the silence broken. treading softly he approached the bedside, and there she lay, and the quiet moonlight lay over her--the dear, dear girl, so brave and happy-hearted. her lips seemed to smile; perhaps she was dreaming. he must take his last look now. yet no, he must kiss her first. he reached across and lightly touched her pure forehead with his lips. then she moved and moaned in her sleep, and then her peaceful breathing came again. "now, peace be with her," adam murmured, "and the good hand to guard her of the good father of all." so adam fairbrother went his way, leaving greeba behind him, and early the next morning jason took her back to lague. chapter iii. the wooing of jason. now the one thing that jason did not tell to adam fairbrother was that, on hearing from jacob, as spokesman of his brothers, the story of their treatment of greeba and their father, he had promised to break every bone in their six worthless bodies, and vowed never to darken their door again. his vow he could not keep if he was also to keep his word with adam, and he deferred the fulfilment of his promise; but from that day he left lague as a home, and pitched his tent with old davy kerruish in maughold village, at a little cottage by the sundial that stood by the gates of the church. too old for the sea, and now too saintly for smuggling, davy pottered about the churchyard as gravedigger--for maughold had then no sexton--with a living of three and sixpence a service, and a marvellously healthy parish. so the coming of jason to share bed and board with him was a wild whirl of the wheel of fortune, and straightway he engaged an ancient body at ninepence a week to cook and clean for them. by this time jason had spent nearly half his money, for he had earned nothing, but now he promptly laid his idle habits aside. no more did he go up to the mountains, and no longer out on to the sea. his nets were thrown over the lath of the ceiling, his decoy was put in a cage, his fowling piece stood in the corner, and few were the birds that hung at his belt. he was never seen at the "hibernian," and he rarely scented up the house with tobacco smoke. on his first coming he lay two days and nights in bed without food or sleep, until davy thought surely he was sick, and, willy-nilly, was for having his feet bathed in mustard and hot water, and likewise his stomach in rum and hot gruel. but he was only settling his plans for the future, and having hit on a scheme he leaped out of bed like a grayhound, plunged his head up to the neck in a bucket of cold water, came out of it with gleaming eyes, red cheeks and a vapor rising from his wet skin, and drying himself with a whir on a coarse towel, he laid hold with both hands of a chunk of the last hare he had snared, and munched it in vast mouthfuls. "davy," he cried, with the white teeth still going, "are there many corn mills this side of the island?" "och, no, boy," said davy; "but scarce as fresh herrings at christmas." "any mill nearer than old moore's at sulby, and callow's wife's down at laxey?" "aw, no, boy, the like of them isn't in." "any call for them nearer, davy?" "aw 'deed, yes, boy, yes; and the farmer men alwis keen for one in maughold, too. ay, yes, keen, boy, keen; and if a man was after building one here they'd be thinking diamonds of him." "then why hasn't somebody set up a mill before now, davy?" "well, boy, ye see a manxman is just the cleverest of all the people goin' at takin' things aisy. aw, clever at it, boy, clever!" there is a full stream of water that tumbles into the sea over the brows of port-y-vullin, after singing its way down from the heights of barrule. jason had often marked it as he came and went from the hut of stephen orry that contained his stuffed birds, and told himself what a fine site it was for anybody that wanted to build a water mill. he remembered it now with a freshened interest, and bowling away to mrs. fairbrother at lague for the purchase of a rod of the land that lay between the road and the beach, to the bailiff for the right of water, and to old coobragh for the hire of a cart to fetch stones from the screes where the mountains quarried them, he was soon in the thick of his enterprise. he set the carpenter to work at his wheel, the smith at his axle, and the mason at his stones, but for the walls and roof of the mill itself he had no help but old davy's. early and late, from dawn to dusk, he worked at his delving and walling, and when night fell in he leaned over the hedge and smoked and measured out with his eye the work he meant to do next day. when his skill did not keep pace with his ardor he lay a day in bed thinking hard, and then got up and worked yet harder. in less than two months he had his first roof--timbers well and safely pitched, and if he went no farther it was because the big hope wherewith his simple heart had been buoyed up came down with a woeful crash. "aw, smart and quick, astonishin'," said old davy of jason to mrs. fairbrother at lague. "aw 'deed, yes, and clever to, and steady still. the way he works them walls is grand. i'll go bail the farming men will be thinking diamonds of him when he makes a start." "and then i wouldn't doubt but he'll be in the way of making a fortune, too," said mrs. fairbrother. "i wouldn' trust, i wouldn' trust," said davy. "and he'll be thinking of marrying, i suppose. isn't he, davy?" said mrs. fairbrother. "marrying, is it?" said davy; "aw, divil a marry, ma'am. the boy's innocent. aw, yes, innocent as a baby." mrs. fairbrother had her own good reasons for thinking otherwise, though jason came to lague but rarely. so with hint and innuendo she set herself to see how greeba stood towards the future she had planned for her. and greeba was not slow to see her mother's serious drift under many a playful speech. she had spent cheerful hours at lague since the sad surprise that brought her back. little loth for the life of the farm, notwithstanding ross's judgment, she had seemed to fall into its ways with content. her mother's hints touched her not at all, for she only laughed at them with a little of her old gayety; but one day within the first weeks she met jason, and then she felt troubled. he was very serious, and spoke only of what he was doing, but before his grave face her gay friendliness broke down in an instant. hurrying home she sat down and wrote a letter to michael sunlocks. never a word had she heard from him since he left the island four years ago, so she made excuse of her father's going away to cover her unmaidenly act, and asked him to let her know if her father had arrived, and how he was and where, with some particulars of himself also, and whether he meant to come back to the isle of man, or had quite made his home in iceland; with many a sly glance, too, at her own condition, such as her modesty could not forbear, but never a syllable about jason, for a double danger held her silent on that head. this she despatched to him, realizing at length that she loved him, and that she must hear from him soon, or be lost to him forever. and waiting for michael's answer she avoided jason. if she saw him on the road she cut across the fields, and if he came to the house she found something to take her out of the kitchen. he saw her purpose quickly, and his calm eyes saddened, and his strong face twitched, but he did not flinch; he went on with his work, steadily, earnestly, only with something less of heart, something less of cheer. her mother saw it, too, and then the playful hints changed to angry threats. "what has he done?" said mrs. fairbrother. "nothing," said greeba. "have you anything against him?" "no." "then why are you driving him from the house?" greeba could make no answer. "are you thinking of someone else?" again greeba was silent. "i'll beg of you to mend your manners," cried mrs. fairbrother. "it's full time you were wedded and gone." "but perhaps i don't wish to leave home," said greeba. "tush!" said mrs. fairbrother. "the lad is well enough, and if he hasn't land he has some money, and is like to have more. i'll give you a week to think of it, and if he ever comes and speaks for you i'll ask you to give him his civil answer. you will be three and twenty come martinmas, and long before your mother was as old as that she had a couple of your brothers to fend for." "some of my brothers are nearly twice my age, and you don't ask them to marry," said greeba. "that's a different matter," said mrs. fairbrother. it turned out that the week was more than enough to settle the difference between greeba and her mother, for in less time than that mrs. fairbrother was stricken down by a mortal illness. it was only a month since she had turned adam from her door, but her time was already at hand, and more than he predicted had come to pass. she had grown old without knowing a day's illness; her body, like a rocky headland that gives no sign of the seasons, had only grown harder every year, with a face more deeply seamed; but when she fell it was at one blow of life's ocean. three little days she had lost appetite, on the morning of the fourth day she had found a fever in a neglected cattle trough that had drained into the well, and before night she had taken her death-warrant. she knew the worst, and faced it, but her terror was abject. sixty-five years she had scraped and scratched, but her time was come. she had thought of nothing save her treasure, and there it lay, yet it brought her no solace. two days she tossed in agony, remembering the past, and the price she had paid, and made others to pay, for all that she had held so dear and must leave so soon, for now it was nothing worth. then she sent for the parson, parson gell, who was still living, but very old. the good man came, thinking his mission was spiritual comfort, but mrs. fairbrother would hear nothing of that. as she had lived without god in the world, even so did she intend to die. but some things that had gone amiss with her in her eager race after riches she was minded to set right before her time came to go. in lending she had charged too high an interest; in paying she had withheld too much for money; in seizing for mortgage she had given too little grace. so she would repay before it was too late, for death was opening her hands. "send for them all," she cried; "there's kinvig of ballagawne, and corlett's widow at ballacreggan, and quirk of claughbane, and the children of joughan the weaver at sherragh vane, and tubman of ginger hall, and john-billy-bob at cornah glen, and that hard bargainer, old kermode of port-e-chee. you see, i remember them all, for i never forget anything. send for them, and be quick fetching them, or it'll be waste of time for them to come." "i'll do it, mistress fairbrother," mumbled the old parson through his toothless gums, "for right is right, and justice justice." "chut!" said mrs. fairbrother. but the parson's deaf ears did not hear. "and, ah!" he said, "the things of this world seem worthless, do they not, when we catch a glimpse into eternity?" "less cry and more wool," said mrs. fairbrother, dryly. "i wouldn't trust but old as you are you'd look with more love on a guinea than the gospel calls for." the people answered the parson's summons quickly enough, and came to lague next morning, the men in their rough beavers, the old women in their long blue cloaks, and they followed the old parson into mrs. fairbrother's room, whispering among themselves, some in a doleful voice others in an eager one, some with a cringing air, and others with an arrogant expression. the chamber was darkened by a heavy curtain over the window, but they could see mrs. fairbrother propped up by pillows, whereon her thin, pinched, faded face showed very white. she had slept never a moment of the night; and through all the agony of her body her mind had been busy with its reckonings. these she had made greeba to set down in writing, and now with the paper on the counterpane before her, and a linen bag of money in her hand, she sat ready to receive her people. when they entered there was deep silence for a moment, wherein her eyes glanced over them, as they stood in their strong odors of health around her. "where's your brother, liza joughan?" she said to a young woman at the foot of the bed. "gone off to 'meriky ma'am," the girl faltered, "for he couldn't live after he lost the land." "where's quirk of claughbane?" asked mrs. fairbrother, turning to the parson. "the poor man's gone, sister," said the parson, in a low tone. "he died only the week before last." mrs. fairbrother's face assumed a darker shade, and she handed the paper to greeba. "come, let's have it over," she said, and then, one by one, greeba read out the names. "daniel kinvig, twelve pounds," greeba read, and thereupon an elderly man with a square head stepped forward. "kinvig," said mrs. fairbrother, fumbling the neck of the linen bag, "you borrowed a hundred pounds for two years, and i charged you twelve per cent. six per cent. was enough, and here is the difference back to your hand." so saying, she counted twelve pound notes and held them out in her wrinkled fingers, and the man took them without a word. "go on," she cried, sharply. "mrs. corlett, two pounds," read greeba, and a woman in a widow's cap and a long cloak came up, wiping her eyes. "bella corlett," said mrs. fairbrother, "when i took over ballacreggan for my unpaid debt, you begged for the feather bed your mother died on and the chair that had been your father's. i didn't give them, though i had enough besides, so here are two pounds to you, and god forgive me." the woman took the money and began to cry. "god reward you," she whimpered. "it's in heaven you'll be rewarded, ma'am." but mrs. fairbrother brushed her aside, with an angry word and a fretful gesture, and called on greeba for the next name on the list. "peter kermode, twenty-four pounds ten shillings," read greeba, and a little old man, with a rough head and a grim, hard, ugly face, jostled through the people about him. "kermode," said mrs. fairbrother, "you always tried to cheat me, as you try to cheat everybody else, and when you sold me those seventy sheep for six shillings apiece last back end you thought they were all taking the rot, and you lost thirty pounds by them and brought yourself to beggary, and serve you right, too. but i sold them safe and sound for a pound apiece three days after; so here's half of the difference, and just try to be honest for the rest of your days. and it won't be a long task, either, for it's plain to see you're not far from death's door, and it isn't worth while to be a blood-sucker." at that she paused for breath, and to press her lean hand over the place of the fire in her chest. "ye say true, ma'am, aw, true, true," said the man, in a lamentable voice. "and in the house of death it must be a great consolation to do right. let's sing wi' ye, ma'am. i'm going in the straight way myself now, and plaze the lord i'll backslide no more." and while he counted out the money in his grimy palm, the old hypocrite was for striking up a ranter hymn, beginning- "oh, this is the god we adore, our faithful, unchangeable friend." but mrs. fairbrother cried on him to be silent, and then gathering strength she went on with the others until all were done. and passing to each his money, as the grasp of death's own hand relaxed the hard grip of her tight fingers, she trembled visibly, held it out and drew it back again, and held it out again, as though she were reluctant to part with it even yet. and when all was over she swept the people out of the room with a wave of her hand, and fell back to the bolster. then greeba, thinking it a favorable moment to plead for her father, mentioned his name, and eyed her mother anxiously. mrs. fairbrother seemed not to hear at first, and, being pressed, she answered wrathfully, saying she had no pity for her husband, and that not a penny of her money should go to him. but late the same day, after the doctor, who had been sent for from douglas, had wagged his head and made a rueful face over her, she called for her sons, and they came and stood about her, and greeba, who had nursed her from the beginning, was also by her side. "boys," she said, between fits of pain, "keep the land together, and don't separate; and mind you bring no women here or you'll fall to quarrelling, and if any of you must marry let him have his share and go. don't forget the heifer that's near to calving, and see that you fodder her every night. fetch the geese down from barrule at martinmas, and count the sheep on the mountains once a week, for the people of maughold are the worst thieves in the island." they gave her their promise duly to do and not to do what she had named, and, being little used to such scenes, they grew uneasy and began to shamble out. "and, boys, another thing," she said, faintly, stretching her wrinkled hand across the counterpane, "give the girl her rights, and let her marry whom she will." this, also, they promised her; and then she, thinking her duty done as an honest woman towards man and the world, but recking nothing of higher obligations, lay backward with a groan. now it did not need that the men should marry in order that they might quarrel, for hardly was the breath out of their mother's body when they set to squabbling, without any woman to help them. asher grumbled that thurstan was drunken, thurstan grumbled that asher was lazy, asher retorted that, being the eldest son, if he had his rights he would have every foot of the land, and ross and stean arose in fury at the bare thought of either being hands on their brother's farm or else taking the go-by at his hands. so they quarrelled, until jacob said that there was plainly but one way of peace between them, and that was to apportion the land into equal parts and let every man take his share, and then the idleness of asher and the drunkenness of thurstan would be to each man his own affair. at that they remembered that the lands of lague, then the largest estate on the north of the island, had once been made up of six separate farms, with a house to each of them, though five of the six houses had long stood empty. and seeing that there were just six of themselves it seemed, as jacob said, as if providence had so appointed things to see them out of their difficulty. but the farms, though of pretty equal acreage, were of various quality of land, and therein the quarrelling set in afresh. "i'll take ballacraine," said thurstan. "no, but i'll take it," said jacob, "for i've always worked the meadows." in the end they cast lots, and then, each man having his farm assigned to him, all seemed to be settled when asher cried. "but what about the girl?" at that they looked stupidly into each other's faces, for never once in all their bickering had they given a thought to greeba. but jacob's resource was not yet at an end, for he suggested that asher should keep her at lague, and at harvest the other five should give her something, and that her keep and their gifts together should be her share; and if she had all she needed what more could she wish? they did not consult greeba on this head, and before she had time to protest they were in the thick of a fresh dispute among themselves. the meadow lands of ballacraine had fallen to jacob after all, while thurstan got the high and stony lands of ballafayle, at the foot of barrule. thurstan was less than satisfied, and remembering that jacob had drawn out the papers for the lottery, he suspected cheating. so he made himself well and thoroughly drunk at the "hibernian," and set off for ballacraine to argue the question out. he found jacob in no mood for words of recrimination, and so he proceeded to thrash him, and to turn him off the fat lands and settle himself upon them. then there was great commotion among the fairbrothers, and each of the other four took a side in the dispute. the end of it all was a trial for ejectment at deemster's court at ramsey, and another for assault and battery. the ejectment came first and thurstan was ousted, and then six men of maughold got up in the juror's box to try the charge of assault. there was little proof but a multitude of witnesses, and before all were heard the deemster adjourned the court for lunch and ventilation, for the old courthouse had become poisonous with the reeking breath of the people that crowded it. and the jury being free to lunch where they pleased, each of the parties to the dispute laid hold of his man and walked him off by himself, to persuade him, also to treat him, and perhaps to bribe him. thus thurstan was at the saddle inn with a juryman on either hand, and jacob was at the plough with as many by his side, and ross and stean had one each at the tavern by the cross. "you're right," said the jurymen to thurstan. "drink up," said thurstan to the jurymen. "i'm your man," said the jurymen to jacob. "slip this in your fob," said jacob to the jurymen. then they reeled back to the courthouse arm-in-arm, and when the six good men of maughold had clambered up to their places again, the juror's box contained several quarts more ale than before. the jury did not agree on a verdict, and the deemster dismissed them with hot reproaches. but some justice to greeba seemed likely to come of this wild farce of law, for an advocate, who had learned what her brothers were doing for her, got up a case against them, for lack of a better brief, and so far prevailed on her behalf that the deemster ordered that each of the six should pay her eight pounds yearly, as an equivalent for the share of land they had unlawfully withheld. now red jason had spent that day among the crowd at the courthouse, and his hot blood had shown as red as his hair through his tanned cheeks, while he looked on at the doings of thurstan of the swollen eyes, and jacob of the foxy face. he stood up for a time at the back like a statue of wrath with a dirty mist of blood dancing before it. then his loathing and scorn getting the better of him he cursed beneath his breath in icelandic and english, and his restless hands scraped in and out of his pockets as if they itched to fasten on somebody's throat, or pick up something as a dog picks up a rat. all he could do was to curl his lip in a terrible grin, like the grin of a mastiff, until he caught a side-long glimpse of greeba's face with the traces of tears upon it, and then, being unable to control any longer the unsatisfied yearning of his soul to throttle jacob, and smash the ribs of thurstan, and give dandified john a backhanded facer, he turned tail and slunk out of the place, as if ashamed of himself that he was so useless. when all was over he stalked off to port-y-vullin, but, too nervous to settle to his work that day, he went away in the evening in the direction of lague, not thinking to call there, yet powerless to keep away. greeba had returned from ramsey alone, being little wishful for company, so heavy was her heart. she had seen how her brothers had tried to rob her, and how beggarly was the help the law could give her, for though the one might order the others might not obey. so she had sat herself down in her loneliness, thinking that she was indeed alone in all the world, with no one to look up to any more, and no strong hand to rest on. it was just then that jason pushed open the door of the porch, and stood on the threshold, in all the quiet strength of his untainted young manhood, and the calm breadth of his simple manner. "greeba, may i come in?" he said, in a low tone. "yes," she answered, only just audibly, and then he entered. she did not raise her eyes, and he did not offer his hand, but as he stood beside her she grew stronger, and as she sat before him he felt that a hard lump that had gathered at his heart was melting away. "listen to me, greeba," he said. "i know all your troubles, and i'm very sorry for them. no, that's not what i meant to say, but i'm at a loss for words. greeba!" "yes?" "doesn't it seem as if fate meant us to come together--you and i? the world has dealt very ill with both of us thus far. but you are a woman and i am a man; and only give me the right to fight for you----" as he spoke he saw the tears spring to her eyes, and he paused and his wandering fingers found the hand that hung by her side. "greeba!" he cried again, but she stopped the hot flow of the words that she saw were coming. "leave me now," she said. "don't speak to me to-day; no, not to-day, jason. go--go!" he obeyed her without a word, and picking up his cap from where it had fallen at his feet, he left her sitting there with her face covered by her hands. she had suddenly bethought herself of michael sunlocks; that she had pledged her word to wait for him, that she had written to him and that his answer might come at any time. next day she went down to the post-office at ramsey to inquire for a letter. none had yet come for her, but a boat from the shetlands that might fetch mails from iceland would arrive within three days. prompt to that time she went down to ramsey again, but though the boat had put into harbor and discharged its mails there was still no letter for her. the ordinary irish trader between dublin and reykjavik was expected on its homeward trip in a week or nine days more, and greeba's heart lay low and waited. in due course the trader came, but no letter for her came with it. then her hope broke down. sunlocks had forgotten her; perhaps he cared for her no longer; it might even be that he loved some one else. and so with the fall of her hope her womanly pride arose, and she asked herself very haughtily, but with the great tears in her big dark eyes, what it mattered to her after all. only she was very lonely, and so weary and heart-sick, and with no one to look to for the cheer of life. she was still at lague, where her eldest brother was now sole master, and he was very cold with her, for he had taken it with mighty high dudgeon that a sister of his should have used the law against him. so, feeling how bitter it was to eat the bread of another, she had even begun to pinch herself of food, and to sit at meals but rarely. but jason came again about a fortnight after the trial, and he found greeba alone as before. she was sitting by the porch, in the cool of the summer evening, combing out the plaits of her long brown hair, and looking up at barrule, that was heaving out large and black in the sundown, with a nightcap of silver vapor over its head in the clouds. "i can stay away no longer," he said, with his eyes down. "i've tried to stay away and can't, and the days creep along. so think no ill of me if i come too soon." greeba made him no answer, but thought within herself that if he had stayed a day longer he must have stayed a day too long. "it's a weary heart i've borne," he said, "since i saw you last, and you bade me leave you, and i obeyed, though it cost me dear. but let that go." still she did not speak, and looking up into her face he saw how pale she was, and weak and ill as he thought. "greeba," he cried, "what has happened?" but she only smiled and gave him a look of kindness, and said that nothing was amiss with her. "yes, by the lord, but something is amiss," he said, with his blood in his face in an instant. "what is it?" he cried. "what is it?" "only that i have not eaten much to-day," she said, "that's all." "all!" he cried. "all!" he seemed to understand everything at a glance, as if the great power of his love had taught him. "now, by god----" he said, and shook his fist at the house in front of him. "hush!" greeba whispered, "it is my own doing. i am loth to be beholden to any one, least of all to such as forget me." the sweet tenderness of her look softened him, and he cast down his eyes again, and said: "greeba, there is one who can never forget you; morning and night you are with him, for he loves you dearly; ay, greeba, as never maiden was loved by any one since the world began. no, there isn't the man born, greeba, who loves a woman as he loves you, for he has nothing else to love in all the wide world." she looked up at him as he spoke and saw the courage in his eyes, and that he who loved her stood as a man beside her. at that her heart swelled and her eyes began to fill, and he saw her tears and knew that he had won her, and he plucked her to his breast with a wild cry of joy, and she lay there and wept, while he whispered to her through her hair. "my love! my love! love of my life!" he whispered. "i was so lonely," she murmured. "you shall be lonely no more," he whispered; "no more, my love, no more," and his soft words stole over her drooping head. he stayed an hour longer by her side, laughing much and talking greatly, and when he went off she heard him break into a song as he passed out at the gate. then, being once more alone, she sat and tried to compose herself, wondering if she should ever repent what she had done so hastily, and if she could love this man as he well deserved and would surely wish. her meditations were broken by the sound of jason's voice. he was coming back with his happy step, and singing as merrily as he went. "what a blockhead i am," he said, cheerily, popping his head in at the door. "i forgot to deliver you a letter that the postmaster gave me when i was at ramsey this morning. you see it's from iceland. good news from your father, i trust. god bless him!" so saying he pushed the letter into greeba's hand and went his way jauntily, singing as before a gay song of his native country. the letter was from michael sunlocks. chapter iv. the rise of michael sunlocks. "dear greeba," the letter ran, "i am sorely ashamed of my long silence, which is deeply ungrateful towards your father, and very ungracious towards you. though something better than four years have passed away since i left the little green island, the time has seemed to fly more swiftly than a weaver's shuttle, and i have been immersed in many interests and beset by many anxieties. but i well know that nothing can quite excuse me, and i would wrong the truth if i were to say that among fresh scenes and fresh faces i have borne about me day and night the memory of all i left behind. so i shall not pretend to a loyalty whereof i have given you no assurance, but will just pray of you to take me for what i truly am--a rather thankless fellow--who has sometimes found himself in danger of forgetting old friends in the making of new ones, and been very heartily ashamed of himself. nevertheless, the sweetest thoughts of these four years have been thoughts of the old home, and the dearest hope of my heart has been to return to it some day. that day has not yet come; but it is coming, and now i seem to see it very near. so, dear greeba, forgive me if you can, or at least bear me no grudge, and let me tell you of some of the strange things that have befallen me since we parted. "when i came to iceland it was not to join the latin school of the venerable bishop petersen (a worthy man and good christian, whom it has become by happiness to call my friend), but on an errand of mercy, whereof i may yet say much but can tell you little now. the first of my duties was to find a good woman and true wife who had suffered deeply by the great fault of another, and, having found her, to succor her in her distress. it says much for the depth of her misfortunes that, though she had been the daughter of the governor-general, and the inhabitants of the capital of iceland are fewer than two thousand in all, i was more than a week in reykjavik before i came upon any real news of her. when i found her at last she was in her grave. the poor soul had died within two months of my landing on these shores, and the joiner of the cathedral was putting a little wooden peg, inscribed with the initials of her name, over her grave in the forgotten quarter of the cemetery where the dead poor of this place are buried. such was the close of the first chapter of my quest. "but i had still another duty, and, touched by the pathos of that timeless death, i set about it with new vigor. this was to learn if the unhappy soul had left a child behind her, and if she had done so to look for it as i had looked for its mother, and succor it as i would have succored her. i found that she had left a son, a lad of my own age or thereabouts, and therefore less than twenty at that time. little seemed to be known about him, save that he had been his mother's sole stay and companion, that they had both lived apart from their neighbors, and much under the shadow of their distresses. at her death he had been with her, and he had stood by her grave, but never afterwards had he been seen by anyone who could make a guess as to what had become of him. but, whilst i was still in the midst of my search, the body of a young man came ashore on the island of engy, and though the features were no longer to be recognized, yet there were many in the fishing quarter of this city who could swear, from evidences of stature and of clothing, to its identity with him i looked for; and thus the second chapter of my quest seemed to close at a tomb. "i cannot say that i was fully satisfied, for nothing that i had heard of the boy's character seemed to agree with any thought of suicide, and i noticed that the good old lutheran priest who had sat with the poor mother in her last hours shook his head at the mention of it, though he would give no reasons for his determined unbelief. but perhaps my zeal was flagging, for my search ceased from that hour, and as often since as my conscience has reproached me with a mission unfulfilled i have appeased it with the assurance that mother and son are both gone, and death itself has been my sure abridgment. "some day, dear greeba, i will tell you who sent me (which you may partly guess) and who they were to whom i was sent. but it is like the way of the world itself, that, having set ourselves a task, we must follow it as regularly as the sun rises and sets, and the day comes and the night follows, or once letting it slip it will drop into a chaos. for a thing happened just at that moment of my wavering which altered the current of my life, so that my time here, which was to be devoted to an unselfish work, seems to have been given up to personal ambitions. "i have mentioned that the good woman had been the daughter of the governor-general. his name was jorgen jorgensen. he had turned her adrift because of her marriage, which was in defiance of his wish, and through all the years of her poverty he had either abandoned her to her necessities, or her pride had hidden them from his knowledge. but he had heard of her death when it came to pass, and by that time his stubborn spirit had begun to feel the lonesomeness of his years, and that life was slipping past him without the love and tenderness of a child to sweeten it. so partly out of remorse, but mainly out of selfishness, he had set out to find the son whom his daughter had left behind her, thinking to give the boy the rightful place of a grandson by his side. it was then that on the same search our paths converged, and jorgen jorgensen met with me, and i with jorgen jorgensen. and when the news reached reykjavik of the body that had come out of the sea at engy, the governor was among the first to give credence to the rumor that the son of his daughter was dead. but meantime he had found something in me to interest him, and now he asked who i was, and what, and why i was come. his questions i answered plainly, without concealment or any disguise, and when he heard that i was the son of stephen orry, though he knew too well what my father had been to him and to his daughter (all of which, dear greeba, you shall yet learn at length), he asked me to take that place in his house that he had intended for his daughter's son. "how i came to agree to this while i distrusted him and almost feared him would take too long to tell. only remember that i was in a country foreign to me, though it was my father's home, that i was trifling with my errand there, and had no solid business of life beside. enough for the present that i did so agree, and that i became the housemate and daily companion of jorgen jorgensen. his treatment of me varied with his moods, which were many. sometimes it was harsh, sometimes almost genial, and always selfish. i think i worked for him as a loyal servant should, taking no account of his promises, and never shutting my eyes to my true position or his real aims in having me. and often and again when i remembered all that we both knew of what had gone before, i thought the fates themselves must shriek at the turn of fortune's wheel that had thrown this man and me together so. "i say he was selfish; and truly he did all he could in the years i was with him to drain me of my best strength of heart and brain, but some of his selfish ends seemed to lie in the way of my own advancement. thus he had set his mind on my succeeding him in the governorship, or at least becoming speaker, and to that end he had me elected to althing, a legislative body very like to the house of keys. violating thereby more than one regulation touching my age, nationality and period of residence in iceland. there he made his first great error in our relations, for while i was a servant in his house and office my mind and will were his, but when i became a delegate they became my own, in charge for the people who elected me. "it would be a long story to tell you of all that occurred in the three years thereafter; how i saw many a doubtful scheme hatched under my eyes without having the power or right to protest while i kept the shelter of the governor's roof; how i left his house and separated from him; how i pursued my way apart from him, supported by good men who gathered about me; how he slandered and maligned and injured me through my father, whom all had known, and my mother, of whom i myself had told him; how in the end he prompted the danish government to propose to althing a new constitution for iceland, curtailing her ancient liberties and violating her time-honored customs, and how i led the opposition to this unworthy project and defeated it. the end of all is that within these two months iceland has risen against the rule of denmark as administered by jorgen jorgensen, driving him away, and that i, who little thought to sit in his place even in the days when he himself was plotting to put me there, and would have fled from the danger of pushing from his stool the man whose bread i had eaten, am at this moment president of a new icelandic republic. "it will seem to you a strange climax that i am where i am after so short a life here, coming as a youth and a stranger only four years ago, without a livelihood and with little money (though more i might perhaps have had), on a vague errand, scarcely able to speak the language of the people, and understanding it merely from the uncertain memories of childhood. and if above the pleasures of a true patriotism--for i am an icelander, too, proud of the old country and its all but thousand years--there is a secret joy in my cup of fortune, the sweetest part of it is that there are those--there is one--in dear little ellan vannin who will, i truly think, rejoice with me and be glad. but i am too closely beset by the anxieties that have come with my success to give much thought to its vanities. thus in this first lull after the storm of our revolution, i have to be busy with many active preparations. jorgen jorgensen has gone to copenhagen, where he will surely incite the danish government to reprisals, though a powerful state might well afford to leave to its freedom the ancient little nation that lives on a great rock of the frozen seas. in view of this certainty, i have to organize some native forces of defence, both on land and sea. one small colony of danish colonists who took the side of the danish powers has had to be put down by force, and i have removed the political prisoners from the jail of reykjavik, where they did no good, to the sulphur mines at krisuvik, where they are opening an industry that should enrich the state. so you see that my hands are full of anxious labor, and that my presence here seems necessary now. but if, as sanguine minds predict, all comes out well in the end, and denmark leaves us to ourselves, or the powers of europe rise against denmark, and iceland remains a free nation, i will not forget that my true home is in the dear island of the irish sea, and that good souls are there who remember me and would welcome me, and that one of them was my dear little playfellow long ago. "and now, dear greeba, you know what has happened to me since we parted on that sweet night at the gate of lague, but i know nothing of all that has occurred to you. my neglect has been well punished by my ignorance and my many fears. "how is your father? is the dear man well, and happy and prosperous? he must be so, or surely there is no providence dispensing justice in this world. "are you well? to me the years have sent a tawny beard and a woeful lantern jaw. have they changed you greatly? yet how can you answer such a question? only say that you are well, and have been always well, and i will know the rest, dear greeba--that the four years past have only done what the preceding eight years did, in ripening the bloom of the sweetest womanhood, in softening the dark light of the most glorious eyes, and in smoothing the dimples of the loveliest face that ever the sun of heaven shone upon. "but, thinking of this, and trying to summon up a vision of you as you must be now, it serves me right that i am tortured by fears i dare not utter. what have you been doing all this time? have you made any new friends? i have made many, yet none that seem to have got as close to me as the old ones are. one old friend, the oldest i can remember, though young enough yet for beauty and sweet grace, is still the closest to my heart. do you know whom i mean? greeba, do you remember your promise? you could hardly speak to make it. i had forgotten my manners so that i had left you little breath. have you forgotten? to me it is a delicious memory, and if it is not a painful one to you, then all is well with both of us. but, oh, for the time to come, when many a similar promise, and many a like breach of manners, will wipe away the thought of this one! i am almost in love with myself to think it was i who stood with you by the bridge at lague, and could find it in my heart, if it were only in my power, to kiss the lips that kissed you. i'll do better than that some day. what say you? but say nothing, for that's best, dearest. ah, greeba--" * * * * * at this point there was a break in the letter, and what came after was in a larger, looser, and more rapid handwriting. "your letter has this moment reached me. i am overwhelmed by the bad news you send me. your father has not yet come. did his ship sail for reykjavik? or was it for hafnafiord? certainly it may have put in at the orkneys, or the faroes. but if it sailed a fortnight before you wrote, it ought to be here now. i will make inquiries forthwith. "i interrupted my letter to send a boat down the fiord to look. it is gone. i can see it now skirting the smoky harbor on its way to the smoky point. if your father comes back with it, he shall have a thousand, thousand welcomes. the dear good man--how well i remember that on the day i parted from him he rallied me on my fears, and said he would yet come here to see me! little did he think to come like this. and the worst of his misfortunes have followed on his generosities! such bighearted men should have a store like the widow's curse to draw from, that would grow no less, however often they dipped into it. god keep him till we meet again and i hold once more that hand of charity and blessing, or have it resting on my head. "i am anxious on your account also, dearest greeba, for i know too well what your condition must be in your mother's house. my dear girl, forgive me for what i send you with this letter. the day i left the island your father lent me fifty pounds, and now i repay it to his daughter. so it is not a gift, and, if it were, you should still take it from me, seeing there are no obligations among those who love. "the duties that hold me here are now for the first time irksome, for i am longing for the chance of hastening to your side. but only say that i may do so with your consent and all that goes with it, and i will not lose a day more in sending a trustworthy person to you who shall bring you here to rejoin your father and me. write by the first ship that will bring your letter. i shall not rest until i have heard from you; and having heard in such words as my heart could wish, i shall not sleep until you are with me, never, never to be parted from me again as long as life itself shall last. write, dearest girl--write--write." here there was another break in the letter, and then came this postscript. "it is part of the penalty of life in these northern lands that for nearly one-half of the year we are entirely cut off from intercourse with the rest of the world, and are at the mercy of wind and sea for that benefit during the other half. my letter has waited these seven days for the passing of a storm before the ship that is to carry it can sail. this interval has seen the return of the sloop that i sent down the fiord as far as smoky point, but no tidings has she brought back of the vessel your father sailed in, and no certain intelligence has yet reached me from any other quarter. so let me not alarm you when i add that a report has come to reykjavik by a whaler on the seas under snaefell that an irish schooner has lately been wrecked near the mouth of some basaltic caves by stappen, all hands being saved, but the vessel gone to pieces, and crew and passengers trying to make their way to the capital overland. i am afraid to fear, and as much afraid to hope, that this may have been the ship that brought your father; but i am fitting out an expedition to go along the coast to meet the poor ship-broken company, for whoever they are they can know little of the perils and privations of a long tramp across this desolate country. if more and better news should come my way you shall have it in its turn, but meantime bethink you earnestly whether it is not now for you to come and to join me, and your father also, if he should then be here, and, if not, to help me to search for him. but it is barely just to you to ask so much without making myself clear, though truly you must have guessed my meaning. then, dear greeba, when i say 'come,' i mean _come to be my wife_. it sounds cold to say it so, and such a plea is not the one my heart has cherished; for through all these years i have heard myself whisper that dear word through trembling lips, with a luminous vision of my own face in your beautiful eyes before me. but that is not to be, save in an aftermath of love, if you will only let the future bring it. so, dearest love, my darling--more to me than place and power and all the world can give--come to me--come--come--come." chapter v. strong knots of love. now never did a letter bring more contrary feelings to man or maid than this one of michael sunlocks brought to greeba. it thrilled her with love, it terrified her with fear; it touched her with delight, it chilled her with despair; it made her laugh, it made her weep; she kissed it with quivering lips, she dropped it from trembling fingers. but in the end it swept her heart and soul away with it, as it must have swept away the heart and soul of any maiden who ever loved, and she leaped at the thought that she must go to sunlocks and to her father at once, without delay--not waiting to write, or for the messenger that was to come. yet the cooler moment followed, when she remembered jason. she was pledged to him; she had given him her promise; and if she broke her word she would break his heart. but sunlocks--sunlocks--sunlocks! she could hear his low, passionate voice in the words of his letter. jason she had loved for his love of her; but sunlocks she had loved of her love alone. what was she to do? go to sunlocks, and thereby break her word and the heart of jason, or abide by jason, and break her own heart and the hope of sunlocks? "oh," she thought, "if the letter had but come a day earlier--one little day--nay, one hour--one little, little hour!" then, in her tortured mind, she reproached jason for keeping it back from her by his forgetfulness, and at the next instant she reproached sunlocks for his tardy despatch, and last of all she reproached herself for not waiting for it. "oh," she thought, "was ever a girl born to bring such misery to those who love her!" all the long night thereafter she tossed in restless doubt, never once closing her eyes in sleep; and at daydawn she rose and dressed, and threw open her window, and cool waves of morning air floated down upon her from the mountains, where the bald crown of barrule was tipped with rosy light from the sun that was rising over the sea. then, in the stillness of the morning, before the cattle in the meadows had begun to low, or the sheep on the hills to bleat, and there was yet no noise of work in the rickyard or the shippon, and all the moorland below lay asleep under its thin coverlet of mist, there came to her from across the fields the sound of a happy, cheery voice that was singing. she listened, and knew that it was jason, chanting a song of iceland after a night spent on the mountains; and she looked and saw that he was coming on towards the house, with his long, swinging stride and leap, over gorse and cushag and hedge and ditch. it was more than she could bear after such night-long torment, to look upon the happiness she seemed about to wreck, so she turned her head away and covered her ears with her hands. but, recking nothing of this, jason came on, singing in snatches and whistling by turns, until his firm tread echoed in the paved courtyard in the silence that was broken by nothing beside, except the wakening of the rooks in the elms. "she must be awake, for she lies there, and her window is open," he thought to himself. "whisht!" he cried, tossing up a hand. and then, without moving from where she stood, with her back resting against the window shutter, she turned her head about and her eyes aslant, and saw him beneath her casement. he looked buoyant and joyous, and full of laughter. a gun was over his shoulder, a fishing rod was in the other hand, at his belt hung a brace of birds, with the blood dripping on to his leggings, and across his back swung a little creel. "greeba, whisht!" he called again, in a loud whisper; and a third time he called her. then, though her heart smote her sore, she could not but step forward; and perhaps her very shame made her the more beautiful at that moment, for her cheeks were rosy red, and her round neck drooped, and her eyes were shy of the morning light, and very sweet she looked to the lad who loved her there. "ah!" he said almost inaudibly, and drew a long breath. then he made pretence to kiss her, though so far out of reach, and laughed in his throat. after that he laid his gun against the porch, and untied the birds and threw them down at the foot of the closed door. "i thought i would bring you these," he said. "i've just shot them." "then you've not been to bed," said greeba nervously. "oh, that's nothing," he said, laughing. "nothing for me. besides, how could i sleep? sleep? why i should have been ready to kill myself this morning if i could have slept last night. greeba!" "well!" "you could never think what a glorious night it has been for me." "so you've had good sport?" she said, feeling ashamed. "sport!" he cried, and laughed again. "oh, yes, i've had sport enough," he said. "but what a night it was! the happiest night of all my life. every star that shone seemed to shine for me; every wind that blew seemed to bring me a message; and every bird that sang, as the day was dawning, seemed to sing the song of all my happiness. oh, it has been a triumphant night, greeba." she turned her head away from him, but he did not stop. "and this morning, coming down from barrule, everything seemed to speak to me of one thing, and that was the dearest thing in all the world. 'dear little river,' i said, 'how happily you sing your way to the sea.' and then i remembered that before it got there it would turn the wheel for us at port-y-vullin some day, and so i said 'dear little mill, how merrily you'll go when i listen to your plash and plunge, with her i love beside me." she did not speak, and after a moment he laughed. "that's very foolish, isn't it?" he said. "oh, no," she said. "why foolish?" "well it sounds so; but, ah, last night the stars around me on the mountain top seemed like a sanctuary, and this morning the birds among the gorse were like a choir, and all sang together, and away to the roof their word rang out--greeba! greeba! greeba!" he could hear a faint sobbing. "greeba!" "yes?" "you are crying." "am i? oh, no! no, jason, not that." "i must go. what a fool i am," he muttered, and picked up his gun. "oh no; don't say that." "greeba!" "well, jason?" "i'm going now, but----" "why?" "i'm not my own man this morning. i'm talking foolishly." "well, and do you think a girl doesn't like foolishness?" he threw his head back and laughed at the blue sky. "but i'm coming back for you in the evening. i am to get the last of my rafters on to-day, and when a building is raised it's a time to make merry." he laughed again with a joyous lightness, and turned to go, and she waved her hand to him as he passed out of the gate. then, one, two, three, four, his strong rhythmic steps went off behind the elms, and then he was gone, and the early sun was gone with him, for its brightness seemed to have died out of the air. and being alone greeba knew why she had tried to keep jason by her side, for while he was with her the temptation was not strong to break in upon his happiness, but when he was no longer there, do what she would, she could not but remember michael sunlocks. "oh, what have i done that two brave men should love me?" she thought; but none the less for that her heart clamored for sunlocks. sunlocks, sunlocks, always sunlocks--the sunlocks of her childhood, her girlhood, her first womanhood--sunlocks of the bright eyes and the smile like sunshine. and thinking again of jason, and his brave ways, and his simple, manly bearing, and his plain speech so strangely lifted out of itself that day into words with wings, she only told herself that she was about to break his heart, and that to see herself do it it would go far to break her own. so she decided that she would write to him, and then slip away as best she could, seeing him no more. at that resolve she sat and wrote four pages of pleading and prayer and explanation. but having finished her letter, it smote her suddenly, as she folded and sealed it, that it would be a selfish thing to steal away without warning, and leave this poor paper behind her to crush jason, for though written in pity for him, in truth it was fraught with pity only for herself. as mean of soul as that she could not be, and straightway she threw her letter aside, resolved to tell her story face to face. then she remembered the night of stephen orry's death, and the white lips of jason as he stood above the dying man--his father whom he had crossed the seas to slay--and, again, by a quick recoil, she recalled his laughter of that morning, and she said within herself, "if i tell him, he will kill me." but that thought decided her, and she concluded that tell him she must, let happen what would. so partly in the strength of her resolve, and partly out of its womanly weakness, and the fear that she might return to her first plan at last, she took up her own letter to jason, and locked it in a chest. then taking from the folds at her breast the letter of sunlocks to herself, she read it again, and yet again, for it was the only love letter she had ever received, and there was a dear delight in the very touch of it. but the thought of that sensuous joy smote her conscience when she remembered what she had still to do, and thinking that she could never speak to jason eye to eye, with the letter of sunlocks lying warm in her bosom, she took it out, and locked it also in the chest. jason came back at sundown to fetch her away that they might make some innocent sport together because his mill was roofed. then with her eyes on her feet she spoke, and he listened in a dull, impassive silence, while all the laughter died off his face and a look of blank pallor came over it. and when she had finished, she waited for the blow of his anger, but it did not come. "then all is over between us," he said with an effort. and looking up, she saw that he was a forlorn man in a moment, and fell to her knees before him with many pitiful prayers for forgiveness. but he only raised her and said gently, "mistress greeba, maybe i haven't loved you enough." "no, no," she cried. "i'm only a rough and ignorant fellow, a sort of wild beast, i dare say, not fit to touch the hand of a lady, and maybe a lady could never stoop to me." "no, no, there's not a lady in all the world would stoop if she were to marry you." "then maybe i vexed you by finding my own advantage in your hour of need." "no, you have behaved bravely with me in my trouble." "then, greeba, tell me what has happened since yesterday." "nothing--everything. jason i have wronged you. it is no fault of yours, but now i know i do not love you." he turned his face away from her, and when he spoke again his voice broke in his throat. "you could never think how fast and close my love will grow. let us wait," he said. "it would be useless," she answered. "stay," he said stiffly, "do you love anyone else?" but before she had time to speak, he said quickly, "wait! i've no right to ask that question, and i will not hear you answer it." "you are very noble, jason," she said. "i was thinking of myself," he said. "jason," she cried, "i meant to ask you to release me, but you have put me to shame and now i ask you to choose for me. i have promised myself to you, and if you wish it i will keep my promise." at that he stood, a sorrowful man, beside her for a moment's space before he answered her, and only the tones of his voice could tell how much his answer cost him. "no--ah, no," he said; "no, greeba, to keep your promise to me would be too cruel to you." "think of yourself now," she cried. "there's no need to do that," he said, "for either way i am a broken man. but you shall not also be broken-hearted, and neither shall the man who parts us." saying this, a ghastly white hand seemed to sweep across his face, but at the next moment he smiled feebly and said, "god bless you both." then he turned to go, but greeba caught him by both hands. "jason," she murmured, "it is true i cannot love you, but if there was another name for love that is not--" he twisted back to her as she spoke, and his face was unutterably mournful to see. "don't look at me like that," he said, and drew away. she felt her face flush deep, for she was ashamed. love was her pole-star. what was jason's? only the blankness of despair. "oh, my heart will break," she cried. "jason," she cried again, and again she grasped his hands, and again their eyes met, and then the brave girl put her quivering lips to his. "ah, no," he said, in a husky voice, and he broke from her embrace. chapter vi. esau's bitter cry. shrinking from every human face, jason turned in his dumb despair towards the sea, for the moan of its long dead waves seemed to speak to him in a voice of comfort if not of cheer. the year had deepened to autumn, and the chill winds that scattered the salt spray, the white curves of the breakers, the mists, the dapple-gray clouds, the scream of the sea fowl, all suited with his mood, for at the fountains of his own being the great deeps were broken up. it was tuesday, and every day thereafter until saturday he haunted the shore, the wild headland to seaward, and the lonesome rocks on the south. there, bit by bit, the strange and solemn idea of unrequited love was borne in upon him. it was very hard to understand. for one short day the image of a happy love had stood up before his mind, but already that day was dead. that he should never again clasp her hand whom he loved, that all was over between them--it was painful, it was crushing. and oh! it was very cruel. his life seemed as much ended as if he had taken his death-warrant, for life without hope was nothing worth. the future he had fondly built up for both of them lay broken at his own feet. oh, the irony of it all! there were moments when evil passions arose in his mind and startled him. standing at the foot of the lone crags of the sea he would break into wild peals of laughter, or shriek out in rebellion against his sentence. but he was ashamed of these impulses, and would sink away from the scene of them, though no human eye had there been on him like a dog that is disgraced. yet he felt that like a man among men he could fight anything but this relentless doom. anything, anything--and he would not shrink. life and love, life and love--only these, and all would be well. but no, ah! no, not for him was either; and creeping up in the dead of night towards lague, just that his eyes might see, though sorrow dimmed them, the house where she lay asleep, the strong man would sob like a woman, and cry out: greeba! greeba! greeba! but with the coming of day his strength would return, and watching the big ships outside pass on to north and south, or listening to the merry song of the seamen who weighed anchor in the bay, he told himself sadly, but without pain, that his life in the island was ended, that he could not live where she lived, surrounded by the traces of her presence, that something called him away, and that he must go. and having thus concluded his spirits rose, and he decided to stay until after sunday, thinking to see her then in church, and there take his last tender look of her and bid her farewell in silence, for he could not trust himself to speak. so he passed what remained of his time until then without bitterness or gloom, saying within himself as often as he looked with bereaved eyes towards lague, where it lay in the sunshine, "live on, and be happy, for i wish you no ill. live on, and the memory of all this will pass away." but he did not in the meantime return to his work at the mill, which stood as he had left it on the tuesday when the carpenter fixed the last of its roof timbers. this, with the general rupture of his habits of life, was the cause of sore worry and perplexity to his housemate. "aw, reglar bruk--bruk complete," old davy said far and wide. "a while ago ye couldn' hould him for workin' at the mill, and now he's never puttin' a sight on it, and good goold waitin' for him; and showin' no pride--and what he's thinkin' of no one's knowin'." davy tried hard to sound the depth of jason's trouble, but having no line to fathom it he had recourse to his excellent fancy. "aw, bless yer sowls, the thick as a haddick i was," he whispered one day, "and me wonderin' why, and wonderin' why, and the thing as plain as plain what's agate of the poor boy. it's divils that's took at him--divils in the head. aw, yes, and two of them, for it's aisy to see there's fightin' goin' on inside of him. aw, yes, same as they tell of in revelations; and i've seen the like when i was sailin' forrin." having so concluded old davy thought it his duty to consult an old body that lived in a dark tangle of birchwood at ballaglass. "it's fit to make a man cry to see the way he's goin'," said he, "and a few good words can't do no harm any way." the old woman agreed with davy as to the cause of trouble, and said that jason must be somebody after all, since what he had was a malady the quality was much subject to; for to her own knowledge the "clerk o' the rowls" had suffered from it when a little dancing girl from france had left suddenly for england. yet she made no question but she should cure him, if davy could contrive to hang about his neck while he slept a piece of red ribbon which she would provide. it was not easy for davy to carry out his instructions, so little did jason rest, but he succeeded at length, and thought he remarked that jason became calmer and better straightway. "but bless me, i was wrong," said he. "it was four divils the poor boy had in his head; and two of them are gone, but the other two are agate of him still." when sunday morning came jason made himself ready for church, and then lounged at the doorway of old davy's cottage by the dial, to watch the people go in at the gate. and many hailed him as they went by in the sweet sunshine, and some observed among themselves that in a few days his face had grown thin. in twos and threes they passed, while davy rang the bell from the open porch, and though jason seemed not to heed any of them, yet he watched them one by one. matt mylechreest he saw, and nary crowe, now toothless and saintly, and kane wade, who had trudged down from ballure, and his wife bridget, grown wrinkled and yellow, and some bright young maidens, too, who gave a side-long look his way, and john fairbrother--gentleman john--who tripped along with silken bows on the toes of his shoes. but one whom he looked for he did not see, and partly from fear that she might not come, and partly from dread lest she should pass him so closely by, he shambled into church with the rest before the bell had stopped. he had not often been to church during the four years that he had lived on the island and the people made way for him as he pushed up into a dark corner under the gallery. there he sat and watched as before out of his slow eyes, never shifting their quiet gaze from the door of the porch. but the bell stopped, and greeba had not come; and when parson gell hobbled up to the communion-rail, still greeba was not there. then the service was begun, the door was closed, and jason lay back and shut his eyes. the prayers were said without jason hearing them, but while the first lesson was being read, his wandering mind was suddenly arrested. it was the story of jacob and esau; how isaac, their father, seeing the day of his death at hand, sent esau for venison, that he might eat and bless him before he died; how jacob under the person of esau obtained the blessing, and how esau vowed to slay his brother jacob. "and isaac, his father, said unto him: who art thou? and he said, i am thy son, thy first born esau. "and isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, who? where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and i have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him, yea, and he shall be blessed? "and when esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, bless me, even me also, o my father. * * * "and isaac, his father, answered and said unto him, behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and the dew of heaven from above; "and by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck. "and esau hated jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him. and esau said in his heart, the days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will i slay my brother jacob." as parson gell at the reading-desk mumbled these words through his toothless gums, it seemed to jason as though he were awakening from a long sleep--a sleep of four years, a sleep full of dreams, both sweet and sad--and that everything was coming back upon him in a dizzy whirl. he remembered his mother, her cruel life, her death, and his own vow, and so vivid did these recollections grow in a moment that he trembled with excitement. a woman in a black crape bonnet, who sat next to him in the pew, saw his emotions, and put a bible into his hands. he accepted it with a slight movement of the head, but when he tried to find the place he turned dizzy and his hands shook. seeing this the good woman, with a look of pity and a thought of her runaway son who was far off, took the bible back, and after opening it at the chapter in genesis, returned it in silence. even then he did not read, but sat with wandering eyes, while nervous twitches crossed his face. he was thinking that he had forgotten his great vow of vengeance, lulled to sleep by his vain dream of love; he was telling himself that his vow must yet be fulfilled or his mother who had urged him to it, would follow him with her curse from her grave. for some minutes this feeling grew more and more powerful, and more and more his limbs and whole body quivered. the poor woman in the crape saw that he trembled, and leaned towards him and asked if he was ill. but he only shook his head and drew back in silence into the corner of the pew. "i must be going mad," he thought, and to steady his mind he turned to the book, thinking to follow the old parson as he lisped along. it was a reference bible that the woman had lent him, and as his eyes rambled over the page, never resting until they alit on the words, _then will i slay my brother jacob_, he shuddered and thought "how hideous!" all at once he marked the word _slay_ in the margin with many references to it, and hardly knowing what he was doing he turned up the first of them. from that moment his senses were in a turmoil, and he knew nothing clearly of all that was being done about him. he thought he saw that through all ages god had made man the instrument of his vengeance on the wrongdoer. the stories of moses, of saul, of samson, came back to him one by one, and as he read a chill terror filled his whole being. he put the book down, trying to compose himself, and then he thought, "how childish? god is king of earth and heaven, and needs the help of no man." but his nervous fingers could not rest and he took up the bible again, while the parson prosed through his short sermon. this time he turned away from the passages that haunted him, though "esau, esau, esau," rang in his head. rolling the leaves in his hand he read in one place how the lord visits his vengeance upon the children for the sins of the fathers, and then in another place how the nearest of kin to him that is killed shall avenge the blood spilt, and then again in yet another place how if man keeps not his covenant with the lord, the lord will send a faintness upon him, and a great and woeful trembling, so that the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase him. "am i then afraid?" he asked himself, and shut the book once more. his head swam with vague thoughts. "i must keep my vow," he thought. "i am losing my senses," he thought again. "i am an esau," he thought once more. then he looked around the church, and if he had seen greeba at that moment the fire of his heart would have burnt itself out, and all thought of his vow would have gone from him as it had gone before. he did not see her, but he remembered her, and his soul dried away. the service came to an end, and he strode off, turning from every face; but john fairbrother tripped after him on the road, touched him on the arm, looked up at him with a smirk, and said:-"then you don't know where she is?" "who?" said jason. "then you _don't_ know, eh?" said john, with a meaning look. "who d'ye mean?--greeba?" "just so. she's gone, though i warrant it's fetching coals to newcastle to tell you so." hearing that, jason pushed gentleman john out of his way with a lunge that sent the dandy reeling, and bounded off towards lague. "aw, well," muttered john, "you'd really think he _didn't_ know." the woman in crape who had followed jason out of the church, thinking to speak to him, said: "lave him alone. it's the spirit of the lord that's strivin' with him." and old davy, who came up at the moment, said: "divils ma'am--divils in the head." when jason got to lague he found the other fairbrothers assembled there. asher had missed greeba the night before, and on rising late that morning--sunday morning--he had so far conquered his laziness as to walk round to his brothers' houses and inquire for her. all six, except john, had then trudged back to lague, thinking in their slow way to start a search, and they began their quest by ransacking greeba's room. there they found two letters in a chest, clearly forgotten in a hasty leave-taking. one of them was greeba's abandoned letter to red jason, the other was the letter of michael sunlocks to greeba. the fairbrothers read both with grim wonderment, and jacob put greeba's letter in his pocket. they were discussing the letter of sunlocks as jason entered; and they fell back at sight of his ashy face and the big beads of sweat that dropped from it. "what's this? where is she?" he said, and his powerful voice shook. without a word they handed him the letter, and he glanced it over and turned it in his hands, like one who does not see or cannot read. "where's she gone?" he said again, lifting his helpless eyes to the faces about him. "the devil knows," said jacob; "but see--read--'michael sunlocks,'" running his finger along the signature. at that a groan like the growl of a beast came from jason's throat, and like a baited dog he looked around, not yet knowing on whom his wrath should fasten. "it's very simple. it's plain to see that she has gone to him," said jacob. and then jason's face was crossed by a ghastly smile. "oh, i'm a woman of a man," he muttered, looking stupidly down at the paper in his hand. "a poor-spirited fool," he muttered again. "i must be so, god knows." but at the next moment his white face grew blood-red, and he cried: "my curse upon him," and with that he tossed back the letter and swung out of the house. he went on to port-y-vullin, mounted the new mill, threw down the roof rafters, and every wall that they had rested upon, until not one stone was left above another, and the house, so near completion, was only a heap of ruins. then he went into the old hut, took up his treasures and flung them out to sea. meantime, the six fairbrothers were putting their heads together. "president!" said thurstan; "that's as good as governor-general." "the deuce!" said john. "she'll be rich," said ross. "i always said she was fit for a lady." "hum! we've made a mess of it," said stean. "well, you wouldn't take my advice," said asher. "i was for treating the girl fair." "stay," said jacob, "it's not yet too late." "well, what's to be done?" said the others together. "go after her," said jacob. "ah!" "hum! listen! this is what we had better do," said jacob. "sell ballacraine and take her the money, and tell her we never meant to keep it from her." "that's good," said john. "a governor-general has pickings, i can tell you," said jacob. "but who'll go?" said asher. "go! hum! what! the deuce! well i mightn't refuse to go myself," said jacob. "and maybe i wouldn't mind going with you," said john. and so it was settled. but the other four said to themselves: "what about the pickings?" and then each, of himself, concluded secretly that if jacob and john went to iceland, jacob and john would get all that was to be got by going, and that to prevent such cheating it would be necessary to go with them. chapter vii. the yoke of jacob. jason paid the last of his debts in the isle of man, and then set sail for iceland with less money in his pocket than adam fairbrother had carried there. he knew nothing of the whereabouts or condition of the man he was going to seek, except that michael sunlocks was at reykjavik; for so much, and no more, he had read of the letter that the fairbrothers put into his hands at lague. the ship he first sailed by was a trader between copenhagen and the greater ports of scotland, and ireland, and at the danish capital he secured a passage in a whaler bound for reykjavik. his double voyage covered more than six weeks though there was a strong fair wind from the coast of scotland to the coast of denmark, and again from denmark to iceland. the delay fretted him, for his heart was afire; but there was no help for it, he had to submit. he did so with no cheer of spirit, or he might have learned something from the yarns of the seamen. all the gossip that came his way was a chance remark of the master, a dane, who one day stopped in front of him as he lay by the hatches, and asked if he was an icelander born. he answered that he was. was he a seagoing man? yes. ship-broken, maybe, in some foreign country? that was so. how long had he been away from iceland? better than four years. "you'll see many changes since that time," said the master, "old iceland is turned topsy-turvy." jason understood this to mean some political revolution, and turned a deaf ear to it, for such things seemed but sorry trifling to one with work like his before him. they had then just sighted the westmann islands, through a white sea vapor, and an hour later they lay three miles off a rocky point, while an open boat came out to them over the rough water from the island called home. it was the post-boat of that desolate rock, fetching letters from the mainland, and ready to receive them from denmark. the postman was little and old, and his name was patricksen. "well, patricksen, and what's the latest from the old country?" sang out the master, after two newspapers had been thrown down and one letter taken up. "why, and haven't you heard it?" shouted the postman. "what's that?" cried the master. "they've put up the young manxman," shouted the postman. "i knew his father," he added, and laughed mockingly, as he bent to the oars and started back with his newspapers over his three miles of tumbling sea. jason's mind threw off its torpor at the sound of those words. while the boat lay alongside he leaned over the gunwale and listened eagerly. when it sheered off he watched it until it had faded into the fog. then he turned to the master and was about to ask a question, but quickly recovered himself and was silent. "better not," he thought. "it would be remembered when all should be over." late the same day they came for the first time in full view of the southeast coast of iceland. the fog had lifted before a strong breeze from the west, where the red sun was dipping into the sea. they were then by the needles of portland, side on to the vast arch which the heavy blow of the tides of ten thousand years has beaten out of the rock. at the sea's edge were a hundred jagged prongs of burnt crag, flecked with the white wings and echoing with the wild cry of countless sea birds; behind that was a plain of lava dust for seabeach; farther back the dome of a volcano, lying asleep under its coverlet of snow; still farther a gray glacier, glistening with silver spikes; and beyond all a black jokull, wilderness-jokull, torn by many earthquakes, seamed and streaked with the unmelted ice of centuries and towering over a stony sea of desert, untrodden yet by the foot of man. desolate as the scene was, jason melted at the sight of it; for this island, born of fire and frost, stood to him as the only place, in god's wide world that he could call his home, and little as it had done for him, less than nothing as he owed to it, yet it was his native land, and in coming back to its bleak and terrible shores he looked upon it with a thrill of the heart and saw it through his tears. but he had little time and less desire to give way to tender feelings, and very soon he had small need to steel himself to the work before him, for everything served to spur him on to it. this was iceland. this was the new home of michael sunlocks. this was where his mother had starved. this was where _she_ had fled to, who had wronged him sorely. early the next day they rounded the smoky point, leaving the old man crag under its shocks of foam to the right, and the rock called the mealsack, under its white cloud of sea gulls, to the left, and began to beat down the fiord towards reykjavik. it was not yet six o'clock--the icelandic mid-evening--when they cast anchor inside the little island of engy; but the year was far worn towards winter, and the night of the northern land had closed down. and the time having come to leave the whaler, jason remembered that he had been but a moody companion for his shipmates, though they had passed some perilous days and nights together. so he bade them good-bye with what cheer he could summon up at last, and the rough fellows kissed him after the manner of their people, showing no rancor at all, but only pity, and saying among themselves that it was plain to see he had known trouble and, though given to strange outbursts when alone, was as simple and as gentle as a child, and would never hurt a fly. he had hailed a passing boat to run him ashore, and it was one of the light skiffs with the double prow that the boys of iceland use when they hunt among the rocks for the eggs and down of the eider duck. such, indeed though so late in the season, had that day been the work of the two lads whose boat he had chanced upon, and having dropped down to their side from the whaler with his few belongings--his long coat of manx homespun over his arm, his seaman's boots across his shoulders, his english fowling piece in his hand and his pistol in his belt--he began to talk with them of their calling as one who knew it. "where have you been working, my lads?" said jason. "out on engy," said the elder of the boys. "found much?" "not to-day." "who cleans it?" "mother." and at that a frown passed over jason's face in the darkness. the boys were thinly clad, both were barelegged and barefooted. plainly they were brothers, one of them being less than twelve years of age, and the other as young as nine. "what's your father?" "father's dead," said the lad. "where do you live with your mother?" "down on the shore yonder, below the silversmith's." "the little house behind the missions, in front of the vats?" "yes, sir, do you know it?" "i was born in it, my lad," said jason sadly, and he thought to himself, "then the old mother is dead." but he also thought of his own mother, and her long years of worse than widowhood. "all that has yet to be paid for," he told himself with a cold shudder, and then he remembered that he had just revealed himself. "see, my lads," he said, "here is a crown for you, and say nothing of who gave it you." the little icelandic capital twinkled low at the water's edge, and as they came near to it jason saw that there was a flare of torchlights and open fires, with dark figures moving busily before the glow where he looked for the merchant stores that had faced the sea. "what's this?" he asked. "the fort that the new governor is throwing up," said the boy. then through a number of smacks, some schooners, a brig, a coal hulk and many small boats, they ran in at the little wooden jetty that forked out over a reef of low rocks. and there some idlers who sat on casks under the lamp, with their hands in their pockets and their skin caps squashed down on their foreheads seemed to recognize jason as he landed. "lord bless me," said one, with a look of terror, "it's the dead come to life again." "god a-mercy me," said another, pausing with his snuff at his nose, "i could have sworn i fetched him a dead man out of the sea." jason knew them, but before they had so far regained their self-command as to hail to him, he had faced about, though eager to ask many questions, and walked away. "better not," he thought, and hurried on. he took the high street towards the inn, and then an irregular alley that led past the lake to a square in front of the cathedral, and ended at a little house of basaltic blocks that nestled at its feet, for it was there he meant to lodge. it had been the home of a worthy couple whom he had known in the old days, caretakers of the cathedral, and his mother's only friends in her last days. old and feeble and very deaf they had both been then, and as he strode along in the darkness he wondered if he should find them still alive. he found them as he had left them: not otherwise changed than if the five years of his absence had been but five hours. the old man was still at the hearth chopping up some logs of driftwood, and the old woman was still at the table ironing her linen by the light of a rush candle. with uplifted hands and cries of wonderment they received him, and while he supped on the porridge and skyr that they set before him they talked and questioned. "and where have you been this many a day?" said the old man. "in england, scotland, denmark--many places," said jason. "well they've buried you these four years and better," said the old man, with a grimace. "lord bless me, yes, love; and a cross over your grave too, and your name on it," said the old woman, with a look of awe. "who did that?" said jason. "jorgen jorgensen," said the old man, grinning. "it's next to your mother's, love. he did that, too, for when he heard that she was gone he repented," said the old woman. "it's no good folks repenting when their bad work's done and done with," said the old man. "that's what i say. there's them above that won't call it repenting. and see what has come of it," said the old woman. "what?" said jason. "why, he has gone. didn't you know, love?" said the old woman. "how gone?" said jason. "dead?" "worse--disgraced--driven out of iceland," said the old man. then an ugly smile crossed jason's face. "it is the beginning," he thought. "but the old mother is dead, is she not?" he said aloud. "your father's mother? old mother orryson?" said the old woman. "no such luck," the old man muttered. "comes to service every morning, the old sinner." "but there's another family living in her house," said jason. "oh, that's because she's past her work, and the new governor keeps her," said the old man. "no news of your father, though," he added, with a shrug, and then there was a silence for some minutes. "poor rachel," said the old woman, presently. "now _there_ was a good creature. and, bless me, how she was wrapped up in her boy! i was just like that when i had my poor little olaf. i never had but one child neither. well, my lad," she said, dropping her flat iron and raising her apron, "you can say you had a good mother anyhow." jason finished his supper and went out into the town. all thoughts, save one thought, had been banished from his mind. where was this michael sunlocks? what was he? how was he to be met with? "better not ask," thought jason. "wait and watch." and so he walked on. dark as was the night, he knew every step of the way. the streets looked smaller and meaner than he remembered them, and yet they showed an unwonted animation. oil lamps hung over many stalls, the stores were still open and people passed to and fro in little busy throngs. recalling that heavy quiet of that hour of night five years ago, jason said to himself, "the town has awakened from a long sleep." to avoid the glances of prying eyes, he turned down towards the bridge, passing the deanery and the bishop's palace. there the streets were all but as quiet as of old, the windows showed few lights, and the monotonous chime of the sea came up through the silence from the iron-bound shore. yet, even there, from two houses, there were sounds of work. these were the latin school and the jail. in the school a company of students was being drilled by a sergeant, whose words of command rang out in the intervals of shuffling feet. "what does this mean?" said jason to a group of young girls, who, with shawls over their heads, were giggling together in the darkness by the gate. "it's the regiment started by the new governor," said one of the girls. "the new governor again," thought jason, and turned away. from the jail there came a noise as of carpenters hammering. "what are they doing there?" said jason to a little tailor, who passed him on the street at that moment with his black bag on his back. "turning the jail into a house for the new governor," said the tailor. "again the new governor," said jason, and he strode on by the tailor's side. "a stirring fellow, whoever he may be." "that's true, young as he is," said the tailor. "is he then so young?" said jason, carelessly. "four or five and twenty, hardly more," said the tailor, "but with a headpiece fit for fifty. he has driven those danish thieves out of the old country, with all their trick and truck. why, you couldn't call your bread your own--no, nor your soul neither. oh, a daniel, sir--a young daniel. he's to be married soon. she's staying with the old bishop now. they say she's a foreigner." "who?" said jason. "why, his wife that is to be," said the tailor. "good-night, sir," he cried, and turned down an alley. then jason remembered greeba, and the hot blood tingled in his cheeks. never yet for an instant had it come to him to think that michael sunlocks and the new governor were the same man, and that greeba and his bride were one. but, telling himself that she might even then be in that little town, with nothing but the darkness hiding him from her sight, he shuddered at the near chance of being discovered by her, and passed on by the river towards the sea. yet, being alone there, with only the wash of the waves for company, he felt his great resolve begin to pall, as a hundred questions rose to torment him. suppose she were here, and they were to meet, dare he after all do _that_? though she loved this man, could he still do _that_? oh, was it not horrible to think of--that he should cross the seas for _that_? so, to put an end to the torture of such questionings, and escape from himself, he turned back from the shore to where the crowds looked thickest in the town. he went as he came, by the bank of the river, and when he was crossing the bridge some one shot past him on a horse. it was a man, and he drew up sharply at the bishop's palace, threw his reins over the pier of the gate, and bounded into the house with the light foot that goes with a light heart. "the new governor," thought jason, though he had seen him only as a shadow. "who is he, i wonder?" he thought again, and with a sigh for his own condition within sight of this man's happiness he pushed heavily along. hardly had he got back into the town when he was seen and recognized, for with a whoop and a spring and a jovial oath a tipsy companion of former days came sweeping down upon him from the open door of a drinking-shop. "what? jason? bless my soul! come in," the fellow cried, embracing him; and to avoid the curious gaze of the throng that had gathered on the pavement jason allowed himself to be led into the house. "well, god save us! so you're back! but i heard you had come. old jon olafsson told us. he was down at the jetty. boys," the fellow shouted to a little company of men who sat drinking in the hot parlor, "he's another lazarus, come back from the dead." "here's to his goot healt, den," said a fat dutch captain, who sat on the hearth, strumming a fiddle to tune it. and while the others laughed and drank, a little deformed dwarf in a corner with an accordion between his twisted fingers began to play and sing. "this is the last thing that should have happened," thought jason, and with many excuses he tried to elbow his way out. but the tipsy comrade held him while he rattled on: "been away--foreign, eh? married since? no? then the girls of old iceland are best, eh? what? yes? and old iceland's the fairest land the sun shines upon, eh? no? but, lord bless me, what a mess you made of it by going away just when you did!" at that jason, while pushing his way through, turned about with a look of inquiry. "didn't know it? what? that after the mother died old jorgen went about looking for you? no? wanted? why, to make a man of you, boy. make you his son and the like of that, and not too soon either. and when he couldn't find you he took up with this michael sunlocks." "michael sunlocks?" jason repeated, in a distant sort of voice. "just so; this precious new governor that wants to put down all the drinking." "the new governor?" "yes. put _your_ nose out, boy; for that was the start of his luck." jason felt dizzy, and under the hard tan of his skin his face grew white. "you should know him, though. no? well, after old jorgen had quarrelled with him, everybody said he was a kind of bastard brother of yours." the reeking place had got hotter and hotter. it was now stifling, and jason stumbled out into the street. michael sunlocks was the new governor, and michael sunlocks was about to be married to greeba. thrice had this man robbed him of his blessing, standing in the place that ought to have been his; once with his father, once with greeba, and once again with jorgen jorgensen. he tried to reckon it all up, but do what he would he could not keep his mind from wandering. the truth had fallen upon him at a blow, and under his strong emotions his faculties seemed to be slain in a moment. he felt blind, and deaf, and unable to think. presently, without knowing where he was going, but impelled by some blind force, and staggering along like a drunken man, he found himself approaching the bishop's palace. "he is there," he thought: "the man who has stood in my place all his days: the man who has stripped me of every good thing in life. he is there, in honor, and wealth, and happiness; and i am here, a homeless outcast in the night. oh, that i could do it now--now--now!" but at that he remembered that he had never yet seen michael sunlocks, to know him from another man. "i must wait," he thought. "i must go to work cautiously. i must see him first, and watch him." the night was then far spent towards midnight; the streets had grown quiet, the lights of the town no longer sent a yellow glare over the grass-clad housetops, and from a quiet sky the moon and stars shone out. jason was turning back towards his lodgings when he heard a voice that made him stand. it was a woman's voice singing, and it came with the undertones of some string instrument from the house in front of him. after a moment he pushed the gate open and walked across the little grass plat until he came beneath the only window from which a light still shone. there he stopped and listened, laying his hand on the sill to steady himself. ah! now he knew the voice too well. it was greeba's. she was there; she was on the other side of that wall at that instant. and she was singing. it was a love-song that she sang. her very heart seemed to speak in it, for her tones were the tones of love, and _he_ must be beside her. "it is for him she has left me," thought jason, in the whirl of his dazed brain; "for him and his place, his station, and the pride of his success." then, remembering how his love of this woman had fooled him through five treacherous years, turning him aside from thoughts of his vow, giving him his father's money for his mother's wrongs, and how she who had been so damned dear to him had drawn him on in the days of her trouble, and cast him off when another beckoned to her, he cried in his tortured heart, "oh, god in heaven, give me this man into my hands." chapter viii. the sword of esau. jason went back to his lodging by the cathedral, found the old caretaker sitting up for him, made some excuse for returning late, and turned in to bed. his room was the guest-chamber--a little, muggy, stifling box, with bed and bedding of eider down sewed into canvas sacks. he threw off his boots and lay down in his clothes. hour followed hour and he did not sleep. he was nevertheless not wholly awake, but retained a sort of sluggish consciousness which his dazed brain could not govern. twelve had chimed from the great clock of the turret overhead as he lay down, and he heard one, two, three, and four follow in their turn. by this time he was feeling a dull pain at the back of his head, and a heavy throbbing in his neck. until then he had been ever a man of great bodily strength, with never an ache or ailment. "i am making myself ill before anything is done," he thought, "and if i fall sick nothing can come of my enterprise. that must not be." with an effort of will he composed himself to sleep. still for a space he saw the weary night wear on; but the lapse, the broken thread, and the dazed sense stole over him at last, and he dropped into a deep slumber. when he awoke the white light of midday was coming in strong dancing bars through the rents of the dark blanket that covered the little window, the clock of the cathedral was chiming twelve once again, and over the little cobble causeway of the street in front there was the light patter of many sealskin shoes. "how could i sleep away my time like this with so much to do?" he thought, and leapt up instantly. his old landlady had more than once looked in upon him during the morning, and watched him with an air of pity. "poor lad, he looks ill," she thought; and so left him to sleep on. while he ate his breakfast, of skyr and skate and coffee, the good soul busied herself about him, asking what work he had a mind to do now that he had come back, and where he meant to look for it, with other questions of a like kind. but he answered her many words with few of his own, merely saying that he intended to look about him before deciding on anything, and that he had something in his pocket to go on with in the meanwhile. some inquiries he made of her in his turn, and they were mainly about the new president, or governor; what like he was to look upon, and what his movements were, and if he was much seen in the town. the good body could tell him very little, being old, very deaf, and feeble on her feet, and going about hardly at all farther than the floors of the cathedral on cleaning days. but her deaf old husband, hobbling in from the street at that moment, said he had heard somebody say that a session of althing was sitting then, and that under the republic that had lately been proclaimed, michael sunlocks presided at the parliament-house daily about midday. hearing this, jason rose from his unfinished breakfast, and went out on some pretended errand; but when he got to the wooden shed where althing held its session he found the sitting over and the delegates dispersed. his only object had been to see michael sunlocks that he might know him, and having lost his first opportunity he returned the following day, coming earlier, before the sitting had begun or the delegates had yet gathered. but though he lounged within the door yard, while the members passed through, jesting and laughing together, he saw no one young enough to answer to michael sunlocks. he was too much in dread of attracting attention to inquire of the few idlers who looked on like himself, so he went away and came yet again the next day after and waited as before. once more he felt that the man he looked for had not passed in with the rest, and, between fear of exciting suspicion and of throwing away further chances, he questioned the doorkeeper of the chamber. this person stuttered before every word, but jason learned at length that michael sunlocks had not been there for a week, that by the rule of the new constitution the governor presided only at the sittings of the higher house, the council, and that the present sittings were those of the lower house, the senate. that was thursday, and jason reflected that though four days were gone nothing was done. vexed with himself for the caution that had wasted so much time, he boldly started inquiries on many sides. then he learned that it was the daily practice of the governor to go at twelve o'clock noon to the embankment in front of the merchant stores, where his gangs of masons were throwing up the new fort. at that hour that day jason was there, but found that the governor had already been and gone. going earlier the next day, friday, he learned that the governor had not yet come, and so he lay about to wait for him. but the men whom he had questioned began to cast curious glances in his direction, and to mutter together in groups. then he remembered that it was a time of revolution, that he might be mistaken for a danish spy, and as such be forthwith seized and imprisoned. "that would stop everything," he thought, and moved away. in a tavern of a by-street, a long lean youth, threadbare and tipsy, formerly a student and latterly expelled from the college for drunkenness, told him that the new governor turned in at the latin school every evening at dusk, to inspect the drill of the regiment he had enrolled. so to the latin school at dusk jason made his way, but the place was dark and silent when he came upon it, and from a lad who was running out at the moment he heard that the drill-sergeant had fallen ill, and the drill been discontinued. on the wharf by the jetty the boatman who had recognized him on landing, old jon olafsson, told him that serving whiting and skate to the bishop's palace he found that the new governor was ever coming and going there. now of all houses jason had most avoided that house, lest he should be seen of those eyes that would surely read his mission at a glance. yet as night fell in, and he might approach the place with safety, he haunted the ways that led to it. but never again did he see michael sunlocks even in the uncertain darkness, and thinking how hard it was to set eyes on this man, whom he must know of a surety before ever his enterprise could be ripe, a secret dread took hold of him, and he all but renounced his design. "why is it that i cannot see him?" he thought. "why, of all men in the town, is he the only one whom i can never meet face to face? why, of all men here, am i the only one whom he has never seen?" it was as if higher powers were keeping them apart. by this time he realized that he was being observed, for in the dusk, on the thingvellir road, that led past government house, three men overtook him, and went on to talk with easy confidence in signs and broken words. he saw that they were danes; that one was old and white-headed; another was young, sallow, and of a bitter spirit; and the third, who was elderly, was of a meek and quiet manner. "how are they going on in the old country? anything done yet? when are they coming?" said the young man. "ah, don't be afraid," said the old man. "we know you are watching him," he added, with a side-long motion of the head towards government house. "but he will send no more of our sons and brothers to the sulphur mines, to slave like beasts of burden. his days are numbered." then the young man laughed bitterly. "they say he is to be married. let him make merry while he may," he said with a deep oath. and at that jason faced about to them. "you have been mistaken, sirs," he said. "i am not a spy, and neither am i an assassin." he walked away with what composure he could command, but he trembled like a leaf, for by this encounter three new thoughts possessed him; first, that when his attempt had been made and his work done, he who believed himself appointed by god as the instrument of his righteous retribution, would stand no otherwise before man than as a common midnight murderer; next, that unless he made haste with his design he would be forestalled by others with baser motives; and, again, that if his bearing had so nearly revealed his purpose to the danes it might suggest it to others with more interest in defeating it. in his former rashness he had gone everywhere, even where the throngs were thickest, and talked with everyone, even the six stalwart constables who had taken the place of the rheumatic watchmen whom he knew in earlier days. but from the hour of that meeting with the danes he found himself going about as stealthily as a cat, watching everybody, thinking everybody was watching him, shrinking from every sight, and quaking at every sound. "they can do what they like with me after it is over," he thought, "but first let it be done." he felt afraid, who had never before known the taste of fear; he felt weary, who had never until then known what it was to be tired. "oh, what is this that is coming over me?" he thought. "if i am doing well, why do i tremble?" for even while he planned his daring attempt a great feebleness seemed to be in all his members. thus it chanced that on the next day thereafter, saturday, he saw many busy preparations along the line of the high street and its byways, such as the swinging of pulley ropes from house front to house front and the shaking out of bunting, without asking what festival they purported. but returning to his lodging in the evening he found his landlady busy with preparations of a like kind about the entrance to the yard of the cathedral, and then he knew too well what new thing was coming. all the same he asked, and his landlady answered him: "lord bless me," she cried, "and haven't you heard that the young governor is to be wedded?" "when?" said jason. "to-morrow," said the old body. "where?" "why, in the cathedral, surely. it will be a bonny sight, i promise you. you would like to see it, i make no doubt. well, and so you shall, my son. i'll get you in. only leave it to me. only leave it to me." jason had expected this answer; like a horse that quivers under the lash, while it is yet hissing over his head, he had seen the blow coming, yet when it came it startled and stunned him. he got up, touching no food, and staggered back into the street. it was now dark night. the stores were lit up by their open lamps, whose noisome smoke streamed out over the pathway, and mingled with the foul vapors that came from the drinking shops. the little town was very busy; throngs of people passed to and fro, and there was much shouting and noisy laughter. to jason all this was a mass of confusion, like a dream that is vague and broken and has no semblance of reality. his knees smote together as he walked, and his mind was clogged and numbed. at length he was conscious that some brawlers who were lounging at the door of a tavern were jeering as he went by them, and that a woman who was passing at the same moment was rating them roundly. "can't you see he's ill?" she was saying, and they were laughing lustily. he turned towards the sea, and there, with only the black beach before his eyes and the monotonous beat of the waves in his ears, his faculties grew clearer. "oh god!" he thought, "am i to strike him down before her face and at the very foot of the altar? it is terrible. it must be true that i am ill--or perhaps mad--or both." but he wrestled with his irresolute spirit and overcame it. one by one he marshalled his reasons and bit by bit he justified himself. when his anger wavered against the man who had twice supplanted him, he recalled his vow to execute judgment, and when his vow seemed horrible he remembered that greeba herself had wronged him. thus he had juggled with himself night after night, and if morning after morning peace had come with the coming of light, it was gone forever now. he rehearsed everything in his mind and saw it all as he meant it to be. to-morrow while the bells were ringing he would go into the cathedral. his old landlady, the caretaker, would put him in the front seat before the altar-rail. the pews would already be thronged, and there would be whispering behind him, and little light fits of suppressed laughter. presently the old bishop would come, halting along in his surplice, holding the big book in his trembling hands. then the bridegroom would step forward, and he should see him and mark him and know him. the bride herself would come next in a dazzling cloud of her bridesmaids, all dressed in white. then as the two stood together--he and she, hand in hand, glancing softly at each other, and with all other eyes upon them, he himself would rise up--_and do it_. suddenly there would be a wild cry, and she would turn towards him, and see him, and understand him, and fall fainting before him. then while both lay at his feet he would turn to those about him and say, very calmly, "take me. it was i." all being done, he would not shrink, and when his time came he would meet his fate without flinching, and in the awful hereafter he would stand before the white throne and say, "it would have been an evil thing if god's ways had not been justified before men: so i have executed on earth his judgment who has said in his holy writ that the wrongdoer shall surely suffer vengeance, even to the third and fourth generation of his children." thinking so, in the mad tangle of his poor, disordered brain, yet with a great awe upon him as of one laden with a mission from on high, jason went back to his lodging, threw himself down, without undressing, upon the bed, and fell into a heavy sleep. when he awoke next morning the bells in the turret overhead were jangling in his ears, and his deaf old landlady was leaning over him and calling to him. "get up, love, get up: it's late, love; you'll miss it all, love; it's time to go in, love," she was saying; and a little later she led him by a side door into the cathedral. he took a seat where he had decided to take it, in a corner of the pew before the altar-rail, and all seemed the same as he had pictured. the throngs of people were behind him, and he could hear their whispering and light laughter while they waited. there was the door at which the venerable bishop would soon enter, carrying his big book, and there was the path, kept free and strewn with flowers, down which the bride and her train would pass on to the red form before him. ah! the flowers--blood red and purple--how sweetly they trailed over altar-rail, and pulpit, and the tablet of the ten commandments! following them with his eyes, while with his hands he fumbled his belt for _that_ which he had concluded to carry there, suddenly he was smitten with an awful dread. one line of the printed words before him seemed to come floating through the air down to his face in a vapor of the same blood-red. _thou shalt do no murder!_ jason started to his feet. why was he there? what had he come to do? he must go. the place was stifling him. in another moment he was crushing his way out of the cathedral. he felt like a man sentenced to death. being in the free air again he regained his self-control. "what madness! it is no murder," he thought. but he could not get back to his seat, and so he turned to where the crowd was thickest outside. that was down the line of the pathway to the wide west entrance. as he approached this point he saw that the people were in high commotion. he hurried up to them and inquired the cause. the bridal party had just passed through. at that moment the full swell of the organ came out through the open doors. the marriage service had begun. after a while jason had so far recovered his composure as to look about him. deep as the year had sunk towards winter, the day was brilliant. the air was so bright that it seemed to ring. the sea in front of the town smiled under the sunlight; the broad stretch of lava behind it glistened, the glaciers in the distance sparkled, and the black jokulls far beyond showed their snowy domes against the blue sky. oh, it was one of god's own mornings, when all his earth looks glad. and the cathedral yard--for all it slept so full of dead men's bones--was that day a bright and busy place. troops of happy girls were there in their jackets of gray, braided with gold or silver, and with belts of filigree; troops of young men, too, in their knee breeches, with bows of red ribbon, their dark-gray stockings and sealskin shoes; old men as well in their coats of homespun; and old women in their long blue cloaks; children in their plaited kirtles, and here and there a traveller with his leather wallet for his snuff and money. at the entrance gate there was a triumphal arch of ribbons and evergreens, and under its shadow there were six men with horns and guns, ready for a salute when the bride appeared; and in the street outside there was a stall laden with food and drink for all who should that day come and ask. only to jason was the happy place a gethsemane, and standing in the thick of the crowd, on a grave with a sunken roof, under the shadow of the cathedral, he listened with a dull ear to the buzz of talk between two old gossips behind him. he noticed that they were women with prominent eyeballs, which produced a dreamy, serious, half-stupid, half-humorous look, like that of the dogs in the picture that sit in the judgment-seat. "she's english," said one. "no, irish. no, manx--whatever that means. anyway, she's foreign, and can't speak a word that anybody can understand. so mother helda says, and she's a worthy woman, you know, and cleans the floors at the palace." "but they say she's a sweet lady for all that," said the other; and just then a young student at their back pushed his laughing face between their shoulders and said, "who? old mother helda?" "mother helda be bothered. the lady. and her father has been wrecked in coming to her wedding, too! poor old man, what a pity! the governor sent my son oscar with twenty of loega's men to stappen to look for me. that was a fortnight ago. i expect him back soon." "they might have waited until he came. why didn't they?" "oscar?" said the laughing face between them. "the father, goose. poor lady, how lonely she must feel! but then the old bishop is so good to everybody." "well, he deserves a good wife." "the old bishop?" said the student, shaking his sides. "the young governor, i'm talking of; and don't be so quick in snapping folks up, jon arnason. he's the best governor we ever had. and what a change from the last one. why, he doesn't mind speaking to anyone. just think, only yesterday he stopped me and said, 'good morning;' he said, 'your son won't be long away now,' quite humble and homelike." "well, god bless him--and her too, foreign or not--and may they live long----" "and have a good dozen," added the laughing voice behind them. and then all three laughed together. by this time the organ which had been silent for a little while, had burst forth afresh, and though its strains were loud and jubilant, yet to jason they seemed to tell the story of his sorrow and all the trouble of his days. he tried not to listen, and to pass the moments in idly watching the swaying throng, whose heads beneath his own rose and fell like a broken sea. but his mind _would_ be active, and the broad swell of the music floated into his soul and consumed it. "can it be possible," he thought, "that i intend to smite him down when he comes through that doorway by her side? and yet i love her--and he is my brother." still the organ rang out over graveyard and people, and only by an effort of will could jason hold back his tears. "man! man!" he cried in his heart, "call it by its true name--not judgment, but murder. yes, murder for jealous love, murder for love despised!" a new and awful light had then illumined his gloomy mind, and his face betokened his sufferings, for, though no tears fell down his hard cheeks, his eyes were bloodshot. in complete self-forgetfulness he pressed forward, until his way was stopped by a little iron cross that stood at the head of a grave. "my mother's," he thought. "no, hers is next." the organ broke into yet another strain at that moment--a proud, triumphant peal of song, which in the frenzy of jason's mind seemed either to reach up to heaven's gate or to go down to the brink of hell. there was a movement among the people, a buzz of voices, a hush, and a whispered cry, "they are coming, they are coming!" "god bless them," said one. "heaven protect them," said another. and every blessing fell on jason like a curse. "murder let it be," he thought, and turned his eyes where other eyes were looking. then passing under the broad arch, stepping out of the blue shadow into the white sunshine, all radiant in her grace and lovely sweetness, meek and tender, with tears in her soft brown eyes--it was she, it was she; it was greeba--greeba--greeba. jason felt his strength exhausted. a strange dizziness seized him. he looked down to avoid the light. his eyes fell on the iron cross before him, and he read the name graven upon it. _the name was his own._ then everything seemed to whirl around him. he remembered no more, save a shuffling of feet, a dull hum over his head, like the noise of water in the ears of a drowning man, and a sense of being lifted and carried. but another consciousness came to him, and it was very sweet, though uncertain. he was floating up--up--up to where the mountains were green, and the sea was tranquil, and the trees made music in the quiet air. and greeba was there, and she was laying her cool hand on his hot forehead, and he was looking at the troubled heaving of her round bosom. "aren't you very proud of yourself, jason?" she was whispering softly, and then he was clasping the beautiful girl in his arms and kissing her, and she was springing away, blushing deeply, and he was holding down his head, and laughing in his heart. "lie still, love; lie you still," fell on his ear, and he opened his eyes. he was in his own room at the little cottage of the caretakers. the old woman was bending over him, and bathing his forehead with one hand, while with the other hand she was holding her apron to her eyes. "he's coming round nicely, praise the lord," she said, cheerily. "i remember," said jason, in a weak voice. "did i faint?" "faint, love?" said the good soul, putting her deaf ear close to his lips. "why, it's fever, love; brain fever." "what time is it?" said jason. "time, love? lord help us, what does the boy want with the time? but it's just the way with all of them. mid-evening, love." "what day is it--sunday?" "sunday, love? no, but tuesday. it was on sunday you fell senseless, poor boy." "where was that?" "where? why, where but in the cathedral yard, just at the very minute the weddiners were coming out at the door." and hearing this jason's face broke into a smile like sunshine, and he uttered a loud cry of relief. "thank god. oh, thank god." but while an angel of hope seemed to bring him good tidings of a great peril averted, and even as a prayer gushed from his torn heart, he remembered the vision of his delirium, and knew that he was forever a bereaved and broken man. at that his face, which had been red as his hair, grew pale as ashes, and a low cunning came over him, and he wondered if he had betrayed himself in his unconsciousness. "have i been delirious?" he asked. "delirious, love? oh, no, love, no; only distraught a little and cursing sometimes, the saints preserve us," said the old landlady in her shrill treble. jason remembered that the old woman was deaf, and gathering that she alone had nursed him, and that no one else had seen him since his attack, except her deaf husband and a druggist from the high street who had bled him, he smiled and was satisfied. "lord bless me, how he mends," said the hearty old woman, and she gave him the look of an affectionate dog. "and now, good soul, i am hungry and must make up for all this fasting," said jason. "ay, ay, and that you must, lad," said the old woman, and off she went to cook him something to eat. but his talk of hunger had been no more than a device to get rid of her, for he knew that the kind creature would try to restrain him from rising. so when she was gone he stumbled to his feet, feeling very weak and dazed, and with infinite struggle and sweat tugged on his clothes--for they had been taken off--and staggered out into the streets. it was night, and the clouds hung low as if snow might be coming, but the town seemed very light, as with bonfires round about it and rockets shot into the air, and very noisy, too, as with guns fired and music played, so that jason's watery eyes felt dazzled, and his singing ears were stunned. but he walked on, hardly knowing which way he was going, and hearing only as sounds at sea the voices that called to him from the doors of the drinking-shops, until he came out at the bridge to the thingvellir road. and there, in the sombre darkness, he was overtaken by the three danes who had spoken to him before. "so your courage failed you at the last moment--i watched you and saw how it was. ah, don't be afraid, we are your friends, and you are one of us. let us play at hide-and-seek no longer." "they say he is going down the fiord in search of his wife's father. take care he does not slip away. old jorgen is coming back. good-night." so saying, without once turning their faces towards jason's face, they strode past him with an indifferent air. then jason became conscious that government house was ablaze with lights, that some of its windows were half down, that sounds of music and dancing came from within, and that on the grass plat in front, which was lit by torches men and women in gay costumes were strolling to and fro, in pairs. and turning from the bridge towards the house he saw a man go by on horseback in the direction of the sea, and remembered in a dull way that just there and at that hour he had seen michael sunlocks ride past him in the dusk. what happened thereafter he never rightly knew, only that in a distempered dream he was standing with others outside the rails about government house while the snow began to fall through the darkness, that he saw the dancers circling across the lighted windows and heard the music of the flutes and violins above the steady chime of the sea, that he knew this merry-making to be a festival of her marriage whom he loved with a love beyond that of his immortal soul, that the shame of his condition pained him, and the pain of it maddened him, the madness of it swept away his consciousness, and that when he came to himself he had forced his way into the house, thinking to meet his enemy face to face, and was in a room alone with greeba, who was cowering before him with a white face of dismay. "jason," she was saying, "why are you here?" "why are _you_ here?" he asked. "why have you followed me?" she cried. "why have you followed _him_?" "what have you come for?" "is _this_ what _you_ have come for?" "jason," she cried again, "i wronged you, that is true, but you forgave me. i asked you to choose for me, and if you had said 'stay,' i should have stayed. but you released me, you know you did. you gave me up to him, and now he is my husband." "but this man is michael sunlocks," said jason. "didn't you know that before?" said greeba. "ah, then, i know what you have come for. you have recalled your forgiveness, and have come to punish me for deserting you. but spare me! oh, spare me! not for my own sake, but his; for i am his wife now and he loves me very dearly. no, no, not that, but only spare me, jason," she cried, and crouched at his feet. "i would not harm a hair of your head, greeba," he said. "then what have you come for?" she said. "this man is a son of stephen orry," he said. "then it is for him," she cried, and leaped to her feet. "ah, now i understand. i have not forgotten the night in port-y-vullin." "does _he_ know of that?" said jason. "no." "does he know i am here?" "no." "does he know we have met?" "no." "let me see him!" "why do you ask to see him?" "let me see him." "but why?" she stammered. "why see him? it is i who have wronged you." "that's why i want to see him," said jason. she uttered a cry of terror and staggered back. there was an ominous silence, in which it passed through greeba's mind that all that was happening then had happened before. she could hear jason's labored breathing and the dull thud of the music through the walls. "jason," she cried, "what harm has he ever done you? i alone am guilty before you. if your vengeance must fall on anyone let it fall on me." "where is he?" said jason. "he is gone," said greeba. "gone?" "yes, to find my poor father. the dear old man was wrecked in coming here, and my husband sent men to find him, but they blundered and came back empty-handed, and not a half an hour ago he went off himself." "was he riding?" said jason; but without waiting for an answer he made towards the door. "wait! where are you going?" cried greeba. swift as lightning the thought had flashed though her mind, "what if he should follow him!" now the door to the room was a heavy, double-hung door of antique build, and at the next instant she had leaped to it and shot the heavy wooden bar that bolted it. at that he laid one powerful hand on the bar itself, and wrenched it outward across the leverage of its iron loops, and it cracked and broke, and fell to the ground in splinters. then her strong excitement lent the brave girl strength, and her fear for her husband gave her courage, and crying, "stop, for heaven's sake stop," she put her back to the door, tore up the sleeve of her dress, and thrust her bare right arm through the loops where the bar had been. "now," she cried, "you must break my arm after it." "god forbid," said jason, and he fell back for a moment at that sight. but, recovering himself, he said, "greeba, i would not touch your beautiful arm to hurt it; no, not for all the wealth of the world. but i must go, so let me pass." still her terror was centred on the thought of jason's vengeance. "jason," she cried, "he is my husband. only think--my husband." "let me pass," said jason. "jason," she cried again, "my husband is everything to me, and i am all in all to him." "let me pass," said jason. "you intend to follow him. you are seeking him to kill him." "let me pass." "deny it." "let me pass." "never," she cried. "kill _me_ if you will, but until you have done so you shall not pass this door. kill me!" "not for my soul's salvation!" said jason. "then give up your wicked purpose. give it up, give it up." "only when _he_ shall have given up his life." "then i warn you, i will show you no pity, for you have shown none to me." at that she screamed for help, and presently the faint music ceased, and there was a noise of hurrying feet. jason stood a moment listening; then he looked towards the window, and saw that it was of one frame, and had no sash that opened. at the next instant he had doubled his arms across his face and dashed through glass and bars. a minute afterwards the room was full of men and women, and jason was brought back into it, pale, sprinkled with snow and blood-stained. "i charge that man with threatening the life of my husband," greeba cried. then it seemed as if twenty strong hands laid hold of jason at once. but no force was needed, for he stood quiet and silent, and looked like a man who had walked in his sleep, and been suddenly awakened by the sound of greeba's voice. one glance he gave her of great suffering and proud defiance, and then, guarded on either hand, passed out of the place like a captured lion. chapter ix. the peace oath. there was short shrift for red jason. he was tried by the court nearest the spot, and that was the criminal court over which the bishop in his civil capacity presided, with nine of his neighbors on the bench beside him. from this court an appeal was possible to the court of the quarter, and again from the quarter court to the high court of althing; but appeal in this case there was none, for there was no defence. and because icelandic law did not allow of the imprisonment of a criminal until after he had been sentenced, an inquest was called forthwith, lest jason should escape or compass the crime he had attempted. so the court of inquiry sat the same night in the wooden shed that served both for senate and house of justice. the snow was now falling heavily, and the hour was late, but the courthouse was thronged. it was a little place--a plain box, bare, featureless, and chill, with walls, roof and seats of wood, and floor of hard earth. four short benches were raised, step above step, against the farthest side, and on the highest of these the bishop sat, with three of his colleagues on each of the three rows beneath him. the prisoner stood on a broad stool to the right, and the witnesses on a like stool to the left. a wooden bar crossed the room about midway, and in the open space between that and the door the spectators were crowded together. the place was lighted by candles, and some were fixed to the walls, others were held by ushers on the end of long sticks, and a few were hung to the roof rafters by hemp ropes tied about their middle. the floor ran like a stream, and the atmosphere was full of the vapor of the snow that was melting on the people's clothes. nothing could be ruder than the courthouse, but the court that sat there observed a rule of procedure that was almost an idolatry of form. the prisoner was called by the name of jason, son of stephen orry, and having answered in a voice so hollow that it seemed to come out of the earth beneath him, he rose to his place. his attitude was dull and impassive, and he seemed hardly to see the restless crowd that murmured at sight of him. his tall figure stooped, there was a cloud on his strong brow, and a slow fire in his bloodshot eyes, and his red hair, long as a woman's, hung in disordered masses down his worn cheeks to his shoulders. the bishop, a venerable prelate of great age, looked at him and thought, "that man's heart is dead within him." the spokesman of the court was a middle-aged man, who was short, had little piercing eyes, a square brush of iron-gray hair that stood erect across the top of his corded forehead, and a crisp, clear utterance, like the crackle of a horse's hoofs on the frost. jason was charged with an attempt to take the life of michael sunlocks, first president of the second republic. he did not plead and had no defence, and the witnesses against him spoke only in answer to the leading questions of the judges. the first of the witnesses was greeba herself, and her evidence, given in english, was required to be interpreted. all her brave strength was now gone. she trembled visibly. her eyes were down, her head was bent, her face was half-hidden by the hood of a cloak she wore, and her tones were barely audible. she had little to say. the prisoner had forced his way into government house, and there, to her own face, had threatened to take the life of her husband. in plain words he had done so, and then made show of going in pursuit of her husband that he might carry out his design. "wait," said the bishop, "your husband was not present?" "no," said greeba. "there was, therefore, no direct violence?" "none." "and the whole sum of the prisoner's offence, so far as you know of it, lies in the use of the words that you have repeated?" "yes." then, turning to the spokesman of the court, the old bishop said-"there has been no overt act. this is not an attempt, but a threat to take life. and this is not a crime by the law of this, or any other christian country." "your pardon, my lord," said the little man, in his crisp tones. "i will show that the prisoner is guilty of the essential part of murder itself. murder, my lord," he added, "is not merely to compass the destruction of a life, for there is homicide, by misadventure, there is justifiable homicide, and there are the rights, long recognized by icelandic law, of the avengers of blood. murder is to kill in secrecy and after long-harbored malice, and now my lord, i shall show that the prisoner has lain in wait to slay the president of the republic." at that greeba stood down, and other witnesses followed her. nearly everyone had been summoned with whom jason had exchanged words since he landed eight days before. there was the lean student who had told him of the drill at the latin school, the little tailor who had explained the work at the jail, the stuttering doorkeeper at the senate-house, and one of the masons at the fort. much was made of the fainting in the cathedral yard, on the sunday morning, and out of the deaf landlady, the cathedral caretaker, some startling disclosures seemed to be drawn. "still," said the old bishop, "i see no overt act." "good gracious, my lord," said the little spokesman, "are we to wait until the knife itself has been reddened?" "god forbid!" said the old bishop. then came two witnesses to prove motive. the first of them was the tipsy comrade of former days, who had drawn jason into the drinking-shop. he could say of his own knowledge that jason was jealous of the new governor. the two were brothers in a sort of way. so people said, and so jason had told him. they had the same father, but different mothers. jason's mother had been the daughter of the old governor, who turned his back on her at her marriage. at her death he relented, and tried to find jason, but could not, and then took up with michael sunlocks. people said that was the beginning of the new president's fortune. at all events jason thought he had been supplanted, was very wroth, and swore he would be revenged. the second of the two witnesses pointed to a very different motive. he was one of the three danes who had twice spoken to jason--the elderly man with the meek and quiet manner. though himself loyal to the icelandic republic he had been much thrown among its enemies. jason was one of them; he came here as a spy direct from copenhagen, and his constant associates were thomsen, an old, white-headed man living in the high street, and polvesen, a young and sallow man, who kept one of the stores facing the sea. with these two jason had been heard by him to plan the assassination of the president. at this evidence there was a deep murmur among the people, and it was seen that greeba had risen again to her feet. her heart burned and stormed within her. she tried to speak but could not. at the same moment jason turned his bloodshot eyes in her direction, and then her limbs gave way under her, and she sank back with a moan. the court misread her emotion, and she was removed. jason's red eyes followed her constantly. "this is a case for the warning, not for punishment," said the bishop. "it is plainly written in our old law book that if a man threaten to slay another man he shall be warned of the gravity of the crime he contemplates and of the penalty attaching to it." "gracious heavens, my lord," cried the little spokesman, "what reason have we to assume that this prisoner is ignorant of either? with a life to guard that is prized by friends and precious to the state shall we let this man go free who had sworn before witnesses to destroy it?" "god forefend!" said the bishop. it was lawful to question the prisoner, and so he was questioned. "is it true that you have been lying in wait to kill the president?" asked the spokesman. but jason made no answer. "is it true that you have done so from a desire for personal vengeance?" no answer. "or from political motives?" no answer. "or both?" still no answer. then the spokesman turned back to the court. "the stubborn persistence of the prisoner is easy to understand," he said, and smiled. "wait," said the old bishop, and he turned towards jason. "have you any valid plea?" but jason gave no sign. "listen," said the bishop. "though the man who compasses the destruction of a single life is as though he had destroyed a world, for the posterity of him who is dead might have filled a world, yet have all laws of men since the pentateuch recognized certain conditions that limit the gravity of the crime. if the man who is slain has himself slain the near kindred of his slayer, though the law of iceland would no longer hold him guiltless, as in the ancient times when evil for evil was the rule and sentence, neither would it punish him as a murderer, who must eat the bread and drink the water of misery all his days. now what is true of murder must be true of intent to murder, and though i am loth to believe it possible in this instance, honoring and loving as we all do that good man whom you are charged with lying in wait to kill, yet in my duty must i ask you the question--has michael sunlocks spilled blood of your blood, and is it as a redeemer of blood that you go about to slay him?" there was a dead hush in the little crowded courthouse as jason lifted his heavy, bloodshot eyes to the bishop's face and answered, in a weary voice, "i have nothing to say." then an aged lutheran priest, who had sat within the rail, with a snuffbox in his hand and a red print handkerchief across his knee, hobbled up to the witness stool and tendered evidence. he could throw light on the prisoner's hatred of the president, if it was true that the president was a son of stephen orry. he knew the prisoner, and had named him in his baptism. he had known the prisoner's mother also, and had sat with her at her death. it was quite true that she was a daughter of the late governor, and had been badly treated by her father. but she had been yet more badly treated by her husband, who married again while she was still alive, and had another son by the other wife. on her deathbed she had heard of this, and told the prisoner, who then and there, this witness being present, made an awful vow of vengeance upon his father and his father's son. the old priest was heard in silence, and his words sent a quiver through the courthouse. even jason, who had shown no interest save when greeba was removed, lifted up his bloodshot eyes again and listened. and the bishop, visibly moved, turned to the court and said, "let us put this prisoner back to be tried by the high court and the lagmann." "what, my lord!" cried the little spokesman, with a lofty look, "and set him at liberty in the meantime, to carry out the crime he threatens?" "heaven forbid!" said the bishop. "remember, until he has been condemned we have no power to hold him," said the spokesman. the bishop turned to an usher and said, "bring me the statute book," and the great tome was brought. the bishop opened it and again turned to the prisoner. "the almighty," said he, "created one man at the beginning to teach us that all men are brethren, and the law of our old country provides that when two have had disputes and pursued each other on account of hatred, even as brethren they shall make peace before their neighbors. now listen to the words i shall read to you, and be ready to say if you will swear to them." then a great silence fell upon the people, while in solemn tones the old bishop read the peace oath. "ye two shall be set at one and live friendly together, at meat and at drink, in the althing and at meetings, at kirk prayers and in king's palace; and in whatever place else men meet together, there shall ye be so set at one, as if this quarrel had never come between you. ye shall share knife and meat together, and all things besides, as friends and not as enemies." the bishop paused and looked over his spectacles at jason, who stood as before, with the cloud on his brow and the slow fire in his deep eyes, but with no sign of feeling or interest. "will you promise to swear to this, when he shall have returned who should swear to it with you?" said the bishop. then all eyes turned towards jason, and there came across his face at that moment the look of a bated dog. "no," he growled. the spokesman shifted in his seat and the people grew restless. "listen again," said the bishop, and his long white beard shook and his solemn voice rose to a shrill cry as he twisted back to the book and read:-"but if one of you be so mad that he breaks this truce thus made, and slays after pledges have been made and his blade has reddened, he shall be an outlaw, accursed and driven away, so far as men drive wolves farthest away. he shall be banished of god and all good christian men, as far as christian men seek churches, as mothers bring forth sons, son calls mother, flames blaze up, mankind kindle fire, earth is green, sun shines, and snow covers the ground; he shall flee from kirk and christian men, god's house and mankind, and from every home save hell." then there was a pause and a great hush, and the bishop lifted his eyes from the book, and said-"will you swear to it?" again all eyes turned towards jason, and again his face, which had been impassive, took the look of a bated dog. "no, no, no!" he cried in a loud voice, and then the great silence was broken by deep murmurs. "it is useless," said the spokesman. "warnings and peace oaths, though still valid, are the machinery of another age. this prisoner is not ignorant of the gravity of the crime he contemplates, nor yet of the penalty attaching to it." there was an audible murmur of assent from the people. "that's true," said one. "it's the truest word spoken to-night," said another. "the old man is all for mercy," said a third. "it isn't safe," said a fourth. and there was other whispering, and much nodding of heads and shuffling of feet. encouraged by these comments the little spokesman added-"in any other country at this age of the world a man who tacitly admitted a design to take life would be promptly clapped into prison." "ay, ay," the people muttered, but the bishop drew himself up and said, "in any other country a criminal who showed no fear of the death that hung over him would be straightway consigned to a madhouse." "we have no madhouse in this island, my lord," said the little spokesman, "save the sulpher mines, and there he must go." "wait," said the bishop, and once again he turned to the prisoner. "if this court should agree to ship you out of iceland will you promise never more to return to it?" for the third time all eyes were turned on jason, but he did not seem to hear the bishop's question. "will you promise?" said the bishop again. "no," said jason. "dangerous trifling," said the spokesman. "when you seize a mad dog you strangle it." "ay, ay," cried many voices at once, and great excitement prevailed. the old bishop drew back with a sigh of relief. he loved michael sunlocks and had been eager to save him. he pitied greeba, and for her sake also had been anxious to protect her husband. but from the moment he saw jason and thought, "that man's heart is dead within him," his love had struggled with his sense of duty. as the trial went on he had remembered jason and recalled his bitter history, and seized with a strong sympathy he had strained every nerve to keep back his punishment. he had done all he could do, he had nothing to reproach himself with, and full of a deep and secret joy at the certainty of the safety of sunlocks, he now fell back that the law might take its course. the court was counted out, and then the bishop turned for the last time to jason, and delivered judgment. "the sentence of this court," he said "is that you be removed from here to the sulpher mines, and be kept there six months certain, and as long thereafter as you refuse to take the oath of peace pledging yourself forever, as long as you live or the world endures, to be at one with your enemy as brothers before all men living." now greeba alone knew the truth about jason. when she had fled from mann without word or warning it had not been out of fear of him, but of her brothers. her meeting with michael sunlocks, her short stay with the good old bishop petersen, her marriage and the festival that followed, had passed her by like a dream. then came the first short parting with sunlocks when he had said, "i must leave you for a fortnight, for the men i sent in search of your father have blundered and returned without him." she had cried a little at that, and he had kissed her, and made a brave show of his courage, though she could see the tears in his own big shining eyes. but it was all a dream, a sweet and happy dream, and only by the coming of jason had the dream been broken. then followed her terror, her plea, her fear for her husband's life, her defiance of jason, and the charge she made against him. and the first burst of her passion over, she had thought to herself, "my husband is safe, but jason will now tell all and i shall be a lost and ruined woman," for nothing had she yet said to michael sunlocks concerning the man who had wooed and won and released her during the long years of his silence and her trouble. "he will hear the story now," she thought, "and not from my lips but from jason's." being then so far immersed she could not but go on, and so she had allowed herself to be led to the courthouse. no one there had thought to ask her if she had known anything of jason before that day, and she on her part had said nothing of knowing him. but when jason had looked at her with eyes of reproach that seemed to go through her soul, he seemed to be saying, "this is but half the truth. dare you not tell the rest?" then listening to the lying of other witnesses, and looking up at jason's face, so full of pain, and seeing how silent he was under cruel perjury, she remembered that this man's worst crime had been his love of her, and so she staggered to her feet to confess everything. when she came to herself after that, she was back in her own home--her new home, the home of her happy dream, her husband's home and hers, and there her first fear returned to her. "he will tell all," she thought, "and evil tongues will make it worse, and shame will fall upon my husband, and i shall be lost, lost, lost." she waited with feverish impatience for the coming of the bishop to tell her the result of the trial, and at length he came. "what have they done with him?" she cried; and he told her. "what defence did he make?" she asked. "none," said the bishop. "what did he say?" she asked again. "not a word but 'no,'" said the bishop. then she drew a long breath of immense relief, and at the next instant she reproached herself. how little of soul she had been! and how great of heart had been jason! he could have wrecked her life with a word, but he had held his peace. she had sent him to prison, and rather than smite he had suffered himself to be smitten. she felt herself small and mean. and the bishop, having, as he thought, banished greeba's terror, hobbled to the door, for now the hour was very late, and the snow was still falling. "the poor soul will do your good husband no mischief now. poor lad! poor lad! after all, he is more fit for a madhouse than for a prison. good-night, my child, good-night." and so the good old man went his way. it was intended that jason should start for the sulphur mines on the following day, and he was lodged over night in a little house of detention that stood on the south of the high street. but the snow continued to fall the whole night through, and in the morning the roads were impassable. then it was decided to postpone the long journey until the storm should have passed, the frost set in, and the desolate white wastes to be crossed become hard and firm. it was now wednesday of the second week in october--the gore-month--and the people were already settling down to the long rest of the icelandic winter. the merchants began to sleep the livelong day in their deserted stores in the cheapstead, and the bonders, who had come up with the last of their stock, to drink and doze in the taverns. all that day the snow fell in fine dust like flour, until, white as it was, the air grew dark with it. at the late dawn of the next day the snow was still falling, and a violent gale had then risen. another and another and yet another day went by, and still the snow fell and the gale continued. for two days there was no daylight, and only at noon through the giddy air a fiery glow burned for an hour along the southern sky and then went out. nothing could be seen of fell or fiord, and nothing could be heard save the baying of the hounds at night and the roar of the sea at all times, for the wind made no noise in the soft snow, but drove it along in sheets like silent ghosts. never before had greeba seen anything so terrible; and still more fearful than the great snow itself was the anxiety it brought her. where was michael sunlocks? where was her father? there was only one other whose condition troubled her, and she knew too well where he was--he was lying in the dark cell of the dark house in the high street. while the storm lasted all reykjavik lay asleep, and greeba could do nothing. but one morning when she awoke and turned to the window, as was her wont, to learn if the weary snow was still falling, she could see nothing at first for the coating of ice and hoar frost that covered the glass. but the snow had ceased, the wind had fallen, the air was clear and the light was coming. the buildings of the town, from the cathedral to the hovels of the fishing quarter, looked like snow mounds in the desert; the black waste of lava was gone; the black beach was gone; the black jokulls were gone; the black headland was gone that had stretched like a giant hand of many fingers into the black fiord; but height above height, and length beyond length, as far as from sea to sky, and from sea to sea, the world lay lifeless and silent and white around her. then, the town being once more awake, greeba had news of jason. it came through a little english maid, whom sunlocks had found for her, from oscar, the young man who had gone out in search of her father and returned without him. jason was ill. five days he had eaten nothing, and nothing had he drunk except water. he was in a fever--a brain fever--and it was now known for certain that he was the man who had fainted outside the cathedral on the marriage morning, that he had been ill ever since then, and that the druggist of the high street had bled him. with these tidings greeba hurried away to the bishop. "the poor man has brain fever," she said. "he was ill when he made the threat, and when he recovers he will regret it; i am sure he will--i know he will. set him at liberty, for mercy's sake," she cried; and she trembled as she spoke, lest in the fervor of her plea the bishop should read her secret. but he only shook his head and looked tenderly down at her, and said very gently, though every word went to her heart like a stab-"ah, it is like a good woman to plead for one who has injured her. but no, my child, no; it may not be. poor lad, no one now can do anything for him save the president himself; and he is not likely to liberate a man who lies in wait to kill him." "he _is_ likely," thought greeba, and straightway she conceived of a plan. she would go to jason in his prison. yes, she herself would go to him, and prevail with him to put away all thoughts of vengeance and be at peace with her husband. then she would wait for the return of michael sunlocks, and plead with that dear heart that could deny her nothing, to grant her jason's pardon. thus it would come about that she, who had stood between these two to separate them, would at length stand between them to bring them together. so thinking, and crying a little, like a true woman, at the prospect of so much joy, she waited for jason's recovery that she might carry her purpose into effect. meantime she contrived to send him jellies and soups, such as might tempt the appetite of a sick man. she thought she sent them secretly, but with less than a woman's wit she employed a woman on her errand. this person was the little english maid, and she handed over the duty to oscar, who was her sweetheart. oscar talked openly of what he was doing, and thus all reykjavik knew that the tender-hearted young wife of the governor held communications of some sort with the man whom she had sent to jail. then one day, on hearing that jason was better, though neither was he so well as to travel nor was the snow hard enough to walk upon, greeba stole across to the prison in the dark of the afternoon, saying nothing to anyone of her mission or intention. the stuttering doorkeeper of the senate was the jailor, and he betrayed great concern when greeba asked to see his prisoner, showing by his ghastly looks, for his words would not come, that it would be rash on her part, after helping so much towards jason's imprisonment, to trust herself in his presence. "but what have i to fear?" she thought; and with a brave smile, she pushed her way through. she found jason in a square box built of heavy piles, laid horizontally both for walls and roof, dark and damp and muggy, lighted in the day by a hole in the wood not larger than a man's hand, and in the night by a sputtering candle hung from the rafters. he sat on a stool; his face was worn, his head was close-cropped to relieve the heat of his brain, and on the table by his side lay all his red hair, as long as his mother's was when it fell to the shears of the jew on the wharf. he gave no sign when greeba entered, though he knew she was there, but sat with his face down and one hand on the table. "jason," she said, "i am ashamed. it is i who have brought you to this. forgive me! forgive me! but my husband's life was in danger, and what was i to do?" still he gave no sign. "jason," she said again, "you have heaped coals of fire on my head; for i have done nothing but injure you, and though you might have done as much for me you never have." at that the fingers of his hand on the table grasped the edge of it convulsively. "but, jason," she said, "all is not lost yet. no, for i can save you still. listen. you shall give me your promise to make peace with my husband, and when my husband returns he will grant me your pardon. oh, yes, i know he will, for he is tender-hearted, and he will forgive you; yes, he will forgive you----" "my curse on him and his forgiveness," cried jason, rising suddenly and bringing down his fist on the table. "who is he that he should forgive me? it has not been for his sake that i have been silent, with the devil at my side urging me to speak. and for all that _you_ have made me to suffer _he_ shall yet pay double. let it go on; let him send me away; let him bury me at his mines. but i shall live to find him yet. something tells me that i shall not die until i have met with that man face to face." and greeba went back home with these mad words ringing in her ears. "it is useless to try," she thought, "i have done all i can. my husband is before everything. i shall say nothing to him now." none the less she cried very bitterly, and was still crying when at bedtime her little english maid came up to her and chattered of the news of the day. it seemed that some danish store-keepers on the cheapstead had lately been arrested as spies, brought to trial, and condemned. when greeba awoke next morning, after a restless night, while the town still lay asleep, and only the croak of the ravens from the rocks above the fiord broke the silence of the late dawn, she heard the hollow tread of many footsteps on the frozen snow of the thingvellir road, and peering out through the window, which was coated with hoar frost, she saw a melancholy procession. three men, sparsely clad in thin tunics, snow stockings and skin caps, walked heavily in file, chained together hand to hand and leg to leg, with four armed warders, closely muffled to the ears, riding leisurely beside them. they were prisoners bound for the sulphur mines of krisuvik. the first of them was jason, and he swung along with his long stride and his shorn head thrown back and his pallid face held up. the other two were old thomsen and young polvesen, the danish store-keepers. it was more than greeba could bear to look upon that sight, for it brought back the memory of that other sight on that other morning, when jason came leaping down to her from the mountains, over gorse and cushag and hedge and ditch. so she turned her head away and covered her eyes with her hands. and then one--two--three--four--the heavy footsteps went on over the snow. the next thing she knew was that her english maid was in her bedroom, saying, "some strangers in the kitchen are asking for you. they are englishmen, and have just come ashore, and they call themselves your brothers." chapter x. the fairbrothers. now when the fairbrothers concluded that they could never give rest to their tender consciences until they had done right by their poor sister greeba they set themselves straightway to consider the ways and means. ballacraine they must sell in order that its proceeds might be taken to greeba as her share and interest; but ballacraine belonged to jacob, and another provision would forthwith need to be made for him. so after much arguing and some nagging across the hearth of the kitchen at lague it was decided that each of jacob's five brothers should mortgage his farm to one-sixth its value, and that the gross sum of their five-sixths should be jacob's for his share. this arrangement would have the disadvantage of leaving jacob without land, but he showed a magnanimous spirit in that relation. "don't trouble about me," said he, "it's sweet and nice to do a kindness to your own brothers." and four of his brethren applauded that sentiment, but thurstan curled up his red nose and thought, "aw, yes, of coorse, a powerful big boiler of brotherly love the little miser keeps going under his weskit." and having so decided they further concluded to see the crops off the ground, and then lose no time in carrying out their design. "let's wait for the melya," said asher, meaning the harvest-home, "and then off for marky the lord." the person who went by this name was one mark skillicorn, an advocate, of ramsey, who combined the functions of pettifogger with those of money-lender and auctioneer. marky the lord was old, and plausible and facetious. he was a distant relative of the fairbrothers by the side of their mother's french family; and it was a strange chain of circumstances that no big farmer ever got into trouble but he became a client of marky the lord's, that no client of marky the lord's did not in the end go altogether to the bad, and that poor marky the lord never had a client who did not die in his debt. nevertheless marky the lord grew richer as his losses grew heavier, and more facetious as his years increased. oh, he was a funny dog, was marky the lord; but there was just one dog on the island a shade or two funnier still, and that was jacob fairbrother. this thrifty soul had for many a year kept a nest of private savings, and even in the days when he and his brethren went down to make a poor mouth before their father at castletown he had money secretly lent out on the conscientious interest of only three per cent. above the legal rate. and thus it chanced that when ballacraine was advertised in big letters on every barn door in the north of mann, jacob fairbrother went down to marky the lord, and made a private bargain to buy it in again. so when the day of the sale came, and marky the lord strode over the fields with some thirty men--farmers, miners, advocates, and parsons--at his heels, and then drew up on the roadside by the "hibernian," and there mounted the till-board of a cart for the final reckoning, little jacob was too much moved to be present, though his brothers were there, all glooming around on the outside of the group, with their hands in their breeches pockets. ballacraine was knocked down cheap to somebody that nobody knew, and then came the work of the mortgages; so once again jacob went off to marky the lord, and bargained to be made mortgagor, though no one was to be a whit the wiser. and ten per cent. he was to get from each of his five brothers for the use of the money which next day came back to his own hands. thus far all was straight dealing, but with the approach of the time to go to iceland the complications grew thick. jacob had so husbanded his money that while seeming to spend he still possessed it, and now he was troubled to know where to lodge that portion of it which he should not want in iceland and might find it unsafe to take there. and while he was in the throes of his uncertainty his brothers--all save john--were in the travail of their own big conception. now asher, stean, ross and thurstan, having each made up his mind that he would go to iceland also, had to consider how to get there, for their late bargaining had left them all penniless. the proceeds of the sale of ballacraine were lodged with jacob for greeba, and jacob also held as his own what had come to each man from his mortgage. so thinking that jacob must have more than he could want, they approached him one by one, confidentially and slyly. and wondrous were the lies they told him, for they dare not confess that their sole need of money was to go to iceland after him, and watch him that he did not cheat them when greeba sent them all their fortunes in return for their brotherly love of her. thus asher took jacob aside and whispered, "i'm morthal hard pressed for a matter of five and thirty pound, boy--just five and thirty, for draining and fencing. i make bold to think you'll lend me the like of it, and six per cent. i'll be paying reg'lar." "ah, i can't do it, asher," said jacob, "for old marky the lord has stripped me." then came stean, plucking a bit of ling and looking careless, and he said, "i've got a fine thing on now. i can buy a yoke of ploughing oxen for thirty pound. only thirty, and a dead bargain. can you lend me the brass? but whisht's the word, for ross is sneaking after them." "very sorry, stean," said jacob, "but ross has been here before you, and i've just lent him the money." ross himself came next, and said, "i borrowed five-and-twenty pound from stean a bit back, and he's not above threatening to sell me up for a dirty little debt like that. maybe ye'd tide me over the trouble and say nothing to stean." "make your mind easy, ross," said jacob, "stean told me himself, and i've paid him all you owe him." so these two went their ways and thereafter eyed each other threateningly, but neither dare explode, for both had their secret fear. and last of all came thurstan, made well drunk for the better support of his courage, and he maudled and cried, "what d'ye think? poor ballabeg is dead--him that used to play the fiddle at church--and the old parson wants me to take ballabeg's place up in the gallery-loft. says i'd be wonderful good at the viol-bass. i wouldn't mind doing it neither, only it costs such a power of money, a viol-bass does--twenty pound maybe." "well, what of that?" said jacob, interrupting him, "the parson says he'll lend you the money. he told me so himself." with such shrewd answers did jacob escape from the danger of lending to his brothers, whom he could not trust. but he lost no time in going down to marky the lord and offering his money to be lent out on interest with good security. knowing nothing of this, asher, stean, ross, and thurstan each in his turn stole down to marky the lord to borrow the sum he needed. and marky the lord kept his own worthy counsel, and showed no unwise eagerness. first he said to jacob, "i can lend out your money on good security." "who to?" said jacob. "that i've given my word not to tell. what interest do you want?" "not less than twelve per cent." said the temperate jacob. "i'll get it," said marky the lord, and jacob went away with a sly smile. then said marky the lord to each of the borrowers in turn, "i can find you the money." "whose is it?" asked asher, who came the first. "that i've sworn not to tell," said marky the lord. "what interest?" "only four per cent. to my friend." "well, and that's reasonable, and he's a right honest, well-meaning man, whoever he is," said asher. "that he is, friend," said marky the lord, "but as he had not got the money himself he had to borrow it of an acquaintance, and pay ten per cent. for the convenience." "so he wants fourteen per cent.!" cried asher. "shoo! lord save us! oh, the grasping miser. it's outrageous. i'll not pay it--the nightman fly away with me if i do." "you need be under no uneasiness about that," said marky the lord, "for i've three other borrowers ready to take the money the moment you say you won't." "hand it out," said asher, and away he went, fuming. then stean, ross, and thurstan followed, one by one, and each behaved as asher had done before him. when the transaction was complete, and the time had come to set sail for iceland, many and wonderful were the shifts of the four who had formed the secret design to conceal their busy preparations. but when all was complete, and berths taken, all six in the same vessel, jacob and gentleman john rode round the farms of lague to bid a touching farewell to their brethren. "good-bye, thurstan," said jacob, sitting on the cross-board of the cart. "we've had arguments in our time, and fallen on some rough harm in the course of them, but we'll meet for peace and quietness in heaven some day." "we'll meet before that," thought thurstan. and when jacob and john were gone on towards ramsey, thurstan mounted the till-board of his own cart, and followed. meantime asher, stean, and ross were on their journey, and because they did not cross on the road they came face to face for the first time, all six together, each lugging his kit of clothes behind him, on the deck of the ship that was to take them to iceland. then jacob's pale face grew livid. "what does this mean?" he cried. "it means that we can't trust you," said thurstan. "none of you?" said jacob. "none of us, seemingly," said thurstan, glancing round into the confused faces about him. "what! not your own brother?" said jacob. "'near is my shirt, but nearer is my skin,' as the saying is," said thurstan, with a sneer. "'poor once, poor forever,' as the saying is," mocked jacob. "last week you hadn't twenty pound to buy your viol-bass to play in the gallery loft." stean laughed at that, and jacob turned hotly upon him. "and _you_ hadn't thirty pound to buy your yoke of oxen that ross was sneaking after." then ross made a loud guffaw, and jacob faced about to him. "and maybe _you've_ paid back your dirty five-and-twenty pound that stean threatened to sell you up for?" then stean glowered hard at ross, and ross looked black at stean, and asher almost burst his sides with laughter. "and you, too, my dear eldest brother," said jacob, bitterly, "you have the advantage of me in years but not in wisdom. you thought, like the rest of them, to get the money out of me, to help you to follow me and watch me. so that was it, was it? but i was too much for you, my dear brother, and you had to go elsewhere for your draining and ditching." "so i had, bad cess to you," said asher; "and fourteen per cent. i had to pay for the shabby loan i got." at that stean and ross and thurstan pricked up their ears. "and did _you_ pay fourteen per cent.?" said stean. "i did, bad cess to marky the lord, and the grasping old miser behind him, whoever he is." and now it was jacob's turn to look amazed. "wait," he said; "i don't like the look of you." "then shut your eyes," said thurstan. "did marky the lord lend you the money?" asked jacob of asher. "ay, he did," said asher. "and _you_, too, said jacob?" turning stiffly to stean. "ay," said stean. "and _you_?" said jacob, facing towards ross. "i darn say no," said ross. "and _you_, as well?" said jacob, confronting thurstan. "why not?" said thurstan. "the blockhead!" cried jacob, "the scoundrel! it was _my_ money--mine--mine, i tell you, and he might as well have pitched it into the sea." then the four men began to double their fists. "wait!" said asher. "are you the grasping young miser that asked fourteen per cent.!" "he is, clear enough," said stean. "well," said thurstan, "i really think--look you, boys, i really do think, but i speak under correction--i really think, all things considered, this jacob is a damned rascal." "i may have the advantage of him in years," said asher, doubling up his sleeves, "but if i can't----" "go to the devil," said jacob, and he went below, boiling hot with rage. it was idle to keep up the quarrel, for very soon all six were out on the high seas, bound to each other's company at bed and board, and doomed to pass the better part of a fortnight together. so before they came to iceland they were good friends, after their fashion, though that was perhaps the fashion of cat and mouse, and being landed at reykjavik they were once more in their old relations, with jacob as purse-bearer and spokesman. "and now listen," said that thrifty person. "what's it saying? 'a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.' we've got our bird in the hand, haven't we?" "so we have," said asher; "six hundred golden pounds that ballacraine fetched at the sale." "just so," said jacob; "and before we part with it let us make sure about the two in the bush." with that intention they started inquiries, as best they could; touching the position of michael sunlocks, his salary and influence. and in spite of the difficulties of language they heard and saw enough to satisfy them. old iceland was awakening from a bad dream of three bad centuries and setting to work with a will to become a power among the states; the young president, michael sunlocks, was the restorer and protector of her liberties; fame and honor were before him, and before all who laid a hand to his plough. this was what they heard in many jargons on every side. "it's all right," whispered jacob, "and now for the girl." they had landed late in the day of greeba's visit to red jason at the little house of detention, and had heard of her marriage, of its festivities, and of the attempt on the life of the president. but though they knew that jason was no longer in mann they were too much immersed in their own vast schemes to put two and two together, until next morning they came upon the sad procession bound for the sulphur mines, and saw that jason was one of the prisoners. they were then on their way to government house, and jacob said with a wink, "boys, that's worth remembering. when did it do any harm to have two strings to your bow?" the others laughed at that, and john nudged thurstan and said, "isn't he a boy!" and thurstan grunted and trudged on. when they arrived at the kitchen door of the house they asked for greeba by her new name, and after some inarticulate fencing with a fat icelandic cook, the little english maid was brought down to them. "leave her to me," whispered jacob, and straightway he tackled her. could they see the mistress? what about? well, it was a bit of a private matter, but no disrespect to herself, miss. aw, yes, they were englishmen--that's to say a sort of englishmen--being manxmen. would the mistress know them? ay, go bail on that. eh, boys? ha! ha! fact was they were her brothers, miss. yes, her brothers, all six of them, and longing mortal to clap eyes again on their sweet little sister. and after that master jacob addressed himself adroitly to an important question, and got most gratifying replies. oh, yes, the president loved his young wife beyond words; worshipped the very ground she walked on, as they say. and, oh, yes, she had great, great influence with him, and he would do anything in the wide world to please her. "that'll do," whispered jacob over his shoulder, as the little maid tripped away to inform her mistress. "i'll give that girl a shilling when she comes again," he added. "and give her another for me," said stean. "and me," said asher. "seeing that i've no land at home now i wouldn't mind staying here when you all go back," said jacob. "i'll sell you mine, jacob," said thurstan. the maid returned to ask them to follow, and they went after her, stroking their lank hair smooth on their foreheads, and studying the remains of the snow on their boots. when they came to the door of the room where they were to meet with greeba, jacob whispered to the little maid, "i'll give you a crown when i come out again." then he twisted his face over his shoulder and said: "do as i do; d'ye hear?" "_isn't_ he a boy?" chuckled gentleman john. then into the room they passed, one by one, all six in file. greeba was standing by a table, erect, quivering, with flashing eyes, and the old trembling on both sides her heart. jacob and john instantly went down on one knee before her, and their four lumbering brethren behind made shift to do the same. "so we have found you at last, thank god," said jacob, in a mighty burst of fervor. "thank god, thank god," the others echoed. "ah, greeba," said jacob, in a tone of sorrowful reproach, "why ever did you go way without warning, and leave us all so racked with suspense? you little knew how you grieved us, seeming to slight our love and kindness towards you----" "stop," said greeba. "i know too well what your love and kindness have been to me. why have you come?" "don't say that," said jacob, sadly, "for see what we have made free to fetch you--six hundred pound," he added, lugging a bag and a roll of paper out of his pocket. "six hundred golden pounds," repeated the others. "it's your share of lague--your full share, greeba, woman," said jacob, deliberately, "and every penny of it is yours. so take it, and may it bring you a blessing, greeba. and don't think unkind of us because we have held it back until now, for we kept it from you for your own good, seeing plain there was someone harking after you for sake of what you had, and fearing your good money would thereby fall into evil hands, and you be made poor and penniless." "ay, ay," muttered the others; "that jason--that red jason." "but he's gone now, and serve him right," said jacob, "and you're wedded to the right man, praise god." so saying he shambled to his feet, and his brothers did likewise. but greeba stood without moving, and said through her compressed lips, "how did you know that i was here?" "the letter, the letter," asher blurted out, and jacob gave him a side-long look, and then said: "ye see, dear, it was this way. when you were gone, and we didn't know where to look for you, and were sore grieved to think you'd maybe left us in anger, not rightly seeing our drift towards you, we could do nothing but sit about and fret for you. and one day we were turning over some things in a box, just to bring back the memory of you, when what should we find but a letter writ to you by the good man himself." "ay, sunlocks--michael sunlocks," said stean. "and a right good man he is, beyond gainsay; and he knows how to go through life, and i always said it," said asher. and jacob continued, "so said i; 'boys,' i said, 'now we know where she is, and that by this time she must have married the man she ought, let's do the right by her and sell ballacraine, and take her the money and give her joy.'" "so you did, so you did," said john. "and we sold it dirt cheap, too," said jacob, "but you're not the loser; no, for here is a full seventh of all lague straight to your hand." "give me the money," said greeba. "and there it is, dear," said jacob, fumbling the notes and the gold to count them, while his brethren, much gratified by this sign of greeba's complacency, began to stretch their legs from the easy chairs about them. "ay, and a pretty penny it has cost us to fetch it," said john. "we've had to pinch ourselves to do it, i can tell you." "how much has it cost you?" said greeba. "no matter of that," interrupted jacob, with a lofty sweep of the hand. "let me pay you back what you have spent in coming," said greeba. "not a pound of it," said jacob. "what's a matter of forty or fifty pounds to any of us, compared to doing what's right by our own flesh and blood?" "let me pay you," said greeba, turning to asher, and asher was for holding out his hand, but jacob, coming behind him, tugged at his coat, and so he drew back and said, "aw, no, child, no; i couldn't touch it for my life." "then _you_," said greeba to thurstan, and thurstan looked as hungry as a hungry gull at the bait that was offered him, but just then jacob was coughing most lamentably. so with a wry face, that was all colors at once, thurstan answered, "aw, greeba, woman, do you really think a poor man has got no feelings? don't press it, woman. you'll hurt me." recking nothing of these refusals greeba tried each of the others in turn, and getting the same answer from all, she wheeled about, saying, "very well, be it so," and quickly locked the money in the drawer of a cabinet. this done, she said sharply, "now, you can go." "go?" they cried, looking up from their seats in bewilderment. "yes," she said, "before my husband returns." "before he returns?" said jacob. "why, greeba, we wish to see him." "you had better not wait," said greeba. "he might remember what you appear to forget." "why," said jacob, with every accent of incredulity, "and isn't he our brother, so to say, brought up in the house of our own father?" "and he knows what you did for our poor father, who wouldn't lie shipwrecked now but for your heartless cruelties," said greeba. "greeba, lass, greeba, lass," jacob protested, "don't say he wouldn't take kind to the own brothers of his own wife." "he also knows what you did for her," said greeba, "and the sorry plight you brought her to." "what!" cried jacob, "you never mean to say you are going to show an ungrateful spirit, greeba, after all we've brought you?" "small thanks to you for that, after defrauding me so long," said greeba. "what! keeping you from marrying that cheating knave?" cried jacob. "you kept me from nothing but my just rights," said greeba. "now go--go." her words fell on them like swords that smote them hip and thigh, and like sheep they huddled together with looks of amazement and fear. "why, greeba, you don't mean to turn us out of the house," said jacob. "and if i do," said greeba, "it is no more than you did for our dear old father, but less; for that house was his, while this is mine, and you ought to be ashamed to show your wicked faces inside its doors." "oh, the outrageous little atomy," cried asher. "this is the thanks you get for crossing the seas to pay people what there was never no call to give them," said stean. "oh, bad cess to it all," cried ross, "i'll take what it cost me to come, and get away straight. give it me, and i'm off." "no," said greeba, "i'll have no half measures. you refused what i offered you, and now you shall have nothing." "och, the sly slut--the crafty young minx," cried ross, "to get a hold of the money first." "hush, boys, leave it to me," said jacob. "greeba," he said, in a voice of deep sorrow, "i never should have believed it of you--you that was always so kind and loving to strangers, not to speak of your own kith and kin----" "stop that," cried greeba, lifting her head proudly, her eyes flashing, and the woman all over aflame. "do you think i don't see through your paltry schemes? you defrauded me when i was poor and at your mercy, and now when you think i am rich, and could do you a service, you come to me on your knees. but i spurn you, you mean, grovelling men, you that impoverished my father and then turned your backs upon him, you that plotted against my husband and would now lick the dust under his feet. get out of my house, and never darken my doors again. come here no more, i tell you, or i will disown you. go--go!" and just as sheep they had huddled together, so as sheep she swept them out before her. they trooped away through the kitchen and past the little english maid, but their eyes were down and they did not see her. "did ye give her that crown piece?" asked thurstan, looking into jacob's eyes. but jacob said nothing--he only swore a little. "the numskull!" muttered thurstan. "the tomfool! the booby! the mooncalf! the jobbernowl! i was a fool to join his crackbrained scheme." "i always said it would come to nothing," said asher, "and we've thrown away five and thirty pound apiece, and fourteen per cent. for the honor of doing it." "it's his money, though--the grinding young miser--and may he whistle till he gets it," said thurstan. "oh, yes, you're a pretty pack of wise asses, you are," said jacob, bitterly. "money thrown away, is it? you've never been so near to your fortune in your life." "how is that?" asked the other five at once. "how is it that red jason has gone to prison? for threatening michael sunlocks? very likely," said jacob, with a curl of the lip. "what then?" said john. "for threatening herself," said jacob. "she has lied about it." "and what if she has? where's our account in that?" said asher. "where? why, with her husband," said jacob, and four distinct whistles answered him. "you go bail michael sunlocks knows less than we know," jacob added, "and maybe we might tell him something that would be worth a trifle." "what's that?" asked john. "that she loved red jason, and ought to have married him," said jacob; "but threw him up after they had been sweethearting together, because he was poor, and then came to iceland and married michael sunlocks because he was rich." "chut! numskull again! he'd never believe you," said thurstan. "would he not?" said jacob, "then maybe he would believe his own eyes. look there," and he drew a letter out of his pocket. it was the abandoned letter that greeba wrote to jason. "_isn't_ he a boy!" chuckled gentleman john. two days longer they stayed at reykjavik, and rambled idly about the town, much observed by the icelanders and danes for their monkey jackets of blue manx cloth, and great sea boots up to their thighs. early on the afternoon of the second day they sighted, from the new embankment where they stood and watched the masons, a ship coming up the fiord from the smoky point. it was a brig, with square sails set, and as she neared the port she ran up a flag to the masthead. the flag was the icelandic flag, the banner of the vikings, the white falcon on the blue ground, and the fairbrothers noticed that at the next moment it was answered by a like flag on the flag-staff of government house. "he's coming, he's yonder," said jacob, flapping his hands under his armpits to warm them. in a few minutes they saw that there was a flutter over the smooth surface of the life of the town, and that small groups of people were trooping down to the jetty. half an hour later the brig ran into harbor, dropped anchor below the lava reef, and sent its small boat ashore. three men sat in the boat; the two sailors who rowed, and a gentleman who sat on the seat between them. the gentleman was young, flaxen-haired, tall, slight, with a strong yet winsome face, and clad in a squirrel-skin coat and close-fitting squirrel-skin cap. when the boat grounded by the jetty he leapt ashore with a light spring, smiled and nodded to the many who touched their hats to him, hailed others with a hearty word, and then swung into the saddle of a horse that stood waiting for him, and rode away at an eager trot in the direction of government house. it was michael sunlocks. chapter xi. the pardon. when the men whom michael sunlocks sent into the interior after adam fairbrother and his shipwrecked company returned to him empty-handed, he perceived that they had gone astray by crossing a great fiord lying far east of hekla when they should have followed the course of it down to the sea. so, counting the time that had been wasted, he concluded to take ship to a point of the southern coast in the latitude of the westmann islands, thinking to meet old adam somewhere by the fiord's mouth. the storm delayed him, and he reached the fiord too late; but he came upon some good news of adam there: that, all well, though sore beset by the hard weather, and enfeebled by the misfortunes that had befallen them, the little band of ship-broken men had, three days before his own coming, passed up the western bank of the fiord on foot, going slowly and heavily laden, but under the safe charge of a guide from stappen. greatly cheered in heart at these good tidings michael sunlocks had ordered a quick return, for it was unsafe, and perhaps impossible, to follow up through the narrow chasms of the fiord in a ship under sail. on getting back to reykjavik he intended to take ponies across country in the direction of thingvellir, hoping to come upon old adam and his people before they reached the lake or the great chasm on the western side of the valley, known as the chasm of all men. and thinking, amid the flutter of joyful emotions, that on the overland journey he would surely take greeba with him, for he could never bear to be so long parted from her again, all his heart went back to her in sweet visions as his ship sped over the sea. her beauty, her gentleness, her boldness, her playful spirits, and all her simple loving ways came flowing over him wave after wave, and then in one great swelling flood. and in the night watches, looking over the dark waters, and hearing nothing but their deep moan, he could scarce believe his fortune, being so far away from the sight of her light figure, and from the hearing of her sweet voice, that she was his--his love, his wife, his darling. a hundred tender names he would call her then, having no ear to hear him but the melancholy waves, no tongue to echo him but the wailing wind, and no eye to look upon him but the eye of night. and many a time on that homeward voyage, while the sails bellowed out to the fair breeze that was carrying him to her, he asked himself however he had been able to live so long without her, and whether he could live without her now if evil chance plunged his great happiness into greater grief. thinking so, he recalled the day of her coming, and the message he got from the ship in the harbor saying she had come before her time, and how he had hastened down, and into the boat, and across the bay, and aboard, with a secret trembling lest the years might have so changed her as to take something from her beauty, or her sweetness, or her goodness, or yet the bounding playfulness that was half the true girl's charm. but, oh, the delicious undeceiving of that day, when, coming face to face with her again, he saw the rosy tint in her cheek and the little delicate dimple sucked into it when she smiled, and the light footstep, and the grace of motion, and the swelling throat, and the heaving bosom and the quivering lids over the most glorious eyes that ever shone upon this earth! so, at least, it had seemed to him then, and still it seemed so as his ship sailed home. at smoky point they lay off an hour or two to take in letters for the capital, and there intelligence had come aboard of the arrest, trial, and condemnation of jason for his design and attempt upon the life of the president. michael sunlocks had been greatly startled and deeply moved by the news, and called on the master to weigh the anchor without more delay than was necessary, because he had now a double reason for wishing to be back in reykjavik. and being at length landed there he galloped up to government house, bounded indoors with the thought of his soul speaking out of his eyes, and found greeba there and every one of his sweetest visions realized. all his hundred tender, foolish, delicious names he called her over again, but with better ears to hear them, while he enfolded her in his arms, with both her own about his neck, and her beautiful head nestling close over his heart, and her fluttering breast against his breast. "dearest," he whispered, "my darling, love of my life, however could i leave you so long?" "michael," she whispered back, "if you say any more i shall be crying." but the words were half smothered by sobs, for she was crying already. seeing this, he sheered off on another tack, telling her of his mission in search of her father, and that if he had not brought the good man back, at least he had brought good news of him, and saying that they were both to start to-morrow for thingvellir with the certainty of meeting him and bringing him home with great rejoicings. "and now, my love, i have a world of things to attend to before i can go," said michael sunlocks, "and you have to prepare for two days in the saddle over the snow." greeba had been smiling through the big drops that floated in her eyes, but she grew solemn again, and said-"ah, michael, you cannot think what trouble we have all had while you have been away." "i know it--i know all," said michael sunlocks, "so say no more about it, but away to your room, my darling." with that he rang a hand-bell that stood on the table, and oscar, his servant, answered the call. "go across to the jail," he said, "and tell jon that his prisoner is not to be removed until he has had orders from me." "what prisoner, your excellency?" said oscar. "the prisoner known as jason," said michael sunlocks. "he's gone, your excellency," cried oscar. "gone?" "i mean to the sulphur mines, your excellency." "when was he sent?" "yesterday morning, at daybreak, your excellency." michael sunlocks sat at a table and wrote a few lines, and handed them to his man, saying, "then take this to the lagmann, and say i shall wait here until he comes." while this was going forward greeba had been standing by the door with a troubled look, and when oscar was gone from the room she returned to her husband's side, and said, with great gravity, "michael, what are you going to do with that man?" but michael sunlocks only waved his hand, and said, "nay, now, darling, you shall not trouble about this matter any more. it is my affair, and it is for me to see to it." "but he has threatened your life," cried greeba. "now, love, what did i say?" said michael sunlocks, with uplifted finger and a pretence at reproof. "you've fretted over this foolish thing too long; so think no more about it, and go to your room." she turned to obey. "and, darling," he cried in another voice, as she was slowly going, "that i may seem to have you with me all the same, just sing something, and i shall hear you while i work. will you? there!" he cried, and laughed before she had time to answer. "see what a goose you have made of me!" she came back, and for reply she kissed his forehead, and he put his lips to her lovely hand. then, with a great lump in her throat, and the big drops rolling from her eyes to her cheeks, she left him to the work she sorely feared. and being alone, and the candles lighted and the blinds drawn down, for night had now fallen in, he sat at the table to read the mass of letters that had gathered in his absence. there was no communication of any kind from the government at copenhagen, and satisfying himself on this point, and thinking for the fiftieth time that surely denmark intended, as she ought, to leave the people of world-old iceland to govern themselves, he turned with a sigh of relief to the strange, bewildering, humorous, pathetic hodge-podge of petitions, complaints, requests, demands and threats that came from every quarter of the island itself. and while he laughed and looked grave, and muttered, and made louder exclamations over these, as one by one they passed under his eye, suddenly the notes of a harpsichord, followed shortly by the sweeter notes of a sweet voice, came to him from another room, and with the tip of his pen to his lips, he dropped back in his chair to listen. "my own song," he thought, and his eyelids quivered. "drink to me only with thine eyes, and i will pledge with mine. oh, leave a kiss within the cup, and i'll not ask for wine; the thirst that from the soul doth rise doth ask a drink divine; but might i of jove's nectar sup i would not change for thine." it was greeba singing to him as he had bidden her. "god bless her," he thought again in the silence that followed. ah, little did he think as he listened to her song that the eyes of the singer were wet, and that her heart was eating itself out with fears. "what have i done to deserve such happiness?" he asked himself. but just as it happens that at the moment when our passionate joy becomes conscious of itself we find some dark misgivings creep over us of evil about to befall, so the bounding gladsomeness of michael sunlocks was followed by a chill dread that he tried to put aside and could not. it was at that moment that the lagmann entered the room. he was very tall and slight, and had a large head that drooped like daffodil. his dress was poor, he was short-sighted, growing elderly, and silent of manner. nothing in his appearance or bearing would have suggested that he had any pride of his place as judge of the island. he was a bookworm, a student, a scholar, and learned in the old sagas and eddas. "lagmann," said michael sunlocks, with simple deference. "i have sent for you on a subject of some moment to myself." "name it!" said the judge. "during my absence a man has been tried and condemned by the bishop's court for threatening my life," said michael sunlocks. "jason, the son of stephen orry and rachel, daughter of the late governor-general jorgensen," said the judge. "that is he, and i want you to give me an opinion respecting him," said michael sunlocks. "gladly," said the judge. "he was sent to the sulphur mines," said michael sunlocks. "for six months, certain," said the judge. "can we recall him, and have him tried afresh by the court of the quarter or the high court of justice?" said michael sunlocks. "too late for that," said the judge. "a higher court, if it had condemned at all, might certainly have given him a longer punishment, but his sentence of six months is coupled with a condition that he shall hereafter take an oath of peace towards you. so have no fear of him." "i have none at all," said michael sunlocks, "as my next question will show." "what is it?" said the judge. "can i pardon him?" said michael sunlocks. for a moment the lagmann was startled out of his placid manner, but recovering his composure he answered, "yes, a president has sovereign powers of pardon." "then, lagmann," said michael sunlocks, "will you see the needful papers drawn for my signature?" "surely," said the judge. "but, first, will you pardon _me_?" he added, with a shadow of a smile. "say what you please, lagmann," said michael sunlocks. "it is possible that you do not yet know the nature of the evidence given at the trial," said the judge. "i think i do," said michael sunlocks. "that this man claims to be your half-brother?" "he _is_ my brother." "that he thinks you have stood in his place?" "i _have_ stood in his place." "that he is jealous of you, and in his madness has vowed to slay you?" "his jealousy is natural, and his vow i do not dread." the cold-mannered lagmann paused a moment, wiped his short-sighted eyes with his red print handkerchief, and then said in a husky voice, "this is very noble of you. i'll go at once for the document." he had only just gone from the room when greeba returned to it. she had tried too long to conquer her agitation and could not, and now with wide eyes and a look of fear in them she hastened back to her husband the moment the lagmann had left him. "michael," she cried, "what has the lagmann gone for?" "for a form of pardon," he answered. "pardon for that man?" she asked. "even so," he said, "and i have promised to sign it." "oh, michael, my love--my dear, kind michael!" she cried, in a pitiful voice of entreaty, "don't do it, don't i pray of you--don't bring that man back." "why, greeba, what is this?" said michael sunlocks. "what is it troubles my little woman?" "dear michael," she cried once more, "for your own sake think again before you sign that pardon." "ah, i see," said he, "my darling has been all unstrung by this ugly business. yes, and now i remember what they told me down at smoky point. it was my love herself that gave the poor lad up to justice. that was very brave of my darling; for her husband, bless her dear heart, was before all the world to her. ah, yes, i know that all her love is mine, her love is first and last with her as with all warm natures. but she must not fear for me. no, she must not worry, but go back, like a dear soul, and leave this matter to me." "michael, my dear, noble michael, i have something to say; will you not hear me?" "no, no, no," he answered. "not for a moment? i have set my heart on telling you." "not for one little moment. but if you have set your heart on anything else, then, my darling, just think of it double, whatever it is, and it is yours already." "but why may i not speak of this pardon?" "because, though i have never yet set eyes upon this poor man i know more about him than my darling can ever know, and because it is natural that her sweet little heart, that is as brave as a lion for herself but as timid as a fawn for me, should exaggerate my peril. so now, no more words about it, but go, go." she was about to obey when the maid came to say that dinner was ready. and then with a little shout of joy michael sunlocks threw down his papers, encircled his arm about greeba's waist, and drew her along laughing, with her smiles fighting their way through her tears. during the dinner he talked constantly of the dangers and trials and amusing mischances of his voyage, laughing at them all now they were over, and laughing at greeba, too, for the woeful face with which she heard of them. and when they rose from the table he called on her for another song, and she sat at the harpsichord and sang, though something was swelling in her throat and often her heart was in her mouth. but he recked nothing of this, and only laughed when her sweet voice failed her, and filled up the breaks with his own rich tones. in the midst of the singing the maid came in and said something which michael sunlocks did not catch, for it was drowned to his ear by the gladsome uproar that he himself was making; but greeba heard it and stopped playing, and presently the lagmann entered the room. "a good thing is no worse for being done betimes," said the judge, "so here is the pardon ready to your hand for signature." and with that he handed a paper to michael sunlocks, who said with cheer, "you're right, lagmann, you're right; and my wife will give you a glass of wine while i write you my name." "a cup of coffee, if you are taking it," said the judge, with a bow to greeba, who saw nothing of it, for her eyes were following her husband. "michael," she said, "i beseech you not to sign that paper. only give way to me this once; i have never asked you before, and i will never ask you again. i am in earnest, michael dear, and if you will not yield to me for your own sake, yield to me for mine." "how is this? how grave we are!" said michael sunlocks, pausing with pen in hand. "i know i have no right to meddle in such matters, but, dear michael, don't sign that pardon--don't bring that man back. i beseech you, i beg of you." "this is very strange," said michael sunlocks. "it is also very simple," said the judge, bringing his red handkerchief up to his dim eyes again. "what!" said michael sunlocks. "greeba, you do not know this man--this jason?" greeba hesitated a moment, and glanced at the lagmann. "you don't know him?" repeated michael sunlocks. she was sorely tempted, and she fell. "for my husband's sake," she thought, and then with a prayer for pardon she lifted her head and said falteringly, "no, no--why no, of course not." michael sunlocks was satisfied. "'why no, of course not,'" he echoed, laughing a little, and then he dipped his quill in the ink-horn. "but i beseech you again, do not bring that man back," she cried. there was a painful pause, and, to cover it, the lagmann said, "your husband is a brave-hearted man, who does not know the name of fear." and then michael sunlocks said, "i will ask your pardon, lagmann, while i step into the next room with my wife. i have something to tell her. come, greeba, come. i'll leave the document with you for the present, lagmann," he added over his shoulder as he passed out. greeba walked beside him with downcast eyes, like a guilty thing condemned. "now, love," he said, when they were alone, "it is sweet and beautiful of you to think so much of me, but there is something that you do not know, and i ought to tell you. maybe i hinted at it in my letter, but there has never been a chance to explain. have you heard that this jason is my brother?" "yes," said greeba, faintly. "it is true," said michael sunlocks. "and you know that when i first came to iceland it was not to join the latin school, but on an errand of mercy?" "yes," said greeba. "well, the first of my duties was to find jason's mother, and the next, was to find jason himself." "jason!" cried greeba. "yes, it was my father who sent me, for they had suffered much through his great fault, god forgive him! and i was to succor them in their distress. you know what followed?" "yes," said greeba, softly. "i came too late for the mother; the good woman was in her grave. i could not light upon her son, and lent an ear to the idle story that he was dead also. my search ceased, my zeal flagged, and, putting aside the solemn promise i made my father, i went on with my own affairs. but i never believed that he was dead, and i felt i should live to meet with him yet." "oh! oh!" cried greeba. "and many a time since my conscience has reproached me with a mission unfulfilled; and, awakening from many a dream of the hour and the place wherein i pledged my word to him that died trusting me, loving me, doting on me--heaven pity him, bad man though he was--as never a son was loved by a father before, it has not appeased me to say to myself, 'michael, while you are here, given up to your ambitions, he is there amid the perils and hardships of the sea, and he is your brother, and the only kinsman left to you in the wide world.'" greeba was sobbing by this time. "and now, my darling, you know all, and why i wish to sign this pardon. could i ever know a moment's happiness with my brother slaving like a beast at yonder mines? what if he is jealous of me, and if his jealousy had driven him to madness! there is a sense in which he is right. but, whether right or wrong, mad or sane, he shall not be punished for my sake. so, dearest love, my darling, dry your beautiful eyes, and let me ease my conscience the only way i may, for i have no fear, and my wife must have none." "sunlocks," said greeba, "you have made me ashamed. i am no fit wife for a man like you. i am too little-hearted. oh, why did i ever come? why? why?" and she wept as if her heart would break. he comforted her with tender protests, enfolding her in his arms and caressing her lovely head. "tell me," he whispered, "nay, there, hide your face in my breast. there, there, tell me now--tell me all." "sunlocks," she said, drawing back, "i have lied to you." "lied?" "when i told you i had not known jason i told you what was false." "then you have known him?" "yes, i knew him in the isle of man." "the isle of man?" "he lived there nearly five years." "all the time he was away?" "yes, he landed the night you sailed. you crossed him on the sea." "greeba, why did he go there? yet how should you know?" "i do know, michael--it was to fulfil his vow--his vow that the old priest spoke of in court--his wicked vow of vengeance." "on my father?" "on your father and on you." "god in heaven!" cried michael sunlocks, with great awe. "and that very night my father was saved from his own son by death." "it was he who saved your father from the sea." "wait," said michael sunlocks; "did you know of this vow before you accused him of an attempt upon me?" greeba caught her breath, and answered, "yes." "did you know of it while you were still in the isle of man?" "yes," she answered again, more faintly. "did he tell you?" "yes, and he bound me by a promise never to speak of it, but i could not keep it from my own husband." "that's strange," said michael sunlocks, with a look of pain. "to share a secret like that with you was very strange," he added. greeba was flurried, and said again, too bewildered to see which way her words were tending, "and he gave me his promise in return to put aside his sinful purpose." "that's still stranger," said michael sunlocks. "greeba," he added, in another tone, "why should you say you did not know jason?" "because the lagmann was with us." "but why, my girl? why?" "lest evil rumors might dishonor my husband." "but where was the dishonor to me in my wife knowing this poor lad, greeba?" at that she hesitated a moment, and then in a tone of gentle reproof she said, nestling close to him and caressing his sleeve, "michael, why do you ask such questions?" but he did not turn aside for that, but looked searchingly into her face, and said, "he was nothing to you, was he?" she hesitated again, and then tried to laugh, "why, what should he be to me?" she said. he did not flinch, but repeated, "he was nothing to you then?" "nobody save my husband has ever been anything to me," she said, with a caress. "he was nothing to you--no?" "no," she answered, throwing back her head. just then the english maid came to say that the six big englishmen who had been there before were in the kitchen again, and asking to see her master, not her mistress, this time. in an instant greeba's little burst of disdain was spent, and she was all humility and entreaty. "don't go to them," she cried. "don't listen to them." "who are they?" he asked. "my brothers. i have not had time to tell you, but i will tell you now." she put her arms about his neck as if to hold him. "what have they come for?" "to tell you some falsehood, and so revenge themselves on me. i know it, i feel it. ah, a woman's instinct is sure. but, dear michael, you will not receive them. refuse, and i will tell you such a story. and you will laugh----" "let me go, greeba," he said, unloosing the grip of her tightening arms, and the next moment he was gone from the room. then all the spirit of the woman arose in greeba, and, throwing aside her vague fears, she resolved, as only a woman could, in the cruel hour when a dear heart seemed to be slipping away from her, that, come what would, she should hold to her husband at all hazards, and that whatever her brothers might say against her, let it be true or false, if it threatened to separate her from him, she must deny it. what matter about the truth? her love was before everything. and who was to disprove her word? jason alone could do so, and his tongue was sealed forever in a silence as deep as the grave's. michael sunlocks went out of the room like a man in a dream: an ugly dream, a dream of darkening terrors undefined. he came back to it like one who has awakened to find that his dream has come true. within one hour his face seemed to have grown old. he stooped, he stumbled on the floor, his limbs shook under him, he was a broken and sorrowful man. at sight of him greeba could scarcely restrain an impulse to scream. she ran to him, and cried, "michael, husband, what have they told you?" at first he looked stupidly into her quivering face, and then glancing down at a paper he held in one hand he made an effort to conceal it behind him. she was too quick for him, and cried, "what is it? show it me." "it's nothing," he said; "nothing, love, nothing----" "what have they told you?" she said again, "tell me--tell me." "they say that you loved jason," he answered with a great effort. "it's a lie," she cried stoutly. "they say that you were to marry him." she tried to answer as stoutly as before, "and that's a lie, too," but the words stuck in her throat. "oh! god," he cried, and turned away from her. there was a stove in the room, and he stepped up to it, opened the iron door, and thrust the paper into the crackling fire. "what is that you are burning?" she cried. and in another moment, before he knew what she was doing, she had run to the stove, pulled back with her bare hands the hot door that he was closing with the tongs, thrust her arm into the fire, and brought out the paper. it was in flames, and she rolled it in her palms until little but its charred remains lay in her scorched fingers. but she saw what it had been--her own abandoned letter to red jason. then, slowly looking up, she turned back to her husband, pale, a fearful chill creeping over her, and he had thrown himself down on a chair by the table and hidden his face in his arms. it was a pitiful and moving sight. to see that man, so full of hope and love and simple happy trust a little hour ago, lie there with bent head and buried eyes, and hands clasped together convulsively, because the idol he had set up for himself lay broken before him, because the love wherein he lived lay dead; and to see that woman, so beautiful, and in heart so true, though dogged by the malice of evil chance, though weak as a true woman may be, stand over him with whitening lips and not a word to utter--to see this was to say, "what devil of hell weaves the web of circumstance in this world of god?" then, with a cry of love and pain in one, she flung herself on her knees beside him, and enfolded him in her arms. "michael," she said, "my love, my darling, my dear kind husband, forgive me, and let me confess everything. it is true that i was to have married jason, but it is not true that i loved him. i esteemed him, for he is of a manly, noble soul, and after the departure of my father and the death of my mother, and amid the cruelties of my brothers and your own long, long silence, i thought to reward him for his great fidelity. but i loved you, you only, only you, dear michael, and when your letter reached me at last i asked him to release me that i might come to you, and he did so, and i came. this is the truth, dear michael, as sure as we shall meet before god some day." michael sunlocks lifted his face and said, "why did you not tell me this long ago, greeba, and not now when it is dragged from you?" she did not answer him, for to be met with such a question after a plea so abject, stung her to the quick. "do you not believe i've told you the truth?" she asked. "god knows; i know not what to believe," he answered. "do you rather trust my brothers, who have deceived you?" she said. "so, heaven help me! has my wife, whom i have loved so dear." at that she drew herself up. "michael," she said, "what lie have these men told you? don't keep it from me. what have i done?" "married me, while loving him," he answered. "that's enough for me, god pity me!" "do you believe that?" she said. "your concealments, your deceptions, your subterfuges all prove it," he said. "oh, it is killing me, for it is the truth." "so you believe that?" she said. "if i had not written you would now be jason's wife," he said. "and by this light i see his imprisonment. it was you who accused him of a design upon my life. why? because you knew what he had confessed to you. for your own ends you used his oath against him, knowing he could not deny it. and what was your purpose? to put him away. why? because he was pursuing you for deserting him. but you made his vow your excuse, and the brave lad said nothing. no, not a word; and yet he might have dishonored you before them all. and when i wished to sign his pardon you tried to prevent me. was that for my sake? no, but yours. was it my life you thought to protect? no, but your own secret." thus, in the agony of his tortured heart, the hot hard words came from him in a torrent, but before the flood of them was spent, greeba stepped up to him with flashing eyes, and all the wrath in her heart that comes of outraged love, and cried, "it is false. it is false, i say. send for him and he himself will deny it. i can trust him, for he is of a noble soul. yes, he is a man indeed. i challenge you to send for him. let him come here. bring him before me, and he shall judge between us." "no," said michael sunlocks, "i will not send for him. for what _you_ have done _he_ shall suffer." then there was a knock at the door, and after a pause the lagmann entered, with his stoop and uncertain glance. "excuse me," he said, "will you sign the pardon now, or leave it until the morning?" "i will not sign it at all," said michael sunlocks. but at the next moment he cried: "wait! after all it is not the man's fault, and he shall not suffer." with that he took the paper out of the law-man's hand and signed it hurriedly. "here," he said, "see that the man is set free immediately." the lagmann looked at both of them out of his nearsighted eyes, coughed slightly, and left the room without a word more. chapter xii. the president or the man. i. when the fairbrothers left government house after their dirty work was done, jacob was well content with himself, but his brothers were still grumbling. "he didn't seem any ways keen to believe it," thurstan muttered. "leave him alone for that," said jacob. "did ye see when i gave him the letter?" "shoo! i wouldn't trust but she will persuade him she never writ it," said thurstan. "he's got it anyways, and we have nothing to show for it," said stean. "and noways powerful grateful either. and where's the fortune that was coming straight to our hand?" said ross. "chut, man, there's nothing for us in his mighty schame," said thurstan. "i always said so," said asher; "and five and thirty pounds of good money thrown into the sea." "go on," said jacob, with a lofty smile, "go on, don't save your breath for your porridge," and he trudged along ahead of his brethren. presently he stopped, faced about to them, and said, "boys, you're mighty sure that nothing is coming of this mighty schame," with a look of high disdain at thurstan. "sure as death and the taxman," sneered thurstan. "then there's a boat sailing for dublin at high water, and i'll give five and thirty pounds apiece to every man of you that likes to go home with her." at that there was an uneasy scraping of five pairs of feet, and much hum-ing and ha-ing and snuffling. "quick, which of you is it to be? speak out, and don't all speak at once," said jacob. then asher, with a look of outraged reason, said, "what! and all our time go for nothing, and the land lying fallow for months, and the winter cabbage not down, and the men's wages going on?" "you won't take it?" said jacob. "a paltry five and thirty, why, no," said asher. "then let's have no more of your badgering," said jacob. "but, jacob, tell us where's our account in all this jeel with the girl and the governor," said gentleman john. "find it out," said jacob, with a flip of finger and thumb, as he strode on again before his brothers. "aw, lave him alone," said stean. "he's got his schame." ii. next morning, before the light was yet good, and while the warm vapor was still rising into the chill air from the waters of the fiord, michael sunlocks sat at work in the room that served him for office and study. his cheeks were pale, his eyes were heavy, and his whole countenance was haggard. but there was a quiet strength in his slow glance and languid step that seemed to say that in spite of the tired look of age about his young face and lissome figure he was a man of immense energy, power of mind and purpose. his man oscar was bustling in and out of the room on many errands. oscar was a curly-headed youth of twenty, with a happy upward turn of the corners of the mouth, and little twinkling eyes full of a bright fire. the lad knew that there was something amiss with his master by some queer twist of nature that gave a fillip to his natural cheerfulness. michael sunlocks would send oscar across the arg to the house of the speaker, and at the next moment forget that he had done so, touch the bell, walk over to the stove, stir the fire, and when the door opened behind him deliver his order a second time without turning round. it would be the maid who had answered the bell, and she would say, "if you please, your excellency, oscar has gone out. you sent him across to the speaker." and then michael sunlocks would bethink himself and say, "true, true; you are quite right." he would write his letters twice, and sometimes fold them without sealing them; he would read a letter again and again and not grasp its contents. his coffee and toast that had been brought in on a tray lay untouched until both were cold, though they had been set to stand on the top of the stove. he would drop his pen to look vacantly out at the window, and cross the room without an object, and stand abruptly and seem to listen. the twinkling eyes of young oscar saw something of this, and when the little english maid stopped the lad in the long passage and questioned him of his master's doings, he said with a mighty knowing smirk that the president was showing no more sense and feeling and gumption that morning than a tortoise within its shell. towards noon the fairbrothers asked for michael sunlocks, and were shown into his room. they entered with many bows and scrapes, and much stroking of their forelocks. michael sunlocks received them gravely, with an inclination of the head, but no words. "we make so bold as to come to see you again," said jacob, "for we've got lands at us lying fallow--the lot of us, bar myself, maybe--and we must be getting back and putting a sight on them." michael sunlocks bowed slightly. "we've lost a good crop by coming," said jacob, "and made no charge neither, though it's small thanks you get in this world for doing what's fair and honest." "well?" said michael sunlocks. "she never was good to them that was good to her," said jacob, "and we're taking sorrow to see that we're not the only ones that suffer from her ingratitude." "not another word on that head," said michael sunlocks. "what do you want?" "want? well, it isn't so mortal kind to say _want_," said jacob, with the look of one whose self-respect had been wounded. "a man may be poor, but a poor man has got feelings," said asher. "poor or rich, i say again, 'what do you want?'" said michael sunlocks. "only to say that we're going to keep this little thing quiet," said jacob. "aw, quiet, quiet," said the others. "i must leave that to you," said michael sunlocks. "aw, and safe, too," said jacob, "for what for should we be going disgracing our own sister? it isn't natural, and her the wife of the president, too." "aw, no, no," said the brethren. "he won't hear a word against her for all," whispered john to jacob. "a girl may be a bit wild, and doing sweethearting before she was married," said jacob, "but that is no reason why all the world should be agate of her, poor thing; and what's it saying, 'the first slip is always forgotten?'" "silence," said michael sunlocks, sternly. "if this is what you have come to say, we can cut this meeting short." "lord-a-massy," cried asher. "is he for showing us the door, too?" "who says so?" said jacob, changing his tone. then facing about to michael sunlocks, he said, "it wouldn't do to be known that the president of iceland had married a bad woman--would it?" michael sunlocks did not reply, and jacob answered himself: "no, of course not. so perhaps you'll give me back that letter i lent you yesterday." "i haven't got it. it is destroyed," said michael sunlocks. "destroyed!" cried jacob. "make yourself easy about it," said michael sunlocks. "it will do no more mischief. it's burnt. i burnt it myself." "burnt it?" jacob exclaimed. "why, do you know, i set great store by that letter? i wouldn't have lost it for a matter of five hundred pounds." michael sunlocks could bear no more. in an instant the weary look had gone from his face. his eyes flashed with anger; he straightened himself up, and brought his fist down on the table. "come," he cried, "let us have done with this fencing. you want me to pay you five hundred pounds. is that it?" "for the letter--that's it," said jacob. "and if i refuse to do so you mean to publish it abroad that i have married a wicked woman?" "aw, when did we say so?" said jacob. "no matter what you say. you want five hundred pounds?" "for the letter." "answer. you want five hundred pounds?" "for the letter." "then you shall not have one sixpence. do you think i would pay you for a thing like that? listen to me. i would give you all the wealth of the world, if i had it, never to have heard your evil news." "that won't pass, master," said jacob. "it's easy said now the letter's gone, and no danger left. but five hundred pounds i'll have or i'll not leave iceland till iceland knows something more than she knows to-day." "say what you like, do what you like," cried michael sunlocks; "but if ever you set foot in this house again, i'll clap every man of you in jail for blackmailing." iii. out again in the chilly dusky air, with the hard snow under foot, the fairbrothers trudged along. jacob gloomed as dark as any pitch, and thurstan's red eyes, like fire of ice, probed him with a burning delight. "i always said so," asher whimpered; and then over jacob's stooping shoulder he whispered, "i'll take half of what you offered me, and leave you to it." hearing that thurstan laughed fiercely, and repeated his hot christenings of two days before--"numskull! tomfool! blatherskite!" and yet choicer names beside. jacob bore all and showed no rancor, but trampled along ahead of the others, crestfallen, crushed, and dumb. and, left to themselves for conversation and comfort, his brethren behind compared notes together. "strange! he doesn't seem to care what is thought of his wife," said john. "aw, what's disgrace to a craythur same as that? like mother like son," said ross. "she had better have married the other one," said asher, "and i always said so." "it's self, self, self, with a man like yonder," said stean. "curse him for a selfish brute," said john. "aw, an unfeeling monster," said ross. and with such heat of anger these generous souls relieved themselves on the name of michael sunlocks. "boys," said thurstan, "maybe he has no feeling for the girl, but i'll go bail he has some for himself, and i wouldn't trust but he'd be feeling it mortal keen if he was after getting pulled down from his berth." "what d'ye mean?" asked all four at once. "leave that to myself," said thurstan, "and maybe since i set foot ashore i've heard tell of schames that's going." iv. greeba sat in her room, trying to cheat time of its weary hours by virtue of much questioning of her little english maid, who from time to time brought news of michael sunlocks. he had risen very early, as early as mid-morning (six o'clock), and ever since then he had been writing in his office. oscar had been running here and there for him, first to the senate, then to the speaker's, and then to the bishop's. the tall doorkeeper, stammering jon, had seen him, being sent for, and the feckless busybody had told him ever such needless stories of the jellies and the soups and the mistress's visit to the poor man in the prison, and however people got wind of things was just puzzling beyond words. with such cackle and poor company greeba passed her time, thinking no ill of the pert little maid who dressed up her hair and dressed down her pride as well, for a woman will have any confidante rather than none, and the sweetest and best of women, being estranged from her husband, her true stay and support, will lay hold of the very sorriest staff to lean on. and the strange twist of little natures, that made oscar perky while his master was melancholy, made the maid jubilant while her mistress wept. she was a dark-haired mite with eyes of the shallow brightness of burnished steel. her name was elizabeth. she meant no harm to anyone. towards noon the little woman burst into the room with great eagerness, and cried, in a hushed whisper, "the speaker has come. i am sure that something is going to happen; oscar says so, too. what is it? what can it be?" greeba listened, and carried herself bravely while the maid was near, but when the door had closed upon the chatterer she leaned against the window and cried, hearing nothing but her own weeping and the grief of the half-frozen river that flowed beneath. then, drying her eyes and summoning what remained of her pride, she left her own room to go to the room of her husband. v. in his little silk skullcap and spectacles the lagmann came back, for he was judge and speaker in one, and found michael sunlocks alone. at a glance he saw that the trouble of the night before had deepened, and that something of great moment was afoot. "lagmann," said michael sunlocks, "i wish you to summon both chambers to meet at the senate house to-morrow night." "it will be inconvenient," said the speaker, "for the committee of althing has risen, and the members are preparing to go back home." "that is why i wish them to be summoned at once," said michael sunlocks. "is the matter of such pressing importance?" asked the speaker. "it is; and it admits of no delay," answered michael sunlocks. "may i mention its purport?" said the speaker. "say only that the president has a message for althing," said michael sunlocks. "at what hour to-morrow night?" asked the speaker. "at mid-evening," answered michael sunlocks, and then, with the sigh of a weary man, he turned towards the stove. the speaker glanced at him with his dim eyes screwed up, pushed back his little skullcap, and ran his forefinger along his bald crown, then shook his head gravely and left the room, saying within himself, "why this haste? and why the message? ah, these impetuous souls that rise so high and so fast sometimes go down headlong to the abyss!" vi. michael sunlocks was turning round from the stove when greeba entered, and for all the womanly courage with which she tried to carry herself before him, he could see that she looked frightened, and that her eyes sought his eyes for mercy and cheer. "michael," she cried, "what is it that you are about to do? tell me. i cannot bear this suspense any longer." he made her no answer, but sat at his desk and lifted his pen. at that she stamped her foot and cried again-"tell me, tell me. i cannot, and i will not bear it." but he knew, without lifting his head, that with all her brave challenge, and the spark of her defiant eyes, behind her dark lashes a great tear-drop lay somewhere veiled. so he showed no anger, and neither did he reply to her appeal, but made some show of going on with his writing. and being now so far recovered from her first fear as to look upon his face with eyes that could see it, greeba realized all that she had but partly guessed from the chatter of her maid, of the sad havoc the night had made with him. at that she could bear up no longer, for before her warm woman's feeling all her little stubborn spirit went down as with a flood, and she flung herself at his feet and cried, "michael, forgive me; i don't know what i am saying." but getting no answer to her passionate agony any more than her hot disdain, her pride got the better of her again, and she tried to defend herself with many a simple plea, saying between a sob and a burst of wrath that if she had deceived him, and said what was barely true, it was only from thinking to defend his happiness. "and why," she cried, "why should i marry you while loving him?" then, for the first time, he raised his head and answered her-"because of your pride, greeba--your fatal pride," he said; "your pride that has been your bane since you were a child and you went to london and came back the prouder of your time there. i thought it was gone; but the old leaven works as potently as before, and rises up to choke me. i ought to have known it, greeba, that your old lightness would lead you to some false dealing yet, and i have none but myself to blame." now if he had said this with any heat of anger, or with any rush of tears, she would have known by the sure instinct of womanhood that he loved her still, and was only fighting against love in vain. then she would have flung herself into his arms with a burst of joy and a cry of "my darling, you are mine, you are mine." but instead of that he spoke the hard words calmly, coldly, and without so much as a sigh, and by that she knew that the heart of his love had been killed within him, and now lay dead before her. so, stung to the quick, she said, "you mean that i deserted jason because he was poor, and came here to you because you are rich. it is false--cruelly, basely false. you know it is false; or, if you don't, you ought." "i am far from rich, greeba," he said, "although to your pride i may seem so, seeing that he whom you left for the sake of the poor glory of my place here was but a friendless sailor lad." "i tell you it is false," she cried. "i could have loved my husband if he had never had a roof over his head. and yet you tell me that? you that should know me so well! how dare you?" she cried, and by the sudden impulse of her agony, with love struggling against anger, and fire and tears in her eyes together, she lifted up her hand and struck him on the breast. that blow did more than any tearful plea to melt the icy mistrust that had all night been freezing up his heart, but before he had time to reply greeba was on her knees before him, praying of him to forgive her, because she did not know what she was doing. "but, michael," she said again, "it isn't true. indeed, indeed, it is not, and it is very, very cruel. yes, i am proud, very proud, but i am proudest of all of my husband. proud of him, proud for him--proud that he should be the bravest and noblest gentleman in the world. that is the worst of my pride, michael--that i want to be proud of him i love. but if that might not have been, and he had been the lowliest man on earth, i could have shared his lot though it had been never so poor and humble, so that i could have had him beside me always." as he listened to her passionate words there was a fluttering at his throat. "are you sure of that, greeba?" he said. "only let me prove it to you," she cried, with the challenge of beauty in her beautiful eyes. "so you shall, greeba," he said, "for we leave this house to-morrow." "what?" she cried, rising to her feet. "yes," he said, "from to-morrow our condition will be different. so get yourself ready to go away from here." then her courageous challenge sank away in an instant. "whatever do you mean?" she cried, in great terror. "if you have married the president you shall live with the man," he answered. "oh, michael, michael, what are you going to do?" she cried. "to degrade yourself?" "even so," he said calmly. "to punish me?" she cried, "to prove me? to test me?" "if you can go through with it i shall be happy and content," he answered. "are you then to be nothing in iceland?" she said. "and what of that?" he asked. "think of what you have just been saying." "then i have come into your life to wreck it," she cried. "yes, i, i! michael," she added, more quietly, "i will go away. i would not bring shame and humiliation upon you for all that the world can give. i will leave you." "that you never shall," said michael sunlocks. "we are man and wife now, and as man and wife we shall live together." "i tell you i will not stay," she cried. "and i tell you," he replied, "that i am your husband, and you shall give me a wife's obedience." "michael, dear michael," she said, "it is for your own good that i want to leave you, so that the great promise of your life may not be wasted. it is i who am breaking in upon it. and i am nothing. let me go." "it is too late, greeba. as poor man and poor woman we must pass the rest of our life together." at that she burst into sobs again, blaming her brothers, and telling of their mean mission, and how she resented it, and what revenge of wicked slander they had wreaked upon her. "you see it is all an error," she cried: "a cruel, cruel error." "no, greeba, it is not all an error," he answered. "it is not an error that you deceived me--and lied to me." at that word her tears fell back, and the fire of her heart was in her eyes in an instant. "you say that, do you?" she cried. "ah, then, perhaps there has been yet another error than you think of--the error of throwing him away for sake of you. he is noble, and simple, and true. his brave heart is above all suspicion. god pity him, and forgive me!" then for the first time that day since the six fairbrothers had left the house, the calmness of michael sunlocks forsook him, and in a stern voice, with a look of fierce passion in his face, he cried, "let me never, never meet that man. five years ago i came here to save him, but now if we ever come face to face it will be the hour of his death or mine." chapter xiii. the fall of michael sunlocks. when the fairbrothers, in the first days after their coming to iceland, started inquiries touching the position and influence of michael sunlocks, thinking thereby to make sure of their birds in the bush before parting with their bird in the hand, they frequented a little drinking-shop in the cheapstead where sailors of many nations congregated, danes, icelanders, norwegians, english, and irish. hearing there what satisfied their expectations, their pride began to swell, and as often as michael sunlocks was named with honor they blew up their breasts like bantams and said he was their brother, so to speak, and had been brought up in the same house with them since he was a slip of a brat of two or three. and if any who heard them glanced them over with doubtful eyes they straightway broke into facetious stories concerning the boyhood of sunlocks, showing all their wondrous kindness to him as big brothers towards a little one. now these trifling events were of grave consequence to the fortunes of the fairbrothers, and the fate of michael sunlocks, at two great moments. the first of the two was when thurstan broke into open rebellion against jacob. then, with a sense of his wise brother's pitiable blunderheadedness, the astute thurstan went off to the same drinking-shop to console himself with drink, and there he was addressed, when he was well and comfortably drunk, by a plausible person who spoke an unknown tongue. the end of that conference was nevertheless an idea firmly settled in thurstan's mind that if he could not get money out of michael sunlocks he could at least get satisfaction. this was the matter that thurstan darkly hinted at when jacob, being utterly discomfited, had to leave all further schemes to his brethren. so that day he returned to his rendezvous, met the plausible person again, and later in the evening sought out his brothers and said, "didn't i tell ye to leave to me?" "what's going doing?" said four voices at once. "plucking him down, the upstart, that's what's going doing," said thurstan. then to five pairs of eager ears it slowly leaked out that a danish ship lay in the harbor with a mysterious cargo of great casks, supposed to contain tallow; that after discharging their contents these casks were to be filled with shark's oil; that waiting the time to fill them they were to be stored (as all other warehouses were full of bonder's stock) in the little cell of detention under the senate-house; and, finally and most opportunely, that a meeting of althing had been summoned on special business for the next night following, and that michael sunlocks was to be present. the fairbrothers heard all this with eyes that showed how well they understood it and keenly gloated over it. and late the same night the cargo of great casks was unshipped at the jetty, wheeled up to the senate-house and lodged there, carefully, silently, one by one. thurstan helping, a few stragglers looking on, the stammering doorkeeper, long jon, not anywhere visible, and no one else in the little sleepy town a whit the wiser. this being done, thurstan went back to his lodging with the content of a soul at ease, saying to himself, "as i say, if we don't get anything else, we'll get satisfaction; and if we get what's promised i've a safe place to put it until the trouble's over and we can clear away, and that's the little crib under the turret of the cathedral church." then the worthy man lay down to sleep. * * * * * before thurstan was awake next morning reykjavik was all astir. it had become known that a special sitting of althing had been summoned for that night, and because nothing was known much was said concerning the business afoot. people gathered in groups where the snow of the heavy drifts had been banked up at the street corners, and gossiped and guessed. such little work as the great winter left to any man was done in haste or not at all, that men might meet in the stores, the drinking-shops, and on the cheapstead and ask, "why?" "wherefore?" and "what does it mean?" that some event of great moment was pending seemed to be the common opinion everywhere, though what ground it rested on no one knew, for no one knew anything. only on one point was the feeling more general, or nearer right; that the president himself was at the root and centre of whatever was coming. before nightfall this vague sentiment, which ever hovers, like a dark cloud over a nation when a storm is near to breaking upon it, had filled every house in the capital, so that when the hour was come for the gathering of althing the streets were thronged. tow-headed children in goatskin caps ran here and there, women stood at the doors of houses, young girls leaned out of windows in spite of the cold, sailors and fishermen with pipes between their lips and their hands deep in their pockets lounged in grave silence outside the taverns, and old men stood under the open lamps by the street corners and chewed and snuffed to keep themselves warm. in the neighborhood of the wooden senate-house on the high street the throng was densest, and such of the members as came afoot had to crush their ways to the door. all the space within that had been allotted to the public was filled as soon as stammering jon opened the side door. when no more room was left the side door was closed again and locked, and it was afterwards remembered, when people had time to put their heads together, that long jon was there and then seen to pass the key of this side door to one of the six english strangers who had lately come to the town. that stranger was thurstan fairbrother. the time of waiting before the proceedings commenced was passed by those within the senate house in snuff-taking and sneezing and coughing, and a low buzz of conversation, full of solemn conjecture. the members came in twos and threes, and every fresh comer was quizzed for a hint of the secret of the night. but grave and silent, when taken together, with the gravity and solemnity of so many oxen, and some of the oxen's sullen stupidity, were the faces both of members and spectators. yet among both were faces that told of amused unbelief; calculating spirits that seemed to say that all this excitement was a bubble and would presently burst like one; sapient souls who, when the world is dead, will believe in no judgment until they hear the last trump. there were two parties in the senate--the church party, that wanted religion to be the basis of the reformed government; and the levellers, who wished the distinctions of clergy and laity to be abolished so far as secular power could go. the church party was led by the bishop, who was a member of the higher chamber, the council, by virtue of his office; the levellers were led by the little man with piercing eyes and the square brush of iron-gray hair who had acted as spokesman to the court at the trial of red jason. as each of these arrived there was a faint commotion through the house. presently the speaker came shuffling in, wiping his brow with his red handkerchief, and at the same moment the thud of a horse's hoofs on the hard snow outside, followed by a deep buzz as of many voices--not cheering nor yet groaning--told of the coming of the president. then, amid suppressed excitement, michael sunlocks entered the house, looking weary, pale, much older, and stooping slightly under his flaxen hair, as if conscious of the gaze of many eyes fixed steadfastly upon him. after the speaker had taken his chair, michael sunlocks rose in his place amid dead stillness. "sir, and gentlemen," he said in a tense voice, speaking slowly, calmly and well, "you are met here at my instance to receive a message of some gravity. it is scarcely more than half a year since it was declared and enacted by this present council of althing that the people of iceland were and should be constituted, established and confirmed to be a republic or free state, governed by the supreme authority of the nation, the people's representatives. you were then pleased to do me the honor of electing me to be your first president, and though i well knew that no man had less cause to put himself forward in the cause of his country than i, being the youngest among you, the least experienced, and, by birth, an englishman, yet i undertook the place i am now in because i had taken a chief hand in pulling down the old order, and ought, therefore, to lend the best help i could towards putting up the new. other reasons influenced me, such as the desire to keep the nation from falling amid many internal dissensions into extreme disorder and becoming open to the common enemy. i will not say that i had no personal motives, no private aims, no selfish ambitions in stepping in where your confidence opened the way, but you will bear me witness that in the employment to which the nation called me, though there may have been passion and mistakes, i have endeavored to discharge the duty of an honest man." there was a low murmur of assent, then a pause, then a hush, and then michael sunlocks continued: "but, gentlemen, i have come to see that i am not able for such a trust as the burden of this government, and i now beg to be dismissed of my charge." then the silence was broken by many exclamations of surprise. they fell on the ear of michael sunlocks like the ground-swell of a distant sea. his white face quivered, but his eye was bright, and he did not flinch. "it is no doubt your concernment to know what events and what convictions have so suddenly influenced me, and i can only claim your indulgence in withholding that part of both that touches the interests of others. for myself, i can but say that i have made mistakes and lost self-confidence; that being unable to manage my own affairs i am unwilling to undertake the affairs of the nation; that i am convinced i am unfit for the great place i hold; that any name were fitter than mine for my post, any person fitter than i am for its work; and i say this from my heart, god knows." he was listened to in silence but amid a tumult of unheard emotion, and as he went on his voice, though still low, was so charged with suppressed feeling that it seemed in that dead stillness to rise to a cry. "gentlemen," he said, "though this may come on you with surprise do not think it has been lightly resolved upon, or that it is to me a little thing to renounce the honor with the burden of government; i will deal plainly and faithfully with you and say that all my heart was in the work you gave me, and though i held my life in my hand, i was willing to adventure it in that high place where the judgment of althing placed me. so if i beg of you to release me i sacrifice more by my resignation than you by your dismissal. if i had pride, heaven has humbled it, and that is a righteous judgment of god. young and once hopeful, i am withdrawing from all sight of hope. i am giving up my cherished ambitions and the chances of success. when i leave this place you will see me no more. i am to be as nothing henceforward, for the pole-star of my life is gone out. so not without feeling, not without pain, i ask you to dismiss me and let me go my ways." he sat down upon these words amid the stunned stupefaction of those who heard him, and when he had ceased to speak it seemed as if he were still speaking. presently the people recovered their breath and there was the harsh grating of feet, and a murmur like a low sough of wind. then rose the little man with the brush hair, the leader of the levellers, and the chief opponent of michael sunlocks in the presidency. his name was grimmsson. clearing his throat, raspily, he began to speak in short, jerky sentences. this was indeed a surprise that moved the house to great astonishment. there was a suspicion of mock heroics about it that he, for his part, could not shake off, for they all knew the president for a dreamer of dreams. the president had said that it was within the concernment of althing to know how it stood that he had so suddenly and surprisingly become convinced of his unfitness. truly he was right there. also the president had said that he had undertaken his post not so much out of hope of doing any good as out of a desire to prevent mischief and evil. yet what was he now doing? running them headlong into confusion and disorder. the leader of the levellers sat down, and a dark-browed fellow from among his followers rose in his place. what did this hubbub mean? if the president had been crazy in his health they might have understood it; but the lord was pleased to preserve him. perhaps they had to look deeper. whispers were abroad among some who had been near to the president's person that the time had come to settle the order and prosperity of iceland on a new basis. he made no doubt such whispers implied a protectorate, perhaps even a monarchy. did the president think to hasten the crisis that would lead to that change? did he hope to alter the name of president for protector, or for something yet higher? was he throwing his sprat to catch a mackerel? let them look to it. the dark-browed man sat down, with a grin of triumph, and his place was taken by a pert little beardless person, with a smirk on his face. they had all read the parable of how a certain man made a feast, and did his friends the honor to invite them; but first one friend for one halting reason, and then another for a reason yet more lame, excused himself from sitting at the good man's table. well, one of these excuses was from a man who had married a wife, and therefore could not come. now the president had married a wife---the little man got no further, for michael sunlocks, whose features had flushed up, leaped to his feet again, against all order and precedent in that rude chamber so reverent of law. "i knew," he said, amid the silence of the wide-eyed people, "when i came to this house to-day, that the censure of iceland might follow me when i left it, but its shame shall not pursue me. i also knew that there were persons not well content with the present order of things who might show their discontent as they had opportunity; but before the insinuations of base motives that have just been made i take you to witness that all that go with them are malicious figments. my capacity any man may impeach, but my honest name none shall question without challenge, for the sole pride i shall carry away with me when i leave this place shall be the pride of an upright life." with that he put on his hat where he stood, and the people, thrilled to their hearts by his ringing voice, and his eyes full of splendid courage, broke into a great clamor of cheers. "peace, peace," cried a deep voice over the tumult. the old bishop had risen to speak. "this is a quarrelsome age," he said, "an age when there seems to be a strange itching in the spirits of men, when near every man seems to seek his brother's disquiet all he may, when wretched jealousies and the spirit of calumny turn everything to gall and wormwood. but can we not take the president's message for what it claims to be, asking him for no reasons that concern us not? when has he betrayed us? his life since his coming here has been marked by strict integrity. when has pride been his bane? his humility has ever been his praise. he has been modest with the highest power and shown how little he valued those distances he was bound to keep up. when has mammon been his god? if he leaves us now he leaves us a poor man, as althing may well assure itself. but let us pray that this may not come to pass. when he was elected to the employment he holds, being so young a man, many trembled--and i among them--for the nation that had intrusted its goods and its lives to his management, but now we know that only in his merit and virtue can it find its safety and repose. let me not be prodigal of praise before his face, but honor and honesty require this, that we say that so true a man is not to be found this day in iceland." the bishop's words had quickened the pulse of the people, and cheer followed cheer again. "it is written," continued the bishop, "that whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. our young president has this day sat down in the lowest room; and if he must needs leave us, having his own reasons that are none of ours, may the lord cause his face to shine upon him, and comfort him in all his adversities." then there was but one voice in that assembly, the voice of a loud amen. and michael sunlocks had risen again with a white face and dim eyes, to return his thanks, and say his last word before the vote for his release should be taken, when there was a sudden commotion, a sound of hurrying feet, a rush, a startled cry, and at the next moment a company of soldiers had entered the house from the cell below, and stood with drawn swords on the floor. before anyone had recovered from his surprise one of the soldiers had spoken. "gentlemen," he said, "the door is locked--you are prisoners of the king of denmark." "betrayed!" shouted fifty voices at once, and then there was wild confusion. "so this mysterious mummery is over at last," said the leader of the levellers, rising up with rigid limbs, and a scared and whitened face. "now we know why we have all been brought here to-night. betrayed indeed,--and _there_ stands the betrayer." so saying he pointed scornfully at michael sunlocks, who stood where he had risen, with the look of deep emotion hardly yet banished from his face by the look of bewilderment that followed it. "false," michael sunlocks cried. "it is false as hell." but in that quick instant the people looked at him with changed eyes, and received his words with a groan of rage that silenced him. that night jorgen jorgensen sailed up the fiord, and, landing at reykjavik, took possession of it, and the second republic of iceland was at an end. that night, too, when the fairbrothers, headed by thurstan, trudged through the streets on their way to government house, looking to receive the reward that had been promised them, they were elbowed by a drunken company of the danes who frequented the drinking-shops on the cheapstead. "why, here are his brothers," shouted one of the roysterers, pointing at the fairbrothers. "his brothers! his brothers!" shouted twenty more. thurstan tried to protest and jacob to fraternize, but all was useless. the brethren were attacked for the relation they had claimed with the traitor who had fallen, and thus the six worthy and unselfish souls who had come to iceland for gain and lost everything, and waited for revenge and only won suspicion, were driven off in peril of their necks, with a drunken mob at full cry behind them. they took refuge in a coasting schooner, setting sail for the eastern fiords. six days afterwards the schooner was caught in the ice at the mouth of seydis fiord, imprisoned there four months, out of reach of help from land or sea, and every soul aboard died miserably. short as had been the shrift of red jason, the shrift of michael sunlocks was yet shorter. on the order of jorgen jorgensen, the "late usurper of the government of iceland" was sent for the term of his natural life to the sulphur mines that he had himself established as a penal settlement. and such was the fall of michael sunlocks. the book of red jason. chapter i. what befell old adam. now it would be a long task to follow closely all that befell the dear old adam fairbrother, from the time when the ship wherein he sailed for iceland weighed anchor in ramsey bay. yet not to know what strange risks he ran, and how in the end he overcame all dangers, by god's grace and his own extreme labor, is not to know this story of how two good men with a good woman between them pursued each other over the earth with vows of vengeance, and came together at length in heaven's good time and way. so not to weary the spirit with much speaking, yet to leave nothing unsaid that shall carry us onward to that great hour when red jason and michael sunlocks stood face to face, let us begin where adam's peril began, and hasten forward to where it ended. fourteen days out of ramsey, in latitude of 64 degrees, distant about five leagues north of the faroes, and in the course of west northwest, hoping to make the western shores of iceland, adam with his shipmates was overtaken by foul weather, with high seas and strong wind opposing them stoutly from the northwest. thus they were driven well into the latitude of sixty-six off the eastern coast of iceland, and there, though the seas still ran as high as to the poop, they were much beset by extraordinary pieces of ice which appeared to come down from greenland. then the wind abated, and an unsearchable and noisome fog followed; so dense that not an acre of sea could be seen from the top-mast head, and so foul that the compasses would not work in it. after that, though they wrought night and day with poles and spikes, they were beaten among the ice as scarce any ship ever was before, and so terrible were the blows they suffered that many a time they thought the planks must be wrenched from the vessel's sides. nevertheless they let fall sail, thinking to force their way through the ice before they were stowed to pieces, and, though the wind was low, yet the ship felt the canvas and cleared the shoals that encompassed her. the wind then fell to a calm, but still the fog hung heavily over the sea, which was black and smelt horribly. and when they thought to try their soundings, knowing that somewhere thereabouts the land must surely be, they heard a noise that seemed at first like the tract of the shore. it was worse than that, for it was the rut of a great bank of ice, two hundred miles deep, breaking away from the far shores of greenland, and coming with its steady sweep, such as no human power could resist, towards the coasts of iceland. between that vast ice floe and the land they lay, with its hollow and terrible voice in their ears, and with no power to fly from it, for their sail hung loose and idle in the dead stillness of the air. oh! it is an awful thing to know that death is swooping down on you hour by hour; to hear it coming with its hideous thunder, like the groans of damned souls, and yet to see nothing of your danger for the day darkness that blinds you. but the shipmaster was a stout-hearted fellow, and while the fog continued and he was without the help of wind or compass, he let go a raven that he had aboard to see if it could discover land. the raven flew to the northeast, and did not return to the ship, and by that token the master knew that the land of iceland lay somewhere near on their starboard bow. so he was for lowering the long boat, to stand in with the coast and learn what part of iceland it was, when suddenly the wind larged again, and before long it blew with violence. at this their peril was much increased, for the night before had been bitterly cold, and the sails had been frozen where they hung outspread, and some of the cables were as stiff as icicles and half as thick as a man's body. thus under wind that in a short space rose to a great storm, with canvas that could not be reefed, an ocean of ice coming down behind, and seas beneath of an untouchable depth, they were driven on and on towards an unknown shore. from the like danger may god save all christian men, even as he saved old adam and his fellowship, for they had begun to prepare themselves to make a good end of their hopeless lives, when in the lift of the fog the master saw an opening in the coast, and got into it, and his ship rode safely on a quick tide down the fiord called seydis fiord. there the same night they dropped anchor in a good sound, and went instantly to prayer, to praise god for his delivery of them, and adam called the haven where they moored, "the harbor of good providence." so with cheerful spirits, thinking themselves indifferently safe, they sought their births, and so ended the first part of their peril in god's mercy and salvation. but the storm that had driven them into their place of refuge drove their dread enemy after them, and in the night, while they lay in the first sleep of four days, the ice encompassed them and crushed them against the rocks. the blow struck adam out of a tranquil rest, and he thought nothing better than that he was awakening for another world. all hands were called to the pumps, for the master still thought the ship was staunch and might be pushed along the coast by the shoulders with crows of iron, and thus ride out to sea. but though they worked until the pumps sucked, it was clear that the poor vessel was stuck fast in the ice, and that she must soon get her death-wound. so, at break of day, the master and crew, with adam fairbrother, took what they could carry of provisions and clothes, and clambered ashore, leaving the ship to her fate. it was a bleak and desolate coast they had landed upon, with never a house in sight, never a cave that they might shelter in, or a stone that would cover them against the wind; with nothing around save the bare face of a broad fell, black and lifeless, strewn over with small light stones sucked full of holes like the honeycomb, but without trees, or bush, or grass, or green moss. and there they suffered more privations than it is needful to tell, waiting for the ice to break, looking on at its many colors of blue, and purple, and emerald green, and yellow, and its many strange and wonderful shapes, resembling churches, and castles, and spires, and turrets, and cities, all ablaze in the noonday sun. they built themselves a rude hut of the stones like pumice, and, expecting the dissolution of the ice, they kept watch on their ship, which itself looked like an iceberg frozen into a ship's shape. and meantime some of their company suffered very sorely. though the year was not yet far advanced towards winter, some of the men swooned of the cold that came up from the ice of the fiord; the teeth of others became loose and the flesh of their gums fell away, and on the soles of the feet of a few the frost of the nights raised blisters as big as walnuts. partly from these privations and partly from loss of heart when at last one evil day he saw his good ship crushed to splinters against the rocks, the master fell sick, and was brought so low that in less than a week he lay expecting his good hour. and feeling his extremity he appointed adam to succeed him as director of the company, to guide them to safety over the land, since providence forbade that they should sail on the seas. then, all being done, so far as his help could avail, he stretched himself out for his end, only praying in his last hours that he might be allowed to drink as much ale as he liked from the ship's stores that had been saved. this adam ordered that he should, and as long as he lived the ale was brought to him in the hut where he lay, and he drank it until, between draught and draught, it froze in the jug at his side. after that he died--an honest, a worthy, and strong-hearted man. and adam, being now by choice of the late master and consent of his crew the leader of the company, began to make a review of all men and clothes and victuals, and found that there were eleven of them in all, with little more than they stood up in, and provisions to last them, with sparing, three weeks at utmost. and seeing that they were cut off from all hope of a passage by sea, he set himself to count the chances of a journey by land, and by help of the ship's charts and much beating of the wings of memory to recover what he had learned of iceland in the days when his dear lad sunlocks had left him for these shores, he reckoned that by following the sea line under the feet of the great vatna-jokull, they might hope, if they could hold out so long, to reach reykjavik at last. long and weary the journey must be, with no town and scarce a village to break it, and no prospect of shelter by the way, save what a few farms might give them. so adam ordered the carpenter to recover what he could of the ship's sails to make a tent, and of its broken timbers to make a cart to carry victuals, and when this was done they set off along the fell side on the first stage of their journey. the same day, towards nightfall, they came upon a little group of grass-covered houses at the top of the fiord, and saw the people of iceland for the first time. they were a little colony cut off by impassable mountains from their fellows within the island, and having no ships in which they dare venture to their kind on the seas without; tall and strong-limbed in their persons, commonly of yellow hair, but sometimes of red, of which neither sex was ashamed; living on bread that was scarce eatable, being made of fish that had been dried and powdered; lazy and unclean; squalid and mean-spirited, and with the appearance of being depressed and kept under. it was a cheerless life they lived at the feet of the great ice-bound jokull and the margin of the frozen sea, so that looking around on the desolate place and the dumb wilderness of things before and behind, adam asked himself why and how any living souls had ever ventured there. but for all that the little colony were poor and wretched, the hearts of the shipwrecked company leapt up at sight of them, and in the joyful gabble of unintelligible speech between them old adam found that he could understand some of the words. and when the islanders saw that in some sort adam understood them they singled him out from the rest of his company, falling on his neck and kissing him after the way of their nation, and concluding among themselves that he was one of their own people who had gone away in his youth and never been heard of after. and adam, though he looked shy at their musty kisses, was nothing loth to allow that they might be manxmen strayed and lost. for adam and his followers two things came of this encounter, and the one was to forward and the other to retard their journey. the first was that the islanders sold them twelve ponies, of the small breed that abound in that latitude, and gave them a guide to lead them the nearest way to the capital. the ponies cost them forty kroner, or more than two pounds apiece, and the guide was to stand to them in two kroner, or two shillings, a day. this took half of all they had in money, and many were the heavy groans of the men at parting with it; but adam argued that their money was of no other value there than as a help out of their extremity, and that all the gold in the banks, if he had it, would be less to him then than the little beast he was bestriding. the second of the two things that followed on that meeting with the islanders was that, just as they had started afresh on their way, now twelve in all, each man on his horse, and a horse in the shafts of the cart that held the victuals, a woman came running after them with a child in her arms, and besought them to take her with them. that anyone could wish to share their outcast state was their first surprise, but the woman's terrified looks, her tears and passionate pleadings, seemed to say that to be homeless and houseless on the face of that trackless land was not so awful a fate but that other miseries could conquer the fear of it. so, failing to learn more of her condition, than that she was friendless and alone, adam ordered that, with her child, she should be lifted into the cart that was driven ahead of them. but within an hour they were overtaken by a man, who came galloping after them, and said the woman had stolen the child--that it was his child, and that he had come to carry it back with him. at that adam called on the woman to answer through the guide, and she said that the man was indeed the child's father, but that she was its mother; that he was a farmer, and had married her only that he might have a son to leave his farm to; that having given him this child he had turned her out of doors, and that in love and yearning for her little one, from whom she had been so cruelly parted, she had stolen into her old home, plucked up the babe and run away with it. hearing this story, which the woman told through her tears, adam answered the man that if the law of his country allowed a father to deal so with the mother of his child it was a base and unnatural law, and merited the obedience of no man; so he meant to protect the woman against both it and him, and carry her along with their company. with that answer the man turned tail, but adam's victory over him was dearly bought, at the cost of much vexation afterwards and sore delay on the hard journey. and now it would be long to tell of the trials of that passage over those gaunt solitudes, where there was no fingerpost or mark of other human travellers. the men bore up bravely, loving most to comfort the woman and do her any tender office, or carry her child before them on their saddles. and many a time, at sight of the little one, and at hearing its simple prattle in a tongue they did not understand, the poor fellows would burst into tears, as if remembering, with a double pang, that they were exiles from that country far away, where other mothers held their own children to their breasts. two of them sickened of the cold, and had to be left behind at a farm, where the people were kind and gentle and promised to nurse them until their companions could return for them. but the heaviest blow to all that company was the sickness and death of the child. tenderly the rude sailor men nursed the little fellow one by one, and when nothing availed to keep his sweet face among them they mourned his loss as the worst disaster that had yet befallen them. the mother herself was distraught, and in the madness of her agony turned on adam and reproached him, saying he had brought her child into this wilderness to kill it. adam understood her misery too well to rebuke her ingratitude, and the same night that her babe was laid in his rest with a cross of willow wood to mark the place of it, she disappeared from their company, and where she went or what became of her no one knew, for she was seen by them no more. but next morning they were overtaken by a number of men riding hard, and one of them was the woman's husband, and another the high sheriff of the quarter. these two called on adam to deliver up the child, and when he told them that it was dead, and the mother gone, the husband would have fallen upon him with his knife, but for the sheriff, who, keeping the peace, said that, as accessory after the fact of theft, adam himself must go to prison. now, at this the crew of the ship began to set up a woeful wail, and to double their fists and measure the strength of nine sturdy british seamen against that of ten lanky icelanders. but adam restrained them from violence, and indeed there was need for none, for the sheriff was in no mood to carry his prisoner away with him. all he did was to take out his papers, and fill them up with the name and description that adam gave him, and then hand them over to adam himself, saying they were the warrant for his imprisonment, and that he was to go on his way until he came to the next district, where there was a house of detention, which the guide would find for him, and there deliver up the documents to the sheriff in charge. with such instructions, and never doubting but they would be followed, the good man and his people wheeled about, and returned as they came. and being so easily rid of them the sailors began to laugh at their simpleness, and, with many satisfied grunts, to advise the speedy destruction of the silly warrant that was the sole witness against adam. but adam himself said, no--that he was touched by the simplicity of a people that could trust a man to take himself to prison, and he would not wrong that confidence by any cheating. so he ordered the guide to lead on where he had been directed. they reached the prison towards nightfall, and there old adam bade a touching farewell of his people, urging them not to wait for him, but to push on to reykjavik where alone they could find ships to take them home to england. and some of the good fellows wept at this parting, though they all thought it foolish, but one old salt named chalse shed no tears, and only looked crazier than ever, and chuckled within himself from some dark cause. and indeed there was small reason to weep, because, simple as the first sheriff's conduct had been, that of the second sheriff was yet simpler, for when adam presented himself as a prisoner the sheriff asked for his papers, and then diving into his pocket to find them, the good man found that they were gone--lost, dropped by the way or destroyed by accident--and no search sufficed to recover them. so failing of his warrant the sheriff shook his head at adam's story and declined to imprison him, and the prisoner had no choice but to go free. thus adam returned to his company, who heard with laughter and delight of the close of his adventure, all save chalse, who looked sheepish and edged away whenever adam glanced at him. thus ended in merriment an incident that threatened many evil consequences, and was attended by two luckless mischances. the first of these two was that, by going to the prison, which lay three danish miles out of the direct track to the capital, adam and his company had missed young oscar and zoega's men, whom michael sunlocks had sent out from reykjavik in search of them. the second was that their guide had disappeared and left them, within an hour of bringing them to the door of the sheriff. his name was jonas; he had been an idle and a selfish fellow; he had demanded his wages day by day; and seeing adam part from the rest, he had concluded that with the purse-bearer the purse of the company had gone. but he alone had known the course, and, worthless as he had been to them in other ways, the men began to rail at him when they found that he had abandoned them and left them to struggle on without help. "the sweep!" "the thief!" "the wastrel!" "the gomerstang!" they called him, with wilder names beside. but old adam rebuked them and said, "good friends, i would persuade myself that urgent reasons alone can have induced this poor man to leave us. were we not ourselves constrained to forsake two of our number several days back, though with the full design of returning to them to aid them when it should lie in our power? thus i cannot blame the icelander without more knowledge of his intent, and so let us push on still and trust in god to deliver us, as he surely will." and, sure enough, the next day after they came upon a man who undertook the place of the guide who had forsaken them. he was a priest and a very learned man, but poor as the poorest farmer. he spoke in latin, and in imperfect latin adam made shift to answer him. his clothes were all but worn to rags, and he was shoeing his horse in the little garth before his door. his house, which stood alone save for the wooden church beside it, looked on the outside like a line of grass cones, hardly higher to their peaks than the head of a tall man, and in the inside it was low, dark, noisome, and noisy. in one room to which chalse and the seamen were taken, three or four young children were playing, an old woman was spinning, and a younger woman, the priest's wife, was washing clothes. this was the living room and sleeping room, the birth room and death room of the whole family. in another room, to which adam was led by the priest himself, the floor was strewn with saddles, nails, hammers, horseshoes, whips, and spades, and the walls were covered with bookshelves, whereon stood many precious old black-letter volumes. this was the workshop and study, wherein the good priest spent his long, dark days of winter. and, being once more fully equipped for the journey, adam ordered that they should lose no time in setting out afresh, with the priest on his own pony in front of them. two days then passed without misadventure of any kind, and in that time they had come to a village, at which they should have forsaken the coast line and made for the interior, in order that they might cross to reykjavik by way of thingvellir, and so cut off the peninsula ending in the smoky point. but a heavy fall of snow coming down suddenly, they were compelled to seek shelter at a farm, the only one for more than a hundred miles to east or west of them. there they rested while the snowstorm lasted, and it was the same weary downfall that kept greeba to her house while red jason lay in his brain fever in the cell in the high street, and michael sunlocks was out on the sea in search of themselves. and when the snow had ceased to fall, and the frost that followed had hardened it, and the country, now white instead of black, was again fit to travel upon, it was found that the priest was unwilling to start. then it appeared that downright drinking had been his sole recreation and his only bane; that the most serious affairs of night and day had always submitted to this great business; that in the interval of waiting for the passing of the snow, finding himself with a few kroner at command, he had begun on his favorite occupation, and that he now was too deeply immersed therein to be disturbed in less than a week. once again the seamen railed at their guide, as well as at the whole race of icelanders, but adam was all for lenity towards the priest and hope for themselves. "my faithful companions," he said, "be not dismayed by any of these disasters, but let us put our whole trust in god. if it be our fortune to end our days in this desolate land, we are as near heaven here as at home. yet let us use all honest efforts to save our natural lives, and we are not yet so far past hope of doing so but that i see a fair way by which we may effect it." with that they set out again alone, and within an hour they had fallen on the second mischance of their journey, for failing to find the pass that would have led them across country through thingvellir, they kept close by the sea line in the direction of the smoky point. now these misadventures, first with the mother and child, next with the sheriffs, and then with the guides, though they kept back adam and his company from that quick deliverance which they would have found in meeting with the messengers of michael sunlocks or with michael sunlocks himself, yet brought them in the end in the way of the only persons who are important to this story. for pursuing their mistaken way by the line of sea they came upon the place called krisuvik. it was a grim wilderness of awful things, not cold and dead and dumb like the rest of that haggard land, but hot and alive with inhuman fire and clamorous with devilish noises. a wide ashen plain within a circle of hills whereon little snow could rest for the furnace that raged beneath the surface; shooting with shrill whistles its shafts of hot steam from a hundred fumeroles; bubbling up in a thousand jets of boiling water; hissing from a score of green cauldrons; grumbling low with mournful sounds underneath like the voice of subterranean wind, and sending up a noxious stench through heavy whorls of vapor that rolled in a fetid atmosphere overhead. oh, it was a fearsome place, like nothing on god's earth but a mouldering wreck of human body, vast and shapeless, and pierced deep with foulest ulcers; a leper spot on earth's face; a seething vat full of broth of hell's own brewing. and all around was the peaceful snow, and beyond the lines of the southern hills was the tranquil sea, and within the northern mountains was a quiet lake of water as green as the grass of spring. coming upon the ghastly place, printed deep with satan's own features on the face of it, adam thought that surely no human footstep was ever meant by god to echo among bodeful noises. but there he found two wooden sheds busy with troops of men coming and going about them, and a third house of the same kind in an early stage of building. then asking questions as well as he was able he learned that the boiling pits were the sulphur mines that the new governor, the president of the republic, had lately turned to account as a penal settlement, that the two completed sheds were the workshops and sleeping places of the prisoners, and that the unfinished house was intended for their hospital. and it so chanced that while with his poor broken company adam rested on his horse, to look on at this sight with eyes of wonder and fear, a gang of four prisoners passed on to their work in charge of as many warders, and one of the four men was red jason. his long red hair was gone, his face was thin and pale instead of full and tawny, and his eyes, once so bright, were heavy and slow. he walked in file, and about his neck was a collar of iron, with a bow coming over his head and ending on the forehead in a bell that rang as he went along. the wild vitality of his strong figure seemed lost, he bent forward as he walked, and looked steadfastly on the ground. yet, changed as he was, adam knew him at a glance, and between surprise and terror, called on him by his name. but jason heard nothing, and strode on like a man who had suddenly become deaf and blind under the shock of some evil day. "jason! jason!" adam cried again, and he dropped from the saddle to run towards him. but the warders raised their hands to warn the old man off, and jason went on between them, without ever lifting his eyes or making sign or signal. "now, god save us! what can this mean?" cried adam; and though with the lame help of his "old manx" he questioned as well as he was able the men who were at work at the building of the hospital, nothing could he learn but one thing, and that was the strange and wondrous chance that his own eyes revealed to him: namely, that the last face he saw as he was leaving mann, on that bad night when he stole away from greeba while she slept, was the first face he had seen to know it since he set foot on iceland. nor was this surprise the only one that lay waiting for him in that gaunt place. pushing on towards reykjavik, the quicker for this sight of red jason, and with many troubled thoughts of michael sunlocks, adam came with his company to the foot of the mountain that has to be crossed before the lava plain is reached which leads to the capital. and there the narrow pass was blocked to them for half-an-hour of precious time by a long train of men and ponies coming down the bridle path. they were danes, to the number of fifty at least, mounted on as many horses, and with a score of tired horses driven on ahead of them. what their work and mission was in that grim waste adam could not learn until he saw that the foremost of the troop had drawn up at one of the two wooden sheds, and then he gathered from many signs that they were there as warders to take charge of the settlement in place of the icelandic officers who had hitherto held possession of it. little time he had, however, to learn the riddle of these strange doings, or get knowledge of the double rupture of state of affairs that had caused them, for presently old chalse came hurrying back to him from some distance ahead, with a scared face and stammering tongue, and one nervous hand pointing upwards to where the last of the men and horses were coming down the bridle path. "lord-a-massy, who's this," cried chalse; and following the direction of his hand adam saw what the old fellow pointed at, and the sight seemed to freeze the blood at his heart. it was michael sunlocks riding between two of the danish warders as their prisoner, silent, fettered and bound. then adam felt as if he had somewhere fallen into a long sleep, and was now awakening to a new life in a new world, where the people were the same as in the old one but everything about them was strange and terrible. but he recovered from his terror as michael sunlocks came on, and he called to him, and sunlocks heard him, and turned towards him with a look of joy and pain in one quick glance of a moment. "my son! my boy!" cried adam. "father! father!" cried michael sunlocks. but in an instant the warders had closed about sunlocks, and hurried him on in the midst of them, while their loud shouts drowned all other voices. and when the troop had passed him, adam sat a moment silent on his little beast, and then he turned to his company and said: "my good friends and faithful companions, my journey is at an end, and you must go on without me. i came to this land of iceland only to find one who is my son indeed, though not flesh of my flesh, thinking to rest my old arm on his young shoulder. i have found him now, but he is in trouble, from some cause that i have yet to learn, and it is my old shoulder that his young arm must rest upon. and this that you have witnessed is not the meeting i looked for, and built my hopes on, and buoyed up my failing spirits with, through all the trouble of our many weary days. but god's will be done! so go your ways and leave me where his wisdom has brought me, and may his mercy fetch you in safety to your native country, and to the good souls waiting for you there." but the rough fellows protested that come what might, leave him they never would, and old chalse without more ado began to make ready to pitch their tent on the thin patch of grass where they stood. and that evening, while adam wandered over the valley, trying to get better knowledge of the strange events which he had read as if by flashes of lightning, and hearing in broken echoes of the rise and fall of the republic, of the rise and fall of michael sunlocks, of the fall and return of jorgen jorgensen, a more wondrous chance than any that had yet befallen him was fast coming his way. for late that night, when he sat in his grief, with his companions busied about him, comforting him with what tender offices and soft words their courageous minds could think of, a young icelander came to the gap of the tent and asked, in broken english, if they would give a night's shelter to a lady who could find no other lodging, and was alone save for himself, who had been her guide from reykjavik. at that word adam's own troubles were gone from him in an instant, and, though his people would have demurred, he called on the icelander to fetch the lady in, and presently she came, and then all together stood dumbfounded, for the lady was greeba herself. it would be hard to tell how at first every other feeling was lost in one of surprise at the strange meeting of father and daughter, how surprise gave place to joy, and joy to pain, as bit by bit the history of their several adventures was unfolded each to the other. and while greeba heard of the mischances that had overtaken old adam, he, on his part, heard of the death of her mother and her brother's ill-usage, of the message that came from michael sunlocks and her flight from home, of how she came to iceland and was married, and of how sunlocks went in pursuit of himself, and, returning to the capital, was betrayed into the hands of his enemies. all the long story of plot and passion he heard in the wild tangle of her hot and broken words, save only that part of it which concerned her quarrel with her husband; but when he mentioned red jason, saying that he had seen him, he heard that sad passage of her story also, told with fear and many bitter tears. adam comforted greeba with what words of cheer he could command, in an hour when his own heart was dark and hopeless, and then amid the turmoil of so many emotions, the night being worn to midnight, they composed themselves to sleep. next morning, rising anxious and unrested, adam saw the icelandic warders, who had been supplanted in their employment by the danes, start away from the settlement for their homes, and after them went a group of the danish prisoners as free men, who had been imprisoned by the republic as spies of the government of denmark. by this time adam had decided on his course. "greeba," he said, "this imprisonment of michael sunlocks is unjust, and i see a way to put an end to it. no governor shall sentence him without judge or jury. but i will go on to reykjavik and appeal to this jorgen jorgensen. if he will not hear me, i will appeal to his master, the king of denmark. if denmark will not listen, i will appeal to england, for michael sunlocks is a british subject, and may claim the rights of an englishman. and if england turns a deaf ear to me, i will address my prayer to god, who has never yet failed to right the wronged, or humble the arrogance of the mighty. thank heaven, that has brought me here. i thought i was coming to end my days in peace by his side who would shelter my poor foolish gray head, that had forgotten to protect itself. but strange are the ways of providence. god has had his own purposes in bringing me here thus blindfolded, and, thanks to his mercy! i am not yet so old but i may yet do something. so come, girl, come, make ready, and we will go on our great errand together." but greeba had her own ends from the first in following michael sunlocks to the place of his imprisonment, and she answered and said, "no, father, no. you may go on to reykjavik, and do all this if you can, but my place is here, at my husband's side. he lost faith in my affection, and said i had married him for the glory that his place would bring me; but he shall see what a woman can go through for sake of the man she loves. i have my own plan of life in this place, and the power to carry it out. therefore do not fear to leave me, but go, and god prosper you!" "let it be so," said adam, and with that, after some words of explanation with the brave fellows who had followed him from the hour when, as ship-broken men, they set out on foot from the eastern fiord, he started on his journey afresh, leaving the tent and the last of their ship's victuals behind with greeba, for reykjavik was no more than a day's ride from krisuvik. when he was gone, greeba went down to the tents at the mouth of the mines, and asked for the captain. a danish gentleman who did not know her, and whom she did not know, answered to that title, and then she said that hearing that a hospital was being built she had come out from reykjavik to offer herself as a nurse if a nurse was wanted. "a nurse _is_ wanted," said the captain, "and though we had no thought of a woman you have come in the nick of time." so greeba, under some assumed name, unknown to the contingent of danish officers fresh from denmark, who had that day taken the places of the icelandic warders, and recognizable in her true character by two men only in krisuvik, michael sunlocks and red jason, if ever they should see her, took up her employment as hospital nurse to the sick prisoners of the sulphur mines. but having attained her end, or the first part of it, her heart was torn by many conflicting feelings. would she meet with her husband? would he come to be in her own charge? oh, god forbid that it should ever come to pass. yet god grant it, too, for that might help him to a swifter release than her dear old father could compass. would she see red jason? would michael sunlocks ever see him? oh! god forbid that also. and yet, and yet, god grant it, after all. such were her hopes and fears, when the hospital shed was finished, and she took her place within it. and now let us see how heaven fulfilled them. chapter ii. the sulphur mines. red jason and michael sunlocks were together at last, within the narrow stockade of a penal settlement. these two, who had followed each other from land to land, the one on his errand of vengeance, the other on his mission of mercy, both now nourishing hatred and lust of blood, were thrown as prisoners into the sulphur mines of krisuvik. there they met, they spoke, they lived and worked side by side yet neither knew the other for the man he had sought so long and never found. this is the strange and wondrous chance that has now to be recorded, and only to think of it, whether as accident or god's ordinance, makes the blood to tingle in every vein. poor and petty are the passions of man, and god's hand is over all. the only work of michael sunlocks which jorgen jorgensen did not undo in the swift reprisals which followed on the restoration of his power was the use of the sulphur mines as a convict settlement. all he did was to substitute danish for icelandic guards, but this change was the beginning and end of the great event that followed. the icelandic guards knew red jason, and if michael sunlocks had been sent out to them they would have known him also, and thus the two men must have soon known each other. but the danish warders knew nothing of jason, and when they brought out michael sunlocks they sent the icelandic guards home. thus jason never heard that michael sunlocks was at the sulphur mines, and though in the whirl of many vague impressions, the distant hum of a world far off, there floated into his mind the news of the fall of the republic he could never suspect, and there was no one to tell him, that the man whom he had pursued and never yet seen, the man he hated and sought to slay, was a convict like himself, working daily and hourly within sight and sound of him. michael sunlocks, on his part, knew well that red jason had been sent to the sulphur mines; but he also knew that he had signed jason's pardon and ordered his release. more than this, he had learned that jorgen jorgensen had liberated all who had been condemned by the republic, and so he concluded that jason had become a free man when he himself became a prisoner. but there had been a delay in the despatch of jason's pardon, and when the republic had fallen and the danish officers had taken the place of the icelanders, the captain of the mines had released the political prisoners only, and jason, as a felon, had been retained. the other prisoners at the mines, some fifty in all, knew neither michael sunlocks nor red jason. they were old criminals from remote districts, sentenced to the jail at reykjavik, during the first rule of jorgen jorgensen, and sent out to krisuvik in the early days of the republic. thus it chanced from the first that though together within a narrow space of ground jason and sunlocks were cut off from all knowledge of each other such as might have been gleaned from those about them. and the discipline of the settlement kept them back from that knowledge by keeping them for many months apart. the two houses used as workshops and sleeping places were at opposite sides of the stockade, one at the north, the other at the south; one overlooking a broad waste of sea, the other at the margin of a dark lake of gloomy shore. red jason was assigned to the house near the sea, michael sunlocks to the house by the lake. these houses were built of squared logs with earthen floors, and wooden benches for beds. the prisoners entered them at eight o'clock in the evening, and left them at five in the morning, their hours of labor in summer being from five a. m. to eight p. m. they brought two tin cans, one tin containing their food, their second meal of the day, a pound of stock fish, and four ounces of bread; the other tin intended for their refuse of slops and victuals and dirt of other kinds. each house contained some twenty-five men and boys, and so peopled and used they had quickly become grimy and pestilential, the walls blotched with vermin stains, the floors encrusted with hard trodden filth that was wet and slippery to the feet, and the atmosphere damp and foul to the nostrils from the sickening odors of decayed food. it had been a regulation from the beginning that the latest comer at each of these houses should serve three months as housekeeper, with the duty of cleansing the horrible place every morning after his housemates had left it for their work. during this time he wore the collar of iron and the bell over his forehead, for it was his period of probation and of special degradation. thus red jason served as housekeeper in the house by the sea, while michael sunlocks did the same duty in the house by the lake. jason went through his work listlessly, slowly, hopelessly, but without a murmur. michael sunlocks rebelled against its horrible necessities, for every morning his gorge rose at the exhalations of five-and-twenty unwashed human bodies, and the insupportable odor that came of their filthy habits. this state of things went on for some two months, during which the two men had never met, and then an accident led to a change in the condition of both. the sulphur dug up from the banks of the hot springs was packed in sacks and strapped upon ponies, one sack at each side of a pony and one on its back, to be taken to hafnafiord, the nearest port for shipment to denmark. now the sulphur was heavy, the sacks were large, the ponies small, and the road down from the solfataras to the valley was rough with soft clay and great basaltic boulders. and one day as a line of the ponies so burdened came down the breast of the mountain, driven on by a carrier who lashed them at every step with his long whip of leather thongs, one little piebald mare, hardly bigger than a donkey, stumbled into a deep rut and fell. at that the inhuman fellow behind it flogged it again, and showered curses on it at every blow. "get up, get up, or i'll skin you alive," he cried, with many a hideous oath beside. and at every fresh blow the little piebald struggled to rise but she could not, while its terrified eyeballs stood out from the sockets and its wide nostrils quivered. "get up, you little lazy devil, get up," cried the brute with the whip, and still his blows fell like raindrops, first on the mare's flanks, then on its upturned belly, then on its head, its mouth, and last of all on its eyes. but the poor creature's load held it down, and, struggle as it would, it could not rise. the gang of prisoners on the hillside who had just before burdened the ponies and sent them off, heard this lashing and swearing, and stopped their work to look down. but they thought more of the carrier than of the fallen pony, and laughed aloud at his vain efforts to bring it to its feet. "send him a hand up, jonas," shouted one of the fellows. "pick him up in your arms, old boy," shouted another, and at every silly sally they all roared together. the jeering incensed the carrier, and he brought down his whip the fiercer and quicker at every fresh blow, until the whizzing of the lash sang in the air, and the hills echoed with the thuds on the pony's body. then the little creature made one final, frantic effort, and plunging with its utmost strength it had half risen to its forelegs when one of the sacks slid from its place and got under its hind legs, whereupon the canvas gave way, the sulphur fell out, and the poor little brute slipped afresh and fell again, flat, full length, and with awful force and weight, dashing its head against a stone. at sight of this misadventure the prisoners above laughed once more, and the carrier leaped from his own saddle and kicked the fallen piebald in the mouth. now this had occurred within the space of a stone's-throw from the house which red jason lived in and cleaned, and hearing the commotion as he worked within he had come out to learn the cause of it. seeing everything in one quick glance, he pushed along as fast as he could for the leg-fetters that bound him, and came upon the carrier as he was stamping the life out of the pony with kicks on its palpitating sides. at the next moment he had laid the fellow on his back, and then, stepping up to the piebald, he put his arms about it to lift it to its feet. meantime the prisoners above had stopped their laughing, and were looking on with eyes of wonder at jason's mighty strength. "god! is it possible he is trying to lift a horse to its feet?" cried one. "what? and three sacks of sulphur as well?" cried another. "never," cried a third; and all held their breath. jason did not stop to remove the sacks. he wound his great arms first under the little beast's neck, and raised it to its forefeet, and then squaring his broad flanks above his legs that held the ground like the hoofs of an ox, he made one silent, slow, tremendous upward movement, and in an instant the piebald was on its feet, affrighted, trembling, with startled eyeballs and panting nostrils, but secure and safe, and with its load squared and righted on her back. "lord bless us!" cried the convicts, "the man has the strength of samson." and at that moment one of the warders came hurrying up to the place. "what's this?" said the warder, looking at the carrier on the ground, who was groaning in some little blood that was flowing from the back of his head. at that question the carrier only moaned the louder, thinking to excite the more commiseration, and jason said not a word. but the prisoners on the hillside very eagerly shouted an explanation; whereupon the carrier, a prisoner who had been indulged, straightway lost his privileges as punishment for his ill use of the property of the government; and jason, as a man whose great muscles were thrown away on the paltry work of prison-cleaning, was set to delving sulphur on the banks of the hot springs. now this change for the better in the condition of red jason led to a change for the worse in that of michael sunlocks, for when jason was relieved of his housekeeping and of the iron collar and bell that had been the badge of it, sunlocks, as a malcontent, was ordered to clean jason's house as well as his own. but so bad a change led to the great event in the lives of both, the meeting of these men face to face, and the way of it was this: one day, the winter being then fully come, the mornings dark, and some new fallen snow lying deep over the warm ground of the stockade, michael sunlocks had been set to clearing away from the front of the log house on the south before jason and his housemates had come out of it. his bodily strength had failed him greatly by this time, his face was pale, his large eyes were swollen and bloodshot, and under the heavy labor of that day his tall, slight figure stooped. but a warder stood over him leaning on a musket and urging him on with words that were harder to him than his hard work. his bell rang as he stooped, and rang again as he rose, and at every thrust of the spade it rang, so that when jason and his gang came out of the sickening house, he heard it. and hearing the bell, he remembered that he himself had worn it, and, wondering who had succeeded him in the vile office whereof he had been relieved, he turned to look upon the man who was clearing the snow. there are moments when the sense of our destiny is strong upon us, and this was such a moment to red jason. he saw michael sunlocks for the first time, but without knowing him, and yet at that sight every pulse beat and every nerve quivered. a great sorrow and a great pity took hold of him. the face he looked upon moved him, the voice he heard thrilled him, and by an impulse that he could not resist he stopped and turned to the warder leaning on the musket and said: "let me do this man's work. it would be nothing to me. he is ill. send him up to the hospital." "march!" shouted his own warders, and they hustled him along, and at the next minute he was gone. then the bell stopped for an instant, for michael sunlocks had raised his head to look upon the man who had spoken. he did not see jason's face, but his own face softened at the words he had heard and his bloodshot eyes grew dim. "go on!" cried the warder with the musket, and the bell began again. all that day the face of michael sunlocks haunted the memory of red jason. "who was that man?" he asked of the prisoner who worked by his side. "how should i know?" the other fellow answered sulkily. in a space of rest jason leaned on his shovel, wiped his brow, and said to his warder, "what was that man's name?" "a 25," the warder answered moodily. "i asked for his name," said jason. "what's that to you?" replied the warder. a week went by, and the face of sunlocks still haunted jason's memory. it was with him early and late, the last thing that stood up before his inward eye when he lay down to sleep, the first thing that came to him when he awoke; sometimes it moved him to strange laughter when the sun was shining, and sometimes it touched him to tears when he thought of it in the night. why was this? he did not know, he could not think, he did not try to find out. but there it was, a living face burnt into his memory--a face so strangely new to him, yet so strangely familiar, so unlike to anything he had ever yet seen, and yet so like to everything that was near and dear to himself, that he could have fancied there had never been a time when he had not had it by his side. when he put the matter to himself so he laughed and thought "how foolish." but no self-mockery banished the mystery of the power upon him of the man's face that he saw for a moment one morning in the snow. he threw off his former listlessness and began to look keenly about him. but one week, two weeks, three weeks passed, and he could nowhere see the same face again. he asked questions but learned nothing. his fellow-prisoners began to jeer at him. upon their souls, the big red fellow had tumbled into love with the young chap with the long flaxen hair, and maybe he thought it was a woman in disguise. jason knocked their chattering heads together and so stopped their ribald banter, but his warders began to watch him with suspicion, and he fell back on silence. a month passed, and then the chain that was slowly drawing the two men together suddenly tightened. one morning the order came down from the office of the captain that the prisoners' straw beds were to be taken out into the stockyard and burnt. the beds were not old, but dirty and damp and full of foul odors. the officers of the settlement said this was due to the filthy habits of the prisoners. the prisoners on their part said it came of the pestilential hovels they were compelled to live in, where the ground was a bog, the walls and roof were a rotten coffin, and the air was heavy and lifeless. since the change of warders, there had been a gradual decline in the humanity with which they had been treated, and to burn up their old beds without giving them new ones was to deprive them of the last comfort that separated the condition of human beings from that of beasts of the field. but the captain of the mines was in no humor to bandy parts with his prisoners, and in ordering that the beds should be burnt to prevent an outbreak of disease, he appointed that the prisoner b 25, should be told off to do the work. now b 25 was the prison name of red jason, and he was selected by reason of his great bodily strength, not so much because the beds required it, as from fear of the rebellion of the poor souls who were to lose them. so at the point of a musket red jason was driven on to his bad work, and sullenly he went through it, muttering deep oaths from between his grinding teeth, until he came to the log hut where michael sunlocks slept, and there he saw again the face that had haunted his memory. "this bed is dry and sound," said michael sunlocks, "and you shall not take it." "away with it," shouted the warder to jason, who had seemed to hesitate. "it is good and wholesome, let him keep it," said jason. "go on with your work," cried the warder, and the lock of his musket clicked. "civilized men give straw to their dogs to lie on," said michael sunlocks. "it depends what dogs they are," sneered the warder. "if you take our beds, this place will be worse than an empty kennel," said michael sunlocks. "better that than the mange," said the warder. "get along, i tell you," he cried again, handling his musket and turning to jason. then, with a glance of loathing, jason picked up the bed in his fingers, that itched to pick up the warder by the throat, and swept out of the place. "slave!" cried michael sunlocks after him. "pitiful, miserable, little-hearted slave!" jason heard the hot words that pursued him, and his face grew as red as his hair, and his head dropped into his breast. he finished his task in less than half an hour more, working like a demented man at piling up the dirty mattresses, into a vast heap, and setting light to the damp straw. and while the huge bonfire burned, and he poked long poles into it to give it air to blaze by, he made excuse of the great heat to strip of the long rough overcoat that had been given him to wear through the hard months of the winter. by this time the warder had fallen back from the scorching flames, and jason, watching his chance, stole away under cover of deep whorls of smoke, and got back into the log cabin unobserved. he found the place empty; the man known to him as a 25 was not anywhere to be seen. but finding his sleeping bunk--a bare slab resembling a butcher's board--he stretched his coat over it where the bed had been, and then fled away like a guilty thing. when the great fire had burned low the warder returned, and said, "quick there; put on your coat and let's be off." at that jason pretended to look about him in dismay. "it's gone," he said, in a tone of astonishment. "gone? what? have you burnt it up with the beds?" cried the warder. "maybe so," said jason, meekly. "fool," cried the warder; "but it's your loss. now you'll have to go in your sheepskin jacket, snow or shine." with a cold smile about the corners of his mouth, jason bent his head and went on ahead of his warder. if the captain of the mines had been left to himself he might have been a just and even a merciful man, but he was badgered by inhuman orders from jorgen jorgensen at reykjavik, and one by one the common privileges of his prisoners were withdrawn. as a result of his treatment, the prisoners besieged him with petitions as often as he crossed their path. the loudest to complain and the most rebellious against petty tyranny was michael sunlocks; the humblest, the meekest, the most silent under cruel persecution was red jason. the one seemed aflame with indignation; the other appeared destitute of all manly spirit. "that man might be dangerous to the government yet," thought the captain, after one of his stormy scenes with michael sunlocks. "that man's heart is dead within him," he thought again, as he watched red jason working as he always worked, slowly, listlessly, and as if tired out and longing for the night. the captain's humanity at length prevailed over his governor's rigor, and he developed a form of penal servitude among the prisoners which he called the free command. this was a plan whereby the men whose behavior had been good were allowed the partial liberty of living outside the stockade in huts which they built for themselves. ten hours a day they wrought at the mines, the rest of the day and night was under their own control; and in return for their labor they were supplied with rations from the settlement. now red jason, as a docile prisoner, was almost the first to get promotion to the free command. he did not ask for it, he did not wish for it, and when it came he looked askance at it. "send somebody else," he said to his warders, but they laughed and turned him adrift. he began to build his house of the lava stones on the mountain side, not far from the hospital, and near to a house being built by an elderly man much disfigured about the cheeks, who had been a priest, imprisoned long ago by jorgen jorgensen out of spite and yet baser motives. and as he worked at raising the walls of his hut, he remembered with a pang the mill he built in port-y-vullin, and what a whirlwind of outraged passion brought every stone of it to the ground again. with this occupation, and occasional gossip with his neighbor, he passed the evenings of his free command. and looking towards the hospital as often as he saw the little groups of men go up to it that told of another prisoner injured in the perilous labor of the sulphur mines, he sometimes saw a woman come out at the door to receive them. "who is she?" he asked of the priest. "the foreign nurse," said the priest. "and a right good woman, too, as i have reason to say, for she nursed me back to life after that spurt of hot water had scalded these holes into my face." that made jason think of other scenes, and of tender passages in his broken life that were gone from him forever. he had no wish to recall them; their pleasure was too painful, their sweets too bitter; they were lost, and god grant that they could be forgotten. yet every night as he worked at his walls he looked longingly across the shoulder of the hill in the direction of the hospital, half fancying he knew the sweet grace of the figure he sometimes saw there, and pretending with himself that he remembered the light rhythm of its movement. after a while he missed what he looked for, and then he asked his neighbor if the nurse were ill that he had not seen her lately. "ill? well, yes," said the old priest. "she has been turned away from the hospital." "what!" cried jason; "you thought her a good nurse." "she was too good, my lad," said the priest, "and a blackguard warder who had tried to corrupt her, and could not, announced that somebody else had done so." "it's a lie," cried jason. "it was plain enough," said the priest, "that she was about to give birth to a child, and as she would make no explanation she was turned adrift." "where is she now?" asked jason. "lying in at the farmhouse on the edge of the snow yonder," said the priest. "i saw her last night. she trusted me with her story, and it was straight and simple. her husband had been sent out to the mines by the old scoundrel at reykjavik. she had followed him, only to be near him and breathe the air he breathed. perhaps with some wild hope of helping his escape she had hidden her true name and character and taken the place of a menial, being a lady born." "then her husband is still at the mines?" said jason. "yes," said the priest. "does he know of her disgrace?" "no." "what's his name?" "the poor soul would give me no name, but she knew her husband's number. it was a 25." "i know him," said jason. next day, his hut being built and roofed after some fashion, jason went down to the office of the captain of the mines and said, "i don't like the free command, sir. may i give it up in favor of another man?" "and what man, pray?" asked the captain. "a 25," said jason. "no," said the captain. "i've built my house, sir," said jason, "and if you won't give it to a 25, let the poor woman from the hospital live in it, and take me back among the men." "that won't do, my lad. go along to your work," said the captain. and when jason was gone the captain thought within himself, "what does this mean? is the lad planning the man's escape? and who is this english woman that she should be the next thought in his head?" so the only result of jason's appeal was that michael sunlocks was watched the closer, worked the harder, persecuted the more by petty tyrannies, and that an order was sent up to the farmhouse where greeba lay in the dear dishonor of her early motherhood, requiring her to leave the neighborhood of krisuvik as speedily as her condition allowed. this was when the long dark days of winter were beginning to fall back before the sweet light of spring. and when the snow died off the mountains, and the cold garment of the jokulls was sucked full of holes like the honeycomb, and the world that had been white grew black, and the flowers began to show in the corries, and the sweet summer was coming, coming, coming, then jason went down to the captain of the mines again. "i've come, sir," he said, "to ask you to lock me up." "why?" said the captain, "what have you been doing?" "nothing," said jason, "but if you don't prevent me, i'll run away. this free command was bad enough to fear when the snow cut us off from all the world. but now that it is gone and the world is free, and the cuckoo is calling, he seems to be calling me, and i must go after him." "go," said the captain, "and after you've tramped the deserts and swam the rivers, and slept on the ground, and starved on roots, we'll fetch you back, for you can never escape us, and lash you as we have lashed the others who have done likewise." "if i go," said jason, defiantly, "you shall never fetch me back, and if you catch me you shall never punish me." "what? do you threaten me?" cried the captain. something in the prisoner's face terrified him, though he would have scorned to acknowledge his fear, and he straightway directed that jason should be degraded, for insolence and insubordination, from the free command to the gangs. now this was exactly what jason wanted, for his heart had grown sick with longing for another sight of that face which stood up before his inward eye in the darkness of the night. but remembering jason's appeal on behalf of michael sunlocks, and his old suspicion regarding both, the captain ordered that the two men should be kept apart. so with jason in the house by the sea, and sunlocks in the house by the lake, the weeks went by; and the summer that was coming came, and like a bird of passage the darkness of night fled quite away, and the sun shone that shines at midnight. and nothing did jason see of the face that followed him in visions, and nothing did he hear of the man known to him as a 25, except reports of brutal treatment and fierce rebellion. but on a day--a month after he had returned to the stockade--he was going in his tired and listless way between warders from one solfatara at the foot of the hill to another on the breast of it, when he came upon a horror that made his blood run cold. it was a man nailed by his right hand to a great socket of iron in a log of driftwood, with food and drink within sight but out of reach of him, and a huge knife lying close by his side. the man was a 25. jason saw everything and the meaning of everything in an instant, that to get at the food for which he starved that man must cut off his own right hand. and there, like a devil, at his left lay the weapon that was to tempt him. nothing so inhuman, so barbarous, so fiendish, so hellish, had jason yet seen, and with a cry like the growl of an untamed beast, he broke from his warders, took the nail in his fingers like a vice, tore it up out of the bleeding hand, and set michael sunlocks free. at the next instant his wrath was gone, and he had fallen back to his listless mood. then the warders hurried up, laid hold of both men, and hustled them away with a brave show of strength and courage to the office of the captain. jorgen jorgensen himself was there, and it was he who had ordered the ruthless punishment. the warders told their tale, and he listened to them with a grin on his cruel face. "strap them up together," he cried, "leg to leg and arm to arm." and when this was done he said, bitterly-"so you two men are fond of one another's company! well, you shall have enough of it and to spare. day after day, week after week, month after month, like as you are now, you shall live together, until you abhor and detest and loathe the sight of each other. now go!" chapter iii. the valley of the shadow of death. red jason and michael sunlocks, now lashed together, were driven back to their work like beasts of the field. they knew well what their punishment meant to them--that in every hour of life henceforward, in every act, through every thought, each man should drag a human carcase by his side. the barbarity of their doom was hideous; but strangely different were the ways they accepted it. michael sunlocks was aflame with indignation; jason was crushed with shame. the upturned face of sunlocks was pale, his flaxen hair was dishevelled, his bloodshot eyes were afire. but jason's eyes, full of confusion, were bent on the ground, his tanned face trembled visibly, and his red hair, grown long as of old, fell over his drooping shoulders like a mantle of blood. and as they trudged along, side by side, in the first hours of their unnatural partnership, sunlocks struggled hard to keep his eyes from the man with whom he was condemned to live and die, lest the gorge of his very soul should rise at the sight of him. so he never once looked at jason through many hours of that day. and jason, on his part, laboring with the thought that it was he who by his rash act had brought both of them to this sore pass, never once lifted his eyes to the face of sunlocks. yet each man knew the other's thought before ever a word had passed between them. jason felt that sunlocks already abhorred him, and sunlocks knew that jason was ashamed. this brought them after a time into sympathy of some sort, and jason tried to speak and sunlocks to listen. "i did not mean to bring you to this," said jason, humbly. and sunlocks, with head aside, answered as well as he could for the disgust that choked him, "you did it for the best." "but you will hate me for it," said jason. and once again, with what composure he could command, sunlocks answered, "how could i hate you for saving me from such brutal treatment." "then you don't regret it?" said jason, pleadingly. "it is for you, not me, to regret it," said sunlocks. "me?" said jason. through all the shameful hours the sense of his own loss had never yet come to him. from first to last he had thought only of sunlocks. "my liberty was gone already," said sunlocks. "but you were free--free as anyone can be in this hell on earth. now you are bound--you are here like this--and i am the cause of it." then jason's rugged face was suddenly lit up with a surprising joy. "that's nothing," he said. "nothing?" said sunlocks. "i mean that i care nothing, if you don't," said jason. it was the turn of sunlocks to feel surprise. he half turned towards jason. "then you don't regret it?" he asked. "no," said jason firmly. "and you?" sunlocks felt that tears, not disgust, were choking him now. "no," he answered, shamefacedly, turning his head away. "march!" shouted the warders, who had been drinking their smuggled sneps while their prisoners had been talking. that day, jorgen jorgensen went back to reykjavik, for the time of althing was near, and he had to prepare for his fourteen days at thingvellir. and the governor being gone, the captain of the mines made bold so far to relax the inhumanity of his sentence as to order that the two men who were bound together during the hours of work should be separated for the hours of sleep. but never forgetting his own suspicion that red jason was an ally of michael sunlocks, planning his escape, he ordered also that no speech should be allowed to pass between them. to prevent all communion of this kind he directed that the men should work and sleep apart from the other prisoners, and that their two warders should attend them night and day. but though the rigor of discipline kept them back from free intercourse, no watchfulness could check the stolen words of comfort that helped the weary men to bear their degrading lot. that night, the first of their life together, michael sunlocks looked into jason's face and said, "i have seen you before somewhere. where was it?" but jason remembered the hot words that had pursued him on the day of the burning of the beds, and so he made no answer. after awhile, michael sunlocks looked closely into jason's face again, and said, "what is your name?" "don't ask it," said jason. "why not," said sunlocks. "you might remember it." "even so, what then?" "then you might also remember what i did, or tried to do, and you would hate me for it," said jason. "was your crime so inhuman?" said sunlocks. "it would seem so," said jason. "who sent you here?" "the republic." "you won't tell me your name?" "i've got none, so to speak, having had no father to give me one. i'm alone in the world." michael sunlocks did not sleep much that night, for the wound in his hand was very painful, and next morning, while jason dressed it, he looked into his face once more and said, "you say you are alone in the world." "yes," said jason. "what of your mother?" "she's dead, poor soul." "have you no sister?" "no." "nor brother?" "no--that's to say--no, no." "no one belonging to you?" "no." "are you quite alone?" "ay, quite," said jason. "no one to think twice what becomes of me. nobody to trouble whether i am here or in a better place. nobody to care whether i live or die." he tried to laugh as he said this, but in spite of his brave show of unconcern his deep voice broke and his strong face quivered. "but what's your own name?" he said abruptly. "call me--brother," said michael sunlocks. "to your work," cried the warders, and they were hustled out. their work for the day was delving sulphur from the banks of the solfataras and loading it on the backs of the ponies. and while their warders dozed in the heat of the noonday sun, they wiped their brows and rested. at that moment jason's eyes turned towards the hospital on the opposite side of the hill, and he remembered what he had heard of the good woman who had been nurse there. this much at least he knew of her, that she was the wife of his yoke-fellow, and he was about to speak of her trouble and dishonor when michael sunlocks said, "after all, you are luckiest to be alone in the world. to have ties of affection is only to be the more unhappy." "that's true," said jason. "say you love somebody, and all your heart is full of her? you lose her, and then where are you?" "but that's not your own case," said jason. "your wife is alive, is she not?" "yes." "then you have not lost her?" "there is a worse loss than that of death," said sunlocks. jason glanced quickly into his face, and said tenderly, "i know--i understand. there was another man?" "yes." "and he robbed you of her love?" said jason, eagerly. "yes." "and you killed him?" cried jason, with panting breath. "no. but god keep that man out of my hands." "where is he now?" "heaven knows. he was here, but he is gone; for when the republic fell i was imprisoned, and two days before that he was liberated." "silence!" shouted the warders, awakening suddenly and hearing voices. jason's eyes had begun to fill, and down his rugged cheeks the big drops were rolling one by one. after that he checked the impulse to speak of the nurse. the wife of his yoke-fellow must be an evil woman. the prisoner-priest must have been taken in by her. for once the warders must have been right. and late that night, while jason was dressing the wounded hand of michael sunlocks with wool torn from his own sheepskin jerkin, he said, with his eyes down, "i scarce thought there was anything in common between us two. you're a gentleman, and i'm only a rough fellow. you have been brought up tenderly, and i have been kicked about the world since i was a lad in my poor mother's home, god rest her! but my life has been like yours in one thing." "what's that?" said michael sunlocks. "that another man has wrecked it," said jason. "i never had but one glint of sunshine in my life, and that man wiped it out forever. it was a woman, and she was all the world to me. but she was proud and i was poor. and he was rich, and he came between us. he had everything, and the world was at his feet. i had nothing but that woman's love, and he took it from me. it was too cruel, and i could not bear it--god knows i could not." "wait," cried michael sunlocks. "is that why you are here! did you----you did not----no----" "no, i know what you mean; but i did not kill him. no, no, i have never seen him. i could never meet with him, try how i would." "where is he now?" "with her--in happiness and freedom and content, while i am here in misery and bondage and these ropes. but there will be a reckoning between us yet. i know there will. i swear there will. as sure as there is a god in heaven, that man and i will one day stand together face to face." then michael sunlocks took both jason's hands. "my brother," he cried fervently. "brother now more than ever; brother in suffering, brother in weakness, brother in strength." "silence there!" shouted the warders, and the two men were separated for the night. the wound in the hand of michael sunlocks grew yet more painful, and he slept even less than before. next day the power of life was low in him, and seeing this, jason said, when the warders stepped up to lash them together, "he is ill, and not fit to go out. let me work alone to-day. i'll do enough for both of us." but no heed was paid to jason's warning, and michael sunlocks was driven out by his side. all that day, the third of their life together, they worked with difficulty, for the wound in the hand of sunlocks was not only a trouble to himself but an impediment to jason also. yet jason gave no hint of that, but kept the good spade going constantly, with a smile on his face through the sweat that stood on it, and little stolen words of comfort and cheer. and when the heat was strongest, and sunlocks would have stumbled and fallen, jason contrived a means to use both their spades together, only requiring that sunlocks should stoop when he stooped, that the warders might think he was still working. but their artifice was discovered, and all that came of it was that they were watched the closer and driven the harder during the hours that remained of that day. next day, the fourth of their direful punishment, sunlocks rose weak and trembling, and scarce able to stand erect. and with what spirit he could summon up he called upon the warders to look upon him and see how feeble he was, and say if it was fair to his yoke-fellow that they should compel him to do the work of two men and drag a human body after him. but the warders only laughed at his protest, and once again he was driven out by jason's side. long and heavy were the hours that followed, but sunlocks, being once started on his way, bore up under it very bravely, murmuring as little as he might, out of thought for jason. and jason helped along his stumbling footsteps as well as he could for the arm that was bound to him. and seeing how well they worked by this double power of human kindness, the warders laughed again, and made a mock at sunlocks for his former cry of weakness. and so, amid tender words between themselves, and jeers cast in upon them by the warders, they made shift to cheat time of another weary day. the fifth day went by like the fourth, with heavy toil and pain to make it hard, and cruel taunts to make it bitter. and many a time, as they delved the yellow sulphur bank, a dark chill crossed the hearts of both, and they thought in their misery how cheerfully they would dig for death itself, if only it lay in the hot clay beneath them. that night when they had returned to the hut wherein they slept, or tried to sleep, they found that some well-meaning stranger had been there in their absence and nailed up on the grimy walls above their beds, a card bearing the text, "come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and i will give you rest." and so ghastly seemed the irony of those words in that place that jason muttered an oath between his teeth as he read them, and sunlocks threw himself down, being unbound for the night, with a peal of noisy laughter, and a soul full of strange bitterness. the next day after that, the sixth of their life together, rose darker than any day that had gone before it, for the wounded hand of michael sunlocks was then purple and black, and swollen to the size of two hands, and his bodily strength was so low that, try as bravely as he might to stand erect, whenever he struggled to his feet he fell to the ground again. thinking nothing of this, the warders were for strapping him up to jason as before, but while they were in the act of doing so he fainted in their hands. then jason swept them from him, and vowed that the first man that touched sunlocks again should lie dead at his feet. "send for the captain," he cried, "and if the man has any bowels of compassion let him come and see what you have done." the warders took jason at his word, and sent a message to the office saying that one of their prisoners was mutinous, and the other pretending to be ill. after a time the captain despatched two other warders to the help of the first two and these words along with them for his answer: "if one rebels, punish both." nothing loth for such exercise, the four warders set themselves to decide what the punishment should be, and while they laid their heads together, jason was bending over sunlocks, who was now recovered to consciousness, asking his pardon in advance for the cruel penalty that his rash act was to bring on both of them. "forgive me," he said. "i couldn't help it. i didn't know what i was doing." "there is nothing to forgive, brother," whispered michael sunlocks. and thus with stammering tongues they comforted one another, and with hands clasped together they waited for the punishment that had to come. at length the warders concluded that for refusing to work, for obstinate disobedience, and for threatening, nothing would serve but that their prisoners should straightway do the most perilous work to be found that day at the sulphur mines. now this was the beginning of the end for red jason and michael sunlocks, and if the evil chance had not befallen them, god alone can say how long they might have lived together at krisuvik, or how soon or how late they would have become known to one another by their true names and characters. but heaven itself had its purposes, even in the barbarity of base-hearted men, as a means towards the great end that was near at hand. and this was the way of its coming. a strange change that no one could rightly understand had lately come upon the natural condition of the sulphur mines. the steam that rose from the solfataras had grown less and less week by week and day by day, until in some places it had altogether subsided. this was a grave sign, for in the steam lay the essence of the sulphur, and if it ceased to rise from the pits the sulphur would cease to grow. other changes came with this, such as that deep subterranean noises arose from parts of the plain where no fissures had yet been seen, and that footsteps on the earth around these places produced a hollow sound. from these signs, taken together, the captain had concluded that the life of the mines, the great infernal fire that raged beneath the surface, was changing ground, leaving the valley, where it had lived for ages, for the mountain heights, where the low grumblings were now heard to come from beneath the earth's crust of lava and basaltic rock. so, taking counsel of his people, he decided to bore the ground in these new places in the hope of lighting on living solfataras that would stand to him against the loss of the dead ones. and it chanced that he was in the midst of many busy preparations for this work when the report of the warders reached him, and the boring was still uppermost in his mind when he sent back his answer as he came upon the flogging and stopped it. thus it happened that the first thought that came to the warders was to send their prisoners to one of the spots that had been marked on the hillside for the test of bore and spade. so, in less than half-an-hour more, jason and sunlocks, lashed together, arm to arm and leg to leg, were being driven up the mountain to the place assigned to them. they found it a hideous and awesome spot. within a circle of two yards across, the ground was white and yellow and scaly, like a scab on evil flesh. it was hot, so that the hand could not rest upon it, and hollow, so that the foot made it shake, and from unseen depths beneath it a dull thud came up at intervals like nothing else but the knocking of a man buried alive at the sealed door of his tomb. beneath this spot the heart of the solfatara was expected to lie, and jason and sunlocks were commanded to open it. obeying gloomily, they took the bore first and pierced the scaly surface, and instantly a sizzling and bubbling sound came up from below. then they followed with the spades, but scarcely had they lifted the top crust when twenty great fissures seemed to open under their feet, and they could see lurid flames rushing in wild confusion, like rivers of fire in the bowels of the earth. it was a sight at which the stoutest heart might have quailed, and jason leapt back to the bank and dragged sunlocks after him. "this is not safe," he said. "in with you," shouted the warders from their own safe footing of four yards away. with a growl from between his clenched teeth, jason stepped back into the hole, and sunlocks followed him. but hardly had they got down to the fearsome spot again, when a layer of clay fell in from it, leaving a deep wide gully, and then scarcely a yard of secure footing remained. "let us stop while we are safe," jason cried. "dig away," shouted the warders. "if we do, we shall be digging our own graves," said jason. "begin," shouted the warders. "listen to me," said jason. "if we are to open this pit of fire and brimstone, at least let us be free of these ropes. that's but fair, that each man may have a chance of his life." "go on," shouted the warders. "if we go on like this we shall be burnt and boiled alive," said jason. "get along," shouted the warders with one voice, and then an awful light flashed in jason's eyes, for he saw that out of revenge for their paltry fines they had resolved to drive two living men to their death. "now, listen again," said jason, "and mark my words. we will do as you command us, and work in this pit of hell. i will not die in it--that i know. but this man beside me is weak and ill, heaven curse your inhumanity; and if anything happens to him, and i am alive to see it, as sure as there is strength left in my arms, and blood in my body, i will tear you limb from limb." so saying, he plunged his spade into the ground beneath him, with an oath to drive it, and at the next instant there was a flash of blue flame, an avalanche of smoke, a hurricane of unearthly noises, a cry like that of a dying man, and then an awful silence. when the air had cleared, jason stood uninjured, but michael sunlocks hung by his side inert and quiet, and blinded by a jet of steam. what happened to jason thereafter no tongue of man could tell. all the fire of his spirit, and all the strength of all his days seemed to flow back upon him in that great moment. he parted the ropes that bound him as if they had been green withes that he snapped asunder. he took sunlocks in his arms and lifted him up to his shoulder, and hung him across it, as if he had been a child that he placed there. he stepped out of the deadly pit, and strode along over the lava mountain as if he were the sole creature of the everlasting hills. his glance was terrific, his voice was the voice of a wounded beast. the warders dropped their muskets and fled before him like affrighted sheep. chapter iv. through the chasm of all men. it was still early morning; a soft gray mist lay over the moorlands, but the sun that had never set in that northern land was rising through clouds of pink and white over the bald crown of a mountain to the northeast. and towards the rising sun jason made his way, striding on with the red glow on his own tanned and blackened face, and its ghastly mockery of the hues of life on the pallid cheeks and whitened lips of sunlocks. from his right ankle and right wrist hung the rings of his broken fetters, and from the left ankle and left wrist of sunlocks trailed the ropes that had bound them both. never a moment did he pause to breathe or think or question himself. on and on he went, over lava blocks and lava dust, basaltic rock and heavy clay, and hot blue earth and scorched and withered moss. and still sunlocks lay over his right side and shoulder, motionless and unconscious, hardly breathing, but alive, with his waist encircled by jason's great right arm, and his waist-belt grasped tight as with the grip of a talon by jason's hard right hand. before long, sunlocks recovered some partial consciousness and cried in a faint voice for water. jason glanced around on the arid plain as if his eyes would pierce the ground for a spring, but no water could he see on any side of him, and so without a word of answer he strode along. "water, water," cried sunlocks again, and just then jason caught the side-long glint of a river that ran like a pearl chain down the black breast of a mountain. "water," cried sunlocks again and yet again, in a voice of pain and deep pleading, not rightly knowing yet where he was or what bad chance had befallen him. "yes, yes, one moment more, only a moment, there--there--there!" whispered jason. and muttering such words of comfort and cheer, he quickened his pace towards the river. but when he got near to it he stopped short with a cry of dismay. the river bubbled and smoked. "hot! it is hot," cried jason. "and the land is accursed." at that word, sunlocks uttered a low groan, and his head, which had been partly lifted, fell heavily backwards, and his hair hung over jason's shoulder. he was again unconscious. then more than ever like a wild beast ranging the hills with its prey, jason strode along. and presently he saw a lake of blue water far away. he knew it for cold water, blessed, ice-cold water, water to bathe the hot forehead with, water to drink. with a cry of joy, which there was no human ear to hear, he turned and made towards it; but just as he did so, softening as he went, and muttering from his own parched throat words of hope and comfort to the unconscious man he carried, a gunshot echoed through the mountains above his head. he knew what the shot was; it was the signal of his escape. and looking down to the valley, he saw that the guards of the settlement were gathering on their ponies in the very line of the plain that he must traverse to reach the water for which sunlocks thirsted. then "water, water," came again in the same faint voice as before, and whether with his actual ear he heard that cry, or in the torment of his distraught sense it only rang out in his empty heart, no man shall say. but all the same he answered it from his choking throat, "patience, patience." and then, with another look downward, the look of a human stag, at the cool water which he might not reach and live, he turned himself back to the mountains. what happened to him then, and for many weary hours thereafter, it would weary the spirit to tell: what plains he crossed, what hills he climbed, and in what desolate wilderness he walked alone, with no one for company save the unconscious man across his shoulder, and no eye to look upon him save the eye of god. and first he crossed a wide sea of lava dust, black as the ravens that flew in the air above it, and bounded by hills as dark as the earth that were themselves vast sand drifts blown up into strange and terrible shapes by mighty tempests. then he came upon a plain strewn over with cinders, having a grim crag frowning upon it, like the bank of a smelting-house, with its screes of refuse rolling down. by this time the sun had risen high and grown hot, and the black ground under his feet began to send up the reflection of the sun's rays into his face to scorch it. and still the cry of "water, water," rang in his ears, and his eyes ranged the desolate land to find it, but never a sign of it could he see, and his strong heart sank. once, when he had mounted with great toil to the top of a hill, where all behind him had been black and burnt and blistered, he saw a wide valley stretching in front of him that was as green as the grass of spring. and he thought that where there was grass there would surely be water, streams of water, rivers of water, pools of water, sunny stretches of sweet water lying clear and quiet over amber pebbles and between soft brown banks of turf. so at this sight his heart was lifted up, and bounding down the hillside, over the lava blocks, as fast as he could go for his burden, he began to sing from his cracked throat in his hoarse and quavery voice. but when he reached the valley his song stopped, and his heart sank afresh, for it was not grass, but moss that grew there, and it lay only on big blocks of lava, with never a drop of moisture or a handful of earth between them. he was crushed, but he was strong of heart and would not despair. so he pushed on over this green plain, through a hundred thousand mossy mounds that looked like the graves of a world of dead men. but when he came out of it his case seemed yet more forlorn, for leaving the soft valley behind he had come upon a lava stream, a sea of stones, not dust or cinders, but a bleached cake of lava rock, with never a soft place for the foot, and never a green spot for the eye. not a leaf to rustle in the breeze, not a blade of grass to whisper to it, not a bird's sweet voice, or the song of running water. nothing lived there but dead silence on earth and in air. nothing but that, or in other hours the roar of wind, the rattle of rain, and the crash of thunder. all this time jason had walked on under the sweltering sun, never resting, never pausing, buoyed up with the hope of water--water for the fainting man that he might not die. but in the desolation of that moment he dropped sunlocks from his shoulder, and threw himself down beside him. and sitting there, with the head of his unconscious comrade upon his knees, he put it himself to say what had been the good of all that he had done, and if it would not have been better for both of them if he had submitted to base tyranny and remained at the mines. had he not brought this man out to his death? what else was before him in this waste wilderness, where there was no drop of water to cool his hot forehead or moisten his parched tongue? and thinking that his yoke-fellow might die, and die at his hands, and that he would then be alone, with the only man's face gone from him that had ever brightened life for him, his heart began to waver and to say, "rise up, jason, rise up and go back." but just then he was conscious of the click-clack of horses' hoofs on the echoing face of the stony sea about him, and he shaded his eyes and looked around, and saw in the distance a line of men on ponies coming on in his direction. and though he thought of the guards that had been signalled to pursue him, he made no effort to escape. he did not stir or try to hide himself, but sat as before with the head of his comrade on his knees. the men on the ponies came up and passed him closely by without seeing him. but he saw them clearly and heard their talk. they were not the guard from the settlement, but thing-men bound for thingvellir and the meeting of althing there. and while they were going on before him in their laughter and high spirits, jason could scarce resist the impulse to cry out on them to stop and take him along with them as their prisoner, for that he was an outlaw who had broken his outlawry, and carried away with him this fainting man at his knees. but before the words would form themselves, and while his blistering lips were shaping to speak them, a great thought came to him, and struck him back to silence. why had he torn away from the sulphur mines? only from a gloomy love of life, life for his comrade, and life for himself. and what life was there in this trackless waste, this mouldering dumb wilderness? none, none. nothing but death lay here; death in these gaunt solitudes; death in these dry deserts; death amid these ghastly, haggard wrecks of inhuman things. what chance could there be of escape from iceland? none, none, none. but there was one hope yet. who were these men that had passed him? they were thing-men; they were the lawmakers. where were they going? they were going to the mount of laws. why were they going there? to hold their meeting of althing. what was althing? the highest power of the state; the supreme court of legislature and law. what did all this mean? it meant that jason as an icelander knew the laws of his country, and that one great law above all other laws he remembered at that instant. it concerned outlaws. and what were they but outlaws, both of them? it ordered that the condemned could appeal at althing against the injustice of his sentence. if the ranks of the judges opened for his escape, then he was saved. jason leaped to his feet at the thought of it. that was what he would do for his comrade and for himself. he would push on to thingvellir. it was five and thirty heavy miles away; but no matter for that. the angel of hope would walk with him. he would reach the mount of laws, carrying his comrade all the way. and when he got there, he would plead the cause of both of them. then the judges would rise, and part, and make way for them, and they would be free men thereafter. life, life, life! there was life left for both of them, and very sweet it seemed after the shadow of death that had so nearly encompassed them. only to live! only to live! they were young yet and loved one another as brothers. and while thinking so, in the whirl of his senses as he strode to and fro over the lava blocks, jason heard what his ear had hitherto been too heavy to catch, the thin music of falling water near at hand. and, looking up, he saw a tiny rivulet like a lock of silken hair dropping over a round face of rock, and thanking god for it, he ran to it, and filled both hands with it, and brought it to sunlocks and bathed his forehead with it, and his poor blinded eyes, and moistened his withered lips, whispering meantime words of hope and simple tender nothings, such as any woman might croon over her sick boy. "come, boy, come then, come, boy, come," he whispered, and clapped his moist hands together over the placid face to call it back to itself. and while he did so, sure enough sunlocks moved, his lips parted, his cheeks quivered, and he sighed. and seeing these signs of consciousness, jason began to cry, for the great rude fellow who had not flinched before death was touched at the sight of life in that deep place where the strongest man is as a child. but just then he heard once more the sound of horses' hoofs on the lava ground, and, looking up, he saw that there could be no error this time, and that the guards were surely coming. ten or twelve of them there seemed to be, mounted on as many ponies, and they were driving on at a furious gallop over the stones. there was a dog racing in front of them, another dog was running at their heels, and with the barking of the dogs, the loud whoops of the men to urge the ponies along, and to the clatter of the ponies' hoofs, the plain rang and echoed. jason saw that the guards were coming on in their direction. in three minutes more they would be upon them. they were taking the line followed by the thing-men. would they pass them by unseen as the thing-men had passed them? that was not to be expected, for they were there to look for them. what was to be done? jason looked behind him. nothing was there but an implacable wall of stone, rising sheer up into the sky, with never a bough, or tussock of grass to cling to that a man might climb. he looked around. the ground was covered with cracked domes like the arches of buried cities, but the caverns that lay beneath them were guarded by spiked jaws which only a man's foot could slip through. not a gap, not a hole to creep into; not a stone to crouch under; not a bush to hide behind; nothing in sight on any side but the bare, hard face of the wide sea of stone. there was not a moment to lose. jason lifted sunlocks to his shoulder and crept along, bent nearly double, as silently and swiftly as he could go. and still behind him was the whoop of the men, the barking of the dogs and the clatter of hoofs. on and on he went, minute after precious minute. the ground became heavier at every stride with huge stones that tore his stockinged legs and mangled his feet in his thin skin shoes. but he recked nothing of this, or rejoiced in it, for the way was as rough for the guards behind him, and he could hear that the horses had been drawn up from their gallop to a slow-paced walk. at each step he scoured the bleak plain for shelter, and at length he saw among piles of vitreous snags a hummock of great slabs clashed together, with one side rent open. it was like nothing else on earth but a tomb in an old burial ground, where the vaults have fallen in and wrecked the monuments above them. through the cankered lips of this hummock into its gaping throat, jason pushed the unconscious body of sunlocks, and crept in after it. and lying there in the gloom he waited for the guards to come on, and as they came he strained his ear to catch the sound of the words that passed between them. "no, no, we're on the right course," said one voice. how hollow and far away it sounded! "you saw his footmarks on the moss that we've just crossed over, and you'll see them again on the clay we're coming to." "you're wrong," said another voice, "we saw one man's footsteps only, and we are following two." "don't i tell you the red man is carrying the other." "all these miles? impossible! anyhow _that's_ their course, not _this_." "why so?" "because they're bound for hafnafiord." "why hafnafiord?" "to take ship and clear away." "tut, man, they've got bigger game than that. they're going to reykjavik." "what! to run into the lion's mouth?" "yes, and to draw his teeth, too. what has the captain always said? why, that the red man has all along been spy for the fair one, and we know who _he_ is. let him once set foot in reykjavik and he'll do over again what he did before." crouching over sunlocks in the darkness of that grim vault, jason heard these words as the guards rode past him in the glare of the hot sun, and not until they were gone did he draw his breath. but just as he lay back with a sigh of relief, thinking all danger over, suddenly he heard a sound that startled him. it was the sniffing of a dog outside his hiding place, and at the next instant two glittering eyes looked in upon him from the gap whereby he had entered. the dog growled, and jason tried to pacify it. it barked, and then jason laid hold of it, and gripped it about the throat to silence it. it fumed and fought, but jason held it like a vice, until there came a whistle and a call, and then it struggled afresh. "erik!" shouted a voice without. "erik, erik!" and then whistle followed whistle. thinking the creature would now follow its master, jason was for releasing it, but before he had yet fully done so the dog growled and barked again. "erik! erik!" shouted the voice outside, and from the click-clack of hoofs jason judged that one of the men was returning. then jason saw that there was nothing left to him but to quiet the dog, or it would betray them to their death; so, while the brute writhed in his great hands, struggling to tear the flesh from them, he laid hold of its gaping jaws and rived them apart and broke them. in a moment more the dog was dead. in the silence that followed, a faint voice came from a distance, crying, "sigurd, sigurd, why are you waiting!" and then another voice shouted back from near at hand--very near, so near as to seem to be on top of the hummock, "i've lost the dog; and i could swear i heard him growling somewhere hereabouts not a minute since." jason was holding his breath again, when suddenly a deep sigh came from sunlocks; then another, and another, and then some rambling words that had no meaning, but made a dull hum in that hollow place. the man outside must have heard something, for he called his dog again. at that jason's heart fell low, and all he could do he did--he reached over the outstretched form of his comrade, and put his lips to the lips of sunlocks, just that he might smother their deadly babble with noiseless kisses. this must have served, for when the voice that was far away shouted again "sigurd! sigurd!" the voice that was near at hand answered, "coming." and a moment later, jason heard the sounds of hoofs going off from him as before. then michael sunlocks awoke to full consciousness, and realized his state, and what had befallen him, and where he was, and who was with him. and first he was overwhelmed by a tempest of agony at feeling that he was a lost and forlorn man, blind and maimed, as it seemed at that time, for all the rest of his life to come. after that he cried for water, saying that his throat was baked and his tongue cracked, and jason replied that all the water they had found that day they had been forced to leave behind them where they could never return to it. then he poured out a torrent of hot reproaches, calling on jason to say why he had been brought out there to go mad of thirst; and jason listened to all and made no answer, but stood with bent head, and quivering lips, and great tear-drops on his rugged cheeks. the spasm of agony and anger soon passed, as jason knew it must, and then, full of remorse, sunlocks saw everything in a new light. "what time of day is it?" he asked. "evening," said jason. "how many hours since we left krisuvik?" "ten." "how many miles from there!" "twenty." "have you carried me all the way?" "yes." there was a moment's pause, then an audible sob, and then sunlocks felt for jason's hand and drew it down to his lips. that kiss was more than jason could bear, though he bore the hot words well enough; so he made a brave show of unconcern, and rattled on with hopeful talk, saying where they were to go, and what he was to do for both of them, and how they would be free men to-morrow. and as he talked of the great task that was before them, his heart grew strong again, and sunlocks caught the contagion of his spirit and cried, "yes, yes, let us set off. i can walk alone now. come, let us go." at that jason drew sunlocks out of the hummock, and helped him to his feet. "you are weak still," he said. "let me carry you again." "no, no, i am strong. give me your hand. that's enough," said sunlocks. "come, then," said jason, "the guards have gone that way to reykjavik. it's this way to thingvellir--over the hill yonder, and through the chasm of all men, and down by the lake to the mount of laws." then jason wound his right arm about the waist of sunlocks, and sunlocks rested his left hand on the shoulder of jason, and so they started out again over that gaunt wilderness that was once a sea of living fire. bravely they struggled along, with words of courage and good cheer passing between them, and sunlocks tried to be strong for jason's sake, and jason tried to be blind for sake of sunlocks. if sunlocks stumbled, jason pretended not to know it, though his strong arm bore him up, and when jason spoke of water and said they would soon come to a whole lake of it, sunlocks pretended that he was no longer thirsty. thus, like little children playing at make-believe, they tottered on, side by side, arm through arm, yoked together by a bond far tighter than ever bound them before, for the love that was their weakness was god's own strength. but no power of spirit could take the place of power of body, and sunlocks grew faint and very feeble. "is the sun still shining?" he asked at one time. "yes," said jason. whereupon sunlocks added, sadly, "and i am blind--blind--blind." "courage," whispered jason, "the lake is yonder. i can see it plainly. we'll have water soon." "it's not that," said sunlocks, "but something else that troubles me." "what else?" said jason. "that i'm blind, and sick, and have a broken hand, a broken heart, and a broken brain, and am not worth saving." "lean heavier on my shoulder, and wind your arm about my neck," whispered jason. sunlocks struggled on a little longer, and then the power of life fell low in him, and he could walk no farther. "let me go," he said, "i will lie down here a while." and when jason had dropped him gently to the ground, thinking he meant to rest a little and then continue his journey, sunlocks said, very gently: "now, save yourself. i am only a burden to you. escape, or you will be captured and taken back." "what?" cried jason, "and leave you here to die?" "that may be my fate in any case," said sunlocks faintly, "so go, brother--go--farewell--and god bless you!" "courage," whispered jason again. "i know a farm not far away, and the good man that keeps it. he will give us milk and bread; and we'll sleep under his roof to-night, and start afresh in the morning." but the passionate voice fell on a deaf ear, for sunlocks was unconscious before half the words were spoken. then jason lifted him to his shoulder once more, and set out for the third time over the rocky waste. it would be a weary task to tell of the adventures that afterwards befell him. in the fading sunlight of that day he crossed trackless places, void of any sound or sight of life; silent, save for the hoarse croak of the raven; without sign of human foregoer, except some pyramidal heaps of stones, that once served as mournful sentinels to point the human scapegoat to the cities of refuge. he came up to the lake and saw that it was poisonous, for the plovers that flew over it fell dead from its fumes; and when he reached the farm he found it a ruin, the good farmer gone, and his hearth cold. he toiled through mud and boggy places, and crossed narrow bridle paths along perpendicular sides of precipices. the night came on as he walked, the short night of that northern summer, where the sun never sets in blessed darkness that weary eyes may close in sleep, but a blood-red glow burns an hour in the northern sky at midnight, and then the bright light rises again over the unrested world. he was faint for bread, and athirst for water, but still he struggled on--on--on--on--over the dismal chaos. sometimes when the pang of thirst was strongest he remembered what he had heard of the madness that comes of it--that the afflicted man walks round in a narrow circle, round and round over the self-same place (as if the devil's bridle bound him like an unbroken horse) until nature fails and he faints and falls. yet thinking of himself so, in that weary spot, with sunlocks over him, he shuddered, but took heart of strength and struggled on. and all this time sunlocks lay inert and lifeless on his shoulder, in a deep unconsciousness that was broken by two moments only of complete sensibility. in the first of these he said: "i must have been dreaming, for i thought i had found my brother." "your brother?" said jason. "yes, my brother; for i have got one, though i have never seen him," said sunlocks. "we were not together in childhood, as other brothers are, but when we grew to be men i set out in search of him. i thought i had found him at last--but it was in hell." "god-a-mercy!" cried jason. "and when i looked at him," said sunlocks, "it seemed to me that he was you. yes, you; for he had the face of my yoke-fellow at the mines. i thought you were my brother indeed." "lie still, brother," whispered jason; "lie still and rest." in the second moment of his consciousness sunlocks said, "do you think the judges will listen to us?" "they must--they shall," said jason. "but the governor himself may be one of them," said sunlocks. "what matter?" said jason. "he is a hard man--do you know who he is?" "no," said jason; but he added, quickly, "wait! ah, now i remember. will he be there?" "yes." "so much the better." "why?" said sunlocks. and jason answered, with heat and flame of voice, "because i hate and loathe him." "has he wronged you also?" said sunlocks. "yes," said jason, "and i have waited and watched five years to requite him." "have you never yet met with him?" "never! but i'll see him now. and if he denies me this justice, i'll----" "what?" at that he paused, and then said quickly, "no matter." but sunlocks understood and said, "god forbid it." half an hour later, red jason, still carrying michael sunlocks, was passing through the chasm of all men, a grand, gloomy diabolical fissure opening into the valley of thingvellir. it was morning of the day following his escape from the sulphur mines of krisuvik. the air was clear, the sun was bright, and a dull sound, such as the sea makes when far away, came up from the plain below. it was a deep multitudinous hum of many voices. jason heard it, and his heavy face lightened with the vividness of a grim joy. chapter v. the mount of laws. i. and now, that we may stride on the faster, we must step back a pace or two. what happened to greeba after she parted from her father at krisuvik, and took up her employment as nurse to the sick prisoners, we partly know already from the history of red jason and michael sunlocks. accused of unchastity, she was turned away from the hospital; and suspected of collusion to effect the escape of some prisoner unrecognized, she was ordered to leave the neighborhood of the sulphur mines. but where her affections are at stake a woman's wit is more than a match for a man's cunning, and greeba contrived to remain at krisuvik. for her material needs she still had the larger part of the money that her brothers, in their scheming selfishness, had brought her, and she had her child to cheer her solitude. it was a boy, unchristened as yet, save in the secret place of her heart, where it bore a name that she dare not speak. and if its life was her shame in the eyes of the good folk who gave her shelter, it was a dear and sweet dishonor, for well she knew and loved to remember that one word from her would turn it to glory and to joy. "if only i dare tell," she would whisper into her babe's ear again and again. "if i only dare!" but its father's name she never uttered, and so with pride for her secret, and honor for her disgrace, she clung the closer to both, though they were sometimes hard to bear, and she thought a thousand times they were a loving and true revenge on him that had doubted her love and told her she had married him for the poor glory of his place. not daring to let herself be seen within range of the sulphur mines, she sought out the prisoner-priest from time to time, where he lived in the partial liberty of the free command, and learned from him such tidings of her husband as came his way. the good man knew nothing of the identity of michael sunlocks in that world of bondage where all identity was lost, save that a 25 was the husband of the woman who waited without. but that was greeba's sole secret, and the true soul kept it. and so the long winter passed, and the summer came, and greeba was content to live by the side of sunlocks, content to breathe the air he breathed, to have the same sky above her, to share the same sunshine and the same rain, only repining when she remembered that while she was looking for love into the eyes of their child, he was slaving like a beast of burden; but waiting, waiting, waiting, withal for the chance--she knew not what--that must release him yet, she knew not when. her great hour came at length, but an awful blow came with it. one day the prisoner-priest hurried up to the farm where she lived, and said, "i have sad news for you; forgive me; prisoner a25 has met with an accident." she did not stay to hear more, but with her child in her arms she hurried away to the mines, and there in the tempest of her trouble the secret of months went to the winds in an instant. "where is he?" she cried. "let me see him. he is my husband." "your husband!" said the warders, and without more ado they laid hands upon her and carried her off to their captain. "this woman," they said, "turns out to be the wife of a25." "as i suspected," the captain answered. "where is my husband?" greeba cried. "what accident has befallen him? take me to him." "first tell me why you came to this place," said the captain. "to be near my husband," said greeba. "nothing else?" "nothing." "who is this other man?" asked the captain. "what man?" said greeba. then they told her that her husband was gone, having been carried off by a fellow-prisoner who had effected the escape of both of them. "escaped!" cried greeba, with a look of bewilderment, glancing from face to face of the men about her. "then it is not true that he has met with an accident. thank god, oh! thank god!" and she clutched her child closer to her breast, and kissed it. "we know nothing of that either way," said the captain. "but tell us who and what is this other man? his number here was b25. his name is jason." at that, greeba gazed up again with a terrified look of inquiry. "jason?" she cried. "yes, who is he?" the captain asked. and greeba answered, after a pause, "his own brother." "we might have thought as much," said the captain. there was another pause, and then greeba said, "yes, his own brother, who has followed him all his life to kill him." the captain smiled upon his warders and said, "it didn't look like it, madam." "but it is true," said greeba. "he has been your husband's best friend," said the captain. "he is my husband's worst enemy," said greeba. "he has carried him off, i tell you," said the captain. "then it is only that he may have his wicked will of him," said greeba. "ah, sir, you will tell me i don't know what i'm saying. but i know too well. it was for attempting my husband's life that jason was sent to this place. that was before your time; but look and see if i speak the truth. now i know it is false that my husband is only injured. would he were! would he were! yet, what am i saying? mercy me, what am i saying? but, only think, he has been carried off to his death. i know he has--i am sure he has; and better, a thousand thousand times better, that he should be here, however injured, with me to nurse him! but what am i saying again? indeed, i don't know what i am saying. oh, sir, forgive me; and heaven forgive me, also. but send after that man. send instantly. don't lose an hour more. oh, believe me, sir, trust me, sir, for i am a broken-hearted woman; and why should i not speak the truth?" "all this is very strange," said the captain. "but set your mind at ease about the man jason. the guards have already gone in pursuit of him, and he cannot escape. it is not for me to say your story is not true, though the facts, as we know them, discredit it. but, true or not, you shall tell it to the governor as you have told it to me, so prepare to leave krisuvik immediately." and in less than an hour more greeba was riding between two of the guards towards the valley of thingvellir. ii. jorgen jorgensen had thrice hardened his heart against michael sunlocks: first, when he pushed sunlocks into althing, and found his selfish ends were not thereby in the way of advancement; next, when he fell from his place and sunlocks took possession of it; again, when he regained his stool and sunlocks was condemned to the sulphur mines. but most of all he hated sunlocks when old adam fairbrother came to reykjavik and demanded for him, as an english subject, the benefit of judge and jury. "we know of no jury here," said jorgen; "and english subject or not english subject, this man has offended against the laws of denmark." "then the laws of denmark shall condemn him," said adam, bravely, "and not the caprice of a tyrant governor." "keep a civil tongue in your old head, sir," said jorgen, "or you may learn to your cost how far that caprice can go." "i care nothing for your threats, sir," said adam, "and i mean to accuse you before your master." "do your worst," said jorgen, "and take care how you do it." and at first adam's worst seemed likely to be little, for hardly had he set foot in reykjavik when he was brought front to front with the material difficulty that the few pounds with which he had set out were spent. money was justice, and justice money, on that rock of the sea, as elsewhere, and on the horns of his dilemma, adam bethought him to write to his late master, the duke of athol, explaining his position, and asking for the loan of fifty pounds. a long month passed before he got back his answer. the old duke sent forty pounds as a remonstrance against adam's improvidence, and stern counsel to him to return forthwith to the homes of his children. in the meantime the old bishop, out of love of michael sunlocks and sympathy with greeba, had taken adam into his house at reykjavik. from there old adam had sent petitions to the minister at copenhagen, petitions to the danish rigsdag, and finally petitions to the danish king. his reward had been small, for no justice, or promise of justice, could he get. but jorgen jorgensen had sat no easier on his seat for adam's zealous efforts. he had been hurried out of his peace by government inquiries, and terrified by government threats. but he had wriggled, he had lied, he had used subterfuge after subterfuge, and so pushed on the evil day of final reckoning. and while his hoary head lay ill at ease because of the troubles that came from copenhagen, the gorge of his stomach rose at the bitter waters he was made to drink at reykjavik. he heard the name of michael sunlocks on every lip, as a name of honor, a name of affection, a name to conjure with whenever and wherever men talked of high talents, justice, honor and truth. jorgen perceived that the people of iceland had recovered from the first surprise and suspicion that followed on the fall of their republic, and no longer saw michael sunlocks as their betrayer, but had begun to regard him as their martyr. they loved him still. if their hour ever came they would restore him. on the other hand, jorgen realized that he himself was hated where he was not despised, jeered at where he was not feared, and that the men whom he had counted upon because he had bought them with the places in his gift, smiled loftily upon him as upon one who had fallen on his second childhood. and so jorgen jorgensen hardened his heart against michael sunlocks, and vowed that the sulphur mines of krisuvik should see the worst and last of him. he heard of jason, too, that he was not dead, as they had supposed, but alive, and that he had been sent to the mines for attempting the life of sunlocks. that attempt seemed to him to come of a natural passion, and as often as he spoke of it he warmed up visibly, not out of any human tenderness towards jason, but with a sense of wild triumph over sunlocks. and the more he thought of jason, the firmer grew his resolve to take him out of the sulphur mines and place him by his side, not that his old age needed a stay, not that he was a lonely old man, and jason was his daughter's son, but only because jason hated sunlocks and would crush him if by chance he rose again. with such thoughts uppermost he went down to krisuvik, and there his bitter purpose met with a shock. he found jason the sole ally of michael sunlocks, his friend, his defender and champion against tyranny. it was then that he ordered the ruthless punishment of sunlocks, that he should be nailed by his right hand to a log of driftwood, with meat and drink within sight but out of reach of him, and a huge knife by his side. and when jason had liberated sunlocks from this inhuman cruelty, and the two men, dearest foes and deadliest friends, were brought before him for their punishment, the gall of jorgen's fate seemed to suffocate him. "strap them up together," he cried, "leg to leg and arm to arm." thus he thought to turn their love to hate; but he kept his own counsel, and left the sulphur mines without saying what evil dream had brought him there, or confessing to his danish officers the relation wherein this other prisoner stood to him, for secrecy is the chain-armor of the tyrant. back in reykjavik he comforted himself with the assurance that michael sunlocks must die. "there was death in his face," he thought, "and he cannot last a month longer. besides, he will fall to fighting with the other, and the other will surely kill him. blind fools, both of them!" in this mood he made ready for thingvellir, and set out with all his people. since the revolution, he had kept a bodyguard of five and twenty men, and with this following he was crossing the slope of the basket hill, behind the capital, when he saw half a score of the guards from krisuvik riding at a gallop from the direction of hafnafiord. they were the men who had been sent in pursuit of red jason and michael sunlocks, the same that had passed them in the hummock, where the carcase of the dog still lay. then jorgen jorgensen received news that terrified him. michael sunlocks had escaped, and red jason had escaped with him. they had not been seen at hafnafiord, and no ship had set sail from there since yesterday. never a trace of them had been found on any of the paths from krisuvik, and it was certain that they must be in the interior still. would his excellency lend them ten men more to scour the country? such was the message of the guards, and at hearing it jorgen's anger and fear overmastered him. "fools! blockheads! asses!" he cried. "the man is making for reykjavik. he knows what he is doing if you do not. is not this the time of althing, and must i not leave reykjavik for thingvellir? he is making for reykjavik now! once let him set foot there, and these damned icelanders will rise at the sight of him. then you may scour the country till you fall dead and turn black, and he will only laugh at the sight of you. back, you blockheads, back! back to reykjavik, every man of you! and i am going back with you." thus driven by his frantic terror, jorgen jorgensen returned to the capital and searched every house and hovel, every hole and sty, for the two fugitives; and when he had satisfied himself that they were not anywhere within range of reykjavik, his fears remembered thingvellir, and what mischief might be going forward in his absence. so next day he left his body-guard with the guard from krisuvik to watch the capital, and set out alone for the mount of laws. iii. the lonely valley of thingvellir was alive that morning with a great throng of people. they came from the west by the chasm of all men, from the east by the chasm of ravens, and from the south by the lake. troop after troop flowed into the vast amphitheatre that lies between dark hills and great jokulls tipped with snow. they pitched their tents on the green patch, under the fells to the north, and tying their ponies together, head to tail, they turned them loose to graze. hundreds of tents were there by early morning, gleaming white in the sunlight, and tens of hundreds of ponies, shaggy and unkempt, grubbed among the short grass that grew between. near the middle of the plain stood the mount of laws, a lava island of oval shape, surrounded by a narrow stream, and bounded by overhanging walls cut deep with fissures. around this mount the people gathered. there friend met friend, foe met foe, rival met rival, northmen met southmen, the westmann islander met the grimsey islander, and the man from seydisfiord met the man from patriksfiord. and because althing gathered only every other year, many musty kisses went round, with snuffboxes after them, among those who had not met before for two long years. it was a vast assembly, chiefly of men, in their homespun and sheepskins and woollen stockings, cross-gartered with hemp from ankle to knee. women, too, and young girls and children were there, all wearing their sunday best. and in those first minutes of their meeting, before althing began, the talk was of crops and stock, of the weather, and of what sheep had been lost in the last two hard winters. the day had opened brightly, with clear air and bright sunshine, but the blue sky had soon become overcast with threatening clouds, and this lead to stories of strange signs in the heavens, and unaccustomed noises on the earth and under it. a man from the south spoke of rain of black dust as having fallen three nights before until the ground was covered deep with it. another man, from the foot of hekla, told of a shock of earthquake that had lately been felt there, travelling northeast to southwest. a third man spoke of grazing his horse on the wild oats of a glen that he had passed through, with a line of some twenty columns of smoke burst suddenly upon his view. all this seemed to pass from lip to lip in the twinkling of an eye, and when young men asked what the signs might mean, old men lifted both hands and shook their heads, and prayed that the visitations which their island had seen before might never come to it again. such was the talk, and such the mood of the people when the hour arrived for the business of althing to begin, and then all eyes turned to the little wooden thing house by the side of the church, wherein the thing-men were wont to gather for their procession to the mount of laws. and when the hour passed, and the procession had not yet appeared, the whisper went around that the governor had not arrived, and that the delay was meant to humor him. at that the people began to mutter among themselves, for the slumbering fire of their national spirit had been stirred. by his tardy coming the governor meant to humiliate them! but, governor or no governor, let althing begin its sitting. who was the governor that althing should wait for him? what was althing that it should submit to the whim or the will of any governor? within the thing house, as well as outside of it, such hot protests must have had sway, for presently the door of the little place was thrown open and the six and thirty thing-men came out. then followed the solemn ceremonies that had been observed on the spot for nigh a thousand years. first walked the chief judge, carrying the sword of justice, and behind him walked his magistrates and thing-men. they ascended to the mount by a flight of steps cut out of its overhanging walls. at the same moment another procession, that of the old bishop and his clergy, came out of the church and ascended to the mount by a similar flight of steps cut out of the opposite side of it. the two companies parted, the thing-men to the north and the clergy to the south, leaving the line of this natural causeway open and free, save for the judge, who stood at the head of it, with the bishop to the right of him and the governor's empty place to the left. and first the bishop offered prayer for the sitting of althing that was then to begin. "thou judge of israel," he prayed, in the terrible words which had descended to him through centuries, "thou that sittest upon the cherubims, come down and help thy people. o, most mighty god, who art more pleased with the sacrifice of thanksgiving than with the burnt offerings of bullocks and goats, keep now our mouths from guile and deceit, from slander and from obloquy. o lord god most holy, o lord most mighty, endue thy ministers with righteousness. give them wisdom that they may judge wisely. give them mercy that they may judge mercifully. let them judge this nation as thou wilt judge thy people. let them remember that he who takes the name of justice for his own profit or hatred or revenge is worse than the vulture that watches for the carcase. let them not forget that howsoever high they stand or proudly they bear themselves, nothing shall they take from hence but the oak for their coffin. let them be sure that when thou shalt appear with a consuming fire before thee and a tempest round about thee, calling the heaven and the earth together, no portion can they have in that day like to the portion of thine inheritance." the fierce prayer came to an end, and then the judge, holding his sword erect, read his charge and repeated his oath, to deal justly between man and man, even as the sword stood upright before him. and the vast assembly of rude men in sheepskins and in homespun looked on and listened, all silent and solemn, all worshipful of law and reverent of its forms. the oath being taken, the judge had laid the sword aside and begun to promulgate the new laws, reading them clause by clause, first in icelandic and then in danish, when there was an uneasy movement at the outskirts of the crowd to the west of the mount. "the governor," whispered one. "it's himself," muttered another. "he's here at last," murmured a third, and dark were the faces turned round to see. it was the governor, indeed, and he pushed his way through the closely-packed people, who saw him coming, but stood together like a wall until riven apart by his pony's feet. at the causeway he dismounted and stepped up to the top of the mount. he looked old and feeble and torn by evil passions; his straight gray hair hung like a blasted sheaf on to his shoulders, his forehead was blistered with blue veins, his cheeks were guttered with wrinkles, his little eyes were cruel, his jaw was broad and heavy, and his mouth was hard and square. the judge made him no obeisance, but went on with his reading. the bishop seemed not to see him, but gazed steadfastly forward. the thing-men gave no sign. he stood a moment, and looked around, and the people below could see his wrath rising like a white hand across his haggard face. then he interrupted and said, "chief justice, i have something to say." all heard the words, and the speaker stopped, and, amid the breathless silence of the people, he answered quietly, "there will be a time and a place for that, your excellency." "the time is now, and the place is here," cried jorgen jorgensen, in a tense voice, and quivering with anger. "listen to me. the rebel and traitor who once usurped the government of this island has escaped." "escaped!" cried a hundred voices. "michael sunlocks!" cried as many more. and a wave of excitement passed over the vast assembly. "yes, michael sunlocks has escaped," cried jorgen jorgensen. "that scoundrel is at liberty. he is free to do his wicked work again. men of iceland, i call on you to help me. i call on you to help the crown of denmark. the traitor must be taken. i call on you to take him." a deep murmur ran through the closely-pressed people. "you've got your guards," shouted a voice from below. "why do you come to us?" "because," cried jorgen jorgensen, "my guards are protecting reykjavik, and because they might scour your island a hundred years and never find what they looked for." "thank god!" muttered another voice from below. "but you know it, every fell and fiord," cried jorgen jorgensen, "and never a toad could skulk under a stone but you would root him out of it. chief justice," he added, sweeping about, "i have a request to make of you." "what is it, your excellency?" said the judge. "that you should adjourn this althing so that every man here present may go out in search of the traitor." then a loud involuntary murmur of dissent rose from the people, and at the same moment the judge said in bewilderment, "what can your excellency mean?" "i mean," cried jorgen jorgensen, "that if you adjourn this althing for three days, the traitor will be taken. if not, he will be at liberty as many years. will you do it?" "your excellency," said the judge, "althing has lived nigh upon a thousand years, and every other year for that thousand years it has met on this ancient ground, but never once since it began has the thing you ask been done." "let it be done now," cried jorgen jorgensen. "will you do it?" "we will do our duty by your excellency," said the judge, "and we will expect your excellency to do your duty by us." "but this man is a traitor," cried jorgen jorgensen, "and it is your duty to help me to capture him. will you do it?" "and this day is ours by ancient right and custom," said the judge, "and it is your duty to stand aside." "i am here for the king of denmark," cried jorgen jorgensen, "and i ask you to adjourn this althing. will you do it?" "and we are here for the people of iceland," said the judge, "and we ask you to step back and let us go on." then jorgen jorgensen's anger knew no bounds. "you are subjects of the king of denmark," he cried. "before ever denmark was, we were," answered the judge, proudly. "and in his name i demand that you adjourn. will you do it now?" cried jorgen jorgensen, with a grin of triumph. "no," cried the judge, lifting an undaunted face to the face of jorgen jorgensen. the people held their breath through this clash of words, but at the judge's brave answer a murmur of approval passed over them. jorgen jorgensen heard it, and flinched, but turned back to the judge and said, "take care. if you do not help me, you hinder me; if you are not with me, you are against me. is that man a traitor? answer me--yes or no." but the judge made no answer, and there was dead silence among the people, for they knew well in what way the cruel question tended. "answer me--yes or no," jorgen jorgensen cried again. then the bishop broke silence and said, "whatever our hearts may be, your excellency, our tongues must be silent." at that, jorgen jorgensen faced about to the crowd. "i put a price on his head," he cried. "two thousand kroner to anyone who takes him, alive or dead. who will earn it?" "no icelander earns money with blood," said the bishop. "if this thing is our duty, we will do it without pay. if not, no bribe will tempt us." "ay, ay," shouted a hundred voices. jorgen jorgensen flinched again, and his face whitened as he grew darker within. "so, i see how it is," he said, looking steadfastly at the bishop, the judge, and the thing-men. "you are aiding this traitor's escape. you are his allies, every man of you. and you are seducing and deceiving the people." then he faced about towards the crowd more and more, and cried in a loud voice: "men of iceland, you know the man who has escaped. you know what he is, and where he came from; you know he is not one of yourselves, but a bastard englishman. then drive him back home. listen to me. what price did i put on his head? two thousand kroner! i will give ten thousand! ten thousand kroner for the man who takes him alive, and twenty thousand kroner--do you hear me?--twenty thousand for the man who takes him dead." "silence!" cried the bishop. "who are you, sir, that you dare tempt men to murder?" "murder!" cried jorgen jorgensen. "see how simple are the wise? men of iceland, listen to me again. the traitor is an outlaw. you know what that means. his blood is on his own head. any man may shoot him down. no man may be called to account for doing so. do you hear me? it is the law of iceland, the law of denmark, the law of the world. he is an outlaw, and killing him is no murder. follow him up! twenty thousand kroner to the man who lays him at my feet." he would have said more, for he was heaving with passion, and his white face had grown purple, but his tongue seemed suddenly paralyzed, and his wide eyes fixed themselves on something at the outskirts of the crowd. one thin and wrinkled hand he lifted up and pointed tremblingly over the heads of the people. "there!" he said in a smothered cry, and after that he was silent. the crowd shifted and looked round, amid a deep murmur of surprise and expectation. then by one of the involuntary impulses that move great assemblies, the solid wall of human beings seemed to part of itself, and make a way for someone. it was red jason, carrying michael sunlocks across his breast and shoulder. his bronzed cheeks were worn, his sunken eyes burned with a dull fire. he strode on, erect and strong, through the riven way of men and women. a breathless silence seemed to follow him. when he came to the foot of the mount, he stopped, and let sunlocks drop gently to the ground. sunlocks was insensible, and his piteous white face looked up at the heavy dome of the sky. a sensation of awe held the vast crowd spellbound. it was as if the almighty god had heard the blasphemy of that miserable old man, and given him on the instant his impious wish. iv. then, in that breathless silence, jason stood erect and said, in a firm, clear, sonorous voice, "you know who i am. some of you hate me. some of you fear me. all of you think me a sort of wild beast among men. that is why you caged me. but i have broken my bars, and brought this man along with me." the men on the mount had not time to breathe under the light and fire that flashed upon them when jason lifted his clenched hand and said, "o, you that dwell in peace; you that go to your beds at night; you that eat when you are hungry and drink when you are athirst, and rest when you are weary: would to god you could know by bitter proof what this poor man has suffered. but _i_ know it, and i can tell you what it has been. where is your michael sunlocks, that i may tell it to him? which is he? point him out to me." then the people drew a deep breath, for they saw in an instant what had befallen these two men in the dread shaping of their fate. "where is he?" cried jason, again. and in a voice quivering with emotion, the judge said: "don't you know the man you've brought here?" "no--yes--yes," cried jason. "my brother--my brother in suffering--my brother in misery--that's all i know or care. but where is your michael sunlocks? i have something to say to him. where is he?" jorgen jorgensen had recovered himself by this time, and pressing forward, he said with a cruel smile, "you fool; shall i tell you where he is?" "heaven forbid it!" said the bishop, stepping out and lifting both hands before the governor's face. but in that instant jason had recognized jorgen jorgensen. "i know this old man," he said. "what is he doing here? ah, god pity me, i had forgotten. i saw him at the mines. then he is back. and, now i remember, he is governor again." saying this, an agony of bewilderment quivered in his face. he looked around. "then where is michael sunlocks?" he cried in a loud voice. "where is he? which is he? who is he? will no one tell me? speak! for the merciful christ's sake let some one speak." there was a moment of silence, in which the vast crowd trembled as one man with wonder and dismay. the bishop and judge stood motionless. jorgen jorgensen smiled bitterly and shook his head, and jason raised his right hand to cover his face from the face of the insensible man at his feet, as if some dark foreshadowing of the truth had swept over him in an instant. what happened thereafter jason never knew, only that there was a shrill cry and a rustle like a swirl of wind, only that someone was coming up behind him through the walls of human beings, that still stood apart like riven rocks, only that in a moment a woman had flung herself over the prostrate body of his comrade, embracing it, raising it in her arms, kissing its pale cheeks, and sobbing over it, "my husband! my husband." it was greeba. when the dark mist had cleared away from before his eyes, jason saw her and knew her. at the same instant he saw and knew his destiny, that his yoke-fellow had been michael sunlocks, that his lifelong enemy had been his life's sole friend. it was a terrible discovery, and jason reeled under the shock of it like a beast that is smitten to its death. and while he stood there, half-blind, half-deaf, swaying to and fro as if the earth rocked beneath him, across his shoulders, over his cheeks and his mouth and his eyes fell the lash of the tongue of jorgen jorgensen. "yes, fool that you are and have been," he cried in his husky voice, "that's where your michael sunlocks is." "shame! shame!" cried the people. but jorgen jorgensen showed no pity or ruth. "you have brought him here to your confusion," he cried again, "and it's not the first time you've taken this part to your own loss." more he would have said in the merciless cruelty of his heart, only that a deep growl came up from the crowd and silenced him. but jason heard nothing, saw nothing, felt nothing, knew nothing, save that michael sunlocks lay at his feet, that greeba knelt beside him, and that she was coaxing him, caressing him, and kissing him back to life. "michael," she whispered, "michael! my poor michael!" she murmured, while she moistened his lips and parched tongue with the brenni-vin from the horn of some good man standing near. jason saw this and heard this, though he had eyes and ears for nothing besides. and thinking, in the wild tumult of his distempered brain, that such tenderness might have been his, should have been his, must have been his, but for this man who had robbed him of this woman, all the bitterness of his poisoned heart rose up to choke him. he remembered his weary life with this man, his sufferings with him, his love for him, and he hated himself for it all. what devil of hell had made sport of him, to give him his enemy for his friend? how satan himself must shriek aloud to see it, that he who had been thrice robbed by this man--robbed of a father, robbed of a mother, robbed of a wife--should in his blindness tend him, and nurse him, and carry him with sweat of blood over trackless wastes that he might save him alive for her who waited to claim him! then he remembered what he had come for, and that all was not yet done. should he do it after all? should he give this man back to this woman? should he renounce his love and his hate together--his love of this woman, his hate of this man? love? hate? which was love? which was hate? ah, god! they were one; they were the same. heaven pity him, what was he to do? thus the powers of good and the powers of evil wrestled together in jason's heart for mastery. but the moment of their struggle was short. one look at the piteous blind face lying on greeba's bosom, one glance at the more piteous wet face that hung over it, and love had conquered hate in that big heart forever and forever. jason was recalled to himself by a dull hum of words that seemed to be spoken from the mount. someone was asking why he had come there, and brought michael sunlocks along with him. so he lifted his hand, partly to call attention, partly to steady himself, and in a broken voice he said these words:-"men and women, if you could only know what it means that you have just witnessed, i think it would be enough to move any man. you know what i am--a sort of bastard who has never been a man among men, but has walked alone all the days of his life. my father killed my mother, and so i vowed to kill my father. i did not do it, for i saved him out of the sea, and he died in my arms, as you might say, doating on the memory of another son. that son's mother had supplanted my mother and that son himself had supplanted me, so i vowed to kill him for his father's sake. i did not do that neither. i had never once set eyes on my enemy, i had done nothing but say what i meant to do, when you took me and tried me and condemned me. perhaps that was injustice, such as could have been met with nowhere save here in iceland, yet i thank god for it now. by what chance i do not know, but in that hell to which you sent me, where all names are lost and no man may know his yoke-fellow, except by his face if he has seen it, i met with one who became my friend, my brother, my second self. i loved him, as one might love a little child. and he loved me--yes, me,--i could swear it. you had thought me a beast, and shut me out from the light of day and the company of christian men. but he made me a man, and lit up the darkness of my night." his deep strong voice faltered, and he stopped, and nothing was audible save the excited breathing of the people. greeba was looking up into his haggard face with amazement written upon her own. "must i go on," he cried, in a voice rent with agony. "i have brought him here, and he is michael sunlocks. my brother in suffering is my brother in blood. the man i have vowed to slay is the man i have tried to save." some of the people could not restrain their tears, and the white faces of the others quivered visibly. "why have you brought him here?" asked the judge. at that moment michael sunlocks began to move and to moan, as if consciousness were coming back to him. jorgen jorgensen saw this, and the proud composure with which he had looked on and listened while sunlocks lay like a man dead left him in an instant. "why have you brought michael sunlocks here?" said the judge again. "why has he brought him here?" said jorgen jorgensen bitterly. "to be arrested. that's why he has brought him here. see, the man is coming to. he will do more mischief yet, unless he is prevented. take him," he shouted to two of the guards from krisuvik, who had come with greeba, and now stood behind her. "wait!" cried the judge, lifting his hand. there was no gainsaying his voice, and the guards who had stepped forward dropped back. then he turned to jason again and repeated his question, "why have you brought michael sunlocks here?" at that, jorgen jorgensen lost all self-control and shouted, "take him, i say!" and facing about to the judge he said, "i will have you know, sir, that i am here for denmark and must be obeyed." the guards stepped forward again, but the crowd closed around them and pushed them back. seeing this, jorgen jorgensen grew purple with rage, and turning to the people, he shouted at the full pitch of his voice, "listen to me. some minutes past, i put a price on that man's head. i said i would give you twenty thousand kroner. i was wrong. i will give you nothing but your lives and liberty. you know what that means. you have bent your necks under the yoke already, and you may have to do it again. arrest that man--arrest both men!" "stop!" cried the judge. "those men are escaped prisoners," said jorgen jorgensen. "and this is the mount of laws, and here is althing," said the judge; "and prisoners or no prisoners, if they have anything to say, by the ancient law of iceland they may say it now." "pshaw! your law of iceland is nothing to me," said jorgen jorgensen, and turning to the crowd he cried, "in the name of the king of denmark i command you to arrest those men." "and in the name of the king of kings," said the judge, turning after him, "i command you to let them alone." there was a dead hush for a moment, and then the judge looked down at jason and said once more, "why have you brought michael sunlocks here! speak!" but before jason could make answer, jorgen jorgensen had broken in again: "my guards are at reykjavik," he cried, "and i am here alone. you are traitors, all of you, and if there is no one else to arrest that enemy of my country, i will do it myself. he shall go no further. step back from him." so saying, he opened his cloak, drew a pistol from his belt and cocked it. a shrill cry arouse from the crowd. the men on the mount stood quaking with fear, and greeba flung herself over the restless body of michael sunlocks. but jason did not move a feature. "old man," he said, looking up with eyes as steadfast as the sun into jorgensen's face, and pointing towards sunlocks, "if you touch one hair of this head, these hands will tear you to pieces." then one of the men who had stood near, a rough fellow with a big tear-drop rolling down his tanned cheeks, stepped up to jason's side, and without speaking a word offered him his musket; but jason calmly pushed it back. there was dead silence once more. jorgen jorgensen's uplifted hand fell to his side, and he was speechless. "speak now," said the judge. "why have you brought michael sunlocks here?" jason stood silent for a moment as if to brace himself up, and then he said, "i have laid my soul bare to your gaze already, and you know what i am and where i come from." a low moan seemed to echo him. "but i, too, am an icelander, and this is our ancient mount of laws, the sacred ground of our fathers and our fathers' fathers for a thousand years." a deep murmur rose from the vast company. "and i have heard that if any one is wronged and oppressed and unjustly punished, let him but find his way to this place, and though he be the meanest slave that wipes his forehead, yet he will be a man among you all." there were loud cries of assent. "i have also heard that this mount, on this day, is as the gate of the city in old time, when the judges sat to judge the people; and that he who is permitted to set foot on it, and cross it, though he were as guilty as the outlaws that hide in the desert, is innocent and free forever after. answer me--is it true? yes or no?" "yes! yes!" came from a thousand throats. "then, judges of iceland, fellow-men and brothers, do you ask why i have brought this man to this place? look at this bleeding hand." he lifted the right hand of sunlocks. "it has been pierced with a nail." a deep groan came from the people. he let the hand fall back. "look at these poor eyes. they are blind. do you know what that means? it means hellish barbarity and damned tyranny." his voice swelled until it seemed to shake the very ground on which he stood. "what this man's crime may be i do not know, and i do not care. let it be what it will, let the man be what he may--a felon like myself, a malefactor, a miscreant, a monster--yet what crime and what condition deserves punishment that is worse than death and hell?" "none, none," shouted a thousand voices. "then, judges of iceland, fellow-men and brothers, i call on you to save this man from that doom. save him for his sake--save him for your own, for he that dwells above is looking down on you." he paused a moment and then cried, "listen!" there was a low rumble as of thunder. it came not from the clouds, but from the bowels of the earth. the people turned pallid with dismay, but jason's face was lit up with a wild frenzy. "do you hear it? it is the voice that was heard when these old hills were formed, and the valleys ran like fire. it is the voice of the almighty god calling on you." the word was like a war cry. the people answered it with a shout. and still jason's voice pealed over their heads. "vengeance is god's but mercy belongs to man." he stooped to michael sunlocks, where greeba held him at her bosom, picked him up in his arms as if he had been a child, turned his face towards the mount and cried, "let me pass." then at one impulse, in one instant, the judge and the bishop parted and made a way, and jason, carrying sunlocks, strode up the causeway and swept through. there was but one voice then in all that great assembly, and it was a mighty shout that seemed to rend the dome of the heavy sky. "free! free! free!" v. but the end was not yet. more, and more terrible, is to follow, though the spirit is not fain to tell of it, and the hand that sets it down is trembling. let him who thinks that this world of time is founded in justice, wait long and watch patiently, for up to the eleventh hour he may see the good man sit in misery, and the evil man carried in honor. and let him who thinks that nature is sweet and benignant and that she leaps to the aid of the just, learn from what is to come that she is all things to all men and nothing to any man. now when jason had crossed the mount of laws with sunlocks, thinking that by virtue of old custom he had thereby set him free of tyranny, jorgen jorgensen did what a man of shallow soul must always do when he sees the outward signs of the holy things that move the deeper souls of other men. he smiled with bitterness and laughed with contempt. "a pretty thing, truly," he sneered, "out of some forgotten age of musty laws and old barbarians. but there is something else that is forgotten. it is forgotten that between these two men, jason and michael sunlocks, there is this difference, that the one is a prisoner of iceland, and the other of denmark. jason is a prisoner of iceland, a felon of iceland, therefore iceland may pardon him, and if this brave mummery has made him free, then so be it, and god pity you! but michael sunlocks is a prisoner of denmark, a traitor against the crown of denmark, therefore denmark alone may pardon him--and he is still unpardoned." the clamorous crowd that had gathered about michael sunlocks looked up in silence and bewilderment at this fresh blow. and jorgen jorgensen saw his advantage and went on. "ask your lagmann and let him answer you. is it as i say or is it not? ask him." the people looked from face to face of the men on the mount, from jorgen jorgensen to the judge and from the judge to the bishop. "is this true?" shouted a voice from the crowd. but the judge made no answer, and the bishop said, "why all this wrangling over the body of a dying man?" "dying indeed!" said jorgen jorgensen, and he laughed. "look at him." michael sunlocks, again lying in the arms of greeba, was showing signs of life. "he will recover fast enough when all is over." "is it true?" shouted the same voice from the crowd. "yes," said the judge. then the look of bewilderment in the faces of the people deepened to consternation. at that moment michael sunlocks was raised to his feet. and jorgen jorgensen, standing like an old snuffy tiger on the watch, laughed again, and turning to jason he pointed at sunlocks and said, "what did i say? a pretty farce truly, this pretence at unconsciousness. small good it has done him. and he has little to thank you for. you have brought him here to his death." what answer jason would have made him, no man may say, for at that moment the same terrestrial thunder that had been heard before was heard again, and the earth became violently agitated as with a deep pulsation. the people looked into each other's faces with dismay, and scarcely had they realized the horror that waited to pour itself out on the world, when a man came galloping from the south and crying, "the mountains are coming down at skaptar. fly! fly!" they stopped the man and questioned him, and he answered, with terror in his eyes, that the ice-mountain itself was sweeping down into the plain. then he put his heels to his horse and broke away. hardly had the people heard this dread word when another man came galloping from the southwest, and crying, "the sea is throwing up new islands at reykianess, and all the rivers are dry." they stopped this man also, and questioned him, and he answered that the sky at the coast was raining red-hot stones, so that the sea hissed with them, and all the land was afire. then he, too, put his heels to his horse and broke away. scarcely had he gone, when a third man came galloping from the southeast, and crying, "the land around hekla is washed away, and not a green place is left on the face of the earth." this man also they stopped and questioned, and he answered that a torrent of boiling water was rolling down from the kotlugia yakul, hurling ice-blocks before it, and sweeping farms, churches, cattle, horses, and men, women, and children into the sea. then this man also put his heels to his horse and broke away, like one pursued by death itself. for some moments thereafter the people stood where the men had left them, silent, helpless, unable to think or feel. then there rose from them all, as from one man, such a shriek of mortal agony as never before came from human breasts. in their terror they ran hither and thither, without thought or intention. they took to their tents, they took to their ponies, they galloped north, they galloped south, they galloped east, they galloped west, and then came scurrying back to the mount from which they had started. a great danger was about to burst upon them, but they could not tell from what direction it would come. some remembered their homes and the wives and children they had left there. others thought only of themselves and of the fire and water that were dealing out death. in two minutes the mount was a barren waste, the fissures on its sides were empty, and the seats on the crags were bare. the thing-men and the clergy were rushing to and fro in the throng, and the old bishop and the judge were seeking their horses. greeba stood, with fear on her face, by the side of michael sunlocks, who, blind and maimed, unable to see what was going on about him, not knowing yet where he was and what new evil threatened him, looked like a man who might have been dead and was awakening to consciousness in a world of the damned. two men, and two only, of all that vast multitude, kept their heads and were cool through this mad panic. one of these was jorgen jorgensen; the other was red jason. they watched each other constantly, the one with the eyes of the lynx, the other with the eyes of a lion. a troop of men came riding through the throng from the direction of the chasm of ravens. twenty of them were the bodyguard of the governor, and they pushed their way to the feet of jorgen jorgensen. "your excellency," said one of them, "we had news of you that you would want us; so we made bold to come." "you have come in time," said jorgen jorgensen, and his cruel eyes flashed with the light of triumph. "there has been a great eruption of skaptar," said the man, "and the people of the south are flocking into reykjavik." "leave old skaptar to take care of itself," said jorgen jorgensen, "and do you take charge of that man there, and the woman beside him." so saying, he pointed towards michael sunlocks, who, amid the whirl of the crowd around, had stood still in his helpless blindness. jason saw and heard all, and he shouted to the people to come to his help, for he was one man against twenty. but the people paid no heed to his calling, for every man was thinking of himself. then jason fell on the guards with his bare hands only. and his mighty muscles would have made havoc of many of them, but that jorgen jorgensen drew his pistol again and fired at him, and wounded him. jason knew nothing of his injury until his right arm fell to his side, bleeding and useless. after that, he was seized from behind and from before, and held to the ground while michael sunlocks and greeba were hurried away. then the air began to be filled with smoke, a wind that was like a solid wall of black sand swept up from the south, and sudden darkness covered everything. "it is the lava!" shouted one. "it's the fiery flood!" shouted another. "it's the end of the world!" shouted a third. and at one impulse the people rushed hither, thither--north, south, east, west--some weeping, some shrieking, some swearing, some laughing like demons--all wild with frenzy and mad with terror. jorgen jorgensen found his little piebald pony where he had left it, for the docile beast, with the reins over its head, was munching the grass at the foot of the causeway. he mounted, and rode past jason as the men were loosening their hold of him, and peering into his face he said with a sneer, "if this is the end of the world, as they say, make the best of what is left of it, and fly." with that, he thrust spurs into his horse's sides, and went off at utmost speed. then jason was alone on the plain. not another human soul was left. the crowd was gone; the mount of laws was silent, and a flock of young sheep ran past it bleating. over the mountains to the south a red glow burned along the black sky, and lurid flames shot through it. such was the beginning of the eruption of skaptar. and jason staggered along in the day-darkness, alone, abandoned, shouting like a maniac, swearing like a man accursed, crying out to the desolate waste and the black wind sweeping over it, that if this were the end of the world, he had a question to ask of him who made it: why he had broken his word, which said that the wages of sin was death--why the avenger that was promised had not come to smite down the wicked and save the just? vi. in this valley of the loberg there is a long peninsula of rock stretching between the western bank of the lake and the river called the oxara. it begins in a narrow neck where is a pass for one horse only, and ends in a deep pool over a jagged precipice, with a mighty gorge of water falling from the opposite ravine. it is said that this awful place was used in ancient days for the execution of women who had killed their children, and of men who had robbed the widow and the orphan. near the narrowest part of the peninsula a man was plunging along in the darkness, trusting solely to the sight of his pony, for his own eyes could see nothing. two long hours he had been groping his way from the mount of laws, and he was still within one short mile of it. but at last he saw help at hand in his extremity, for a man on foot approached him out of the gloom. he took him for a farmer of those parts, and hailed him with hearty cheer. "good man," he said, "put me on the right path for reykjavik, and you shall have five kroner, and welcome." but scarcely had he spoken when he recognized the man he had met, and the man recognized him. the one was jason, and the other jorgen jorgensen. jorgen jorgensen thought his hour had come, for, putting his hand to his weapon, he remembered that he had not reloaded it since he had shot at jason, and so he flung it away. but the old tiger was not to be subdued. "come," he said, out of the black depths of his heart, "let us have done. what is it to be?" then jason stepped back, and said, "that is the way to reykjavik--over the stream and through the first chasm on the left." at this, jorgen jorgensen seemed to catch his breath. he tried to speak and could not. "no," said jason. "it may be weakness, it may be folly, it may be madness, but you were my mother's father, god pity her and forgive you, and not even at the price of my brother's life will i have your blood on my hands. go!" jorgen jorgensen touched his horse and rode on, with his gray, dishonored head deep in his breast. and, evil man as he was, surely his cold heart was smitten with shame. chapter vi. the gospel of love. no althing was held in iceland in that year of the great eruption of skaptar. the dread visitation lasted six long months, from the end of june to the beginning of january of the year following. during that time the people of the south and southeast, who had been made homeless and penniless, were constantly trooping into reykjavik in hundreds and tens of hundreds. the population of the capital rose from less than two thousand to more than twenty thousand. where so many were housed no man ever knew, and how they lived none can say. every hut, every hovel, every hole was full of human beings. men, women, and children crawled like vermin in every quarter. for food, they had what fish came out of the sea, and when the frost covered the fiord a foot deep with ice, they starved on fish bones and and moss and seaweed. by this time a cry for help had gone up throughout europe, and denmark and england had each sent a shipload of provisions, corn and meal and potatoes. the relief came late, the ships were caught in the ice, and held ice-bound a long month off reykianess, and when at length the food for which the people famished was brought into reykjavik harbor, the potatoes were like slabs of leather and the corn and meal like blocks of stone. but even in this land of fire and frost, the universal mother is good to her children, and the people lived through their distresses. by the end of february they were trooping back to the scenes of their former homes, for, desolate as those places were, they loved them and clung to them still. in the days of this awful calamity there were few that remembered michael sunlocks. jorgen jorgensen might have had his will of him then, and scarce anybody the wiser. that he held his hand was due first to fear and then to contempt; fear of copenhagen, contempt of the man who had lost his influence over the people of iceland. he was wrong on both counts. copenhagen cared nothing for the life of michael sunlocks, and laughed at the revolution whereof he had been the head and centre. but when the people of iceland recovered from the deadly visitation, their hearts turned back to the man who had suffered for their sakes. then it appeared that through these weary months michael sunlocks had been lying in the little house of detention at reykjavik, with no man save one man, and that was old adam fairbrother, to raise a voice on his behalf, and no woman save one woman, and that was greeba, to cling to him in his extremity. neither of these had been allowed to come near to him, but both had been with him always. again and again old adam had forced his way to the governor, and protested that michael sunlocks was not being treated as a prisoner, but as a condemned criminal and galley-slave; and again and again greeba had come and gone between her lodgings at the house of the bishop and her heart's home at the prison, with food and drink for him who lay in darkness and solitude. little he knew to whom he was thus beholden, for she took pains to keep her secret, but all reykjavik saw what she was doing. and the heart of reykjavik was touched when she brought her child from krisuvik, thinking no shame of her altered state, content to exist in simple poverty where she had once lived in wealth, if so be that she might but touch the walls that contained her husband. seeing how the sympathy was going, jorgen jorgensen set himself to consider what step to take, and finally concluded to remove michael sunlocks as far as possible from the place where his power was still great, and his temptation to use it was powerful. the remotest spot under his rule was grimsey, an island lying on the arctic circle, thirty-five miles from the mainland. it was small, it was sparsely populated, its inhabitants were fishermen with no craft but open row boats; it had no trade; no vessels touched at it, and the sea that separated it from iceland was frozen during many months of the year. and to this island jorgensen decided that michael sunlocks should go. when the word was brought to michael sunlocks, he asked what he was expected to do on that little rock at the end of the world, and said that grimsey would be his sentence of jorgen death. "i prefer to die, for i have no great reason to wish for life," he said; "but if i must live, let me live here. i am blind, i do not know the darkness of this place, and all i ask of you is air and water." old adam, too, protested loudly, whereupon jorgen jorgensen answered with a smile that he had supposed that all he intended to do was for the benefit of the prisoner himself, who would surely prefer a whole island to live upon to being confined in a cell at reykjavik. "he will there have liberty to move about," said jorgen, "and he will live under the protection of the danish laws." "then that will be more than he has done here," said adam, boldly, "where he has existed at the caprice of a danish tyrant." the people of reykjavik heard of the banishment with surprise and anger, but nothing availed to prevent it. when the appointed day came, michael sunlocks was marched out of his prison and taken off towards the bursting-sand desert between a line of guards. there was a great throng to bid adieu to him, and to groan at the power that sent him. his face was pale, but his bodily strength was good. his step was firm and steady, and gave hardly a hint of his blindness. his farewell of those who crowded upon him was simple and manly. "good-bye," he said, "and though with my eyes i cannot see you, i can see you with my heart, and that is the better sight whereof death alone can rob me. no doubt you have much to forgive to me; so forgive it to me now, for we shall meet no more." there was many a sob at that word, but the two who would have been most touched by it were not there to hear it, for greeba and old adam were busy with their own enterprise, as we shall learn hereafter. when michael sunlocks was landed at grimsey, he was offered first as bondman for life, or prisoner-slave to the largest bonder there, a grasping old miser named jonsson, who, like jorgen himself, had never allowed his bad conscience to get the better of him. but jonsson looked at sunlocks with a curl of the lip and said, "what's the use of a blind man?" so the end of all was that sunlocks was put in charge of the priest of the island. the priest was to take him into his house, to feed, clothe and attend to him, and report his condition twice a year to the governor at reykjavik. for such service to the state, the good man was to receive an annual stipend of one hundred kroner. and all arrangements being made, the escort that had brought michael sunlocks the ten days' journey over the desert, set their faces back towards the capital. michael sunlocks was then on the edge of the habitable world. there was no attempt to confine him, for his home was an island bound by a rocky coast; he was blind and, therefore, helpless; and he could not step out a thousand yards alone without the danger of walking over a precipice into the sea. so that with all his brave show of liberty, he was as much in fetters as if his feet had been enchained to the earth beneath them. the priest, who was in truth his jailer, was one who has already been heard of in this history, being no other than the sigfus thomsson (titled sir from his cure of souls) who was banished from his chaplaincy at reykjavik six and twenty years before for marrying stephen orry to rachael, the daughter of the governor-general jorgensen. he had been young then, and since his life had been cut in twain he had fallen into some excesses. thus it had often happened that when his people came to church over miles of their trackless country he had been too drunk to go through with it, and sometimes when they wished to make sure of him for a wedding or a christening, they had been compelled to decoy him into his house over night and lock him up until morning. now he was elderly and lived alone, save for a fractious old man-servant, in a straggling old moss-covered house, or group of houses. he was weak of will, timid as a deer, and infirm of purpose, yet he was beloved by all men and pitied by all women for his sweet simplicity, whereof anyone might take advantage, and for the tenderness that could never resist a story of distress. the coming of michael sunlocks startled him out of his tipsy sleep of a quarter of a century, and his whole household was put into a wild turmoil. in the midst of it, when he was at his wit's end to know what to do for his prisoner-guest, a woman, a stranger to grimsey, carrying a child in her arms, presented herself at his door. she was young and comely, poorly but not meanly clad, and she offered herself to the priest as his servant. her story was simple, touching, and plausible. she had lately lost her husband, an icelander, though she herself was a foreigner, as her speech might tell. and hearing at husavik that the priest of grimsey was a lone old gentleman without kith or kin or belongings, she had bethought herself to come and say that she would be glad to take service from him for the sake of the home he might offer her. it was greeba, and simple old sir sigfus fell an easy prey to her woman's wit. he wiped his rheumy eyes while she told her story, and straightway sent her into the kitchen. only one condition he made with her, and that was that she was to bear herself in his house as iceland women bear themselves in the houses of iceland masters. no more than that and no less. she was to keep to her own apartments and never allow herself to be seen or heard by a guest that was henceforth to live with him. that good man was blind, and would trouble her but little, for he had seen sorrow, poor soul, and was very silent. greeba consented to this with all earnestness, for it fell straight in the way of her own designs. but with a true woman's innocent duplicity she showed modesty and said "he shall never know that i'm in your house, sir, unless you tell him so yourself." thus did greeba place herself under the same roof with michael sunlocks, and baffle discovery by the cunning of love. two purposes were to be served by her artifice. first she was to be constantly by the side of her husband, to nurse him and tend him, to succor him, and to watch over him. next, she was to be near him for her own sake, and for love's sake, to win him back to her some day by means more dear than those that had won him for her at the first. she had decided not to reveal herself to him in the meantime, for he had lost faith in her affection. he had charged her with marrying him for pride's sake, but he should see that she had married him for himself alone. the heart of his love was dead, but day by day, unknown, unseen, unheard, she would breathe upon it, until the fire in its ashes lived again. such was the design with which greeba took the place of a menial in the house where her husband lived as a prisoner, and little did she count the cost of it. six months passed, and she kept her promise to the priest to live as an iceland servant in the house of an iceland master. she was never seen, and never heard, and what personal service was called for was done by the snappish old man-servant. but she filled the old house, once so muggy and dark, with all the cheer and comfort of life. she knew that michael sunlocks felt the change, for one day she heard him say to the priest, as he lifted his blind face and seemed to look around, "one would think that this place must be full of sunshine." "why, and so it is," said the priest, "and that's my good housekeeper's doing." "i have heard her step," said michael sunlocks. "who is she?" "a poor young woman that has lately lost her husband," said the priest. "young, you say?" said sunlocks. "why, yes, young as i go," said the priest. "poor soul!" said sunlocks. it cost greeba many a pang not to fling herself at her husband's feet at hearing that word so sadly spoken. but she remembered her promise and was silent. not long afterwards she heard michael sunlocks ask the priest if he had never thought of marriage. and the priest answered yes, that he was to have married at reykjavik about the time he was sent to grimsey, but the lady had looked shy at his banishment and declined to share it. "so i have never looked at a woman again," said the priest. "and i daresay you have your tender thoughts of her, though so badly treated," said sunlocks. "well, yes," said the priest, "yes." "you were chaplain at reykjavik, but looking to be priest or dean, and perhaps bishop some day?" said sunlocks. "well, maybe so; such dreams come in one's youth," said the priest. "and when you were sent to grimsey there was nothing before you but a cure of less than a hundred souls?" said sunlocks. "that is so," said the priest. "the old story," said sunlocks, and he drew a deep breath. but deeper far was the breath that greeba drew, for it seemed to be the last gasp of her heart. a year passed, and never once had greeba spoken that her husband might hear her. but if she did not speak, she listened always, and the silence of her tongue seemed to make her ears the more keen. thus she found a way to meet all his wishes, and before he had asked he was answered. if the day was cold he found gloves to his hand; if he thought to wash there was water beside him; if he wished to write the pen lay near his fingers. meantime he never heard more than a light footfall and the rustle of a dress about him, but as these sounds awoke painful memories he listened and said nothing. the summer had come and gone in which he could walk out by the priest's arm, or lie by the hour within sound of a stream, and the winter had fallen in with its short days and long nights. and once, when the snow lay thick on the ground, greeba heard him say how cheerfully he might cheat time of many a weary hour of days like that if only he had a fiddle to beguile them. at that she remembered that it was not want of money that had placed her where she was, and before the spring of that year a little church organ came from reykjavik, addressed to the priest, as a present from someone whose name was unknown to him. "some guardian angel seems to hover around us," said michael sunlocks, "to give us everything that we can wish for." the joy in his blind face brought smiles into the face of greeba, but her heart was heavy for all that. to live within hourly sight of love, yet never to share it, was to sit at a feast and eat nothing. to hear his voice, yet never to answer it, to see his face, yet never to touch it with the lips that hungered to kiss it, was an ordeal more terrible than any woman's heart could bear. should she not speak? might she not reveal herself? not yet, not yet! but how long, oh, how long? in the heat of her impatience she could not quite restrain herself, and though she dare not speak, she sang. it was on the sunday after the organ came, when all the people at grimsey were at church, in their strong odor of fish and sea fowl, to hear the strange new music. michael sunlocks played it, and when the people sang greeba also joined them. her voice was low at first, but she soon lost herself and then it rose above the other voices. suddenly the organ stopped, and she was startled to see the blind face of her husband turning in her direction. later the same day she heard sunlocks say to the priest, "who was the lady who sang?" "why, that was my good housekeeper," said the priest. "and did you say that she had lost her husband?" said sunlocks. "yes, poor thing, and she is a foreigner, too," said the priest. "did you say a foreigner?" said sunlocks. "yes, and she has a child left with her also," said the priest. "a child?" said sunlocks. and then after a pause he added, with more indifference, "poor girl! poor girl!" hearing this, greeba fluttered on the verge of discovering herself. "if only i could be sure," she thought, but she could not; and the more closely for the chance that had so nearly revealed her, she hid herself henceforward in the solitude of an iceland servant. two years passed and then greeba had to share her secret with another. that other was her own child. the little man was nearly three years old by this time, walking a little and talking a great deal, and not to be withheld by any care from going over every corner of the house. he found michael sunlocks sitting alone in his darkness, and the two struck up a fast friendship. they talked in baby fashion, and played on the floor for hours. with a wild thrill of the heart, greeba saw those twain together, and it cost her all she had of patience and self-command not to break in upon them with a shower of rapturous kisses. but she held back her heart like a dog on the leash and listened, while her eyes rained tears and her lips smiled, to the words that passed between them. "and what's your name, my sweet one?" said sunlocks in english. "michael," lisped the little man. "so? and an englishman, too. that's brave." "ot's the name of _your_ 'ickle boy?" "ah, i've got none, sweetheart." "oh." "but if i had one perhaps his name would be michael also." "oh." the little eyes looked up into the blind face, and the little lip began to fall. then, by a sudden impulse, the little legs clambered up to the knee of sunlocks, and the little head nestled close against his breast. "_i'll_ be your 'ickle boy." "so you shall, my sweet one, and you shall come again and sit with me, and sing to me, for i am very lonely sometimes, and your dear voice will cheer me." but the little man had forgotten his trouble by this time, and scrambled back to the floor. there he sat on his haunches like a frog, and cried, "look! look! look!" as he held up a white pebble in his dumpy hand. "i cannot look, little one, for i am blind." "ot's blind?" "having eyes that cannot see, sweetheart." "oh." "but _your_ eyes _can_ see, and if you are to be _my_ little boy, my little michael, your eyes shall see for my eyes also, and you shall come to me every day, and tell me when the sun is shining, and the sky is blue, and then we will go out together and listen for the birds that will be singing." "dat's nice," said the little fellow, looking down at the pebble in his palm, and just then the priest came into the house out of the snow. "how comes it that this sweet little man and i have never met before?" said sunlocks. "you might live ten years in an iceland house and never see the children of its servants," said the priest. "i've heard his silvery voice, though," said sunlocks. "what is the color of his eyes?" "blue," said the priest. "then his hair--this long curly hair--it must be of the color of the sun?" said sunlocks. "flaxen," said the priest. "run along to your mother, sweetheart, run," said sunlocks, and, dropping back in his seat, he murmured, "how easily he might have been my son indeed." kneeling on both knees, her hot face turned down and her parted lips quivering, greeba had listened to all this with the old delicious trembling at both sides her heart. and going back to her own room, she caught sight of herself in the glass, and saw that her eyes were dancing like diamonds and all her cheeks a rosy red. life, and a gleam of sunshine, seemed to have shot into her face in an instant, and while she looked there came over her a creeping thrill of delight, for she knew that she was beautiful. and because _he_ loved beauty whose love was everything to her, she cried for joy, and picked up her boy, where he stood tugging at her gown, and kissed him rapturously. the little man, with proper manly indifference to such endearments, wriggled back to the ground, and then greeba remembered, with a flash that fell on her brain like a sword, that her husband was blind now, and all the beauty of the world was nothing to him. smitten by this thought, she stood a moment, while the sunshine died out of her eyes and the rosy red out of her cheeks. but presently it came to her to ask herself if sunlocks was blind forever, and if nothing could be done for him. this brought back, with pangs of remorse for such long forgetfulness, the memory of some man, an apothecary in husavik, who had the credit of curing many of blindness after accidents in the northern mines where free men worked for wage. so, thinking of this apothecary throughout that day and the next, she found at last a crooked way to send money to him, out of the store that still remained to her, and to ask him to come to grimsey. but, waiting for the coming of the apothecary, a new dread, that was also a new hope, stole over her. since that first day on which her boy and her husband talked together, and every day thereafter when sunlocks had called out "little michael! little michael!" and she had sent the child in, with his little flaxen curls combed out, his little chubby face rubbed to a shiny red, and all his little body smelling sweet with the soft odors of childhood, she had noticed--she could not help it--that sunlocks listened for the sound of her own footstep whenever by chance (which might have been rare) she passed his way. and at first this was a cause of fear to her, lest he should discover her before her time came to reveal herself; and then of hope that he might even do so, and save her against her will from the sickening pains of hungry waiting; and finally of horror, that perhaps after all he was thinking of her as another woman. this last thought sent all the blood of her body tingling into her face, and on the day it flashed upon her, do what she would she could not but hate him for it as for an infidelity that might not be forgiven. "he never speaks of me," she thought, "never thinks of me; i am dead to him; quite, quite dead and swept out of his mind." it was a cruel conflict of love and hate, and if it had come to a man he would have said within himself, "by this token i know that she whom i love has forgotten me, and may be happy with another some day. well, i am nothing--let me go my ways." but that is not the gospel of a woman's love, with all its sweet, delicious selfishness. so after greeba had told herself once or twice that her husband had forgotten her, she told herself a score of times that do what he would he should yet be hers, hers only, and no other woman's in all the wide world. then she thought, "how foolish! who is there to take him from me? why, no one." about the same time she heard sunlocks question the priest concerning her, asking what the mother of little michael was like to look upon. and the priest answered that if the eyes of an old curmudgeon like himself could see straight, she was comely beyond her grade in life, and young, too, though her brown hair had sometimes a shade of gray, and gentle and silent, and of a soft and touching voice. "i've heard her voice once," said sunlocks. "and her husband was an icelander, and he is dead, you say?" "yes," said the priest; "and she's like myself in one thing." "and what is that?" said sunlocks. "that she has never been able to look at anybody else," said the priest. "and that's why she is here, you must know, burying herself alive on old grimsey." "oh," said sunlocks, in the low murmur of the blind, "if god had but given me this woman, so sweet, so true, so simple, instead of her--of her--and yet--and yet----" "gracious heavens!" thought greeba, "he is falling in love with me." at that, the hot flush overspread her cheeks again, and her dark eyes danced, and all her loveliness flowed back upon her in an instant. and then a subtle fancy, a daring scheme, a wild adventure broke on her heart and head, and made every nerve in her body quiver. she would let him go on; he should think she was the other woman; she would draw him on to love her, and one day when she held him fast and sure, and he was hers, hers, hers only forever and ever, she would open her arms and cry, "sunlocks, sunlocks, i am greeba, greeba!" it was while she was in the first hot flush of this wild thought, never doubting but the frantic thing was possible, for love knows no impediments, that the apothecary came from husavik, saying he was sent by some unknown correspondent named adam fairbrother, who had written from london. he examined the eyes of michael sunlocks by the daylight first, but the season being the winter season, and the daylight heavy with fog from off the sea, he asked for a candle, and greeba was called to hold it while he examined the eyes again. never before had she been so near to her husband throughout the two years that she had lived under the same roof with him, and now that she stood face to face with him, within sound of his very breathing, with nothing between them but the thin gray film that lay over his dear eyes, she could not persuade herself but that he was looking at her and seeing her. then she began to tremble, and presently a voice said, "steadily, young woman, steadily, or your candle may fall on the good master's face." she tried to compose herself, but could not, and when she had recovered from her first foolish dread, there came a fear that was not foolish--a fear of the verdict of the apothecary. waiting for this in those minutes that seemed to be hours, she knew that she was on the verge of betraying herself, and however she held her breath she could see that her bosom was heaving. "yes," said the apothecary, calmly, "yes, i see no reason why you should not recover your sight." "thank god!" said michael sunlocks. "thank god again," said the priest. and greeba, who had dropped the candle to the floor at length, had to run from the room on the instant, lest the cry of her heart should straightway be the cry of her lips as well, "thank god, again and again, forever and forever." and, being back in her own apartment, she plucked up her child into her arms, and cried over him, and laughed over him, and whispered strange words of delight into his ear, mad words of love, wild words of hope. "yes, yes," she whispered, "he will recover his sight, and see his little son, and know him for his own, his own, his own. oh, yes, yes, yes, he will know him, he will know him, for he will see his own face, his own dear face, in little michael's." but next day, when the apothecary had gone, leaving lotions and drops for use throughout a month, and promising to return at the end of it, greeba's new joy made way for a new terror, as she reflected that just as sunlocks would see little michael if he recovered his sight, so he would see herself. at that thought all her heart was in her mouth again, for she told herself that if sunlocks saw her he would also see what deception she had practiced in that house, and would hate her for it, and tell her, as he had told her once before, that it came of the leaven of her old lightness that had led her on from false-dealing to false-dealing, and so he would turn his back upon her or drive her from him. then in the cruel war of her feelings she hardly knew whether to hope that sunlocks should recover his sight, or remain as he was. her pity cried out for the one, and her love for the other. if he recovered, at least there would be light for him in his dungeon, though she might not be near to share it. but if he remained as he was, she would be beside him always, his second sight, his silent guardian spirit, eating her heart out with hungry love, but content and thanking god. "why couldn't i leave things as they were?" she asked herself, but she was startled out of the selfishness of her love by a great crisis that came soon afterwards. now michael sunlocks had been allowed but little intercourse with the world during the two and a half years of his imprisonment since the day of his recapture at the mount of laws. while in the prison at reykjavik he had heard the pitiful story of that day; who his old yoke-fellow had been, what he had done and said, and how at last, when his brave scheme had tottered to ruin, he had gone out of the ken and knowledge of all men. since sunlocks came to grimsey he had written once to adam fairbrother, asking tenderly after the old man's own condition, earnestly after greeba's material welfare, and with deep affectionate solicitude for the last tidings of jason. his letter never reached its destination, for the governor of iceland was the postmaster as well. and adam on his part had written twice to michael sunlocks, once from copenhagen where (when greeba had left for grimsey) he had gone by help of her money from reykjavik, thinking to see the king of denmark in his own person; and once from london, whereto he had followed on when that bold design had failed him. but adam's letters shared the fate of the letter of sunlocks, and thus through two long years no news of the world without had broken the silence of that lonely home on the rock of the arctic seas. but during that time there had been three unwritten communications from jorgen jorgensen. the first came after some six months in the shape of a danish sloop of war, which took up its moorings in the roadstead outside; the second after a year, in the shape of a flagstaff and flag which were to be used twice a day for signalling to the ship that the prisoner was still in safe custody; the third after two years, in the shape of a huge lock and key, to be placed on some room in which the prisoner was henceforward to be confined. these three communications, marking in their contrary way the progress of old adam's persistent suit, first in denmark and then in england, were followed after a while by a fourth. this was a message from the governor at reykjavik to the old priest at grimsey, that, as he valued his livelihood and life he was to keep close guard and watch over his prisoner, and, if need be, to warn him that a worse fate might come to him at any time. now, the evil hour when this final message came was just upon the good time when the apothecary from husavik brought the joyful tidings that sunlocks might recover his sight, and the blow was the heavier for the hope that had gone before it. all grimsey shared both, for the fisherfolk had grown to like the pale stranger who, though so simple in speech and manner, had been a great man in some way that they scarcely knew--having no one to tell them, being so far out of the world--but had fallen upon humiliation and deep dishonor. michael sunlocks himself took the blow with composure, saying it was plainly his destiny and of a piece with the rest of his fate, wherein no good thing had ever come to him without an evil one coming on the back of it. the tender heart of the old priest was thrown into wild commotion, for sunlocks had become, during the two years of their life together, as a son to him, a son that was as a father also, a stay and guardian, before whom his weakness--that of intemperance--stood rebuked. but the trouble of old sir sigfus was as nothing to that of greeba. in the message of the governor she saw death, instant death, death without word or warning, and every hour of her life thereafter was beset with terrors. it was the month of february; and if the snow fell from the mossy eaves in heavy thuds, she thought it was the muffled tread of the guards who were to come for her husband; and if the ice-floes that swept down from greenland cracked on the coast of grimsey, she heard the shot that was to end his life. when sunlocks talked of destiny she cried, and when the priest railed at jorgen jorgensen (having his own reason to hate him) she cursed the name of the tyrant. but all the while she had to cry without tears and curse only in the dark silence of her heart, though she was near to betraying herself a hundred times a day. "oh, it is cruel," she thought, "very, very cruel. is this what i have waited for all this weary, weary time?" and though so lately her love had fought with her pity to prove that it was best for both of them that sunlocks should remain blind, she found it another disaster now, in the dear inconsistency of womanhood, that he should die on the eve of regaining his sight. "he will never see his boy," she thought, "never, never, never now." yet she could hardly believe it true that the cruel chance could befall. what good would the death of sunlocks do to anyone? what evil did it bring to any creature that he was alive on that rock at the farthest ends of the earth and sea? blind, too, and helpless, degraded from his high place, his young life wrecked, and his noble gifts wasted! there must have been some mistake. she would go out to the ship and ask if it was not so. and with such wild thoughts she hurried off to the little village at the edge of the bay. there she stood a long hour by the fisherman's jetty, looking wistfully out to where the sloop of war lay, like a big wooden tub, between gloomy sea and gloomy sky, and her spirit failed her, and though she had borrowed a boat she could go no further. "they might laugh at me, and make a jest of me," she thought, "for i cannot tell them that i am his wife." with that, she went her way back as she came, crying on the good powers above to tell her what to do next, and where to look for help. and entering in at the porch of her own apartments, which stood aside from the body of the house, she heard voices within, and stopped to listen. at first she thought they were the voices of her child and her husband; but though one of them was that of little michael, the other was too deep, too strong, too sad for the voice of sunlocks. "and so your name is michael, my brave boy. michael! michael!" said the voice, and it was strange and yet familiar. "and how like you are to your mother, too! how like! how very like!" and the voice seemed to break in the speaker's throat. greeba grew dizzy, and stumbled forward. and, as she entered the house, a man rose from the settle, put little michael to the ground, and faced about to her. the man was jason. chapter vii. the gospel of renunciation. i. what had happened in the great world during the two years in which michael sunlocks had been out of it is very simple and easily told. old adam fairbrother had failed at london as he had failed at copenhagen, and all the good that had come of his efforts had ended in evil. it was then that accident helped him in his despair. the relations of england and denmark had long been doubtful, for france seemed to be stepping between them. napoleon was getting together a combination of powers against england, and in order to coerce denmark into using her navy--a small but efficient one--on the side of the alliance, he threatened to send a force overland. he counted without the resources of nelson, who, with no more ado than setting sail, got across to copenhagen, took possession of every ship of war that lay in danish waters, and brought them home to england in a troop. when adam heard of this he saw his opportunity in a moment, and hurrying away to nelson at spithead he asked if among the danish ships that had been captured there was a sloop of war that had lain near two years off the island of grimsey. nelson answered, no, but that if there was such a vessel still at liberty he was not of a mind to leave it to harass him. so adam told why the sloop was there, and nelson, waiting for no further instructions, despatched an english man-of-war, with adam aboard of her, to do for the last of the danish fleet what had been done for the body of it, and at the same time to recover the english prisoner whom she had been sent to watch. before anything was known of this final step of nelson, his former proceeding had made a great noise throughout europe, where it was loudly condemned as against the law of nations, by the rascals who found themselves outwitted. when the report reached reykjavik, jorgen jorgensen saw nothing that could come of it but instant war between denmark and england, and nothing that could come of war with england but disaster to denmark, for he knew the english navy of old. so to make doubly sure of his own position in a tumult wherein little things would of a certainty be seized up with great ones, he conceived the idea of putting michael sunlocks out of the way, and thus settling one harassing complication. then losing no time he made ready a despatch to the officer in command of the sloop of war off grimsey, ordering him to send a company of men ashore immediately to execute the prisoner lying in charge of the priest of the island. now this despatch, whereof the contents became known throughout reykjavik in less time than jorgen took to write and seal it, had to be carried to grimsey by two of his bodyguard. but the men were danes, and as they did not know the way across the bursting-sand desert, an iceland guide had to be found for them. to this end the two taverns of the town were beaten up for a man, who at that season--it was winter, and the snow lay thick over the lava streams and the sand--would adventure so far from home. and now it was just at this time, after two-and-a-half years in which no man had seen him or heard of him, that jason returned to reykjavik. scarce anyone knew him. he was the wreck of himself, a worn, torn, pitiful, broken ruin of a man. people lifted both hands at sight of him, but he showed no self-pity. day after day, night after night, he frequented the taverns. he drank as he had never before been known to drink; he laughed as he had never been heard to laugh; he sang as he had never been heard to sing, and to all outward appearance he was nothing now but a shameless, graceless, disorderly, abandoned profligate. jorgen jorgensen heard that jason had returned, and ordered his people to fetch him to government house. they did so, and jorgen and jason stood face to face. jorgen looked at jason as one who would say, "dare you forget the two men whose lives you have taken?" and jason looked back at jorgen as one who would answer, "dare you remember that i spared your own life?" then, without a word to jason, old jorgen turned to his people and said, "take him away." so jason went back to his dissipations, and thereafter no man said yea or nay to him. but when he heard of the despatch, he was sobered by it in a moment, and when the guards came on their search for a guide to the tavern where he was, he leapt to his feet and said, "i'll go." "you won't pass, my lad," said one of the danes, "for you would be dead drunk before you crossed the basket slope hill." "would i?" said jason, moodily, "who knows?" and with that he shambled out. but in his heart he cried, "the hour has come at last! thank god! thank god!" before he was missed he had gone from reykjavik, and made his way to the desert with his face towards grimsey. the next day the guards found their guide and set out on their journey. the day after that a danish captain arrived at reykjavik from copenhagen, and reported to jorgen jorgensen that off the westmann islands he had sighted a british man-of-war, making for the northern shores of iceland. this news put jorgen into extreme agitation, for he guessed at its meaning in an instant. as surely as the war ship was afloat she was bound for grimsey, to capture the sloop that lay there, and as surely as england knew of the sloop, she also knew of the prisoner whom it was sent to watch. british sea-captains, from drake downwards, had been a race of pirates and cut-throats, and if the captain of this ship, on landing at grimsey, found michael sunlocks dead, he would follow on to reykjavik and never take rest until he had strung up the governor and his people to the nearest yardarm. so thinking in the wild turmoil of his hot old head, wherein everything he had thought before was turned topsy-turvy, jorgen jorgensen decided to countermand his order for the execution of sunlocks. but his despatch was then a day gone on its way. iceland guides were a tribe of lazy vagabonds, not a man or boy about his person was to be trusted, and so jorgen concluded that nothing would serve but that he should set out after the guards himself. perhaps he would find them at thingvellir, perhaps he would cross them on the desert, but at least he would overtake them before they took boat at husavik. twelve hours a day he would ride, old as he was, if only these skulking iceland giants could be made to ride after him. thus were four several companies at the same time on their way to grimsey: the english man-of-war from spithead to take possession of the danish sloop; the guards of the governor to order the execution of michael sunlocks; jorgen jorgensen to countermand the order; and red jason on his own errand known to no man. the first to reach was jason. ii. when jason set little michael from his knee to the floor, and rose to his feet as greeba entered, he was dirty, bedraggled, and unkempt; his face was jaded and old-looking, his skin shoes were splashed with snow, and torn, and his feet were bleeding; his neck was bare, and his sheepskin coat was hanging to his back only by the woollen scarf that was tied about his waist. partly from shock at this change, and partly from a confused memory of other scenes--the marriage festival at government house, the night trial in the little chamber of the senate, the jail, the mines, and the mount of laws--greeba staggered at sight of jason and would have cried aloud and fallen. but he caught her in his arms in a moment, and whispered her in a low voice at her ear to be silent, for that he had something to say that must be heard by no one beside herself. she recovered herself instantly, drew back as if his touch had stung her, and asked with a look of dread if he had known she was there. "yes," he answered. "where have you come from?" "reykjavik." she glanced down at his bleeding feet, and said, "on foot?" "on foot," he answered. "when did you leave?" "five days ago." "then you have walked night and day across the desert?" "night and day." "alone?" "yes, alone." she had become more eager at every question, and now she cried, "what has happened? what is going to happen? do not keep it from me. i can bear it, for i have borne many things. tell me why have you come?" "to save your husband," said jason. "hush! listen!" and then he told her, with many gentle protests against her ghastly looks of fear, of the guards that were coming with the order for the execution of michael sunlocks. hearing that, she waited for no more, but fell to a great outburst of weeping. and until her bout was spent he stood silent and helpless beside her, with a strong man's pains at sight of a woman's tears. "how she loves him!" he thought, and again and again the word rang in the empty place of his heart. but when she had recovered herself he smiled as well as he was able for the great drops that still rolled down his own haggard face, and protested once more that there was nothing to fear, for he himself had come to forestall the danger, and things were not yet so far past help but there was still a way to compass it. "what way?" she asked. "the way of escape," he answered. "impossible," she said. "there is a war ship outside, and every path to the shore is watched." he laughed at that, and said that if every goat track were guarded, yet would he make his way to the sea. and as for the war ship outside, there was a boat within the harbor, the same that he had come by, a shetland smack that had made pretence to put in for haddock, and would sail at any moment that he gave it warning. she listened eagerly, and, though she saw but little likelihood of escape, she clutched at the chance of it. "when will you make the attempt?" she asked. "two hours before dawn to-morrow," he answered. "why so late?" "because the nights are moonlight." "i'll be ready," she whispered. "make the child ready, also," he said. "indeed, yes," she whispered. "say nothing to anyone, and if anyone questions you, answer as little as you may. whatever you hear, whatever you see, whatever i may do or pretend to do, speak not a word, give not a sign, change not a feature. do you promise?" "yes," she whispered, "yes, yes." and then suddenly a new thought smote her. "but, jason," she said, with her eyes aside, and her fingers running through the hair of little michael, "but, jason," she faltered, "you will not betray me?" "betray you?" he said, and laughed a little. "because," she added quietly, "though i am here, my husband does not know me for his wife. he is blind, and cannot see me, and for my own reasons i have never spoken to him since i came." "you have never spoken to him?" said jason. "never." "and how long have you lived in this house?" "two years." then jason remembered what sunlocks had told him at the mines, and in another moment he had read greeba's secret by the light of his own. "i understand," he said, sadly, "i think i understand." she caught the look of sorrow in his eyes, and said, "but, jason, what of yourself?" at that he laughed again, and tried to carry himself off with a brave gayety. "where have you been?" she asked. "at akureyri, husavik, reykjavik, the desert--everywhere, nowhere," he answered. "what have you been doing?" "drinking, gaming, going to the devil--everything, nothing." and at that he laughed once more, loudly and noisily, forgetting his own warning. "jason," said greeba, "i wronged you once, and you have done nothing since but heap coals of fire on my head." "no, no; you never wronged me," he said. "i was a fool--that was all. i made myself think that i cared for you. but it's all over now." "jason," she said again, "it was not altogether my fault. my husband was everything to me; but another woman might have loved you and made you happy." "ay, ay," he said, "another woman, another woman." "somewhere or other she waits for you," said greeba. "depend on that." "ay, somewhere or other," he said. "so don't lose heart, jason," she said; "don't lose heart." "i don't," he said, "not i;" and yet again he laughed. but, growing serious in a moment, he said, "and did you leave home and kindred and come out to this desolate place only that you might live under the same roof with your husband?" "my home was his home," said greeba, "my kindred his kindred, and where he was there had i to be." "and have you waited through these two long years," he said, "for the day and the hour when you might reveal yourself to him?" "i could have waited for my husband," said greeba, "through twice the seven long years that jacob waited for rachel." he paused a moment, and then said, "no, no, i don't lose heart. somewhere or other, somewhere or other--that's the way of it." then he laughed louder than ever, and every hollow note of his voice went through greeba like a knife. but in the empty chamber of his heart he was crying in his despair, "my god! how she loves him! how she loves him!" iii. half-an-hour later, when the winter's day was done, and the candles had been lighted, greeba went in to the priest, where he sat in his room alone, to say that a stranger was asking to see him. "bring the stranger in," said the priest, putting down his spectacles on his open book, and then jason entered. "sir sigfus," said jason, "your good name has been known to me ever since the days when my poor mother mentioned it with gratitude and tears." "your mother?" said the priest; "who was she?" "rachel jorgen's daughter, wife of stephen orry." "then you must be jason." "yes, your reverence." "my lad, my good lad," cried the priest, and with a look of joy he rose and laid hold of both jason's hands. "i have heard of you. i hear of you every day, for your brother is with me. come, let us go to him. let us go to him. come!" "wait," said jason. "first let me deliver you a message concerning him." the old priest's radiant face fell instantly to a deep sadness. "a message?" he said. "you have never come from jorgen jorgensen?" "no." "from whom, then?" "my brother's wife," said jason. "his wife?" "has he never spoken of her?" "yes, but as one who had injured him, and bitterly and cruelly wronged and betrayed him." "that may be so, your reverence," said jason, "but who can be hard on the penitent and the dying?" "is she dying?" said the priest. jason dropped his head. "she sends for his forgiveness," he said. "she cannot die without it." "poor soul, poor soul!" said the priest. "whatever her faults, he cannot deny her that little mercy," said jason. "god forbid it!" said the priest. "she is alone in her misery, with none to help and none to pity her," said jason. "where is she?" said the priest. "at husavik," said jason. "but what is her message to me?" "that you should allow her husband to come to her." the old priest lifted his hands in helpless bewilderment, but jason gave him no time to speak. "only for a day," said jason, quickly, "only for one day, an hour, one little hour. wait, your reverence, do not say no. think, only think! the poor woman is alone. let her sins be what they may, she is penitent. she is calling for her husband. she is calling on you to send him. it is her last request--her last prayer. grant it, and heaven will bless you." the poor old priest was cruelly distressed. "my good lad," he cried, "it is impossible. there is a ship outside to watch us. twice a day i have to signal with the flag that the prisoner is safe, and twice a day the bell of the vessel answers me. it is impossible, i say, impossible, impossible! it cannot be done. there is no way." "leave it to me, and i will find a way," said jason. but the old priest only wrung his hands, and cried, "i dare not; i must not; it is more than my place is worth." "he will come back," said jason. "only last week," said the priest, "i had a message from reykjavik which foreshadowed his death. he knows it, we all know it." "but he will come back," said jason, again. "my good lad, how can you say so? where have you lived to think it possible? once free of the place where the shadow of death hangs over him, what man alive would return to it." "he will come back," said jason, firmly; "i know he will, i swear he will." "no, no," said the old man. "i'm only a simple old priest, buried alive these thirty years, or nearly, on this lonely island of the frozen seas, but i know better than that. it isn't in human nature, my good lad, and no man that breathes can do it. then think of me, think of me!" "i do think of you," said jason, "and to show you how sure i am that he will come back, i will make you an offer." "what is it?" said the priest. "to stand as your bondman while he is away," said jason. "what! do you know what you are saying?" cried the priest. "yes," said jason, "for i came to say it." "do you know," said the priest, "that any day, at any hour, the sailors from yonder ship may come to execute my poor prisoner?" "i do. but what of that?" said jason. "have they ever been here before?" "never," said the priest. "do they know your prisoner from another man?" "no." "then where is your risk?" said jason. "my risk? mine?" cried the priest, with the great drops bursting from his eyes, "i was thinking of yours. my lad, my good lad, you have made me ashamed. if you dare risk your life, i dare risk my place, and i'll do it; i'll do it." "god bless you!" said jason. "and now let us go to him," said the priest. "he is in yonder room, poor soul. when the order came from reykjavik that i was to keep close guard and watch on him, nothing would satisfy him but that i should turn the key on him. that was out of fear for me. he is as brave as a lion, and as gentle as a lamb. come, the sooner he hears his wife's message the better for all of us. it will be a sad blow to him, badly as she treated him. but come!" so saying, the old priest was fumbling his deep pockets for a key, and shuffling along, candle in hand, towards a door at the end of a low passage, when jason laid hold of his arm and said in a whisper, "wait! it isn't fair that i should let you go farther in this matter. you should be ignorant of what we are doing until it is done." "as you will," said the priest. "can you trust me?" said jason. "that i can." "then give me the key." the old man gave it. "when do you make your next signal?" "at daybreak to-morrow." "and when does the bell on the ship answer it?" "immediately." "go to your room, your reverence," said jason, "and never stir out of it until you hear the ship's bell in the morning. then come here, and you will find me waiting on this spot to return this key to you. but first answer me again, do you trust me?" "i do," said the old priest. "you believe i will keep to my bargain, come what may?" "i believe you will keep to it." "and so i will, as sure as god's above me." iv. jason opened the door and entered the room. it was quite dark, save for a dull red fire of dry moss that burned on the hearth in one corner. by this little fire michael sunlocks sat, with only his sad face visible in the gloom. his long thin hands were clasped about one knee which was half-raised; his noble head was held down, and his flaxen hair fell across his cheeks to his shoulders. he had heard the key turn in the lock, and said quietly, "is that you, sir sigfus?" "no," said jason. "who is it?" said sunlocks. "a friend," said jason. sunlocks twisted about as though his blind eyes could see. "whose voice was that?" he said, with a tremor in his own. "a brother's," said jason. sunlocks rose to his feet. "jason?" he cried, "yes, jason." "come to me! come! where are you? let me touch you," cried sunlocks, stretching out both his hands. then they fell into each other's arms, and laughed and wept for joy. after a while jason said,-"sunlocks, i have brought you a message." "not from her, jason?--no." "no, not from her--from dear old adam fairbrother," said jason. "were is he?" "at husavik." "why did you not bring him with you?" "he could not come." "jason, is he ill?" "he has crossed the desert to see you, but he can go no further." "jason, tell me, is he dying?" "the good old man is calling on you night and day, 'sunlocks!' he is crying. 'sunlocks! my boy, my son. sunlocks! sunlocks!'" "my dear father, my other father, god bless him!" "he says he has crossed the seas to find you, and cannot die without seeing you again. and though he knows you are here, yet in his pain and trouble he forgets it, and cries, 'come to me, my son, my sunlocks.'" "now, this is the hardest lot of all," said sunlocks, and he cast himself down on his chair. "oh, these blind eyes! oh, this cruel prison! oh, for one day of freedom! only one day, one poor simple day!" and so he wept, and bemoaned his bitter fate. jason stood over him with many pains and misgivings at sight of the distress he had created. and if the eye of heaven saw jason there, surely the suffering in his face atoned for the lie on his tongue. "hush, sunlocks, hush!" he said, in a tremulous whisper. "you can have the day you wish for; and if you cannot see, there are others to lead you. yes, it is true, it is true, for i have settled it. it is all arranged, and you are to leave this place to-morrow." hearing this, michael sunlocks made first a cry of delight, and then said after a moment, "but what of this poor old priest?" "he is a good man, and willing to let you go," said jason. "but he has had warning that i may be wanted at any time," said sunlocks, "and though his house is a prison, he has made it a home, and i would not do him a wrong to save my life." "he knows that," said jason, "and he says that you will come back to him though death itself should be waiting to receive you." "he is right," said sunlocks; "and no disaster save this one could take me from him to his peril. the good old soul! come, let me thank him." and with that he was making for the door. but jason stepped between, and said, "nay, it isn't fair to the good priest that we should make him a party to our enterprise. i have told him all that he need know, and he is content. now, let him be ignorant of what we are doing until it is done. then if anything happens it will appear that you have escaped." "but i am coming back," said sunlocks. "yes, yes," said jason, "but listen. to-morrow morning, two hours before daybreak, you will go down to the bay. there is a small boat lying by the little jetty, and a fishing smack at anchor about a biscuit-throw farther out. the good woman who is housekeeper here will lead you----" "why she?" interrupted sunlocks. jason paused, and said, "have you anything against her?" "no indeed," said sunlocks. "a good, true woman. one who lately lost her husband, and at the same time all the cheer and hope of life. simple and sweet, and silent, and with a voice that recalls another who was once very near and dear to me." "is she not so still?" said jason. "god knows. i scarce can tell. sometimes i think she is dearer to me than ever, and now that i am blind i seem to see her near me always. it is only a dream, a foolish dream." "but what if the dream came true?" said jason. "that cannot be," said sunlocks. "yet where is she? what has become of her? is she with her father? what is she doing?" "you shall soon know now," said jason. "only ask to-morrow and this good woman will take you to her." "but why not you yourself, jason?" said sunlocks. "because i am to stay here until you return," said jason. "what?" cried sunlocks. "you are to stay here?" "yes," said jason. "as bondman to the law instead of me? is that it? speak!" cried sunlocks. "and why not?" said jason, calmly. there was silence for a moment. sunlocks felt about with his helpless hands until he touched jason and then he fell sobbing upon his neck. "jason, jason," he cried, "this is more than a brother's love. ah, you do not know the risk you would run; but i know it, and i must not keep it from you. any day, any hour, a despatch may come to the ship outside to order that i should be shot. suppose i were to go to the dear soul who calls for me, and the despatch came in my absence--where would you be then?" "i should be here," said jason, simply. "my lad, my brave lad," cried sunlocks, "what are you saying? if you cannot think for yourself, then think for me. if what i have said were to occur, should i ever know another moment's happiness? no, never, never, though i regained my sight, as they say i may, and my place and my friends--all save one--and lived a hundred years." jason started at that thought, but there was no one to look upon his face under the force of it, and he wriggled with it and threw it off. "but you will come back," he said. "if the despatch comes while you are away, i will say that you are coming, and you will come." "i may never come back," said sunlocks. "only think, my lad. this is winter, and we are on the verge of the arctic seas, with five and thirty miles of water dividing us from the mainland. he would be a bold man who would count for a day on whether in which a little fishing smack could live. and a storm might come up and keep me back." "the same storm that would keep you back," said jason, "would keep back the despatch. but why hunt after these chances? have you any reason to fear that the despatch will come to-day, or to-morrow, or the next day? no, you have none. then go, and for form's sake--just that, no more, no less--let me wait here until you return." there was another moment's silence, and then sunlocks said, "is that the condition of my going?" "yes," said jason. "did this old priest impose it?" asked sunlocks. jason hesitated a moment, and answered, "yes." "then i won't go," said sunlocks, stoutly. "if you don't," said jason, "you will break poor old adam's heart, for i myself will tell him that you might have come to him, and would not." "will you tell him why i would not?" said sunlocks. "no," said jason. there was a pause, and then jason said, very tenderly, "will you go, sunlocks?" and sunlocks answered, "yes." v. jason slept on the form over against the narrow wooden bed of michael sunlocks. he lay down at midnight, and awoke four hours later. then he stepped to the door and looked out. the night was calm and beautiful; the moon was shining, and the little world of grimsey slept white and quiet under its coverlet of snow. snow on the roof, snow in the valley, snow on the mountains so clear against the sky and the stars; no wind, no breeze, no sound on earth and in air save the steady chime of the sea below. it was too early yet, and jason went back into the house. he did not lie down again lest he should oversleep himself, but sat on his form and waited. all was silent in the home of the priest. jason could hear nothing but the steady breathing of sunlocks as he slept. after awhile it began to snow, and then the moon went out, and the night became very dark. "now is the time," thought jason, and after hanging a sheepskin over the little skin-covered window, he lit a candle and awakened sunlocks. sunlocks rose and dressed himself without much speaking, and sometimes he sighed like a down-hearted man. but jason rattled on with idle talk, and kindled a fire and made some coffee. and when this was done he stumbled his way through the long passages of the iceland house until he came upon greeba's room, and there he knocked softly, and she answered him. she was ready, for she had not been to bed, and about her shoulders and across her breast was a sling of sheepskin, wherein she meant to carry her little michael as he slept. "all is ready," he whispered. "he says he may recover his sight. can it be true?" "yes, the apothecary from husavik said so," she answered. "then have no fear. tell him who you are, for he loves you still." and, hearing that, greeba began to cry for joy, and to thank god that the days of her waiting were over at last. "two years i have lived alone," she said, "in the solitude of a loveless life and the death of a heartless home. my love has been silent all this weary, weary time, but it is to be silent no longer. at last! at last! my hour has come at last! my husband will forgive me for the deception i have practiced upon him. how can he hate me for loving him to all lengths and ends of love? oh, that the blessed spirit that counts the throbbings of the heart would but count my life from to-day--to-day, to-day, to-day--wiping out all that is past, and leaving only the white page of what is to come." then from crying she fell to laughing, as softly and as gently, as if her heart grudged her voice the joy of it. she was like a child who is to wear a new feather on the morrow, and is counting the minutes until that morrow comes, too impatient to rest, and afraid to sleep lest she should awake too late. and jason stood aside and heard both her weeping and her laughter. he went back to sunlocks, and found him yet more sad than before. "only to think," said sunlocks, "that you, whom i thought my worst enemy, you that once followed me to slay me, should be the man of all men to risk your life for me." "yes, life is a fine lottery, isn't it?" said jason, and he laughed. "how the almighty god tears our little passions to tatters," said sunlocks, "and works his own ends in spite of them." when all was ready, jason blew out the candle, and led sunlocks to the porch. greeba was there, with little michael breathing softly from the sling at her breast. jason opened the door. "it's very dark," he whispered, "and it is still two hours before the dawn. sunlocks, if you had your sight already, you could not see one step before you. so give your hand to this good woman, and whatever happens hereafter never, never let it go." and with that he joined their hands. "does she know my way?" said sunlocks. "she knows the way for both of you," said jason. "and now go. down at the jetty you will find two men waiting for you. stop! have you any money?" "yes," said greeba. "give some to the men," said jason. "good-bye. i promised them a hundred kroner. good-bye! tell them to drop down the bay as silently as they can. good-bye!" "good-bye!" "come," said greeba, and she drew at the hand of sunlocks. "good-bye! good-bye!" said jason. but sunlocks held back a moment, and then in a voice that faltered and broke he said, "jason--kiss me." at the next moment they were gone into the darkness and the falling snow--sunlocks and greeba, hand in hand, and their child asleep at its mother's bosom. jason stood a long hour at the open door, and listened. he heard the footsteps die away; he heard the creak of the crazy wooden jetty; he heard the light plash of the oars as the boat moved off; he heard the clank of the chain as the anchor was lifted; he heard the oars again as the little smack moved down the bay, and not another sound came to his ear through the silence of the night. he looked across the headland to where the sloop of war lay outside, and he saw her lights, and their two white waterways, like pillars of silver, over the sea. all was quiet about her. still he stood and listened until the last faint sound of the oars had gone. by this time a woolly light had begun to creep over the mountain tops, and a light breeze came down from them. "it is the dawn," thought jason. "they are safe." he went back into the house, pulled down the sheepskin from the window, and lit the candle again. after a search he found paper and pens and wax in a cupboard and sat down to write. his hand was hard, he had never been to school, and he could barely form the letters and spell the words. this was what he wrote: "whatever you hear, fear not for me. i have escaped, and am safe. but don't expect to see me. i can never rejoin you, for i dare not be seen. and you are going back to your beautiful island, but dear old iceland is the only place for me. greeba, good-bye; i shall never lose heart. sunlocks, she has loved you, you only, all the days of her life. good-bye. i am well and happy. god bless you both." having written and sealed this letter, he marked it with a cross for superscription, touched it with his lips, laid it back on the table and put a key on top of it. then he rested his head on his hands, and for some minutes afterwards he was lost to himself in thought. "they would tell him to lie down," he thought, "and now he must be asleep. when he awakes he will be out at sea, far out, and all sail set. before long he will find that he has been betrayed, and demand to be brought back. but they will not heed his anger, for she will have talked with them. next week or the week after they will put in at shetlands, and there he will get my letter. then his face will brighten with joy, and he will cry, 'to home! to home!' and then--even then--why not?--his sight will come back to him, and he will open his eyes and find his dream come true, and her own dear face looking up at him. at that he will cry, 'greeba, greeba, my greeba,' and she will fall into his arms and he will pluck her to his breast. then the wind will come sweeping down from the north sea, and belly out the sail until it sings and the ropes crack and the blocks creak. and the good ship will fly along the waters like a bird to the home of the sun. home! home! england! england, and the little green island of her sea!" "god bless them both," he said aloud, in a voice like a sob, but he leapt to his feet, unable to bear the flow of his thoughts. he put back the paper and pens into the cupboard, and while he was doing so he came upon a bottle of brenni-vin. he took it out and laughed, and drew the cork to take a draught. but he put it down on the table untouched. "not yet," he said to himself, and then he stepped to the door and opened it. the snow had ceased to fall and the day was breaking. great shivering waifs of vapor crept along the mountain sides, and the valley was veiled in mist. but the sea was clear and peaceful, and the sloop of war lay on its dark bosom as before. "now for the signal," thought jason. in less than a minute afterwards the flag was floating from the flag-staff, and jason stood waiting for the ship's answer. it came in due course, a clear-toned bell that rang out over the quiet waters and echoed across the land. "it's done," thought jason, and he went back into the house. lifting up the brenni-vin, he took a long draught of it, and laughed as he did so. then a longer draught, and laughed yet louder. still another draught, and another, and another, until the bottle was emptied, and he flung it on the floor. after that he picked up the key and the letter, and shambled out into the passage, laughing as he went. "where are you now, old mole?" he shouted, and again he shouted, until the little house rang with his thick voice and his peals of wild laughter. the old priest came out of his room in his nightshirt with a lighted candle in his hand. "god bless me, what's this?" said the old man. "what's this? why, your bondman, your bondman, and the key, the key," shouted jason, and he laughed once more. "did you think you would never see it again? did you think i would run away and leave you? not i, old mole, not i." "has he gone?" said the priest, glancing fearfully into the room. "gone? why, yes, of course he has gone," laughed jason. "they have both gone." "both!" said the priest, looking up inquiringly, and at sight of his face jason laughed louder than ever. "so you didn't see it, old mole?" "see what?" "that she was his wife?" "his wife? who?" "why, your housekeeper, as you called her." "god bless my soul! and when are they coming back?" "they are never coming back." "never?" "i have taken care that they never can." "dear me! dear me! what does it all mean?" "it means that the despatch is on its way from reykjavik, and will be here to-day. ha! ha! ha!" "to-day? god save us! and do you intend--no, it cannot be--and yet--_do_ you intend to die instead of him?" "well, and what of that? it's nothing to you, is it? and as for myself, there are old scores against me, and if death had not come to me soon, i should have gone to it." "i'll not stand by and witness it." "you will, you shall, you must. and listen--here is a letter. it is for him. address it to her by the first ship to the shetlands. the thora, shetlands--that will do. and now bring me some more of your brenni-vin, you good old soul, for i am going to take a sleep at last--a long sleep--a long, long sleep at last." "god pity you! god help you! god bless you!" "ay, ay, pray to your god. but _i'll_ not pray to him. he doesn't make his world for wretches like me. i'm a pagan, am i? so be it! good-night, you dear old mole! good-night! i'll keep to my bargain, never fear. good-night. never mind your brenni-vin, i'll sleep without it. good-night! good-night!" saying this, amid broken peals of unearthly laughter, jason reeled back into the room, and clashed the door after him. the old priest, left alone in the passage, dropped the foolish candle, and wrung his hands. then he listened at the door a moment. the unearthly laughter ceased and a burst of weeping followed it. vi. it was on the day after that the evil work was done. the despatch had arrived, a day's warning had been given, and four sailors, armed with muskets, had come ashore. it was early morning, and not a soul in grimsey who had known michael sunlocks was there to see. only sir sigfus knew the secret, and he dare not speak. to save jason from the death that waited for him would be to put himself in jason's place. the sailors drew up in a line on a piece of flat ground in front of the house whereon the snow was trodden hard. jason came out looking strong and content. his step was firm, and his face was defiant. fate had dogged him all his days. only in one place, only in one hour, could he meet and beat it. this was that place, and this was that hour. he was solemn enough at last. by his side the old priest walked, with his white head bent and his nervous hands clasped together. he was mumbling the prayers for the dying in a voice that trembled and broke. the morning was clear and cold, and all the world around was white and peaceful. jason took up his stand, and folded his arms behind him. as he did so the sun broke through the clouds and lit up his uplifted face and his long red hair like blood. the sailors fired and he fell. he took their shots into his heart, the biggest heart for good or ill that ever beat in the breast of man. vii. within an hour there was a great commotion on that quiet spot. jorgen jorgensen had come, but come too late. one glance told him everything. his order had been executed, but sunlocks was gone and jason was dead. where were his miserable fears now? where was his petty hate? both his enemies had escaped him, and his little soul shrivelled up at sight of the wreck of their mighty passions. "what does this mean?" he asked, looking stupidly around him. and the old priest, transformed in one instant from the poor, timid thing he had been, turned upon him with the courage of a lion. "it means," he said, face to face with him, "that i am a wretched coward and you are a damned tyrant." while they stood together so, the report of a cannon came from the bay. it was a loud detonation, that seemed to heave the sea and shake the island. jorgen knew what it meant. it meant that the english man-of-war had come. the danish sloop struck her colors, and adam fairbrother came ashore. he heard what had happened, and gathered with the others where jason lay with his calm face towards the sky. and going down on his knees he whispered into the deaf ear, "my brave lad, your troubled life is over, your stormy soul is in its rest. sleep on, sleep well, sleep in peace. god will not forget you." then rising to his feet he looked around and said, "if any man thinks that this world is not founded in justice, let him come here and see: there stands the man who is called the governor of iceland, and here lies his only kinsman in all the wide wilderness of men. the one is alive, the other is dead; the one is living in power and plenty, the other died like a hunted beast. but which do you choose to be: the man who has the world at his feet or the man who lies at the feet of the world?" jorgen jorgensen only dropped his head while old adam's lash fell over him. and turning upon him with heat of voice, old adam cried, "away with you! go back to the place of your power. there is no one now to take it from you. but carry this word with you for your warning: heap up your gold like the mire of the streets, grown mighty and powerful beyond any man living, and when all is done you shall be an execration and a curse and a reproach, and the poorest outcast on life's highway shall cry with me, 'any fate, oh, merciful heaven, but not that! not that!' away with you, away! take your wicked feet away, for this is holy ground!" and jorgen jorgensen turned about on the instant and went off hurriedly, with his face to the earth, like a whipped dog. viii. they buried jason in a piece of untouched ground over against the little wooden church. sir sigfus dug the grave with his own hands. it was a bed of solid lava, and in that pit of old fire they laid that young heart of flame. the sky was blue, and the sun shone on the snow so white and beautiful. it had been a dark midnight when jason came into the world, but it was a glorious morning when he went out of it. the good priest learning the truth from old adam, that jason had loved greeba, bethought him of a way to remember the dead man's life secret at the last. he got twelve iceland maidens and taught them an english hymn. they could not understand the words of it, but they learned to sing them to an english tune. and, clad in white, they stood round the grave of jason, and sang these words in the tongue he loved the best: time, like an ever rolling stream bears all its sons away; they fly forgotten, as a dream dies at the opening day. on the island rock of old grimsey, close to the margin of the arctic seas, there is a pyramid of lava blocks, now honey-combed and moss-covered, over jason's rest. and to this day the place of it is called "the place of red jason." the end. a. l. burt's publications for young people by popular writers. 97-99-101 reade street, new york. bonnie prince charlie: a tale of fontenoy and culloden. by g. a. henty. with 12 full-page illustrations by gordon browne. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. the adventures of the son of a scotch officer in french service. the boy, brought up by a glasgow bailie, is arrested for aiding a jacobite agent, escapes, is wrecked on the french coast, reaches paris, and serves with the french army at dettingen. he kills his father's foe in a duel, and escaping to the coast, shares the adventures of prince charlie, but finally settles happily in scotland. "ronald, the hero, is very like the hero of 'quentin durward.' the lad's journey across france, and his hairbreadth escapes, make up as good a narrative of the kind as we have ever read. for freshness of treatment and variety of incident mr. henty has surpassed himself."--_spectator._ with clive in india; or, the beginnings of an empire. by g. a. henty. with 12 full-page illustrations by gordon browne. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. the period between the landing of clive as a young writer in india and the close of his career was critical and eventful in the extreme. at its commencement the english were traders existing on sufferance of the native princes. at its close they were masters of bengal and of the greater part of southern india. the author has given a full and accurate account of the events of that stirring time, and battles and sieges follow each other in rapid succession, while he combines with his narrative a tale of daring and adventure, which gives a lifelike interest to the volume. "he has taken a period of indian history of the most vital importance, and he has embroidered on the historical facts a story which of itself is deeply interesting. young people assuredly will be delighted with the volume."--_scotsman._ the lion of the north: a tale of gustavus adolphus and the wars of religion. by g. a. henty. with full-page illustrations by john schã�nberg. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. in this story mr. henty gives the history of the first part of the thirty years' war. the issue had its importance, which has extended to the present day, as it established religious freedom in germany. the army of the chivalrous king of sweden was largely composed of scotchmen, and among these was the hero of the story. "the tale is a clever and instructive piece of history and as boys may be trusted to read it conscientiously, they can hardly fail to be profited."--_times._ the dragon and the raven; or, the days of king alfred. by g. a. henty. with full-page illustrations by c. j. staniland, r.i. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. in this story the author gives an account of the fierce struggle between saxon and dane for supremacy in england, and presents a vivid picture of the misery and ruin to which the country was reduced by the ravages of the sea-wolves. the hero, a young saxon thane, takes part in all the battles fought by king alfred. he is driven from his home, takes to the sea and resists the danes on their own element, and being pursued by them up the seine, is present at the long and desperate siege of paris. "treated in a manner most attractive to the boyish reader."--_athenã¦um._ the young carthaginian: a story of the times of hannibal. by g. a. henty. with full-page illustrations by c. j. staniland, r.i. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. boys reading the history of the punic wars have seldom a keen appreciation of the merits of the contest. that it was at first a struggle for empire, and afterward for existence on the part of carthage, that hannibal was a great and skillful general, that he defeated the romans at trebia, lake trasimenus, and cannã¦, and all but took rome, represents pretty nearly the sum total of their knowledge. to let them know more about this momentous struggle for the empire of the world mr. henty has written this story, which not only gives in graphic style a brilliant description of a most interesting period of history, but is a tale of exciting adventure sure to secure the interest of the reader. "well constructed and vividly told. from first to last nothing stays the interest of the narrative. it bears us along as on a stream whose current varies in direction, but never loses its force."--_saturday review._ in freedom's cause: a story of wallace and bruce. by g. a. henty. with full-page illustrations by gordon browne. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. in this story the author relates the stirring tale of the scottish war of independence. the extraordinary valor and personal prowess of wallace and bruce rival the deeds of the mythical heroes of chivalry, and indeed at one time wallace was ranked with these legendary personages. the researches of modern historians have shown, however, that he was a living, breathing man--and a valiant champion. the hero of the tale fought under both wallace and bruce, and while the strictest historical accuracy has been maintained with respect to public events, the work is full of "hairbreadth 'scapes" and wild adventure. "it is written in the author's best style. full of the wildest and most remarkable achievements, it is a tale of great interest, which a boy, once he has begun it, will not willingly put on one side."--_the schoolmaster._ with lee in virginia: a story of the american civil war. by g. a. henty. with full-page illustrations by gordon browne. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. the story of a young virginian planter, who, after bravely proving his sympathy with the slaves of brutal masters, serves with no less courage and enthusiasm under lee and jackson through the most exciting events of the struggle. he has many hairbreadth escapes, is several times wounded and twice taken prisoner; but his courage and readiness and, in two cases, the devotion of a black servant and of a runaway slave whom he had assisted, bring him safely through all difficulties. "one of the best stories for lads which mr. henty has yet written. the picture is full of life and color, and the stirring and romantic incidents are skillfully blended with the personal interest and charm of the story."--_standard._ by england's aid; or, the freeing of the netherlands (1585-1604). by g. a. henty. with full-page illustrations by alfred pearse, and maps. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. the story of two english lads who go to holland as pages in the service of one of "the fighting veres." after many adventures by sea and land, one of the lads finds himself on board a spanish ship at the time of the defeat of the armada, and escapes only to fall into the hands of the corsairs. he is successful in getting back to spain under the protection of a wealthy merchant, and regains his native country after the capture of cadiz. "it is an admirable book for youngsters. it overflows with stirring incident and exciting adventure, and the color of the era and of the scene are finely reproduced. the illustrations add to its attractiveness."--_boston gazette._ by right of conquest; or, with cortez in mexico. by g. a. henty. with full-page illustrations by w. s. stacey, and two maps. 12mo, cloth, price $1.50. the conquest of mexico by a small band of resolute men under the magnificent leadership of cortez is always rightly ranked among the most romantic and daring exploits in history. with this as the ground work of his story mr. henty has interwoven the adventures of an english youth, roger hawkshaw, the sole survivor of the good ship swan, which had sailed from a devon port to challenge the mercantile supremacy of the spaniards in the new world. he is beset by many perils among the natives, but is saved by his own judgment and strength, and by the devotion of an aztec princess. at last by a ruse he obtains the protection of the spaniards, and after the fall of mexico he succeeds in regaining his native shore, with a fortune and a charming aztec bride. "'by right of conquest' is the nearest approach to a perfectly successful historical tale that mr. henty has yet published."--_academy._ in the reign of terror: the adventures of a westminster boy. by g. a. henty. with full-page illustrations by j. schã�nberg. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. harry sandwith, a westminster boy, becomes a resident at the chateau of a french marquis, and after various adventures accompanies the family to paris at the crisis of the revolution. imprisonment and death reduce their number, and the hero finds himself beset by perils with the three young daughters of the house in his charge. after hairbreadth escapes they reach nantes. there the girls are condemned to death in the coffin-ships, but are saved by the unfailing courage of their boy protector. "harry sandwith, the westminster boy, may fairly be said to beat mr. henty's record. his adventures will delight boys by the audacity and peril they depict.... the story is one of mr. henty's best."--_saturday review._ with wolfe in canada; or, the winning of a continent. by g. a. henty. with full-page illustrations by gordon browne. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. in the present volume mr. henty gives an account of the struggle between britain and france for supremacy in the north american continent. on the issue of this war depended not only the destinies of north america, but to a large extent those of the mother countries themselves. the fall of quebec decided that the anglo-saxon race should predominate in the new world; that britain, and not france, should take the lead among the nations of europe; and that english and american commerce, the english language, and english literature, should spread right round the globe. "it is not only a lesson in history as instructively as it is graphically told, but also a deeply interesting and often thrilling tale of adventure and peril by flood and field."--_illustrated london news._ true to the old flag: a tale of the american war of independence. by g. a. henty. with full-page illustrations by gordon browne. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. in this story the author has gone to the accounts of officers who took part in the conflict, and lads will find that in no war in which american and british soldiers have been engaged did they behave with greater courage and good conduct. the historical portion of the book being accompanied with numerous thrilling adventures with the redskins on the shores of lake huron, a story of exciting interest is interwoven with the general narrative and carried through the book. "does justice to the pluck and determination of the british soldiers during the unfortunate struggle against american emancipation. the son of an american loyalist, who remains true to our flag, falls among the hostile redskins in that very huron country which has been endeared to us by the exploits of hawkeye and chingachgook."--_the times._ the lion of st. mark: a tale of venice in the fourteenth century. by g. a. henty. with full-page illustrations by gordon browne. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. a story of venice at a period when her strength and splendor were put to the severest tests. the hero displays a fine sense and manliness which carry him safely through an atmosphere of intrigue, crime, and bloodshed. he contributes largely to the victories of the venetians at porto d'anzo and chioggia, and finally wins the hand of the daughter of one of the chief men of venice. "every boy should read 'the lion of st. mark.' mr. henty has never produced a story more delightful, more wholesome, or more vivacious."--_saturday review_. a final reckoning: a tale of bush life in australia. by g. a. henty. with full-page illustrations by w. b. wollen. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. the hero, a young english lad, after rather a stormy boyhood, emigrates to australia, and gets employment as an officer in the mounted police. a few years of active work on the frontier, where he has many a brush with both natives and bushrangers, gain him promotion to a captaincy, and he eventually settles down to the peaceful life of a squatter. "mr. henty has never published a more readable, a more carefully constructed, or a better written story than this."--_spectator._ under drake's flag: a tale of the spanish main. by g. a. henty. with full-page illustrations by gordon browne. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. a story of the days when england and spain struggled for supremacy of the sea. the heroes sail as lads with drake in the pacific expedition, and in his great voyage of circumnavigation. the historical portion of the story is absolutely to be relied upon, but this will perhaps be less attractive than the great variety of exciting adventure through which the young heroes pass course of their voyages. "a book of adventure, where the hero meets with experience enough, one would think, to turn his hair gray."--_harper's monthly magazine._ by sheer pluck: a tale of the ashanti war. by g. a. henty. with full-page illustrations by gordon browne. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. the author has woven, in a tale of thrilling interest, all the details of the ashanti campaign, of which he was himself a witness. his hero, after many exciting adventures in the interior, is detained a prisoner by the king just before the outbreak of the war, but escapes, and accompanies the english expedition on their march to coomassie. "mr. henty keeps up his reputation as a writer of boys' stories. 'by sheer pluck' will be eagerly read."--_athenã¦um._ by pike and dyke: a tale of the rise of the dutch republic. by g. a. henty. with full-page illustrations by maynard brown, and 4 maps. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. in this story mr. henty traces the adventures and brave deeds of an english boy in the household of the ablest man of his age--william the silent. edward martin, the son of an english sea-captain, enters the service of the prince as a volunteer, and is employed by him in many dangerous and responsible missions, in the discharge of which he passes through the great sieges of the time. he ultimately settles down as sir edward martin. "boys with a turn for historical research will be enchanted with the book while the rest who only care for adventure will be students in spite of themselves."--_st. james' gazette._ st. george for england: a tale of cressy and poitiers. by g. a. henty. with full-page illustrations by gordon browne. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. no portion of english history is more crowded with great events than that of the reign of edward iii. cressy and poitiers; the destruction of the spanish fleet; the plague of the black death; the jacquerie rising; these are treated by the author in "st. george for england." the hero of the story, although of good family, begins life as a london apprentice, but after countless adventures and perils becomes by valor and good conduct the squire, and at last the trusted friend of the black prince. "mr. henty has developed for himself a type of historical novel for boys which bids fair to supplement, on their behalf, the historical labors of sir walter scott in the land of fiction."--_the standard._ captain kidd's gold: the true story of an adventurous sailor boy. by james franklin fitts. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. there is something fascinating to the average youth in the very idea of buried treasure. a vision arises before his eyes of swarthy portuguese and spanish rascals, with black beards and gleaming eyes--sinister-looking fellows who once on a time haunted the spanish main, sneaking out from some hidden creek in their long, low schooner, of picaroonish rake and sheer, to attack an unsuspecting trading craft. there were many famous sea rovers in their day, but none more celebrated than capt. kidd. perhaps the most fascinating tale of all is mr. fitts' true story of an adventurous american boy, who receives from his dying father an ancient bit of vellum, which the latter obtained in a curious way. the document bears obscure directions purporting to locate a certain island in the bahama group, and a considerable treasure buried there by two of kidd's crew. the hero of this book, paul jones garry, is an ambitious, persevering lad, of salt-water new england ancestry, and his efforts to reach the island and secure the money form one of the most absorbing tales for our youth that has come from the press. captain bayley's heir: a tale of the gold fields of california. by g. a. henty. with full-page illustrations by h. m. paget. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. a frank, manly lad and his cousin are rivals in the heirship of a considerable property. the former falls into a trap laid by the latter, and while under a false accusation of theft foolishly leaves england for america. he works his passage before the mast, joins a small band of hunters, crosses a tract of country infested with indians to the californian gold diggings, and is successful both as digger and trader. "mr. henty is careful to mingle instruction with entertainment; and the humorous touches, especially in the sketch of john holl, the westminster dustman, dickens himself could hardly have excelled."--_christian leader._ for name and fame; or, through afghan passes. by g. a. henty. with full-page illustrations by gordon browne. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. an interesting story of the last war in afghanistan. the hero, after being wrecked and going through many stirring adventures among the malays, finds his way to calcutta and enlists in a regiment proceeding to join the army at the afghan passes. he accompanies the force under general roberts to the peiwar kotal, is wounded, taken prisoner, carried to cabul, whence he is transferred to candahar, and takes part in the final defeat of the army of ayoub khan. "the best feature of the book--apart from the interest of its scenes of adventure--is its honest effort to do justice to the patriotism of the afghan people."--_daily news._ captured by apes: the wonderful adventures of a young animal trainer. by harry prentice. 12mo, cloth, $1.00. the scene of this tale is laid on an island in the malay archipelago. philip garland, a young animal collector and trainer, of new york, sets sail for eastern seas in quest of a new stock of living curiosities. the vessel is wrecked off the coast of borneo and young garland, the sole survivor of the disaster, is cast ashore on a small island, and captured by the apes that overrun the place. the lad discovers that the ruling spirit of the monkey tribe is a gigantic and vicious baboon, whom he identifies as goliah, an animal at one time in his possession and with whose instruction he had been especially diligent. the brute recognizes him, and with a kind of malignant satisfaction puts his former master through the same course of training he had himself experienced with a faithfulness of detail which shows how astonishing is monkey recollection. very novel indeed is the way by which the young man escapes death. mr. prentice has certainly worked a new vein on juvenile fiction, and the ability with which he handles a difficult subject stamps him as a writer of undoubted skill. the bravest of the brave; or, with peterborough in spain. by g. a. henty. with full-page illustrations by h. m. paget. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. there are few great leaders whose lives and actions have so completely fallen into oblivion as those of the earl of peterborough. this is largely due to the fact that they were overshadowed by the glory and successes of marlborough. his career as general extended over little more than a year, and yet, in that time, he showed a genius for warfare which has never been surpassed. "mr. henty never loses sight of the moral purpose of his work--to enforce the doctrine of courage and truth. lads will read 'the bravest of the brave' with pleasure and profit; of that we are quite sure."--_daily telegraph._ the cat of bubastes: a story of ancient egypt. by g. a. henty. with full-page illustrations. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. a story which will give young readers an unsurpassed insight into the customs of the egyptian people. amuba, a prince of the rebu nation, is carried with his charioteer jethro into slavery. they become inmates of the house of ameres, the egyptian high-priest, and are happy in his service until the priest's son accidentally kills the sacred cat of bubastes. in an outburst of popular fury ameres is killed, and it rests with jethro and amuba to secure the escape of the high-priest's son and daughter. "the story, from the critical moment of the killing of the sacred cat to the perilous exodus into asia with which it closes, is very skillfully constructed and full of exciting adventures. it is admirably illustrated."--_saturday review._ with washington at monmouth: a story of three philadelphia boys. by james otis. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. three philadelphia boys, seth graydon "whose mother conducted a boarding-house which was patronized by the british officers;" enoch ball, "son of that mrs. ball whose dancing school was situated on letitia street," and little jacob, son of "chris, the baker," serve as the principal characters. the story is laid during the winter when lord howe held possession of the city, and the lads aid the cause by assisting the american spies who make regular and frequent visits from valley forge. one reads here of home-life in the captive city when bread was scarce among the people of the lower classes, and a reckless prodigality shown by the british officers, who passed the winter in feasting and merry-making while the members of the patriot army but a few miles away were suffering from both cold and hunger. the story abounds with pictures of colonial life skillfully drawn, and the glimpses of washington's soldiers which are given show that the work has not been hastily done, or without considerable study. * * * * * transcriber's note: obvious punctuation errors have been corrected without comment. the following corrections were made: p. 14: to her degradation[degredation], she had not murmured at the p. 30: from the deposits of his memory. the tynwald[tynwalk], the prince, p. 35: spinster[spinister], of the parish of maughold, and stephen p. 45: over the low murmur[murmer] of the sea's gentle swell. "now is p. 47: for the house of the governor[governer]. it was pointed out to him, p. 55: "maybe so, my ven[veen], maybe so." p. 94: of twenty hard[hards] fists on the table, the rough toast was called p. 95: more. very soon they were outside[ouside] the little house in p. 95: lay and tossed in a strong delirium[delirum]. the wet clothes p. 96: nary crowe's[browe's] cup. this she did, and more than this, seeming p. 97: every repetition, and the others joined[foined] him, struggling to p. 109: her relations with jason she remembered[rememberd] that she was the p. 112: this time[sime] suffered curtailment. he was ruining himself at p. 113: now the rapid impoverishment of the governor[govenor] was forcing p. 114: the cry of the poor reached the governor[govenor] at castletown. no p. 117: the governor was right that there would be no sale[sail] for p. 122: his seat like one who is dumbfounded[dumfounded]. p. 140: in fury at the bare thought of either being hands[hinds] on their p. 141: end of it all was a trial for ejectment at deemster's [deemsteer's] court p. 141: when the six good men of maughold had clambered[clamered] up to p. 142: fasten on somebody's[someboby's] throat, or pick up something as a dog p. 145: better than four years have passed[pass] away since i left the p. 147: daughter of the governor-general[govenor-general]. his name was jorgen p. 151: it for hafnafiord[hafnafjord]? certainly it may have put in at the p. 151: men should have a store like the widow's curse[cruse] to p. 164: the service came to an end, and he strode[stroke] off, turning p. 168: given to strange outbursts[outburts] when alone, was as simple and p. 170: "jorgen[jogen] jorgensen," said the old man, grinning. p. 181: even to the third and fourth generation of his[his] children." p. 188: to it and shot the heavy wooden bar[barr] that bolted it. p. 191: the spokesman of the court was a middle-aged[middled-aged] man, p. 199: while the storm lasted all reykjavik[reyjavik] lay asleep, and p. 200: she spoke, lest[least] in the fervor of her plea the bishop should p. 207: thurstan[thurston] mounted the till-board of his own cart, and p. 208: "ay," said stean[steam]. p. 212: "ay[an], and a pretty penny it has cost us to fetch it," said p. 222: her mouth. but he recked[wrecked] nothing of this, and only p. 240: then, with a sense of his wise brother's pitiable[pitable] blunderheadedness, p. 242: the space within that had been allotted[alloted] to the public was p. 244: "it is no doubt your concernment[concerment] to know what events p. 244: i can only claim your indulgence in withholding[witholding] that part p. 244: that dead stillness[stillnes] to rise to a cry. p. 247: exalted[axalted]. our young president has this day sat down in p. 267: rise but she[he] could not, while its terrified eyeballs stood out p. 268: safe, and with its load squared and righted on her[his] back. p. 279: and while their warders dozed[dosed] in the heat of the noonday p. 280: us two. you're [a] gentleman, and i'm only a rough fellow. p. 321: plunging along in the darkness[darknes], trusting solely to the sight p. 323: he had been the head and centre. but when the people[peo] p. 324: blind man?" so the end of all was that sunlocks[sunlock] was put p. 342: "at akureyri[akuyeri], husavik, reykjavik, the desert--everywhere, p. 342: "jason," she said again, "it was not altogether[altogeter] my fault. p. 348: the good woman who is housekeeper[houskeeper] here will lead you----" p. 350: "all is ready," he whispered. "he says he[be] may recover p. 357: of the arctic[artic] seas, there is a pyramid of lava blocks, now p. 6: captain[captain's] kidd's gold: the true story of an adventurous sailor heimskringla or the chronicle of the kings of norway by snorri sturlason (c.1179-1241) originally written in old norse, app. 1225 a.d., by the poet and historian snorri sturlason. transcriber's note: the "heimskringla" of snorri sturlason is a collection of sagas concerning the various rulers of norway, from about a.d. 850 to the year a.d. 1177. the sagas covered in this work are the following: 1. halfdan the black saga 2. harald harfager's saga 3. hakon the good's saga 4. saga of king harald grafeld and of earl hakon son of sigurd 5. king olaf trygvason's saga 6. saga of olaf haraldson (st. olaf) 7. saga of magnus the good 8. saga of harald hardrade 9. saga of olaf kyrre 10. magnus barefoot's saga 11. saga of sigurd the crusader and his brothers eystein and olaf 12. saga of magnus the blind and of harald gille 13. saga of sigurd, inge, and eystein, the sons of harald 14. saga of hakon herdebreid ("hakon the broad-shouldered") 15. magnus erlingson's saga while scholars and historians continue to debate the historical accuracy of sturlason's work, the "heimskringla" is still considered an important original source for information on the viking age, a period which sturlason covers almost in its entirety. preface of snorre sturlason. in this book i have had old stories written down, as i have heard them told by intelligent people, concerning chiefs who have have held dominion in the northern countries, and who spoke the danish tongue; and also concerning some of their family branches, according to what has been told me. some of this is found in ancient family registers, in which the pedigrees of kings and other personages of high birth are reckoned up, and part is written down after old songs and ballads which our forefathers had for their amusement. now, although we cannot just say what truth there may be in these, yet we have the certainty that old and wise men held them to be true. thjodolf of hvin was the skald of harald harfager, and he composed a poem for king rognvald the mountain-high, which is called "ynglingatal." this rognvald was a son of olaf geirstadalf, the brother of king halfdan the black. in this poem thirty of his forefathers are reckoned up, and the death and burial-place of each are given. he begins with fjolner, a son of yngvefrey, whom the swedes, long after his time, worshipped and sacrificed to, and from whom the race or family of the ynglings take their name. eyvind skaldaspiller also reckoned up the ancestors of earl hakon the great in a poem called "haleygjatal", composed about hakon; and therein he mentions saeming, a son of yngvefrey, and he likewise tells of the death and funeral rites of each. the lives and times of the yngling race were written from thjodolf's relation enlarged afterwards by the accounts of intelligent people. as to funeral rites, the earliest age is called the age of burning; because all the dead were consumed by fire, and over their ashes were raised standing stones. but after frey was buried under a cairn at upsala, many chiefs raised cairns, as commonly as stones, to the memory of their relatives. the age of cairns began properly in denmark after dan milkillate had raised for himself a burial cairn, and ordered that he should be buried in it on his death, with his royal ornaments and armour, his horse and saddle-furniture, and other valuable goods; and many of his descendants followed his example. but the burning of the dead continued, long after that time, to be the custom of the swedes and northmen. iceland was occupied in the time that harald harfager was the king of norway. there were skalds in harald's court whose poems the people know by heart even at the present day, together with all the songs about the kings who have ruled in norway since his time; and we rest the foundations of our story principally upon the songs which were sung in the presence of the chiefs themselves or of their sons, and take all to be true that is found in such poems about their feats and battles: for although it be the fashion with skalds to praise most those in whose presence they are standing, yet no one would dare to relete to a chief what he, and all those who heard it, knew to be a false and imaginary, not a true account of his deeds; because that would be mockery, not praise. of the priest are frode the priest are frode (the learned), a son of thorgils the son of geller, was the first man in this country who wrote down in the norse language narratives of events both old and new. in the beginning of his book he wrote principally about the first settlements in iceland, the laws and government, and next of the lagmen, and how long each had administered the law; and he reckoned the years at first, until the time when christianity was introduced into iceland, and afterwards reckoned from that to his own times. to this he added many other subjects, such as the lives and times of kings of norway and denmark, and also of england; beside accounts of great events which have taken place in this country itself. his narratives are considered by many men of knowledge to be the most remarkable of all; because he was a man of good understanding, and so old that his birth was as far back as the year after harald sigurdson's fall. he wrote, as he himself says, the lives and times of the kings of norway from the report of od kolson, a grandson of hal of sida. od again took his information from thorgeir afradskol, who was an intelligent man, and so old that when earl hakon the great was killed he was dwelling at nidarnes--the same place at which king olaf trygvason afterwards laid the foundation of the merchant town of nidaros (i.e., throndhjem) which is now there. the priest are came, when seven years old, to haukadal to hal thorarinson, and was there fourteen years. hal was a man of great knowledge and of excellent memory; and he could even remember being baptized, when he was three years old, by the priest thanghrand, the year before christianity was established by law in iceland. are was twelve years of age when bishop isleif died, and at his death eighty years had elapsed since the fall of olaf trygvason. hal died nine years later than bishop isleif, and had attained nearly the age of ninety-four years. hal had traded between the two countries, and had enjoyed intercourse with king olaf the saint, by which he had gained greatly in reputation, and he had become well acquainted with the kingdom of norway. he had fixed his residence in haukadal when he was thirty years of age, and he had dwelt there sixty-four years, as are tells us. teit, a son of bishop isleif, was fostered in the house of hal at haukadal, and afterwards dwelt there himself. he taught are the priest, and gave him information about many circumstances which are afterwards wrote down. are also got many a piece of information from thurid, a daughter of the gode snorre. she was wise and intelligent, and remembered her father snorre, who was nearly thirty-five years of age when christianity was introduced into iceland, and died a year after king olaf the saint's fall. so it is not wonderful that are the priest had good information about ancient events both here in iceland, and abroad, being a man anxious for information, intelligent and of excellent memory, and having besides learned much from old intelligent persons. but the songs seem to me most reliable if they are sung correctly, and judiciously interpreted. halfdan the black saga. preliminary remarks. of this saga there are other versions found in "fagrskinna" and in "flateyjarbok". the "flateyjarbok" version is to a great extent a copy of snorre. the story about halfdan's dream is found both in "fagrskinna" and in "flateyjarbok". the probability is that both snorre and the author of "fagrskinna" must have transcribed the same original text.--ed. 1. halfdan fights with gandalf and sigtryg. halfdan was a year old when his father was killed, and his mother asa set off immediately with him westwards to agder, and set herself there in the kingdom which her father harald had possessed. halfdan grew up there, and soon became stout and strong; and, by reason of his black hair, was called halfdan the black. when he was eighteen years old he took his kingdom in agder, and went immediately to vestfold, where he divided that kingdom, as before related, with his brother olaf. the same autumn he went with an army to vingulmark against king gandalf. they had many battles, and sometimes one, sometimes the other gained the victory; but at last they agreed that halfdan should have half of vingulmark, as his father gudrod had had it before. then king halfdan proceeded to raumarike, and subdued it. king sigtryg, son of king eystein, who then had his residence in hedemark, and who had subdued raumarike before, having heard of this, came out with his army against king halfdan, and there was great battle, in which king halfdan was victorious; and just as king sigtryg and his troops were turning about to fly, an arrow struck him under the left arm, and he fell dead. halfdan then laid the whole of raumarike under his power. king eystein's second son, king sigtryg's brother, was also called eystein, and was then king in hedemark. as soon as halfdan had returned to vestfold, king eystein went out with his army to raumarike, and laid the whole country in subjection to him. 2. battle between halfdan and eystein. when king halfdan heard of these disturbances in raumarike, he again gathered his army together; and went out against king eystein. a battle took place between them, and halfdan gained the victory, and eystein fled up to hedemark, pursued by halfdan. another battle took place, in which halfdan was again victorious; and eystein fled northwards, up into the dales to the herse gudbrand. there he was strengthened with new people, and in winter he went towards hedemark, and met halfdan the black upon a large island which lies in the mjosen lake. there a great battle was fought, and many people on both sides were slain, but halfdan won the victory. there fell guthorm, the son of the herse gudbrand, who was one of the finest men in the uplands. then eystein fled north up the valley, and sent his relation halvard skalk to king halfdan to beg for peace. on consideration of their relationship, king halfdan gave king eystein half of hedemark, which he and his relations had held before; but kept to himself thoten, and the district called land. he likewise appropriated to himself hadeland, and thus became a mighty king. 3. halfdan's marriage halfdan the black got a wife called ragnhild, a daughter of harald gulskeg (goldbeard), who was a king in sogn. they had a son, to whom harald gave his own name; and the boy was brought up in sogn, by his mother's father, king harald. now when this harald had lived out his days nearly, and was become weak, having no son, he gave his dominions to his daughter's son harald, and gave him his title of king; and he died soon after. the same winter his daughter ragnhild died; and the following spring the young harald fell sick and died at ten years of age. as soon as halfdan the black heard of his son's death, he took the road northwards to sogn with a great force, and was well received. he claimed the heritage and dominion after his son; and no opposition being made, he took the whole kingdom. earl atle mjove (the slender), who was a friend of king halfdan, came to him from gaular; and the king set him over the sogn district, to judge in the country according to the country's laws, and collect scat upon the king's account. thereafter king halfdan proceeded to his kingdom in the uplands. 4. halfdan's strife with gandalf's sons. in autumn, king halfdan proceeded to vingulmark. one night when he was there in guest quarters, it happened that about midnight a man came to him who had been on the watch on horseback, and told him a war force was come near to the house. the king instantly got up, ordered his men to arm themselves, and went out of the house and drew them up in battle order. at the same moment, gandalf's sons, hysing and helsing, made their appearance with a large army. there was a great battle; but halfdan being overpowered by the numbers of people fled to the forest, leaving many of his men on this spot. his foster-father, olver spake (the wise), fell here. the people now came in swarms to king halfdan, and he advanced to seek gandalf's sons. they met at eid, near lake oieren, and fought there. hysing and helsing fell, and their brother hake saved himself by flight. king halfdan then took possession of the whole of vingulmark, and hake fled to alfheimar. 5. halfdan's marriage with hjort's daughter. sigurd hjort was the name of a king in ringerike, who was stouter and stronger than any other man, and his equal could not be seen for a handsome appearance. his father was helge hvasse (the sharp); and his mother was aslaug, a daughter of sigurd the worm-eyed, who again was a son of ragnar lodbrok. it is told of sigurd that when he was only twelve years old he killed in single combat the berserk hildebrand, and eleven others of his comrades; and many are the deeds of manhood told of him in a long saga about his feats. sigurd had two children, one of whom was a daughter, called ragnhild, then twenty years of age, and an excellent brisk girl. her brother guthorm was a youth. it is related in regard to sigurd's death that he had a custom of riding out quite alone in the uninhabited forest to hunt the wild beasts that are hurtful to man, and he was always very eager at this sport. one day he rode out into the forest as usual, and when he had ridden a long way he came out at a piece of cleared land near to hadeland. there the berserk hake came against him with thirty men, and they fought. sigurd hjort fell there, after killing twelve of hake's men; and hake himself lost one hand, and had three other wounds. then hake and his men rode to sigurd's house, where they took his daughter ragnhild and her brother guthorm, and carried them, with much property and valuable articles, home to hadeland, where hake had many great farms. he ordered a feast to be prepared, intending to hold his wedding with ragnhild; but the time passed on account of his wounds, which healed slowly; and the berserk hake of hadeland had to keep his bed, on account of his wounds, all the autumn and beginning of winter. now king halfdan was in hedemark at the yule entertainments when he heard this news; and one morning early, when the king was dressed, he called to him harek gand, and told him to go over to hadeland, and bring him ragnhild, sigurd hjort's daughter. harek got ready with a hundred men, and made his journey so that they came over the lake to hake's house in the grey of the morning, and beset all the doors and stairs of the places where the house-servants slept. then they broke into the sleeping-room where hake slept, took ragnhild, with her brother guthorm, and all the goods that were there, and set fire to the house-servants' place, and burnt all the people in it. then they covered over a magnificent waggon, placed ragnhild and guthorm in it, and drove down upon the ice. hake got up and went after them a while; but when he came to the ice on the lake, he turned his sword-hilt to the ground and let himself fall upon the point, so that the sword went through him. he was buried under a mound on the banks of the lake. when king halfdan, who was very quick of sight, saw the party returning over the frozen lake, and with a covered waggon, he knew that their errand was accomplished according to his desire. thereupon he ordered the tables to be set out, and sent people all round in the neighbourhood to invite plenty of guests; and the same day there was a good feast which was also halfdan's marriage-feast with ragnhild, who became a great queen. ragnhild's mother was thorny, a daughter of klakharald king in jutland, and a sister of thrye dannebod who was married to the danish king, gorm the old, who then ruled over the danish dominions. 6. of ragnhild's dream. ragnhild, who was wise and intelligent, dreamt great dreams. she dreamt, for one, that she was standing out in her herb-garden, and she took a thorn out of her shift; but while she was holding the thorn in her hand it grew so that it became a great tree, one end of which struck itself down into the earth, and it became firmly rooted; and the other end of the tree raised itself so high in the air that she could scarcely see over it, and it became also wonderfully thick. the under part of the tree was red with blood, but the stem upwards was beautifully green and the branches white as snow. there were many and great limbs to the tree, some high up, others low down; and so vast were the tree's branches that they seemed to her to cover all norway, and even much more. 7. of halfdan's dream. king halfdan never had dreams, which appeared to him an extraordinary circumstance; and he told it to a man called thorleif spake (the wise), and asked him what his advice was about it. thorleif said that what he himself did, when he wanted to have any revelation by dream, was to take his sleep in a swine-sty, and then it never failed that he had dreams. the king did so, and the following dream was revealed to him. he thought he had the most beautiful hair, which was all in ringlets; some so long as to fall upon the ground, some reaching to the middle of his legs, some to his knees, some to his loins or the middle of his sides, some to his neck, and some were only as knots springing from his head. these ringlets were of various colours; but one ringlet surpassed all the others in beauty, lustre, and size. this dream he told to thorleif, who interpreted it thus:--there should be a great posterity from him, and his descendants should rule over countries with great, but not all with equally great, honour; but one of his race should be more celebrated than all the others. it was the opinion of people that this ringlet betokened king olaf the saint. king halfdan was a wise man, a man of truth and uprightness--who made laws, observed them himself, and obliged others to observe them. and that violence should not come in place of the laws, he himself fixed the number of criminal acts in law, and the compensations, mulcts, or penalties, for each case, according to every one's birth and dignity (1). queen ragnhild gave birth to a son, and water was poured over him, and the name of harald given him, and he soon grew stout and remarkably handsome. as he grew up he became very expert at all feats, and showed also a good understanding. he was much beloved by his mother, but less so by his father. endnotes: (1) the penalty, compensation, or manbod for every injury, due the party injured, or to his family and next of kin if the injury was the death or premeditated murder of the party, appears to have been fixed for every rank and condition, from the murder of the king down to the maiming or beating a man's cattle or his slave. a man for whom no compensation was due was a dishonored person, or an outlaw. it appears to have been optional with the injured party, or his kin if he had been killed, to take the mulct or compensation, or to refuse it, and wait for an opportunity of taking vengeance for the injury on the party who inflicted it, or on his kin. a part of each mulct or compensation was due to the king; and, these fines or penalties appear to have constituted a great proportion of the king's revenues, and to have been settled in the things held in every district for administering the law with the lagman.--l. 8. halfdan's meat vanishes at a feast king halfdan was at a yule-feast in hadeland, where a wonderful thing happened one yule evening. when the great number of guests assembled were going to sit down to table, all the meat and all the ale disappeared from the table. the king sat alone very confused in mind; all the others set off, each to his home, in consternation. that the king might come to some certainty about what had occasioned this event, he ordered a fin to be seized who was particularly knowing, and tried to force him to disclose the truth; but however much he tortured the man, he got nothing out of him. the fin sought help particularly from harald, the king's son, and harald begged for mercy for him, but in vain. then harald let him escape against the king's will, and accompanied the man himself. on their journey they came to a place where the man's chief had a great feast, and it appears they were well received there. when they had been there until spring, the chief said, "thy father took it much amiss that in winter i took some provisions from him,--now i will repay it to thee by a joyful piece of news: thy father is dead; and now thou shalt return home, and take possession of the whole kingdom which he had, and with it thou shalt lay the whole kingdom of norway under thee." 9. halfdan s death. halfdan the black was driving from a feast in hadeland, and it so happened that his road lay over the lake called rand. it was in spring, and there was a great thaw. they drove across the bight called rykinsvik, where in winter there had been a pond broken in the ice for cattle to drink at, and where the dung had fallen upon the ice the thaw had eaten it into holes. now as the king drove over it the ice broke, and king halfdan and many with him perished. he was then forty years old. he had been one of the most fortunate kings in respect of good seasons. the people thought so much of him, that when his death was known and his body was floated to ringerike to bury it there, the people of most consequence from raumarike, vestfold, and hedemark came to meet it. all desired to take the body with them to bury it in their own district, and they thought that those who got it would have good crops to expect. at last it was agreed to divide the body into four parts. the head was laid in a mound at stein in ringerike, and each of the others took his part home and laid it in a mound; and these have since been called halfdan's mounds. harald harfager's saga. 1. harald's strife with hake and his father gandalf. harald (1) was but ten years old when he succeeded his father (halfdan the black). he became a stout, strong, and comely man, and withal prudent and manly. his mother's brother, guthorm, was leader of the hird, at the head of the government, and commander ('hertogi') of the army. after halfdan the black's death, many chiefs coveted the dominions he had left. among these king gandalf was the first; then hogne and frode, sons of eystein, king of hedemark; and also hogne karuson came from ringerike. hake, the son of gandalf, began with an expedition of 300 men against vestfold, marched by the main road through some valleys, and expected to come suddenly upon king harald; while his father gandalf sat at home with his army, and prepared to cross over the fiord into vestfold. when duke guthorm heard of this he gathered an army, and marched up the country with king harald against hake. they met in a valley, in which they fought a great battle, and king harald was victorious; and there fell king hake and most of his people. the place has since been called hakadale. then king harald and duke guthorm turned back, but they found king gandalf had come to vestfold. the two armies marched against each other, and met, and had a great battle; and it ended in king gandalf flying, after leaving most of his men dead on the spot, and in that state he came back to his kingdom. now when the sons of king eystein in hedemark heard the news, they expected the war would come upon them, and they sent a message to hogne karuson and to herse gudbrand, and appointed a meeting with them at ringsaker in hedemark. endnotes: (1) the first twenty chapters of this saga refer to harald's youth and his conquest of norway. this portion of the saga is of great importance to the icelanders, as the settlement of their isle was a result of harald's wars. the second part of the saga (chaps. 21-46) treats of the disputes between harald's sons, of the jarls of orkney, and of the jarls of more. with this saga we enter the domain of history.--ed. 2. king harald overcomes five kings. after the battle king harald and guthorm turned back, and went with all the men they could gather through the forests towards the uplands. they found out where the upland kings had appointed their meeting-place, and came there about the time of midnight, without the watchmen observing them until their army was before the door of the house in which hogne karuson was, as well as that in which gudbrand slept. they set fire to both houses; but king eystein's two sons slipped out with their men, and fought for a while, until both hogne and frode fell. after the fall of these four chiefs, king harald, by his relation guthorm's success and powers, subdued hedemark, ringerike, gudbrandsdal, hadeland, thoten, raumarike, and the whole northern part of vingulmark. king harald and guthorm had thereafter war with king gandalf, and fought several battles with him; and in the last of them king gandalf was slain, and king harald took the whole of his kingdom as far south as the river raum. 3. of gyda, daughter of eirie. king harald sent his men to a girl called gyda, daughter of king eirik of hordaland, who was brought up as foster-child in the house of a great bonde in valdres. the king wanted her for his concubine; for she was a remarkably handsome girl, but of high spirit withal. now when the messengers came there, and delivered their errand to the girl, she answered, that she would not throw herself away even to take a king for her husband, who had no greater kingdom to rule over than a few districts. "and methinks," said she, "it is wonderful that no king here in norway will make the whole country subject to him, in the same way as gorm the old did in denmark, or eirik at upsala." the messengers thought her answer was dreadfully haughty, and asked what she thought would come of such an answer; for harald was so mighty a man, that his invitation was good enough for her. but although she had replied to their errand differently from what they wished, they saw no chance, on this occasion, of taking her with them against her will; so they prepared to return. when they were ready, and the people followed them out, gyda said to the messengers, "now tell to king harald these my words. i will only agree to be his lawful wife upon the condition that he shall first, for my sake, subject to himself the whole of norway, so that he may rule over that kingdom as freely and fully as king eirik over the swedish dominions, or king gorm over denmark; for only then, methinks, can he be called the king of a people." 4. king harald's vow. now came the messengers back to king harald, bringing him the words of the girl, and saying she was so bold and foolish that she well deserved that the king should send a greater troop of people for her, and inflict on her some disgrace. then answered the king, "this girl has not spoken or done so much amiss that she should be punished, but rather she should be thanked for her words. she has reminded me," said he, "of something which it appears to me wonderful i did not think of before. and now," added he, "i make the solemn vow, and take god to witness, who made me and rules over all things, that never shall i clip or comb my hair until i have subdued the whole of norway, with scat (1), and duties, and domains; or if not, have died in the attempt." guthorm thanked the king warmly for his vow; adding, that it was royal work to fulfil royal words. endnotes: (1) scat was a land-tax, paid to the king in money, malt, meal, or flesh-meat, from all lands, and was adjudged by the thing to each king upon his accession, and being proposed and accepted as king. 5. the battle in orkadal. after this the two relations gather together a great force, and prepare for an expedition to the uplands, and northwards up the valley (gudbrandsdal), and north over dovrefjeld; and when the king came down to the inhabited land he ordered all the men to be killed, and everything wide around to be delivered to the flames. and when the people came to know this, they fled every one where he could; some down the country to orkadal, some to gaulardal, some to the forests. but some begged for peace, and obtained it, on condition of joining the king and becoming his men. he met no opposition until he came to orkadal. there a crowd of people had assembled, and he had his first battle with a king called gryting. harald won the victory, and king gryting was made prisoner, and most of his people killed. he took service himself under the king, and swore fidelity to him. thereafter all the people in orkadal district went under king harald, and became his men. 6. king harald s laws for land property. king harald made this law over all the lands he conquered, that all the udal property should belong to him; and that the bondes, both great and small, should pay him land dues for their possessions. over every district he set an earl to judge according to the law of the land and to justice, and also to collect the land dues and the fines; and for this each earl received a third part of the dues, and services, and fines, for the support of his table and other expenses. each earl had under him four or more herses, each of whom had an estate of twenty marks yearly income bestowed on him and was bound to support twenty men-at-arms, and the earl sixty men, at their own expenses. the king had increased the land dues and burdens so much, that each of his earls had greater power and income than the kings had before; and when that became known at throndhjem, many great men joined the king and took his service. 7. battle in gaulardal. it is told that earl hakon grjotgardson came to king harald from yrjar, and brought a great crowd of men to his service. then king harald went into gaulardal, and had a great battle, in which he slew two kings, and conquered their dominions; and these were gaulardal district and strind district. he gave earl hakon strind district to rule over as earl. king harald then proceeded to stjoradal, and had a third battle, in which he gained the victory, and took that district also. there upon the throndhjem people assembled, and four kings met together with their troops. the one ruled over veradal, the second over skaun, third over the sparbyggja district, and the fourth over eyin idre (inderoen); and this latter had also eyna district. these four kings marched with their men against king harald, but he won the battle; and some of these kings fell, and some fled. in all, king harald fought at the least eight battles, and slew eight kings, in the throndhjem district, and laid the whole of it under him. 8. harald seizes naumudal district. north in naumudal were two brothers, kings,--herlaug and hrollaug; and they had been for three summers raising a mound or tomb of stone and lime and of wood. just as the work was finished, the brothers got the news that king harald was coming upon them with his army. then king herlaug had a great quantity of meat and drink brought into the mound, and went into it himself, with eleven companions, and ordered the mound to be covered up. king hrollaug, on the contrary, went upon the summit of the mound, on which the kings were wont to sit, and made a throne to be erected, upon which he seated himself. then he ordered feather-beds to be laid upon the bench below, on which the earls were wont to be seated, and threw himself down from his high seat or throne into the earl's seat, giving himself the title of earl. now hrollaug went to meet king harald, gave up to him his whole kingdom, offered to enter into his service, and told him his whole proceeding. then took king harald a sword, fastened it to hrollaug's belt, bound a shield to his neck, and made him thereupon an earl, and led him to his earl's seat; and therewith gave him the district naumudal, and set him as earl over it ((a.d. 866)). (1) endnotes: (1) before writing was in general use, this symbolical way of performing all important legal acts appears to have entered into the jurisprudence of all savage nations; and according to gibbon, chap. 44, "the jurisprudence of the first romans exhibited the scenes of a pantomime; the words were adapted to the gestures, and the slightest error or neglect in the forms of proceeding was sufficient to annul the substance of the fairest claims."--ed. 9. king harald's home affairs. king harald then returned to throndhjem, where he dwelt during the winter, and always afterwards called it his home. he fixed here his head residence, which is called lade. this winter he took to wife asa, a daughter of earl hakon grjotgardson, who then stood in great favour and honour with the king. in spring the king fitted out his ships. in winter he had caused a great frigate (a dragon) to be built, and had it fitted-out in the most splendid way, and brought his house-troops and his berserks on board. the forecastle men were picked men, for they had the king's banner. from the stem to the mid-hold was called rausn, or the fore-defence; and there were the berserks. such men only were received into king harald's house-troop as were remarkable for strength, courage, and all kinds of dexterity; and they alone got place in his ship, for he had a good choice of house-troops from the best men of every district. king harald had a great army, many large ships, and many men of might followed him. hornklofe, in his poem called "glymdrapa", tells of this; and also that king harald had a battle with the people of orkadal, at opdal forest, before he went upon this expedition. "o'er the broad heath the bowstrings twang, while high in air the arrows sang. the iron shower drives to flight the foeman from the bloody fight. the warder of great odin's shrine, the fair-haired son of odin's line, raises the voice which gives the cheer, first in the track of wolf or bear. his master voice drives them along to hel--a destined, trembling throng; and nokve's ship, with glancing sides, must fly to the wild ocean's tides.- must fly before the king who leads norse axe-men on their ocean steeds." 10. battle at solskel king harald moved out with his army from throndhjem, and went southwards to more. hunthiof was the name of the king who ruled over the district of more. solve klofe was the name of his son, and both were great warriors. king nokve, who ruled over raumsdal, was the brother of solve's mother. those chiefs gathered a great force when they heard of king harald, and came against him. they met at solskel, and there was a great battle, which was gained by king harald (a.d. 867). hornklofe tells of this battle:- "thus did the hero known to fame, the leader of the shields, whose name strikes every heart with dire dismay, launch forth his war-ships to the fray. two kings he fought; but little strife was needed to cut short their life. a clang of arms by the sea-shore,- and the shields' sound was heard no more." the two kings were slain, but solve escaped by flight; and king harald laid both districts under his power. he stayed here long in summer to establish law and order for the country people, and set men to rule them, and keep them faithful to him; and in autumn he prepared to return northwards to throndhjem. ragnvald earl of more, a son of eystein glumra, had the summer before become one of harald's men; and the king set him as chief over these two districts, north more and raumsdal; strengthened him both with men of might and bondes, and gave him the help of ships to defend the coast against enemies. he was called ragnvald the mighty, or the wise; and people say both names suited him well. king harald came back to throndhjem about winter. 11. fall of kings arnvid and audbjorn. the following spring (a.d. 868) king harald raised a great force in throndhjem, and gave out that he would proceed to south more. solve klofe had passed the winter in his ships of war, plundering in north more, and had killed many of king harald's men; pillaging some places, burning others, and making great ravage; but sometimes he had been, during the winter, with his friend king arnvid in south more. now when he heard that king harald was come with ships and a great army, he gathered people, and was strong in men-at-arms; for many thought they had to take vengeance of king harald. solve klofe went southwards to firdafylke (the fjord district), which king audbjorn ruled over, to ask him to help, and join his force to king arnvid's and his own. "for," said he, "it is now clear that we all have but one course to take; and that is to rise, all as one man, against king harald, for we have strength enough, and fate must decide the victory; for as to the other condition of becoming his servants, that is no condition for us, who are not less noble than harald. my father thought it better to fall in battle for his kingdom, than to go willingly into king harald's service, or not to abide the chance of weapons like the naumudal kings." king solve's speech was such that king audbjorn promised his help, and gathered a great force together and went with it to king arnvid, and they had a great army. now, they got news that king harald was come from the north, and they met within solskel. and it was the custom to lash the ships together, stem to stem; so it was done now. king harald laid his ship against king arnvid's, and there was the sharpest fight, and many men fell on both sides. at last king harald was raging with anger, and went forward to the fore-deck, and slew so dreadfully that all the forecastle men of arnvid's ship were driven aft of the mast, and some fell. thereupon harald boarded the ship, and king arnvid's men tried to save themselves by flight, and he himself was slain in his ship. king audbjorn also fell; but solve fled. so says hornklofe:- "against the hero's shield in vain the arrow-storm fierce pours its rain. the king stands on the blood-stained deck, trampling on many a stout foe's neck; and high above the dinning stound of helm and axe, and ringing sound of blade and shield, and raven's cry, is heard his shout of 'victory!'" of king harald's men, fell his earls asgaut and asbjorn, together with his brothers-in-law, grjotgard and herlaug, the sons of earl hakon of lade. solve became afterwards a great sea-king, and often did great damage in king harald's dominions. 12. king vemund burnt to death. after this battle (a.d. 868) king harald subdued south more; but vemund, king audbjorn's brother, still had firdafylke. it was now late in harvest, and king harald's men gave him the counsel not to proceed south-wards round stad. then king harald set earl ragnvald over south and north more and also raumsdal, and he had many people about him. king harald returned to throndhjem. the same winter (a.d. 869) ragnvald went over eid, and southwards to the fjord district. there he heard news of king vemund, and came by night to a place called naustdal, where king vemund was living in guest-quarters. earl ragnvald surrounded the house in which they were quartered, and burnt the king in it, together with ninety men. the came berdlukare to earl ragnvald with a complete armed long-ship, and they both returned to more. the earl took all the ships vemund had, and all the goods he could get hold of. berdlukare proceeded north to throndhjem to king harald, and became his man; and dreadful berserk he was. 13. death of earls hakon, and atle mjove. the following spring (a.d. 869) king harald went southwards with his fleet along the coast, and subdued firdafylke. then he sailed eastward along the land until he came to vik; but he left earl hakon grjotgardson behind, and set him over the fjord district. earl hakon sent word to earl atle mjove that he should leave sogn district, and be earl over gaular district, as he had been before, alleging that king harald had given sogn district to him. earl atle sent word that he would keep both sogn district and gaular district, until he met king harald. the two earls quarreled about this so long, that both gathered troops. they met at fialar, in stavanger fiord, and had a great battle, in which earl hakon fell, and earl atle got a mortal wound, and his men carried him to the island of atley, where he died. so says eyvind skaldaspiller:- "he who stood a rooted oak, unshaken by the swordsman's stroke, amidst the whiz of arrows slain, has fallen upon fjalar's plain. there, by the ocean's rocky shore, the waves are stained with the red gore of stout earl hakon grjotgard's son, and of brave warriors many a one." 14. harald and the swedish king eirik. king harald came with his fleet eastward to viken and landed at tunsberg, which was then a trading town. he had then been four years in throndhjem, and in all that time had not been in viken. here he heard the news that eirik eymundson, king of sweden, had laid under him vermaland, and was taking scat or land-tax from all the forest settlers; and also that he called the whole country north to svinasund, and west along the sea, west gautland; and which altogether he reckoned to his kingdom, and took land-tax from it. over this country he had set an earl, by name hrane gauzke, who had the earldom between svinasund and the gaut river, and was a mighty earl. and it was told to king harald that the swedish king said he would not rest until he had as great a kingdom in viken as sigurd hring, or his son ragnar lodbrok, had possessed; and that was raumarike and vestfold, all the way to the isle grenmar, and also vingulmark, and all that lay south of it. in all these districts many chiefs, and many other people, had given obedience to the swedish king. king harald was very angry at this, and summoned the bondes to a thing at fold, where he laid an accusation against them for treason towards him. some bondes defended themselves from the accusation, some paid fines, some were punished. he went thus through the whole district during the summer, and in harvest he did the same in raumarike, and laid the two districts under his power. towards winter he heard that eirik king of sweden was, with his court, going about in vermaland in guest-quarters. 15. harald at a feast of the peasant ake. king harald takes his way across the eid forest eastward, and comes out in vermaland, where he also orders feasts to be prepared for himself. there was a man by name ake, who was the greatest of the bondes of vermaland, very rich, and at that time very aged. he sent men to king harald, and invited him to a feast, and the king promised to come on the day appointed. ake invited also king eirik to a feast, and appointed the same day. ake had a great feasting hall, but it was old; and he made a new hall, not less than the old one, and had it ornamented in the most splendid way. the new hall he had hung with new hangings, but the old had only its old ornaments. now when the kings came to the feast, king eirik with his court was taken into the old hall; but harald with his followers into the new. the same difference was in all the table furniture, and king eirik and his men had the old-fashioned vessels and horns, but all gilded and splendid; while king harald and his men had entirely new vessels and horns adorned with gold, all with carved figures, and shining like glass; and both companies had the best of liquor. ake the bonde had formerly been king halfdan the black s man. now when daylight came, and the feast was quite ended, and the kings made themselves ready for their journey, and the horses were saddled, came ake before king harald, leading in his hand his son ubbe, a boy of twelve years of age, and said, "if the goodwill i have shown to thee, sire, in my feast, be worth thy friendship, show it hereafter to my son. i give him to thee now for thy service." the king thanked him with many agreeable words for his friendly entertainment, and promised him his full friendship in return. then ake brought out great presents, which he gave to the king, and they gave each other thereafter the parting kiss. ake went next to the swedish king, who was dressed and ready for the road, but not in the best humour. ake gave to him also good and valuable gifts; but the king answered only with few words, and mounted his horse. ake followed the king on the road and talked with him. the road led through a wood which was near to the house; and when ake came to the wood, the king said to him, "how was it that thou madest such a difference between me and king harald as to give him the best of everything, although thou knowest thou art my man?" "i think" answered ake, "that there failed in it nothing, king, either to you or to your attendants, in friendly entertainment at this feast. but that all the utensils for your drinking were old, was because you are now old; but king harald is in the bloom of youth, and therefore i gave him the new things. and as to my being thy man, thou art just as much my man." on this the king out with his sword, and gave ake his deathwound. king harald was ready now also to mount his horse, and desired that ake should be called. the people went to seek him; and some ran up the road that king eirik had taken, and found ake there dead. they came back, and told the news to king harald, and he bids his men to be up, and avenge ake the bonde. and away rode he and his men the way king eirik had taken, until they came in sight of each other. each for himself rode as hard as he could, until eirik came into the wood which divides gautland and vermaland. there king harald wheels about, and returns to vermaland, and lays the country under him, and kills king eirik's men wheresoever he can find them. in winter king harald returned to raumarike, and dwelt there a while. 16. harald's journey to tunsberg. king harald went out in winter to his ships at tunsberg, rigged them, and sailed away eastward over the fiord, and subjected all vingulmark to his dominion. all winter he was out with his ships, and marauded in ranrike; so says thorbjorn hornklofe:- "the norseman's king is on the sea, tho' bitter wintry cold it be.- on the wild waves his yule keeps he. when our brisk king can get his way, he'll no more by the fireside stay than the young sun; he makes us play the game of the bright sun-god frey. but the soft swede loves well the fire the well-stuffed couch, the doway glove, and from the hearth-seat will not move." the gautlanders gathered people together all over the country. 17. the battle in gautland. in spring, when the ice was breaking up, the gautlanders drove stakes into the gaut river to hinder king harald with his ships from coming to the land. but king harald laid his ships alongside the stakes, and plundered the country, and burnt all around; so says horn klofe:- "the king who finds a dainty feast, for battle-bird and prowling beast, has won in war the southern land that lies along the ocean's strand. the leader of the helmets, he who leads his ships o'er the dark sea, harald, whose high-rigged masts appear like antlered fronts of the wild deer, has laid his ships close alongside of the foe's piles with daring pride." afterwards the gautlanders came down to the strand with a great army, and gave battle to king harald, and great was the fall of men. but it was king harald who gained the day. thus says hornklofe:- "whistles the battle-axe in its swing o'er head the whizzing javelins sing, helmet and shield and hauberk ring; the air-song of the lance is loud, the arrows pipe in darkening cloud; through helm and mail the foemen feel the blue edge of our king's good steel who can withstand our gallant king? the gautland men their flight must wing." 18. hrane gauzke's death. king harald went far and wide through gautland, and many were the battles he fought there on both sides of the river, and in general he was victorious. in one of these battles fell hrane gauzke; and then the king took his whole land north of the river and west of the veneren, and also vermaland. and after he turned back there-from, he set duke guthorm as chief to defend the country, and left a great force with him. king harald himself went first to the uplands, where he remained a while, and then proceeded northwards over the dovrefjeld to throndhjem, where he dwelt for a long time. harald began to have children. by asa he had four sons. the eldest was guthorm. halfdan the black and halfdan the white were twins. sigfrod was the fourth. they were all brought up in throndhjem with all honour. 19. battle in hafersfjord. news came in from the south land that the people of hordaland and rogaland, agder and thelemark, were gathering, and bringing together ships and weapons, and a great body of men. the leaders of this were eirik king of hordaland; sulke king of rogaland, and his brother earl sote: kjotve the rich, king of agder, and his son thor haklang; and from thelemark two brothers, hroald hryg and had the hard. now when harald got certain news of this, he assembled his forces, set his ships on the water, made himself ready with his men, and set out southwards along the coast, gathering many people from every district. king eirik heard of this when he same south of stad; and having assembled all the men he could expect, he proceeded southwards to meet the force which he knew was coming to his help from the east. the whole met together north of jadar, and went into hafersfjord, where king harald was waiting with his forces. a great battle began, which was both hard and long; but at last king harald gained the day. there king eirik fell, and king sulke, with his brother earl sote. thor haklang, who was a great berserk, had laid his ship against king harald's, and there was above all measure a desperate attack, until thor haklang fell, and his whole ship was cleared of men. then king kjotve fled to a little isle outside, on which there was a good place of strength. thereafter all his men fled, some to their ships, some up to the land; and the latter ran southwards over the country of jadar. so says hornklofe, viz.:- "has the news reached you?--have you heard of the great fight at hafersfjord, between our noble king brave harald and king kjotve rich in gold? the foeman came from out the east, keen for the fray as for a feast. a gallant sight it was to see their fleet sweep o'er the dark-blue sea: each war-ship, with its threatening throat of dragon fierce or ravenous brute (1) grim gaping from the prow; its wales glittering with burnished shields, (2) like scales its crew of udal men of war, whose snow-white targets shone from far and many a mailed spearman stout from the west countries round about, english and scotch, a foreign host, and swordamen from the far french coast. and as the foemen's ships drew near, the dreadful din you well might hear savage berserks roaring mad, and champions fierce in wolf-skins clad, (3) howling like wolves; and clanking jar of many a mail-clad man of war. thus the foe came; but our brave king taught them to fly as fast again. for when he saw their force come o'er, he launched his war-ships from the shore. on the deep sea he launched his fleet and boldly rowed the foe to meet. fierce was the shock, and loud the clang of shields, until the fierce haklang, the foeman's famous berserk, fell. then from our men burst forth the yell of victory, and the king of gold could not withstand our harald bold, but fled before his flaky locks for shelter to the island rocks. all in the bottom of the ships the wounded lay, in ghastly heaps; backs up and faces down they lay under the row-seats stowed away; and many a warrior's shield, i ween might on the warrior's back be seen, to shield him as he fled amain from the fierce stone-storm's pelting rain. the mountain-folk, as i've heard say, ne'er stopped as they ran from the fray, till they had crossed the jadar sea, and reached their homes--so keen each soul to drown his fright in the mead bowl." endnotes: (1) the war-ships were called dragons, from being decorated with the head of a dragon, serpent, or other wild animal; and the word "draco" was adopted in the latin of the middle ages to denote a ship of war of the larger class. the snekke was the cutter or smaller war-ship.--l. (2) the shields were hung over the side-rails of the ships.--l. (3) the wolf-skin pelts were nearly as good as armour against the sword. 20. harald supreme sovereign in norway. after this battle king harald met no opposition in norway, for all his opponents and greatest enemies were cut off. but some, and they were a great multitude, fled out of the country, and thereby great districts were peopled. jemtaland and helsingjaland were peopled then, although some norwegians had already set up their habitation there. in the discontent that king harald seized on the lands of norway, the out-countries of iceland and the farey isles were discovered and peopled. the northmen had also a great resort to hjaltland (shetland isles) and many men left norway, flying the country on account of king harald, and went on viking cruises into the west sea. in winter they were in the orkney islands and hebrides; but marauded in summer in norway, and did great damage. many, however, were the mighty men who took service under king harald, and became his men, and dwelt in the land with him. 21. harald's marriage and his children. when king harald had now become sole king over all norway, he remembered what that proud girl had said to him; so he sent men to her, and had her brought to him, and took her to his bed. and these were their children: alof--she was the eldest; then was their son hrorek; then sigtryg, frode, and thorgils. king harald had many wives and many children. among them he had one wife, who was called ragnhild the mighty, a daughter of king eirik, from jutland; and by her he had a son, eirik blood-axe. he was also married to svanhild, a daughter of earl eystein; and their sons were olaf geirstadaalf, bjorn and ragnar rykkil. lastly, king harald married ashild, a daughter of hring dagson, up in ringerike; and their children were, dag, hring, gudrod skiria, and ingigerd. it is told that king harald put away nine wives when he married ragnhild the mighty. so says hornklofe:- "harald, of noblest race the head, a danish wife took to his bed; and out of doors nine wives he thrust,- the mothers of the princes first. who 'mong holmrygians hold command, and those who rule in hordaland. and then he packed from out the place the children born of holge's race." king harald's children were all fostered and brought up by their relations on the mother's side. guthorm the duke had poured water over king harald's eldest son and had given him his own name. he set the child upon his knee, and was his foster-father, and took him with himself eastward to viken, and there he was brought up in the house of guthorm. guthorm ruled the whole land in viken and the uplands, when king harald was absent. 22. king harald's voyage to the west. king harald heard that the vikings, who were in the west sea in winter, plundered far and wide in the middle part of norway; and therefore every summer he made an expedition to search the isles and out-skerries (1) on the coast. wheresoever the vikings heard of him they all took to flight, and most of them out into the open ocean. at last the king grew weary of this work, and therefore one summer he sailed with his fleet right out into the west sea. first he came to hjaltland (shetland), and he slew all the vikings who could not save themselves by flight. then king harald sailed southwards, to the orkney islands, and cleared them all of vikings. thereafter he proceeded to the sudreys (hebrides), plundered there, and slew many vikings who formerly had had men-at-arms under them. many a battle was fought, and king harald was always victorious. he then plundered far and wide in scotland itself, and had a battle there. when he was come westward as far as the isle of man, the report of his exploits on the land had gone before him; for all the inhabitants had fled over to scotland, and the island was left entirely bare both of people and goods, so that king harald and his men made no booty when they landed. so says hornklofe:- "the wise, the noble king, great whose hand so freely scatters gold, led many a northern shield to war against the town upon the shore. the wolves soon gathered on the sand of that sea-shore; for harald's hand the scottish army drove away, and on the coast left wolves a prey." in this war fell ivar, a son of ragnvald, earl of more; and king harald gave ragnvald, as a compensation for the loss, the orkney and shetland isles, when he sailed from the west; but ragnvald immediately gave both these countries to his brother sigurd, who remained behind them; and king harald, before sailing eastward, gave sigurd the earldom of them. thorstein the red, a son of olaf the white and of aud the wealthy, entered into partnership with him; and after plundering in scotland, they subdued caithness and sutherland, as far as ekkjalsbakke. earl sigurd killed melbridge tooth, a scotch earl, and hung his head to his stirrup-leather; but the calf of his leg were scratched by the teeth, which were sticking out from the head, and the wound caused inflammation in his leg, of which the earl died, and he was laid in a mound at ekkjalsbakke. his son guthorm ruled over these countries for about a year thereafter, and died without children. many vikings, both danes and northmen, set themselves down then in those countries. endnotes: (1) skerries are the uninhabited dry or halt-tide rocks of a coast.--l. 23. harald has his hair clipped. after king harald had subdued the whole land, he was one day at a feast in more, given by earl ragnvald. then king harald went into a bath, and had his hair dressed. earl ragnvald now cut his hair, which had been uncut and uncombed for ten years; and therefore the king had been called lufa (i.e., with rough matted hair). but then earl ragnvald gave him the distinguishing name--harald harfager (i.e., fair hair); and all who saw him agreed that there was the greatest truth in the surname, for he had the most beautiful and abundant head of hair. 24. rolf ganger driven into banishment. earl ragnvald was king harald's dearest friend, and the king had the greatest regard for him. he was married to hild, a daughter of rolf nefia, and their sons were rolf and thorer. earl ragnvald had also three sons by concubines,--the one called hallad, the second einar, the third hrollaug; and all three were grown men when their brothers born in marriage were still children rolf became a great viking, and was of so stout a growth that no horse could carry him, and wheresoever he went he must go on foot; and therefore he was called rolf ganger. he plundered much in the east sea. one summer, as he was coming from the eastward on a viking's expedition to the coast of viken, he landed there and made a cattle foray. as king harald happened, just at that time, to be in viken, he heard of it, and was in a great rage; for he had forbid, by the greatest punishment, the plundering within the bounds of the country. the king assembled a thing, and had rolf declared an outlaw over all norway. when rolf's mother, hild heard of it she hastened to the king, and entreated peace for rolf; but the king was so enraged that here entreaty was of no avail. then hild spake these lines:- "think'st thou, king harald, in thy anger, to drive away my brave rolf ganger like a mad wolf, from out the land? why, harald, raise thy mighty hand? why banish nefia's gallant name-son, the brother of brave udal-men? why is thy cruelty so fell? bethink thee, monarch, it is ill with such a wolf at wolf to play, who, driven to the wild woods away may make the king's best deer his prey." rolf ganger went afterwards over sea to the west to the hebrides, or sudreys; and at last farther west to valland, where he plundered and subdued for himself a great earldom, which he peopled with northmen, from which that land is called normandy. rolf ganger's son was william, father to richard, and grandfather to another richard, who was the father of robert longspear, and grandfather of william the bastard, from whom all the following english kings are descended. from rolf ganger also are descended the earls in normandy. queen ragnhild the mighty lived three years after she came to norway; and, after her death, her son and king harald's was taken to the herse thorer hroaldson, and eirik was fostered by him. 25. of the fin svase and king harald. king harald, one winter, went about in guest-quarters in the uplands, and had ordered a christmas feast to be prepared for him at the farm thoptar. on christmas eve came svase to the door, just as the king went to table, and sent a message to the king to ask if he would go out with him. the king was angry at such a message, and the man who had brought it in took out with him a reply of the king's displeasure. but svase, notwithstanding, desired that his message should be delivered a second time; adding to it, that he was the fin whose hut the king had promised to visit, and which stood on the other side of the ridge. now the king went out, and promised to go with him, and went over the ridge to his hut, although some of his men dissuaded him. there stood snaefrid, the daughter of svase, a most beautiful girl; and she filled a cup of mead for the king. but he took hold both of the cup and of her hand. immediately it was as if a hot fire went through his body; and he wanted that very night to take her to his bed. but svase said that should not be unless by main force, if he did not first make her his lawful wife. now king harald made snaefrid his lawful wife, and loved her so passionately that he forgot his kingdom, and all that belonged to his high dignity. they had four sons: the one was sigurd hrise; the others halfdan haleg, gudrod ljome and ragnvald rettilbeine. thereafter snaefrid died; but her corpse never changed, but was as fresh and red as when she lived. the king sat always beside her, and thought she would come to life again. and so it went on for three years that he was sorrowing over her death, and the people over his delusion. at last thorleif the wise succeeded, by his prudence, in curing him of his delusion by accosting him thus:--"it is nowise wonderful, king, that thou grievest over so beautiful and noble a wife, and bestowest costly coverlets and beds of down on her corpse, as she desired; but these honours fall short of what is due, as she still lies in the same clothes. it would be more suitable to raise her, and change her dress." as soon as the body was raised in the bed all sorts of corruption and foul smells came from it, and it was necessary in all haste to gather a pile of wood and burn it; but before this could be done the body turned blue, and worms, toads, newts, paddocks, and all sorts of ugly reptiles came out of it, and it sank into ashes. now the king came to his understanding again, threw the madness out of his mind, and after that day ruled his kingdom as before. he was strengthened and made joyful by his subjects, and his subjects by him and the country by both. 26. of thjodolf of hvin, the skald. after king harald had experienced the cunning of the fin woman, he was so angry that he drove from him the sons he had with her, and would not suffer them before his eyes. but one of them, gudrod ljome, went to his foster-father thjodolf of hvin, and asked him to go to the king, who was then in the uplands; for thjodolf was a great friend of the king. and so they went, and came to the king's house late in the evening, and sat down together unnoticed near the door. the king walked up and down the floor casting his eye along the benches; for he had a feast in the house, and the mead was just mixed. the king then murmured out these lines:- "tell me, ye aged gray-haired heroes, who have come here to seek repose, wherefore must i so many keep of such a set, who, one and all, right dearly love their souls to steep, from morn till night, in the mead-bowl?" then thjodolf replies:- "a certain wealthy chief, i think, would gladly have had more to drink with him, upon one bloody day, when crowns were cracked in our sword-play." thjodolf then took off his hat, and the king recognised him, and gave him a friendly reception. thjodolf then begged the king not to cast off his sons; "for they would with great pleasure have taken a better family descent upon the mother's side, if the king had given it to them." the king assented, and told him to take gudrod with him as formerly; and he sent halfdan and sigurd to ringerike, and ragnvald to hadaland, and all was done as the king ordered. they grew up to be very clever men, very expert in all exercises. in these times king harald sat in peace in the land, and the land enjoyed quietness and good crops. 27. of earl torfeinar's obtaining orkney. when earl ragnvald in more heard of the death of his brother earl sigurd, and that the vikings were in possession of the country, he sent his son hallad westward, who took the title of earl to begin with, and had many men-at-arms with him. when he arrived at the orkney islands, he established himself in the country; but both in harvest, winter, and spring, the vikings cruised about the isles plundering the headlands, and committing depredations on the coast. then earl hallad grew tired of the business, resigned his earldom, took up again his rights as an allodial owner, and afterwards returned eastward into norway. when earl ragnvald heard of this he was ill pleased with hallad, and said his son were very unlike their ancestors. then said einar, "i have enjoyed but little honour among you, and have little affection here to lose: now if you will give me force enough, i will go west to the islands, and promise you what at any rate will please you--that you shall never see me again." earl ragnvald replied, that he would be glad if he never came back; "for there is little hope," said he, "that thou will ever be an honour to thy friends, as all thy kin on thy mother's side are born slaves." earl ragnvald gave einar a vessel completely equipped, and he sailed with it into the west sea in harvest. when he came to the orkney isles, two vikings, thorer treskeg and kalf skurfa, were in his way with two vessels. he attacked them instantly, gained the battle, and slew the two vikings. then this was sung:- "then gave he treskeg to the trolls, torfeinar slew skurfa." he was called torfeinar, because he cut peat for fuel, there being no firewood, as in orkney there are no woods. he afterwards was earl over the islands, and was a mighty man. he was ugly, and blind of an eye, yet very sharp-sighted withal. 28. king eirik eymundson's death. duke guthorm dwelt principally at tunsberg, and governed the whole of viken when the king was not there. he defended the land, which, at that time, was much plundered by the vikings. there were disturbances also up in gautland as long as king eirik eymundson lived; but he died when king harald harfager had been ten years king of all norway. 29. guthorm's death in tunsberg. after eirik, his son bjorn was king of svithjod for fifty years. he was father of eirik the victorious, and of olaf the father of styrbjorn. guthorm died on a bed of sickness at tunsberg, and king harald gave his son guthorm the government of that part of his dominions and made him chief of it. 30. earl ragnvald burnt in his house. when king harald was forty years of age many of his sons were well advanced, and indeed they all came early to strength and manhood. and now they began to take it ill that the king would not give them any part of the kingdom, but put earls into every district; for they thought earls were of inferior birth to them. then halfdan haleg and gudrod ljome set off one spring with a great force, and came suddenly upon earl ragnvald, earl of more, and surrounded the house in which he was, and burnt him and sixty men in it. thereafter halfdan took three long-ships, and fitted them out, and sailed into the west sea; but gudrod set himself down in the land which ragnvald formerly had. now when king harald heard this he set out with a great force against gudrod, who had no other way left but to surrender, and he was sent to agder. king harald then set earl ragnvald's son thorer over more, and gave him his daughter alof, called arbot, in marriage. earl thorer, called the silent, got the same territory his father earl ragnvald had possessed. 31. halfdan haleg's death. halfdan haleg came very unexpectedly to orkney, and earl einar immediately fled; but came back soon after about harvest time, unnoticed by halfdan. they met and after a short battle halfdan fled the same night. einar and his men lay all night without tents, and when it was light in the morning they searched the whole island and killed every man they could lay hold of. then einar said "what is that i see upon the isle of rinansey? is it a man or a bird? sometimes it raises itself up, and sometimes lies down again." they went to it, and found it was halfdan haleg, and took him prisoner. earl einar sang the following song the evening before he went into this battle:- "where is the spear of hrollaug? where is stout rolf ganger's bloody spear! i see them not; yet never fear, for einar will not vengeance spare against his father's murderers, though hrollaug and rolf are somewhat slow, and silent thorer sits add dreams at home, beside the mead-bowl's streams." thereafter earl einar went up to halfdan, and cut a spread eagle upon his back, by striking his sword through his back into his belly, dividing his ribs from the backbone down to his loins, and tearing out his lungs; and so halfdan was killed. einar then sang:- "for ragnvald's death my sword is red: of vengeance it cannot be said that einar's share is left unsped. so now, brave boys, let's raise a mound,- heap stones and gravel on the ground o'er halfdan's corpse: this is the way we norsemen our scat duties pay." then earl einar took possession of the orkney isles as before. now when these tidings came to norway, halfdan's brothers took it much to heart, and thought that his death demanded vengeance; and many were of the same opinion. when einar heard this, he sang:- "many a stout udal-man, i know, has cause to wish my head laid low; and many an angry udal knife would gladly drink of eina's life. but ere they lay earl einar low,- ere this stout heart betrays its cause, full many a heart will writhe, we know, in the wolf's fangs, or eagle's claws." 32. harald and einar reconciled. king harald now ordered a levy, and gathered a great force, with which he proceeded westward to orkney; and when earl einar heard that king harald was come, he fled over to caithness. he made the following verses on this occasion:- "many a bearded man must roam, an exile from his house and home, for cow or horse; but halfdan's gore is red on rinansey's wild shore. a nobler deed--on harald's shield the arm of one who ne'er will yield has left a scar. let peasants dread the vengeance of the norsemen's head: i reck not of his wrath, but sing, 'do thy worst!--i defy thee, king!--'" men and messages, however, passed between the king and the earl, and at last it came to a conference; and when they met the earl submitted the case altogether to the king's decision, and the king condemned the earl einar and the orkney people to pay a fine of sixty marks of gold. as the bondes thought this was too heavy for them to pay, the earl offered to pay the whole if they would surrender their udal lands to him. this they all agreed to do: the poor because they had but little pieces of land; the rich because they could redeem their udal rights again when they liked. thus the earl paid the whole fine to the king, who returned in harvest to norway. the earls for a long time afterwards possessed all the udal lands in orkney, until sigurd son of hlodver gave back the udal rights. 33. death of guthorm and halfdan the white. while king harald's son guthorm had the defence of viken, he sailed outside of the islands on the coast, and came in by one of the mouths of the tributaries of the gaut river. when he lay there solve klofe came upon him, and immediately gave him battle, and guthorm fell. halfdan the white and halfdan the black went out on an expedition, and plundered in the east sea, and had a battle in eistland, where halfdan the white fell. 34. marriage of eirik. eirik, harald's son, was fostered in the house of the herse thorer, son of hroald, in the fjord district. he was the most beloved and honoured by king harald of all his sons. when eirik was twelve years old, king harald gave him five long-ships, with which he went on an expedition,--first in the baltic; then southwards to denmark, friesland, and saxland; on which expedition he passed four years. he then sailed out into the west sea and plundered in scotland, bretland, ireland, and valland, and passed four years more in this way. then he sailed north to finmark, and all the way to bjarmaland, where he had many a battle, and won many a victory. when he came back to finmark, his men found a girl in a lapland hut, whose equal for beauty they never had seen. she said her name was gunhild, and that her father dwelt in halogaland, and was called ozur tote. "i am here," she said, "to learn sorcery from two of the most knowing fins in all finmark, who are now out hunting. they both want me in marriage. they are so skilful that they can hunt out traces either upon the frozen or the thawed earth, like dogs; and they can run so swiftly on skees that neither man nor beast can come near them in speed. they hit whatever they take aim at, and thus kill every man who comes near them. when they are angry the very earth turns away in terror, and whatever living thing they look upon then falls dead. now ye must not come in their way; but i will hide you here in the hut, and ye must try to get them killed." they agreed to it, and she hid them, and then took a leather bag, in which they thought there were ashes which she took in her hand, and strewed both outside and inside of the hut. shortly after the fins came home, and asked who had been there; and she answered, "nobody has been here." "that is wonderful," said they, "we followed the traces close to the hut, and can find none after that." then they kindled a fire, and made ready their meat, and gunhild prepared her bed. it had so happened that gunhild had slept the three nights before, but the fins had watched the one upon the other, being jealous of each other. "now," she said to the fins, "come here, and lie down one on each side of me." on which they were very glad to do so. she laid an arm round the neck of each and they went to sleep directly. she roused them up; but they fell to sleep again instantly, and so soundly the she scarcely could waken them. she even raised them up in the bed, and still they slept. thereupon she too two great seal-skin bags, and put their heads in them, and tied them fast under their arms; and then she gave a wink to the king's men. they run forth with their weapons, kill the two fins, and drag them out of the hut. that same night came such a dreadful thunder-storm that the could not stir. next morning they came to the ship, taking gunhild with them, and presented her to eirik. eirik and his followers then sailed southwards to halogaland and he sent word to ozur tote, the girl's father, to meet him. eirik said he would take his daughter in marriage, to which ozur tote consented, and eirik took gunhild and went southwards with her (a.d. 922). 35. harald divides his kingdom. when king harald was fifty years of age many of his sons were grown up, and some were dead. many of them committed acts of great violence in the country, and were in discord among themselves. they drove some of the king's earls out of their properties, and even killed some of them. then the king called together a numerous thing in the south part of the country, and summoned to it all the people of the uplands. at this thing he gave to all his sons the title of king, and made a law that his descendants in the male line should each succeed to the kingly title and dignity; but his descendants by the female side only to that of earl. and he divided the country among them thus:--vingulmark, raumarike, vestfold and thelamark, he bestowed on olaf, bjorn, sigtryg, frode, and thorgils. hedemark and gudbrandsdal he gave to dag, hring, and ragnar. to snaefrid's sons he gave ringerike, hadeland, thoten, and the lands thereto belonging. his son guthorm, as before mentioned, he had set over the country from glommen to svinasund and ranrike. he had set him to defend the country to the east, as before has been written. king harald himself generally dwelt in the middle of the country, and hrorek and gudrod were generally with his court, and had great estates in hordaland and in sogn. king eirik was also with his father king harald; and the king loved and regarded him the most of all his sons, and gave him halogaland and north more, and raumsdal. north in throndhjem he gave halfdan the black, halfdan the white, and sigrod land to rule over. in each of these districts he gave his sons the one half of his revenues, together with the right to sit on a high-seat,--a step higher than earls, but a step lower than his own high-seat. his king's seat each of his sons wanted for himself after his death, but he himself destined it for eirik. the throndhjem people wanted halfdan the black to succeed to it. the people of viken, and the uplands, wanted those under whom they lived. and thereupon new quarrels arose among the brothers; and because they thought their dominions too little, they drove about in piratical expeditions. in this way, as before related, guthorm fell at the mouth of the gaut river, slain by solve klofe; upon which olaf took the kingdom he had possessed. halfdan the white fell in eistland, halfdan haleg in orkney. king harald gave ships of war to thorgils and frode, with which they went westward on a viking cruise, and plundered in scotland, ireland, and bretland. they were the first of the northmen who took dublin. it is said that frode got poisoned drink there; but thorgils was a long time king over dublin, until he fell into a snare of the irish, and was killed. 36. death of ragnvald rettilbeine. eirik blood-axe expected to be head king over all his brothers and king harald intended he should be so; and the father and son lived long together. ragnvald rettilbeine governed hadaland, and allowed himself to be instructed in the arts of witchcraft, and became an area warlock. now king harald was a hater of all witchcraft. there was a warlock in hordaland called vitgeir; and when the king sent a message to him that he should give up his art of witchcraft, he replied in this verse:- "the danger surely is not great from wizards born of mean estate, when harald's son in hadeland, king ragnvald, to the art lays hand." but when king harald heard this, king eirik blood-axe went by his orders to the uplands, and came to hadeland and burned his brother ragnvald in a house, along with eighty other warlocks; which work was much praised. 37. death of gudrod ljome. gudrod ljome was in winter on a friendly visit to his foster-father thjodolf in hvin, and had a well-manned ship, with which he wanted to go north to rogaland. it was blowing a heavy storm at the time; but gudrod was bent on sailing, and would not consent to wait. thjodolf sang thus:- "wait, gudrod, till the storm is past,- loose not thy long-ship while the blast howls over-head so furiously,- trust not thy long-ship to the sea,- loose not thy long-ship from the shore; hark to the ocean's angry roar! see how the very stones are tost by raging waves high on the coast! stay, gudrod, till the tempest's o'er- deep runs the sea off the jadar's shore." gudrod set off in spite of what thjodolf could say: and when they came off the jadar the vessel sunk with them, and all on board were lost. 38. king bjorn kaupman's death. king harald's son, bjorn, ruled over vestfold at that time, and generally lived at tunsberg, and went but little on war expeditions. tunsberg at that time was much frequented by merchant vessels, both from viken and the north country, and also from the south, from denmark, and saxland. king bjorn had also merchant ships on voyages to other lands, by which he procured for himself costly articles, and such things as he thought needful; and therefore his brothers called him farman (the seaman), and kaupman (the chapman). bjorn was a man of sense and understanding, and promised to become a good ruler. he made a good and suitable marriage, and had a son by his wife, who was named gudrod. eirik blood-axe came from his baltic cruise with ships of war, and a great force, and required his brother bjorn to deliver to him king harald's share of the scat and incomes of vestfold. but it had always been the custom before, that bjorn himself either delivered the money into the king's hands, or sent men of his own with it; and therefore he would continue with the old custom, and would not deliver the money. eirik again wanted provisions, tents, and liquor. the brothers quarrelled about this; but eirik got nothing and left the town. bjorn went also out of the town towards evening up to saeheim. in the night eirik came back after bjorn, and came to saeheim just as bjorn and his men were seated at table drinking. eirik surrounded the house in which they were; but bjorn with his men went out and fought. bjorn, and many men with him, fell. eirik, on the other hand, got a great booty, and proceeded northwards. but this work was taken very ill by the people of viken, and eirik was much disliked for it; and the report went that king olaf would avenge his brother bjorn, whenever opportunity offered. king bjorn lies in the mound of farmanshaug at saeheim. 39. reconciliation of the kings. king eirik went in winter northwards to more, and was at a feast in solve, within the point agdanes; and when halfdan the black heard of it he set out with his men, and surrounded the house in which they were. eirik slept in a room which stood detached by itself, and he escaped into the forest with four others; but halfdan and his men burnt the main house, with all the people who were in it. with this news eirik came to king harald, who was very wroth at it, and assembled a great force against the throndhjem people. when halfdan the black heard this he levied ships and men, so that he had a great force, and proceeded with it to stad, within thorsbjerg. king harald lay with his men at reinsletta. now people went between them, and among others a clever man called guthorm sindre, who was then in halfdan the black's army, but had been formerly in the service of king harald, and was a great friend of both. guthorm was a great skald, and had once composed a song both about the father and the son, for which they had offered him a reward. but he would take nothing; but only asked that, some day or other, they should grant him any request he should make, which they promised to do. now he presented himself to king harald, brought words of peace between them, and made the request to them both that they should be reconciled. so highly did the king esteem him, that in consequence of his request they were reconciled. many other able men promoted this business as well as he; and it was so settled that halfdan should retain the whole of his kingdom as he had it before, and should let his brother eirik sit in peace. after this event jorun, the skald-maid, composed some verses in "sendibit" ("the biting message"):- "i know that harald fairhair knew the dark deed of halfdan. to harald halfdan seemed angry and cruel." 40. birth of hakon the good. earl hakon grjotgardson of hlader had the whole rule over throndhjem when king harald was anywhere away in the country; and hakon stood higher with the king than any in the country of throndhjem. after hakon's death his son sigurd succeeded to his power in throndhjem, and was the earl, and had his mansion at hlader. king harald's sons, halfdan the black and sigrod, who had been before in the house of his father earl hakon, continued to be brought up in his house. the sons of harald and sigurd were about the same age. earl sigurd was one of the wisest men of his time, and married bergljot, a daughter of earl thorer the silent; and her mother was alof arbot, a daughter of harald harfager. when king harald began to grow old he generally dwelt on some of his great farms in hordaland; namely, alreksstader or saeheim, fitjar, utstein, or ogvaldsnes in the island kormt. when harald was seventy years of age he begat a son with a girl called thora mosterstang, because her family came from moster. she was descended from good people, being connected with kare (aslakson) of hordaland; and was moreover a very stout and remarkably handsome girl. she was called the king's servant-girl; for at that time many were subject to service to the king who were of good birth, both men and women. then it was the custom, with people of consideration, to choose with great care the man who should pour water over their children, and give them a name. now when the time came that thora, who was then at moster, expected her confinement, she would to king harald, who was then living at saeheim; and she went northwards in a ship belonging to earl sigurd. they lay at night close to the land; and there thora brought forth a child upon the land, up among the rocks, close to the ship's gangway, and it was a man child. earl sigurd poured water over him, and called him hakon, after his own father, hakon earl of hlader. the boy soon grew handsome, large in size, and very like his father king harald. king harald let him follow his mother, and they were both in the king's house as long as he was an infant. 41. king athelstan's message at this time a king called aethelstan had taken the kingdom of england. he was called victorious and faithful. he sent men to norway to king harald, with the errand that the messengers should present him with a sword, with the hilt and handle gilt, and also the whole sheath adorned with gold and silver, and set with precious jewels. the ambassador presented the sword-hilt to the king, saying, "here is a sword which king athelstan sends thee, with the request that thou wilt accept it." the king took the sword by the handle; whereupon the ambassador said, "now thou hast taken the sword according to our king's desire, and therefore art thou his subject as thou hast taken his sword." king harald saw now that this was an insult, for he would be subject to no man. but he remembered it was his rule, whenever anything raised his anger, to collect himself, and let his passion run off, and then take the matter into consideration coolly. now he did so, and consulted his friends, who all gave him the advice to let the ambassadors, in the first place, go home in safety. 42. hauk's journey to england. the following summer king harald sent a ship westward to england, and gave the command of it to hauk habrok. he was a great warrior, and very dear to the king. into his hands he gave his son hakon. hank proceeded westward in england, and found king athelstan in london, where there was just at the time a great feast and entertainment. when they came to the hall, hauk told his men how they should conduct themselves; namely, that he who went first in should go last out, and all should stand in a row at the table, at equal distance from each other; and each should have his sword at his left side, but should fasten his cloak so that his sword should not be seen. then they went into the hall, thirty in number. hauk went up to the king and saluted him, and the king bade him welcome. then hauk took the child hakon, and set it on the king's knee. the king looks at the boy, and asks hauk what the meaning of this is. hauk replies, "herald the king bids thee foster his servant-girl's child." the king was in great anger, and seized a sword which lay beside him, and drew it, as if he was going to kill the child. hauk says, "thou hast borne him on thy knee, and thou canst murder him if thou wilt; but thou wilt not make an end of all king harald's sons by so doing." on that hauk went out with all his men, and took the way direct to his ship, and put to sea,--for they were ready,--and came back to king harald. the king was highly pleased with this; for it is the common observation of all people, that the man who fosters another's children is of less consideration than the other. from these transactions between the two kings, it appears that each wanted to be held greater than the other; but in truth there was no injury, to the dignity of either, for each was the upper king in his own kingdom till his dying day. 43. hakon, the foster-son of athelstan, is baptized. king athelstan had hakon baptized, and brought up in the right faith, and in good habits, and all sorts of good manners, and he loved hakon above all his relations; and hakon was beloved by all men. he was henceforth called athelstan's foster-son. he was an accomplished skald, and he was larger, stronger and more beautiful than other men; he was a man of understanding and eloquence, and also a good christian. king athelstan gave hakon a sword, of which the hilt and handle were gold, and the blade still better; for with it hakon cut down a mill-stone to the centre eye, and the sword thereafter was called the quernbite (1). better sword never came into norway, and hakon carried it to his dying day. endnotes: (1) quern is the name of the small hand mill-stones still found. in use among the cottars in orkney, shetland, and the hebrides. this sword is mentioned in the younger edda. there were many excellent swords in the olden time, and many of them had proper names. 44. eirik brought to the sovereignty. when king harald was eighty years of age (a.d. 930) he became very heavy, and unable to travel through the country, or do the business of a king. then he brought his son eirik to his high-seat, and gave him the power and command over the whole land. now when king harald's other sons heard this, king halfdan the black also took a king's high-seat, and took all throndhjem land, with the consent of all the people, under his rule as upper king. after the death of bjorn the chapman, his brother olaf took the command over vestfold, and took bjorn's son, gudrod, as his foster-child. olaf's son was called trygve; and the two foster-brothers were about the same age, and were hopeful and clever. trygve, especially, was remarkable as a stout and strong man. now when the people of viken heard that those of hordaland had taken eirik as upper king, they did the same, and made olaf the upper king in viken, which kingdom he retained. eirik did not like this at all. two years after this, halfdan the black died suddenly at a feast in throndhjem and the general report was that gunhild had bribed a witch to give him a death-drink. thereafter the throndhjem people took sigrod to be their king. 45. king harald's death. king harald lived three years after he gave eirik the supreme authority over his kingdom, and lived mostly on his great farms which he possessed, some in rogaland, and some in hordaland. eirik and gunhild had a son on whom king harald poured water, and gave him his own name, and the promise that he should be king after his father eirik. king harald married most of his daughters within the country to his earls, and from them many great families are descended. harald died on a bed of sickness in hogaland (a.d. 933), and was buried under a mound at haugar in karmtsund. in haugesund is a church, now standing; and not far from the churchyard, at the north-west side, is king harald harfager's mound; but his grave-stone stands west of the church, and is thirteen feet and a half high, and two ells broad. one stone was set at head and one at the feet; on the top lay the slab, and below on both sides were laid small stones. the grave, mound, and stone, are there to the present day. harald harfager was, according to the report of men of knowledge, or remarkably handsome appearance, great and strong, and very generous and affable to his men. he was a great warrior in his youth; and people think that this was foretold by his mother's dream before his birth, as the lowest part of the tree she dreamt of was red as blood. the stem again was green and beautiful, which betokened his flourishing kingdom; and that the tree was white at the top showed that he should reach a grey-haired old age. the branches and twigs showed forth his posterity, spread over the whole land; for of his race, ever since. norway has always had kings. 46. the death of olaf and of sigrod. king eirik took all the revenues (a.d. 934), which the king had in the middle of the country, the next winter after king harald's decease. but olaf took all the revenues eastward in viken, and their brother sigrod all that of the throndhjem country. eirik was very ill pleased with this; and the report went that he would attempt with force to get the sole sovereignty over the country, in the same way as his father had given it to him. now when olaf and sigrod heard this, messengers passed between them; and after appointing a meeting place, sigrod went eastward in spring to viken, and he and his brother olaf met at tunsberg, and remained there a while. the same spring (a.d. 934), king eirik levied a great force, and ships and steered towards viken. he got such a strong steady gale that he sailed night and day, and came faster than the news of him. when he came to tunsberg, olaf and sigrod, with their forces, went out of the town a little eastward to a ridge, where they drew up their men in battle order; but as eirik had many more men he won the battle. both brothers, olaf and sigrod, fell there; and both their grave-mounds are upon the ridge where they fell. then king eirik went through viken, and subdued it, and remained far into summer. gudrod and trygve fled to the uplands. eirik was a stout handsome man, strong, and very manly,--a great and fortunate man of war; but bad-minded, gruff, unfriendly, and silent. gunhild, his wife, was the most beautiful of women,--clever, with much knowledge, and lively; but a very false person, and very cruel in disposition. the children of king eirik and gunhild were, gamle, the oldest; then guthorm, harald, ragnfrod, ragnhild, erling, gudrod, and sigurd sleva. all were handsome, and of manly appearance (1). endnotes: (1) of eirik, his wife, and children, see the following sagas. hakon the good's saga. preliminary remarks. of eirik blood-axe's five years' reign snorre has no separate saga. he appears not to have been beloved by the people and his queen gunhild seems to have had a bad influence on him. other accounts of hakon may be found in "fagrskinna" (chaps. 25-34), "agrip", "historia", "norvegiae", and in "thjodrek" (chap. 4). the reader is also referred to "saxo", "egla", "laxdaela", "kormaks saga", "gisle surssons saga", "halfred's saga", "floamanna saga", "viga glum's saga", and to "landnamabok". skald mentioned in this saga are:--glum geirason, thord sjarekson, guthorm sindre, kormak ogmundson, and eyvind skaldaspiller. in the "egla" are found many poems belonging to this epoch by egil skallagrimson. in "fagrskinna" is found a poem (not given by snorre) which gunhild (his wife) had made on king eirik after his death, telling how odin welcomed him to valhal. the author or skald who composed it is not known, but it is considered to be one of the gems of old norse poetry, and we here quote it in vigfusson's translation in his "corpus poeticum", vol. i. pp. 260, 261. gudbrand vigfusson has filled up a few gaps from "hakonarmat", the poem at the end of this saga. we have changed vigfusson's orthography of names, and brought them into harmony with the spelling used in this work:--ed. "odin wakes in the morning and cries, as he opens his eyes, with his dream still fresh in his mind:--'what dreams are these? i thought i arose before daybreak to make valhal ready for a host of slain. i woke up the host of the chosen. i bade them ride up to strew the benches, and to till up the beer-vats, and i bade valkyries to bear the wine, as if a king were coming. i look for the coming of some noble chiefs from the earth, wherefore my heart is glad.' "brage, odin's counsellor, now wakes, as a great din is heard without, and calls out:--'what is that thundering? as if a thousand men or some great host were tramping on--the walls and the benches are creaking withal--as if balder was coming back to the ball of odin?' "odin answers:--'surely thou speakest foolishly, good brage, although thou art very wise. it thunders for eirik the king, that is coming to the hall of odin.' "then turning to his heroes, he cries:--'sigmund and sinfjotle, rise in haste and go forth to meet the prince! bid him in if it be eirik, for it is he whom i look for.' "sigmund answers:--'why lookest thou more for eirik, the king, to odin's hall, than for other kings?' "odin answers:--'because he has reddened his brand, and borne his bloody sword in many a land.' "quoth sigmund:--'why didst thou rob him, the chosen king of victory then, seeing thou thoughtest him so brave?' "odin answered:--'because it is not surely to be known, when the grey wolf shall come upon the seat of the god.' second scene.--without valhal. sigmund and sinfjotle go outside the hall and meet eirik. "quoth sigmund:--'hail to thee, eirik, be welcome here, and come into the hall, thou gallant king! now i will ask thee, what kings are these that follow thee from the clash of the sword edges?' "eirik answers:--'they are five kings; i will tell thee all their names; i myself am the sixth (the names followed in the song, whereof the rest is lost.) "fagrskinna" says "hakonarmal" was the model of this poem. 1. hakon chosen king. hakon, athelstan's foster-son, was in england at the time (a.d. 934) he heard of his father king harald's death, and he immediately made himself ready to depart. king athelstan gave him men, and a choice of good ships, and fitted him out for his journey most excellently. in harvest time he came to norway, where he heard of the death of his brothers, and that king eirik was then in viken. then hakon sailed northwards to throndhjem, where he went to sigurd earl of hlader who was the ablest man in norway. he gave hakon a good reception; and they made a league with each other, by which hakon promised great power to sigurd if he was made king. they assembled then a numerous thing, and sigurd the earl recommended hakon's cause to the thing, and proposed him to the bondes as king. then hakon himself stood up and spoke; and the people said to each other, two and two, as they heard him, "herald harfager is come again, grown and young." the beginning of hakon's speech was, that he offered himself to the bondes as king, and desired from them the title of king, and aid and forces to defend the kingdom. he promised, on the other hand, to make all the bondes udal-holders, and give every man udal rights to the land he lived on. this speech met such joyful applause, that the whole public cried and shouted that they would take him to be king. and so it was that the throndhjem people took hakon, who was then fifteen years old, for king; and he took a court or bodyguard, and servants, and proceeded through the country. the news reached the uplands that the people in throndhjem had taken to themselves a king, who in every respect was like king harald harfager,--with the difference, that harald had made all the people of the land vassals, and unfree; but this hakon wished well to every man, and offered the bondes to give them their udal rights again, which harald had taken from them. all were rejoiced at this news, and it passed from mouth to mouth,--it flew, like fire in dry grass, through the whole land, and eastward to the land's end. many bondes came from the uplands to meet king hakon. some sent messengers, some tokens; and all to the same effect--that his men they would be: and the king received all thankfully. 2. king hakon's progress through the country. early in winter (935), the king went to the uplands, and summoned the people to a thing; and there streamed all to him who could come. he was proclaimed king at every thing; and then he proceeded eastward to viken, where his brother's sons, trygve and gudrod, and many others, came unto him, and complained of the sorrow and evil his brother eirik had wrought. the hatred to king eirik grew more and more, the more liking all men took to king hakon; and they got more boldness to say what they thought. king hakon gave trygve and gudrod the title of kings, and the dominions which king harald had bestowed on their fathers. trygve got ranrike and vingulmark, and gudrod, vestfold; but as they were young, and in the years of childhood, he appointed able men to rule the land for them. he gave them the country on the same conditions as it had been given before,--that they should have half of the scat and revenues with him. towards spring king hakon returned north, over the uplands, to throndhjem. 3. eirik's departure from the country. king hakon, early in spring, collected a great army at throndhjem, and fitted out ships. the people of viken also had a great force on foot, and intended to join hakon. king eirik also levied people in the middle of the country; but it went badly with him to gather people, for the leading men left him, and went over to hakon. as he saw himself not nearly strong enough to oppose hakon, he sailed (a.d. 935) out to the west sea with such men as would follow him. he first sailed to orkney, and took many people with him from that country; and then went south towards england, plundering in scotland, and in the north parts of england, wherever he could land. athelstan, the king of england, sent a message to eirik, offering him dominions under him in england; saying that king harald his father was a good friend of king athelstan, and therefore he would do kindly towards his sons. messengers passed between the two kings; and it came to an agreement that king eirik should take northumberland as a fief from king athelstan, and which land he should defend against the danes or other vikings. eirik should let himself be baptized, together with his wife and children, and all the people who had followed him. eirik accepted this offer, and was baptized, and adopted the right faith. northumberland is called a fifth part of england. eirik had his residence at york, where lodbrok's sons, it was said, had formerly been, and northumberland was principally inhabited by northmen. since lodbrok's sons had taken the country, danes and northmen often plundered there, when the power of the land was out of their hands. many names of places in the country are norwegian; as grimsby, haukfliot, and many others. 4. eirik's death. king eirik had many people about him, for he kept many northmen who had come with him from the east; and also many of his friends had joined him from norway. but as he had little land, he went on a cruise every summer, and plundered in scotland, the hebrides, ireland, and bretland, by which he gathered property. king athelstan died on a sick bed, after a reign of fourteen years, eight weeds, and three days. after him his brother jatmund was king of england, and he was no friend to the northmen. king eirik, also, was in no great favour with him; and the word went about that king jatmund would set another chief over northumberland. now when king eirik heard this, he set off on a viking cruise to the westward; and from the orkneys took with him the earls arnkel and erlend, the sons of earl torfeinar. then he sailed to the hebrides, where there were many vikings and troop-kings, who joined their men to his. with all this force he steered to ireland first, where he took with him all the men he could, and then to bretland, and plundered; and sailed thereafter south to england, and marauded there as elsewhere. the people fled before him wherever he appeared. as king eirik was a bold warrior, and had a great force, he trusted so much to his people that he penetrated far inland in the country, following and plundering the fugitives. king jatmund had set a king, who was called olaf, to defend the land; and he gathered an innumerable mass of people, with whom he marched against king eirik. a dreadful battle ensued, in which many englishmen fell; but for one who fell came three in his place out of the country behind, and when evening came on the loss of men turned on the side of the northmen, and many people fell. towards the end of the day, king eirik and five kings with him fell. three of them were guthorm and his two sons, ivar and harek: there fell, also, sigurd and ragnvald; and with them torfeinar's two sons, arnkel and erlend. besides these, there was a great slaughter of northmen; and those who escaped went to northumberland, and brought the news to gunhild and her sons (a.d. 941). 5. gunhild and her sons. when gunhild and her sons knew for certain that king eirik had fallen, after having plundered the land of the king of england, they thought there was no peace to be expected for them; and they made themselves ready to depart from northumberland, with all the ships king eirik had left, and all the men who would go with them. they took also all the loose property, and goods which they had gathered partly as taxes in england, partly as booty on their expeditions. with their army they first steered northward to orkney, where thorfin hausakljufer was earl, a son of torfeinar, and took up their station there for a time. eirik's sons subdued these islands and hjaltland, took scat for themselves, and staid there all the winter; but went on viking cruises in summer to the west, and plundered in scotland and ireland. about this glum geirason sings:- "the hero who knows well to ride the sea-horse o'er the foamingtide,- he who in boyhood wild rode o'er the seaman's horse to skanea's shore. and showed the danes his galley's bow, right nobly scours the ocean now. on scotland's coast he lights the brand of flaming war; with conquering hand drives many a scottish warrior tall to the bright seats in odin's hall. the fire-spark, by the fiend of war fanned to a flame, soon spreads afar. crowds trembling fly,--the southern foes fall thick beneath the hero's blows: the hero's blade drips red with gore, staining the green sward on the shore." 6. battle in jutland. when king eirik had left the country, king hakon, athelstan's foster-son, subdued the whole of norway. the first winter (a.d. 936) he visited the western parts, and then went north, and settled in throndhjem. but as no peace could be reasonably looked for so long as king eirik with his forces could come to norway from the west sea, he set himself with his men-at-arms in the middle of the country,--in the fjord district, or in sogn, or hordaland, or rogaland. hakon placed sigurd earl of hlader over the whole throradhjem district, as he and his father had before had it under harald harfager. when king hakon heard of his brother eirik's death, and also that his sons had no footing in england, he thought there was not much to fear from them, and he went with his troops one summer eastward to viken. at that time the danes plundered often in viken, and wrought much evil there; but when they heard that king hakon was come with a great army, they got out of the way, to halland; and those who were nearest to king hakon went out to sea, and over to jotland (jutland). when the king heard of this, he sailed after them with all his army. on arriving in jutland he plundered all round; and when the country people heard of it, they assembled in a great body, and determined to defend their land, and fight. there was a great battle; and king hakon fought so boldly, that he went forward before his banner without helmet or coat of mail. king hakon won the victory, and drove the fugitives far up the country. so says guthorm sindre, in his song of hakon:- "furrowing the deep-blue sea with oars, the king pursues to jutland's shores. they met; and in the battle storm of clashing shields, full many a form of goodly warrior on the plain, full many a corpse by hakon slain, glutted the ravens, who from far, scenting the banquet-feast of war, came in black flocks to jutland's plains to drink the blood-wine from the veins." 7. battle in eyrarsund (the sound). then hakon steered southwards with his fleet to seek the vikings, and so on to sealand. he rowed with two cutters into the eyrarsund, where he found eleven viking ships, and instantly attacked them. it ended in his gaining the victory, and clearing the viking ships of all their men. so says guthorm sindre:- "hakon the brave, whose skill all know to bend in battle storm the bow, rushed o'er the waves to sealand's tongue, his two war-ships with gilt shields hung, and cleared the decks with his blue sword that rules the fate of war, on board eleven ships of the vindland men.- famous is hakon's name since then." 8. king hakon's expedition to denmark. thereafter king hakon carried war far and wide in sealand; plundering some, slaying others, taking some prisoners of war, taking ransom from others, and all without opposition. then hakon proceeded along the coast of skane, pillaging everywhere, levying taxes and ransome from the country, and killing all vikings, both danish and vindish. he then went eastwards to the district of gautland, marauded there, and took great ransom from the country. so says guthorm sindre:- "hakon, who midst the battle shock stands like a firmly-rooted oak, subdued all sealand with the sword: from vindland vikings the sea-bord of scania swept; and, with the shield of odin clad, made gautland yield a ransom of the ruddy gold, which hakon to his war-men bold gave with free hand, who in his feud against the arrow-storm had stood." king hakon returned back in autumn with his army and an immense booty; and remained all the winter (a.d. 946) in viken to defend it against the danes and gautlanders, if they should attack it. 9. of king trygve. in the same winter king trygve olafson returned from a viking cruise in the west sea, having before ravaged in ireland and scotland. in spring (a.d. 946) king hakon went north, and set his brother's son, king trygve, over viken to defend that country against enemies. he gave him also in property all that he could reconquer of the country in denmark, which the summer before king hakon had subjected to payment of scat to him. so says guthorm:- "king hakon, whose sharp sword dyes red the bright steel cap on many a head, has set a warrior brave and stout the foreign foeman to keep out,- to keep that green land safe from war which black night bore to dwarf annar (1). for many a carle whose trade's to wield the battle-axe, and swing the shield, on the swan's ocean-skates has come, in white-winged ships, across the foam,- across the sea, from far ireland, to war against the norseman's land." endnotes: (1) the dwarf annar was the husband of night, and earth was their daughter.--l. 10. of gunhild s sons. king harald gormson ruled over denmark at that time. he took it much amiss that king hakon had made war in his dominions, and the report went that he would take revenge; but this did not take place so soon. when gunhild and her sons heard there was enmity between denmark and norway, they began to turn their course from the west. they married king eirik's daughter, ragnhild, to arnfin, a son of thorfin hausakljufer; and as soon as eirik's sons went away, thorfin took the earldom again over the orkney islands. gamle eirikson was somewhat older than the other brothers, but still he was not a grown man. when gunhild and her sons came from the westward to denmark, they were well received by king harald. he gave them great fiefs in his kingdom, so that they could maintain themselves and their men very well. he also took harald eirikson to be his foster-son, set him on his knee, and thereafter he was brought up at the danish king's court. some of eirik's sons went out on viking expeditions as soon as they were old enough, and gathered property, ravaging all around in the east sea. they grew up quickly to be handsome men, and far beyond their years in strength and perfection. glum geirason tells of one of them in the grafeld song:- "i've heard that, on the eastland coast, great victories were won and lost. the king, whose hand is ever graced with gift to skald, his banner placed on, and still on; while, midst the play of swords, sung sharp his good sword's sway as strong in arm as free of gold, he thinn'd the ranks of warriors bold." then eirik's sons turned northwards with their troops to viken and marauded there; but king trygve kept troops on foot with which he met them, and they had many a battle, in which the victory was sometimes on one side, and sometimes on the other. sometimes eirik's sons plundered in viken, and sometimes trygve in sealand and halland. 11. king hakon as a law-giver. as long as hakon was king in norway, there was good peace between the bondes and merchants; so that none did harm either to the life or goods of the other. good seasons also there were, both by sea and land. king hakon was of a remarkably cheerful disposition, clever in words, and very condescending. he was a man of great understanding also, and bestowed attention on law-giving. he gave out the gula-thing's laws on the advice of thorleif spake (the wise); also the frosta-thing's laws on the advice of earl sigurd, and of other throndhjem men of wisdom. eidsiva-thing laws were first established in the country by halfdan the black, as has before been written. 12. the birth of earl hakon the great. king hakon kept yule at throndhjem, and earl sigurd had made a feast for him at hlader. the night of the first day of yule the earl's wife, bergljot, was brought to bed of a boy-child, which afterwards king hakon poured water over, and gave him his own name. the boy grew up, and became in his day a mighty and able man, and was earl after his father, who was king hakon's dearest friend. 13. of eystein the bad. eystein, a king of the uplands, whom some called the great, and some the bad, once on a time made war in throndhjem, and subdued eyna district and sparbyggia district, and set his own son onund over them; but the throndhjem people killed him. then king eystein made another inroad into throndhjem, and ravaged the land far and wide, and subdued it. he then offered the people either his slave, who was called thorer faxe, or his dog, whose name was saur, to be their king. they preferred the dog, as they thought they would sooner get rid of him. now the dog was, by witchcraft, gifted with three men's wisdom; and when he barked, he spoke one word and barked two. a collar and chain of gold and silver were made for him, and his courtiers carried him on their shoulders when the weather or ways were foul. a throne was erected for him, and he sat upon a high place, as kings are used to sit. he dwelt on eyin idre (idre isle), and had his mansion in a place now called saurshaug. it is told that the occasion of his death was that the wolves one day broke into his fold, and his courtiers stirred him up to defend his cattle; but when he ran down from his mound, and attacked the wolves, they tore him into pieces. many other extraordinary things were done by this king eystein against the throndhjem people, and in consequence of this persecution and trouble, many chiefs and people fled and left their udal properties. 14. jamtaland and helsingjaland. ketil jamte, a son of earl onund of sparabu, went eastward across the mountain ridge, and with him a great multitude, who took all their farm-stock and goods with them. they cleared the woods, and established large farms, and settled the country afterwards called jamtaland. thorer helsing, ketil's grandson, on account of a murder, ran away from jamtaland and fled eastward through the forest, and settled there. many people followed, and that country, which extends eastward down to the seacoast, was called helsingjaland; and its eastern parts are inhabited by swedes. now when harald harfager took possession of the whole country many people fled before him, both people of throndhjem and of naumudal districts; and thus new settlers came to jamtaland, and some all the way to helsingjaland. the helsingjaland people travelled into svithiod for their merchandise, and thus became altogether subjects of that country. the jamtaland people, again, were in a manner between the two countries; and nobody cared about them, until hakon entered into friendly intercourse with jamtaland, and made friends of the more powerful people. then they resorted to him, and promised him obedience and payment of taxes, and became his subjects; for they saw nothing but what was good in him, and being of norwegian race they would rather stand under his royal authority than under the king of sweden: and he gave them laws, and rights to their land. all the people of helsingjaland did the same,--that is, all who were of norwegian race, from the other side of the great mountain ridge. 15. hakon spreads christianity. king hakon was a good christian when he came to norway; but as the whole country was heathen, with much heathenish sacrifice, and as many great people, as well as the favour of the common people, were to be conciliated, he resolved to practice his christianity in private. but he kept sundays, and the friday fasts, and some token of the greatest holy-days. he made a law that the festival of yule should begin at the same time as christian people held it, and that every man, under penalty, should brew a meal of malt into ale, and therewith keep the yule holy as long as it lasted. before him, the beginning of yule, or the slaughter night, was the night of mid-winter (dec. 14), and yule was kept for three days thereafter. it was his intent, as soon as he had set himself fast in the land, and had subjected the whole to his power, to introduce christianity. he went to work first by enticing to christianity the men who were dearest to him; and many, out of friendship to him, allowed themselves to be baptized, and some laid aside sacrifices. he dwelt long in the throndhjem district, for the strength of the country lay there; and when he thought that, by the support of some powerful people there, he could set up christianity he sent a message to england for a bishop and other teachers; and when they arrived in norway, hakon made it known that he would proclaim christianity over all the land. the people of more and raumsdal referred the matter to the people of throndhjem. king hakon then had several churches consecrated, and put priests into them; and when he came to throndhjem he summoned the bondes to a thing, and invited them to accept christianity. they gave an answer to the effect that they would defer the matter until the frosta-thing, at which there would be men from every district of the throndhjem country, and then they would give their determination upon this difficult matter. 16. about sacrifices. sigurd, earl of hlader, was one of the greatest men for sacrifices, and so had hakon his father been; and sigurd always presided on account of the king at all the festivals of sacrifice in the throndhjem country. it was an old custom, that when there was to be sacrifice all the bondes should come to the spot where the temple stood and bring with them all that they required while the festival of the sacrifice lasted. to this festival all the men brought ale with them; and all kinds of cattle, as well as horses, were slaughtered, and all the blood that came from them was called "hlaut", and the vessels in which it was collected were called hlaut-vessels. hlaut-staves were made, like sprinkling brushes, with which the whole of the altars and the temple walls, both outside and inside, were sprinkled over, and also the people were sprinkled with the blood; but the flesh was boiled into savoury meat for those present. the fire was in the middle of the floor of the temple, and over it hung the kettles, and the full goblets were handed across the fire; and he who made the feast, and was a chief, blessed the full goblets, and all the meat of the sacrifice. and first odin's goblet was emptied for victory and power to his king; thereafter, niord's and freyja's goblets for peace and a good season. then it was the custom of many to empty the brage-goblet (1); and then the guests emptied a goblet to the memory of departed friends, called the remembrance goblet. sigurd the earl was an open-handed man, who did what was very much celebrated; namely, he made a great sacrifice festival at hlader of which he paid all the expenses. kormak ogmundson sings of it in his ballad of sigurd:- "of cup or platter need has none the guest who seeks the generous one,- sigurd the generous, who can trace his lineage from the giant race; for sigurd's hand is bounteous, free,- the guardian of the temples he. he loves the gods, his liberal hand scatters his sword's gains o'er the land--" endnotes: (1) the brage-goblet, over which vows were made.--l. 17. the frosta-thing. king hakon came to the frosta-thing, at which a vast multitude of people were assembled. and when the thing was seated, the king spoke to the people, and began his speech with saying,--it was his message and entreaty to the bondes and householding men, both great and small, and to the whole public in general, young and old, rich and poor, women as well as men, that they should all allow themselves to be baptized, and should believe in one god, and in christ the son of mary and refrain from all sacrifices and heathen gods; and should keep holy the seventh day, and abstain from all work on it, and keep a fast on the seventh day. as soon as the king had proposed this to the bondes, great was the murmur and noise among the crowd. they complained that the king wanted to take their labour and their old faith from them, and the land could not be cultivated in that way. the labouring men and slaves thought that they could not work if they did not get meat; and they said it was the character of king hakon, and his father, and all the family, to be generous enough with their money, but sparing with their diet. asbjorn of medalhus in the gaulardal stood up, and answered thus to the king's proposal:-"we bondes, king hakon, when we elected thee to be our king, and got back our udal rights at the thing held in throndhjem, thought we had got into heaven; but now we don't know whether we have really got back our freedom, or whether thou wishest to make vassals of us again by this extraordinary proposal that we should abandon the ancient faith which our fathers and forefathers have held from the oldest times, in the times when the dead were burnt, as well as since that they are laid under mounds, and which, although they were braver than the people of our days, has served us as a faith to the present time. we have also held thee so dear, that we have allowed thee to rule and give law and right to all the country. and even now we bondes will unanimously hold by the law which thou givest us here in the frosta-thing, and to which we have also given our assent; and we will follow thee, and have thee for our king, as long as there is a living man among us bondes here in this thing assembled. but thou, king, must use some moderation towards us, and only require from us such things as we can obey thee in, and are not impossible for us. if, however, thou wilt take up this matter with a high hand, and wilt try thy power and strength against us, we bondes have resolved among ourselves to part with thee, and to take to ourselves some other chief, who will so conduct himself towards us that we can freely and safely enjoy that faith that suits our own inclinations. now, king, thou must choose one or other of these conditions before the thing is ended." the bondes gave loud applause to this speech, and said it expressed their will, and they would stand or fall by what had been spoken. when silence was again restored, earl sigurd said, "it is king hakon's will to give way to you, the bondes, and never to separate himself from your friendship." the bondes replied, that it was their desire that the king should offer a sacrifice for peace and a good year, as his father was want to do; and thereupon the noise and tumult ceased, and the thing was concluded. earl sigurd spoke to the king afterwards, and advised him not to refuse altogether to do as the people desired, saying there was nothing else for it but to give way to the will of the bondes; "for it is, as thou hast heard thyself, the will and earnest desire of the head-people, as well as of the multitude. hereafter we may find a good way to manage it." and in this resolution the king and earl agreed (a.d. 950). 18. king hakon offers sacrifices. the harvest thereafter, towards the winter season, there was a festival of sacrifice at hlader, and the king came to it. it had always been his custom before, when he was present at a place where there was sacrifice, to take his meals in a little house by himself, or with some few of his men; but the bondes grumbled that he did not seat himself in his high-seat at these the most joyous of the meetings of the people. the earl said that the king should do so this time. the king accordingly sat upon his high-seat. now when the first full goblet was filled, earl sigurd spoke some words over it, blessed it in odin's name, and drank to the king out of the horn; and the king then took it, and made the sign of the cross over it. then said kar of gryting, "what does the king mean by doing so? will he not sacrifice?" earl sigurd replies, "the king is doing what all of you do, who trust to your power and strength. he is blessing the full goblet in the name of thor, by making the sign of his hammer over it before he drinks it." on this there was quietness for the evening. the next day, when the people sat down to table, the bondes pressed the king strongly to eat of horse-flesh (1); and as he would on no account do so, they wanted him to drink of the soup; and as he would not do this, they insisted he should at least taste the gravy; and on his refusal they were going to lay hands on him. earl sigurd came and made peace among them, by asking the king to hold his mouth over the handle of the kettle, upon which the fat smoke of the boiled horse-flesh had settled itself; and the king first laid a linen cloth over the handle, and then gaped over it, and returned to the high-seat; but neither party was satisfied with this. endnotes: (1) this eating of horse-flesh at these religious festivals was considered the most direct proof of paganism in the following times, and was punished by death or mutilation by saint olaf. it was a ceremony apparently commemorative of their asiatic origin and ancestors. 19. feast of the sacrifice at more. the winter thereafter the king prepared a yule feast in more, and eight chiefs resolved with each other to meet at it. four of them were from without the throndhjem district--namely, kar of gryting, asbjorn of medalhus, thorberg of varnes, and orm from ljoxa; and from the throndhjem district, botolf of olvishaug, narfe of staf in veradal, thrand hak from egg, and thorer skeg from husaby in eyin idre. these eight men bound themselves, the four first to root out christianity in norway, and the four others to oblige the king to offer sacrifice to the gods. the four first went in four ships southwards to more, and killed three priests, and burnt three churches, and then they returned. now, when king hakon and earl sigurd came to more with their court, the bondes assembled in great numbers; and immediately, on the first day of the feast, the bondes insisted hard with the king that he should offer sacrifice, and threatened him with violence if he refused. earl sigurd tried to make peace between them, and brought it so far that the king took some bits of horse-liver, and emptied all the goblets the bondes filled for him without the sign of the cross; but as soon as the feast was over, the king and the earl returned to hlader. the king was very ill pleased, and made himself ready to leave throndhjem forthwith with all his people; saying that the next time he came to throndhjem, he would come with such strength of men-at-arms that he would repay the bondes for their enmity towards him. earl sigurd entreated the king not to take it amiss of the bondes; adding, that it was not wise to threaten them, or to make war upon the people within the country, and especially in the throndhjem district, where the strength of the land lay; but the king was so enraged that he would not listen to a word from anybody. he went out from throndhjem, and proceeded south to more, where he remained the rest of the winter, and on to the spring season (a.d. 950); and when summer came he assembled men, and the report was that he intended with this army to attack the throndhjem people. 20. battle at ogvaldsnes. but just as the king had embarked with a great force of troops, the news was brought him from the south of the country, that king eirik's sons had come from denmark to viken and had driven king trygve olafson from his ships at sotanes, and then had plundered far and wide around in viken, and that many had submitted to them. now when king hakon heard this news, he thought that help was needed; and he sent word to earl sigurd, and to the other chiefs from whom he could expect help, to hasten to his assistance. sigurd the earl came accordingly with a great body of men, among whom were all the throndhjem people who had set upon him the hardest to offer sacrifice; and all made their peace with the king, by the earl's persuasion. now king hakon sailed south along the coast; and when he came south as far as stad, he heard that eirik's sons were come to north agder. then they advanced against each other, and met at kormt. both parties left their ships there, and gave battle at ogvaldsnes. both parties had a great force, and it was a great battle. king hakon went forward bravely, and king guthorm eirikson met him with his troop, and they exchanged blows with each other. guthorm fell, and his standard was cut down. many people fell around him. the army of eirik's sons then took flight to their ships and rowed away with the loss of many a man. so says guthorm sindre:- "the king's voice waked the silent host who slept beside the wild sea-coast, and bade the song of spear and sword over the battle plain be heard. where heroes' shields the loudest rang, where loudest was the sword-blade's clang, by the sea-shore at kormt sound, hakon felled guthorm to the ground." now king hakon returned to his ships, and pursued gunhild's sons. and both parties sailed all they could sail, until they came to east adger, from whence eirik's sons set out to sea, and southwards for jutland (a.d. 950). guthorm sindre speaks of it in his song:- "and guthorm's brothers too, who know so skilfully to bend the bow, the conquering hand must also feel of hakon, god of the bright steel,- the sun-god, whose bright rays, that dart flame-like, are swords that pierce the heart. well i remember how the king hakon, the battle's life and spring, o'er the wide ocean cleared away eirik's brave sons. they durst not stay, but round their ships' sides hung their shields and fled across the blue sea-fields." king hakon returned then northwards to norway, but eirik's sons remained a long time in denmark. 21. king hakon's laws. king hakon after this battle made a law, that all inhabited land over the whole country along the sea-coast, and as far back from it as the salmon swims up in the rivers, should be divided into ship-raths according to the districts; and it was fixed by law how many ships there should be from each district, and how great each should be, when the whole people were called out on service. for this outfit the whole inhabitants should be bound whenever a foreign army came to the country. with this came also the order that beacons should be erected upon the hills, so that every man could see from the one to the other; and it is told that a war-signal could thus be given in seven days, from the most southerly beacon to the most northerly thing-seat in halogaland 22. concerning eirik's sons. eirik's sons plundered much on the baltic coasts and sometimes, as before related, in norway; but so long as hakon ruled over norway there was in general good peace, and good seasons, and he was the most beloved of kings. when hakon had reigned about twenty years in norway (a.d. 954), eirik's sons came from denmark with a powerful army, of which a great part consisted of the people who had followed them on their expeditions; but a still greater army of danes had been placed at their disposal by king harald gormson. they sailed with a fair wind from vendil, and came to agder; and then sailed northwards, night and day, along the coast. but the beacons were not fired, because it had been usual to look for them lighted from the east onwards, and nobody had observed them from the east coast; and besides king hakon had set heavy penalties for giving false alarm, by lighting the beacons without occasion. the reason of this was, that ships of war and vikings cruised about and plundered among the outlying islands, and the country people took them for eirik's sons, and lighted the beacons, and set the whole country in trouble and dread of war. sometimes, no doubt, the sons of eirik were there; but having only their own troops, and no danish army with them, they returned to denmark; and sometimes these were other vikings. king hakon was very angry at this, because it cost both trouble and money to no purpose. the bondes also suffered by these false alarms when they were given uselessly; and thus it happened that no news of this expedition of eirik's sons circulated through the land until they had come as far north as ulfasund, where they lay for seven days. then spies set off across eid and northwards to more. king hakon was at that time in the island frede, in north more, at a place called birkistrand, where he had a dwelling-house, and had no troops with him, only his bodyguard or court, and the neighbouring bondes he had invited to his house. 23. of egil ulserk. the spies came to king hakon, and told him that eirik's sons, with a great army, lay just to the south of stad. then he called together the most understanding of the men about him, and asked their opinion, whether he should fight with eirik's sons, although they had such a great multitude with them, or should set off northwards to gather together more men. now there was a bonde there, by name egil ulserk, who was a very old man, but in former days had been strong and stout beyond most men, and a hardy man-at-arms withal, having long carried king harald harfager's banner. egil answered thus to the king's speech,--"i was in several battles with thy father harald the king, and he gave battle sometimes with many, sometimes with few people; but he always came off with victory. never did i hear him ask counsel of his friends whether he should fly--and neither shalt thou get any such counsel from us, king; but as we know we have a brave leader, thou shalt get a trusty following from us." many others agreed with this speech, and the king himself declared he was most inclined to fight with such strength as they could gather. it was so determined. the king split up a war-arrow, which he sent off in all directions, and by that token a number of men was collected in all haste. then said egil ulserk,--"at one time the peace had lasted so long i was afraid i might come to die the death of old age (1), within doors upon a bed of straw, although i would rather fall in battle following my chief. and now it may so turn out in the end as i wished it to be." endnotes: (1) in all the sagas of this pagan time, the dying on a bed of sickness is mentioned as a kind of derogatory end of a man of any celebrity.--l. 24. battle at fredarberg. eirik's sons sailed northwards around stad; as soon as the wind suited; and when they had passed it, and heard where king hakon was, they sailed to meet him. king hakon had nine ships, with which he lay under fredarberg in feeysund; and eirik's sons had twenty ships, with which they brought up on the south side of the same cape, in feeysund. king hakon sent them a message, asking them to go upon the land; and telling them that he had hedged in with hazel boughs a place of combat at rastarkalf, where there is a flat large field, at the foot of a long and rather low ridge. then eirik's sons left their ships, and went northwards over the neck of land within fredarberg, and onward to rastarkalf. then egil asked king hakon to give him ten men with ten banners, and the king did so. then egil went with his men under the ridge; but king hakon went out upon the open field with his army, and set up his banner, and drew up his army, saying, "let us draw up in a long line, that they may not surround us, as they have the most men." and so it was done; and there was a severe battle, and a very sharp attack. then egil ulserk set up the ten banners he had with him, and placed the men who carried them so that they should go as near the summit of the ridge as possible, and leaving a space between each of them. they went so near the summit that the banners could be seen over it, and moved on as if they were coming behind the army of eirik's sons. now when the men who stood uppermost in the line of the troops of eirik's sons saw so many flying banners advancing high over the edge of the ridge, they supposed a great force must be following, who would come behind their army, and between them and their ships. they made each other acquainted with what was going on in a loud shout, and the whole took to flight; and when the king saw it, they fled with the rest. king hakon now pushes on briskly with his people, pursuing the flying, and killing many. 25. of king gamle. when gamle eirikson came up the ridge of the hill he turned round, and he observed that not more people were following than his men had been engaged with already, and he saw it was but a stratagem of war; so he ordered the war-horns to be blown, his banner to be set up, and he put his men in battle order. on this, all his northmen stood, and turned with him, but the danes fled to the ships; and when king hakon and his men came thither, there was again sharp conflict; but now hakon had most people. at last the eirik's sons' force fled, and took the road south about the hill; but a part of their army retreated upon the hill southwards, followed by king hakon. there is a flat field east of the ridge which runs westward along the range of hills, and is bounded on its west side by a steep ridge. gamle's men retreated towards this ground; but hakon followed so closely that he killed some, and others ran west over the ridge, and were killed on that side of it. king hakon did not part with them till the last man of them was killed. 26. king gamle and ulserk fall. gamle eirikson fled from the ridge down upon the plain to the south of the hill. there he turned himself again, and waited until more people gathered to him. all his brothers, and many troops of their men, assembled there. egil ulserk was in front, and in advance of hakon's men, and made a stout attack. he and king gamle exchanged blows with each other, and king gamle got a grievous wound; but egil fell, and many people with him. then came hakon the king with the troops which had followed him, and a new battle began. king hakon pushed on, cutting down men on both sides of him, and killing the one upon the top of the other. so sings guthorm sindre:- "scared by the sharp sword's singing sound, brandished in air, the foe gave ground. the boldest warrior cannot stand before king hakon's conquering hand; and the king's banner ever dies where the spear-forests thickest rise. altho' the king had gained of old enough of freyja's tears of gold (1), he spared himself no more than tho' he'd had no well-filled purse to show." when eirik's sons saw their men falling all round, they turned and fled to their ships; but those who had sought the ships before had pushed off some of them from the land, while some of them were still hauled up and on the strand. now the sons of eirik and their men plunged into the sea, and betook themselves to swimming. gamle eirikson was drowned; but the other sons of eirik reached their ships, and set sail with what men remained. they steered southwards to denmark, where they stopped a while, very ill satisfied with their expedition. endnotes: (1) freyja's husband was od; and her tears, when she wept at the long absence of her husband, were tears of gold. od's wife's tears is the skald's expression here for gold- understood, no doubt, as readily as any allusion to plutus would convey the equivalent meaning in modern poetry.--l. 27. egil ulserk's burial-ground. king hakon took all the ships of the sons of eirik that had been left upon the strand, and had them drawn quite up, and brought on the land. then he ordered that egil ulserk, and all the men of his army who had fallen, should be laid in the ships, and covered entirely over with earth and stones. king hakon made many of the ships to be drawn up to the field of battle, and the hillocks over them are to be seen to the present day a little to the south of fredarberg. at the time when king hakon was killed, when glum geirason, in his song, boasted of king hakon's fall, eyvind skaldaspiller composed these verses on this battle:- "our dauntless king with gamle's gore sprinkled his bright sword o'er and o'er: sprinkled the gag that holds the mouth of the fell demon fenriswolf (1). proud swelled our warriors' hearts when he drove eirik's sons out to the sea, with all their guatland host: but now our warriors weep--hakon lies low!" high standing stones mark egil uslerk s grave. endnotes: (1) the fenriswolf, one of the children of loke, begotten with a giantess, was chained to a rock, and gagged by a sword placed in his mouth, to prevent him devouring mankind. fenriswolf's gag is a skaldic expression for a sword.--l. 28. news of war comes to king hakon. when king hakon, athelstan's foster-son, had been king for twenty-six years after his brother eirik had left the country, it happened (a.d. 960) that he was at a feast in hordaland in the house at fitjar on the island stord, and he had with him at the feast his court and many of the peasants. and just as the king was seated at the supper-table, his watchmen who were outside observed many ships coming sailing along from the south, and not very far from the island. now, said the one to the other, they should inform the king that they thought an armed force was coming against them; but none thought it advisable to be the bearer of an alarm of war to the king, as he had set heavy penalties on those who raised such alarms falsely, yet they thought it unsuitable that the king should remain in ignorance of what they saw. then one of them went into the room and asked eyvind finson to come out as fast as possible, for it was very needful. eyvind immediately came out and went to where he could see the ships, and saw directly that a great army was on the way; and he returned in all haste into the room, and, placing himself before the kind, said, "short is the hour for acting, and long the hour for feasting." the king cast his eyes upon him, and said, "what now is in the way?" eyvind said- "up king! the avengers are at hand! eirik's bold sons approach the land! the judgment of the sword they crave against their foe. thy wrath i brave; tho' well i know 'tis no light thing to bring war-tidings to the king and tell him 'tis no time to rest. up! gird your armour to your breast: thy honour's dearer than my life; therefore i say, up to the strife!" then said the king, "thou art too brave a fellow, eyvind, to bring us any false alarm of war." the others all said it was a true report. the king ordered the tables to be removed, and then he went out to look at the ships; and when it could be clearly seen that these were ships of war, the king asked his men what resolution they should take--whether to give battle with the men they had, or go on board ship and sail away northwards along the land. "for it is easy to see," said he, "that we must now fight against a much greater force than we ever had against us before; although we thought just the same the last time we fought against gunhild's sons." no one was in a hurry to give an answer to the king; but at last eyvind replied to the king's speech:- "thou who in the battle-plain hast often poured the sharp spear-rain! ill it beseems our warriors brave to fly upon the ocean wave: to fly upon the blue wave north, when harald from the south comes forth, with many a ship riding in pride upon the foaming ocean-tide; with many a ship and southern viking,- let us take shield in hand, brave king!" the king replied, "thy counsel, eyvind, is manly, and after my own heart; but i will hear the opinion of others upon this matter." now as the king's men thought they discerned what way the king was inclined to take, they answered that they would rather fall bravely and like men, than fly before the danes; adding, that they had often gained the victory against greater odds of numbers. the king thanked them for their resolution, and bade them arm themselves; and all the men did so. the king put on his armour, and girded on his sword kvernbit, and put a gilt helmet upon his head, and took a spear (kesja) in his hand, and a shield by his side. he then drew up his courtmen and the bondes in one body, and set up his banner. 29. the armament of eirik's sons. after gamle's death king harald, eirik's son, was the chief of the brothers, and he had a great army with him from denmark. in their army were also their mother's brothers,--eyvind skreyja, and alf askman, both strong and able men, and great man slayers. the sons of eirik brought up with their ships off the island, and it is said that their force was not less than six to one,--so much stronger in men were eirik's sons. 30. king hakon's battle array. when king hakon had drawn up his men, it is told of him that he threw off his armour before the battle began. so sings eyvind skaldaspiller, in hakmarmal:- "they found blorn's brother bold under his banner as of old, ready for battle. foes advance,- the front rank raise the shining lance: and now begins the bloody fray! now! now begins hild's wild play! our noble king, whose name strikes fear into each danish heart,--whose spear has single-handed spilt the blood of many a danish noble,--stood beneath his helmet's eagle wing amidst his guards; but the brave king scorned to wear armour, while his men bared naked breasts against the rain of spear and arrow, his breast-plate rung against the stones; and, blithe and gay, he rushed into the thickest fray. with golden helm, and naked breast, brave hakon played at slaughter's feast." king hakon selected willingly such men for his guard or court-men as were distinguished for their strength and bravery, as his father king harald also used to do; and among these was thoralf skolmson the strong, who went on one side of the king. he had helmet and shield, spear and sword; and his sword was called by the name of footbreadth. it was said that thoralf and king hakon were equal in strength. thord sjarekson speaks of it in the poem he composed concerning thoralf:- "the king's men went with merry words to the sharp clash of shields and flame swords, when these wild rovers of the sea at fitlar fought. stout thoralf he next to the northmen's hero came, scattering wide round the battle flame for in the storm of shields not one ventured like him with brave hakon." when both lines met there was a hard combat, and much bloodshed. the combatants threw their spears and then drew their swords. then king hakon, and thoralf with him, went in advance of the banner, cutting down on both sides of them. so says eyvind skaldaspiller:- "the body-coats of naked steel, the woven iron coats of mail, like water fly before the swing of hakon's sword--the champion-king. about each gotland war-man's head helm splits, like ice beneath the tread, cloven by the axe or sharp swordblade, the brave king, foremost in the fight, dyes crimson-red the spotless white of his bright shield with foemen's gore.- amidst the battle's wild uproar, wild pealing round from shore to shore." 31. fall of skreyja and askman. king hakon was very conspicuous among other men, and also when the sun shone his helmet glanced, and thereby many weapons were directed at him. then eyvind finson took a hat and put it over the king's helmet. now eyvind skreyja called out, "does the king of the norsemen hide himself, or has he fled? where is now the golden helmet?" then eyvind, and his brother alf with him, pushed on like fools or madmen. king hakon shouted to eyvind, "come on as thou art coming, and thou shalt find the king of the norsemen." so says eyvind skaldaspiller:- "the raiser of the storm of shields, the conqueror in battle fields,- hakon the brave, the warrior's friend, who scatters gold with liberal hand, heard skreyja's taunt, and saw him rush, amidst the sharp spears' thickest push, and loudly shouted in reply- 'if thou wilt for the victory try, the norseman's king thou soon shall find! hold onwards, friend! hast thou a mind!" it was also but a short space of time before eyvind did come up swinging his sword, and made a cut at the king; but thoralf thrust his shield so hard against eyvind that he tottered with the shock. now the king takes his sword kvernbit with both hands, and hewed eyvind through helm and head, and clove him down to the shoulders. thoralf also slew alf askman. so says eyvind skaldaspiller:- "with both his hands the gallant king swung round his sword, and to the chin clove eyvind down: his faithless mail against it could no more avail, than the thin plank against the shock when the ship's side beats on the rock. by his bright sword with golden haft thro' helm, and head, and hair, was cleft the danish champion; and amain, with terror smitten, fled his men." after this fall of the two brothers, king hakon pressed on so hard that all men gave way before his assault. now fear came over the army of eirik's sons, and the men began to fly; and king hakon, who was at the head of his men, pressed on the flying, and hewed down oft and hard. then flew an arrow, one of the kind called "flein", into hakon's arm, into the muscles below the shoulder; and it is said by many people that gunhild's shoe-boy, whose name was kisping, ran out and forwards amidst the confusion of arms, called out "make room for the king-killer," and shot king hakon with the flein. others again say that nobody could tell who shot the king, which is indeed the most likely; for spears, arrows, and all kinds of missiles flew as thick as a snow-drift. many of the people of eirik's sons were killed, both on the field of battle and on the way to the ships, and also on the strand, and many threw themselves into the water. many also, among whom were eirik's sons, got on board their ships, and rowed away as fast as they could, and hakon's men after them. so says thord sjarekson:- "the wolf, the murderer, and the thief, fled from before the people's chief: few breakers of the peace grew old under the northmen's king so bold. when gallant hakon lost his life black was the day, and dire the strife. it was bad work for gunhild's sons, leading their pack of hungry danes from out the south, to have to fly, and many a bonde leave to die, leaning his heavy wounded head on the oar-bench for feather-bed. thoralf was nearest to the side of gallant hakon in the tide of battle; his the sword that best carved out the raven's bloody feast: amidst the heaps of foemen slain he was named bravest on the plain." 32. hakon's death. when king hakon came out to his ship he had his wound bound up; but the blood ran from it so much and so constantly, that it could not be stopped; and when the day was drawing to an end his strength began to leave him. then he told his men that he wanted to go northwards to his house at alreksstader; but when he came north, as far as hakonarhella hill, they put in towards the land, for by this time the king was almost lifeless. then he called his friends around him, and told them what he wished to be done with regard to his kingdom. he had only one child, a daughter, called thora, and had no son. now he told them to send a message to eirik's sons, that they should be kings over the country; but asked them to hold his friends in respect and honour. "and if fate," added he, "should prolong my life, i will, at any rate, leave the country, and go to a christian land, and do penance for what i have done against god; but should i die in heathen land, give me any burial you think fit." shortly afterwards hakon expired, at the little hill on the shore-side at which he was born. so great was the sorrow over hakon's death, that he was lamented both by friends and enemies; and they said that never again would norway see such a king. his friends removed his body to saeheim, in north hordaland, and made a great mound, in which they laid the king in full armour and in his best clothes, but with no other goods. they spoke over his grave, as heathen people are used to do, and wished him in valhal. eyvind skaldaspiller composed a poem on the death of king hakon, and on how well he was received in valhal. the poem is called "hakonarmal":- "in odin's hall an empty place stands for a king of yngve's race; 'go, my valkyries,' odin said, 'go forth, my angels of the dead, gondul and skogul, to the plain drenched with the battle's bloody rain, and to the dying hakon tell, here in valhal shall he dwell.' "at stord, so late a lonely shore, was heard the battle's wild uproar; the lightning of the flashing sword burned fiercely at the shore of stord. from levelled halberd and spearhead life-blood was dropping fast and red; and the keen arrows' biting sleet upon the shore at stord fast beat. "upon the thundering cloud of shield flashed bright the sword-storm o'er the field; and on the plate-mail rattled loud the arrow-shower's rushing cloud, in odin's tempest-weather, there swift whistling through the angry air; and the spear-torrents swept away ranks of brave men from light of day. "with batter'd shield, and blood-smear'd sword slits one beside the shore of stord, with armour crushed and gashed sits he, a grim and ghastly sight to see; and round about in sorrow stand the warriors of his gallant band: because the king of dags' old race in odin's hall must fill a place. "then up spake gondul, standing near resting upon her long ash spear,- 'hakon! the gods' cause prospers well, and thou in odin's halls shalt dwell!' the king beside the shore of stord the speech of the valkyrie heard, who sat there on his coal-black steed, with shield on arm and helm on head. "thoughtful, said hakon, 'tell me why ruler of battles, victory is so dealt out on stord's red plain? have we not well deserved to gain?' 'and is it not as well dealt out?' said gondul. 'hearest thou not the shout? the field is cleared--the foemen run- the day is ours--the battle won!' "then skogul said, 'my coal-black steed, home to the gods i now must speed, to their green home, to tell the tiding that hakon's self is thither riding.' to hermod and to brage then said odin, 'here, the first of men, brave hakon comes, the norsemen's king,- go forth, my welcome to him bring.' "fresh from the battle-field came in, dripping with blood, the norsemen'a king. 'methinks,' said he, great odin's will is harsh, and bodes me further ill; thy son from off the field to-day from victory to snatch away!' but odin said, 'be thine the joy valhal gives, my own brave boy!' "and brage said, 'eight brothers here welcome thee to valhal's cheer, to drain the cup, or fights repeat where hakon eirik's earls beat.' quoth the stout king, 'and shall my gear, helm, sword, and mail-coat, axe and spear, be still at hand! 'tis good to hold fast by our trusty friends of old.' "well was it seen that hakon still had saved the temples from all ill (1); for the whole council of the gods welcomed the king to their abodes. happy the day when men are born like hakon, who all base things scorn.- win from the brave and honoured name, and die amidst an endless fame. "sooner shall fenriswolf devour the race of man from shore to shore, than such a grace to kingly crown as gallant hakon want renown. life, land, friends, riches, all will fly, and we in slavery shall sigh. but hakon in the blessed abodes for ever lives with the bright gods." endnotes: (1) hakon, although a christian, appears to have favoured the old religion, and spared the temples of odin, and therefore a place in valhal is assigned him.--l. saga of king harald grafeld and of earl hakon son of sigurd. preliminary remarks this saga might be called gunhild's saga, as she is the chief person in it. the reign of king harald and earl hakon is more fully described in the next saga, that is, olaf trygvason's. other literature on this epoch: "agrip" (chap. 8), "historia norvegia", (p. 12), "thjodrek" (chap. 5), "saxo" (pp. 479-482), "egla" (chaps. 81, 82), "floamanna" (chap. 12), "fareyinga" (chaps. 2, 4, 10), "halfred's saga" (chap. 2), "hord grimkelsons saga" (chaps. 13, 18), "kormak" (chaps. 19-27), "laxdaela" (chaps. 19-21), "njala" (chaps, 3-6). the skalds of this saga are:--glum geirason, kormak agmundson, eyvind skaldaspiller, and einar helgason skalaglam. 1. government of the sons of eirik. when king hakon was killed, the sons of eirik took the sovereignty of norway. harald, who was the oldest of the living brothers, was over them in dignity. their mother gunhild, who was called the king-mother, mixed herself much in the affairs of the country. there were many chiefs in the land at that time. there was trygve olafson in the eastland, gudrod bjornson in vestfold, sigurd earl of hlader in the throndhjem land; but gunhild's sons held the middle of the country the first winter. there went messages and ambassadors between gunhild's sons and trygve and gudrod, and all was settled upon the footing that they should hold from gunhild's sons the same part of the country which they formerly had held under king hakon. a man called glum geirason, who was king harald's skald, and was a very brave man, made this song upon king hakon's death:- "gamle is avenged by harald! great is thy deed, thou champion bold! the rumour of it came to me in distant lands beyond the sea, how harald gave king hakon's blood to odin's ravens for their food." this song was much favoured. when eyvind finson heard of it he composed the song which was given before, viz.:- "our dauntless king with gamle's gore sprinkled his bright sword o'er and o'er," &c. this song also was much favoured, and was spread widely abroad; and when king harald came to hear of it, he laid a charge against evyind affecting his life; but friends made up the quarrel, on the condition that eyvind should in future be harald's skald, as he had formerly been king hakon's. there was also some relationship between them, as gunhild, eyvind's mother, was a daughter of earl halfdan, and her mother was ingibjorg, a daughter of harald harfager. thereafter eyvind made a song about king harald:- "guardian of norway, well we know thy heart failed not when from the bow the piercing arrow-hail sharp rang on shield and breast-plate, and the clang of sword resounded in the press of battle, like the splitting ice; for harald, wild wolf of the wood, must drink his fill of foeman's blood." gunhild's sons resided mostly in the middle of the country, for they did not think it safe for them to dwell among the people of throndhjem or of viken, where king hakon's best friends lived; and also in both places there were many powerful men. proposals of agreement then passed between gunhild's sons and earl sigurd, or they got no scat from the throndhjem country; and at last an agreement was concluded between the kings and the earl, and confirmed by oath. earl sigurd was to get the same power in the throndhjem land which he had possessed under king hakon, and on that they considered themselves at peace. all gunhild's sons had the character of being penurious; and it was said they hid their money in the ground. eyvind skaldaspiller made a song about this:- "main-mast of battle! harald bold! in hakon's days the skald wore gold upon his falcon's seat; he wore rolf krake's seed, the yellow ore sown by him as he fled away, the avenger adils' speed to stay. the gold crop grows upon the plain; but frode's girls so gay (1) in vain grind out the golden meal, while those who rule o'er norway's realm like foes, in mother earth's old bosom hide the wealth which hakon far and wide scattered with generous hand: the sun shone in the days of that great one, on the gold band of fulla's brow,(2) on gold-ringed hands that bend the bow, on the skald's hand; but of the ray of bright gold, glancing like the spray of sun-lit waves, no skald now sings- buried are golden chains and rings." now when king harald heard this song, he sent a message to eyvind to come to him, and when eyvind came made a charge against him of being unfaithful. "and it ill becomes thee," said the king, "to be my enemy, as thou hast entered into my service." eyvind then made these verses:- "one lord i had before thee, harald! one dear-loved lord! now am i old, and do not wish to change again,- to that loved lord, through strife and pain, faithful i stood; still true to hakon,- to my good king, and him alone. but now i'm old and useless grown, my hands are empty, wealth is flown; i am but fir for a short space in thy court-hall to fill a place." but king harald forced eyvind to submit himself to his clemency. eyvind had a great gold ring, which was called molde, that had been dug up out of the earth long since. this ring the king said he must have as the mulet for the offence; and there was no help for it. then eyvind sang:- "i go across the ocean-foam, swift skating to my iceland home upon the ocean-skates, fast driven by gales by thurse's witch fire given. for from the falcon-bearing hand harald has plucked the gold snake band my father wore--by lawless might has taken what is mine by right." eyvind went home; but it is not told that he ever came near the king again. endnotes: (1) menja and fenja were strong girls of the giant race, whom frode bought in sweden to grind gold and good luck to him; and their meal means gold.--l. (2) fulla was one of frig's attendants, who wore a gold band on the forehead, and the figure means gold,--that the sun shone on gold rings on the hands of the skalds in hakon's days.--l. 2. christianity of gunhild's sons. gunhild's sons embraced christianity in england, as told before; but when they came to rule over norway they made no progress in spreading christianity--only they pulled down the temples of the idols, and cast away the sacrifices where they had it in their power, and raised great animosity by doing so. the good crops of the country were soon wasted in their days, because there were many kings, and each had his court about him. they had therefore great expenses, and were very greedy. besides, they only observed those laws of king hakon which suited themselves. they were, however, all of them remarkably handsome men--stout, strong, and expert in all exercises. so says glum geirason, in the verses he composed about harald, gunhild's son:- "the foeman's terror, harald bold, had gained enough of yellow gold; had heimdal's teeth (1) enough in store, and understood twelve arts or more." the brothers sometimes went out on expeditions together, and sometimes each on his own account. they were fierce, but brave and active; and great warriors, and very successful. endnotes: (1) heimdal was one of the gods, whose horse was called gold-top; and the horse's teeth were of gold. 3. councils by gunhild and her sons. gunhild the king-mother, and her sons, often met, and talked together upon the government of the country. once gunhild asked her sons what they intended to do with their kingdom of throndhjem. "ye have the title of king, as your forefathers had before you; but ye have little land or people, and there are many to divide with. in the east, at viken, there are trygve and gudrod; and they have some right, from relationship, to their governments. there is besides earl sigurd ruling over the whole throndhjem country; and no reason can i see why ye let so large a kingdom be ruled by an earl, and not by yourselves. it appears wonderful to me that ye go every summer upon viking cruises against other lands, and allow an earl within the country to take your father's heritage from you. your grandfather, whose name you bear, king harald, thought it but a small matter to take an earl's life and land when he subdued all norway, and held it under him to old age." harald replied, "it is not so easy, mother, to cut off earl sigurd as to slay a kid or a calf. earl sigurd is of high birth, powerful in relations, popular, and prudent; and i think if the throndhjem people knew for certain there was enmity between us, they would all take his side, and we could expect only evil from them. i don't think it would be safe for any of us brothers to fall into the hands of the throndhjem people." then said gunhild, "we shall go to work another way, and not put ourselves forward. harald and erling shall come in harvest to north more, and there i shall meet you, and we shall consult together what is to be done." this was done. 4. gunhild's sons and grjotgard. earl sigurd had a brother called grjotgard, who was much younger, and much less respected; in fact, was held in no title of honour. he had many people, however, about him, and in summer went on viking cruises, and gathered to himself property. now king harald sent messengers to throndhjem with offers of friendship, and with presents. the messengers declared that king harald was willing to be on the same friendly terms with the earl that king hakon had been; adding, that they wished the earl to come to king harald, that their friendship might be put on a firm footing. the earl sigurd received well the king's messengers and friendly message, but said that on account of his many affairs he could not come to the king. he sent many friendly gifts, and many glad and grateful words to the king, in return for his friendship. with this reply the messengers set off, and went to grjotgard, for whom they had the same message, and brought him good presents, and offered him king harald's friendship, and invited him to visit the king. grjotgard promised to come and at the appointed time he paid a visit to king harald and gunhild, and was received in the most friendly manner. they treated him on the most intimate footing, so that grjotgard had access to their private consultations and secret councils. at last the conversation, by an understanding between the king and queen, was turned upon earl sigurd; and they spoke to grjotgard about the earl having kept him so long in obscurity, and asked him if he would not join the king's brothers in an attack on the earl. if he would join with them, the king promised grjotgard that he should be his earl, and have the same government that sigurd had. it came so far that a secret agreement was made between them, that grjotgard should spy out the most favourable opportunity of attacking by surprise earl sigurd, and should give king harald notice of it. after this agreement grjotgard returned home with many good presents from the king. 5. sigurd burnt in a house in stjoradal earl sigurd went in harvest into stjoradal to guest-quarters, and from thence went to oglo to a feast. the earl usually had many people about him, for he did not trust the king; but now, after friendly messages had passed between the king and him, he had no great following of people with him. then grjotgard sent word to the king that he could never expect a better opportunity to fall upon earl sigurd; and immediately, that very evening, harald and erling sailed into throndhjem fjord with several ships and many people. they sailed all night by starlight, and grjotgard came out to meet them. late in the night they came to oglo, where earl sigurd was at the feast, and set fire to the house; and burnt the house, the earl, and all his men. as soon as it was daylight, they set out through the fjord, and south to more, where they remained a long time. 6. history of hakon, sigurd's son. hakon, the son of earl sigurd, was up in the interior of the throndhjem country when he heard this news. great was the tumult through all the throndhjem land, and every vessel that could swim was put into the water; and as soon as the people were gathered together they took earl sigurd's son hakon to be their earl and the leader of the troops, and the whole body steered out of throndhjem fjord. when gunhild's sons heard of this, they set off southwards to raumsdal and south more; and both parties kept eye on each other by their spies. earl sigurd was killed two years after the fall of king hakon (a.d. 962). so says eyvind skaldaspiller in the "haleygjatal":- "at oglo, as i've heard, earl sigurd was burnt to death by norway's lord,- sigurd, who once on hadding's grave a feast to odin's ravens gave. in oglo's hall, amidst the feast, when bowls went round and ale flowed fast, he perished: harald lit the fire which burnt to death the son of tyr." earl hakan, with the help of his friends, maintained himself in the throndhjem country for three years; and during that time (a.d. 963-965) gunhild's sons got no revenues from it. hakon had many a battle with gunhild's sons, and many a man lost his life on both sides. of this einar skalaglam speaks in his lay, called "vellekla," which he composed about earl hakon:- "the sharp bow-shooter on the sea spread wide his fleet, for well loved he the battle storm: well loved the earl his battle-banner to unfurl, o'er the well-trampled battle-field he raised the red-moon of his shield; and often dared king eirik's son to try the fray with the earl hakon." and he also says:- "who is the man who'll dare to say that sigurd's son avoids the fray? he gluts the raven--he ne'er fears the arrow's song or flight of spears, with thundering sword he storms in war, as odin dreadful; or from far he makes the arrow-shower fly to swell the sail of victory. the victory was dearly bought, and many a viking-fight was fought before the swinger of the sword was of the eastern country lord." and einar tells also how earl hakon avenged his father's murderer:- "i praise the man, my hero he, who in his good ship roves the sea, like bird of prey, intent to win red vengeance for his slaughtered kin. from his blue sword the iron rain that freezes life poured down amain on him who took his father's life, on him and his men in the strife. to odin many a soul was driven,- to odin many a rich gift given. loud raged the storm on battle-field- axe rang on helm, and sword on shield." the friends on both sides at last laid themselves between, and brought proposals of peace; for the bondes suffered by this strife and war in the land. at last it was brought to this, by the advice of prudent men, that earl hakon should have the same power in the throndhjem land which his father earl sigurd had enjoyed; and the kings, on the other hand, should have the same dominion as king hakon had: and this agreement was settled with the fullest promises of fidelity to it. afterwards a great friendship arose between earl hakon and gunhild, although they sometimes attempted to deceive each other. and thus matters stood for three years longer (a.d. 966-968), in which time earl hakon sat quietly in his dominions. 7. of harald grafeld. king hakon had generally his seat in hordaland and rogaland, and also his brothers; but very often, also, they went to hardanger. one summer it happened that a vessel came from iceland belonging to icelanders, and loaded with skins and peltry. they sailed to hardanger, where they heard the greatest number of people assembled; but when the folks came to deal with them, nobody would buy their skins. then the steersman went to king harald, whom he had been acquainted with before, and complained of his ill luck. the king promised to visit him, and did so. king harald was very condescending, and full of fun. he came with a fully manned boat, looked at the skins, and then said to the steersman, "wilt thou give me a present of one of these gray-skins?" "willingly," said the steersman, "if it were ever so many." on this the king wrapped himself up in a gray-skin, and went back to his boat; but before they rowed away from the ship, every man in his suite bought such another skin as the king wore for himself. in a few days so many people came to buy skins, that not half of them could be served with what they wanted; and thereafter the king was called harald grafeld (grayskin). 8. earl eirik's birth. earl hakon came one winter to the uplands to a feast, and it so happened that he had intercourse with a girl of mean birth. some time after the girl had to prepare for her confinement, and she bore a child, a boy, who had water poured on him, and was named eirik. the mother carried the boy to earl hakon, and said that he was the father. the earl placed him to be brought up with a man called thorleif the wise, who dwelt in medaldal, and was a rich and powerful man, and a great friend of the earl. eirik gave hopes very early that he would become an able man, was handsome in countenance, and stout and strong for a child; but the earl did not pay much attention to him. the earl himself was one of the handsomest men in countenance,--not tall, but very strong, and well practised in all kinds of exercises; and withal prudent, of good understanding, and a deadly man at arms. 9. king trygve olafson's murder. it happened one harvest (a.d. 962) that earl hakon, on a journey in the uplands, came to hedemark; and king trygve olafson and king gudrod bjornson met him there, and dale-gudbrand also came to the meeting. they had agreed to meet, and they talked together long by themselves; but so much only was known of their business, that they were to be friends of each other. they parted, and each went home to his own kingdom. gunhild and her sons came to hear of this meeting, and they suspected it must have been to lay a treasonable plot against the kings; and they often talked of this among themselves. when spring (a.d. 963) began to set in, king harald and his brother king gudrod proclaimed that they were to make a viking cruise, as usual, either in the west sea, or the baltic. the people accordingly assembled, launched the ships into the sea, and made themselves ready to sail. when they were drinking the farewell ale,--and they drank bravely,--much and many things were talked over at the drink-table, and, among other things, were comparisons between different men, and at last between the kings themselves. one said that king harald excelled his brothers by far, and in every way. on this king gudrod was very angry, and said that he was in no respect behind harald, and was ready to prove it. instantly both parties were so inflamed that they challenged each other to battle, and ran to their arms. but some of the guests who were less drunk, and had more understanding, came between them, and quieted them; and each went to his ship, but nobody expected that they would all sail together. gudrod sailed east ward along the land, and harald went out to sea, saying he would go to the westward; but when he came outside of the islands he steered east along the coast, outside of the rocks and isles. gudrod, again, sailed inside, through the usual channel, to viken, and eastwards to folden. he then sent a message to king trygve to meet him, that they might make a cruise together in summer in the baltic to plunder. trygve accepted willingly, and as a friend, the invitation; and as heard king gudrod had but few people with him, he came to meet him with a single boat. they met at veggen, to the east of sotanes; but just as they were come to the meeting place, gudrod's men ran up and killed king trygve and twelve men. he lies buried at a place called trygve's cairn (a.d. 963). 10. king gudrod's fall. king harald sailed far outside of the rocks and isles; but set his course to viken, and came in the night-time to tunsberg, and heard that gudrod bjornson was at a feast a little way up the country. then king harald set out immediately with his followers, came in the night, and surrounded the house. king gudrod bjornson went out with his people; but after a short resistance he fell, and many men with him. then king harald joined his brother king gudrod, and they subdued all viken. 11. of harald grenske. king gudrod bjornson had made a good and suitable marriage, and had by his wife a son called harald, who had been sent to be fostered to grenland to a lenderman called hroe the white. hroe's son, called hrane vidforle (the far-travelled), was harald's foster-brother, and about the same age. after his father gudrod's fall, harald, who was called grenske, fled to the uplands, and with him his foster-brother hrane, and a few people. harald staid a while there among his relations; but as eirik's sons sought after every man who interfered with them, and especially those who might oppose them, harald grenske's friends and relations advised him to leave the country. harald therefore went eastward into svithjod, and sought shipmates, that he might enter into company with those who went out a cruising to gather property. harald became in this way a remarkably able man. there was a man in svithjod at that time called toste, one of the most powerful and clever in the land among those who had no high name or dignity; and he was a great warrior, who had been often in battle, and was therefore called skoglar-toste. harald grenske came into his company, and cruised with toste in summer; and wherever harald came he was well thought of by every one. in the winter harald, after passing two years in the uplands, took up his abode with toste, and lived five years with him. toste had a daughter, who was both young and handsome, but she was proud and high-minded. she was called sigrid, and was afterwards married to the swedish king, eirik the victorious, and had a son by him, called olaf the swede, who was afterwards king of svithjod. king eirik died in a sick-bed at upsala ten years after the death of styrbjorn. 12. earl hakon's feuds. gunhild's sons levied a great army in viken (a.d. 963), and sailed along the land northwards, collecting people and ships on the way out of every district. they then made known their intent, to proceed northwards with their army against earl hakon in throndhjem. when earl hakon heard this news, he also collected men, and fitted out ships; and when he heard what an overwhelming force gunhild's sons had with them, he steered south with his fleet to more, pillaging wherever he came, and killing many people. he then sent the whole of the bonde army back to throndhjem; but he himself, with his men-at-arms, proceeded by both the districts of more and raumsdal, and had his spies out to the south of stad to spy the army of gunhild's sons; and when he heard they were come into the fjords, and were waiting for a fair wind to sail northwards round stad, earl hakon set out to sea from the north side of stad, so far that his sails could not be seen from the land, and then sailed eastward on a line with the coast, and came to denmark, from whence he sailed into the baltic, and pillaged there during the summer. gunhild's sons conducted their army north to throndhjem, and remained there the whole summer collecting the scat and duties. but when summer was advanced they left sigurd slefa and gudron behind; and the other brothers returned eastward with the levied army they had taken up in summer. 13. of earl hakon and gunhild's sons. earl hakon, towards harvest (a.d. 963), sailed into the bothnian gulf to helsingjaland, drew his ships up there on the beach, and took the land-ways through helsingjaland and jamtaland, and so eastwards round the dividing ridge (the kjol, or keel of the country), and down into the throndhjem district. many people streamed towards him, and he fitted out ships. when the sons of gunhild heard of this they got on board their ships, and sailed out of the fjord; and earl hakon came to his seat at hlader, and remained there all winter. the sons of gunhild, on the other hand, occupied more; and they and the earl attacked each other in turns, killing each other's people. earl hakon kept his dominions of throndhjem, and was there generally in the winter; but in summer he sometimes went to helsingjaland, where he went on board of his ships and sailed with them down into the baltic, and plundered there; and sometimes he remained in throndhjem, and kept an army on foot, so that gunhild's sons could get no hold northwards of stad. 14. sigurd slefa's murder. one summer harald grayskin with his troops went north to bjarmaland, where be forayed, and fought a great battle with the inhabitants on the banks of the vina (dwina). king harald gained the victory, killed many people, plundered and wasted and burned far and wide in the land, and made enormous booty. glum geirason tells of it thus:- "i saw the hero harald chase with bloody sword bjarme's race: they fly before him through the night, all by their burning city's light. on dwina's bank, at harald's word, arose the storm of spear and sword. in such a wild war-cruise as this, great would he be who could bring peace." king sigurd slefa came to the herse klyp's house. klyp was a son of thord, and a grandson of hordakare, and was a man of power and great family. he was not at home; but his wife alof give a good reception to the king, and made a great feast at which there was much drinking. alof was a daughter of asbjorn, and sister to jarnskegge, north in yrjar. asbjorn's brother was called hreidar, who was father to styrkar, whose son was eindride, father of einar tambaskielfer. in the night the king went to bed to alof against her will, and then set out on his journey. the harvest thereafter, king harald and his brother king sigurd slefa went to vors, and summoned the bondes to a thing. there the bondes fell on them, and would have killed them, but they escaped and took different roads. king harald went to hardanger, but king sigurd to alrekstader. now when the herse klyp heard of this, he and his relations assembled to attack the king; and vemund volubrjot (1) was chief of their troop. now when they came to the house they attacked the king, and herse klyp, it is said, ran him through with his sword and killed him; but instantly klyp was killed on the spot by erling gamle (a.d. 965). endnotes: (1) volubrjotr.--literally "the one who breaks the vala", that is, breaks the skulls of witches. 15. grjotgard's fall. king harald grafeld and his brother king gudrod gathered together a great army in the east country, with which they set out northwards to throndhjem (a.d. 968). when earl hakon heard of it he collected men, and set out to more, where he plundered. there his father's brother, grjotgard, had the command and defence of the country on account of gunhild's sons, and he assembled an army by order of the kings. earl hakon advanced to meet him, and gave him battle; and there fell grjotgard and two other earls, and many a man besides. so says einar skalaglam:- "the helm-crown'd hakon, brave as stout, again has put his foes to rout. the bowl runs o'er with odin's mead, (1) that fires the skald when mighty deed has to be sung. earl hakon's sword, in single combat, as i've heard, three sons of earls from this one fray to dwell with odin drove away." (2) thereafter earl hakon went out to sea, and sailed outside the coast, and came to denmark. he went to the danish king, harald gormson, and was well received by him, and staid with him all winter (a.d. 969). at that time there was also with the danish king a man called harald, a son of knut gormson, and a brother's son of king harald. he was lately come home from a long viking cruise, on which he had gathered great riches, and therefore he was called gold harald. he thought he had a good chance of coming to the danish kingdom. endnotes: (1) odin's mead, called bodn, was the blood or mead the sons of brage, the god of poets, drank to inspire them.--l. (2) to dwell with odin,--viz. slew them.--l. 16. king erling's fall. king harald grafeld and his brothers proceeded northwards to throndhjem, where they met no opposition. they levied the scat-duties, and all other revenues, and laid heavy penalties upon the bondes; for the kings had for a long time received but little income from throndhjem, because earl hakon was there with many troops, and was at variance with these kings. in autumn (a.d. 968) king harald went south with the greater part of the men-at-arms, but king erlin remained behind with his men. he raised great contributions from the bondes, and pressed severely on them; at which the bondes murmured greatly, and submitted to their losses with impatience. in winter they gathered together in a great force to go against king erling, just as he was at a feast; and they gave battle to him, and he with the most of his men fell (a.d. 969). 17. the seasons in norway at this time. while gunhild's sons reigned in norway the seasons were always bad, and the longer they reigned the worse were the crops; and the bondes laid the blame on them. they were very greedy, and used the bondes harshly. it came at length to be so bad that fish, as well as corn, were wanting. in halogaland there was the greatest famine and distress; for scarcely any corn grew, and even snow was lying, and the cattle were bound in the byres (1) all over the country until midsummer. eyvind skaldaspiller describes it in his poem, as he came outside of his house and found a thick snowdrift at that season:- "tis midsummer, yet deep snows rest on odin's mother's frozen breast: like laplanders, our cattle-kind in stall or stable we must bind." endnotes: (1) byres = gards or farms. 18. the icelanders and eyvind the skald. eyvind composed a poem about the people of iceland, for which they rewarded him by each bonde giving him three silver pennies, of full weight and white in the fracture. and when the silver was brought together at the althing, the people resolved to have it purified, and made into a row of clasps; and after the workmanship of the silver was paid, the row of clasps was valued at fifty marks. this they sent to eyvind; but eyvind was obliged to separate the clasps from each other, and sell them to buy food for his household. but the same spring a shoal of herrings set in upon the fishing ground beyond the coast-side, and eyvind manned a ship's boat with his house servants and cottars, and rowed to where the herrings were come, and sang:- "now let the steed of ocean bound o'er the north sea with dashing sound: let nimble tern and screaming gull fly round and round--our net is full. fain would i know if fortune sends a like provision to my friends. welcome provision 'tis, i wot, that the whale drives to our cook's pot." so entirely were his movable goods exhausted, that he was obliged to sell his arrows to buy herrings, or other meat for his table:- "our arms and ornaments of gold to buy us food we gladly sold: the arrows of the bow gave we for the bright arrows of the sea." (1) endnotes: (1) herrings, from their swift darting along, are called the arrows of the sea. king olaf trygvason's saga. preliminary remarks. hitherto the narrative has been more or less fragmentary. with olaf trygvason's saga reliable history begins, and the narration is full and connected. the story of hakon the earl is incorporated in this saga. accounts of olaf trygvason may be found in od the monk's legendary saga, in parts of "agrip", "historia norvegiae", and in thjodrek. icelandic works on this epoch are: "egla", "eyrbyggja", "finboga", "floamanna", "faereyinga", "hallfredar saga", "havardar saga", "are's islendinga-bok", "kristni saga", "laxdaela", "ljosvetninga", "njala", "orkneyinga", "viga glums saga", and "viga styrs saga". the skalds quoted are: glum geirason, eyvind finson, skaldaspiller, einar skalaglam, tind halkelson, eyjolf dadaskald, hallarstein, halfred vandraedaskald, haldor ukristne, skule thorsteinson, and thord kolbeinson. 1. olaf trygvason's birth. king trygve olafson had married a wife who was called astrid. she was a daughter of eirik bjodaskalle, a great man, who dwelt at oprustader. but after trygve's death (a.d. 963) astrid fled, and privately took with her all the loose property she could. her foster-father, thorolf lusarskeg, followed her, and never left her; and others of her faithful followers spied about to discover her enemies, and where they were. astrid was pregnant with a child of king trygve, and she went to a lake, and concealed herself in a holm or small island in it with a few men. here her child was born, and it was a boy; and water was poured over it, and it was called olaf after the grandfather. astrid remained all summer here in concealment; but when the nights became dark, and the day began to shorten and the weather to be cold, she was obliged to take to the land, along with thorolf and a few other men. they did not seek for houses unless in the night-time, when they came to them secretly; and they spoke to nobody. one evening, towards dark, they came to oprustader, where astrid's father eirik dwelt, and privately sent a man to eirik to tell him; and eirik took them to an out-house, and spread a table for them with the best of food. when astrid had been here a short time her travelling attendants left her, and none remained, behind with her but two servant girls, her child olaf, thorolf lusarskeg, and his son thorgils, who was six years old; and they remained all winter (a.d. 964). 2. of gunhild s sons. after trygve olafson's murder, harald grafeld and his brother gudrod went to the farm which he owned; but astrid was gone, and they could learn no tidings of her. a loose report came to their ears that she was pregnant to king trygve; but they soon went away northwards, as before related. as soon as they met their mother gunhild they told her all that had taken place. she inquired particularly about astrid, and they told her the report they had heard; but as gunhild's sons the same harvest and winter after had bickerings with earl hakon, as before related, they did not seek after astrid and her son that winter. 3. astrid's journey. the spring after (a.d. 964) gunhild sent spies to the uplands, and all the way down to viken, to spy what they could about astrid; and her men came back, and could only tell her that astrid must be with her father eirik, and it was probable was bringing up her infant, the son of trygve. then gunhild, without delay, sent off men well furnished with arms and horses, and in all a troop of thirty; and as their leader she sent a particular friend of her own, a powerful man called hakon. her orders were to go to oprustader, to eirik, and take king trygve's son from thence, and bring the child to her; and with these orders the men went out. now when they were come to the neighbourhood of oprustader, some of eirik's friends observed the troop of travellers, and about the close of the day brought him word of their approach. eirik immediately, in the night, made preparation for astrid's flight, gave her good guides, and send her away eastward to svithjod, to his good friend hakon gamle, who was a powerful man there. long before day they departed, and towards evening they reached a domain called skaun. here they saw a large mansion, towards which they went, and begged a night's lodging. for the sake of concealment they were clad in mean clothing. there dwelt here a bonde called bjorn eiterkveisa, who was very rich, but very inhospitable. he drove them away; and therefore, towards dark, they went to another domain close by that was called vidar. thorstein was the name of the bonde; and he gave them lodging, and took good care of them, so that they slept well, and were well entertained. early that morning gunhild's men had come to oprustader, and inquired for astrid and her son. as eirik told them she was not there, they searched the whole house, and remained till late in the day before they got any news of astrid. then they rode after her the way she had taken, and late at night they came to bjorn eiterkveisa in skaun, and took up their quarters there. hakon asked bjorn if he knew anything about astrid, and he said some people had been there in the evening wanting lodgings; "but i drove them away, and i suppose they have gone to some of the neighbouring houses." thorstein's labourer was coming from the forest, having left his work at nightfall, and called in at bjorn's house because it was in his way; and finding there were guests come to the house, and learning their business, he comes to thorstein and tells him of it. as about a third part of the night was still remaining, thorstein wakens his guests and orders them in an angry voice to go about their business; but as soon as they were out of the house upon the road, thorstein tells them that gunhild's messengers were at bjorn's house, and are upon the trace of them. they entreat of him to help them, and he gave them a guide and some provisions. he conducted them through a forest to a lake, in which there was an islet overgrown with reeds. they waded out to the islet, and hid themselves among the reeds. early in the morning hakon rode away from bjorn's into the township, and wherever he came he asked after astrid; and when he came to thorstein's he asked if she had been there. he said that some people had been there; but as soon as it was daylight they had set off again, eastwards, to the forest. hakon made thorstein go along with them, as he knew all the roads and hiding-places. thorstein went with them; but when they were come into the woods, he led them right across the way astrid had taken. they went about and about the whole day to no purpose, as they could find no trace of her, so they turned back to tell gunhild the end of their travel. astrid and her friends proceeded on their journey, and came to svithjod, to hakon gamle (the old), where she and her son remained a long time, and had friendly welcome. 4. hakon's embassy to sweden. when gunhild, the mother of the kings, heard that astrid and her son olaf were in the kingdom of svithjod, she again sent hakon, with a good attendance, eastward, to eirik king of sweden, with presents and messages of friendship. the ambassadors were well received and well treated. hakon, after a time, disclosed his errand to the king, saying that gunhild had sent him with the request that the king would assist him in getting hold of olaf trygvason, to conduct him to norway, where gunhild would bring him up. the king gave hakon people with him, and he rode with them to hakon the old, where hakon desired, with many friendly expressions, that olaf should go with him. hakon the old returned a friendly answer, saying that it depended entirely upon olaf's mother. but astrid would on no account listen to the proposal; and the messengers had to return as they came, and to tell king eirik how the matter stood. the ambassadors then prepared to return home, and asked the king for some assistance to take the boy, whether hakon the old would or not. the king gave them again some attendants; and when they came to hakon the old, they again asked for the boy, and on his refusal to deliver him they used high words and threatened violence. but one of the slaves, buste by name, attacked hakon, and was going to kill him; and they barely escaped from the thralls without a cudgelling, and proceeded home to norway to tell gunhild their ill success, and that they had only seen olaf. 5. of sigurd eirikson. astrid had a brother called sigurd, a son of eirik bjodaskalle, who had long been abroad in gardarike (russia) with king valdemar, and was there in great consideration. astrid had now a great inclination to travel to her brother there. hakon the old gave her good attendants, and what was needful for the journey, and she set out with some merchants. she had then been two years (a.d. 965-966) with hakon the old, and olaf was three years of age. as they sailed out into the baltic, they were captured by vikings of eistland, who made booty both of the people and goods, killing some, and dividing others as slaves. olaf was separated from his mother, and an eistland man called klerkon got him as his share along with thorolf and thorgils. klerkon thought that thorolf was too old for a slave, and that there was not much work to be got out of him, so he killed him; but took the boys with him, and sold them to a man called klerk for a stout and good ram. a third man, called reas, bought olaf for a good cloak. reas had a wife called rekon, and a son by her whose name was rekone. olaf was long with them, was treated well, and was much beloved by the people. olaf was six years in eistland in this banishment (a.d. 987-972). 6. olaf is set free in eistland. sigurd, the son of eirik (astrid's brother), came into eistland from novgorod, on king valdemar's business to collect the king's taxes and rents. sigurd came as a man of consequence, with many followers and great magnificence. in the market-place he happened to observe a remarkably handsome boy; and as he could distinguish that he was a foreigner, he asked him his name and family. he answered him, that his name was olaf; that he was a son of trygve olafson; and astrid, a daughter of eirik bjodaskalle, was his mother. then sigurd knew that the boy was his sister's son, and asked him how he came there. olaf told him minutely all his adventures, and sigurd told him to follow him to the peasant reas. when he came there he bought both the boys, olaf and thorgils, and took them with him to holmgard. but, for the first, he made nothing known of olaf's relationship to him, but treated him well. 7. klerkon killed by olaf. olaf trygvason was one day in the market-place, where there was a great number of people. he recognized klerkon again, who had killed his foster-father thorolf lusarskeg. olaf had a little axe in his hand, and with it he clove klerkon's skull down to the brain, and ran home to his lodging, and told his friend sigurd what he had done. sigurd immediately took olaf to queen allogia's house, told her what had happened, and begged her to protect the boy. she replied, that the boy appeared far too comely to allow him to be slain; and she ordered her people to be drawn out fully armed. in holmgard the sacredness of peace is so respected, that it is law there to slay whoever puts a man to death except by judgment of law; and, according to this law and usage, the whole people stormed and sought after the boy. it was reported that he was in the queen's house, and that there was a number of armed men there. when this was told to the king, he went there with his people, but would allow no bloodshed. it was settled at last in peace, that the king should name the fine for the murder; and the queen paid it. olaf remained afterwards with the queen, and was much beloved. it is a law at holmgard, that no man of royal descent shall stay there without the king's permission. sigurd therefore told the queen of what family olaf was, and for what reason he had come to russia; namely, that he could not remain with safety in his own country: and begged her to speak to the king about it. she did so, and begged the king to help a king's son whose fate had been so hard; and in consequence of her entreaty the king promised to assist him, and accordingly he received olaf into his court, and treated him nobly, and as a king's son. olaf was nine years old when he came to russia, and he remained nine years more (a.d. 978-981) with king valdemar. olaf was the handsomest of men, very stout and strong, and in all bodily exercises he excelled every northman that ever was heard of. 8. of hakon earl of hlader. earl hakon, sigurd's son, was with the danish king, harald gormson, the winter after he had fled from norway before gunhild's sons. during the winter (a.d. 969) the earl had so much care and sorrow that he took to bed, and passed many sleepless nights, and ate and drank no more than was needful to support his strength. then he sent a private message to his friends north in throndhjem, and proposed to them that they should kill king erling, if they had an opportunity; adding, that he would come to them in summer. the same winter the throndhjem people accordingly, as before related, killed king erling. there was great friendship between earl hakon and gold harald, and harald told hakon all his intentions. he told him that he was tired of a ship-life, and wanted to settle on the land; and asked hakon if he thought his brother king harald would agree to divide the kingdom with him if he asked it. "i think," replied hakon, "that the danish king would not deny thy right; but the best way to know is to speak to the king himself. i know for certain so much, that you will not get a kingdom if you don't ask for it." soon after this conversation gold harald spoke to the king about the matter, in the presence of many great men who were friends to both; and gold harald asked king harald to divide the kingdom with him in two equal parts, to which his royal birth and the custom of the danish monarchy gave him right. the king was highly incensed at this demand, and said that no man had asked his father gorm to be king over half of denmark, nor yet his grandfather king hordaknut, or sigurd orm, or ragnar lodbrok; and he was so exasperated and angry, that nobody ventured to speak of it to him. 9. of gold harald. gold harald was now worse off than before; for he had got no kingdom, and had got the king's anger by proposing it. he went as usual to his friend hakon, and complained to him of his fate, and asked for good advice, and if he could help him to get his share of the kingdom; saying that he would rather try force, and the chance of war, than give it up. hakon advised him not to speak to any man so that this should be known; "for," said he, "it concerns thy life: and rather consider with thyself what thou art man enough to undertake; for to accomplish such a purpose requires a bold and firm man, who will neither stick at good nor evil to do that which is intended; for to take up great resolutions, and then to lay them aside, would only end in dishonour." gold harald replies--"i will so carry on what i begin, that i will not hesitate to kill harald with my own hands, if i can come thereby to the kingdom he denies me, and which is mine by right." and so they separated. now king harald comes also to earl hakon, and tells him the demand on his kingdom which gold harald had made, and also his answer, and that he would upon no account consent to diminish his kingdom. "and if gold harald persists in his demand, i will have no hesitation in having him killed; for i will not trust him if he does not renounce it." the earl answered,--"my thoughts are, that harald has carried his demand so far that he cannot now let it drop, and i expect nothing but war in the land; and that he will be able to gather a great force, because his father was so beloved. and then it would be a great enormity if you were to kill your relation; for, as things now stand, all men would say that he was innocent. but i am far from saying, or advising, that you should make yourself a smaller king than your father gorm was, who in many ways enlarged, but never diminished his kingdom." the king replies,--"what then is your advice,--if i am neither to divide my kingdom, nor to get rid of my fright and danger?" "let us meet again in a few days," said earl hakon, "and i will then have considered the matter well, and will give you my advice upon it." the king then went away with his people. 10. councils held by hakon and harald. earl hakon had now great reflection, and many opinions to weigh, and he let only very few be in the house with him. in a few days king harald came again to the earl to speak with him, and ask if he had yet considered fully the matter they had been talking of. "i have," said the earl, "considered it night and day ever since, and find it most advisable that you retain and rule over the whole of your kingdom just as your father left it; but that you obtain for your relation harald another kingdom, that he also may enjoy honour and dignity." "what kind of kingdom is that," said the king, "which i can give to harald, that i may possess denmark entire?" "it is norway," said the earl. "the kings who are there are oppressive to the people of the country, so that every man is against them who has tax or service to pay." the king replies,--"norway is a large country, and the people fierce, and not good to attack with a foreign army. we found that sufficiently when hakon defended that country; for we lost many people, and gained no victory. besides, harald the son of eirik is my foster-son, and has sat on my knee." the earl answers, "i have long known that you have helped gunhild's sons with your force, and a bad return you have got for it; but we shall get at norway much more easily than by fighting for it with all the danish force. send a message to your foster-son harald, eirik's son, and offer him the lands and fiefs which gunhild's sons held before in denmark. appoint him a meeting, and gold harald will soon conquer for himself a kingdom in norway from harald grafeld." the king replies, that it would be called a bad business to deceive his own foster-son. "the danes," answered the earl, "will rather say that it was better to kill a norwegian viking than a danish, and your own brother's son." they spoke so long over the matter, that they agreed on it. 11. harald gormson's message to norway. thereafter gold harald had a conference with earl hakon; and the earl told him he had now advanced his business so far, that there was hope a kingdom might stand open for him in norway. "we can then continue," said he, "our ancient friendship, and i can be of the greatest use to you in norway. take first that kingdom. king harald is now very old, and has but one son, and cares but little about him, as he is but the son of a concubine." the earl talked so long to gold harald that the project pleased him well; and the king, the earl, and gold harald often talked over the business together. the danish king then sent messengers north to norway to harald grafeld, and fitted them out magnificently for their journey. they were well received by harald. the messengers told him that earl hakon was in denmark, but was lying dangerously sick, and almost out of his senses. they then delivered from harald, the danish king, the invitation to harald grafeld, his foster-son, to come to him and receive investiture of the fiefs he and his brothers before him had formerly held in denmark; and appointing a meeting in jutland. harald grafeld laid the matter before his mother and other friends. their opinions were divided. some thought that the expedition was not without its danger, on account of the men with whom they had to deal; but the most were in haste to begin the journey, for at that time there was such a famine in norway that the kings could scarcely feed their men-at-arms; and on this account the fjord, on which the kings resided, usually got the name of hardanger (hardacre). in denmark, on the other hand, there had been tolerably good crops; so that people thought that if king harald got fiefs, and something to rule over there they would get some assistance. it was therefore concluded, before the messengers returned, that harald should travel to denmark to the danish king in summer, and accept the conditions king harald offered. 12. treachery of harald and hakon. harald grafeld went to denmark in the summer (a.d. 969) with three long-ships; and herse arinbjorn, from the fjord district, commanded one of them. king harald sailed from viken over to limfjord in jutland, and landed at the narrow neck of land where the danish king was expected. now when gold harald heard of this, he sailed there with nine ships which he had fitted out before for a viking cruise. earl hakon had also his war force on foot; namely, twelve large ships, all ready, with which he proposed to make an expedition. when gold harald had departed earl hakon says to the king, "now i don't know if we are not sailing on an expedition, and yet are to pay the penalty of not having joined it. gold harald may kill harald grafeld, and get the kingdom of norway; but you must not think he will be true to you, although you do help him to so much power, for he told me in winter that he would take your life if he could find opportunity to do so. now i will win norway for you, and kill gold harald, if you will promise me a good condition under you. i will be your earl; swear an oath of fidelity to you, and, with your help, conquer all norway for you; hold the country under your rule; pay you the scat and taxes; and you will be a greater king than your father, as you will have two kingdoms under you." the king and the earl agreed upon this, and hakon set off to seek gold harald. 13. death of harald grafeld. gold harald came to the neck of land at limfjord, and immediately challenged harald grafeld to battle; and although harald had fewer men, he went immediately on the land, prepared for battle, and drew up his troops. before the lines came together harald grafeld urged on his men, and told them to draw their swords. he himself advanced the foremost of the troop, hewing down on each side. so says glum geirason, in grafeld's lay:- "brave were thy words in battlefield, thou stainer of the snow-white shield!- thou gallant war-god! with thy voice thou couldst the dying man rejoice: the cheer of harald could impart courage and life to every heart. while swinging high the blood-smeared sword, by arm and voice we knew our lord." there fell harald grafeld. so says glum geirason:- "on limfjord's strand, by the tide's flow, stern fate has laid king harald low; the gallant viking-cruiser--he who loved the isle-encircling sea. the generous ruler of the land fell at the narrow limfjord strand. enticed by hakon's cunning speech to his death-bed on limfjord's beach." the most of king harald's men fell with him. there also fell herse arinbjorn. this happened fifteen years after the death of hakon, athelstan's foster-son, and thirteen years after that of sigurd earl of hlader. the priest are frode says that earl hakon was thirteen years earl over his father's dominions in throndhjem district before the fall of harald grafeld; but, for the last six years of harald grafeld's life, are frode says the earl hakon and gunhild's sons fought against each other, and drove each other out of the land by turns. 14. gold harald's death. soon after harald grafeld's fall, earl hakon came up to gold harald, and the earl immediately gave battle to harald. hakon gained the victory, and harald was made prisoner; but hakon had him immediately hanged on a gallows. hakon then went to the danish king, and no doubt easily settled with him for the killing his relative gold harald. 15. division of the country. soon after king harald gormson ordered a levy of men over all his kingdom, and sailed with 600 ships (1). there were with him earl hakon, harald grenske, a son of king gudrod, and many other great men who had fled from their udal estates in norway on account of gunhild's sons. the danish king sailed with his fleet from the south to viken, where all the people of the country surrendered to him. when he came to tunsberg swarms of people joined him; and king harald gave to earl hakon the command of all the men who came to him in norway, and gave him the government over rogaland, hordaland, sogn, fjord-district, south more, raumsdal, and north more. these seven districts gave king harald to earl hakon to rule over, with the same rights as harald harfager gave with them to his sons; only with the difference, that hakon should there, as well as in throndhjem, have the king's land-estates and land-tax, and use the king's money and goods according to his necessities whenever there was war in the country. king harald also gave harald grenske vingulmark, vestfold, and agder all the way to lidandisnes (the naze), together with the title of king; and let him have these dominions with the same rights as his family in former times had held them, and as harald harfager had given with them to his sons. harald grenske was then eighteen years old, and he became afterwards a celebrated man. harald king of denmark returned home thereafter with all his army. endnotes: (1) i.e., 720 ships, as they were counted by long hundreds, 100=120. 16. gunhild's sons leave the country. earl hakon proceeded northwards along the coast with his force; and when gunhild and her sons got the tidings they proceeded to gather troops, but were ill off for men. then they took the same resolution as before, to sail out to sea with such men as would follow them away to the westward (a.d. 969). they came first to the orkney islands, and remained there a while. there were in orkney then the earls hlodver. arnfid, ljot, and skule, the sons of thorfin hausakljufer. earl hakon now brought all the country under him, and remained all winter (a.d. 970) in throndhjem. einar skalaglam speaks of his conquests in "vellekla":- "norway's great watchman, harald, now may bind the silk snood on his brow- seven provinces he seized. the realm prospers with hakon at the helm." as hakon the earl proceeded this summer along the coast subjecting all the people to him, he ordered that over all his dominions the temples and sacrifices should be restored, and continued as of old. so it is said in the "vellekla":- "hakon the earl, so good and wise, let all the ancient temples rise;- thor's temples raised with fostering hand that had been ruined through the land. his valiant champions, who were slain on battle-fields across the main, to thor, the thunder-god, may tell how for the gods all turns out well. the hardy warrior now once more offers the sacrifice of gore; the shield-bearer in loke's game invokes once more great odin's name. the green earth gladly yields her store, as she was wont in days of yore, since the brave breaker of the spears the holy shrines again uprears. the earl has conquered with strong hand all that lies north of viken land: in battle storm, and iron rain hakon spreads wide his sword's domain." the first winter that hakon ruled over norway the herrings set in everywhere through the fjords to the land, and the seasons ripened to a good crop all that had been sown. the people, therefore, laid in seed for the next year, and got their lands sowed, and had hope of good times. 17. hakon's battle with ragnfred. king ragnfred and king gudrod, both sons of gunhild and eirik, were now the only sons of gunhild remaining in life. so says glum geirason in grafeld's lay:- "when in the battle's bloody strife the sword took noble harald's life, half of my fortunes with him fell: but his two brothers, i know well, my loss would soon repair, should they again in norway bear the sway, and to their promises should stand, if they return to rule the land." ragnfred began his course in the spring after he had been a year in the orkney islands. he sailed from thence to norway, and had with him fine troops, and large ships. when he came to norway he learnt that earl hakon was in throndhjem; therefore he steered northwards around stad, and plundered in south more. some people submitted to him; for it often happens, when parties of armed men scour over a country, that those who are nearest the danger seek help where they think it may be expected. as soon as earl hakon heard the news of disturbance in more, he fitted out ships, sent the war-token through the land, made ready in all haste, and proceeded out of the fjord. he had no difficulty in assembling men. ragnfred and earl hakon met at the north corner of more; and hakon, who had most men, but fewer ships, began the battle. the combat was severe, but heaviest on hakon's side; and as the custom then was, they fought bow to bow, and there was a current in the sound which drove all the ships in upon the land. the earl ordered to row with the oars to the land where landing seemed easiest. when the ships were all grounded, the earl with all his men left them, and drew them up so far that the enemy might not launch them down again, and then drew up his men on a grass-field, and challenged ragnfred to land. ragnfred and his men laid their vessels in along the land, and they shot at each other a long time; but upon the land ragnfred would not venture: and so they separated. ragnfred sailed with his fleet southwards around stad; for he was much afraid the whole forces of the country would swarm around hakon. hakon, on his part, was not inclined to try again a battle, for he thought the difference between their ships in size was too great; so in harvest he went north to throndhjem, and staid there all winter (a.d. 971). king ragnfred consequently had all the country south of stad at his mercy; namely, fjord district, hordaland, sogn, rogaland; and he had many people about him all winter. when spring approached he ordered out the people and collected a large force. by going about the districts he got many men, ships, and warlike stores sent as he required. 18. battle between hakon and ragnfred. towards spring earl hakon ordered out all the men north in the country; and got many people from halogaland and naumudal; so that from bryda to stad he had men from all the sea-coast. people flocked to him from all the throndhjem district and from raumsdal. it was said for certain that he had men from four great districts, and that seven earls followed him, and a matchless number of men. so it is said in the "vellekla":- "hakon, defender of the land, armed in the north his warrior-band to sogn's old shore his force he led, and from all quarters thither sped war-ships and men; and haste was made by the young god of the sword-blade, the hero-viking of the wave, his wide domain from foes to save. with shining keels seven kings sailed on to meet this raven-feeding one. when the clash came, the stunning sound was heard in norway's farthest bound; and sea-borne corpses, floating far, brought round the naze news from the war." earl hakon sailed then with his fleet southwards around stad; and when he heard that king ragnfred with his army had gone towards sogn, he turned there also with his men to meet him: and there ragnfred and hakon met. hakon came to the land with his ships, marked out a battle-field with hazel branches for king ragnfred, and took ground for his own men in it. so it is told in the "vellekla":- "in the fierce battle ragnfred then met the grim foe of vindland men; and many a hero of great name fell in the sharp sword's bloody game. the wielder of fell narve's weapon, the conquering hero, valiant hakon had laid his war-ships on the strand, and ranged his warriors on the land." there was a great battle; but earl hakon, having by far the most people, gained the victory. it took place on the thinganes, where sogn and hordaland meet. king rangfred fled to his ships, after 300 of his men had fallen. so it is said in the "vellekla":- "sharp was the battle-strife, i ween,- deadly and close it must have been, before, upon the bloody plain, three hundred corpses of the slain were stretched for the black raven's prey; and when the conquerors took their way to the sea-shore, they had to tread o'er piled-up heaps of foemen dead." after this battle king ragnfred fled from norway; but earl hakon restored peace to the country, and allowed the great army which had followed him in summer to return home to the north country, and he himself remained in the south that harvest and winter (a.d. 972). 19. earl hakon's marriage. earl hakon married a girl called thora, a daughter of the powerful skage skoptason, and very beautiful she was. they had two sons, svein and heming, and a daughter called bergljot who was afterwards married to einar tambaskielfer. earl hakon was much addicted to women, and had many children; among others a daughter ragnhild, whom he married to skopte skagason, a brother of thora. the earl loved thora so much that he held thora's family in higher respect than any other people, and skopte his brother-in-law in particular; and he gave him many great fiefs in more. whenever they were on a cruise together, skopte must lay his ship nearest to the earl's, and no other ship was allowed to come in between. 20. death of skopte. one summer that earl hakon was on a cruise, there was a ship with him of which thorleif spake (the wise) was steersman. in it was also eirik, earl hakon's son, then about ten or eleven years old. now in the evenings, as they came into harbour, eirik would not allow any ship but his to lie nearest to the earl's. but when they came to the south, to more, they met skopte the earl's brother-in-law, with a well-manned ship; and as they rowed towards the fleet, skopte called out that thorleif should move out of the harbour to make room for him, and should go to the roadstead. eirik in haste took up the matter, and ordered skopte to go himself to the roadstead. when earl hakon heard that his son thought himself too great to give place to skopte, he called to them immediately that they should haul out from their berth, threatening them with chastisement if they did not. when thorleif heard this, he ordered his men to slip their land-cable, and they did so; and skopte laid his vessel next to the earl's as he used to do. when they came together, skopte brought the earl all the news he had gathered, and the earl communicated to skopte all the news he had heard; and skopte was therefore called tidindaskopte (the newsman skopte). the winter after (a.d. 973) eirik was with his foster-father thorleif, and early in spring he gathered a crew of followers, and thorleif gave him a boat of fifteen benches of rowers, with ship furniture, tents, and ship provisions; and eirik set out from the fjord, and southwards to more. tidindaskopte happened also to be going with a fully manned boat of fifteen rowers' benches from one of his farms to another, and eirik went against him to have a battle. skopte was slain, but eirik granted life to those of his men who were still on their legs. so says eyjolf dadaskald in the "banda lay":- "at eve the youth went out to meet the warrior stout- to meet stout skopte--he whose war-ship roves the sea like force was on each side, but in the whirling tide the young wolf eirik slew skopte, and all his crew and he was a gallant one, dear to the earl hakon. up, youth of steel-hard breast- no time hast thou to rest! thy ocean wings spread wide- speed o'er the foaming tide! speed on--speed on thy way! for here thou canst not stay." eirik sailed along the land and came to denmark, and went to king harald gormson, and staid with him all winter (a.d. 974). in spring the danish king sent him north to norway, and gave him an earldom, and the government of vingulmark and raumarike, on the same terms as the small scat-paying kings had formerly held these domains. so says eyjolf dadaskald:- "south through ocean's spray his dragon flew away to gormson's hall renowned. where the bowl goes bravely round. and the danish king did place this youth of noble race where, shield and sword in hand, he would aye defend his land." eirik became afterwards a great chief. 21. olaf trygvason's journey from russia. all this time olaf trygvason was in gardarike (russia), and highly esteemed by king valdemar, and beloved by the queen. king valdemar made him chief over the men-at-arms whom he sent out to defend the land. so says hallarsteid:- "the hater of the niggard band, the chief who loves the northman's land, was only twelve years old when he his russian war-ships put to sea. the wain that ploughs the sea was then loaded with war-gear by his men- with swords, and spears, and helms: and deep out to the sea his good ships sweep." olaf had several battles, and was lucky as a leader of troops. he himself kept a great many men-at-arms at his own expense out of the pay the king gave him. olaf was very generous to his men, and therefore very popular. but then it came to pass, what so often happens when a foreigner is raised to higher power and dignity than men of the country, that many envied him because he was so favoured by the king, and also not less so by the queen. they hinted to the king that he should take care not to make olaf too powerful,--"for such a man may be dangerous to you, if he were to allow himself to be used for the purpose of doing you or your kingdom harm; for he is extremely expert in all exercises and feats, and very popular. we do not, indeed, know what it is he can have to talk of so often with the queen." it was then the custom among great monarchs that the queen should have half of the court attendants, and she supported them at her own expense out of the scat and revenue provided for her for that purpose. it was so also at the court of king valdemar that the queen had an attendance as large as the king, and they vied with each other about the finest men, each wanting to have such in their own service. it so fell out that the king listened to such speeches, and became somewhat silent and blunt towards olaf. when olaf observed this, he told it to the queen; and also that he had a great desire to travel to the northern land, where his family formerly had power and kingdoms, and where it was most likely he would advance himself. the queen wished him a prosperous journey, and said he would be found a brave man wherever he might be. olaf then made ready, went on board, and set out to sea in the baltic. as he was coming from the east he made the island of borgundarholm (bornholm), where he landed and plundered. the country people hastened down to the strand, and gave him battle; but olaf gained the victory, and a large booty. 22. olaf trygvason's marriage. while olaf lay at borgundarholm there came on bad weather, storm, and a heavy sea, so that his ships could not lie there; and he sailed southwards under vindland, where they found a good harbour. they conducted themselves very peacefully, and remained some time. in vindland there was then a king called burizleif, who had three daughters,--geira, gunhild, and astrid. the king's daughter geira had the power and government in that part where olaf and his people landed, and dixen was the name of the man who most usually advised queen geira. now when they heard that unknown people were came to the country, who were of distinguished appearance, and conducted themselves peaceably, dixen repaired to them with a message from queen geira, inviting the strangers to take up their winter abode with her; for the summer was almost spent, and the weather was severe and stormy. now when dixen came to the place he soon saw that the leader was a distinguished man, both from family and personal appearance, and he told olaf the queen's invitation with the most kindly message. olaf willingly accepted the invitation, and went in harvest (a.d. 982) to queen geira. they liked each other exceedingly, and olaf courted queen geira; and it was so settled that olaf married her the same winter, and was ruler, along with queen geira, over her dominions. halfred vandredaskald tells of these matters in the lay he composed about king olaf:- "why should the deeds the hero did in bornholm and the east he hid? his deadly weapon olaf bold dyed red: why should not this be told?" 23. earl hakon pays no scat. earl hakon ruled over norway, and paid no scat; because the danish king gave him all the scat revenue that belonged to the king in norway, for the expense and trouble he had in defending the country against gunhild's sons. 24. harald opposes christianity. the emperor otta (otto) was at that time in the saxon country, and sent a message to king harald, the danish king, that he must take on the true faith and be baptized, he and all his people whom he ruled; "otherwise," says the emperor, "we will march against him with an army." the danish king ordered the land defence to be fitted out, danavirke (1) (the danish wall) to be well fortified, and his ships of war rigged out. he sent a message also to earl hakon in norway to come to him early in spring, and with as many men as he could possibly raise. in spring (a.d. 975) earl hakon levied an army over the whole country which was very numerous, and with it he sailed to meet the danish king. the king received him in the most honourable manner. many other chiefs also joined the danish king with their men, so that he had gathered a very large army. endnotes: (1) danavirke. the danish work was a wall of earth, stones, and wood, with a deep ditch in front, and a castle at every hundred fathoms, between the rivers eider and slien, constructed by harald blatand (bluetooth) to oppose the progress of charlemagne. some traces of it still exist. --l. 25. olaf trygvason's war expedition. olaf trygvason had been all winter (a.d. 980) in vindland, as before related, and went the same winter to the baronies in vindland which had formerly been under queen geira, but had withdrawn themselves from obedience and payment of taxes. there olaf made war, killed many people, burnt out others, took much property, and laid all of them under subjection to him, and then went back to his castle. early in spring olaf rigged out his ships and set off to sea. he sailed to skane and made a landing. the people of the country assembled, and gave him battle; but king olaf conquered, and made a great booty. he then sailed eastward to the island of gotland, where he captured a merchant vessel belonging to the people of jamtaland. they made a brave defence; but the end of it was that olaf cleared the deck, killed many of the men, and took all the goods. he had a third battle in gotland, in which he also gained the victory, and made a great booty. so says halfred vandredaskald:- "the king, so fierce in battle-fray, first made the vindland men give way: the gotlanders must tremble next; and scania's shores are sorely vexed by the sharp pelting arrow shower the hero and his warriors pour; and then the jamtaland men must fly, scared by his well-known battle-cry." 26. otta and hakon in battle. the emperor otta assembled a great army from saxland, frakland, frisland, and vindland. king burizleif followed him with a large army, and in it was his son-in-law, olaf trygvason. the emperor had a great body of horsemen, and still greater of foot people, and a great army from holstein. harald, the danish king, sent earl hakon with the army of northmen that followed him southwards to danavirke, to defend his kingdom on that side. so it is told in the "vellekla":- "over the foaming salt sea spray the norse sea-horses took their way, racing across the ocean-plain southwards to denmark's green domain. the gallant chief of hordaland sat at the helm with steady hand, in casque and shield, his men to bring from dovre to his friend the king. he steered his war-ships o'er the wave to help the danish king to save mordalf, who, with a gallant band was hastening from the jutes' wild land, across the forest frontier rude, with toil and pain through the thick wood. glad was the danish king, i trow, when he saw hakon's galley's prow. the monarch straightway gave command to hakon, with a steel-clad band, to man the dane-work's rampart stout, and keep the foreign foemen out." the emperor otta came with his army from the south to danavirke, but earl hakon defended the rampart with his men. the dane-work (danavirke) was constructed in this way:--two fjords run into the land, one on each side; and in the farthest bight of these fjords the danes had made a great wall of stone, turf, and timber, and dug a deep and broad ditch in front of it, and had also built a castle over each gate of it. there was a hard battle there, of which the "vellekla" speaks:- "thick the storm of arrows flew, loud was the din, black was the view of close array of shield and spear of vind, and frank, and saxon there. but little recked our gallant men; and loud the cry might be heard then of norway's brave sea-roving son- 'on 'gainst the foe! on! lead us on!" earl hakon drew up his people in ranks upon all the gate-towers of the wall, but the greater part of them he kept marching along the wall to make a defence wheresoever an attack was threatened. many of the emperor's people fell without making any impression on the fortification, so the emperor turned back without farther attempt at an assault on it. so it is said in the "vellekla":- "they who the eagle's feast provide in ranked line fought side by side, 'gainst lines of war-men under shields\ close packed together on the fields, earl hakon drive by daring deeds the saxons to their ocean-steeds; and the young hero saves from fall the danavirke--the people's wall." after this battle earl hakon went back to his ships, and intended to sail home to norway; but he did not get a favourable wind, and lay for some time outside at limafjord. 27. harald and hakon are baptized. the emperor otta turned back with his troops to slesvik, collected his ships of war, and crossed the fjord of sle into jutland. as soon as the danish king heard of this he marched his army against him, and there was a battle, in which the emperor at last got the victory. the danish king fled to limafjord and took refuge in the island marsey. by the help of mediators who went between the king and the emperor, a truce and a meeting between them were agreed on. the emperor otta and the danish king met upon marsey. there bishop poppo instructed king harald in the holy faith; he bore red hot irons in his hands, and exhibited his unscorched hands to the king. thereafter king harald allowed himself to be baptized, and also the whole danish army. king harald, while he was in marsey, had sent a message to hakon that he should come to his succour; and the earl had just reached the island when the king had received baptism. the king sends word to the earl to come to him, and when they met the king forced the earl to allow himself also to be baptized. so earl hakon and all the men who were with him were baptized; and the king gave them priests and other learned men with them, and ordered that the earl should make all the people in norway be baptized. on that they separated; and the earl went out to sea, there to wait for a wind. 28. hakon renounces christianity. when a wind came with which he thought he could get clear out to sea, he put all the learned men on shore again, and set off to the ocean; but as the wind came round to the south-west, and at last to west, he sailed eastward, out through eyrarsund, ravaging the land on both sides. he then sailed eastward along skane, plundering the country wherever he came. when he got east to the skerries of east gautland, he ran in and landed, and made a great blood-sacrifice. there came two ravens flying which croaked loudly; and now, thought the earl, the blood-offering has been accepted by odin, and he thought good luck would be with him any day he liked to go to battle. then he set fire to his ships, landed his men, and went over all the country with armed hand. earl ottar, who ruled over gautland, came against him, and they held a great battle with each other; but earl hakon gained the day, and earl ottar and a great part of his men were killed. earl hakon now drove with fire and sword over both the gautlands, until he came into norway; and then he proceeded by land all the way north to throndhjem. the "vellekla" tells about this:- "on the silent battle-field, in viking garb, with axe and shield, the warrior, striding o'er the slain, asks of the gods 'what days will gain?' two ravens, flying from the east, come croaking to the bloody feast: the warrior knows what they foreshow- the days when gautland blood will flow. a viking-feast earl hakon kept, the land with viking fury swept, harrying the land far from the shore where foray ne'er was known before. leaving the barren cold coast side, he raged through gautland far and wide,- led many a gold-decked viking shield o'er many a peaceful inland field. bodies on bodies odin found heaped high upon each battle ground: the moor, as if by witchcraft's power, grows green, enriched by bloody shower. no wonder that the gods delight to give such luck in every fight to hakon's men--for he restores their temples on our norway shores." 29. the emperor otta returns home. the emperor otta went back to his kingdom in the saxon land, and parted in friendship with the danish king. it is said that the emperor otta stood godfather to svein, king harald's son, and gave him his name; so that he was baptized otta svein. king harald held fast by his christianity to his dying day. king burizleif went to vindland, and his son-in-law king olaf went with him. this battle is related also by halfred vandredaskald in his song on olaf:- "he who through the foaming surges his white-winged ocean-coursers urges, hewed from the danes, in armour dressed, the iron bark off mail-clad breast." 30. olaf's journey from vindland. olaf trygvason was three years in vindland (a.d. 982-984) when geira his queen fell sick, and she died of her illness. olaf felt his loss so great that he had no pleasure in vindland after it. he provided himself, therefore, with warships, and went out again a plundering, and plundered first in frisland, next in saxland, and then all the way to flaemingjaland (flanders). so says halfred vandredaskald:- "olaf's broad axe of shining steel for the shy wolf left many a meal. the ill-shaped saxon corpses lay heaped up, the witch-wife's horses' (1) prey. she rides by night: at pools of blood. where frisland men in daylight stood, her horses slake their thirst, and fly on to the field where flemings lie. the raven-friend in odin's dress- olaf, who foes can well repress, left flemish flesh for many a meal with his broad axe of shining steel." endnotes: (1) ravens were the witches' horses.--l. 31. king olaf's forays. thereafter olaf trygvason sailed to england, and ravaged wide around in the land. he sailed all the way north to northumberland, where he plundered; and thence to scotland, where he marauded far and wide. then he went to the hebrides, where he fought some battles; and then southwards to man, where he also fought. he ravaged far around in ireland, and thence steered to bretland, which he laid waste with fire and sword, and all the district called cumberland. he sailed westward from thence to valland, and marauded there. when he left the west, intending to sail to england, he came to the islands called the scilly isles, lying westward from england in the ocean. thus tells halfred vandraskald of these events:- the brave young king, who ne'er retreats, the englishman in england beats. death through northumberland is spread from battleaxe and broad spearhead. through scotland with his spears he rides; to man his glancing ships he guides: feeding the wolves where'er he came, the young king drove a bloody game. the gallant bowmen in the isles slew foemen, who lay heaped in piles. the irish fled at olaf's name- fled from a young king seeking fame. in bretland, and in cumberland, people against him could not stand: thick on the fields their corpses lay, to ravens and howling wolves a prey." olaf trygvason had been four years on this cruise (a.d. 985-988), from the time he left vindland till he came to the scilly islands. 32. king olaf is baptized. while olaf trygvason lay in the scilly isles he heard of a seer, or fortune-teller, on the islands, who could tell beforehand things not yet done, and what he foretold many believed was really fulfilled. olaf became curious to try this man's gift of prophecy. he therefore sent one of his men, who was the handsomest and strongest, clothed him magnificently, and bade him say he was the king; for olaf was known in all countries as handsomer, stronger, and braver than all others, although, after he had left russia, he retained no more of his name than that he was called ole, and was russian. now when the messenger came to the fortune-teller, and gave himself out for the king, he got the answer, "thou art not the king, but i advise thee to be faithful to thy king." and more he would not say to that man. the man returned, and told olaf, and his desire to meet the fortune-teller was increased; and now he had no doubt of his being really a fortune-teller. olaf repaired himself to him, and, entering into conversation, asked him if he could foresee how it would go with him with regard to his kingdom, or of any other fortune he was to have. the hermit replies in a holy spirit of prophecy, "thou wilt become a renowned king, and do celebrated deeds. many men wilt thou bring to faith and baptism, and both to thy own and others' good; and that thou mayst have no doubt of the truth of this answer, listen to these tokens: when thou comest to thy ships many of thy people will conspire against thee, and then a battle will follow in which many of thy men will fall, and thou wilt be wounded almost to death, and carried upon a shield to thy ship; yet after seven days thou shalt be well of thy wounds, and immediately thou shalt let thyself be baptized." soon after olaf went down to his ships, where he met some mutineers and people who would destroy him and his men. a fight took place, and the result was what the hermit had predicted, that olaf was wounded, and carried upon a shield to his ship, and that his wound was healed in seven days. then olaf perceived that the man had spoken truth, that he was a true fortune-teller, and had the gift of prophecy. olaf went once more to the hermit, and asked particularly how he came to have such wisdom in foreseeing things to be. the hermit replied, that the christian god himself let him know all that he desired; and he brought before olaf many great proofs of the power of the almighty. in consequence of this encouragement olaf agreed to let himself be baptized, and he and all his followers were baptized forthwith. he remained here a long time, took the true faith, and got with him priests and other learned men. 33. olaf marries gyda. in autumn (a.d. 988) olaf sailed from scilly to england, where he put into a harbour, but proceeded in a friendly way; for england was christian, and he himself had become christian. at this time a summons to a thing went through the country, that all men should come to hold a thing. now when the thing was assembled a queen called gyda came to it, a sister of olaf kvaran, who was king of dublin in ireland. she had been married to a great earl in england, and after his death she was at the head of his dominions. in her territory there was a man called alfvine, who was a great champion and single-combat man. he had paid his addresses to her; but she gave for answer, that she herself would choose whom of the men in her dominions she would take in marriage; and on that account the thing was assembled, that she might choose a husband. alfvine came there dressed out in his best clothes, and there were many well-dressed men at the meeting. olaf had come there also; but had on his bad-weather clothes, and a coarse over-garment, and stood with his people apart from the rest of the crowd. gyda went round and looked at each, to see if any appeared to her a suitable man. now when she came to where olaf stood she looked at him straight in the face, and asked "what sort of man he was?" he said, "i am called ole; and i am a stranger here." gyda replies, "wilt thou have me if i choose thee?" "i will not say no to that," answered he; and he asked what her name was, and her family, and descent. "i am called gyda," said she; "and am daughter of the king of ireland, and was married in this country to an earl who ruled over this territory. since his death i have ruled over it, and many have courted me, but none to whom i would choose to be married." she was a young and handsome woman. they afterwards talked over the matter together, and agreed, and olaf and gyda were betrothed. 34. king olaf and alfvine's duel. alfvine was very ill pleased with this. it was the custom then in england, if two strove for anything, to settle the matter by single combat (1); and now alfvine challenges olaf trygvason to fight about this business. the time and place for the combat were settled, and that each should have twelve men with him. when they met, olaf told his men to do exactly as they saw him do. he had a large axe; and when alfvine was going to cut at him with his sword he hewed away the sword out of his hand, and with the next blow struck down alfvine himself. he then bound him fast. it went in the same way with all alfvine's men. they were beaten down, bound, and carried to olaf's lodging. thereupon he ordered alfvine to quit the country, and never appear in it again; and olaf took all his property. olaf in this way got gyda in marriage, and lived sometimes in england, and sometimes in ireland. endnotes: (1) holm-gang: so called because the combatants went to a holm or uninhabited isle to fight in norway.--l. 35. king olaf gets his dog vige. while olaf was in ireland he was once on an expedition which went by sea. as they required to make a foray for provisions on the coast, some of his men landed, and drove down a large herd of cattle to the strand. now a peasant came up, and entreated olaf to give him back the cows that belonged to him. olaf told him to take his cows, if he could distinguish them; "but don't delay our march." the peasant had with him a large house-dog, which he put in among the herd of cattle, in which many hundred head of beasts were driven together. the dog ran into the herd, and drove out exactly the number which the peasant had said he wanted; and all were marked with the same mark, which showed that the dog knew the right beasts, and was very sagacious. olaf then asked the peasant if he would sell him the dog. "i would rather give him to you," said the peasant. olaf immediately presented him with a gold ring in return, and promised him his friendship in future. this dog was called vige, and was the very best of dogs, and olaf owned him long afterwards. 36. harald gormson sails against iceland. the danish king, harald gormson, heard that earl hakon had thrown off christianity, and had plundered far and wide in the danish land. the danish king levied an army, with which he went to norway; and when he came to the country which earl hakon had to rule over he laid waste the whole land, and came with his fleet to some islands called solunder. only five houses were left standing in laeradal; but all the people fled up to the mountains, and into the forest, taking with them all the moveable goods they could carry with them. then the danish king proposed to sail with his fleet to iceland, to avenge the mockery and scorn all the icelanders had shown towards him; for they had made a law in iceland, that they should make as many lampoons against the danish king as there were headlands in his country; and the reason was, because a vessel which belonged to certain icelanders was stranded in denmark, and the danes took all the property, and called it wreck. one of the king's bailiffs called birger was to blame for this; but the lampoons were made against both. in the lampoons were the following lines:- "the gallant harald in the field between his legs lets drop his shield; into a pony he was changed. and kicked his shield, and safely ranged. and birger, he who dwells in halls for safety built with four stone walls, that these might be a worthy pair, was changed into a pony mare." 37. harald sends a warlock to iceland. king harald told a warlock to hie to iceland in some altered shape, and to try what he could learn there to tell him: and he set out in the shape of a whale. and when he came near to the land he went to the west side of iceland, north around the land, where he saw all the mountains and hills full of guardian-spirits, some great, some small. when he came to vapnafjord he went in towards the land, intending to go on shore; but a huge dragon rushed down the dale against him with a train of serpents, paddocks, and toads, that blew poison towards him. then he turned to go westward around the land as far as eyjafjord, and he went into the fjord. then a bird flew against him, which was so great that its wings stretched over the mountains on either side of the fjord, and many birds, great and small, with it. then he swam farther west, and then south into breidafjord. when he came into the fjord a large grey bull ran against him, wading into the sea, and bellowing fearfully, and he was followed by a crowd of land-spirits. from thence he went round by reykjanes, and wanted to land at vikarsskeid, but there came down a hill-giant against him with an iron staff in his hands. he was a head higher than the mountains, and many other giants followed him. he then swam eastward along the land, and there was nothing to see, he said, but sand and vast deserts, and, without the skerries, high-breaking surf; and the ocean between the countries was so wide that a long-ship could not cross it. at that time brodhelge dwelt in vapnafjord, eyjolf valgerdson in eyjafjord, thord geller in breidafjord, and thorod gode in olfus. then the danish king turned about with his fleet, and sailed back to denmark. hakon the earl settled habitations again in the country that had been laid waste, and paid no scat as long as he lived to denmark. 38. harald gormson's death. svein, king harald's son, who afterwards was called tjuguskeg (forked beard), asked his father king harald for a part of his kingdom; but now, as before, harald would not listen to dividing the danish dominions, and giving him a kingdom. svein collected ships of war, and gave out that he was going on a viking cruise; but when all his men were assembled, and the jomsborg viking palnatoke had come to his assistance he ran into sealand to isafjord, where his father had been for some time with his ships ready to proceed on an expedition. svein instantly gave battle, and the combat was severe. so many people flew to assist king harald, that svein was overpowered by numbers, and fled. but king harald received a wound which ended in his death: and svein was chosen king of denmark. at this time sigvalde was earl over jomsborg in vindland. he was a son of king strutharald, who had ruled over skane. heming, and thorkel the tall, were sigvalde's brothers. bue the thick from bornholm, and sigurd his brother, were also chiefs among the jomsborg vikings: and also vagn, a son of ake and thorgunna, and a sister's son of bue and sigurd. earl sigvalde had taken king svein prisoner, and carried him to vindland, to jomsborg, where he had forced him to make peace with burizleif, the king of the vinds, and to take him as the peace-maker between them. earl sigvalde was married to astrid, a daughter of king burizleif; and told king svein that if he did not accept of his terms, he would deliver him into the hands of the vinds. the king knew that they would torture him to death, and therefore agreed to accept the earl's mediation. the earl delivered this judgment between them--that king svein should marry gunhild, king burizleif's daughter; and king burizleif again thyre, a daughter of harald, and king svein's sister; but that each party should retain their own dominions, and there should be peace between the countries. then king svein returned home to denmark with his wife gunhild. their sons were harald and knut (canute) the great. at that time the danes threatened much to bring an army into norway against earl hakon. 39. vow of the jomsborg vikings. king svein made a magnificent feast, to which he invited all the chiefs in his dominions; for he would give the succession-feast, or the heirship-ale, after his father harald. a short time before, strutharald in skane, and vesete in bornholm, father to bue the thick and to sigurd, had died; and king svein sent word to the jomsborg vikings that earl sigvalde and bue, and their brothers, should come to him, and drink the funeral-ale for their fathers in the same feast the king was giving. the jomsborg vikings came to the festival with their bravest men, forty ships of them from vindland, and twenty ships from skane. great was the multitude of people assembled. the first day of the feast, before king svein went up into his father's high-seat, he drank the bowl to his father's memory, and made the solemn vow, that before three winters were past he would go over with his army to england, and either kill king adalrad (ethelred), or chase him out of the country. this heirship bowl all who were at the feast drank. thereafter for the chiefs of the jomsborg vikings was filled and drunk the largest horn to be found, and of the strongest drink. when that bowl was emptied, all men drank christ's health; and again the fullest measure and the strongest drink were handed to the jomsborg vikings. the third bowl was to the memory of saint michael, which was drunk by all. thereafter earl sigvalde emptied a remembrance bowl to his father's honour, and made the solemn vow, that before three winters came to an end he would go to norway, and either kill earl hakon, or chase him out of the country. thereupon thorkel the tall, his brother, made a solemn vow to follow his brother sigvalde to norway, and not flinch from the battle so long as sigvalde would fight there. then bue the thick vowed to follow them to norway, and not flinch so long as the other jomsborg vikings fought. at last vagn akason vowed that he would go with them to norway, and not return until he had slain thorkel leira, and gone to bed to his daughter ingebjorg without her friends' consent. many other chiefs made solemn vows about different things. thus was the heirship-ale drunk that day, but the next morning, when the jomsborg vikings had slept off their drink, they thought they had spoken more than enough. they held a meeting to consult how they should proceed with their undertaking, and they determined to fit out as speedily as possible for the expedition; and without delay ships and men-at-arms were prepared, and the news spread quickly. 40. eirik and hakon make a war levy. when earl eirik, the son of hakon, who at that time was in raumarike, heard the tidings, he immediately gathered troops, and went to the uplands, and thence over the mountains to throndhjem, and joined his father earl hakon. thord kolbeinson speaks of this in the lay of eirik:- "news from the south are flying round; the bonde comes with look profound, bad news of bloody battles bringing, of steel-clad men, of weapons ringing. i hear that in the danish land long-sided ships slide down the strand, and, floating with the rising tide, the ocean-coursers soon will ride." the earls hakon and eirik had war-arrows split up and sent round the throndhjem country; and despatched messages to both the mores, north more and south more, and to raumsdal, and also north to naumudal and halogaland. they summoned all the country to provide both men and ships. so it is said in eirik's lay: "the skald must now a war-song raise, the gallant active youth must praise, who o'er the ocean's field spreads forth ships, cutters, boats, from the far north. his mighty fleet comes sailing by,- the people run to see them glide, mast after mast, by the coast-side." earl hakon set out immediately to the south, to more, to reconnoitre and gather people; and earl eirik gathered an army from the north to follow. 41. expedition of the jomsborg vikings. the jomsborg vikings assembled their fleet in limafjord, from whence they went to sea with sixty sail of vessels. when they came under the coast of agder, they steered northwards to rogaland with their fleet, and began to plunder when they came into the earl's territory; and so they sailed north along the coast, plundering and burning. a man, by name geirmund, sailed in a light boat with a few men northwards to more, and there he fell in with earl hakon, stood before his dinner table, and told the earl the tidings of an army from denmark having come to the south end of the land. the earl asked if he had any certainty of it. then geirmund stretched forth one arm, from which the hand was cut off, and said, "here is the token that the enemy is in the land." then the earl questioned him particularly about this army. geirmund says it consists of jomsborg vikings, who have killed many people, and plundered all around. "and hastily and hotly they pushed on," says he "and i expect it will not be long before they are upon you." on this the earl rode into every fjord, going in along the one side of the land and out at the other, collecting men; and thus he drove along night and day. he sent spies out upon the upper ridges, and also southwards into the fjords; and he proceeded north to meet eirik with his men. this appears from eirik's lay:- "the earl, well skilled in war to speed o'er the wild wave the viking-steed, now launched the high stems from the shore, which death to sigvalde's vikings bore. rollers beneath the ships' keels crash, oar-blades loud in the grey sea splash, and they who give the ravens food row fearless through the curling flood." eirik hastened southwards with his forces the shortest way he could. 42. of the jomsborg vikings. earl sigvalde steered with his fleet northwards around stad, and came to the land at the herey isles. although the vikings fell in with the country people, the people never told the truth about what the earl was doing; and the vikings went on pillaging and laying waste. they laid to their vessels at the outer end of hod island, landed, plundered, and drove both men and cattle down to the ships, killing all the men able to bear arms. as they were going back to their ships, came a bonde, walking near to bue's troop, who said to them, "ye are not doing like true warriors, to be driving cows and calves down to the strand, while ye should be giving chase to the bear, since ye are coming near to the bear's den." "what says the old man?" asked some. "can he tell us anything about earl hakon?" the peasant replies, "the earl went yesterday into the hjorundarfjord with one or two ships, certainly not more than three, and then he had no news about you." bue ran now with his people in all haste down to the ships, leaving all the booty behind. bue said, "let us avail ourselves now of this news we have got of the earl, and be the first to the victory." when they came to their ships they rode off from the land. earl sigvalde called to them, and asked what they were about. they replied, "the earl is in the fjord;" on which earl sigvalde with the whole fleet set off, and rowed north about the island hod. 43. battle with the jomsborg vikings. the earls hakon and eirik lay in halkelsvik, where all their forces were assembled. they had 150 ships, and they had heard that the jomsborg vikings had come in from sea, and lay at the island hod; and they, in consequence, rowed out to seek them. when they reached a place called hjorungavag they met each other, and both sides drew up their ships in line for an attack. earl sigvalde's banner was displayed in the midst of his army, and right against it earl hakon arranged his force for attack. earl sigvalde himself had 20 ships, but earl hakon had 60. in earl's army were these chiefs,--thorer hjort from halogaland, and styrkar from gimsar. in the wing of the opposite array of the jomsborg vikings was bue the thick, and his brother sigurd, with 20 ships. against him earl eirik laid himself with 60 ships; and with him were these chiefs,--gudbrand hvite from the uplands, and thorkel leira from viken. in the other wing of the jomsborg vikings' array was vagn akason with 20 ships; and against him stood svein the son of hakon, in whose division was skegge of yrjar at uphaug, and rognvald of aervik at stad, with 60 ships. it is told in the eirik's lay thus:- "the bonde's ships along the coast sailed on to meet the foemen's host; the stout earl's ships, with eagle flight, rushed on the danes in bloody fight. the danish ships, of court-men full, were cleared of men,--and many a hull was driving empty on the main, with the warm corpses of the slain." eyvind skaldaspiller says also in the "haleygja-tal":- "twas at the peep of day,- our brave earl led the way; his ocean horses bounding- his war-horns loudly sounding! no joyful morn arose for yngve frey's base foes these christian island-men wished themselves home again." then the fleets came together, and one of the sharpest of conflicts began. many fell on both sides, but the most by far on hakon's side; for the jomsborg vikings fought desperately, sharply, and murderously, and shot right through the shields. so many spears were thrown against earl hakon that his armour was altogether split asunder, and he threw it off. so says tind halkelson:- "the ring-linked coat of strongest mail could not withstand the iron hail, though sewed with care and elbow bent, by norn (1), on its strength intent. the fire of battle raged around,- odin's steel shirt flew all unbound! the earl his ring-mail from him flung, its steel rings on the wet deck rung; part of it fell into the sea,- a part was kept, a proof to be how sharp and thick the arrow-flight among the sea-steeds in this fight." endnotes: (1) norn, one of the fates, stands here for women, whose business it was to sew the rings of iron upon the cloth which made these ring-mail coats or shirts. the needles, although some of them were of gold, appear to have been without eyes, and used like shoemaker's awls.--l. 44. earl sigvalde's flight. the jomsborg vikings had larger and higher-sided ships; and both parties fought desperately. vagn akason laid his ship on board of svein earl hakon's son's ship, and svein allowed his ship to give way, and was on the point of flying. then earl eirik came up, and laid his ship alongside of vagn, and then vagn gave way, and the ships came to lie in the same position as before. thereupon eirik goes to the other wing, which had gone back a little, and bue had cut the ropes, intending to pursue them. then eirik laid himself, board to board, alongside of bue's ship, and there was a severe combat hand to hand. two or three of eirik's ships then laid themselves upon bue's single vessel. a thunder-storm came on at this moment, and such a heavy hail-storm that every hailstone weighed a pennyweight. the earl sigvalde cut his cable, turned his ship round, and took flight. vagn akason called to him not to fly; but as earl sigvalde paid no attention to what he said, vagn threw his spear at him, and hit the man at the helm. earl sigvalde rowed away with 35 ships, leaving 25 of his fleet behind. 45. bue throws himself overboard. then earl hakon laid his ship on the other side of bue's ship, and now came heavy blows on bue's men. vigfus, a son of vigaglum, took up an anvil with a sharp end, which lay upon the deck, and on which a man had welded the hilt to his sword just before, and being a very strong man cast the anvil with both hands at the head of aslak holmskalle, and the end of it went into his brains. before this no weapon could wound this aslak, who was bue's foster-brother, and forecastle commander, although he could wound right and left. another man among the strongest and bravest was havard hoggande. in this attack eirik's men boarded bue's ship, and went aft to the quarter-deck where bue stood. there thorstein midlang cut at bue across his nose, so that the nosepiece of his helmet was cut in two, and he got a great wound; but bue, in turn, cut at thorstein's side, so that the sword cut the man through. then bue lifted up two chests full of gold, and called aloud, "overboard all bue s men," and threw himself overboard with his two chests. many of his people sprang overboard with him. some fell in the ship, for it was of no use to call for quarter. bue's ship was cleared of people from stem to stern, and afterwards all the others, the one after the other. 46. vikings bound together in one chain. earl eirik then laid himself alongside of vagn's ship, and there was a brave defence; but at last this ship too was cleared, and vagn and thirty men were taken prisoners, and bound, and brought to land. then came up thorkel leira, and said, "thou madest a solemn vow, vagn, to kill me, but now it seems more likely that i will kill thee." vagn and his men sat all upon a log of wood together. thorkel had an axe in his hands, with which he cut at him who sat outmost on the log. vagn and the other prisoners were bound so that a rope was fastened on their feet, but they had their hands free. one of them said, "i will stick this cloak-pin that i have in my hand into the earth, if it be so that i know anything, after my head is cut off." his head was cut off, but the cloak-pin fell from his hand. there sat also a very handsome man with long hair, who twisted his hair over his head, put out his neck, and said, "don't make my hair bloody." a man took the hair in his hands and held it fast. thorkel hewed with his axe; but the viking twitched his head so strongly that he who was holding his hair fell forwards, and the axe cut off both his hands, and stuck fast in the earth. then earl eirik came up, and asked, "who is that handsome man?" he replies, "i am called sigurd, and am bue's son. but are all the jomsborg vikings dead?" eirik says, "thou art certainly boe's son. wilt thou now take life and peace?" "that depends," says he, "upon who it is that offers it." "he offers who has the power to do it--earl eirik." "that will i," says he, "from his hands." and now the rope was loosened from him. then said thorkel leira, "although thou should give all these men life and peace, earl, vagn akason shall never come from this with life." and he ran at him with uplifted axe; but the viking skarde swung himself in the rope, and let himself fall just before thorkel's feet, so that thorkel ell over him, and vagn caught the axe and gave thorkel a death-wound. then said the earl, "vagn, wilt thou accept life?" "that i will," says he, "if you give it to all of us." "loose them from the rope," said the earl, and it was done. eighteen were killed, and twelve got their lives. 47. death of gissur of valders. earl hakon, and many with him, were sitting upon a piece of wood, and a bow-string twanged from bue's ship, and the arrow struck gissur from valders, who was sitting next the earl, and was clothed splendidly. thereupon the people went on board, and found havard hoggande standing on his knees at the ship's railing, for his feet had been cut off (1), and he had a bow in his hand. when they came on board the ship havard asked, "who fell by that shaft?" they answered, "a man called gissur." "then my luck was less than i thought," said he. "great enough was the misfortune," replied they; "but thou shalt not make it greater." and they killed him on the spot. the dead were then ransacked, and the booty brought all together to be divided; and there were twenty-five ships of the jomsborg vikings in the booty. so says tind: "many a viking's body lay dead on the deck this bloody day, before they cut their sun-dried ropes, and in quick flight put all their hopes. he whom the ravens know afar cleared five-and-twenty ships of war: a proof that in the furious fight none can withstand the norsemen's might." then the army dispersed. earl hakon went to throndhjem, and was much displeased that earl eirik had given quarter to vagn akason. it was said that at this battle earl hakon had sacrificed for victory his son, young erling, to the gods; and instantly came the hailstorm, and the defeat and slaughter of the jomsborg vikings. earl eirik went to the uplands, and eastward by that route to his own kingdom, taking vagn akason with him. earl eirik married vagn to ingebjorg, a daughter of thorkel leira, and gave him a good ship of war and all belonging to it, and a crew; and they parted the best of friends. then vagn went home south to denmark, and became afterwards a man of great consideration, and many great people are descended from him. endnotes: (1) this traditionary tale of a warrior fighting on his knees after his legs were cut off, appears to have been a popular idea among the northmen, and is related by their descendants in the ballad o chevy chase.--l. 48. king harald grenske's death. harald grenske, as before related, was king in vestfold, and was married to asta, a daughter of gudbrand kula. one summer (a.d. 994) harald grenske made an expedition to the baltic to gather property, and he came to svithjod. olaf the swede was king there, a son of eirik the victorious, and sigrid, a daughter of skoglartoste. sigrid was then a widow, and had many and great estates in svithjod. when she heard that her foster-brother was come to the country a short distance from her, she sent men to him to invite him to a feast. he did not neglect the invitation, but came to her with a great attendance of his followers, and was received in the most friendly way. he and the queen sat in the high-seat, and drank together towards the evening, and all his men were entertained in the most hospitable manner. at night, when the king went to rest, a bed was put up for him with a hanging of fine linen around it, and with costly bedclothes; but in the lodging-house there were few men. when the king was undressed, and had gone to bed, the queen came to him, filled a bowl herself for him to drink, and was very gay, and pressed to drink. the king was drunk above measure, and, indeed, so were they both. then he slept, and the queen went away, and laid herself down also. sigrid was a woman of the greatest understanding, and clever in many things. in the morning there was also the most excellent entertainment; but then it went on as usual when people have drunk too much, that next day they take care not to exceed. the queen was very gay, and she and the king talked of many things with each other; among other things she valued her property, and the dominions she had in svithjod, as nothing less than his property in norway. with that observation the king was nowise pleased, and he found no pleasure in anything after that, but made himself ready for his journey in an ill humor. on the other hand, the queen was remarkably gay, and made him many presents, and followed him out to the road. now harald returned about harvest to norway, and was at home all winter; but was very silent and cast down. in summer he went once more to the baltic with his ships, and steered to svithjod. he sent a message to queen sigrid that he wished to have a meeting with her and she rode down to meet him. they talked together and he soon brought out the proposal that she should marry him. she replied, that this was foolish talk for him, who was so well married already that he might think himself well off. harald says, "asta is a good and clever woman; but she is not so well born as i am." sigrid replies, "it may be that thou art of higher birth, but i think she is now pregnant with both your fortunes." they exchanged but few words more before the queen rode away. king harald was now depressed in mind, and prepared himself again to ride up the country to meet queen sigrid. many of his people dissuaded him; but nevertheless he set off with a great attendance, and came to the house in which the queen dwelt. the same evening came another king, called vissavald, from gardarike (russia), likewise to pay his addresses to queen sigrid. lodging was given to both the kings, and to all their people, in a great old room of an out-building, and all the furniture was of the same character; but there was no want of drink in the evening, and that so strong that all were drunk, and the watch, both inside and outside, fell fast asleep. then queen sigrid ordered an attack on them in the night, both with fire and sword. the house was burnt, with all who were in it and those who slipped out were put to the sword. sigrid said that she would make these small kings tired of coming to court her. she was afterwards called sigrid the haughty (storrada). 49. birth of olaf, son of harald grenske. this happened the winter after the battle of the jomsborg vikings at hjorungavag. when harald went up the country after sigrid, he left hrane behind with the ships to look after the men. now when hrane heard that harald was cut off, he returned to norway the shortest way he could, and told the news. he repaired first to asta, and related to her all that had happened on the journey, and also on what errand harald had visited queen sigrid. when asta got these tidings she set off directly to her father in the uplands, who received her well; but both were enraged at the design which had been laid in svithjod, and that king harald had intended to set her in a single condition. in summer (a.d. 995) asta, gudbrand's daughter, was confined, and had a boy child, who had water poured over him, and was called olaf. hrane himself poured water over him, and the child was brought up at first in the house of gudbrand and his mother asta. 50. about earl hakon. earl hakon ruled over the whole outer part of norway that lies on the sea, and had thus sixteen districts under his sway. the arrangement introduced by harald harfager, that there should be an earl in each district, was afterward continued for a long time; and thus earl hakon had sixteen earls under him. so says the "vellekla":- "who before has ever known sixteen earls subdued by one? who has seen all norway's land conquered by one brave hero's hand? it will be long in memory held, how hakon ruled by sword and shield. when tales at the viking's mast go round, his praise will every mouth resound." while earl hakon ruled over norway there were good crops in the land, and peace was well preserved in the country among the bondes. the earl, for the greater part of his lifetime, was therefore much beloved by the bondes; but it happened, in the longer course of time, that the earl became very intemperate in his intercourse with women, and even carried it so far that he made the daughters of people of consideration be carried away and brought home to him; and after keeping them a week or two as concubines, he sent them home. he drew upon himself the indignation of me relations of these girls; and the bondes began to murmur loudly, as the throndhjem people have the custom of doing when anything goes against their judgment. 51. thorer klakka's journey. earl hakon, in the mean time, hears some whisper that to the westward, over the nor h sea, was a man called ole, who was looked upon as a king. from the conversation of some people, he fell upon the suspicion that he must be of the royal race of norway. it was, indeed, said that this ole was from russia; but the earl had heard that trygve olafson had had a son called olaf, who in his infancy had gone east to gardarike, and had been brought up by king valdemar. the earl had carefully inquired about this man, and had his suspicion that he must be the same person who had now come to these western countries. the earl had a very good friend called thorer klakka, who had been long upon viking expeditions, sometimes also upon merchant voyages; so that he was well acquainted all around. this thorer earl hakon sends over the north sea, and told him to make a merchant voyage to dublin, many were in the habit of doing, and carefully to discover who this ole was. provided he got any certainty that he was olaf trygvason, or any other of the norwegian royal race, then thorer should endeavor to ensnare him by some deceit, and bring him into the earl's power. 52. olaf trygvason comes to norway. on this thorer sails westward to ireland, and hears that ole is in dublin with his wife's father king olaf kvaran. thorer, who was a plausible man, immediately got acquainted with ole; and as they often met, and had long conversations together, ole began to inquire about news from norway, and above all of the upland kings and great people,--which of them were in life, and what dominations they now had. he asked also about earl hakon, and if he was much liked in the country. thorer replies, that the earl is such a powerful man that no one dares to speak otherwise than he would like; but that comes from there being nobody else in the country to look to. "yet, to say the truth, i know it to be the mind of many brave men, and of whole communities, that they would much rather see a king of harald harfager's race come to the kingdom. but we know of no one suited for this, especially now that it is proved how vain every attack on earl hakon must be." as they often talked together in the same strain, olaf disclosed to thorer his name and family, and asked him his opinion, and whether he thought the bondes would take him for their king if he were to appear in norway. thorer encouraged him very eagerly to the enterprise, and praised him and his talents highly. then olaf's inclination to go to the heritage of his ancestors became strong. olaf sailed accordingly, accompanied by thorer, with five ships; first to the hebrides, and from thence to the orkneys. at that time earl sigurd, hlodver's son, lay in osmundswall, in the island south ronaldsa, with a ship of war, on his way to caithness. just at the same time olaf was sailing with his fleet from the westward to the islands, and ran into the same harbour, because pentland firth was not to be passed at that tide. when the king was informed that the earl was there, he made him be called; and when the earl came on board to speak with the king, after a few words only had passed between them, the king says the earl must allow himself to be baptized, and all the people of the country also, or he should be put to death directly; and he assured the earl he would lay waste the islands with fire and sword, if the people did not adopt christianity. in the position the earl found himself, he preferred becoming christian, and he and all who were with him were baptized. afterwards the earl took an oath to the king, went into his service, and gave him his son, whose name was hvelp (whelp), or hunde (dog), as an hostage; and the king took hvelp to norway with him. thereafter olaf went out to sea to the eastward, and made the land at morster island, where he first touched the ground of norway. he had high mass sung in a tent, and afterwards on the spot a church was built. thorer klakka said now to the king, that the best plan for him would be not to make it known who he was, or to let any report about him get abroad; but to seek out earl hakon as fast as possible and fall upon him by surprise. king olaf did so, sailing northward day and night, when wind permitted, and did not let the people of the country know who it was that was sailing in such haste. when he came north to agdanes, he heard that the earl was in the fjord, and was in discord with the bondes. on hearing this, thorer saw that things were going in a very different way from what he expected; for after the battle with the jomsborg vikings all men in norway were the most sincere friends of the earl on account of the victory he had gained, and of the peace and security he had given to the country; and now it unfortunately turns out that a great chief has come to the country at a time when the bondes are in arms against the earl. 53. earl hakon's flight. earl hakon was at a feast in medalhus in gaulardal and his ships lay out by viggja. there was a powerful bonde, by name orm lyrgja, who dwelt in bunes, who had a wife called gudrun, a daughter of bergthor of lundar. she was called the lundasol; for she was the most-beautiful of women. the earl sent his slaves to orm, with the errand that they should bring orm's wife, gudrun, to the earl. the thralls tell their errand, and orm bids them first seat themselves to supper; but before they had done eating, many people from the neighbourhood, to whom orm had sent notice, had gathered together: and now orm declared he would not send gudrun with the messengers. gudrun told the thralls to tell the earl that she would not come to him, unless he sent thora of rimul after her. thora was a woman of great influence, and one of the earl's best beloved. the thralls say that they will come another time, and both the bonde and his wife would be made to repent of it; and they departed with many threats. orm, on the other hand, sent out a message-token to all the neighbouring country, and with it the message to attack earl hakon with weapons and kill him. he sent also a message to haldor in skerdingsstedja, who also sent out his message-token. a short time before, the earl had taken away the wife of a man called brynjolf, and there had very nearly been an insurrection about that business. having now again got this message-token, the people made a general revolt, and set out all to medalhus. when the earl heard of this, he left the house with his followers, and concealed himself in a deep glen, now called jarlsdal (earl's dale). later in the day, the earl got news of the bondes' army. they had beset all the roads; but believed the earl had escaped to his ships, which his son erlend, a remarkably handsome and hopeful young man, had the command of. when night came the earl dispersed his people, and ordered them to go through the forest roads into orkadal; "for nobody will molest you," said he, "when i am not with you. send a message to erlend to sail out of the fjord, and meet me in more. in the mean time i will conceal myself from the bondes." then the earl went his way with one thrall or slave, called kark, attending him. there was ice upon the gaul (the river of gaulardal), and the earl drove his horse upon it, and left his coat lying upon the ice. they then went to a hole, since called jarlshella (the earl's hole), where they slept. when kark awoke he told his dream,--that a black threatening mad had come into the hole, and was angry that people should have entered it; and that the man had said, "ulle is dead." the earl said that his son erlend must be killed. kark slept again and was again disturbed in his sleep; and when he awoke he told his dream,--that the same man had again appeared to him, and bade him tell the earl that all the sounds were closed. from this dream the earl began to suspect that it betokened a short life to him. they stood up, and went to the house of rimul. the earl now sends kark to thora, and begs of her to come secretly to him. she did so and received the earl kindly and he begged her to conceal him for a few nights until the army of the bondes had dispersed. "here about my house," said she, "you will be hunted after, both inside and outside; for many know that i would willingly help you if i can. there is but one place about the house where they could never expect to find such a man as you, and that is the swine-stye." when they came there the earl said, "well, let it be made ready for us; as to save our life is the first and foremost concern." the slave dug a great hole in it, bore away the earth that he dug out, and laid wood over it. thora brought the tidings to the earl that olaf trygvason had come from sea into the fjord, and had killed his son erlend. then the earl and kark both went into the hole. thora covered it with wood, and threw earth and dung over it, and drove the swine upon the top of it. the swine-style was under a great stone. 54. erlend's death. olaf trygvason came from sea into the fjord with five long-ships, and erlend, hakon's son, rowed towards him with three ships. when the vessels came near to each other, erlend suspected they might be enemies, and turned towards the land. when olaf and his followers saw long-ships coming in haste out of the fjord, and rowing towards them, they thought earl hakon must be here; and they put out all oars to follow them. as soon as erlend and his ships got near the land they rowed aground instantly, jumped overboard, and took to the land; but at the same instant olaf's ship came up with them. olaf saw a remarkably handsome man swimming in the water, and laid hold of a tiller and threw it at him. the tiller struck erlend, the son of hakon the earl, on the head, and clove it to the brain; and there left erlend his life. olaf and his people killed many; but some escaped, and some were made prisoners, and got life and freedom that they might go and tell what had happened. they learned then that the bondes had driven away earl hakon, and that he had fled, and his troops were all dispersed. 55. earl hakon's death. the bondes then met olaf, to the joy of both, and they made an agreement together. the bondes took olaf to be their king, and resolved, one and all, to seek out earl hakon. they went up gaulardal; for it seemed to them likely that if the earl was concealed in any house it must be at rimul, for thora was his dearest friend in that valley. they come up, therefore, and search everywhere, outside and inside the house, but could not find him. then olaf held a house thing (trusting), or council out in the yard, and stood upon a great stone which lay beside the swine-stye, and made a speech to the people, in which he promised to enrich the man with rewards and honours who should kill the earl. this speech was heard by the earl and the thrall kark. they had a light in their room. "why art thou so pale," says the earl, "and now again black as earth? thou hast not the intention to betray me?" "by no means," replies kark. "we were born on the same night," says the earl, "and the time will be short between our deaths." king olaf went away in the evening. when night came the earl kept himself awake but kark slept, and was disturbed in his sleep. the earl woke him, and asked him "what he was dreaming of?" he answered, "i was at hlader and olaf trygvason was laying a gold ring about my neck." the earl says, "it will be a red ring olaf will lay about thy neck if he catches thee. take care of that! from me thou shalt enjoy all that is good, therefore betray me not." they then kept themselves awake both; the one, as it were, watching upon the other. but towards day the earl suddenly dropped asleep; but his sleep was so unquiet that he drew his heels under him, and raised his neck, as if going to rise, and screamed dreadfully high. on this kark, dreadfully alarmed, drew a large knife out of his belt, stuck it in the earl's throat, and cut it across, and killed earl hakon. then kark cut off the earl's head, and ran away. late in the day he came to hlader, where he delivered the earl's head to king olaf, and told all these circumstances of his own and earl hakon's doings. olaf had him taken out and beheaded. 56. earl hakon's head. king olaf, and a vast number of bondes with him, then went out to nidarholm, and had with him the heads of earl hakon and kark. this holm was used then for a place of execution of thieves and ill-doers, and there stood a gallows on it. he had the heads of the earl and of kark hung upon it, and the whole army of the bondes cast stones at them, screaming and shouting that the one worthless fellow had followed the other. they then sent up to gaulardal for the earl's dead body. so great was the enmity of the throndhjem people against earl hakon, that no man could venture to call him by any other name than hakon the bad; and he was so called long after those days. yet, sooth to say of earl hakon, he was in many respects fitted to be a chief: first, because he was descended from a high race; then because he had understanding and knowledge to direct a government; also manly courage in battle to gain victories, and good luck in killing his enemies. so says thorleif raudfeldson:- "in norway's land was never known a braver earl than the brave hakon. at sea, beneath the clear moon's light, no braver man e'er sought to fight. nine kings to odin's wide domain were sent, by hakon's right hand slain! so well the raven-flocks were fed- so well the wolves were filled with dead!" earl hakon was very generous; but the greatest misfortunes attended even such a chief at the end of his days: and the great cause of this was that the time was come when heathen sacrifices and idolatrous worship were doomed to fall, and the holy faith and good customs to come in their place. 57. olaf trygvason elected king. olaf trvgvason was chosen at throndhjem by the general thing to be the king over the whole country, as harald harfager had been. the whole public and the people throughout all the land would listen to nothing else than that olaf trygvason should be king. then olaf went round the whole country, and brought it under his rule, and all the people of norway gave in their submission; and also the chiefs in the uplands and in viken, who before had held their lands as fiefs from the danish king, now became king olaf's men, and held their hands from him. he went thus through the whole country during the first winter (a.d. 996) and the following summer. earl eirik, the son of earl hakon, his brother svein, and their friends and relations, fled out of the country, and went east to sweden to king olaf the swede, who gave them a good reception. so says thord kolbeinson:- "o thou whom bad men drove away, after the bondes by foul play, took hakon's life! fate will pursue these bloody wolves, and make them rue. when the host came from out the west, like some tall stately war-ship's mast, i saw the son of trygve stand, surveying proud his native land." and again,- "eirik has more upon his mind, against the new norse king designed, than by his words he seems to show- and truly it may well be so. stubborn and stiff are throndhjem men, but throndhjem's earl may come again; in swedish land he knows no rest- fierce wrath is gathering in his breast." 58. lodin's marriage lodin was the name of a man from viken who was rich and of good family. he went often on merchant voyages, and sometimes on viking cruises. it happened one summer that he went on a merchant voyage with much merchandise in a ship of his own. he directed his course first to eistland, and was there at a market in summer. to the place at which the market was held many merchant goods were brought, and also many thralls or slaves for sale. there lodin saw a woman who was to be sold as a slave: and on looking at her he knew her to be astrid eirik's daughter, who had been married to king trygve. but now she was altogether unlike what she had been when he last saw her; for now she was pale, meagre in countenance, and ill clad. he went up to her, and asked her how matters stood with her. she replied, "it is heavy to be told; for i have been sold as a slave, and now again i am brought here for sale." after speaking together a little astrid knew him, and begged him to buy her; and bring her home to her friends. "on this condition," said he, "i will bring thee home tn norway, that thou wilt marry me." now as astrid stood in great need, and moreover knew that lodin was a man of high birth, rich, and brave, she promised to do so for her ransom. lodin accordingly bought astrid, took her home to norway with him, and married her with her friends' consent. their children were thorkel nefia, ingerid, and ingegerd. ingebjorg and astrid were daughters of astrid by king trygve. eirik bjodaskalle's sons were sigird, karlshofud, jostein, and thorkel dydril, who were all rich and brave people who had estates east in the country. in viken in the east dwelt two brothers, rich and of good descent; one called thorgeir, and the other hyrning; and they married lodin and astrid's daughters, ingerid and ingegerd. 59. olaf baptizes the country of viken. when harald gormson, king of denmark, had adopted christianity, he sent a message over all his kingdom that all people should be baptized, and converted to the true faith. he himself followed his message, and used power and violence where nothing else would do. he sent two earls, urguthrjot and brimilskjar, with many people to norway, to proclaim christianity there. in viken, which stood directly under the king's power, this succeeded, and many were baptized of the country folk. but when svein forked-beard, immediately after his father king harald's death, went out on war expeditions in saxland, frisland, and at last in england, the northmen who had taken up christianity returned back to heathen sacrifices, just as before; and the people in the north of the country did the same. but now that olaf trygvason was king of norway, he remained long during the summer (a.d. 996) in viken, where many of his relatives and some of his brothers-in-law were settled, and also many who had been great friends of his father; so that he was received with the greatest affection. olaf called together his mother's brothers, his stepfather lodin, and his brothers-in-law thorgeir and hyrning, to speak with them, and to disclose with the greatest care the business which he desired they themselves should approve of, and support with all their power; namely, the proclaiming christianity over all his kingdom. he would, he declared, either bring it to this, that all norway should be christian, or die. "i shall make you all," said he, "great and mighty men in promoting this work; for i trust to you most, as blood relations or brothers-in-law." all agreed to do what he asked, and to follow him in what he desired. king olaf immediately made it known to the public that he recommended christianity to all the people in his kingdom, which message was well received and approved of by those who had before given him their promise; and these being the most powerful among the people assembled, the others followed their example, and all the inhabitants of the east part of viken allowed themselves to be baptized. the king then went to the north part of viken and invited every man to accept christianity; and those who opposed him he punished severely, killing some, mutilating others, and driving some into banishment. at length he brought it so far, that all the kingdom which his father king trvgve had ruled over, and also that of his relation harald grenske, accepted of christianity; and during that summer (a.d. 996) and the following winter (a.d. 997) all viken was made christian. 60. of the hordaland people. early in spring (a.d. 997) king olaf set out from viken with a great force northwards to agder, and proclaimed that every man should be baptized. and thus the people received christianity, for nobody dared oppose the king's will, wheresoever he came. in hordaland, however, were many bold and great men of hordakare's race. he, namely, had left four sons,--the first thorleif spake; the second, ogmund, father of thorolf skialg, who was father of erling of sole; the third was thord father of the herse klyp who killed king sigurd slefa, gunhild's son; and lastly, olmod, father of askel, whose son was aslak fitjaskalle; and that family branch was the greatest and most considered in hordaland. now when this family heard the bad tidings, that the king was coming along the country from the eastward with a great force, and was breaking the ancient law of the people, and imposing punishment and hard conditions on all who opposed him, the relatives appointed a meeting to take counsel with each other, for they knew the king would come down upon them at once: and they all resolved to appear in force at the gula-thing, there to hold a conference with king olaf trygvason. 61. rogaland baptized. when king olaf came to rogaland, he immediately summoned the people to a thing; and when the bondes received the message-token for a thing, they assembled in great numbers well armed. after they had come together, they resolved to choose three men, the best speakers of the whole, who should answer king olaf, and argue with the king; and especially should decline to accept of anything against the old law, even if the king should require it of them. now when the bondes came to the thing, and the thing was formed, king olaf arose, and at first spoke good-humoredly to the people; but they observed he wanted them to accept christianity, with all his fine words: and in the conclusion he let them know that those who should speak against him, and not submit to his proposal, must expect his displeasure and punishment, and all the ill that it was in his power to inflict. when he had ended his speech, one of the bondes stood up, who was considered the most eloquent, and who had been chosen as the first who should reply to king olaf. but when he would begin to speak such a cough seized him, and such a difficulty of breathing, that he could not bring out a word, and had to sit down again. then another bonde stood up, resolved not to let an answer be wanting, although it had gone so ill with the former: but he stammered so that he could not get a word uttered, and all present set up a laughter, amid which the bonde sat down again. and now the third stood up to make a speech against king olaf's; but when he began he became so hoarse and husky in his throat, that nobody could hear a word he said, and he also had to sit down. there was none of the bondes now to speak against the king, and as nobody answered him there was no opposition; and it came to this, that all agreed to what the king had proposed. all the people of the thing accordingly were baptized before the thing was dissolved. 62. erling skjalgson's wooing. king olaf went with his men-at-arms to the gula-thing; for the bondes had sent him word that they would reply there to his speech. when both parties had come to the thing, the king desired first to have a conference with the chief people of the country; and when the meeting was numerous the king set forth his errand,--that he desired them, according to his proposal, to allow themselves to be baptized. then said olmod the old, "we relations have considered together this matter, and have come to one resolution. if thou thinkest, king, to force us who are related together to such things as to break our old law, or to bring us under thyself by any sort of violence, then will we stand against thee with all our might: and be the victory to him to whom fate ordains it. but if thou, king, wilt advance our relations' fortunes, then thou shalt have leave to do as thou desirest, and we will all serve thee with zeal in thy purpose." the king replies, "what do you propose for obtaining this agreement?" then answers olmod, "the first is, that thou wilt give thy sister astrid in marriage to erling skjalgson, our relation, whom we look upon as the most hopeful young man in all norway." king olaf replied, that this marriage appeared to him also very suitable; "as erling is a man of good birth, and a good-looking man in appearance: but astrid herself must answer to this proposal." thereupon the king spoke to his sister. she said, "it is but of little use that i am a king's sister, and a king's daughter, if i must marry a man who has no high dignity or office. i will rather wait a few years for a better match." thus ended this conference. 63. hordaland baptized. king olaf took a falcon that belonged to astrid, plucked off all its feathers, and then sent it to her. then said astrid, "angry is my brother." and she stood up, and went to the king, who received her kindly, and she said that she left it to the king to determine her marriage. "i think," said the king, "that i must have power enough in this land to raise any man i please to high dignity." then the king ordered olmod and erling to be called to a conference, and all their relations; and the marriage was determined upon, and astrid betrothed to erling. thereafter the king held the thing, and recommended christianity to the bondes; and as olmod, and erling, and all their relations, took upon themselves the most active part in forwarding the king's desire, nobody dared to speak against it; and all the people were baptized, and adopted christianity. 64. erling skjalgson's wedding. erling skjalgson had his wedding in summer, and a great many people were assembled at it. king olaf was also there, and offered erling an earldom. erling replied thus: "all my relations have been herses only, and i will take no higher title than they have; but this i will accept from thee, king, that thou makest me the greatest of that title in the country." the king consented; and at his departure the king invested his brother-in law erling with all the land north of the sognefjord, and east to the lidandisnes, on the same terms as harald harfager had given land to his sons, as before related. 65. raumsdal and fjord-districts baptized. the same harvest king olaf summoned the bondes to a thing of the four districts at dragseid, in stad: and there the people from sogn, the fjord-districts, south more, and raumsdal, were summoned to meet. king olaf came there with a great many people who had followed him from the eastward, and also with those who had joined him from rogaland and hordaland. when the king came to the thing, he proposed to them there, as elsewhere, christianity; and as the king had such a powerful host with him, they were frightened. the king offered them two conditions,--either to accept christianity, or to fight. but the bondes saw they were in no condition to fight the king, and resolved, therefore, that all the people should agree to be baptized. the king proceeded afterwards to north more, and baptized all that district. he then sailed to hlader, in throndhjem; had the temple there razed to the ground; took all the ornaments and all property out of the temple, and from the gods in it; and among other things the great gold ring which earl hakon had ordered to be made, and which hung in the door of the temple; and then had the temple burnt. but when the bondes heard of this, they sent out a war-arrow as a token through the whole district, ordering out a warlike force, and intended to meet the king with it. in the meantime king olaf sailed with a war force out of the fjord along the coast northward, intending to proceed to halogaland, and baptize there. when he came north to bjarnaurar, he heard from halogaland that a force was assembled there to defend the country against the king. the chiefs of this force were harek of thjotta, thorer hjort from vagar, and eyvind kinrifa. now when king olaf heard this, he turned about and sailed southwards along the land; and when he got south of stad proceeded at his leisure, and came early in winter (a.d. 998) all the way east to viken. 66. olaf proposes marriage to queen sigrid. queen sigrid in svithjod, who had for surname the haughty, sat in her mansion, and during the same winter messengers went between king olaf and sigrid to propose his courtship to her, and she had no objection; and the matter was fully and fast resolved upon. thereupon king olaf sent to queen sigrid the great gold ring he had taken from the temple door of hlader, which was considered a distinguished ornament. the meeting for concluding the business was appointed to be in spring on the frontier, at the gaut river. now the ring which king olaf had sent queen sigrid was highly prized by all men; yet the queen's gold-smiths, two brothers, who took the ring in their hands, and weighed it, spoke quietly to each other about it, and in a manner that made the queen call them to her, and ask "what they smiled at?" but they would not say a word, and she commanded them to say what it was they had discovered. then they said the ring is false. upon this she ordered the ring to be broken into pieces, and it was found to be copper inside. then the queen was enraged, and said that olaf would deceive her in more ways than this one. in the same year (a.d. 998) king olaf went into ringenke, and there the people also were baptized. 67. olaf haraldson baptized. asta, the daughter of gudbrand, soon after the fall of harald grenske married again a man who was called sigurd syr, who was a king in ringerike. sigurd was a son of halfdan, and grandson of sigurd hrise, who was a son of harald harfager. olaf, the son of asta and harald grenske, lived with asta, and was brought up from childhood in the house of his stepfather, sigurd syr. now when king olaf trygvason came to ringerike to spread christianity, sigurd syr and his wife allowed themselves to be baptized, along with olaf her son; and olaf trygvason was godfather to olaf, the stepson of harald grenske. olaf was then three years old. olaf returned from thence to viken, where he remained all winter. he had now been three years king in norway (a.d. 998). 68. meeting of olaf and sigrid. early in spring (a.d. 998) king olaf went eastwards to konungahella to the meeting with queen sigrid; and when they met the business was considered about which the winter before they had held communication, namely, their marriage; and the business seemed likely to be concluded. but when olaf insisted that sigrid should let herself be baptized, she answered thus:--"i must not part from the faith which i have held, and my forefathers before me; and, on the other hand, i shall make no objection to your believing in the god that pleases you best." then king olaf was enraged, and answered in a passion, "why should i care to have thee, an old faded woman, and a heathen jade?" and therewith struck her in the face with his glove which he held in his hands, rose up, and they parted. sigrid said, "this may some day be thy death." the king set off to viken, the queen to svithjod. 69. the burning of warlocks. then the king proceeded to tunsberg, and held a thing, at which he declared in a speech that all the men of whom it should be known to a certainty that they dealt with evil spirits, or in witchcraft, or were sorcerers, should be banished forth of the land. thereafter the king had all the neighborhood ransacked after such people, and called them all before him; and when they were brought to the thing there was a man among them called eyvind kelda, a grandson of ragnvald rettilbeine, harald harfager's son. eyvind was a sorcerer, and particularly knowing in witchcraft. the king let all these men be seated in one room, which was well adorned, and made a great feast for them, and gave them strong drink in plenty. now when they were all very drunk, he ordered the house be set on fire, and it and all the people within it were consumed, all but eyvind kelda, who contrived to escape by the smoke-hole in the roof. and when he had got a long way off, he met some people on the road going to the king, and he told them to tell the king that eyvind kelda had slipped away from the fire, and would never come again in king olaf's power, but would carry on his arts of witchcraft as much as ever. when the people came to the king with such a message from eyvind, the king was ill pleased that eyvind had escaped death. 70. eyvind kelda's death. when spring (a.d. 998) came king olaf went out to viken, and was on visits to his great farms. he sent notice over all viken that he would call out an army in summer, and proceed to the north parts of the country. then he went north to agder; and when easter was approaching he took the road to rogaland with 300 (=360) men, and came on easter evening north to ogvaldsnes, in kormt island, where an easter feast was prepared for him. that same night came eyvind kelda to the island with a well-manned long-ship, of which the whole crew consisted of sorcerers and other dealers with evil spirits. eyvind went from his ship to the land with his followers, and there they played many of their pranks of witchcraft. eyvind clothed them with caps of darkness, and so thick a mist that the king and his men could see nothing of them; but when they came near to the house at ogvaldsnes, it became clear day. then it went differently from what eyvind had intended: for now there came just such a darkness over him and his comrades in witchcraft as they had made before, so that they could see no more from their eyes than from the back of their heads but went round and round in a circle upon the island. when the king's watchman saw them going about, without knowing what people these were, they told the king. thereupon he rose up with his people, put on his clothes, and when he saw eyvind with his men wandering about he ordered his men to arm, and examine what folk these were. the king's men discovered it was eyvind, took him and all his company prisoners, and brought them to the king. eyvind now told all he had done on his journey. then the king ordered these all to be taken out to a skerry which was under water in flood tide, and there to be left bound. eyvind and all with him left their lives on this rock, and the skerry is still called skrattasker. 71. olaf and odin's apparition. it is related that once on a time king olaf was at a feast at this ogvaldsnes, and one eventide there came to him an old man very gifted in words, and with a broad-brimmed hat upon his head. he was one-eyed, and had something to tell of every land. he entered into conversation with the king; and as the king found much pleasure in the guest's speech, he asked him concerning many things, to which the guest gave good answers: and the king sat up late in the evening. among other things, the king asked him if he knew who the ogvald had been who had given his name both to the ness and to the house. the guest replied, that this ogvald was a king, and a very valiant man, and that he made great sacrifices to a cow which he had with him wherever he went, and considered it good for his health to drink her milk. this same king ogvald had a battle with a king called varin, in which battle ogvald fell. he was buried under a mound close to the house; "and there stands his stone over him, and close to it his cow also is laid." such and many other things, and ancient events, the king inquired after. now, when the king had sat late into the night, the bishop reminded him that it was time to go to bed, and the king did so. but after the king was undressed, and had laid himself in bed, the guest sat upon the foot-stool before the bed, and still spoke long with the king; for after one tale was ended, he still wanted a new one. then the bishop observed to the king, it was time to go to sleep, and the king did so; and the guest went out. soon after the king awoke, asked for the guest, and ordered him to be called, but the guest was not to be found. the morning after, the king ordered his cook and cellar-master to be called, and asked if any strange person had been with them. they said, that as they were making ready the meat a man came to them, and observed that they were cooking very poor meat for the king's table; whereupon he gave them two thick and fat pieces of beef, which they boiled with the rest of the meat. then the king ordered that all the meat should be thrown away, and said this man can be no other than the odin whom the heathens have so long worshipped; and added, "but odin shall not deceive us." 72. the thing in throndhjem. king olaf collected a great army in the east of the country towards summer, and sailed with it north to nidaros in the throndhjem country. from thence he sent a message-token over all the fjord, calling the people of eight different districts to a thing; but the bondes changed the thing-token into a war-token; and called together all men, free and unfree, in all the throndhjem land. now when the king met the thing, the whole people came fully armed. after the thing was seated, the king spoke, and invited them to adopt christianity; but he had only spoken a short time when the bondes called out to him to be silent, or they would attack him and drive him away. "we did so," said they, "with hakon foster-son of athelstan, when he brought us the same message, and we held him in quite as much respect as we hold thee." when king olaf saw how incensed the bondes were, and that they had such a war force that he could make no resistance, he turned his speech as if he would give way to the bondes, and said, "i wish only to be in a good understanding with you as of old; and i will come to where ye hold your greatest sacrifice-festival, and see your customs, and thereafter we shall consider which to hold by." and in this all agreed; and as the king spoke mildly and friendly with the bondes, their answer was appeased, and their conference with the king went off peacefully. at the close of it a midsummer sacrifice was fixed to take place in maeren, and all chiefs and great bondes to attend it as usual. the king was to be at it. 73. jarnskegge or iron beard. there was a great bonde called skegge, and sometimes jarnskegge, or iron beard, who dwelt in uphaug in yrjar. he spoke first at the thing to olaf; and was the foremost man of the bondes in speaking against christianity. the thing was concluded in this way for that time,--the bondes returned home, and the king went to hlader. 74. the feast at hlader. king olaf lay with his ships in the river nid, and had thirty vessels, which were manned with many brave people; but the king himself was often at hlader, with his court attendants. as the time now was approaching at which the sacrifices should be made at maeren, the king prepared a great feast at hlader, and sent a message to the districts of strind, gaulardal, and out to orkadal, to invite the chiefs and other great bondes. when the feast was ready, and the chiefs assembled, there was a handsome entertainment the first evening, at which plenty of liquor went round, and the guests were made very drunk. the night after they all slept in peace. the following morning, when the king was dressed, he had the early mass sung before him; and when the mass was over, ordered to sound the trumpets for a house thing: upon which all his men left the ships to come up to the thing. when the thing was seated, the king stood up, and spoke thus: "we held a thing at frosta, and there i invited the bondes to allow themselves to be baptized; but they, on the other hand, invited me to offer sacrifice to their gods, as king hakon, athelstan's foster-son, had done; and thereafter it was agreed upon between us that we should meet at maerin, and there make a great sacrifice. now if i, along with you, shall turn again to making sacrifice, then will i make the greatest of sacrifices that are in use; and i will sacrifice men. but i will not select slaves or malefactors for this, but will take the greatest men only to be offered to the gods; and for this i select orm lygra of medalhus, styrkar of gimsar, kar of gryting, asbjorn thorbergson of varnes, orm of lyxa, haldor of skerdingsstedja;" and besides these he named five others of the principal men. all these, he said, he would offer in sacrifice to the gods for peace and a fruitful season; and ordered them to be laid hold of immediately. now when the bondes saw that they were not strong enough to make head against the king, they asked for peace, and submitted wholly to the king's pleasure. so it was settled that all the bondes who had come there should be baptized, and should take an oath to the king to hold by the right faith, and to renounce sacrifice to the gods. the king then kept all these men as hostages who came to his feast, until they sent him their sons, brothers, or other near relations. 75. of the thing in throndhjem. king olaf went in with all his forces into the throndhjem country; and when he came to maeren all among the chiefs of the throndhjem people who were most opposed to christianity were assembled, and had with them all the great bondes who had before made sacrifice at that place. there was thus a greater multitude of bondes than there had been at the frosta-thing. now the king let the people be summoned to the thing, where both parties met armed; and when the thing was seated the king made a speech, in which he told the people to go over to christianity. jarnskegge replies on the part of the bondes, and says that the will of the bondes is now, as formerly, that the king should not break their laws. "we want, king," said he, "that thou shouldst offer sacrifice, as other kings before thee have done." all the bondes applauded his speech with a loud shout, and said they would have all things according to what skegge said. then the king said he would go into the temple of their gods with them, and see what the practices were when they sacrificed. the bondes thought well of this proceeding, and both parties went to the temple. 76. the throndhjem people baptized. now king olaf entered into the temple with some few of his men and a few bondes; and when the king came to where their gods were, thor, as the most considered among their gods, sat there adorned with gold and silver. the king lifted up his gold-inlaid axe which he carried in his hands, and struck thor so that the image rolled down from its seat. then the king's men turned to and threw down all the gods from their seats; and while the king was in the temple, jarnskegge was killed outside of the temple doors, and the king's men did it. when the king came forth out of the temple he offered the bondes two conditions,--that all should accept of christianity forthwith, or that they should fight with him. but as skegge was killed, there was no leader in the bondes' army to raise the banner against king olaf; so they took the other condition, to surrender to the king's will and obey his order. then king olaf had all the people present baptized, and took hostages from them for their remaining true to christianity; and he sent his men round to every district, and no man in the throndhjem country opposed christianity, but all people took baptism. 77. a town in the throndhjem country. king olaf with his people went out to nidaros, and made houses on the flat side of the river nid, which he raised to be a merchant town, and gave people ground to build houses upon. the king's house he had built just opposite skipakrok; and he transported thither, in harvest, all that was necessary for his winter residence, and had many people about him there. 78. king olaf's marriage. king olaf appointed a meeting with the relations of jarnskegge, and offered them the compensation or penalty for his bloodshed; for there were many bold men who had an interest in that business. jarnskegge had a daughter called gudrun; and at last it was agreed upon between the parties that the king should take her in marriage. when the wedding day came king olaf and gudrun went to bed together. as soon as gudrun, the first night they lay together, thought the king was asleep, she drew a knife, with which she intended to run him through; but the king saw it, took the knife from her, got out of bed, and went to his men, and told them what had happened. gudrun also took her clothes, and went away along with all her men who had followed her thither. gudrun never came into the king's bed again. 79. building of the ship crane. the same autumn (a.d. 998) king olaf laid the keel of a great long-ship out on the strand at the river nid. it was a snekkja; and he employed many carpenters upon her, so that early in winter the vessel was ready. it had thirty benches for rowers, was high in stem and stern, but was not broad. the king called this ship tranen (the crane). after jarnskegge's death his body was carried to yrjar, and lies there in the skegge mound on austrat. 80. thangbrand the priest goes to iceland. when king olaf trygvason had been two years king of norway (a.d. 997), there was a saxon priest in his house who was called thangbrand, a passionate, ungovernable man, and a great man-slayer; but he was a good scholar, and a clever man. the king would not have him in his house upon account of his misdeeds; but gave him the errand to go to iceland, and bring that land to the christian faith. the king gave him a merchant vessel: and, as far as we know of this voyage of his, he landed first in iceland at austfjord in the southern alptfjord, and passed the winter in the house of hal of sida. thangbrand proclaimed christianity in iceland, and on his persuasion hal and all his house people, and many other chiefs, allowed themselves to be baptized; but there were many more who spoke against it. thorvald veile and veterlide the skald composed a satire about thangbrand; but he killed them both outright. thangbrand was two years in iceland, and was the death of three men before he left it. 81. of sigurd and hauk. there was a man called sigurd, and another called hauk, both of halogaland, who often made merchant voyages. one summer (a.d. 998) they had made a voyage westward to england; and when they came back to norway they sailed northwards along the coast, and at north more they met king olaf's people. when it was told the king that some halogaland people were come who were heathen, he ordered the steersmen to be brought to him, and he asked them if they would consent to be baptized; to which they replied, no. the king spoke with them in many ways, but to no purpose. he then threatened them with death and torture: but they would not allow themselves to be moved. he then had them laid in irons, and kept them in chains in his house for some time, and often conversed with them, but in vain. at last one night they disappeared, without any man being able to conjecture how they got away. but about harvest they came north to harek of thjotta, who received them kindly, and with whom they stopped all winter (a.d. 999), and were hospitably entertained. 82. of harek of thjotta. it happened one good-weather day in spring (a.d. 999) that harek was at home in his house with only few people, and time hung heavy on his hands. sigurd asked him if he would row a little for amusement. harek was willing; and they went to the shore, and drew down a six-oared skiff; and sigurd took the mast and rigging belonging to the boat out of the boat-house, for they often used to sail when they went for amusement on the water. harek went out into the boat to hang the rudder. the brothers sigurd and hauk, who were very strong men, were fully armed, as they were used to go about at home among the peasants. before they went out to the boat they threw into her some butter-kits and a bread-chest, and carried between them a great keg of ale. when they had rowed a short way from the island the brothers hoisted the sail, while harek was seated at the helm; and they sailed away from the island. then the two brothers went aft to where harek the bonde was sitting; and sigurd says to him, "now thou must choose one of these conditions,--first, that we brothers direct this voyage; or, if not, that we bind thee fast and take the command; or, third, that we kill thee." harek saw how matters stood with him. as a single man, he was not better than one of those brothers, even if he had been as well armed; so it appeared to him wisest to let them determine the course to steer, and bound himself by oath to abide by this condition. on this sigurd took the helm, and steered south along the land, the brothers taking particular care that they did not encounter people. the wind was very favourable; and they held on sailing along until they came south to throndhjem and to nidaros, where they found the king. then the king called harek to him, and in a conference desired him to be baptized. harek made objections; and although the king and harek talked over it many times, sometimes in the presence of other people, and sometimes alone, they could not agree upon it. at last the king says to harek, "now thou mayst return home, and i will do thee no injury; partly because we are related together, and partly that thou mayst not have it to say that i caught thee by a trick: but know for certain that i intend to come north next summer to visit you halogalanders, and ye shall then see if i am not able to punish those who reject christianity." harek was well pleased to get away as fast as he could. king olaf gave harek a good boat of ten or twelve pair of oars, and let it be fitted out with the best of everything needful; and besides he gave harek thirty men, all lads of mettle, and well appointed. 83. eyvind kinrifa's death. harek of thjotta went away from the town as fast as he could; but hauk and sigurd remained in the king's house, and both took baptism. harek pursued his voyage until he came to thjotta. he sent immediately a message to his friend eyvind kinrifa, with the word that he had been with king olaf; but would not let himself be cowed down to accept christianity. the message at the same time informed him that king olaf intended coming to the north in summer against them, and they must be at their posts to defend themselves; it also begged eyvind to come and visit him, the sooner the better. when this message was delivered to eyvind, he saw how very necessary it was to devise some counsel to avoid falling into the king's hands. he set out, therefore, in a light vessel with a few hands as fast as he could. when he came to thjotta he was received by harek in the most friendly way, and they immediately entered into conversation with each other behind the house. when they had spoken together but a short time, king olaf's men, who had secretly followed harek to the north, came up, and took eyvind prisoner, and carried him away to their ship. they did not halt on their voyage until they came to throndhjem, and presented themselves to king olaf at nidaros. then eyvind was brought up to a conference with the king, who asked him to allow himself to be baptized, like other people; but eyvind decidedly answered he would not. the king still, with persuasive words, urged him to accept christianity, and both he and the bishop used many suitable arguments; but eyvind would not allow himself to be moved. the king offered him gifts and great fiefs, but eyvind refused all. then the king threatened him with tortures and death, but eyvind was steadfast. then the king ordered a pan of glowing coals to be placed upon eyvind's belly, which burst asunder. eyvind cried, "take away the pan, and i will say something before i die," which also was done. the king said, "wilt thou now, eyvind, believe in christ?" "no," said eyvind, "i can take no baptism; for i am an evil spirit put into a man's body by the sorcery of fins because in no other way could my father and mother have a child." with that died eyvind, who had been one of the greatest sorcerers. 84. halogaland made christian. the spring after (a.d. 999) king olaf fitted out and manned his ships, and commanded himself his ship the crane. he had many and smart people with him; and when he was ready, he sailed northwards with his fleet past bryda, and to halogaland. wheresoever he came to the land, or to the islands, he held a thing, and told the people to accept the right faith, and to be baptized. no man dared to say anything against it, and the whole country he passed through was made christian. king olaf was a guest in the house of harek of thjotta, who was baptized with all his people. at parting the king gave harek good presents; and he entered into the king's service, and got fiefs, and the privileges of lendsman from the king. 85. thorer hjort's death. there was a bonde, by name raud the strong, who dwelt in godey in salten fjord. raud was a very rich man, who had many house servants; and likewise was a powerful man, who had many fins in his service when he wanted them. raud was a great idolater, and very skillful in witchcraft, and was a great friend of thorer hjort, before spoken of. both were great chiefs. now when they heard that king olaf was coming with a great force from the south to halogaland, they gathered together an army, ordered out ships, and they too had a great force on foot. raud had a large ship with a gilded head formed like a dragon, which ship had thirty rowing benches, and even for that kind of ship was very large. thorer hjort had also a large ship. these men sailed southwards with their ships against king olaf, and as soon as they met gave battle. a great battle there was, and a great fall of men; but principally on the side of the halogalanders, whose ships were cleared of men, so that a great terror came upon them. raud rode with his dragon out to sea, and set sail. raud had always a fair wind wheresoever he wished to sail, which came from his arts of witchcraft; and, to make a short story, he came home to godey. thorer hjort fled from the ships up to the land: but king olaf landed people, followed those who fled, and killed them. usually the king was the foremost in such skirmishes, and was so now. when the king saw where thorer hjort, who was quicker on foot than any man, was running to, he ran after him with his dog vige. the king said, "vige! vige! catch the deer." vige ran straight in upon him; on which thorer halted, and the king threw a spear at him. thorer struck with his sword at the dog, and gave him a great wound; but at the same moment the king's spear flew under thorer's arm, and went through and through him, and came out at his other-side. there thorer left his life; but vige was carried to the ships. 86. king olaf's voyage to godey. king olaf gave life and freedom to all the men who asked it and agreed to become christian. king olaf sailed with his fleet northwards along the coast, and baptized all the people among whom he came; and when he came north to salten fjord, he intended to sail into it to look for raud, but a dreadful tempest and storm was raging in the fjord. they lay there a whole week, in which the same weather was raging within the fjord, while without there was a fine brisk wind only, fair for proceeding north along the land. then the king continued his voyage north to omd, where all the people submitted to christianity. then the king turned about and sailed to the south again; but when he came to the north side of salten fjord, the same tempest was blowing, and the sea ran high out from the fjord, and the same kind of storm prevailed for several days while the king was lying there. then the king applied to bishop sigurd, and asked him if he knew any counsel about it; and the bishop said he would try if god would give him power to conquer these arts of the devil. 87. of raud's being tortured. bishop sigurd took all his mass robes and went forward to the bow of the king's ship; ordered tapers to be lighted, and incense to be brought out. then he set the crucifix upon the stem of the vessel, read the evangelist and many prayers, besprinkled the whole ship with holy water, and then ordered the ship-tent to be stowed away, and to row into the fjord. the king ordered all the other ships to follow him. now when all was ready on board the crane to row, she went into the fjord without the rowers finding any wind; and the sea was curled about their keel track like as in a calm, so quiet and still was the water; yet on each side of them the waves were lashing up so high that they hid the sight of the mountains. and so the one ship followed the other in the smooth sea track; and they proceeded this way the whole day and night, until they reached godey. now when they came to raud's house his great ship, the dragon, was afloat close to the land. king olaf went up to the house immediately with his people; made an attack on the loft in which raud was sleeping, and broke it open. the men rushed in: raud was taken and bound, and of the people with him some were killed and some made prisoners. then the king's men went to a lodging in which raud's house servants slept, and killed some, bound others, and beat others. then the king ordered raud to be brought before him, and offered him baptism. "and," says the king, "i will not take thy property from thee, but rather be thy friend, if thou wilt make thyself worthy to be so." raud exclaimed with all his might against the proposal, saying he would never believe in christ, and making his scoff of god. then the king was wroth, and said raud should die the worst of deaths. and the king ordered him to be bound to a beam of wood, with his face uppermost, and a round pin of wood set between his teeth to force his mouth open. then the king ordered an adder to be stuck into the mouth of him; but the serpent would not go into his mouth, but shrunk back when raud breathed against it. now the king ordered a hollow branch of an angelica root to be stuck into raud's mouth; others say the king put his horn into his mouth, and forced the serpent to go in by holding a red-hot iron before the opening. so the serpent crept into the mouth of raud and down his throat, and gnawed its way out of his side; and thus raud perished. king olaf took here much gold and silver, and other property of weapons, and many sorts of precious effects; and all the men who were with raud he either had baptized, or if they refused had them killed or tortured. then the king took the dragonship which raud had owned, and steered it himself; for it was a much larger and handsomer vessel than the crane. in front it had a dragon's head, and aft a crook, which turned up, and ended with the figure of the dragon's tail. the carved work on each side of the stem and stern was gilded. this ship the king called the serpent. when the sails were hoisted they represented, as it were, the dragon's wings; and the ship was the handsomest in all norway. the islands on which raud dwelt were called gylling and haering; but the whole islands together were called godey isles, and the current between the isles and the mainland the godey stream. king olaf baptized the whole people of the fjord, and then sailed southwards along the land; and on this voyage happened much and various things, which are set down in tales and sagas,--namely, how witches and evil spirits tormented his men, and sometimes himself; but we will rather write about what occurred when king olaf made norway christian, or in the other countries in which he advanced christianity. the same autumn olaf with his fleet returned to throndhjem, and landed at nidaros, where he took up his winter abode. what i am now going to write about concerns the icelanders. 88. of the icelanders. kjartan olafson, a son's son of hoskuld, and a daughter's son of egil skallagrimson, came the same autumn (a.d. 999) from iceland to nidaros, and he was considered to be the most agreeable and hopeful man of any born in iceland. there was also haldor, a son of gudmund of modruveller; and kolbein, a son of thord, frey's gode, and a brother's son of brennuflose; together with sverting, a son of the gode runolf. all these were heathens; and besides them there were many more,--some men of power, others common men of no property. there came also from iceland considerable people, who, by thangbrand's help, had been made christians; namely, gissur the white, a son of teit ketilbjornson; and his mother was alof, daughter of herse bodvar, who was the son of vikingakare. bodvar's brother was sigurd, father of eirik bjodaskalle, whose daughter astrid was king olaf's mother. hjalte skeggjason was the name of another iceland man, who was married to vilborg, gissur the white's daughter. hjalte was also a christian; and king olaf was very friendly to his relations gissur and hjalte, who live with him. but the iceland men who directed the ships, and were heathens, tried to sail away as soon as the king came to the town of nidaros, for they were told the king forced all men to become christians; but the wind came stiff against them, and drove them back to nidarholm. they who directed the ships were thorarin nefjulson, the skald halfred ottarson, brand the generous, and thorleik, brand's son. it was told the king that there were icelanders with ships there, and all were heathen, and wanted to fly from a meeting with the king. then the king sent them a message forbidding them to sail, and ordering them to bring their ships up to the town, which they did, but without discharging the cargoes. (they carried on their dealings and held a market at the king's pier. in spring they tried three times to slip away, but never succeeded; so they continued lying at the king's pier. it happened one fine day that many set out to swim for amusement, and among them was a man who distinguished himself above the others in all bodily exercises. kjartan challenged halfred vandredaskald to try himself in swimming against this man, but he declined it. "then will i make a trial," said kjartan, casting off his clothes, and springing into the water. then he set after the man, seizes hold of his foot, and dives with him under water. they come up again, and without speaking a word dive again, and are much longer under water than the first time. they come up again, and without saying a word dive a third time, until kjartan thought it was time to come up again, which, however, he could in no way accomplish, which showed sufficiently the difference in their strength. they were under water so long that kjartan was almost drowned. they then came up, and swam to land. this northman asked what the icelander's name was. kjartan tells his name. he says, "thou art a good swimmer; but art thou expert also in other exercises?" kjartan replied, that such expertness was of no great value. the northman asks, "why dost thou not inquire of me such things as i have asked thee about?" kjartan replies, "it is all one to me who thou art, or what thy name is." "then will i," says he, "tell thee: i am olaf trygvason." he asked kjartan much about iceland, which he answered generally, and wanted to withdraw as hastily as he could; but the king said, "here is a cloak which i will give thee, kjartan." and kjartan took the cloak with many thanks.) (1) endnotes: (1) the part included in parenthesis is not found in the original text of "heimskringla", but taken from "codex frisianus". 89. baptism of the icelanders. when michaelmas came, the king had high mass sung with great splendour. the icelanders went there, listening to the fine singing and the sound of the bells; and when they came back to their ships every man told his opinion of the christian man's worship. kjartan expressed his pleasure at it, but most of the others scoffed at it; and it went according to the proverb, "the king had many ears," for this was told to the king. he sent immediately that very day a message to kjartan to come to him. kjartan went with some men, and the king received him kindly. kjartan was a very stout and handsome man, and of ready and agreeable speech. after the king and kjartan had conversed a little, the king asked him to adopt christianity. kjartan replies, that he would not say no to that, if he thereby obtained the king's friendship; and as the king promised him the fullest friendship, they were soon agreed. the next day kjartan was baptized, together with his relation bolle thorlakson, and all their fellow-travelers. kjartan and bolle were the king's guests as long as they were in their white baptismal clothes, and the king had much kindness for them. wherever they came they were looked upon as people of distinction. 90. halfred vandredaskald baptized. as king olaf one day was walking in the street some men met him, and he who went the foremost saluted the king. the king asked the man his name, and he called himself halfred. "art thou the skald?" said the king. "i can compose poetry," replied he. "wilt thou then adopt christianity, and come into my service?" asked the king. "if i am baptized," replies he, "it must be on one condition,--that thou thyself art my godfather; for no other will i have." the king replies, "that i will do." and halfred was baptized, the king holding him during the baptism. afterwards the king said, "wilt thou enter into my service?" halfred replied, "i was formerly in earl hakon's court; but now i will neither enter into thine nor into any other service, unless thou promise me it shall never be my lot to be driven away from thee." "it has been reported to me," said the king, "that thou are neither so prudent nor so obedient as to fulfil my commands." "in that case," replied halfred, "put me to death." "thou art a skald who composes difficulties," says the king; "but into my service, halfred, thou shalt be received." halfred says, "if i am to be named the composer of difficulties, what cost thou give me, king, on my name-day?" the king gave him a sword without a scabbard, and said, "now compose me a song upon this sword, and let the word sword be in every line of the strophe." halfred sang thus: "this sword of swords is my reward. for him who knows to wield a sword, and with his sword to serve his lord, yet wants a sword, his lot is hard. i would i had my good lord's leave for this good sword a sheath to choose: i'm worth three swords when men use, but for the sword-sheath now i grieve." then the king gave him the scabbard, observing that the word sword was wanting in one line of his strophe. "but there instead are three swords in one of the lines," says halfred. "that is true," replies the king.--out of halfred's lays we have taken the most of the true and faithful accounts that are here related about olaf trygvason. 91. thangbrand returns from iceland. the same harvest (a.d. 999) thangbrand the priest came back from iceland to king olaf, and told the ill success of his journey; namely, that the icelanders had made lampoons about him; and that some even sought to kill him, and there was little hope of that country ever being made christian. king olaf was so enraged at this, that he ordered all the icelanders to be assembled by sound of horn, and was going to kill all who were in the town, but kjartan, gissur, and hjalte, with the other icelanders who had become christians, went to him, and said, "king, thou must not fail from thy word--that however much any man may irritate thee, thou wilt forgive him if he turn from heathenism and become christian. all the icelanders here are willing to be baptized; and through them we may find means to bring christianity into iceland: for there are many amongst them, sons of considerable people in iceland, whose friends can advance the cause; but the priest thangbrand proceeded there as he did here in the court, with violence and manslaughter, and such conduct the people there would not submit to." the king harkened to those remonstrances; and all the iceland men who were there were baptized. 92. of king olaf's feats. king olaf was more expert in all exercises than any man in norway whose memory is preserved to us in sagas; and he was stronger and more agile than most men, and many stories are written down about it. one is that he ascended the smalsarhorn, and fixed his shield upon the very peak. another is, that one of his followers had climbed up the peak after him, until he came to where he could neither get up nor down; but the king came to his help, climbed up to him, took him under his arm, and bore him to the flat ground. king olaf could run across the oars outside of the vessel while his men were rowing the serpent. he could play with three daggers, so that one was always in the air, and he took the one falling by the handle. he could walk all round upon the ship's rails, could strike and cut equally well with both hands, and could cast two spears at once. king olaf was a very merry frolicsome man; gay and social; was very violent in all respects; was very generous; was very finical in his dress, but in battle he exceeded all in bravery. he was distinguished for cruelty when he was enraged, and tortured many of his enemies. some he burnt in fire; some he had torn in pieces by mad dogs; some he had mutilated, or cast down from high precipices. on this account his friends were attached to him warmly, and his enemies feared him greatly; and thus he made such a fortunate advance in his undertakings, for some obeyed his will out of the friendliest zeal, and others out of dread. 93. baptism of leif eirikson. leif, a son of eirik the red, who first settled in greenland, came this summer (a.d. 999) from greenland to norway; and as he met king olaf he adopted christianity, and passed the winter (a.d. 1000) with the king. 94. fall of king gudrod. gudrod, a son of eirik bloodaxe and gunhild, had been ravaging in the west countries ever since he fled from norway before the earl hakon. but the summer before mentioned (a.d. 999), where king olaf trygvason had ruled four years over norway, gudrod came to the country, and had many ships of war with him. he had sailed from england; and when he thought himself near to the norway coast, he steered south along the land, to the quarter where it was least likely king olaf would be. gudrod sailed in this way south to viken; and as soon as he came to the land he began to plunder, to subject the people to him, and to demand that they should accept of him as king. now as the country people saw that a great army was come upon them, they desired peace and terms. they offered king gudrod to send a thing-message over all the country, and to accept of him at the thing as king, rather than suffer from his army; but they desired delay until a fixed day, while the token of the thing's assembling was going round through the land. the king demanded maintenance during the time this delay lasted. the bondes preferred entertaining the king as a guest, by turns, as long as he required it; and the king accepted of the proposal to go about with some of his men as a guest from place to place in the land, while others of his men remained to guard the ships. when king olaf's relations, hyrning and thorgeir, heard of this, they gathered men, fitted out ships, and went northwards to viken. they came in the night with their men to a place at which king gudrod was living as a guest, and attacked him with fire and weapons; and there king gudrod fell, and most of his followers. of those who were with his ships some were killed, some slipped away and fled to great distances; and now were all the sons of eirik and gunhild dead. 95. building of the ship long serpent. the winter after, king olaf came from halogaland (a.d. 1000), he had a great vessel built at hladhamrar, which was larger than any ship in the country, and of which the beam-knees are still to be seen. the length of keel that rested upon the grass was seventy-four ells. thorberg skafhog was the man's name who was the master-builder of the ship; but there were many others besides,--some to fell wood, some to shape it, some to make nails, some to carry timber; and all that was used was of the best. the ship was both long and broad and high-sided, and strongly timbered. while they were planking the ship, it happened that thorberg had to go home to his farm upon some urgent business; and as he remained there a long time, the ship was planked up on both sides when he came back. in the evening the king went out, and thorberg with him, to see how the vessel looked, and everybody said that never was seen so large and so beautiful a ship of war. then the king returned to the town. early next morning the king returns again to the ship, and thorberg with him. the carpenters were there before them, but all were standing idle with their arms across. the king asked, "what was the matter?" they said the ship was destroyed; for somebody had gone from, stem to stern, and cut one deep notch after the other down the one side of the planking. when the king came nearer he saw it was so, and said, with an oath, "the man shall die who has thus destroyed the vessel out of envy, if he can be discovered, and i shall bestow a great reward on whoever finds him out." "i can tell you, king," said thorberg, "who has done this piece of work."-"i don't think," replies the king, "that any one is so likely to find it out as thou art." thorberg says, "i will tell you, king, who did it. i did it myself." the king says, "thou must restore it all to the same condition as before, or thy life shall pay for it." then thorberg went and chipped the planks until the deep notches were all smoothed and made even with the rest; and the king and all present declared that the ship was much handsomer on the side of the hull which thorberg, had chipped, and bade him shape the other side in the same way; and gave him great thanks for the improvement. afterwards thorberg was the master builder of the ship until she was entirely finished. the ship was a dragon, built after the one the king had captured in halogaland; but this ship was far larger, and more carefully put together in all her parts. the king called this ship serpent the long, and the other serpent the short. the long serpent had thirty-four benches for rowers. the head and the arched tail were both gilt, and the bulwarks were as high as in sea-going ships. this ship was the best and most costly ship ever made in norway. 96. earl eirik, the son of hakon. earl eirik, the son of earl hakon, and his brothers, with many other valiant men their relations, had left the country after earl hakon's fall. earl eirik went eastwards to svithjod, to olaf, the swedish king, and he and his people were well received. king olaf gave the earl peace and freedom in the land, and great fiefs; so that he could support himself and his men well. thord kolbeinson speaks of this in the verses before given. many people who fled from the country on account of king olaf trygvason came out of norway to earl eirik; and the earl resolved to fit out ships and go a-cruising, in order to get property for himself and his people. first he steered to gotland, and lay there long in summer watching for merchant vessels sailing towards the land, or for vikings. sometimes he landed and ravaged all round upon the sea-coasts. so it is told in the "banda-drapa":- "eirik, as we have lately heard, has waked the song of shield and sword- has waked the slumbering storm of shields upon the vikings' water-fields: from gotland's lonely shore has gone far up the land, and battles won: and o'er the sea his name is spread, to friends a shield, to foes a dread." afterwards earl eirik sailed south to vindland, and at stauren found some viking ships, and gave them battle. eirik gained the victory, and slew the vikings. so it is told in the "banda-drapa":- "earl eirik, he who stoutly wields the battle-axe in storm of shields, with his long ships surprised the foe at stauren, and their strength laid low many a corpse floats round the shore; the strand with dead is studded o'er: the raven tears their sea-bleached skins- the land thrives well when eirik wins." 97. eirik's foray on the baltic coasts. earl eirik sailed back to sweden in autumn, and staid there all winter (a.d. 997); but in the spring fitted out his war force again, and sailed up the baltic. when he came to valdemar's dominions he began to plunder and kill the inhabitants, and burn the dwellings everywhere as he came along, and to lay waste the country. he came to aldeigiuburg, and besieged it until he took the castle; and he killed many people, broke down and burned the castle, and then carried destruction all around far and wide in gardarike. so it is told in the "banda-drapa":- "the generous earl, brave and bold, who scatters his bright shining gold, eirik with fire-scattering hand, wasted the russian monarch's land,- with arrow-shower, and storm of war, wasted the land of valdemar. aldeiga burns, and eirik's might scours through all russia by its light." earl eirik was five years in all on this foray; and when he returned from gardarike he ravaged all adalsysla and eysysla, and took there four viking ships from the danes and killed every man on board. so it is told in the "banda-drapa":- "among the isles flies round the word, that eirik's blood-devouring sword has flashed like fire in the sound, and wasted all the land around. and eirik too, the bold in fight, has broken down the robber-might of four great vikings, and has slain all of the crew--nor spared one dane. in gautland he has seized the town, in syssels harried up and down; and all the people in dismay fled to the forests far away. by land or sea, in field or wave, what can withstand this earl brave? all fly before his fiery hand- god save the earl, and keep the land." when eirik had been a year in sweden he went over to denmark (a.d. 996) to king svein tjuguskeg, the danish king, and courted his daughter gyda. the proposal was accepted, and earl eirik married gyda; and a year after (a.d. 997) they had a son, who was called hakon. earl eirik was in the winter in denmark, or sometimes in sweden; but in summer he went a-cruising. 98. king svein's marriage. the danish king, svein tjuguskeg, was married to gunhild, a daughter of burizleif, king of the vinds. but in the times we have just been speaking of it happened that queen gunhild fell sick and died. soon after king svein married sigrid the haughty, a daughter of skoglartoste, and mother of the swedish king olaf; and by means of this relationship there was great friendship between the kings and earl eirik, hakon's son. 99. king burizleif's marriage. burizleif, the king of the vinds, complained to his relation earl sigvalde, that the agreement was broken which sigvalde had made between king svein and king burizleif, by which burizleif was to get in marriage thyre, harald's daughter, a sister of king svein: but that marriage had not proceeded, for thyre had given positive no to the proposal to marry her to an old and heathen king. "now," said king burizleif to earl sigvalde, "i must have the promise fulfilled." and he told earl sigvalde to go to denmark, and bring him thyre as his queen. earl sigvalde loses no time, but goes to king svein of denmark, explains to him the case; and brings it so far by his persuasion, that the king delivered his sister thyre into his hands. with her went some female attendants, and her foster-father, by name ozur agason, a man of great power, and some other people. in the agreement between the king and the earl, it was settled that thyre should have in property the possessions which queen gunhild had enjoyed in vindland, besides other great properties as bride-gifts. thyre wept sorely, and went very unwillingly. when the earl came to vindland, burizleif held his wedding with queen thyre, and received her in marriage; bus as long as she was among heathens she would neither eat nor drink with them, and this lasted for seven days. 100. olaf gets thyre in marriage. it happened one night that queen thyre and ozur ran away in the dark, and into the woods, and, to be short in our story, came at last to denmark. but here thyre did not dare to remain, knowing that if her brother king svein heard of her, he would send her back directly to vindland. she went on, therefore, secretly to norway, and never stayed her journey until she fell in with king olaf, by whom she was kindly received. thyre related to the king her sorrows, and entreated his advice in her need, and protection in his kingdom. thyre was a well-spoken woman, and the king had pleasure in her conversation. he saw she was a handsome woman, and it came into his mind that she would be a good match; so he turns the conversation that way, and asks if she will marry him. now, as she saw that her situation was such that she could not help herself, and considered what a luck it was for her to marry so celebrated a man, she bade him to dispose himself of her hand and fate; and, after nearer conversation, king olaf took thyre in marriage. this wedding was held in harvest after the king returned from halogaland (a.d. 999), and king olaf and queen thyre remained all winter (a.d. 1000) at nidaros. the following spring queen thyre complained often to king olaf, and wept bitterly over it, that she who had so great property in vindland had no goods or possessions here in the country that were suitable for a queen; and sometimes she would entreat the king with fine words to get her property restored to her, and saying that king burizleif was so great a friend of king olaf that he would not deny king olaf anything if they were to meet. but when king olaf's friends heard of such speeches, they dissuaded him from any such expedition. it is related at the king one day early in spring was walking in the street, and met a man in the market with many, and, for that early season, remarkably large angelica roots. the king took a great stalk of the angelica in his hand, and went home to queen thyre's lodging. thyre sat in her room weeping as the king came in. the king said, "set here, queen, is a great angelica stalk, which i give thee." she threw it away, and said, "a greater present harald gormson gave to my mother; and he was not afraid to go out of the land and take his own. that was shown when he came here to norway, and laid waste the greater part of the land, and seized on all the scat and revenues; and thou darest not go across the danish dominions for this brother of mine, king svein." as she spoke thus, king olaf sprang up, and answered with loud oath, "never did i fear thy brother king svein; and if we meet he shall give way before me!" 101. olaf's levy for war. soon after the king convoked a thing in the town, and proclaimed to all the public, that in summer would go abroad upon an expedition out of the country, and would raise both ships and men from every district; and at the same time fixed how many ships would have from the whole throndhjem fjord. then he sent his message-token south and north, both along the sea-coast and up in the interior of the country, to let an army be gathered. the king ordered the long serpent to be put into the water, along with all his other ships both small and great. he himself steered the long serpent. when the crews were taken out for the ships, they were so carefully selected that no man on board the long serpent was older than sixty or younger than twenty years, and all were men distinguished for strength and courage. those who were olaf's bodyguard were in particular chosen men, both of the natives and of foreigners, and the boldest and strongest. 102. crew on board of the long serpent. ulf the red was the name of the man who bore king olaf's banner, and was in the forecastle of the long serpent; and with him was kolbjorn the marshal, thorstein uxafot, and vikar of tiundaland, a brother of arnliot gelline. by the bulkhead next the forecastle were vak raumason from gaut river, berse the strong, an skyte from jamtaland, thrand the strong from thelamork, and his brother uthyrmer. besides these were, of halogaland men, thrand skjalge and ogmund sande, hlodver lange from saltvik, and harek hvasse; together with these throndhjem men--ketil the high, thorfin eisle, havard and his brothers from orkadal. the following were in the fore-hold: bjorn from studla, bork from the fjords. thorgrim thjodolfson from hvin, asbjorn and orm, thord from njardarlog, thorstein the white from oprustadar, arnor from more, halstein and hauk from the fjord district, eyvind snak, bergthor bestil, halkel from fialer, olaf dreng, arnfin from sogn, sigurd bild, einar from hordaland, and fin, and ketil from rogaland and grjotgard the brisk. the following were in the hold next the mast: einar tambaskelfer, who was not reckoned as fully experienced, being only eighteen years old; thorstein hlifarson, thorolf, ivar smetta, and orm skogarnef. many other valiant men were in the serpent, although we cannot tell all their names. in every half division of the hold were eight men, and each and all chosen men; and in the fore-hold were thirty men. it was a common saying among people, that the long serpent's crew was as distinguished for bravery, strength, and daring, among other men, as the long serpent was distinguished among other ships. thorkel nefja, the king's brother, commanded the short serpent; and thorkel dydril and jostein, the king's mother's brothers, had the crane; and both these ships were well manned. king olaf had eleven large ships from throndhjem, besides vessels with twenty rowers' benches, smaller vessels, and provision-vessels. 103. iceland baptized. when king olaf had nearly rigged out his fleet in nidaros, he appointed men over the throndhjem country in all districts and communities. he also sent to iceland gissur the white and hjalte skeggjason, to proclaim christianity there; and sent with them a priest called thormod, along with several men in holy orders. but he retained with him, as hostages, four icelanders whom he thought the most important; namely, kjartan olafson, haldor gudmundson, kolbein thordson, and sverting runolfson. of gissur and hjalte's progress, it is related that they came to iceland before the althing, and went to the thing; and in that thing christianity was introduced by law into iceland, and in the course of the summer all the people were baptized (a.d. 1000). 104. greenland baptized the same spring king olaf also sent leif eirikson (a.d. 1000) to greenland to proclaim christianity there, and leif went there that summer. in the ocean he took up the crew of a ship which had been lost, and who were clinging to the wreck. he also found vinland the good; arrived about harvest in greenland; and had with him for it a priest and other teachers, with whom he went to brattahild to lodge with his father eirik. people called him afterwards leif the lucky: but his father eirik said that his luck and ill luck balanced each other; for if leif had saved a wreck in the ocean, he had brought a hurtful person with him to greenland, and that was the priest. 105. ragnvald sends messengers to olaf. the winter after king olaf had baptized halogaland, he and queen thyre were in nidaros; and the summer before queen thyre had brought king olaf a boy child, which was both stout and promising, and was called harald, after its mother's father. the king and queen loved the infant exceedingly, and rejoiced in the hope that it would grow up and inherit after its father; but it lived barely a year after its birth, which both took much to heart. in that winter were many icelanders and other clever men in king olaf's house, as before related. his sister ingebjorg, trygve's daughter, king olaf's sister, was also at the court at that time. she was beautiful in appearance, modest and frank with the people, had a steady manly judgment, and was beloved of all. she was very fond of the icelanders who were there, but most of kjartan olafson, for he had been longer than the others in the king's house; and he found it always amusing to converse with her, for she had both understanding and cleverness in talk. the king was always gay and full of mirth in his intercourse with people; and often asked about the manners of the great men and chiefs in the neighbouring countries, when strangers from denmark or sweden came to see him. the summer before halfred vandredaskald had come from gautland, where he had been with earl ragnvald, ulf's son, who had lately come to the government of west gautland. ulf, ragnvald's father, was a brother of sigurd the haughty; so that king olaf the swede and earl ragnvald were brother's and sister's children. halfred told olaf many things about the earl: he said he was an able chief, excellently fitted for governing, generous with money, brave and steady in friendship. halfred said also the earl desired much the friendship of king olaf, and had spoken of making court ingebjorg, trygve's daughter. the same winter came ambassadors from gautland, and fell in with king olaf in the north, in nidaros, and brought the message which halfred had spoken of,--that the earl desired to be king olaf's entire friend, and wished to become his brother-in-law by obtaining his sister ingebjorg in marriage. therewith the ambassadors laid before the king sufficient tokens in proof that in reality they came from the earl on this errand. the king listened with approbation to their speech; but said that ingebjorg must determine on his assent to the marriage. the king then talked to his sister about the matter, and asked her opinion about it. she answered to this effect,--"i have been with you for some time, and you have shown brotherly care and tender respect for me ever since you came to the country. i will agree therefore to your proposal about my marriage, provided that you do not marry me to a heathen man." the king said it should be as she wished. the king then spoke to the ambassadors; and it was settled before they departed that in summer earl ragnvald should meet the king in the east parts of the country, to enter into the fullest friendship with each other, and when they met they would settle about the marriage. with this reply the earl's messengers went westward, and king olaf remained all winter in nidaros in great splendour, and with many people about him. 106. olaf sends expedition to vindland. king olaf proceeded in summer with his ships and men southwards along the land (and past stad. with him were queen thyre and ingebjorg, trygveis daughter, the king's sister). many of his friends also joined him, and other persons of consequence who had prepared themselves to travel with the king. the first man among these was his brother-in-law, erling skjalgson, who had with him a large ship of thirty benches of rowers, and which was in every respect well equipt. his brothers-in-law hyrning and thorgeir also joined him, each of whom for himself steered a large vessel; and many other powerful men besides followed him. (with all this war-force he sailed southwards along the land; but when he came south as far as rogaland he stopped there, for erling skjalgson had prepared for him a splendid feast at sole. there earl ragnvald, ulf's son, from gautland, came to meet the king, and to settle the business which had been proposed in winter in the messages between them, namely, the marriage with ingebjorg the king's sister. olaf received him kindly; and when the matter came to be spoken of, the king said he would keep his word, and marry his sister ingebjorg to him, provided he would accept the true faith, and make all his subjects he ruled over in his land be baptized; the earl agreed to this, and he and all his followers were baptized. now was the feast enlarged that erling had prepared, for the earl held his wedding there with ingebjorg the king's sister. king olaf had now married off all his sisters. the earl, with ingebjorg, set out on his way home; and the king sent learned men with him to baptize the people in gautland, and to teach them the right faith and morals. the king and the earl parted in the greatest friendship.) 107. olaf's expedition vindland. (after his sister ingebjorg's wedding, the king made ready in all haste to leave the country with his army, which was both great and made up of fine men.) when he left the land and sailed southwards he had sixty ships of war, with which he sailed past denmark, and in through the sound, and on to vindland. he appointed a meeting with king burizleif; and when the kings met, they spoke about the property which king olaf demanded, and the conference went off peaceably, as a good account was given of the properties which king olaf thought himself entitled to there. he passed here much of the summer, and found many of his old friends. 108. conspiracy against king olaf. the danish king, svein tjuguskeg, was married, as before related, to sigrid the haughty. sigrid was king olaf trygvason's greatest enemy; the cause of which, as before said, was that king olaf had broken off with her, and had struck her in the face. she urged king svein much to give battle to king olaf trygvason; saying that he had reason enough, as olaf had married his sister thyre without his leave, "and that your predecessors would not have submitted to." such persuasions sigrid had often in her mouth; and at last she brought it so far that svein resolved firmly on doing so. early in spring king svein sent messengers eastward into svithjod, to his son-in-law olaf, the swedish king, and to earl eirik; and informed them that king olaf of norway was levying men for an expedition, and intended in summer to go to vindland. to this news the danish king added an invitation to the swedish king and earl eirik to meet king svein with an army, so that all together they might make an attack; on king olaf trygvason. the swedish king and earl eirik were ready enough for this, and immediately assembled a great fleet and an army through all svithjod, with which they sailed southwards to denmark, and arrived there after king olaf trygvason had sailed to the eastward. haldor the unchristian tells of this in his lay on earl eirik:- "the king-subduer raised a host of warriors on the swedish coast. the brave went southwards to the fight, who love the sword-storm's gleaming light; the brave, who fill the wild wolf's mouth, followed bold eirik to the south; the brave, who sport in blood--each one with the bold earl to sea is gone." the swedish king and earl eirik sailed to meet the danish king, and they had all, when together, an immense force. 109. earl sigvalde's treacherous plans. at the same time that king svein sent a message to svithjod for an army, he sent earl sigvalde to vindland to spy out king olaf trygvason's proceedings, and to bring it about by cunning devices that king svein and king olaf should fall in with each other. so sigvalde sets out to go to vindland. first, he came to jomsborg, and then he sought out king olaf trygvason. there was much friendship in their conversation, and the earl got himself into great favour with the king. astrid, the earl's wife, king burizleif's daughter, was a great friend of king olaf trygvason, particularly on account of the connection which had been between them when olaf was married to her sister geira. earl sigvalde was a prudent, ready-minded man; and as he had got a voice in king olaf's council, he put him off much from sailing homewards, finding various reasons for delay. olaf's people were in the highest degree dissatisfied with this; for the men were anxious to get home, and they lay ready to sail, waiting only for a wind. at last earl sigvalde got a secret message from denmark that the swedish king's army was arrived from the east, and that earl eirik's also was ready; and that all these chiefs had resolved to sail eastwards to vindland, and wait for king olaf at an island which is called svold. they also desired the earl to contrive matters so that they should meet king olaf there. 110. king olaf's voyage from vindland. there came first a flying report to vindland that the danish king, svein, had fitted out an army; and it was soon whispered that he intended to attack king olaf. but earl sigvalde says to king olaf, "it never can be king svein's intention to venture with the danish force alone, to give battle to thee with such a powerful army; but if thou hast any suspicion that evil is on foot, i will follow thee with my force (at that time it was considered a great matter to have jomsborg vikings with an army), and i will give thee eleven well-manned ships." the king accepted this offer; and as the light breeze of wind that came was favourable, he ordered the ships to get under weigh, and the war-horns to sound the departure. the sails were hoisted and all the small vessels, sailing fastest, got out to sea before the others. the earl, who sailed nearest to the king's ship, called to those on board to tell the king to sail in his keel-track: "for i know where the water is deepest between the islands and in the sounds, and these large ships require the deepest." then the earl sailed first with his eleven ships, and the king followed with his large ships, also eleven in number; but the whole of the rest of the fleet sailed out to sea. now when earl sigvalde came sailing close under the island svold, a skiff rowed out to inform the earl that the danish king's army was lying in the harbour before them. then the earl ordered the sails of his vessels to be struck, and they rowed in under the island. haldor the unchristian says:- "from out the south bold trygve's son with one-and-seventy ships came on, to dye his sword in bloody fight, against the danish foeman's might. but the false earl the king betrayed; and treacherous sigvalde, it is said, deserted from king olaf's fleet, and basely fled, the danes to meet." it is said here that king olaf and earl sigvalde had seventy sail of vessels: and one more, when they sailed from the south. 111. consultation of the kings. the danish king svein, the swedish king olaf, and earl eirik, were there with all their forces (1000). the weather being fine and clear sunshine, all these chiefs, with a great suite, went out on the isle to see the vessels sailing out at sea, and many of them crowded together; and they saw among them one large and glancing ship. the two kings said, "that is a large and very beautiful vessel: that will be the long serpent." earl eirik replied, "that is not the long serpent." and he was right; for it was the ship belonging to eindride of gimsar. soon after they saw another vessel coming sailing along much larger than the first; then says king svein, "olaf trygvason must be afraid, for he does not venture to sail with the figure-head of the dragon upon his ship." says earl eirik, "that is not the king's ship yet; for i know that ship by the coloured stripes of cloth in her sail. that is erling skialgson's. let him sail; for it is the better for us that the ship is away from olaf's fleet, so well equipt as she is." soon after they saw and knew earl sigvalde's ships, which turned in and laid themselves under the island. then they saw three ships coming along under sail, and one of them very large. king svein ordered his men to go to their ships, "for there comes the long serpent." earl eirik says, "many other great and stately vessels have they besides the long serpent. let us wait a little." then said many, "earl eirik will not fight and avenge his father; and it is a great shame that it should be told that we lay here with so great a force, and allowed king olaf to sail out to sea before our eyes." but when they had spoken thus for a short time, they saw four ships coming sailing along, of which one had a large dragon-head richly gilt. then king svein stood up and said, "that dragon shall carry me this evening high, for i shall steer it." then said many, "the long serpent is indeed a wonderfully large and beautiful vessel, and it shows a great mind to have built such a ship." earl eirik said so loud that several persons heard him, "if king olaf had no ether vessels but only that one, king svein would never take it from him with the danish force alone." thereafter all the people rushed on board their ships, took down the tents, and in all haste made ready for battle. while the chiefs were speaking among themselves as above related, they saw three very large ships coming sailing along, and at last after them a fourth, and that was the long serpent. of the large ships which had gone before, and which they had taken for the long serpent, the first was the crane; the one after that was the short serpent; and when they really, saw the long serpent, all knew, and nobody had a word to say against it, that it must be olaf trygvason who was sailing in such a vessel; and they went to their ships to arm for the fight. an agreement had been concluded among the chiefs, king svein, king olaf the swede, and earl eirik, that they should divide norway among them in three parts, in case they succeeded against olaf trygvason; but that he of the chiefs who should first board the serpent should have her, and all the booty found in her, and each should have the ships he cleared for himself. earl eirik had a large ship of war which he used upon his viking expeditions; and there was an iron beard or comb above on both sides of the stem, and below it a thick iron plate as broad as the combs, which went down quite to the gunnel. 112. of king olaf's people. when earl sigvalde with his vessels rowed in under the island, thorkel dydril of the crane, and the other ship commanders who sailed with him, saw that he turned his ships towards the isle, and thereupon let fall the sails, and rowed after him, calling out, and asking why he sailed that way. the earl answered, that he was waiting for king olaf, as he feared there were enemies in the water. they lay upon their oars until thorkel nefia came up with the short serpent and the three ships which followed him. when they told them the same they too struck sail, and let the ships drive, waiting for king olaf. but when the king sailed in towards the isle, the whole enemies' fleet came rowing within them out to the sound. when they saw this they begged the king to hold on his way, and not risk battle with so great a force. the king replied, high on the quarter-deck where he stood, "strike the sails; never shall men of mine think of flight. i never fled from battle. let god dispose of my life, but flight i shall never take." it was done as the king commanded. halfred tells of it thus:- "and far and wide the saying bold of the brave warrior shall be told. the king, in many a fray well tried, to his brave champions round him cried, 'my men shall never learn from me from the dark weapon-cloud to flee.' nor were the brave words spoken then forgotten by his faithful men." 113. olaf's ships prepared for battle. king olaf ordered the war-horns to sound for all his ships to close up to each other. the king's ship lay in the middle of the line, and on one side lay the little serpent, and on the other the crane; and as they made fast the stems together (1), the long serpent's stem and the short serpent's were made fast together; but when the king saw it he called out to his men, and ordered them to lay the larger ship more in advance, so that its stern should not lie so far behind in the fleet. then says ulf the red, "if the long serpent is to lie as much more ahead of the other ships as she is longer than them, we shall have hard work of it here on the forecastle." the king replies, "i did not think i had a forecastle man afraid as well as red." says ulf, "defend thou the quarterdeck as i shall the forecastle." the king had a bow in his hands, and laid an arrow on the string, and aimed at ulf. ulf said, "shoot another way, king, where it is more needful: my work is thy gain." endnotes: (1) the mode of fighting in sea battles appears, from this and many other descriptions, to have been for each party to bind together the stems and sterns of their own ships, forming them thus into a compact body as soon as the fleets came within fighting distance, or within spears' throw. they appear to have fought principally from the forecastles; and to have used grappling irons for dragging a vessel out of the line, or within boarding distance.--l. 114. of king olaf. king olaf stood on the serpent's quarterdeck, high over the others. he had a gilt shield, and a helmet inlaid with gold; over his armour he had a short red coat, and was easy to be distinguished from other men. when king olaf saw that the scattered forces of the enemy gathered themselves together under the banners of their ships, he asked, "who is the chief of the force right opposite to us?" he was answered, that it was king svein with the danish army. the king replies, "we are not afraid of these soft danes, for there is no bravery in them; but who are the troops on the right of the danes?" he was answered, that it was king olaf with the swedish forces. "better it were," says king olaf, "for these swedes to be sitting at home killing their sacrifices, than to be venturing under our weapons from the long serpent. but who owns the large ships on the larboard side of the danes?" "that is earl eirik hakonson," say they. the king replies, "he, methinks, has good reason for meeting us; and we may expect the sharpest conflict with these men, for they are norsemen like ourselves." 115. the battle begins. the kings now laid out their oars, and prepared to attack (a.d. 1000). king svein laid his ship against the long serpent. outside of him olaf the swede laid himself, and set his ship's stern against the outermost ship of king olaf's line; and on the other side lay earl eirik. then a hard combat began. earl sigvalde held back with the oars on his ships, and did not join the fray. so says skule thorsteinson, who at that time was with earl eirik:- "i followed sigvalde in my youth, and gallant eirik, and in truth the' now i am grown stiff and old, in the spear-song i once was bold. where arrows whistled on the shore of svold fjord my shield i bore, and stood amidst the loudest clash when swords on shields made fearful crash." and halfred also sings thus:- "in truth i think the gallant king, midst such a foemen's gathering, would be the better of some score of his tight throndhjem lads, or more; for many a chief has run away, and left our brave king in the fray, two great kings' power to withstand, and one great earl's, with his small band, the king who dares such mighty deed a hero for his skald would need." 116. flight of svein and olaf the swede. this battle was one of the severest told of, and many were the people slain. the forecastle men of the long serpent, the little serpent, and the crane, threw grapplings and stem chains into king svein's ship, and used their weapons well against the people standing below them, for they cleared the decks of all the ships they could lay fast hold of; and king svein, and all the men who escaped, fled to other vessels, and laid themselves out of bow-shot. it went with this force just as king olaf trygvason had foreseen. then king olaf the swede laid himself in their place; but when he came near the great ships it went with him as with them, for he lost many men and some ships, and was obliged to get away. but earl eirik laid his ship side by side with the outermost of king olaf's ships, thinned it of men, cut the cables, and let it drive. then he laid alongside of the next, and fought until he had cleared it of men also. now all the people who were in the smaller ships began to run into the larger, and the earl cut them loose as fast as he cleared them of men. the danes and swedes laid themselves now out of shooting distance all around olaf's ship; but earl eirik lay always close alongside of the ships, and used hid swords and battle-axes, and as fast as people fell in his vessel others, danes and swedes, came in their place. so says haldor, the unchristian:- "sharp was the clang of shield and sword, and shrill the song of spears on board, and whistling arrows thickly flew against the serpent's gallant crew. and still fresh foemen, it is said, earl eirik to her long side led; whole armies of his danes and swedes, wielding on high their blue sword-blades." then the fight became most severe, and many people fell. but at last it came to this, that all king olaf trygvason's ships were cleared of men except the long serpent, on board of which all who could still carry their arms were gathered. then earl eirik lay with his ship by the side of the serpent, and the fight went on with battle-axe and sword. so says haldor:- "hard pressed on every side by foes, the serpent reels beneath the blows; crash go the shields around the bow! breast-plates and breasts pierced thro' and thro! in the sword-storm the holm beside, the earl's ship lay alongside the king's long serpent of the sea- fate gave the earl the victory." 117. of earl eirik. earl eirik was in the forehold of his ship, where a cover of shields (1) had been set up. in the fight, both hewing weapons, sword, and axe, and the thrust of spears had been used; and all that could be used as weapon for casting was cast. some used bows, some threw spears with the hand. so many weapons were cast into the serpent, and so thick flew spears and arrows, that the shields could scarcely receive them, for on all sides the serpent was surrounded by war-ships. then king olaf's men became so mad with rage, that they ran on board of the enemies ships, to get at the people with stroke of sword and kill them; but many did not lay themselves so near the serpent, in order to escape the close encounter with battle-axe or sword; and thus the most of olaf's men went overboard and sank under their weapons, thinking they were fighting on plain ground. so says halfred:- "the daring lads shrink not from death;- o'erboard they leap, and sink beneath the serpent's keel: all armed they leap, and down they sink five fathoms deep. the foe was daunted at the cheers; the king, who still the serpent steers, in such a strait--beset with foes- wanted but some more lads like those." endnotes: (1) both in land and sea fights the commanders appear to have been protected from missile weapons,--stones, arrows, spears,--by a shieldburg: that is, by a party of men bearing shields surrounding them in such a way that the shields were a parapet, covering those within the circle. the romans had a similar military arrangement of shields in sieges--the testudo.--l. 118. of einar tambarskelver. einar tambarskelver, one of the sharpest of bowshooters, stood by the mast, and shot with his bow. einar shot an arrow at earl eirik, which hit the tiller end just above the earl's head so hard that it entered the wood up to the arrow-shaft. the earl looked that way, and asked if they knew who had shot; and at the same moment another arrow flew between his hand and his side, and into the stuffing of the chief's stool, so that the barb stood far out on the other side. then said the earl to a man called fin,--but some say he was of fin (laplander) race, and was a superior archer,--"shoot that tall man by the mast." fin shot; and the arrow hit the middle of einar's bow just at the moment that einar was drawing it, and the bow was split in two parts. "what is that," cried king olaf, "that broke with such a noise?" "norway, king, from thy hands," cried einar. "no! not quite so much as that," says the king; "take my bow, and shoot," flinging the bow to him. einar took the bow, and drew it over the head of the arrow. "too weak, too weak," said he, "for the bow of a mighty king!" and, throwing the bow aside, he took sword and shield, and fought valiantly. 119. olaf gives his men sharp swords. the king stood on the gangways of the long serpent, and shot the greater part of the day; sometimes with the bow, sometimes with the spear, and always throwing two spears at once. he looked down over the ship's sides, and saw that his men struck briskly with their swords, and yet wounded but seldom. then he called aloud, "why do ye strike so gently that ye seldom cut?" one among the people answered, "the swords are blunt and full of notches." then the king went down into the forehold, opened the chest under the throne, and took out many sharp swords, which he handed to his men; but as he stretched down his right hand with them, some observed that blood was running down under his steel glove, but no one knew where he was wounded. 120. the serpent boarded. desperate was the defence in the serpent, and there was the heaviest destruction of men done by the forecastle crew, and those of the forehold, for in both places the men were chosen men, and the ship was highest, but in the middle of the ship the people were thinned. now when earl eirik saw there were but few people remaining beside the ship's mast, he determined to board; and he entered the serpent with four others. then came hyrning, the king's brother-in-law, and some others against him, and there was the most severe combat; and at last the earl was forced to leap back on board his own ship again, and some who had accompanied him were killed, and others wounded. thord kolbeinson alludes to this:- "on odin's deck, all wet with blood, the helm-adorned hero stood; and gallant hyrning honour gained, clearing all round with sword deep stained. the high mountain peaks shall fall, ere men forget this to recall." now the fight became hot indeed, and many men fell on board the serpent; and the men on board of her began to be thinned off, and the defence to be weaker. the earl resolved to board the serpent again, and again he met with a warm reception. when the forecastle men of the serpent saw what he was doing, they went aft and made a desperate fight; but so many men of the serpent had fallen, that the ship's sides were in many places quite bare of defenders; and the earl's men poured in all around into the vessel, and all the men who were still able to defend the ship crowded aft to the king, and arrayed themselves for his defence. so says haldor the unchristian:- "eirik cheers on his men,- 'on to the charge again!' the gallant few of olaf's crew must refuge take on the quarter-deck. around the king they stand in ring; their shields enclose the king from foes, and the few who still remain fight madly, but in vain. eirik cheers on his men- 'on to the charge again!'" 121. the serpent's decks cleared. kolbjorn the marshal, who had on clothes and arms like the kings, and was a remarkably stout and handsome man, went up to king on the quarter-deck. the battle was still going on fiercely even in the forehold (1). but as many of the earl's men had now got into the serpent as could find room, and his ships lay all round her, and few were the people left in the serpent for defence against so great a force; and in a short time most of the serpent's men fell, brave and stout though they were. king olaf and kolbjorn the marshal both sprang overboard, each on his own side of the ship; but the earl's men had laid out boats around the serpent, and killed those who leaped overboard. now when the king had sprung overboard, they tried to seize him with their hands, and bring him to earl eirik; but king olaf threw his shield over his head, and sank beneath the waters. kolbjorn held his shield behind him to protect himself from the spears cast at him from the ships which lay round the serpent, and he fell so upon his shield that it came under him, so that he could not sink so quickly. he was thus taken and brought into a boat, and they supposed he was the king. he was brought before the earl; and when the earl saw it was kolbjorn, and not the king, he gave him his life. at the same moment all of king olaf's men who were in life sprang overboard from the serpent; and thorkel nefia, the king's brother, was the last of all the men who sprang overboard. it is thus told concerning the king by halfred:- "the serpent and the crane lay wrecks upon the main. on his sword he cast a glance,- with it he saw no chance. to his marshal, who of yore many a war-chance had come o'er, he spoke a word--then drew in breath, and sprang to his deep-sea death." endnotes: (1) from the occasional descriptions of vessels in this and other battles, it may be inferred that even the long serpent, described in the 95th chapter as of 150 feet of keel was only docked fore and aft; the thirty-four benches for rowers occupying the open area in the middle, and probably gangways running along the side for communicating from the quarter-deck to the forcastle.--l. 122. report among the people. earl sigvalde, as before related, came from vindland, in company with king olaf, with ten ships; but the eleventh ship was manned with the men of astrid, the king's daughter, the wife of earl sigvalde. now when king olaf sprang overboard, the whole army raised a shout of victory; and then earl sigvalde and his men put their oars in the water and rowed towards the battle. haldor the unchristian tells of it thus:- "then first the vindland vessels came into the fight with little fame; the fight still lingered on the wave, tho' hope was gone with olaf brave. war, like a full-fed ravenous beast, still oped her grim jaws for the feast. the few who stood now quickly fled, when the shout told--'olaf is dead!'" but the vindland cutter, in which astrid's men were, rowed back to vindland; and the report went immediately abroad and was told by many, that king olaf had cast off his coat-of-mail under water, and had swum, diving under the longships, until he came to the vindland cutter, and that astrid's men had conveyed him to vindland: and many tales have been made since about the adventures of olaf the king. halfred speaks thus about it:- "does olaf live? or is he dead? has he the hungry ravens fed? i scarcely know what i should say, for many tell the tale each way. this i can say, nor fear to lie, that he was wounded grievously- so wounded in this bloody strife, he scarce could come away with life." but however this may have been, king olaf trygvason never came back again to his kingdom of norway. halfred vandredaskald speaks also thus about it: "the witness who reports this thing of trygvason, our gallant king, once served the king, and truth should tell, for olaf hated lies like hell. if olaf 'scaped from this sword-thing, worse fate, i fear, befel our king than people guess, or e'er can know, for he was hemm'd in by the foe. from the far east some news is rife of king sore wounded saving life; his death, too sure, leaves me no care for cobweb rumours in the air. it never was the will of fate that olaf from such perilous strait should 'scape with life! this truth may grieve- 'what people wish they soon believe.'" 123. of earl eirik, the son of hakon. by this victory earl eirik hakonson became owner of the long serpent, and made a great booty besides; and he steered the serpent from the battle. so says haldor:- "olaf, with glittering helmet crowned, had steered the serpent through the sound; and people dressed their boats, and cheered as olaf's fleet in splendour steered. but the descendent of great heming, whose race tells many a gallant sea-king, his blue sword in red life-blood stained, and bravely olaf's long ship gained." svein, a son of earl hakon, and earl eirik's brother, was engaged at this time to marry holmfrid, a daughter of king olaf the swedish king. now when svein the danish king, olaf the swedish king, and earl eirik divided the kingdom of norway between them, king olaf got four districts in the throndhjem country, and also the districts of more and raumsdal; and in the east part of the land he got ranrike, from the gaut river to svinasund. olaf gave these dominions into earl svein's hands, on the same conditions as the sub kings or earls had held them formerly from the upper-king of the country. earl eirik got four districts in the throndhjem country, and halogaland, naumudal, the fjord districts, sogn, hordaland, rogaland, and north agder, all the way to the naze. so says thord kolbeinson:- "all chiefs within our land on eirik's side now stand: erling alone, i know remains earl eirik's foe. all praise our generous earl,- he gives, and is no churl: all men are well content fate such a chief has sent. from veiga to agder they, well pleased, the earl obey; and all will by him stand, to guard the norsemen's land. and now the news is spread that mighty svein is dead, and luck is gone from those who were the norsemen's foes." the danish king svein retained viken as he had held it before, but he gave raumarike and hedemark to earl eirik. svein hakonson got the title of earl from olaf the swedish king. svein was one of the handsomest men ever seen. the earls eirik and svein both allowed themselves to be baptized, and took up the true faith; but as long as they ruled in norway they allowed every one to do as he pleased in holding by his christianity. but, on the other hand, they held fast by the old laws, and all the old rights and customs of the land, and were excellent men and good rulers. earl eirik had most to say of the two brothers in all matters of government. saga of olaf haraldson. (1) preliminary remarks. olaf haraldson the saint's saga is the longest, the most important, and the most finished of all the sagas in "heimskringla". the life of olaf will be found treated more or less freely in "agrip", in "historia norvegiae", in "thjodrek the monk", in the legendary saga, and in "fagrskinna". other old norse literature relating to this epoch: are's "islendingabok", "landnama", "kristni saga", "biskupa-sogur", "njala", "gunlaugs saga", "ormstungu", "bjarnar saga hitdaelakappa", "hallfredar thattr vandraedaskalde", "eyrbyggia", "viga styrs saga", "laxdaela", "fostbraedra", "gretla", "liosvetninga", "faereyinga", "orkneyinga". olaf haraldson was born 995, went as a viking at the age of twelve, 1007; visited england, one summer and three winters, 1009-1012; in france two summers and one winter, 1012-1013; spent the winter in normandy, 1014; returned to norway and was recognized as king, april 3, 1015; fled from norway the winter of 1028-1029; fell at stiklestad, july 29 (or august 31), 1030. skalds quoted in this saga are:--ottar svarte, sigvat skald, thord kolbeinson, berse torfason, brynjolf, arnor jarlaskald, thord siarekson, harek, thorarin loftunga, halvard hareksblese, bjarne gulbraskald, jokul bardson, thormod kolbrunarskald, gissur, thorfin mun, hofgardaref. endnotes: (1) king olaf the saint reigned from about the year 1015 to 1030. the death of king olaf trygvason was in the year 1000: and earl eirik held the government for the danish and swedish kings about fifteen years.--l. 1. of saint olaf's bringing up. olaf, harald grenske's son, was brought up by his stepfather sigurd syr and his mother asta. hrane the far-travelled lived in the house of asta, and fostered this olaf haraldson. olaf came early to manhood, was handsome in countenance, middle-sized in growth, and was even when very young of good understanding and ready speech. sigurd his stepfather was a careful householder, who kept his people closely to their work, and often went about himself to inspect his corn-rigs and meadowland, the cattle, and also the smith-work, or whatsoever his people had on hand to do. 2. of olaf and king sigurd syr. it happened one day that king sigurd wanted to ride from home, but there was nobody about the house; so he told his stepson olaf to saddle his horse. olaf went to the goats' pen, took out the he-goat that was the largest, led him forth, and put the king's saddle on him, and then went in and told king sigurd he had saddled his riding horse. now when king sigurd came out and saw what olaf had done, he said "it is easy to see that thou wilt little regard my orders; and thy mother will think it right that i order thee to do nothing that is against thy own inclination. i see well enough that we are of different dispositions, and that thou art far more proud than i am." olaf answered little, but went his way laughing. 3. of ring olaf's accomplishments. when olaf haraldson grew up he was not tall, but middle-sized in height, although very thick, and of good strength. he had light brown hair, and a broad face, which was white and red. he had particularly fine eyes, which were beautiful and piercing, so that one was afraid to look him in the face when he was angry. olaf was very expert in all bodily exercises, understood well to handle his bow, and was distinguished particularly in throwing his spear by hand: he was a great swimmer, and very handy, and very exact and knowing in all kinds of smithwork, whether he himself or others made the thing. he was distinct and acute in conversation, and was soon perfect in understanding and strength. he was beloved by his friends and acquaintances, eager in his amusements, and one who always liked to be the first, as it was suitable he should be from his birth and dignity. he was called olaf the great. 4. king olaf's war expedition. olaf haraldson was twelve years old when he, for the first time, went on board a ship of war (a.d. 1007). his mother asta got hrane, who was called the foster-father of kings, to command a ship of war and take olaf under his charge; for hrane had often been on war expeditions. when olaf in this way got a ship and men, the crew gave him the title of king; for it was the custom that those commanders of troops who were of kingly descent, on going out upon a viking cruise, received the title of king immediately although they had no land or kingdom. hrane sat at the helm; and some say that olaf himself was but a common rower, although he was king of the men-at-arms. they steered east along the land, and came first to denmark. so says ottar svarte, in his lay which he made about king olaf:- "young was the king when from his home he first began in ships to roam, his ocean-steed to ride to denmark o'er the tide. well exercised art thou in truth- in manhood's earnest work, brave youth! out from the distant north mighty hast thou come forth." towards autumn he sailed eastward to the swedish dominions, and there harried and burnt all the country round; for he thought he had good cause of hostility against the swedes, as they killed his father harald. ottar svarte says distinctly that he came from the east, out by way of denmark:- "thy ship from shore to shore, with many a well-plied car, across the baltic foam is dancing.- shields, and spears, and helms glancing! hoist high the swelling sail to catch the freshening gale! there's food for the raven-flight where thy sail-winged ship shall light; thy landing-tread the people dread; and the wolf howls for a feast on the shore-side in the east." 5. olaf's first battle. the same autumn olaf had his first battle at sotasker, which lies in the swedish skerry circle. he fought there with some vikings, whose leader was sote. olaf had much fewer men, but his ships were larger, and he had his ships between some blind rocks, which made it difficult for the vikings to get alongside; and olaf's men threw grappling irons into the ships which came nearest, drew them up to their own vessels, and cleared them of men. the vikings took to flight after losing many men. sigvat the skald tells of this fight in the lay in which he reckons up king olaf's battles:- "they launch his ship where waves are foaming- to the sea shore both mast and oar, and sent his o'er the seas a-roaming. where did the sea-king first draw blood? in the battle shock at sote's rock; the wolves howl over their fresh food." 6. foray in svithjod. king olaf steered thereafter eastwards to svithjod, and into the lag (the maelar lake), and ravaged the land on both sides. he sailed all the way up to sigtuna, and laid his ships close to the old sigtuna. the swedes say the stone-heaps are still to be seen which olaf had laid under the ends of the gangways from the shore to the ships. when autumn was advanced, olaf haraldson heard that olaf the swedish king was assembling an army, and also that he had laid iron chains across stoksund (the channel between the maelar lake and the sea), and had laid troops there; for the swedish king thought that olaf haraldson would be kept in there till frost came, and he thought little of olaf's force knowing he had but few people. now when king olaf haraldson came to stoksund he could not get through, as there was a castle west of the sound, and men-at-arms lay on the south; and he heard that the swedish king was come there with a great army and many ships. he therefore dug a canal across the flat land agnafit out to the sea. over all svithjod all the running waters fall into the maelar lake; but the only outlet of it to the sea is so small that many rivers are wider, and when much rain or snow falls the water rushes in a great cataract out by stoksund, and the lake rises high and floods the land. it fell heavy rain just at this time; and as the canal was dug out to the sea, the water and stream rushed into it. then olaf had all the rudders unshipped and hoisted all sail aloft. it was blowing a strong breeze astern, and they steered with their oars, and the ships came in a rush over all the shallows, and got into the sea without any damage. now went the swedes to their king, olaf, and told him that olaf the great had slipped out to sea; on which the king was enraged against those who should have watched that olaf did not get away. this passage has since been called king's sound; but large vessels cannot pass through it, unless the waters are very high. some relate that the swedes were aware that olaf had cut across the tongue of land, and that the water was falling out that way; and they flocked to it with the intention to hinder olaf from getting away, but the water undermined the banks on each side so that they fell in with the people, and many were drowned: but the swedes contradict this as a false report, and deny the loss of people. the king sailed to gotland in harvest, and prepared to plunder; but the gotlanders assembled, and sent men to the king, offering him a scat. the king found this would suit him, and he received the scat, and remained there all winter. so says ottar svarte:- "thou seaman-prince! thy men are paid: the scat on gotlanders is laid; young man or old to our seamen bold must pay, to save his head: the yngling princes fled, eysvssel people bled; who can't defend the wealth they have must die, or share with the rover brave." 7. the second battle. it is related here that king olaf, when spring set in, sailed east to eysyssel, and landed and plundered; the eysyssel men came down to the strand and grave him battle. king olaf gained the victory, pursued those who fled, and laid waste the land with fire and sword. it is told that when king olaf first came to eysvssel they offered him scat, and when the scat was to be brought down to the strand the king came to meet it with an armed force, and that was not what the bondes there expected; for they had brought no scat, but only their weapons with which they fought against the king, as before related. so says sigvat the skald:- "with much deceit and bustle to the heath of eysyssel the bondes brought the king, to get scat at their weapon-thing. but olaf was too wise to be taken by surprise; their legs scarce bore them off o'er the common test enough." 8. the third battle. after this they sailed to finland and plundered there, and went up the country. all the people fled to the forest, and they had emptied their houses of all household goods. the king went far up the country, and through some woods, and came to some dwellings in a valley called herdaler,--where, however, they made but small booty, and saw no people; and as it was getting late in the day, the king turned back to his ships. now when they came into the woods again people rushed upon them from all quarters, and made a severe attack. the king told his men to cover themselves with their shields, but before they got out of the woods he lost many people, and many were wounded; but at last, late in the evening, he got to the ships. the finlanders conjured up in the night, by their witchcraft, a dreadful storm and bad weather on the sea; but the king ordered the anchors to be weighed and sail hoisted, and beat off all night to the outside of the land. the king's luck prevailed more than the finlanders' witchcraft; for he had the luck to beat round the balagard's side in the night, and so got out to sea. but the finnish army proceeded on land, making the same progress as the king made with his ships. so says sigvat:- "the third fight was at herdaler, where the men of finland met in war the hero of the royal race, with ringing sword-blades face to face. off balagard's shore the waves ran hollow; but the sea-king saves his hard-pressed ship, and gains the lee of the east coast through the wild sea." 9. the fourth battle in sudervik. king olaf sailed from thence to denmark, where he met thorkel the tall, brother of earl sigvalde, and went into partnership with him; for he was just ready to set out on a cruise. they sailed southwards to the jutland coast, to a place called sudervik, where they overcame many viking ships. the vikings, who usually have many people to command, give themselves the title of kings, although they have no lands to rule over. king olaf went into battle with them, and it was severe; but king olaf gained the victory, and a great booty. so says sigvat:- "hark! hark! the war-shout through sudervik rings, and the vikings bring out to fight the two kings. great honour, i'm told, won these vikings so bold: but their bold fight was vain, for the two brave kings gain." 10. the fifth battle in friesland. king olaf sailed from thence south to friesland, and lay under the strand of kinlima in dreadful weather. the king landed with his men; but the people of the country rode down to the strand against them, and he fought them. so says sigvat:- "under kinlima's cliff, this battle is the fifth. the brave sea-rovers stand all on the glittering sand; and down the horsemen ride to the edge of the rippling tide: but olaf taught the peasant band to know the weight of a viking's hand." 11. death of king svein forked beard. the king sailed from thence westward to england. it was then the case that the danish king, svein forked beard, was at that time in england with a danish army, and had been fixed there for some time, and had seized upon king ethelred's kingdom. the danes had spread themselves so widely over england, that it was come so far that king ethelred had departed from the country, and had gone south to valland. the same autumn that king olaf came to england, it happened that king svein died suddenly in the night in his bed; and it is said by englishmen that edmund the saint killed him, in the same way that the holy mercurius had killed the apostate julian. when ethelred, the king of the english, heard this in flanders, he returned directly to england; and no sooner was he come back, than he sent an invitation to all the men who would enter into his pay, to join him in recovering the country. then many people flocked to him; and among others, came king olaf with a great troop of northmen to his aid. they steered first to london, and sailed into the thames with their fleet; but the danes had a castle within. on the other side of the river is a great trading place, which is called sudvirke. there the danes had raised a great work, dug large ditches, and within had built a bulwark of stone, timber, and turf, where they had stationed a strong army. king ethelred ordered a great assault; but the danes defended themselves bravely, and king ethelred could make nothing of it. between the castle and southwark (sudvirke) there was a bridge, so broad that two wagons could pass each other upon it. on the bridge were raised barricades, both towers and wooden parapets, in the direction of the river, which were nearly breast high; and under the bridge were piles driven into the bottom of the river. now when the attack was made the troops stood on the bridge everywhere, and defended themselves. king ethelred was very anxious to get possession of the bridge, and he called together all the chiefs to consult how they should get the bridge broken down. then said king olaf he would attempt to lay his fleet alongside of it, if the other ships would do the same. it was then determined in this council that they should lay their war forces under the bridge; and each made himself ready with ships and men. 12. the sixth battle. king olaf ordered great platforms of floating wood to be tied together with hazel bands, and for this he took down old houses; and with these, as a roof, he covered over his ships so widely, that it reached over the ships' sides. under this screen he set pillars so high and stout, that there both was room for swinging their swords, and the roofs were strong enough to withstand the stones cast down upon them. now when the fleet and men were ready, they rode up along the river; but when they came near the bridge, there were cast down upon them so many stones and missile weapons, such as arrows and spears, that neither helmet nor shield could hold out against it; and the ships themselves were so greatly damaged, that many retreated out of it. but king olaf, and the northmen's fleet with him, rowed quite up under the bridge, laid their cables around the piles which supported it, and then rowed off with all the ships as hard as they could down the stream. the piles were thus shaken in the bottom, and were loosened under the bridge. now as the armed troops stood thick of men upon the bridge, and there were likewise many heaps of stones and other weapons upon it, and the piles under it being loosened and broken, the bridge gave way; and a great part of the men upon it fell into the river, and all the ethers fled, some into the castle, some into southwark. thereafter southwark was stormed and taken. now when the people in the castle saw that the river thames was mastered, and that they could not hinder the passage of ships up into the country, they became afraid, surrendered the tower, and took ethelred to be their king. so says ottar svarte:- "london bridge is broken down.- gold is won, and bright renown. shields resounding, war-horns sounding, hild is shouting in the din! arrows singing, mail-coats ringing- odin makes our olaf win!" and he also composed these:- "king ethelred has found a friend: brave olaf will his throne defend- in bloody fight maintain his right, win back his land with blood-red hand, and edmund's son upon his throne replace- edmund, the star of every royal race!" sigvat also relates as follows:- "at london bridge stout olaf gave odin's law to his war-men brave- 'to win or die!' and their foemen fly. some by the dyke-side refuge gain- some in their tents on southwark plain! the sixth attack brought victory back." 13. the seventh battle. king olaf passed all the winter with king ethelred, and had a great battle at hringmara heath in ulfkel's land, the domain which ulfkel snilling at that time held; and here again the king was victorious. so says sigvat the skald:- "to ulfkel's land came olaf bold, a seventh sword-thing he would hold. the race of ella filled the plain- few of them slept at home again! hringmara heath was a bed of death: harfager's heir dealt slaughter there." and ottar sings of this battle thus:- "from hringmara field the chime of war, sword striking shield, rings from afar. the living fly; the dead piled high the moor enrich; red runs the ditch." the country far around was then brought in subjection to king ethelred: but the thingmen (1) and the danes held many castles, besides a great part of the country. endnotes: (1) thing-men were hired men-at-arms; called thing-men probably from being men above the class of thralls or unfree men, and entitled to appear at things, as being udal-born to land at home. 14. eighth and ninth battles of olaf. king olaf was commander of all the forces when they went against canterbury; and they fought there until they took the town, killing many people and burning the castle. so says ottar svarte:- "all in the grey of morn broad canterbury's forced. black smoke from house-roofs borne hides fire that does its worst; and many a man laid low by the battle-axe's blow, waked by the norsemen's cries, scarce had time to rub his eyes." sigvat reckons this king olaf's eighth battle:- "of this eighth battle i can tell how it was fought, and what befell, the castle tower with all his power he could not take, nor would forsake. the perthmen fought, nor quarter sought; by death or flight they left the fight. olaf could not this earl stout from canterbury quite drive out." at this time king olaf was entrusted with the whole land defence of england, and he sailed round the land with his ships of war. he laid his ships at land at nyjamoda, where the troops of the thingmen were, and gave them battle and gained the victory. so says sigvat the skald:- "the youthful king stained red the hair of angeln men, and dyed his spear at newport in their hearts' dark blood: and where the danes the thickest stood- where the shrill storm round olaf's head of spear and arrow thickest fled. there thickest lay the thingmen dead! nine battles now of olaf bold, battle by battle, i have told." king olaf then scoured all over the country, taking scat of the people and plundering where it was refused. so says ottar:- "the english race could not resist thee, with money thou madest them assist thee; unsparingly thou madest them pay a scat to thee in every way; money, if money could be got- goods, cattle, household gear, if not. thy gathered spoil, borne to the strand, was the best wealth of english land." olaf remained here for three years (a.d. 1010-1012). 15. the tenth battle. the third year king ethelred died, and his sons edmund and edward took the government (a.d. 1012). then olaf sailed southwards out to sea, and had a battle at hringsfjord, and took a castle situated at holar, where vikings resorted, and burnt the castle. so says sigvat the skald:- "of the tenth battle now i tell, where it was fought, and what befell. up on the hill in hringsfjord fair a robber nest hung in the air: the people followed our brave chief, and razed the tower of the viking thief. such rock and tower, such roosting-place, was ne'er since held by the roving race." 16. eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth battles. then king olaf proceeded westwards to grislupollar, and fought there with vikings at williamsby; and there also king olaf gained the victory. so says sigvat:- "the eleventh battle now i tell, where it was fought, and what befell. at grislupol our young fir's name o'ertopped the forest trees in fame: brave olaf's name--nought else was heard but olaf's name, and arm, and sword. of three great earls, i have heard say, his sword crushed helm and head that day." next he fought westward on fetlafjord, as sigvat tells:- "the twelfth fight was at fetlafjord, where olaf's honour-seeking sword gave the wild wolf's devouring teeth a feast of warriors doomed to death." from thence king olaf sailed southwards to seljupollar, where he had a battle. he took there a castle called gunvaldsborg, which was very large and old. he also made prisoner the earl who ruled over the castle and who was called geirfin. after a conference with the men of the castle, he laid a scat upon the town and earl, as ransom, of twelve thousand gold shillings: which was also paid by those on whom it was imposed. so says sigvat:- "the thirteenth battle now i tell, where it was fought, and what befell. in seljupol was fought the fray, and many did not survive the day. the king went early to the shore, to gunvaldsborg's old castle-tower; and a rich earl was taken there, whose name was geridin, i am sure." 17. fourteenth battle and olaf's dream. thereafter king olaf steered with his fleet westward to karlsar, and tarried there and had a fight. and while king olaf was lying in karlsa river waiting a wind, and intending to sail up to norvasund, and then on to the land of jerusalem, he dreamt a remarkable dream--that there came to him a great and important man, but of a terrible appearance withal, who spoke to him, and told him to give up his purpose of proceeding to that land. "return back to thy udal, for thou shalt be king over norway for ever." he interpreted this dream to mean that he should be king over the country, and his posterity after him for a long time. 18. fifteenth battle. after this appearance to him he turned about, and came to poitou, where he plundered and burnt a merchant town called varrande. of this ottar speaks:- "our young king, blythe and gay, is foremost in the fray: poitou he plunders, tuskland burns,- he fights and wins where'er he turns." and also sigvat says:- "the norsemen's king is on his cruise, his blue steel staining, rich booty gaining, and all men trembling at the news. the norsemen's kings up on the loire: rich partheney in ashes lay; far inland reached the norsemen's spear." 19. of the earls of rouen. king olaf had been two summers and one winter in the west in valland on this cruise; and thirteen years had now passed since the fall of king olaf trygvason. during this time earls had ruled over norway; first hakon's sons eirik and svein, and afterwards eirik's sons hakon and svein. hakon was a sister's son of king canute, the son of svein. during this time there were two earls in valland, william and robert; their father was richard earl of rouen. they ruled over normandy. their sister was queen emma, whom the english king ethelred had married; and their sons were edmund, edward the good, edwy, and edgar. richard the earl of rouen was a son of richard the son of william long spear, who was the son of rolf ganger, the earl who first conquered normandy; and he again was a son of ragnvald the mighty, earl of more, as before related. from rolf ganger are descended the earls of rouen, who have long reckoned themselves of kin to the chiefs in norway, and hold them in such respect that they always were the greatest friends of the northmen; and every northman found a friendly country in normandy, if he required it. to normandy king olaf came in autumn (a.d. 1013), and remained all winter (a.d. 1014) in the river seine in good peace and quiet. 20. of einar tambaskelfer. after olaf trygvason's fall, earl eirik gave peace to einar tambaskelfer, the son of eindride styrkarson; and einar went north with the earl to norway. it is said that einar was the strongest man and the best archer that ever was in norway. his shooting was sharp beyond all others; for with a blunt arrow he shot through a raw, soft ox-hide, hanging over a beam. he was better than any man at running on snow-shoes, was a great man at all exercises, was of high family, and rich. the earls eirik and svein married their sister bergliot to einar. their son was named eindride. the earls gave einar great fiefs in orkadal, so that he was one of the most powerful and able men in the throndhjem country, and was also a great friend of the earls, and a great support and aid to them. 21. of erling skialgson. when olaf trygvason ruled over norway, he gave his brother-in-law erling half of the land scat, and royal revenues between the naze and sogn. his other sister he married to the earl ragnvald ulfson, who long ruled over west gautland. ragnvald's father, ulf, was a brother of sigrid the haughty, the mother of olaf the swedish king. earl eirik was ill pleased that erling skialgson had so large a dominion, and he took to himself all the king's estates, which king olaf had given to erling. but erling levied, as before, all the land scat in rogaland; and thus the inhabitants had often to pay him the land scat, otherwise he laid waste their land. the earl made little of the business, for no bailiff of his could live there, and the earl could only come there in guest-quarters, when he had a great many people with him. so says sigvat:- "olaf the king thought the bonde erling a man who would grace his own royal race. one sister the king gave the bonde erling; and one to an earl, and she saved him in peril." earl eirik did not venture to fight with erling, because he had very powerful and very many friends, and was himself rich and popular, and kept always as many retainers about him as if he held a king's court. erling was often out in summer on plundering expeditions, and procured for himself means of living; for he continued his usual way of high and splendid living, although now he had fewer and less convenient fiefs than in the time of his brother-in-law king olaf trygvason. erling was one of the handsomest, largest, and strongest men; a better warrior than any other; and in all exercises he was like king olaf himself. he was, besides, a man of understanding, jealous in everything he undertook, and a deadly man at arms. sigvat talks thus of him:- "no earl or baron, young or old, match with this bonde brave can hold. mild was brave erling, all men say, when not engaged in bloody fray: his courage he kept hid until the fight began, then foremost still erling was seen in war's wild game, and famous still is erling's name." it was a common saying among the people, that erling had been the most valiant who ever held lands under a king in norway. erlings and astrid s children were these--aslak, skialg, sigurd, lodin, thorer, and ragnhild, who was married to thorberg arnason. erling had always with him ninety free-born men or more, and both winter and summer it was the custom in his house to drink at the mid-day meal according to a measure (1), but at the night meal there was no measure in drinking. when the earl was in the neighbourhood he had 200 (2) men or more. he never went to sea with less than a fully-manned ship of twenty benches of rowers. erling had also a ship of thirty-two benches of rowers, which was besides, very large for that size, and which he used in viking cruises, or on an expedition; and in it there were 200 men at the very least. endnotes: (1) there were silver-studs in a row from the rim to the bottom of the drinking born or cup; and as it went round each drank till the stud appeared above the liquor. this was drinking by measure.--l. (2) i.e., 240. 22. of the herse erling skialgson. erling had always at home on his farm thirty slaves, besides other serving-people. he gave his slaves a certain day's work; but after it he gave them leisure, and leave that each should work in the twilight and at night for himself, and as he pleased. he gave them arable land to sow corn in, and let them apply their crops to their own use. he laid upon each a certain quantity of labour to work themselves free by doing it; and there were many who bought their freedom in this way in one year, or in the second year, and all who had any luck could make themselves free within three years. with this money he bought other slaves: and to some of his freed people he showed how to work in the herring-fishery, to others he showed some useful handicraft; and some cleared his outfields and set up houses. he helped all to prosperity. 23. of earl eirik. when earl eirik had ruled over norway for twelve years, there came a message to him from his brother-in-law king canute, the danish king, that he should go with him on an expedition westward to england; for eirik was very celebrated for his campaigns, as he had gained the victory in the two hardest engagements which had ever been fought in the north countries. the one was that in which the earls hakon and eirik fought with the jomsborg vikings; the other that in which earl eirik fought with king olaf trygvason. thord kolbeinson speaks of this:- "a song of praise again i raise. to the earl bold the word is told, that knut the brave his aid would crave; the earl, i knew, to friend stands true." the earl would not sleep upon the message of the king, but sailed immediately out of the country, leaving behind his son earl hakon to take care of norway; and, as he was but seventeen years of age, einar tambaskelfer was to be at his hand to rule the country for him. eirik met king canute in england, and was with him when he took the castle of london. earl eirik had a battle also to the westward of the castle of london, and killed ulfkel snilling. so says thord kolbeinson:- "west of london town we passed, and our ocean-steeds made fast, and a bloody fight begin, england's lands to lose or win. blue sword and shining spear laid ulfkel's dead corpse there, our thingmen hear the war-shower sounding our grey arrows from their shields rebounding." earl eirik was a winter in england, and had many battles there. the following autumn he intended to make a pilgrimage to rome, but he died in england of a bloody flux. 24. the murder of edmund. king canute came to england the summer that king ethelred died, and had many battles with ethelred's sons, in which the victory was sometimes on one side, sometimes on the other. then king canute took queen emma in marriage; and their children were harald, hardacanute, and gunhild. king canute then made an agreement with king edmund, that each of them should have a half of england. in the same month henry strion murdered king edmund. king canute then drove all ethelred's sons out of england. so says sigvat:- "now all the sons of ethelred were either fallen, or had fled: some slain by canute,--some they say, to save their lives had run away." 25. olaf and ethelred's sons. king ethelred's sons came to rouen in valland from england, to their mother's brother, the same summer that king olaf haraldson came from the west from his viking cruise, and they were all during the winter in normandy together. they made an agreement with each other that king olaf should have northumberland, if they could succeed in taking england from the danes. therefore about harvest, olaf sent his foster-father hrane to england to collect men-at-arms; and ethelred's sons sent tokens to their friends and relations with him. king olaf, besides, gave him much money with him to attract people to them. hrane was all winter in england, and got promises from many powerful men of fidelity, as the people of the country would rather have native kings over them; but the danish power had become so great in england, that all the people were brought under their dominion. 26. battle of king olaf. in spring (a.d. 1014) king olaf and king ethelred's sons set out together to the west, and came to a place in england called jungufurda, where they landed with their army and moved forward against the castle. many men were there who had promised them their aid. they took the castle; and killed many people. now when king canute's men heard of this they assembled an army, and were soon in such force that ethelred's sons could not stand against it; and they saw no other way left but to return to rouen. then king olaf separated from them, and would not go back to valland, but sailed northwards along england, all the way to northumberland, where he put into a haven at a place called valde; and in a battle there with the townspeople and merchants he gained the victory, and a great booty. 27. olaf's expedition to norway. king olaf left his long-ships there behind, but made ready two ships of burden; and had with him 220 men in them, well-armed, and chosen people. he sailed out to sea northwards in harvest, but encountered a tremendous storm and they were in danger of being lost; but as they had a chosen crew, and the king s luck with them, all went on well. so says ottar:- "olaf, great stem of kings, is brave- bold in the fight, bold on the wave. no thought of fear thy heart comes near. undaunted, 'midst the roaring flood, firm at his post each shipman stood; and thy two ships stout the gale stood out." and further he says:- "thou able chief! with thy fearless crew thou meetest, with skill and courage true, the wild sea's wrath on thy ocean path. though waves mast-high were breaking round. thou findest the middle of norway's ground, with helm in hand on saela's strand." it is related here that king olaf came from the sea to the very middle of norway; and the isle is called saela where they landed, and is outside of stad. king olaf said he thought it must be a lucky day for them, since they had landed at saela in norway; and observed it was a good omen that it so happened. as they were going up in the isle, the king slipped with one foot in a place where there was clay, but supported himself with the other foot. then said he "the king falls." "nay," replies hrane, "thou didst not fall, king, but set fast foot in the soil." the king laughed thereat, and said, "it may be so if god will." they went down again thereafter to their ships, and sailed to ulfasund, where they heard that earl hakon was south in sogn, and was expected north as soon as wind allowed with a single ship. 28. hakon taken prisoner by olaf. king olaf steered his ships within the ordinary ships' course when he came abreast of fjaler district, and ran into saudungssund. there he laid his two vessels one on each side of the sound with a thick cable between them. at the same moment hakon, earl eirik's son, came rowing into the sound with a manned ship; and as they thought these were but two merchant-vessels that were lying in the sound, they rowed between them. then olaf and his men draw the cable up right under hakon's ship's keel and wind it up with the capstan. as soon as the vessel's course was stopped her stern was lifted up, and her bow plunged down; so that the water came in at her fore-end and over both sides, and she upset. king olaf's people took earl hakon and all his men whom they could get hold of out of the water, and made them prisoners; but some they killed with stones and other weapons, and some were drowned. so says ottar:- "the black ravens wade in the blood from thy blade. young hakon so gay, with his ship, is thy prey: his ship, with its gear, thou hast ta'en; and art here, thy forefather's land from the earl to demand." earl hakon was led up to the king's ship. he was the handsomest man that could be seen. he had long hair, as fine as silk, bound about his bead with a gold ornament. when he sat down in the fore-hold, the king said to him, "it is not false what is said of your family, that ye are handsome people to look at; but now your luck has deserted you." hakon the earl replied, "it has always been the case that success is changeable; and there is no luck in the matter. it has gone with your family as with mine, to have by turns the better lot. i am little beyond childhood in years; and at any rate we could not have defended ourselves, as we did not expect any attack on the way. it may turn out better with us another time." then said king olaf, "dost thou not apprehend that thou art in that condition that, hereafter, there can be neither victory nor defeat for thee?" the earl replies, "that is what thou only canst determine, king, according to thy pleasure." olaf says, "what wilt thou give me, earl, if for this time i let thee go, whole and unhurt?" the earl asks what he would take. "nothing," says the king, "except that thou shalt leave the country, give up thy kingdom, and take an oath that thou shalt never go into battle against me." the earl answered, that he would do so. and now earl hakon took the oath that he would never fight against olaf, or seek to defend norway against him, or attack him; and king olaf thereupon gave him and all his men life and peace. the earl got back the ship which had brought him there, and he and his men rowed their way. thus says sigvat of him:- "in old saudungs sound the king earl hakon found, who little thought that there a foeman was so near. the best and fairest youth earl hakon was in truth, that speaks the danish tongue, and of the race of great hakon." 29. hakon's departure from norway. after this (a.d. 1014) the earl made ready as fast as possible to leave the country and sail over to england. he met king canute, his mother's brother, there, and told him all that had taken place between him and king olaf. king canute received him remarkably well, placed him in his court in his own house, and gave him great power in his kingdom. earl hakon dwelt a long time with king canute. during the time svein and hakon ruled over norway, a reconciliation with erling skialgson was effected, and secured by aslak, erling's son, marrying gunhild, earl svein's daughter; and the father and son, erling and aslak, retained all the fiefs which king olaf trygvason had given to erling. thus erling became a firm friend of the earl's, and their mutual friendship was confirmed by oath. 30. asta receives her son olaf. king olaf went now eastward along the land, holding things with the bondes all over the country. many went willingly with him; but some, who were earl svein's friends or relations, spoke against him. therefore king olaf sailed in all haste eastward to viken; went in there with his ships; set them on the land; and proceeded up the country, in order to meet his stepfather, sigurd syr. when he came to vestfold he was received in a friendly way by many who had been his father's friends or acquaintances; and also there and in folden were many of his family. in autumn (a.d. 1014) he proceeded up the country to his stepfather king sigurd's, and came there one day very early. as olaf was coming near to the house, some of the servants ran beforehand to the house, and into the room. olaf's mother, asta, was sitting in the room, and around her some of her girls. when the servants told her of king olaf's approach, and that he might soon be expected, asta stood up directly, and ordered the men and girls to put everything in the best order. she ordered four girls to bring out all that belonged to the decoration of the room and put it in order with hangings and benches. two fellows brought straw for the floor, two brought forward four-cornered tables and the drinking-jugs, two bore out victuals and placed the meat on the table, two she sent away from the house to procure in the greatest haste all that was needed, and two carried in the ale; and all the other serving men and girls went outside of the house. messengers went to seek king sigurd wherever he might be, and brought to him his dress-clothes, and his horse with gilt saddle, and his bridle, which was gilt and set with precious stones. four men she sent off to the four quarters of the country to invite all the great people to a feast, which she prepared as a rejoicing for her son's return. all who were before in the house she made to dress themselves with the best they had, and lent clothes to those who had none suitable. 31. king sigurd's dress. king sigurd syr was standing in his corn-field when the messengers came to him and brought him the news, and also told him all that asta was doing at home in the house. he had many people on his farm. some were then shearing corn, some bound it together, some drove it to the building, some unloaded it and put it in stack or barn; but the king, and two men with him, went sometimes into the field, sometimes to the place where the corn was put into the barn. his dress, it is told, was this:--he had a blue kirtle and blue breeches; shoes which were laced about the legs; a grey cloak, and a grey wide-brimmed hat; a veil before his face; a staff in his hand with a gilt-silver head on it and a silver ring around it. of sigurd's living and disposition it is related that he was a very gain-making man who attended carefully to his cattle and husbandry, and managed his housekeeping himself. he was nowise given to pomp, and was rather taciturn. but he was a man of the best understanding in norway, and also excessively wealthy in movable property. peaceful he was, and nowise haughty. his wife asta was generous and high-minded. their children were, guthorm, the eldest; then gunhild; the next halfdan, ingerid, and harald. the messengers said to sigurd, "asta told us to bring thee word how much it lay at her heart that thou shouldst on this occasion comport thyself in the fashion of great men, and show a disposition more akin to harald harfager's race than to thy mother's father's, hrane thin-nose, or earl nereid the old, although they too were very wise men." the king replies, "the news ye bring me is weighty, and ye bring it forward in great heat. already before now asta has been taken up much with people who were not so near to her; and i see she is still of the same disposition. she takes this up with great warmth; but can she lead her son out of the business with the same splendour she is leading him into it? if it is to proceed so methinks they who mix themselves up in it regard little property or life. for this man, king olaf, goes against a great superiority of power; and the wrath of the danish and swedish kings lies at the foot of his determination, if he ventures to go against them." 32. of the feast. when the king had said this he sat down, and made them take off his shoes, and put corduvan boots on, to which he bound his gold spurs. then he put off his cloak and coat, and dressed himself in his finest clothes, with a scarlet cloak over all; girded on his sword, set a gilded helmet upon his head, and mounted his horse. he sent his labouring people out to the neighbourhood, and gathered to him thirty well-clothed men, and rode home with them. as they rode up to the house, and were near the room, they saw on the other side of the house the banners of olaf coming waving; and there was he himself, with about 100 men all well equipped. people were gathered over all upon the house-tops. king sigurd immediately saluted his stepson from horseback in a friendly way, and invited him and his men to come in and drink a cup with him. asta, on the contrary, went up and kissed her son, and invited him to stay with her; and land, and people, and all the good she could do for him stood at his service. king olaf thanked her kindly for her invitation. then she took him by the hand, and led him into the room to the high-seat. king sigurd got men to take charge of their clothes, and give their horses corn; and then he himself went to his high-seat, and the feast was made with the greatest splendour. 33. conversation of olaf and sigurd. king olaf had not been long here before he one day called his stepfather king sigurd, his mother asta, and his foster-father hrane to a conference and consultation. olaf began thus: "it has so happened," said he, "as is well known to you, that i have returned to this country after a very long sojourn in foreign parts, during all which time i and my men have had nothing for our support but what we captured in war, for which we have often hazarded both life and soul: for many an innocent man have we deprived of his property, and some of their lives; and foreigners are now sitting in the possessions which my father, his father, and their forefathers for a long series of generations owned, and to which i have udal right. they have not been content with this, but have taken to themselves also the properties of all our relations who are descended from harald harfager. to some they have left little, to others nothing at all. now i will disclose to you what i have long concealed in my own mind, that i intend to take the heritage of my forefathers; but i will not wait upon the danish or swedish king to supplicate the least thing from them, although they for the time call that their property which was harald harfager's heritage. to say the truth, i intend rather to seek my patrimony with battle-axe and sword, and that with the help of all my friends and relations, and of those who in this business will take my side. and in this matter i will so lay hand to the work that one of two things shall happen,--either i shall lay all this kingdom under my rule which they got into their hands by the slaughter of my kinsman olaf trygvason, or i shall fall here upon my inheritance in the land of my fathers. now i expect of thee, sigurd, my stepfather, as well as other men here in the country who have udal right of succession to the kingdom, according to the law made by king harald harfager, that nothing shall be of such importance to you as to prevent you from throwing off the disgrace from our family of being slow at supporting the man who comes forward to raise up again our race. but whether ye show any manhood in this affair or not, i know the inclination of the people well,--that all want to be free from the slavery of foreign masters, and will give aid and strength to the attempt. i have not proposed this matter to any before thee, because i know thou art a man of understanding, and can best judge how this my purpose shall be brought forward in the beginning, and whether we shall, in all quietness, talk about it to a few persons, or instantly declare it to the people at large. i have already shown my teeth by taking prisoner the earl hakon, who has now left the country, and given me, under oath, the part of the kingdom which he had before; and i think it will be easier to have earl svein alone to deal with, than if both were defending the country against us." king sigurd answers, "it is no small affair, king olaf, thou hast in thy mind; and thy purpose comes more, methinks, from hasty pride than from prudence. but it may be there is a wide difference between my humble ways and the high thoughts thou hast; for whilst yet in thy childhood thou wast full always of ambition and desire of command, and now thou art experienced in battles, and hast formed thyself upon the manner of foreign chiefs. i know therefore well, that as thou hast taken this into thy head, it is useless to dissuade thee from it; and also it is not to be denied that it goes to the heart of all who have courage in them, that the whole harfager race and kingdom should go to the ground. but i will not bind myself by any promise, before i know the views and intentions of other upland kings; but thou hast done well in letting me know thy purpose, before declaring it publicly to the people. i will promise thee, however, my interest with the kings, and other chiefs, and country people; and also, king olaf, all my property stands to thy aid, and to strengthen thee. but we will only produce the matter to the community so soon as we see some progress, and expect some strength to this undertaking; for thou canst easily perceive that it is a daring measure to enter into strife with olaf the swedish king, and canute, who is king both of denmark and england; and thou requirest great support under thee, if it is to succeed. it is not unlikely, in my opinion, that thou wilt get good support from the people, as the commonalty always loves what is new; and it went so before, when olaf trygvason came here to the country, that all rejoiced at it, although he did not long enjoy the kingdom." when the consultation had proceeded so far, asta took up the word. "for my part, my son, i am rejoiced at thy arrival, but much more at thy advancing thy honour. i will spare nothing for that purpose that stands in my power, although it be but little help that can be expected from me. but if a choice could be made, i would rather that thou shouldst be the supreme king of norway, even if thou shouldst not sit longer in thy kingdom than olaf trygvason did, than that thou shouldst not be a greater king than sigurd syr is, and die the death of old age." with this the conference closed. king olaf remained here a while with all his men. king sigurd entertained them, day about, the one day with fish and milk, the other day with flesh-meat and ale. 34. kings in the upland districts. at that time there were many kings in the uplands who had districts to rule over, and the most of them were descended from harald harfager. in hedemark two brothers ruled--hrorek and ring; in gudbrandsdal, gudrod; and there was also a king in raumarike; and one had hadaland and thoten; and in valders also there was a king. with these district-kings sigurd had a meeting up in hadaland, and olaf haraldson also met with them. to these district-kings whom sigurd had assembled he set forth his stepson olaf's purpose, and asked their aid, both of men and in counsel and consent; and represented to them how necessary it was to cast off the yoke which the danes and swedes had laid upon them. he said that there was now a man before them who could head such an enterprise; and he recounted the many brave actions which olaf had achieved upon his war-expeditions. then king hrorek says, "true it is that harald harfager's kingdom has gone to decay, none of his race being supreme king over norway. but the people here in the country have experienced many things. when king hakon, athelstan's foster-son, was king, all were content; but when gunhild's sons ruled over the country, all were so weary of their tyranny and injustice that they would rather have foreign men as kings, and be themselves more their own rulers; for the foreign kings were usually abroad and cared little about the customs of the people if the scat they laid on the country was paid. when enmity arose between the danish king harald and earl hakon, the jomsborg vikings made an expedition against norway; then the whole people arose, and threw the hostilities from themselves; and thereafter the people encouraged earl hakon to keep the country, and defend it with sword and spear against the danish king. but when he had set himself fast in the kingdom with the help of the people, he became so hard and overbearing towards the country-folks, that they would no longer suffer him. the throndhjem people killed him, and raised to the kingly power olaf trygvason, who was of the udal succession to the kingdom, and in all respects well fitted to be a chief. the whole country's desire was to make him supreme king, and raise again the kingdom which harald harfager had made for himself. but when king olaf thought himself quite firmly seated in his kingdom, no man could rule his own concerns for him. with us small kings he was so unreasonable, as to take to himself not only all the scat and duties which harald harfager had levied from us, but a great deal more. the people at last had so little freedom under him, that it was not allowed to every man to believe in what god he pleased. now since he has been taken away we have kept friendly with the danish king; have received great help from him when we have had any occasion for it; and have been allowed to rule ourselves, and live in peace and quiet in the inland country, and without any overburden. i am therefore content that things be as they are, for i do not see what better rights i am to enjoy by one of my relations ruling over the country; and if i am to be no better off, i will take no part in the affair." then said king ring, his brother, "i will also declare my opinion that it is better for me, if i hold the same power and property as now, that my relative is king over norway, rather than a foreign chief, so that our family may again raise its head in the land. it is, besides, my opinion about this man olaf, that his fate and luck must determine whether he is to obtain the kingdom or not; and if he succeed in making himself supreme king, then he will be the best off who has best deserved his friendship. at present he has in no respect greater power than any of us; nay, indeed, he has less; as we have lands and kingdoms to rule over, and he has nothing, and we are equally entitled by the udal right to the kingdom as he is himself. now, if we will be his men, give him our aid, allow him to take the highest dignity in the country, and stand by him with our strength, how should he not reward us well, and hold it in remembrance to our great advantage, if he be the honourable man i believe him to be, and all say he is? therefore let us join the adventure, say i, and bind ourselves in friendship with him." then the others, one after the other, stood up and spoke; and the conclusion was, that the most of them determined to enter into a league with king olaf. he promised them his perfect friendship, and that he would hold by and improve the country's laws and rights, if he became supreme king of norway. this league was confirmed by oath. 35. olaf gets the title of king from the thing. thereafter the kings summoned a thing, and there king olaf set forth this determination to all the people, and his demand on the kingly power. he desires that the bondes should receive him as king; and promises, on the other hand, to allow them to retain their ancient laws, and to defend the land from foreign masters and chiefs. on this point he spoke well, and long; and he got great praise for his speech. then the kings rose and spoke, the one after the other, and supported his cause, and this message to the people. at last it came to this, that king olaf was proclaimed king over the whole country, and the kingdom adjudged to him according to law in the uplands (a.d. 1014). 36. king olaf travels in the uplands. king olaf began immediately his progress through the country, appointing feasts before him wherever there were royal farms. first he travelled round in hadaland, and then he proceeded north to gudbrandsdal. and now it went as king sigurd syr had foretold, that people streamed to him from all quarters; and he did not appear to have need for half of them, for he had nearly 300 men. but the entertainments bespoken did not half serve; for it had been the custom that kings went about in guest-quarters in the uplands with 60 or 70 men only, and never with more than 100 men. the king therefore hastened over the country, only stopping one night at the same place. when he came north to dovrefield, he arranged his journey so that he came over the mountain and down upon the north side of it, and then came to opdal, where he remained all night. afterwards he proceeded through opdal forest, and came out at medaldal, where he proclaimed a thing, and summoned the bondes to meet him at it. the king made a speech to the thing, and asked the bondes to accept him as king; and promised, on his part, the laws and rights which king olaf trygvason had offered them. the bondes had no strength to make opposition to the king; so the result was that they received him as king, and confirmed it by oath: but they sent word to orkadal and skaun of all that they knew concerning olaf's proceedings. 37. levy against olaf in throndhjem. einar tambaskelfer had a farm and house at husaby in skaun; and now when he got news of olaf's proceedings, he immediately split up a war-arrow, and sent it out as a token to the four quarters--north, south, east, west,--to call together all free and unfree men in full equipment of war: therewith the message, that they were to defend the land against king olaf. the message-stick went to orkadal, and thence to gaulardal, where the whole war-force was to assemble. 38. olaf's progress in throndhjem. king olaf proceeded with his men down into orkadal, and advanced in peace and with all gentleness; but when he came to griotar he met the assembled bondes, amounting to more than 700 men. then the king arrayed his army, for he thought the bondes were to give battle. when the bondes saw this, they also began to put their men in order; but it went on very slowly, for they had not agreed beforehand who among them should be commander. now when king olaf saw there was confusion among the bondes, he sent to them thorer gudbrandson; and when he came he told them king olaf did not want to fight them, but named twelve of the ablest men in their flock of people, who were desired to come to king olaf. the bondes agreed to this; and the twelve men went over a rising ground which is there, and came to the place where the king's army stood in array. the king said to them, "ye bondes have done well to give me an opportunity to speak with you, for now i will explain to you my errand here to the throndhjem country. first i must tell you, what ye already must have heard, that earl hakon and i met in summer; and the issue of our meeting was, that he gave me the whole kingdom he possessed in the throndhjem country, which, as ye know, consists of orkadal, gaulardal, strind, and eyna district. as a proof of this, i have here with me the very men who were present, and saw the earl's and my own hands given upon it, and heard the word and oath, and witnessed the agreement the earl made with me. now i offer you peace and law, the same as king olaf trygvason offered before me." the king spoke well, and long; and ended by proposing to the bondes two conditions--either to go into his service and be subject to him, or to fight him. thereupon the twelve bondes went back to their people, and told the issue of their errand, and considered with the people what they should resolve upon. although they discussed the matter backwards and forwards for a while, they preferred at last to submit to the king; and it was confirmed by the oath of the bondes. the king now proceeded on his journey, and the bondes made feasts for him. the king then proceeded to the sea-coast, and got ships; and among others he got a long-ship of twenty benches of rowers from gunnar of gelmin; another ship of twenty benches he got from loden of viggia; and three ships of twenty benches from the farm of angrar on the ness which farm earl hakon had possessed, but a steward managed it for him, by name bard white. the king had, besides, four or five boats; and with these vessels he went in all haste into the fjord of throndhjem. 39. of earl svein's proceedings. earl svein was at that time far up in the throndhjem fjord at steinker, which at that time was a merchant town, and was there preparing for the yule festival (a.d. 1015). when einar tambaskelfer heard that the orkadal people had submitted to king olaf, he sent men to earl svein to bring him the tidings. they went first to nidaros, and took a rowing-boat which belonged to einar, with which they went out into the fjord, and came one day late in the evening to steinker, where they brought to the earl the news about all king olaf's proceedings. the earl owned a long-ship, which was lying afloat and rigged just outside the town: and immediately, in the evening, he ordered all his movable goods, his people's clothes, and also meat and drink, as much as the vessel could carry, to be put on board, rowed immediately out in the night-time, and came with daybreak to skarnsund. there he saw king olaf rowing in with his fleet into the fjord. the earl turned towards the land within masarvik, where there was a thick wood, and lay so near the rocks that the leaves and branches hung over the vessel. they cut down some large trees, which they laid over the quarter on the sea-side, so that the ship could not be seen for leaves, especially as it was scarcely clear daylight when the king came rowing past them. the weather was calm, and the king rowed in among the islands; and when the king's fleet was out of sight the earl rowed out of the fjord, and on to frosta, where his kingdom lay, and there he landed. 40. earl svein's and einar's consultations. earl svein sent men out to gaulardal to his brother-in-law, einar tambaskelfer; and when einar came the earl told him how it had been with him and king olaf, and that now he would assemble men to go out against king olaf, and fight him. einar answers, "we should go to work cautiously, and find out what king olaf intends doing; and not let him hear anything concerning us but that we are quiet. it may happen that if he hears nothing about our assembling people, he may sit quietly where he is in steinker all the yule; for there is plenty prepared for him for the yule feast: but if he hears we are assembling men, he will set right out of the fjord with his vessels, and we shall not get hold of him." einar's advice was taken; and the earl went to stjoradal, into guest-quarters among the bondes. when king olaf came to steinker he collected all the meat prepared for the yule feast, and made it be put on board, procured some transport vessels, took meat and drink with him, and got ready to sail as fast as possible, and went out all the way to nidaros. here king olaf trygvason had laid the foundation of a merchant town, and had built a king's house: but before that nidaros was only a single house, as before related. when earl eirik came to the country, he applied all his attention to his house of lade, where his father had had his main residence, and he neglected the houses which olaf had erected at the nid; so that some were fallen down, and those which stood were scarcely habitable. king olaf went now with his ships up the nid, made all the houses to be put in order directly that were still standing, and built anew those that had fallen down, and employed in this work a great many people. then he had all the meat and drink brought on shore to the houses, and prepared to hold yule there; so earl svein and einar had to fall upon some other plan. 41. of sigvat the skald. there was an iceland man called thord sigvaldaskald, who had been long with earl sigvalde, and afterwards with the earl's brother, thorkel the tall; but after the earl's death thord had become a merchant. he met king olaf on his viking cruise in the west, and entered into his service, and followed him afterwards. he was with the king when the incidents above related took place. thord had a son called sigvat fostered in the house of thorkel at apavatn, in iceland. when he was nearly a grown man he went out of the country with some merchants; and the ship came in autumn to the throndhjem country, and the crew lodged in the hered (district). the same winter king olaf came to throndhjem, as just now related by us. now when sigvat heard that his father thord was with the king, he went to him, and stayed a while with him. sigvat was a good skald at an early age. he made a lay in honour of king olaf, and asked the king to listen to it. the king said he did not want poems composed about him, and said he did not understand the skald's craft. then sigvat sang:- "rider of dark-blue ocean's steeds! allow one skald to sing thy deeds; and listen to the song of one who can sing well, if any can. for should the king despise all others, and show no favour to my brothers, yet i may all men's favour claim, who sing, still of our great king's fame." king olaf gave sigvat as a reward for his verse a gold ring that weighed half a mark, and sigvat was made one of king olaf's court-men. then sigvat sang:- "i willingly receive this sword- by land or sea, on shore, on board, i trust that i shall ever be worthy the sword received from thee. a faithful follower thou hast bound- a generous master i have found; master and servant both have made just what best suits them by this trade." earl svein had, according to custom, taken one half of the harbour-dues from the iceland ship-traders about autumn (a.d. 1014); for the earls eirik and hakon had always taken one half of these and all other revenues in the throndhjem country. now when king olaf came there, he sent his men to demand that half of the tax from the iceland traders; and they went up to the king's house and asked sigvat to help them. he went to the king, and sang:- "my prayer, i trust, will not be vain- no gold by it have i to gain: all that the king himself here wins is not red gold, but a few skins. it is not right that these poor men their harbour-dues should pay again. that they paid once i know is true; remit, great king, what scarce is due." 42. of earl svein. earl svein and einar tambaskelfer gathered a large armed force, with which they came by the upper road into gaulardal, and so down to nidaros, with nearly 2000 men. king olaf's men were out upon the gaular ridge, and had a guard on horseback. they became aware that a force was coming down the gaulardal, and they brought word of it to the king about midnight. the king got up immediately, ordered the people to be wakened, and they went on board of the ships, bearing all their clothes and arms on board, and all that they could take with them, and then rowed out of the river. then came the earl's men to the town at the same moment, took all the christmas provision, and set fire to the houses. king olaf went out of the fjord down to orkadal, and there landed the men from their ships. from orkadal they went up to the mountains, and over the mountains eastwards into gudbrandsdal. in the lines composed about kleng brusason, it is said that earl eirik burned the town of nidaros:- "the king's half-finished hall, rafters, root, and all, is burned down by the river's side; the flame spreads o'er the city wide." 43. of king olaf. king olaf went southwards through gudbrandsdal, and thence out to hedemark. in the depth of winter (a.d. 1015) he went about in guest-quarters; but when spring returned he collected men, and went to viken. he had with him many people from hedemark, whom the kings had given him; and also many powerful people from among the bondes joined him, among whom ketil kalf from ringanes. he had also people from raumarike. his stepfather, sigurd syr, gave him the help also of a great body of men. they went down from thence to the coast, and made ready to put to sea from viken. the fleet, which was manned with many fine fellows, went out then to tunsberg. 44. of earl svein's forces. after yule (a.d. 1015) earl svein gathers all the men of the throndhjem country, proclaims a levy for an expedition, and fits out ships. at that time there were in the throndhjem country a great number of lendermen; and many of them were so powerful and well-born, that they descended from earls, or even from the royal race, which in a short course of generations reckoned to harald harfager, and they were also very rich. these lendermen were of great help to the kings or earls who ruled the land; for it was as if the lenderman had the bonde-people of each district in his power. earl svein being a good friend of the lendermen, it was easy for him to collect people. his brother-in-law, einar tambaskelfer, was on his side, and with him many other lendermen; and among them many, both lendermen and bondes, who the winter before had taken the oath of fidelity to king olaf. when they were ready for sea they went directly out of the fjord, steering south along the land, and drawing men from every district. when they came farther south, abreast of rogaland, erling skialgson came to meet them, with many people and many lendermen with him. now they steered eastward with their whole fleet to viken, and earl svein ran in there towards the end of easter. the earl steered his fleet to grenmar, and ran into nesjar (a.d. 1015). 45. king olaf s forces. king olaf steered his fleet out from viken, until the two fleets were not far from each other, and they got news of each other the saturday before palm sunday. king olaf himself had a ship called the carl's head, on the bow of which a king's head was carved out, and he himself had carved it. this head was used long after in norway on ships which kings steered themselves. 46. king olaf's speech. as soon as day dawned on sunday morning, king olaf got up, put on his clothes, went to the land, and ordered to sound the signal for the whole army to come on shore. then he made a speech to the troops, and told the whole assembly that he had heard there was but a short distance between them and earl svein. "now," said he, "we shall make ready; for it can be but a short time until we meet. let the people arm, and every man be at the post that has been appointed him, so that all may be ready when i order the signal to sound for casting off from the land. then let us row off at once; and so that none go on before the rest of the ships, and none lag behind when i row out of the harbour: for we cannot tell if we shall find the earl where he was lying, or if he has come out to meet us. when we do meet, and the battle begins, let people be alert to bring all our ships in close order, and ready to bind them together. let us spare ourselves in the beginning, and take care of our weapons, that we do not cast them into the sea, or shoot them away in the air to no purpose. but when the fight becomes hot and the ships are bound together, then let each man show what is in him of manly spirit." 47. of the battle at nesjar. king olaf had in his ship 100 men armed in coats of ring-mail, and in foreign helmets. the most of his men had white shields, on which the holy cross was gilt; but some had painted it in blue or red. he had also had the cross painted in front on all the helmets, in a pale colour. he had a white banner on which was a serpent figured. he ordered a mass to be read before him, went on board ship, and ordered his people to refresh themselves with meat and drink. he then ordered the war-horns to sound to battle, to leave the harbour, and row off to seek the earl. now when they came to the harbour where the earl had lain, the earl's men were armed, and beginning to row out of the harbour; but when they saw the king's fleet coming they began to bind the ships together, to set up their banners, and to make ready for the fight. when king olaf saw this he hastened the rowing, laid his ship alongside the earl's, and the battle began. so says sigvat the skald:- "boldly the king did then pursue earl svein, nor let him out of view. the blood ran down the reindeer's flank of each sea-king--his vessel's plank. nor did the earl's stout warriors spare in battle-brunt the sword and spear. earl svein his ships of war pushed on, and lashed their stout stems one to one." it is said that king olaf brought his ships into battle while svein was still lying in the harbour. sigvat the skald was himself in the fight; and in summer, just after the battle, he composed a lay, which is called the "nesjar song", in which he tells particularly the circumstances:- "in the fierce fight 'tis known how near the scorner of the ice-cold spear laid the charles' head the earl on board, all eastward of the agder fjord." then was the conflict exceedingly sharp, and it was long before it could be seen how it was to go in the end. many fell on both sides, and many were the wounded. so says sigvat:- "no urging did the earl require, midst spear and sword--the battle's fire; no urging did the brave king need the ravens in this shield-storm to feed. of limb-lopping enough was there, and ghastly wounds of sword and spear. never, i think, was rougher play than both the armies had that day." the earl had most men, but the king had a chosen crew in his ship, who had followed him in all his wars; and, besides, they were so excellently equipped, as before related, that each man had a coat of ring-mail, so that he could not be wounded. so says sigvat:- "our lads, broad-shouldered, tall, and hale, drew on their cold shirts of ring-mail. soon sword on sword was shrilly ringing, and in the air the spears were singing. under our helms we hid our hair, for thick flew arrows through the air. right glad was i our gallant crew, steel-clad from head to foot, to view." 48. earl svein's flight. when the men began to fall on board the earl's ships, and many appeared wounded, so that the sides of the vessels were but thinly beset with men, the crew of king olaf prepared to board. their banner was brought up to the ship that was nearest the earl's, and the king himself followed the banner. so says sigvat:- "'on with the king!' his banners waving: 'on with the king!' the spears he's braving! 'on, steel-clad men! and storm the deck, slippery with blood and strewed with wreck. a different work ye have to share, his banner in war-storm to bear, from your fair girl's, who round the hall brings the full mead-bowl to us all.'" now was the severest fighting. many of svein's men fell, and some sprang overboard. so says sigvat:- "into the ship our brave lads spring,- on shield and helm their red blades ring; the air resounds with stroke on stroke,- the shields are cleft, the helms are broke. the wounded bonde o'er the side falls shrieking in the blood-stained tide- the deck is cleared with wild uproar- the dead crew float about the shore." and also these lines:- "the shields we brought from home were white, now they are red-stained in the fight: this work was fit for those who wore ringed coats-of-mail their breasts before. where for the foe blunted the best sword i saw our young king climb on board. he stormed the first; we followed him- the war-birds now in blood may swim." now defeat began to come down upon the earl's men. the king's men pressed upon the earl's ship and entered it; but when the earl saw how it was going, he called out to his forecastle-men to cut the cables and cast the ship loose, which they did. then the king's men threw grapplings over the timber heads of the ship, and so held her fast to their own; but the earl ordered the timber heads to be cut away, which was done. so says sigvat:- "the earl, his noble ship to save, to cut the posts loud order gave. the ship escaped: our greedy eyes had looked on her as a clear prize. the earl escaped; but ere he fled we feasted odin's fowls with dead:- with many a goodly corpse that floated round our ship's stern his birds were bloated." einar tambaskelfer had laid his ship right alongside the earl's. they threw an anchor over the bows of the earl's ship, and thus towed her away, and they slipped out of the fjord together. thereafter the whole of the earl's fleet took to flight, and rowed out of the fjord. the skald berse torfason was on the forecastle of the earl's ship; and as it was gliding past the king's fleet, king olaf called out to him--for he knew berse, who was distinguished as a remarkably handsome man, always well equipped in clothes and arms--"farewell, berse!" he replied, "farewell, king!" so says berse himself, in a poem he composed when he fell into king olaf's power, and was laid in prison and in fetters on board a ship:- "olaf the brave a 'farewell' gave, (no time was there to parley long,) to me who knows the art of song. the skald was fain 'farewell' again in the same terms back to send- the rule in arms to foe or friend. earl svein's distress i well can guess, when flight he was compelled to take: his fortunes i will ne'er forsake, though i lie here in chains a year, in thy great vessel all forlorn, to crouch to thee i still will scorn: i still will say, no milder sway than from thy foe this land e'er knew: to him, my early friend, i'm true." 49. earl svein leaves the country. now some of the earl's men fled up the country, some surrendered at discretion; but svein and his followers rowed out of the fjord, and the chiefs laid their vessels together to talk with each other, for the earl wanted counsel from his lendermen. erling skialgson advised that they should sail north, collect people, and fight king olaf again; but as they had lost many people, the most were of opinion that the earl should leave the country, and repair to his brother-in-law the swedish king, and strengthen himself there with men. einar tambaskelfer approved also of that advice, as they had no power to hold battle against olaf. so they discharged their fleet. the earl sailed across folden, and with him einar tambaskelfer. erling skialgson again, and likewise many other lendermen who would not abandon their udal possessions, went north to their homes; and erling had many people that summer about him. 50. olaf's and sigurd's consultation. when king olaf and his men saw that the earl had gathered his ships together, sigurd syr was in haste for pursuing the earl, and letting steel decide their cause. but king olaf replies, that he would first see what the earl intended doing--whether he would keep his force together or discharge his fleet. sigurd syr said, "it is for thee, king, to command; but," he adds, "i fear, from thy disposition and wilfulness, that thou wilt some day be betrayed by trusting to those great people, for they are accustomed of old to bid defiance to their sovereigns." there was no attack made, for it was soon seen that the earl's fleet was dispersing. then king olaf ransacked the slain, and remained there some days to divide the booty. at that time sigvat made these verses:- "the tale i tell is true to their homes returned but few of svein's men who came to meet king olaf's gallant fleet. from the north these warmen came to try the bloody game,- on the waves their corpses borne show the game that sunday morn. the throndhjem girls so fair their jeers, i think, will spare, for the king's force was but small that emptied throndhjem's hall. but if they will have their jeer, they may ask their sweethearts dear, why they have returned shorn who went to shear that sunday morn." and also these:- "now will the king's power rise, for the upland men still prize the king who o'er the sea steers to bloody victory. earl svein! thou now wilt know that our lads can make blood flow- that the hedemarkers hale can do more than tap good ale." king olaf gave his stepfather king sigurd syr, and the other chiefs who had assisted him, handsome presents at parting. he gave ketil of ringanes a yacht of fifteen benches of rowers, which ketil brought up the raum river and into the mjosen lake. 51. of king olaf. king olaf sent spies out to trace the earl's doings (a.d. 1015); and when he found that the earl had left the country he sailed out west, and to viken, where many people came to him. at the thing there he was taken as king, and so he proceeded all the way to the naze; and when he heard that erling skialgson had gathered a large force, he did not tarry in north agder, but sailed with a steady fair wind to the throndhjem country; for there it appeared to him was the greatest strength of the land, if he could subdue it for himself while the earl was abroad. when olaf came to throndhjem there was no opposition, and he was elected there to be king. in harvest (a.d. 1015) he took his seat in the town of nidaros, and collected the needful winter provision (a.d. 1016). he built a king's house, and raised clement's church on the spot on which it now stands. he parcelled out building ground, which he gave to bondes, merchants, or others who he thought would build. there he sat down with many men-at-arms around him; for he put no great confidence in the throndhjem people, if the earl should return to the country. the people of the interior of the throndhjem country showed this clearly, for he got no land-scat from them. 52. plan of svein and the swedish king. earl svein went first to svithjod to his brother-in-law olaf the swedish king, told him all that had happened between him and olaf the thick, and asked his advice about what he should now undertake. the king said that the earl should stay with him if he liked, and get such a portion of his kingdom to rule over as should seem to him sufficient; "or otherwise," says he, "i will give thee help of forces to conquer the country again from olaf." the earl chose the latter; for all those among his men who had great possessions in norway, which was the case with many who were with him, were anxious to get back; and in the council they held about this, it was resolved that in winter they should take the land-way over helsingjaland and jamtaland, and so down into the throndhjem land; for the earl reckoned most upon the faithful help and strength of the throndhjem people of the interior as soon as he should appear there. in the meantime, however, it was determined to take a cruise in summer in the baltic to gather property. 53. earl svein's death. earl svein went eastward with his forces to russia, and passed the summer (a.d. 1015) in marauding there; but on the approach of autumn returned with his ships to svithjod. there he fell into a sickness, which proved fatal. after the earl's death some of the people who had followed him remained in svithjod; others went to helsingjaland, thence to jamtaland, and so from the east over the dividing ridge of the country to the throndhjem district, where they told all that had happened upon their journey: and thus the truth of earl svein's death was known (a.d. 1016). 54. of the throndhjem people. einar tambaskelfer, and the people who had followed him went in winter to the swedish king, and were received in a friendly manner. there were also among them many who had followed the earl. the swedish king took it much amiss that olaf the thick had set himself down in his scat-lands, and driven the earl out of them, and therefore he threatened the king with his heaviest vengeance when opportunity offered. he said that olaf ought not to have had the presumption to take the dominions which the earl had held of him; and all the swedish king's men agreed with him. but the throndhjem people, when they heard for certain that the earl was dead. and could not be expected back to norway, turned all to obedience to king olaf. many came from the interior of the throndhjem country, and became king olaf's men; others sent word and tokens that they would service him. then, in autumn, he went into the interior of throndhjem, and held things with the bondes, and was received as king in each district. he returned to nidaros, and brought there all the king's scat and revenue, and had his winter-seat provided there (a.d. 1016). 55. of king olaf's household. king olaf built a king's house in nidaros, and in it was a large room for his court, with doors at both ends. the king's high-seat was in the middle of the room; and within sat his court-bishop, grimkel, and next him his other priests; without them sat his counsellors; and in the other high-seat opposite to the king sat his marshal, bjorn, and next to him his pursuivants. when people of importance came to him, they also had a seat of honour. the ale was drunk by the fire-light. he divided the service among his men after the fashion of other kings. he had in his house sixty court-men and thirty pursuivants; and to them he gave pay and certain regulations. he had also thirty house-servants to do the needful work about the house, and procure what was required. he had, besides, many slaves. at the house were many outbuildings, in which the court-men slept. there was also a large room, in which the king held his court-meetings. 56. of king olaf's habits. it was king olaf's custom to rise betimes in the morning, put on his clothes, wash his hands, and then go to the church and hear the matins and morning mass. thereafter he went to the thing-meeting, to bring people to agreement with each other, or to talk of one or the other matter that appeared to him necessary. he invited to him great and small who were known to be men of understanding. he often made them recite to him the laws which hakon athelstan's foster-son had made for throndhjem; and after considering them with those men of understanding, he ordered laws adding to or taking from those established before. but christian privileges he settled according to the advice of bishop grimbel and other learned priests; and bent his whole mind to uprooting heathenism, and old customs which he thought contrary to christianity. and he succeeded so far that the bondes accepted of the laws which the king proposed. so says sigvat:- "the king, who at the helm guides his warlike ship through clashing tides, now gives one law for all the land- a heavenly law, which long will stand." king olaf was a good and very gentle man, of little speech, and open-handed although greedy of money. sigvat the skald, as before related, was in king olaf's house, and several iceland men. the king asked particularly how christianity was observed in iceland, and it appeared to him to be very far from where it ought to be; for, as to observing christian practices, it was told the king that it was permitted there to eat horse-flesh, to expose infants as heathens do, besides many other things contrary to christianity. they also told the king about many principal men who were then in iceland. skapte thorodson was then the lagman of the country. he inquired also of those who were best acquainted with it about the state of people in other distant countries; and his inquiries turned principally on how christianity was observed in the orkney, shetland, and farey islands: and, as far as he could learn, it was far from being as he could have wished. such conversation was usually carried on by him; or else he spoke about the laws and rights of the country. 57. king olaf's messengers. the same winter (a.d. 1016) came messengers from the swedish king, olaf the swede, out of svithjod: and their leaders were two brothers, thorgaut skarde and asgaut the bailiff; and they, had twenty-four men with them, when they came from the eastward, over the ridge of the country down into veradal, they summoned a thing of the bondes, talked to them, and demanded of them scat and duties upon account of the king of sweden. but the bondes, after consulting with each other, determined only to pay the scat which the swedish king required in so far as king olaf required none upon his account, but refused to pay scat to both. the messengers proceeded farther down the valley; but received at every thing they held the same answer, and no money. they went forward to skaun, held a thing there, and demanded scat; but it went there as before. then they came to stjoradal, and summoned a thing, but the bondes would not come to it. now the messengers saw that their business was a failure; and thorgaut proposed that they should turn about, and go eastward again. "i do not think," says asgaut, "that we have performed the king's errand unless we go to king olaf the thick, since the bondes refer the matter to him." he was their commander; so they proceeded to the town (nidaros), and took lodging there. the day after they presented themselves to the king, just as he was seated at table, saluted him, and said they came with a message of the swedish king. the king told them to come to him next day. next day the king, having heard mass, went to his thing-house, ordered the messengers of the swedish king to be called, and told them to produce their message. then thorgaut spoke, and told first what his errand was, and next how the throndhjem people of the interior had replied to it; and asked the king's decision on the business, that they might know what result their errand there was to have. the king answers, "while the earls ruled over the country, it was not to be wondered at if the country people thought themselves bound to obey them, as they were at least of the royal race of the kingdom. but it would have been more just if those earls had given assistance and service to the kings who had a right to the country, rather than to foreign kings, or to stir up opposition to their lawful kings, depriving them of their land and kingdom. with regard to olaf the swede, who calls himself entitled to the kingdom of norway, i, who in fact am so entitled, can see no ground for his claim; but well remember the skaith and damage we have suffered from him and his relations." then says asgaut. "it is not wonderful that thou art called olaf the thick, seeing thou answerest so haughtily to such a prince's message, and canst not see clearly how heavy the king's wrath will be for thee to support, as many have experienced who had greater strength than thou appearest to have. but if thou wishest to keep hold of thy kingdom, it will be best for thee to come to the king, and be his man; and we shall beg him to give thee this kingdom in fief under him." the king replies with all gentleness, "i will give thee an advice, asgaut, in return. go back to the east again to thy king, and tell him that early in spring i will make myself ready, and will proceed eastward to the ancient frontier that divided formerly the kingdom of the kings of norway from sweden. there he may come if he likes, that we may conclude a peace with each other; and each of us will retain the kingdom to which he is born." now the messengers turned back to their lodging, and prepared for their departure, and the king went to table. the messengers came back soon after to the king's house; but the doorkeepers saw it, and reported it to the king, who told them not to let the messengers in. "i will not speak with them," said he. then the messengers went off, and thorgaut said he would now return home with his men; but asgaut insisted still that he would go forward with the king's errand: so they separated. thorgaut proceeded accordingly through strind; but asgaut went into gaulardal and orkadal, and intended proceeding southwards to more, to deliver his king's message. when king olaf came to the knowledge of this he sent out his pursuivants after them, who found them at the ness in stein, bound their hands behind their backs, and led them down to the point called gaularas, where they raised a gallows, and hanged them so that they could be seen by those who travelled the usual sea-way out of the fjord. thorgaut heard this news before he had travelled far on his way home through the throndhjem country; and he hastened on his journey until he came to the swedish king, and told him how it had gone with them. the king was highly enraged when he heard the account of it; and he had no lack of high words. 58. olaf and erling reconciled. the spring thereafter (a.d. 1016) king olaf haraldson calls out an army from the throndhjem land, and makes ready to proceed eastward. some of the iceland traders were then ready to sail from norway. with them king olaf sent word and token to hjalte skeggjason, and summoned him to come to him, and at the same time sent a verbal message to skapte the lagman, and other men who principally took part in the lawgiving of iceland, to take out of the law whatever appeared contrary to christianity. he sent, besides, a message of friendship to the people in general. the king then proceeded southwards himself along the coast, stopping at every district, and holding things with the bondes; and in each thing he ordered the christian law to be read, together with the message of salvation thereunto belonging, and with which many ill customs and much heathenism were swept away at once among the common people: for the earls had kept well the old laws and rights of the country; but with respect to keeping christianity, they had allowed every man to do as he liked. it was thus come so far that the people were baptized in the most places on the sea-coast, but the most of them were ignorant of christian law. in the upper ends of the valleys, and in the habitations among the mountains, the greater part of the people were heathen; for when the common man is left to himself, the faith he has been taught in his childhood is that which has the strongest hold over his inclination. but the king threatened the most violent proceedings against great or small, who, after the king's message, would not adopt christianity. in the meantime olaf was proclaimed king in every law thing in the country, and no man spoke against him. while he lay in karmtsund messengers went between him and erling skjalgson, who endeavoured to make peace between them; and the meeting was appointed in whitings isle. when they met they spoke with each other about agreement together; but erling found something else than he expected in the conversation: for when he insisted on having all the fiefs which olaf trygvason, and afterwards the earls svein and hakon, had given him, and on that condition would be his man and dutiful friend, the king answered, "it appears to me, erling, that it would be no bad bargain for thee to get as great fiefs from me for thy aid and friendship as thou hadst from earl eirik, a man who had done thee the greatest injury by the bloodshed of thy men; but even if i let thee remain the greatest lenderman in norway, i will bestow my fiefs according to my own will, and not act as if ye lendermen had udal right to my ancestor's heritage, and i was obliged to buy your services with manifold rewards." erling had no disposition to sue for even the smallest thing; and he saw that the king was not easily dealt with. he saw also that he had only two conditions before him: the one was to make no agreement with the king, and stand by the consequences; the other to leave it entirely to the king's pleasure. although it was much against his inclination, he chose the latter, and merely said to the king, "the service will be the most useful to thee which i give with a free will." and thus their conference ended. erling's relations and friends came to him afterwards, and advised him to give way, and proceed with more prudence and less pride. "thou wilt still," they said, "be the most important and most respected lenderman in norway, both on account of thy own and thy relations' abilities and great wealth." erling found that this was prudent advice, and that they who gave it did so with a good intention, and he followed it accordingly. erling went into the king's service on such conditions as the king himself should determine and please. thereafter they separated in some shape reconciled, and olaf went his way eastward along the coast (a.d. 1016). 59. eilif of gautland's murder. as soon as it was reported that olaf had come to viken, the danes who had offices under the danish king set off for denmark, without waiting for king olaf. but king olaf sailed in along viken, holding things with the bondes. all the people of the country submitted to him, and thereafter he took all the king's taxes, and remained the summer (a.d. 1016) in viken. he then sailed east from tunsberg across the fjord, and all the way east to svinasund. there the swedish king's dominions begin, and he had set officers over this country; namely, eilif gautske over the north part, and hroe skialge over the east part, all the way to the gaut river. hroe had family friends on both sides of the river, and also great farms on hising island, and was besides a mighty and very rich man. eilif was also of great family, and very wealthy. now when king olaf came to ranrike he summoned the people to a thing, and all who dwelt on the sea-coast or in the out-islands came to him. now when the thing was seated the king's marshal, bjorn, held a speech to them, in which he told the bondes to receive olaf as their king, in the same way as had been done in all other parts of norway. then stood up a bold bonde by name brynjolf ulfalde, and said, "we bondes know where the division-boundaries between the norway and danish and swedish kings' lands have stood by rights in old times; namely, that the gaut river divided their lands between the vener lake and the sea; but towards the north the forests until eid forest, and from thence the ridge of the country all north to finmark. we know, also, that by turns they have made inroads upon each other's territories, and that the swedes have long had power all the way to svinasund. but, sooth to say, i know that it is the inclination of many rather to serve the king of norway, but they dare not; for the swedish king's dominions surround us, both eastward, southwards, and also up the country; and besides, it may be expected that the king of norway must soon go to the north, where the strength of his kingdom lies, and then we have no power to withstand the gautlanders. now it is for the king to give us good counsel, for we have great desire to be his men." after the thing, in the evening, brynjolf was in the king's tent, and the day after likewise, and they had much private conversation together. then the king proceeded eastwards along viken. now when eilif heard of his arrival, he sent out spies to discover what he was about; but he himself, with thirty men, kept himself high up in the habitations among the hills, where he had gathered together bondes. many of the bondes came to king olaf, but some sent friendly messages to him. people went between king olaf and eilif, and they entreated each separately to hold a thing-meeting between themselves, and make peace in one way or another. they told eilif that they might expect violent treatment from king olaf if they opposed his orders; but promised eilif he should not want men. it was determined that they should come down from the high country, and hold a thing with the bondes and the king. king olaf thereupon sent the chief of his pursuivants, thorer lange, with six men, to brynjolf. they were equipped with their coats-of-mail under their cloaks, and their hats over their helmets. the following day the bondes came in crowds down with eilif; and in his suite was brynjolf, and with him thorer. the king laid his ships close to a rocky knoll that stuck out into the sea, and upon it the king went with his people, and sat down. below was a flat field, on which the bondes' force was; but eilif's men were drawn up, forming a shield-fence before him. bjorn the marshal spoke long and cleverly upon the king's account, and when he sat down eilif arose to speak; but at the same moment thorer lange rose, drew his sword, and struck eilif on the neck, so that his head flew off. then the whole bonde-force started up; but the gautland men set off in full flight and thorer with his people killed several of them. now when the crowd was settled again, and the noise over the king stood up, and told the bondes to seat themselves. they did so, and then much was spoken. the end of it was that they submitted to the king, and promised fidelity to him; and he, on the other hand, promised not to desert them, but to remain at hand until the discord between him and the swedish olaf was settled in one way or other. king olaf then brought the whole northern district under his power, and went in summer eastward as far as the gaut river, and got all the king's scat among the islands. but when summer (a.d. 1016) was drawing towards an end he returned north to viken, and sailed up the raum river to a waterfall called sarp. on the north side of the fall, a point of land juts out into the river. there the king ordered a rampart to be built right across the ness, of stone, turf, and wood, and a ditch to be dug in front of it; so that it was a large earthen fort or burgh, which he made a merchant town of. he had a king's house put up, and ordered the building of mary church. he also laid out plans for other houses, and got people to build on them. in harvest (a.d. 1016) he let everything be gathered there that was useful for his winter residence (a.d. 1017), and sat there with a great many people, and the rest he quartered in the neighbouring districts. the king prohibited all exports from viken to gautland of herrings and salt, which the gautland people could ill do without. this year the king held a great yule feast, to which he invited many great bondes. 60. the history of eyvind urarhorn. there was a man called eyvind urarhorn, who was a great man, of high birth, who had his descent from the east agder country. every summer he went out on a viking cruise, sometimes to the west sea, sometimes to the baltic, sometimes south to flanders, and had a well-armed cutter (snekkia) of twenty benches of rowers. he had been also at nesjar, and given his aid to the king; and when they separated the king promised him his favour, and eyvind, again, promised to come to the king's aid whenever he was required. this winter (a.d. 1017) eyvind was at the yule feast of the king, and received goodly gifts from him. brynjolf ulfalde was also with the king, and he received a yule present from the king of a gold-mounted sword, and also a farm called vettaland, which is a very large head-farm of the district. brynjolf composed a song about these gifts, of which the refrain was- "the song-famed hero to my hand gave a good sword, and vettaland." the king afterwards gave him the title of lenderman, and brynjolf was ever after the king's greatest friend. 61. thrand white's murder. this winter (a.d. 1017) thrand white from throndhjem went east to jamtaland, to take up scat upon account of king olaf. but when he had collected the scat he was surprised by men of the swedish king, who killed him and his men, twelve in all, and brought the scat to the swedish king. king olaf was very ill-pleased when he heard this news. 62. christianity proclaimed in viken. king olaf made christian law to be proclaimed in viken, in the same way as in the north country. it succeeded well, because the people of viken were better acquainted with the christian customs than the people in the north; for, both winter and summer, there were many merchants in viken, both danish and saxon. the people of viken, also, had much trading intercourse with england, and saxony, and flanders, and denmark; and some had been on viking expeditions, and had had their winter abode in christian lands. 63. hroe's fall. about spring-time (a.d. 1017) king olaf sent a message that eyvind urarhorn should come to him; and they spake together in private for a long time. thereafter eyvind made himself ready for a viking cruise. he sailed south towards viken, and brought up at the eikreys isles without hising isle. there he heard that hroe skialge had gone northwards towards ordost, and had there made a levy of men and goods on account of the swedish king, and was expected from the north. eyvind rowed in by haugasund, and hroe came rowing from the north, and they met in the sound and fought. hroe fell there, with nearly thirty men; and eyvind took all the goods hroe had with him. eyvind then proceeded to the baltic, and was all summer on a viking cruise. 64. fall of gudleik and thorgaut. there was a man called gudleik gerske, who came originally from agder. he was a great merchant, who went far and wide by sea, was very rich, and drove a trade with various countries. he often went east to gardarike (russia), and therefore was called gudleik gerske (the russian). this spring (a.d. 1017) gudleik fitted out his ship, and intended to go east in summer to russia. king olaf sent a message to him that he wanted to speak to him; and when gudleik came to the king he told him he would go in partnership with him, and told him to purchase some costly articles which were difficult to be had in this country. gudleik said that it should be according to the king's desire. the king ordered as much money to be delivered to gudleik as he thought sufficient, and then gudleik set out for the baltic. they lay in a sound in gotland; and there it happened, as it often does, that people cannot keep their own secrets, and the people of the country came to know that in this ship was olaf the thick's partner. gudleik went in summer eastwards to novgorod, where he bought fine and costly clothes, which he intended for the king as a state dress; and also precious furs, and remarkably splendid table utensils. in autumn (a.d. 1017), as gudleik was returning from the east, he met a contrary wind, and lay for a long time at the island eyland. there came thorgaut skarde, who in autumn had heard of gudleik's course, in a long-ship against him, and gave him battle. they fought long, and gudleik and his people defended themselves for a long time; but the numbers against them were great, and gudleik and many of his ship's crew fell, and a great many of them were wounded. thorgaut took all their goods, and king olaf's, and he and his comrades divided the booty among them equally; but he said the swedish king ought to have the precious articles of king olaf, as these, he said, should be considered as part of the scat due to him from norway. thereafter thorgaut proceeded east to svithjod. these tidings were soon known; and as eyvind urarhorn came soon after to eyland, he heard the news, and sailed east after thorgaut and his troop, and overtook them among the swedish isles on the coast, and gave battle. there thorgaut and the most of his men were killed, and the rest sprang overboard. eyvind took all the goods and all the costly articles of king olaf which they had captured from gudleik, and went with these back to norway in autumn, and delivered to king olaf his precious wares. the king thanked him in the most friendly way for his proceeding, and promised him anew his favour and friendship. at this time olaf had been three years king over norway (a.d. 1015-1017). 65. meeting of olaf and ragnvald. the same summer (a.d. 1017) king olaf ordered a levy, and went out eastwards to the gaut river, where he lay a great part of the summer. messages were passing between king olaf, earl ragnvald, and the earl's wife, ingebjorg, the daughter of trygve. she was very zealous about giving king olaf of norway every kind of help, and made it a matter of her deepest interest. for this there were two causes. she had a great friendship for king olaf; and also she could never forget that the swedish king had been one at the death of her brother, olaf trygvason; and also that he, on that account only, had any presence to rule over norway. the earl, by her persuasion, turned much towards friendship with king olaf; and it proceeded so far that the earl and the king appointed a meeting, and met at the gaut river. they talked together of many things, but especially of the norwegian and swedish kings' relations with each other; both agreeing, as was the truth also, that it was the greatest loss, both to the people of viken and of gautland, that there was no peace for trade between the two countries; and at last both agreed upon a peace, and still-stand of arms between them until next summer; and they parted with mutual gifts and friendly speeches. 66. king olaf the swede. the king thereupon returned north to viken, and had all the royal revenues up to the gaut river; and all the people of the country there had submitted to him. king olaf the swede had so great a hatred of olaf haraldson, that no man dared to call him by his right name in the king's hearing. they called him the thick man; and never named him without some hard by-name. 67. account of their reconciliation. the bondes in viken spoke with each other about there being nothing for it but that the kings should make peace and a league with each other, and insisted upon it that they were badly used by the kings going to war; but nobody was so bold as to bring these murmurs before the king. at last they begged bjorn the marshal to bring this matter before the king, and entreat him to send messengers to the swedish king to offer peace on his side. bjorn was disinclined to do this, and put it off from himself with excuses; but on the entreaties of many of his friends, he promised at last to speak of it to the king; but declared, at the same time, that he knew it would be taken very ill by the king to propose that he should give way in anything to the swedish king. the same summer (a.d. 1017) hjalte skeggjason came over to norway from iceland, according to the message sent him by king olaf, and went directly to the king. he was well received by the king, who told him to lodge in his house, and gave him a seat beside bjorn the marshal, and hjalte became his comrade at table. there was good-fellowship immediately between them. once, when king olaf had assembled the people and bondes to consult upon the good of the country, bjorn the marshal said, "what think you, king, of the strife that is between the swedish king and you? many people have fallen on both sides, without its being at all more determined than before what each of you shall have of the kingdom. you have now been sitting in viken one winter and two summers, and the whole country to the north is lying behind your back unseen; and the men who have property or udal rights in the north are weary of sitting here. now it is the wish of the lendermen, of your other people, and of the bondes that this should come to an end. there is now a truce, agreement, and peace with the earl, and the west gautland people who are nearest to us; and it appears to the people it would be best that you sent messengers to the swedish king to offer a reconciliation on your side; and, without doubt, many who are about the swedish king will support the proposal, for it is a common gain for those who dwell in both countries, both here and there." this speech of bjorn's received great applause. then the king said, "it is fair, bjorn, that the advice thou hast given should be carried out by thyself. thou shalt undertake this embassy thyself, and enjoy the good of it, if thou hast advised well; and if it involve any man in danger, thou hast involved thyself in it. moreover, it belongs to thy office to declare to the multitude what i wish to have told." then the king stood up, went to the church, and had high mass sung before him; and thereafter went to table. the following day hjalte said to bjorn, "why art thou so melancholy, man? art thou sick, or art thou angry at any one?" bjorn tells hjalte his conversation with the king, and says it is a very dangerous errand. hjalte says, "it is their lot who follow kings that they enjoy high honours, and are more respected than other men, but stand often in danger of their lives: and they must understand how to bear both parts of their lot. the king's luck is great; and much honour will be gained by this business, if it succeed." bjorn answered, "since thou makest so light of this business in thy speech, wilt thou go with me? the king has promised that i shall have companions with me on the journey." "certainly," says hjalte; "i will follow thee, if thou wilt: for never again shall i fall in with such a comrade if we part." 68. journey of bjorn the marshal. a few days afterwards, when the king was at a thing-meeting, bjorn came with eleven others. he says to the king that they were now ready to proceed on their mission, and that their horses stood saddled at the door. "and now," says he, "i would know with what errand i am to go, or what orders thou givest us." the king replies, "ye shall carry these my words to the swedish king--that i will establish peace between our countries up to the frontier which olaf trygvason had before me; and each shall bind himself faithfully not to trespass over it. but with regard to the loss of people, no man must mention it if peace there is to be; for the swedish king cannot with money pay for the men the swedes have deprived us of." thereupon the king rose, and went out with bjorn and his followers; and he took a gold-mounted sword and a gold ring, and said, in handing over the sword to bjorn, "this i give thee: it was given to me in summer by earl ragnvald. to him ye shall go; and bring him word from me to advance your errand with his counsel and strength. this thy errand i will think well fulfilled if thou hearest the swedish king's own words, be they yea or nay: and this gold ring thou shalt give earl ragnvald. these are tokens (1) he must know well." hjalte went up to the king, saluted him, and said, "we need much, king, that thy luck attend us;" and wished that they might meet again in good health. the king asked where hjalte was going. "with bjorn," said he. the king said, "it will assist much to the good success of the journey that thou goest too, for thy good fortune has often been proved; and be assured that i shall wish that all my luck, if that be of any weight, may attend thee and thy company." bjorn and his followers rode their way, and came to earl ragnvald's court, where they were well received. bjorn was a celebrated and generally known man,--known by sight and speech to all who had ever seen king olaf; for at every thing, bjorn stood up and told the king's message. ingebjorg, the earl's wife, went up to hjalte and looked at him. she recognized him, for she was living with her brother olaf trygvason when hjalte was there: and she knew how to reckon up the relationship between king olaf and vilborg, the wife of hjalte; for eirik bjodaskalle father of astrid, king olaf trygvason's mother, and bodvar father of olaf, mother of gissur white the father of vilborg, were brother's sons of the lenderman vikingakare of vors. they enjoyed here good entertainment. one day bjorn entered into conversation with the earl and ingebjorg, in which he set forth his errand, and produced to the earl his tokens. the earl replies, "what hast thou done, bjorn, that the king wishes thy death? for, so far from thy errand having any success, i do not think a man can be found who could speak these words to the swedish king without incurring wrath and punishment. king olaf, king of sweden, is too proud for any man to speak to him on anything he is angry at." then bjorn says, "nothing has happened to me that king olaf is offended at; but many of his disposition act both for themselves and others, in a way that only men who are daring can succeed in. but as yet all his plans have had good success, and i think this will turn out well too; so i assure you, earl, that i will actually travel to the swedish king, and not turn back before i have brought to his ears every word that king olaf told me to say to him, unless death prevent me, or that i am in bonds, and cannot perform my errand; and this i must do, whether you give any aid or no aid to me in fulfilling the king's wishes." then said ingebjorg, "i will soon declare my opinion. i think, earl, thou must turn all thy attention to supporting king olaf the king of norway's desire that this message be laid before the swedish king, in whatever way he may answer it. although the swedish king's anger should be incurred, and our power and property be at stake, yet will i rather run the risk, than that it should be said the message of king olaf was neglected from fear of the swedish king. thou hast that birth, strength of relations, and other means, that here in the swedish land it is free to thee to tell thy mind, if it be right and worthy of being heard, whether it be listened to by few or many, great or little people, or by the king himself." the earl replies, "it is known to every one how thou urgest me: it may be, according to thy counsel, that i should promise the king's men to follow them, so that they may get their errand laid before the swedish king, whether he take it ill or take it well. but i will have my own counsel followed, and will not run hastily into bjorn's or any other man's measures, in such a highly important matter. it is my will that ye all remain here with me, so long as i think it necessary for the purpose of rightly forwarding this mission." now as the earl had thus given them to understand that he would support them in the business, bjorn thanked him most kindly, and with the assurance that his advice should rule them altogether. thereafter bjorn and his fellow-travellers remained very long in the earl's house. endnotes: (1) before writing was a common accomplishment in courts, the only way of accrediting a special messenger between kings and great men was by giving the messenger a token; that is. some article well known by the person receiving the message to be the property of and valued by the person sending it. 69. conversation of bjorn and ingebjorg. ingebjorg was particularly kind to them; and bjorn often spoke with her about the matter, and was ill at ease that their journey was so long delayed. hjalte and the others often spoke together also about the matter; and hjalte said; "i will go to the king if ye like; for i am not a man of norway, and the swedes can have nothing to say to me. i have heard that there are iceland men in the king's house who are my acquaintances, and are well treated; namely, the skalds gissur black and ottar black. from them i shall get out what i can about the swedish king; and if the business will really be so difficult as it now appears, or if there be any other way of promoting it, i can easily devise some errand that may appear suitable for me." this counsel appeared to bjorn and ingebjorg to be the wisest, and they resolved upon it among themselves. ingebjorg put hjalte in a position to travel; gave him two gautland men with him, and ordered them to follow him, and assist him with their service, and also to go wherever he might have occasion to send them. besides, ingebjorg gave him twenty marks of weighed silver money for travelling expenses, and sent word and token by him to the swedish king olaf's daughter, ingegerd, that she should give all her assistance to hjalte's business, whenever he should find himself under the necessity of craving her help. hjalte set off as soon as he was ready. when he came to king olaf he soon found the skalds gissur and ottar, and they were very glad at his coming. without delay they went to the king, and told him that a man was come who was their countryman, and one of the most considerable in their native land, and requested the king to receive him well. the king told them to take hjalte and his fellow-travellers into their company and quarters. now when hjalte had resided there a short time, and got acquainted with people, he was much respected by everybody. the skalds were often in the king's house, for they were well-spoken men; and often in the daytime they sat in front of the king's high-seat, and hjalte, to whom they paid the highest respect in all things, by their side. he became thus known to the king, who willingly entered into conversation with him, and heard from him news about iceland. 70. of sigvat the skald. it happened that before bjorn set out from home he asked sigvat the skald, who at that time was with king olaf, to accompany him on his journey. it was a journey for which people had no great inclination. there was, however, great friendship between bjorn and sigvat. then sigvat sang:- "with the king's marshals all have i, in days gone by, lived joyously,- with all who on the king attend, and knee before him humbly bend, bjorn, thou oft hast ta'en my part- pleaded with art, and touched the heart. bjorn! brave stainer of the sword, thou art my friend--i trust thy word." while they were riding up to gautland, sigvat made these verses:- "down the fjord sweep wind and rain, our stout ship's sails and tackle strain; wet to the skin. we're sound within, and gaily o'er the waves are dancing, our sea-steed o'er the waves high prancing! through lister sea flying all free; off from the wind with swelling sail, we merrily scud before the gale, and reach the sound where we were bound. and now our ship, so gay and grand, glides past the green and lovely land, and at the isle moors for a while. our horse-hoofs now leave hasty print; we ride--of ease there's scanty stint- in heat and haste o'er gautland's waste: though in a hurry to be married, the king can't say that we have tarried." one evening late they were riding through gautland, and sigvat made these verses:- "the weary horse will at nightfall gallop right well to reach his stall; when night meets day, with hasty hoof he plies the road to reach a roof. far from the danes, we now may ride safely by stream or mountain-side; but, in this twilight, in some ditch the horse and rider both may pitch." they rode through the merchant town of skara, and down the street to the earl's house. he sang:- "the shy sweet girls, from window high in wonder peep at the sparks that fly from our horses heels, as down the street of the earl's town we ride so fleet. spur on!--that every pretty lass may hear our horse-hoofs as we pass clatter upon the stones so hard, and echo round the paved court-yard." 71. hjalte skeggjason while he was in svithiod. one day hjalte, and the skalds with him, went before the king, and he began thus:--"it has so happened, king, as is known to you, that i have come here after a long and difficult journey; but when i had once crossed the ocean and heard of your greatness, it appeared to me unwise to go back without having seen you in your splendour and glory. now it is a law between iceland and norway, that iceland men pay landing due when they come into norway, but while i was coming across the sea i took myself all the landing dues from my ship's people; but knowing that thou have the greatest right to all the power in norway, i hastened hither to deliver to you the landing dues." with this he showed the silver to the king, and laid ten marks of silver in gissur black's lap. the king replies, "few have brought us any such dues from norway for some time; and now, hjalte, i will return you my warmest thanks for having given yourself so much trouble to bring us the landing dues, rather than pay them to our enemies. but i will that thou shouldst take this money from me as a gift, and with it my friendship." hjalte thanked the king with many words, and from that day set himself in great favour with the king, and often spoke with him; for the king thought, what was true, that he was a man of much understanding and eloquence. now hjalte told gissur and ottar that he was sent with tokens to the king's daughter ingegerd, to obtain her protection and friendship; and he begged of them to procure him some opportunity to speak with her. they answered, that this was an easy thing to do; and went one day to her house, where she sat at the drinking table with many men. she received the skalds in a friendly manner, for they were known to her. hjalte brought her a salutation from the earl's wife, ingebjorg; and said she had sent him here to obtain friendly help and succour from her, and in proof whereof produced his tokens. the king's daughter received him also kindly, and said he should be welcome to her friendship. they sat there till late in the day drinking. the king's daughter made hjalte tell her much news, and invited him to come often and converse with her. he did so: came there often, and spoke with the king's daughter; and at last entrusted her with the purpose of bjorn's and his comrade's journey, and asked her how she thought the swedish king would receive the proposal that there should be a reconciliation between the kings. the king's daughter replied, that, in her opinion, it would be a useless attempt to propose to the king any reconciliation with olaf the thick; for the king was so enraged against him, that he would not suffer his name to be mentioned before him. it happened one day that hjalte was sitting with the king and talking to him, and the king was very merry and drunk. then hjalte said, "manifold splendour and grandeur have i seen here; and i have now witnessed with my eyes what i have often heard of, that no monarch in the north is so magnificent: but it is very vexatious that we who come so far to visit it have a road so long and troublesome, both on account of the great ocean, but more especially because it is not safe to travel through norway for those who are coming here in a friendly disposition. but why is there no one to bring proposals for a peace between you and king olaf the thick? i heard much in norway, and in west gautland, of the general desire that this peace should have taken place; and it has been told me for truth, as the norway king's words, that he earnestly desires to be reconciled to you; and the reason i know is, that he feels how much less his power is than yours. it is even said that he intends to pay his court to your daughter ingegerd; and that would lead to a useful peace, for i have heard from people of credit that he is a remarkably distinguished man." the king answers. "thou must not speak thus, hjalte; but for this time i will not take it amiss of thee, as thou dost not know what people have to avoid here. that fat fellow shall not be called king in my court, and there is by no means the stuff in him that people talk of: and thou must see thyself that such a connection is not suitable; for i am the tenth king in upsala who, relation after relation, has been sole monarch over the swedish, and many other great lands, and all have been the superior kings over other kings in the northern countries. but norway is little inhabited, and the inhabitants are scattered. there have only been small kings there; and although harald harfager was the greatest king in that country, and strove against the small kings, and subdued them, yet he knew so well his position that he did not covet the swedish dominions, and therefore the swedish kings let him sit in peace, especially as there was relationship between them. thereafter, while hakon athelstan's foster-son was in norway he sat in peace, until he began to maraud in gautland and denmark; on which a war-force came upon him, and took from him both life and land. gunhild's sons also were cut off when they became disobedient to the danish kings; and harald gormson joined norway to his own dominions, and made it subject to scat to him. and we reckon harald gormson to be of less power and consideration than the upsala kings, for our relation styrbjorn subdued him, and harald became his man; and yet eirik the victorious, my father, rose over styrbjorn's head when it came to a trial between them. when olaf trygvason came to norway and proclaimed himself king, we would not permit it, but we went with king svein, and cut him off; and thus we have appropriated norway, as thou hast not heard, and with no less right than if i had gained it in battle, and by conquering the kings who ruled it before. now thou canst well suppose, as a man of sense, that i will not let slip the kingdom of norway for this thick fellow. it is wonderful he does not remember how narrowly he made his escape, when we had penned him in in the malar lake. although he slipped away with life from thence, he ought, methinks, to have something else in his mind than to hold out against us swedes. now, hjalte, thou must never again open thy mouth in my presence on such a subject." hjalte saw sufficiently that there was no hope of the king's listening to any proposal of a peace, and desisted from speaking of it, and turned the conversation to something else. when hjalte, afterwards, came into discourse with the king's daughter ingegerd, he tells her his conversation with the king. she told him she expected such an answer from the king. hjalte begged of her to say a good word to the king about the matter, but she thought the king would listen as little to what she said: "but speak about it i will, if thou requirest it." hjalte assured her he would be thankful for the attempt. one day the king's daughter ingegerd had a conversation with her father olaf; and as she found her father was in a particularly good humour, she said, "what is now thy intention with regard to the strife with olaf the thick? there are many who complain about it, having lost their property by it; others have lost their relations by the northmen, and all their peace and quiet; so that none of your men see any harm that can be done to norway. it would be a bad counsel if thou sought the dominion over norway; for it is a poor country, difficult to come at, and the people dangerous: for the men there will rather have any other for their king than thee. if i might advise, thou wouldst let go all thoughts about norway, and not desire olaf's heritage; and rather turn thyself to the kingdoms in the east country, which thy forefathers the former swedish kings had, and which our relation styrbjorn lately subdued, and let the thick olaf possess the heritage of his forefathers and make peace with him." the king replies in a rage, "it is thy counsel, ingegerd, that i should let slip the kingdom of norway, and give thee in marriage to this thick olaf."--"no," says he, "something else shall first take place. rather than that, i shall, at the upsala thing in winter, issue a proclamation to all swedes, that the whole people shall assemble for an expedition, and go to their ships before the ice is off the waters; and i will proceed to norway, and lay waste the land with fire and sword, and burn everything, to punish them for their want of fidelity." the king was so mad with rage that nobody ventured to say a word, and she went away. hjalte, who was watching for her, immediately went to her and asked how her errand to the king had turned out. she answered, it turned out as she had expected; that none could venture to put in a word with the king; but, on the contrary, he had used threats; and she begged hjalte never to speak of the matter again before the king. as hjalte and ingegerd spoke together often, olaf the thick was often the subject, and he told her about him and his manners; and hjalte praised the king of norway what he could, but said no more than was the truth, and she could well perceive it. once, in a conversation, hjalte said to her, "may i be permitted, daughter of the king, to tell thee what lies in my mind?" "speak freely," says she; "but so that i alone can hear it." "then," said hjalte, "what would be thy answer, if the norway king olaf sent messengers to thee with the errand to propose marriage to thee?" she blushed, and answered slowly but gently, "i have not made up my mind to answer to that; but if olaf be in all respects so perfect as thou tellest me, i could wish for no other husband; unless, indeed, thou hast gilded him over with thy praise more than sufficiently." hjalte replied, that he had in no respect spoken better of the king than was true. they often spoke together on the same subject. ingegerd begged hjalte to be cautious not to mention it to any other person, for the king would be enraged against him if it came to his knowledge. hjalte only spoke of it to the skalds gissur and ottar, who thought it was the most happy plan, if it could but be carried into effect. ottar, who was a man of great power of conversation, and much beloved in the court, soon brought up the subject before the king's daughter, and recounted to her, as hjalte had done, all king olaf's excellent qualities. often spoke hjalte and the others about him; and now that hjalte knew the result of his mission, he sent those gautland men away who had accompanied him, and let them return to the earl with letters (1) which the king's daughter ingegerd sent to the earl and ingebjorg. hjalte also let them give a hint to the earl about the conversation he had had with ingegerd, and her answer thereto: and the messengers came with it to the earl a little before yule. endnotes: (1) this seems the first notice we have in the sagas of written letters being sent instead of tokens and verbal messages. --l. 72. olaf's journey to the uplands. when king olaf had despatched bjorn and his followers to gautland, he sent other people also to the uplands, with the errand that they should have guest-quarters prepared for him, as he intended that winter (a.d. 1018) to live as guest in the uplands; for it had been the custom of former kings to make a progress in guest-quarters every third year in the uplands. in autumn he began his progress from sarpsborg, and went first to vingulmark. he ordered his progress so that he came first to lodge in the neighbourhood of the forest habitations, and summoned to him all the men of the habitations who dwelt at the greatest distance from the head-habitations of the district; and he inquired particularly how it stood with their christianity, and, where improvement was needful, he taught them the right customs. if any there were who would not renounce heathen ways, he took the matter so zealously that he drove some out of the country, mutilated others of hands or feet, or stung their eyes out; hung up some, cut down some with the sword; but let none go unpunished who would not serve god. he went thus through the whole district, sparing neither great nor small. he gave them teachers, and placed these as thickly in the country as he saw needful. in this manner he went about in that district, and had 300 deadly men-at-arms with him; and then proceeded to raumarike. he soon perceived that christianity was thriving less the farther he proceeded into the interior of the country. he went forward everywhere in the same way, converting all the people to the right faith, and severely punishing all who would not listen to his word. 73. treachery of the upland kings. now when the king who at that time ruled in raumarike heard of this, he thought it was a very bad affair; for every day came men to him, both great and small, who told him what was doing. therefore this king resolved to go up to hedemark, and consult king hrorek, who was the most eminent for understanding of the kings who at that time were in the country. now when these kings spoke with each other, they agreed to send a message to gudrod, the valley-king north in the gudbrandsdal, and likewise to the king who was in hadaland, and bid them to come to hedemark, to meet hrorek and the other kings there. they did not spare their travelling; for five kings met in hedemark, at a place called ringsaker. ring, king hrorek's brother, was the fifth of these kings. the kings had first a private conference together, in which he who came from raumarike first took up the word, and told of king olaf's proceedings, and of the disturbance he was causing both by killing and mutilating people. some he drove out of the country, some he deprived of their offices or property if they spoke anything against him; and, besides, he was travelling over the country with a great army, not with the number of people fixed by law for a royal progress in guest-quarters. he added, that he had fled hither upon account of this disturbance, and many powerful people with him had fled from their udal properties in raumarike. "but although as yet the evil is nearest to us, it will be but a short time before ye will also be exposed to it; therefore it is best that we all consider together what resolution we shall take." when he had ended his speech, hrorek was desired to speak; and he said, "now is the day come that i foretold when we had had our meeting at hadaland, and ye were all so eager to raise olaf over our heads; namely, that as soon as he was the supreme master of the country we would find it hard to hold him by the horns. we have but two things now to do: the one is, to go all of us to him, and let him do with us as he likes, which i think is the best thing we can do; or the other is, to rise against him before he has gone farther through the country. although he has 300 or 400 men, that is not too great a force for us to meet, if we are only all in movement together: but, in general, there is less success and advantage to be gained when several of equal strength are joined together, than when one alone stands at the head of his own force; therefore it is my advice, that we do not venture to try our luck against olaf haraldson." thereafter each of the kings spoke according to his own mind some dissuading from going out against king olaf, others urging it; and no determination was come to, as each had his own reasons to produce. then gudrod, the valley-king, took up the word, and spoke:--"it appears wonderful to me, that ye make such a long roundabout in coming to a resolution; and probably ye are frightened for him. we are here five kings, and none of less high birth than olaf. we gave him the strength to fight with earl svein, and with our forces he has brought the country under his power. but if he grudges each of us the little kingdom he had before, and threatens us with tortures, or gives us ill words, then, say i for myself, that i will withdraw myself from the king's slavery; and i do not call him a man among you who is afraid to cut him off, if he come into your hands here up in hedemark. and this i can tell you, that we shall never bear our heads in safety while olaf is in life." after this encouragement they all agreed to his determination. then said hrorek, "with regard to this determination, it appears to me necessary to make our agreement so strong that no one shall fail in his promise to the other. therefore, if ye determine upon attacking olaf at a fixed time, when he comes here to hedemark, i will not trust much to you if some are north in the valleys, others up in hedemark; but if our resolution is to come to anything, we must remain here assembled together day and night." this the kings agreed to, and kept themselves there all assembled, ordering a feast to be provided for them at ringsaker, and drank there a cup to success; sending out spies to raumarike, and when one set came in sending out others, so that day and night they had intelligence of olaf's proceedings, and of the numbers of his men. king olaf went about in raumarike in guest-quarters, and altogether in the way before related; but as the provision of the guest-quarter was not always sufficient, upon account of his numerous followers, he laid it upon the bondes to give additional contributions wherever he found it necessary to stay. in some places he stayed longer, in others, shorter than was fixed; and his journey down to the lake miosen was shorter than had been fixed on. the kings, after taking their resolution, sent out message-tokens, and summoned all the lendermen and powerful bondes from all the districts thereabout; and when they had assembled the kings had a private meeting with them, and made their determination known, setting a day for gathering together and carrying it into effect; and it was settled among them that each of the kings should have 300 (1) men. then they sent away the lendermen to gather the people, and meet all at the appointed place. the most approved of the measure; but it happened here, as it usually does, that every one has some friend even among his enemies. endnotes: (1) i.e., 360. 74. mutilating of the upland kings. ketil of ringanes was at this meeting. now when he came home in the evening he took his supper, put on his clothes, and went down with his house-servants to the lake; took a light vessel which he had, the same that king olaf had made him a present of, and launched it on the water. they found in the boat-house everything ready to their hands; betook themselves to their oars, and rowed out into the lake. ketil had forty well-armed men with him, and came early in the morning to the end of the lake. he set off immediately with twenty men, leaving the other twenty to look after the ship. king olaf was at that time at eid, in the upper end of raumarike. thither ketil arrived just as the king was coming from matins. the king received ketil kindly. he said he must speak with the king in all haste; and they had a private conference together. there ketil tells the king the resolution which the kings had taken, and their agreement, which he had come to the certain knowledge of. when the king learnt this he called his people together, and sent some out to collect riding-horses in the country; others he sent down to the lake to take all the rowing-vessels they could lay hold of, and keep them for his use. thereafter he went to the church, had mass sung before him, and then sat down to table. after his meal he got ready, and hastened down to the lake, where the vessels were coming to meet him. he himself went on board the light vessel, and as many men with him as it could stow, and all the rest of his followers took such boats as they could get hold of; and when it was getting late in the evening they set out from the land, in still and calm weather. he rowed up the water with 400 men, and came with them to ringsaker before day dawned; and the watchmen were not aware of the army before they were come into the very court. ketil knew well in what houses the kings slept, and the king had all these houses surrounded and guarded, so that nobody could get out; and so they stood till daylight. the kings had not people enough to make resistance, but were all taken prisoners, and led before the king. hrorek was an able but obstinate man, whose fidelity the king could not trust to if he made peace with him; therefore he ordered both his eyes to be punched out, and took him in that condition about with him. he ordered gudrod's tongue to be cut out; but ring and two others he banished from norway, under oath never to return. of the lendermen and bondes who had actually taken part in the traitorous design, some he drove out of the country, some he mutilated, and with others he made peace. ottar black tells of this:- "the giver of rings of gold, the army leader bold, in vengeance springs on the hedemark kings. olaf the bold and great, repays their foul deceit- in full repays their treacherous ways. he drives with steel-clad hand the small kings from the land,- greater by far in deed of war. the king who dwelt most north tongueless must wander forth: all fly away in great dismay. king olaf now rules o'er what five kings ruled before. to eid's old bound extends his ground. no kings in days of yore e'er won so much before: that this is so all norsemen know." king olaf took possession of the land these five kings had possessed, and took hostages from the lendermen and bondes in it. he took money instead of guest-quarters from the country north of the valley district, and from hedemark; and then returned to raumarike, and so west to hadaland. this winter (a.d. 1018) his stepfather sigurd syr died; and king olaf went to ringerike, where his mother asta made a great feast for him. olaf alone bore the title of king now in norway. 75. king olaf's half-brothers. it is told that when king olaf was on his visit to his mother asta, she brought out her children, and showed them to him. the king took his brother guthorm on the one knee, and his brother halfdan on the other. the king looked at guthorm, made a wry face, and pretended to be angry at them: at which the boys were afraid. then asta brought her youngest son, called harald, who was three years old, to him. the king made a wry face at him also; but he looked the king in the face without regarding it. the king took the boy by the hair, and plucked it; but the boy seized the king's whiskers, and gave them a tug. "then," said the king, "thou wilt be revengeful, my friend, some day." the following day the king was walking with his mother about the farm, and they came to a playground, where asta's sons, guthorm and halfdan, were amusing themselves. they were building great houses and barns in their play, and were supposing them full of cattle and sheep; and close beside them, in a clay pool, harald was busy with chips of wood, sailing them, in his sport along the edge. the king asked him what these were; and he answered, these were his ships of war. the king laughed, and said, "the time may come, friend, when thou wilt command ships." then the king called to him halfdan and guthorm; and first he asked guthorm, "what wouldst thou like best to have?" "corn land," replied he. "and how great wouldst thou like thy corn land to be?" "i would have the whole ness that goes out into the lake sown with corn every summer." on that ness there are ten farms. the king replies, "there would be a great deal of corn there." and, turning to halfdan, he asked, "and what wouldst thou like best to have?" "cows," he replied. "how many wouldst thou like to have?" "when they went to the lake to be watered i would have so many, that they stood as tight round the lake as they could stand." "that would be a great housekeeping," said the king; "and therein ye take after your father." then the king says to harald, "and what wouldst thou like best to have?" "house-servants." "and how many wouldst thou have?" "oh! so many i would like to have as would eat up my brother halfdan's cows at a single meal." the king laughed, and said to asta, "here, mother, thou art bringing up a king." and more is not related of them on this occasion. 76. the division of the country. in svithjod it was the old custom, as long as heathenism prevailed, that the chief sacrifice took place in goe month at upsala. then sacrifice was offered for peace, and victory to the king; and thither came people from all parts of svithjod. all the things of the swedes, also, were held there, and markets, and meetings for buying, which continued for a week: and after christianity was introduced into svithjod, the things and fairs were held there as before. after christianity had taken root in svithjod, and the kings would no longer dwell in upsala, the market-time was moved to candlemas, and it has since continued so, and it lasts only three days. there is then the swedish thing also, and people from all quarters come there. svithjod is divided into many parts. one part is west gautland, vermaland, and the marks, with what belongs to them; and this part of the kingdom is so large, that the bishop who is set over it has 1100 churches under him. the other part is east gautland, where there is also a bishop's seat, to which the islands of gotland and eyland belong; and forming all together a still greater bishopric. in svithjod itself there is a part of the country called sudermanland, where there is also a bishopric. then comes westmanland, or fiathrundaland, which is also a bishopric. the third portion of svithjod proper is called tiundaland; the fourth attandaland; the fifth sialand, and what belongs to it lies eastward along the coast. tiundaland is the best and most inhabited part of svithjod, under which the other kingdoms stand. there upsala is situated, the seat of the king and archbishop; and from it upsala-audr, or the domain of the swedish kings, takes its name. each of these divisions of the country has its lag-thing, and its own laws in many parts. over each is a lagman, who rules principally in affairs of the bondes: for that becomes law which he, by his speech, determines them to make law: and if king, earl, or bishop goes through the country, and holds a thing with the bondes, the lagmen reply on account of the bondes, and they all follow their lagmen; so that even the most powerful men scarcely dare to come to their al-thing without regarding the bondes' and lagmen's law. and in all matters in which the laws differ from each other, upsala-law is the directing law; and the other lagmen are under the lagman who dwells in tiundaland. 77. of the lagman thorgny. in tiundaland there was a lagman who was called thorgny, whose father was called thorgny thorgnyson. his forefathers had for a long course of years, and during many kings' times, been lagmen of tiundaland. at this time thorgny was old, and had a great court about him. he was considered one of the wisest men in sweden, and was earl ragnvald's relation and foster-father. 78. meeting of ragnvald and ingegerd. now we must go back in our story to the time when the men whom the king's daughter ingegerd and hjalte had sent from the east came to earl ragnvald. they relate their errand to the earl and his wife ingebjorg, and tell how the king's daughter had oft spoken to the swedish king about a peace between him and king olaf the thick, and that she was a great friend of king olaf; but that the swedish king flew into a passion every time she named olaf, so that she had no hopes of any peace. the earl told bjorn the news he had received from the east; but bjorn gave the same reply, that he would not turn back until he had met the swedish king, and said the earl had promised to go with him. now the winter was passing fast, and immediately after yule the earl made himself ready to travel with sixty men, among whom where the marshal bjorn and his companions. the earl proceeded eastward all the way to svithjod; but when he came a little way into the country he sent his men before him to upsala with a message to ingegerd the king's daughter to come out to meet him at ullaraker, where she had a large farm. when the king's daughter got the earl's message she made herself ready immediately to travel with a large attendance, and hjalte accompanied her. but before he took his departure he went to king olaf, and said, "continue always to be the most fortunate of monarchs! such splendour as i have seen about thee i have in truth never witnessed elsewhere, and wheresoever i come it shall not be concealed. now, king, may i entreat thy favour and friendship in time to come?" the king replies, "why art thou in so great a haste, and where art thou going?" hjalte replies, "i am to ride out to ullaraker with ingegerd thy daughter." the king says, "farewell, then: a man thou art of understanding and politeness, and well suited to live with people of rank." thereupon hjalte withdrew. the king's daughter ingegerd rode to her farm in ullaraker, and ordered a great feast to be prepared for the earl. when the earl arrived he was welcomed with gladness, and he remained there several days. the earl and the king's daughter talked much, and of many things, but most about the swedish and norwegian kings; and she told the earl that in her opinion there was no hope of peace between them. then said the earl, "how wouldst thou like it, my cousin, if olaf king of norway were to pay his addresses to thee? it appears to us that it would contribute most towards a settled peace if there was relationship established between the kings; but i would not support such a matter if it were against thy inclination." she replies, "my father disposes of my hand; but among all my other relations thou art he whose advice i would rather follow in weighty affairs. dost thou think it would be advisable?" the earl recommended it to her strongly, and reckoned up many excellent achievements of king olaf's. he told her, in particular, about what had lately been done; that king olaf in an hours time one morning had taken five kings prisoners, deprived them all of their governments, and laid their kingdoms and properties under his own power. much they talked about the business, and in all their conversations they perfectly agreed with each other. when the earl was ready he took leave, and proceeded on his way, taking hjalte with him. 79. ragnvald and thorgny. earl ragnvald came towards evening one day to the house of lagman thorgny. it was a great and stately mansion, and many people stood outside, who received the earl kindly, and took care of the horses and baggage. the earl went into the room, where there was a number of people. in the high-seat sat an old man; and never had bjorn or his companions seen a man so stout. his beard was so long that it lay upon his knee, and was spread over his whole breast; and the man, moreover, was handsome and stately in appearance. the earl went forward and saluted him. thorgny received him joyfully and kindly, and bade him go to the seat he was accustomed to take. the earl seated himself on the other side, opposite thorgny. they remained there some days before the earl disclosed his errand, and then he asked thorgny to go with him into the conversing room. bjorn and his followers went there with the earl. then the earl began, and told how olaf king of norway had sent these men hither to conclude a peaceful agreement. he showed at great length what injury it was of to the west gautland people, that there was hostility between their country and norway. he further related that olaf the king of norway had sent ambassadors, who were here present, and to whom he had promised he would attend them to the swedish king; but he added, "the swedish king takes the matter so grievously, that he has uttered menaces against those who entertain it. now so it is, my foster-father, that i do not trust to myself in this matter; but am come on a visit to thee to get good counsel and help from thee in the matter." now when the earl had done speaking thorgny sat silent for a while, and then took up the word. "ye have curious dispositions who are so ambitious of honour and renown, and yet have no prudence or counsel in you when you get into any mischief. why did you not consider, before you gave your promise to this adventure, that you had no power to stand against king olaf? in my opinion it is not a less honourable condition to be in the number of bondes and have one's words free, and be able to say what one will, even if the king be present. but i must go to the upsala thing, and give thee such help that without fear thou canst speak before the king what thou findest good." the earl thanked him for the promise, remained with thorgny, and rode with him to the upsala thing. there was a great assemblage of people at the thing, and king olaf was there with his court. 80. of the upsala thing. the first day the thing sat, king olaf was seated on a stool, and his court stood in a circle around him. right opposite to him sat earl ragnvald and thorgny in the thing upon one stool, and before them the earl's court and thorgny's house-people. behind their stool stood the bonde community, all in a circle around them. some stood upon hillocks and heights, in order to hear the better. now when the king's messages, which are usually handled in the things, were produced and settled, the marshal bjorn rose beside the earl's stool, and said aloud, "king olaf sends me here with the message that he will offer to the swedish king peace, and the frontiers that in old times were fixed between norway and svithjod." he spoke so loud that the swedish king could distinctly hear him; but at first, when he heard king olaf's name spoken, he thought the speaker had some message or business of his own to execute; but when he heard of peace, and the frontiers between norway and svithjod, he saw from what root it came, and sprang up, and called out that the man should be silent, for that such speeches were useless. thereupon bjorn sat down; and when the noise had ceased earl ragnvald stood up and made a speech. he spoke of olaf the thick's message, and proposal of peace to olaf the swedish king; and that all the west gautland people sent their entreaty to olaf that he would make peace with the king of norway. he recounted all the evils the west gautlanders were suffering under; that they must go without all the things from norway which were necessary in their households; and, on the other hand, were exposed to attack and hostility whenever the king of norway gathered an army and made an inroad on them. the earl added, that olaf the norway king had sent men hither with the intent to obtain ingegerd the king's daughter in marriage. when the earl had done speaking olaf the swedish king stood up and replied, and was altogether against listening to any proposals of peace, and made many and heavy reproaches against the earl for his impudence in entering into a peaceful truce with the thick fellow, and making up a peaceful friendship with him, and which in truth he considered treason against himself. he added, that it would be well deserved if earl ragnvald were driven out of the kingdom. the earl had, in his opinion, the influence of his wife ingebjorg to thank for what might happen; and it was the most imprudent fancy he could have fallen upon to take up with such a wife. the king spoke long and bitterly, turning his speech always against olaf the thick. when he sat down not a sound was to be heard at first. 81. thorgny's speech. then thorgny stood up; and when he arose all the bondes stood up who had before been sitting, and rushed together from all parts to listen to what lagman thorgny would say. at first there was a great din of people and weapons; but when the noise was settled into silent listening, thorguy made his speech. "the disposition of swedish kings is different now from what it has been formerly. my grandfather thorgny could well remember the upsala king eirik eymundson, and used to say of him that when he was in his best years he went out every summer on expeditions to different countries, and conquered for himself finland, kirjalaland, courland, esthonia, and the eastern countries all around; and at the present day the earth-bulwarks, ramparts, and other great works which he made are to be seen. and, more over, he was not so proud that he would not listen to people who had anything to say to him. my father, again, was a long time with king bjorn, and was well acquainted with his ways and manners. in bjorn's lifetime his kingdom stood in great power, and no kind of want was felt, and he was gay and sociable with his friends. i also remember king eirik the victorious, and was with him on many a war-expedition. he enlarged the swedish dominion, and defended it manfully; and it was also easy and agreeable to communicate our opinions to him. but the king we have now got allows no man to presume to talk with him, unless it be what he desires to hear. on this alone he applies all his power, while he allows his scat-lands in other countries to go from him through laziness and weakness. he wants to have the norway kingdom laid under him, which no swedish king before him ever desired, and therewith brings war and distress on many a man. now it is our will, we bondes, that thou king olaf make peace with the norway king, olaf the thick, and marry thy daughter ingegerd to him. wilt thou, however, reconquer the kingdoms in the east countries which thy relations and forefathers had there, we will all for that purpose follow thee to the war. but if thou wilt not do as we desire, we will now attack thee, and put thee to death; for we will no longer suffer law and peace to be disturbed. so our forefathers went to work when they drowned five kings in a morass at the mula-thing, and they were filled with the same insupportable pride thou hast shown towards us. now tell us, in all haste, what resolution thou wilt take." then the whole public approved, with clash of arms and shouts, the lagman's speech. the king stands up and says he will let things go according to the desire of the bondes. "all swedish kings," he said, "have done so, and have allowed the bondes to rule in all according to their will." the murmur among the bondes then came to an end, and the chiefs, the king, the earl, and thorgny talked together, and concluded a truce and reconciliation, on the part of the swedish king, according to the terms which the king of norway had proposed by his ambassadors; and it was resolved at the thing that ingegerd, the king's daughter, should be married to olaf haraldson. the king left it to the earl to make the contract feast, and gave him full powers to conclude this marriage affair; and after this was settled at the thing, they separated. when the earl returned homewards, he and the king's daughter ingegerd had a meeting, at which they talked between themselves over this matter. she sent olaf a long cloak of fine linen richly embroidered with gold, and with silk points. the earl returned to gautland, and bjorn with him; and after staying with him a short time, bjorn and his company returned to norway. when he came to king olaf he told him the result of his errand, and the king returned him many thanks for his conduct, and said bjorn had had great success in bringing his errand to so favourabie a conclusion against such animosity. 82. of king hrorek's treachery. on the approach of spring (a.d. 1018) king olaf went down to the coast, had his ships rigged out, summoned troops to him, and proceeded in spring out from viken to the naze, and so north to hordaland. he then sent messages to all the lendermen, selected the most considerable men in each district, and made the most splendid preparations to meet his bride. the wedding-feast was to be in autumn, at the gaut river, on the frontiers of the two countries. king olaf had with him the blind king hrorek. when his wound was healed, the king gave him two men to serve him, let him sit in the high-seat by his side, and kept him in meat and clothes in no respect norse than he had kept himself before. hrorek was taciturn, and answered short and cross when any one spoke to him. it was his custom to make his footboy, when he went out in the daytime, lead him away from people, and then to beat the lad until he ran away. he would then complain to king olaf that the lad would not serve him. the king changed his servants, but it was as before; no servant would hold it out with king hrorek. then the king appointed a man called svein to wait upon and serve king hrorek. he was hrorek's relation, and had formerly been in his service. hrorek continued with his habits of moroseness, and of solitary walks; but when he and svein were alone together, he was merry and talkative. he used to bring up many things which had happened in former days when he was king. he alluded, too, to the man who had, in his former days, torn him from his kingdom and happiness, and made him live on alms. "it is hardest of all," says he, "that thou and my other relations, who ought to be men of bravery, are so degenerated that thou wilt not avenge the shame and disgrace brought upon our race." such discourse he often brought out. svein said, they had too great a power to deal with, while they themselves had but little means. hrorek said, "why should we live longer as mutilated men with disgrace? i, a blind man, may conquer them as well as they conquered me when i was asleep. come then, let us kill this thick olaf. he is not afraid for himself at present. i will lay the plan, and would not spare my hands if i could use them, but that i cannot by reason of my blindness; therefore thou must use the weapons against him, and as soon as olaf is killed i can see well enough that his power must come into the hands of his enemies, and it may well be that i shall be king, and thou shalt be my earl." so much persuasion he used that svein at last agreed to join in the deed. the plan was so laid that when the king was ready to go to vespers, svein stood on the threshold with a drawn dagger under his cloak. now when the king came out of the room, it so happened that he walked quicker than svein expected; and when he looked the king in the face he grew pale, and then white as a corpse, and his hand sank down. the king observed his terror and said, "what is this, svein? wilt thou betray me?" svein threw down his cloak and dagger, and fell at the king's feet, saying, "all is in gods hands and thine, king!" the king ordered his men to seize svein, and he was put in irons. the king ordered hrorek's seat to be moved to another bench. he gave svein his life, and he left the country. the king appointed a different lodging for hrorek to sleep in from that in which he slept himself, and in which many of his court-people slept. he set two of his court-men, who had been long with him, and whose fidelity he had proof of, to attend hrorek day and night; but it is not said whether they were people of high birth or not. king hrorek's mood was very different at different times. sometimes he would sit silent for days together, so that no man could get a word out of him; and sometimes he was so merry and gay, that people found a joke in every word he said. sometimes his words were very bitter. he was sometimes in a mood that he would drink them all under the benches, and made all his neighbours drunk; but in general he drank but little. king olaf gave him plenty of pocket-money. when he went to his lodgings he would often, before going to bed, have some stoups of mead brought in, which he gave to all the men in the house to drink, so that he was much liked. 83. of little fin. there was a man from the uplands called fin the little, and some said of him that he was of finnish (1) race. he was a remarkable little man, but so swift of foot that no horse could overtake him. he was a particularly well-excercised runner with snow-shoes, and shooter with the bow. he had long been in the service of king hrorek, and often employed in errands of trust. he knew the roads in all the upland hills, and was well known to all the great people. now when king hrorek was set under guards on the journey fin would often slip in among the men of the guard, and followed, in general, with the lads and serving-men; but as often as he could he waited upon hrorek, and entered into conversation with him. the king, however, only spoke a word or two with him at a time, to prevent suspicion. in spring, when they came a little way beyond viken, fin disappeared from the army for some days, but came back, and stayed with them a while. this happened often, without anyone observing it particularly; for there were many such hangers-on with the army. endnotes: (1) the laplanders are called fins in norway and sweden.--l. 84. murder of olaf's court-men. king olaf came to tunsberg before easter (a.d. 1018), and remained there late in spring. many merchant vessels came to the town, both from saxon-land and denmark, and from viken, and from the north parts of the country. there was a great assemblage of people; and as the times were good, there was many a drinking meeting. it happened one evening that king hrorek came rather late to his lodging; and as he had drunk a great deal, he was remarkably merry. little fin came to him with a stoup of mead with herbs in it, and very strong. the king made every one in the house drunk, until they fell asleep each in his berth. fin had gone away, and a light was burning in the lodging. hrorek waked the men who usually followed him, and told them he wanted to go out into the yard. they had a lantern with them, for outside it was pitch dark. out in the yard there was a large privy standing upon pillars, and a stair to go up to it. while hrorek and his guards were in the yard they heard a man say, "cut down that devil;" and presently a crash, as if somebody fell. hrorek said, "these fellows must be dead drunk to be fighting with each other so: run and separate them." they rushed out; but when they came out upon the steps both of them were killed: the man who went out the last was the first killed. there were twelve of hrorek's men there, and among them sigurd hit, who had been his banner-man, and also little fin. they drew the dead bodies up between the houses, took the king with them, ran out to a boat they had in readiness, and rowed away. sigvat the skald slept in king olaf's lodgings. he got up in the night, and his footboy with him, and went to the privy. but as they were returning, on going down the stairs sigvat's foot slipped, and he fell on his knee; and when he put out his hands he felt the stairs wet. "i think," said he, laughing, "the king must have given many of us tottering legs tonight." when they came into the house in which light was burning the footboy said, "have you hurt yourself that you are all over so bloody?" he replied, "i am not wounded, but something must have happened here." thereupon he wakened thord folason, who was standard-bearer, and his bedfellow. they went out with a light, and soon found the blood. they traced it, and found the corpses, and knew them. they saw also a great stump of a tree in which clearly a gash had been cut, which, as was afterwards known, had been done as a stratagem to entice those out who had been killed. sigvat and thord spoke together and agreed it was highly necessary to let the king know of this without delay. they immediately sent a lad to the lodging where hrorek had been. all the men in it were asleep; but the king was gone. he wakened the men who were in the house, and told them what had happened. the men arose, and ran out to the yard where the bodies were; but, however needful it appeared to be that the king should know it, nobody dared to waken him. then said sigvat to thord, "what wilt thou rather do, comrade, waken the king, or tell him the tidings?" thord replies, "i do not dare to waken him, and i would rather tell him the news." then said sigvat, "there is minch of the night still to pass, and before morning hrorek may get himself concealed in such a way that it may be difficult to find him; but as yet he cannot be very far off, for the bodies are still warm. we must never let the disgrace rest upon us of concealing this treason from the king. go thou, up to the lodging, and wait for me there." sigvat then went to the church, and told the bell-ringer to toll for the souls of the king's court-men, naming the men who were killed. the-bell-ringer did as he was told. the king awoke at the ringing, sat up in his bed, and asked if it was already the hours of matins. thord replies, "it is worse than that, for there has occurred a very important affair. hrorek is fled, and two of the court-men are killed." the king asked how this had taken place, and thord told him all he knew. the king got up immediately, ordered to sound the call for a meeting of the court, and when the people were assembled he named men to go out to every quarter from the town, by sea and land, to search for hrorek. thorer lange took a boat, and set off with thirty men; and when day dawned they saw two small boats before them in the channel, and when they saw each other both parties rowed as hard as they could. king hrorek was there with thirty men. when they came quite close to each other hrorek and his men turned towards the land, and all sprang on shore except the king, who sat on the aft seat. he bade them farewell, and wished they might meet each other again in better luck. at the same moment thorer with his company rowed to the land. fin the little shot off an arrow, which hit thorer in the middle of the body, and was his death; and sigurd hit, with his men, ran up into the forest. thorer's men took his body, and transported it, together with hrorek, to tunsberg. king olaf undertook himself thereafter to look after king hrorek, made him be carefully guarded, and took good care of his treason, for which reason he had a watch over him night and day. king hrorek thereafter was very gay, and nobody could observe but that he was in every way well satisfied. 85. of hrorek's assault. it happened on ascension-day that king olaf went to high mass, and the bishop went in procession around the church, and conducted the king; and when they came back to the church the bishop led the king to his seat on the north side of the choir. there hrorek sat next to the king, and concealed his countenance in his upper cloak. when olaf had seated himself hrorek laid his hand on the king's shoulder, and felt it. "thou hast fine clothes on, cousin, today," said he. king olaf replies, "it is a festival today, in remembrance that jesus christ ascended to heaven from earth." king hrorek says, "i understand nothing about it so as to hold in my mind what ye tell me about christ. much of what ye tell me appears to me incredible, although many wonderful things may have come to pass in old times." when the mass was finished olaf stood up, held his hands up over his head, and bowed down before the altar, so that his cloak hung down behind his shoulders. then king hrorek started up hastily and sharply, and struck at the king with a long knife of the kind called ryting; but the blow was received in the upper cloak at the shoulder, because the king was bending himself forwards. the clothes were much cut, but the king was not wounded. when the king perceived the attack he sprang upon the floor; and hrorek struck at him again with the knife, but did not reach him, and said, "art thou flying, olaf, from me, a blind men?" the king ordered his men to seize him and lead him out of the church, which was done. after this attempt many hastened to king olaf, and advised that king hrorek should be killed. "it is," said they, "tempting your luck in the highest degree, king, to keep him with you, and protect him, whatever mischief he may undertake; for night and day he thinks upon taking your life. and if you send him away, we know no one who can watch him so that he will not in all probability escape; and if once he gets loose he will assemble a great multitude, and do much evil." the king replies, "you say truly that many a one has suffered death for less offence than hrorek's; but willingly i would not darken the victory i gained over the upland kings, when in one morning hour i took five kings prisoners, and got all their kingdoms: but yet, as they were my relations, i should not be their murderer but upon need. as yet i can scarcely see whether hrorek puts me in the necessity of killing him or not." it was to feel if king olaf had armour on or not that hrorek had laid his hand on the king's shoulder. 86. king hrorek's journey to iceland. there was an iceland man, by name thorarin nefiulfson, who had his relations in the north of the country. he was not of high birth, but particularly prudent, eloquent, and agreeable in conversation with people of distinction. he was also a far-travelled man, who had been long in foreign parts. thorarin was a remarkably ugly man, principally because he had very ungainly limbs. he had great ugly hands, and his feet were still uglier. thorarin was in tunsberg when this event happened which has just been related, and he was known to king olaf by their having had conversations together. thorarin was just then done with rigging out a merchant vessel which he owned, and with which he intended to go to iceland in summer. king olaf had thorarin with him as a guest for some days, and conversed much with him; and thorarin even slept in the king's lodgings. one morning early the king awoke while the others were still sleeping. the sun had newly risen in the sky, and there was much light within. the king saw that thorarin had stretched out one of his feet from under the bed-clothes, and he looked at the foot a while. in the meantime the others in the lodging awoke; and the king said to thorarin, "i have been awake for a while, and have seen a sight which was worth seeing; and that is a man's foot so ugly that i do not think an uglier can be found in this merchant town." thereupon he told the others to look at it, and see if it was not so; and all agreed with the king. when thorarin observed what they were talking about, he said, "there are few things for which you cannot find a match, and that may be the case here." the king says, "i would rather say that such another ugly foot cannot be found in the town, and i would lay any wager upon it." then said thorarin, "i am willing to bet that i shall find an uglier foot still in the town." the king--"then he who wins shall have the right to get any demand from the other he chooses to make." "be it so," said thorarin. thereupon he stretches out his other foot from under the bed-clothes, and it was in no way handsomer than the other, and moreover, wanted the little toe. "there," said thorarin, "see now, king, my other foot, which is so much uglier; and, besides, has no little toe. now i have won." the king replies, "that other foot was so much uglier than this one by having five ugly toes upon it, and this has only four; and now i have won the choice of asking something from thee." "the sovereign's decision must be right," says thorarin; "but what does the king require of me?" "to take hrorek," said the king, "to greenland, and deliver him to leif eirikson." thorarin replies, "i have never been in greenland." the king--"thou, who art a far-travelled man, wilt now have an opportunity of seeing greenland, if thou hast never been there before." at first thorarin did not say much about it; but as the king insisted on his wish he did not entirely decline, but said, "i will let you hear, king, what my desire would have been had i gained the wager. it would have been to be received into your body of court-men; and if you will grant me that, i will be the more zealous now in fulfilling your pleasure." the king gave his consent, and thorarin was made one of the court-men. then thorarin rigged out his vessel, and when he was ready he took on board king hrorek. when thorarin took leave of king olaf, he said, "should it now turn out, king, as is not improbable, and often happens, that we cannot effect the voyage to greenland, but must run for iceland or other countries, how shall i get rid of this king in a way that will be satisfactory to you?" the king--"if thou comest to iceland, deliver him into the hands of gudmund eyolfson, or of skapte, the lagman, or of some other chief who will receive my tokens and message of friendship. but if thou comest to other countries nearer to this, do so with him that thou canst know with certainty that king hrorek never again shall appear in norway; but do so only when thou seest no other way of doing whatsoever." when thorarin was ready for sea, and got a wind, he sailed outside of all the rocks and islands, and when he was to the north of the naze set right out into the ocean. he did not immediately get a good wind, but he avoided coming near the land. he sailed until he made land which he knew, in the south part of iceland, and sailed west around the land out into the greenland ocean. there he encountered heavy storms, and drove long about upon the ocean; but when summer was coming to an end he landed again in iceland in breidafjord. thorgils arason (1) was the first man of any consequence who came to him. thorarin brings him the king's salutation, message, and tokens, with which was the desire about king hrorek's reception. thorgils received these in a friendly way, and invited king hrorek to his house, where he stayed all winter. but he did not like being there, and begged that thorgils would let him go to gudmund; saying he had heard some time or other that there in gudmund's house, was the most sumptuous way of living in iceland, and that it was intended he should be in gudmund's hands. thorgils let him have his desire, and conducted him with some men to gudmund at modruveller. gudmund received hrorek kindly on account of the king's message, and he stayed there the next winter. he did not like being there either; and then gudmund gave him a habitation upon a small farm called kalfskin, where there were but few neighbours. there hrorek passed the third winter, and said that since he had laid down his kingdom he thought himself most comfortably situated here; for here he was most respected by all. the summer after hrorek fell sick, and died; and it is said he is the only king whose bones rest in iceland. thorarin nefiulfson was afterwards for a long time upon voyages; but sometimes he was with king olaf. endnotes: (1) thorgils was the son of are marson, who visited america (vindland). thorgils, who was still alive in the year 1024, was noted for his kindness toward all persecuted persons. 87. battle in ulfreks-fjord. the summer that thorarin went with hrorek to iceland, hjalte skeggjason went also to iceland, and king olaf gave him many friendly gifts with him when they parted. the same summer eyvind urarhorn went on an expedition to the west sea, and came in autumn to ireland, to the irish king konofogor (1). in autumn einar earl of orkney and this irish king met in ulfreks-fjord, and there was a great battle, in which konofogor gained the victory, having many more people. the earl fled with a single ship and came back about autumn to orkney, after losing most of his men and all the booty they had made. the earl was much displeased with his expedition, and threw the blame upon the northmen, who had been in the battle on the side of the irish king, for making him lose the victory. endnotes: (1) konofogor's irish name was connor. 88. olaf prepares for his bridal journey. now we begin again our story where we let it slip--at king olaf's travelling to his bridal, to receive his betrothed ingegerd the king's daughter. the king had a great body of men with him, and so chosen a body that all the great people he could lay hold of followed him; and every man of consequence had a chosen band of men with him distinguished by birth or other qualifications. the whole were well appointed, and equipped in ships, weapons, and clothes. they steered the fleet eastwards to konungahella; but when they arrived there they heard nothing of the swedish king and none of his men had come there. king olaf remained a long time in summer (a.d. 1018) at konungahella, and endeavored carefully to make out what people said of the swedish king's movements, or what were his designs; but no person could tell him anything for certain about it. then he sent men up to gautland to earl ragnvald, to ask him if he knew how it came to pass that the swedish king did not come to the meeting agreed on. the earl replies, that he did not know. "but as soon," said he, "as i hear, i shall send some of my men to king olaf, to let him know if there be any other cause for the delay than the multitude of affairs; as it often happens that the swedish king's movements are delayed by this more than he could have expected." 89. of the swedish king's children. this swedish king, olaf eirikson, had first a concubine who was called edla, a daughter of an earl of vindland, who had been captured in war, and therefore was called the king's slave-girl. their children were emund, astrid, holmfrid.... they had, besides, a son, who was born the day before st. jacob's-day. when the boy was to be christened the bishop called him jacob, which the swedes did not like, as there never had been a swedish king called jacob. all king olaf's children were handsome in appearance, and clever from childhood. the queen was proud, and did not behave well towards her step-children; therefore the king sent his son emund to vindland, to be fostered by his mother's relations, where he for a long time neglected his christianity. the king's daughter, astrid, was brought up in west gautland, in the house of a worthy man called egil. she was a very lovely girl: her words came well into her conversation; she was merry, but modest, and very generous. when she was grown up she was often in her father's house, and every man thought well of her. king olaf was haughty and harsh in his speech. he took very ill the uproar and clamour the country people had raised against him at the upsala thing, as they had threatened him with violence, for which he laid the chief blame on earl ragnvald. he made no preparation for the bridal, according to the agreement to marry his daughter ingegerd to olaf the king of norway, and to meet him on the borders for that purpose. as the summer advanced many of his men were anxious to know what the kings intentions were; whether to keep to the agreement with king olaf, or break his word, and with it the peace of the country. but no one was so bold as to ask the king, although they complained of it to ingegerd, and besought her to find out what the king intended. she replied "i have no inclination to speak to the king again about the matters between him and king olaf; for he answered me ill enough once before when i brought forward olaf's name." in the meantime ingegerd, the king's daughter, took it to heart, became melancholy and sorrowful and yet very curious to know what the king intended. she had much suspicion that he would not keep his word and promise to king olaf; for he appeared quite enraged whenever olaf the thick's name was in any way mentioned. 90. of the swedish king olaf's hunting. one morning early the king rode out with his dogs and falcons, and his men around him. when they let slip the falcons the king's falcon killed two black-cocks in one flight, and three in another. the dogs ran and brought the birds when they had fallen to the ground. the king ran after them, took the game from them himself, was delighted with his sport, and said, "it will be long before the most of you have such success." they agreed in this; adding, that in their opinion no king had such luck in hunting as he had. then the king rode home with his followers in high spirits. ingegerd, the king's daughter, was just going out of her lodging when the king came riding into the yard, and she turned round and saluted him. he saluted her in return, laughing; produced the birds, and told her the success of his chase. "dost thou know of any king," said he, "who made so great a capture in so short a time?" "it is indeed," replied she, "a good morning's hunting, to have got five black-cocks; but it was a still better when, in one morning, the king of norway, olaf, took five kings, and subdued all their kingdoms." when the king heard this he sprang from his horse, turned to ingegerd, and said, "thou shalt know, ingegerd, that however great thy love may be for this man, thou shalt never get him, nor he get thee. i will marry thee to some chief with whom i can be in friendship; but never can i be a friend of the man who has robbed me of my kingdom, and done me great mischief by marauding and killing through the land." with that their conversation broke off, and each went away. 91. olaf the norway king's counsels. ingegerd, the king's daughter, had now full certainty of king olaf's intention, and immediately sent men to west gautland to earl ragnvald, and let him know how it stood with the swedish king, and that the agreement made with the king of norway was broken; and advising the earl and people of west gautland to be upon their guard, as no peace from the people of norway was to be expected. when the earl got this news he sent a message through all his kingdom, and told the people to be cautious, and prepared in case of war or pillage from the side of norway. he also sent men to king olaf the thick, and let him know the message he had received, and likewise that he wished for himself to hold peace and friendship with king olaf; and therefore he begged him not to pillage in his kingdom. when this message came to king olaf it made him both angry and sorry; and for some days nobody got a word from him. he then held a house-thing with his men, and in it bjorn arose, and first took the word. he began his speech by telling that he had proceeded eastward last winter to establish a peace, and he told how kindly earl ragnvald had received him; and, on the other hand, how crossly and heavily the swedish king had accepted the proposal. "and the agreement," said he, "which was made, was made more by means of the strength of the people, the power of thorgny, and the aid of the earl, than by the king's good-will. now, on these grounds, we know for certain that it is the king who has caused the breach of the agreement; therefore we ought by no means to make the earl suffer, for it is proved that he is king olaf's firm friend." the king wished now to hear from the chiefs and other leaders of troops what course he should adopt. "whether shall we go against gautland, and maraud there with such men as we have got; or is there any other course that appears to you more advisable?" he spoke both long and well. thereafter many powerful men spoke, and all were at last agreed in dissuading from hostilities. they argued thus:--"although we are a numerous body of men who are assembled here, yet they are all only people of weight and power; but, for a war expedition, young men who are in quest of property and consideration are more suitable. it is also the custom of people of weight and power, when they go into battle or strife, to have many people with them whom they can send out before them for their defence; for the men do not fight worse who have little property, but even better than those who are brought up in the midst of wealth." after these considerations the king resolved to dismiss this army from any expedition, and to give every man leave to return home; but proclaimed, at the same time, that next summer the people over the whole country would be called out in a general levy, to march immediately against the swedish king, and punish him for his want of faith. all thought well of this plan. then the king returned northwards to viken, and took his abode at sarpsborg in autumn, and ordered all things necessary for winter provision to be collected there; and he remained there all winter (a.d. 1019) with a great retinue. 92. sigvat the skald's journey eastwards. people talked variously about earl ragnvald; some said he was king olaf's sincere friend; others did not think this likely, and thought it stood in his power to warn the swedish king to keep his word, and the agreement concluded on between him and king olaf. sigvat the poet often expressed himself in conversation as earl ragnvald's great friend, and often spoke of him to king olaf; and he offered to the king to travel to earl ragnvald's and spy after the swedish kings doings, and to attempt, if possible, to get the settlement of the agreement. the king thought well of this plan; for he oft, and with pleasure, spoke to his confidential friends about ingegerd, the king's daughter. early in winter (a.d. 1019) sigvat the skald, with two companions, left sarpsborg, and proceeded eastwards over the moors to gautland. before sigvat and king olaf parted he composed these verses:- "sit happy in thy hall, o king! till i come back, and good news bring: the skald will bid thee now farewell, till he brings news well worth to tell. he wishes to the helmed hero health, and long life, and a tull flow of honour, riches, and success- and, parting, ends his song with this. the farewell word is spoken now __ the word that to the heart lies nearest; and yet, o king! before i go, one word on what i hold the dearest, i fain would say, "o! may god save to thee the bravest of the brave, the land, which is thy right by birth!" this is my dearest with on earth." then they proceeded eastwards towards eid, and had difficulty in crossing the river in a little cobble; but they escaped, though with danger: and sigvat sang:- "on shore the crazy boat i drew, wet to the skin, and frightened too; for truly there was danger then; the mocking hill elves laughed again. to see us in this cobble sailing, and all our sea-skill unavailing. but better did it end, you see, than any of us could foresee." then they went through the eid forest, and sigvat sang:- "a hundred miles through eid's old wood, and devil an alehouse, bad or good,- a hundred miles, and tree and sky were all that met the weary eye. with many a grumble, many a groan. a hundred miles we trudged right on; and every king's man of us bore on each foot-sole a bleeding sore." they came then through gautland, and in the evening reached a farm-house called hof. the door was bolted so that they could not come in; and the servants told them it was a fast-day, and they could not get admittance. sigvat sang:- "now up to hof in haste i hie, and round the house and yard i pry. doors are fast locked--but yet within, methinks, i hear some stir and din. i peep, with nose close to the ground. below the door, but small cheer found. my trouble with few words was paid- "'tis holy time,' the house-folkd said. heathens! to shove me thus away! i' the foul fiend's claws may you all lay." then they came to another farm, where the good-wife was standing at the door, and told them not to come in, for they were busy with a sacrifice to the elves. sigvat sang of it thus:- "'my poor lad, enter not, i pray!' thus to me did the old wife say; 'for all of us are heathens here, and i for odin's wrath do fear.' the ugly witch drove me away, like scared wolf sneaking from his prey. when she told me that there within was sacrifice to foul odin." another evening, they came to three bondes, all of them of the name of olver, who drove them away. sigvat sang:- "three of one name, to their great shame, the traveller late drove from their gate! travellers may come from our viking-home, unbidden guests at these olvers' feasts." they went on farther that evening, and came to a fourth bonde, who was considered the most hospitable man in the country; but he drove them away also. then sigvat sang:- "then on i went to seek night's rest from one who was said to be the best, the kindest host in the land around, and there i hoped to have quarters found. but, faith,'twas little use to try; for not so much as raise an eye would this huge wielder of the spade: if he's the hest, it must be said bad is the best, and the skald's praise cannot be given to churls like these. i almost wished that asta's son in the eid forest had been one when we, his men, were even put lodging to crave in a heathen's hut. i knew not where the earl to find; four times driven off by men unkind, i wandered now the whole night o'er, driven like a dog from door to door." now when they came to earl ragnvald's the earl said they must have had a severe journey. then sigvat sang:- "the message-bearers of the king from norway came his words to bring; and truly for their master they hard work have done before to-day. we did not loiter on the road, but on we pushed for thy abode: thy folk, in sooth, were not so kind that we cared much to lag hehind. but eid to rest safe we found, from robbers free to the eastern bound: this praise to thee, great earl, is due- the skald says only what is true." earl ragnvald gave sigvat a gold arm-ring, and a woman said "he had not made the journey with his black eyes for nothing." sigvat sang:- "my coal-black eyes dost thou despise? they have lighted me across the sea to gain this golden prize: they have lighted me, thy eyes to see, o'er iceland's main, o'er hill and plain: where nanna's lad would fear to be they have lighted me." sigvat was long entertained kindly and well in the house of earl ragnvald. the earl heard by letters, sent by ingegerd the king's daughter, that ambassadors from king jarisleif were come from russia to king olaf of svithjod to ask his daughter ingegerd in marriage, and that king olaf had given them hopes that he would agree to it. about the same time king olaf's daughter astrid came to earl ragnvald's court, and a great feast was made for her. sigvat soon became acquainted by conversation with the king's daughter, and she knew him by name and family, for ottar the skald, sigvat's sister's son, had long intimate acquaintance with king olaf, the swedish king. among other things talked of, earl ragnvald asked sigvat if the king of norway would not marry the king's daughter astrid. "if he would do that," said he, "i think we need not ask the swedish king for his consent." astrid, the kings daughter, said exactly the same. soon after sigvat returns home, and comes to king olaf at sarpsborg a little before yule. when sigvat came home to king olaf he went into the hall, and, looking around on the walls, he sang:- "when our men their arms are taking the raven's wings with greed are shaking; when they come back to drink in hall brave spoil they bring to deck the wall- shield, helms, and panzers (1), all in row, stripped in the field from lifeless fow. in truth no royal nail comes near thy splendid hall in precious gear." afterwards sigvat told of his journey, and sang these verses:- "the king's court-guards desire to hear about our journey and our cheer, our ships in autumn reach the sound, but long the way to swedish ground. with joyless weather, wind and raind, and pinching cold, and feet in pain- with sleep, fatigue, and want oppressed, no songs had we--we scarce had rest." and when he came into conversation with the king he sang:- "when first i met the earl i told how our king loved a friend so bold; how in his heart he loved a man with hand to do, and head to plan. thou generous king! with zeal and care i sought to advance thy great affair; for messengers from russian land had come to ask ingegerd's hand. the earl, thy friend, bids thee, who art so mild and generous of heart, his servants all who here may come to cherish in thy royal home; and thine who may come to the east in ragnvald's hall shall find a feast- in ragnvald's house shall find a home- at ragnvald's court be still welcome. when first i came the people's mind incensed by eirik's son i find; and he refused the wish to meet, alleging treachery and deceit. but i explained how it was here, for earl and king, advantage clear with thee to hold the strictest peace, and make all force and foray cease. the earl is wise, and understands the need of peace for both the lands; and he entreats thee not to break the present peace for vengeance's sake!" he immediately tells king olaf the news he had heard; and at first the king was much cast down when he heard of king jarisleif's suit, and he said he expected nothing but evil from king olaf; but wished he might be able to return it in such a way as olaf should remember. a while afterwards the king asks sigvat about various news from gautland. sigvat spoke a great deal about astrid, the kings daughter; how beautiful she was, how agreeable in her conversation; and that all declared she was in no respect behind her sister ingegerd. the king listened with pleasure to this. then sigvat told him the conversation he and astrid had had between themselves, and the king was delighted at the idea. "the swedish king," said he, "will scarcely think that i will dare to marry a daughter of his without his consent." but this speech of his was not known generally. king olaf and sigvat the skald often spoke about it. the king inquired particularly of sigvat what he knew about earl ragnvald, and "if he be truly our friend," said the king. sigvat said that the earl was king olaf's best friend, and sang these verses:- "the mighty olaf should not cease with him to hold good terms and peace; for this good earl unwearied shows he is thy friend where all are foes. of all who dwell by the east sea so friendly no man is as he: at all their things he takes thy part, and is thy firm friend, hand and heart." endnotes: (1) the pantzer--a complete suit of plate-armour. 93. ragnvald and astra's journey. after yule (a.d. 1019), thord skotakol, a sister's son of sigvat, attended by one of sigvat's footboys, who had been with sigvat the autumn before in gautland, went quite secretly from the court, and proceeded to gautland. when they came to earl ragnvald's court, they produced the tokens which olaf himself had sent to the earl, that he might place confidence in thord. without delay the earl made himself ready for a journey, as did astrid, the king's daughter; and the earl took with him 120 men, who were chosen both from among his courtmen and the sons of great bondes, and who were carefully equipped in all things, clothes, weapons, and horses. then they rode northwards to sarpsborg, and came there at candlemas. 94. of king olaf's marriage. king olaf had put all things in order in the best style. there were all sorts of liquors of the best that could be got, and all other preparations of the same quality. many people of consequence were summoned in from their residences. when the earl arrived with his retinue the king received him particularly well; and the earl was shown to a large, good, and remarkably well-furnished house for his lodging; and serving-men and others were appointed to wait on him; and nothing was wanting, in any respect, that could grace a feast. now when the entertainment had lasted some days, the king, the earl, and astrid had a conference together; and the result of it was, that earl ragnvald contracted astrid, daughter of the swedish king olaf, to olaf king of norway, with the same dowry which had before been settled that her sister ingegerd should have from home. king olaf, on his part, should give astrid the same bride-gift that had been intended for her sister ingegerd. thereupon an eke was made to the feast, and king olaf and queen astrid's wedding was drunk in great festivity. earl ragnvald then returned to gautland, and the king gave the earl many great and good gifts at parting; and they parted the dearest of friends, which they continued to be while they lived. 95. the agreement broken by olaf. the spring (a.d. 1019) thereafter came ambassadors from king jarisleif in novgorod to svithjod, to treat more particularly about the promise given by king olaf the preceding summer to marry his daughter ingegerd to king jarisleif. king olaf tallied about the business with ingegerd, and told her it was his pleasure that she should marry king jarisleif. she replied. "if i marry king jarisleif, i must have as my bride-gift the town and earldom of ladoga." the russian ambassadors agreed to this, on the part of their sovereign. then said ingegerd, "if i go east to russia, i must choose the man in svithjod whom i think most suitable to accompany me; and i must stipulate that he shall not have any less title, or in any respect less dignity, privilege, and consideration there, than he has, here." this the king and the ambassadors agreed to, and gave their hands upon it in confirmation of the condition. "and who," asked the king, "is the man thou wilt take with thee as thy attendant?" "that man," she replied, "is my relation earl ragnvald." the king replies, "i have resolved to reward earl ragnvald in a different manner for his treason against his master in going to norway with my daughter, and giving her as a concubine to that fellow, who he knew was my greatest enemy. i shall hang him up this summer." then ingegerd begged her father to be true to the promise he had made her, and had confirmed by giving his hand upon it. by her entreaties it was at last agreed that the king should promise to let earl ragnvald go in peace from svithjod, but that he should never again appear in the king's presence, or come back to svithjod while olaf reigned. ingegerd then sent messengers to the earl to bring him these tidings, and to appoint a place of meeting. the earl immediately prepared for his journey; rode up to east gautland; procured there a vessel, and, with his retinue, joined ingegerd, and they proceeded together eastward to russia. there ingegerd was married to king jarisleif; and their children were valdemar, vissivald, and holte the bold. queen ingegerd gave earl ragnvald the town of ladoga, and earldom belonging to it. earl ragnvald was there a long time, and was a celebrated man. his sons and ingebjorg's were earl ulf and earl eilif. 96. history of the lagman emund. there was a man called emund of skara, who was lagman of west gautland, and was a man of great understanding and eloquence, and of high birth, great connection, and very wealthy; but was considered deceitful, and not to be trusted. he was the most powerful man in west gautland after the earl was gone. the same spring (a.d. 1019) that earl ragnvald left gautland the gautland people held a thing among themselves, and often expressed their anxiety to each other about what the swedish king might do. they heard he was incensed because they had rather held in friendship with the king of norway than striven against him; and he was also enraged against those who had attended his daughter astrid to norway. some proposed to seek help and support from the king of norway, and to offer him their services; others dissuaded from this measure, as west gautland had no strength to oppose to the swedes. "and the king of norway," said they, "is far from us, the chief strength of his country very distant; and therefore let us first send men to the swedish king to attempt to come to some reconciliation with him. if that fail, we can still turn to the king of norway." then the bondes asked emund to undertake this mission, to which he agreed; and he proceeded with thirty men to east gautland, where there were many of his relations and friends, who received him hospitably. he conversed there with the most prudent men about this difficult business; and they were all unanimous on one point,--that the king's treatment of them was against law and reason. from thence emund went into svithjod, and conversed with many men of consequence, who all expressed themselves in the same way. emund continued his journey thus, until one day, towards evening, he arrived at upsala, where he and his retinue took a good lodging, and stayed there all night. the next day emund waited upon the king, who was just then sitting in the thing surrounded by many people. emund went before him, bent his knee, and saluted him. the king looked at him, saluted him, and asked him what news he brought. emund replies, "there is little news among us gautlanders; but it appears to us a piece of remarkable news that the proud, stupid atte, in vermaland, whom we look upon as a great sportsman, went up to the forest in winter with his snow-shoes and his bow. after he had got as many furs in the mountains as filled his hand-sledge so full that he could scarcely drag it, he returned home from the woods. but on the way he saw a squirrel in the trees, and shot at it, but did not hit; at which he was so angry, that he left the sledge to run after the squirrel: but still the squirrel sprang where the wood was thickest, sometimes among the roots of the trees, sometimes in the branches, sometimes among the arms that stretch from tree to tree. when atte shot at it the arrows flew too high or too low, and the squirrel never jumped so that atte could get a fair aim at him. he was so eager upon this chase that he ran the whole day after the squirrel, and yet could not get hold of it. it was now getting dark; so he threw himself down upon the snow, as he was wont, and lay there all night in a heavy snow-storm. next day atte got up to look after his sledge, but never did he find it again; and so he returned home. and this is the only news, king, i have to tell." the king says, "this is news of but little importance, if it be all thou hast to tell." ernund replies, "lately something happened which may well be called news. gaute tofason went with five warships out of the gaut river, and when he was lying at the eikrey isles there came five large danish merchant-ships there. gaute and his men immediately took four of the great vessels, and made a great booty without the loss of a man: but the fifth vessel slipped out to sea, and sailed away. gaute gave chase with one ship, and at first came nearer to them; but as the wind increased, the danes got away. then gaute wanted to turn back; but a storm came on so that he lost his ship at hlesey, with all the goods, and the greater part of his crew. in the meantime his people were waiting for him at the eikrey isles: but the danes came over in fifteen merchant-ships, killed them all, and took all the booty they had made. so but little luck had they with their greed of plunder." the king replied. "that is great news, and worth being told; but what now is thy errand here?" emund replies, "i travel, sire, to obtain your judgment in a difficult case, in which our law and the upsala law do not agree." the king asks, "what is thy appeal case?" emund replies, "there were two noble-born men of equal birth, but unequal in property and disposition. they quarrelled about some land, and did each other much damage; but most was done to him who was the more powerful of the two. this quarrel, however, was settled, and judged of at a general thing; and the judgment was, that the most powerful should pay a compensation. but at the first payment, instead of paying a goose, he paid a gosling; for an old swine he paid a sucking pig; and for a mark of stamped gold only a half-mark, and for the other half-mark nothing but clay and dirt; and, moreover, threatened, in the most violent way, the people whom he forced to receive such goods in payment. now, sire, what is your judgment?" the king replies, "he shall pay the full equivalent whom the judgment ordered to do so, and that faithfully; and further, threefold to his king: and if payment be not made within a year and a day, he shall be cut off from all his property, his goods confiscated, and half go the king's house, and half to the other party." emund took witnesses to this judgment among the most considerable of the men who were present, according to the laws which were held in the upsala thing. he then saluted the king, and went his way; and other men brought their cases before the king, and he sat late in the day upon the cases of the people. now when the king came to table, he asked where lagman emund was. it was answered, he was home at his lodgings. "then," said the king, "go after him, and tell him to be my guest to-day." thereafter the dishes were borne in; then came the musicians with harps, fiddles, and musical instruments; and lastly, the cup-bearers. the king was particularly merry, and had many great people at table with him, so that he thought little of emund. the king drank the whole day, and slept all the night after; but in the morning the king awoke, and recollected what emund had said the day before: and when he had put on his clothes, he let his wise men be summoned to him; for he had always twelve of the wisest men who sat in judgment with him, and treated the more difficult cases; and that was no easy business, for the king was ill-pleased if the judgment was not according to justice, and yet it was of no use to contradict him. in this meeting the king ordered lagman emund to be called before them. the messenger returned, and said, "sire, lagman emund rode away yesterday as soon as he had dined." "then," said the king, "tell me, ye good chiefs, what may have been the meaning of that law-case which emund laid before us yesterday?" they replied, "you must have considered it yourself, if you think there was any other meaning under it than what he said." the king replied, "by the two noble-born men whom he spoke of, who were at variance, and of whom one was more powerful than the other, and who did each other damage, he must have meant us and olaf the thick." they answered, "it is, sire, as you say." the king--"our case was judged at the upsala thing. but what was his meaning when he said that bad payment was made; namely, a gosling for a goose, a pig for a swine, and clay and dirt for half of the money instead of gold?" arnvid the blind replied, "sire, red gold and clay are things very unlike; but the difference is still greater between king and slave. you promised olaf the thick your daughter ingegerd, who, in all branches of her descent, is born of kings, and of the upland swedish race of kings, which is the most noble in the north; for it is traced up to the gods themselves. but now olaf has got astrid; and although she is a king's child, her mother was but a slave-woman, and, besides, of vindish race. great difference, indeed, must there be between these kings, when the one takes thankfully such a match; and now it is evident, as might be expected, that no northman is to be placed by the side of the upsala kings. let us all give thanks that it has so turned out; for the gods have long protected their descendants, although many now neglect this faith." there were three brothers:--arnvid the blind, who had a great understanding, but was so weak-sighted that he was scarcely fit for war; the second was thorvid the stammerer, who could not utter two words together at one time, but was remarkably bold and courageous; the third was freyvid the deaf, who was hard of hearing. all these brothers were rich and powerful men, of noble birth, great wisdom, and all very dear to the king. then said king olaf, "what means that which emund said about atte the dull?" none made any reply, but the one looked at the other. "speak freely," said the king. then said thorvid the stammerer, "atte--quarrel--some--greedy--jealous--deceitful--dull." then said the king, "to whom are these words of reproach and mockery applied?" freyvid the deaf replied, "we will speak more clearly if we have your permission." the king--"speak freely, freyvid, what you will." freyvid took up the word, and spoke. "my brother thorvid, who is considered to be the wisest of us brothers, holds the words 'quarrelsome, greedy, jealous, dull,' to be one and the same thing; for it applies to him who is weary of peace, longs for small things without attaining them, while he lets great and useful things pass away as they came. i am deaf; yet so loud have many spoken out, that i can perceive that all men, both great and small, take it ill that you have not kept your promise to the king of norway; and, worse than that, that you broke the decision of the community as it was delivered at upsala thing. you need not fear either the king of norway, or the king of denmark, or any other, so long as the swedish army will follow you; but if the people of the country unanimously turn against you, we, your friends, see no counsel that can be of advantage to you." the king asks, "who is the chief who dares to betray the country and me?" freyvid replies, "all swedes desire to have the ancient laws, and their full rights. look but here, sire, how many chiefs are sitting in council with you. i think, in truth, we are but six whom you call your councillors: all the others, so far as i know, have ridden forth through the districts to hold things with the people; and we will not conceal it from you, that the message-token has gone forth to assemble a retribution-thing (1). all of us brothers have been invited to take part in the decisions of this council, but none of us will bear the name of traitor to the sovereign; for that our father never was." then the king said, "what council shall we take in this dangerous affair that is in our hands? good chiefs give me council, that i may keep my kingdom, and the heritage of my forefathers; for i cannot enter into strife against the whole swedish force." arnvid the blind replies, "sire, it is my advice that you ride down to aros with such men as will follow you; take your ship there and go out into the maeler lake; summon all people to meet you; proceed no longer with haughtiness, but promise every man the law and rights of old established in the country; keep back in this way the message-token, for it cannot as yet, in so short a time have travelled far through the land. send, then those of your men in whom you have the most confidence to those who have this business on hand, and try if this uproar can be appeased." the king says that he will adopt this advice. "i will," says he, "that ye brothers undertake this business; for i trust to you the most among my men." thorvid the stammerer said, "i remain behind. let jacob, your son, go with them, for that is necessary." then said freyvid, "let us do as thorvid says: he will not leave you, and i and arnvid must travel." this counsel was followed. olaf went to his ships, and set out into the maelar lake, and many people came to him. the brothers arnvid and freyvid rode out to ullaraker, and had with them the king's son jacob; but they kept it a secret that he was there. the brothers observed that there was a great concourse and war-gathering, for the bondes held the thing night and day. when arnvid and freyvid met their relations and friends, they said they would join with the people; and many agreed to leave the management of the business in the hands of the brothers. but all, as one man, declared they would no longer have king olaf over them, and no longer suffer his unlawful proceedings, and over-weening pride which would not listen to any man's remonstrances, even when the great chiefs spoke the truth to him. when freyvid observed the heat of the people, he saw in what a bad situation the king's cause was. he summoned the chiefs of the land to a meeting with him and addressed them thus:--"it appears to me, that if we are to depose olaf eirikson from his kingdom, we swedes of the uplands should be the leading men in it: for so it has always been, that the counsel which the upland chiefs have resolved among themselves has always been followed by the men of the rest of the country. our forefathers did not need to take advice from the west gautlanders about the government of the swedes. now we will not be so degenerate as to need emund to give us counsel; but let us, friends and relations, unite ourselves for the purpose of coming to a determination." all agreed to this, and thought it was well said. thereafter the people joined this union which the upland chiefs made among themselves, and freyvid and arnvid were chiefs of the whole assemblage. when emund heard this he suspected how the matter would end, and went to both the brothers to have a conversation with them. then freyvid asked emund, "who, in your opinion, should we take for king, in case olaf eirikson's days are at an end?" emund--"he whom we think best suited to it, whether he be of the race of chiefs or not." freyvid answers, "we uplanders will not, in our time, have the kingdom go out of the old race of our ancestors, which has given us kings for a long course of generations, so long as we have so good a choice as now. king olaf has two sons, one of whom we will choose for king, although there is a great difference between them. the one is noble-born, and of swedish race on both sides; the other is a slave-woman's son, and of vindish race on the mother's side." this decision was received with loud applause, and all would have jacob for king. then said emund. "ye upland swedes have the power this time to determinate the matter; but i will tell you what will happen:--some of those who now will listen to nothing but that the kingdom remain in the old race will live to see the day when they will wish the kingdom in another race, as being of more advantage." thereupon the brothers freyvid and arnvid led the king's son jacob into the thing, and saluted him with the title of king; and the swedes gave him the name of onund, which he afterwards retained as long as he lived. he was then ten or twelve years old. thereafter king onund took a court, and chose chiefs to be around him; and they had as many attendants in their suite as were thought necessary, so that he gave the whole assemblage of bondes leave to return home. after that ambassadors went between the two kings; and at last they had a meeting, and came to an agreement. olaf was to remain king over the country as long as he lived; but should hold peace and be reconciled with king olaf of norway, and also with all who had taken part in this business. onund should also be king, and have a part of the land, such as the father and son should agree upon; but should be bound to support the bondes in case king olaf did anything which the bondes would not suffer. endnotes: (1) refsithing--a thing for punishment by penalty or death for crimes and misdemeanours.--l. 97. meeting of reconciliation between the kings, and their game at dice. thereafter ambassadors were sent to norway to king olaf, with the errand that he should come with his retinue to a meeting at konungahella with the swedish kings, and that the swedish kings would there confirm their reconciliation. when king olaf heard this message, he was willing, now as formerly, to enter into the agreement, and proceeded to the appointed place. there the swedish kings also came; and the relations, when they met, bound themselves mutually to peace and agreement. olaf the swedish king was then remarkably mild in manner, and agreeable to talk with. thorstein frode relates of this meeting, that there was an inhabited district in hising which had sometimes belonged to norway, and sometimes to gautland. the kings came to the agreement between themselves that they would cast lots by the dice to determine who should have this property, and that he who threw the highest should have the district. the swedish king threw two sixes, and said king olaf need scarcely throw. he replied, while shaking the dice in his hand, "although there be two sixes on the dice, it would be easy, sire, for god almighty to let them turn up in my favour." then he threw, and had sixes also. now the swedish king threw again, and had again two sixes. olaf king of norway then threw, and had six upon one dice, and the other split in two, so as to make seven eyes in all upon it; and the district was adjudged to the king of norway. we have heard nothing else of any interest that took place at this meeting; and the kings separated the dearest of friends with each other. 98. of olaf of norway, after the meeting. after the events now related olaf returned with his people to viken. he went first to tunsberg, and remained there a short time, and then proceeded to the north of the country. in harvest-time he sailed north to throndhjem, and had winter provision laid in there, and remained there all winter (a.d. 1090). olaf haraldson was now sole and supreme king of norway, and the whole of that sovereignty, as harald harfager had possessed it, and had the advantage over that monarch of being the only king in the land. by a peaceful agreement he had also recovered that part of the country which olaf the swedish king had before occupied; and that part of the country which the danish king had got he retook by force, and ruled over it as elsewhere in the country. the danish king canute ruled at that time both over denmark and england; but he himself was in england for the most part, and set chiefs over the country in denmark, without at that time making any claim upon norway. 99. history of the earls of orkney. it is related that in the days of harald harfager, the king of norway, the islands of orkney, which before had been only a resort for vikings, were settled. the first earl in the orkney islands was called sigurd, who was a son of eystein giumra, and brother of ragnvald earl of more. after sigurd his son guthorm was earl for one year. after him torf-einar, a son of ragnvald, took the earldom, and was long earl, and was a man of great power. halfdan haleg, a son of harald harfager, assaulted torf-einar, and drove him from the orkney islands; but einar came back and killed halfdan in the island ronaldsha. thereafter king harald came with an army to the orkney islands. einar fled to scotland, and king harald made the people of the orkney islands give up their udal properties, and hold them under oath from him. thereafter the king and earl were reconciled, so that the earl became the king's man, and took the country as a fief from him; but that it should pay no scat or feu-duty, as it was at that time much plundered by vikings. the earl paid the king sixty marks of gold; and then king harald went to plunder in scotland, as related in the "glym drapa". after torf-einar, his sons arnkel, erlend, and thorfin hausakljufer (1) ruled over these lands. in their days came eirik blood-axe from norway, and subdued these earls. arnkel and erlend fell in a war expedition; but thorfin ruled the country long, and became an old man. his sons were arnfin, havard, hlodver, liot, and skule. their mother was grelad, a daughter of earl dungad of caithness. her mother was groa, a daughter of thorstein raud. in the latter days of earl thorfin came eirik blood-axe's sons, who had fled from earl hakon out of norway, and committed great excesses in orkney. earl thorfin died on a bed of sickness, and his sons after him ruled over the country, and there are many stories concerning them. hlodver lived the longest of them, and ruled alone over this country. his son was sigurd the thick, who took the earldom after him, and became a powerful man and a great warrior. in his days came olaf trygvason from his viking expedition in the western ocean, with his troops, landed in orkney and took earl sigurd prisoner in south ronaldsha, where he lay with one ship. king olaf allowed the earl to ransom his life by letting himself be baptized, adopting the true faith, becoming his man, and introducing christianity into all the orkney islands. as a hostage, king olaf took his son, who was called hunde or whelp. then olaf went to norway, and became king; and hunde was several years with king olaf in norway, and died there. after his death earl sigurd showed no obedience or fealty to king olaf. he married a daughter of the scottish king malcolm, and their son was called thorfin. earl sigurd had, besides, older sons; namely, sumarlide, bruse, and einar rangmund. four or five years after olaf tryrgvason's fall earl sigurd went to ireland, leaving his eldest sons to rule the country, and sending thorfin to his mother's father, the scottish king. on this expedition earl sigurd fell in brian's battle (l). when the news was received in orkney, the brothers sumarlide, bruse, and einar were chosen earls, and the country was divided into three parts among them. thorfin sigurdson was five years old when earl sigurd fell. when the scottish king heard of the earl's death he gave his relation thorfin caithness and sutherland, with the title of earl, and appointed good men to rule the land for him. earl thorfin was ripe in all ways as soon as he was grown up: he was stout and strong, but ugly; and as soon as he was a grown man it was easy to see that he was a severe and cruel but a very clever man. so says arnor, the earls' skald:- "under the rim of heaven no other, so young in years as einar's brother, in battle had a braver hand, or stouter, to defend the land." endnotes: (1) hausakljufer--the splitter of skulls.--l. (2) brian's battle is supposed to have taken place on the 23rd april 1014, at clontart, near dublin; and is known in irish history as the battle of clontarf, and was one of the bloodiest of the age. it was fought between a viking called sigtryg and brian king of munster, who gained the victory, but lost his life.--l. 100. of the earls einar and bruse. the brothers einar and bruse were very unlike in disposition. bruse was a soft-minded, peaceable man,--sociable, eloquent, and of good understanding. einar was obstinate, taciturn, and dull; but ambitious, greedy of money, and withal a great warrior. sumarlide, the eldest of the brothers, was in disposition like bruse, and lived not long, but died in his bed. after his death thorfin claimed his share of the orkney islands. einar replied, that thorfin had the dominions which their father sigurd had possessed, namely, caithness and sutherland, which he insisted were much larger than a third part of orkney; therefore he would not consent to thorfin's having any share. bruse, on the other hand, was willing, he said, to divide with him. "i do not-desire," he said, "more than the third part of the land, and which of right belongs to me." then einar took possession of two parts of the country, by which he became a powerful man, surrounded by many followers. he was often in summer out on marauding expeditions, and called out great numbers of the people to join him; but it went always unpleasantly with the division of the booty made on his viking cruises. then the bondes grew weary of all these burdens; but earl einar held fast by them with severity, calling in all services laid upon the people, and allowing no opposition from any man; for he was excessively proud and overbearing. and now there came dearth and scarcity in his lands, in consequence of the services and money outlay exacted from the bondes; while in the part of the country belonging to bruse there were peace and plenty, and therefore he was the best beloved by the bondes. 101. of thorkel amundason. there was a rich and powerful man who was called amunde, who dwelt in hrossey at sandvik, in hlaupandanes. his son, called thorkel, was one of the ablest men in the islands. amunde was a man of the best understanding, and most respected in orkney. one spring earl einar proclaimed a levy for an expedition, as usual. the bondes murmured greatly against it, and applied to amunde with the entreaty that he would intercede with the earl for them. he replied, that the earl was not a man who would listen to other people, and insisted that it was of no use to make any entreaty to the earl about it. "as things now stand, there is a good understanding between me and the earl; but, in my opinion, there would be much danger of our quarrelling, on account of our different dispositions and views on both sides; therefore i will have nothing to do with it." they then applied to thorkel, who was also very loath to interfere, but promised at last to do so, in consequence of the great entreaty of the people. amunde thought he had given his promise too hastily. now when the earl held a thing, thorkel spoke on account of the people, and entreated the earl to spare the people from such heavy burdens, recounting their necessitous condition. the earl replies favourably, saying that he would take thorkel's advice. "i had intended to go out from the country with six ships, but now i will only take three with me; but thou must not come again, thorkel, with any such request." the bondes thanked thorkel for his assistance, and the earl set out on a viking cruise, and came back in autumn. the spring after, the earl made the same levy as usual, and held a thing with the bondes. then thorkel again made a speech, in which he entreated the earl to spare the people. the earl now was angry, and said the lot of the bondes should be made worse in consequence of his intercession; and worked himself up into such a rage, that he vowed they should not both come next spring to the thing in a whole skin. then the thing was closed. when amunde heard what the earl and thorkel had said at the thing, he told thorkel to leave the country, and he went over to caithness to earl thorfin. thorkel was afterwards a long time there, and brought up the earl in his youth, and was on that account called thorkel the fosterer; and he became a very celebrated man. 102. the agreement of the earls. there were many powerful men who fled from their udal properties in orkney on account of earl einar's violence, and the most fled over to caithness to earl thorfin: but some fled from the orkney islands to norway, and some to other countries. when earl thorfin was grown up he sent a message to his brother einar, and demanded the part of the dominion which he thought belonged to him in orkney; namely, a third of the islands. einar was nowise inclined to diminish his possessions. when thorfin found this he collected a warforce in caithness, and proceeded to the islands. as soon as earl einar heard of this he collected people, and resolved to defend his country. earl bruse also collected men, and went out to meet them, and bring about some agreement between them. an agreement was at last concluded, that thorfin should have a third part of the islands, as of right belonging to him, but that bruse and einar should lay their two parts together, and einar alone should rule over them; but if the one died before the other, the longest liver should inherit the whole. this agreement seemed reasonable, as bruse had a son called ragnvald, but einar had no son. earl thorfin set men to rule over his land in orkney, but he himself was generally in caithness. earl einar was generally on viking expeditions to ireland, scotland, and bretland. 103. eyvind urarhorn's murder. one summer (a.d. 1018) that earl einar marauded in ireland, he fought in ulfreks-fjord with the irish king konofogor, as has been related before, and suffered there a great defeat. the summer after this (a.d. 1019) eyvind urarhorn was coming from the west from ireland, intending to go to norway; but the weather was boisterous, and the current against him, so he ran into osmundwall, and lay there wind-bound for some time. when earl einar heard of this, he hastened thither with many people, took eyvind prisoner, and ordered him to be put to death, but spared the lives of most of his people. in autumn they proceeded to norway to king olaf, and told him eyvind was killed. the king said little about it, but one could see that he considered it a great and vexatious loss; for he did not usually say much if anything turned out contrary to his wishes. earl thorfin sent thorkel fosterer to the islands to gather in his scat. now, as einar gave thorkel the greatest blame for the dispute in which thorfin had made claim to the islands, thorkel came suddenly back to caithness from orkney, and told earl thorfin that he had learnt that earl einar would have murdered him if his friends and relations had not given him notice to escape. "now," says he, "it is come so far between the earl and me, that either some thing decisive between us must take place if we meet, or i must remove to such a distance that his power will not reach me." the earl encouraged thorkel much to go east to norway to king olaf. "thou wilt be highly respected," says he, "wherever thou comest among honourable men; and i know so well thy disposition and the earl's, that it will not be long before ye come to extremities." thereupon thorkel made himself ready, and proceeded in autumn to norway, and then to king olaf, with whom he stayed the whole winter (a.d. 1020), and was in high favour. the king often entered into conversation with him, and he thought, what was true, that thorkel was a high-minded man, of good understanding. in his conversations with thorkel, the king found a great difference in his description of the two earls; for thorkel was a great friend of earl thorfin, but had much to say against einar. early in spring (a.d. 1020) the king sent a ship west over the sea to earl thorfin, with the invitation to come east and visit him in norway. the earl did not decline the invitation, for it was accompanied by assurances of friendship. 104. earl einar's murder. earl thorfin went east to norway, and came to king olaf, from whom he received a kind reception, and stayed till late in the summer. when he was preparing to return westwards again, king olaf made him a present of a large and fully-rigged long-ship. thorkel the fosterer joined company with the earl, who gave him the ship which he brought with him from the west. the king and the earl took leave of each other tenderly. in autumn earl thorfin came to orkney, and when earl einar heard of it he went on board his ships with a numerous band of men. earl bruse came up to his two brothers, and endeavoured to mediate between them, and a peace was concluded and confirmed by oath. thorkel fosterer was to be in peace and friendship with earl einar; and it was agreed that each of them should give a feast to the other, and that the earl should first be thorkel's guest at sandwick. when the earl came to the feast he was entertained in the best manner; but the earl was not cheerful. there was a great room, in which there were doors at each end. the day the earl should depart thorkel was to accompany him to the other feast; and thorkel sent men before, who should examine the road they had to travel that day. the spies came back, and said to thorkel they had discovered three ambushes. "and we think," said they, "there is deceit on foot." when thorkel heard this he lengthened out his preparations for the journey, and gathered people about him. the earl told him to get ready, as it was time to be on horseback. thorkel answered, that he had many things to put in order first, and went out and in frequently. there was a fire upon the floor. at last he went in at one door, followed by an iceland man from eastfjord, called halvard, who locked the door after him. thorkel went in between the fire and the place where the earl was sitting. the earl asked, "art thou ready at last, thorkel?" thorkel answers, "now i am ready;" and struck the earl upon the head so that he fell upon the floor. then said the icelander, "i never saw people so foolish as not to drag the earl out of the fire;" and took a stick, which he set under the earl's neck, and put him upright on the bench. thorkel and his two comrades then went in all haste out of the other door opposite to that by which they went in, and thorkel's men were standing without fully armed. the earl's men now went in, and took hold of the earl. he was already dead, so nobody thought of avenging him: and also the whole was done so quickly; for nobody expected such a deed from thorkel, and all supposed that there really was, as before related, a friendship fixed between the earl and thorkel. the most who were within were unarmed, and they were partly thorkel's good friends; and to this may be added, that fate had decreed a longer life to thorkel. when thorkel came out he had not fewer men with him than the earl's troop. thorkel went to his ship, and the earl's men went their way. the same day thorkel sailed out eastwards into the sea. this happened after winter; but he came safely to norway, went as fast as he could to olaf, and was well received by him. the king expressed his satisfaction at this deed, and thorkel was with him all winter (a.d. 1091). 105. agreement between king olaf and earl bruse. after earl einar's fall bruse took the part of the country which he had possessed; for it was known to many men on what conditions einar and bruse had entered into a partnership. although thorfin thought it would be more just that each of them had half of the islands, bruse retained the two-thirds of the country that winter (a.d. 1021). in spring, however, thorfin produced his claim, and demanded the half of the country; but bruse would not consent. they held things and meetings about the business; and although their friends endeavoured to settle it, thorfin would not be content with less than the half of the islands, and insisted that bruse, with his disposition, would have enough even with a third part. bruse replies, "when i took my heritage after my father i was well satisfied with a third part of the country, and there was nobody to dispute it with me; and now i have succeeded to another third in heritage after my brother, according to a lawful agreement between us; and although i am not powerful enough to maintain a feud against thee, my brother, i will seek some other way, rather than willingly renounce my property." with this their meeting ended. but bruse saw that he had no strength to contend against thorfin, because thorfin had both a greater dominion and also could have aid from his mother's brother, the scottish king. he resolved, therefore, to go out of the country; and he went eastward to king olaf, and had with him his son ragnvald, then ten years old. when the earl came to the king he was well received. the earl now declared his errand, and told the king the circumstances of the whole dispute between him and his brother, and asked help to defend his kingdom of orkney; promising, in return, the fullest friendship towards king olaf. in his answer, the king began with showing how harald harfager had appropriated to himself all udal rights in orkney, and that the earls, since that time, have constantly held the country as a fief, not as their udal property. "as a sufficient proof of which," said he, "when eirik blood-axe and his sons were in orkney the earls were subject to them; and also when my relation olaf trygvason came there thy father, earl sigurd, became his man. now i have taken heritage after king olaf, and i will give thee the condition to become my man and then i will give thee the islands as a fief; and we shall try if i cannot give thee aid that will be more to the purpose than thorfin can get from the scottish king. if thou wilt not accept of these terms, then will i win back my udal property there in the west, as our forefathers and relations of old possessed it." the earl carefully considered this speech, laid it before his friends, and demanded their advice if he should agree to it, and enter into such terms with king olaf and become his vassal. "but i do not see what my lot will be at my departure if i say no; for the king has clearly enough declared his claim upon orkney; and from his great power, and our being in his hands, it is easy for him to make our destiny what he pleases." although the earl saw that there was much to be considered for and against it he chose the condition to deliver himself and his dominion into the king's power. thereupon the king took the earl's power, and the government over all the earl's lands, and the earl became his vassal under oath of fealty. 106. the earl's agreement to the king's terms. thorfin the earl heard that his brother bruse had gone east to king olaf to seek support from him; but as thorfin had been on a visit to king olaf before, and had concluded a friendship with him, he thought his case would stand well with the king, and that many would support it; but he believed that many more would do so if he went there himself. earl thorfin resolved, therefore, to go east himself without delay; and he thought there would be so little difference between the time of his arrival and bruse's, that bruse's errand could not be accomplished before he came to king olaf. but it went otherwise than earl thorfin had expected; for when he came to the king the agreement between the king and bruse was already concluded and settled, and earl thorfin did not know a word about bruse's having surrendered his udal domains until he came to king olaf. as soon as earl thorfin and king olaf met, the king made the same demand upon the kingdom of orkney that he had done to earl bruse, and required that thorfin should voluntarily deliver over to the king that part of the country which he had possessed hitherto. the earl answered in a friendly and respectful way, that the king's friendship lay near to his heart: "and if you think, sire, that my help against other chiefs can be of use, you have already every claim to it; but i cannot be your vessel for service, as i am an earl of the scottish king, and owe fealty to him." as the king found that the earl, by his answer, declined fulfilling the demand he had made, he said, "earl, if thou wilt not become my vassal, there is another condition; namely, that i will place over the orkney islands the man i please, and require thy oath that thou wilt make no claim upon these lands, but allow whoever i place over them to sit in peace. if thou wilt not accept of either of these conditions, he who is to rule over these lands may expect hostility from thee, and thou must not think it strange if like meet like in this business." the earl begged of the king some time to consider the matter. the king did so, and gave the earl time to take the counsel of his friends on the choosing one or other of these conditions. then the earl requested a delay until next summer, that he might go over the sea to the west, for his proper counsellors were all at home, and he himself was but a child in respect of age; but the king required that he should now make his election of one or other of the conditions. thorkel fosterer was then with the king, and he privately sent a person to earl thorfin, and told him, whatever his intentions might be, not to think of leaving olaf without being reconciled with him, as he stood entirely in olaf's power. from such hints the earl saw there was no other way than to let the king have his own will. it was no doubt a hard condition to have no hope of ever regaining his paternal heritage, and moreover to bind himself by oath to allow those to enjoy in peace his domain who had no hereditary right to it; but seeing it was uncertain how he could get away, he resolved to submit to the king and become his vassal, as bruse had done. the king observed that thorfin was more high-minded, and less disposed to suffer subjection than bruse, and therefore he trusted less to thorfin than to bruse; and he considered also that thorfin would trust to the aid of the scottish king, if he broke the agreement. the king also had discernment enough to perceive that bruse, although slow to enter into an agreement, would promise nothing but what he intended to keep; but as to thorfin when he had once made up his mind he went readily into every proposal and made no attempt to obtain any alteration of the king's first conditions: therefore the king had his suspicions that the earl would infringe the agreement. 107. earl thorfin's departure, and reconciliation with thorkel. when the king had carefully considered the whole matter by himself, he ordered the signal to sound for a general thing, to which he called in the earls. then said the king, "i will now make known to the public our agreement with the orkney earls. they have now acknowledged my right of property to orkney and shetland, and have both become my vassals, all which they have confirmed by oath; and now i will invest them with these lands as a fief: namely, bruse with one third part and thorfin with one third, as they formerly enjoyed them; but the other third which einar rangmund had, i adjudge as fallen to my domain, because he killed eyvind urarhorn, my court-man, partner, and dear friend; and that part of the land i will manage as i think proper. i have also my earls, to tell you it is my pleasure that ye enter into an agreement with thorkel amundason for the murder of your brother einar, for i will take that business, if ye agree thereto, within my own jurisdiction." the earls agreed to this, as to everything else that the king proposed. thorkel came forward, and surrendered to the king's judgment of the case, and the thing concluded. king olaf awarded as great a penalty for earl einar's murder as for three lendermen; but as einar himself was the cause of the act, one third of the mulct fell to the ground. thereafter earl thorfin asked the king's leave to depart, and as soon as he obtained it made ready for sea with all speed. it happened one day, when all was ready for the voyage, the earl sat in his ship drinking; and thorkel amundason came unexpectedly to him, laid his head upon the earl's knee, and bade him do with him what he pleased. the earl asked why he did so. "we are, you know, reconciled men, according to the king's decision; so stand up, thorkel." thorkel replied, "the agreement which the king made as between me and bruse stands good; but what regards the agreement with thee thou alone must determine. although the king made conditions for my property and safe residence in orkney, yet i know so well thy disposition that there is no going to the islands for me, unless i go there in peace with thee, earl thorfin; and therefore i am willing to promise never to return to orkney, whatever the king may desire." the earl remained silent; and first, after a long pause, he said, "if thou wilt rather, thorkel, that i shall judge between us than trust to the king's judgment, then let the beginning of our reconciliation be, that you go with me to the orkney islands, live with me, and never leave me but with my will, and be bound to defend my land, and execute all that i want done, as long as we both are in life." thorkel replies, "this shall be entirely at thy pleasure, earl, as well as everything else in my power." then thorkel went on, and solemnly ratified this agreement. the earl said he would talk afterwards about the mulct of money, but took thorkel's oath upon the conditions. thorkel immediately made ready to accompany the earl on his voyage. the earl set off as soon as all was ready, and never again were king olaf and thorfin together. 108. earl bruse's departure. earl bruse remained behind, and took his time to get ready. before his departure the king sent for him, and said, "it appears to me, earl, that in thee i have a man on the west side of the sea on whose fidelity i can depend; therefore i intend to give thee the two parts of the country which thou formerly hadst to rule over; for i will not that thou shouldst be a less powerful man after entering into my service than before: but i will secure thy fidelity by keeping thy son ragnvald with me. i see well enough that with two parts of the country and my help, thou wilt be able to defend what is thy own against thy brother thorfin." bruse was thankful for getting two thirds instead of one third of the country, and soon after he set out, and came about autumn to orkney; but ragnvald, bruse's son, remained behind in the east with king olaf. ragnvald was one of the handsomest men that could be seen,--his hair long, and yellow as silk; and he soon grew up, stout and tall, and he was a very able and superb man, both of great understanding and polite manners. he was long with king olaf. otter svarte speaks of these affairs in the poem he composed about king olaf:- "from shetland, far off in the cold north sea, come chiefs who desire to be subject to thee: no king so well known for his will, and his might, to defend his own people from scaith or unright. these isles of the west midst the ocean's wild roar, scarcely heard the voice of their sovereign before; our bravest of sovereigns before could scarce bring these islesmen so proud to acknowledge their king." 109. of the earls thorfin and bruse. the brothers thorfin and bruse came west to orkney; and bruse took the two parts of the country under his rule, and thorfin the third part. thorfin was usually in caithness and elsewhere in scotland; but placed men of his own over the islands. it was left to bruse alone to defend the islands, which at that time were severely scourged by vikings; for the northmen and danes went much on viking cruises in the west sea, and frequently touched at orkney on the way to or from the west, and plundered, and took provisions and cattle from the coast. bruse often complained of his brother thorfin, that he made no equipment of war for the defence of orkney and shetland, yet levied his share of the scat and duties. then thorfin offered to him to exchange, and that bruse should have one third and thorfin two thirds of the land, but should undertake the defence of the land, for the whole. although this exchange did not take place immediately, it is related in the saga of the earls that it was agreed upon at last; and that thorfin had two parts and bruse only one, when canute the great subdued norway and king olaf fled the country. earl thorfin sigurdson has been the ablest earl of these islands, and has had the greatest dominion of all the orkney earls; for he had under him orkney, shetland, and the hebudes, besides very great possessions in scotland and ireland. arnor, the earls' skald, tells of his possessions:- "from thurso-skerry to dublin, all people hold with good thorfin- all people love his sway, and the generous chief obey." thorfin was a very great warrior. he came to the earldom at five years of age, ruled more than sixty years, and died in his bed about the last days of harald sigurdson. but bruse died in the days of canute the great, a short time after the fall of saint olaf. 110. of harek of thjotta. having now gone through this second story, we shall return to that which we left,--at king olaf haraldson having concluded peace with king olaf the swedish king, and having the same summer gone north to throndhjem (1019). he had then been king in norway five years (a.d. 1015-1019). in harvest time he prepared to take his winter residence at nidaros, and he remained all winter there (a.d. 1020). thorkel the fosterer, amunde's son, as before related, was all that winter with him. king olaf inquired very carefully how it stood with christianity throughout the land, and learnt that it was not observed at all to the north of halogaland, and was far from being observed as it should be in naumudal, and the interior of throndhjem. there was a man by name harek, a son of eyvind skaldaspiller, who dwelt in an island called thjotta in halogaland. eyvind had not been a rich man, but was of high family and high mind. in thjotta, at first, there dwelt many small bondes; but harek began with buying a farm not very large and lived on it, and in a few years he had got all the bondes that were there before out of the way; so that he had the whole island, and built a large head-mansion. he soon became very rich; for he was a very prudent man, and very successful. he had long been greatly respected by the chiefs; and being related to the kings of norway, had been raised by them to high dignities. harek's father's mother gunhild was a daughter of earl halfdan, and ingebjorg, harald harfager's daughter. at the time the circumstance happened which we are going to relate he was somewhat advanced in years. harek was the most respected man in halogaland, and for a long time had the lapland trade, and did the king's business in lapland; sometimes alone, sometimes with others joined to him. he had not himself been to wait on king olaf, but messages had passed between them, and all was on the most friendly footing. this winter (a.d. 1020) that olaf was in nidaros, messengers passed between the king and harek of thjotta. then the king made it known that he intended going north to halogaland, and as far north as the land's end; but the people of halogaland expected no good from this expedition. 111. of the people of halogaland. olaf rigged out five ships in spring (a.d. 1020), and had with him about 300 men. when he was ready for sea he set northwards along the land; and when he came to naumudal district he summoned the bondes to a thing, and at every thing was accepted as king. he also made the laws to be read there as elsewhere, by which the people are commanded to observe christianity; and he threatened every man with loss of life, and limbs, and property who would not subject himself to christian law. he inflicted severe punishments on many men, great as well as small, and left no district until the people had consented to adopt the holy faith. the most of the men of power and of the great bondes made feasts for the king, and so he proceeded all the way north to halogaland. harek of thjotta also made a feast for the king, at which there was a great multitude of guests, and the feast was very splendid. harek was made lenderman, and got the same privileges he had enjoyed under the former chiefs of the country. 112. of asmund grankelson. there was a man called grankel, or granketil, who was a rich bonde, and at this time rather advanced in age. in his youth he had been on viking cruises, and had been a powerful fighter; for he possessed great readiness in all sorts of bodily exercises. his son asmund was equal to his father in all these, and in some, indeed, he excelled him. there were many who said that with respect to comeliness, strength, and bodily expertness, he might be considered the third remarkably distinguished for these that norway had ever produced. the first was hakon athelstan's foster-son; the second, olaf trygvason. grankel invited king olaf to a feast, which was very magnificent; and at parting grankel presented the king with many honourable gifts and tokens of friendship. the king invited asmund, with many persuasions, to follow him; and as asmund could not decline the honours offered him, he got ready to travel with the king, became his man, and stood in high favour with him. the king remained in halogaland the greater part of the summer, went to all the things, and baptized all the people. thorer hund dwelt at that time in the island bjarkey. he was the most powerful man in the north, and also became one of olaf's lendermen. many sons of great bondes resolved also to follow king olaf from halogaland. towards the end of summer king olaf left the north, and sailed back to throndhjem, and landed at nidaros, where he passed the winter (a.d. 1021). it was then that thorkel the fosterer came from the west from orkney, after killing einar rangmumd, as before related. this autumn corn was dear in throndhjem, after a long course of good seasons, and the farther north the dearer was the corn; but there was corn enough in the east country, and in the uplands, and it was of great help to the people of throndhjem that many had old corn remaining beside them. 113. of the sacrifices of the throndhjem people. in autumn the news was brought to king olaf that the bondes had had a great feast on the first winter-day's eve, at which there was a numerous attendance and much drinking; and it was told the king that all the remembrance-cups to the asas, or old gods, were blessed according to the old heathen forms; and it was added, that cattle and horses had been slain, and the altars sprinkled with their blood, and the sacrifices accompanied with the prayer that was made to obtain good seasons. it was also reported that all men saw clearly that the gods were offended at the halogaland people turning christian. now when the king heard this news he sent men into the throndhjem country, and ordered several bondes, whose names he gave, to appear before him. there was a man called olver of eggja, so called after his farm on which he lived. he was powerful, of great family, and the head-man of those who on account of the bondes appeared before the king. now, when they came to the king, he told them these accusations; to which olver, on behalf of the bondes, replied, that they had had no other feasts that harvest than their usual entertainments, and social meetings, and friendly drinking parties. "but as to what may have been told you of the words which may have fallen from us throndhjem people in our drinking parties, men of understanding would take good care not to use such language; but i cannot hinder drunken or foolish people's talk." olver was a man of clever speech, and bold in what he said, and defended the bondes against such accusations. in the end, the king said the people of the interior of thorndhjem must themselves give the best testimony to their being in the right faith. the bondes got leave to return home, and set off as soon as they were ready. 114. of the sacrifices by the people of the interior of the throndhjem district. afterwards, when winter was advanced, it was told the king that the people of the interior of throndhjem had assembled in great number at maerin, and that there was a great sacrifice in the middle of winter, at which they sacrificed offerings for peace and a good season. now when the king knew this on good authority to be true, he sent men and messages into the interior, and summoned the bondes whom he thought of most understanding into the town. the bondes held a council among themselves about this message; and all those who had been upon the same occasion in the beginning of winter were now very unwilling to make the journey. olver, however, at the desire of all the bondes, allowed himself to be persuaded. when he came to the town he went immediately before the king, and they talked together. the king made the same accusation against the bondes, that they had held a mid-winter sacrifice. olver replies, that this accusation against the bondes was false. "we had," said he, "yule feasts and drinking feasts wide around in the districts; and the bondes do not prepare their feasts so sparingly, sire, that there is not much left over, which people consume long afterwards. at maerin there is a great farm, with a large house on it, and a great neighbourhood all around it, and it is the great delight of the people to drink many together in company." the king said little in reply, but looked angry, as he thought he knew the truth of the matter better than it was now represented. he ordered the bondes to return home. "i shall some time or other," said he, "come to the truth of what you are now concealing, and in such a way that ye shall not be able to contradict it. but, however, that may be, do not try such things again." the bondes returned home, and told the result of their journey, and that the king was altogether enraged. 115. murder of olver of eggja. at easter (a.d. 1021) the king held a feast, to which he had invited many of the townspeople as well as bondes. after easter he ordered his ships to be launched into the water, oars and tackle to be put on board, decks to be laid in the ships, and tilts (1) and rigging to be set up, and to be laid ready for sea at the piers. immediately after easter he sent men into veradal. there was a man called thoralde, who was the king's bailiff, and who managed the king's farm there at haug; and to him the king sent a message to come to him as quickly as possible. thoralde did not decline the journey, but went immediately to the town with the messenger. the king called him in and in a private conversation asked him what truth there was in what had been told him of the principles and living of the people of the interior of throndhjem, and if it really was so that they practised sacrifices to heathen gods. "i will," says the king, "that thou declare to me the things as they are, and as thou knowest to be true; for it is thy duty to tell me the truth, as thou art my man." thoralde replies, "sire, i will first tell you that i have brought here to the town my two children, my wife, and all my loose property that i could take with me, and if thou desirest to know the truth it shall be told according to thy command; but if i declare it, thou must take care of me and mine." the king replies, "say only what is true on what i ask thee, and i will take care that no evil befall thee." then said thoralde, "if i must say the truth, king, as it is, i must declare that in the interior of the throndhjem land almost all the people are heathen in faith, although some of them are baptized. it is their custom to offer sacrifice in autumn for a good winter, a second at mid-winter, and a third in summer. in this the people of eyna, sparby, veradal, and skaun partake. there are twelve men who preside over these sacrifice-feasts; and in spring it is olver who has to get the feast in order, and he is now busy transporting to maerin everything needful for it." now when the king had got to the truth with a certainty, he ordered the signal to be sounded for his men to assemble, and for the men-at-arms to go on board ship. he appointed men to steer the ships, and leaders for the people, and ordered how the people should be divided among the vessels. all was got ready in haste, and with five ships and 300 men he steered up the fjord. the wind was favourable, the ships sailed briskly before it, and nobody could have thought that the king would be so soon there. the king came in the night time to maerin, and immediately surrounded the house with a ring of armed men. olver was taken, and the king ordered him to be put to death, and many other men besides. then the king took all the provision for the feast, and had it brought to his ships; and also all the goods, both furniture, clothes, and valuables, which the people had brought there, and divided the booty among his men. the king also let all the bondes he thought had the greatest part in the business be plundered by his men-at-arms. some were taken prisoners and laid in irons, some ran away, and many were robbed of their goods. thereafter the bondes were summoned to a thing; but because he had taken many powerful men prisoners, and held them in his power, their friends and relations resolved to promise obedience to the king, so that there was no insurrection against the king on this occasion. he thus brought the whole people back to the right faith, gave them teachers, and built and consecrated churches. the king let olver lie without fine paid for his bloodshed, and all that he possessed was adjudged to the king; and of the men he judged the most guilty, some he ordered to be executed, some he maimed, some he drove out of the country, and took fines from others. the king then returned to nidaros. endnotes: (1) the ships appear to have been decked fore and aft only; and in the middle, where the rowers sat, to have had tilts or tents set up at night to sleep under.--l. 116. of the sons of arne. there was a man called arne arnmodson, who was married to thora, thorstein galge's daughter. their children were kalf, fin, thorberg, amunde, kolbjorn, arnbjorn, and arne. their daughter, who was called ragnhild, was married to harek of thjotta. arne was a lenderman, powerful, and of ability, and a great friend of king olaf. at that time his sons kalf and fin were with the king, and in great favour. the wife whom olver of eggja had left was young and handsome, of great family, and rich, so that he who got her might be considered to have made an excellent marriage; and her land was in the gift of the king. she and olver had two sons, who were still in infancy. kalf arneson begged of the king that he would give him to wife the widow of olver; and out of friendship the king agreed to it, and with her he got all the property olver had possessed. the king at the same time made him his lenderman, and gave him an office in the interior of the throndhjem country. kalf became a great chief, and was a man of very great understanding. 117. king olaf's journey to the uplands. when king olaf had been seven years (a.d. 1015-1021) in norway the earls thorfin and bruse came to him, as before related, in the summer, from orkney, and he became master of their land. the same summer olaf went to north and south more, and in autumn to raumsdal. he left his ships there, and came to the uplands, and to lesjar. here he laid hold of all the best men, and forced them, both at lesjar and dovre, either to receive christianity or suffer death, if they were not so lucky as to escape. after they received christianity, the king took their sons in his hands as hostages for their fidelity. the king stayed several nights at a farm in lesjar called boar, where he placed priests. then he proceeded over orkadal and lorodal, and came down from the uplands at a place called stafabrekka. there a river runs along the valley, called the otta, and a beautiful hamlet, by name loar, lies on both sides of the river, and the king could see far down over the whole neighbourhood. "a pity it is," said the king, "so beautiful a hamlet should be burnt." and he proceeded down the valley with his people, and was all night on a farm called nes. the king took his lodging in a loft, where he slept himself; and it stands to the present day, without anything in it having been altered since. the king was five days there, and summoned by message-token the people to a thing, both for the districts of vagar, lear, and hedal; and gave out the message along with the token, that they must either receive christianity and give their sons as hostages, or see their habitations burnt. they came before the king, and submitted to his pleasure; but some fled south down the valley. 118. the story of dale-gudbrand. there was a man called dale-gudbrand, who was like a king in the valley (gudbrandsdal), but was only herse in title. sigvat the skald compared him for wealth and landed property to erling skjalgson. sigvat sang thus concerning erling:- "i know but one who can compare with erling for broad lands and gear- gudbrand is he, whose wide domains are most like where some small king reigns. these two great bondes, i would say, equal each other every way. he lies who says that he can find one by the other left behind." gudbrand had a son, who is here spoken of. now when gudbrand received the tidings that king olaf was come to lear, and obliged people to accept christianity, he sent out a message-token, and summoned all the men in the valley to meet him at a farm called hundthorp. all came, so that the number could not be told; for there is a lake in the neighbourhood called laugen, so that people could come to the place both by land and by water. there gudbrand held a thing with them, and said, "a man is come to loar who is called olaf, and will force upon us another faith than what we had before, and will break in pieces all our gods. he says that he has a much greater and more powerful god; and it is wonderful that the earth does not burst asunder under him, or that our god lets him go about unpunished when he dares to talk such things. i know this for certain, that if we carry thor, who has always stood by us, out of our temple that is standing upon this farm, olaf's god will melt away, and he and his men be made nothing so soon as thor looks upon them." then the bondes all shouted as one person that olaf should never get away with life if he came to them; and they thought he would never dare to come farther south through the valley. they chose out 700 men to go northwards to breida, to watch his movements. the leader of this band was gudbrand's son, eighteen years of age, and with him were many other men of importance. when they came to a farm called hof they heard of the king; and they remained three nights there. people streamed to them from all parts, from lesjar, loar, and vagar, who did not wish to receive christianity. the king and bishop sigurd fixed teachers in loaf and in vagar. from thence they went round vagarost, and came down into the valley at sil, where they stayed all night, and heard the news that a great force of men were assembled against them. the bondes who were in breida heard also of the king's arrival, and prepared for battle. as soon as the king arose in the morning he put on his armour, and went southwards over the sil plains, and did not halt until he came to breida, where he saw a great army ready for battle. then the king drew up his troops, rode himself at the head of them, and began a speech to the bondes, in which he invited them to adopt christianity. they replied, "we shall give thee something else to do to-day than to be mocking us;" and raised a general shout, striking also upon their shields with their weapons. then the king's men ran forward and threw their spears; but the bondes turned round instantly and fled, so that only few men remained behind. gudbrand's son was taken prisoner; but the king gave him his life, and took him with him. the king was four days here. then the king said to gudbrand's son, "go home now to thy father, and tell him i expect to be with him soon." he went accordingly, and told his father the news, that they had fallen in with the king, and fought with him; but that their whole army, in the very beginning, took flight. "i was taken prisoner," said he, "but the king gave me my life and liberty, and told me to say to thee that he will soon be here. and now we have not 200 men of the force we raised against him; therefore i advise thee, father, not to give battle to that man." says gudbrand, "it is easy to see that all courage has left thee, and it was an unlucky hour ye went out to the field. thy proceeding will live long in the remembrance of people, and i see that thy fastening thy faith on the folly that man is going about with has brought upon thee and thy men so great a disgrace." but the night after, gudbrand dreamt that there came to him a man surrounded by light, who brought great terror with him, and said to him, "thy son made no glorious expedition against king olaf; but still less honour wilt thou gather for thyself by holding a battle with him. thou with all thy people wilt fall; wolves will drag thee, and all thine, away; ravens wilt tear thee in stripes." at this dreadful vision he was much afraid, and tells it to thord istermage, who was chief over the valley. he replies, "the very same vision came to me." in the morning they ordered the signal to sound for a thing, and said that it appeared to them advisable to hold a thing with the man who had come from the north with this new teaching, to know if there was any truth in it. gudbrand then said to his son, "go thou, and twelve men with thee, to the king who gave thee thy life." he went straightway, and found the king, and laid before him their errand; namely, that the bondes would hold a thing with him, and make a truce between them and him. the king was content; and they bound themselves by faith and law mutually to hold the peace so long as the thing lasted. after this was settled the men returned to gudbrand and thord, and told them there was made a firm agreement for a truce. the king, after the battle with the son of gudbrand, had proceeded to lidstad, and remained there for five days: afterwards he went out to meet the bondes, and hold a thing with them. on that day there fell a heavy rain. when the thing was seated, the king stood up and said that the people in lesjar, loaf, and vagar had received christianity, broken down their houses of sacrifice, and believed now in the true god who had made heaven and earth and knows all things. thereupon the king sat down, and gudbrand replies, "we know nothing of him whom thou speakest about. dost thou call him god, whom neither thou nor any one else can see? but we have a god who call be seen every day, although he is not out to-day, because the weather is wet, and he will appear to thee terrible and very grand; and i expect that fear will mix with your very blood when he comes into the thing. but since thou sayest thy god is so great, let him make it so that to-morrow we have a cloudy day but without rain, and then let us meet again." the king accordingly returned home to his lodging, taking gudbrand's son as a hostage; but he gave them a man as hostage in exchange. in the evening the king asked gudbrand's son what like their god was. he replied, that he bore the likeness of thor; had a hammer in his hand; was of great size, but hollow within; and had a high stand, upon which he stood when he was out. "neither gold nor silver are wanting about him, and every day he receives four cakes of bread, besides meat." they then went to bed, but the king watched all night in prayer. when day dawned the king went to mass, then to table, and from thence to the thing. the weather was such as gudbrand desired. now the bishop stood up in his choir-robes, with bishop's coif upon his head, and bishop's staff in his hands. he spoke to the bondes of the true faith, told the many wonderful acts of god, and concluded his speech well. thord istermage replies, "many things we are told of by this horned man with the staff in his hand crooked at the top like a ram's horn; but since ye say, comrades, that your god is so powerful, and can do so many wonders, tell him to make it clear sunshine to-morrow forenoon, and then we shall meet here again, and do one of two things,--either agree with you about this business, or fight you." and they separated for the day. 119. dale-gudbrand is baptized. there was a man with king olaf called kolbein sterke (the strong), who came from a family in the fjord district. usually he was so equipped that he was girt with a sword, and besides carried a great stake, otherwise called a club, in his hands. the king told kolbein to stand nearest to him in the morning; and gave orders to his people to go down in the night to where the ships of the bondes lay and bore holes in them, and to set loose their horses on the farms where they were; all which was done. now the king was in prayer all the night, beseeching god of his goodness and mercy to release him from evil. when mass was ended, and morning was grey, the king went to the thing. when he came there some bondes had already arrived, and they saw a great crowd coming along, and bearing among them a huge man's image glancing with gold and silver. when the bondes who were at the thing saw it they started up, and bowed themselves down before the ugly idol. thereupon it was set down upon the thing-field; and on the one side of it sat the bondes, and on the other the king and his people. then dale-gudbrand stood up, and said, "where now, king, is thy god? i think he will now carry his head lower; and neither thou, nor the man with the horn whom ye call bishop, and sits there beside thee, are so bold to-day as on the former days; for now our god, who rules over all, is come, and looks on you with an angry eye; and now i see well enough that ye are terrified, and scarcely dare to raise your eyes. throw away now all your opposition, and believe in the god who has all your fate in his hands." the king now whispers to kolbein sterke, without the bondes perceiving it, "if it come so in the course of my speech that the bondes look another way than towards their idol, strike him as hard as thou canst with thy club." the king then stood up and spoke. "much hast thou talked to us this morning, and greatly hast thou wondered that thou canst not see our god; but we expect that he will soon come to us. thou wouldst frighten us with thy god, who is both blind and deaf, and can neither save himself nor others, and cannot even move about without being carried; but now i expect it will be but a short time before he meets his fate: for turn your eyes towards the east,--behold our god advancing in great light." the sun was rising, and all turned to look. at that moment kolbein gave their god a stroke, so that the idol burst asunder; and there ran out of it mice as big almost as cats, and reptiles, and adders. the bondes were so terrified that some fled to their ships; but when they sprang out upon them they filled with water, and could not get away. others ran to their horses, but could not find them. the king then ordered the bondes to be called together, saying he wanted to speak with them; on which the bondes came back, and the thing was again seated. the king rose up and said, "i do not understand what your noise and running mean. ye see yourselves what your god can do,--the idol ye adorned with gold and silver, and brought meat and provisions to. ye see now that the protecting powers who used it were the mice and adders, reptiles and paddocks; and they do ill who trust to such, and will not abandon this folly. take now your gold and ornaments that are lying strewed about on the grass, and give them to your wives and daughters; but never hang them hereafter upon stock or stone. here are now two conditions between us to choose upon,--either accept christianity, or fight this very day; and the victory be to them to whom the god we worship gives it." then dale-gudbrand stood up and said, "we have sustained great damage upon our god; but since he will not help us, we will believe in the god thou believest in." then all received christianity. the bishop baptized gudbrand and his son. king olaf and bishop sigurd left behind them teachers, and they who met as enemies parted as friends; and gudbrand built a church in the valley. 120. hedemark baptized. king olaf proceeded from thence to hedemark, and baptized there; but as he had formerly carried away their kings as prisoners, he did not venture himself, after such a deed, to go far into the country with few people at that time, but a small part of hedemark was baptized; but the king did not desist from his expedition before he had introduced christianity over all hedemark, consecrated churches, and placed teachers. he then went to hadaland and thoten, improving the customs of the people, and persisting until all the country was baptized. he then went to ringerike, where also all people went over to christianity. the people of raumarike then heard that olaf intended coming to them, and they gathered a great force. they said among themselves that the journey olaf had made among them the last time was not to be forgotten, and he should never proceed so again. the king, notwithstanding, prepared for the journey. now when the king went up into raumarike with his forces, the multitude of bondes came against him at a river called nitja; and the bondes had a strong army, and began the battle as soon as they met; but they soon fell short, and took to flight. they were forced by this battle into a better disposition, and immediately received christianity; and the king scoured the whole district, and did not leave it until all the people were made christians. he then went east to soleys, and baptized that neighbourhood. the skald ottar black came to him there, and begged to be received among his men. olaf the swedish king had died the winter before (a.d. 1021), and onund, the son of olaf, was now the sole king over all sweden. king olaf returned, when the winter (a.d. 1022) was far advanced, to raumarike. there he assembled a numerous thing, at a place where the eidsvold things have since been held. he made a law, that the upland people should resort to this thing, and that eidsvold laws should be good through all the districts of the uplands, and wide around in other quarters, which also has taken place. as spring was advancing, he rigged his ships, and went by sea to tunsberg. he remained there during the spring, and the time the town was most frequented, and goods from other countries were brought to the town for sale. there had been a good year in viken, and tolerable as far north as stad; but it was a very dear time in all the country north of there. 121. reconciliation of the king and einar. in spring (a.d. 1022) king olaf sent a message west to agder, and north all the way to hordaland and rogaland, prohibiting the exporting or selling of corn, malt, or meal; adding, that he, as usual, would come there with his people in guest-quarters. the message went round all the districts; but the king remained in viken all summer, and went east to the boundary of the country. einar tambaskelfer had been with the swedish king olaf since the death of his relation earl svein, and had, as the khag's man, received great fiefs from him. now that the king was dead, einar had a great desire to come into friendship agreement with olaf; and the same spring messages passed between them about it. while the king was lying in the gaut river, einar tambaskelfer came there with some men; and after treating about an agreement, it was settled that einar should go north to throndhjem, and there take possession of all the lands and property which bergliot had received in dower. thereupon einar took his way north; but the king remained behind in viken, and remained long in sarpsborg in autumn (a.d. 1022), and during the first part of winter. 122. reconciliation of the king and erling. erling skjalgson held his dominion so, that all north from sogn lake, and east to the naze, the bondes stood under him; and although he had much smaller royal fiefs than formerly, still so great a dread of him prevailed that nobody dared to do anything against his will, so that the king thought his power too great. there was a man called aslak fitiaskalle, who was powerful and of high birth. erling's father skjalg, and aslak's father askel, were brother's sons. aslak was a great friend of king olaf, and the king settled him in south hordaland, where he gave him a great fief, and great income, and ordered him in no respect to give way to erling. but this came to nothing when the king was not in the neighbourhood; for then erling would reign as he used to do, and was not more humble because aslak would thrust himself forward as his equal. at last the strife went so far that aslak could not keep his place, but hastened to king olaf, and told him the circumstances between him and erling. the king told aslak to remain with him until he should meet erling; and sent a message to erling that he should come to him in spring at tunsberg. when they all arrived there they held a meeting at which the king said to him, "it is told me concerning thy government, erling, that no man from sogn lake to the naze can enjoy his freedom for thee; although there are many men there who consider themselves born to udal rights, and have their privileges like others born as they are. now, here is your relation aslak, who appears to have suffered great inconvenience from your conduct; and i do not know whether he himself is in fault, or whether he suffers because i have placed him to defend what is mine; and although i name him, there are many others who have brought the same complaint before us, both among those who are placed in office in our districts, and among the bailiffs who have our farms to manage, and are obliged to entertain me and my people." erling replies to this, "i will answer at once. i deny altogether that i have ever injured aslak, or any one else, for being in your service; but this i will not deny, that it is now, as it has long been, that each of us relations will willingly be greater than the other: and, moreover, i freely acknowledge that i am ready to bow my neck to thee, king olaf; but it is more difficult for me to stoop before one who is of slave descent in all his generation, although he is now your bailiff, or before others who are but equal to him in descent, although you bestow honours on them." now the friends of both interfered, and entreated that they would be reconciled; saying, that the king never could have such powerful aid as from erling, "if he was your friend entirely." on the other hand, they represent to erling that he should give up to the king; for if he was in friendship with the king, it would be easy to do with all the others what he pleased. the meeting accordingly ended so that erling should retain the fiefs he formerly had, and every complaint the king had against erling should be dropped; but skjalg, erling's son, should come to the king, and remain in his power. then aslak returned to his dominions, and the two were in some sort reconciled. erling returned home also to his domains, and followed his own way of ruling them. 123. here begins the story of asbjorn selsbane. there was a man named sigurd thoreson, a brother of thorer hund of bjarkey island. sigurd was married to sigrid skjalg's daughter, a sister of erling. their son, called asbjorn, became as he grew up a very able man. sigurd dwelt at omd in thrandarnes, and was a very rich and respected man. he had not gone into the king's service; and thorer in so far had attained higher dignity than his brother, that he was the king's lenderman. but at home, on his farm, sigurd stood in no respect behind his brother in splendour and magnificence. as long as heathenism prevailed, sigurd usually had three sacrifices every year: one on winter-night's eve, one on mid-winter's eve, and the third in summer. although he had adopted christianity, he continued the same custom with his feasts: he had, namely, a great friendly entertainment at harvest time; a yule feast in winter, to which he invited many; the third feast he had about easter, to which also he invited many guests. he continued this fashion as long as he lived. sigurd died on a bed of sickness when asbjorn was eighteen years old. he was the only heir of his father, and he followed his father's custom of holding three festivals every year. soon after asbjorn came to his heritage the course of seasons began to grow worse, and the corn harvests of the people to fail; but asbjorn held his usual feasts, and helped himself by having old corn, and an old provision laid up of all that was useful. but when one year had passed and another came, and the crops were no better than the year before, sigrid wished that some if not all of the feasts should be given up. that asbjorn would not consent to, but went round in harvest among his friends, buying corn where he could get it, and some he received in presents. he thus kept his feasts this winter also; but the spring after people got but little seed into the ground, for they had to buy the seed-corn. then sigurd spoke of diminishing the number of their house-servants. that asbjorn would not consent to, but held by the old fashion of the house in all things. in summer (a.d. 1022) it appeared again that there would be a bad year for corn; and to this came the report from the south that king olaf prohibited all export of corn, malt, or meal from the southern to the northern parts of the country. then asbjorn perceived that it would be difficult to procure what was necessary for a house-keeping, and resolved to put into the water a vessel for carrying goods which he had, and which was large enough to go to sea with. the ship was good, all that belonged to her was of the best, and in the sails were stripes of cloth of various colours. asbjorn made himself ready for a voyage, and put to sea with twenty men. they sailed from the north in summer; and nothing is told of their voyage until one day, about the time the days begin to shorten, they came to karmtsund, and landed at augvaldsnes. up in the island karmt there is a large farm, not far from the sea, and a large house upon it called augvaldsnes, which was a king's house, with an excellent farm, which thorer sel, who was the king's bailiff, had under his management. thorer was a man of low birth, but had swung himself up in the world as an active man; and he was polite in speech, showy in clothes, and fond of distinction, and not apt to give way to others, in which he was supported by the favour of the king. he was besides quick in speech, straightforward, and free in conversation. asbjorn, with his company, brought up there for the night; and in the morning, when it was light, thorer went down to the vessel with some men, and inquired who commanded the splendid ship. asbjorn named his own and his father's name. thorer asks where the voyage was intended for, and what was the errand. asbjorn replies, that he wanted to buy corn and malt; saying, as was true, that it was a very dear time north in the country. "but we are told that here the seasons are good; and wilt thou, farmer, sell us corn? i see that here are great corn stacks, and it would be very convenient if we had not to travel farther." thorer replies, "i will give thee the information that thou needst not go farther to buy corn, or travel about here in rogaland; for i can tell thee that thou must turn about, and not travel farther, for the king forbids carrying corn out of this to the north of the country. sail back again, halogalander, for that will be thy safest course." asbjorn replies, "if it be so, bonde, as thou sayest, that we can get no corn here to buy, i will, notwithstanding, go forward upon my errand, and visit my family in sole, and see my relation erling's habitation." thorer: "how near is thy relationship to erling?" asbjorn: "my mother is his sister." thorer: "it may be that i have spoken heedlessly, if so be that thou art sister's son of erling." thereupon asbjorn and his crew struck their tents, and turned the ship to sea. thorer called after them. "a good voyage, and come here again on your way back." asbjorn promised to do so, sailed away, and came in the evening to jadar. asbjorn went on shore with ten men; the other ten men watched the ship. when asbjorn came to the house he was very well received, and erling was very glad to see him, placed him beside himself, and asked him all the news in the north of the country. asbjorn concealed nothing of his business from him; and erling said it happened unfortunately that the king had just forbid the sale of corn. "and i know no man here." says he, "who has courage to break the king's order, and i find it difficult to keep well with the king, so many are trying to break our friendship." asbjorn replies, "it is late before we learn the truth. in my childhood i was taught that my mother was freeborn throughout her whole descent, and that erling of sole was her boldest relation; and now i hear thee say that thou hast not the freedom, for the king's slaves here in jadar, to do with thy own corn what thou pleasest." erling looked at him, smiled through his teeth, and said, "ye halogalanders know less of the king's power than we do here; but a bold man thou mayst be at home in thy conversation. let us now drink, my friend, and we shall see tomorrow what can be done in thy business." they did so, and were very merry all the evening. the following day erling and asbjorn talked over the matter again, and erling said. "i have found out a way for you to purchase corn, asbjorn. it is the same thing to you whoever is the seller." he answered that he did not care of whom he bought the corn, if he got a good right to his purchase. erling said. "it appears to me probable that my slaves have quite as much corn as you require to buy; and they are not subject to law, or land regulation, like other men." asbjorn agreed to the proposal. the slaves were now spoken to about the purchase, and they brought forward corn and malt, which they sold to asbjorn, so that he loaded his vessel with what he wanted. when he was ready for sea erling followed him on the road, made him presents of friendship, and they took a kind farewell of each other. asbjorn got a good breeze, landed in the evening at karmtsund, near to augvaldsnes, and remained there for the night. thorer sel had heard of asbjorn's voyage, and also that his vessel was deeply laden. thorer summoned people to him in the night, so that before daylight he had sixty men; and with these he went against asbjorn as soon as it was light, and went out to the ship just as asbjorn and his men were putting on their clothes. asbjorn saluted thorer, and thorer asked what kind of goods asbjorn had in the vessel. he replied, "corn and malt." thorer said, "then erling is doing as he usually does, and despising the king's orders, and is unwearied in opposing him in all things, insomuch that it is wonderful the king suffers it." thorer went on scolding in this way, and when he was silent asbjorn said that erling's slaves had owned the corn. thorer replied hastily, that he did not regard erling's tricks. "and now, asbjorn, there is no help for it; ye must either go on shore, or we will throw you overboard; for we will not be troubled with you while we are discharging the cargo." asbjorn saw that he had not men enough to resist thorer; therefore he and his people landed, and thorer took the whole cargo out of the vessel. when the vessel was discharged thorer went through the ship, and observed. "ye halogalanders have good sails: take the old sail of our vessel and give it them; it is good enough for those who are sailing in a light vessel." thus the sails were exchanged. when this was done asbjorn and his comrades sailed away north along the coast, and did not stop until they reached home early in whiter. this expedition was talked of far and wide, and asbjorn had no trouble that winter in making feasts at home. thorer hund invited asbjorn and his mother, and also all whom they pleased to take along with him, to a yule feast; but asbjorn sat at home, and would not travel, and it was to be seen that thorer thought asbjorn despised his invitation, since he would not come. thorer scoffed much at asbjorn's voyage. "now," said he, "it is evident that asbjorn makes a great difference in his respect towards his relations; for in summer he took the greatest trouble to visit his relation erling in jadar, and now will not take the trouble to come to me in the next house. i don't know if he thinks there may be a thorer sel in his way upon every holm." such words, and the like sarcasms, asbjorn heard of; and very ill satisfied he was with his voyage, which had thus made him a laughing-stock to the country, and he remained at home all winter, and went to no feasts. 124. murder of thorer sel. asbjorn had a long-ship standing in the noust (shipshed), and it was a snekke (cutter) of twenty benches; and after candlemas (february 2, 1023), he had the vessel put in the water, brought out all his furniture, and rigged her out. he then summoned to him his friends and people, so that he had nearly ninety men all well armed. when he was ready for sea, and got a wind, he sailed south along the coast, but as the wind did not suit, they advanced but slowly. when they came farther south they steered outside the rocks, without the usual ships' channel, keeping to sea as much as it was possible to do so. nothing is related of his voyage before the fifth day of easter (april 18, 1023), when, about evening, they came on the outside of karmt island. this island is so shaped that it is very long, but not broad at its widest part; and without it lies the usual ships' channel. it is thickly inhabited; but where the island is exposed to the ocean great tracts of it are uncultivated. asbjorn and his men landed at a place in the island that was uninhabited. after they had set up their ship-tents asbjorn said, "now ye must remain here and wait for me. i will go on land in the isle, and spy what news there may be which we know nothing of." asbjorn had on mean clothes, a broadbrimmed hat, a fork in his hand, but had girt on his sword under his clothes. he went up to the land, and in through the island; and when he came upon a hillock, from which he could see the house on augvaldsnes, and on as far as karmtsund, he saw people in all quarters flocking together by land and by sea, and all going up to the house of augvaldsnes. this seemed to him extraordinary; and therefore he went up quietly to a house close by, in which servants were cooking meat. from their conversation he discovered immediately that the king olaf had come there to a feast, and that he had just sat down to table. asbjorn turned then to the feasting-room, and when he came into the ante-room one was going in and another coming out; but nobody took notice of him. the hall-door was open, and he saw that thorer sel stood before the table of the high-seat. it was getting late in the evening, and asbjorn heard people ask thorer what had taken place between him and asbjorn; and thorer had a long story about it, in which he evidently departed from the truth. among other things he heard a man say, "how did asbjorn behave when you discharged his vessel?" thorer replied, "when we were taking out the cargo he bore it tolerably, but not well; and when we took the sail from him he wept." when asbjorn heard this he suddenly drew his sword, rushed into the hall, and cut at thorer. the stroke took him in the neck, so that the head fell upon the table before the king, and the body at his feet, and the table-cloth was soiled with blood from top to bottom. the king ordered him to be seized and taken out. this was done. they laid hands on asbjorn, and took him from the hall. the table-furniture and table-cloths were removed, and also thorer's corpse, and all the blood wiped up. the king was enraged to the highest; but remained quiet in speech, as he always was when in anger. 125. of skjalg, the son of erling skjalgson. skjalg erlingson stood up, went before the king, and said, "now may it go, as it often does, that every case will admit of alleviation. i will pay thee the mulct for the bloodshed on account of this man, so that he may retain life and limbs. all the rest determine and do, king, according to thy pleasure." the king replies, "is it not a matter of death, skjalg, that a man break the easter peace; and in the next place that he kills a man in the king's lodging; and in the third that he makes my feet his execution-block, although that may appear a small matter to thee and thy father?" skjalg replies, "it is ill done, king, in as far as it displeases thee; but the deed is, otherwise, done excellently well. but if the deed appear to thee so important, and be so contrary to thy will, yet may i expect something for my services from thee; and certainly there are many who will say that thou didst well." the king replies, "although thou hast made me greatly indebted to thee, skjalg, for thy services, yet i will not for thy sake break the law, or cast away my own dignity." then skjalg turned round, and went out of the hall. twelve men who had come with skjalg all followed him, and many others went out with him. skjalg said to thorarin nefiulfson, "if thou wilt have me for a friend, take care that this man be not killed before sunday." thereupon skjalg and his men set off, took a rowing boat which he had, and rowed south as fast as they could, and came to jadar with the first glimpse of morning. they went up instantly to the house, and to the loft in which erling slept. skjalg rushed so hard against the door that it burst asunder at the nails. erling and the others who were within started up. he was in one spring upon his legs, grasped his shield and sword, and rushed to the door, demanding who was there. skjalg named himself, and begs him to open the door. erling replies, "it was most likely to be thee who hast behaved so foolishly; or is there any one who is pursuing thee?" thereupon the door was unlocked. then said skjalg, "although it appears to thee that i am so hasty, i suppose our relation asbjorn will not think my proceedings too quick; for he sits in chains there in the north at augvaldsnes, and it would be but manly to hasten back and stand by him." the father and son then had a conversation together, and skjalg related the whole circumstances of thorer sel's murder. 126. of thorarin nefiulfson. king olaf took his seat again when everything in the hall was put in order, and was enraged beyond measure. he asked how it was with the murderer. he was answered, that he was sitting out upon the doorstep under guard. the king says, "why is he not put to death?" thorarin nefiulfson replies, "sire, would you not call it murder to kill a man in the night-time?" the king answers, "put him in irons then, and kill him in the morning." then asbjorn was laid in chains, and locked up in a house for the night. the day after the king heard the morning mass, and then went to the thing, where he sat till high mass. as he was going to mass he said to thorarin, "is not the sun high enough now in the heavens that your friend asbjorn may be hanged?" thorarin bowed before the king, and said, "sire, it was said by bishop sigurd on friday last, that the king who has all things in his power had to endure great temptation of spirit; and blessed is he who rather imitates him, than those who condemned the man to death, or those who caused his slaughter. it is not long till tomorrow, and that is a working day." the king looked at him, and said, "thou must take care then that he is not put to death to-day; but take him under thy charge, and know for certain that thy own life shall answer for it if he escape in any way." then the king went away. thorarin went also to where asbjorn lay in irons, took off his chains, and brought him to a small room, where he had meat and drink set before him, and told him what the king had determined in case asbjorn ran away. asbjorn replies, that thorarin need not be afraid of him. thorarin sat a long while with him during the day, and slept there all night. on saturday the king arose and went to the early mass, and from thence he went to the thing, where a great many bondes were assembled, who had many complaints to be determined. the king sat there long in the day, and it was late before the people went to high mass. thereafter the king went to table. when he had got meat he sat drinking for a while, so that the tables were not removed. thorarin went out to the priest who had the church under his care, and gave him two marks of silver to ring in the sabbath as soon as the king's table was taken away. when the king had drunk as much as he wished the tables were removed. then said the king, that it was now time for the slaves to go to the murderer and put him to death. in the same moment the bell rang in the sabbath. then thorarin went before the king, and said, "the sabbath-peace this man must have, although he has done evil." the king said, "do thou take care, thorarin, that he do not escape." the king then went to the church, and attended the vesper service, and thorarin sat the whole day with asbjorn. on sunday the bishop visited asbjorn, confessed him, and gave him orders to hear high mass. thorarin then went to the king, and asked him to appoint men to guard the murderer. "i will now," he said, "be free of this charge." the king thanked him for his care, and ordered men to watch over asbjorn, who was again laid in chains. when the people went to high mass asbjorn was led to the church, and he stood outside of the church with his guard; but the king and all the people stood in the church at mass. 127. erling's reconciliation with king olaf. now we must again take up our story where we left it,--that erling and his son skjalg held a council on this affair, and according to the resolution of erling, and of skjalg and his other sons, it was determined to assemble a force and send out message-tokens. a great multitude of people accordingly came together. they got ready with all speed, rigged their ships, and when they reckoned upon their force they found they had nearly 1500 men. with this war-force they set off, and came on sunday to augvaldsnes on karmt island. they went straight up to the house with all the men, and arrived just as the scripture lesson was read. they went directly to the church, took asbjorn, and broke off his chains. at the tumult and clash of arms all who were outside of the church ran into it; but they who were in the church looked all towards them, except the king, who stood still, without looking around him. erling and his sons drew up their men on each side of the path which led from the church to the hall, and erling with his sons stood next to the hall. when high mass was finished the king went immediately out of the church, and first went through the open space between the ranks drawn up, and then his retinue, man by man; and as he came to the door erling placed himself before the door, bowed to the king, and saluted him. the king saluted him in return, and prayed god to help him. erling took up the word first, and said, "my relation, asbjorn, it is reported to me, has been guilty of misdemeanor, king; and it is a great one, if he has done anything that incurs your displeasure. now i am come to entreat for him peace, and such penalties as you yourself may determine; but that thereby he redeem life and limb, and his remaining here in his native land." the king replies, "it appears to me, erling, that thou thinkest the case of asbjorn is now in thy own power, and i do not therefore know why thou speakest now as if thou wouldst offer terms for him. i think thou hast drawn together these forces because thou are determined to settle what is between us." erling replies, "thou only, king, shalt determine, and determine so that we shall be reconciled." the king: "thinkest thou, erling, to make me afraid? and art thou come here in such force with that expectation? no, that shall not be; and if that be thy thought, i must in no way turn and fly." erling replies, "thou hast no occasion to remind me how often i have come to meet thee with fewer men than thou hadst. but now i shall not conceal what lies in my mind, namely, that it is my will that we now enter into a reconciliation; for otherwise i expect we shall never meet again." erling was then as red as blood in the face. now bishop sigurd came forward to the king and said, "sire, i entreat you on god almighty's account to be reconciled with erling according to his offer,--that the man shall retain life and limb, but that thou shalt determine according to thy pleasure all the other conditions." the king replies, "you will determine." then said the bishop, "erling, do thou give security for asbjorn, such as the king thinks sufficient, and then leave the conditions to the mercy of the king, and leave all in his power." erling gave a surety to the king on his part, which he accepted. thereupon asbjorn received his life and safety, and delivered himself into the king's power, and kissed his hand. erling then withdrew with his forces, without exchanging salutation with the king; and the king went into the hall, followed by asbjorn. the king thereafter made known the terms of reconciliation to be these:--"in the first place, asbjorn, thou must submit to the law of the land, which commands that the man who kills a servant of the king must undertake his service, if the king will. now i will that thou shalt undertake the office of bailiff which thorer sel had, and manage my estate here in augvaldsnes." asbjorn replies, that it should be according to the king's will; "but i must first go home to my farm, and put things in order there." the king was satisfied with this, and proceeded to another guest-quarter. asbjorn made himself ready with his comrades, who all kept themselves concealed in a quiet creek during the time asbjorn was away from them. they had had their spies out to learn how it went with him, and would not depart without having some certain news of him. 128. of thorer hund and asbjorn selsbane. asbjorn then set out on his voyage, and about spring (a.d. 1023) got home to his farm. after this exploit he was always called asbjorn selsbane. asbjorn had not been long at home before he and his relation thorer met and conversed together, and thorer asked asbjorn particularly all about his journey, and about all the circumstances which had happened on the course of it. asbjorn told everything as it had taken place. then said thorer, "thou thinkest that thou hast well rubbed out the disgrace of having been plundered in last harvest." "i think so," replies asbjorn; "and what is thy opinion, cousin?" "that i will soon tell thee," said thorer. "thy first expedition to the south of the country was indeed very disgraceful, and that disgrace has been redeemed; but this expedition is both a disgrace to thee and to thy family, if it end in thy becoming the king's slave, and being put on a footing with that worst of men, thorer sel. show that thou art manly enough to sit here on thy own property, and we thy relations shall so support thee that thou wilt never more come into such trouble." asbjorn found this advice much to his mind; and before they parted it was firmly, determined that asbjorn should remain on his farm, and not go back to the king or enter into his service. and he did so, and sat quietly at home on his farm. 129. king olaf baptizes in vors and valders. after king olaf and erling skjalgson had this meeting at augvaldsnes, new differences arose between them, and increased so much that they ended in perfect enmity. in spring (a.d. 1023) the king proceeded to guest-quarters in hordaland, and went up also to vors, because he heard there was but little of the true faith among the people there. he held a thing with the bondes at a place called vang, and a number of bondes came to it fully armed. the king ordered them to adopt christianity; but they challenged him to battle, and it proceeded so far that the men were drawn up on both sides. but when it came to the point such a fear entered into the blood of the bondes that none would advance or command, and they chose the part which was most to their advantage; namely, to obey the king and receive christianity; and before the king left them they were all baptized. one day it happened that the king was riding on his way a singing of psalms, and when he came right opposite some hills he halted and said, "man after man shall relate these my words, that i think it not advisable for any king of norway to travel hereafter between these hills." and it is a saying among the people that the most kings since that time have avoided it. the king proceeded to ostrarfjord, and came to his ships, with which he went north to sogn, and had his living in guest-quarters there in summer (a.d. 1023); when autumn approached he turned in towards the fjord district, and went from thence to valders, where the people were still heathen. the king hastened up to the lake in valders, came unexpectedly on the bondes, seized their vessels, and went on board of them with all his men. he then sent out message-tokens, and appointed a thing so near the lake that he could use the vessels if he found he required them. the bondes resorted to the thing in a great and well-armed host; and when he commanded them to accept christianity the bondes shouted against him, told him to be silent, and made a great uproar and clashing of weapons. but when the king saw that they would not listen to what he would teach them, and also that they had too great a force to contend with, he turned his discourse, and asked if there were people at the thing who had disputes with each other which they wished him to settle. it was soon found by the conversation of the bondes that they had many quarrels among themselves, although they had all joined in speaking against christianity. when the bondes began to set forth their own cases, each endeavored to get some upon his side to support him; and this lasted the whole day long until evening, when the thing was concluded. when the bondes had heard that the king had travelled to valders, and was come into their neighborhood, they had sent out message-tokens summoning the free and the unfree to meet in arms, and with this force they had advanced against the king; so that the neighbourhood all around was left without people. when the thing was concluded the bondes still remained assembled; and when the king observed this he went on board his ships, rowed in the night right across the water, landed in the country there, and began to plunder and burn. the day after the king's men rowed from one point of land to another, and over all the king ordered the habitations to be set on fire. now when the bondes who were assembled saw what the king was doing, namely, plundering and burning, and saw the smoke and flame of their houses, they dispersed, and each hastened to his own home to see if he could find those he had left. as soon as there came a dispersion among the crowd, the one slipped away after the other, until the whole multitude was dissolved. then the king rowed across the lake again, burning also on that side of the country. now came the bondes to him begging for mercy, and offering to submit to him. he gave every man who came to him peace if he desired it, and restored to him his goods; and nobody refused to adopt christianity. the king then had the people christened, and took hostages from the bondes. he ordered churches to be built and consecrated, and placed teachers in them. he remained a long time here in autumn, and had his ships drawn across the neck of land between the two lakes. the king did not go far from the sides of the lakes into the country, for he did not much trust the bondes. when the king thought that frost might be expected, he went further up the country, and came to thoten. arnor, the earl's skald, tells how king olaf burnt in the uplands, in the poem he composed concerning the king's brother king harald:- "against the upland people wroth, olaf, to most so mild, went forth: the houses burning, all people mourning; who could not fly hung on gallows high. it was, i think, in olaf's race the upland people to oppress." afterwards king olaf went north through the valleys to dovrefield, and did not halt until he reached the throndhjem district and arrived at nidaros, where he had ordered winter provision to be collected, and remained all winter (a.d. 1024). this was the tenth year of his reign. 130. of einar tambaskelfer. the summer before einar tambaskelfer left the country, and went westward to england (a.d. 1023). there he met his relative earl hakon, and stayed some time with him. he then visited king canute, from whom he received great presents. einar then went south all the way to rome, and came back the following summer (a.d. 1024), and returned to his house and land. king olaf and einar did not meet this time. 131. the birth of king magnus. there was a girl whose name was alfhild, and who was usually called the king's slave-woman, although she was of good descent. she was a remarkably handsome girl, and lived in king olaf's court. it was reported this spring that alfhild was with child, and the king's confidential friends knew that he was father of the child. it happened one night that alfhild was taken ill, and only few people were at hand; namely, some women, priests, sigvat the skald, and a few others. alfhild was so ill that she was nearly dead; and when she was delivered of a man-child, it was some time before they could discover whether the child was in life. but when the infant drew breath, although very weak, the priest told sigvat to hasten to the king, and tell him of the event. he replies, "i dare not on any account waken the king; for he has forbid that any man should break his sleep until he awakens of himself." the priest replies, "it is of necessity that this child be immediately baptized, for it appears to me there is but little life in it." sigvat said, "i would rather venture to take upon me to let thee baptize the child, than to awaken the king; and i will take it upon myself if anything be amiss, and will give the child a name." they did so; and the child was baptized, and got the name of magnus. the next morning, when the king awoke and had dressed himself, the circumstance was told him. he ordered sigvat to be called, and said. "how camest thou to be so bold as to have my child baptized before i knew anything about it?" sigvat replies, "because i would rather give two men to god than one to the devil." the king--"what meanest thou?" sigvat--"the child was near death, and must have been the devil's if it had died as a heathen, and now it is god's. and i knew besides that if thou shouldst be so angry on this account that it affected my life, i would be god's also." the king asked, "but why didst thou call him magnus, which is not a name of our race?" sigvat--"i called him after king carl magnus, who, i knew, had been the best man in the world." then said the king, "thou art a very lucky man, sigvat; but it is not wonderful that luck should accompany understanding. it is only wonderful how it sometimes happens that luck attends ignorant men, and that foolish counsel turns out lucky." the king was overjoyed at the circumstance. the boy grew up, and gave good promise as he advanced in age. 132. the murder of asbjorn selsbane. the same spring (a.d. 1024) the king gave into the hands of asmund grankelson the half of the sheriffdom of the district of halogaland, which harek of thjotta had formerly held, partly in fief, partly for defraying the king's entertainment in guest-quarters. asmund had a ship manned with nearly thirty well-armed men. when asmund came north he met harek, and told him what the king had determined with regard to the district, and produced to him the tokens of the king's full powers. harek said, "the king had the right to give the sheriffdom to whom he pleased; but the former sovereigns had not been in use to diminish our rights who are entitled by birth to hold powers from the king, and to give them into the hands of the peasants who never before held such offices." but although it was evident that it was against harek's inclination, he allowed asmund to take the sheriffdom according to the king's order. then asmund proceeded home to his father, stayed there a short time, and then went north to halogaland to his sheriffdom; and he came north to langey island, where there dwelt two brothers called gunstein and karle, both very rich and respectable men. gunstein, the eldest of the brothers, was a good husbandman. karle was a handsome man in appearance, and splendid in his dress; and both were, in many respects, expert in all feats. asmund was well received by them, remained with them a while, and collected such revenues of his sheriffdom as he could get. karle spoke with asmund of his wish to go south with him and take service in the court of king olaf, to which asmund encouraged him much, promising his influence with the king for obtaining for karle such a situation as he desired; and karle accordingly accompanied asmund. asmund heard that asbjorn, who had killed thorer sel, had gone to the market-meeting of vagar with a large ship of burden manned with nearly twenty men, and that he was now expected from the south. asmund and his retinue proceeded on their way southwards along the coast with a contrary wind, but there was little of it. they saw some of the fleet for vagar sailing towards them; and they privately inquired of them about asbjorn, and were told he was upon the way coming from the south. asmund and karle were bedfellows, and excellent friends. one day, as asmund and his people were rowing through a sound, a ship of burden came sailing towards them. the ship was easily known, having high bulwarks, was painted with white and red colours, and coloured cloth was woven in the sail. karle said to asmund, "thou hast often said thou wast curious to see asbjorn who killed thorer sel; and if i know one ship from another, that is his which is coming sailing along." asmund replies, "be so good, comrade, and tell me which is he when thou seest him." when the ships came alongside of each other, "that is asbjorn," said karle; "the man sitting at the helm in a blue cloak." asmund replies, "i shall make his blue cloak red;" threw a spear at asbjorn, and hit him in the middle of the body, so that it flew through and through him, and stuck fast in the upper part of the stern-post; and asbjorn fell down dead from the helm. then each vessel sailed on its course, and asbjorn's body was carried north to thrandarnes. then sigrid sent a message to bjarkey isle to thorer hund, who came to her while they were, in the usual way, dressing the corpse of asbjorn. when he returned sigrid gave presents to all her friends, and followed thorer to his ship; but before they parted she said, "it has so fallen out, thorer, that my son has suffered by thy friendly counsel, but he did not retain life to reward thee for it; but although i have not his ability yet will i show my good will. here is a gift i give thee, which i expect thou wilt use. here is the spear which went through asbjorn my son, and there is still blood upon it, to remind thee that it fits the wound thou hast seen on the corpse of thy brother's son asbjorn. it would be a manly deed, if thou shouldst throw this spear from thy hand so that it stood in olaf's breast; and this i can tell thee, that thou wilt be named coward in every man's mouth, if thou dost not avenge asbjorn." thereupon she turned about, and went her way. thorer was so enraged at her words that he could not speak. he neither thought of casting the spear from him, nor took notice of the gangway; so that he would have fallen into the sea, if his men had not laid hold of him as he was going on board his ship. it was a feathered spear; not large, but the handle was gold-mounted. now thorer rowed away with his people, and went home to bjarkey isle. asmund and his companions also proceeded on their way until they came south to throndhjem, where they waited on king olaf; and asmund related to the king all that had happened on the voyage. karle became one of the king's court-men, and the friendship continued between him and asmund. they did not keep secret the words that had passed between asmund and karle before asbjorn was killed; for they even told them to the king. but then it happened, according to the proverb, that every one has a friend in the midst of his enemies. there were some present who took notice of the words, and they reached thorer hund's ears. 133. of king olaf. when spring (a.d. 1024) was advanced king olaf rigged out his ships, and sailed southwards in summer along the land. he held things with the bondes on the way, settled the law business of the people, put to rights the faith of the country, and collected the king's taxes wherever he came. in autumn he proceeded south to the frontier of the country; and king olaf had now made the people christians in all the great districts, and everywhere, by laws, had introduced order into the country. he had also, as before related, brought the orkney islands under his power, and by messages had made many friends in iceland, greenland, and the farey islands. king olaf had sent timber for building a church to iceland, of which a church was built upon the thing-field where the general thing is held, and had sent a bell for it, which is still there. this was after the iceland people had altered their laws, and introduced christianity, according to the word king olaf had sent them. after that time, many considerable persons came from iceland, and entered into king olaf's service; as thorkel eyjolfson, and thorleif bollason, thord kolbeinson, thord barkarson, thorgeir havarson, thormod kalbrunar-skald. king olaf had sent many friendly presents to chief people in iceland; and they in return sent him such things as they had which they thought most acceptable. under this show of friendship which the king gave iceland were concealed many things which afterwards appeared. 134. king olaf's message to iceland, and the counsels of the icelanders. king olaf this summer (a.d. 1024) sent thorarin nefiulfson to iceland on his errands; and thorarin went out of throndhjem fjord along with the king, and followed him south to more. from thence thorarin went out to sea, and got such a favourable breeze that after four days sail he landed at the westman isles, in iceland. he proceeded immediately to the althing, and came just as the people were upon the lawhillock, to which he repaired. when the cases of the people before the thing had been determined according to law, thorarin nefiulfson took up the word as follows:--"we parted four days ago from king olaf haraldson, who sends god almighty's and his own salutation to all the chiefs and principal men of the land; as also to all the people in general, men and women, young and old, rich and poor. he also lets you know that he will be your sovereign if ye will become his subjects, so that he and you will be friends, assisting each other in all that is good." the people replied in a friendly way, that they would gladly be the king's friends, if he would be a friend of the people of their country. then thorarin again took up the word:--"this follows in addition to the king's message, that he will in friendship desire of the people of the north district that they give him the island, or out-rock, which lies at the mouth of eyfjord, and is called grimsey, for which he will give you from his country whatever good the people of the district may desire. he sends this message particularly to gudmund of modruvellir to support this matter, because he understands that gudmund has most influence in that quarter." gudmund replies, "my inclination is greatly for king olaf's friendship, and that i consider much more useful than the out-rock he desires. but the king has not heard rightly if he think i have more power in this matter than any other, for the island is a common. we, however, who have the most use of the isle, will hold a meeting among ourselves about it." then the people went to their tent-houses; and the northland people had a meeting among themselves, and talked over the business, and every one spoke according to his judgment. gudmund supported the matter, and many others formed their opinions by his. then some asked why his brother einar did not speak on the subject. "we think he has the clearest insight into most things." einar answers, "i have said so little about the matter because nobody has asked me about it; but if i may give my opinion, our countrymen might just as well make themselves at once liable to land-scat to king olaf, and submit to all his exactions as he has them among his people in norway; and this heavy burden we will lay not only upon ourselves, but on our sons, and their sons, and all our race, and on all the community dwelling and living in this land, which never after will be free from this slavery. now although this king is a good man, as i well believe him to be, yet it must be hereafter, when kings succeed each other, that some will be good, and some bad. therefore if the people of this country will preserve the freedom they have enjoyed since the land was first inhabited, it is not advisable to give the king the smallest spot to fasten himself upon the country by, and not to give him any kind of scat or service that can have the appearance of a duty. on the other hand, i think it very proper that the people send the king such friendly presents of hawks or horses, tents or sails, or such things which are suitable gifts; and these are well applied if they are repaid with friendship. but as to grimsey isle, i have to say, that although nothing is drawn from it that can serve for food, yet it could support a great war-force cruising from thence in long-ships; and then, i doubt not, there would be distress enough at every poor peasant's door." when einar had thus explained the proper connection of the matter, the whole community were of one mind that such a thing should not be permitted; and thorarin saw sufficiently well what the result of his errand was to be. 135. the answer of the icelanders. the day following, thorarin went again to the lawhill, and brought forward his errand in the following words:--"king olaf sends his message to his friends here in the country, among whom he reckons gudmund eyjolfson, snorre gode, thorkel eyjolfson, skapte the lagman, and thorstein halson, and desires them by me to come to him on a friendly visit; and adds, that ye must not excuse yourselves, if you regard his friendship as worth anything." in their answer they thanked the king for his message and added, that they would afterwards give a reply to it by thorarin when they had more closely considered the matter with their friends. the chiefs now weighed the matter among themselves, and each gave his own opinion about the journey. snorre and skapte dissuaded from such a dangerous proceeding with the people of norway; namely, that all the men who had the most to say in the country should at once leave iceland. they added, that from this message, and from what einar had said, they had the suspicion that the king intended to use force and strong measures against the icelanders if he ruled in the country. gudmund and thorkel eyjolfson insisted much that they should follow king olaf's invitation, and called it a journey of honour. but when they had considered the matter on all sides, it was at last resolved that they should not travel themselves, but that each of them should send in his place a man whom they thought best suited for it. after this determination the thing was closed, and there was no journey that summer. thorarin made two voyages that summer, and about harvest was back again at king olaf's, and reported the result of his mission, and that some of the chiefs, or their sons, would come from iceland according to his message. 136. of the people of the farey islands. the same summer (a.d. 1024) there came from the farey islands to norway, on the king's invitation, gille the lagman, leif ossurson, thoralf of dimun, and many other bondes' sons. thord of gata made himself ready for the voyage; but just as he was setting out he got a stroke of palsy, and could not come, so he remained behind. now when the people from the farey isles arrived at king olaf's, he called them to him to a conference, and explained the purpose of the journey he had made them take, namely, that he would have scat from the farey islands, and also that the people there should be subject to the laws which the king should give them. in that meeting it appeared from the king's words that he would make the farey people who had come answerable, and would bind them by oath to conclude this union. he also offered to the men whom he thought the ablest to take them into his service, and bestow honour and friendship on them. these farey men understood the king's words so, that they must dread the turn the matter might take if they did not submit to all that the king desired. although they held several meetings about the business before it ended, the king's desire at last prevailed. leif, gille, and thoralf went into the king's service, and became his courtmen; and they, with all their travelling companions, swore the oath to king olaf, that the law and land privilege which he set them should be observed in the farey islands, and also the scat be levied that he laid upon them. thereafter the farey people prepared for their return home, and at their departure the king gave those who had entered into his service presents in testimony of his friendship, and they went their way. now the king ordered a ship to be rigged, manned it, and sent men to the farey islands to receive the scat from the inhabitants which they should pay him. it was late before they were ready; but they set off at last: and of their journey all that is to be told is, that they did not come back, and no scat either, the following summer; for nobody had come to the farey isles, and no man had demanded scat there. 137. of the marriage of ketil and of thord to the king's sisters. king olaf proceeded about harvest time to viken, and sent a message before him to the uplands that they should prepare guest-quarters for him, as he intended to be there in winter. afterwards he made ready for his journey, and went to the uplands, and remained the winter there; going about in guest-quarters, and putting things to rights where he saw it needful, advancing also the cause of christianity wheresoever it was requisite. it happened while king olaf was in hedemark that ketil kalf of ringanes courted gunhild, a daughter of sigurd syr and of king olaf's mother asta. gunhild was a sister of king olaf, and therefore it belonged to the king to give consent and determination to the business. he took it in a friendly way; for he know ketil, that he was of high birth, wealthy, and of good understanding, and a great chief; and also he had long been a great friend of king olaf, as before related. all these circumstances induced the king to approve of the match, and so it was that ketil got gunhild. king olaf was present at the wedding. from thence the king went north to gudbrandsdal, where he was entertained in guest-quarters. there dwelt a man, by name thord guthormson, on a farm called steig; and he was the most powerful man in the north end of the valley. when thord and the king met, thord made proposals for isrid, the daughter of gudbrand, and the sister of king olaf's mother, as it belonged to the king to give consent. after the matter was considered, it was determined that the marriage should proceed, and thord got isrid. afterwards thord was the king's faithful friend, and also many of thord's relations and friends, who followed his footsteps. from thence king olaf returned south through thoten and hadaland, from thence to ringerike, and so to viken. in spring (a.d. 1025) he went to tunsberg, and stayed there while there was the market-meeting, and a great resort of people. he then had his vessels rigged out, and had many people about him. 138. of the icelanders. the same summer (a.d. 1025) came stein, a son of the lagman skapte, from iceland, in compliance with king olaf's message; and with him thorod, a son of snorre the gode, and geller, a son of thorkel eyjolfson, and egil, a son of hal of sida, brother of thorstein hal. gudmund eyjolfson had died the winter before. these iceland men repaired to king olaf as soon as they had opportunity; and when they met the king they were well received, and all were in his house. the same summer king olaf heard that the ship was missing which he had sent the summer before to the farey islands after the scat, and nobody knew what had become of it. the king fitted out another ship, manned it, and sent it to the farey islands for the scat. they got under weigh, and proceeded to sea; but as little was ever heard of this vessel as of the former one, and many conjectures were made about what had become of them. 139. here begins the story of canute the great. during this time canute the great, called by some canute the old, was king of england and denmark. canute the great was a son of svein haraldson forkedbeard, whose forefathers, for a long course of generations, had ruled over denmark. harald gormson, canute's grandfather, had conquered norway after the fall of harald grafeld, gunhild's son, had taken scat from it, and had placed earl hakon the great to defend the country. the danish king, svein haraldson, ruled also over norway, and placed his son-in-law earl eirik, the son of earl hakon, to defend the country. the brothers eirik and svein, earl hakon's sons, ruled the land until earl eirik went west to england, on the invitation of his brother-in-law canute the great, when he left behind his son earl hakon, sister's son of canute the great, to govern norway. but when olaf the thick came first to norway, as before related, he took prisoner earl hakon the son of eirik, and deposed him from the kingdom. then hakon proceeded to his mother's brother, canute the great, and had been with him constantly until the time to which here in our saga we have now come. canute the great had conquered england by blows and weapons, and had a long struggle before the people of the land were subdued. but when he had set himself perfectly firm in the government of the country, he remembered that he also had right to a kingdom which he had not brought under his authority; and that was norway. he thought he had hereditary right to all norway; and his sister's son hakon, who had held a part of it, appeared to him to have lost it with disgrace. the reason why canute and hakon had remained quiet with respect to their claims upon norway was, that when king olaf haraldson landed in norway the people and commonalty ran together in crowds, and would hear of nothing but that olaf should be king over all the country, although some afterwards, who thought that the people upon account of his power had no self-government left to them, went out of the country. many powerful men, or rich bondes sons, had therefore gone to canute the great, and pretended various errands; and every one who came to canute and desired his friendship was loaded with presents. with canute, too, could be seen greater splendour and pomp than elsewhere, both with regard to the multitude of people who were daily in attendance, and also to the other magnificent things about the houses he owned and dwelt in himself. canute the great drew scat and revenue from the people who were the richest of all in northern lands; and in the same proportion as he had greater revenues than other kings, he also made greater presents than other kings. in his whole kingdom peace was so well established, that no man dared break it. the people of the country kept the peace towards each other, and had their old country law: and for this he was greatly celebrated in all countries. and many of those who came from norway represented their hardships to earl hakon, and some even to king canute himself; and that the norway people were ready to turn back to the government of king canute, or earl hakon, and receive deliverance from them. this conversation suited well the earl's inclination, and he carried it to the king, and begged of him to try if king olaf would not surrender the kingdom, or at least come to an agreement to divide it; and many supported the earl's views. 140. canute's message to king olaf. canute the great sent men from the west, from england, to norway, and equipped them magnificently for the journey. they were bearers of the english king canute's letter and seal. they came about spring (a.d. 1025) to the king of norway, olaf haraldson, in tunsberg. now when it was told the king that ambassadors had arrived from canute the great he was ill at ease, and said that canute had not sent messengers hither with any messages that could be of advantage to him or his people; and it was some days before the ambassadors could come before the king. but when they got permission to speak to him they appeared before the king, and made known king canute's letter, and their errand which accompanied it; namely, "that king canute considers all norway as his property, and insists that his forefathers before him have possessed that kingdom; but as king canute offers peace to all countries, he will also offer peace to all here, if it can be so settled, and will not invade norway with his army if it can be avoided. now if king olaf haraldson wishes to remain king of norway, he will come to king canute, and receive his kingdom as a fief from him, become his vassal, and pay the scat which the earls before him formerly paid." thereupon they presented their letters, which contained precisely the same conditions. then king olaf replies, "i have heard say, by old stories, that the danish king gorm was considered but a small king of a few people, for he ruled over denmark alone; but the kings who succeeded him thought that was too little. it has since come so far that king canute rules over denmark and england, and has conquered for himself a great part of scotland. now he claims also my paternal heritage, and will then show some moderation in his covetousness. does he wish to rule over all the countries of the north? will he eat up all the kail in england? he shall do so, and reduce that country to a desert, before i lay my head in his hands, or show him any other kind of vassalage. now ye shall tell him these my words,--i will defend norway with battle-axe and sword as long as life is given me, and will pay scat to no man for my kingdom." after this answer king canute's ambassadors made themselves ready for their journey home, and were by no means rejoiced at the success of their errand. sigvat the skald had been with king canute, who had given him a gold ring that weighed half a mark. the skald berse skaldtorfason was also there, and to him king canute gave two gold rings, each weighing two marks, and besides a sword inlaid with gold. sigvat made this song about it:- "when we came o'er the wave, you cub, when we came o'er the wave, to me one ring, to thee two rings, the mighty canute gave: one mark to me, four marks to thee,- a sword too, fine and brave. now god knows well, and skalds can tell, what justice here would crave." sigvat the skald was very intimate with king canute's messengers, and asked them many questions. they answered all his inquiries about their conversation with king olaf, and the result of their message. they said the king listened unwillingly to their proposals. "and we do not know," say they, "to what he is trusting when he refuses becoming king canute's vassal, and going to him, which would be the best thing he could do; for king canute is so mild that however much a chief may have done against him, he is pardoned if he only show himself obedient. it is but lately that two kings came to him from the north, from fife in scotland, and he gave up his wrath against them, and allowed them to retain all the lands they had possessed before, and gave them besides very valuable gifts." then sigvat sang:- "from the north land, the midst of fife, two kings came begging peace and life; craving from canute life and peace,- may olaf's good luck never cease! may he, our gallant norse king, never be brought, like these, his head to offer as ransom to a living man for the broad lands his sword has won." king canute's ambassadors proceeded on their way back, and had a favourable breeze across the sea. they came to king canute, and told him the result of their errand, and king olaf's last words. king canute replies, "king olaf guesses wrong, if he thinks i shall eat up all the kail in england; for i will let him see that there is something else than kail under my ribs, and cold kail it shall be for him." the same summer (a.d. 1025) aslak and skjalg, the sons of erling of jadar, came from norway to king canute, and were well received; for aslak was married to sigrid, a daughter of earl svein hakonson, and she and earl hakon eirikson were brothers' children. king canute gave these brothers great fiefs over there, and they stood in great favour. 141. king olaf's alliance with onund the king of svithjod. king olaf summoned to him all the lendermen, and had a great many people about him this summer (a.d. 1025), for a report was abroad that king canute would come from england. people had heard from merchant vessels that canute was assembling a great army in england. when summer was advanced, some affirmed and others denied that the army would come. king olaf was all summer in viken, and had spies out to learn if canute was come to denmark. in autumn (a.d. 1025) he sent messengers eastward to svithjod to his brother-in-law king onund, and let him know king canute's demand upon norway; adding, that, in his opinion, if canute subdued norway, king onund would not long enjoy the swedish dominions in peace. he thought it advisable, therefore, that they should unite for their defence. "and then," said he, "we will have strength enough to hold out against canute." king onund received king olaf's message favourably, and replied to it, that he for his part would make common cause with king olaf, so that each of them should stand by the one who first required help with all the strength of his kingdom. in these messages between them it was also determined that they should have a meeting, and consult with each other. the following winter (a.d. 1026) king onund intended to travel across west gautland, and king olaf made preparations for taking his winter abode at sarpsborg. 142. king canute's ambassadors to onund of svithjod. in autumn king canute the great came to denmark, and remained there all winter (a.d. 1026) with a numerous army. it was told him that ambassadors with messages had been passing between the swedish and norwegian kings, and that some great plans must be concerting between them. in winter king canute sent messengers to svithjod, to king onund, with great gifts and messages of friendship. he also told onund that he might sit altogether quiet in this strife between him and olaf the thick; "for thou, onund," says he, "and thy kingdom, shall be in peace as far as i am concerned." when the ambassadors came to king onund they presented the gifts which king canute sent him, together with the friendly message. king onund did not hear their speech very willingly, and the ambassadors could observe that king onund was most inclined to a friendship with king olaf. they returned accordingly, and told king canute the result of their errand, and told him not to depend much upon the friendship of king onund. 143. the expedition to bjarmaland. this winter (a.d. 1026) king olaf sat in sarpsborg, and was surrounded by a very great army of people. he sent the halogalander karle to the north country upon his business. karle went first to the uplands, then across the dovrefield, and came down to nidaros, where he received as much money as he had the king's order for, together with a good ship, such as he thought suitable for the voyage which the king had ordered him upon; and that was to proceed north to bjarmaland. it was settled that the king should be in partnership with karle, and each of them have the half of the profit. early in spring karle directed his course to halogaland, where his brother gunstein prepared to accompany him, having his own merchant goods with him. there were about twenty-five men in the ship; and in spring they sailed north to finmark. when thorer hund heard this, he sent a man to the brothers with the verbal message that he intended in summer to go to bjarmaland, and that he would sail with them, and that they should divide what booty they made equally between them. karle sent him back the message that thorer must have twenty-five men as they had, and they were willing to divide the booty that might be taken equally, but not the merchant goods which each had for himself. when thorer's messenger came back he had put a stout long-ship he owned into the water, and rigged it, and he had put eighty men on board of his house-servants. thorer alone had the command over this crew, and he alone had all the goods they might acquire on the cruise. when thorer was ready for sea he set out northwards along the coast, and found karle a little north of sandver. they then proceeded with good wind. gunstein said to his brother, as soon as they met thorer, that in his opinion thorer was strongly manned. "i think," said he, "we had better turn back than sail so entirely in thorer's power, for i do not trust him." karle replies, "i will not turn back, although if i had known when we were at home on langey isle that thorer hund would join us on this voyage with so large a crew as he has, i would have taken more hands with us." the brothers spoke about it to thorer, and asked what was the meaning of his taking more people with him than was agreed upon between them. he replies, "we have a large ship which requires many hands, and methinks there cannot be too many brave lads for so dangerous a cruise." they went in summer as fast in general as the vessels could go. when the wind was light the ship of the brothers sailed fastest, and they separated; but when the wind freshened thorer overtook them. they were seldom together, but always in sight of each other. when they came to bjarmaland they went straight to the merchant town, and the market began. all who had money to pay with got filled up with goods. thorer also got a number of furs, and of beaver and sable skins. karle had a considerable sum of money with him, with which he purchased skins and furs. when the fair was at an end they went out of the vina river, and then the truce of the country people was also at an end. when they came out of the river they held a seaman's council, and thorer asked the crews if they would like to go on the land and get booty. they replied, that they would like it well enough, if they saw the booty before their eyes. thorer replies, that there was booty to be got, if the voyage proved fortunate; but that in all probability there would be danger in the attempt. all said they would try, if there was any chance of booty. thorer explained, that it was so established in this land, that when a rich man died all his movable goods were divided between the dead man and his heirs. he got the half part, or the third part, or sometimes less, and that part was carried out into the forest and buried,--sometimes under a mound, sometimes in the earth, and sometimes even a house was built over it. he tells them at the same time to get ready for this expedition at the fall of day. it was resolved that one should not desert the other, and none should hold back when the commander ordered them to come on board again. they now left people behind to take care of the ships, and went on land, where they found flat fields at first, and then great forests. thorer went first, and the brothers karle and gunstein in rear. thorer commanded the people to observe the utmost silence. "and let us peel the bark off the trees," says he, "so that one tree-mark can be seen from the other." they came to a large cleared opening, where there was a high fence upon which there was a gate that was locked. six men of the country people held watch every night at this fence, two at a time keeping guard, each two for a third part of the night, when thorer and his men came to the fence the guard had gone home, and those who should relieve them had not yet come upon guard. thorer went to the fence, stuck his axe up in it above his head, hauled himself up by it, and so came over the fence, and inside the gate. karle had also come over the fence, and to the inside of the gate; so that both came at once to the port, took the bar away, and opened the port; and then the people got in within the fence. then said thorer, "within this fence there is a mound in which gold, and silver, and earth are all mixed together: seize that. but within here stands the bjarmaland people's god jomala: let no one be so presumptuous as to rob him." thereupon they went to the mound and took as much of the money as they could carry away in their clothes, with which, as might be expected, much earth was mixed. thereafter thorer said that the people now should retreat. "and ye brothers, karle and gunstein," says he, "do ye lead the way, and i will go last." they all went accordingly out of the gate: but thorer went back to jomala, and took a silver bowl that stood upon his knee full of silver money. he put the silver in his purse, and put his arm within the handle of the bowl, and so went out of the gate. the whole troop had come without the fence; but when they perceived that thorer had stayed behind, karle returned to trace him, and when they met upon the path thorer had the silver bowl with him. thereupon karle immediately ran to jomala; and observing he had a thick gold ornament hanging around his neck, he lifted his axe, cut the string with which the ornament was tied behind his neck, and the stroke was so strong that the head of jomala rang with such a great sound that they were all astonished. karle seized the ornament, and they all hastened away. but the moment the sound was made the watchmen came forward upon the cleared space, and blew their horns. immediately the sound of the loor (1) was heard all around from every quarter, calling the people together. they hastened to the forest, and rushed into it; and heard the shouts and cries on the other side of the bjarmaland people in pursuit. thorer hund went the last of the whole troop; and before him went two men carrying a great sack between them, in which was something that was like ashes. thorer took this in his hand, and strewed it upon the footpath, and sometimes over the people. they came thus out of the woods, and upon the fields, but heard incessantly the bjarmaland people pursuing with shouts and dreadful yells. the army of the bjarmaland people rushed out after them upon the field, and on both sides of them; but neither the people nor their weapons came so near as to do them any harm: from which they perceived that the bjarmaland people did not see them. now when they reached their ships karle and his brother went on board; for they were the foremost, and thorer was far behind on the land. as soon as karle and his men were on board they struck their tents, cast loose their land ropes, hoisted their sails, and their ship in all haste went to sea. thorer and his people, on the other hand, did not get on so quickly, as their vessel was heavier to manage; so that when they got under sail, karle and his people were far off from land. both vessels sailed across the white sea (gandvik). the nights were clear, so that both ships sailed night and day; until one day, towards the time the day turns to shorten, karle and his people took up the land near an island, let down the sail, cast anchor, and waited until the slack-tide set in, for there was a strong rost before them. now thorer came up, and lay at anchor there also. thorer and his people then put out a boat, went into it, and rowed to karle's ship. thorer came on board, and the brothers saluted him. thorer told karle to give him the ornament. "i think," said he, "that i have best earned the ornaments that have been taken, for methinks ye have to thank me for getting away without any loss of men; and also i think thou, karle, set us in the greatest fright." karle replies, "king olaf has the half part of all the goods i gather on this voyage, and i intend the ornament for him. go to him, if you like, and it is possible he will give thee the ornament, although i took it from jomala." then thorer insisted that they should go upon the island, and divide the booty. gunstein says, "it is now the turn of the tide, and it is time to sail." whereupon they began to raise their anchor. when thorer saw that, he returned to his boat and rowed to his own ship. karle and his men had hoisted sail, and were come a long way before thorer got under way. they now sailed so that the brothers were always in advance, and both vessels made all the haste they could. they sailed thus until they came to geirsver, which is the first roadstead of the traders to the north. they both came there towards evening, and lay in the harbour near the landing-place. thorer's ship lay inside, and the brothers' the outside vessel in the port. when thorer had set up his tents he went on shore, and many of his men with him. they went to karle's ship, which was well provided. thorer hailed the ship, and told the commanders to come on shore; on which the brothers, and some men with them, went on the land. now thorer began the same discourse, and told them to bring the goods they got in booty to the land to have them divided. the brothers thought that was not necessary, until they had arrived at their own neighbourhood. thorer said it was unusual not to divide booty but at their own home, and thus to be left to the honour of other people. they spoke some words about it, but could not agree. then thorer turned away; but had not gone far before he came back, and tells his comrades to wait there. thereupon he calls to karle, and says he wants to speak with him alone. karle went to meet him; and when he came near, thorer struck at him with a spear, so that it went through him. "there," said thorer, "now thou hast learnt to know a bjarkey island man. i thought thou shouldst feel asbjorn's spear." karle died instantly, and thorer with his people went immediately on board their ship. when gunstein and his men saw karle fall they ran instantly to him, took his body and carried it on board their ship, struck their tents, and cast off from the pier, and left the land. when thorer and his men saw this, they took down their tents and made preparations to follow. but as they were hoisting the sail the fastenings to the mast broke in two, and the sail fell down across the ship, which caused a great delay before they could hoist the sail again. gunstein had already got a long way ahead before thorer's ship fetched way, and now they used both sails and oars. gunstein did the same. on both sides they made great way day and night; but so that they did not gain much on each other, although when they came to the small sounds among the islands gunstein's vessel was lighter in turning. but thorer's ship made way upon them, so that when they came up to lengjuvik, gunstein turned towards the land, and with all his men ran up into the country, and left his ship. a little after thorer came there with his ship, sprang upon the land after them, and pursued them. there was a woman who helped gunstein to conceal himself, and it is told that she was much acquainted with witchcraft. thorer and his men returned to the vessels, and took all the goods out of gunstein's vessel, and put on board stones in place of the cargo, and then hauled the ship out into the fjord, cut a hole in its bottom, and sank it to the bottom. thereafter thorer, with his people, returned home to bjarkey isle. gunstein and his people proceeded in small boats at first, and lay concealed by day, until they had passed bjarkey, and had got beyond thorer's district. gunstein went home first to langey isle for a short time, and then proceeded south without any halt, until he came south to throndhjem, and there found king olaf, to whom he told all that had happened on this bjarmaland expedition. the king was ill-pleased with the voyage, but told gunstein to remain with him, promising to assist him when opportunity offered. gunstein took the invitation with thanks, and stayed with king olaf. endnotes: (1) ludr--the loor--is a long tube or roll of birch-bark used as a horn by the herdboys in the mountains in norway. --l. 144. meeting of king olaf and king onund. king olaf was, as before related, in sarpsborg the winter (a.d. 1026) that king canute was in denmark. the swedish king onund rode across west gautland the same winter, and had thirty hundred (3600) men with him. men and messages passed between them; and they agreed to meet in spring at konungahella. the meeting had been postponed, because they wished to know before they met what king canute intended doing. as it was now approaching towards winter, king canute made ready to go over to england with his forces, and left his son hardaknut to rule in denmark, and with him earl ulf, a son of thorgils sprakaleg. ulf was married to astrid, king svein's daughter, and sister of canute the great. their son svein was afterwards king of denmark. earl ulf was a very distinguished man. when the kings olaf and onund heard that canute the great had gone west to england, they hastened to hold their conference, and met at konungahella, on the gaut river. they had a joyful meeting, and had many friendly conversations, of which something might become known to the public; but they also spake often a great deal between themselves, with none but themselves two present, of which only some things afterwards were carried into effect, and thus became known to every one. at parting the kings presented each other with gifts, and parted the best of friends. king onund went up into gautland, and olaf northwards to viken, and afterwards to agder, and thence northwards along the coast, but lay a long time at egersund waiting a wind. here he heard that erling skjalgson, and the inhabitants of jadar with him, had assembled a large force. one day the king's people were talking among themselves whether the wind was south or south-west, and whether with that wind they could sail past jadar or not. the most said it was impossible to fetch round. then answers haldor brynjolfson, "i am of opinion that we would go round jadar with this wind fast enough if erling skjalgson had prepared a feast for us at sole." then king olaf ordered the tents to be struck, and the vessels to be hauled out, which was done. they sailed the same day past jadar with the best wind, and in the evening reached hirtingsey, from whence the king proceeded to hordaland, and was entertained there in guest-quarters. 145. thoralf's murder. the same summer (a.d. 1026) a ship sailed from norway to the farey islands, with messengers carrying a verbal message from king olaf, that one of his court-men, leif ossurson, or lagman gille, or thoralf of dimun, should come over to him from the farey islands. now when this message came to the farey islands, and was delivered to those whom it concerned, they held a meeting among themselves, to consider what might lie under this message, and they were all of opinion that the king wanted to inquire into the real state of the event which some said had taken place upon the islands; namely, the failure and disappearance of the former messengers of the king, and the loss of the two ships, of which not a man had been saved. it was resolved that thoralf should undertake the journey. he got himself ready, and rigged out a merchant-vessel belonging to himself, manned with ten or twelve men. when it was ready, waiting a wind, it happened, at austrey, in the house of thrand of gata, that he went one fine day into the room where his brother's two sons, sigurd and thord, sons of thorlak, were lying upon the benches in the room. gaut the red was also there, who was one of their relations and a man of distinction. sigurd was the oldest, and their leader in all things. thord had a distinguished name, and was called thord the low, although in reality he was uncommonly tall, and yet in proportion more strong than large. then thrand said, "how many things are changed in the course of a man's life! when we were young, it was rare for young people who were able to do anything to sit or lie still upon a fine day, and our forefathers would scarcely have believed that thoralf of dimun would be bolder and more active than ye are. i believe the vessel i have standing here in the boat-house will be so old that it will rot under its coat of tar. here are all the houses full of wool, which is neither used nor sold. it should not be so if i were a few winters younger." sigurd sprang up, called upon gaut and thord, and said he would not endure thrand's scoffs. they went out to the houseservants, and launched the vessel upon the water, brought down a cargo, and loaded the ship. they had no want of a cargo at home, and the vessel's rigging was in good order, so that in a few days they were ready for sea. there were ten or twelve men in the vessel. thoralf's ship and theirs had the same wind, and they were generally in sight of each other. they came to the land at herna in the evening, and sigurd with his vessel lay outside on the strand, but so that there was not much distance between the two ships. it happened towards evening, when it was dark, that just as thoralf and his people were preparing to go to bed, thoralf and another went on shore for a certain purpose. when they were ready, they prepared to return on board. the man who had accompanied thoralf related afterwards this story,--that a cloth was thrown over his head, and that he was lifted up from the ground, and he heard a great bustle. he was taken away, and thrown head foremost down; but there was sea under him, and he sank under the water. when he got to land, he went to the place where he and thoralf had been parted, and there he found thoralf with his head cloven down to his shoulders, and dead. when the ship's people heard of it they carried the body out to the ship, and let it remain there all night. king olaf was at that time in guest-quarters at lygra, and thither they sent a message. now a thing was called by message-token, and the king came to the thing. he had also ordered the farey people of both vessels to be summoned, and they appeared at the thing. now when the thing was seated, the king stood up and said, "here an event has happened which (and it is well that it is so) is very seldom heard of. here has a good man been put to death, without any cause. is there any man upon the thing who can say who has done it?" nobody could answer. "then," said the king, "i cannot conceal my suspicion that this deed has been done by the farey people themselves. it appears to me that it has been done in this way,--that sigurd thorlakson has killed the man, and thord the low has cast his comrade into the sea. i think, too, that the motives to this must have been to hinder thoralf from telling about the misdeed of which he had information; namely, the murder which i suspect was committed upon my messengers." when he had ended his speech, sigurd thorlakson stood up, and desired to be heard. "i have never before," said he, "spoken at a thing, and i do not expect to be looked upon as a man of ready words. but i think there is sufficient necessity before me to reply something to this. i will venture to make a guess that the speech the king has made comes from some man's tongue who is of far less understanding and goodness than he is, and has evidently proceeded from those who are our enemies. it is speaking improbabilities to say that i could be thoralf's murderer; for he was my foster-brother and good friend. had the case been otherwise, and had there been anything outstanding between me and thoralf, yet i am surely born with sufficient understanding to have done this deed in the farey islands, rather than here between your hands, sire. but i am ready to clear myself, and my whole ship's crew, of this act, and to make oath according to what stands in your laws. or, if ye find it more satisfactory, i offer to clear myself by the ordeal of hot iron; and i wish, sire, that you may be present yourself at the proof." when sigurd had ceased to speak there were many who supported his case, and begged the king that sigurd might be allowed to clear himself of this accusation. they thought that sigurd had spoken well, and that the accusation against him might be untrue. the king replies, "it may be with regard to this man very differently, and if he is belied in any respect he must be a good man; and if not, he is the boldest i have ever met with: and i believe this is the case, and that he will bear witness to it himself." at the desire of the people, the king took sigurd's obligation to take the iron ordeal; he should come the following day to lygra, where the bishop should preside at the ordeal; and so the thing closed. the king went back to lygra, and sigurd and his comrades to their ship. as soon as it began to be dark at night sigurd said to his ship's people. "to say the truth, we have come into a great misfortune; for a great lie is got up against us, and this king is a deceitful, crafty man. our fate is easy to be foreseen where he rules; for first he made thoralf be slain, and then made us the misdoers, without benefit of redemption by fine. for him it is an easy matter to manage the iron ordeal, so that i fear he will come ill off who tries it against him. now there is coming a brisk mountain breeze, blowing right out of the sound and off the land; and it is my advice that we hoist our sail, and set out to sea. let thrand himself come with his wool to market another summer; but if i get away, it is my opinion i shall never think of coming to norway again." his comrades thought the advice good, hoisted their sail, and in the night-time took to the open sea with all speed. they did not stop until they came to farey, and home to gata. thrand was ill-pleased with their voyage, and they did not answer him in a very friendly way; but they remained at home, however, with thrand. the morning after, king olaf heard of sigurd's departure, and heavy reports went round about this case; and there were many who believed that the accusation against sigurd was true, although they had denied and opposed it before the king. king olaf spoke but little about the matter, but seemed to know of a certainty that the suspicion he had taken up was founded in truth. the king afterwards proceeded in his progress, taking up his abode where it was provided for him. 146. of the icelanders. king olaf called before him the men who had come from iceland, thorod snorrason, geller thorkelson, stein skaptason, and egil halson, and spoke to them thus:--"ye have spoken to me much in summer about making yourselves ready to return to iceland, and i have never given you a distinct answer. now i will tell you what my intention is. thee, geller, i propose to allow to return, if thou wilt carry my message there; but none of the other icelanders who are now here may go to iceland before i have heard how the message which thou, geller, shalt bring thither has been received." when the king had made this resolution known, it appeared to those who had a great desire to return, and were thus forbidden, that they were unreasonably and hardly dealt with, and that they were placed in the condition of unfree men. in the meantime geller got ready for his journey, and sailed in summer (a.d. 1026) to iceland, taking with him the message he was to bring before the thing the following summer (a.d. 1027). the king's message was, that he required the icelanders to adopt the laws which he had set in norway, also to pay him thane-tax and nose-tax (1); namely, a penny for every nose, and the penny at the rate of ten pennies to the yard of wadmal (2). at the same time he promised them his friendship if they accepted, and threatened them with all his vengeance if they refused his proposals. the people sat long in deliberation on this business; but at last they were unanimous in refusing all the taxes and burdens which were demanded of them. that summer geller returned back from iceland to norway to king olaf, and found him in autumn in the east in viken, just as he had come from gautland; of which i shall speak hereafter in this story of king olaf. towards the end of autumn king olaf repaired north to throndhjem, and went with his people to nidaros, where he ordered a winter residence to be prepared for him. the winter (a.d. 1027) that he passed here in the merchant-town of nidaros was the thirteenth year of his reign. endnotes: (1) nefgildi (nef=nose), a nose-tax or poll-tax payable to the king. this ancient "nose-tax" was also imposed by the norsemen on conquered countries, the penalty for defaulters being the loss of their nose. (2) wadmal was the coarse woollen cloth made in iceland, and so generally used for clothing that it was a measure of value in the north, like money, for other commodities.--l. 147. of the jamtaland people. there was once a man called ketil jamte, a son of earl onund of sparby, in the throndhjem district. he fled over the ridge of mountains from eystein illrade, cleared the forest, and settled the country now called the province of jamtaland. a great many people joined him from the throndhjem land, on account of the disturbances there; for this king eystein had laid taxes on the throndhjem people, and set his dog, called saur, to be king over them. thorer helsing was ketil's grandson, and he colonised the province called helsingjaland, which is named after him. when harald harfager subdued the kingdom by force, many people fled out of the country from him, both throndhjem people and naumudal people, and thus new settlements were added to jamtaland; and some settlers went even eastwards to helsingjaland and down to the baltic coast, and all became subjects of the swedish king. while hakon athelstan's foster-son was over norway there was peace, and merchant traffic from throndhjem to jamtaland; and, as he was an excellent king, the jamtalanders came from the east to him, paid him scat, and he gave them laws and administered justice. they would rather submit to his government than to the swedish king's, because they were of norwegian race; and all the helsingjaland people, who had their descent from the north side of the mountain ridge, did the same. this continued long after those times, until olaf the thick and the swedish king olaf quarrelled about the boundaries. then the jamtaland and helsingjaland people went back to the swedish king; and then the forest of eid was the eastern boundary of the land, and the mountain ridge, or keel of the country, the northern: and the swedish king took scat of helsingjaland, and also of jamtaland. now, thought the king of norway, olaf, in consequence of the agreement between him and the swedish king, the scat of jamtaland should be paid differently than before; although it had long been established that the jamtaland people paid their scat to the swedish king, and that he appointed officers over the country. the swedes would listen to nothing, but that all the land to the east of the keel of the country belonged to the swedish king. now this went so, as it often happens, that although the kings were brothers-in-law and relations, each would hold fast the dominions which he thought he had a right to. king olaf had sent a message round in jamtaland, declaring it to be his will that the jamtaland people should be subject to him, threatening them with violence if they refused; but the jamtaland people preferred being subjects of the swedish king. 148. stein's story. the icelanders, thorod snorrason and stein skaptason, were ill-pleased at not being allowed to do as they liked. stein was a remarkably handsome man, dexterous at all feats, a great poet, splendid in his apparel, and very ambitious of distinction. his father, skapte, had composed a poem on king olaf, which he had taught stein, with the intention that he should bring it to king olaf. stein could not now restrain himself from making the king reproaches in word and speech, both in verse and prose. both he and thorod were imprudent in their conversation, and said the king would be looked upon as a worse man than those who, under faith and law, had sent their sons to him, as he now treated them as men without liberty. the king was angry at this. one day stein stood before the king, and asked if he would listen to the poem which his father skapte had composed about him. the king replies, "thou must first repeat that, stein, which thou hast composed about me." stein replies, that it was not the case that he had composed any. "i am no skald, sire," said he; "and if i even could compose anything, it, and all that concerns me, would appear to thee of little value." stein then went out, but thought he perceived what the king alluded to. thorgeir, one of the king's land-bailiffs, who managed one of his farms in orkadal, happened to be present, and heard the conversation of the king and stein, and soon afterwards thorgeir returned home. one night stein left the city, and his footboy with him. they went up gaularas and into orkadal. one evening they came to one of the king's farms which thorgeir had the management of, and thorgeir invited stein to pass the night there, and asked where he was travelling to. stein begged the loan of a horse and sledge, for he saw they were just driving home corn. thorgeir replies, "i do not exactly see how it stands with thy journey, and if thou art travelling with the king's leave. the other day, methinks, the words were not very sweet that passed between the king and thee." stein said, "if it be so that i am not my own master for the king, yet i will not submit to such treatment from his slaves;" and, drawing his sword, he killed the landbailiff. then he took the horse, put the boy upon him, and sat himself in the sledge, and so drove the whole night. they travelled until they came to surnadal in more. there they had themselves ferried across the fjord, and proceeded onwards as fast as they could. they told nobody about the murder, but wherever they came called themselves king's men, and met good entertainment everywhere. one day at last they came towards evening to giske isle, to thorberg arnason's house. he was not at home himself, but his wife ragnhild, a daughter of erling skjalgson, was. there stein was well received, because formerly there had been great friendship between them. it had once happened, namely, that stein, on his voyage from iceland with his own vessel, had come to giske from sea, and had anchored at the island. at that time ragnhild was in the pains of childbirth, and very ill, and there was no priest on the island, or in the neighbourhood of it. there came a message to the merchant-vessel to inquire if, by chance, there was a priest on board. there happened to be a priest in the vessel, who was called bard; but he was a young man from westfjord, who had little learning. the messengers begged the priest to go with them, but he thought it was a difficult matter: for he knew his own ignorance, and would not go. stein added his word to persuade the priest. the priest replies, "i will go if thou wilt go with me; for then i will have confidence, if i should require advice." stein said he was willing; and they went forthwith to the house, and to where ragnhild was in labour. soon after she brought forth a female child, which appeared to be rather weak. then the priest baptized the infant, and stein held it at the baptism, at which it got the name of thora; and stein gave it a gold ring. ragnhild promised stein her perfect friendship, and bade him come to her whenever he thought he required her help. stein replied that he would hold no other female child at baptism, and then they parted. now it was come to the time when stein required this kind promise of ragnhild to be fulfilled, and he told her what had happened, and that the king's wrath had fallen upon him. she answered, that all the aid she could give should stand at his service; but bade him wait for thorberg's arrival. she then showed him to a seat beside her son eystein orre, who was then twelve years old. stein presented gifts to ragnhild and eystein. thorberg had already heard how stein had conducted himself before he got home, and was rather vexed at it. ragnhild went to him, and told him how matters stood with stein, and begged thorberg to receive him, and take care of him. thorberg replies, "i have heard that the king, after sending out a message-token, held a thing concerning the murder of thorgeir, and has condemned stein as having fled the country, and likewise that the king is highly incensed: and i have too much sense to take the cause of a foreigner in hand, and draw upon myself the king's wrath. let stein, therefore, withdraw from hence as quickly as thou canst." ragnhild replied, that they should either both go or both stay. thorberg told her to go where she pleased. "for i expect," said he, "that wherever thou goest thou wilt soon come back, for here is thy importance greatest." her son eystein orre then stood forward, and said he would not stay behind if ragnhild goes. thorberg said that they showed themselves very stiff and obstinate in this matter. "and it appears that ye must have your way in it, since ye take it so near to heart; but thou art reckoning too much, ragnhild, upon thy descent, in paying so little regard to king olaf's word." ragnhild replied, "if thou art so much afraid to keep stein with thee here, go with him to my father erling, or give him attendants, so that he may get there in safety." thorberg said he would not send stein there; "for there are enough of things besides to enrage the king against erling." stein thus remained there all winter (a.d. 1027). after yule a king's messenger came to thorberg, with the order that thorberg should come to him before midsummer; and the order was serious and severe. thorberg laid it before his friends, and asked their advice if he should venture to go to the king after what had taken place. the greater number dissuaded him, and thought it more advisable to let stein slip out of his hands than to venture within the king's power: but thorberg himself had rather more inclination not to decline the journey. soon after thorberg went to his brother fin, told him the circumstances, and asked him to accompany him. fin replied, that he thought it foolish to be so completely under woman's influence that he dared not, on account of his wife, keep the fealty and law of his sovereign. "thou art free," replied thorberg, "to go with me or not; but i believe it is more fear of the king than love to him that keeps thee back." and so they parted in anger. then thorberg went to his brother arne arnason, and asked him to go with him to the king. arne says, "it appears to me wonderful that such a sensible, prudent man, should fall into such a misfortune, without necessity, as to incur the king's indignation. it might be excused if it were thy relation or foster-brother whom thou hadst thus sheltered; but not at all that thou shouldst take up an iceland man, and harbour the king's outlaw, to the injury of thyself and all thy relations." thorberg replies, "it stands good, according to the proverb,--a rotten branch will be found in every tree. my father's greatest misfortune evidently was that he had such ill luck in producing sons that at last he produced one incapable of acting, and without any resemblance to our race, and whom in truth i never would have called brother, if it were not that it would have been to my mother's shame to have refused." thorberg turned away in a gloomy temper, and went home. thereafter he sent a message to his brother kalf in the throndhjem district, and begged him to meet him at agdanes; and when the messengers found kalf he promised, without more ado, to make the journey. ragnhild sent men east to jadar to her father erling, and begged him to send people. erling's sons, sigurd and thord, came out, each with a ship of twenty benches of rowers and ninety men. when they came north thorberg received them joyfully, entertained them well, and prepared for the voyage with them. thorberg had also a vessel with twenty benches, and they steered their course northwards. when they came to the mouth of the throndhjem fjord thorberg's two brothers, fin and arne, were there already, with two ships each of twenty benches. thorberg met his brothers with joy, and observed that his whetstone had taken effect; and fin replied he seldom needed sharpening for such work. then they proceeded north with all their forces to throndhjem, and stein was along with them. when they came to agdanes, kaff arnason was there before them; and he also had a wellmanned ship of twenty benches. with this war-force they sailed up to nidaros, where they lay all night. the morning after they had a consultation with each other. kalf and erling's sons were for attacking the town with all their forces, and leaving the event to fate; but thorberg wished that they should first proceed with moderation, and make an offer; in which opinion fin and arne also concurred. it was accordingly resolved that fin and arne, with a few men, should first wait upon the king. the king had previously heard that they had come so strong in men, and was therefore very sharp in his speech. fin offered to pay mulct for thorberg, and also for stein, and bade the king to fix what the penalties should be, however large; stipulating only for thorberg safety and his fiefs, and for stein life and limb. the king replies, "it appears to me that ye come from home so equipped that ye can determine half as much as i can myself, or more; but this i expected least of all from you brothers, that ye should come against me with an army; and this counsel, i can observe, has its origin from the people of jadar; but ye have no occasion to offer me money in mulct." fin replies, "we brothers have collected men, not to offer hostility to you, sire, but to offer rather our services; but if you will bear down thorberg altogether, we must all go to king canute the great with such forces as we have." then the king looked at him, and said, "if ye brothers will give your oaths that ye will follow me in the country and out of the country, and not part from me without my leave and permission, and shall not conceal from me any treasonable design that may come to your knowledge against me, then will i agree to a peace with you brothers." then fin returned to his forces, and told the conditions which the king had proposed to them. now they held a council upon it, and thorberg, for his part, said he would accept the terms offered. "i have no wish," says he, "to fly from my property, and seek foreign masters; but, on the contrary, will always consider it an honour to follow king olaf, and be where he is." then says kalf, "i will make no oath to king olaf, but will be with him always, so long as i retain my fiefs and dignities, and so long as the king will be my friend; and my opinion is that we should all do the same." fin says, "we will venture to let king olaf himself determine in this matter." arne arnason says, "i was resolved to follow thee, brother thorberg, even if thou hadst given battle to king olaf, and i shall certainly not leave thee for listening to better counsel; so i intend to follow thee and fin, and accept the conditions ye have taken." thereupon the brothers thorberg, fin, and arne, went on board a vessel, rowed into the fjord, and waited upon the king. the agreement went accordingly into fulfillment, so that the brothers gave their oaths to the king. then thorberg endeavored to make peace for stein with the king; but the king replied that stein might for him depart in safety, and go where he pleased, but "in my house he can never be again." then thorberg and his brothers went back to their men. kalf went to eggja, and fin to the king; and thorberg, with the other men, went south to their homes. stein went with erling's sons; but early in the spring (a.d. 1027) he went west to england into the service of canute the great, and was long with him, and was treated with great distinction. 149. fin arnason's expedition to halogaland. now when fin arnason had been a short time with king olaf, the king called him to a conference, along with some other persons he usually held consultation with; and in this conference the king spoke to this effect:--"the decision remains fixed in my mind that in spring i should raise the whole country to a levy both of men and ships, and then proceed, with all the force i can muster, against king canute the great: for i know for certain that he does not intend to treat as a jest the claim he has awakened upon my kingdom. now i let thee know my will, fin arnason, that thou proceed on my errand to halogaland, and raise the people there to an expedition, men and ships, and summon that force to meet me at agdanes." then the king named other men whom he sent to throndhjem, and some southwards in the country, and he commanded that this order should be circulated through the whole land. of fin's voyage we have to relate that he had with him a ship with about thirty men, and when he was ready for sea he prosecuted his journey until he came to halogaland. there he summoned the bondes to a thing, laid before them his errand, and craved a levy. the bondes in that district had large vessels, suited to a levy expedition, and they obeyed the king's message, and rigged their ships. now when fin came farther north in halogaland he held a thing again, and sent some of his men from him to crave a levy where he thought it necessary. he sent also men to bjarkey island to thorer hund, and there, as elsewhere, craved the quota to the levy. when the message came to thorer he made himself ready, and manned with his house-servants the same vessel he had sailed with on his cruise to bjarmaland, and which he equipped at his own expense. fin summoned all the people of halogaland who were to the north to meet at vagar. there came a great fleet together in spring, and they waited there until fin returned from the north. thorer hund had also come there. when fin arrived he ordered the signal to sound for all the people of the levy to attend a house-thing; and at it all the men produced their weapons, and also the fighting men from each ship-district were mustered. when that was all finished fin said, "i have also to bring thee a salutation, thorer hund, from king olaf, and to ask thee what thou wilt offer him for the murder of his court-man karle, or for the robbery in taking the king's goods north in lengjuvik. i have the king's orders to settle that business, and i wait thy answer to it." thorer looked about him, and saw standing on both sides many fully armed men, among whom were gunstein and others of karle's kindred. then said thorer, "my proposal is soon made. i will refer altogether to the king's pleasure the matter he thinks he has against me." fin replies, "thou must put up with a less honour; for thou must refer the matter altogether to my decision, if any agreement is to take place." thorer replies, "and even then i think it will stand well with my case, and therefore i will not decline referring it to thee." thereupon thorer came forward, and confirmed what he said by giving his hand upon it; and fin repeated first all the words he should say. fin now pronounced his decision upon the agreement,--that thorer should pay to the king ten marks of gold, and to gunstein and the other kindred ten marks, and for the robbery and loss of goods ten marks more; and all which should be paid immediately. thorer says, "this is a heavy money mulct." "without it," replies fin, "there will be no agreement." thorer says, there must time be allowed to gather so much in loan from his followers; but fin told him to pay immediately on the spot; and besides, thorer should lay down the great ornament which he took from karle when he was dead. thorer asserted that he had not got the ornament. then gunstein pressed forward, and said that karle had the ornament around his neck when they parted, but it was gone when they took up his corpse. thorer said he had not observed any ornament; but if there was any such thing, it must be lying at home in bjarkey. then fin put the point of his spear to thorer's breast, and said that he must instantly produce the ornament; on which thorer took the ornament from his neck and gave it to fin. thereafter thorer turned away, and went on board his ship. fin, with many other men, followed him, went through the whole vessel, and took up the hatches. at the mast they saw two very large casks; and fin asked, "what are these puncheons?" thorer replies, "it is my liquor." fin says, "why don't you give us something to drink then, comrade, since you have so much liquor?" thorer ordered his men to run off a bowlfull from the puncheons, from which fin and his people got liquor of the best quality. now fin ordered thorer to pay the mulcts. thorer went backwards and forwards through the ship, speaking now to the one, now to the other, and fin calling out to produce the pence. thorer begged him to go to the shore, and said he would bring the money there, and fin with his men went on shore. then thorer came and paid silver; of which, from one purse, there were weighed ten marks. thereafter thorer brought many knotted nightcaps; and in some was one mark, in others half a mark, and in others some small money. "this is money my friends and other good people have lent me," said he; "for i think all my travelling money is gone." then thorer went back again to his ship, and returned, and paid the silver by little and little; and this lasted so long that the day was drawing towards evening. when the thing had closed the people had gone to their vessels, and made ready to depart; and as fast as they were ready they hoisted sail and set out, so that most of them were under sail. when fin saw that they were most of them under sail, he ordered his men to get ready too; but as yet little more than a third part of the mulct had been paid. then fin said, "this goes on very slowly, thorer, with the payment. i see it costs thee a great deal to pay money. i shall now let it stand for the present, and what remains thou shalt pay to the king himself." fin then got up and went away. thorer replies, "i am well enough pleased, fin, to part now; but the good will is not wanting to pay this debt, so that both thou and the king shall say it is not unpaid." then fin went on board his ship, and followed the rest of his fleet. thorer was late before he was ready to come out of the harbour. when the sails were hoisted he steered out over westfjord, and went to sea, keeping south along the land so far off that the hill-tops were half sunk, and soon the land altogether was sunk from view by the sea. thorer held this course until he got into the english sea, and landed in england. he betook himself to king canute forthwith, and was well received by him. it then came out that thorer had with him a great deal of property; and, with other things, all the money he and karle had taken in bjarmaland. in the great liquor-casks there were sides within the outer sides, and the liquor was between them. the rest of the casks were filled with furs, and beaver and sable skins. thorer was then with king canute. fin came with his forces to king olaf, and related to him how all had gone upon his voyage, and told at the same time his suspicion that thorer had left the country, and gone west to england to king canute. "and there i fear he will cause as much trouble." the king replies, "i believe that thorer must be our enemy, and it appears to me always better to have him at a distance than near." 150. dispute between harek and asmund. asmund grankelson had been this winter (a.d. 1027) in halogaland in his sheriffdom, and was at home with his father grankel. there lies a rock out in the sea, on which there is both seal and bird catching, and a fishing ground, and egg-gathering; and from old times it had been an appendage to the farm which grankel owned, but now harek of thjotta laid claim to it. it had gone so far, that some years he had taken by force all the gain of this rock; but asmund and his father thought that they might expect the king's help in all cases in which the right was upon their side. both father and son went therefore in spring to harek, and brought him a message and tokens from king olaf that he should drop his claim. harek answered asmund crossly, because he had gone to the king with such insinuations--"for the just right is upon my side. thou shouldst learn moderation, asmund, although thou hast so much confidence in the king's favour. it has succeeded with thee to kill some chiefs, and leave their slaughter unpaid for by any mulct; and also to plunder us, although we thought ourselves at least equal to all of equal birth, and thou art far from being my equal in family." asmund replies, "many have experienced from thee, harek, that thou art of great connections, and too great power; and many in consequence have suffered loss in their property through thee. but it is likely that now thou must turn thyself elsewhere, and not against us with thy violence, and not go altogether against law, as thou art now doing." then they separated. harek sent ten or twelve of his house-servants with a large rowing boat, with which they rowed to the rock, took all that was to be got upon it, and loaded their boat. but when they were ready to return home, asmund grankelson came with thirty men, and ordered them to give up all they had taken. harek's house-servants were not quick in complying, so that asmund attacked them. some of harek's men were cudgelled, some wounded, some thrown into the sea, and all they had caught was taken from on board of their boat, and asmund and his people took it along with them. then harek's servants came home, and told him the event. harek replies, "that is called news indeed that seldom happens; never before has it happened that my people have been beaten." the matter dropped. harek never spoke about it, but was very cheerful. in spring, however, harek rigged out a cutter of twenty seats of rowers, and manned it with his house-servants, and the ship was remarkably well fitted out both with people and all necessary equipment; and harek went to the levy; but when he came to king olaf, asmund was there before him. the king summoned harek and asmund to him, and reconciled them so that they left the matter entirely to him. asmund then produced witnesses to prove that grankel had owned the rock, and the king gave judgment accordingly. the case had a one-sided result. no mulct was paid for harek's house-servants, and the rock was declared to be grankel's. harek observed it was no disgrace to obey the king's decision, whatever way the case itself was decided. 151. thorod's story. thorod snorrason had remained in norway, according to king olaf's commands, when geller thorkelson got leave to go to iceland, as before related. he remained there (a.d. 1027) with king olaf, but was ill pleased that he was not free to travel where he pleased. early in winter, king olaf, when he was in nidaros, made it known that he would send people to jamtaland to collect the scat; but nobody had any great desire to go on this business, after the fate of those whom king olaf had sent before, namely, thrand white and others, twelve in number, who lost their lives, as before related; and the jamtalanders had ever since been subject to the swedish king. thorod snorrason now offered to undertake this journey, for he cared little what became of him if he could but become his own master again. the king consented, and thorod set out with eleven men in company. they came east to jamtaland, and went to a man called thorar, who was lagman, and a person in high estimation. they met with a hospitable reception; and when they had been there a while, they explained their business to thorar. he replied, that other men and chiefs of the country had in all respects as much power and right to give an answer as he had, and for that purpose he would call together a thing. it was so done; the message-token was sent out, and a numerous thing assembled. thorar went to the thing, but the messengers in the meantime remained at home. at the thing, thorar laid the business before the people, but all were unanimous that no scat should be paid to the king of norway; and some were for hanging the messengers, others for sacrificing them to the gods. at last it was resolved to hold them fast until the king of sweden's sheriffs arrived, and they could treat them as they pleased with consent of the people; and that, in the meantime, this decision should be concealed, and the messengers treated well, and detained under pretext that they must wait until the scat is collected; and that they should be separated, and placed two and two, as if for the convenience of boarding them. thorod and another remained in thorar's house. there was a great yule feast and ale-drinking, to which each brought his own liquor; for there were many peasants in the village, who all drank in company together at yule. there was another village not far distant, where thorar's brother-in-law dwelt, who was a rich and powerful man, and had a grown-up son. the brothers-in-law intended to pass the yule in drinking feasts, half of it at the house of the one and half with the other; and the feast began at thorar's house. the brothers-in-law drank together, and thorod and the sons of the peasants by themselves; and it was a drinking match. in the evening words arose, and comparisons between the men of sweden and of norway, and then between their kings both of former times and at the present, and of the manslaughters and robberies that had taken place between the countries. then said the peasants sons, "if our king has lost most people, his sheriffs will make it even with the lives of twelve men when they come from the south after yule; and ye little know, ye silly fools, why ye are kept here." thorod took notice of these words, and many made jest about it, and scoffed at them and their king. when the ale began to talk out of the hearts of the jamtalanders, what thorod had before long suspected became evident. the day after thorod and his comrade took all their clothes and weapons, and laid them ready; and at night, when the people were all asleep, they fled to the forest. the next morning, when the jamtalanders were aware of their flight, men set out after them with dogs to trace them, and found them in a wood in which they had concealed themselves. they brought them home to a room in which there was a deep cellar, into which they were thrown, and the door locked upon them. they had little meat, and only the clothes they had on them. in the middle of yule, thorar, with all his freeborn men, went to his brother's-in-law, where he was to be a guest until the last of yule. thorar's slaves were to keep guard upon the cellar, and they were provided with plenty of liquor; but as they observed no moderation in drinking, they became towards evening confused in the head with the ale. as they were quite drunk, those who had to bring meat to the prisoners in the cellar said among themselves that they should want for nothing. thorod amused the slaves by singing to them. they said he was a clever man, and gave him a large candle that was lighted; and the slaves who were in went to call the others to come in; but they were all so confused with the ale, that in going out they neither locked the cellar nor the room after them. now thorod and his comrades tore up their skin clothes in strips, knotted them together, made a noose at one end, and threw up the rope on the floor of the room. it fastened itself around a chest, by which they tried to haul themselves up. thorod lifted up his comrade until he stood on his shoulders, and from thence scrambled up through the hatchhole. there was no want of ropes in the chamber, and he threw a rope down to thorod; but when he tried to draw him up, he could not move him from the spot. then thorod told him to cast the rope over a cross-beam that was in the house, make a loop in it, and place as much wood and stones in the loop as would outweigh him; and the heavy weight went down into the cellar, and thorod was drawn up by it. now they took as much clothes as they required in the room; and among other things they took some reindeer hides, out of which they cut sandals, and bound them under their feet, with the hoofs of the reindeer feet trailing behind. but before they set off they set fire to a large corn barn which was close by, and then ran out into the pitch-dark night. the barn blazed, and set fire to many other houses in the village. thorod and his comrade travelled the whole night until they came to a lonely wood, where they concealed themselves when it was daylight. in the morning they were missed. there was chase made with dogs to trace the footsteps all round the house; but the hounds always came back to the house, for they had the smell of the reindeer hoofs, and followed the scent back on the road that the hoofs had left, and therefore could not find the right direction. thorod and his comrade wandered long about in the desert forest, and came one evening to a small house, and went in. a man and a woman were sitting by the fire. the man called himself thorer, and said it was his wife who was sitting there, and the hut belonged to them. the peasant asked them to stop there, at which they were well pleased. he told them that he had come to this place, because he had fled from the inhabited district on account of a murder. thorod and his comrade were well received, and they all got their supper at the fireside; and then the benches were cleared for them, and they lay down to sleep, but the fire was still burning with a clear light. thorod saw a man come in from another house, and never had he seen so stout a man. he was dressed in a scarlet cloak beset with gold clasps, and was of very handsome appearance. thorod heard him scold them for taking guests, when they had scarcely food for themselves. the housewife said, "be not angry, brother; seldom such a thing happens; and rather do them some good too, for thou hast better opportunity to do so than we." thorod heard also the stout man named by the name of arnliot gelline, and observed that the woman of the house was his sister. thorod had heard speak of arnliot as the greatest-of robbers and malefactors. thorod and his companion slept the first part of the night, for they were wearied with walking; but when a third of the night was still to come, arnliot awoke them, told them to get up, and make ready to depart. they arose immediately, put on their clothes, and some breakfast was given them; and arnliot gave each of them also a pair of skees. arnliot made himself ready to accompany them, and got upon his skees, which were both broad and long; but scarcely had he swung his skee-staff before he was a long way past them. he waited for them, and said they would make no progress in this way, and told them to stand upon the edge of his skees beside him. they did so. thorod stood nearest to him, and held by arnliot's belt, and his comrade held by him. arnliot strode on as quickly with them both, as if he was alone and without any weight. the following day they came, towards night, to a lodge for travellers, struck fire, and prepared some food; but arnliot told them to throw away nothing of their food, neither bones nor crumbs. arnliot took a silver plate out of the pocket of his cloak, and ate from it. when they were done eating, arnliot gathered up the remains of their meal, and they prepared to go to sleep. in the other end of the house there was a loft upon cross-beams, and arnliot and the others went up, and laid themselves down to sleep. arnliot had a large halberd, of which the upper part was mounted with gold, and the shaft was so long that with his arm stretched out he could scarcely touch the top of it; and he was girt with a sword. they had both their weapons and their clothes up in the loft beside them. arnliot, who lay outermost in the loft, told them to be perfectly quiet. soon after twelve men came to the house, who were merchants going with their wares to jamtaland; and when they came into the house they made a great disturbance, were merry, and made a great fire before them; and when they took their supper they cast away all the bones around them. they then prepared to go to sleep, and laid themselves down upon the benches around the fire. when they, had been asleep a short time, a huge witch came into the house; and when she came in, she carefully swept together all the bones and whatever was of food kind into a heap, and threw it into her mouth. then she gripped the man who was nearest to her, riving and tearing him asunder, and threw him upon the fire. the others awoke in dreadful fright, and sprang up, but she took them, and put them one by one to death, so that only one remained in life. he ran under the loft calling for help, and if there was any one on the loft to help him. arnliot reached down his hand, seized him by the shoulder, and drew him up into the loft. the witch-wife had turned towards the fire, and began to eat the men who were roasting. now arnliot stood up, took his halberd, and struck her between the shoulders, so that the point came out at her breast. she writhed with it, gave a dreadful shriek, and sprang up. the halberd slipped from arnliot's hands, and she ran out with it. arnliot then went in; cleared away the dead corpses out of the house; set the door and the door-posts up, for she had torn them down in going out; and they slept the rest of the night. when the day broke they got up; and first they took their breakfast. when they had got food, arnliot said, "now we must part here. ye can proceed upon the new-traced path the merchants have made in coming here yesterday. in the meantime i will seek after my halberd, and in reward for my labour i will take so much of the goods these men had with them as i find useful to me. thou, thorod, must take my salutation to king olaf; and say to him that he is the man i am most desirous to see, although my salutation may appear to him of little worth." then he took his silver plate, wiped it dry with a cloth, and said, "give king olaf this plate; salute him, and say it is from me." then they made themselves ready for their journey, and parted. thorod went on with his comrade and the man of the merchants company who had escaped. he proceeded until he came to king olaf in the town (nidaros); told the king all that had happened, and presented to him the silver plate. the king said it was wrong that arnliot himself had not come to him; "for it is a pity so brave a hero, and so distinguished a man, should have given himself up to misdeeds." thorod remained the rest of the winter with the king, and in summer got leave to return to iceland; and he and king olaf parted the best of friends. 152. king olaf's levy of men. king olaf made ready in spring (a.d. 1027) to leave nidaros, and many people were assembled about him, both from throndhjem and the northern country; and when he was ready he proceeded first with his men to more, where he gathered the men of the levy, and did the same at raumsdal. he went from thence to south more. he lay a long time at the herey isles waiting for his forces; and he often held house-things, as many reports came to his ears about which he thought it necessary to hold councils. in one of these things he made a speech, in which he spoke of the loss he suffered from the farey islanders. "the scat which they promised me," he said, "is not forthcoming; and i now intend to send men thither after it." then he proposed to different men to undertake this expedition; but the answer was, that all declined the adventure. then there stood up a stout and very remarkable looking man in the thing. he was clad in a red kirtle, had a helmet on his head, a sword in his belt, and a large halberd in his hands. he took up the word and said, "in truth here is a great want of men. ye have a good king; but ye are bad servants who say no to this expedition he offers you, although ye have received many gifts of friendship and tokens of honour from him. i have hitherto been no friend of the king, and he has been my enemy, and says, besides, that he has good grounds for being so. now, i offer, sire, to go upon this expedition, if no better will undertake it." the king answers, "who is this brave man who replies to my offer? thou showest thyself different from the other men here present, in offering thyself for this expedition from which they excuse themselves, although i expected they would willingly have undertaken it; but i do not know thee in the least, and do not know thy name." he replies, "my name, sire, is not difficult to know, and i think thou hast heard my name before. i am karl morske." the king--"so this is karl! i have indeed heard thy name before; and, to say the truth, there was a time when our meeting must have been such, if i had had my will; that thou shouldst not have had to tell it now. but i will not show myself worse than thou, but will join my thanks and my favour to the side of the help thou hast offered me. now thou shalt come to me, karl, and be my guest to-day; and then we shall consult together about this business." karl said it should be so. 153. karl morske's story. karl morske had been a viking, and a celebrated robber. often had the king sent out men against him, and wished to make an end of him; but karl, who was a man of high connection, was quick in all his doing's, and besides a man of great dexterity, and expert in all feats. now when karl had undertaken this business the king was reconciled to him, gave him his friendship, and let him be fitted out in the best manner for this expedition. there were about twenty men in the ship; and the king sent messages to his friends in the farey islands, and recommended him also to leif ossurson and lagman gille, for aid and defence; and for this purpose furnished karl with tokens of the full powers given him. karl set out as soon as he was ready; and as he got a favourable breeze soon came to the farey islands, and landed at thorshavn, in the island straumey. a thing was called, to which there came a great number of people. thrand of gata came with a great retinue, and leif and gille came there also, with many in their following. after they had set up their tents, and put themselves in order, they went to karl morske, and saluted each other on both sides in a friendly way. then karl produced king olaf's words, tokens, and friendly message to leif and gille, who received them in a friendly manner, invited karl to come to them, and promised him to support his errand, and give him all the aid in their power, for which he thanked them. soon after came thrand of gata, who also received karl in the most friendly manner, and said he was glad to see so able a man coming to their country on the king's business, which they were all bound to promote. "i will insist, karl," says he, "on thy taking-up thy winter abode with me, together with all those of thy people who may appear to thee necessary for thy dignity." karl replies, that he had already settled to lodge with leif; "otherwise i would with great pleasure have accepted thy invitation." "then fate has given great honour to leif," says thrand; "but is there any other way in which i can be of service?" karl replies, that he would do him a great service by collecting the scat of the eastern island, and of all the northern islands. thrand said it was both his duty and interest to assist in the king's business, and thereupon thrand returned to his tent; and at that thing nothing else worth speaking of occurred. karl took up his abode with leif ossurson, and was there all winter (a.d. 1028). leif collected the scat of straumey island, and all the islands south of it. the spring after thrand of gata fell ill, and had sore eyes and other complaints; but he prepared to attend the thing, as was his custom. when he came to the thing he had his tent put up, and within it another black tent, that the light might not penetrate. after some days of the thing had passed, leif and karl came to thrand's tent, with a great many people, and found some persons standing outside. they asked if thrand was in the tent, and were told he was. leif told them to bid thrand come out, as he and karl had some business with him. they came back, and said that thrand had sore eyes, and could not come out; "but he begs thee, leif, to come to him within." leif told his comrades to come carefully into the tent, and not to press forward, and that he who came last in should go out first. leif went in first, followed by karl, and then his comrades; and all fully armed as if they were going into battle. leif went into the black tent and asked if thrand was there. thrand answered and saluted leif. leif returned his salutation, and asked if he had brought the scat from the northern islands, and if he would pay the scat that had been collected. thrand replies, that he had not forgotten what had been spoken of between him and karl, and that he would now pay over the scat. "here is a purse, leif, full of silver, which thou canst receive." leif looked around, and saw but few people in the tent, of whom some were lying upon the benches, and a few were sitting up. then leif went to thrand, and took the purse, and carried it into the outer tent, where it was light, turned out the money on his shield, groped about in it with his hand, and told karl to look at the silver. when they had looked at it a while, karl asked leif what he thought of the silver. he replied, "i am thinking where the bad money that is in the north isles can have come from." thrand heard this, and said, "do you not think, leif, the silver is good?" "no," says he. thrand replies, "our relations, then, are rascals not to be trusted. i sent them in spring to collect the scat in the north isles, as i could not myself go anywhere, and they have allowed themselves to be bribed by the bondes to take false money, which nobody looks upon as current and good; it is better, therefore, leif, to look at this silver which has been paid me as land-rent." leif thereupon carried back this silver, and received another bag, which he carried to karl, and they looked over the money together. karl asked leif what he thought of this money. he answered, that it appeared to him so bad that it would not be taken in payment, however little hope there might be of getting a debt paid in any other way: "therefore i will not take this money upon the king's account." a man who had been lying on the bench now cast the skin coverlet off which he had drawn over his head, and said, "true is the old word,--he grows worse who grows older: so it is with thee, thrand, who allowest karl morske to handle thy money all the day." this was gaut the red. thrand sprang up at gaut's words, and reprimanded his relation with many angry words. at last he said that leif should leave this silver, and take a bag which his own peasants had brought him in spring. "and although i am weak-sighted, yet my own hand is the truest test." another man who was lying on the bench raised himself now upon his elbow; and this was thord the low. he said, "these are no ordinary reproaches we suffer from karl morske, and therefore he well deserves a reward for them." leif in the meantime took the bag, and carried it to karl; and when they cast their eyes on the money, leif said, "we need not look long at this silver, for here the one piece of money is better than the other; and this is the money we will have. let a man come to be present at the counting it out." thrand says that he thought leif was the fittest man to do it upon his account. leif and karl thereupon went a short way from the tent, sat down, and counted and weighed the silver. karl took the helmet off his head, and received in it the weighed silver. they saw a man coming to them who had a stick with an axe-head on it in his hand, a hat low upon his head, and a short green cloak. he was bare-legged, and had linen breeches on tied at the knee. he laid his stick down in the field, and went to karl and said, "take care, karl morske, that thou does not hurt thyself against my axe-stick." immediately a man came running and calls with great haste to leif ossurson, telling him to come as quickly as possible to lagman gille's tent; "for," says he, "sirurd thorlakson ran in just now into the mouth of the tent, and gave one of gille's men a desperate wound." leif rose up instantly, and went off to gille's tent along with his men. karl remained sitting, and the norway people stood around in all corners. gaut immediately sprang up, and struck with a hand-axe over the heads of the people, and the stroke came on karl's head; but the wound was slight. thord the low seized the stick-axe, which lay in the field at his side, and struck the axe-blade right into karl's skull. many people now streamed out of thrand's tent. karl was carried away dead. thrand was much grieved at this event, and offered money-mulcts for his relations; but leif and gille, who had to prosecute the business, would accept no mulct. sigurd was banished the country for having wounded gille's tent comrade, and gaut and thord for the murder of karl. the norway people rigged out the vessel which karl had with him, and sailed eastward to olaf, and gave him these tidings. he was in no pleasant humour at it, and threatened a speedy vengeance; but it was not allotted by fate to king olaf to revenge himself on thrand and his relations, because of the hostilities which had begun in norway, and which are now to be related. and there is nothing more to be told of what happened after king olaf sent men to the farey islands to take scat of them. but great strife arose after karl's death in the farey islands between the family of thrand of gata and leif ossurson, and of which there are great sagas. 154. king olaf's expedition with his levy. now we must proceed with the relation we began before,--that king olaf set out with his men, and raised a levy over the whole country (a.d. 1027). all lendermen in the north followed him excepting einar tambaskelfer, who sat quietly at home upon his farm since his return to the country, and did not serve the king. einar had great estates and wealth, although he held no fiefs from the king, and he lived splendidly. king olaf sailed with his fleet south around stad, and many people from the districts around joined him. king olaf himself had a ship which he had got built the winter before (a.d. 1027), and which was called the visund (1). it was a very large ship, with a bison's head gilded all over upon the bow. sigvat the skald speaks thus of it:- "trygvason's long serpent bore, grim gaping o'er the waves before, a dragon's head with open throat, when last the hero was afloat: his cruise was closed, as god disposed. olaf has raised a bison's head, which proudly seems the waves to tread. while o'er its golden forehead dashing the waves its glittering horns are washing: may god dispose a luckier close." the king went on to hordaland; there he heard the news that erling skjalgson had left the country with a great force, and four or five ships. he himself had a large war-ship, and his sons had three of twenty rowing-banks each; and they had sailed westward to england to canute the great. then king olaf sailed eastward along the land with a mighty war-force, and he inquired everywhere if anything was known of canute's proceedings; and all agreed in saying he was in england but added that he was fitting out a levy, and intended coming to norway. as olaf had a large fleet, and could not discover with certainty where he should go to meet king canute, and as his people were dissatisfied with lying quiet in one place with so large an armament, he resolved to sail with his fleet south to denmark, and took with him all the men who were best appointed and most warlike; and he gave leave to the others to return home. now the people whom he thought of little use having gone home, king olaf had many excellent and stout men-at-arms besides those who, as before related, had fled the country, or sat quietly at home; and most of the chief men and lendermen of norway were along with him. endnotes: (1) visundr is the buffalo; although the modern bison, or american animal of that name, might have been known through the greenland colonists, who in this reign had visited some parts of america.--l. 155. of king olaf and king onund. when king olaf sailed to denmark, he set his course for seeland; and when he came there he made incursions on the land, and began to plunder. the country people were severely treated; some were killed, some bound and dragged to the ships. all who could do so took to flight, and made no opposition. king olaf committed there the greatest ravages. while olaf was in seeland, the news came that king onund olafson of sweden had raised a levy, and fallen upon scania, and was ravaging there; and then it became known what the resolution had been that the two kings had taken at the gaut river, where they had concluded a union and friendship, and had bound themselves to oppose king canute. king onund continued his march until he met his brother-in-law king olaf. when they met they made proclamation both to their own people and to the people of the country, that they intended to conquer denmark; and asked the support of the people of the country for this purpose. and it happened, as we find examples of everywhere, that if hostilities are brought upon the people of a country not strong enough to withstand, the greatest number will submit to the conditions by which peace can be purchased at any rate. so it happened here that many men went into the service of the kings, and agreed to submit to them. wheresoever they went they laid the country all round subjection to them, and otherwise laid waste all with fire and sword. of this foray sigvat the skald speaks, in a ballad he composed concerning king canute the great:- "'canute is on the sea!' the news is told, and the norsemen bold repeat it with great glee. and it runs from mouth to mouth- 'on a lucky day we came away from throndhjem to the south.' across the cold east sea, the swedish king his host did bring, to gain great victory. king onund came to fight, in seeland's plains, against the danes, with his steel-clad men so bright. canute is on the land; side to side his long-ships ride along the yellow strand. where waves wash the green banks, mast to mast, all bound fast, his great fleet lies in ranks." 156. of king canute the great. king canute had heard in england that king olaf of norway had called out a levy, and had gone with his forces to denmark, and was making great ravages in his dominions there. canute began to gather people, and he had speedily collected a great army and a numerous fleet. earl hakon was second in command over the whole. sigvat the skald came this summer (a.d. 1027) from the west, from ruda (rouen) in valland, and with him was a man called berg. they had made a merchant voyage there the summer before. sigvat had made a little poem about this journey, called "the western traveller's song," which begins thus:- "berg! many a merry morn was pass'd, when our vessel was made fast, and we lay on the glittering tide or rouen river's western side." when sigvat came to england he went directly to king canute, and asked his leave to proceed to norway; for king canute had forbidden all merchant vessels to sail until he himself was ready with his fleet. when sigvat arrived he went to the house in which the king was lodged; but the doors were locked, and he had to stand a long time outside, but when he got admittance he obtained the permission he desired. he then sang:- "the way to jutland's king i sought; a little patience i was taught. the doors were shut--all full within; the udaller could not get in. but gorm's great son did condescend to his own chamber me to send, and grant my prayer--although i'm one whose arms the fetters' weight have known." when sigvat became aware that king canute was equipping an armament against king olaf, and knew what a mighty force king canute had, he made these lines:- "the mighty canute, and earl hakon, have leagued themselves, and counsel taken against king olaf's life, and are ready for the strife. in spite of king and earl, i say, 'i love him well--may he get away:' on the fields, wild and dreary, with him i'd live, and ne'er be weary." sigvat made many other songs concerning this expedition of canute and hakon. he made this among others:- "'twas not the earl's intention then 'twixt olaf and the udalmen peace to establish, and the land upright to hold with northman's hand; but ever with deceit and lies eirik's descendant, hakon, tries to make ill-will and discontent, till all the udalmen are bent against king olaf's rule to rise." 157. of king canute's ship the dragon. canute the great was at last ready with his fleet, and left the land; and a vast number of men he had, and ships frightfully large. he himself had a dragon-ship, so large that it had sixty banks of rowers, and the head was gilt all over. earl hakon had another dragon of forty banks, and it also had a gilt figure-head. the sails of both were in stripes of blue, red, and green, and the vessels were painted all above the water-stroke; and all that belonged to their equipment was most splendid. they had also many other huge ships remarkably well fitted out, and grand. sigvat the skald talks of this in his song on canute:- "canute is out beneath the sky- canute of the clear blue eye! the king is out on the ocean's breast, leading his grand fleet from the west. on to the east the ship-masts glide, glancing and bright each long-ship's side. the conqueror of great ethelred, canute, is there, his foemen's dread: his dragon with her sails of blue, all bright and brilliant to the view, high hoisted on the yard arms wide, carries great canute o'er the tide. brave is the royal progress--fast the proud ship's keel obeys the mast, dashes through foam, and gains the land, raising a surge on limfjord's strand." it is related that king canute sailed with this vast force from england, and came with all his force safely to denmark, where he went into limfjord, and there he found gathered besides a large army of the men of the country. 158. hardaknut taken to be king in denmark. earl ulf sprakalegson had been set as protector over denmark when king canute went to england, and the king had intrusted his son hardaknut in the earl's hands. this took place the summer before (a.d. 1026), as we related. but the earl immediately gave it out that king canute had, at parting, made known to him his will and desire that the danes should take his son hardaknut as king over the danish dominions. "on that account," says the earl, "he gave the matter into our hands; as i, and many other chiefs and leading men here in the country, have often complained to king canute of the evil consequences to the country of being without a king, and that former kings thought it honour and power enough to rule over the danish kingdom alone; and in the times that are past many kings have ruled over this kingdom. but now there are greater difficulties than have ever been before; for we have been so fortunate hitherto as to live without disturbance from foreign kings, but now we hear the king of norway is going to attack us, to which is added the fear of the people that the swedish king will join him; and now king canute is in england." the earl then produced king canute's letter and seal, confirming all that the earl asserted. many other chiefs supported this business; and in consequence of all these persuasions the people resolved to take hardaknut as king, which was done at the same thing. the queen emma had been principal promoter of this determination; for she had got the letter to be written, and provided with the seal, having cunningly got hold of the king's signet; but from him it was all concealed. now when hardaknut and earl ulf heard for certain that king olaf was come from norway with a large army, they went to jutland, where the greatest strength of the danish kingdom lies, sent out message-tokens, and summoned to them a great force; but when they heard the swedish king was also come with his army, they thought they would not have strength enough to give battle to both, and therefore kept their army together in jutland, and resolved to defend that country against the kings. the whole of their ships they assembled in limfjord, and waited thus for king canute. now when they heard that king canute had come from the west to limfjord they sent men to him, and to queen emma, and begged her to find out if the king was angry at them or not, and to let them know. the queen talked over the matter with him, and said, "your son hardaknut will pay the full mulct the king may demand, if he has done anything which is thought to be against the king." he replies, that hardaknut has not done this of his own judgement. "and therefore," says he, "it has turned out as might have been expected, that when he, a child, and without understanding, wanted to be called king, the country, when any evil came and an enemy appeared, must be conquered by foreign princes, if our might had not come to his aid. if he will have any reconciliation with me let him come to me, and lay down the mock title of king he has given himself." the queen sent these very words to hardaknut, and at the same time she begged him not to decline coming; for, as she truly observed, he had no force to stand against his father. when this message came to hardaknut he asked the advice of the earl and other chief people who were with him; but it was soon found that when the people heard king canute the old was arrived they all streamed to him, and seemed to have no confidence but in him alone. then earl ulf and his fellows saw they had but two roads to take; either to go to the king and leave all to his mercy, or to fly the country. all pressed hardaknut to go to his father, which advice he followed. when they met he fell at his father's feet, and laid his seal, which accompanied the kingly title, on his knee. king canute took hardaknut by the hand, and placed him in as high a seat as he used to sit in before. earl ulf sent his son svein, who was a sister's son of king canute, and the same age as hardaknut, to the king. he prayed for grace and reconciliation for his father, and offered himself as hostage for the earl. king canute ordered him to tell the earl to assemble his men and ships, and come to him, and then they would talk of reconciliation. the earl did so. 159. foray in scania. when king olaf and king onund heard that king canute was come from the west, and also that he had a vast force, they sailed east to scania, and allowed themselves to ravage and burn in the districts there, and then proceeded eastward along the land to the frontier of sweden. as soon as the country people heard that king canute was come from the west, no one thought of going into the service of the two kings. now the kings sailed eastward along the coast, and brought up in a river called helga, and remained there some time. when they heard that king canute was coming eastward with his forces against them, they held a council; and the result was, that king olaf with his people went up the country to the forest, and to the lake out of which the river helga flows. there at the riverhead they made a dam of timber and turf, and dammed in the lake. they also dug a deep ditch, through which they led several waters, so that the lake waxed very high. in the river-bed they laid large logs of timber. they were many days about this work, and king olaf had the management of this piece of artifice; but king onund had only to command the fleet and army. when king canute heard of the proceedings of the two kings, and of the damage they had done to his dominions, he sailed right against them to where they lay in helga river. he had a war-force which was one half greater than that of both the kings together. sigvat speaks of these things:- "the king, who shields his jutland fields from scaith or harm by foeman's arm, will not allow wild plundering now: 'the greatest he, on land or sea.'" 160. battle in helga river. one day, towards evening, king onund's spies saw king canute coming sailing along, and he was not far off. then king onund ordered the war-horns to sound; on which his people struck their tents, put on their weapons, rowed out of the harbour and east round the land, bound their ships together, and prepared for battle. king onund made his spies run up the country to look for king olaf, and tell him the news. then king olaf broke up the dam, and let the river take its course. king olaf travelled down in the night to his ships. when king canute came outside the harbour, he saw the forces of the kings ready for battle. he thought that it would be too late in the day to begin the fight by the time his forces could be ready; for his fleet required a great deal of room at sea, and there was a long distance between the foremost of his ships and the hindmost, and between those outside and those nearest the land, and there was but little wind. now, as canute saw that the swedes and norwegians had quitted the harbour, he went into it with as many ships as it could hold; but the main strength of the fleet lay without the harbour. in the morning, when it was light, a great part of the men went on shore; some for amusement, some to converse with the people of other ships. they observed nothing until the water came rushing over them like a waterfall, carrying huge trees, which drove in among their ships, damaging all they struck; and the water covered all the fields. the men on shore perished, and many who were in the ships. all who could do it cut their cables; so that the ships were loose, and drove before the stream, and were scattered here and there. the great dragon, which king canute himself was in, drove before the stream; and as it could not so easily be turned with oars, drove out among olaf's and onund's ships. as they knew the ship, they laid her on board on all quarters. but the ship was so high in the hull, as if it were a castle, and had besides such a numerous and chosen crew on board, well armed and exercised, that it was not easy to attack her. after a short time also earl ulf came up with his fleet; and then the battle began, and king canute's fleet gathered together from all quarters. but the kings olaf and onund, seeing they had for this time got all the victory that fate permitted them to gain, let their ships retreat, cast themselves loose from king canute's ship, and the fleets separated. but as the attack had not been made as king canute had determined, he made no further attempt; and the kings on each side arranged their fleets and put their ships in order. when the fleets were parted, and each sailing its course, olaf and onund looked over their forces, and found they had suffered no loss of men. in the meantime they saw that if they waited until king canute got his large fleet in order to attack them, the difference of force was so great that for them there was little chance of victory. it was also evident that if the battle was renewed, they must suffer a great loss of men. they took the resolution, therefore, to row with the whole fleet eastward along the coast. observing that king canute did not pursue them, they raised up their masts and set sail. ottar svarte tells thus of it in the poem he composed upon king canute the great:- "the king, in battle fray, drove the swedish host away: the wolf did not miss prey, nor the raven on that day. great canute might deride two kings if he had pride, for at helga river's side they would not his sword abide." thord sjarekson also sang these lines in his death song of king olaf:- "king olaf, agder's lord, ne'er shunned the jutland king, but with his blue-edged sword broke many a panzer ring. king canute was not slow: king onund filled the plain with dead, killed by his bow: the wolf howled o'er the slain." 161. king olaf and king onund's plans. king olaf and king onund sailed eastward to the swedish king's dominions; and one day, towards evening, landed at a place called barvik, where they lay all night. but then it was observed of the swedes that they were home-sick; for the greater part of their forces sailed eastward along the land in the night, and did not stop their course until they came home to their houses. now when king onund observed this he ordered, as soon as the day dawned, to sound the signal for a house-thing; and the whole people went on shore, and the thing sat down. then king onund took up the word, and spake thus: "so it is, king olaf, that, as you know, we have been assembled in summer, and have forayed wide around in denmark, and have gained much booty, but no land. i had 350 vessels, and now have not above 100 remaining with me. now it appears to me we can make no greater progress than we have made, although you have still the 60 vessels which have followed you the whole summer. it therefore appears to me best that we come back to my kingdom; for it is always good to drive home with the wagon safe. in this expedition we have won something, and lost nothing. now i will offer you, king olaf, to come with me, and we shall remain assembled during the winter. take as much of my kingdom as you will, so that you and the men who follow you may support yourselves well; and when spring comes let us take such measures as we find serviceable. if you, however, will prefer to travel across our country, and go overland to norway, it shall be free for you to do so." king olaf thanked king onund for his friendly offer. "but if i may advise," says he, "then we should take another resolution, and keep together the forces we have still remaining. i had in the first of summer, before i left norway, 350 ships; but when i left the country i chose from among the whole war-levy those i thought to be the best, and with them i manned 60 ships; and these i still have. now it appears to me that the part of your war-force which has now run away is the most worthless, and of least resistance; but now i see here all your chiefs and leaders, and i know well that the people who belong to the court-troops (1) are by far the best suited to carry arms. we have here chosen men and superb ships, and we can very well lie all winter in our ships, as viking's custom is. but canute cannot lie long in helga river; for the harbour will not hold so many vessels as he has. if he steers eastward after us, we can escape from him, and then people will soon gather to us; but if he return to the harbours where his fleet can lie, i know for certain that the desire to return home will not be less in his army than in ours. i think, also, we have ravaged so widely in summer, that the villagers, both in scania and in halland, know well whose favour they have to seek. canute's army will thus be dispersed so widely, that it is uncertain to whom fate may at the last give the victory; but let us first find out what resolution he takes." thus king olaf ended his speech, and it found much applause, and his advice was followed. spies were sent into king canute's army, and both the kings olaf and onund remained lying where they were. endnotes: (1) the thingmen, or hired body-guard attending the court.--l. 162. of king canute and earl ulf. when king canute saw that the kings of norway and sweden steered eastward with their forces along the coast, he sent men to ride night and day on the land to follow their movements. some spies went forward, others returned; so that king canute had news every day of their progress. he had also spies always in their army. now when he heard that a great part of the fleet had sailed away from the kings, he turned back with his forces to seeland, and lay with his whole fleet in the sound; so that a part lay on the scania side, and a part on the seeland side. king canute himself, the day before michaelmas, rode with a great retinue to roeskilde. there his brother-in-law, earl ulf, had prepared a great feast for him. the earl was the most agreeable host, but the king was silent and sullen. the earl talked to him in every way to make him cheerful, and brought forward everything which he thought would amuse him; but the king remained stern, and speaking little. at last the earl proposed to him a game at chess, which he agreed to; and a chess-board was produced, and they played together. earl ulf was hasty in temper, stiff, and in nothing yielding; but everything he managed went on well in his hands; and he was a great warrior, about whom there are many stories. he was the most powerful man in denmark next to the king. earl ulf's sister gyda was married to earl gudin (godwin) ulfnadson; and their sons were harald king of england, and earl toste, earl valthiof, earl morukare, and earl svein. gyda was the name of their daughter, who was married to the english king edward the good. 163. of the earl's murder. when they had played a while the king made a false move, at which the earl took a knight from the king; but the king set the piece again upon the board, and told the earl to make another move; but the earl grew angry, threw over the chess-board, stood up, and went away. the king said, "runnest thou away, ulf the coward?" the earl turned round at the door and said, "thou wouldst have run farther at helga river, if thou hadst come to battle there. thou didst not call me ulf the coward, when i hastened to thy help while the swedes were beating thee like a dog." the earl then went out, and went to bed. a little later the king also went to bed. the following morning while the king was putting on his clothes he said to his footboy, "go thou to earl ulf, and kill him." the lad went, was away a while, and then came back. the king said, "hast thou killed the earl?" "i did not kill him, for he was gone to saint lucius' church." there was a man called ivar white, a norwegian by birth, who was the king's courtman and chamberlain. the king said to him, "go thou and kill the earl." ivar went to the church, and in at the choir, and thrust his sword through the earl, who died on the spot. then ivar went to the king, with the bloody sword in his hand. the king said, "hast thou killed the earl?" "i have killed him," says he. "thou didst well." after the earl was killed the monks closed the church, and locked the doors. when that was told the king he sent a message to the monks, ordering them to open the church and sing high mass. they did as the king ordered; and when the king came to the church he bestowed on it great property, so that it had a large domain, by which that place was raised very high; and these lands have since always belonged to it. king canute rode down to his ships, and lay there till late in harvest with a very large army. 164. of king olaf and the swedes. when king olaf and king onund heard that king canute had sailed to the sound, and lay there with a great force, the kings held a house-thing, and spoke much about what resolution they should adopt. king olaf wished they should remain there with all the fleet, and see what king canute would at last resolve to do. but the swedes held it to be unadvisable to remain until the frost set in, and so it was determined; and king onund went home with all his army, and king olaf remained lying after them. 165. of egil and tofe. while king olaf lay there, he had frequently conferences and consultations with his people. one night egil halson and tofe valgautson had the watch upon the king's ship. tofe came from west gautland, and was a man of high birth. while they sat on watch they heard much lamentation and crying among the people who had been taken in the war, and who lay bound on the shore at night. tofe said it made him ill to hear such distress, and asked egil to go with him, and let loose these people. this work they set about, cut the cords, and let the people escape, and they looked upon it as a piece of great friendship; but the king was so enraged at it, that they themselves were in the greatest danger. when egil afterwards fell sick the king for a long time would not visit him, until many people entreated it of him. it vexed egil much to have done anything the king was angry at, and he begged his forgiveness. the king now dismissed his wrath against egil, laid his hands upon the side on which egil's pain was, and sang a prayer; upon which the pain ceased instantly, and egil grew better. tofe came, after entreaty, into reconciliation with the king, on condition that he should exhort his father valgaut to come to the king. he was a heathen; but after conversation with the king he went over to christianity, and died instantly when he was baptized. 166. treachery towards king olaf. king olaf had now frequent conferences with his people, and asked advice from them, and from his chiefs, as to what he should determine upon. but there was no unanimity among them--some considering that unadvisable which others considered highly serviceable; and there was much indecision in their councils. king canute had always spies in king olaf's army, who entered into conversation with many of his men, offering them presents and favour on account of king canute. many allowed themselves to be seduced, and gave promises of fidelity, and to be king canute's men, and bring the country into his hands if he came to norway. this was apparent, afterwards, of many who at first kept it concealed. some took at once money bribes, and others were promised money afterwards; and a great many there were who had got great presents of money from him before: for it may be said with truth of king canute, that every man who came to him, and who he thought had the spirit of a man and would like his favour, got his hands full of gifts and money. on this account he was very popular, although his generosity was principally shown to foreigners, and was greatest the greater distance they came from. 167. king olaf's consultations. king olaf had often conferences and meetings with his people, and asked their counsel; but as he observed they gave different opinions, he had a suspicion that there must be some who spoke differently from what they really thought advisable for him, and he was thus uncertain if all gave him due fidelity in council. some pressed that with the first fair wind they should sail to the sound, and so to norway. they said the danes would not dare to attack them, although they lay with so great a force right in the way. but the king was a man of too much understanding not to see that this was impracticable. he knew also that olaf trygvason had found it quite otherwise, as to the danes not daring to fight, when he with a few people went into battle against a great body of them. the king also knew that in king canute's army there were a great many norwegians; therefore he entertained the suspicion that those who gave this advice were more favourable to king canute than to him. king olaf came at last to the determination, from all these considerations, that the people who would follow him should make themselves ready to proceed by land across gautland, and so to norway. "but our ships," said he, "and all things that we cannot take with us, i will send eastward to the swedish king's dominions, and let them be taken care of for us there." 168. harek of thjotta's voyage. harek of thjotta replied thus to the king's speech: "it is evident that i cannot travel on foot to norway. i am old and heavy, and little accustomed to walking. besides, i am unwilling to part with my ship; for on that ship and its apparel i have bestowed so much labour, that it would go much against my inclination to put her into the hands of my enemies." the king said, "come along with us, harek, and we shall carry thee when thou art tired of walking." then harek sang these lines:- "i'11 mount my ocean steed, and o'er the sea i'll speed; forests and hills are not for me,- i love the moving sea, though canute block the sound, rather than walk the ground, and leave my ship, i'll see what my ship will do for me." then king olaf let everything be put in order for the journey. the people had their walking clothing and weapons, but their other clothes and effects they packed upon such horses as they could get. then he sent off people to take his ships east to calmar. there he had the vessels laid up, and the ships' apparel and other goods taken care of. harek did as he had said, and waited for a wind, and then sailed west to scania, until, about the decline of the day, he came with a fresh and fair wind to the eastward of holar. there he let the sail and the vane, and flag and mast be taken down, and let the upper works of the ship be covered over with some grey tilt-canvas, and let a few men sit at the oars in the fore part and aft, but the most were sitting low down in the vessel. when canute's watchmen saw the ship, they talked with each other about what ship it might be, and made the guess that it must be one loaded with herrings or salt, as they only saw a few men at the oars; and the ship, besides, appeared to them grey, and wanting tar, as if burnt up by the sun, and they saw also that it was deeply loaded. now when harek came farther through the sound, and past the fleet, he raised the mast, hoisted sail, and set up his gilded vane. the sail was white as snow, and in it were red and blue stripes of cloth interwoven. when the king's men saw the ship sailing in this state, they told the king that probably king olaf had sailed through them. but king canute replies, that king olaf was too prudent a man to sail with a single ship through king canute's fleet, and thought it more likely to be harek of thjotta, or the like of him. many believed the truth to be that king canute knew of this expedition of harek, and that it would not have succeeded so if they had not concluded a friendship beforehand with each other; which seemed likely, after king canute's and harek's friendly understanding became generally known. harek made this song as he sailed northward round the isle of vedrey:- "the widows of lund may smile through their tears, the danish girls may have their jeers; they may laugh or smile, but outside their isle old harek still on to his north land steers." harek went on his way, and never stopped till he came north to halogaland, to his own house in thjotta. 169. king olaf's course from svithjod. when king olaf began his journey, he came first into smaland, and then into west gautland. he marched quietly and peaceably, and the country people gave him all assistance on his journey. thus he proceeded until he came into viken, and north through viken to sarpsborg, where he remained, and ordered a winter abode to be prepared (a.d. 1028). then he gave most of the chiefs leave to return home, but kept the lendermen by him whom he thought the most serviceable. there were with him also all the sons of arne arnmodson, and they stood in great favour with the king. geller thorkelson, who the summer before had come from iceland, also came there to the king, as before related. 170. of sigvat the skald. sigvat the skald had long been in king olaf's household, as before related, and the king made him his marshal. sigvat had no talent for speaking in prose; but in skaldcraft he was so practised, that the verses came as readily from his tongue as if he were speaking in usual language. he had made a mercantile journey to normandy, and in the course of it had come to england, where he met king canute, and obtained permission from him to sail to norway, as before related. when he came to norway he proceeded straight to king olaf, and found him at sarpsborg. he presented himself before the king just as he was sitting down to table. sigvat saluted him. the king looked at sigvat and was silent. then sigvat sang:- "great king! thy marshal is come home, no more by land or sea to roam, but by thy side still to abide. great king! what seat here shall he take for the king's honour--not his sake? for all seats here to me are dear." then was verified the old saying, that "many are the ears of a king;" for king olaf had heard all about sigvat's journey, and that he had spoken with canute. he says to sigvat, "i do not know if thou art my marshal, or hast become one of canute's men." sigvat said:- "canute, whose golden gifts display a generous heart, would have me stay, service in his great court to take, and my own norway king forsake. two masters at a time, i said, were one too many for men bred where truth and virtue, shown to all, make all men true in olaf's hall." then king olaf told sigvat to take his seat where he before used to sit; and in a short time sigvat was in as high favour with the king as ever. 171. of erling skjalgson and his sons. erling skjalgson and all his sons had been all summer in king canute's army, in the retinue of earl hakon. thorer hund was also there, and was in high esteem. now when king canute heard that king olaf had gone overland to norway, he discharged his army, and gave all men leave to go to their winter abodes. there was then in denmark a great army of foreigners, both english, norwegians, and men of other countries, who had joined the expedition in summer. in autumn (a.d. 1027) erling skjalgson went to norway with his men, and received great presents from king canute at parting; but thorer hund remained behind in king canute's court. with erling went messengers from king canute well provided with money; and in winter they travelled through all the country, paying the money which king canute had promised to many in autumn for their assistance. they gave presents in money, besides, to many whose friendship could be purchased for king canute. they received much assistance in their travels from erling. in this way it came to pass that many turned their support to king canute, promised him their services, and agreed to oppose king olaf. some did this openly, but many more concealed it from the public. king olaf heard this news, for many had something to tell him about it; and the conversation in the court often turned upon it. sigvat the skald made a song upon it:- "the base traitors ply with purses of gold, wanting to buy what is not to be sold,- the king's life and throne wanting to buy: but our souls are our own, and to hell we'll not hie. no pleasure in heaven, as we know full well, to the traitor is given,- his soul is his hell." often also the conversation turned upon how ill it beseemed earl hakon to raise his hand in arms against king olaf, who had given him his life when he fell into the king's power; but sigvat was a particular friend of earl hakon, and when he heard the earl spoken against he sang:- "our own court people we may blame, if they take gold to their own shame, their king and country to betray. with those who give it's not the same, from them we have no faith to claim: 'tis we are wrong, if we give way." 172. of king olaf's presents at yule. king olaf gave a great feast at yule, and many great people had come to him. it was the seventh day of yule, that the king, with a few persons, among whom was sigvat, who attended him day and night, went to a house in which the king's most precious valuables were kept. he had, according to his custom, collected there with great care the valuable presents he was to make on new year's eve. there was in the house no small number of gold-mounted swords; and sigvat sang:- "the swords stand there, all bright and fair,- those oars that dip in blood: if i in favour stood, i too might have a share. a sword the skald would gladly take, and use it for his master's sake: in favour once he stood, and a sword has stained in blood." the king took a sword of which the handle was twisted round with gold, and the guard was gold-mounted, and gave it to him. it was a valuable article; but the gift was not seen without envy, as will appear hereafter. immediately after yule (1028) the king began his journey to the uplands; for he had a great many people about him, but had received no income that autumn from the north country, for there had been an armament in summer, and the king had laid out all the revenues he could command; and also he had no vessels with which he and his people could go to the north. at the same time he had news from the north, from which he could see that there would be no safety for him in that quarter, unless he went with a great force. for these reasons he determined to proceed through the uplands, although it was not so long a time since he had been there in guest-quarters as the law prescribes, and as the kings usually had the custom of observing in their visits. when he came to the uplands the lendermen and the richest bondes invited him to be their guest, and thus lightened his expenses. 173. of bjorn the bailiff. there was a man called bjorn who was of gautland family, and a friend and acquaintance of queen astrid, and in some way related to her. she had given him farm-management and other offices in the upper part of hedemark. he had also the management of osterdal district. bjorn was not in esteem with the king, nor liked by the bondes. it happened in a hamlet which bjorn ruled over, that many swine and cattle were missing: therefore bjorn ordered a thing to be called to examine the matter. such pillage he attributed chiefly to the people settled in forest-farms far from other men; by which he referred particularly to those who dwelt in osterdal, for that district was very thinly inhabited, and full of lakes and forest-cleanings, and but in few places was any great neighbourhood together. 174. of raud's sons. there was a man called raud who dwelt in osterdal. his wife was called ragnhild; and his sons, dag and sigurd, were men of great talent. they were present at the thing, made a reply in defence of the osterdal people, and removed the accusation from them. bjorn thought they were too pert in their answer, and too fine in their clothes and weapons; and therefore turned his speech against these brothers, and said it was not unlikely they may have committed these thefts. they denied it, and the thing closed. soon after king olaf, with his retinue, came to guest-quarters in the house of bailiff bjorn. the matter which had been before the thing was then complained of to the king; and bjorn said that raud's sons appeared to him to have committed these thefts. a messenger was sent for raud's sons; and when they appeared before the king he said they had not at all the appearance of thieves, and acquitted them. thereupon they invited the king, with all his retinue, to a three days' entertainment at their father's; and although bjorn dissuaded him from it, the king went. at raud's there was a very excellent feast. the king asked raud what people he and his wife were. raud answered that he was originally a swedish man, rich and of high birth; "but i ran away with the wife i have ever since had, and she is a sister of king hring dagson." the king then remembered both their families. he found that father and sons were men of understanding, and asked them what they could do. sigurd said he could interpret dreams, and determine the time of the day although no heavenly bodies could be seen. the king made trial of his art, and found it was as sigurd had said. dag stated, as his accomplishment, that he could see the misdeeds and vices of every man who came under his eye, when he chose to observe him closely. the king told him to declare what faults of disposition he saw in the king himself. dag mentioned a fault which the king was sensible he really had. then the king asked what fault the bailiff bjorn had. dag said bjorn was a thief; and told also where bjorn had concealed on his farm the bones, horns, and hides of the cattle he had stolen in autumn; "for he committed," said dag, "all the thefts in autumn which he accuses other people of." dag also told the king the places where the king should go after leaving them. when the king departed from raud's house he was accompanied on the way, and presented with friendly gifts; and raud's sons remained with the king. the king went first to bjorn's, and found there that all dag had told him was true. upon which he drove bjorn out of the country; and he had to thank the queen that he preserved life and limbs. 175. thorer's death. thorer, a son of olver of eggja, a stepson of kalf arnason, and a sister's son of thorer hund, was a remarkably handsome man, stout and strong. he was at this time eighteen years old; had made a good marriage in hedemark, by which he got great wealth; and was besides one of the most popular of men, and formed to be a chief. he invited the king and his retinue home to him to a feast. the king accepted the invitation, went to thorer's, and was well received. the entertainment was very splendid; they were excellently treated, and all that was set before the guests was of the best that could be got. the king and his people talked among themselves of the excellence of everything, and knew not what they should admire the most,--whether thorer's house outside, or the inside furniture, the table service, or the liquors, or the host who gave them such a feast. but dag said little about it. the king used often to speak to dag, and ask him about various things; and he had proved the truth of all that dag had said, both of things that had happened or were to happen, and therefore the king had much confidence in what he said. the king called dag to him to have a private conversation together, and spoke to him about many things. afterwards the king turned the conversation on thorer,--what an excellent man thorer was, and what a superb feast he had made for them. dag answered but little to this, but agreed it was true what the king said. the king then asked dag what disposition or faith he found in thorer. dag replied that he must certainly consider thorer of a good disposition, if he be really what most people believe him to be. the king told him to answer direct what he was asked, and said that it was his duty to do so. dag replies, "then thou must allow me to determine the punishment if i disclose his faith." the king replied that he would not submit his decision to another man, but again ordered dag to reply to what he asked. dag replies, "the sovereign's order goes before all. i find this disposition in thorer, as in so many others, that he is too greedy of money." the king: "is he then a thief, or a robber?" "he is neither." "what is he then?" "to win money he is a traitor to his sovereign. he has taken money from king canute the great for thy head." the king asks, "what proof hast thou of the truth of this?" dag: "he has upon his right arm, above the elbow, a thick gold ring, which king canute gave him, and which he lets no man see." this ended their conference, and the king was very wroth. now as the king sat at table, and the guests had drunk a while with great mirth, and thorer went round to see the guests well served, the king ordered thorer to be called to him. he went up before the table, and laid his hands upon it. the king asked, "how old a man art thou, thorer?" he answered, "i am eighteen years old." "a stout man thou art for those years, and thou hast been fortunate also." then the king took his right hand, and felt it towards the elbow. thorer said, "take care, for i have a boil upon my arm." the king held his hand there, and felt there was something hard under it. "hast thou not heard," said he, "that i am a physician? let me see the boil." as thorer saw it was of no use to conceal it longer, he took off the ring and laid it on the table. the king asked if that was the gift of king canute. thorer replied that he could not deny it was. the king ordered him to be seized and laid in irons. kalf came up and entreated for mercy, and offered money for him, which also was seconded by many; but the king was so wroth that nobody could get in a word. he said thorer should suffer the doom he had prepared for himself. thereupon he ordered thorer to be killed. this deed was much detested in the uplands, and not less in the throndhjem country, where many of thorer's connections were. kalf took the death of this man much to heart, for he had been his foster-son in childhood. 176. the fall of grjotgard. grjotgard olverson, thorer's brother, and the eldest of the brothers, was a very wealthy man, and had a great troop of people about him. he lived also at this time in hedemark. when he heard that thorer had been killed, he made an attack upon the places where the king's goods and men were; but, between whiles, he kept himself in the forest and other secret places. when the king heard of this disturbance, he had inquiry made about grjotgard's haunts, and found out that he had taken up night-quarters not far from where the king was. king olaf set out in the night-time, came there about day-dawn, and placed a circle of men round the house in which grjotgard was sleeping. grjotgard and his men, roused by the stir of people and clash of arms, ran to their weapons, and grjotgard himself sprang to the front room. he asked who commanded the troop; and it was answered him, "king olaf was come there." grjotgard asked if the king would hear his words. the king, who stood at the door, said that grjotgard might speak what he pleased, and he would hear his words. grjotgard said, "i do not beg for mercy;" and at the same moment he rushed out, having his shield over his head, and his drawn sword in his hand. it was not so much light that he could see clearly. he struck his sword at the king; but arnbjorn ran in, and the thrust pierced him under his armour into his stomach, and arnbjorn got his deathwound. grjotgard was killed immediately, and most of his people with him. after this event the king turned back to the south to viken. 177. king olaf sends for his ships and goods. now when the king came to tunsberg he sent men out to all the districts, and ordered the people out upon a levy. he had but a small provision of shipping, and there were only bondes' vessels to be got. from the districts in the near neighbourhood many people came to him, but few from any distance; and it was soon found that the people had turned away from the king. king olaf sent people to gautland for his ships, and other goods and wares which had been left there in autumn; but the progress of these men was very slow, for it was no better now than in autumn to sail through the sound, as king canute had in spring fitted out an army throughout the whole of the danish dominions, and had no fewer than 1200 vessels. 178. king olaf's counsels. the news came to norway that king canute had assembled an immense armament through all denmark, with which he intended to conquer norway. when this became known the people were less willing to join king olaf, and he got but little aid from the bondes. the king's men often spoke about this among themselves. sigvat tells of it thus:- "our men are few, our ships are small, while england's king is strong in all; but yet our king is not afraid- o! never be such king betrayed! 'tis evil counsel to deprive our king of countrymen to strive to save their country, sword in hand: tis money that betrays our land." the king held meetings with the men of the court, and sometimes house-things with all his people, and consulted with them what they should, in their opinion, undertake. "we must not conceal from ourselves," said he, "that canute will come here this summer; and that he has, as ye all know, a large force, and we have at present but few men to oppose to him; and, as matters now stand, we cannot depend much on the fidelity of the country people." the king's men replied to his speech in various ways; but it is said that sigvat the skald replied thus, advising flight, as treachery, not cowardice, was the cause of it:- "we may well fly, when even our foe offers us money if we go. i may be blamed, accused of fear; but treachery, not faith, rules here. men may retire who long have shown their faith and love, and now alone retire because they cannot save- this is no treachery in the brave." 179. harek of thjotta burns grankel and his men. the same spring (a.d. 1028) it happened in halogaland that harek of thjotta remembered how asmund grankelson had plundered and beaten his house-servants. a cutter with twenty rowing-benches, which belonged to harek, was afloat in front of the house, with tent and deck, and he spread the report that he intended to go south to throndhjem. one evening harek went on board with his house-servants, about eighty men, who rowed the whole night; and he came towards morning to grankel's house, and surrounded it with his men. they then made an attack on the house, and set fire to it; and grankel with his people were burnt, and some were killed outside; and in all about thirty men lost their lives. after this deed harek returned home, and sat quietly in his farm. asmund was with king olaf when he heard of it; therefore there was nobody in halogaland to sue harek for mulct for this deed, nor did he offer any satisfaction. 180. king canute's expedition to norway. canute the great collected his forces, and went to limfjord. when he was ready with his equipment he sailed from thence with his whole fleet to norway; made all possible speed, and did not land to the eastward of the fjords, but crossed folden, and landed in agder, where he summoned a thing. the bondes came down from the upper country to hold a thing with canute, who was everywhere in that country accepted as king. then he placed men over the districts, and took hostages from the bondes, and no man opposed him. king olaf was in tunsberg when canute's fleet sailed across the mouth of the fjord. canute sailed northwards along the coast, and people came to him from all the districts, and promised him fealty. he lay a while in egersund, where erling skjalgson came to him with many people, and king canute and erling renewed their league of friendship. among other things, canute promised erling the whole country between stad and rygiarbit to rule over. then king canute proceeded; and, to be short in our tale, did not stop until he came to throndhjem, and landed at nidaros. in throndhjem he called together a thing for the eight districts, at which king canute was chosen king of all norway. thorer hund, who had come with king canute from denmark, was there, and also harek of thjotta; and both were made sheriffs of the king, and took the oath of fealty to him. king canute gave them great fiefs, and also right to the lapland trade, and presented them besides with great gifts. he enriched all men who were inclined to enter into friendly accord with him both with fiefs and money, and gave them greater power than they had before. 181. of king canute. when king canute had laid the whole of norway trader his authority, he called together a numerous thing, both of his own people and of the people of the country; and at it he made proclamation, that he made his relation earl hakon the governor-in-chief of all the land in norway that he had conquered in this expedition. in like manner he led his son hardaknut to the high-seat at his side, gave him the title of king, and therewith the whole danish dominion. king canute took as hostages from all lendermen and great bondes in norway either their sons, brothers, or other near connections, or the men who were dearest to them and appeared to him most suitable; by which he, as before observed, secured their fidelity to him. as soon as earl hakon had attained this power in norway his brother-in-law, einar tambaskelfer, made an agreement with him, and received back all the fiefs he formerly had possessed while the earls ruled the country. king canute gave einar great gifts, and bound him by great kindness to his interests; and promised that einar should be the greatest and most important man in norway, among those who did not hold the highest dignity, as long as he had power over the country. he added to this, that einar appeared to him the most suitable man to hold the highest title of honour in norway if no earls remained, and his son eindride also, on account of his high birth. einar placed a great value on these promises, and, in return, promised the greatest fidelity. einar's chiefship began anew with this. 182. of thorarin loftunga. there was a man by name thorarin loftunga, an icelander by birth, and a great skald, who had been much with the kings and other great chiefs. he was now with king canute the great, and had composed a flock, or short poem, in his praise. when the king heard of this he was very angry, and ordered him to bring the next day a drapa, or long poem, by the time he went to table; and if he failed to do so, said the king, "he shall be hanged for his impudence in composing such a small poem about king canute." thorarin then composed a stave as a refrain, which he inserted in the poem, and also augmented it with several other strophes or verses. this was the refrain:- "canute protects his realm, as jove, guardian of greece, his realm above." king canute rewarded him for the poem with fifty marks of silver. the poem was called the "headransom" ("hofudlausn"). thorarin composed another poem about king canute, which was called the "campaign poem" ("togdrapa"); and therein he tells king canute's expedition when he sailed from denmark to norway; and the following are strophes from one of the parts of this poem:- "canute with all his men is out, under the heavens in war-ships stout,- 'out on the sea, from limfjord's green, my good, my brave friend's fleet is seen. the men of adger on the coast tremble to see this mighty host: the guilty tremble as they spy the victor's fleet beneath the sky. "the sight surpasses far the tale, as glacing in the sun they sail; the king's ship glittering all with gold, and splendour there not to be told. round lister many a coal-black mast of canute's fleet is gliding past. and now through eger sound they ride, upon the gently heaving tide. "and all the sound is covered o'er with ships and sails, from shore to shore, a mighty king, a mighty host, hiding the sea on eger coast. and peaceful men in haste now hie up hiornagla-hill the fleet to spy, as round the ness where stad now lies each high-stemmed ship in splendour flies. "nor seemed the voyage long, i trow, to warrior on the high-built bow, as o'er the ocean-mountains riding the land and hill seem past him gliding. with whistling breeze and flashing spray past stein the gay ships dashed away; in open sea, the southern gale filled every wide out-bellying sail. "still on they fly, still northward go, till he who conquers every foe, the mighty canute, came to land, far in the north on throndhjem's strand. there this great king of jutland race, whose deeds and gifts surpass in grace all other kings, bestowed the throne of norway on his sister's son. "to his own son he gave the crown (this i must add to his renown) of denmark--land of shadowy vales, in which the white swan trims her sails." here it is told that king canute's expedition was grander than saga can tell; but thorarin sang thus because he would pride himself upon being one of king canute's retinue when he came to norway. 183. of the messengers sent by king olaf for his ships. the men whom king olaf had sent eastwards to gautland after his ships took with them the vessels they thought the best, and burnt the rest. the ship-apparel and other goods belonging to the king and his men they also took with them; and when they heard that king canute had gone to norway they sailed west through the sound, and then north to viken to king olaf, to whom they delivered his ships. he was then at tunsberg. when king olaf learnt that king canute was sailing north along the coast, king olaf steered with his fleet into oslo fjord, and into a branch of it called drafn, where he lay quiet until king canute's fleet had sailed southwards again. on this expedition which king canute made from the north along the coast, he held a thing in each district, and in every thing the country was bound by oath in fealty to him, and hostages were given him. he went eastward across the mouths of the fjords to sarpsborg, and held a thing there, and, as elsewhere, the country was surrendered to him under oath of fidelity. king canute then returned south to denmark, after having conquered norway without stroke of sword, and he ruled now over three kingdoms. so says halvard hareksblese when he sang of king canute:- "the warrior-king, whose blood-stain'd shield has shone on many a hard-fought field, england and denmark now has won, and o'er three kingdoms rules alone. peace now he gives us fast and sure, since norway too is made secure by him who oft, in days of yore, glutted the hawk and wolf with gore." 184. of king olaf in his proceedings. king olaf sailed with his ships out to tunsberg, as soon as he heard that king canute had turned back, and was gone south to denmark. he then made himself ready with the men who liked to follow him, and had then thirteen ships. afterwards he sailed out along viken; but got little money, and few men, as those only followed him who dwelt in islands, or on outlying points of land. the king landed in such places, but got only the money and men that fell in his way; and he soon perceived that the country had abandoned him. he proceeded on according to the winds. this was in the beginning of winter (a.d. 1029). the wind turned very late in the season in their favour, so that they lay long in the seley islands, where they heard the news from the north, through merchants, who told the king that erling skjalgson had collected a great force in jadar, and that his ship lay fully rigged outside of the land, together with many other vessels belonging to the bondes; namely, skiffs, fisher-yachts, and great row-boats. then the king sailed with his fleet from the east, and lay a while in egersund. both parties heard of each other now, and erling assembled all the men he could. 185. of king olaf's voyage. on thomasmas, before yule (dec. 21), the king left the harbour as soon as day appeared. with a good but rather strong gale he sailed northwards past jadar. the weather was rainy, with dark flying clouds in the sky. the spies went immediately in through the jadar country when the king sailed past it; and as soon as erling heard that the king was sailing past from the east, he let the war-horn call all the people on board, and the whole force hastened to the ships, and prepared for battle. the king's ship passed by jadar at a great rate; but thereafter turned in towards the land, intending to run up the fjords to gather men and money. erling skjalgson perceived this, and sailed after him with a great force and many ships. swiftly their vessels flew, for they had nothing on board but men and arms: but erling's ship went much faster than the others; therefore he took in a reef in the sails, and waited for the other vessels. then the king saw that erling with his fleet gained upon him fast; for the king's ships were heavily laden, and were besides water-soaked, having been in the sea the whole summer, autumn, and winter, up to this time. he saw also that there would be a great want of men, if he should go against the whole of erling's fleet when it was assembled. he hailed from ship to ship the orders to let the sails gently sink, and to unship the booms and outriggers, which was done. when erling saw this he calls out to his people, and orders them to get on more sail. "ye see," says he, "that their sails are diminishing, and they are getting fast away from our sight." he took the reef out of the sails of his ship, and outsailed all the others immediately; for erling was very eager in his pursuit of king olaf. 186. of erling skjalgson's fall. king olaf then steered in towards the bokn fjord, by which the ships came out of sight of each other. thereafter the king ordered his men to strike the sails, and row forwards through a narrow sound that was there, and all the ships lay collected within a rocky point. then all the king's men put on their weapons. erling sailed in through the sound, and observed nothing until the whole fleet was before him, and he saw the king's men rowing towards him with all their ships at once. erling and his crew let fall the sails, and seized their weapons; but the king's fleet surrounded his ship on all sides. then the fight began, and it was of the sharpest; but soon the greatest loss was among erling's men. erling stood on the quarter-deck of his ship. he had a helmet on his head, a shield before him, and a sword in his hand. sigvat the skald had remained behind in viken, and heard the tidings. he was a great friend of erling, had received presents from him, and had been at his house. sigvat composed a poem upon erling's fall, in which there is the following verse:- "erling has set his ship on sea- against the king away is he: he who oft lets the eagle stain her yellow feet in blood of slain. his little war-ship side by side with the king's fleet, the fray will bide. now sword to sword the fight is raging, which erling with the king is waging." then erling's men began to fall, and at the same moment his ship was carried by boarding, and every man of his died in his place. the king himself was amongst the foremost in the fray. so says sigvat:- "the king's men hewed with hasty sword,- the king urged on the ship to board,- all o'er the decks the wounded lay: right fierce and bloody was that fray. in tungur sound, on jadar shore, the decks were slippery with red gore; warm blood was dropping in the sound, where the king's sword was gleaming round." so entirely had erling's men fallen, that not a man remained standing in his ship but himself alone; for there was none who asked for quarter, or none who got it if he did ask. there was no opening for flight, for there lay ships all around erling's ship on every side, and it is told for certain that no man attempted to fly; and sigvat says:- "all erling's men fell in the fray, off bokn fjord, this hard-fought day. the brave king boarded, onward cheered, and north of tungur the deck was cleared. erling alone, the brave, the stout, cut off from all, yet still held out; high on the stern--a sight to see- in his lone ship alone stood he." then erling was attacked both from the forecastle and from the other ships. there was a large space upon the poop which stood high above the other ships, and which nobody could reach but by arrow-shot, or partly with the thrust of spear, but which he always struck from him by parrying. erling defended himself so manfully, that no example is known of one man having sustained the attack of so many men so long. yet he never tried to get away, nor asked for quarter. so says sigvat:- "skjalg's brave son no mercy craves,- the battle's fury still he braves; the spear-storm, through the air sharp singing, against his shield was ever ringing. so erling stood; but fate had willed his life off bokn should be spilled. no braver man has, since his day, past bokn fjord ta'en his way." when olaf went back a little upon the fore-deck he saw erling's behaviour; and the king accosted him thus:--"thou hast turned against me to-day, erling." he replies, "the eagle turns his claws in defence when torn asunder." sigvat the skald tells thus of these words of erling:- "erling, our best defence of old,- erling the brave, the brisk, the bold,- stood to his arms, gaily crying, 'eagles should show their claws, though dying:' the very words which once before to olaf he had said on shore, at utstein when they both prepared to meet the foe, and danger shared." then said the king, "wilt thou enter into my service, erling?" "that i will," said he; took the helmet off his head, laid down his sword and shield, and went forward to the forecastle deck. the king struck him in the chin with the sharp point of his battle-axe, and said, "i shall mark thee as a traitor to thy sovereign." then aslak fitiaskalle rose up, and struck erling in the head with an axe, so that it stood fast in his brain, and was instantly his death-wound. thus erling lost his life. the king said to aslak, "may all ill luck attend thee for that stroke; for thou hast struck norway out of my hands." aslak replied, "it is bad enough if that stroke displease thee, for i thought it was striking norway into thy hands; and if i have given thee offence, sire, by this stroke, and have thy ill-will for it, it will go badly with me, for i will get so many men's ill-will and enmity for this deed that i would need all your protection and favour." the king replied that he should have it. thereafter the king ordered every man to return to his ship, and to get ready to depart as fast as he could. "we will not plunder the slain," says he, "and each man may keep what he has taken." the men returned to the ships and prepared themselves for the departure as quickly as possible; and scarcely was this done before the vessels of the bondes ran in from the south into the sound. it went with the bonde-army as is often seen, that the men, although many in numbers, know not what to do when they have experienced a check, have lost their chief, and are without leaders. none of erling's sons were there, and the bondes therefore made no attack, and the king sailed on his way northwards. but the bondes took erling's corpse, adorned it, and carried it with them home to sole, and also the bodies of all who had fallen. there was great lamentation over erling; and it has been a common observation among people, that erling skjalgson was the greatest and worthiest man in norway of those who had no high title. sigvat made these verses upon the occasion:- "thus erling fell--and such a gain to buy with such a loss was vain; for better man than he ne'er died, and the king's gain was small beside. in truth no man i ever knew was, in all ways, so firm and true; free from servility and pride, honoured by all, yet thus he died." sigvat also says that aslak had very unthinkingly committed this murder of his own kinsman:- "norway's brave defender's dead! aslak has heaped on his own head the guilt of murdering his own kin: may few be guilty of such sin! his kinsman's murder on him lies- our forefathers, in sayings wise, have said, what is unknown to few, 'kinsmen to kinsmen should be true.'" 187. of the insurrection of agder district. of erling's sons some at that time were north in throndhjem, some in hordaland, and some in the fjord district, for the purpose of collecting men. when erling's death was reported, the news came also that there was a levy raising in agder, hordaland, and rogaland. forces were raised and a great army assembled, under erling's sons, to pursue king olaf. when king olaf retired from the battle with erling he went northward through the sounds, and it was late in the day. it is related that the king then made the following verses:- "this night, with battle sounds wild ringing, small joy to the fair youth is bringing who sits in jadar, little dreaming o'er what this night the raven's screaming. the far-descended erling's life too soon has fallen; but, in the strife he met the luck they well deserve who from their faith and fealty swerve." afterwards the king sailed with his fleet along the land northwards, and got certain tidings of the bondes assembling an army. there were many chiefs and lendermen at this time with king olaf, and all the sons of arne. of this bjarne gullbrarskald speaks in the poem he composed about kalf arnason:- "kalf! thou hast fought at bokn well; of thy brave doings all men tell: when harald's son his men urged on to the hard strife, thy courage shone. thou soon hadst made a good yule feast for greedy wolf there in the east: where stone and spear were flying round, there thou wast still the foremost found. the people suffered in the strife when noble erling lost his life, and north of utstein many a speck of blood lay black upon the deck. the king, 'tis clear, has been deceived, by treason of his land bereaved; and agder now, whose force is great. will rule o'er all parts of the state." king olaf continued his voyage until he came north of stad, and brought up at the herey isles. here he heard the news that earl hakon had a great war-force in throndhjem, and thereupon the king held a council with his people. kalf arnason urged much to advance to throndhjem, and fight earl hakon, notwithstanding the difference of numbers. many others supported this advice, but others dissuaded from it, and the matter was left to the king's judgment. 188. death of aslak fitiaskalle. afterwards the king went into steinavag, and remained there all night; but aslak fitiaskalle ran into borgund, where he remained the night, and where vigleik arnason was before him. in the morning, when aslak was about returning on board, vigleik assaulted him, and sought to avenge erling's murder. aslak fell there. some of the king's court-men, who had been home all summer, joined the king here. they came from frekeysund, and brought the king tidings that earl hakon, and many lendermen with him, had come in the morning to frekeysund with a large force; "and they will end thy days, sire, if they have strength enough." now the king sent his men up to a hill that was near; and when they came to the top, and looked northwards to bjarney island, they perceived that a great armament of many ships was coming from the north, and they hastened back to the king with this intelligence. the king, who was lying there with only twelve ships, ordered the war-horn to sound, the tents to be taken down on his ships, and they took to their oars. when they were quite ready, and were leaving the harbour, the bonde army sailed north around thiotande with twenty-five ships. the king then steered inside of nyrfe island, and inside of hundsver. now when king olaf came right abreast of borgund, the ship which aslak had steered came out to meet him, and when they found the king they told him the tidings,--that vigleik arnason had killed aslak fitiaskalle, because he had killed erling skjalgson. the king took this news very angrily, but could not delay his voyage on account of the enemy and he sailed in by vegsund and skor. there some of his people left him; among others, kalf arnason, with many other lendermen and ship commanders, who all went to meet earl hakon. king olaf, however, proceeded on his way without stopping until he came to todar fjord, where he brought up at valdal, and landed from his ship. he had then five ships with him, which he drew up upon the shore, and took care of their sails and materials. then he set up his land-tent upon a point of land called sult, where there are pretty flat fields, and set up a cross near to the point of land. a bonde, by name bruse, who dwelt there in more, and was chief over the valley, came down to king olaf, together with many other bondes, and received him well, and according to his dignity; and he was friendly, and pleased with their reception of him. then the king asked if there was a passable road up in the country from the valley to lesjar; and bruse replied, that there was an urd in the valley called skerfsurd not passable for man or beast. king olaf answers, "that we must try, bonde, and it will go as god pleases. come here in the morning with your yoke, and come yourself with it, and let us then see. when we come to the sloping precipice, what chance there may be, and if we cannot devise some means of coming over it with horses and people." 189. clearing of the urd. now when day broke the bondes drove down with their yokes, as the king had told them. the clothes and weapons were packed upon horses, but the king and all the people went on foot. he went thus until he came to a place called krosbrekka, and when he came up upon the hill he rested himself, sat down there a while, looked down over the fjord, and said, "a difficult expedition ye have thrown upon my hands, ye lendermen, who have now changed your fealty, although but a little while ago ye were my friends and faithful to me." there are now two crosses erected upon the bank on which the king sat. then the king mounted a horse, and rode without stopping up the valley, until he came to the precipice. then the king asked bruse if there was no summer hut of cattle-herds in the neighbourhood, where they could remain. he said there was. the king ordered his land-tent to be set up, and remained there all night. in the morning the king ordered them to drive to the urd, and try if they could get across it with the waggons. they drove there, and the king remained in the meantime in his tent. towards evening the king's court-men and the bondes came back, and told how they had had a very fatiguing labour, without making any progress, and that there never could be a road made that they could get across: so they continued there the second night, during which, for the whole night, the king was occupied in prayer. as soon as he observed day dawning he ordered his men to drive again to the urd, and try once more if they could get across it with the waggons; but they went very unwillingly, saying nothing could be gained by it. when they were gone the man who had charge of the king's kitchen came, and said there were only two carcasses of young cattle remaining of provision: "although you, sire, have 400 men, and there are 100 bondes besides." then the king ordered that he should set all the kettles on the fire, and put a little bit of meat in each kettle, which was done. then the king went there, and made the sign of the cross over each kettle, and told them to make ready the meat. the king then went to the urd called skerfsurd, where a road should be cleared. when the king came all his people were sitting down, quite worn out with the hard labour. bruse said, "i told you, sire, but you would not believe me, that we could make nothing of this urd." the king laid aside his cloak, and told them to go to work once more at the urd. they did so, and now twenty men could handle stones which before 100 men could not move from the place; and thus before midday the road was cleared so well that it was as passable for men, and for horses with packs, as a road in the plain fields. the king, after this, went down again to where the meat was, which place is called olaf's rock. near the rock is a spring, at which olaf washed himself; and therefore at the present day, when the cattle in the valley are sick, their illness is made better by their drinking at this well. thereafter the king sat down to table with all the others; and when he was satisfied he asked if there was any other sheeling on the other side of the urd, and near the mountains, where they could pass the night. bruse said there was such a sheeling, called groningar; but that nobody could pass the night there on account of witchcraft, and evil beings who were in the sheeling. then the king said they must get ready for their journey, as he wanted to be at the sheeling for the night. then came the kitchen-master to the king, and tells that there was come an extraordinary supply of provisions, and he did not know where it had come from, or how. the king thanked god for this blessing, and gave the bondes who drove down again to their valley some rations of food, but remained himself all night in the sheeling. in the middle of the night, while the people were asleep, there was heard in the cattle-fold a dreadful cry, and these words: "now olaf's prayers are burning me," says the spirit, "so that i can no longer be in my habitation; now must i fly, and never more come to this fold." when the king's people awoke in the morning the king proceeded to the mountains, and said to bruse, "here shall now a farm be settled, and the bonde who dwells here shall never want what is needful for the support of life; and never shall his crop be destroyed by frost, although the crops be frozen on the farms both above it and below it." then the king proceeded over the mountains, and came to a farm called einby, where he remained for the night. king olaf had then been fifteen years king of norway (a.d. 1015-1029), including the year both he and svein were in the country, and this year we have now been telling about. it was, namely, a little past yule when the king left his ships and took to the land, as before related. of this portion of his reign the priest are thorgilson the wise was the first who wrote; and he was both faithful in his story, of a good memory, and so old a man that he could remember the men, and had heard their accounts, who were so old that through their age they could remember these circumstances as he himself wrote them in his books, and he named the men from whom he received his information. otherwise it is generally said that king olaf had been fifteen years king of norway when he fell; but they who say so reckon to earl svein's government, the last year he was in the country, for king olaf lived fifteen years afterwards as king. 190. olaf's prophecies. when the king had been one night at lesjar he proceeded on his journey with his men, day by day; first into gudbrandsdal, and from thence out to redemark. now it was seen who had been his friends, for they followed him; but those who had served him with less fidelity separated from him, and some showed him even indifference, or even full hostility, which afterwards was apparent; and also it could be seen clearly in many upland people that they took very ill his putting thorer to death, as before related. king olaf gave leave to return home to many of his men who had farms and children to take care of; for it seemed to them uncertain what safety there might be for the families and property of those who left the country with him. then the king explained to his friends his intention of leaving the country, and going first east into svithjod, and there taking his determination as to where he should go; but he let his friends know his intention to return to the country, and regain his kingdoms, if god should grant him longer life; and he did not conceal his expectation that the people of norway would again return to their fealty to him. "i think," says he, "that earl hakon will have norway but a short time under his power, which many will not think an extraordinary expectation, as earl hakon has had but little luck against me; but probably few people will trust to my prophecy, that canute the great will in the course of a few years die, and his kingdoms vanish; and there will he no risings in favour of his race." when the king had ended his speech, his men prepared themselves for their departure. the king, with the troop that followed him, turned east to eid forest. and there were along with him the queen astrid; their daughter ulfhild; magnus, king olaf's son; ragnvald brusason; the three sons of arne, thorberg, fin, and arne, with many lendermen; and the king's attendants consisted of many chosen men. bjorn the marshal got leave to go home, and he went to his farm, and many others of the king's friends returned home with his permission to their farms. the king begged them to let him know the events which might happen in the country, and which it might be important for him to know; and now the king proceeded on his way. 191. king olaf proceeds to russia. it is to be related of king olaf's journey, that he went first from norway eastward through eid forest to vermaland, then to vatnsby, and through the forests in which there are roads, until he came out in nerike district. there dwelt a rich and powerful man in that part called sigtryg, who had a son, ivar, who afterwards became a distinguished person. olaf stayed with sigtryg all spring (a.d. 1029); and when summer came he made ready for a journey, procured a ship for himself, and without stopping went on to russia to king jarisleif and his queen ingegerd; but his own queen astrid, and their daughter ulfhild, remained behind in svithjod, and the king took his son magnus eastward with him. king jarisleif received king olaf in the kindest manner, and made him the offer to remain with him, and to have so much land as was necessary for defraying the expense of the entertainment of his followers. king olaf accepted this offer thankfully, and remained there. it is related that king olaf was distinguished all his life for pious habits, and zeal in his prayers to god. but afterwards, when he saw his own power diminished, and that of his adversaries augmented, he turned all his mind to god's service; for he was not distracted by other thoughts, or by the labour he formerly had upon his hands, for during all the time he sat upon the throne he was endeavouring to promote what was most useful: and first to free and protect the country from foreign chiefs' oppressions, then to convert the people to the right faith; and also to establish law and the rights of the country, which he did by letting justice have its way, and punishing evil-doers. 192. causes of the revolt against king olaf. it had been an old custom in norway that the sons of lendermen, or other great men, went out in war-ships to gather property, and they marauded both in the country and out of the country. but after king olaf came to the sovereignty he protected the country, so that he abolished all plundering there; and even if they were the sons of powerful men who committed any depredation, or did what the king considered against law, he did not spare them at all, but they must suffer in life or limbs; and no man's entreaties, and no offer of money-penalties, could help them. so says sigvat:- "they who on viking cruises drove with gifts of red gold often strove to buy their safety--but our chief had no compassion for the thief. he made the bravest lose his head who robbed at sea, and pirates led; and his just sword gave peace to all, sparing no robber, great or small." and he also says:- "great king! whose sword on many a field food to the wandering wolf did yield, and then the thief and pirate band swept wholly off by sea and land- good king! who for the people's sake set hands and feet upon a stake, when plunderers of great name and bold harried the country as of old. the country's guardian showed his might when oft he made his just sword bite through many a viking's neck and hair, and never would the guilty spare. king magnus' father, i must say, did many a good deed in his day. olaf the thick was stern and stout, much good his victories brought out." he punished great and small with equal severity, which appeared to the chief people of the country too severe; and animosity rose to the highest when they lost relatives by the king's just sentence, although they were in reality guilty. this was the origin of the hostility of the great men of the country to king olaf, that they could not bear his just judgments. he again would rather renounce his dignity than omit righteous judgment. the accusation against him, of being stingy with his money, was not just, for he was a most generous man towards his friends; but that alone was the cause of the discontent raised against him, that he appeared hard and severe in his retributions. besides, king canute offered great sums of money, and the great chiefs were corrupted by this, and by his offering them greater dignities than they had possessed before. the inclinations of the people, also, were all in favour of earl hakon, who was much beloved by the country folks when he ruled the country before. 193. of jokul bardson. earl hakon had sailed with his fleet from throndhjem, and gone south to more against king olaf, as before related. now when the king bore away, and ran into the fjord, the earl followed him thither; and then kalf arnason came to meet him, with many of the men who had deserted king olaf. kalf was well received. the earl steered in through todar fjord to valdal, where the king had laid up his ships on the strand. he took the ships which belonged to the king, had them put upon the water and rigged, and cast lots, and put commanders in charge of them according to the lots. there was a man called jokul, who was an icelander, a son of bard jokulson of vatnsdal; the lot fell upon jokul to command the bison, which king olaf himself had commanded. jokul made these verses upon it:- "mine is the lot to take the helm which olaf owned, who owned the realm; from sult king olaf's ship to steer (ill luck i dread on his reindeer). my girl will never hear the tidings, till o'er the wild wave i come riding in olaf's ship, who loved his gold, and lost his ships with wealth untold." we may here shortly tell what happened a long time after.--that this jokul fell in with king olaf's men in the island of gotland, and the king ordered him to be taken out to be beheaded. a willow twig accordingly was plaited in with his hair, and a man held him fast by it. jokul sat down upon a bank, and a man swung the axe to execute him; but jokul hearing the sound, raised his head, and the blow struck him in the head, and made a dreadful wound. as the king saw it would be his death-wound, he ordered them to let him lie with it. jokul raised himself up, and he sang:- "my hard fate i mourn,- alas! my wounds burn, my red wounds are gaping, my life-blood escaping. my wounds burn sore; but i suffer still more from the king's angry word, than his sharp-biting sword." 194. of kalf arnason. kalf arnason went with earl hakon north to throndhjem, and the earl invited him to enter into his service. kalf said he would first go home to his farm at eggja, and afterwards make his determination; and kalf did so. when he came home he found his wife sigrid much irritated; and she reckoned up all the sorrow inflicted on her, as she insisted, by king olaf. first, he had ordered her first husband olver to be killed. "and now since," says she, "my two sons; and thou thyself, kalf, wert present when they were cut off, and which i little expected from thee." kalf says, it was much against his will that thorer was killed. "i offered money-penalty for him," says he; "and when grjotgard was killed i lost my brother arnbjorn at the same time." she replies, "it is well thou hast suffered this from the king; for thou mayest perhaps avenge him, although thou wilt not avenge my injuries. thou sawest how thy foster-son thorer was killed, with all the regard of the king for thee." she frequently brought out such vexatious speeches to kalf, to which he often answered angrily; but yet he allowed himself to be persuaded by her to enter into the earl's service, on condition of renewing his fiefs to him. sigrid sent word to the earl how far she had brought the matter with kalf. as soon as the earl heard of it, he sent a message to kalf that he should come to the town to him. kalf did not decline the invitation, but came directly to nidaros, and waited on the earl, who received him kindly. in their conversation it was fully agreed upon that kalf should go into the earl's service, and should receive great fiefs. after this kalf returned home, and had the greater part of the interior of the throndhjem country under him. as soon as it was spring kalf rigged out a ship that belonged to him, and when she was ready he put to sea, and sailed west to england; for he had heard that in spring king canute was to sail from denmark to england, and that king canute had given harald, a son of thorkel the high, an earldom in denmark. kalf arnason went to king canute as soon as he arrived in england. bjarne gullbrarskald tells of this:- "king olaf eastward o'er the sea to russia's monarch had to flee; our harald's brother ploughed the main, and furrowed white its dark-blue plain. whilst thou--the truth i still will say, nor fear nor favour can me sway- thou to king canute hastened fast, as soon as olaf's luck was past." now when kalf came to king canute the king received him particularly well, and had many conversations with him. among other things, king canute, in a conference, asked kalf to bind himself to raise a warfare against king olaf, if ever he should return to the country. "and for which," says the king, "i will give thee the earldom, and place thee to rule over norway; and my relation hakon shall come to me, which will suit him better, for he is so honourable and trustworthy that i believe he would not even throw a spear against the person of king olaf if he came back to the country." kalf lent his ear to what the king proposed, for he had a great desire to attain this high dignity; and this conclusion was settled upon between king canute and kalf. kalf then prepared to return home, and on his departure he received splendid presents from king canute. bjarne the skald tells of these circumstances:- "sprung from old earls!--to england's lord thou owest many a thankful word for many a gift: if all be true, thy interest has been kept in view; for when thy course was bent for home, (although that luck is not yet come,) 'that norway should be thine,' 'tis said, the london king a promise made." kalf thereafter returned to norway, and came to his farm. 195. of the death of earl hakon. earl hakon left the country this summer (a.d. 1029), and went to england, and when he came there was well received by the king. the earl had a bride in england, and he travelled to conclude this marriage, and as he intended holding his wedding in norway, he came to procure those things for it in england which it was difficult to get in norway. in autumn he made ready for his return, but it was somewhat late before he was clear for sea; but at last he set out. of his voyage all that can be told is, that the vessel was lost, and not a man escaped. some relate that the vessel was seen north of caithness in the evening in a heavy storm, and the wind blowing out of pentland firth. they who believe this report say the vessel drove out among the breakers of the ocean; but with certainty people knew only that earl hakon was missing in the ocean, and nothing belonging to the ship ever came to land. the same autumn some merchants came to norway, who told the tidings that were going through the country of earl hakon being missing; and all men knew that he neither came to norway nor to england that autumn, so that norway that winter was without a head. 196. of bjorn the marshal. bjorn the marshal sat at home on his farm after his parting from king olaf. bjorn was a celebrated man; therefore it was soon reported far and wide that he had set himself down in quietness. earl hakon and the other chiefs of the country heard this also, and sent persons with a verbal message to bjorn. when the messengers arrived bjorn received them well; and afterwards bjorn called them to him to a conference, and asked their business. he who was their foreman presented to bjorn the salutations of king canute, earl hakon, and of several chiefs. "king canute," says he, "has heard much of thee, and that thou hast been long a follower of king olaf the thick, and hast been a great enemy of king canute; and this he thinks not right, for he will be thy friend, and the friend of all worthy men, if thou wilt turn from thy friendship to king olaf and become his enemy. and the only thing now thou canst do is to seek friendship and protection there where it is most readily to be found, and which all men in this northern world think it most honourable to be favoured with. ye who have followed olaf the thick should consider how he is now separated from you; and that now ye have no aid against king canute and his men, whose lands ye plundered last summer, and whose friends ye murdered. therefore ye ought to accept, with thanks, the friendship which the king offers you; and it would become you better if you offered money even in mulct to obtain it." when he had ended his speech bjorn replies, "i wish now to sit quietly at home, and not to enter into the service of any chief." the messenger answers, "such men as thou art are just the right men to serve the king; and now i can tell thee there are just two things for thee to choose,--either to depart in peace from thy property, and wander about as thy comrade olaf is doing; or, which is evidently better, to accept king canute's and earl hakon's friendship, become their man, and take the oaths of fealty to them. receive now thy reward." and he displayed to him a large bag full of english money. bjorn was a man fond of money, and self-interested; and when he saw the silver he was silent, and reflected with himself what resolution he should take. it seemed to him much to abandon his property, as he did not think it probable that king olaf would ever have a rising in his favour in norway. now when the messenger saw that bjorn's inclinations were turned towards the money, he threw down two thick gold rings, and said, "take the money at once, bjorn, and swear the oaths to king canute; for i can promise thee that this money is but a trifle, compared to what thou wilt receive if thou followest king canute." by the heap of money, the fine promises, and the great presents, he was led by covetousness, took the money, went into king canute's service, and gave the oaths of fealty to king canute and earl hakon, and then the messengers departed. 197. bjorn the marshal's journey. when bjorn heard the tidings that earl hakon was missing he soon altered his mind, and was much vexed with himself for having been a traitor in his fidelity to king olaf. he thought, now, that he was freed from the oath by which he had bound himself to earl hakon. it seemed to bjorn that now there was some hope that king olaf might again come to the throne of norway if he came back, as the country was without a head. bjorn therefore immediately made himself ready to travel, and took some men with him. he then set out on his journey, travelling night and day, on horseback when he could, and by ship when he found occasion; and never halted until he came, after yule, east to russia to king olaf, who was very glad to see bjorn. then the king inquired much about the news from norway. bjorn tells him that earl hakon was missing, and the kingdom left without a head. at this news the men who had followed king olaf were very glad,--all who had left property, connections, and friends in norway; and the longing for home was awakened in them. bjorn told king olaf much news from norway, and very anxious the king was to know, and asked much how his friends had kept their fidelity towards him. bjorn answered, it had gone differently with different people. then bjorn stood up, fell at the king's feet, held his foot, and said, "all is in your power, sire, and in god's! i have taken money from king canute's men, and sworn them the oaths of fealty; but now will i follow thee, and not part from thee so long as we both live." the king replies, "stand up, bjorn' thou shalt be reconciled with me; but reconcile thy perjury with god. i can see that but few men in norway have held fast by their fealty, when such men as thou art could be false to me. but true it is also that people sit in great danger when i am distant, and they are exposed to the wrath of my enemies." bjorn then reckoned up those who had principally bound themselves to rise in hostility against the king and his men; and named, among others, erling's son in jadar and their connections, einar tambaskelfer, kalf arnason, thorer hund, and harek of thjotta. 198. of king olaf. after king olaf came to russia he was very thoughtful, and weighed what counsel he now should follow. king jarisleif and queen ingegerd offered him to remain with them, and receive a kingdom called vulgaria, which is a part of russia, and in which land the people were still heathen. king olaf thought over this offer; but when he proposed it to his men they dissuaded him from settling himself there, and urged the king to betake himself to norway to his own kingdom: but the king himself had resolved almost in his own mind to lay down his royal dignity, to go out into the world to jerusalem, or other holy places, and to enter into some order of monks. but yet the thought lay deep in his soul to recover again, if there should be any opportunity for him, his kingdom in norway. when he thought over this, it recurred to his mind how all things had gone prosperously with him during the first ten years of his reign, and how afterwards every thing he undertook became heavy, difficult, and hard; and that he had been unlucky, on all occasions in which he had tried his luck. on this account he doubted if it would be prudent to depend so much upon his luck, as to go with so little strength into the hands of his enemies, seeing that all the people of the country had taken part with them to oppose king olaf. such cares he had often on his mind, and he left his cause to god, praying that he would do what to him seemed best. these thoughts he turned over in his mind, and knew not what to resolve upon; for he saw how evidently dangerous that was which his inclination was most bent upon. 199. of king olaf's dream. one night the king lay awake in his bed, thinking with great anxiety about his determination, and at last, being tired of thinking, sleep came over him towards morning; but his sleep was so light that he thought he was awake, and could see all that was doing in the house. then he saw a great and superb man, in splendid clothes, standing by his bed; and it came into the king's mind that this was king olaf trygvason who had come to him. this man said to him, "thou are very sick of thinking about thy future resolutions; and it appears to me wonderful that these thoughts should be so tumultuous in thy soul that thou shouldst even think of laying down the kingly dignity which god hath given thee, and of remaining here and accepting of a kingdom from foreign and unknown kings. go back rather to that kingdom which thou hast received in heritage, and rule over it with the strength which god hath given thee, and let not thy inferiors take it from thee. it is the glory of a king to be victorious over his enemies, and it is a glorious death to die in battle. or art thou doubtful if thou hast right on thy side in the strife with thine enemies? thou must have no doubts, and must not conceal the truth from thyself. thou must go back to thy country, and god will give open testimony that the kingdom is thine by property." when the king awoke he thought he saw the man's shoulders going out. from this time the king's courage rose, and he fixed firmly his resolution to return to norway; to which his inclination also tended most, and which he also found was the desire of all his men. he bethought himself also that the country being without a chief could be easily attacked, from what he had heard, and that after he came himself many would turn back towards him. when the king told his determination to his people they all gave it their approbation joyfully. 200. of king olaf's healing powers. it is related that once upon a time, while king olaf was in russia, it happened that the son of an honest widow had a sore boil upon his neck, of which the lad lay very ill; and as he could not swallow any food, there was little hope of his life. the boy's mother went to queen ingegerd, with whom she was acquainted, and showed her the lad. the queen said she knew no remedy for it. "go," said she, "to king olaf, he is the best physician here; and beg him to lay his hands on thy lad, and bring him my words if he will not otherwise do it." she did as the queen told her; and when she found the king she says to him that her son is dangerously ill of a boil in his neck, and begs him to lay his hand on the boil. the king tells her he is not a physician, and bids her go to where there were physicians. she replies, that the queen had told her to come to him; "and told me to add the request from her, that you would would use the remedy you understood, and she said that thou art the best physician here in the town." then the king took the lad, laid his hands upon his neck, and felt the boil for a long time, until the boy made a very wry face. then the king took a piece of bread, laid it in the figure of the cross upon the palm of his hand, and put it into the boy's mouth. he swallowed it down, and from that time all the soreness left his neck, and in a few days he was quite well, to the great joy of his mother and all his relations. then first came olaf into the repute of having as much healing power in his hands as is ascribed to men who have been gifted by nature with healing by the touch; and afterwards when his miracles were universally acknowledged, this also was considered one of his miracles. 201. king olaf burns the wood shavings on his hand for his sabbath breach. it happened one sunday that the king sat in his highseat at the dinner table, and had fallen into such deep thought that he did not observe how time went. in one hand he had a knife, and in the other a piece of fir-wood from which he cut splinters from time to time. the table-servant stood before him with a bowl in his hands; and seeing what the king was about, and that he was involved in thought, he said, "it is monday, sire, to-morrow." the king looked at him when he heard this, and then it came into his mind what he was doing on the sunday. then the king ordered a lighted candle to be brought him, swept together all the shavings he had made, set them on fire, and let them burn upon his naked hand; showing thereby that he would hold fast by god's law and commandment, and not trespass without punishment on what he knew to be right. 202. of king olaf. when king olaf had resolved on his return home, he made known his intention to king jarisleif and queen ingegerd. they dissuaded him from this expedition, and said he should receive as much power in their dominions as he thought desirable; but begged him not to put himself within the reach of his enemies with so few men as he had. then king olaf told them of his dream; adding, that he believed it to be god's will and providence that it should be so. now when they found he was determined on travelling to norway, they offered him all the assistance to his journey that he would accept from them. the king thanked them in many fine words for their good will; and said that he accepted from them, with no ordinary pleasure, what might be necessary for his undertaking. 203. of king olaf's journey from russia. immediately after yule (a.d. 1080), king olaf made himself ready; and had about 200 of his men with him. king jarisleif gave him all the horses, and whatever else he required; and when he was ready he set off. king jarisleif and queen ingegerd parted from him with all honour; and he left his son magnus behind with the king. the first part of his journey, down to the sea-coast, king olaf and his men made on the ice; but as spring approached, and the ice broke up, they rigged their vessels, and when they were ready and got a wind they set out to sea, and had a good voyage. when olaf came to the island of gotland with his ships he heard the news--which was told as truth, both in svithjod, denmark, and over all norway--that earl hakon was missing, and norway without a head. this gave the king and his men good hope of the issue of their journey. from thence they sailed, when the wind suited, to svithjod, and went into the maelar lake, to aros, and sent men to the swedish king onund appointing a meeting. king onund received his brother-in-law's message in the kindest manner, and went to him according to his invitation. astrid also came to king olaf, with the men who had attended her; and great was the joy on all sides at this meeting. the swedish king also received his brother-in-law king olaf with great joy when they met. 204. of the lendermen in norway. now we must relate what, in the meantime, was going on in norway. thorer hund, in these two winters (a.d. 1029-1030), had made a lapland journey, and each winter had been a long time on the mountains, and had gathered to himself great wealth by trading in various wares with the laplanders. he had twelve large coats of reindeer-skin made for him, with so much lapland witchcraft that no weapon could cut or pierce them any more than if they were armour of ring-mail, nor so much. the spring thereafter thorer rigged a long-ship which belonged to him, and manned it with his house-servants. he summoned the bondes, demanded a levy from the most northern thing district, collected in this way a great many people, and proceeded with this force southwards. harek of thjotta had also collected a great number of people; and in this expedition many people of consequence took a part, although these two were the most distinguished. they made it known publicly that with this war-force they were going against king olaf, to defend the country against him, in case he should come from the eastward. 205. of einar tambaskelfer. einar tambaskelfer had most influence in the outer part of the throndhjem country after earl hakon's death was no longer doubtful; for he and his son eindride appeared to be the nearest heirs to the movable property the earl had possessed. then einar remembered the promises and offers of friendship which king canute had made him at parting; and he ordered a good vessel which belonged to him to be got ready, and embarked with a great retinue, and when he was ready sailed southwards along the coast, then set out to sea westwards, and sailed without stopping until he came to england. he immediately waited on king canute, who received him well and joyfully. then einar opened his business to the king, and said he was come there to see the fulfillment of the promises the king had made him; namely, that he, einar, should have the highest title of honour in norway if earl hakon were no more. king canute replies, that now the circumstances were altered. "i have now," said he, "sent men and tokens to my son svein in denmark, and promised him the kingdom of norway; but thou shalt retain my friendship, and get the dignity and title which thou art entitled by birth to hold. thou shalt be lenderman with great fiefs, and be so much more raised above other lendermen as thou art more able than they." einar saw sufficiently how matters stood with regard to his business, and got ready to return home; but as he now knew the king's intentions, and thought it probable if king olaf came from the east the country would not be very peaceable, it came into his mind that it would be better to proceed slowly, and not to be hastening his voyage, in order to fight against king olaf, without his being advanced by it to any higher dignity than he had before. einar accordingly went to sea when he was ready; but only came to norway after the events were ended which took place there during that summer. 206. of the chief people in norway. the chiefs in norway had their spies east in svithjod, and south in denmark, to find out if king olaf had come from russia. as soon as these men could get across the country, they heard the news that king olaf was arrived in svithjod; and as soon as full certainty of this was obtained, the war message-token went round the land. the whole people were called out to a levy, and a great army was collected. the lendermen who were from agder, rogaland, and hordaland, divided themselves, so that some went towards the north, and some towards the east; for they thought they required people on both sides. erling's sons from jadar went eastward, with all the men who lived east of them, and over whom they were chiefs; aslak of finey, and erlend of gerde, with the lendermen north of them, went towards the north. all those now named had sworn an oath to king canute to deprive olaf of life, if opportunity should offer. 207. of harald sigurdson's proceedings. now when it was reported in norway that king olaf was come from the east to svithjod, his friends gathered together to give him aid. the most distinguished man in this flock was harald sigurdson, a brother of king olaf, who then was fifteen years of age, very stout, and manly of growth as if he were full-grown. many other brave men were there also; and there were in all 600 men when they proceeded from the uplands, and went eastward with their force through eid forest to vermaland. from thence they went eastward through the forests to svithjod and made inquiry about king olaf's proceedings. 208. of king olaf's proceedings in svithjod. king olaf was in svithjod in spring (a.d. 1030), and had sent spies from thence to norway. all accounts from that quarter agreed that there was no safety for him if he went there, and the people who came from the north dissuaded him much from penetrating into the country. but he had firmly resolved within himself, as before stated, to go into norway; and he asked king onund what strength king onund would give him to conquer his kingdom. king onund replied, that the swedes were little inclined to make an expedition against norway. "we know," says he, "that the northmen are rough and warlike, and it is dangerous to carry hostility to their doors, but i will not be slow in telling thee what aid i can give. i will give thee 400 chosen men from my court-men, active and warlike, and well equipt for battle; and moreover will give thee leave to go through my country, and gather to thyself as many men as thou canst get to follow thee." king olaf accepted this offer, and got ready for his march. queen astrid, and ulfhild the king's daughter, remained behind in svithjod. 209. king olaf advances to jarnberaland. just as king olaf began his journey the men came to him whom the swedish king had given, in all 400 men, and the king took the road the swedes showed him. he advanced upwards in the country to the forests, and came to a district called jarnberaland. here the people joined him who had come out of norway to meet him, as before related; and he met here his brother harald, and many other of his relations, and it was a joyful meeting. they made out together 1200 men. 210. of dag hringson. there was a man called dag, who is said to have been a son of king hring, who fled the country from king olaf. this hring, it is said further, had been a son of dag, and grandson of hring, harald harfager's son. thus was dag king olaf's relative. both hring the father, and dag the son, had settled themselves in svithjod, and got land to rule over. in spring, when olaf came from the east to svithjod, he sent a message to his relation dag, that he should join him in this expedition with all the force he could collect; and if they gained the country of norway again, dag should have no smaller part of the kingdom under him than his forefathers had enjoyed. when this message came to dag it suited his inclination well, for he had a great desire to go to norway and get the dominion his family had ruled over. he was not slow, therefore, to reply, and promised to come. dag was a quick-speaking, quick-resolving man, mixing himself up in everything; eager, but of little understanding. he collected a force of almost 1200 men, with which he joined king olaf. 211. of king olaf's journey. king olaf sent a message before him to all the inhabited places he passed through, that the men who wished to get goods and money, and share of booty, and the lands besides which now were in the hands of his enemies, should come to him, and follow him. thereafter king olaf led his army through forests, often over desert moors, and often over large lakes; and they dragged, or carried the boats, from lake to lake. on the way a great many followers joined the king, partly forest settlers, partly vagabonds. the places at which he halted for the night are since called olaf's booths. he proceeded without any break upon his journey until he came to jamtaland, from which he marched north over the keel or ridge of the land. the men spread themselves over the hamlets, and proceeded, much scattered, so long as no enemy was expected; but always, when so dispersed, the northmen accompanied the king. dag proceeded with his men on another line of march, and the swedes on a third with their troop. 212. of vagabond-men. there were two men, the one called gauka-thorer, the other afrafaste, who were vagabonds and great robbers, and had a company of thirty men such as themselves. these two men were larger and stronger than other men, and they wanted neither courage nor impudence. these men heard speak of the army that was crossing the country, and said among themselves it would be a clever counsel to go to the king, follow him to his country, and go with him into a regular battle, and try themselves in this work; for they had never been in any battle in which people were regularly drawn up in line, and they were curious to see the king's order of battle. this counsel was approved of by their comrades, and accordingly they went to the road on which king olaf was to pass. when they came there they presented themselves to the king, with their followers, fully armed. they saluted him, and he asked what people they were. they told their names, and said they were natives of the place; and told their errand, and that they wished to go with the king. the king said, it appeared to him there was good help in such folks. "and i have a great inclination," said he, "to take such; but are ye christian men?" gauka-thorer replies, that he is neither christian nor heathen. "i and my comrades have no faith but on ourselves, our strength, and the luck of victory; and with this faith we slip through sufficiently well." the king replies, "a great pity it is that such brave slaughtering fellows did not believe in christ their creator." thorer replies, "is there any christian man, king, in thy following, who stands so high in the air as we two brothers?" the king told them to let themselves be baptized, and to accept the true faith. "follow me then, and i will advance you to great dignities; but if ye will not do so, return to your former vocation." afrafaste said he would not take on christianity, and he turned away. then said gauka-thorer, "it is a great shame that the king drives us thus away from his army, and i never before came where i was not received into the company of other people, and i shall never return back on this account." they joined accordingly the rear with other forest-men, and followed the troops. thereafter the king proceeded west up to the keel-ridge of the country. 213. of king olaf's vision. now when king olaf, coming from the east, went over the keel-ridge and descended on the west side of the mountain, where it declines towards the sea, he could see from thence far over the country. many people rode before the king and many after, and he himself rode so that there was a free space around him. he was silent, and nobody spoke to him, and thus he rode a great part of the day without looking much about him. then the bishop rode up to him, asked him why he was so silent, and what he was thinking of; for, in general, he was very cheerful, and very talkative on a journey to his men, so that all who were near him were merry. the king replied, full of thought, "wonderful things have come into my mind a while ago. as i just now looked over norway, out to the west from the mountains, it came into my mind how many happy days i have had in that land. it appeared to me at first as if i saw over all the throndhjem country, and then over all norway; and the longer this vision was before my eyes the farther, methought, i saw, until i looked over the whole wide world, both land and sea. well i know the places at which i have been in former days; some even which i have only heard speak of, and some i saw of which i had never heard, both inhabited and uninhabited, in this wide world." the bishop replied that this was a holy vision, and very remarkable. 214. of the miracle on the corn land. when the king had come lower down on the mountain, there lay a farm before him called sula, on the highest part of veradal district; and as they came nearer to the house the corn-land appeared on both sides of the path. the king told his people to proceed carefully, and not destroy the corn to the bondes. the people observed this when the king was near; but the crowd behind paid no attention to it, and the people ran over the corn, so that it was trodden flat to the earth. there dwelt a bonde there called thorgeir flek, who had two sons nearly grown up. thorgeir received the king and his people well, and offered all the assistance in his power. the king was pleased with his offer, and asked thorgeir what was the news of the country, and if any forces were assembled against him. thorgeir says that a great army was drawn together in the throndhjem country, and that there were some lendermen both from the south of the country, and from halogaland in the north; "but i do not know," says he. "if they are intended against you, or going elsewhere." then he complained to the king of the damage and waste done him by the people breaking and treading down all his corn fields. the king said it was ill done to bring upon him any loss. then the king rode to where the corn had stood, and saw it was laid flat on the earth; and he rode round the field, and said, "i expect, bonde, that god will repair thy loss, so that the field, within a week, will be better;" and it proved the best of the corn, as the king had said. the king remained all night there, and in the morning he made himself ready, and told thorgeir the bonde to accompany him and thorgear offered his two sons also for the journey; and although the king said that he did not want them with him, the lads would go. as they would not stay behind, the king's court-men were about binding them; but the king seeing it said, "let them come with us; the lads will come safe back again." and it was with the lads as the king foretold. 215. of the baptism of the vagabond forest-men. thereafter the army advanced to staf, and when the king reached staf's moor he halted. there he got the certain information that the bondes were advancing with an army against him, and that he might soon expect to have a battle with them. he mustered his force here, and, after reckoning them up, found there were in the army 900 heathen men, and when he came to know it he ordered them to allow themselves to be baptized, saying that he would have no heathens with him in battle. "we must not," says he, "put our confidence in numbers, but in god alone must we trust; for through his power and favour we must be victorious, and i will not mix heathen people with my own." when the heathens heard this, they held a council among themselves, and at last 400 men agreed to be baptized; but 500 men refused to adopt christianity, and that body returned home to their land. then the brothers gauka-thorer and afrafaste presented themselves to the king, and offered again to follow him. the king asked if they had now taken baptism. gauka-thorer replied that they had not. then the king ordered them to accept baptism and the true faith, or otherwise to go away. they stepped aside to talk with each other on what resolution they should take. afrafaste said, "to give my opinion, i will not turn back, but go into the battle, and take a part on the one side or the other; and i don't care much in which army i am." gauka-thorer replies, "if i go into battle i will give my help to the king, for he has most need of help. and if i must believe in a god, why not in the white christ as well as in any other? now it is my advice, therefore, that we let ourselves be baptized, since the king insists so much upon it, and then go into the battle with him." they all agreed to this, and went to the king, and said they would receive baptism. then they were baptized by a priest, and the baptism was confirmed by the bishop. the king then took them into the troop of his court-men, and said they should fight under his banner in the battle. 216. king olaf's speech. king olaf got certain intelligence now that it would be but a short time until he had a battle with the bondes; and after he had mustered his men, and reckoned up the force, he had more than 3000 men, which appears to be a great army in one field. then the king made the following speech to the people: "we have a great army, and excellent troops; and now i will tell you, my men, how i will have our force drawn up. i will let my banner go forward in the middle of the army, and my-court-men, and pursuivants shall follow it, together with the war forces that joined us from the uplands, and also those who may come to us here in the throndhjem land. on the right hand of my banner shall be dag hringson, with all the men he brought to our aid; and he shall have the second banner. and on the left hand of our line shall the men be whom the swedish king gave us, together with all the people who came to us in sweden; and they shall have the third banner. i will also have the people divide themselves into distinct flocks or parcels, so that relations and acquaintances should be together; for thus they defend each other best, and know each other. we will have all our men distinguished by a mark, so as to be a field-token upon their helmets and shields, by painting the holy cross thereupon with white colour. when we come into battle we shall all have one countersign and field-cry,--'forward, forward, christian men! cross men! king's men!' we must draw up our meal in thinner ranks, because we have fewer people, and i do not wish to let them surround us with their men. now let the men divide themselves into separate flocks, and then each flock into ranks; then let each man observe well his proper place, and take notice what banner he is drawn up under. and now we shall remain drawn up in array; and our men shall be fully armed, night and day, until we know where the meeting shall be between us and the bondes." when the king had finished speaking, the army arrayed, and arranged itself according to the king's orders. 217. king olaf's counsel. thereafter the king had a meeting with the chiefs of the different divisions, and then the men had returned whom the king had sent out into the neighbouring districts to demand men from the bondes. they brought the tidings from the inhabited places they had gone through, that all around the country was stripped of all men able to carry arms, as all the people had joined the bondes' army; and where they did find any they got but few to follow them, for the most of them answered that they stayed at home because they would not follow either party: they would not go out against the king, nor yet against their own relations. thus they had got but few people. now the king asked his men their counsel, and what they now should do. fin arnason answered thus to the king's question: "i will say what should be done, if i may advise. we should go with armed hand over all the inhabited places, plunder all the goods, and burn all the habitations, and leave not a hut standing, and thus punish the bondes for their treason against their sovereign. i think many a man will then cast himself loose from the bondes' army, when he sees smoke and flame at home on his farm, and does not know how it is going with children, wives, or old men, fathers, mothers, and other connections. i expect also," he added, "that if we succeed in breaking the assembled host, their ranks will soon be thinned; for so it is with the bondes, that the counsel which is the newest is always the dearest to them all, and most followed." when fin had ended his speech it met with general applause; for many thought well of such a good occasion to make booty, and all thought the bondes well deserved to suffer damage; and they also thought it probable, what fin said, that many would in this way be brought to forsake the assembled army of the bondes. now when the king heard the warm expressions of his people he told them to listen to him, and said, "the bondes have well deserved that it should be done to them as ye desire. they also know that i have formerly done so, burning their habitations, and punishing them severely in many ways; but then i proceeded against them with fire and sword because they rejected the true faith, betook themselves to sacrifices, and would not obey my commands. we had then god's honour to defend. but this treason against their sovereign is a much less grievous crime, although it does not become men who have any manhood in them to break the faith and vows they have sworn to me. now, however, it is more in my power to spare those who have dealt ill with me, than those whom god hated. i will, therefore, that my people proceed gently, and commit no ravage. first, i will proceed to meet the bondes; if we can then come to a reconciliation, it is well; but if they will fight with us, then there are two things before us; either we fail in the battle, and then it will be well advised not to have to retire encumbered with spoil and cattle; or we gain the victory, and then ye will be the heirs of all who fight now against us; for some will fall, and others will fly, but both will have forfeited their goods and properties, and then it will be good to enter into full houses and well-stocked farms; but what is burnt is of use to no man, and with pillage and force more is wasted than what turns to use. now we will spread out far through the inhabited places, and take with us all the men we can find able to carry arms. then men will also capture cattle for slaughter, or whatever else of provision that can serve for food; but not do any other ravage. but i will see willingly that ye kill any spies of the bonde army ye may fall in with. dag and his people shall go by the north side down along the valley, and i will go on along the country road, and so we shall meet in the evening, and all have one night quarter." 218. of king olaf's skalds. it is related that when king olaf drew up his men in battle order, he made a shield rampart with his troop that should defend him in battle, for which he selected the strongest and boldest. thereafter he called his skalds, and ordered them to go in within the shield defence. "ye shall." says the king, "remain here, and see the circumstances which may take place, and then ye will not have to follow the reports of others in what ye afterwards tell or sing concerning it." there were thormod kolbrunarskald, gissur gulbraskald, a foster-son of hofgardaref, and thorfin mun. then said thormod to gissur, "let us not stand so close together, brother, that sigvat the skald should not find room when he comes. he must stand before the king, and the king will not have it otherwise." the king heard this, and said, "ye need not sneer at sigvat, because he is not here. often has he followed me well, and now he is praying for us, and that we greatly need." thormod replies, "it may be, sire, that ye now require prayers most; but it would be thin around the banner-staff if all thy court-men were now on the way to rome. true it was what we spoke about, that no man who would speak with you could find room for sigvat." thereafter the skalds talked among themselves that it would be well to compose a few songs of remembrance about the events which would soon be taking place. then gissur sang:- "from me shall bende girl never hear a thought of sorrow, care, or fear: i wish my girl knew how gay we arm us for our viking fray. many and brave they are, we know, who come against us there below; but, life or death, we, one and all, by norway's king will stand or fall." and thorfin mun made another song, viz.:- "dark is the cloud of men and shields, slow moving up through verdal's fields: these verdal folks presume to bring their armed force against their king. on! let us feed the carrion crow,- give her a feast in every blow; and, above all, let throndhjem's hordes feel the sharp edge of true men's swords." and thorrood sang:- "the whistling arrows pipe to battle, sword and shield their war-call rattle. up! brave men, up! the faint heart here finds courage when the danger's near. up! brave men, up! with olaf on! with heart and hand a field is won. one viking cheer!--then, stead of words, we'll speak with our death-dealing swords." these songs were immediately got by heart by the army. 219. of king olaf's gifts for the souls of those who should be slain. thereafter the king made himself ready, and marched down through the valley. his whole forces took up their night-quarter in one place, and lay down all night under their shields; but as soon as day broke the king again put his army in order, and that being done they proceeded down through the valley. many bondes then came to the king, of whom the most joined his army; and all, as one man, told the same tale,--that the lendermen had collected an enormous army, with which they intended to give battle to the king. the king took many marks of silver, and delivered them into the hands of a bonde, and said, "this money thou shalt conceal, and afterwards lay out, some to churches, some to priests, some to alms-men,--as gifts for the life and souls of those who fight against us, and may fall in battle." the bonde replies, "should you not rather give this money for the soul-mulct of your own men?" the king says, "this money shall be given for the souls of those who stand against us in the ranks of the bondes' army, and fall by the weapons of our own men. the men who follow us to battle, and fall therein, will all be saved together with ourself." 220. of thormod kolbrunarskald. this night the king lay with his army around him on the field, as before related, and lay long awake in prayer to god, and slept but little. towards morning a slumber fell on him, and when he awoke daylight was shooting up. the king thought it too early to awaken the army, and asked where thormod the skald was. thormod was at hand, and asked what was the king's pleasure. "sing us a song," said the king. thormod raised himself up, and sang so loud that the whole army could hear him. he began to sing the old "bjarkamal", of which these are the first verses:- "the day is breaking,- the house cock, shaking his rustling wings, while priest-bell rings, crows up the morn, and touting horn wakes thralls to work and weep; ye sons of adil, cast off sleep, wake up! wake up! nor wassail cup, nor maiden's jeer, awaits you here. hrolf of the bow! har of the blow! up in your might! the day is breaking; 'tis hild's game (1) that bides your waking." then the troops awoke, and when the song was ended the people thanked him for it; and it pleased many, as it was suitable to the time and occasion, and they called it the house-carle's whet. the king thanked him for the pleasure, and took a gold ring that weighed half a mark and gave it him. thormod thanked the king for the gift, and said, "we have a good king; but it is not easy to say how long the king's life may be. it is my prayer, sire, that thou shouldst never part from me either in life or death." the king replies, "we shall all go together so long as i rule, and as ye will follow me." thormod says, "i hope, sire, that whether in safety or danger i may stand near you as long as i can stand, whatever we may hear of sigvat travelling with his gold-hilted sword." then thormod made these lines:- "to thee, my king, i'll still be true, until another skald i view, here in the field with golden sword, as in thy hall, with flattering word. thy skald shall never be a craven, though he may feast the croaking raven, the warrior's fate unmoved i view,- to thee, my king, i'll still be true." endnotes: (1) hild's game is the battle, from the name of the war-goddess hild.--l. 221. king olaf comes to stiklestad. king olaf led his army farther down through the valley, and dag and his men went another way, and the king did not halt until he came to stiklestad. there he saw the bonde army spread out all around; and there were so great numbers that people were going on every footpath, and great crowds were collected far and near. they also saw there a troop which came down from veradal, and had been out to spy. they came so close to the king's people that they knew each other. it was hrut of viggia, with thirty men. the king ordered his pursuivants to go out against hrut, and make an end of him, to which his men were instantly ready. the king said to the icelanders, "it is told me that in iceland it is the custom that the bondes give their house-servants a sheep to slaughter; now i give you a ram to slaughter." (1) the icelanders were easily invited to this, and went out immediately with a few men against hrut, and killed him and the troop that followed him. when the king came to stiklestad he made a halt, and made the army stop, and told his people to alight from their horses and get ready for battle; and the people did as the king ordered. then he placed his army in battle array, and raised his banner. dag was not yet arrived with his men, so that his wing of the battle array was wanting. then the king said the upland men should go forward in their place, and raise their banner there. "it appears to me advisable," says the king, "that harald my brother should not be in the battle, for he is still in the years of childhood only." harald replies, "certainly i shall be in the battle, for i am not so weak that i cannot handle the sword; and as to that, i have a notion of tying the sword-handle to my hand. none is more willing than i am to give the bondes a blow; so i shall go with my comrades." it is said that harald made these lines:- "our army's wing, where i shall stand, i will hold good with heart and hand; my mother's eye shall joy to see a battered, blood-stained shield from me. the brisk young skald should gaily go into the fray, give blow for blow, cheer on his men, gain inch by inch, and from the spear-point never flinch." harald got his will, and was allowed to be in the battle. endnotes: (1) hrut means a young ram.--l. 222. of thorgils halmason. a bonde, by name thorgils halmason, father to grim the good, dwelt in stiklestad farm. thorgils offered the king his assistance, and was ready to go into battle with him. the king thanked him for the offer. "i would rather," says the king, "thou shouldst not be in the fight. do us rather the service to take care of the people who are wounded, and to bury those who may fall, when the battle is over. should it happen, bonde, that i fall in this battle, bestow the care on my body that may be necessary, if that be not forbidden thee." thorgils promised the king what he desired. 223. olaf's speech. now when king olaf had drawn up his army in battle array he made a speech, in which he told the people to raise their spirit, and go boldly forward, if it came to a battle. "we have," says he, "many men, and good; and although the bondes may have a somewhat larger force than we, it is fate that rules over victory. this i will make known to you solemnly, that i shall not fly from this battle, but shall either be victorious over the bondes, or fall in the fight. i will pray to god that the lot of the two may befall me which will be most to my advantage. with this we may encourage ourselves, that we have a more just cause than the bondes; and likewise that god must either protect us and our cause in this battle, or give us a far higher recompense for what we may lose here in the world than what we ourselves could ask. should it be my lot to have anything to say after the battle, then shall i reward each of you according to his service, and to the bravery he displays in the battle; and if we gain the victory, there must be land and movables enough to divide among you, and which are now in the hands of your enemies. let us at the first make the hardest onset, for then the consequences are soon seen. there being a great difference in the numbers, we have to expect victory from a sharp assault only; and, on the other hand, it will be heavy work for us to fight until we are tired, and unable to fight longer; for we have fewer people to relieve with than they, who can come forward at one time and retreat and rest at another. but if we advance so hard at the first attack that those who are foremost in their ranks must turn round, then the one will fall over the other, and their destruction will be the greater the greater numbers there are together." when the king had ended his speech it was received with loud applause, and the one encouraged the other. 224. of thord folason. thord folason carried king olaf's banner. so says sigvat the skald, in the death-song which he composed about king olaf, and put together according to resurrection saga:- "thord. i have heard, by olaf's side, where raged the battle's wildest tide, moved on, and, as by one accord moved with them every heart and sword. the banner of the king on high, floating all splendid in the sky from golden shaft, aloft he bore,- the norsemen's rallying-point of yore." 225. of king olaf's armour. king olaf was armed thus:--he had a gold-mounted helmet on his head; and had in one hand a white shield, on which the holy cross was inlaid in gold. in his other hand he had a lance, which to the present day stands beside the altar in christ church. in his belt he had a sword, which was called hneiter, which was remarkably sharp, and of which the handle was worked with gold. he had also a strong coat of ring-mail. sigvat the skald, speaks of this:- "a greater victory to gain, olaf the stout strode o'er the plain in strong chain armour, aid to bring to his brave men on either wing. high rose the fight and battle-heat,- the clear blood ran beneath the feet of swedes, who from the east came there, in olaf's gain or loss to share." 226. king olaf's dream. now when king olaf had drawn up his men the army of the bondes had not yet come near upon any quarter, so the king said the people should sit down and rest themselves. he sat down himself, and the people sat around him in a widespread crowd. he leaned down, and laid his head upon fin arnason's knee. there a slumber came upon him, and he slept a little while; but at the same time the bondes' army was seen advancing with raised banners, and the multitude of these was very great. then fin awakened the king, and said that the bonde-army advanced against them. the king awoke, and said, "why did you waken me, fin, and did not allow me to enjoy my dream?" fin: "thou must not be dreaming; but rather thou shouldst be awake, and preparing thyself against the host which is coming down upon us; or, dost thou not see that the whole bonde-crowd is coming?" the king replies, "they are not yet so near to us, and it would have been better to have let me sleep." then said fin, "what was the dream, sire, of which the loss appears to thee so great that thou wouldst rather have been left to waken of thyself?" now the king told his dream,--that he seemed to see a high ladder, upon which he went so high in the air that heaven was open: for so high reached the ladder. "and when you awoke me, i was come to the highest step towards heaven." fin replies, "this dream does not appear to me so good as it does to thee. i think it means that thou art fey (1); unless it be the mere want of sleep that has worked upon thee." endnotes: (1) fey means doomed to die. 227. of arnljot gelline's baptism. when king olaf was arrived at stiklestad, it happened, among other circumstances, that a man came to him; and although it was nowise wonderful that there came many men from the districts, yet this must be regarded as unusual, that this man did not appear like the other men who came to him. he was so tall that none stood higher than up to his shoulders: very handsome he was in countenance, and had beautiful fair hair. he was well armed; had a fine helmet, and ring armour; a red shield; a superb sword in his belt; and in his hand a gold-mounted spear, the shaft of it so thick that it was a handful to grasp. the man went before the king, saluted him, and asked if the king would accept his services. the king asked his name and family, also what countryman he was. he replies, "my family is in jamtaland and helsingjaland, and my name is arnljot gelline; but this i must not forget to tell you, that i came to the assistance of those men you sent to jamtaland to collect scat, and i gave into their hands a silver dish, which i sent you as a token that i would be your friend." then the king asked arnljot if he was a christian or not. he replied, "my faith has been this, to rely upon my power and strength, and which faith hath hitherto given me satisfaction; but now i intend rather to put my faith, sire, in thee." the king replies, "if thou wilt put faith in me thou must also put faith in what i will teach thee. thou must believe that jesus christ has made heaven and earth, and all mankind, and to him shall all those who are good and rightly believing go after death." arnljot answers, "i have indeed heard of the white christ, but neither know what he proposes, nor what he rules over; but now i will believe all that thou sayest to me, and lay down my lot in your hands." thereupon arnljot was baptized. the king taught him so much of the holy faith as appeared to him needful, and placed him in the front rank of the order of battle, in advance of his banner, where also gauka-thorer and afrafaste, with their men, were. 228. concerning the army collected in norway. now shall we relate what we have left behind in our tale,--that the lendermen and bondes had collected a vast host as soon as it was reported that king olaf was come from russia, and had arrived in svithjod; but when they heard that he had come to jamtaland, and intended to proceed westwards over the keel-ridge to veradal, they brought their forces into the throndhjem country, where they gathered together the whole people, free and unfree, and proceeded towards veradal with so great a body of men that there was nobody in norway at that time who had seen so large a force assembled. but the force, as it usually happens in so great a multitude, consisted of many different sorts of people. there were many lendermen, and a great many powerful bondes; but the great mass consisted of labourers and cottars. the chief strength of this army lay in the throndhjem land, and it was the most warm in enmity and opposition to the king. 229. of bishop sigurd. when king canute had, as before related, laid all norway under his power, he set earl hakon to manage it, and gave the earl a court-bishop, by name sigurd, who was of danish descent, and had been long with king canute. this bishop was of a very hot temper, and particularly obstinate, and haughty in his speech; but supported king canute all he could in conversation, and was a great enemy of king olaf. he was now also in the bondes' army, spoke often before the people, and urged them much to insurrection against king olaf. 230. bishop sigurd's speech. at a house-thing, at which a great many people were assembled, the bishop desired to be heard, and made the following speech: "here are now assembled a great many men, so that probably there will never be opportunity in this poor country of seeing so great a native army; but it would be desirable if this strength and multitude could be a protection; for it will all be needed, if this olaf does not give over bringing war and strife upon you. from his very earliest youth he has been accustomed to plunder and kill: for which purposes he drove widely around through all countries, until he turned at last against this, where he began to show hostilities against the men who were the best and most powerful; and even against king canute, whom all are bound to serve according to their ability, and in whose scat-lands he set himself down. he did the same to olaf the swedish king. he drove the earls svein and hakon away from their heritages; and was even most tyrannical towards his own connections, as he drove all the kings out of the uplands: although, indeed, it was but just reward for having been false to their oaths of fealty to king canute, and having followed this king olaf in all the folly he could invent; so their friendship ended according to their deserts, by this king mutilating some of them, taking their kingdoms himself, and ruining every man in the country who had an honourable name. ye know yourselves how he has treated the lendermen, of whom many of the worthlest have been murdered, and many obliged to fly from their country; and how he has roamed far and wide through the land with robber-bands, burning and plundering houses, and killing people. who is the man among us here of any consideration who has not some great injury from him to avenge? now he has come hither with a foreign troop, consisting mostly of forest-men, vagabonds, and such marauders. do ye think he will now be more merciful to you, when he is roaming about with such a bad crew, after committing devastations which all who followed him dissuaded him from? therefore it is now my advice, that ye remember king canute's words when he told you, if king olaf attempted to return to the country ye should defend the liberty king canute had promised you, and should oppose and drive away such a vile pack. now the only thing to be done is to advance against them, and cast forth these malefactors to the wolves and eagles, leaving their corpses on the spot they cover, unless ye drag them aside to out-of-the-way corners in the woods or rocks. no man would be so imprudent as to remove them to churches, for they are all robbers and evil-doers." when he had ended his speech it was hailed with the loudest applause, and all unanimously agreed to act according to his recommendation. 231. of the lendermen. the lendermen who had come together appointed meetings with each other, and consulted together how they should draw up their troops, and who should be their leader. kalf arnason said that harek of thjotta was best fitted to be the chief of this army, for he was descended from harald harfager's race. "the king also is particularly enraged against him on account of the murder of grankel, and therefore he would be exposed to the severest fate if olaf recovered the kingdom; and harek withal is a man experienced in battles, and a man who does much for honour alone." harek replies, that the men are best suited for this who are in the flower of their age. "i am now," says he, "an old and decaying man, not able to do much in battle: besides, there is near relationship between me and king olaf; and although he seems not to put great value upon that tie, it would not beseem me to go as leader of the hostilities against him, before any other in this meeting. on the other hand, thou, thorer, art well suited to be our chief in this battle against king olaf; and thou hast distinct grounds for being so, both because thou hast to avenge the death of thy relation, and also hast been driven by him as an outlaw from thy property. thou hast also promised king canute, as well as thy connections, to avenge the murder of thy relative asbjorn; and dost thou suppose there ever will be a better opportunity than this of taking vengeance on olaf for all these insults and injuries?" thorer replies thus to his speech: "i do not confide in myself so much as to raise the banner against king olaf, or, as chief, to lead on this army; for the people of throndhjem have the greatest part in this armament, and i know well their haughty spirit, and that they would not obey me, or any other halogaland man, although i need not be reminded of my injuries to be roused to vengeance on king olaf. i remember well my heavy loss when king olaf slew four men, all distinguished both by birth and personal qualities; namely, my brother's son asbjorn, my sister's sons thorer and grjotgard, and their father olver; and it is my duty to take vengeance for each man of them. i will not conceal that i have selected eleven of my house-servants for that purpose, and of those who are the most daring; and i do not think we shall be behind others in exchanging blows with king olaf, should opportunity be given." 232. kalf arnason's speech. then kalf arnason desired to speak. "it is highly necessary," says he, "that this business we have on hand do not turn out a mockery and child-work, now that an army is collected. something else is needful, if we are to stand battle with king olaf, than that each should shove the danger from himself; for we must recollect that although king olaf has not many people compared to this army of ours, the leader of them is intrepid, and the whole body of them will be true to him, and obedient in the battle. but if we who should be the leaders of this army show any fear, and will not encourage the army and go at the head of it, it must happen that with the great body of our people the spirit will leave their hearts, and the next thing will be that each will seek his own safety. although we have now a great force assembled, we shall find our destruction certain, when we meet king olaf and his troops, if we, the chiefs of the people, are not confident in our cause, and have not the whole army confidently and bravely going along with us. if it cannot be so, we had better not risk a battle; and then it is easy to see that nothing would be left us but to shelter ourselves under king olaf's mercy, however hard it might be, as then we would be less guilty than we now may appear to him to be. yet i know there are men in his ranks who would secure my life and peace if i would seek it. will ye now adopt my proposal--then shalt thou, friend thorer, and thou, harek, go under the banner which we will all of us raise up, and then follow. let us all be speedy and determined in the resolution we have taken, and put ourselves so at the head of the bondes' army that they see no distrust in us; for then will the common man advance with spirit when we go merrily to work in placing the army in battle-order, and in encouraging the people to the strife." when kalf had ended they all concurred in what he proposed, and all would do what kalf thought of advantage. all desired kalf to be the leader of the army, and to give each what place in it he chose. 233. how the lendermen set up their banners. kalf arnason then raised his banner, and drew up his house-servants along with harek of thjotta and his men. thorer hund, with his troop, was at the head of the order of battle in front of the banner; and on both sides of thorer was a chosen body of bondes, all of them the most active and best armed in the forces. this part of the array was long and thick, and in it were drawn up the throndhjem people and the halogalanders. on the right wing was another array; and on the left of the main array were drawn up the men from rogaland, hordaland, the fjord districts, and scgn, and they had the third banner. 234. of thorstein knarrarsmid. there was a man called thorstein knarrarsmid, who was a merchant and master ship-carpenter, stout and strong, very passionate, and a great manslayer. he had been in enmity against king olaf, who had taken from him a new and large merchant-vessel he had built, on account of some manslaughter-mulct, incurred in the course of his misdeeds, which he owed to the king. thorstein, who was with the bondes' army, went forward in front of the line in which thorer hund stood, and said, "here i will be, thorer, in your ranks; for i think, if i and king olaf meet, to be the first to strive a weapon at him, if i can get so near, to repay him for the robbery of the ship he took from me, which was the best that ever went on merchant voyage." thorer and his men received thorstein, and he went into their ranks. 235. of the preparations of the bondes. when the bondes' men and array were drawn up the lendermen addressed the men, and ordered them to take notice of the place to which each man belonged, under which banner each should be, who there were in front of the banner, who were his side-men, and that they should be brisk and quick in taking up their places in the array; for the army had still to go a long way, and the array might be broken in the course of march. then they encouraged the people; and kalf invited all the men who had any injury to avenge on king olaf to place themselves under the banner which was advancing against king olaf's own banner. they should remember the distress he had brought upon them; and, he said, never was there a better opportunity to avenge their grievances, and to free themselves from the yoke and slavery he had imposed on them. "let him," says he, "be held a useless coward who does not fight this day boldly; and they are not innocents who are opposed to you, but people who will not spare you if ye spare them." kalf's speech was received with loud applause, and shouts of encouragement were heard through the whole army. 236. of the king's and the bondes' armies. thereafter the bondes' army advanced to stiklestad, where king olaf was already with his people. kalf and harek went in front, at the head of the army under their banners. but the battle did not begin immediately on their meeting; for the bondes delayed the assault, because all their men were not come upon the plain, and they waited for those who came after them. thorer hund had come up with his troop the last, for he had to take care that the men did not go off behind when the battlecry was raised, or the armies were closing with each other; and therefore kalf and harek waited for thorer. for the encouragement of their men in the battle the bondes had the field-cry--"forward, forward, bondemen!" king olaf also made no attack, for he waited for dag and the people who followed him. at last the king saw dag and his men approaching. it is said that the army of the bondes was not less on this day than a hundred times a hundred men. sigvat the skald speaks thus of the numbers:- "i grieve to think the king had brought too small a force for what he sought: he held his gold too fast to bring the numbers that could make him king. the foemen, more than two to one, the victory by numbers won; and this alone, as i've heard say, against king olaf turned the day." 237. meeting of the king and the bondes. as the armies on both sides stood so near that people knew each other, the king said, "why art thou here, kalf, for we parted good friends south in more? it beseems thee ill to fight against us, or to throw a spear into our army; for here are four of thy brothers." kalf replied, "many things come to pass differently from what may appear seemly. you parted from us so that it was necessary to seek peace with those who were behind in the country. now each must remain where he stands; but if i might advise, we should be reconciled." then fin, his brother, answered, "this is to be observed of kalf, that when he speaks fairly he has it in his mind to do ill." the king answered, "it may be, kalf, that thou art inclined to reconciliation; but, methinks, the bondes do not appear so peaceful." then thorgeir of kviststad said, "you shall now have such peace as many formerly have received at your hands, and which you shall now pay for." the king replies, "thou hast no occasion to hasten so much to meet us; for fate has not decreed to thee to-day a victory over me, who raised thee to power and dignity from a mean station." 238. beginning of the battle of stiklestad. now came thorer hund, went forward in front of the banner with his troop, and called out, "forward, forward, bondemen!" thereupon the bondemen raised the war-cry, and shot their arrows and spears. the king's men raised also a war-shout; and that done, encouraged each other to advance, crying out, "forward, forward, christ-men! cross-men! king's men!" when the bondes who stood outermost on the wings heard it, they repeated the same cry; but when the other bondes heard them they thought these were king's men, turned their arms against them, and they fought together, and many were slain before they knew each other. the weather was beautiful, and the sun shone clear; but when the battle began the heaven and the sun became red, and before the battle ended it became as dark as at night. king olaf had drawn up his army upon a rising ground, and it rushed down from thence upon the bonde-army with such a fierce assault, that the bondes' array went before it; so that the breast of the king's array came to stand upon the ground on which the rear of the bondes' array had stood, and many of the bondes' army were on the way to fly, but the lendermen and their house-men stood fast, and the battle became very severe. so says sigvat:- "thundered the ground beneath their tread, as, iron-clad, thick-tramping, sped the men-at-arms, in row and rank, past stiklestad's sweet grassy bank. the clank of steel, the bowstrings' twang, the sounds of battle, loudly rang; and bowman hurried on advancing, their bright helms in the sunshine glancing." the lendermen urged their men, and forced them to advance. sigvat speaks of this:- "midst in their line their banner flies, thither the stoutest bonde hies: but many a bonde thinks of home, and many wish they ne'er had come." then the bonde-army pushed on from all quarters. they who stood in front hewed down with their swords; they who stood next thrust with their spears; and they who stood hindmost shot arrows, cast spears, or threw stones, hand-axes, or sharp stakes. soon there was a great fall of men in the battle. many were down on both sides. in the first onset fell arnljot gelline, gauka-thorer, and afrafaste, with all their men, after each had killed a man or two, and some indeed more. now the ranks in front of the king's banner began to be thinned, and the king ordered thord to carry the banner forward, and the king himself followed it with the troop he had chosen to stand nearest to him in battle; and these were the best armed men in the field, and the most expert in the use of their weapons. sigvat the skald tells of this:- "loud was the battle-storm there, where the king's banner flamed in air. the king beneath his banner stands, and there the battle he commands." olaf came forth from behind the shield-bulwark, and put himself at the head of the army; and when the bondes looked him in the face they were frightened, and let their hands drop. so says sigvat:- "i think i saw them shrink with fear who would not shrink from foeman's spear, when olaf's lion-eye was cast on them, and called up all the past. clear as the serpent's eye--his look no throndhjem man could stand, but shook beneath its glance, and skulked away, knowing his king, and cursed the day." the combat became fierce, and the king went forward in the fray. so says sigvat:- "when on they came in fierce array, and round the king arose the fray, with shield on arm brave olaf stood, dyeing his sword in their best blood. for vengeance on his throndhjem foes, on their best men he dealt his blows; he who knew well death's iron play, to his deep vengeance gave full sway." 239. thorgeir of kviststad's fall. king olaf fought most desperately. he struck the lenderman before mentioned (thorgeir of kviststad) across the face, cut off the nose-piece of his helmet, and clove his head down below the eyes so that they almost fell out. when he fell the king said, "was it not true, thorgeir, what i told thee, that thou shouldst not be victor in our meeting?" at the same instant thord stuck the banner-pole so fast in the earth that it remained standing. thord had got his death-wound, and fell beneath the banner. there also fell thorfin mun, and also gissur gullbrarskald, who was attacked by two men, of whom he killed one, but only wounded the other before he fell. so says hofgardaref:- "bold in the iron-storm was he, firm and stout as forest tree, the hero who, 'gainst two at once, made odin's fire from sword-edge glance; dealing a death-blow to the one, known as a brave and generous man, wounding the other, ere he fell,- his bloody sword his deeds showed well." it happened then, as before related, that the sun, although the air was clear, withdrew from the sight, and it became dark. of this sigvat the skald speaks:- "no common wonder in the sky fell out that day--the sun on high, and not a cloud to see around, shone not, nor warmed norway's ground. the day on which fell out this fight was marked by dismal dusky light, this from the east i heard--the end of our great king it did portend." at the same time dag hringson came up with his people, and began to put his men in array, and to set up his banner; but on account of the darkness the onset could not go on so briskly, for they could not see exactly whom they had before them. they turned, however, to that quarter where the men of hordaland and rogaland stood. many of these circumstances took place at the same time, and some happened a little earlier, and some a little later. 240. king olaf's fall. on the one side of kalf arnason stood his two relations, olaf and kalf, with many other brave and stout men. kalf was a son of arnfin arnmodson, and a brother's son of arne arnmodson. on the other side of kalf arnason stood thorer hund. king olaf hewed at thorer hund, and struck him across the shoulders; but the sword would not cut, and it was as if dust flew from his reindeer-skin coat. so says sigvat:- "the king himself now proved the power of fin-folk's craft in magic hour, with magic song; for stroke of steel thor's reindeer coat would never feel, bewitched by them it turned the stroke of the king's sword,--a dust-like smoke rose from thor's shoulders from the blow which the king though would end his foe." thorer struck at the king, and they exchanged some blows; but the king's sword would not cut where it met the reindeer skin, although thorer was wounded in the hands. sigvat sang thus of it:- "some say that thorer's not right bold; why never yet have i been told of one who did a bolder thing than to change blows with his true king. against his king his sword to wield, leaping across the shield on shield which fenced the king round in the fight, shows the dog's (1) courage--brave, not bright." the king said to bjorn the marshal, "do thou kill the dog on whom steel will not bite." bjorn turned round the axe in his hands, and gave thorer a blow with the hammer of it on the shoulder so hard that he tottered. the king at the same moment turned against kalf and his relations, and gave olaf his death-wound. thorer hund struck his spear right through the body of marshal bjorn, and killed him outright; and thorer said, "it is thus we hunt the bear." (2) thorstein knarrarsmid struck at king olaf with his axe, and the blow hit his left leg above the knee. fin arnason instantly killed thorstein. the king after the wound staggered towards a stone, threw down his sword, and prayed god to help him. then thorer hund struck at him with his spear, and the stroke went in under his mail-coat and into his belly. then kalf struck at him on the left side of the neck. but all are not agreed upon kalf having been the man who gave him the wound in the neck. these three wounds were king olaf's death; and after the king's death the greater part of the forces which had advanced with him fell with the king. bjarne gullbrarskald sang these verses about kalf arnason:- "warrior! who olaf dared withstand, who against olaf held the land, thou hast withstood the bravest, best, who e'er has gone to his long rest. at stiklestad thou wast the head; with flying banners onwards led thy bonde troops, and still fought on, until he fell--the much-mourned one." sigvat also made these verses on bjorn:- "the marshal bjorn, too, i find, a great example leaves behind, how steady courage should stand proof, though other servants stand aloof. to russia first his steps he bent, to serve his master still intent; and now besides his king he fell,- a noble death for skalds to tell." endnotes: (1) thorer's name was hund--the dog; and a play upon thorer hund's name was intended by the skald.--l. (2) bjorn, the marshal's name, signifies a bear.--l. 241. beginning of dag hringson's attack. dag hringson still kept up the battle, and made in the beginning so fierce an assault that the bondes gave way, and some betook themselves to flight. there a great number of the bondes fell, and these lendermen, erlend of gerde and aslak of finey; and the banner also which they had stood under was cut down. this onset was particularly hot, and was called dag's storm. but now kalf arnason, harek of thjotta, and thorer hund turned against dag, with the array which had followed them, and then dag was overwhelmed with numbers; so he betook himself to flight with the men still left him. there was a valley through which the main body of the fugitives fled, and men lay scattered in heaps on both sides; and many were severely wounded, and many so fatigued that they were fit for nothing. the bondes pursued only a short way; for their leaders soon returned back to the field of battle, where they had their friends and relations to look after. 242. king olaf's miracle shown to thorer hund. thorer hund went to where king olaf's body lay, took care of it, laid it straight out on the ground, and spread a cloak over it. he told since that when he wiped the blood from the face it was very beautiful; and there was red in the cheeks, as if he only slept, and even much clearer than when he was in life. the king's blood came on thorer's hand, and ran up between his fingers to where he had been wounded, and the wound grew up so speedily that it did not require to be bound up. this circumstance was testified by thorer himself when king olaf's holiness came to be generally known among the people; and thorer hund was among the first of the king's powerful opponents who endeavoured to spread abroad the king's sanctity. 243. of kalf arnason's brothers. kalf arnason searched for his brothers who had fallen, and found thorberg and fin. it is related that fin threw his dagger at him, and wanted to kill him, giving him hard words, and calling him a faithless villain, and a traitor to his king. kalf did not regard it, but ordered fin and thorberg to be carried away from the field. when their wounds were examined they were found not to be deadly, and they had fallen from fatigue, and under the weight of their weapons. thereafter kalf tried to bring his brothers down to a ship, and went himself with them. as soon as he was gone the whole bonde-army, having their homes in the neighbourhood, went off also, excepting those who had friends or relations to look after, or the bodies of the slain to take care of. the wounded were taken home to the farms, so that every house was full of them; and tents were erected over some. but wonderful as was the number collected in the bonde-army, no less wonderful was the haste with which this vast body was dispersed when it was once free; and the cause of this was, that the most of the people gathered together from the country places were longing for their homes. 244. of the bondes of veradal. the bondes who had their homes in veradal went to the chiefs harek and thorer, and complained of their distress, saying, "the fugitives who have escaped from the battle have proceeded up over the valley of veradal, and are destroying our habitations, and there is no safety for us to travel home so long as they are in the valley. go after them with war-force, and let no mother's son of them escape with life; for that is what they intended for us if they had got the upper hand in the battle, and the same they would do now if they met us hereafter, and had better luck than we. it may also be that they will linger in the valley if they have nothing to be frightened for, and then they would not proceed very gently in the inhabited country." the bondes made many words about this, urging the chiefs to advance directly, and kill those who had escaped. now when the chiefs talked over this matter among themselves, they thought there was much truth in what the bondes said. they resolved, therefore, that thorer hund should undertake this expedition through veradal, with 600 men of his own troops. then, towards evening, he set out with his men; and thorer continued his march without halt until he came in the night to sula, where he heard the news that dag hringson had come there in the evening, with many other flocks of the king's men, and had halted there until they took supper, but were afterwards gone up to the mountains. then thorer said he did not care to pursue them up through the mountains, and he returned down the valley again, and they did not kill many of them this time. the bondes then returned to their homes, and the following day thorer, with his people, went to their ships. the part of the king's men who were still on their legs concealed themselves in the forests, and some got help from the people. 245. of the king's brother, harald sigurdson. harald sigurdson was severely wounded; but ragnvald brusason brought him to a bonde's the night after the battle, and the bonde took in harald, and healed his wound in secret, and afterwards gave him his son to attend him. they went secretly over the mountains, and through the waste forests, and came out in jamtaland. harald sigurdson was fifteen years old when king olaf fell. in jamtaland harald found ragnvald brusason; and they went both east to king jarisleif in russia, as is related in the saga of harald sigurdson. 246. of thormod kolbrunarskald. thormod kolbrunarskald was under king olaf's banner in the battle; but when the king had fallen, the battle was raging so that of the king's men the one fell by the side of the other, and the most of those who stood on their legs were wounded. thormod was also severely wounded, and retired, as all the others did, back from where there was most danger of life, and some even fled. now when the onset began which is called dag's storm, all of the king's men who were able to combat went there; but thormod did not come into that combat, being unable to fight, both from his wound and from weariness, but he stood by the side of his comrade in the ranks, although he could do nothing. there he was struck by an arrow in the left side; but he broke off the shaft of the arrow, went out of the battle, and up towards the houses, where he came to a barn which was a large building. thormod had his drawn sword in his hand; and as he went in a man met him, coming out, and said, "it is very bad there with howling and screaming; and a great shame it is that brisk young fellows cannot bear their wounds: it may be that the king's men have done bravely to-day, but they certainly bear their wounds very ill." thormod asks. "what is thy name?" he called himself kimbe. thormod: "wast thou in the battle, too?" "i was with the bondes, which was the best side," says he. "and art thou wounded any way?" says thormod. "a little," said kimbe. "and hast thou been in the battle too?" thormod replied, "i was with them who had the best." "art thou wounded?" says kimbe. "not much to signify," replies thormod. as kimbe saw that thormod had a gold ring on his arm, he said, "thou art certainly a king's man. give me thy gold ring, and i will hide thee. the bondes will kill thee if thou fallest in their way." thormod says, "take the ring if thou canst get it: i have lost that which is more worth." kimbe stretched out his hand, and wanted to take the ring; but thormod, swinging his sword, cut off his hand; and it is related that kimbe behaved himself no better under his wound than those he had been blaming just before. kimbe went off, and thormod sat down in the barn, and listened to what people were saying. the conversation was mostly about what each had seen in the battle, and about the valour of the combatants. some praised most king olaf's courage, and some named others who stood nowise behind him in bravery. then thormod sang these verses:- "olaf was brave beyond all doubt,- at stiklestad was none so stout; spattered with blood, the king, unsparing, cheered on his men with deed and daring. but i have heard that some were there who in the fight themselves would spare; though, in the arrow-storm, the most had perils quite enough to boast." 247. thormod's death. thormod went out, and entered into a chamber apart, in which there were many wounded men, and with them a woman binding their wounds. there was fire upon the floor, at which she warmed water to wash and clean their wounds. thormod sat himself down beside the door, and one came in, and another went out, of those who were busy about the wounded men. one of them turned to thormod, looked at him, and said, "why art thou so dead-pale? art thou wounded? why dost thou not call for the help of the wound-healers?" thormod then sang these verses:- "i am not blooming, and the fair and slender girl loves to care for blooming youths--few care for me; with fenja's meal i cannot fee. this is the reason why i feel the slash and thrust of danish steel; and pale and faint, and bent with pain, return from yonder battle-plain." then thormod stood up and went in towards the fire, and stood there awhile. the young woman said to him, "go out, man, and bring in some of the split firewood which lies close beside the door." he went out and brought in an armful of wood, which he threw down upon the floor. then the nurse-girl looked him in the face, and said, "dreadfully pale is this man--why art thou so?" then thormod sang:- "thou wonderest, sweet sprig, at me, a man so hideous to see: deep wounds but rarely mend the face, the crippling blow gives little grace. the arrow-drift o'ertook me, girl,- a fine-ground arrow in the whirl went through me, and i feel the dart sits, lovely girl, too near my heart." the girl said, "let me see thy wound, and i will bind it." thereupon thormod sat down, cast off his clothes, and the girl saw his wounds, and examined that which was in his side, and felt that a piece of iron was in it, but could not find where the iron had gone in. in a stone pot she had stirred together leeks and other herbs, and boiled them, and gave the wounded men of it to eat, by which she discovered if the wounds had penetrated into the belly; for if the wound had gone so deep, it would smell of leek. she brought some of this now to thormod, and told him to eat of it. he replied, "take it away, i have no appetite for my broth." then she took a large pair of tongs, and tried to pull out the iron; but it sat too fast, and would in no way come, and as the wound was swelled, little of it stood out to lay hold of. now said thormod, "cut so deep in that thou canst get at the iron with the tongs, and give me the tongs and let me pull." she did as he said. then thormod took a gold ring from his hand, gave it to the nurse-woman, and told her to do with it what she liked. "it is a good man's gift," said he: "king olaf gave me the ring this morning." then thormod took the tongs, and pulled the iron out; but on the iron there was a hook, at which there hung some morsels of flesh from the heart,--some white, some red. when he saw that, he said, "the king has fed us well. i am fat, even at the heart-roots;" and so saying he leant back, and was dead. and with this ends what we have to say about thormod. 248. of some circumstances of the battle. king olaf fell on wednesday, the 29th of july (a.d. 1030). it was near mid-day when the two armies met, and the battle began before half-past one, and before three the king fell. the darkness continued from about half-past one to three also. sigvat the skald speaks thus of the result of the battle:- "the loss was great to england's foes, when their chief fell beneath the blows by his own thoughtless people given,- when the king's shield in two was riven. the people's sovereign took the field, the people clove the sovereign's shield. of all the chiefs that bloody day, dag only came out of the fray." and he composed these:- "such mighty bonde-power, i ween, with chiefs or rulers ne'er was seen. it was the people's mighty power that struck the king that fatal hour. when such a king, in such a strife, by his own people lost his life, full many a gallant man must feel the death-wound from the people's steel." the bondes did not spoil the slain upon the field of battle, for immediately after the battle there came upon many of them who had been against the king a kind of dread as it were; yet they held by their evil inclination, for they resolved among themselves that all who had fallen with the king should not receive the interment which belongs to good men, but reckoned them all robbers and outlaws. but the men who had power, and had relations on the field, cared little for this, but removed their remains to the churches, and took care of their burial. 249. a miracle on a blind man. thorgils halmason and his son grim went to the field of battle towards evening when it was dusk, took king olaf's corpse up, and bore it to a little empty houseman's hut which stood on the other side of their farm. they had light and water with them. then they took the clothes off the body, swathed it in a linen cloth, laid it down in the house, and concealed it under some firewood so that nobody could see it, even if people came into the hut. thereafter they went home again to the farmhouse. a great many beggars and poor people had followed both armies, who begged for meat; and the evening after the battle many remained there, and sought lodging round about in all the houses, great or small. it is told of a blind man who was poor, that a boy attended him and led him. they went out around the farm to seek a lodging, and came to the same empty house, of which the door was so low that they had almost to creep in. now when the blind man had come in, he fumbled about the floor seeking a place where he could lay himself down. he had a hat on his head, which fell down over his face when he stooped down. he felt with his hands that there was moisture on the floor, and he put up his wet hand to raise his hat, and in doing so put his fingers on his eyes. there came immediately such an itching in his eyelids, that he wiped the water with his fingers from his eyes, and went out of the hut, saying nobody could lie there, it was so wet. when he came out of the hut he could distinguish his hands, and all that was near him, as far as things can be distinguished by sight in the darkness of light; and he went immediately to the farm-house into the room, and told all the people he had got his sight again, and could see everything, although many knew he had been blind for a long time, for he had been there, before, going about among the houses of the neighbourhood. he said he first got his sight when he was coming out of a little ruinous hut which was all wet inside. "i groped in the water," said he, "and rubbed my eyes with my wet hands." he told where the hut stood. the people who heard him wondered much at this event, and spoke among themselves of what it could be that produced it: but thorgils the peasant and his son grim thought they knew how this came to pass; and as they were much afraid the king's enemies might go there and search the hut, they went and took the body out of it, and removed it to a garden, where they concealed it, and then returned to the farm, and slept there all night. 250. of thorer hund. the fifth day (thursday), thorer hund came down the valley of veradal to stiklestad; and many people, both chiefs and bondes, accompanied him. the field of battle was still being cleared, and people were carrying away the bodies of their friends and relations, and were giving the necessary help to such of the wounded as they wished to save; but many had died since the battle. thorer hund went to where the king had fallen, and searched for his body; but not finding it, he inquired if any one could tell him what had become of the corpse, but nobody could tell him where it was. then he asked the bonde thorgils, who said, "i was not in the battle, and knew little of what took place there; but many reports are abroad, and among others that king olaf has been seen in the night up at staf, and a troop of people with him: but if he fell in the battle, your men must have concealed him in some hole, or under some stone-heap." now although thorer hund knew for certain that the king had fallen, many allowed themselves to believe, and to spread abroad the report, that the king had escaped from the battle, and would in a short time come again upon them with an army. then thorer went to his ships, and sailed down the fjord, and the bonde-army dispersed, carrying with them all the wounded men who could bear to be removed. 251. of king olaf's body. thorgils halmason and his son grim had king olaf's body, and were anxious about preserving it from falling into the hands of the king's enemies, and being ill-treated; for they heard the bondes speaking about burning it, or sinking it in the sea. the father and son had seen a clear light burning at night over the spot on the battlefield where king olaf's body lay, and since, while they concealed it, they had always seen at night a light burning over the corpse; therefore they were afraid the king's enemies might seek the body where this signal was visible. they hastened, therefore, to take the body to a place where it would be safe. thorgils and his son accordingly made a coffin, which they adorned as well as they could, and laid the king's body in it; and afterwards made another coffin in which they laid stones and straw, about as much as the weight of a man, and carefully closed the coffins. as soon as the whole bonde-army had left stiklestad, thorgils and his son made themselves ready, got a large rowing-boat, and took with them seven or eight men, who were all thorgil's relations or friends, and privately took the coffin with the king's body down to the boat, and set it under the foot-boards. they had also with them the coffin containing the stones, and placed it in the boat where all could see it; and then went down the fjord with a good opportunity of wind and weather, and arrived in the dusk of the evening at nidaros, where they brought up at the king's pier. then thorgils sent some of his men up to the town to bishop sigurd, to say that they were come with the king's body. as soon as the bishop heard this news, he sent his men down to the pier, and they took a small rowing-boat, came alongside of thorgil's ship, and demanded the king's body. thorgils and his people then took the coffin which stood in view, and bore it into the boat; and the bishop's men rowed out into the fjord, and sank the coffin in the sea. it was now quite dark. thorgils and his people now rowed up into the river past the town, and landed at a place called saurhlid, above the town. then they carried the king's body to an empty house standing at a distance from other houses, and watched over it for the night, while thorgils went down to the town, where he spoke with some of the best friends of king olaf, and asked them if they would take charge of the king's body; but none of them dared to do so. then thorgils and his men went with the body higher up the river, buried it in a sand-hill on the banks, and levelled all around it so that no one could observe that people had been at work there. they were ready with all this before break of day, when they returned to their vessel, went immediately out of the river, and proceeded on their way home to stiklestad. 252. of the beginning of king svein alfifason's government. svein, a son of king canute, and of alfifa, a daughter of earl alfrin, had been appointed to govern jomsborg in vindland. there came a message to him from his father king canute, that he should come to denmark; and likewise that afterwards he should proceed to norway, and take that kingdom under his charge, and assume, at the same time, the title of king of norway. svein repaired to denmark, and took many people with him from thence, and also earl harald and many other people of consequence attended him. thorarin loftunga speaks of this in the song he composed about king svein, called the "glelogn song":- "'tis told by fame, how grandly came the danes to tend their young king svein. grandest was he, that all could see; then, one by one, each following man more splendour wore than him before." then svein proceeded to norway, and his mother alfifa was with him; and he was taken to be king at every law-thing in the country. he had already come as far as viken at the time the battle was fought at stiklestad, and king olaf fell. svein continued his journey until he came north, in autumn, to the throndhjem country; and there, as elsewhere, he was received as king. 253. of king svein's laws. king svein introduced new laws in many respects into the country, partly after those which were in denmark, and in part much more severe. no man must leave the country without the king's permission; or if he did, his property fell to the king. whoever killed a man outright, should forfeit all his land and movables. if any one was banished the country, and all heritage fell to him, the king took his inheritance. at yule every man should pay the king a meal of malt from every harvest steading, and a leg of a three-year old ox, which was called a friendly gift, together with a spand of butter; and every house-wife a rock full of unspun lint, as thick as one could span with the longest fingers of the hand. the bondes were bound to build all the houses the king required upon his farms. of every seven males one should be taken for the service of war, and reckoning from the fifth year of age; and the outfit of ships should be reckoned in the same proportion. every man who rowed upon the sea to fish should pay the king five fish as a tax, for the land defence, wherever he might come from. every ship that went out of the country should have stowage reserved open for the king in the middle of the ship. every man, foreigner or native, who went to iceland, should pay a tax to the king. and to all this was added, that danes should enjoy so much consideration in norway, that one witness of them should invalidate ten of northmen (1). when these laws were promulgated the minds of the people were instantly raised against them, and murmurs were heard among them. they who had not taken part against king olaf said, "now take your reward and friendship from the canute race, ye men of the interior throndhjem who fought against king olaf, and deprived him of his kingdom. ye were promised peace and justice, and now ye have got oppression and slavery for your great treachery and crime." nor was it very easy to contradict them, as all men saw how miserable the change had been. but people had not the boldness to make an insurrection against king svein, principally because many had given king canute their sons or other near relations as hostages; and also because no one appeared as leader of an insurrection. they very soon, however, complained of king svein; and his mother alfifa got much of the blame of all that was against their desire. then the truth, with regard to olaf, became evident to many. endnotes: (1) this may probably have referred not to witnesses of an act, but to the class of witnesses in the jurisprudence of the middle ages called compurgators, who testified not the fact, but their confidence in the statements of the accused; and from which, possibly, our english bail for offenders arose. --l. 254. of king olaf's sanctity. this winter (a.d. 1031) many in the throndhjem land began to declare that olaf was in reality a holy man, and his sanctity was confirmed by many miracles. many began to make promises and prayers to king olaf in the matters in which they thought they required help, and many found great benefit from these invocations. some in respect of health, others of a journey, or other circumstances in which such help seemed needful. 255. of einar tambaskelfer. einar tambaskelfer was come home from england to his farm, and had the fiefs which king canute had given him when they met in throndhjem, and which were almost an earldom. einar had not been in the strife against king olaf, and congratulated himself upon it. he remembered that king canute had promised him the earldom over norway, and at the same time remembered that king canute had not kept his promise. he was accordingly the first great person who looked upon king olaf as a saint. 256. of the sons of arne. fin arnason remained but a short time at eggja with his brother kalf; for he was in the highest degree ill-pleased that kalf had been in the battle against king olaf, and always made his brother the bitterest reproaches on this account. thorberg arnason was much more temperate in his discourse than fin; but yet he hastened away, and went home to his farm. kalf gave the two brothers a good long-ship, with full rigging and other necessaries, and a good retinue. therefore they went home to their farms, and sat quietly at home. arne arnason lay long ill of his wounds, but got well at last without injury of any limb, and in winter he proceeded south to his farm. all the brothers made their peace with king svein, and sat themselves quietly down in their homes. 257. bishop sigurd's flight. the summer after (a.d. 1031) there was much talk about king olaf's sanctity, and there was a great alteration in the expressions of all people concerning him. there were many who now believed that king olaf must be a saint, even among those who had persecuted him with the greatest animosity, and would never in their conversation allow truth or justice in his favour. people began then to turn their reproaches against the men who had principally excited opposition to the king; and on this account bishop sigurd in particular was accused. he got so many enemies, that he found it most advisable to go over to england to king canute. then the throndhjem people sent men with a verbal message to the uplands, to bishop grimkel, desiring him to come north to throndhjem. king olaf had sent bishop grimkel back to norway when he went east into russia, and since that time grimkel had been in the uplands. when the message came to the bishop he made ready to go, and it contributed much to this journey that the bishop considered it as true what was told of king olaf's miracles and sanctity. 258. king olaf the saint's remains disinterred. bishop grimkel went to einar tambaskelfer, who received him joyfully. they talked over many things, and, among others, of the important events which had taken place in the country; and concerning these they were perfectly agreed. then the bishop proceeded to the town (nidaros), and was well received by all the community. he inquired particularly concerning the miracles of king olaf that were reported, and received satisfactory accounts of them. thereupon the bishop sent a verbal message to stiklestad to thorgils and his son grim, inviting them to come to the town to him. they did not decline the invitation, but set out on the road immediately, and came to the town and to the bishop. they related to him all the signs that had presented themselves to them, and also where they had deposited the king's body. the bishop sent a message to einar tambaskelfer, who came to the town. then the bishop and einar had an audience of the king and alfifa, in which they asked the king's leave to have king olaf's body taken up out of the earth. the king gave his permission, and told the bishop to do as he pleased in the matter. at that time there were a great many people in the town. the bishop, einar, and some men with them, went to the place where the king's body was buried, and had the place dug; but the coffin had already raised itself almost to the surface of the earth. it was then the opinion of many that the bishop should proceed to have the king buried in the earth at clement's church; and it was so done. twelve months and five days (aug. 3, a.d. 1031), after king olaf's death his holy remains were dug up, and the coffin had raised itself almost entirely to the surface of the earth; and the coffin appeared quite new, as if it had but lately been made. when bishop grimkel came to king olaf's opened coffin, there was a delightful and fresh smell. thereupon the bishop uncovered the king's face, and his appearance was in no respect altered, and his cheeks were as red as if he had but just fallen asleep. the men who had seen king olaf when he fell remarked, also, that his hair and nails had grown as much as if he had lived on the earth all the time that had passed since his fall. thereupon king svein, and all the chiefs who were at the place, went out to see king olaf's body. then said alfifa, "people buried in sand rot very slowly, and it would not have been so if he had been buried in earth." afterwards the bishop took scissors, clipped the king's hair, and arranged his beard; for he had had a long beard, according to the fashion of that time. then said the bishop to the king and alfifa, "now the king's hair and beard are such as when he gave up the ghost, and it has grown as much as ye see has been cut off." alfifa answers, "i will believe in the sanctity of his hair, if it will not burn in the fire; but i have often seen men's hair whole and undamaged after lying longer in the earth than this man's." then the bishop had live coals put into a pan, blessed it, cast incense upon it, and then laid king olaf's hair on the fire. when all the incense was burnt the bishop took the hair out of the fire, and showed the king and the other chiefs that it was not consumed. now alfifa asked that the hair should be laid upon unconsecrated fire; but einar tambaskelfer told her to be silent, and gave her many severe reproaches for her unbelief. after the bishop's recognition, with the king's approbation and the decision of the thing, it was determined that king olaf should be considered a man truly holy; whereupon his body was transported into clement's church, and a place was prepared for it near the high altar. the coffin was covered with costly cloth, and stood under a gold embroidered tent. many kinds of miracles were soon wrought by king olaf's holy remains. 259. of king olaf's miracles. in the sand-hill where king olaf's body had lain on the ground a beautiful spring of water came up and many human ailments and infirmities were cured by its waters. things were put in order around it, and the water ever since has been carefully preserved. there was first a chapel built, and an altar consecrated, where the king's body had lain; but now christ's church stands upon the spot. archbishop eystein had a high altar raised upon the spot where the king's grave had been, when he erected the great temple which now stands there; and it is the same spot on which the altar of the old christ church had stood. it is said that olaf's church stands on the spot on which the empty house had stood in which king olaf's body had been laid for the night. the place over which the holy remains of king olaf were carried up from the vessel is now called olaf's road, and is now in the middle of the town. the bishop adorned king olaf's holy remains, and cut his nails and hair; for both grew as if he had still been alive. so says sigvat the skald:- "i lie not, when i say the king seemed as alive in every thing: his nails, his yellow hair still growing, and round his ruddy cheek still flowing, as when, to please the russian queen, his yellow locks adorned were seen; or to the blind he cured he gave a tress, their precious sight to save." thorarin loftunga also composed a song upon svein alfifason, called the "glelogn song", in which are these verses:- "svein, king of all, in olaf's hall now sits on high; and olaf's eye looks down from heaven, where it is given to him to dwell: or here in cell, as heavenly saint, to heal men's plaint, may our gold-giver live here for ever! "king olaf there to hold a share on earth prepared, nor labour spared a seat to win from heaven's great king; which he has won next god's own son. "his holy form, untouched by worm, lies at this day where good men pray, and nails and hair grow fresh and fair; his cheek is red, his flesh not dead. "around his bier, good people hear the small bells ring over the king, or great bell toll; and living soul not one can tell who tolls the bell. "tapers up there, (which christ holds dear,) by day and night the altar light: olaf did so, and all men know in heaven he from sin sits free. "and crowds do come, the deaf and dumb, cripple and blind, sick of all kind, cured to be on bended knee; and off the ground rise whole and sound. "to olaf pray to eke thy day, to save thy land from spoiler's hand. god's man is he to deal to thee good crops and peace; let not prayer cease. "book-prayers prevail, if, nail for nail (1), thou tellest on, forgetting none." thorarin loftunga was himself with king svein, and heard these great testimonials of king olaf's holiness, that people, by the heavenly power, could hear a sound over his holy remains as if bells were ringing, and that candles were lighted of themselves upon the altar as by a heavenly fire. but when thorarin says that a multitude of lame, and blind, and other sick, who came to the holy olaf, went back cured, he means nothing more than that there were a vast number of persons who at the beginning of king olaf's miraculous working regained their health. king olaf's greatest miracles are clearly written down, although they occurred somewhat later. endnotes: (1) before the entrance of the temples or churches were posts called ondveigis-sulor, with nails called rigin-naglar- the gods' nails--either for ornament, or, as schoning suggests, to assist the people in reckoning weeks, months, festivals, and in reckoning or keeping tale of prayers repeated, and to recall them to memory, in the same way as beads are used still by the common people in catholic countries for the same purpose.--l. 260. of king olaf's age and reign. it is reckoned by those who have kept an exact account, that olaf the saint was king of norway for fifteen years from the time earl svein left the country; but he had received the title of king from the people of the uplands the winter before. sigvat the skald tells this:- "for fifteen winters o'er the land king olaf held the chief command, before he fell up in the north: his fall made known to us his worth. no worthier prince before his day in our north land e'er held the sway, too short he held it for our good; all men wish now that he had stood." saint olaf was thirty-five years old when he fell, according to what are frode the priest says, and he had been in twenty pitched battles. so says sigvat the skald:- "some leaders trust in god--some not; even so their men; but well i wot god-fearing olaf fought and won twenty pitched battles, one by one, and always placed upon his right his christian men in a hard fight. may god be merciful, i pray, to him--for he ne'er shunned his fray." we have now related a part of king olaf's story, namely, the events which took place while he ruled over norway; also his death, and how his holiness was manifested. now shall we not neglect to mention what it was that most advanced his honour. this was his miracles; but these will come to be treated of afterwards in this book. 261. of the throndhjem people. king svein, the son of canute the great, ruled over norway for some years; but was a child both in age and understanding. his mother alfifa had most sway in the country; and the people of the country were her great enemies, both then and ever since. danish people had a great superiority given them within the country, to the great dissatisfaction of the people; and when conversation turned that way, the people of the rest of norway accused the throndhjem people of having principally occasioned king olaf the holy's fall, and also that the men of norway were subject, through them, to the ill government by which oppression and slavery had come upon all the people, both great and small; indeed upon the whole community. they insisted that it was the duty of the throndhjem people to attempt opposition and insurrection, and thus relieve the country from such tyranny; and, in the opinion of the common people, throndhjem was also the chief seat of the strength of norway at that time, both on account of the chiefs and of the population of that quarter. when the throndhjem people heard these remarks of their countrymen, they could not deny that there was much truth in them, and that in depriving king olaf of life and land they had committed a great crime, and at the same time the misdeed had been ill paid. the chiefs began to hold consultations and conferences with each other, and the leader of these was einar tambaskelfer. it was likewise the case with kalf arnason, who began to find into what errors he had been drawn by king canute's persuasion. all the promises which king canute had made to kalf had been broken; for he had promised him the earldom and the highest authority in norway: and although kalf had been the leader in the battle against king olaf, and had deprived him of his life and kingdom, kalf had not got any higher dignity than he had before. he felt that he had been deceived, and therefore messages passed between the brothers kalf, fin, thorberg, and arne, and they renewed their family friendship. 262. of king svein's levy. when king svein had been three years in norway (a.d. 1031-33), the news was received that a force was assembled in the western countries, under a chief who called himself trygve, and gave out that he was a son of olaf trygvason and queen gyda of england. now when king svein heard that foreign troops had come to the country, he ordered out the people on a levy in the north, and the most of the lendermen hastened to him; but einar tambaskelfer remained at home, and would not go out with king svein. when king svein's order came to kalf arnason at eggja, that he should go out on a levy with king svein, he took a twenty-benched ship which he owned, went on board with his house-servants, and in all haste proceeded out of the fjord, without waiting for king svein, sailed southwards to more, and continued his voyage south until he came to giske to his brother thorberg. then all the brothers, the sons of arne, held a meeting, and consulted with each other. after this kalf returned to the north again; but when he came to frekeysund, king svein was lying in the sound before him. when kalf came rowing from the south into the sound they hailed each other, and the king's men ordered kalf to bring up with his vessel, and follow the king for the defence of the country. kalf replies, "i have done enough, if not too much, when i fought against my own countrymen to increase the power of the canute family." thereupon kalf rowed away to the north until he came home to eggja. none of these arnasons appeared at this levy to accompany the king. he steered with his fleet southwards along the land; but as he could not hear the least news of any fleet having come from the west, he steered south to rogaland, and all the way to agder; for many guessed that trygve would first make his attempt on viken, because his forefathers had been there, and had most of their strength from that quarter, and he had himself great strength by family connection there. 263. king trygve olafson's fall. when trygve came from the west he landed first on the coast of hordaland, and when he heard king svein had gone south he went the same way to rogaland. as soon as svein got the intelligence that trygve had come from the west he returned, and steered north with his fleet; and both fleets met within bokn in soknarsund, not far from the place where erling skjalgson fell. the battle, which took place on a sunday, was great and severe. people tell that trygve threw spears with both hands at once. "so my father," said he, "taught me to celebrate mass." his enemies had said that he was the son of a priest; but the praise must be allowed him that he showed himself more like a son of king olaf trygvason, for this trygve was a slaughtering man. in this battle king trygve fell, and many of his men with him; but some fled, and some received quarter and their lives. it is thus related in the ballad of trygve:- "trygve comes from the northern coast, king svein turns round with all his host; to meet and fight, they both prepare, and where they met grim death was there. from the sharp strife i was not far,- i heard the din and the clang of war; and the hordaland men at last gave way, and their leader fell, and they lost the day." this battle is also told of in the ballad about king svein, thus:- "my girl! it was a sunday morn, and many a man ne'er saw its eve, though ale and leeks by old wives borne the bruised and wounded did relieve. 'twas sunday morn, when svein calls out, 'stem to stem your vessels bind;' the raven a mid-day feast smells out, and he comes croaking up the wind." after this battle king svein ruled the country for some time, and there was peace in the land. the winter after it (a.d. 1034) he passed in the south parts of the country. 264. of the counsels of einar tambaskelfer and kalf arnason. einar tambaskelfer and kalf arnason had this winter meetings and consultations between themselves in the merchant town (1). then there came a messenger from king canute to kalf arnason, with a message to send him three dozen axes, which must be chosen and good. kalf replies, "i will send no axes to king canute. tell him i will bring his son svein so many, that he shall not think he is in want of any." endnotes: (1) nidaros, or throndhjem, is usually called merely the merchant town.--l. 265. of einar tambaskelfer and kalf arnason's journey. early in spring (a.d. 1034) einar tambaskelfer and kalf arnason made themselves ready for a journey, with a great retinue of the best and most select men that could be found in the throndhjem country. they went in spring eastward over the ridge of the country to jamtaland, from thence to helsingjaland, and came to svithjod, where they procured ships, with which in summer they proceeded east to russia, and came in autumn to ladoga. they sent men up to novgorod to king jarisleif, with the errand that they offered magnus, the son of king olaf the saint, to take him with them, follow him to norway, and give him assistance to attain his father's heritage and be made king over the country. when this message came to king jarisleif he held a consultation with the queen and some chiefs, and they all resolved unanimously to send a message to the northmen, and ask them to come to king jarisleif and magnus; for which journey safe conduct was given them. when they came to novgorod it was settled among them that the northmen who had come there should become magnus's men, and be his subjects; and to this kalf and the other men who had been against king olaf at stiklestad were solemnly bound by oath. on the other hand, king magnus promised them, under oath, secure peace and full reconciliation; and that he would be true and faithful to them all when he got the dominions and kingdom of norway. he was to become kalf arnason's foster-son; and kalf should be bound to do all that magnus might think necessary for extending his dominion, and making it more independent than formerly. saga of magnus the good. preliminary remarks. magnus reigned from a.d. 1035 to 1047, when he died. during the last year of his reign his half-brother harald sigurdson was his co-regent. the history of magnus is treated in "agrip.", ch. 28-32; in "fagrskinna", ch. 119-146; in "fornmannasogur", part vi., and in "knytlinga saga". the skalds quoted in this saga are: arnor the earls' skald (arnor jarlaskald), sigvat, thjodulf, bjarne gullbrarskald, thorgeir flek, od kikinaskald. 1. magnus olafson's journey from the west. after yule magnus olafson began his journey from the east from novgorod to ladoga, where he rigged out his ships as soon as the ice was loosened in spring (a.d. 1035). arnor, the earls' skald, tells of this in the poem on magnus:- "it is no loose report that he, who will command on land and sea, in blood will make his foeman feel olaf's sword hneiter's sharp blue steel. this generous youth, who scatters gold, norway's brave son, but ten years old, is rigging ships in russia's lake, his crown, with friend's support, to take." in spring magnus sailed from the east to svithjod. so says arnor:- "the young sword-stainer called a thing, where all his men should meet their king: heroes who find the eagle food before their lord in arms stood. and now the curved plank of the bow cleaves the blue sea; the ocean-plough by grey winds driven across the main, reaches sigtuna's grassy plain." here it is related that when king magnus and his fellow-travellers sailed from the east to svithjod, they brought up at sigtuna. emund olafson was then king in svithjod. queen astrid, who had been married to king olaf the saint, was also there. she received very gladly and well her stepson king magnus, and summoned immediately a numerous thing of swedes at a place called hangtar. at the thing queen astrid spoke these words: "here is come to us a son of olaf the saint, called magnus, who intends to make an expedition to norway to seek his father's heritage. it is my great duty to give him aid towards this expedition; for he is my stepson, as is well known to all, both swedes and norwegians. neither shall he want men or money, in so far as i can procure them or have influence, in order that his strength may be as great as possible; and all the men who will support this cause of his shall have my fullest friendship; and i would have it known that i intend myself to go with him on this attempt, that all may see i will spare nothing that is in my power to help him." she spoke long and cleverly in this strain; but when she had ended many replied thus: "the swedes made no honourable progress in norway when they followed king olaf his father, and now no better success is to be expected, as this man is but in years of boyhood; and therefore we have little inclination for this expedition." astrid replies, "all men who wish to be thought of true courage must not be deterred by such considerations. if any have lost connections at the side of king olaf, or been themselves wounded, now is the time to show a man's heart and courage, and go to norway to take vengeance." astrid succeeded so far with words and encouragement that many men determined to go with her, and follow king magnus to norway. sigvat the skald speaks of this:- "now astrtd, olaf's widowed queen,- she who so many a change had seen,- took all the gifts of happier days, jewels and rings, all she could raise, and at a thing at hangrar, where the swedes were numerous, did declare what olaf's son proposed to do, and brought her gifts--their pay--in view. "and with the swedes no wiser plan, to bring out every brave bold man, could have been found, had magnus been the son himself of the good queen. with help of christ, she hoped to bring magnus to be the land's sole king, as harald was, who in his day obtained o'er all the upper sway. "and glad are we so well she sped,- the people's friend is now their head; and good king magnus always shows how much be to queen astrid owes. such stepmothers as this good queen in truth are very rarely seen; and to this noble woman's praise the skald with joy his song will raise." thiodolf the skald also says in his song of magnus:- "when thy brave ship left the land, the bending yard could scarce withstand the fury of the whistling gale, that split thy many-coloured sail; and many a stout ship, tempest-tost, was in that howling storm lost that brought them safe to sigtuna's shore, far from the sound of ocean's roar." 2. magnus's expedition from svithjod. king magnus set out on his journey from sigtuna with a great force, which he had gathered in svithjod. they proceeded through svithjod on foot to helsingjaland. so says arnor, the earl's skald:- "and many a dark-red swedish shield marched with thee from the swedish field. the country people crowded in, to help saint olaf's son to win; and chosen men by thee were led, men who have stained the wolf's tongue red. each milk-white shield and polished spear came to a splendid gathering there." magnus olafson went from the east through jamtaland over the keel-ridge of the country and came down upon the throndhjem district, where all men welcomed the king with joy. but no sooner did the men of king svein, the son of alfifa, hear that king magnus olafson was come to the country, than they fled on all sides and concealed themselves, so that no opposition was made to king magnus; for king svein was in the south part of the country. so says arnor, the earls' skald:- "he who the eagle's talons stains rushed from the east on throndhjem's plains; the terror of his plumed helm drove his pale foemen from the realm. the lightning of thy eye so near, great king! thy foemen could not bear, scattered they fled--their only care if thou their wretched lives wilt spare." 3. magnus made king. magnus olafson advanced to the town (nidaros), where he was joyfully received. he then summoned the people to the eyra-thing (1); and when the bondes met at the thing, magnus was taken to be king over the whole land, as far as his father olaf had possessed it. then the king selected a court, and named lendermen, and placed bailiffs and officers in all domains and offices. immediately after harvest king magnus ordered a levy through all throndhjem land, and he collected men readily; and thereafter he proceeded southwards along the coast. endnotes: (1) eyra thing, held on the ayr of the river nid, that is, on the spit of sand, still called an ayr in the north of scotland, dividing a lake, pond, or river-mouth from the sea. at the thing held here the kings of norway were chosen and proclaimed. it was held to be the proper thing for settling disputes between kings in norway.--l. 4. king svein's flight. king svein alfifason was staying in south hordaland when he heard this news of war. he immediately sent out war-tokens to four different quarters, summoned the bondes to him, and made it known to all that they should join him with men and ships to defend the country. all the men who were in the neighbourhood of the king presented themselves; and the king formed a thing, at which in a speech he set forth his business, and said he would advance against magnus olafson and have a battle with him, if the bondes would aid his cause. the king's speech was not very long, and was not received with much approbation by the bondes. afterwards the danish chiefs who were about the king made long and clever speeches; but the bondes then took up the word, and answered them; and although many said they would follow svein, and fight on his side, some refused to do so bluntly, some were altogether silent, and some declared they would join king magnus as soon as they had an opportunity. then king svein says, "methinks very few of the bondes to whom we sent a message have appeared here; and of those who have come, and tell us to our face that they will join king magnus as soon as they can, we shall have as little benefit as of those who say they will sit at home quietly. it is the same with those who say nothing at all. but as to those who promise to help us, there are not more than every other man; and that force will avail us little against king magnus. it is my counsel, therefore, that we do not trust to these bondes; but let us rather go to the land where all the people are sure and true to us, and where we will obtain forces to conquer this country again." as soon as the king had made known this resolution all his men followed it, turned their ship's bows, and hoisted sail. king svein sailed eastward along the land, and then set right over to denmark without delay, and hardaknut received his brother svein very kindly. at their first meeting hardaknut offered king svein to divide the kingdom of denmark with him, which offer king svein accepted. 5. king magnus's journey to norway. in autumn (a.d. 1035) king magnus proceeded eastward to the end of the country, and was received as king throughout the whole land, and the country people were rejoiced at his arrival. 6. death of king canute the great and his son svein. king svein, canute's son, went to denmark, as before related, and took part in the government with his brother hardaknut. in the same autumn king canute the great died in england, the 13th november, forty years old, and was buried at winchester. he had been king of denmark for twenty-seven years, and over denmark and england together twenty-four years, and also over norway for seven years. king canute's son harald was then made king in england. the same winter (a.d. 1036) king svein, alfifa's son, died in denmark. thiodolf the skald made these lines concerning king magnus:- "through sweden's dirty roads the throng followed the king in spearmen strong. svein doth fly, in truth afraid, and partly by his men betrayed; flying to denmark o'er the sea, he leaves the land quite clear to thee." bjarne gullbrarskald composed the following lines concerning kalf arnason:- "by thee the kings got each his own,- magnus by thee got norway's throne; and svein in denmark got a seat, when out of norway he was beat. kalf! it was you who showed the way to our young king, the battle-lover,- from russia to his father's sway you showed the way, and brought him over." king magnus ruled over norway this winter (a.d. 1036), and hardaknut over denmark. 7. reconciliation between hardaknut and king magnus. the following spring (a.d. 1036) the kings on both sides ordered out a levy, and the news was that they would have a battle at the gaut river; but when the two armies approached each other, the lendermen in the one army sent messengers to their connections and friends in the other; and it came to a proposal for a reconciliation between the two kings, especially as, from both kings being but young and childish, some powerful men, who had been chosen in each of the countries for that purpose, had the rule of the country on their account. it thus was brought about that there was a friendly meeting between the kings, and in this meeting a peace was proposed; and the peace was to be a brotherly union under oath to keep the peace towards each other to the end of their lives; and if one of them should die without leaving a son, the longest liver should succeed to the whole land and people. twelve of the principal men in each kingdom swore to the kings that this treaty should be observed, so long as any one of them was in life. then the kings separated, and each returned home to his kingdom; and the treaty was kept as long as both lived. 8. of queen astrid. queen astrid, who had been married to king olaf the saint, came to norway with king magnus her stepson, as before related, and was held by him deservedly in great honour and esteem. then came also alfhild, king magnus's mother, to the court, and the king received her with the greatest affection, and showed her great respect. but it went with alfhild, as it does with many who come to power and honour, that pride keeps pace with promotion. she was ill pleased that queen astrid was treated with more respect, had a higher seat, and more attention. alfhild wanted to have a seat next to the king, but astrid called alfhild her slave-woman, as indeed she had formerly been when astrid was queen of norway and king olaf ruled the land, and therefore would on no account let her have a seat beside her, and they could not lodge in the same house. 9. of sigvat the skald. sigvat the skald had gone to rome, where he was at the time of the battle of stiklestad. he was on his way back from the south when he heard tidings of king olaf's fall, which gave him great grief. he then sang these lines:- "one morning early on a hill, the misty town asleep and still, wandering i thought upon the fields. strewed o'er with broken mail and shields, where our king fell,--our kind good king, where now his happy youthful spring? my father too!--for thord was then one of the good king's chosen men." one day sigvat went through a village, and heard a husband lamenting grievously over the loss of his wife, striking his breast, tearing his clothes, weeping bitterly, and saying he wanted to die; and sigvat sang these lines:- "this poor man mourns a much-loved wife, gladly would he be quit of life. must love be paid for by our grief? the price seems great for joy so brief. but the brave man who knows no fear drops for his king a silent tear, and feels, perhaps, his loss as deep as those who clamour when they weep." sigvat came home to norway to the throndhjem country, where he had a farm and children. he came from the south along the coast in a merchant vessel, and as they lay in hillarsund they saw a great many ravens flying about. then sigvat said:- "i see here many a croaking raven flying about the well-known haven: when olaf's ship was floating here, they knew that food for them was near; when olaf's ship lay here wind-bound, oft screamed the erne o'er hillar sound, impatient for the expected prey, and wont to follow to the fray." when sigvat came north to the town of throndhjem king svein was there before him. he invited sigvat to stay with him, as sigvat had formerly been with his father king canute the great; but sigvat said he would first go home to his farm. one day, as sigvat was walking in the street, he saw the king's men at play, and he sang:- "one day before i passed this way, when the king's guards were at their play, something there was--i need not tell- that made me pale, and feel unwell. perhaps it was i thought, just then, how noble olaf with his men, in former days, i oft have seen in manly games upon this green." sigvat then went to his farm; and as he heard that many men upbraided him with having deserted king olaf, he made these verses:- "may christ condemn me still to burn in quenchless fire, if i did turn, and leave king olaf in his need,- my soul is free from such base deed. i was at rome, as men know well who saw me there, and who can tell that there in danger i was then: the truth i need not hide from men." sigvat was ill at ease in his home. one day he went out and sang:- "while olaf lived, how smiled the land! mountain and cliff, and pebbly strand. all norway then, so fresh, so gay, on land or sea, where oft i lay. but now to me all seems so dready, all black and dull--of life i'm weary; cheerless to-day, cheerless to-morrow- here in the north we have great sorrow." early in winter sigvat went westward over the ridge of the country to jamtaland, and onwards to helsingjaland, and came to svithjod. he went immediately to queen astrid, and was with her a long time, and was a welcome guest. he was also with her brother king emund, and received from him ten marks of proved silver, as is related in the song of canute. sigvat always inquired of the merchants who traded to novgorod if they could tell him any news of magnus olafson. sigvat composed these lines at that time:- "i ask the merchant oft who drives his trade to russia, 'how he thrives, our noble prince? how lives he there? and still good news--his praise--i hear. to little birds, which wing their way between the lands, i fain would say, how much we long our prince to see, they seem to hear a wish from me." 10. of king magnus's first arrival in svithjod. immediately after magnus olafson came to svithjod from russia, sigvat met him at queen astrid's house, and glad they all were at meeting. sigvat then sang:- "thou art come here, prince, young and bold! thou art come home! with joy behold thy land and people. from this hour i join myself to thy young power. i could not o'er to russie hie,- thy mother's guardian here was i. it was my punishment for giving magnus his name, while scarcely living." afterwards sigvat travelled with queen astrid, and followed magnus to norway. sigvat sang thus:- "to the crowds streaming to the thing, to see and hear magnus their king, loudly, young king, i'll speak my mind- 'god to his people has been kind.' if he, to whom be all the praise, give us a son in all his ways like to his sire, no folk on earth will bless so much a royal birth." now when magnus became king of norway sigvat attended him, and was his dearest friend. once it happened that queen astrid and alfhild the king's mother had exchanged some sharp words with each other, and sigvat said:- "alfhild! though it was god's will to raise thee--yet remember still the queen-born astrid should not be kept out of due respect by thee." 11. king olaf's shrine. king magnus had a shrine made and mounted with gold and silver, and studded with jewels. this shrine was made so that in shape and size it was like a coffin. under it was an arched way, and above was a raised roof, with a head and a roof-ridge. behind were plaited hangings; and before were gratings with padlocks, which could be locked with a key. in this shrine king magnus had the holy remains of king olaf deposited, and many were the miracles there wrought. of this sigvat speaks:- "for him a golden shrine is made, for him whose heart was ne'er afraid of mortal man--the holy king, whom the lord god to heaven did bring. here many a man shall feel his way, stone-blind, unconscious of the day, and at the shrine where olaf lies give songs of praise for opened eyes." it was also appointed by law that king olaf's holy day should be held sacred over all norway, and that day has been kept ever afterwards as the greatest of church days. sigvat speaks of it:- "to olaf, magnus' father, raise, within my house, the song of praise! with joy, yet grief, we'll keep the day olaf to heaven was called away. well may i keep within my breast a day for him in holy rest,- my upraised hands a golden ring on every branch (1) bear from that king." endnotes: (1) the fingers, the branches of the hand, bore golden fruits from the generosity of the king.--l. 12. of thorer hund. thorer hund left the country immediately after king olaf's fall. he went all the way to jerusalem, and many people say he never came back. thorer hund had a son called sigurd, father of ranveig who was married to joan, a son of arne arnason. their children were vidkun of bjarkey, sigurd hund, erling, and jardthrud. 13. of the murder of harek of thjotta. harek of thjotta sat at home on his farm, till king magnus olafson came to the country and was made king. then harek went south to throndhjem to king magnus. at that time asmund grankelson was in the king's house. when harek came to nidaros, and landed out of the ship, asmund was standing with the king in the gallery outside the loft, and both the king and asmund knew harek when they saw him. "now," says asmund to the king, "i will pay harek for my father's murder." he had in his hand a little thin hatchet. the king looked at him, and said, "rather take this axe of mine." it was thick, and made like a club. "thou must know, asmund," added he, "that there are hard bones in the old fellow." asmund took the axe, went down, and through the house, and when he came down to the cross-road harek and his men coming up met him. asmund struck harek on the head, so that the axe penetrated to the brains; and that was harek's death-wound. asmund turned back directly to the king's house, and the whole edge of the axe was turned with the blow. then said the king, "what would thy axe have done, for even this one, i think, is spoilt?" king magnus afterwards gave him a fief and office in halogaland, and many are the tales about the strife between asmund and harek's sons. 14. of thorgeir flek. kalf arnason had at first, for some time, the greatest share of the government of the country under king magnus; but afterwards there were people who reminded the king of the part kalf had taken at stiklestad, and then it became difficult for kalf to give the king satisfaction in anything. once it happened there were many men with the king bringing their affairs before him; and thorgeir flek from sula in veradal, of whom mention is made before in the history of king olaf the saint, came to him about some needful business. the king paid no attention to his words, but was listening to people who stood near him. then thorgeir said to the king, so loud that all who were around him could hear:- "listen, my lord, to my plain word. i too was there, and had to bear a bloody head from stiklestad: for i was then with olaf's men. listen to me: well did i see the men you're trusting the dead corpse thrusting out of their way, as dead it lay; and striking o'er your father's gore." there was instantly a great uproar, and some told thorgeir to go out; but the king called him, and not only despatched his business to his satisfaction, but promised him favour and friendship. 15. kalf arnason flies the country soon after this the king was at a feast at the farm of haug in veradel, and at the dinner-table kalf arnason sat upon one side of him, and einar tambaskelfer on the other. it was already come so far that the king took little notice of kalf, but paid most attention to einar. the king said to einar, "let us ride to-day to stiklestad. i should like to see the memorials of the things which took place there." einar replies, "i can tell thee nothing about it; but take thy foster-father kalf with thee; he can give thee information about all that took place." when the tables were removed, the king made himself ready, and said to kalf, "thou must go with me to stiklestad." kalf replied, "that is really not my duty." then the king stood up in a passion, and said, "go thou shalt, kalf!" and thereupon he went out. kalf put on his riding clothes in all haste, and said to his foot-boy, "thou must ride directly to eggja, and order my house-servants to ship all my property on board my ship before sunset." king magnus now rides to stiklestad, and kalf with him. they alighted from horseback, and went to the place where the battle had been. then said the king to kalf, "where is the spot at which the king fell?" kalf stretched out his spear-shaft, and said, "there he lay when he fell." the king: "and where wast thou, kalf?" kalf: "here where i am now standing." the king turned red as blood in the face, and said, "then thy axe could well have reached him." kalf replied, "my axe did not come near him;" and immediately went to his horse, sprang on horseback, and rode away with all his men; and the king rode back to haug. kalf did not stop until he got home in the evening to eggja. there his ship lay ready at the shore side, and all his effects were on board, and the vessel manned with his house-servants. they set off immediately by night down the fjord, and afterwards proceeded day and night, when the wind suited. he sailed out into the west sea, and was there a long time plundering in ireland, scotland, and the hebudes. bjarne gullbrarskald tells of this in the song about kalf:- "brother of thorberg, who still stood well with the king! in angry mood he is the first to break with thee, who well deserves esteemed to be; he is the first who friendship broke, for envious men the falsehood spoke; and he will he the first to rue the breach of friendship 'twixt you two." 16. of the threats of the bondes. king magnus added to his property veggia, which hrut had been owner of, and kviststad, which had belonged to thorgeir, and also eggja, with all the goods which kalf had left behind him; and thus he confiscated to the king's estate many great farms, which had belonged to those of the bonde-army who had fallen at stiklestad. in like manner, he laid heavy fined upon many of those who made the greatest opposition to king olaf. he drove some out of the country, took large sums of money from others, and had the cattle of others slaughtered for his use. then the bondes began to murmur, and to say among themselves, "will he go on in the same way as his father and other chiefs, whom we made an end of when their pride and lawless proceedings became insupportable?" this discontent spread widely through the country. the people of sogn gathered men, and, it was said, were determined to give battle to king magnus, if he came into the fjord district. king magnus was then in hordaland, where he had remained a long time with a numerous retinue, and was now come to the resolution to proceed north to sogn. when the king's friends observed this, twelve men had a meeting, and resolved to determine by casting lots which of them should inform the king of the discontent of the people; and it so happened that the lot fell upon sigvat. 17. of the free-speaking song ("bersoglisvisur"). sigvat accordingly composed a poem, which he called the "free-speaking song", which begins with saying the king had delayed too long to pacify the people, who were threatening to rise in tumult against him. he said:- "here in the south, from sogn is spread the news that strife draws to a head: the bondes will the king oppose- kings and their folk should ne'er be foes. let us take arms, and briskly go to battle, if it must be so; defend our king--but still deplore his land plunged in such strife once more." in this song are also these verses:- "hakon, who at fitiar died,- hakon the good, could not abide the viking rule, or robber train, and all men's love he thus did gain. the people since have still in mind the laws of hakon, just and kind; and men will never see the day when hakon's laws have passed away. "the bondes ask but what is fair; the olafs and the earls, when there where magnus sits, confirmed to all their lands and gear--to great and small, bold trygve's son, and harald's heir, the olafs, while on earth they were, observed the laws themselves had made, and none was for his own afraid. "let not thy counsellors stir thy wrath against the man who speaks the truth; thy honour lies in thy good sword, but still more in thy royal word; and, if the people do not lie, the new laws turn out not nigh so just and mild, as the laws given at ulfasund in face of heaven. "dread king! who urges thee to break thy pledged word, and back to take thy promise given? thou warrior bold; with thy own people word to hold, thy promise fully to maintain, is to thyself the greatest gain: the battle-storm raiser he must by his own men trusted be. "who urges thee, who seek'st renown, the bondes' cattle to cut down? no king before e'er took in hand such viking-work in his own land. such rapine men will not long bear, and the king's counsellors will but share in their ill-will: when once inflamed, the king himself for all is blamed. "do cautious, with this news of treason flying about--give them no reason. we hange the thief, but then we use consideration of the excuse. i think, great king (who wilt rejoice eagle and wolf with battle voice), it would be wise not to oppose thy bondes, and make them thy foes. "a dangerous sign it is, i fear, that old grey-bearded men appear in corners whispering at the thing, as if they had bad news to bring. the young sit still,--no laugh, or shout,- more looks than words passing shout; and groups of whispering heads are seen, on buttoned breasts, with lowering mien. "among the udalmen, they say the king, if he could have his way, would seize the bondes' udal land, and free-born men must this withstand. in truth the man whose udal field, by any doom that law can yield from him adjudged the king would take, could the king's throne and power shake." this verse is the last:- "a holy bond between us still makes me wish speedy end to ill: the sluggard waits till afternoon,- at once great magnus! grant our boon. then we will serve with heart and hand, with thee we'll fight by sea or land: with olaf's sword take olaf's mind, and to thy bondes be more kind." in this song the king was exhorted to observe the laws which his father had established. this exhortation had a good effect on the king, for many others held the same language to him. so at last the king consulted the most prudent men, who ordered all affairs according to law. thereafter king magnus had the law-book composed in writing which is still in use in throndhjem district, and is called "the grey goose" (1). king magnus afterwards became very popular, and was beloved by all the country people, and therefore he was called magnus the good. endnotes: (1) "the grey goose", so called probably from the colour of the parchment on which it is written, is one of the most curious relics of the middle ages, and give us an unexpected view of the social condition of the northmen in the eleventh century. law appears to have been so far advanced among them that the forms were not merely established, but the slightest breach of the legal forms of proceeding involved the loss of the case. the "grey goose" embraces subjects not dealt with probably by any other code in europe at that period. the provision for the poor, the equality of weights and measures, police of markets and of sea havens, provision for illegitimate children of the poor, inns for travellers, wages of servants and support of them in sickness, protection of pregnant women and even of domestic animals from injury, roads, bridges, vagrants, beggars, are subjects treated of in this code.--"schlegel."--l. 18. of the english kings. the king of the english, king harald, died (a.d. 1040) five years after his father king canute, and was buried beside his father at winchester. after his death his brother hardaknut, the second son of the old king canute, was king of england, and was thus king both of denmark and england. he ruled these kingdoms two years, and then died of sickness in england, leaving no children. he was buried at winchester beside his father. after his death edward the good, a son of the english king ethelred (and emma, a daughter of richard earl of rouen), was chosen king in england. king edward the good was, on his mother's side, a brother of harald and hardaknut, the sons of canute the great; and the daughter of canute and queen emma was gunhild, who was married to the emperor henry of germany, who was called henry the mild. gunhild had been three years in germamy when she fell sick, and she died five years after the death of her father king canute the great. 19. of king magnus olafson. when king magnus olafson heard of hardaknut's death, he immediately sent people south to denmark, with a message to the men who had bound themselves by oath to the peace and agreement which was made between king magnus and hardaknut, and reminded them of their pledge. he added, as a conclusion, that in summer (a.d. 1042.) he would come with his army to denmark to take possession of his danish dominions, in terms of the agreement, or to fall in the field with his army. so says arnor, the earls' skald:- "wise were the words, exceeding wise, of him who stills the hungriest cries of beasts of prey--the earl's lord; and soon fulfilled will be his word: 'with his good sword he'll denmark gain, or fall upon a bloody plain; and rather than give up his cause, will leave his corpse to raven's claws.'" 20. king magnus's armament. thereafter king magnus gathered together a great army, and summoned to him all lendermen and powerful bondes, and collected war-ships. when the army was assembled it was very handsome, and well fitted out. he had seventy large vessels when he sailed from norway. so says thiodolf the skald:- "brave king! the terror of the foe, with thee will many a long-ship go. full seventy sail are gathered here, eastward with their great king to steer. and southward now the bright keel glides; o'er the white waves the bison rides. sails swell, yards crack, the highest mast o'er the wide sea scarce seen at last." here it related that king magnus had the great bison, which his father king olaf had built. it had more than thirty banks of rowers; and forward on the bow was a great buffalo head, and aft on the stern-post was its tail. both the head and the tail, and both sides of the ship, were gilded over. of this speaks arnor, the earls' skald:- "the white foam lashing o'er the deck oft made the glided head to shake; the helm down, the vessel's heel oft showed her stem's bright-glacing steel. around stavanger-point careering, through the wild sea's white flames steering, tackle loud singing to the strain, the storm-horse flies to denmark's plain." king magnus set out to sea from agder, and sailed over to jutland. so says arnor:- "i can relate how through the gale the gallant bison carried sail. with her lee gunwale in the wave, the king on board, magnus the brave! the iron-clad thingmen's chief to see on jutland's coast right glad were we,- right glad our men to see a king who in the fight his sword could swing." 21. king magnus comes to denmark. when king magnus came to denmark he was joyfully received. he appointed a thing without delay, to which he summoned the people of the country, and desired they would take him as king, according to the agreement which had been entered into. as the highest of the chiefs of the country were bound by oath to king magnus, and were desirous of keeping their word and oath, they endeavoured zealously to promote the cause with the people. it contributed also that king canute the great, and all his descendants, were dead; and a third assistance was, that his father king olaf's sanctity and miracles were become celebrated in all countries. 22. king magnus chosen king of denmark. king magnus afterwards ordered the people to be summoned to viborg to a thing. both in older and later times, the danes elected their kings at the viborg thing. at this thing the danes chose magnus olafson to be king of all the danish dorninions. king magnus remained long in denmark during the summer (a.d. 1042); and wherever he came the people received him joyfully, and obeyed him willingly. he divided the country into baronies and districts, and gave fiefs to men of power in the land. late in autumn he returned with his fleet to norway, but lay for some time at the gaut river. 23. of svein ulfson. there was a man, by name svein, a son of earl ulf, and grandson of thorgils sprakaleg. svein's mother was astrid, a daughter of king svein forkbeard. she was a sister of canute the great by the father's side, and of the swedish king olaf eirikson by the mother's side; for her mother was queen sigrid the haughty, a daughter of skoglar toste. svein ulfson had been a long time living with his relation the swedish king, ever since king canute had ordered his father ulf to be killed, as is related in the saga of old king canute, that he had his brother-in-law, earl ulf, murdered in roskilde; and on which account svein had not since been in denmark. svein ulfson was one of the handsomest men that could be seen; he was very stout and strong, and very expert in all exercises, and a well-spoken man withal. every one who knew him said he had every quality which became a good chief. svein ulfson waited upon king magnus while he lay in the gaut river, as before mentioned, and the king received him kindly, as he was by many advised to do; for svein was a particularly popular man. he could also speak for himself to the king well and cleverly; so that it came at lasf to svein's entering into king magnus's service, and becoming his man. they often talked together afterwards in private concerning many affairs. 24. svein ulfson created an earl. one day, as king magnus sat in his high-seat and many people were around him, svein ulfson sat upon a footstool before the king. the king then made a speech: "be it known to you, chiefs, and the people in general, that i have taken the following resolution. here is a distinguished man, both for family and for his own merits, svein ulfson, who has entered into my service, and given me promise of fidelity. now, as ye know, the danes have this summer become my men, so that when i am absent from the country it is without a head; and it is not unknown to you how it is ravaged by the people of vindland, kurland, and others from the baltic, as well as by saxons. therefore i promised them a chief who could defend and rule their land; and i know no man better fitted, in all respects, for this than svein ulfson, who is of birth to be chief of the country. i will therefore make him my earl, and give him the government of my danish dominions while i am in norway; just as king canute the great set his father, earl ulf, over denmark while he was in england." then einar tambaskelfer said, "too great an earl--too great an earl, my foster-son!" the king replied in a passion, "ye have a poor opinion of my judgment, i think. some consider that ye are too great earls, and others that ye are fit for nothing." then the king stood up, took a sword, and girt it on the earl's loins, and took a shield and fastened it on his shoulders, put a helmet upon his head, and gave him the title of earl, with the same fiefs in denmark which his father earl ulf had formerly held. afterwards a shrine was brought forth containing holy relics, and svein laid his hand hereon, and swore the oath of fidelity to king magnus; upon which the king led the earl to the highseat by his side. so says thiodolf:- "twas at the gaut river's shore, with hand on shrine svein ulfson swore. king magnus first said o'er the oath, with which svein ulfson pledged his troth. the vows by svein solemnly given, on holy bones of saints in heaven, to magnus seemed both fair and fast; he found they were too fair to last." earl svein went thereafter to denmark, and the whole nation received him well. he established a court about him, and soon became a great man. in winter (a.d. 1043), he went much about the country, and made friends among the powerful chiefs; and, indeed, he was beloved by all the people of the land. 25. king magnus's foray. king magnus proceeded northward to norway with his fleet, and wintered there; but when the spring set in (a.d. 1048) he gathered a large force, with which he sailed south to demnark, having heard the news from vindland that the vindland people in jomsborg had withdrawn from their submission to him. the danish kings had formerly had a very large earldom there, and they first founded jomsborg; and now the place was become a very strong fortress. when king magnus heard of this, he ordered a large fleet and army to be levied in denmark, and sailed in summer to vindland with all his forces, which made a very large army altogether. arnor, the earls' skald, tells of it thus:- "now in this strophe, royal youth! i tell no more than the plain truth. thy armed outfit from the strand left many a keel-trace on the sand, and never did a king before so many ships to any shore lead on, as thou to vindland's isle: the vindland men in fright recoil." now when king magnus came to vindland he attacked jomsborg, and soon took the fortress, killing' many people, burning and destroying both in the town and in the courttry all around, and making the greatest havoc. so says arnor, the earl's skald:- "the robbers, hemmed 'twixt death and fire, knew not how to escape thy ire; o'er jomsborg castle's highest towers thy wrath the whirlwind-fire pours. the heathen on his false gods calls, and trembles even in their halls; and by the light from its own flame the king this viking-hold o'ercame." many people in vindland submitted to king magnus, but many more got out of the way and fled. king magnus returned to denmark, and prepared to take his winter abode there, and sent away the danish, and also a great many of the norwegian people he had brought with him. 26. svein receives the title of king. the same winter (a.d. 1043), in which svein ulfson was raised to the government of the whole danish dominions, and had made friends of a great number of the principal chiefs in denmark, and obtained the affections of the people, he assumed by the advice of many of the chiefs the title of king. but when in the spring thereafter he heard that king magnus had come from the north with a great army, svein went over to scania, from thence up to gautland, and so on to svithjod to his relation, king emund, where he remained all summer, and sent spies out to denmark, to inquire about the king's proceedings and the number of his men. now when svein heard that king magnus had let a great part of his army go away, and also that he was south in jutland, he rode from svithjod with a great body of peopie which the swedish king had given him. when svein came to scania the people of that country received him well, treated him as their king, and men joined him in crowds. he then went on to seeland, where he was also well received, and the whole country joined him. he then went to fyen, and laid all the islands under his power; and as the people also joined him, he collected a great army and many ships of war. 27. of king magnus's military force. king magnus heard this news, and at the same time that the people of vindland had a large force on foot. he summoned people therefore to come to him, and drew together a great army in jutland. otto, also, the duke of brunsvik, who had married ulfhild, king olaf the saint's daughter, and the sister of king magnus, came to him with a great troop. the danish chiefs pressed king magnus to advance against the vindland army, and not allow pagans to march over and lay waste the country; so it was resolved that the king with his army should proceed south to heidaby. while king magnus lay at skotborg river, on hlyrskog heath, he got intelligence concerning the vindland army, and that it was so numerous it could not be counted; whereas king magnus had so few, that there seemed no chance for him but to fly. the king, however, determined on fighting, if there was any possibility of gaining the victory; but the most dissuaded him from venturing on an engagement, and all, as one man, said that the vindland people had undoubtedly a prodigious force. duke otto, however, pressed much to go to battle. then the king ordered the whole army to be gathered by the war trumpets into battle array, and ordered all the men to arm, and to lie down for the night under their shields; for he was told the enemy's army had come to the neighbourhood. the king was very thoughtful; for he was vexed that he should be obliged to fly, which fate he had never experienced before. he slept but little all night, and chanted his prayers. 28. of king olaf's miracle. the following day was michaelmas eve. towards dawn the king slumbered, and dreamt that his father, king olaf the saint, appeared to him, and said, "art thou so melancholy and afraid, because the vindland people come against thee with a great army? be not afraid of heathens, although they be many; for i shall be with thee in the battle. prepare, therefore, to give battle to the vindlanders, when thou hearest my trumpet." when the king awoke he told his dream to his men, and the day was then dawning. at that moment all the people heard a ringing of bells in the air; and those among king magnus's men who had been in nidaros thought that it was the ringing of the bell called glod, which king olaf had presented to the church of saint clement in the town of nidaros. 29. battle of hlyrskog heath. then king magnus stood up, and ordered the war trumpets to sound, and at that moment the vindland army advanced from the south across the river against him; on which the whole of the king's army stood up, and advanced against the heathens. king magnus threw off from him his coat of ring-mail, and had a red silk shirt outside over his clothes, and had in his hands the battle-axe called hel (1), which had belonged to king olaf. king magnus ran on before all his men to the enemy's army, and instantly hewed down with both hands every man who came against him. so says arnor, the earls' skald:- "his armour on the ground he flung his broad axe round his head he swung; and norway's king strode on in might, through ringing swords, to the wild fight. his broad axe hel with both hands wielding, shields, helms, and skulls before it yielding, he seemed with fate the world to share, and life or death to deal out there." this battle was not very long; for the king's men were very fiery, and where they came the vindland men fell as thick as tangles heaped up by the waves on the strand. they who stood behind betook themselves to flight, and were hewed down like cattle at a slaughter. the king himself drove the fugitives eastward over the heath, and people fell all over the moor. so says thiodolf:- "and foremost he pursued, and the flying foe down hewed; an eagle's feast each stroke, as the vindland helms he broke. he drove them o'er the hearth, and they fly from bloody death; but the moor, a mile or more, with the dead was studded o'er." it is a common saying, that there never was so great a slaughter of men in the northern lands, since the time of christianity, as took place among the vindland people on hlyrskog's heath. on the other side, not many of king magnus's people were killed, although many were wounded. after the battle the king ordered the wounds of his men to be bound; but there were not so many doctors in the army as were necessary, so the king himself went round, and felt the hands of those he thought best suited for the business; and when he had thus stroked their palms, he named twelve men, who, he thought, had the softest hands, and told them to bind the wounds of the people; and although none of them had ever tried it before, they all became afterwards the best of doctors. there were two iceland men among them; the one was thorkil, a son of geire, from lyngar; the other was atle, father of bard svarte of selardal, from whom many good doctors are descended. after this battle, the report of the miracle which king olaf the saint had worked was spread widely through the country; and it was the common saying of the people, that no man could venture to fight against king magnus olafson, for his father saint olaf stood so near to him that his enemies, on that account, never could do him harm. endnotes: (1) hel--death: the goddess of death.--l. 30. battle at re. king magnus immediately turned round with his army against svein, whom he called his earl, although the danes called him their king; and he collected ships, and a great force, and on both sides a great strength was assembled. in svein's army were many chiefs from scania, halland, seeland, and fyen; while king magnus, on the other hand, had mostly norway and jutland men, and with that war-force he hastened to meet svein. they met at re, near vestland; and there was a great battle, which ended in king magnus gaining the victory, and svein taking flight. after losing many people, svein fled back to scania, and from thence to gautland, which was a safe refuge if he needed it, and stood open to him. king magnus returned to jutland, where he remained all winter (a.d. 1044) with many people, and had a guard to watch his ships. arnor, the earls' skald, speaks of this:- "at re our battle-loving lord in bloody meeting stained his sword,- at re upon the western shore, in vestland warrior's blood once more." 31. battle at aros. svein ulfson went directly to his ships as soon as he heard that king magnus had left his fleet. he drew to him all the men he could, and went round in winter among the islands, seeland, fyen, and others. towards yule he sailed to jutland, and went into limfjord, where many people submitted to him. he imposed scat upon some, but some joined king magnus. now when king magnus heard what svein was doing, he betook himself to his ships with all the northmen then in denmark, and a part of the danish troops, and steered south along the land. svein was then in aros with a great force; and when he heard of king magnus he laid his vessels without the town, and prepared for battle. when king magnus heard for certain where svein was, and that the distance between them was but short, he held a house-thing, and addressed his people thus: "it is reported to me that the earl and his fleet are lying not far from us, and that he has many people. now i would let you know that i intend to go out against the earl and fight for it, although, we have fewer people. we will, as formerly, put our trust in god, and saint olaf, my father, who has given us victory sometimes when we fought, even though we had fewer men than the enemy. now i would have you get ready to seek out the enemy, and give battle the moment we find him by rowing all to attack, and being all ready for battle." thereupon the men put on their weapons, each man making himself and his place ready; and then they stretched themselves to their oars. when they saw the earl's ships they rowed towards them, and made ready to attack. when svein's men saw the forces they armed themselves, bound their ships together, and then began one of the sharpest of battles. so says thiodolf, the skald:- "shield against shield, the earl and king made shields and swords together ring. the gold-decked heroes made a play which hild's iron-shirt men say they never saw before or since on battle-deck; the brave might wince, as spear and arrow whistling flew, point blank, death-bringing, quick and true." they fought at the bows, so that the men only on the bows could strike; the men on the forecastle thrust with spears: and all who were farther off shot with light spears or javelins, or war-arrows. some fought with stones or short stakes; and those who were aft of the mast shot with the bow. so says thiodolf:- "steel-pointed spear, and sharpened stake, made the broad shield on arm shake: the eagle, hovering in the air, screamed o'er the prey preparing there. and stones and arrows quickly flew, and many a warrior bold they slew. the bowman never twanged his bow and drew his shaft so oft as now; and throndhjem's bowmen on that day were not the first tired of this play: arrows and darts so quickly fly, you could not follow with the eye." here it appears how hot the battle was with casting weapons. king magnus stood in the beginning of the battle within a shield-rampart; but as it appeared to him that matters were going on too slowly, he leaped over the shields, and rushed forward in the ship, encouraging his men with a loud cheer, and springing to the bows, where the battle was going on hand to hand. when his men saw this they urged each other on with mutual cheering, and there was one great hurrah through all the ships. so says thiodolf:- "'on with our ships! on to the foe!' cry magnus' men--on, on they go. spears against shields in fury rattle,- was never seen so fierce a battle." and now the battle was exceedingly sharp; and in the assault svein's ship was cleared of all her forecastle men, upon and on both sides of the forecastle. then magnus boarded svein's ship, followed by his men; and one after the other came up, and made so stout an assault that svein's men gave way, and king magnus first cleared that ship, and then the rest, one after the other. svein fled, with a great part of his people; but many fell, and many got life and peace. thiodolf tells of this:- "brave magnus, from the stern springing on to the stem, where swords were ringing from his sea-raven's beak of gold deals death around--the brave! the bold! the earl's housemen now begin to shrink and fall: their ranks grow thin- the king's luck thrives--their decks are cleared, of fighting men no more appeared. the earl's ships are driven to flight, before the king would stop the fight: the gold-distributor first then gave quarters to the vanquished men." this battle was fought on the last sunday before yule. so says thiodolf:- "'twas on a sunday morning bright, fell out this great and bloody fight, when men were arming, fighting, dying, or on the red decks wounded lying. and many a man, foredoomed to die, to save his life o'erboard did fly, but sank; for swimming could not save, and dead men rolled in every wave." magnus took seven ships from svein's people. so says thiodolf:- "thick olaf's son seven vessels cleared, and with his fleet the prizes steered. the norway girls will not be sad to hear such news--each from her lad." he also sings:- "the captured men will grieve the most svein and their comrades to have lost; for it went ill with those who fled, their wounded had no easy bed. a heavy storm that very night o'ertook them flying from the fight; and skulls and bones are tumbling round, under the sea, on sandy ground." svein fled immediately by night to seeland, with the men who had escaped and were inclined to follow him; but king magnus brought his ships to the shore, and sent his men up the country in the night-time, and early in the morning they came flown to the strand with a great booty in cattle. thiodolf tells about it:- "but yesterday with heavy stones we crushed their skulls, and broke their bones, and thinned their ranks; and now to-day up through their land we've ta'en our way, and driven their cattle to the shore, and filled out ships with food in store. to save his land from our quick swords, svein will need something more than words." 32. svein's flight. king magnus sailed with his fleet from the south after svein to seeland; but as soon as the king came there svein fled up the country with his men, and magnus followed them, and pursued the fugitives, killing all that were laid hold of. so says thiodolf:- "the seeland girl asks with fear, 'whose blood-bespattered shield and spear- the earl's or king's--up from the shore moved on with many a warrior more?' we scoured through all their muddy lanes, woodlands, and fields, and miry plains. their hasty footmarks in the clay showed that to ringsted led their way. "spattered with mud from heel to head, our gallant lord his true men led. will lund's earl halt his hasty flight, and try on land another fight? his banner yesterday was seen, the sand-bills and green trees between, through moss and mire to the strand, in arrow flight, leaving the land." then svein fled over to fyen island, and king magnus carried fire and sword through seeland, and burnt all round, because their men had joined svein's troop in harvest. so says thiodolf:- "as svein in winter had destroyed the royal house, the king employed no little force to guard the land, and the earl's forays to withstand. an armed band one morn he found, and so beset them round and round, that canute's nephew quickly fled, or he would have been captive led. "our throndhjem king in his just ire laid waste the land with sword and fire, burst every house, and over all struck terror into great and small. to the earl's friends he well repaid their deadly hate--such wild work made on them and theirs, that from his fury, flying for life, away they hurry." 33. burning in fyen. as soon as king magnus heard that svein with his troops had gone across to fyen, he sailed after them; and when svein heard this news he went on board ship and sailed to scania, and from thence to gautland, and at last to the swedish king. king magnus landed in fyen, and plundered and burned over all; and all of svein's men who came there fled far enough. thiodolf speaks of it thus:- "fiona isle, once green and fair, lies black and reeking through the air: the red fog rises, thick and hot, from burning farm and smouldering cot. the gaping thralls in terror gaze on the broad upward-spiring blaze, from thatched roofs and oak-built walls, their murdered masters' stately halls. "svein's men, my girl, will not forget that thrice they have the norsemen met, by sea, by land, with steel, with fire, thrice have they felt the norse king's ire. fiona's maids are slim and fair, the lovely prizes, lads, we'll share: some stand to arms in rank and row, some seize, bring off, and fend with blow." after this the people of denmark submitted to king magnus, and during the rest of the winter, there was peace. king magnus then appointed some of his men to govern denmark; and when spring was advanced he sailed northwards with his fleet to norway, where he remained a great part of the summer. 34. battle at helganes now, when svein heard that king magnus had gone to norway he rode straight down, and had many people out of svithjod with him. the people of scania received him well, and he again collected an army, with which he first crossed over into seeland and seized upon it and fyen, and all the other isles. when king magnus heard of this he gathered together men and ships, and sailed to denmark; and as soon as he knew where svein was lying with his ships king magnus sailed to meet him. they met at a place called helganes, and the battle began about the fall of day. king magnus had fewer men, but larger and better equipt vessels. so says arnor, the earls' skald:- "at helganes--so goes the tale- the brave wolf-feeder, under sail, made many an ocean-elk (1) his prey, seized many a ship ere break of day. when twilight fell he urged the fight, close combat--man to man all night; through a long harvest night's dark hours, down poured the battle's iron showers." the battle was very hot, and as night advanced the fall of men was great. king magnus, during the whole night, threw hand-spears. thiodolf speaks of this:- "and there at helganes sunk down, sore wounded, men of great renown; and svein's retainers lost all heart, ducking before the flying dart. the norsemen's king let fly his spears, his death-wounds adding to their fears; for each spear-blade was wet all o'er, up to the shaft in their life-gore." to make a short tale, king magnus won the victory in this battle, and svein fled. his ship was cleared of men from stem to stern; and it went so on board many others of his ships. so says thiodolf:- "earl svein fled from the empty deck, his lonely ship an unmann'd wreck; magnus the good, the people's friend, pressed to the death on the false svein. hneiter (2), the sword his father bore, was edge and point, stained red with gore; swords sprinkle blood o'er armour bright, when kings for land and power fight." and arnor says:- "the cutters of bjorn's own brother soon changed their owner for another; the king took them and all their gear; the crews, however, got off clear." a great number of svein's men fell, and king magnus and his men had a vast booty to divide. so says thiodolf:- "where the norsemen the danish slew, a gautland shield and breast-plate true fell to my share of spoil by lot; and something more i' the south i got: (there all the summer swords were ringing) a helm, gay arms, and gear worth bringing, home to my quiet lovely one i sent--with news how we had won." svein fled up to scania with all the men who escaped with him; and king magnus and his people drove the fugitives up through the country without meeting any opposition either from svein's men or the bondes. so says thiodolf:- "olaf's brave son then gave command, all his ships' crews should quickly land: king magnus, marching at their head, a noble band of warriors led. a foray through the land he makes; denmark in every quarter shakes. up hill and down the horses scour, carrying the danes from norsemen's power." king magnus drove with fire and sword through the land. so says thiodolf:- "and now the norsemen storm along, following their banner in a throng: king magnus' banner flames on high, a star to guide our roaming by. to lund, o'er scania's peaceful field, my shoulder bore my useless shield; a fairer land, a better road, as friend or foe, i never trod." they began to burn the habitations all around, and the people fled on every side. so says thiodolf:- "our ice-cold iron in great store, our arms, beside the king we bore: the scanian rogues fly at the view of men and steel all sharp and true. their timbered houses flame on high, red flashing over half the sky; the blazing town flings forth its light, lighting the cowards on their flight." and he also sang:- "the king o'er all the danish land roams, with his fire-bringing band: the house, the hut, the farm, the town, all where men dwelt is burned down. o'er denmark's plains and corn-fields, meadows and moors, are seen our shields: victorious over all, we chase svein's wounded men from place to place. "across fiona's moor again, the paths late trodden by our men we tread once more, until quite near, through morning mist, the foes appear. then up our numerous banners flare in the cold early morning air; and they from magnus' power who fly cannot this quick war-work deny." then svein fled eastwards along scania, and king magnus returned to his ships, and steered eastwards also along the scanian coast, having got ready with the greatest haste to sail. thiodolf sings thus about it:- "no drink but the salt sea on board our ships had we, when, following our king, on board our ships we spring. hard work on the salt sea, off scania's coast, had we; but we laboured for the king, to his foemen death to bring." svein fled to gautland, and then sought refuge with the swedish king, with whom he remained all winter (a.d. 1046), and was treated with great respect. endnotes: (1) ship.--l. (2) this was the name of saint olaf's sword, which magnus had recovered.--l. 35. of king magnus's campaign. when king magnus had subdued scania he turned about, and first went to falster, where he landed, plundered, and killed many people who had before submitted to svein. arnor speaks of this:- "a bloody vengeance for their guile king magnus takes on falster isle; the treacherous danes his fury feel, and fall before his purpled steel. the battle-field is covered o'er, with eagle's prey from shore to shore; and the king's courtmen were the first to quench with blood the raven's thirst." thereafter magnus with his fleet proceeded to the isle of fyen, went on land, plundered, and made great devastation. so says arnor, the earls' skald:- "to fair fiona's grassy shore his banner now again he bore: he who the mail-shirt's linked chains severs, and all its lustre stains,- he will be long remembered there, the warrior in his twentieth year, whom their black ravens from afar saluted as he went to war." 36. of king magnus's battles. king magnus remained in denmark all that winter (a.d. 1046), and sat in peace. he had held many battles, and had gained the victory in all. so says od kikinaskald:- "'fore michaelmas was struck the blow, that laid the vindland vikings low; and people learned with joy to hear the clang of arms, and leaders' cheer. short before yule fell out the day, southward of aros, where the fray, though not enough the foe to quell, was of the bloodiest men can tell." and arnor says:- "olaf's avenger who can sing? the skald cannot o'ertake the king, who makes the war-bird daily drain the corpse-blood of his foemen slain. four battles won within a year,- breaker of shields! with swords and spear, and hand to hand, exalt thy fame above the kings of greatest name." king magnus had three battles with svein ulfson. so says thiodolf:- "to our brave throndhjem sovereign's praise the skald may all his skaldcraft raise; for fortune, and for daring deed, his song will not the truth exceed. after three battles to regain what was his own, unjustly ta'en, unjustly kept, and dues denied, he levied dues in red-blood dyed." 37. of king magnus, and thorfin and ragnvald, earls of orkney. while king magnus the good, a son of king olaf the saint, ruled over norway, as before related, the earl ragnvald brusason lived with him. earl thorfin sigurdson, the uncle of ragnvald, ruled then over orkney. king magnus sent ragnvald west to orkney, and ordered that thorfin should let him have his father's heritage. thorfin let ragnvald have a third part of the land along with him; for so had erase, the father of ragnvald, had it at his dying day. earl thorfin was married to ingebjorg, the earl-mother, who was a daughter of fin arnason. earl ragnvald thought he should have two-thirds of the land, as olaf the saint had promised to his father bruse, and as bruse had enjoyed as long as olaf lived. this was the origin of a great strife between these relations, concerning which we have a long saga. they had a great battle in pentland firth, in which kalf arnason was with earl thorfin. so says bjarne gullbrarskald:- "thy cutters, dashing through the tide, brought aid to earl thorfin's side, fin's son-in-law, and people say thy aid made bruse's son give way. kalf, thou art fond of warlike toil, gay in the strife and bloody broil; but here 'twas hate made thee contend against earl ragnvald, the king's friend." 38. of king magnus's letter to england. king magnus ruled then both over denmark and norway; and when he had got possession of the danish dominions he sent ambassadors over to england to king edward, who brought to him king magnus's letter and seal. and in this letter there stood, along with a salutation from king magnus, these words:--"ye must have heard of the agreement which i and hardaknut made,--that he of us two who survived the other should have all the land and people which the deceased had possessed. now it has so turned out, as ye have no doubt heard, that i have taken the danish dominions as my heritage after hardaknut. but before he departed this life he had england as well as denmark; therefore i consider myself now, in consequence of my rights by this agreement, to own england also. now i will therefore that thou deliver to me the kingdom; otherwise i will seek to take it by arms, both from denmark and norway; and let him rule the land to whom fate gives the victory." 39. king edward's answer to king magnus's letter. now when king edward had read this letter, he replied thus: "it is known to all men in this country that king ethelred, my father, was udal-born to this kingdom, both after the old and new law of inheritance. we were four sons after him; and when he by death left the throne my brother edmund took the government and kingdom; for he was the oldest of us brothers, and i was well satisfied that it was so. and after him my stepfather, canute the great, took the kingdom, and as long as he lived there was no access to it. after him my brother harald was king as long as he lived; and after him my brother hardaknut took the kingdoms both of denmark and england; for he thought that a just brotherly division that he should have both england and denmark, and that i should have no kingdom at all. now he died, and then it was the resolution of all the people of the country to take me for king here in england. so long as i had no kingly title i served only superiors in all respects, like those who had no claims by birth to land or kingdom. now, however, i have received the kingly title, and am consecrated king. i have established my royal dignity and authority, as my father before me; and while i live i will not renounce my title. if king magnus come here with an army, i will gather no army against him; but he shall only get the opportunity of taking england when he has taken my life. tell him these words of mine." the ambassadors went back to king magnus, and told him the answer to their message. king magnus reflected a while, and answered thus: "i think it wisest, and will succeed best, to let king edward have his kingdom in peace for me, and that i keep the kingdoms god has put into my hands." saga of harald hardrade. preliminary remarks. harald, son of sigurd syr, was born in the year a.d. 1015, and left norway a.d. 1030. he was called hardrade, that is, the severe counsellor, the tyrant, though the icelanders never applied this epithet to him. harald helped the icelanders in the famine of a.d. 1056, and sent them timber for a church at thingvol. it was the norwegians who gave him the name tyrant in contrast to the "debonairete" of magnus. he came to norway in a.d. 1046, and became sole king in a.d. 1047. he died in a.d. 1066, and his son and successor magnus died in a.d. 1069. his saga is to be compared with "agrip", "fagrskinna", and "morkinskinna". the skalds quoted are: thiodolf, bolverk, illuge bryndalaskald, stuf the skald, thorarin skeggjason, valgard o' val, od kikinaskald, grane skald, thorleik the fair, stein herdison, ulf the marshal, arnor the earls' skald, thorkel skallason, and king harald hardrade himself. 1. harald escapes from the battle of stiklestad. harald, son of sigurd syr, brother of olaf the saint, by the same mother, was at the battle of stiklestad, and was fifteen years old when king olaf the saint fell, as was before related. harald was wounded, and escaped with other fugitives. so says thiodolf:- "at haug the fire-sparks from his shield flew round the king's head on the field, as blow for blow, for olaf's sake, his sword and shield would give and take. bulgaria's conqueror, i ween, had scarcely fifteen winters seen, when from his murdered brother's side his unhelmed head he had to hide." ragnvald brusason led harald from the battle, and the night after the fray took him to a bonde who dwelt in a forest far from other people. the peasant received harald, and kept him concealed; and harald was waited upon until he was quite cured of his wounds. then the bonde's son attended him on the way east over the ridge of the land, and they went by all the forest paths they could, avoiding the common road. the bonde's son did not know who it was he was attending; and as they were riding together between two uninhabited forests, harald made these verses: "my wounds were bleeding as i rode; and down below the bondes strode, killing the wounded with the sword, the followers of their rightful lord. from wood to wood i crept along, unnoticed by the bonde-throng; 'who knows,' i thought, 'a day may come my name will yet be great at home.'" he went eastward over the ridge through jamtaland and helsingjaland, and came to svithjod, where he found ragnvald brusason, and many others of king olaf's men who had fled from the battle at stiklestad, and they remained there till winter was over. 2. harald's journey to constantinople. the spring after (a.d. 1031) harald and ragnvald got ships, and went east in summer to russia to king jarisleif, and were with him all the following winter. so says the skald bolverk:- "the king's sharp sword lies clean and bright, prepared in foreign lands to fight: our ravens croak to have their fill, the wolf howls from the distant hill. our brave king is to russia gone,- braver than he on earth there's none; his sharp sword will carve many feast to wolf and raven in the east." king jarisleif gave harald and ragnvald a kind reception, and made harald and ellif, the son of earl ragnvald, chiefs over the land-defence men of the king. so says thiodolf:- "where ellif was, one heart and hand the two chiefs had in their command; in wedge or line their battle order was ranged by both without disorder. the eastern vindland men they drove into a corner; and they move the lesians, although ill at ease, to take the laws their conquerors please." harald remained several years in russia, and travelled far and wide in the eastern land. then he began his expedition out to greece, and had a great suite of men with him; and on he went to constantinople. so says bolverk:- "before the cold sea-curling blast the cutter from the land flew past, her black yards swinging to and fro, her shield-hung gunwale dipping low. the king saw glancing o'er the bow constantinople's metal glow from tower and roof, and painted sails gliding past towns and wooded vales." 3. of harald. at that time the greek empire was ruled by the empress zoe the great, and with her michael catalactus. now when harald came to constantinople he presented himself to the empress, and went into her pay; and immediately, in autumn, went on board the galleys manned with troops which went out to the greek sea. harald had his own men along with him. now harald had been but a short time in the army before all the varings flocked to him, and they all joined together when there was a battle. it thus came to pass that harald was made chief of the varings. there was a chief over all the troops who was called gyrger, and who was a relation of the empress. gyrger and harald went round among all the greek islands, and fought much against the corsairs. 4. of harald and gyrger casting lots. it happened once that gyrger and the varings were going through the country, and they resolved to take their night quarters in a wood; and as the varings came first to the ground, they chose the place which was best for pitching their tents upon, which was the highest ground; for it is the nature of the land there to be soft when rain falls, and therefore it is bad to choose a low situation for your tents. now when gyrger, the chief of the army, came up, and saw where the varings had set up their tents, he told them to remove, and pitch their tents elsewhere, saying he would himself pitch his tents on their ground. harald replies, "if ye come first to the night quarter, ye take up your ground, and we must go pitch our tents at some other place where we best can. now do ye so, in the same way, and find a place where ye will. it is, i think, the privilege of us varings here in the dominions of the greek emperor to be free, and independent of all but their own commanders, and bound only to serve the emperor and empress." they disputed long and hotly about this, and both sides armed themselves, and were on the way to fight for it; but men of understanding came between and separated them. they said it would be better to come to an agreement about such questions, so that in future no dispute could arise. it came thus to an arbitration between them, at which the best and most sagacious men should give their judgment in the case. at this arbitration it was determined, with the consent of all parties, that lots should be thrown into a box, and the greeks and varings should draw which was first to ride, or to row, or to take place in a harbour, or to choose tent ground; and each side should be satisfied with what the drawing of the lots gave them. accordingly the lots were made and marked. harald said to gyrger, "let me see what mark thou hast put upon thy lot, that we may not both mark our lots in the same way." he did so. then harald marked his lot, and put it into the box along with the other. the man who was to draw out the lots then took up one of the lots between his fingers, held it up in the air, and said, "this lot shall be the first to ride, and to row, and to take place in harbour and on the tent field." harald seized his band, snatched the die, and threw it into the sea, and called out, "that was our lot!" gyrger said, "why did you not let other people see it?" harald replies, "look at the one remaining in the box,--there you see your own mark upon it." accordingly the lot which was left behind was examined, and all men saw that gyrger's mark was upon it, and accordingly the judgment was given that the varings had gained the first choice in all they had been quarrelling about. there were many things they quarrelled about, but the end always was that harald got his own way. 5. harald's expedition in the land of the saracens (serkland). they went out all on a campaign in summer. when the whole army was thus assembled harald kept his men out of the battle, or wherever he saw the least danger, under pretext of saving his men; but where he was alone with his own men only, he fought so desperately that they must either come off victorious or die. it thus happened often that when he commanded the army he gained victories, while gyrger could do nothing. the troops observed this, and insisted they would be more successful if harald alone was chief of the whole army, and upbraided the general with never effecting anything, neither himself, nor his people. gyrger again said that the varings would give him no assistance, and ordered harald to go with his men somewhere else, and he, with the rest of his army, would win what they could. harald accordingly left the army with the varings and the latin men, and gyrger on his side went off with the greek troops. then it was seen what each could do. harald always gained victories and booty; but the greeks went home to constantinople with their army, all except a few brave men, who, to gain booty and money, joined themselves to harald, and took him for their leader. he then went with his troops westward to africa, which the varings call serkland, where he was strengthened with many men. in serkland he took eighty castles, some of which surrendered, and others were stormed. he then went to sicily. so says thiodolf:- "the serpent's bed of glowing gold he hates--the generous king, the bold! he who four score towers laid low, ta'en from the saracenic foe. before upon sicilian plains, shield joined to shield, the fight he gains, the victory at hild's war game; and now the heathens dread his name." so says also illuge bryndala-skald:- "for michael's empire harald fought, and southern lands to michael brought; so budle's son his friendship showed when he brought friends to his abode." here it is said that michael was king of the greeks at that time. harald remained many years in africa, where he gathered great wealth in gold, jewels, and all sorts of precious things; and all the wealth he gathered there which he did not need for his expenses, he sent with trusty men of his own north to novgorod to king jarisleif's care and keeping. he gathered together there extraordinary treasure, as is reasonable to suppose; for he had the plundering of the part of the world richest in gold and valuable things, and he had done such great deeds as with truth are related, such as taking eighty strongholds by his valour. 6. battle in sicily. now when harald came to sicily he plundered there also, and sat down with his army before a strong and populous castle. he surrounded the castle; but the walls were so thick there was no possibility of breaking into it, and the people of the castle had enough of provisions, and all that was necessary for defence. then harald hit upon an expedient. he made his bird-catchers catch the small birds which had their nests within the castle, but flew into the woods by day to get food for their young. he had small splinters of tarred wood bound upon the backs of the birds, smeared these over with wax and sulphur, and set fire to them. as soon as the birds were let loose they all flew at once to the castle to their young, and to their nests, which they had under the house roofs that were covered with reeds or straw. the fire from the birds seized upon the house roofs; and although each bird could only carry a small burden of fire, yet all at once there was a mighty flame, caused by so many birds carrying fire with them and spreading it widely among the house roofs. thus one house after the other was set on fire, until the castle itself was in flames. then the people came out of the castle and begged for mercy; the same men who for many days had set at defiance the greek army and its leader. harald granted life and safety to all who asked quarter, and made himself master of the place. 7. battle at another castle. there was another castle before which harald had come with his army. this castle was both full of people and so strong, that there was no hope of breaking into it. the castle stood upon a flat hard plain. then harald undertook to dig a passage from a place where a stream ran in a bed so deep that it could not be seen from the castle. they threw out all the earth into the stream, to be carried away by the water. at this work they laboured day and night, and relieved each other in gangs; while the rest of the army went the whole day against the castle, where the castle people shot through their loop-holes. they shot at each other all day in this way, and at night they slept on both sides. now when harald perceived that his underground passage was so long that it must be within the castle walls, he ordered his people to arm themselves. it was towards daybreak that they went into the passage. when they got to the end of it they dug over their heads until they came upon stones laid in lime which was the floor of a stone hall. they broke open the floor and rose into the hall. there sat many of the castle-men eating and drinking, and not in the least expecting such uninvited wolves; for the varings instantly attacked them sword in hand, and killed some, and those who could get away fled. the varings pursued them; and some seized the castle gate, and opened it, so that the whole body of the army got in. the people of the castle fled; but many asked quarter from the troops, which was granted to all who surrendered. in this way harald got possession of the place, and found an immense booty in it. 8. battle at a third castle. they came to a third castle, the greatest and strongest of them all, and also the richest in property and the fullest of people. around this castle there were great ditches, so that it evidently could not be taken by the same device as the former; and they lay a long time before it without doing anything. when the castle-men saw this they became bolder, drew up their array on the castle walls, threw open the castle gates, and shouted to the varings, urging them, and jeering at them, and telling them to come into the castle, and that they were no more fit for battle than so many poultry. harald told his men to make as if they did not know what to do, or did not understand what was said. "for," says he, "if we do make an assault we can effect nothing, as they can throw their weapons under their feet among us; and if we get in the castle with a party of our people, they have it in their power to shut them in. and shut out the others; for they have all the castle gates beset with men. we shall therefore show them the same scorn they show us, and let them see we do not fear them. our men shall go out upon the plain nearest to the castle; taking care, however, to keep out of bow-shot. all our men shall go unarmed, and be playing with each other, so that the castle-men may see we do not regard them or their array." thus it went on for some days, without anything being done. 9. of ulf and haldor. two iceland men were then with harald; the one was haldor (1), a son of the gode snorre, who brought this account to iceland; the other was ulf uspakson, a grandson of usvifer spake. both were very strong men, bold under arms, and harald's best friends; and both were in this play. now when some days were passed the castle people showed more courage, and would go without weapons upon the castle wall, while the castle gates were standing open. the varings observing this, went one day to their sports with the sword under their cloaks, and the helmet under their hats. after playing awhile they observed that the castle people were off their guard; and instantly seizing their weapons, they made at the castle gate. when the men of the castle saw this they went against them armed completely, and a battle began in the castle gate. the varings had no shields, but wrapped their cloaks round their left arms. some of them were wounded, some killed, and all stood in great danger. now came harald with the men who had remained in the camp, to the assistance of his people; and the castle-men had now got out upon the walls, from which they shot and threw stones down upon them; so that there was a severe battle, and those who were in the castle gates thought that help was brought them slower than they could have wished. when harald came to the castle gate his standard-bearer fell, and harald said to haldor, "do thou take up the banner now." haldor took up the banner, and said foolishly, "who will carry the banner before thee, if thou followest it so timidly as thou hast done for a while?" but these were words more of anger than of truth; for harald was one of the boldest of men under arms. then they pressed in, and had a hard battle in the castle; and the end was that harald gained the victory and took the castle. haldor was much wounded in the face, and it gave him great pain as long as he lived. endnotes: (1) one of the descendants of this haldor was snorre sturlason, the author of "heimskringla". 10. battle at a fourth castle. the fourth castle which harald came to was the greatest of all we have been speaking about. it was so strong that there was no possibility of breaking into it. they surrounded the castle, so that no supplies could get into it. when they had remained here a short time harald fell sick, and he betook himself to his bed. he had his tent put up a little from the camp, for he found quietness and rest out of the clamour and clang of armed men. his men went usually in companies to or from him to hear his orders; and the castle people observing there was something new among the varings, sent out spies to discover what this might mean. when the spies came back to the castle they had to tell of the illness of the commander of the varings, and that no assault on that account had been made on the castle. a while after harald's strength began to fail, at which his men were very melancholy and cast down; all which was news to the castle-men. at last harald's sickness increased so rapidly that his death was expected through all the army. thereafter the varings went to the castle-men; told them, in a parley, of the death of their commander; and begged of the priests to grant him burial in the castle. when the castle people heard this news, there were many among them who ruled over cloisters or other great establishments within the place, and who were very eager to get the corpse for their church, knowing that upon that there would follow very rich presents. a great many priests, therefore, clothed themselves in all their robes, and went out of the castle with cross and shrine and relics and formed a beautiful procession. the varings also made a great burial. the coffin was borne high in the air, and over it was a tent of costly linen and before it were carried many banners. now when the corpse was brought within the castle gate the varings set down the coffin right across the entry, fixed a bar to keep the gates open, and sounded to battle with all their trumpets, and drew their swords. the whole army of the varings, fully armed, rushed from the camp to the assault of the castle with shout and cry; and the monks and other priests who had gone to meet the corpse and had striven with each other who should be the first to come out and take the offering at the burial, were now striving much more who should first get away from the varings; for they killed before their feet every one who was nearest, whether clerk or unconsecrated. the varings rummaged so well this castle that they killed all the men, pillaged everything and made an enormous booty. 11. of harald. harald was many years in these campaigns, both in serkland and in sicily. then he came back to constantinople with his troops and stayed there but a little time before he began his expedition to jerusalem. there he left the pay he had received from the greek emperor and all the varings who accompanied him did the same. it is said that on all these expeditions harald had fought eighteen regular battles. so says thiodolf:- "harald the stern ne'er allowed peace to his foemen, false and proud; in eighteen battles, fought and won, the valour of the norseman shone. the king, before his home return, oft dyed the bald head of the erne with bloody specks, and o'er the waste the sharp-claw'd wolf his footsteps traced." 12. harald's expedition to palestine. harald went with his men to the land of jerusalem and then up to the city of jerusalem, and wheresoever he came in the land all the towns and strongholds were given up to him. so says the skald stuf, who had heard the king himself relate these tidings:- "he went, the warrior bold and brave, jerusalem, the holy grave, and the interior of the land, to bring under the greeks' command; and by the terror of his name under his power the country came, nor needed wasting fire and sword to yield obediance to his word." here it is told that this land came without fire and sword under harald's command. he then went out to jordan and bathed therein, according to the custom of other pilgrims. harald gave great gifts to our lord's grave, to the holy cross, and other holy relics in the land of jerusalem. he also cleared the whole road all the way out to jordan, by killing the robbers and other disturbers of the peace. so says the skald stuf:- "the agder king cleared far and wide jordan's fair banks on either side; the robber-bands before him fled, and his great name was widely spread. the wicked people of the land were punished here by his dread hand, and they hereafter will not miss much worse from jesus christ than this." 13. harald put in prison. thereafter he went back to constantinople. when harald returned to constantinople from jerusalem he longed to return to the north to his native land; and when he heard that magnus olafson, his brother's son, had become king both of norway and denmark, he gave up his command in the greek service. and when the empress zoe heard of this she became angry and raised an accusation against harald that he had misapplied the property of the greek emperor which he had received in the campaigns in which he was commander of the army. there was a young and beautiful girl called maria, a brother's daughter of the empress zoe, and harald had paid his addresses to her; but the empress had given him a refusal. the varings, who were then in pay in constantinople, have told here in the north that there went a report among well-informed people that the empress zoe herself wanted harald for her husband, and that she chiefly blamed harald for his determination to leave constantinople, although another reason was given out to the public. constantinus monomachus was at that time emperor of the greeks and ruled along with zoe. on this account the greek emperor had harald made prisoner and carried to prison. 14. king olaf's miracle and blinding the greek emperor. when harald drew near to the prison king olaf the saint stood before him and said he would assist him. on that spot of the street a chapel has since been built and consecrated to saint olaf and which chapel has stood there ever since. the prison was so constructed that there was a high tower open above, but a door below to go into it from the street. through it harald was thrust in, along with haldor and ulf. next night a lady of distinction with two servants came, by the help of ladders, to the top of the tower, let down a rope into the prison and hauled them up. saint olaf had formerly cured this lady of a sickness and he had appeared to her in a vision and told her to deliver his brother. harald went immediately to the varings, who all rose from their seats when he came in and received him with joy. the men armed themselves forthwith and went to where the emperor slept. they took the emperor prisoner and put out both the eyes of him. so says thorarin skeggjason in his poem:- "of glowing gold that decks the hand the king got plenty in this land; but it's great emperor in the strife was made stone-blind for all his life." so says thiodolf, the skald, also:- "he who the hungry wolf's wild yell quiets with prey, the stern, the fell, midst the uproar of shriek and shout stung tho greek emperor's eyes both out: the norse king's mark will not adorn, the norse king's mark gives cause to mourn; his mark the eastern king must bear, groping his sightless way in fear." in these two songs, and many others, it is told that harald himself blinded the greek emperor; and they would surely have named some duke, count, or other great man, if they had not known this to be the true account; and king harald himself and other men who were with him spread the account. 15. harald's journey from constantinople. the same night king harald and his men went to the house where maria slept and carried her away by force. then they went down to where the galleys of the varings lay, took two of them and rowed out into sjavid sound. when they came to the place where the iron chain is drawn across the sound, harald told his men to stretch out at their oars in both galleys; but the men who were not rowing to run all to the stern of the galley, each with his luggage in his hand. the galleys thus ran up and lay on the iron chain. as soon as they stood fast on it, and would advance no farther, harald ordered all the men to run forward into the bow. then the galley, in which harald was, balanced forwards and swung down over the chain; but the other, which remained fast athwart the chain, split in two, by which many men were lost; but some were taken up out of the sound. thus harald escaped out of constantinople and sailed thence into the black sea; but before he left the land he put the lady ashore and sent her back with a good escort to constantinople and bade her tell her relation, the empress zoe, how little power she had over harald, and how little the empress could have hindered him from taking the lady. harald then sailed northwards in the ellipalta and then all round the eastern empire. on this voyage harald composed sixteen songs for amusement and all ending with the same words. this is one of them:- "past sicily's wide plains we flew, a dauntless, never-wearied crew; our viking steed rushed through the sea, as viking-like fast, fast sailed we. never, i think, along this shore did norsemen ever sail before; yet to the russian queen, i fear, my gold-adorned, i am not dear." with this he meant ellisif, daughter of king jarisleif in novgorod. 16. of king harald. when harald came to novgorod king jarisleif received him in the most friendly way and he remained there all winter (a.d. 1045). then he took into his own keeping all the gold and the many kinds of precious things which he had sent there from constantinople and which together made up so vast a treasure that no man in the northern lands ever saw the like of it in one man's possession. harald had been three times in the poluta-svarf while he was in constantinople. it is the custom, namely, there, that every time one of the greek emperors dies, the varings are allowed poluta-svarf; that is, they may go through all the emperor's palaces where his treasures are and each may take and keep what he can lay hold of while he is going through them. 17. king harald's marriage. this winter king jarisleif gave harald his daughter elisabeth in marriage. she is called by the northmen ellisif. this is related by stuf the blind, thus:- "agder's chief now got the queen who long his secret love had been. of gold, no doubt, a mighty store the princess to her husband bore." in spring he began his journey from novgorod and came to aldeigjuborg, where he took shipping and sailed from the east in summer. he turned first to svithjod and came to sigtuna. so says valgard o' val:- "the fairest cargo ship e'er bore, from russia's distant eastern shore the gallant harald homeward brings- gold, and a fame that skald still sings. the ship through dashing foam he steers, through the sea-rain to svithjod veers, and at sigtuna's grassy shores his gallant vessel safely moors." 18. the league between king harald and svein ulfson. harald found there before him svein ulfson, who the autumn before (a.d. 1045) had fled from king magnus at helganes; and when they met they were very friendly on both sides. the swedish king, olaf the swede, was brother of the mother of ellisif, harald's wife; and astrid, the mother of svein, was king olaf's sister. harald and svein entered into friendship with each other and confirmed it by oath. all the swedes were friendly to svein, because he belonged to the greatest family in the country; and thus all the swedes were harald's friends and helpers also, for many great men were connected with him by relationship. so says thiodolf: "cross the east sea the vessel flew,- her oak-keel a white furrow drew from russia's coast to swedish land. where harald can great help command. the heavy vessel's leeward side was hid beneath the rushing tide; while the broad sail and gold-tipped mast swung to and fro in the hard blast." 19. king harald's foray. then harald and svein fitted out ships and gathered together a great force; and when the troops were ready they sailed from the east towards denmark. so says valgard:- "brave yngve! to the land decreed to thee by fate, with tempest speed the winds fly with thee o'er the sea- to thy own udal land with thee. as past the scanlan plains they fly, the gay ships glances 'twixt sea and sky, and scanian brides look out, and fear some ill to those they hold most dear." they landed first in seeland with their men and herried and burned in the land far and wide. then they went to fyen, where they also landed and wasted. so says valgard:- "harald! thou hast the isle laid waste, the seeland men away hast chased, and the wild wolf by daylight roams through their deserted silent homes. fiona too could not withstand the fury of thy wasting hand. helms burst, shields broke,--fiona's bounds. were filled with death's terrific sounds. "red flashing in the southern sky, the clear flame sweeping broad and high, from fair roeskilde's lofty towers, on lowly huts its fire-rain pours; and shows the housemates' silent train in terror scouring o'er the plain, seeking the forest's deepest glen, to house with wolves, and 'scape from men. "few were they of escape to tell, for, sorrow-worn, the people fell: the only captives form the fray were lovely maidens led away. and in wild terror to the strand, down to the ships, the linked band of fair-haired girls is roughly driven, their soft skins by the irons riven." 20. king magnus's levy. king magnus olafson sailed north to norway in the autumn after the battle at helganes (a.d. 1045). there he hears the news that harald sigurdson, his relation, was come to svithjod; and moreover that svein ulfson and harald had entered into a friendly bond with each other and gathered together a great force, intending first to subdue denmark and then norway. king magnus then ordered a general levy over all norway and he soon collected a great army. he hears then that harald and svein were come to denmark and were burning and laying waste the land and that the country people were everywhere submitting to them. it was also told that king harald was stronger and stouter than other men, and so wise withal that nothing was impossible to him, and he had always the victory when he fought a battle; and he was also so rich in gold that no man could compare with him in wealth. thiodolf speaks thus of it: "norsemen, who stand the sword of foe like forest-stems unmoved by blow! my hopes are fled, no peace is near,- people fly here and there in fear. on either side of seeland's coast a fleet appears--a white winged host; magnus form norway takes his course, harald from sweden leads his force. 21. treaty between harald and magnus. those of harald's men who were in his counsel said that it would be a great misfortune if relations like harald and magnus should fight and throw a death-spear against each other; and therefore many offered to attempt bringing about some agreement between them, and the kings, by their persuasion, agreed to it. thereupon some men were sent off in a light boat, in which they sailed south in all haste to denmark, and got some danish men, who were proven friends of king magnus, to propose this matter to harald. this affair was conducted very secretly. now when harald heard that his relation, king magnus, would offer him a league and partition, so that harald should have half of norway with king magnus, and that they should divide all their movable property into two equal parts, he accepted the proposal, and the people went back to king magnus with this answer. 22. treaty between harald and svein broken. a little after this it happened that harald and svein one evening were sitting at table drinking and talking together, and svein asked harald what valuable piece of all his property he esteemed the most. he answered, it was his banner land-waster. svein asked what was there remarkable about it, that he valued it so highly. harald replied, it was a common saying that he must gain the victory before whom that banner is borne, and it had turned out so ever since he had owned it. svein replies, "i will begin to believe there is such virtue in the banner when thou hast held three battles with thy relation magnus, and hast gained them all." then answered harald with an angry voice, "i know my relationship to king magnus, without thy reminding me of it; and although we are now going in arms against him, our meeting may be of a better sort." svein changed colour, and said, "there are people, harald, who say that thou hast done as much before as only to hold that part of an agreement which appears to suit thy own interest best." harald answers, "it becomes thee ill to say that i have not stood by an agreement, when i know what king magnus could tell of thy proceedings with him." thereupon each went his own way. at night, when harald went to sleep within the bulwarks of his vessel, he said to his footboy, "i will not sleep in my bed to-night, for i suspect there may be treachery abroad. i observed this evening that my friend svein was very angry at my free discourse. thou shalt keep watch, therefore, in case anything happen in the night." harald then went away to sleep somewhere else, and laid a billet of wood in his place. at midnight a boat rowed alongside to the ship's bulwark; a man went on board, lifted up the cloth of the tent of the bulwarks, went up, and struck in harald's bed with a great ax, so that it stood fast in the lump of wood. the man instantly ran back to his boat again, and rowed away in the dark night, for the moon was set; but the axe remained sticking in the piece of wood as an evidence. thereupon harald waked his men and let them know the treachery intended. "we can now see sufficiently," said he, "that we could never match svein if he practises such deliberate treachery against us; so it will be best for us to get away from this place while we can. let us cast loose our vessel and row away as quietly as possible." they did so, and rowed during the night northwards along the land; and then proceeded night and day until they came to king magnus, where he lay with his army. harald went to his relation magnus, and there was a joyful meeting betwixt them. so says thiodolf:- "the far-known king the order gave, in silence o'er the swelling wave, with noiseless oars, his vessels gay from denmark west to row away; and olaf's son, with justice rare, offers with him the realm to share. people, no doubt, rejoiced to find the kings had met in peaceful mind." afterwards the two relatives conversed with each other and all was settled by peaceful agreement. 23. king magnus gives harald half of norway. king magnus lay at the shore and had set up tents upon the land. there he invited his relation, king harald, to be his guest at table; and harald went to the entertainment with sixty of his men and was feasted excellently. towards the end of the day king magnus went into the tent where harald sat and with him went men carrying parcels consisting of clothes and arms. then the king went to the man who sat lowest and gave him a good sword, to the next a shield, to the next a kirtle, and so on,--clothes, or weapons, or gold; to all he gave one or the other valuable gift, and the more costly to the more distinguished men among them. then he placed himself before his relation harald, holding two sticks in his hand, and said, "which of these two sticks wilt thou have, my friend?" harald replies, "the one nearest me." "then," said king magnus, "with this stick i give thee half of the norwegian power, with all the scat and duties, and all the domains thereunto belonging, with the condition that everywhere thou shalt be as lawful king in norway as i am myself; but when we are both together in one place, i shall be the first man in seat, service and salutation; and if there be three of us together of equal dignity, that i shall sit in the middle, and shall have the royal tent-ground and the royal landing-place. thou shalt strengthen and advance our kingdom, in return for making thee that man in norway whom we never expected any man should be so long as our head was above ground." then harald stood up, and thanked him for the high title and dignity. thereupon they both sat down, and were very merry together. the same evening harald and his men returned to their ships. 24. harald gives magnus the half of his treasures. the following morning king magnus ordered the trumpets to sound to a general thing of the people; and when it was seated, he made known to the whole army the gift he had given to his relation harald. thorer of steig gave harald the title of king there at the thing; and the same day king harald invited king magnus to table with him, and he went with sixty men to king harald's land-tent, where he had prepared a feast. the two kings sat together on a high-seat, and the feast was splendid; everything went on with magnificence, and the kings' were merry and glad. towards the close of the day king harald ordered many caskets to be brought into the tent, and in like manner people bore in weapons, clothes and other sorts of valuables; and all these king harald divided among king magnus's men who were at the feast. then he had the caskets opened and said to king magnus, "yesterday you gave us a large kingdom, which your hand won from your and our enemies, and took us in partnership with you, which was well done; and this has cost you much. now we on our side have been in foreign parts, and oft in peril of life, to gather together the gold which you here see. now, king magnus, i will divide this with you. we shall both own this movable property, and each have his equal share of it, as each has his equal half share of norway. i know that our dispositions are different, as thou art more liberal than i am; therefore let us divide this property equally between us, so that each may have his share free to do with as he will." then harald had a large ox-hide spread out, and turned the gold out of the caskets upon it. then scales and weights were taken and the gold separated and divided by weight into equal parts; and all people wondered exceedingly that so much gold should have come together in one place in the northern countries. but it was understood that it was the greek emperor's property and wealth; for, as all people say, there are whole houses there full of red gold. the kings were now very merry. then there appeared an ingot among the rest as big as a man's hand. harald took it in his hands and said, "where is the gold, friend magnus, that thou canst show against this piece?" king magnus replied, "so many disturbances and levies have been in the country that almost all the gold and silver i could lay up is gone. i have no more gold in my possession than this ring." and he took the ring off his hand and gave it to harald. harald looked at it, and said, "that is but little gold, friend, for the king who owns two kingdoms; and yet some may doubt whether thou art rightful owner of even this ring." then king magnus replied, after a little reflection, "if i be not rightful owner of this ring, then i know not what i have got right to; for my father, king olaf the saint, gave me this ring at our last parting." then said king harald, laughing, "it is true, king magnus, what thou sayest. thy father gave thee this ring, but he took the ring from my father for some trifling cause; and in truth it was not a good time for small kings in norway when thy father was in full power." king harald gave thorer of steig at that feast a bowl of mountain birch, that was encircled with a silver ring and had a silver handle, both which parts were gilt; and the bowl was filled with money of pure silver. with that came also two gold rings, which together stood for a mark. he gave him also his cloak of dark purple lined with white skins within, and promised him besides his friendship and great dignity. thorgils snorrason, an intelligent man, says he has seen an altar-cloth that was made of this cloak; and gudrid, a daughter of guthorm, the son of thorer of steig, said, according to thorgil's account, that she had seen this bowl in her father guthorm's possession. bolverk also tells of these matters:- "thou, generous king, i have been told, for the green land hast given gold; and magnus got a mighty treasure, that thou one half might'st rule at pleasure. the people gained a blessed peace, which 'twixt the kings did never cease; while svein, disturbed with war's alarms, had his folk always under arms." 25. of king magnus. the kings magnus and harald both ruled in norway the winter after their agreement (a.d. 1047), and each had his court. in winter they went around the upland country in guest-quarters; and sometimes they were both together, sometimes each was for himself. they went all the way north to throndhjem, to the town of nidaros. king magnus had taken special care of the holy remains of king olaf after he came to the country; had the hair and nails clipped every twelve month, and kept himself the keys that opened the shrine. many miracles were worked by king olaf's holy remains. it was not long before there was a breach in the good understanding between the two kings, as many were so mischievous as to promote discord between them. 26. of svein ulfson. svein ulfson remained behind in the harbour after harald had gone away, and inquired about his proceedings. when he heard at last of magnus and harald having agreed and joined their forces, he steered with his forces eastward along scania, and remained there until towards winter, when he heard that king magnus and king harald had gone northwards to norway. then svein, with his troops, came south to denmark and took all the royal income that winter (a.d. 1047). 27. of the levy of the two kings. towards spring (a.d. 1047) king magnus and his relation, king harald, ordered a levy in norway. it happened once that the kings lay all night in the same harbour and next day, king harald, being first ready, made sail. towards evening he brought up in the harbour in which magnus and his retinue had intended to pass the night. harald laid his vessel in the royal ground, and there set up his tents. king magnus got under sail later in the day and came into the harbour just as king harald had done pitching his tents. they saw then that king harald had taken up the king's ground and intended to lie there. after king magnus had ordered the sails to be taken in, he said, "the men will now get ready along both sides of the vessel to lay out their oars, and some will open the hatches and bring up the arms and arm themselves; for, if they will not make way for us, we will fight them." now when king harald sees that king magnus will give him battle, he says to his men, "cut our land-fastenings and back the ship out of the ground, for friend magnus is in a passion." they did so and laid the vessel out of the ground and king magnus laid his vessel in it. when they were now ready on both sides with their business, king harald went with a few men on board of king magnus's ship. king magnus received him in a friendly way, and bade him welcome. king harald answered, "i thought we were come among friends; but just now i was in doubt if ye would have it so. but it is a truth that childhood is hasty, and i will only consider it as a childish freak." then said king magnus, "it is no childish whim, but a trait of my family, that i never forget what i have given, or what i have not given. if this trifle had been settled against my will, there would soon have followed' some other discord like it. in all particulars i will hold the agreement between us; but in the same way we will have all that belongs to us by that right." king harald coolly replied, that it is an old custom for the wisest to give way; and returned to his ship. from such circumstances it was found difficult to preserve good understanding between the kings. king magnus's men said he was in the right; but others, less wise, thought there was some slight put upon harald in the business. king harald's men, besides, insisted that the agreement was only that king magnus should have the preference of the harbour-ground when they arrived together, but that king harald was not bound to draw out of his place when he came first. they observed, also, that king harald had conducted himself well and wisely in the matter. those who viewed the business in the worst light insisted that king magnus wanted to break the agreement, and that he had done king harald injustice, and put an affront on him. such disputes were talked over so long among foolish people, that the spirit of disagreeing affected the kings themselves. many other things also occurred, in which the kings appeared determined to have each his own way; but of these little will be set down here. 28. king magnus the good's death. the kings, magnus and harald, sailed with their fleet south to denmark; and when svein heard of their approach, he fled away east to scania. magnus and harald remained in denmark late in summer, and subdued the whole country. in autumn they were in jutland. one night, as king magnus lay in his bed, it appeared to him in a dream that he was in the same place as his father, saint olaf, and that he spoke to him thus: "wilt thou choose, my son, to follow me, or to become a mighty king, and have long life; but to commit a crime which thou wilt never be able to expiate?" he thought he made the answer, "do thou, father, choose for me." then the king thought the answer was, "thou shalt follow me." king magnus told his men this dream. soon after he fell sick and lay at a place called sudathorp. when he was near his death he sent his brother, thorer, with tokens to svein ulfson, with the request to give thorer the aid he might require. in this message king magnus also gave the danish dominions to svein after his death; and said it was just that harald should rule over norway and svein over denmark. then king magnus the good died (a.d. 1047), and great was the sorrow of all the people at his death. so says od kikinaskald:- "the tears o'er good king magnus' bier, the people's tears, were all sincere: even they to whom he riches gave carried him heavily to the grave. all hearts were struck at the king's end; his house-thralls wept as for a friend; his court-men oft alone would muse, as pondering o'er unthought of news." 29. king magnus's funeral. after this event king harald held a thing of his men-at-arms, and told them his intention to go with the army to viborg thing, and make himself be proclaimed king over the whole danish dominions, to which, he said, he had hereditary right after his relation magnus, as well as to norway. he therefore asked his men for their aid, and said he thought the norway man should show himself always superior to the dane. then einar tambaskelfer replies that he considered it a greater duty to bring his foster-son king magnus's corpse to the grave, and lay it beside his father, king olaf's, north in throndhjem town, than to be fighting abroad and taking another king's dominions and property. he ended his speech with saying that he would rather follow king magnus dead than any other king alive. thereupon he had the body adorned in the most careful way, so that most magnificent preparations were made in the king's ship. then all the throndhjem people and all the northmen made themselves ready to return home with the king's body, and so the army was broken up. king harald saw then that it was better for him to return to norway to secure that kingdom first, and to assemble men anew; and so king harald returned to norway with all his army. as soon as he came to norway he held a thing with the people of the country, and had himself proclaimed king everywhere. he proceeded thus from the east through viken, and in every district in norway he was named king. einar tambaskelfer, and with him all the throndhjem troops, went with king magnus's body and transported it to the town of nidaros, where it was buried in st. clement's church, where also was the shrine of king olaf the saint. king magnus was of middle size, of long and clear-complexioned countenance, and light hair, spoke well and hastily, was brisk in his actions, and extremely generous. he was a great warrior, and remarkably bold in arms. he was the most popular of kings, prized even by enemies as well as friends. 30. of svein ulfson. svein ulfson remained that autumn in scania (a.d. 1047), and was making ready to travel eastward to sweden, with the intention of renouncing the title of king he had assumed in denmark; but just as he was mounting his horse some men came riding to him with the first news that king magnus was dead, and all the northmen had left denmark. svein answered in haste, "i call god to witness that i shall never again fly from the danish dominions as long as i live." then he got on his horse and rode south into scania, where immediately many people crowded to him. that winter he brought under his power all the danish dominions, and all the danes took him for their king. thorer, king magnus's brother, came to svein in autumn with the message of king magnus, as before related, and was well received; and thorer remained long with svein and was well taken care of. 31. of king harald sigurdson. king harald sigurdson took the royal power over all norway after the death of king magnus olafson; and when he had reigned over norway one winter and spring was come (a.d. 1048), he ordered a levy through all the land of one-half of all men and ships and went south to jutland. he herried and burned all summer wide around in the land and came into godnarfjord, where king harald made these verses:- "while wives of husbands fondly dream, here let us anchor in the stream, in godnarfjord; we'll safely moor our sea-homes, and sleep quite secure." then he spoke to thiodolf, the skald, and asked him to add to it what it wanted, and he sang:- "in the next summer, i foresee, our anchorage in the south will be; to hold our sea-homes on the ground, more cold-tongued anchors will be found." to this bolverk alludes in his song also, that harald went to denmark the summer after king magnus's death. bolverk sings thus:- "next summer thou the levy raised, and seawards all the people gazed, where thy sea-steeds in sunshine glancing over the waves were gaily prancing; while the deep ships that plunder bore seemed black specks from the distant shore. the danes, from banks or hillocks green, looked with dismay upon the scene." 32. of thorkel geysa's daughters. then they burned the house of thorkel geysa, who was a great lord, and his daughters they carried off bound to their ships. they had made a great mockery the winter before of king harald's coming with war-ships against denmark; and they cut their cheese into the shape of anchors, and said such anchors might hold all the ships of the norway king. then this was composed:- "the island-girls, we were told, made anchors all our fleet to hold: their danish jest cut out in cheese did not our stern king's fancy please. now many a maiden fair, may be, sees iron anchors splash the sea, who will not wake a maid next morn to laugh at norway's ships in scorn." it is said that a spy who had seen the fleet of king harald said to thorkel geysa's daughters, "ye said, geysa's daughters, that king harald dared not come to denmark." dotta, thorkel's daughter, replied, "that was yesterday." thorkel had to ransom his daughters with a great sum. so says grane:- "the gold-adorned girl's eye through hornskeg wood was never dry, as down towards the sandy shore the men their lovely prizes bore. the norway leader kept at bay the foe who would contest the way, and dotta's father had to bring treasure to satisfy the king." king harald plundered in denmark all that summer, and made immense booty; but he had not any footing in the land that summer in denmark. he went to norway again in autumn and remained there all winter (a.d. 1049). 33. marriages and children of harald hardrade. the winter after king magnus the good died, king harald took thora, daughter of thorberg arnason, and they had two sons; the oldest called magnus, and the other olaf. king harald and queen ellisif had two daughters; the one maria, the other ingegerd. the spring after the foray which has just been related king harald ordered the people out and went with them to denmark (a.d. 1049), and herried there, and did so summer after summer thereafter. so says stuf, the skald:- "falster lay waste, as people tell,- the raven in other isles fared well. the danes were everywhere in fear, for the dread foray every year." 34. of the armaments of svein ulfson and harald. king svein ruled over all the danish dominions after king magnus's death. he sat quiet all the winter; but in summer he lay out in his ships with all his people and it was said he would go north to norway with the danish army and make not less havoc there than king harald had made in denmark. king svein proposed to king harald in winter (a.d. 1049) to meet him the following summer at the gaut river and fight until in the battle-field their differences were ended, or they were settled peacefully. they made ready on both sides all winter with their ships, and called out in summer one-half of all the fighting men. the same summer came thorleik the fair out of iceland, and composed a poem about king svein ulfson. he heard, when he arrived in norway, that king harald had sailed south to the gaut river against king svein. then thorleik sang this:- "the wily svein, i think, will meet these inland norsemen fleet to fleet; the arrow-storm, and heaving sea, his vantage-fight and field will be. god only knows the end of strife, or which shall have his land and life; this strife must come to such an end, for terms will never bind king svein." he also sang these verses:- "harald, whose red shield oft has shone o'er herried coasts, and fields hard won, rides in hot wrath, and eager speeds o'er the blue waves his ocean-steeds. svein, who in blood his arrows stains, brings o'er the ocean's heaving plains his gold-beaked ships, which come in view out from the sound with many a hue." king harald came with his forces to the appointed meeting-place; but there he heard that king svein was lying with his fleet at the south side of seeland. then king harald divided his forces; let the greater part of the bonde-troops return home; and took with him his court-men, his lendermen, the best men-at-arms, and all the bonde-troops who lived nearest to the danish land. they sailed over to jutland to the south of vendilskage, and so south to thioda; and over all they carried fire and sword. so says stuf, the skald:- "in haste the men of thyland fly from the great monarch's threat'ning eye; at the stern harald's angry look the boldest hearts in denmark shook." they went forward all the way south to heidaby, took the merchant town and burnt it. then one of harald's men made the following verses:- "all heidaby is burned down! strangers will ask where stood the town. in our wild humour up it blazed, and svein looks round him all amazed. all heidaby is burned down! from a far corner of the town i saw, before the peep of morning, roofs, walls, and all in flame high burning." to this also thorleik alludes in his verses, when he heard there had been no battle at the gaut river:- "the stranger-warrior may inquire of harald's men, why in his ire on heidaby his wrath he turns, and the fair town to ashes burns? would that the day had never come when harald's ships returned home from the east sea, since now the town, without his gain, is burned down!" 35. harald's escape into the jutland sea. then king harald sailed north and had sixty ships and the most of them large and heavily laden with the booty taken in summer; and as they sailed north past thioda king svein came down from the land with a great force and he challenged king harald to land and fight. king harald had little more than half the force of king svein and therefore he challenged svein to fight at sea. so says thorleik the fair:- "svein, who of all men under heaven has had the luckiest birth-hour given, invites his foemen to the field, there to contest with blood-stained shield. the king, impatient of delay, harald, will with his sea-hawks stay; on board will fight, and fate decide if svein shall by his land abide." after that king harald sailed north along vendilskage; and the wind then came against them, and they brought up under hlesey, where they lay all night. a thick fog lay upon the sea; and when the morning came and the sun rose they saw upon the other side of the sea as if many lights were burning. this was told to king harald; and he looked at it, and said immediately, "strike the tilts down on the ships and take to the oars. the danish forces are coming upon us, and the fog there where they are must have cleared off, and the sun shines upon the dragon-heads of their ships, which are gilded, and that is what we see." it was so as he had said. svein had come there with a prodigious armed force. they rowed now on both sides all they could. the danish ships flew lighter before the oars; for the northmen's ships were both soaked with water and heavily laden, so that the danes approached nearer and nearer. then harald, whose own dragon-ship was the last of the fleet, saw that he could not get away; so he ordered his men to throw overboard some wood, and lay upon it clothes and other good and valuable articles; and it was so perfectly calm that these drove about with the tide. now when the danes saw their own goods driving about on the sea, they who were in advance turned about to save them; for they thought it was easier to take what was floating freely about, than to go on board the northmen to take it. they dropped rowing and lost ground. now when king svein came up to them with his ship, he urged them on, saying it would be a great shame if they, with so great a force, could not overtake and master so small a number. the danes then began again to stretch out lustily at their oars. when king harald saw that the danish ships went faster he ordered his men to lighten their ships, and cast overboard malt, wheat, bacon, and to let their liquor run out, which helped a little. then harald ordered the bulwarkscreens, the empty casks and puncheons and the prisoners to be thrown overboard; and when all these were driving about on the sea, svein ordered help to be given to save the men. this was done; but so much time was lost that they separated from each other. the danes turned back and the northmen proceeded on their way. so says thorleik the fair:- "svein drove his foes from jutland's coast,- the norsemen's ships would have been lost, but harald all his vessels saves, throwing his booty on the waves. the jutlanders saw, as he threw, their own goods floating in their view; his lighten'd ships fly o'er the main while they pick up their own again." king svein returned southwards with his ships to hlesey, where he found seven ships of the northmen, with bondes and men of the levy. when king svein came to them they begged for mercy, and offered ransom for themselves. so says thorleik the fair:- "the stern king's men good offers make, if svein will ransom for them take; too few to fight, they boldly say unequal force makes them give way. the hasty bondes for a word would have betaken them to the sword, and have prolonged a bloody strife- such men can give no price for life." 36. of harald. king harald was a great man, who ruled his kingdom well in home-concerns. very prudent was he, of good understanding; and it is the universal opinion that no chief ever was in northern lands of such deep judgment and ready counsel as harald. he was a great warrior; bold in arms; strong and expert in the use of his weapons beyond any others, as has been before related, although many of the feats of his manhood are not here written down. this is owing partly to our uncertainty about them, partly to our wish not to put stories into this book for which there is no testimony. although we have heard, many things talked about, and even circumstantially related, yet we think it better that something may be added to, than that it should be necessary to take something away from our narrative. a great part of his history is put in verse by iceland men, which poems they presented to him or his sons, and for which reason he was their great friend. he was, indeed, a great friend to all the people of that country; and once, when a very dear time set in, he allowed four ships to transport meal to iceland, and fixed that the shippund should not be dearer than 100 ells of wadmal. he permitted also all poor people, who could find provisions to keep them on the voyage across the sea, to emigrate from iceland to norway; and from that time there was better subsistence in the country, and the seasons also turned out better. king harold also sent from norway a bell for the church of which olaf the saint had sent the timbers to iceland, and which was erected on the thing-plain. such remembrances of king harald are found here in the country, besides many great gifts which he presented to those who visited him. 37. of haldor snorrason. haldor snorrason and ulf uspakson, as before related, came to norway with king harald. they were, in many respects, of different dispositions. haldor was very stout and strong, and remarkably handsome in appearance. king harald gave him this testimony, that he, among all his men, cared least about doubtful circumstances, whether they betokened danger or pleasure; for, whatever turned up, he was never in higher nor in lower spirits, never slept less nor more on account of them, nor ate or drank but according to his custom. haldor was not a man of many words, but short in conversation, told his opinion bluntly and was obstinate and hard; and this could not please the king, who had many clever people about him zealous in his service. haldor remained a short time with the king; and then came to iceland, where he took up his abode in hjardarholt, and dwelt in that farm to a very advanced age. 38. of ulf uspakson. ulf uspakson stood in great esteem with king harald; for he was a man of great understanding, clever in conversation, active and brave, and withal true and sincere. king harald made ulf his marshal, and married him to jorun, thorberg's daughter, a sister of harald's wife, thora. ulf and jorun's children were joan the strong of rasvol, and brigida, mother of sauda-ulf, who was father of peter byrdar-svein, father of ulf fly and sigrid. joan the strong's son was erlend himalde, father of archbishop eystein and his brothers. king harald gave ulf the marshal the rights of a lenderman and a fief of twelve marks income, besides a half-district in the throndhjem land. of this stein herdison speaks in his song about ulf. 39. of the building of churches and houses. king magnus olafson built olaf's church in the town (nidaros), on the spot where olaf's body was set down for the night, and which, at that time, was above the town. he also had the king's house built there. the church was not quite finished when the king died; but king harald had what was wanting completed. there, beside the house, he began to construct a stone hall, but it was not finished when he died. king harald had the church called mary church built from the foundations up, at the sandhill close to the spot where the king's holy remains were concealed in the earth the first winter after his fall. it was a large temple, and so strongly built with lime that it was difficult to break it when the archbishop eystein had it pulled down. olaf's holy remains were kept in olaf's church while mary church was building. king harald had the king's house erected below mary kirk, at the side of the river, where it now is; and he had the house in which he had made the great hall consecrated and called gregorius church. 40. beginning of hakon ivarson's story. there was a man called ivar the white, who was a brave lenderman dwelling in the uplands, and was a daughter's son of earl hakon the great. ivar was the handsomest man that could be seen. ivar's son was called hakon; and of him it was said that he was distinguished above all men then in norway for beauty, strength and perfection of figure. in his very youth he had been sent out on war expeditions, where he acquired great honour and consideration, and became afterwards one of the most celebrated men. 41. of einar tambaskelfer. einar tambaskelfer was the most powerful lenderman in the throndhjem land. there was but little friendship between him and king harald, although einar retained all the fiefs he had held while magnus the good lived. einar had many large estates, and was married to bergliot, a daughter of earl hakon, as related above. their son eindride was grown up, and married to sigrid, a daughter of ketil kalf and gunhild, king harald's sister's daughter. eindride had inherited the beauty of his mother's father, earl hakon, and his sons; and in size and strength he took after his father, einar, and also in all bodily perfections by which einar had been distinguished above other men. he was, also, as well as his father, the most popular of men, which the sagas, indeed, show sufficiently. 42. of earl orm. orm was at that time earl in the uplands. his mother was ragnhild, a daughter of earl hakon the great, and orm was a remarkably clever man. aslak erlingson was then in jadar at sole, and was married to sigrid, a daughter of earl svein hakonson. gunhild, earl svein's other daughter, was married to the danish king, svein ulfson. these were the descendants of earl hakon at that time in norway, besides many other distinguished people; and the whole race was remarkable for their very beautiful appearance, and the most of them were gifted with great bodily perfection, and were all distinguished and important men. 43. harald's pride. king harald was very proud, and his pride increased after he was established in the country; and it came so far that at last it was not good to speak against him, or to propose anything different from what he desired. so says thiodolf, the skald:- "in arms 'tis right the common man should follow orders, one by one,- should stoop or rise, or run or stand, as his war-leader may command; but now to the king who feeds the ravens the people bend like heartless cravens- nothing is left them, but consent to what the king calls his intent." 44. of the quarrel of king harald and einar tambaskelfer. einar tambaskelfer was the principal man among the bondes all about throndhjem, and answered for them at the things even against the king's men. einar knew well the law, and did not want boldness to bring forward his opinion at things, even if the king was present; and all the bondes stood by him. the king was very angry at this, and it came so far that they disputed eagerly against each other. einar said that the bondes would not put up with any unlawful proceedings from him if he broke through the law of the land; and this occurred several times between them. einar then began to keep people about him at home, and he had many more when he came into the town if the king was there. it once happened that einar came to the town with a great many men and ships; he had with him eight or nine great war-ships and nearly 500 men. when he came to the town he went up from the strand with his attendants. king harald was then in his house, standing out in the gallery of the loft; and when he saw einar's people going on shore, it is said harald composed these verses:- "i see great tambaskelfer go, with mighty pomp, and pride, and show, across the ebb-shore up the land,- before, behind, an armed band. this bonde-leader thinks to rule, and fill himself the royal stool. a goodly earl i have known with fewer followers of his own. he who strikes fire from the shield, einar, may some day make us yield, unless our axe-edge quickly ends, with sudden kiss, what he intends." einar remained several days in the town. 45. the fall of einar and eindride. one day there was a meeting held in the town, at which the king himself was present. a thief had been taken in the town, and he was brought before the thing. the man had before been in the service of einar, who had been very well satisfied with him. this was told to einar, and he well knew the king would not let the man off, and more because he took an interest in the matter. einar, therefore, let his men get under arms, went to the thing, and took the man by force. the friends on both sides then came between and endeavoured to effect a reconciliation; and they succeeded so far that a meeting-place was appointed, to which both should come. there was a thing-room in the king's house at the river nid, and the king went into it with a few men, while the most of his people were out in the yard. the king ordered the shutters of the loft-opening to be turned, so that there was but a little space left clear. when einar came into the yard with his people, he told his son eindride to remain outside with the men, "for there is no danger here for me." eindride remained standing outside at the room-door. when einar came into the thing-room, he said, "it is dark in the king's thing-room." at that moment some men ran against him and assaulted him, some with spears, some with swords. when eindride heard this he drew his sword and rushed into the room; but he was instantly killed along with his father. the king's men then ran up and placed themselves before the door, and the bondes lost courage, having no leader. they urged each other on, indeed, and said it was a shame they should not avenge their chief; but it came to nothing with their attack. the king went out to his men, arrayed them in battle order, and set up his standard: but the bondes did not venture to assault. then the king went with all his men on board of his ships, rowed down the river, and then took his way out of the fjord. when einar's wife bergliot, who was in the house which einar had possessed in the town, heard of einar's fall, she went immediately to the king's house where the bondes army was and urged them to the attack; but at the same moment the king was rowing out of the river. then said bergliot, "now we want here my relation, hakon ivarson: einar's murderer would not be rowing out of the river if ivar stood here on the riverbank." then bergliot adorned einar's and eindride's corpses and buried them in olaf's church, beside king magnus olafson's burial-place. after einar's murder the king was so much disliked for that deed that there was nothing that prevented the lendermen and bondes from attacking the king, and giving him battle, but the want of some leader to raise the banner in the bonde army. 46. of king harald and fin arnason. fin arnason dwelt at austrat in yrjar, and was king harald's lenderman there. fin was married to bergliot, a daughter of halfdan, who was a son of sigurd syr, and brother of olaf the saint and of king harald. thora, king harald's wife, was fin arnason's brother's daughter: and fin and all his brothers were the king's dearest friends. fin arnason had been for some summers on a viking cruise in the west sea; and fin, guthorm gunhildson and hakon ivarson had all been together on that cruise. king harald now proceeded out of throndhjem fjord to austrat, where he was well received. afterwards the king and fin conversed with each other about this new event of einar's and his son's death, and of the murmuring and threatening which the bondes made against the king. fin took up the conversation briskly, and said, "thou art managing ill in two ways: first, in doing all manner of mischief; and next, in being so afraid that thou knowest not what to do." the king replied, laughing, "i will send thee, friend, into the town to bring about a reconciliation with the bondes; and if that will not do, thou must go to the uplands and bring matters to such an understanding with hakon ivarson that he shall not be my opponent." fin replies, "and how wilt thou reward me if i undertake this dangerous errand; for both the people of throndhjem and the people of upland are so great enemies to thee that it would not be safe for any of thy messengers to come among them, unless he were one who would be spared for his own sake?" the king replies, "go thou on this embassy, for i know thou wilt succeed in it if any man can, and bring about a reconciliation; and then choose whatever favour from us thou wilt." fin says, "hold thou thy word, king, and i will choose my petition. i will desire to have peace and safe residence in the country for my brother kalf, and all his estates restored; and also that he receive all the dignity and power he had when he left the country." the king assented to all that fin laid down, and it was confirmed by witnesses and shake of hand. then said fin, "what shall i offer hakon, who rules most among his relations in the land, to induce him to agree to a treaty and reconciliation with thee?" the king replies, "thou shalt first hear what hakon on his part requires for making an agreement; then promote my interest as thou art best able; and deny him nothing in the end short of the kingdom." then king harald proceeded southwards to more, and drew together men in considerable numbers. 47. of fin arnason's journey. fin arnason proceeded to the town and had with him his house-servants, nearly eighty men. when he came into the town he held a thing with the town's people. fin spoke long and ably at the thing; and told the town's people, and bondes, above all things not to have a hatred against their king, or to drive him away. he reminded them of how much evil they had suffered by acting thus against king olaf the saint; and added, that the king was willing to pay penalty for this murder, according to the judgment of understanding and good men. the effect of fin's speech was that the bondes promised to wait quietly until the messengers came back whom bergliot had sent to the uplands to her relative, hakon ivarson. fin then went out to orkadal with the men who had accompanied him to the town. from thence he went up to dovrefield, and eastwards over the mountains. he went first to his son-in-law, earl orm, who was married to sigrid, fin's daughter, and told him his business. 48. of fin and hakon ivarson. then fin and earl orm appointed a meeting with hakon ivarson; and when they met fin explained his errand to hakon, and the offer which king harald made him. it was soon seen, from hakon's speech, that he considered it to be his great duty to avenge the death of his relative, eindride; and added, that word was come to him from throndhjem, from which he might expect help in making head against the king. then fin represented to hakon how much better it would be for him to accept of as high a dignity from the king as he himself could desire, rather than to attempt raising a strife against the king to whom he was owing service and duty. he said if he came out of the conflict without victory, he forfeited life and property: "and even if thou hast the victory, thou wilt still be called a traitor to thy sovereign." earl orm also supported fin's speech. after hakon had reflected upon this he disclosed what lay on his mind, and said, "i will be reconciled with king harald if he will give me in marriage his relation ragnhild, king magnus olafson's daughter, with such dower as is suitable to her and she will be content with." fin said he would agree to this on the king's part; and thus it was settled among them. fin then returned to throndhjem, and the disturbance and enmity was quashed, so that the king could retain his kingdom in peace at home; and the league was broken which eindride's relations had made among themselves for opposing king harald. 49. of the courtship of hakon ivarson. when the day arrived for the meeting at which this agreement with harald should be finally concluded, hakon went to king harald; and in their conference the king said that he, for his part, would adhere to all that was settled in their agreement. "thou hakon," says he, "must thyself settle that which concerns ragnhild, as to her accepting thee in marriage; for it would not be advisable for thee, or for any one, to marry ragnhild without her consent." then hakon went to ragnhild, and paid his addresses to her. she answered him thus: "i have often to feel that my father, king magnus, is dead and gone from me, since i must marry a bonde; although i acknowledge thou art a handsome man, expert in all exercises. but if king magnus had lived he would not have married me to any man less than a king; so it is not to be expected that i will take a man who has no dignity or title." then hakon went to king harald and told him his conversation with ragnhild, and also repeated the agreement which was made between him and fin, who was with him, together with many others of the persons who had been present at the conversation between him and fin. hakon takes them all to witness that such was the agreement that the king should give ragnhild the dower she might desire. "and now since she will have no man who has not a high dignity, thou must give me such a title of honour; and, according to the opinion of the people, i am of birth, family and other qualifications to be called earl." the king replies, "when my brother, king olaf, and his son, king magnus, ruled the kingdom, they allowed only one earl at a time to be in the country, and i have done the same since i came to the kingly title; and i will not take away from orm the title of honour i had before given him." hakon saw now that his business had not advanced, and was very ill pleased; and fin was outrageously angry. they said the king had broken his word; and thus they all separated. 50. hakon's journey to denmark. hakon then went out of the country with a well-manned ship. when he came to denmark he went immediately to his relative, king svein, who received him honourably and gave him great fiefs. hakon became king svein's commander of the coast defence against the vikings,--the vindland people, kurland people, and others from the east countries,--who infested the danish dominions; and he lay out with his ships of war both winter and summer. 51. murder of asmund. there was a man called asmund, who is said to have been king svein's sister's son, and his foster-son. this asmund was distinguished among all by his boldness and was much disliked by the king. when asmund came to years, and to age of discretion, he became an ungovernable person given to murder and manslaughter. the king was ill pleased at this, and sent him away, giving him a good fief, which might keep him and his followers well. as soon as asmund had got this property from the king he drew together a large troop of people; and as the estate he had got from the king was not sufficient for his expenses he took as his own much more which belonged to the king. when the king heard this he summoned asmund to him, and when they met the king said that asmund should remain with the court without keeping any retinue of his own; and this took place as the king desired. but when asmund had been a little time in the king's court he grew weary of being there, and escaped in the night, returned to his former companions and did more mischief than ever. now when the king was riding through the country he came to the neighbourhood where asmund was, and he sent out men-at-arms to seize him. the king then had him laid in irons, and kept him so for some time in hope he would reform; but no sooner did asmund get rid of his chains than he absconded again, gathered together people and men-at-arms and betook himself to plunder, both abroad and at home. thus he made great forays, killing and plundering all around. when the people who suffered under these disturbances came to the king and complained to him of their losses, he replied, "why do ye tell me of this? why don't you go to hakon ivarson, who is my officer for the land-defence, placed on purpose to keep the peace for you peasants, and to hold the vikings in check? i was told that hakon was a gallant and brave man, but i think he is rather shy when any danger of life is in the way." these words of the king were brought to hakon, with many additions. then hakon went with his men in search of asmund, and when their ships met hakon gave battle immediately--and the conflict was sharp, and many men were killed. hakon boarded asmund's ship and cut down the men before his feet. at last he and asmund met and exchanged blows until asmund fell. hakon cut off his head, went in all haste to king svein and found him just sitting down to the dinner-table. hakon presented himself before the table, laid asmund's head upon the table before the king, and asked if he knew it. the king made no reply, but became as red as blood in the face. soon after the king sent him a message, ordering him to leave his service immediately. "tell him i will do him no harm; but i cannot keep watch over all our relations." (1) endnotes: (1) this incident shows how strong, in those ages, was the tie of relationship, and the point of honour of avenging its injuries--the clanship spirit.--l. 52. hakon ivarson's marriage. hakon then left denmark, and came north to his estates in norway. his relation earl orm was dead. hakon's relations and friends were glad to see hakon, and many gallant men gave themselves much trouble to bring about a reconciliation between king harald and hakon. it was at last settled in this way, that hakon got ragnhild, the king's daughter, and that king harald gave hakon the earldom, with the same power earl orm had possessed. hakon swore to king harald an oath of fidelity to all the services he was liable to fulfill. 53. reconciliation of king harald and kalf. kalf arnason had been on a viking cruise to the western countries ever since he had left norway; but in winter he was often in the orkney islands with his relative, earl thorfin. fin arnason sent a message to his brother kalf, and told him the agreement which he had made with king harald, that kalf should enjoy safety in norway, and his estates, and all the fiefs he had held from king magnus. when this message came to kalf he immediately got ready for his voyage, and went east to norway to his brother fin. then fin obtained the king's peace for kalf, and when kalf and the king met they went into the agreement which fin and the king had settled upon before. kalf bound himself to the king in the same way as he had bound himself to serve king magnus, according to which kalf should do all that the king desired and considered of advantage to his realm. thereupon kalf received all the estates and fiefs he had before. 54. fall of kalf arnason. the summer following (a.d. 1050) king harald ordered out a levy, and went to denmark, where he plundered during the summer; but when he came south to fyen he found a great force assembled against him. then the king prepared to land his men from the ships and to engage in a land-fight. he drew up his men on board in order of battle; set kalf arnason at the head of one division; ordered him to make the first attack, and told him where they should direct their assault, promising that he would soon make a landing with the others, and come to their assistance. when kalf came to the land with his men a force came down immediately to oppose them, and kalf without delay engaged in battle, which, however, did not last long; for kalf was immediately overpowered by numbers, and betook himself to flight with his men. the danes pursued them vigorously, and many of the northmen fell, and among them kalf arnason. now king harald landed with his array; and they soon came on their way to the field of battle, where they found kalf's body, and bore it down to the ships. but the king penetrated into the country, killing many people and destroying much. so says arnor:- "his shining sword with blood he stains, upon fyona's grassy plains; and in the midst of fire and smoke, the king fyona's forces broke." 55. fin arnason's expedition out of the country. after this fin arnason thought he had cause to be an enemy of the king upon account of his brother kalf's death; and said the king had betrayed kalf to his fall, and had also deceived him by making him entice his brother kalf to come over from the west and trust to king harald's faith. when these speeches came out among people, many said that it was very foolish in fin to have ever supposed that kalf could obtain the king's sincere friendship and favour; for they thought the king was the man to seek revenge for smaller offences than kalf had committed against the king. the king let every one say what he chose, and he himself neither said yes or no about the affair; but people perceived that the king was very well pleased with what had happened. king harald once made these verses:- "i have, in all, the death-stroke given to foes of mine at least eleven; two more, perhaps, if i remember, may yet be added to this number, i prize myself upon these deeds, my people such examples needs. bright gold itself they would despise, or healing leek-herb underprize, if not still brought before their eyes." fin arnason took the business so much to heart that he left the country and went to denmark to king svein, where he met a friendly reception. they spoke together in private for a long time; and the end of the business was that fin went into king svein's service, and became his man. king svein then gave fin an earldom, and placed him in halland, where he was long earl and defended the country against the northmen. 56. of guthorm gunhildson. ketil kalf and gunhild of ringanes had a son called guthorm, and he was a sister's son to king olaf and harald sigurdson. guthorm was a gallant man, early advanced to manhood. he was often with king harald, who loved him much, and asked his advice; for he was of good understanding, and very popular. guthorm had also been engaged early in forays, and had marauded much in the western countries with a large force. ireland was for him a land of peace; and he had his winter quarters often in dublin, and was in great friendship with king margad. 57. guthorm's junction with the irish king margad. the summer after king margad, and guthorm with him, went out on an expedition against bretland, where they made immense booty. but when the king saw the quantity of silver which was gathered he wanted to have the whole booty, and regarded little his friendship for guthorm. guthorm was ill pleased that he and his men should be robbed of their share; but the king said, "thou must choose one of two things,--either to be content with what we determine, or to fight; and they shall have the booty who gain the victory; and likewise thou must give up thy ships, for them i will have." guthorm thought there were great difficulties on both sides; for it was disgraceful to give up ships and goods without a stroke, and yet it was highly dangerous to fight the king and his force, the king having sixteen ships and guthorm only five. then guthorm desired three days' time to consider the matter with his people, thinking in that time to pacify the king, and come to a better understanding with him through the mediation of others; but he could not obtain from the king what he desired. this was the day before st. olaf's day. guthorm chose the condition that they would rather die or conquer like men, than suffer disgrace, contempt and scorn, by submitting to so great a loss. he called upon god, and his uncle saint olaf, and entreated their help and aid; promising to give to the holy man's house the tenth of all the booty that fell to their share, if they gained the victory. then he arranged his men, placed them in battle order against the great force, prepared for battle, and gave the assault. by the help of god, and the holy saint olaf, guthorm won the battle. king margad fell, and every man, old and young, who followed him; and after that great victor, guthorm and all his people returned home joyfully with all the booty they had gained by the battle. every tenth penny of the booty they had made was taken, according to the vow, to king olaf the saint's shrine; and there was so much silver that guthorm had an image made of it, with rays round the head, which was the size of his own, or of his forecastle-man's head; and the image was seven feet high. the image thus produced was given by guthorm to king olaf of the saint's temple, where it has since remained as a memorial of guthorm's victory and king olaf the saint's miracle. 58. miracle of king olaf in denmark. there was a wicked, evil-minded count in denmark who had a norwegian servant-girl whose family belonged to throndhjem district. she worshipped king olaf the saint, and believed firmly in his sanctity. but the above mentioned count doubted all that was told of the holy man's miracles, insisted that it was nothing but nonsense and idle talk, and made a joke and scorn of the esteem and honour which all the country people showed the good king. now when his holyday came, on which the mild monarch ended his life, and which all northmen kept sacred, this unreasonable count would not observe it, but ordered his servant-girl to bake and put fire in the oven that day. she knew well the count's mad passion, and that he would revenge himself severely on her if she refused doing as he ordered. she went, therefore, of necessity, and baked in the oven, but wept much at her work; and she threatened king olaf that she never would believe in him, if he did not avenge this misdeed by some mischance or other. and now shall ye come to hear a well-deserved vengeance, and a true miracle. it happened, namely, in the same hour that the count became blind of both eyes, and the bread which she had shoved into the oven was turned into stone! of these stones some are now in st. olaf's temple, and in other places; and since that time olafsmas has been always held holy in denmark. 59. king olaf's miracle on a cripple. west in valland, a man had such bad health that he became a cripple, and went on his knees and elbows. one day he was upon the road, and had fallen asleep. he dreamt that a gallant man came up to him and asked him where he was going. when he named the neighbouring town, the man said to him, "go to saint olaf's church that stands in london, and there thou shalt be cured." there-upon he awoke, and went straightway to inquire the road to olaf's church in london. at last he came to london bridge, and asked the men of the castle if they could tell him where olaf's church was; but they replied, there were so many churches that they could not tell to whom each of them was consecrated. soon after a man came up and asked him where he wanted to go, and he answered to olaf's church. then said the man, "we shall both go together to olaf's church, for i know the way to it." thereupon they went over the bridge to the shrine where olaf's church was; and when they came to the gates of the churchyard the man mounted over the half-door that was in the gate, but the cripple rolled himself in, and rose up immediately sound and strong: when he looked about him his conductor had vanished. 60. king harald's foray in denmark. king harald had built a merchant town in the east at oslo, where he often resided; for there was good supply from the extensive cultivated district wide around. there also he had a convenient station to defend the country against the danes, or to make an attack upon denmark, which he was in the custom of doing often, although he kept no great force on foot. one summer king harald went from thence with a few light ships and a few men. he steered southwards out from viken, and, when the wind served, stood over to jutland, and marauded; but the country people collected and defended the country. then king harald steered to limfjord, and went into the fjord. limfjord is so formed that its entrance is like a narrow river; but when one gets farther into the fjord it spreads out into a wide sea. king harald marauded on both sides of the land; and when the danes gathered together on every side to oppose him, he lay at a small island which was uncultivated. they wanted drink on board his ships, and went up into the island to seek water; but finding none, they reported it to the king. he ordered them to look for some long earthworms on the island, and when they found one they brought it to the king. he ordered the people to bring the worm to a fire, and bake it before it, so that it should be thirsty. then he ordered a thread to be tied round the tail of the worm, and to let it loose. the worm crept away immediately, while thread wound off from the clew as the worm took it away; and the people followed the worm until it sought downwards in the earth. there the king ordered them to dig for water, which they did, and found so much water that they had no want of it. king harald now heard from his spies that king svein was come with a large armament to the mouth of the fjord; but that it was too late for him to come into it, as only one ship at a time can come in. king harald then steered with his fleet in through the fjord to where it was broadest to a place called lusbreid. in the inmost bight, there is but a narrow neck of land dividing the fjord from the west sea. thither king harald rowed with his men towards evening; and at night when it was dark he unloaded his ships, drew them over the neck of land into the west sea, loaded them again, and was ready with all this before day. he then steered northwards along the jutland coast. people then said that harald had escaped from the hands of the danes. harald said that he would come to denmark next time with more people and larger vessels. king harald then proceeded north to throndhjem. 61. king harald had a ship built. king harald remained all winter at nidaros (a.d. 1062) and had a vessel built out upon the strand, and it was a buss. the ship was built of the same size as the long serpent, and every part of her was finished with the greatest care. on the stem was a dragon-head, and on the stern a dragon-tail, and the sides of the bows of the ship were gilt. the vessel was of thirty-five rowers benches, and was large for that size, and was remarkably handsome; for the king had everything belonging to the ship's equipment of the best, both sails and rigging, anchors and cables. king harald sent a message in winter south to denmark to king svein, that he should come northwards in spring; that they should meet at the gaut river and fight, and so settle the division of the countries that the one who gained the victory should have both kingdoms. 62. king harald's challenge. king harald during this winter called out a general levy of all the people of norway, and assembled a great force towards spring. then harald had his great ship drawn down and put into the river nid, and set up the dragon's head on her. thiodolf, the skald, sang about it thus:- "my lovely girl! the sight was grand when the great war-ships down the strand into the river gently slid, and all below her sides was hid. come, lovely girl, and see the show!- her sides that on the water glow, her serpent-head with golden mane, all shining back from the nid again." then king harald rigged out his ship, got ready for sea, and when he had all in order went out of the river. his men rowed very skilfully and beautifully. so says thiodolf:- "it was upon a saturday, ship-tilts were struck and stowed away, and past the town our dragon glides, that girls might see our glancing sides. out from the nid brave harald steers; westward at first the dragon veers; our lads together down with oars, the splash is echoed round the shores. "their oars our king's men handle well, one stroke is all the eye can tell: all level o'er the water rise; the girls look on in sweet surprise. such things, they think, can ne'er give way; the little know the battle day. the danish girls, who dread our shout, might wish our ship-gear not so stout. "'tis in the fight, not on the wave, that oars may break and fail the brave. at sea, beneath the ice-cold sky, safely our oars o'er ocean ply; and when at throndhjem's holy stream our seventy cars in distance gleam, we seem, while rowing from the sea, an erne with iron wings to be." king harald sailed south along the land, and called out the levy everywhere of men and ships. when they came east to viken they got a strong wind against them and the forces lay dispersed about in the harbour; some in the isles outside, and some in the fjords. so says thiodolf:- "the cutters' sea-bleached bows scarce find a shelter from the furious wind under the inland forests' side, where the fjord runs its farthest tide. in all the isles and creeks around the bondes' ships lie on the ground, and ships with gunwales hung with shields seek the lee-side of the green fields." in the heavy storm that raged for some time the great ship had need of good ground tackle. so says thiodolf:- "with lofty bow above the seas, which curl and fly before the breeze, the gallant vessel rides and reels, and every plunge her cable feels. the storm that tries the spar and mast tries the main-anchor at the last: the storm above, below the rock, chafe the thick cable with each shock." when the weather became favourable king harald sailed eastwards to the gaut river with his fleet and arrived there in the evening. so says thiodolf:- "the gallant harald now has come to gaut, full half way from his home, and on the river frontier stands, to fight with svein for life and lands. the night passed o'er, the gallant king next day at thumia calls a thing, where svein is challenged to appear- a day which ravens wish were near." 63. of king harald's fleet. when the danes heard that the northmen's army was come to the gaut river they all fled who had opportunity to get away. the northmen heard that the danish king had also called out his forces and lay in the south, partly at fyen and partly about seeland. when king harald found that king svein would not hold a meeting with him, or a fight, according to what had been agreed upon between them, he took the same course as before--letting the bonde troops return home, but manning 150 ships, with which he sailed southwards along halland, where he herried all round, and then brought up with his fleet in lofufjord, and laid waste the country. a little afterwards king svein came upon them with all the danish fleet, consisting of 300 ships. when the northmen saw them king harald ordered a general meeting of the fleet to be called by sound of trumpet; and many there said it was better to fly, as it was not now advisable to fight. the king replied, "sooner shall all lie dead one upon another than fly." so says stein herdison:- "with falcon eye, and courage bright, our king saw glory in the fight; to fly, he saw, would ruin bring on them and him--the folk and king. 'hands up the arms to one and all!' cries out the king; 'we'll win or fall! sooner than fly, heaped on each other each man shall fall across his brother!'" then king harald drew up his ships to attack, and brought forward his great dragon in the middle of his fleet. so says thiodolf:- "the brave king through his vessels' throng his dragon war-ship moves along; he runs her gaily to the front, to meet the coming battle's brunt." the ship was remarkably well equipt, and fully manned. so says thiodolf:- "the king had got a chosen crew- he told his brave lads to stand true. the ring of shields seemed to enclose the ship's deck from the boarding foes. the dragon, on the nis-river flood, beset with men, who thickly stood, shield touching shield, was something rare, that seemed all force of man to dare." ulf, the marshal, laid his ship by the side of the king's and ordered his men to bring her well forward. stein herdison, who was himself in ulf's ship, sings of it thus:- "our oars were stowed, our lances high, as the ship moved swung in the sky. the marshal ulf went through our ranks, drawn up beside the rowers' banks: the brave friend of our gallant king told us our ship well on to bring, and fight like norsemen in the cause- our norsemen answered with huzzas." hakon ivarson lay outside on the other wing, and had many ships with him, all well equipt. at the extremity of the other side lay the throndhjem chiefs, who had also a great and strong force. 64. of king svein's armament. svein, the danish king, also drew up his fleet, and laid his ship forward in the center against king harald's ship, and fin arnason laid his ship next; and then the danes laid their ships, according as they were bold or well-equipt. then, on both sides, they bound the ships together all through the middle of the fleets; but as the fleets were so large, very many ships remained loose, and each laid his ship forward according to his courage, and that was very unequal. although the difference among the men was great, altogether there was a very great force on both sides. king svein had six earls among the people following him. so says stein herdison:- "danger our chief would never shun, with eight score ships he would not run: the danish fleet he would abide, and give close battle side by side. from leire's coast the danish king three hundred ocean steeds could bring, and o'er the sea-weed plain in haste thought harald's vessels would be chased." 65. beginning of the battle of nis-river. as soon as king harald was ready with his fleet, he orders the war-blast to sound, and the men to row forward to the attack. so says stein herdison:- "harald and svein first met as foes, where the nis in the ocean flows; for svein would not for peace entreat, but, strong in ships, would harald meet. the norsemen prove, with sword in hand, that numbers cannot skill withstand. off halland's coast the blood of danes the blue sea's calm smooth surface stains." soon the battle began, and became very sharp; both kings urging on their men. so says stein herdison:- "our king, his broad shield disregarding, more keen for striking than for warding, now tells his lads their spears to throw,- now shows them where to strike a blow. from fleet to fleet so short the way, that stones and arrows have full play; and from the keen sword dropped the blood of short-lived seamen in the flood." it was late in the day when the battle began, and it continued the whole night. king harald shot for a long time with his bow. so says thiodolf:- "the upland king was all the night speeding the arrows' deadly flight. all in the dark his bow-string's twang was answered; for some white shield rang, or yelling shriek gave certain note the shaft had pierced some ring-mail coat, the foemen's shields and bulwarks bore a lapland arrow-scat(1) or more." earl hakon, and the people who followed him, did not make fast their ships in the fleet, but rowed against the danish ships that were loose, and slew the men of all the ships they came up with. when the danes observed this each drew his ship out of the way of the earl; but he set upon those who were trying to escape, and they were nearly driven to flight. then a boat came rowing to the earl's ship and hailed him and said that the other wing of king harald's fleet was giving way and many of their people had fallen. then the earl rowed thither and gave so severe an assault that the danes had to retreat before him. the earl went on in this way all the night, coming forward where he was most wanted, and wheresoever he came none could stand against him. hakon rowed outside around the battle. towards the end of the night the greatest part of the danish fleet broke into flight, for then king harald with his men boarded the vessel of king svein; and it was so completely cleared that all the crew fell in the ship, except those who sprang overboard. so says arnor, the earls' skald:- "brave svein did not his vessel leave without good cause, as i believe: oft on his casque the sword-blade rang, before into the sea he sprang. upon the wave his vessel drives; all his brave crew had lost their lives. o'er dead courtmen into the sea the jutland king had now to flee." and when king svein's banner was cut down, and his ship cleared of its crew, all his forces took to flight, and some were killed. the ships which were bound together could not be cast loose, so the people who were in them sprang overboard, and some got to the other ships that were loose; and all king svein's men who could get off rowed away, but a great many of them were slain. where the king himself fought the ships were mostly bound together, and there were more than seventy left behind of king svein's vessels. so says thiodolf:- "svein's ships rode proudly o'er the deep, when, by a single sudden sweep, full seventy sail, as we are told, were seized by norway's monarch bold." king harald rowed after the danes and pursued them; but that was not easy, for the ships lay so thick together that they scarcely could move. earl fin arnason would not flee; and being also shortsighted, was taken prisoner. so says thiodolf:- "to the six danish earls who came to aid his force, and raise his name, no mighty thanks king svein is owing for mighty actions of their doing. fin arnason, in battle known, with a stout norse heart of his own, would not take flight his life to gain, and in the foremost ranks was ta'en." endnotes: (1) the laplanders paid their seat, or yearly tax, in bows and arrows; and the meaning of the skald appears to be, that as many as were paid in a year were shot at the foe.--l. 66. king svein's flight. earl hakon lay behind with his ships, while the king and the rest of the forces were pursuing the fugitives; for the earls' ships could not get forward on account of the ships which lay in the way before him. then a man came rowing in a boat to the earl's ship and lay at the bulwarks. the man was stout and had on a white hat. he hailed the ship, "where is the earl?" said he. the earl was in the fore-hold, stopping a man's blood. the earl cast a look at the man in the hat and asked what his name was. he answered, "here is vandrad: speak to me, earl." the earl leant over the ship's side to him. then the man in the boat said, "earl, i will accept of my life from thee, if thou wilt give it." then the earl raised himself up, called two men who were friends dear to him, and said to them, "go into the boat; bring vandrad to the land; attend him to my friend's karl the bonde; and tell karl, as a token that these words come from me, that he let vandrad have the horse which i gave to him yesterday, and also his saddle, and his son to attend him." thereupon they went into the boat and took the oars in hand, while vandrad steered. this took place just about daybreak, while the vessels were in movement, some rowing towards the land, some towards the sea, both small and great. vandrad steered where he thought there was most room between the vessels; and when they came near to norway's ships the earl's men gave their names and then they all allowed them to go where they pleased. vandrad steered along the shore, and only set in towards the land when they had come past the crowd of ships. they then went up to karl the bonde's farm, and it was then beginning to be light. they went into the room where karl had just put on his clothes. the earl's men told him their message and karl said they must first take some food; and he set a table before them and gave them water to wash with. then came the housewife into the room and said, "i wonder why we could get no peace or rest all night with the shouting and screaming." karl replies, "dost thou not know that the kings were fighting all night?" she asked which had the better of it. karl answered, "the northmen gained." "then," said she, "our king will have taken flight." "nobody knows," says karl, "whether he has fled or is fallen." she says, "what a useless sort of king we have! he is both slow and frightened." then said vandrad, "frightened he is not; but he is not lucky." then vandrad washed his hands; but he took the towel and dried them right in the middle of the cloth. the housewife snatched the towel from him, and said, "thou hast been taught little good; it is wasteful to wet the whole cloth at one time." vandrad replies, "i may yet come so far forward in the world as to be able to dry myself with the middle of the towel." thereupon karl set a table before them and vandrad sat down between them. they ate for a while and then went out. the horse was saddled and karl's son ready to follow him with another horse. they rode away to the forest; and the earl's men returned to the boat, rowed to the earl's ship and told the success of their expedition. 67. of king harald. king harald and his men followed the fugitives only a short way, and rowed back to the place where the deserted ships lay. then the battle-place was ransacked, and in king svein's ship was found a heap of dead men; but the king's body was not found, although people believed for certain that he had fallen. then king harald had the greatest attention paid to the dead of his men, and had the wounds of the living bound up. the dead bodies of svein's men were brought to the land, and he sent a message to the peasants to come and bury them. then he let the booty be divided, and this took up some time. the news came now that king svein had come to seeland, and that all who had escaped from the battle had joined him, along with many more, and that he had a great force. 68. fin arnason gets quarter. earl fin arnason was taken prisoner in the battle, as before related; and when he was led before king harald the king was very merry, and said, "fin, we meet here now, and we met last in norway. the danish court has not stood very firmly by thee; and it will be a troublesome business for northmen to drag thee, a blind old man, with them, and preserve thy life." the earl replies, "the northmen find it very difficult now to conquer, and it is all the worse that thou hast the command of them." then said king harald, "wilt thou accept of life and safety, although thou hast not deserved it?" the earl replies, "not from thee, thou dog." the king: "wilt thou, then, if thy relation magnus gives thee quarter?" magnus, king harald's son, was then steering the ship. the earl replies, "can the whelp rule over life and quarter?" the king laughed, as if he found amusement in vexing him.--"wilt thou accept thy life, then, from thy she-relation thorer?" the earl: "is she here?" "she is here," said the king. then earl fin broke out with the ugly expressions which since have been preserved, as a proof that he was so mad with rage that he could not govern his tongue:-"no wonder thou hast bit so strongly, if the mare was with thee." earl fin got life and quarter and the king kept him a while about him. but fin was rather melancholy and obstinate in conversation; and king harald said, "i see, fin, that thou dost not live willingly in company with me and thy relations; now i will give thee leave to go to thy friend king svein." the earl said, "i accept of the offer willingly, and the more gratefully the sooner i get away from hence." the king afterwards let earl fin be landed and the traders going to halland received him well. king harald sailed from thence to norway with his fleet; and went first to oslo, where he gave all his people leave to go home who wished to do so. 69. of king svein. king svein, it is told, sat in denmark all that winter, and had his kingdom as formerly. in winter he sent men north to halland for karl the bonde and his wife. when karl came the king called him to him and asked him if he knew him, or thought he had ever seen him before. karl replies, "i know thee, sire, and knew thee before, the moment i saw thee; and god be praised if the small help i could give was of any use to thee." the king replies, "i have to reward thee for all the days i have to live. and now, in the first place, i will give thee any farm in seeland thou wouldst desire to have; and, in the next place, will make thee a great man, if thou knowest how to conduct thyself." karl thanked the king for his promise, and said he had now but one thing to ask. the king asked what that was. karl said that he would ask to take his wife with him. the king said, "i will not let thee do that; but i will provide thee a far better and more sensible wife. but thy wife can keep the bonde-farm ye had before and she will have her living from it." the king gave karl a great and valuable farm, and provided him a good marriage; and he became a considerable man. this was reported far and wide and much praised; and thus it came to be told in norway. 70. of the talk of the court-men. king harald stayed in oslo the winter after the battle at nis-river (a.d. 1063). in autumn, when the men came from the south, there was much talk and many stories about the battle which they had fought at nis-river, and every one who had been there thought he could tell something about it. once some of them sat in a cellar and drank, and were very merry and talkative. they talked about the nis-river battle, and who had earne'd the greatest praise and renown. they all agreed that no man there had been at all equal to earl hakon. he was the boldest in arms, the quickest, and the most lucky; what he did was of the greatest help, and he won the battle. king harald, in the meantime, was out in the yard, and spoke with some people. he went then to the room-door, and said, "every one here would willingly be called hakon;" and then went his way. 71. of the attempt to take earl hakon. earl hakon went in winter to the uplands, and was all winter in his domains. he was much beloved by all the uplanders. it happened, towards spring, that some men were sitting drinking in the town, and the conversation turned, as usual, on the nis-river battle; and some praised earl hakon, and some thought others as deserving of praise as he. when they had thus disputed a while, one of them said, "it is possible that others fought as bravely as the earl at nis-river; but none, i think, has had such luck with him as he." the others replied, that his best luck was his driving so many danes to flight along with other men. the same man replied, "it was greater luck that he gave king svein quarter." one of the company said to him, "thou dost not know what thou art saying." he replied, "i know it for certain, for the man told me himself who brought the king to the land." it went, according to the old proverb, that the king has many ears. this was told the king, and he immediately ordered horses to be gathered, and rode away directly with 900 men. he rode all that night and the following day. then some men met them who were riding to the town with mead and malt. in the king's retinue was a man called gamal, who rode to one of these bondes who was an acquaintance of his, and spoke to him privately. "i will pay thee," said he, "to ride with the greatest speed, by the shortest private paths that thou knowest, to earl hakon, and tell him the king will kill him; for the king has got to the knowledge that earl hakon set king svein on shore at nis-river." they agreed on the payment. the bonde rode, and came to the earl just as he was sitting drinking, and had not yet gone to bed. when the bonde told his errand, the earl immediately stood up with all his men, had all his loose property removed from the farm to the forest, and all the people left the house in the night. when the king came he halted there all night; but hakon rode away, and came east to svithjod to king steinkel and stayed with him all summer. king harald returned to the town, travelled northwards to throndhjem district, and remained there all summer; but in autumn he returned eastwards to viken. 72. of earl hakon. as soon as earl hakon heard the king had gone north he returned immediately in summer to the uplands (a.d. 1063), and remained there until the king had returned from the north. then the earl went east into vermaland, where he remained during the winter, and where the king, steinkel, gave him fiefs. for a short time in winter he went west to raumarike with a great troop of men from gautland and vermaland, and received the scat and duties from the upland people which belonged to him, and then returned to glutland, and remained there till spring. king harald had his seat in oslo all winter (a.d. 1064), and sent his men to the uplands to demand the scat, together with the king's land dues, and the mulcts of court; but the uplanders said they would pay all the scat and dues which they had to pay, to earl hakon as long as he was in life, and had forfeited his life or his fief; and the king got no dues that winter. 73. agreement between king harald and king svein. this winter messengers and ambassadors went between norway and denmark, whose errand was that both northmen and danes should make peace, and a league with each other, and to ask the kings to agree to it. these messages gave favourable hopes of a peace; and the matter proceeded so far that a meeting for peace was appointed at the gaut river between king harald and king svein. when spring approached, both kings assembled many ships and people for this meeting. so says a skald in a poem on this expedition of the kings, which begins thus:- "the king, who from the northern sound his land with war-ships girds around, the raven-feeder, filled the coast with his proud ships, a gallant host! the gold-tipped stems dash through the foam that shakes the seamen's planked home; the high wave breaks up to the mast, as west of halland on they passed, "harald whose word is fixed and sure, whose ships his land from foes secure, and svein, whose isles maintain is fleet, hasten as friends again to meet; and every creek with vessels teems,- all denmark men and shipping seems; and all rejoice that strife will cease, and men meet now but to make peace." here it is told that the two kings held the meeting that was agreed upon between them, and both came to the frontiers of their kingdoms. so says the skald:- "to meet (since peace the dane now craves) on to the south upon the waves sailed forth our gallant northern king, peace to the danes with him to bring. svein northward to his frontier hies to get the peace his people prize, and meet king harald, whom he finds on land hard used by stormy winds." when the kings found each other, people began at once to talk of their being reconciled. but as soon as peace was proposed, many began to complain of the damage they had sustained by harrying, robbing and killing men; and for a long time it did not look very like peace. it is here related:- "before this meeting of the kings each bende his own losses brings, and loudly claims some recompense from his king's foes, at their expense. it is not easy to make peace, where noise and talking never cease: the bondes' warmth may quickly spread, and kings be by the people led. "when kings are moved, no peace is sure; for that peace only is secure which they who make it fairly make,- to each side give, from each side take. the kings will often rule but ill who listen to the people's will: the people often have no view but their own interests to pursue." at last the best men, and those who were the wisest, came between the kings, and settled the peace thus:--that harald should have norway, and svein denmark, according to the boundaries of old established between denmark and norway; neither of them should pay to the other for any damage sustained; the war should cease as it now stood, each retaining what he had got; and this peace should endure as long as they were kings. this peace was confirmed by oath. then the kings parted, having given each other hostages, as is here related:- "and i have heard that to set fast the peace god brought about at last, svein and stern harald pledges sent, who witnessed to their sworn intent; and much i wish that they and all in no such perjury may fall that this peace ever should be broken, and oaths should fail before god spoken." king harald with his people sailed northwards to norway, and king svein southwards to denmark. 74. king harald's battle with earl hakon. king harald was in viken in the summer (a.d. 1064), and he sent his men to the uplands after the scat and duty which belonged to him; but the bondes paid no attention to the demand, but said they would hold all for earl hakon until he came for it. earl hakon was then up in gautland with a large armed force. when summer was past king harald went south to konungahella. then he took all the light-sailing vessels he could get hold of and steered up the river. he had the vessels drawn past all the waterfalls and brought them thus into the wener lake. then he rowed eastward across the lake to where he heard earl hakon was; but when the earl got news of the king's expedition he retreated down the country, and would not let the king plunder the land. earl hakon had a large armed force which the gautland people had raised for him. king harald lay with his ships up in a river, and made a foray on land, but left some of his men behind to protect the ships. the king himself rode up with a part of the men, but the greater part were on foot. they had to cross a forest, where they found a mire or lake, and close to it a wood; and when they reached the wood they saw the earl's men, but the mire was between them. they drew up their people now on both sides. then king harald ordered his men to sit down on the hillside. "we will first see if they will attack us. earl hakon does not usually wait to talk." it was frosty weather, with some snow-drift, and harald's men sat down under their shields; but it was cold for the gautlanders, who had but little clothing with them. the earl told them to wait until king harald came nearer, so that all would stand equally high on the ground. earl hakon had the same banner which had belonged to king magnus olafson. the lagman of the gautland people, thorvid, sat upon a horse, and the bridle was fastened to a stake that stood in the mire. he broke out with these words: "god knows we have many brave and handsome fellows here, and we shall let king steinkel hear that we stood by the good earl bravely. i am sure of one thing: we shall behave gallantly against these northmen, if they attack us; but if our young people give way, and should not stand to it, let us not run farther than to that stream; but if they should give way farther, which i am sure they will not do, let it not be farther than to that hill." at that instant the northmen sprang up, raised the war-cry, and struck on their shields; and the gautland army began also to shout. the lagman's horse got shy with the war-cry, and backed so hard that the stake flew up and struck the lagman on the head. he said, "ill luck to thee, northman, for that arrow!" and away fled the lagman. king harald had told his people, "if we do make a clash with the weapons, we shall not however, go down from the hill until they come nearer to us;" and they did so. when the war-cry was raised the earl let his banner advance; but when they came under the hill the king's army rushed down upon them, and killed some of the earl's people, and the rest fled. the northmen did not pursue the fugitives long, for it was the fall of day; but they took earl hakon's banner and all the arms and clothes they could get hold of. king harald had both the banners carried before him as they marched away. they spoke among themselves that the earl had probably fallen. as they were riding through the forest they could only ride singly, one following the other. suddenly a man came full gallop across the path, struck his spear through him who was carrying the earl's banner, seized the banner-staff, and rode into the forest on the other side with the banner. when this was told the king he said, "bring me my armour, for the earl is alive." then the king rode to his ships in the night; and many said that the earl had now taken his revenge. but thiodolf sang thus:- "steinkel's troops, who were so bold, who the earl hakon would uphold, were driven by our horsemen's power to hel, death goddess, in an hour; and the great earl, so men say who won't admit he ran away, because his men fled from the ground, retired, and cannot now be found." 75. death of hal, the murderer of kodran. the rest of the night harald passed in his ships; but in the morning, when it was daylight, it was found that so thick ice had gathered about the vessels that one could walk around them. the king ordered his men to cut the ice from the ships all the way out to the clear water; on which they all went to break the ice. king harald's son, magnus, steered the vessel that lay lowest down the river and nearest the water. when the people had cleared the ice away almost entirely, a man ran out to the ice, and began hewing away at it like a madman. then said one of the men, "it is going now as usual, that none can do so much as hal who killed kodran, when once he lays himself to the work. see how he is hewing away at the ice." there was a man in the crew of magnus, the king's son, who was called thormod eindridason; and when he heard the name of kodran's murderer he ran up to hal, and gave him a death-wound. kodran was a son of gudmund eyjolfson; and valgerd, who was a sister of gudmund, was the mother of jorun, and the grandmother by the mother's side of this thormod. thormod was a year old when kodran was killed, and had never seen hal utrygson until now. when the ice was broken all the way out to the water, magnus drew his ship out, set sail directly, and sailed westward across the lake; but the king's ship, which lay farthest up the river, came out the last. hal had been in the king's retinue, and was very dear to him; so that the king was enraged at his death. the king came the last into the harbour, and magnus had let the murderer escape into the forest, and offered to pay the mulct for him; and the king had very nearly attacked magnus and his crew, but their friends came up and reconciled them. 76. of king harald. that winter (a.d. 1065) king harald went up to raumarike, and had many people with him; and he accused the bondes there of having kept from him his scat and duties, and of having aided his enemies to raise disturbance against him. he seized on the bondes and maimed some, killed others, and robbed many of all their property. they who could do it fled from him. he burned everything in the districts and laid them altogether waste. so says thiodolf:- "he who the island-people drove, when they against his power strove, now bridle's raumarike's men, marching his forces through their glen. to punish them the fire he lights that shines afar off in dark nights from house and yard, and, as he says, will warn the man who disobeys." thereafter the king went up to hedemark, burnt the dwellings, and made no less waste and havoc there than in raumarike. from thence he went to hadeland and ringerike, burning and ravaging all the land. so says thiodolf:- "the bonde's household goods are seen before his door upon the green, smoking and singed: and sparks red hot glow in the thatched roof of his cot. in hedemark the bondes pray the king his crushing hand to stay; in ringerike and hadeland, none 'gainst his fiery wrath can stand." then the bondes left all to the king's mercy. after the death of king magnus fifteen years had passed when the battle at nis-river took place, and afterwards two years elapsed before harald and svein made peace. so says thiodolf:- "the hordland king under the land at anchor lay close to the strand, at last, prepared with shield and spear the peace was settled the third year." after this peace the disturbances with the people of the upland districts lasted a year and a half. so says thiodolf:- "no easy task it is to say how the king brought beneath his sway the upland bondes, and would give nought but their ploughs from which to live. the king in eighteen months brought down their bonde power, and raised his own, and the great honour he has gained will still in memory be retained." 77. of the kings of england. edward, ethelred's son, was king of england after his brother hardacanute. he was called edward the good; and so he was. king edward's mother was queen emma, daughter of richard, earl of rouen. her brother was earl robert, whose son was william the bastard, who at that time was earl at rouen in normandy. king edward's queen was gyda, a daughter of earl godwin, the son of ulfnad. gyda's brothers were, earl toste, the eldest; earl morukare the next; earl walter the third; earl svein the fourth; and the fifth was harald, who was the youngest, and he was brought up at king edward's court, and was his foster-son. the king loved him very much, and kept him as his own son; for he had no children. 78. of harald godwinson. one summer it happened that harald, the son of godwin, made an expedition to bretland with his ships, but when they got to sea they met a contrary wind, and were driven off into the ocean. they landed west in normandy, after suffering from a dangerous storm. they brought up at rouen, where they met earl william, who received harald and his company gladly. harald remained there late in harvest, and was hospitably entertained; for the stormy weather continued, and there was no getting to sea, and this continued until winter set in; so the earl and harald agreed that he should remain there all winter. harald sat on the high-seat on one side of the earl; and on the other side sat the earl's wife, one of the most beautiful women that could be seen. they often talked together for amusement at the drinking-table; and the earl went generally to bed, but harald and the earl's wife sat long in the evenings talking together, and so it went on for a great part of the winter. in one of their conversations she said to harald, "the earl has asked me what it is we have to talk about so much, for he is angry at it." harald replies, "we shall then at once let him know all our conversation." the following day, harald asked the earl to a conference, and they went together into the conference-chamber; where also the queen was, and some of the councillors. then harald began thus:--"i have to inform you, earl, that there lies more in my visit here than i have let you know. i would ask your daughter in marriage, and have often spoke over this matter with her mother, and she has promised to support my suit with you." as soon as harald had made known this proposal of his, it was well received by all who were present. they explained the case to the earl; and at last it came so far that the earl was contracted to harald, but as she was very young, it was resolved that the wedding should be deferred for some years. 79. king edward's death. when spring came harald rigged his ships and set off; and he and the earl parted with great friendship. harald sailed over to england to king edward, but did not return to valland to fulfill the marriage agreement. edward was king over england for twenty-three years and died on a bed of sickness in london on the 5th of january, and was buried in paul's church. englishmen call him a saint. 80. harald godwinson made king of england. the sons of earl godwin were the most powerful men in england. toste was made chief of the english king's army, and was his land-defence man when the king began to grow old; and he was also placed above all the other earls. his brother harald was always with the court itself, and nearest to the king in all service, and had the charge of the king's treasure-chamber. it is said that when the king was approaching his last hour, harald and a few others were with him. harald first leans down over the king, and then said, "i take you all to witness that the king has now given me the kingdom, and all the realm of england:" and then the king was taken dead out of the bed. the same day there was a meeting of the chiefs, at which there was some talk of choosing a king; and then harald brought forward his witnesses that king edward had given him the kingdom on his dying day. the meeting ended by choosing harald as king, and he was consecrated and crowned the 13th day of yule, in paul's church. then all the chiefs and all the people submitted to him. now when his brother, earl toste, heard of this he took it very ill, as he thought himself quite as well entitled to be king. "i want," said he, "that the principal men of the country choose him whom they think best fitted for it." and sharp words passed between the brothers. king harald says he will not give up his kingly dignity, for he is seated on the throne which kings sat upon, and is anointed and consecrated a king. on his side also was the strength of the people, for he had the king's whole treasure. 81. earl toste's expedition to denmark. now when king harald perceived that his brother toste wanted to have him deprived of the kingdom he did not trust him; for toste was a clever man, and a great warrior, and was in friendship with the principal men of the country. he therefore took the command of the army from toste, and also all the power he had beyond that of the other earls of the country. earl toste, again, would not submit to be his own brother's serving man; therefore he went with his people over the sea to flanders, and stayed there awhile, then went to friesland, and from thence to denmark to his relation king svein. earl ulf, king svein's father, and gyda, earl toste's mother, were brother's and sister's children. the earl now asked king svein for support and help of men; and king svein invited him to stay with him, with the promise that he should get so large an earldom in denmark that he would be an important chief. the earl replies, "my inclination is to go back to my estate in england; but if i cannot get help from you for that purpose, i will agree to help you with all the power i can command in england, if you will go there with the danish army, and win the country, as canute, your mother's brother, did." the king replied, "so much smaller a man am i than canute the great, that i can with difficulty defend my own danish dominions against the northmen. king canute, on the other hand, got the danish kingdom in heritage, took england by slash and blow, and sometimes was near losing his life in the contest; and norway he took without slash or blow. now it suits me much better to be guided by my own slender ability than to imitate my relation, king canute's, lucky hits." then earl toste said, "the result of my errand here is less fortunate than i expected of thee who art so gallant a man, seeing that thy relative is in so great need. it may be that i will seek friendly help where it could less be expected; and that i may find a chief who is less afraid, king, than thou art of a great enterprise." then the king and the earl parted, not just the best friends. 82. earl toste's expedition to norway. earl toste turned away then and went to norway, where he presented himself to king harald, who was at that time in viken. when they met the earl explained his errand to the king. he told him all his proceedings since he left england, and asked his aid to recover his dominions in england. the king replied that the northmen had no great desire for a campaign in england, and to have english chiefs over them there. "people say," added he, "that the english are not to be trusted." the earl replied, "is it true what i have heard people tell in england, that thy relative, king magnus, sent men to king edward with the message that king magnus had right to england as well as to denmark, and had got that heritage after hardacanute, in consequence of a regular agreement?" the king replied, "how came it that he did not get it, if he had a right to it?" "why," replied the earl, "hast thou not denmark, as king magnus, thy predecessor, had it?" the king replies, "the danes have nothing to brag of over us northmen; for many a place have we laid in ashes to thy relations." then said the earl, "if thou wilt not tell me, i will tell thee. magnus subdued denmark, because all the chiefs of the country helped him; and thou hast not done it, because all the people of the country were against thee. therefore, also, king magnus did not strive for england, because all the nation would have edward for king. wilt thou take england now? i will bring the matter so far that most of the principal men in england shall be thy friends, and assist thee; for nothing is wanting to place me at the side of my brother harald but the king's name. all men allow that there never was such a warrior in the northern lands as thou art; and it appears to me extraordinary that thou hast been fighting for fifteen years for denmark, and wilt not take england that lies open to thee." king harald weighed carefully the earl's words, and perceived at once that there was truth in much of what he said; and he himself had also a great desire to acquire dominions. then king harald and the earl talked long and frequently together; and at last he took the resolution to proceed in summer to england, and conquer the country. king harald sent a message-token through all norway and ordered out a levy of one-half of all the men in norway able to carry arms. when this became generally known, there were many guesses about what might be the end of this expedition. some reckoned up king harald's great achievements, and thought he was also the man who could accomplish this. others, again, said that england was difficult to attack; that it was very full of people; and the men-at-arms, who were called thingmen, were so brave, that one of them was better than two of harald's best men. then said ulf the marshal:- "i am still ready gold to gain; but truly it would be in vain, and the king's marshal in the hall might leave his good post once for all, if two of us in any strife must for one thingman fly for life, my lovely norse maid, in my youth we thought the opposite the truth." ulf the marshal died that spring (a.d. 1066). king harald stood over his grave, and said, as he was leaving it, "there lies now the truest of men, and the most devoted to his king." earl toste sailed in spring west to flanders, to meet the people who had left england with him, and others besides who had gathered to him both out of england and flanders. 83. gyrd's dreams. king harald's fleet assembled at the solunds. when king harald was ready to leave nidaros he went to king olaf's shrine, unlocked it, clipped his hair and nails, and locked the shrine again, and threw the keys into the nid. some say he threw them overboard outside of agdanes; and since then the shrine of saint olaf, the king, has never been opened. thirty-five years had passed since he was slain; and he lived thirty-five years here on earth (a.d. 1080-1066). king harald sailed with his ships he had about him to the south to meet his people, and a great fleet was collected; so that, according to the people's reckoning, king harald had nearly 200 ships beside provision-ships and small craft. while they lay at the solunds a man called gyrd, on board the king's ship, had a dream. he thought he was standing in the king's ship and saw a great witch-wife standing on the island, with a fork in one hand and a trough in the other. he thought also that he saw over all the fleet, and that a fowl was sitting upon every ship's stern, and that these fowls were all ravens or ernes; and the witch-wife sang this song:- "from the east i'll 'tice the king, to the west the king i'll bring; many a noble bone will be ravens o'er giuke's ship are fitting, eyeing the prey they think most fitting. upon the stem i'll sail with them! upon the stem i'll sail with them!" 84. thord's dream. there was also a man called thord, in a ship which lay not far from the king's. he dreamt one night that he saw king harald's fleet coming to land, and he knew the land to be england. he saw a great battle-array on the land; and he thought both sides began to fight, and had many banners flapping in the air. and before the army of the people of the country was riding a huge witch-wife upon a wolf; and the wolf had a man's carcass in his mouth, and the blood was dropping from his jaws; and when he had eaten up one body she threw another into his mouth, and so one after another, and he swallowed them all. and she sang thus:- "skade's eagle eyes the king's ill luck espies: though glancing shields hide the green fields, the king's ill luck she spies. to bode the doom of this great king, the flesh of bleeding men i fling to hairy jaw and hungry maw! to hairy jaw and hungry maw!" 85. king harald's dream. king harald also dreamt one night that he was in nidaros, and met his brother, king olaf, who sang to him these verses:- "in many a fight my name was bright; men weep, and tell how olaf fell. thy death is near; thy corpse, i fear, the crow will feed, the witch-wife's steed." many other dreams and forebodings were then told of, and most of them gloomy. before king harald left throndhjem, he let his son magnus be proclaimed king and set him as king over norway while he was absent. thora, the daughter of thorberg, also remained behind; but he took with him queen ellisif and her two daughters, maria and ingegerd. olaf, king harald's son, also accompanied his father abroad. 86. battle at scarborough. when king harald was clear for sea, and the wind became favourable, he sailed out into the ocean; and he himself landed in shetland, but a part of his fleet in the orkney islands. king harald stopped but a short time in shetland before sailing to orkney, from whence he took with him a great armed force, and the earls paul and erlend, the sons of earl thorfin; but he left behind him here the queen ellisif, and her daughters maria and ingegerd. then he sailed, leaving scotland and england westward of him, and landed at a place called klifland. there he went on shore and plundered, and brought the country in subjection to him without opposition. then he brought up at skardaburg, and fought with the people of the place. he went up a hill which is there, and made a great pile upon it, which he set on fire; and when the pile was in clear flame, his men took large forks and pitched the burning wood down into the town, so that one house caught fire after the other, and the town surrendered. the northmen killed many people there and took all the booty they could lay hold of. there was nothing left for the englishmen now, if they would preserve their lives, but to submit to king harald; and thus he subdued the country wherever he came. then the king proceeded south along the land, and brought up at hellornes, where there came a force that had been assembled to oppose him, with which he had a battle, and gained the victory. 87. of harald's order of battle. thereafter the king sailed to the humber, and up along the river, and then he landed. up in jorvik were two earls, earl morukare, and his brother, earl valthiof, and they had an immense army. while the army of the earls was coming down from the upper part of the country, king harald lay in the usa. king harald now went on the land, and drew up his men. the one arm of this line stood at the outer edge of the river, the other turned up towards the land along a ditch; and there was also a morass, deep, broad, and full of water. the earls let their army proceed slowly down along the river, with all their troops in line. the king's banner was next the river, where the line was thickest. it was thinnest at the ditch, where also the weakest of the men were. when the earls advanced downwards along the ditch, the arm of the northmen's line which was at the ditch gave way; and the englishmen followed, thinking the northmen would fly. the banner of earl morukare advanced then bravely. 88. the battle at the humber. when king harald saw that the english array had come to the ditch against him, he ordered the charge to be sounded, and urged on his men. he ordered the banner which was called the land-ravager to be carried before him, and made so severe an assault that all had to give way before it; and there was a great loss among the men of the earls, and they soon broke into flight, some running up the river, some down, and the most leaping into the ditch, which was so filled with dead that the norsemen could go dry-foot over the fen. there earl morukare fell. so says stein herdison:- "the gallant harald drove along, flying but fighting, the whole throng. at last, confused, they could not fight, and the whole body took to flight. up from the river's silent stream at once rose desperate splash and scream; but they who stood like men this fray round morukare's body lay." this song was composed by stein herdison about olaf, son of king harald; and he speaks of olaf being in this battle with king harald, his father. these things are also spoken of in the song called "harald's stave":- "earl valthiof's men lay in the fen, by sword down hewed, so thickly strewed, that norsemen say they paved a way across the fen for the brave norsemen." earl valthiof, and the people who escaped, fled up to the castle of york; and there the greatest loss of men had been. this battle took place upon the wednesday next mathias' day (a.d. 1066). 89. of earl toste. earl toste had come from flanders to king harald as soon as he arrived in england, and the earl was present at all these battles. it happened, as he had foretold the king at their first meeting, that in england many people would flock to them, as being friends and relations of earl toste, and thus the king's forces were much strengthened. after the battle now told of, all people in the nearest districts submitted to harald, but some fled. then the king advanced to take the castle, and laid his army at stanforda-bryggiur (stamford bridge); and as king harald had gained so great a victory against so great chiefs and so great an army, the people were dismayed, and doubted if they could make any opposition. the men of the castle therefore determined, in a council, to send a message to king harald, and deliver up the castle into his power. all this was soon settled; so that on sunday the king proceeded with the whole army to the castle, and appointed a thing of the people without the castle, at which the people of the castle were to be present. at this thing all the people accepted the condition of submitting to harald, and gave him, as hostages, the children of the most considerable persons; for earl toste was well acquainted with all the people of that town. in the evening the king returned down to his ships, after this victory achieved with his own force, and was very merry. a thing was appointed within the castle early on monday morning, and then king harald was to name officers to rule over the town, to give out laws, and bestow fiefs. the same evening, after sunset, king harald godwinson came from the south to the castle with a numerous army, and rode into the city with the good-will and consent of the people of the castle. all the gates and walls were beset so that the northmen could receive no intelligence, and the army remained all night in the town. 90. of king harald's landing. on monday, when king harald sigurdson had taken breakfast, he ordered the trumpets to sound for going on shore. the army accordingly got ready, and he divided the men into the parties who should go, and who should stay behind. in every division he allowed two men to land, and one to remain behind. earl toste and his retinue prepared to land with king harald; and, for watching the ships, remained behind the king's son olaf; the earls of orkney, paul and erlend; and also eystein orre, a son of thorberg arnason, who was the most able and best beloved by the king of all the lendermen, and to whom the king had promised his daughter maria. the weather was uncommonly fine, and it was hot sunshine. the men therefore laid aside their armour, and went on the land only with their shields, helmets and spears, and girt with swords; and many had also arrows and bows, and all were very merry. now as they came near the castle a great army seemed coming against them, and they saw a cloud of dust as from horses' feet, and under it shining shields and bright armour. the king halted his people, and called to him earl toste, and asked him what army this could be. the earl replied that he thought it most likely to be a hostle army, but possibly it might be some of his relations who were seeking for mercy and friendship, in order to obtain certain peace and safety from the king. then the king said, "we must all halt, to discover what kind of a force this is." they did so; and the nearer this force came the greater it appeared, and their shining arms were to the sight like glancing ice. 91. of earl toste's counsel. then said king harald, "let us now fall upon some good sensible counsel; for it is not to be concealed that this is an hostile army and the king himself without doubt is here." then said the earl, "the first counsel is to turn about as fast as we can to our ships to get our men and our weapons, and then we will make a defence according to our ability; or otherwise let our ships defend us, for there these horsemen have no power over us." then king harald said, "i have another counsel. put three of our best horses under three of our briskest lads and let them ride with all speed to tell our people to come quickly to our relief. the englishmen shall have a hard fray of it before we give ourselves up for lost." the earl said the king must order in this, as in all things, as he thought best; adding, at the same time, it was by no means his wish to fly. then king harald ordered his banner land-ravager to be set up; and frirek was the name of him who bore the banner. 92. of king harald's army. then king harald arranged his army, and made the line of battle long, but not deep. he bent both wings of it back, so that they met together; and formed a wide ring equally thick all round, shield to shield, both in the front and rear ranks. the king himself and his retinue were within the circle; and there was the banner, and a body of chosen men. earl toste, with his retinue, was at another place, and had a different banner. the army was arranged in this way, because the king knew that horsemen were accustomed to ride forwards with great vigour, but to turn back immediately. now the king ordered that his own and the earl's attendants should ride forwards where it was most required. "and our bowmen," said he, "shall be near to us; and they who stand in the first rank shall set the spear-shaft on the ground, and the spear-point against the horseman's breast, if he rides at them; and those who stand in the second rank shall set the spear-point against the horse's breast." 93. of king harald godwinson. king harald godwinson had come with an immense army, both of cavalry and infantry. now king harald sigurdson rode around his array, to see how every part was drawn up. he was upon a black horse, and the horse stumbled under him, so that the king fell off. he got up in haste and said, "a fall is lucky for a traveller." the english king harald said to the northmen who were with him, "do ye know the stout man who fell from his horse, with the blue kirtle and the beautiful helmet?" "that is the king himself." said they. the english king said, "a great man, and of stately appearance is he; but i think his luck has left him." 94. of the troop of the nobility. twenty horsemen rode forward from the thing-men's troops against the northmen's array; and all of them, and likewise their horses, were clothed in armour. one of the horsemen said, "is earl toste in this army?" the earl answered, "it is not to be denied that ye will find him here." the horseman says, "thy brother, king harald, sends thee salutation, with the message that thou shalt have the whole of northumberland; and rather than thou shouldst not submit to him, he will give thee the third part of his kingdom to rule over along with himself." the earl replies, "this is something different from the enmity and scorn he offered last winter; and if this had been offered then it would have saved many a man's life who now is dead, and it would have been better for the kingdom of england. but if i accept of this offer, what will he give king harald sigurdson for his trouble?" the horseman replied, "he has also spoken of this; and will give him seven feet of english ground, or as much more as he may be taller than other men." "then," said the earl, "go now and tell king harald to get ready for battle; for never shall the northmen say with truth that earl toste left king harald sigurdson to join his enemy's troops, when he came to fight west here in england. we shall rather all take the resolution to die with honour, or to gain england by a victory." then the horseman rode back. king harald sigurdson said to the earl, "who was the man who spoke so well?" the earl replied, "that was king harald godwinson." then, said king harald sigurdson, "that was by far too long concealed from me; for they had come so near to our army, that this harald should never have carried back the tidings of our men's slaughter." then said the earl, "it was certainly imprudent for such chiefs, and it may be as you say; but i saw he was going to offer me peace and a great dominion, and that, on the other hand, i would be his murderer if i betrayed him; and i would rather he should be my murderer than i his, if one of two be to die." king harald sigurdson observed to his men, "that was but a little man, yet he sat firmly in his stirrups." it is said that harald made these verses at this time:- "advance! advance! no helmets glance, but blue swords play in our array. advance! advance! no mail-coats glance, but hearts are here that ne'er knew fear." his coat of mail was called emma; and it was so long that it reached almost to the middle of his leg, and so strong that no weapon ever pierced it. then said king harald sigurdson, "these verses are but ill composed; i must try to make better;" and he composed the following:- "in battle storm we seek no lee, with skulking head, and bending knee, behind the hollow shield. with eye and hand we fend the head; courage and skill stand in the stead of panzer, helm, and shield, in hild's bloody field." thereupon thiodolf sang:- "and should our king in battle fall,- a fate that god may give to all,- his sons will vengeance take; and never shone the sun upon two nobler eaglet; in his run, and them we'll never forsake." 95. of the beginning of the battle. now the battle began. the englishmen made a hot assault upon the northmen, who sustained it bravely. it was no easy matter for the english to ride against the northmen on account of their spears; therefore they rode in a circle around them. and the fight at first was but loose and light, as long as the northmen kept their order of battle; for although the english rode hard against the northmen, they gave way again immediately, as they could do nothing against them. now when the northmen thought they perceived that the enemy were making but weak assaults, they set after them, and would drive them into flight; but when they had broken their shield-rampart the englishmen rode up from all sides, and threw arrows and spears on them. now when king harald sigurdson saw this, he went into the fray where the greatest crash of weapons was, and there was a sharp conflict, in which many people fell on both sides. king harald then was in a rage, and ran out in front of the array, and hewed down with both hands; so that neither helmet nor armour could withstand him, and all who were nearest gave way before him. it was then very near with the english that they had taken to flight. so says arnor, the earls' skald:- "where battle-storm was ringing, where arrow-cloud was singing, harald stood there, of armour bare, his deadly sword still swinging. the foeman feel its bite; his norsemen rush to fight, danger to share, with harald there, where steel on steel was ringing." 96. fall of king harald. king harald sigurdson was hit by an arrow in the windpipe, and that was his death-wound. he fell, and all who had advanced with him, except those who retired with the banner. there was afterwards the warmest conflict, and earl toste had taken charge of the king's banner. they began on both sides to form their array again, and for a long time there was a pause in fighting. then thiodolf sang these verses:- "the army stands in hushed dismay; stilled is the clamour of the fray. harald is dead, and with him goes the spirit to withstand our foes. a bloody scat the folk must pay for their king's folly on this day. he fell; and now, without disguise, we say this business was not wise." but before the battle began again harald godwinson offered his brother, earl toste, peace, and also quarter to the northmen who were still alive; but the northmen called out, all of them together, that they would rather fall, one across the other, than accept of quarter from the englishmen. then each side set up a war-shout, and the battle began again. so says arnor, the earls' skald:- "the king, whose name would ill-doers scare, the gold-tipped arrow would not spare. unhelmed, unpanzered, without shield, he fell among us in the field. the gallant men who saw him fall would take no quarter; one and all resolved to die with their loved king, around his corpse in a corpse-ring." 97. skirmish of orre. eystein orre came up at this moment from the ships with the men who followed him, and all were clad in armour. then eystein got king harald's banner land-ravager; and now was, for the third time, one of the sharpest of conflicts, in which many englishmen fell, and they were near to taking flight. this conflict is called orre's storm. eystein and his men had hastened so fast from the ships that they were quite exhausted, and scarcely fit to fight before they came into the battle; but afterwards they became so furious, that they did not guard themselves with their shields as long as they could stand upright. at last they threw off their coats of ringmail, and then the englishmen could easily lay their blows at them; and many fell from weariness, and died without a wound. thus almost all the chief men fell among the norway people. this happened towards evening; and then it went, as one might expect, that all had not the same fate, for many fled, and were lucky enough to escape in various ways; and darkness fell before the slaughter was altogether ended. 98. of styrkar the marshal. styrkar, king harald sigurdson's marshal, a gallant man, escaped upon a horse, on which he rode away in the evening. it was blowing a cold wind, and styrkar had not much other clothing upon him but his shirt, and had a helmet on his head, and a drawn sword in his hand. as soon as his weariness was over, he began to feel cold. a waggoner met him in a lined skin-coat. styrkar asks him, "wilt thou sell thy coat, friend?" "not to thee," says the peasant: "thou art a northman; that i can hear by thy tongue." styrkar replies, "if i were a northman, what wouldst thou do?" "i would kill thee," replied the peasant; "but as ill luck would have it, i have no weapon just now by me that would do it." then styrkar says, "as you can't kill me, friend, i shall try if i can't kill you." and with that he swung his sword, and struck him on the neck, so that his head came off. he then took the skin-coat, sprang on his horse, and rode down to the strand. olaf haraldson had not gone on land with the others, and when he heard of his father's fall he made ready to sail away with the men who remained. 99. of william the bastard. when the earl of rouen, william the bastard, heard of his relation, king edward's, death, and also that harald godwinson was chosen, crowned, and consecrated king of england, it appeared to him that he had a better right to the kingdom of england than harald, by reason of the relationship between him and king edward. he thought, also, that he had grounds for avenging the affront that harald had put upon him with respect to his daughter. from all these grounds william gathered together a great army in normandy, and had many men, and sufficient transport-shipping. the day that he rode out of the castle to his ships, and had mounted his horse, his wife came to him, and wanted to speak with him; but when he saw her he struck at her with his heel, and set his spurs so deep into her breast that she fell down dead; and the earl rode on to his ships, and went with his ships over to england. his brother, archbishop otto, was with him; and when the earl came to england he began to plunder, and take possession of the land as he came along. earl william was stouter and stronger than other men; a great horseman and warrior, but somewhat stern; and a very sensible man, but not considered a man to be relied on. 100. fall of king harald godwinson. king harald godwinson gave king harald sigurdson's son olaf leave to go away, with the men who had followed him and had not fallen in battle; but he himself turned round with his army to go south, for he had heard that william the bastard was overwhelming the south of england with a vast army, and was subduing the country for himself. with king harald went his brothers svein and gyrd, and earl valthiof. king harald and earl william met each other south in england at helsingja-port (hastings). there was a great battle in which king harald and his brother earl gyrd and a great part of his men fell. this was the nineteenth day after the fall of king harald sigurdson. harald's brother, earl valthiof, escaped by flight, and towards evening fell in with a division of william's people, consisting of 100 men; and when they saw earl valthiof's troop they fled to a wood. earl valthiof set fire to the wood, and they were all burnt. so says thorkel skallason in valthiof's ballad:- "earl valthiof the brave his foes a warming gave: within the blazing grove a hundred men he drove. the wolf will soon return, and the witch's horse will burn her sharp claws in the ash, to taste the frenchman's flesh." 101. earl valthiof's death. william was proclaimed king of england. he sent a message to earl valthiof that they should be reconciled, and gave him assurance of safety to come to the place of meeting. the earl set out with a few men; but when he came to a heath north of kastala-bryggia, there met him two officers of king william, with many followers, who took him prisoner, put him in fetters, and afterwards he was beheaded; and the english call him a saint. thorkel tells of this:- "william came o'er the sea, with bloody sword came he: cold heart and bloody hand now rule the english land. earl valthiof he slew,- valthiof the brave and true. cold heart and bloody hand now rule the english land." william was after this king of england for twenty-one years, and his descendants have been so ever since. 102. of olaf haraldson's expedition to norway. olaf, the son of king harald sigurdson, sailed with his fleet from england from hrafnseyr, and came in autumn to the orkney isles, where the event had happened that maria, a daughter of harald sigurdson, died a sudden death the very day and hour her father, king harald, fell. olaf remained there all winter; but the summer after he proceeded east to norway, where he was proclaimed king along with his brother magnus. queen ellisif came from the west, along with her stepson olaf and her daughter ingegerd. there came also with olaf over the west sea skule, a son of earl toste, and who since has been called the king's foster-son, and his brother ketil krok. both were gallant men, of high family in england, and both were very intelligent; and the brothers were much beloved by king olaf. ketil krok went north to halogaland, where king olaf procured him a good marriage, and from him are descended many great people. skule, the king's foster-son, was a very clever man, and the handsomest man that could be seen. he was the commander of king olaf's court-men, spoke at the things (1) and took part in all the country affairs with the king. the king offered to give skule whatever district in norway he liked, with all the income and duties that belonged to the king in it. skule thanked him very much for the offer, but said he would rather have something else from him. "for if there came a shift of kings," said he, "the gift might come to nothing. i would rather take some properties lying near to the merchant towns, where you, sire, usually take up your abode, and then i would enjoy your yule-feasts." the king agreed to this, and conferred on him lands eastward at konungahella, oslo, tunsberg, sarpsborg, bergen, and north at nidaros. these were nearly the best properties at each place, and have since descended to the family branches which came from skule. king olaf gave skule his female relative, gudrun, the daughter of nefstein, in marriage. her mother was ingerid, a daughter of sigurd syr and asta, king olaf the saint's mother. ingerid was a sister of king olaf the saint and of king harald. skule and gudrun's son was asolf of reine, who married thora, a daughter of skopte ogmundson; asolf's and thora's son was guthorm of reine, father of bard, and grandfather of king inge and of duke skule. endnotes: (1) another instance of the old norse or icelandic tongue having been generally known in a part of england. 103. of king harald sigurdson. one year after king harald's fall his body was transported from england north to nidaros, and was buried in mary church, which he had built. it was a common observation that king harald distinguished himself above all other men by wisdom and resources of mind; whether he had to take a resolution suddenly for himself and others, or after long deliberation. he was, also, above all other men, bold, brave, and lucky, until his dying day, as above related; and bravery is half victory. so says thiodolf:- "harald, who till his dying day came off the best in many a fray, had one good rule in battle-plain, in seeland and elsewhere, to gain- that, be his foes' strength more or less, courage is always half success." king herald was a handsome man, of noble appearance; his hair and beard yellow. he had a short beard, and long mustaches. the one eyebrow was somewhat higher than the other. he had large hands (1) and feet; but these were well made. his height was five ells. he was stern and severe to his enemies, and avenged cruelly all opposition or misdeed. so says thiodolf:- "severe alike to friends or foes, who dared his royal will oppose; severe in discipline to hold his men-at-arms wild and bold; severe the bondes to repress; severe to punish all excess; severe was harald--but we call that just which was alike to all." king harald was most greedy of power, and of all distinction and honour. he was bountiful to the friends who suited him. so says thiodolf:- "i got from him, in sea-fight strong, a mark of gold for my ship-song. merit in any way he generously would pay." king harald was fifty years old when he fell. we have no particular account of his youth before he was fifteen years old, when he was with his brother, king olaf, at the battle of stiklestad. he lived thirty-five years after that, and in all that time was never free from care and war. king harald never fled from battle, but often tried cunning ways to escape when he had to do with great superiority of forces. all the men who followed king harald in battle or skirmish said that when he stood in great danger, or anything came suddenly upon him, he always took that course which all afterwards saw gave the best hope of a fortunate issue. endnotes: (1) it is a singular physical circumstance, that in almost all the swords of those ages to be found in the collection of weapons in the antiquarian museum at copenhagen, the handles indicate a size of hand very much smaller than the hands of modern people of any class or rank. no modern dandy, with the most delicate hands, would find room for his hand to grasp or wield with case some of the swords of these northmen.--l. 104. king harald and king olaf compared. when haldor, a son of brynjolf ulfalde the old, who was a sensible man and a great chief, heard people talk of how unlike the brothers saint olaf and king harald were in disposition, he used to say, "i was in great friendship with both the brothers, and i knew intimately the dispositions of both, and never did i know two men more like in disposition. both were of the highest understanding, and bold in arms, and greedy of power and property; of great courage, but not acquainted with the way of winning the favour of the people; zealous in governing, and severe in their revenge. king olaf forced the people into christianity and good customs, and punished cruelly those who disobeyed. this just and rightful severity the chiefs of the country could not bear, but raised an army against him, and killed him in his own kingdom; and therefore he is held to be a saint. king harald, again, marauded to obtain glory and power, forced all the people he could under his power, and died in another king's dominions. both brothers, in daily life, were of a worthy and considerate manner of living; they were of great experience, and very laborious, and were known and celebrated far and wide for these qualities." 105. king magnus's death. king magnus haraldson ruled over norway the first winter after king harald's death (a.d. 1067), and afterwards two years (a.d. 1068-1069) along with his brother, king olaf. thus there were two kings of norway at that time; and magnus had the northern and olaf the eastern part of the country. king magnus had a son called hakon, who was fostered by thorer of steig in gudbrandsdal, who was a brother of king magnus by the mother's side; and hakon was a most agreeable man. after king harald sigurdson's death the danish king svein let it be known that the peace between the northmen and the danes was at an end, and insisted that the league between harald and svein was not for longer time than their lives. there was a levy in both kingdoms. harald's sons called out the whole people in norway for procuring men and ships, and svein set out from the south with the danish army. messengers then went between with proposals for a peace; and the northmen said they would either have the same league as was concluded between king harald and svein, or otherwise give battle instantly on the spot. verses were made on this occasion, viz.:- "ready for war or peace, king olaf will not cease from foeman's hand to guard his land." so says also stein herdison in his song of olaf:- "from throndhjem town, where in repose the holy king defies his foes, another olaf will defend his kingdom from the greedy svein. king olaf had both power and right, and the saint's favour in the fight. the saint will ne'er his kin forsake, and let svein ulfson norway take." in this manner friendship was concluded between the kings and peace between the countries. king magnus fell ill and died of the ringworm disease, after being ill for some time. he died and was buried at nidaros. he was an amiable king and bewailed by the people. saga of olaf kyrre. preliminary remarks. snorri's account of olaf kyrre corresponds with the statements found in "agrip", "fagrskinna", and "morkinskinna". there are but few events in olaf's long reign, and hence he is very appropriately called the quiet (kyrre). as hildebrand says, this saga seems to be written simply to fill out the empty space between harald hardrade and magnus barefoot. skalds quoted in this saga are: stein herdison and stuf. 1. olaf's personal appearance. olaf remained sole king of norway after the death (a.d. 1069) of his brother king magnus. olaf was a stout man, well grown in limbs; and every one said a handsomer man could not be seen, nor of a nobler appearance. his hair was yellow as silk, and became him well; his skin was white and fine over all his body; his eyes beautiful, and his limbs well proportioned. he was rather silent in general, and did not speak much even at things; but he was merry in drinking parties. he loved drinking much, and was talkative enough then; but quite peaceful. he was cheerful in conversation, peacefully inclined during all his reign, and loving gentleness and moderation in all things. stein herdison speaks thus of him:- "our throndhjem king is brave and wise, his love of peace our bondes prize; by friendly word and ready hand he holds good peace through every land. he is for all a lucky star; england he frightens from a war; the stiff-necked danes he drives to peace; troubles by his good influence cease." 2. of king olaf's manner of living. it was the fashion in norway in old times for the king's high-seat to be on the middle of a long bench, and the ale was handed across the fire (1); but king olaf had his high-seat made on a high bench across the room; he also first had chimney-places in the rooms, and the floors strewed both summer and winter. in king olaf's time many merchant towns arose in norway, and many new ones were founded. thus king olaf founded a merchant town at bergen, where very soon many wealthy people settled themselves, and it was regularly frequented by merchants from foreign lands. he had the foundations laid for the large christ church, which was to be a stone church; but in his time there was little done to it. besides, he completed the old christ church, which was of wood. king olaf also had a great feasting-house built in nidaros, and in many other merchant towns, where before there were only private feasts; and in his time no one could drink in norway but in these houses, adorned for the purpose with branches and leaves, and which stood under the king's protection. the great guild-bell in throndhjem, which was called the pride of the town, tolled to call together to these guilds. the guild-brethren built margaret's church in nidaros of stone. in king olaf's time there were general entertainments and hand-in-hand feasts. at this time also much unusual splendour and foreign customs and fashions in the cut of clothes were introduced; as, for instance, costly hose plaited about the legs. some had gold rings about the legs, and also used coats which had lists down the sides, and arms five ells long, and so narrow that they must be drawn up with ties, and lay in folds all the way up to the shoulders. the shoes were high, and all edged with silk, or even with gold. many other kinds of wonderful ornaments were used at that time. endnotes: (1) we may understand the arrangement by supposing the fire in the middle of the room, the smoke escaping by a hole in the roof, and a long bench on each side of the fire; one bench occupied by the high-seat of the king and great guests, the other by the rest of the guests; and the cup handed across the fire, which appears to have had a religious meaning previous to the introduction of christianity.--l. 3. fashion of king olaf's court. king olaf used the fashion, which was introduced from the courts of foreign kings, of letting his grand-butler stand at the end of the table, and fill the table-cups for himself and the other distinguished guests who sat at the table. he had also torch-bearers, who held as many candles at the table as there were guests of distinction present. there was also a marshal's bench outside of the table-circle, where the marshal and other persons of distinction sat with their faces towards the high-seat. king harald, and the kings before him, used to drink out of deer-horn; and the ale was handed from the high-seat to the otherside over the fire, and he drank to the memory of any one he thought of. so says stuf the skald:- "he who in battle is the first, and now in peace is best to trust, a welcome, hearty and sincere, gave to me on my coming here. he whom the ravens watch with care, he who the gold rings does not spare, a golden horn full to the brink gave me himself at haug to drink." 4. arrangement of king olaf's court. king olaf had 120 courtmen-at-arms, and 60 pursuivants, besides 60 house-servants, who provided what was wanted for the king's house wherever it might be, or did other work required for the king. when the bondes asked why he kept a greater retinue than the law allowed, or former kings kept when they went in guest-quarters or feasts which the bondes had to provide for them, the king answered, "it does not happen that i rule the kingdom better, or produce greater respect for me than ye had for my father, although i have one-half more people than he had. i do not by any means do it merely to plague you, or to make your condition harder than formerly." 5. king svein ulfson's death. king svein ulfson died ten years after the fall of both the haralds (a.d. 1076). after him his son, harald hein, was king for three years (a.d. 1077-1080); then canute the holy for seven years (a.d. 1081-1087); afterwards olaf, king svein's third son, for eight years (a.d. 1088-1095). then eirik the good, svein's fourth son, for eight winters (a.d. 1096-1103). olaf, the king of norway, was married to ingerid, a daughter of svein, the danish king; and olaf, the danish king svein's son, married ingegerd, a daughter of king harald, and sister of king olaf of norway. king olaf haraldson, who was called by some olaf kyrre, but by many olaf the bonde, had a son by thora, joan's daughter, who was called magnus, and was one of the handsomest lads that could be seen, and was promising in every respect. he was brought up in the king's court. 6. miracles of king olaf the saint. king olaf had a church of stone built in nidaros, on the spot where king olaf's body had first been buried, and the altar was placed directly over the spot where the king's grave had been. this church was consecrated and called christ church; and king olaf's shrine was removed to it, and was placed before the altar, and many miracles took place there. the following summer, on the same day of the year as the church was consecrated, which was the day before olafsmas, there was a great assemblage of people, and then a blind man was restored to sight. and on the mass-day itself, when the shrine and the holy relics were taken out and carried, and the shrine itself, according to custom, was taken and set down in the churchyard, a man who had long been dumb recovered his speech again, and sang with flowing tongue praise-hymns to god, and to the honour of king olaf the saint. the third miracle was of a woman who had come from svithjod, and had suffered much distress on this pilgrimage from her blindness; but trusting in god's mercy, had come travelling to this solemnity. she was led blind into the church to hear mass this day; but before the service was ended she saw with both eyes, and got her sight fully and clearly, although she had been blind fourteen years. she returned with great joy, praising god and king olaf the saint. 7. of the shrine of king olaf the saint. there happened a circumstance in nidaros, when king olaf's coffin was being carried about through the streets, that it became so heavy that people could not lift it from the spot. now when the coffin was set down, the street was broken up to see what was under it at that spot, and the body of a child was found which had been murdered and concealed there. the body was carried away, the street put in order again as it had been before, and the shrine carried on according to custom. 8. king olaf was blessed with peace. in the days of king olaf there were bountiful harvests in norway and many good things. in no man's life had times been so good in norway since the days of harald harfager. king olaf modified for the better many a matter that his father had inaugurated and maintained with severity. he was generous, but a strict ruler, for he was a wise man, and well understood what was of advantage to the kingdom. there are many stories of his good works. how much he loved and how kind he was to the people may be seen from the following words, which he once spoke at a large banquet. he was happy and in the best of spirits, when one of his men said, "it pleases us, sire, to see you so happy." he answered: "i have reason to be glad when i see my subjects sitting happy and free in a guild consecrated to my uncle, the sainted king olaf. in the days of my father these people were subjected to much terror and fear; the most of them concealed their gold and their precious things, but now i see glittering on his person what each one owns, and your freedom is my gladness." in his reign there was no strife, and he protected himself and his realm against enemies abroad; and his nearest neighbours stood in great awe of him, although he was a most gentle man, as is confirmed by the skald. 9. meeting of olaf kyrre and canute the saint. king olaf kyrre was a great friend of his brother-in-law, the danish king, canute the holy. they appointed a meeting and met at the gaut river at konungahella, where the kings used to have their meetings. there king canute made the proposal that they should send an army westward to england on account of the revenge they had to take there; first and foremost king olaf himself, and also the danish king. "do one of two things," said king canute,--"either take sixty ships, which i will furnish thee with, and be thou the leader; or give me sixty ships, and i shall be the leader." then said king olaf, "this speech of thine, king canute, is altogether according to my mind; but there is this great difference between us; your family has had more luck in conquering england with great glory, and, among others, king canute the great; and it is likely that this good fortune follows your race. on the other hand, when king harald, my father, went westward to england, he got his death there; and at that time the best men in norway followed him. but norway was so emptied then of chosen men, that such men have not since been to find in the country; for that expedition there was the most excellent outfit, and you know what was the end of it. now i know my own capacity, and how little i am suited to be the leader; so i would rather you should go, with my help and assistance." so king olaf gave canute sixty large ships, with excellent equipment and faithful men, and set his lendermen as chiefs over them; and all must allow that this armament was admirably equipt. it is also told in the saga about canute, that the northmen alone did not break the levy when the army was assembled, but the danes would not obey their king's orders. this king canute acknowledged, and gave them leave to trade in merchandise where they pleased through his country, and at the same time sent the king of norway costly presents for his assistance. on the other hand he was enraged against the danes, and laid heavy fines upon them. 10. a bonde who understood the language of birds. one summer, when king olaf's men had gone round the country collecting his income and land dues, it happened that the king, on their return home asked them where on their expedition they had been best entertained. they said it was in the house of a bonde in one of the king's districts. "there is an old bonde there who knows many things before they happen. we asked him about many things, which he explained to us; nay, we even believe that he understands perfectly the language of birds." the king replies, "how can ye believe such nonsense?" and insisted that it was wrong to put confidence in such things. it happened soon after that the king was sailing along the coast; and as they sailed through a sound the king said, "what is that township up in the country?" they replied, "that is the district, sire, where we told you we were best entertained." then said the king, "what house is that which stands up there, not far from the sound?" they replied, "that house belongs to the wise old bonde we told you of, sire." they saw now a horse standing close to the house. then said the king, "go there, and take that horse, and kill him." they replied, "we would not like to do him such harm." the king: "i will command. cut off the horse's head; but take care of yourselves that ye let no blood come to the ground, and bear the horse out to my ship. go then and bring to me the old man; but tell him nothing of what has happened, as ye shall answer for it with your lives." they did as they were ordered, and then came to the old man, and told him the king's message. when he came before the king, the king asked him, "who owns the house thou art dwelling in?" he replies, "sire, you own it, and take rent for it." the king: "show us the way round the ness, for here thou must be a good pilot." the old man went into his boat and rowed before the king's ship; and when he had rowed a little way a crow came flying over the ship, and croaking hideously. the peasant listens to the crow. the king said, "do you think, bonde, that betokens anything?" "sire, that is certain," said he. then another crow flies over the ship, and screeches dreadfully. the bonde was so ill hearing this that he could not row, and the oars hung loose in his hands. then said the king, "thy mind is turned much to these crows, bonde, and to what they say." the bonde replies, "now i suspect it is true what they say." the third time the crow came flying screeching at its very worst, and almost settling on the ship. now the bonde threw down his oars, regarded them no more, and stood up before the king. then the king said, "thou art taking this much to heart, bonde; what is it they say?" the peasant--"it is likely that either they or i have misunderstood--" "say on," replied the king. the bonde replied in a song:- "the 'one-year old' mere nonsense told; the 'two-years' chatter seemed senseless matter; the three-years' croak of wonders spoke. the foul bird said my old mare's head i row along; and, in her song, she said the thief was the land's chief." the king said, "what is this, bonde! wilt thou call me a thief?" then the king gave him good presents, and remitted all the land-rent of the place he lived on. so says stein:- "the pillar of our royal race stands forth adorned with every grace. what king before e'er took such pride to scatter bounty far and wide? hung round with shields that gleam afar; the merchant ship on one bestows, with painted streaks in glowing rows. "the man-at-arms a golden ring boasts as the present of his king; at the king's table sits the guest, by the king's bounty richly drest. king olaf, norway's royal son, who from the english glory won, pours out with ready-giving hand his wealth on children of the land. "brave clothes to servants he awards, helms and ring-mail coats grace his guards; or axe and sword har's warriors gain, and heavy armour for the plain. gold, too, for service duly paid, red gold all pure, and duly weighed, king olaf gives--he loves to pay all service in a royal way." 11. of king olaf kyrre's death. king olaf lived principally in his domains on his large farms. once when he was east in ranrike, on his estate of haukby, he took the disease which ended in his death. he had then been king of norway for twenty-six years (a.d. 1068-1093); for he was made king of norway the year after king harald's death. king olaf's body was taken north to nidaros, and buried in christ church, which he himself had built there. he was the most amiable king of his time, and norway was much improved in riches and cultivation during his reign. magnus barefoot's saga. preliminary remarks. the greater part of the contents of this saga is also found in "agrip", "fagrskinna", and "morkinskinna". magnus and his cousin hakon became kings in 1093, but hakon ruled only two years and died in 1095. king magnus fell in the year 1103. skalds quoted are: bjorn krephende, thorkel hamarskald, and eldjarn. 1. beginning of the reign of king magnus and his cousin hakon. magnus, king olaf's son, was, immediately after king olaf's death, proclaimed at viken king of all norway; but the upland people, on hearing of king olaf's death, chose hakon, thorer's foster-son, a cousin of king magnus, as king. thereupon hakon and thorer went north to the throndhjem country, and when they came to nidaros they summoned the eyrathing; and at that thing hakon desired the bondes to give him the kingly title, which was agreed to, and the throndhjem people proclaimed him king of half of norway, as his father, king magnus, had been before. hakon relieved the throndhjem people of all harbour duties, and gave them many other privileges. he did away with yule-gifts, and gained by this the good-will of all the throndhjem people. thereafter hakon formed a court, and then proceeded to the uplands, where he gave the upland people the same privileges as the throndhjem people; so that they also were perfectly well affected to him, and were his friends. the people in throndhjem sang this ballad about him:- "young hakon was the norseman's pride, and steig-thorer was on his side. young hakon from the upland came, with royal birth, and blood, and name. young hakon from the king demands his royal birthright, half the lands; magnus will not the kingdom break,- the whole or nothing he will take." 2. hakon's death. king magnus proceeded north to the merchant town (nidaros), and on his arrival went straight to the king's house, and there took up his abode. he remained here the first part of the winter (a.d. 1094), and kept seven longships in the open water of the river nid, abreast of the king's house. now when king hakon heard that king magnus was come to throndhjem, he came from the east over the dovrefield, and thence down from throndhjem to the merchant town, where he took up his abode in the house of skule, opposite to clement's church, which had formerly been the king's house. king magnus was ill pleased with the great gifts which hakon had given to the bondes to gain their favour, and thought it was so much given out of his own property. this irritated his mind; and he thought he had suffered injustice from his relative in this respect, that he must now put up with less income than his father and his predecessors before him had enjoyed; and he gave thorer the blame. when king hakon and thorer observed this, they were alarmed for what magnus might do; and they thought it suspicious that magnus kept long-ships afloat rigged out, and with tents. the following spring, after candlemas, king magnus left the town in the night with his ships; the tents up, and lights burning in the tents. they brought up at hefring, remained there all night, and kindled a fire on the land. then hakon and the men in the town thought some treachery was on foot, and he let the trumpets call all the men together out on the eyrar, where the whole people of the town came to him, and the people were gathering together the whole night. when it was light in the morning, king magnus saw the people from all districts gathered together on the eyrar; and he sailed out of the fjord, and proceeded south to where the gulathing is held. hakon thanked the people for their support which they had given him, and got ready to travel east to viken. but he first held a meeting in the town, where, in a speech, he asked the people for their friendship, promising them his; and added, that he had some suspicions of his relation, king magnus's intentions. then king hakon mounted his horse, and was ready to travel. all men promised him their good-will and support whenever he required them, and the people followed him out to the foot of steinbjorg. from thence king hakon proceeded up the dovrefield; but as he was going over the mountains he rode all day after a ptarmigan, which flew up beside him, and in this chase a sickness overfell him, which ended in his death; and he died on the mountains. his body was carried north, and came to the merchant town just half a month after he left it. the whole townspeople went to meet the body, sorrowing, and the most of them weeping; for all people loved him with sincere affection. king hakon's body was interred in christ church, and hakon and magnus had ruled the country for two years. hakon was a man full twenty-five years old, and was one of the chiefs the most beloved by all the people. he had made a journey to bjarmaland, where he had given battle and gained a victory. 3. of a foray in halland. king magnus sailed in winter (a.d. 1095) eastward to viken; but when spring approached he went southwards to halland, and plundered far and wide. he laid waste viskardal and many other districts, and returned with a great booty back to his own kingdom. so says bjorn krephende in his song on magnus:- "through halland wide around the clang and shriek resound; the houses burn, the people mourn, through halland wide around. the norse king strides in flame, through viskardal he came; the fire sweeps, the widow weeps, the norse king strides in flame." here it is told that king magnus made the greatest devastation through halland. 4. of thorer of steig. "there was a man called svein, a son of harald fietter. he was a danish man by family, a great viking and champion, and a very clever man, and of high birth in his own country. he had been some time with king hakon magnuson, and was very dear to him; but after king hakon's decease thorer of steig, his foster-father, had no great confidence in any treaty or friendship with king magnus, if the whole country came into his power, on account of the position in which thorer had stood to king magnus, and the opposition he had made to him. thereupon thorer and svein took counsel with each other, which they afterwards carried into effect,--to raise, with thorer's assistance, and his men, a troop against magnus. but as thorer was old and heavy, svein took the command, and name of leader of the troop. in this design several chiefs took part, among whom the principal was egil aslakson of aurland. egil was a lenderman, and married to ingebjorg, a daughter of ogmund thorbergson, a sister of skopte of giske. the rich and powerful man, skjalg erlingson, also joined their party. thorkel hamarskald speaks of this in his ballad of magnus: "thorer and egil were not wise, they aimed too high to win a prize: there was no reason in their plan, and it hurt many a udalman. the stone, too great for them to throw, fell back, and hurt them with the blow, and now the udalmen must rue that to their friends they were so true." thorer and svein collected a troop in the uplands, and went down through raumsdal into sunmore, and there collected vessels, with which they afterwards sailed north to throndhjem. 5. of thorer's adventures. the lenderman sigurd ulstreng, a son of lodin viggiarskalle, collected men by sending round the war-token, as soon as he heard of thorer and the troop which followed him, and had a rendezvous with all the men he could raise at viggia. svein and thorer also met there with their people, fought with sigurd, and gained the victory after giving him a great defeat; and sigurd fled, and joined king magnus. thorer and his followers proceeded to the town (nidaros), and remained there some time in the fjord, where many people joined them. king magnus hearing this news immediately collected an army, and proceeded north to throndhjem. and when he came into the fjord thorer and his party heard of it while they lay at herring, and they were ready to leave the fjord; and they rowed their ships to the strand at vagnvik, and left them, and came into theksdal in seliuhverfe, and thorer was carried in a litter over the mountains. then they got hold of ships and sailed north to halogaland. as soon as king magnus was ready for sea, he sailed from throndhjem in pursuit of them. thorer and his party went north all the way to bjarkey; and jon, with his son vidkun, fled from thence. thorer and his men robbed all the movable goods, and burnt the house, and a good long-ship that belonged to vidkun. while the hull was burning the vessel keeled to one side, and thorer called out, "hard to starboard, vidkun!" some verses were made about this burning in bjarkey:- "the sweetest farm that i have seen stood on bjarkey's island green; and now, where once this farmhouse stood, fire crackles through a pile of wood; and the clear red flame, burning high, flashes across the dark-night sky. jon and vidkun, this dark night, will not be wandering without light." 6. death of thorer and egil. jon and vidkun travelled day and night till they met king magnus. svein and thorer proceeded northwards with their men, and plundered far and wide in halogaland. but while they lay in a fjord called harm, thorer and his party saw king magnus coming under sail towards them; and thinking they had not men enough to fight him, they rowed away and fled. thorer and egil brought up at hesjutun; but svein rowed out to sea, and some of their people rowed into the fjords. king magnus pursued thorer, and the vessels struck together while they were landing. thorer stood in the forecastle of his ship, and sigurd ulstreng called out to him, and asked, "art thou well, thorer?" thorer replied, "i am well in hands, but ill on my feet." then all thorer's men fled up the country, and thorer was taken prisoner. egil was also taken prisoner, for he would not leave his wife. king magnus then ordered both of them to be taken out to vambarholm; and when they were leading thorer from the ship he tottered on his legs. then vidkun called out, "more to the larboard, thorer!" when he was being led to the gallows he sang:- "we were four comrades gay,- let one by the helm stay." when he came to the gallows he said, "bad counsel comes to a bad end." then thorer was hanged; but when he was hoisted up the gallows tree he was so heavy that his neck gave way, and the body fell down to the ground; for thorer was a man exceedingly stout, both high of stature and thick. egil was also led to the gallows, and when the king's thralls were about hanging him he said, "ye should not hang me, for in truth each of you deserves much more to be hanged." people sang these verses about it:- "i hear, my girl, that egil said, when to the gallows he was led, that the king's thralls far more than he deserved to hang on gallows-tree. it might be so; but, death in view, a man should to himself be true,- end a stout life by death as stout, showing no fear; or care, or doubt." king magnus sat near while they were being hanged, and was in such a rage that none of his men was so bold as to ask mercy for them. the king said, when egil was spinning at the gallows, "thy great friends help thee but poorly in time of need." from this people supposed that the king only wanted to have been entreated to have spared egil's life. bjorn krephende speaks of these things:- "king magnus in the robbers' gore dyed red his sword; and round the shore the wolves howled out their wild delight, at corpses swinging in their sight. have ye not heard how the king's sword punished the traitors to their lord? how the king's thralls hung on the gallows old thorer and his traitor-fellows?" 7. of the punishment of the throndhjem people. after this king magnus sailed south to throndhjem, and brought up in the fjord, and punished severely all who had been guilty of treason towards him; killing some, and burning the houses of others. so says bjorn krephende:- "he who despises fence of shields drove terror through the throndhjem fields, when all the land through which he came was swimming in a flood of flame. the raven-feeder, will i know, cut off two chieftans at a blow; the wolf could scarcely ravenous be, the ernes flew round the gallows-tree." svein harald fletter's son, fled out to sea first, and sailed then to denmark, and remained there; and at last came into great favour with king eystein, the son of king magnus, who took so great a liking to svein that he made him his dish-bearer, and held him in great respect. king magnus had now alone the whole kingdom, and he kept good peace in the land, and rooted out all vikings and lawless men. he was a man quick, warlike, and able, and more like in all things to his grandfather, king harald, in disposition and talents than to his father. 8. of the bonde sveinke, and sigurd ulstreng. there was a man called sveinke steinarson, who was very wealthy, and dwelt in viken at the gaut river. he had brought up hakon magnuson before thorer of steig took him. sveinke had not yet submitted to king magnus. king magnus ordered sigurd ulstreng to be called, and told him he would send him to sveinke with the command that he should quit the king's land and domain. "he has not yet submitted to us, or shown us due honour." he added, that there were some lendermen east in viken, namely svein bryggjufot, dag eilifson, and kolbjorn klakke, who could bring this matter into right bearing. then sigurd said, "i did not know there was the man in norway against whom three lendermen besides myself were needful." the king replied, "thou needst not take this help, unless it be necessary." now sigurd made himself ready for the journey with a ship, sailed east to viken, and there summoned the lendermen to him. then a thing was appointed to viken, to which the people were called who dwelt on the gaut river, besides others; so that it was a numerous assembly. when the thing was formed they had to wait for sveinke. they soon after saw a troop of men coming along, so well furnished with weapons that they looked like pieces of shining ice; and now came sveinke and his people to the thing, and set themselves down in a circle. all were clad in iron, with glowing arms, and 500 in number. then sigurd stood up, and spoke. "my master, king magnus, sends god's salutation and his own to all friends, lendermen and others, his subjects in the kingdom; also to the powerful bondes, and the people in general, with kind words and offers of friendship; and to all who will obey him he offers his friendship and good will. now the king will, with all cheerfulness and peace, show himself a gracious master to all who will submit to him, and to all in his dominions. he will be the leader and defender of all the men of norway; and it will be good for you to accept his gracious speech, and this offer." then stood up a man in the troop of the elfgrims, who was of great stature and grim countenance, clad in a leather cloak, with a halberd on his shoulder, and a great steel hat upon his head. he looked sternly, and said, "here is no need of wheels, says the fox, when he draws the trap over the ice." he said nothing more, but sat down again. soon after sigurd ulstreng stood up again, and spoke thus: "but little concern or help have we for the king's affairs from you, elfgrims, and but little friendship; yet by such means every man shows how much he respects himself. but now i shall produce more clearly the king's errand." thereupon he demanded land-dues and levy-dues, together with all other rights of the king, from the great bondes. he bade each of them to consider with himself how they had conducted themselves in these matters; and that they should now promote their own honour, and do the king justice, if they had come short hitherto in doing so. and then he sat down. then the same man got up in the troop of elfgrims who had spoken before, lifted his hat a little up, and said, "the lads run well, say the laplanders, who have skates for nothing." then he sat himself down again. soon after sigurd arose, after speaking with the lendermen, and said that so weighty a message as the king's ought not to be treated lightly as a jest. he was now somewhat angry; and added, that they ought not to receive the king's message and errand so scornfully, for it was not decent. he was dressed in a red or scarlet coat, and had a blue coat over it. he cast off his upper coat and said, "now it is come so far that every one must look to himself, and not loiter and jest with others; for by so doing every man will show what he is. we do not require now to be taught by others; for now we can see ourselves how much we are regarded. but this may be borne with; but not that ye treat so scornfully the king's message. thereby every one shows how highly he considers himself. there is one man called sveinke steinarson, who lives east at the gaut river; and from him the king will have his just land-dues, together with his own land, or will banish him from the country. it is of no use here to seek excuses, or to answer with sharp words; for people are to be found who are his equals in power, although he now receives our speech so unworthily; and it is better now than afterwards to return to the right way, and do himself honour, rather than await disgrace for his obstinancy." he then sat down. sveinke then got up, threw back his steel-hat, and gave sigurd many scornful words, and said, "tut! tut! 'tis a shame for the dogs, says the proverb, when the fox is allowed to cast their excrements in the peasant's well. here will be a miracle! thou useless fellow! with a coat without arms, and a kirtle with skirts, wilt thou drive me out of the country? thy relation, sigurd woolsack, was sent before on this errand, and one called gille the backthief, and one who had still a worse name. they were a night in every house, and stole wherever they came. wilt thou drive me out of the country? formerly thou wast not so mighty, and thy pride was less when king hakon, my foster-son, was in life. then thou wert as frightened for him when he met thee on the road as a mouse in a mouse-trap, and hid thyself under a heap of clothes, like a dog on board a ship. thou wast thrust into a leather-bag like corn in a sack, and driven from house and farm like a year-old colt from the mares; and dost thou dare to drive me from the land? thou shouldst rather think thyself lucky to escape from hence with life. let us stand up and attack him." then all his men stood up, and made a great clash with their weapons. then svein bryggjufot and the other lendermen saw there was no other chance for sigurd but to get him on horseback, which was done, and he rode off into the forest. the end was that sveinke returned home to his farm, and sigurd ulstreng came, with great difficulty, by land north to throndhjem to king magnus, and told the result of his errand. "did i not say," said the king, "that the help of my lendermen would be needed?" sigurd was ill pleased with his journey; insisted that he would be revenged, cost what it will; and urged the king much. the king ordered five ships to be fitted out; and as soon as they were ready for sea he sailed south along the land, and then east to viken, where he was entertained in excellent guest-quarters by his lendermen. the king told them he would seek out sveinke. "for i will not conceal my suspicion that he thinks to make himself king of norway." they said that sveinke was both a powerful and an ungovernable man. now the king went from viken until he came to sveinke's farm. then the lendermen desired that they might be put on shore to see how matters stood; and when they came to the land they saw that sveinke had already come down from the farm, and was on the road with a number of well-armed men. the lendermen held up a white shield in the air, as a peace-token; and when sveinke saw it he halted his men, and they approached each other. then said kolbjorn klakke, "king magnus sends thee god's salutation and his own, and bids thee consider what becomes thee, and do him obedience, and not prepare thyself to give him battle." kolbjorn offered to mediate peace between them, if he could, and told him to halt his troops. sveinke said he would wait for them where he was. "we came out to meet you," he said, "that ye might not tread down our corn-fields." the lendermen returned to the king, and told him all was now at his pleasure. the king said, "my doom is soon delivered. he shall fly the country, and never come back to norway as long as the kingdom is mine; and he shall leave all his goods behind." "but will it not be more for thy honour," said kolbjorn, "and give thee a higher reputation among other kings, if, in banishing him from the country, thou shouldst allow him to keep his property, and show himself among other people? and we shall take care that he never comes back while we live. consider of this, sire, by yourself, and have respect for our assurance." the king replied, "let him then go forth immediately." they went back, therefore, to sveinke, and told him the king's words; and also that the king had ordered him out of the country, and he should show his obedience, since he had forgotten himself towards the king. "it is for the honour of both that thou shouldst show obedience to the king." then sveinke said, "there must be some great change if the king speaks agreeably to me; but why should i fly the country and my properties? listen now to what i say. it appears to me better to die upon my property than to fly from my udal estates. tell the king that i will not stir from them even an arrow-flight." kolbjorn replied, "this is scarcely prudent, or right; for it is better for one's own honour to give way to the best chief, than to make opposition to one's own loss. a gallant man succeeds wheresoever he goes; and thou wilt be the more respected wheresoever thou art, with men of power, just because thou hast made head so boldly against so powerful a chief. hear our promises, and pay some attention to our errand. we offer thee to manage thy estates, and take them faithfully under our protection; and also never, against thy will, to pay scat for thy land until thou comest back. we will pledge our lives and properties upon this. do not throw away good counsel from thee, and avoid thus the ill fortune of other good men." then sveinke was silent for a short time, and said at last, "your endeavours are wise; but i have my suspicions that ye are changing a little the king's message. in consideration, however, of the great good-will that ye show me, i will hold your advice in such respect that i will go out of the country for the whole winter, if, according to your promises, i can then retain my estates in peace. tell the king, also, these my words, that i do this on your account, not on his." thereupon they returned to the king, and said, that sveinke left all in the king's hands. "but entreats you to have respect to his honour. he will be away for three years, and then come back, if it be the king's pleasure. do this; let all things be done according to what is suitable for the royal dignity and according to our entreaty, now that the matter is entirely in thy power, and we shall do all we can to prevent his returning against thy will." the king replied, "ye treat this matter like men, and, for your sakes, shall all things be as ye desire. tell him so." they thanked the king, and then went to sveinke, and told him the king's gracious intentions. "we will be glad," said they, "if ye can be reconciled. the king requires, indeed that thy absence shall be for three years; but, if we know the truth rightly, we expect that before that time he will find he cannot do without thee in this part of the country. it will be to thy own future honour, therefore, to agree to this." sveinke replies, "what condition is better than this? tell the king that i shall not vex him longer with my presence here, and accept of my goods and estates on this condition." thereupon he went home with his men, and set off directly; for he had prepared everything beforehand. kolbjorn remains behind, and makes ready a feast for king magnus, which also was thought of and prepared. sveinke, on the other hand, rides up to gautland with all the men he thought proper to take with him. the king let himself be entertained in guest-quarters at his house, returned to viken, and sveinke's estates were nominally the king's, but kolbjorn had them under his charge. the king received guest-quarters in viken, proceeded from thence northwards, and there was peace for a while; but now that the elfgrims were without a chief, marauding gangs infested them, and the king saw this eastern part of the kingdom would be laid waste. it appeared to him, therefore, most suitable and advisable to make sveinke himself oppose the stream, and twice he sent messages to him. but he did not stir until king magnus himself was south in denmark, when sveinke and the king met, and made a full reconciliation; on which sveinke returned home to his house and estates, and was afterwards king magnus's best and trustiest friend, who strengthened his kingdom on the eastern border; and their friendship continued as long as they lived. 9. king magnus makes war on the southern hebudes. king magnus undertook an expedition out of the country, with many fine men and a good assortment of shipping. with this armament he sailed out into the west sea, and first came to the orkney islands. there he took the two earls, paul and erlend, prisoners, and sent them east to norway, and placed his son sigurd as chief over the islands, leaving some counsellors to assist him. from thence king magnus, with his followers, proceeded to the southern hebudes, and when he came there began to burn and lay waste the inhabited places, killing the people and plundering wherever he came with his men; and the country people fled in all directions, some into scotland-fjord, others south to cantire, or out to ireland; some obtained life and safety by entering into his service. so says bjorn krephende:- "in lewis isle with fearful blaze the house-destroying fire plays; to hills and rocks the people fly, fearing all shelter but the sky. in uist the king deep crimson made the lightning of his glancing blade; the peasant lost his land and life who dared to bide the norseman's strife. the hunger battle-birds were filled in skye with blood of foemen killed, and wolves on tyree's lonely shore dyed red their hairy jaws in gore. the men of mull were tired of flight; the scottish foemen would not fight, and many an island-girl's wail was heard as through the isles we strife sail." 10. of lagman, king gudrod's son. king magnus came with his forces to the holy island (iona), and gave peace and safety to all men there. it is told that the king opened the door of the little columb's kirk there, but did not go in, but instantly locked the door again, and said that no man should be so bold as to go into that church hereafter; which has been the case ever since. from thence king magnus sailed to islay, where he plundered and burnt; and when he had taken that country he proceeded south around cantire, marauding on both sides in scotland and ireland, and advanced with his foray to man, where he plundered. so says bjorn krephende:- "on sandey's plain our shield they spy: from isla smoke rose heaven-high, whirling up from the flashing blaze the king's men o'er the island raise. south of cantire the people fled, scared by our swords in blood dyed red, and our brave champion onward goes to meet in man the norseman's foes." lagman (lawman) was the name of the son of gudrod, king of the hebudes. lawman was sent to defend the most northerly islands; but when king magnus and his army came to the hebudes, lawman fled here and there about the isles, and at last king magnus's men took him and his ship's crew as he was flying over to ireland. the king put him in irons to secure him. so says bjorn krephende:- "to gudrod's son no rock or cave, shore-side or hill, a refuge gave; hunted around from isle to isle, this lawman found no safe asyle. from isle to isle, o'er firth and sound, close on his track his foe he found. at ness the agder chief at length seized him, and iron-chained his strength." 11. of the fall of earl huge the brave. afterwards king magnus sailed to wales; and when he came to the sound of anglesey there came against him an army from wales, which was led by two earls--hugo the brave, and hugo the stout. they began immediately to give battle, and there was a severe conflict. king magnus shot with the bow; but huge the brave was all over in armour, so that nothing was bare about him excepting one eye. king magnus let fly an arrow at him, as also did a halogaland man who was beside the king. they both shot at once. the one shaft hit the nose-screen of the helmet, which was bent by it to one side, and the other arrow hit the earl's eye, and went through his head; and that was found to be the king's. earl huge fell, and the britons fled with the loss of many people. so says bjorn krephende:- "the swinger of the sword stood by anglesey's ford; his quick shaft flew, and huge slew. his sword gleamed a while o'er anglesey isle, and his norsemen's band scoured the anglesey land." there was also sung the following verse about it:- "on the panzers arrows rattle, where our norse king stands in battle; from the helmets blood-streams flow, where our norse king draws his bow: his bowstring twangs,--its biting hail rattles against the ring-linked mail. up in the land in deadly strife our norse king took earl huge's life." king magnus gained the victory in this battle, and then took anglesey isle, which was the farthest south the norway kings of former days had ever extended their rule. anglesey is a third part of wales. after this battle king magnus turned back with his fleet, and came first to scotland. then men went between the scottish king, melkolm and king magnus, and a peace was made between them; so that all the islands lying west of scotland, between which and the mainland he could pass in a vessel with her rudder shipped, should be held to belong to the king of norway. now when king magnus came north to cantire, he had a skiff drawn over the strand at cantire, and shipped the rudder of it. the king himself sat in the stern-sheets, and held the tiller; and thus he appropriated to himself the land that lay on the farboard side. cantire is a great district, better than the best of the southern isles of the hebudes, excepting man; and there is a small neck of land between it and the mainland of scotland, over which longships are often drawn. 12. death of the earls of orkney. king magnus was all the winter in the southern isles, and his men went over all the fjords of scotland, rowing within all the inhabited and uninhabited isles, and took possession for the king of norway of all the islands west of scotland. king magnus contracted in marriage his son sigurd to biadmynia, king myrkjartan's daughter. myrkjartan was a son of the irish king thialfe, and ruled over connaught. the summer after, king magnus, with his fleet, returned east to norway. earl erland died of sickness at nidaros, and is buried there; and earl paul died in bergen. skopte ogmundson, a grandson of thorberg, was a gallant lenderman, who dwelt at giske in sunmore, and was married to gudrun, a daughter of thord folason. their children were ogmund, fin, thord, and thora, who was married to asolf skulason. skopte's and gudrun's sons were the most promising and popular men in their youth. 13. quarrels of king magnus and king inge. steinkel, the swedish king, died about the same time (a.d. 1066) as the two haralds fell, and the king who came after him in svithjod was called hakon. afterwards inge, a son of steinkel, was king, and was a good and powerful king, strong and stout beyond most men; and he was king of svithjod when king magnus was king of norway. king magnus insisted that the boundaries of the countries in old times had been so, that the gaut river divided the kingdoms of the swedish and norwegian kings, but afterwards the vener lake up to vermaland. thus king magnus insisted that he was owner of all the places lying west of the vener lake up to vermaland, which are the districts of sundal, nordal, vear, and vardyniar, with all the woods belonging thereto. but these had for a long time been under the swedish dominion, and with respect to scat were joined to west gautland; and, besides, the forest-settlers preferred being under the swedish king. king magnus rode from viken up to gautland with a great and fine army, and when he came to the forest-settlements he plundered and burnt all round; on which the people submitted, and took the oath of fidelity to him. when he came to the vener lake, autumn was advanced and he went out to the island kvaldinsey, and made a stronghold of turf and wood, and dug a ditch around it. when the work was finished, provisions and other necessaries that might be required were brought to it. the king left in it 300 men, who were the chosen of his forces, and fin skoptason and sigurd ulstreng as their commanders. the king himself returned to viken. 14. of the northmen. when the swedish king heard this he drew together people, and the report came that he would ride against these northmen; but there was delay about his riding, and the northmen made these lines:- "the fat-hipped king, with heavy sides, finds he must mount before he rides." but when the ice set in upon the vener lake king inge rode down, and had near 300 men with him. he sent a message to the northmen who sat in the burgh that they might retire with all the booty they had taken, and go to norway. when the messengers brought this message, sigurd ulstreng replied to it; saying that king inge must take the trouble to come, if he wished to drive them away like cattle out of a grass field, and said he must come nearer if he wished them to remove. the messengers returned with this answer to the king, who then rode out with all his army to the island, and again sent a message to the northmen that they might go away, taking with them their weapons, clothes, and horses; but must leave behind all their booty. this they refused. the king made an assault upon them, and they shot at each other. then the king ordered timber and stones to be collected, and he filled up the ditch; and then he fastened anchors to long spars which were brought up to the timber-walls, and, by the strength of many hands, the walls were broken down. thereafter a large pile of wood was set on fire, and the lighted brands were flung in among them. then the northmen asked for quarter. the king ordered them to go out without weapons or cloaks. as they went out each of them received a stroke with a whip, and then they set off for norway, and all the forest-men submitted again to king inge. sigurd and his people went to king magnus, and told him their misfortune. 15. king magnus and giparde. when king magnus was east in viken, there came to him a foreigner called giparde. he gave himself out for a good knight, and offered his services to king magnus; for he understood that in the king's dominions there was something to be done. the king received him well. at that time the king was preparing to go to gautland, on which country the king had pretensions; and besides he would repay the gautland people the disgrace they had occasioned him in spring, when he was obliged to fly from them. he had then a great force in arms, and the west gautlanders in the northern districts submitted to him. he set up his camp on the borders, intending to make a foray from thence. when king inge heard of this he collected troops, and hastened to oppose king magnus; and when king magnus heard of this expedition, many of the chiefs of the people urged him to turn back; but this the king would not listen to, but in the night time went unsuspectedly against the swedish king. they met at foxerne; and when he was drawing up his men in battle order he asked, "where is giparde?" but he was not to be found. then the king made these verses:- "cannot the foreign knight abide our rough array?--where does he hide?" then a skald who followed the king replied:- "the king asks where the foreign knight in our array rides to the fight: giparde the knight rode quite away when our men joined in bloody fray. when swords were wet the knight was slow with his bay horse in front to go; the foreign knight could not abide our rough array, and went to hide." there was a great slaughter, and after the battle the field was covered with the swedes slain, and king inge escaped by flight. king magnus gained a great victory. then came giparde riding down from the country, and people did not speak well of him for not being in the fight. he went away, and proceeded westward to england; and the voyage was stormy, and giparde lay in bed. there was an iceland man called eldjarn, who went to bale out the water in the ship's hold, and when he saw where giparde was lying he made this verse:- "does it beseem a courtman bold here to be dozing in the hold? the bearded knight should danger face: the leak gains on our ship apace. here, ply this bucket! bale who can; we need the work of every man. our sea-horse stands full to the breast,- sluggards and cowards must not rest." when they came west to england, giparde said the northmen had slandered him. a meeting was appointed, and a count came to it, and the case was brought before him for trial. he said he was not much acquainted with law cases, as he was but young, and had only been a short time in office; and also, of all things, he said what he least understood to judge about was poetry. "but let us hear what it was." then eldjarn sang:- "i heard that in the bloody fight giparde drove all our foes to flight: brave giparde would the foe abide, while all our men ran off to hide. at foxerne the fight was won by giparde's valour all alone; where giparde fought, alone was he; not one survived to fight or flee." then said the count, "although i know but little about skald-craft, i can hear that this is no slander, but rather the highest praise and honour." giparde could say nothing against it, yet he felt it was a mockery. 16. battle of foxerne. the spring after, as soon as the ice broke up, king magnus, with a great army, sailed eastwards to the gaut river, and went up the eastern arm of it, laying waste all that belonged to the swedish dominions. when they came to foxerne they landed from their vessels; but as they came over a river on their way an army of gautland people came against them, and there was immediately a great battle, in which the northmen were overwhelmed by numbers, driven to flight, and many of them killed near to a waterfall. king magnus fled, and the gautlanders pursued, and killed those they could get near. king magnus was easily known. he was a very stout man, and had a red short cloak over him, and bright yellow hair like silk that fell over his shoulders. ogmund skoptason, who was a tall and handsome man, rode on one side of the king. he said, "sire, give me that cloak." the king said, "what would you do with it?" "i would like to have it," said ogmund; "and you have given me greater gifts, sire." the road was such that there were great and wide plains, so that the gautlanders and northmen were always in sight of each other, unless where clumps of wood and bushes concealed them from each other now and then. the king gave ogmund the cloak and he put it on. when they came out again upon the plain ground, ogmund and his people rode off right across the road. the gautlanders, supposing this must be the king, rode all after him, and the king proceeded to the ships. ogmund escaped with great difficulty; however, he reached the ships at last in safety. king magnus then sailed down the river, and proceeded north to viken. 17. meeting of the kings at the gaut river. the following summer a meeting of the kings was agreed upon at konghelle on the gaut river; and king magnus, the swedish king, inge, and the danish king, eirik sveinson, all met there, after giving each other safe conduct to the meeting. now when the thing had sat down the kings went forward upon the plain, apart from the rest of the people, and they talked with each other a little while. then they returned to their people, and a treaty was brought about, by which each should possess the dominions his forefathers had held before him; but each should make good to his own men the waste and manslaughter suffered by them, and then they should agree between themselves about settling this with each other. king magnus should marry king inge's daughter margaret, who afterwards was called peace-offering. this was proclaimed to the people; and thus, within a little hour, the greatest enemies were made the best of friends. it was observed by the people that none had ever seen men with more of the air of chiefs than these had. king inge was the largest and stoutest, and, from his age, of the most dignified appearance. king magnus appeared the most gallant and brisk, and king eirik the most handsome. but they were all handsome men; stout, gallant, and ready in speech. after this was settled they parted. 18. king magnus's marriage. king magnus got margaret, king inge's daughter, as above related; and she was sent from svithjod to norway with an honourable retinue. king magnus had some children before, whose names shall here be given. the one of his sons who was of a mean mother was called eystein; the other, who was a year younger, was called sigurd, and his mother's name was thora. olaf was the name of a third son, who was much younger than the two first mentioned, and whose mother was sigrid, a daughter of saxe of vik, who was a respectable man in the throndhjem country; she was the king's concubine. people say that when king magnus came home from his viking cruise to the western countries, he and many of his people brought with them a great deal of the habits and fashion of clothing of those western parts. they went about on the streets with bare legs, and had short kirtles and over-cloaks; and therefore his men called him magnus barefoot or bareleg. some called him magnus the tall, others magnus the strife-lover. he was distinguished among other men by his tall stature. the mark of his height is put down in mary church, in the merchant town of nidaros, which king harald built. in the northern door there were cut into the wall three crosses, one for harald's stature, one for olaf's, and one for magnus's; and which crosses each of them could with the greatest ease kiss. the upper was harald's cross; the lowest was magnus's; and olaf's was in the middle, about equally distant from both. it is said that magnus composed the following verses about the emperor's daughter:- "the ring of arms where blue swords gleam, the battle-shout, the eagle's scream, the joy of war, no more can please: matilda is far o'er the seas. my sword may break, my shield be cleft, of land or life i may be reft; yet i could sleep, but for one care,- one, o'er the seas, with light-brown hair." he also composed the following:- "the time that breeds delay feels long, the skald feels weary of his song; what sweetens, brightens, eases life? 'tis a sweet-smiling lovely wife. my time feels long in thing affairs, in things my loved one ne'er appears. the folk full-dressed, while i am sad, talk and oppose--can i be glad?" when king magnus heard the friendly words the emperor's daughter had spoken about him--that she had said such a man as king magnus was appeared to her an excellent man, he composed the following:- "the lover hears,--across the sea, a favouring word was breathed to me. the lovely one with light-brown hair may trust her thoughts to senseless air; her thoughts will find like thoughts in me; and though my love i cannot see, affection's thoughts fly in the wind, and meet each other, true and kind." 19. of the quarrel of king magnus and skopte. skopte ogmundson came into variance with king magnus, and they quarrelled about the inheritance of a deceased person which skopte retained; but the king demanded it with so much earnestness, that it had a dangerous appearance. many meetings were held about the affair, and skopte took the resolution that he and his son should never put themselves into the king's power at the same time; and besides there was no necessity to do so. when skopte was with the king he represented to him that there was relationship between the king and him; and also that he, skopte, had always been the king's friend, and his father's likewise, and that their friendship had never been shaken. he added, "people might know that i have sense enough not to hold a strife, sire, with you, if i was wrong in what i asked; but it is inherited from my ancestors to defend my rights against any man, without distinction of persons." the king was just the same on this point, and his resolution was by no means softened by such a speech. then skopte went home. 20. fin skoptason's proceedings. then fin skoptason went to the king, spoke with him, and entreated him to render justice to the father and son in this business. the king answers angrily and sharply. then said fin, "i expected something else, sire, from you, than that you would use the law's vexations against me when i took my seat in kvaldinsey island, which few of your other friends would do; as they said, what was true, that those who were left there were deserted and doomed to death, if king inge had not shown greater generosity to us than you did; although many consider that we brought shame and disgrace only from thence." the king was not to be moved by this speech, and fin returned home. 21. ogmund skoptason's proceedings. then came ogmund skoptason to the king; and when he came before him he produced his errand, and begged the king to do what was right and proper towards him and his father. the king insisted that the right was on his side, and said they were "particularly impudent." then said ogmund, "it is a very easy thing for thee, having the power, to do me and my father injustice; and i must say the old proverb is true, that one whose life you save gives none, or a very bad return. this i shall add, that never again shall i come into thy service; nor my father, if i can help it." then ogmund went home, and they never saw each other again. 22. skopte ogmundson's voyage abroad. the spring after, skopte ogmundson made ready to travel out of the country. they had five long-ships all well equipped. his sons, ogmund, fin, and thord, accompanied him on this journey. it was very late before they were ready, and in autumn they went over to flanders, and wintered there. early in spring they sailed westward to valland, and stayed there all summer. then they sailed further, and through norvasund; and came in autumn to rome, where skopte died. all, both father and sons, died on this journey. thord, who died in sicily, lived the longest. it is a common saying among the people that skopte was the first northman who sailed through norvasund; and this voyage was much celebrated. 23. miracle of king olaf the saint at a fire. it happened once in the merchant town (nidaros) where king olaf reposes, that there broke out a fire in the town which spread around. then olaf's shrine was taken out of the church, and set up opposite the fire. thereupon came a crazy foolish man, struck the shrine, threatened the holy saint, and said all must be consumed by the flames, both churches and other houses, if he did not save them by his prayers. now the burning of the church did cease, by the help of almighty god; but the insane man got sore eyes on the following night, and he lay there until king olaf entreated god almighty to be merciful to him; after which he recovered in the same church. 24. miracle of king olaf on a lame woman. it happened once in the merchant town that a woman was brought to the place where the holy king olaf reposes. she was so miserably shaped, that she was altogether crumpled up; so that both her feet lay in a circle against her loins. but as she was diligent in her prayers, often weeping and making vows to king olaf, he cured her great infirmities; so that feet, legs, and other limbs straightened, and every limb and part came to the right use for which they were made. before she could not creep there, and now she went away active and brisk to her family and home. 25. war in ireland. when king magnus had been nine years king of norway (a.d. 1094-1102), he equipped himself to go out of the country with a great force. he sailed out into the west sea with the finest men who could be got in norway. all the powerful men of the country followed him; such as sigurd hranason, vidkun jonson, dag eilifson, serk of sogn, eyvind olboge, the king's marshal ulf hranason, brother of sigurd, and many other great men. with all this armament the king sailed west to the orkney islands, from whence he took with him earl erlend's sons, magnus and erling, and then sailed to the southern hebudes. but as he lay under the scotch land, magnus erlendson ran away in the night from the king's ship, swam to the shore, escaped into the woods, and came at last to the scotch king's court. king magnus sailed to ireland with his fleet, and plundered there. king myrkjartan came to his assistance, and they conquered a great part of the country, both dublin and dyflinnarskire (dublin shire). king magnus was in winter (a.d. 1102) up in connaught with king myrkjartan, but set men to defend the country he had taken. towards spring both kings went westward with their army all the way to ulster, where they had many battles, subdued the country, and had conquered the greatest part of ulster when myrkjartan returned home to connaught. 26. king magnus's foray on the land. king magnus rigged his ships, and intended returning to norway, but set his men to defend the country of dublin. he lay at ulster ready for sea with his whole fleet. as they thought they needed cattle for ship-provision, king magnus sent a message to king myrkjartan, telling him to send some cattle for slaughter; and appointed the day before bartholomew's day as the day they should arrive, if the messengers reached him in safety; but the cattle had not made their appearance the evening before bartholomew's mass. on the mass-day itself, when the sun rose in the sky, king magnus went on shore himself with the greater part of his men, to look after his people, and to carry off cattle from the coast. the weather was calm, the sun shone, and the road lay through mires and mosses, and there were paths cut through; but there was brushwood on each side of the road. when they came somewhat farther, they reached a height from which they had a wide view. they saw from it a great dust rising up the country, as of horsemen, and they said to each other, "that must be the irish army;" but others said, "it was their own men returning with the cattle." they halted there; and eyvind olboge said, "how, sire, do you intend to direct the march? the men think we are advancing imprudently. you know the irish are treacherous; think, therefore, of a good counsel for your men." then the king said, "let us draw up our men, and be ready, if there be treachery." this was done, and the king and eyvind went before the line. king magnus had a helmet on his head; a red shield, in which was inlaid a gilded lion; and was girt with the sword of legbit, of which the hilt was of tooth (ivory), and handgrip wound about with gold thread; and the sword was extremely sharp. in his hand he had a short spear, and a red silk short cloak, over his coat, on which, both before and behind, was embroidered a lion in yellow silk; and all men acknowledged that they never had seen a brisker, statelier man. eyvind had also a red silk cloak like the king's; and he also was a stout, handsome, warlike man. 27. fall of king magnus. when the dust-cloud approached nearer they knew their own men, who were driving the cattle. the irish king had been faithful to the promises he had given the king, and had sent them. thereupon they all turned towards the ships, and it was mid-day. when they came to the mires they went but slowly over the boggy places; and then the irish started up on every side against them from every bushy point of land, and the battle began instantly. the northmen were going divided in various heaps, so that many of them fell. then said eyvind to the king, "unfortunate is this march to our people, and we must instantly hit upon some good plan." the king answered, "call all the men together with the war-horns under the banner, and the men who are here shall make a rampart with their shields, and thus we will retreat backwards out of the mires; and we will clear ourselves fast enough when we get upon firm ground." the irish shot boldly; and although they fell in crowds, there came always two in the place of one. now when the king had come to the nearest ditch there was a very difficult crossing, and few places were passable; so that many northmen fell there. then the king called to his lenderman thorgrim skinhufa, who was an upland man, and ordered him to go over the ditch with his division. "we shall defend you," said he, "in the meantime, so that no harm shall come to you. go out then to those holms, and shoot at them from thence; for ye are good bowmen." when thorgrim and his men came over the ditch they cast their shields behind their backs, and set off to the ships. when the king saw this, he said, "thou art deserting thy king in an unmanly way. i was foolish in making thee a lenderman, and driving sigurd hund out of the country; for never would he have behaved so." king magnus received a wound, being pierced by a spear through both thighs above the knees. the king laid hold of the shaft between his legs, broke the spear in two, and said, "thus we break spear-shafts, my lads; let us go briskly on. nothing hurts me." a little after king magnus was struck in the neck with an irish axe, and this was his death-wound. then those who were behind fled. vidkun jonson instantly killed the man who had given the king his death-wound, and fled, after having received three wounds; but brought the king's banner and the sword legbit to the ships. vidkun was the last man who fled; the other next to him was sigurd hranason, and the third before him, dag eilifson. there fell with king magnus, eyvind olboge, ulf hranason, and many other great people. many of the northmen fell, but many more of the irish. the northmen who escaped sailed away immediately in autumn. erling, earl erlend's'son, fell with king magnus in ireland; but the men who fled from ireland came to the orkney islands. now when king sigurd heard that his father had fallen, he set off immediately, leaving the irish king's daughter behind, and proceeded in autumn with the whole fleet directly to norway. 28. of king magnus and vidkun jonson. king magnus was ten years king of norway (a.d. 1094-1105), and in his days there was good peace kept within the country; but the people were sorely oppressed with levies. king magnus was beloved by his men, but the bondes thought him harsh. the words have been transmitted from him that he said when his friends observed that he proceeded incautiously when he was on his expeditions abroad,--"the kings are made for honour, not for long life." king magnus was nearly thirty years of age when he fell. vidkun did not fly until he had killed the man who gave the king his mortal wound, and for this cause king magnus's sons had him in the most affectionate regard. saga of sigurd the crusader and his brothers eystein and olaf. preliminary remarks. "agrip", "fagrskinna", and "morkinskinna" more or less complete the story of the sons of magnus. they contain some things omitted by snorre, while, on the other hand, some facts related by snorre are not found in the above sources. thjodrek the monk tells of sigurd that he made a journey to jerusalem, conquered many heathen cities, and among them sidon; that he captured a cave defended by robbers, received presents from baldwin, returned to norway in eystein's lifetime, and became insane, as a result, as some say, of a poisonous drink. the three brothers became kings in the year a.d. 1103. olaf died 1115, eystein 1122 or 1123, sigurd 1130. skalds quoted in this saga are: thorarin stutfeld, einar skulason, haldor skvaldre, and arne fjoruskeif. 1. beginning of the reign of king magnus's sons. after king magnus barefoot's fall, his sons, eystein, sigurd, and olaf, took the kingdom of norway. eystein got the northern, and sigurd the southern part of the country. king olaf was then four or five years old, and the third part of the country which he had was under the management of his two brothers. king sigurd was chosen king when he was thirteen or fourteen years old, and eystein was a year older. king sigurd left west of the sea the irish king's daughter. when king magnus's sons were chosen kings, the men who had followed skopte ogmundson returned home. some had been to jerusalem, some to constantinople; and there they had made themselves renowned, and they had many kinds of novelties to talk about. by these extraordinary tidings many men in norway were incited to the same expedition; and it was also told that the northmen who liked to go into the military service at constantinople found many opportunities of getting property. then these northmen desired much that one of the two kings, either eystein or sigurd, should go as commander of the troop which was preparing for this expedition. the kings agreed to this, and carried on the equipment at their common expense. many great men, both of the lendermen and bondes, took part in this enterprise; and when all was ready for the journey it was determined that sigurd should go, and eystein in the meantime, should rule the kingdom upon their joint account. 2. of the earls of orkney. a year or two after king magnus barefoot's fall, hakon, a son of earl paul, came from orkney. the kings gave him the earldom and government of the orkney islands, as the earls before him, his father paul or his uncle erland, had possessed it; and earl hakon then sailed back immediately to orkney. 3. king sigurd's journey out of the country. four years after the fall of king magnus (a.d. 1107), king sigurd sailed with his people from norway. he had then sixty ships. so says thorarin stutfeld:- "a young king just and kind, people of loyal mind: such brave men soon agree,- to distant lands they sail with glee. to the distant holy land a brave and pious band, magnificent and gay, in sixty long-ships glide away." king sigurd sailed in autumn to england, where henry, son of william the bastard, was then king, and sigurd remained with him all winter. so says einar skulason:- "the king is on the waves! the storm he boldly braves. his ocean-steed, with winged speed, o'er the white-flashing surges, to england's coast he urges; and there he stays the winter o'er: more gallant king ne'er trod that shore." 4. of king sigurd's journey. in spring king sigurd and his fleet sailed westward to valland (a.d. 1108), and in autumn came to galicia, where he stayed the second winter (a.d. 1109). so says einar skulason:- "our king, whose land so wide no kingdom stands beside, in jacob's land next winter spent, on holy things intent; and i have heard the royal youth cut off an earl who swerved from truth. our brave king will endure no ill,- the hawks with him will get their fill." it went thus:--the earl who ruled over the land made an agreement with king sigurd, that he should provide king sigurd and his men a market at which they could purchase victuals all the winter; but this he did not fulfil longer than to about yule. it began then to be difficult to get food and necessaries, for it is a poor barren land. then king sigurd with a great body of men went against a castle which belonged to the earl; and the earl fled from it, having but few people. king sigurd took there a great deal of victuals and of other booty, which he put on board of his ships, and then made ready and proceeded westward to spain. it so fell out, as the king was sailing past spain, that some vikings who were cruising for plunder met him with a fleet of galleys, and king sigurd attacked them. this was his first battle with heathen men; and he won it, and took eight galleys from them. so says haldor skvaldre:- "bold vikings, not slow to the death-fray to go, meet our norse king by chance, and their galleys advance. the bold vikings lost many a man of their host, and eight galleys too, with cargo and crew." thereafter king sigurd sailed against a castle called sintre and fought another battle. this castle is in spain, and was occupied by many heathens, who from thence plundered christian people. king sigurd took the castle, and killed every man in it, because they refused to be baptized; and he got there an immense booty. so says haldor skvaldre:- "from spain i have much news to tell of what our generous king befell. and first he routs the viking crew, at cintra next the heathens slew; the men he treated as god's foes, who dared the true faith to oppose. no man he spared who would not take the christian faith for jesus' sake." 5. lisbon taken. after this king sigurd sailed with his fleet to lisbon, which is a great city in spain, half christian and half heathen; for there lies the division between christian spain and heathen spain, and all the districts which lie west of the city are occupied by heathens. there king sigurd had his third battle with the heathens, and gained the victory, and with it a great booty. so says haldor skvaldre:- "the son of kings on lisbon's plains a third and bloody battle gains. he and his norsemen boldly land, running their stout ships on the strand." then king sigurd sailed westwards along heathen spain, and brought up at a town called alkasse; and here he had his fourth battle with the heathens, and took the town, and killed so many people that the town was left empty. they got there also immense booty. so says haldor skvaldre:- "a fourth great battle, i am told, our norse king and his people hold at alkasse; and here again the victory fell to our norsemen." and also this verse:- "i heard that through the town he went, and heathen widows' wild lament resounded in the empty halls; for every townsman flies or falls." 6. battle in the island forminterra. king sigurd then proceeded on his voyage, and came to norfasund; and in the sound he was met by a large viking force, and the king gave them battle; and this was his fifth engagement with heathens since the time he left norway. he gained the victory here also. so says haldor skvaldre:- "ye moistened your dry swords with blood, as through norfasund ye stood; the screaming raven got a feast, as ye sailed onward to the east." king sigurd then sailed eastward along the coast of serkland, and came to an island there called forminterra. there a great many heathen moors had taken up their dwelling in a cave, and had built a strong stone wall before its mouth. they harried the country all round, and carried all their booty to their cave. king sigurd landed on this island, and went to the cave; but it lay in a precipice, and there was a high winding path to the stone wall, and the precipice above projected over it. the heathens defended the stone wall, and were not afraid of the northmen's arms; for they could throw stones, or shoot down upon the northmen under their feet; neither did the northmen, under such circumstances, dare to mount up. the heathens took their clothes and other valuable things, carried them out upon the wall, spread them out before the northmen, shouted, and defied them, and upbraided them as cowards. then sigurd fell upon this plan. he had two ship's boats, such as we call barks, drawn up the precipice right above the mouth of the cave; and had thick ropes fastened around the stem, stern, and hull of each. in these boats as many men went as could find room, and then the boats were lowered by the ropes down in front of the mouth of the cave; and the men in the boats shot with stones and missiles into the cave, and the heathens were thus driven from the stone wall. then sigurd with his troops climbed up the precipice to the foot of the stone wall, which they succeeded in breaking down, so that they came into the cave. now the heathens fled within the stone wall that was built across the cave; on which the king ordered large trees to be brought to the cave, made a great pile in the mouth of it, and set fire to the wood. when the fire and smoke got the upper hand, some of the heathens lost their lives in it; some fled; some fell by the hands of the northmen; and part were killed, part burned; and the northmen made the greatest booty they had got on all their expeditions. so says halder skvaldre:- "forminterra lay in the victor's way; his ships' stems fly to victory. the bluemen there must fire bear, and norsemen's steel at their hearts feel." and also thus:- "'twas a feat of renown,- the boat lowered down, with a boat's crew brave, in front of the cave; while up the rock scaling, and comrades up trailing, the norsemen gain, and the bluemen are slain." and also thorarin stutfeld says:- "the king's men up the mountain's side drag two boats from the ocean's tide; the two boats lay, like hill-wolves grey. now o'er the rock in ropes they're swinging well manned, and death to bluemen bringing; they hang before the robber's door." 7. of the battles of iviza and minorca. thereafter king sigurd proceeded on his expedition, and came to an island called iviza (ivica), and had there his seventh battle, and gained a victory. so says haldor skvaldre:- "his ships at ivica now ride, the king's, whose fame spreads far and wide; and hear the bearers of the shield their arms again in battle wield." thereafter king sigurd came to an island called manork (minorca), and held there his eighth battle with heathen men, and gained the victory. so says haldor skvaldre:- "on green minorca's plains the eighth battle now he gains: again the heathen foe falls at the norse king's blow." 8. duke roger made a king. in spring king sigurd came to sicily (a.d. 1109), and remained a long time there. there was then a duke roger in sicily, who received the king kindly, and invited him to a feast. king sigurd came to it with a great retinue, and was splendidly entertained. every day duke roger stood at the company's table, doing service to the king; but the seventh day of the feast, when the people had come to table, and had wiped their hands, king sigurd took the duke by the hand, led him up to the high-seat, and saluted him with the title of king; and gave the right that there should be always a king over the dominion of sicily, although before there had only been earls or dukes over that country. 9. of king roger. king roger of sicily was a very great king. he won and subdued all apulia, and many large islands besides in the greek sea; and therefore he was called roger the great. his son was william, king of sicily, who for a long time had great hostility with the emperor of constantinople. king william had three daughters, but no son. one of his daughters he married to the emperor henry, a son of the emperor frederik; and their son was frederik, who for a short time after was emperor of rome. his second daughter was married to the duke of kipr. the third daughter, margaret, was married to the chief of the corsairs; but the emperor henry killed both these brothers-in-law. the daughter of roger the great, king of sicily, was married to the emperor manuel of constantinople; and their son was the emperor kirjalax. 10. king sigurd's expedition to palestine. in the summer (a.d. 1110) king sigurd sailed across the greek sea to palestine, and thereupon went up to jerusalem, where he met baldwin, king of palestine. king baldwin received him particularly well, and rode with him all the way to the river jordan, and then back to the city of jerusalem. einar skulason speaks thus of it:- "good reason has the skald to sing the generous temper of the king, whose sea-cold keel from northern waves ploughs the blue sea that green isles laves. at acre scarce were we made fast, in holy ground our anchors cast, when the king made a joyful morn to all who toil with him had borne." and again he made these lines:- "to jerusalem he came, he who loves war's noble game, (the skald no greater monarch finds beneath the heaven's wide hall of winds) all sin and evil from him flings in jordan's wave: for all his sins (which all must praise) he pardon wins." king sigurd stayed a long time in the land of jerusalem (jorsalaland) in autumn, and in the beginning of winter. 11. sidon taken. king baldwin made a magnificent feast for king sigurd and many of his people, and gave him many holy relics. by the orders of king baldwin and the patriarch, there was taken a splinter off the holy cross; and on this holy relic both made oath, that this wood was of the holy cross upon which god himself had been tortured. then this holy relic was given to king sigurd; with the condition that he, and twelve other men with him, should swear to promote christianity with all his power, and erect an archbishop's seat in norway if he could; and also that the cross should be kept where the holy king olaf reposed, and that he should introduce tithes, and also pay them himself. after this king sigurd returned to his ships at acre; and then king baldwin prepared to go to syria, to a heathen town called saet. on this expedition king sigurd accompanied him, and after the kings had besieged the town some time it surrendered, and they took possession of it, and of a great treasure of money; and their men found other booty. king sigurd made a present of his share to king baldwin. so say haldor skvaldre:- "he who for wolves provides the feast seized on the city in the east, the heathen nest; and honour drew, and gold to give, from those he slew." einar skulason also tells of it:- "the norsemen's king, the skalds relate, has ta'en the heathen town of saet: the slinging engine with dread noise gables and roofs with stones destroys. the town wall totters too,--it falls; the norsemen mount the blackened walls. he who stains red the raven's bill has won,--the town lies at his will." thereafter king sigurd went to his ships and made ready to leave palestine. they sailed north to the island cyprus; and king sigurd stayed there a while, and then went to the greek country, and came to the land with all his fleet at engilsnes. here he lay still for a fortnight, although every day it blew a breeze for going before the wind to the north; but sigurd would wait a side wind, so that the sails might stretch fore and aft in the ship; for in all his sails there was silk joined in, before and behind in the sail, and neither those before nor those behind the ships could see the slightest appearance of this, if the vessel was before the wind; so they would rather wait a side wind. 12. sigurd's expedition to constantinople. when king sigurd sailed into constantinople, he steered near the land. over all the land there are burghs, castles, country towns, the one upon the other without interval. there from the land one could see into the bights of the sails; and the sails stood so close beside each other, that they seemed to form one enclosure. all the people turned out to see king sigurd sailing past. the emperor kirjalax had also heard of king sigurd's expedition, and ordered the city port of constantinople to be opened, which is called the gold tower, through which the emperor rides when he has been long absent from constantinople, or has made a campaign in which he has been victorious. the emperor had precious cloths spread out from the gold tower to laktjarna, which is the name of the emperor's most splendid hall. king sigurd ordered his men to ride in great state into the city, and not to regard all the new things they might see; and this they did. king sigurd and his followers rode with this great splendour into constantinople, and then came to the magnificent hall, where everything was in the grandest style. king sigurd remained here some time. the emperor kirjalax sent his men to him to ask if he would rather accept from the emperor six lispund of gold, or would have the emperor give the games in his honour which the emperor was used to have played at the padreim. king sigurd preferred the games, and the messengers said the spectacle would not cost the emperor less than the money offered. then the emperor prepared for the games, which were held in the usual way; but this day everything went on better for the king than for the queen; for the queen has always the half part in the games, and their men, therefore, always strive against each other in all games. the greeks accordingly think that when the king's men win more games at the padreim than the queen's, the king will gain the victory when he goes into battle. people who have been in constantinople tell that the padreim is thus constructed:--a high wall surrounds a flat plain, which may be compared to a round bare thing-place, with earthen banks all around at the stone wall, on which banks the spectators sit; but the games themselves are in the flat plain. there are many sorts of old events represented concerning the asas, volsungs, and giukungs, in these games; and all the figures are cast in copper, or metal, with so great art that they appear to be living things; and to the people it appears as if they were really present in the games. the games themselves are so artfully and cleverly managed, that people appear to be riding in the air; and at them also are used shot-fire (1), and all kinds of harp-playing, singing, and music instruments. endnotes: (1) fireworks, or the greek fire, probably were used.--l. 13. sigurd and the emperor of constantinople. it is related that king sigurd one day was to give the emperor a feast, and he ordered his men to provide sumptuously all that was necessary for the entertainment; and when all things were provided which are suitable for an entertainment given by a great personage to persons of high dignity, king sigurd ordered his men to go to the street in the city where firewood was sold, as they would require a great quantity to prepare the feast. they said the king need not be afraid of wanting firewood, for every day many loads were brought into the town. when it was necessary, however, to have firewood, it was found that it was all sold, which they told the king. he replied, "go and try if you can get walnuts. they will answer as well as wood for fuel." they went and got as many as they needed. now came the emperor, and his grandees and court, and sat down to table. all was very splendid; and king sigurd received the emperor with great state, and entertained him magnificently. when the queen and the emperor found that nothing was wanting, she sent some persons to inquire what they had used for firewood; and they came to a house filled with walnuts, and they came back and told the queen. "truly," said she, "this is a magnificent king, who spares no expense where his honour is concerned." she had contrived this to try what they would do when they could get no firewood to dress their feast with. 14. king sigurd the crusader's return home. king sigurd soon after prepared for his return home. he gave the emperor all his ships; and the valuable figureheads which were on the king's ships were set up in peter's church, where they have since been to be seen. the emperor gave the king many horses and guides to conduct him through all his dominions. then king sigurd left constantinople; but a great many northmen remained, and went into the emperor's pay. then king sigurd traveled from bulgaria, and through hungary, pannonia. suabia, and bavaria, where he met the roman emperor, lotharius, who received him in the most friendly way, gave him guides through his dominions, and had markets established for him at which he could purchase all he required. when king sigurd came to slesvik in denmark, earl eilif made a sumptuous feast for him; and it was then midsummer. in heidaby he met the danish king, nikolas, who received him in the most friendly way, made a great entertainment for him, accompanied him north to jutland, and gave him a ship provided with everything needful. from thence the king returned to norway, and was joyfully welcomed on his return to his kingdom (a.d. 1110). it was the common talk among the people, that none had ever made so honourable a journey from norway as this of king sigurd. he was twenty years of age, and had been three years on these travels. his brother olaf was then twelve years old. 15. eystein's doings in the meantime. king eystein had also effected much in the country that was useful while king sigurd was on his journey. he established a monastery at nordnes in bergen, and endowed it with much property. he also built michael's church, which is a very splendid stone temple. in the king's house there he also built the church of the apostles, and the great hall, which is the most magnificent wooden structure that was ever built in norway. he also built a church at agdanes with a parapet; and a harbour, where formerly there had been a barren spot only. in nidaros he built in the king's street the church of saint nikolas, which was particularly ornamented with carved work, and all in wood. he also built a church north in vagar in halogaland, and endowed it with property and revenues. 16. of king eystein. king eystein sent a verbal message to the most intelligent and powerful of the men of jamtaland, and invited them to him; received them all as they came with great kindness; accompanied them part of the way home, and gave them presents, and thus enticed them into a friendship with him. now as many of them became accustomed to visit him and receive gifts from him, and he also sent gifts to some who did not come themselves, he soon gained the favour of all the people who had most influence in the country. then he spoke to the jamtaland people, and told them they had done ill in turning away from the kings of norway, and withdrawing from them their taxes and allegiance. he began by saying how the jamtaland people had submitted to the reign of hakon, the foster-son of athelstane, and had long afterwards been subjected to the kings of norway, and he represented to them how many useful things they could get from norway, and how inconvenient it was for them to apply to the swedish king for what they needed. by these speeches he brought matters so far that the jamtaland people of their own accord offered to be subject to him, which they said was useful and necessary for them; and thus, on both sides, it was agreed that the jamtalanders should put their whole country under king eystein. the first beginning was with the men of consequence, who persuaded the people to take an oath of fidelity to king eystein; and then they went to king eystein and confirmed the country to him by oath; and this arrangement has since continued for a long time. king eystein thus conquered jamtaland by his wisdom, and not by hostile inroads, as some of his forefathers had done. 17. of king eystein's perfections. king eystein was the handsomest man that could be seen. he had blue open eyes; his hair yellow and curling; his stature not tall, but of the middle size. he was wise, intelligent, and acquainted with the laws and history. he had much knowledge of mankind, was quick in counsel, prudent in words, and very eloquent and very generous. he was very merry, yet modest; and was liked and beloved, indeed, by all the people. he was married to ingebjorg, a daughter of guthorm, son of thorer of steig; and their daughter was maria, who afterwards married gudbrand skafhogson. 18. of ivar ingimundson. king eystein had in many ways improved the laws and priveleges of the country people, and kept strictly to the laws; and he made himself acquainted with all the laws of norway, and showed in everything great prudence and understanding. what a valuable man king eystein was, how full of friendship, and how much he turned his mind to examining and avoiding everything that could be of disadvantage to his friends, may be seen from his friendship to an iceland man called ivar ingimundson. the man was witty, of great family, and also a poet. the king saw that ivar was out of spirits, and asked him why he was so melancholy. "before, when thou wast with us, we had much amusement with thy conversation. i know thou art a man of too good an understanding to believe that i would do anything against thee. tell me then what it is." he replied, "i cannot tell thee what it is." then said the king, "i will try to guess what it is. are there any men who displease thee?" to this he replied, "no." "dost thou think thou art held in less esteem by me than thou wouldst like to be?" to this he also replied, "no." "hast thou observed anything whatever that has made an impression on thee at which thou art ill pleased?" he replied, it was not this either. the king: "would you like to go to other chiefs or to other men?" to this he answered, "no." the king: "it is difficult now to guess. is there any girl here, or in any other country, to whom thy affections are engaged?" he said it was so. the king said, "do not be melancholy on that account. go to iceland when spring sets in, and i shall give thee money, and presents, and with these my letters and seal to the men who have the principal sway there; and i know no man there who will not obey my persuasions or threats." ivar replied, "my fate is heavier, sire; for my own brother has the girl." then said the king, "throw it out of thy mind; and i know a counsel against this. after yule i will travel in guest-quarters. thou shalt come along with me, and thou will have an opportunity of seeing many beautiful girls; and, provided they are not of the royal stock, i will get thee one of them in marriage." ivar replies, "sire, my fate is still the heavier; for as oft as i see beautiful and excellent girls i only remember the more that girl, and they increase my misery." the king: "then i will give thee property to manage, and estates for thy amusement." he replied, "for that i have no desire." the king: "then i will give thee money, that thou mayest travel in other countries." he said he did not wish this. then said the king, "it is difficult for me to seek farther, for i have proposed everything that occurs to me. there is but one thing else; and that is but little compared to what i have offered thee. come to me every day after the tables are removed, and, if i am not sitting upon important business, i shall talk with thee about the girl in every way that i can think of; and i shall do so at leisure. it sometimes happens that sorrow is lightened by being brought out openly; and thou shalt never go away without some gift." he replied, "this i will do, sire, and return thanks for this inquiry." and now they did so constantly; and when the king was not occupied with weightier affairs he talked with him, and his sorrow by degrees wore away, and he was again in good spirits. 19. of king sigurd. king sigurd was a stout and strong man, with brown hair; of a manly appearance, but not handsome; well grown; of little speech, and often not friendly, but good to his friends, and faithful; not very eloquent, but moral and polite. king sigurd was self-willed, and severe in his revenge; strict in observing the law; was generous; and withal an able, powerful king. his brother olaf was a tall, thin man; handsome in countenance; lively, modest, and popular. when all these brothers, eystein, sigurd and olaf were kings of norway, they did away with many burthens which the danes had laid upon the people in the time that svein alfifason ruled norway; and on this account they were much beloved, both by the people and the great men of the country. 20. of king sigurd's dream. once king sigurd fell into low spirits, so that few could get him to converse, and he sat but a short time at the drinking table. this was heavy on his counsellors, friends, and court; and they begged king eystein to consider how they could discover the cause why the people who came to the king could get no reply to what they laid before him. king eystein answered them, that it was difficult to speak with the king about this; but at last, on the entreaty of many, he promised to do it. once, when they were both together, king eystein brought the matter before his brother, and asked the cause of his melancholy. "it is a great grief, sire, to many to see thee so melancholy; and we would like to know what has occasioned it, or if perchance thou hast heard any news of great weight?" king sigurd replies, that it was not so. "is it then, brother," says king eystein, "that you would like to travel out of the country, and augment your dominions as our father did?" he answered, that it was not that either. "is it, then, that any man here in the country has offended?" to this also the king said "no." "then i would like to know if you have dreamt anything that has occasioned this depression of mind?" the king answered that it was so. "tell me, then, brother, thy dream." king sigurd said, "i will not tell it, unless thou interpret it as it may turn out; and i shall be quick at perceiving if thy interpretation be right or not." king eystein replies, "this is a very difficult matter, sire, on both sides; as i am exposed to thy anger if i cannot interpret it, and to the blame of the public if i can do nothing in the matter; but i will rather fall under your displeasure, even if my interpretation should not be agreeable." king sigurd replies, "it appeared to me, in a dream, as if we brothers were all sitting on a bench in front of christ church in throndhjem; and it appeared to me as if our relative, king olaf the saint, came out of the church adorned with the royal raiment glancing and splendid, and with the most delightful and joyful countenance. he went to our brother king olaf, took him by the hand, and said cheerfully, to him, 'come with me, friend.' on which he appeared to stand up and go into the church. soon after king olaf the saint came out of the church, but not so gay and brilliant as before. now he went to thee, brother, and said to thee that thou shouldst go with him; on which he led thee with him, and ye went into the church. then i thought, and waited for it, that he would come to me, and meet me; but it was not so. then i was seized with great sorrow, and great dread and anxiety fell upon me, so that i was altogether without strength; and then i awoke." king eystein replies, "thus i interpret your dream, sire,--that the bench betokens the kingdom we brothers have; and as you thought king olaf came with so glad a countenance to our brother, king olaf, he will likely live the shortest time of us brothers, and have all good to expect hereafter; for he is amiable, young in years, and has gone but little into excess, and king olaf the saint must help him. but as you thought he came towards me, but not with so much joy, i may possibly live a few years longer, but not become old, and i trust his providence will stand over me; but that he did not come to me with the same splendour and glory as to our brother olaf, that will be because, in many ways, i have sinned and transgressed his command. if he delayed coming to thee, i think that in no way betokens thy death, but rather a long life; but it may be that some heavy accident may occur to thee, as there was an unaccountable dread overpowering thee; but i foretell that thou will be the oldest of us, and wilt rule the kingdom longest." then said sigurd, "this is well and intelligently interpreted, and it is likely it will be so." and now the king began to be cheerful again. 21. of king sigurd's marriage. king sigurd married malmfrid, a daughter of king harald valdemarson, eastward in novgorod. king harald valdemarson's mother was queen gyda the old, a daughter of the swedish king, inge steinkelson. harald valdemarson's other daughter, sister to malmfrid, was ingebjorg, who was married to canute lavard, a son of the danish king, eirik the good, and grandson of king svein ulfson. canute's and ingebjorg's children were, the danish king, valdemar, who came to the danish kingdom after svein eirikson; and daughters margaret, christina, and catherine. margaret was married to stig hvitaled; and their daughter was christina, married to the swedish king, karl sorkvison, and their son was king sorkver. 22. of the cases before the thing. the king's relative, sigurd hranason, came into strife with king sigurd. he had had the lapland collectorship on the king's account, because of their relationship and long friendship, and also of the many services sigurd hranason had done to the kings; for he was a very distinguished, popular man. but it happened to him, as it often does to others, that persons more wicked and jealous than upright slandered him to king sigurd, and whispered in the king's ear that he took more of the laplander's tribute to himself than was proper. they spoke so long about this, that king sigurd conceived a dislike and anger to him, and sent a message to him. when he appeared before the king, the king carried these feelings with him, and said, "i did not expect that thou shouldst have repaid me for thy great fiefs and other dignities by taking the king's property, and abstracting a greater portion of it than is allowable." sigurd hranason replies, "it is not true that has been told you; for i have only taken such portion as i had your permission to take." king sigurd replies, "thou shalt not slip away with this; but the matter shall be seriously treated before it comes to an end." with that they parted. soon after, by the advice of his friends, the king laid an action against sigurd hranason at the thing-meeting in bergen, and would have him made an outlaw. now when the business took this turn, and appeared so dangerous, sigurd hranason went to king eystein, and told him what mischief king sigurd intended to do him, and entreated his assistance. king eystein replied, "this is a difficult matter that you propose to me, to speak against my brother; and there is a great difference between defending a cause and pursuing it in law;" and added, that this was a matter which concerned him and sigurd equally. "but for thy distress, and our relationship, i shall bring in a word for thee." soon after eystein visited king sigurd, and entreated him to spare the man, reminding him of the relationship between them and sigurd hranason, who was married to their aunt, skialdvor; and said he would pay the penalty for the crime committed against the king, although he could not with truth impute any blame to him in the matter. besides, he reminded the king of the long friendship with sigurd hranason. king sigurd replied, that it was better government to punish such acts. then king eystein replied, "if thou, brother, wilt follow the law, and punish such acts according to the country's privileges, then it would be most correct that sigurd hranason produce his witnesses, and that the case be judged at the thing, but not at a meeting; for the case comes under the law of the land, not under bjarkey law." then said sigurd, "it may possibly be so that the case belongs to it, as thou sayest, king eystein; and if it be against law what has hitherto been done in this case, then we shall bring it before the thing." then the kings parted, and each seemed determined to take his own way. king sigurd summoned the parties in the case before the arnarnes thing, and intended to pursue it there. king eystein came also to the thing-place; and when the case was brought forward for judgment, king eystein went to the thing before judgment was given upon sigurd hranason. now king sigurd told the lagmen to pronounce the judgment; but king eystein replied thus: "i trust there are here men acquainted sufficiently with the laws of norway, to know that they cannot condemn a lendermen to be outlawed at this thing." and he then explained how the law was, so that every man clearly understood it. then said king sigurd, "thou art taking up this matter very warmly, king eystein, and it is likely the case will cost more trouble before it comes to an end than we intended; but nevertheless we shall follow it out. i will have him condemned to be outlawed in his native place." then said king eystein, "there are certainly not many things which do not succeed with thee, and especially when there are but few and small folks to oppose one who has carried through such great things." and thus they parted, without anything being concluded in the case. thereafter king sigurd called together a gula thing, went himself there, and summoned to him many high chiefs. king eystein came there also with his suite; and many meetings and conferences were held among people of understanding concerning this case, and it was tried and examined before the lagmen. now king eystein objected that all the parties summoned in any cases tried here belonged to the thing-district; but in this case the deed and the parties belonged to halogaland. the thing accordingly ended in doing nothing, as king eystein had thus made it incompetent. the kings parted in great wrath; and king eystein went north to throndhjem. king sigurd, on the other hand, summoned to him all lendermen, and also the house-servants of the lendermen, and named out of every district a number of the bondes from the south parts of the country, so that he had collected a large army about him; and proceeded with all this crowd northwards along the coast to halogaland, and intended to use all his power to make sigurd hranason an outlaw among his own relations. for this purpose he summoned to him the halogaland and naumudal people, and appointed a thing at hrafnista. king eystein prepared himself also, and proceeded with many people from the town of nidaros to the thing, where he made sigurd hranason, by hand-shake before witnesses, deliver over to him the following and defending this case. at this thing both the kings spoke, each for his own side. then king eystein asks the lagmen where that law was made in norway which gave the bondes the right to judge between the kings of the country, when they had pleas with each other. "i shall bring witnesses to prove that sigurd has given the case into my hands; and it is with me, not with sigurd hranason, that king sigurd has to do in this case." the lagmen said that disputes between kings must be judged only at the eyra thing in nidaros. king eystein said, "so i thought that it should be there, and the cases must be removed there." then king sigurd said, "the more difficulties and inconvenience thou bringest upon me in this matter, the more i will persevere in it." and with that they parted. both kings then went south to nidaros town, where they summoned a thing from eight districts. king eystein was in the town with a great many people, but sigurd was on board his ships. when the thing was opened, peace and safe conduct was given to all; and when the people were all collected, and the case should be gone into, bergthor, a son of svein bryggjufot, stood up, and gave his evidence that sigurd hranason had concealed a part of the laplanders' taxes. then king eystein stood up and said, "if thy accusation were true, although we do not know what truth there may be in thy testimony, yet this case has already been dismissed from three things, and a fourth time from a town meeting; and therefore i require that the lagmen acquit sigurd in this case according to law." and they did so. then said king sigurd, "i see sufficiently, king eystein, that thou hast carried this case by law-quirks (1), which i do not understand. but now there remains, king eystein, a way of determining the case which i am more used to, and which i shall now apply." he then retired to his ships, had the tents taken down, laid his whole fleet out at the holm, and held a thing of his people; and told them that early in the morning they should land at iluvellir, and give battle to king eystein. but in the evening, as king sigurd sat at his table in his ship taking his repast, before he was aware of it a man cast himself on the floor of the forehold, and at the king's feet. this was sigurd hranason, who begged the king to take what course with regard to him the king himself thought proper. then came bishop magne and queen malmfrid, and many other great personages, and entreated forgiveness for sigurd hranason; and at their entreaty the king raised him up, took him by the hand, and placed him among his men, and took him along with himself to the south part of the country. in autumn the king gave sigurd hranason leave to go north to his farm, gave him an employment, and was always afterward his friend. after this day, however, the brothers were never much together, and there was no cordiality or cheerfulness among them. endnotes: (1) these law-quirks show a singularly advanced state of law. and deference to the law things, amidst such social disorder and misdeeds.--l. 23. of king olaf's death. king olaf magnuson fell into a sickness which ended in his death. he was buried in christ church in nidaros, and many were in great grief at his death. after olaf's death, eystein and sigurd ruled the country, the three brothers together having been kings of norway for twelve years (a.d. 1104-1115); namely, five years after king sigurd returned home, and seven years before. king olaf was seventeen years old when he died, and it happened on the 24th of december. 24. magnus the blind; his birth. king eystein had been about a year in the east part of the country at that time, and king sigurd was then in the north. king eystein remained a long time that winter in sarpsborg. there was once a powerful and rich bonde called olaf of dal, who dwelt in great dal in aumord, and had two children,--a son called hakon fauk, and a daughter called borghild, who was a very beautiful girl, and prudent, and well skilled in many things. olaf and his children were a long time in winter in sarpsborg, and borghild conversed very often with king eystein; so that many reports were spread about their friendship. the following summer king eystein went north, and king sigurd came eastward, where he remained all winter, and was long in konungahella, which town he greatly enlarged and improved. he built there a great castle of turf and stone, dug a great ditch around it, and built a church and several houses within the castle. the holy cross he allowed to remain at konungahella, and therein did not fulfill the oath he had taken in palestine; but, on the other hand, he established tithe, and most of the other things to which he had bound himself by oath. the reason of his keeping the cross east at the frontier of the country was, that he thought it would be a protection to all the land; but it proved the greatest misfortune to place this relic within the power of the heathens, as it afterwards turned out. when borghild, olaf's daughter, heard it whispered that people talked ill of her conversations and intimacy with king eystein, she went to sarpsborg; and after suitable fasts she carried the iron as proof of her innocence, and cleared herself thereby fully from all offence. when king sigurd heard this, he rode one day as far as usually was two days' travelling, and came to dal to olaf, where he remained all night, made borghild his concubine, and took her away with him. they had a son, who was called magnus, and he was sent immediately to halogaland, to be fostered at bjarkey by vidkun jonson; and he was brought up there. magnus grew up to be the handsomest man that could be seen, and was very soon stout and strong. 25. comparison between the two kings. king eystein and king sigurd went both in spring to guest-quarters in the uplands; and each was entertained in a separate house, and the houses were not very distant from each other. the bondes, however, thought it more convenient that both should be entertained together by turns in each house; and thus they were both at first in the house of king eystein. but in the evening, when the people began to drink, the ale was not good; so that the guests were very quiet and still. then said king eystein, "why are the people so silent? it is more usual in drinking parties that people are merry, so let us fall upon some jest over our ale that will amuse people; for surely, brother sigurd, all people are well pleased when we talk cheerfully." sigurd replies, bluntly, "do you talk as much as you please, but give me leave to be silent." eystein says, "it is a common custom over the ale-table to compare one person with another, and now let us do so." then sigurd was silent. "i see," says king eystein, "that i must begin this amusement. now i will take thee, brother, to compare myself with, and will make it appear so as if we had both equal reputation and property, and that there is no difference in our birth and education." then king sigurd replies, "do you remember that i was always able to throw you when we wrestled, although you are a year older?" then king eystein replied, "but i remember that you was not so good at the games which require agility." sigurd: "do you remember that i could drag you under water, when we swam together, as often as i pleased?" eystein: "but i could swim as far as you, and could dive as well as you; and i could run upon snow-skates so well that nobody could beat me, and you could no more do it than an ox." sigurd: "methinks it is a more useful and suitable accomplishment for a chief to be expert at his bow; and i think you could scarcely draw my bow, even if you took your foot to help." eystein: "i am not strong at the bow as you are, but there is less difference between our shooting near; and i can use the skees much better than you, and in former times that was held a great accomplishment." sigurd: "it appears to me much better for a chief who is to be the superior of other men, that he is conspicuous in a crowd, and strong and powerful in weapons above other men; easily seen, and easily known, where there are many together." eystein: "it is not less a distinction and an ornament that a man is of a handsome appearance, so as to be easily known from others on that account; and this appears to me to suit a chief best, because the best ornament is allied to beauty. i am moreover more knowing in the law than you, and on every subject my words flow more easily than yours." sigurd: "it may be that you know more law-quirks, for i have had something else to do; neither will any deny you a smooth tongue. but there are many who say that your words are not to be trusted; that what you promise is little to be regarded; and that you talk just according to what those who are about you say, which is not kingly." eystein: "this is because, when people bring their cases before me, i wish first to give every man that satisfaction in his affairs which he desires; but afterwards comes the opposite party, and then there is something to be given or taken away very often, in order to mediate between them, so that both may be satisfied. it often happens, too, that i promise whatever is desired of me, that all may be joyful about me. it would be an easy matter for me to do as you do,--to promise evil to all; and i never hear any complain of your not keeping this promise to them." sigurd: "it is the conversation of all that the expedition that i made out of the country was a princely expedition, while you in the meantime sat at home like your father's daughter." eystein: "now you touched the tender spot. i would not have brought up this conversation if i had not known what to reply on this point. i can truly say that i equipt you from home like a sister, before you went upon this expedition." sigurd: "you must have heard that on this expedition i was in many a battle in the saracen's land, and gained the victory in all; and you must have heard of the many valuable articles i acquired, the like of which were never seen before in this country, and i was the most respected wherever the most gallant men were; and, on the other hand, you cannot conceal that you have only a home-bred reputation." eystein: "i have heard that you had several battles abroad, but it was more useful for the country what i was doing in the meantime here at home. i built five churches from the foundations, and a harbour out at agdanes, where it before was impossible to land, and where vessels ply north and south along the coast. i set a warping post and iron ring in the sound of sinholm, and in bergen i built a royal hall, while you were killing bluemen for the devil in serkland. this, i think, was of but little advantage to our kingdom." king sigurd said: "on this expedition i went all the way to jordan and swam across the river. on the edge of the river there is a bush of willows, and there i twisted a knot of willows, and said this knot thou shouldst untie, brother, or take the curse thereto attached." king eystein said: "i shall not go and untie the knot which you tied for me; but if i had been inclined to tie a knot for thee, thou wouldst not have been king of norway at thy return to this country, when with a single ship you came sailing into my fleet." thereupon both were silent, and there was anger on both sides. more things passed between the brothers, from which it appeared that each of them would be greater than the other; however, peace was preserved between them as long as they lived. 26. of king sigurd's sickness. king sigurd was at a feast in the upland, and a bath was made ready for him. when the king came to the bath and the tent was raised over the bathing-tub, the king thought there was a fish in the tub beside him; and a great laughter came upon him, so that he was beside himself, and was out of his mind, and often afterwards these fits returned. magnus barefoot's daughter, ragnhild, was married by her brothers to harald kesia, a son of the danish king, eirik the good; and their sons were magnus, olaf, knut and harald. 27. of king eystein's death. king eystein built a large ship at nidaros, which, in size and shape, was like the long serpent which king olaf trygvason had built. at the stem there was a dragon's head, and at the stern a crooked tail, and both were gilded over. the ship was high-sided; but the fore and aft parts appeared less than they should be. he also made in nidaros many and large dry-docks of the best material, and well timbered. six years after king olaf's death, it happened that king eystein, at a feast at hustadir in stim, was seized with an illness which soon carried him off. he died the 29th of august, 1123, and his body was carried north to nidaros, and buried in christ church; and it is generally said that so many mourners never stood over any man's grave in norway as over king eystein's, at least since the time magnus the good, saint olaf's son, died. eystein had been twenty years (a.d. 1104-1123) king of norway; and after his decease his brother, king sigurd, was the sole king of norway as long as he lived. 28. baptizing the people of smaland. the danish king, nikolas, a son of svein ulfson, married afterwards the queen margaret, a daughter of king inge, who had before been married to king magnus barefoot; and their sons were nikolas and magnus the strong. king nikolas sent a message to king sigurd the crusader, and asked him if he would go with him with all his might and help him to the east of the swedish dominion, smaland, to baptize the inhabitants; for the people who dwelt there had no regard for christianity, although some of them had allowed themselves to be baptized. at that time there were many people all around in the swedish dominions who were heathens, and many were bad christians; for there were some of the kings who renounced christianity, and continued heathen sacrifices, as blotsvein, and afterwards eirik arsale, had done. king sigurd promised to undertake this journey, and the kings appointed their meeting at eyrarsund. king sigurd then summoned all people in norway to a levy, both of men and ships; and when the fleet was assembled he had about 300 ships. king nikolas came very early to the meeting-place, and stayed there a long time; and the bondes murmured much, and said the northmen did not intend to come. thereupon the danish army dispersed, and the king went away with all his fleet. king sigurd came there soon afterwards, and was ill pleased; but sailed east to svimraros, and held a house-thing, at which sigurd spoke about king nikolas's breach of faith, and the northmen, on this account, determined to go marauding in his country. they first plundered a village called tumathorp, which is not far from lund; and then sailed east to the merchant-town of calmar, where they plundered, as well as in smaland, and imposed on the country a tribute of 1500 cattle for ship provision; and the people of smaland received christianity. after this king sigurd turned about with his fleet, and came back to his kingdom with many valuable articles and great booty, which he had gathered on this expedition; and this levy was called the calmar levy. this was the summer before the eclipse. this was the only levy king sigurd carried out as long as he was king. 29. of thorarin stutfeld. it happened once when king sigurd was going from the drinking-table to vespers, that his men were very drunk and merry; and many of them sat outside the church singing the evening song, but their singing was very irregular. then the king said, "who is that fellow i see standing at the church with a skin jacket on?" they answered, that they did not know. then the king said:- "this skin-clad man, in sorry plight, puts all our wisdom here to flight." then the fellow came forward and said:- "i thought that here i might be known, although my dress is scanty grown. 'tis poor, but i must be content: unless, great king, it's thy intent to give me better; for i have seen when i and rags had strangers been." the king answered, "come to me to-morrow when i am at the drink-table." the night passed away; and the morning after the icelander, who was afterwards called thorarin stutfetd, went into the drinking-room. a man stood outside of the door of the room with a horn in his hand, and said, "icelander! the king says that if thou wilt deserve any gift from him thou shalt compose a song before going in, and make it about a man whose name is hakon serkson, and who is called morstrut (1); and speak about that surname in thy song." the man who spoke to him was called arne fioruskeif. then they went into the room; and when thorarin came before the king's seat he recited these verses:- "throndhjem's warrior-king has said the skald should be by gifts repaid, if he before this meeting gave the king's friend serk a passing stave. the generous king has let me know my stave, to please, must be framed so that my poor verse extol the fame of one called hakon lump by name." then said the king, "i never said so, and somebody has been making a mock of thee. hakon himself shall determine what punishment thou shalt have. go into his suite." hakon said, "he shall be welcome among us, for i can see where the joke came from;" and he placed the icelander at his side next to himself, and they were very merry. the day was drawing to a close, and the liquor began to get into their heads, when hakon said, "dost thou not think, icelander, that thou owest me some penalty? and dost thou not see that some trick has been played upon thee?" thorarin replies, "it is true, indeed, that i owe thee some compensation." hakon says, "then we shall be quits, if thou wilt make me another stave about arne." he said he was ready to do so; and they crossed over to the side of the room where arne was sitting, and thorarin gave these verses:- "fioruskeif has often spread, with evil heart and idle head, the eagle's voidings round the land, lampoons and lies, with ready hand. yet this landlouper we all know, in africa scarce fed a crow, of all his arms used in the field, those in most use were helm and shield." arne sprang up instantly, drew his sword, and was going to fall upon him; but hakon told him to let it alone and be quiet, and bade him remember that if it came to a quarrel he would come off the worst himself. thorarin afterwards went up to the king, and said he had composed a poem which he wished the king to hear. the king consented, and the song is known by the name of the stutfeld poem. the king asked thorarin what he intended to do. he replied, it was his intention to go to rome. then the king gave him much money for his pilgrimage, and told him to visit him on his return, and promised to provide for him. endnotes: (1) morstrut is a short, fat, punchy fellow.--l. 30. of sigurd and ottar birting. it is told that king sigurd, one whitsunday, sat at table with many people, among whom were many of his friends; and when he came to his high-seat, people saw that his countenance was very wild, and as if he had been weeping, so that people were afraid of what might follow. the king rolled his eyes, and looked at those who were seated on the benches. then he seized the holy book which he had brought with him from abroad, and which was written all over with gilded letters; so that never had such a costly book come to norway. his queen sat by his side. then said king sigurd, "many are the changes which may take place during a man's lifetime. i had two things which were dear to me above all when i came from abroad, and these were this book and the queen; and now i think the one is only worse and more loathsome than the other, and nothing i have belonging to me that i more detest. the queen does not know herself how hideous she is; for a goat's horn is standing out on her head, and the better i liked her before the worse i like her now." thereupon he cast the book on the fire which was burning on the hall-floor, and gave the queen a blow with his fist between the eyes. the queen wept; but more at the king's' illness than at the blow, or the affront she had suffered. then a man stood up before the king; his name was ottar birting; and he was one of the torch-bearers, although a bonde's son, and was on service that day. he was of small stature, but of agreeable appearance; lively, bold, and full of fun; black haired, and of a dark skin. he ran and snatched the book which the king had cast into the fire, held it out, and said, "different were the days, sire, when you came with great state and splendour to norway, and with great fame and honour; for then all your friends came to meet you with joy, and were glad at your coming. all as one man would have you for king, and have you in the highest regard and honour. but now days of sorrow are come over us; for on this holy festival many of your friends have come to you, and cannot be cheerful on account of your melancholy and ill health. it is much to be desired that you would be merry with them; and do, good king, take this saving advice, make peace first with the queen, and make her joyful whom you have so highly affronted, with a friendly word; and then all your chiefs, friends, and servants; that is my advice." then said king sigurd, "dost thou dare to give me advice, thou great lump of a houseman's lad!" and he sprang up, drew his sword, and swung it with both hands as if going to cut him down. but ottar stood quiet and upright; did not stir from the spot, nor show the slightest sign of fear; and the king turned round the sword-blade which he had waved over ottar's head, and gently touched him on the shoulder with it. then he sat down in silence on his high-seat. all were silent who were in the hall, for nobody dared to say a word. now the king looked around him, milder than before, and said, "it is difficult to know what there is in people. here sat my friends, and lendermen, marshals and shield-bearers, and all the best men in the land; but none did so well against me as this man, who appears to you of little worth compared to any of you, although now he loves me most. i came here like a madman, and would have destroyed my precious property; but he turned aside my deed, and was not afraid of death for it. then he made an able speech, ordering his words so that they were honourable to me, and not saying a single word about things which could increase my vexation; but even avoiding what might, with truth, have been said. so excellent was his speech, that no man here, however great his understanding, could have spoken better. then i sprang up in a pretended rage, and made as if i would have cut him down; but he was courageous as if he had nothing to fear; and seeing that, i let go my purpose; for he was altogether innocent. now ye shall know, my friends, how i intend to reward him; he was before my torchbearer, and shall now be my lenderman; and there shall follow what is still more, that he shall be the most distinguished of my lendermen. go thou and sit among the lendermen, and be a servant no longer." ottar became one of the most celebrated men in norway for various good and praiseworthy deeds. 31. of king sigurd's dream. in king sigurd's latter days he was once at an entertainment at one of his farms; and in the morning when he was dressed he was silent and still, so that his friends were afraid he was not able to govern himself. now the farm bailiff, who was a man of good sense and courage, brought him into conversation, and asked if he had heard any news of such importance that it disturbed his mirth; or if the entertainment had not satisfied him; or if there was anything else that people could remedy. king sigurd said, that none of the things he had mentioned was the cause. "but it is that i think upon the dream i had in the night." "sire," replied he, "may it prove a lucky dream! i would gladly hear it." the king: "i thought that i was in jadar, and looked out towards the sea; and that i saw something very black moving itself; and when it came near it appeared to be a large tree, of which the branches stretched far above the water, and the roots were down in the sea. now when the tree came to the shore it broke into pieces, and drove all about the land, both the mainland and the out-islands, rocks and strands; and it appeared to me as if i saw over all norway along the sea-coast, and saw pieces of that tree, some small and some large, driven into every bight." then said the bailiff, "it is likely that you an best interpret this dream yourself; and i would willingly hear your interpretation of it." then said the king, "this dream appears to me to denote the arrival in this country of some man who will fix his seat here, and whose posterity will spread itself over the land; but with unequal power, as the dream shows." 32. of aslak hane. it so happened once, that king sigurd sat in a gloomy mood among many worthy men. it was friday evening, and the kitchen-master asked what meat should be made ready. the king replies, "what else but flesh-meat?" and so harsh were his words that nobody dared to contradict him, and all were ill at ease. now when people prepared to go to table, dishes of warm flesh-meat were carried in; but all were silent, and grieved at the king's illness. before the blessing was pronounced over the meat, a man called aslak hane spoke. he had been a long time with king sigurd on his journey abroad, and was not a man of any great family; and was small of stature, but fiery. when he perceived how it was, and that none dared to accost the king, he asked, "what is it, sire, that is smoking on the dish before you?" the king replies, "what do you mean, aslak? what do you think it is?" aslak: "i think it is flesh-meat; and i would it were not so." the king: "but if it be so, aslak?" he replied, "it would be vexatious to know that a gallant king, who has gained so much honour in the world, should so forget himself. when you rose up out of jordan, after bathing in the same waters as god himself, with palm-leaves in your hands, and the cross upon your breast, it was something else you promised, sire, than to eat flesh-meat on a friday. if a meaner man were to do so, he would merit a heavy punishment. this royal hall is not so beset as it should be, when it falls upon me, a mean man, to challenge such an act." the king sat silent, and did not partake of the meat; and when the time for eating was drawing to an end, the king ordered the flesh dishes to be removed and other food was brought in, such as it is permitted to use. when the meal-time was almost past, the king began to be cheerful, and to drink. people advised aslak to fly, but he said he would not do so. "i do not see how it could help me; and to tell the truth, it is as good to die now that i have got my will, and have prevented the king from committing a sin. it is for him to kill me if he likes." towards evening the king called him, and said, "who set thee on, aslak hane, to speak such free words to me in the hearing of so many people?" "no one, sire, but myself." the king: "thou wouldst like, no doubt, to know what thou art to have for such boldness; what thinkest thou it deserves." he replies, "if it be well rewarded, sire, i shall be glad; but should it be otherwise, then it is your concern." then the king said, "smaller is thy reward than thou hast deserved. i give thee three farms. it has turned out, what could not have been expected, that thou hast prevented me from a great crime,--thou, and not the lendermen, who are indebted to me for so much good." and so it ended. 33. of a woman brought to the king. one yule eve the king sat in the hall, and the tables were laid out, and the king said, "get me flesh-meat." they answered, "sire, it is not the custom to eat flesh-meat on yule eve." the king said, "if it be not the custom i will make it the custom." they went out, and brought him a dolphin. the king stuck his knife into it, but did not eat of it. then the king said, "bring me a girl here into the hall." they brought him a woman whose head-dress went far down her brows. the king took her hand in his hands, looked at her, and said, "an ill looking girl!" ((lacuna--the rest of this story is missing)) 34. harald gille comes to norway. halkel huk, a son of jon smiorbalte, who was lenderman in more, made a voyage in the west sea, all the way to the south hebudes. a man came to him out of ireland called gillikrist, and gave himself out for a son of king magnus barefoot. his mother came with him, and said his other name was harald. halkel received the man, brought him to norway with him, and went immediately to king sigurd with harald and his mother. when they had told their story to the king, he talked over the matter with his principal men, and bade them give their opinions upon it. they were of different opinions, and all left it to the king himself, although there were several who opposed this; and the king followed his own counsel. king sigurd ordered harald to be called before him, and told him that he would not deny him the proof, by ordeal, of who his father was; but on condition that if he should prove his descent according to his claim, he should not desire the kingdom in the lifetime of king sigurd, or of king magnus: and to this he bound himself by oath. king sigurd said he must tread over hot iron to prove his birth; but this ordeal was thought by many too severe, as he was to undergo it merely to prove his father, and without getting the kingdom; but harald agreed to it, and fixed on the trial by iron: and this ordeal was the greatest ever made in norway; for nine glowing plowshares were laid down, and harald went over them with bare feet, attended by two bishops. three days after the iron trial the ordeal was taken to proof, and the feet were found unburnt. thereafter king sigurd acknowledged harald's relationship; but his son magnus conceived a great hatred of him, and in this many chiefs followed magnus. king sigurd trusted so much to his favour with the whole people of the country, that he desired all men, under oath, to promise to accept magnus after him as their king; and all the people took this oath. 35. race between magnus and harald gille. harald gille was a tall, slender-grown man, of a long neck and face, black eyes, and dark hair, brisk and quick, and wore generally the irish dress of short light clothes. the norse language was difficult for harald, and he brought out words which many laughed at. harald sat late drinking one evening. he spoke with another man about different things in the west in ireland; and among other things, said that there were men in ireland so swift of foot that no horse could overtake them in running. magnus, the king's son, heard this, and said, "now he is lying, as he usually does." harald replies, "it is true that there are men in ireland whom no horse in norway could overtake." they exchanged some words about this, and both were drunk. then said magnus, "thou shalt make a wager with me, and stake thy head if thou canst not run so fast as i ride upon my horse, and i shall stake my gold ring." harald replies, "i did not say that i could run so swiftly; but i said that men are to be found in ireland who will run as fast; and on that i would wager." the king's son magnus replies, "i will not go to ireland about it; we are wagering here, and not there." harald on this went to bed, and would not speak to him more about it. this was in oslo. the following morning, when the early mass was over, magnus rode up the street, and sent a message to harald to come to him. when harald came he was dressed thus. he had on a shirt and trousers which were bound with ribands under his foot-soles, a short cloak, an irish hat on his head, and a spear-shaft in his hand. magnus set up a mark for the race. harald said, "thou hast made the course too long;" but magnus made it at once even much longer, and said it was still too short. there were many spectators. they began the race, and harald followed always the horse's pace; and when they came to the end of the race course, magnus said, "thou hadst hold of the saddle-girth, and the horse dragged thee along." magnus had his swift runner, the gautland horse. they began the race again, and harald ran the whole race-course before the horse. when came to the end harald asked, "had i hold of the saddle-girths now?" magnus replied, "thou hadst the start at first." then magnus let his horse breathe a while, and when he was ready he put the spurs to him, and set off in full gallop. harald stood still, and magnus looked back, and called, "set off now." then harald ran quickly past the horse, and came to the end of the course so long before him that he lay down, and got up and saluted magnus as he came in. then they went home to the town. in the meantime king sigurd had been at high mass, and knew nothing of this until after he had dined that day. then he said to magnus angrily, "thou callest harald useless; but i think thou art a great fool, and knowest nothing of the customs of foreign people. dost thou not know that men in other countries exercise themselves in other feats than in filling themselves with ale, and making themselves mad, and so unfit for everything that they scarcely know each other? give harald his ring, and do not try to make a fool of him again, as long as i am above ground." 36. of sigurd's swimming. it happened once that sigurd was out in his ship, which lay in the harbour; and there lay a merchant ship, which was an iceland trader, at the side of it. harald gille was in the forecastle of the king's ship, and svein rimhildson, a son of knut sveinson of jadar, had his berth the next before him. there was also sigurd sigurdson, a gallant lenderman, who himself commanded a ship. it was a day of beautiful weather and warm sunshine, and many went out to swim, both from the long-ship and the merchant vessel. an iceland man, who was among the swimmers, amused himself by drawing those under water who could not swim so well as himself; and at that the spectators laughed. when king sigurd saw and heard this, he cast off his clothes, sprang into the water, and swam to the icelander, seized him, and pressed him under the water, and held him there; and as soon as the icelander came up the king pressed him down again, and thus the one time after the other. then said sigurd sigurdson, "shall we let the king kill this man?" somebody said, "no one has any wish to interfere." sigurd replies, that "if dag eilifson were here, we should not be without one who dared." then sigurd sprang overboard, swam to the king, took hold of him, and said, "sire, do not kill the man. everybody sees that you are a much better swimmer." the king replies, "let me loose, sigurd: i shall be his death, for he will destroy our people under water." sigurd says, "let us first amuse ourselves; and, icelander, do thou set off to the land," which he did. the king now got loose from sigurd, and swam to his ship, and sigurd went his way: but the king ordered that sigurd should not presume to come into his presence; this was reported to sigurd, and so he went up into the country. 37. of harald and svein rimhildson. in the evening, when people were going to bed, some of the ship's men were still at their games up in the country. harald was with those who played on the land, and told his footboy to go out to the ship, make his bed, and wait for him there. the lad did as he was ordered. the king had gone to sleep; and as the boy thought harald late, he laid himself in harald's berth. svein rimhildson said, "it is a shame for brave men to be brought from their farms at home, and to have here serving boys to sleep beside them." the lad said that harald had ordered him to come there. svein rimhildson said, "we do not so much care for harald himself lying here, if he do not bring here his slaves and beggars;" and seized a riding-whip, and struck the boy on the head until the blood flowed from him. the boy ran immediately up the country, and told harald what had happened, who went immediately out to the ship, to the aft part of the forecastle, and with a pole-axe struck svein so that he received a severe wound on his hands; and then harald went on shore. svein ran to the land after him, and, gathering his friends, took harald prisoner, and they were about hanging him. but while they were busy about this, sigurd sigurdson went out to the king's ship and awoke him. when the king opened his eyes and recognised sigurd, he said. "for this reason thou shalt die, that thou hast intruded into my presence; for thou knowest that i forbade thee:" and with these words the king sprang up. sigurd replied, "that is in your power as soon as you please; but other business is more urgent. go to the land as quickly as possible to help thy brother; for the rogaland people are going to hang him." then said the king, "god give us luck, sigurd! call my trumpeter, and let him call the people all to land, and to meet me." the king sprang on the land, and all who knew him followed him to where the gallows was being erected. the king instantly took harald to him; and all the people gathered to the king in full armour, as they heard the trumpet. then the king ordered that svein and all his comrades should depart from the country as outlaws; but by the intercession of good men the king was prevailed on to let them remain and hold their properties, but no mulct should be paid for svein's wound. then sigurd sigurdson asked if the king wished that he should go forth out of the country. "that will i not," said the king; "for i can never be without thee." 38. of king olaf's miracle. there was a young and poor man called kolbein; and thora, king sigurd the crusader's mother, had ordered his tongue to be cut out of his mouth, and for no other cause than that this young man had taken a piece of meat out of the king-mother's tub which he said the cook had given him, and which the cook had not ventured to serve up to her. the man had long gone about speechless. so says einar skulason in olaf's ballad:- "the proud rich dame, for little cause, had the lad's tongue cut from his jaws: the helpless man, of speech deprived, his dreadful sore wound scarce survived. a few weeks since at hild was seen, as well as ever he had been, the same poor lad--to speech restored by olaf's power, whom he adored." afterwards the young man came to nidaros, and watched in the christ church; but at the second mass for olaf before matins he fell asleep, and thought he saw king olaf the saint coming to him; and that olaf talked to him, and took hold with his hands of the stump of his tongue and pulled it. now when he awoke he found himself restored, and joyfully did he thank our lord and the holy saint olaf, who had pitied and helped him; for he had come there speechless, and had gone to the holy shrine, and went away cured, and with his speech clear and distinct. 39. king olaf's miracle with a prisoner. the heathens took prisoner a young man of danish family and carried him to vindland, where he was in fetters along with other prisoners. in the day-time he was alone in irons, without a guard; but at night a peasant's son was beside him in the chain, that he might not escape from them. this poor man never got sleep or rest from vexation and sorrow, and considered in many ways what could help him; for he had a great dread of slavery, and was pining with hunger and torture. he could not again expect to be ransomed by his friends, as they had already restored him twice from heathen lands with their own money; and he well knew that it would be difficult and expensive for them to submit a third time to this burden. it is well with the man who does not undergo so much in the world as this man knew he had suffered. he saw but one way; and that was to get off and escape if he could. he resolved upon this in the night-time, killed the peasant, and cut his foot off after killing him, and set off to the forest with the chain upon his leg. now when the people knew this, soon after daylight in the morning, they pursued him with two dogs accustomed to trace any one who escaped, and to find him in the forest however carefully he might be concealed. they got him into their hands and beat him, and did him all kinds of mischief; and dragging him home, left barely alive, and showed him no mercy. they tortured him severely; put him in a dark room, in which there lay already sixteen christian men; and bound him both with iron and other tyings, as fast as they could. then he began to think that the misery and pain he had endured before were but shadows to his present sufferings. he saw no man before his eyes in this prison who would beg for mercy for him; no one had compassion on his wretchedness, except the christian men who lay bound with him, who sorrowed with him, and bemoaned his fate together with their own misfortunes and helplessness. one day they advised him to make a vow to the holy king olaf, to devote himself to some office in his sacred house, if he, by god's compassion and saint olaf's prayers could get away from this prison. he gladly agreed to this, and made a vow and prepared himself for the situation they mentioned to him. the night after he thought in his sleep that he saw a man, not tall, standing at his side, who spoke to him thus, "here, thou wretched man, why dost thou not get up?" he replied, "sir, who are you?" "i am king olaf, on whom thou hast called." "oh, my good lord! gladly would i raise myself; but i lie bound with iron and with chains on my legs, and also the other men who lie here." thereupon the king accosts him with the words, "stand up at once and be not afraid; for thou art loose." he awoke immediately, and told his comrades what, had appeared to him in his dream. they told him to stand up, and try if it was true. he stood up, and observed that he was loose. now said his fellow-prisoners, this would help him but little, for the door was locked both on the inside and on the outside. then an old man who sat there in a deplorable condition put in his word, and told him not to doubt the mercy of the man who had loosened his chains; "for he has wrought this miracle on thee that thou shouldst enjoy his mercy, and hereafter be free, without suffering more misery and torture. make haste, then, and seek the door; and if thou are able to slip out, thou art saved." he did so, found the door open, slipped out, and away to the forest. as soon as the vindland people were aware of this they set loose the dogs, and pursued him in great haste; and the poor man lay hid, and saw well where they were following him. but now the hounds lost the trace when they came nearer, and all the eyes that sought him were struck with a blindness, so that nobody could find him, although he lay before their feet; and they all returned home, vexed that they could not find him. king olaf did not permit this man's destruction after he had reached the forest, and restored him also to his health and hearing; for they had so long tortured and beaten him that he had become deaf. at last he came on board of a ship, with two other christian men who had been long afflicted in that country. all of them worked zealously in this vessel, and so had a successful flight. then he repaired to the holy man's house, strong and fit to bear arms. now he was vexed at his vow, went from his promise to the holy king, ran away one day, and came in the evening to a bonde who gave him lodging for god's sake. then in the night he saw three girls coming to him; and handsome and nobly dressed were they. they spoke to him directly, and sharply reprimanded him for having been so bold as to run from the good king who had shown so much compassion to him, first in freeing him from his irons, and then from the prison; and yet he had deserted the mild master into whose service he had entered. then he awoke full of terror, got up early, and told the house-father his dream. the good man had nothing so earnest in life as to send him-back to the holy place. this miracle was first written down by a man who himself saw the man, and the marks of the chains upon his body. 40. king sigurd marries cecilia. in the last period of king sigurd's life, his new and extraordinary resolution was whispered about, that he would be divorced from his queen, and would take cecilia, who was a great man's daughter, to wife. he ordered accordingly a great feast to be prepared, and intended to hold his wedding with her in bergen. now when bishop magne heard this, he was very sorry; and one day the bishop goes to the king's hall, and with him a priest called sigurd, who was afterwards bishop of bergen. when they came to the king's hall, the bishop sent the king a message that he would like to meet him; and asked the king to come out to him. he did so, and came out with a drawn sword in his hand. he received the bishop kindly and asked him to go in and sit down to table with him. the bishop replies, "i have other business now. is it true, sire, what is told me, that thou hast the intention of marrying, and of driving away thy queen, and taking another wife?" the king said it was true. then the bishop changed countenance, and angrily replied, "how can it come into your mind, sire, to do such an act in our bishopric as to betray god's word and law, and the holy church? it surprises me that you treat with such contempt our episcopal office, and your own royal office. i will now do what is my duty; and in the name of god, of the holy king olaf, of peter the apostle, and of the other saints, forbid thee this wickedness." while he thus spoke he stood straight up, as if stretching out his neck to the blow, as if ready if the king chose to let the sword fall; and the priest sigurd, who afterwards was bishop, has declared that the sky appeared to him no bigger than a calf's skin, so frightful did the appearance of the king present itself to him. the king returned to the hall, however, without saying a word; and the bishop went to his house and home so cheerful and gay that he laughed, and saluted every child on his way, and was playing with his fingers. then the priest sigurd asked him the reason, saying, "why are you so cheerful, sir? do you not consider that the king may be exasperated against you? and would it not be better to get out of the way?" then said the bishop, "it appears to me more likely that he will not act so; and besides, what death could be better, or more desirable, than to leave life for the honour of god? or to die for the holy cause of christianity and our own office, by preventing that which is not right? i am so cheerful because i have done what i ought to do." there was much noise in the town about this. the king got ready for a journey, and took with him corn, malt and honey. he went south to stavanger, and prepared a feast there for his marriage with cecilia. when a bishop who ruled there heard of this he went to the king, and asked if it were true that he intended to marry in the lifetime of the queen. the king said it was so. the bishop answers, "if it be so, sire, you must know how much such a thing is forbidden to inferior persons. now it appears as if you thought it was allowable for you, because you have great power, and that it is proper for you, although it is against right and propriety; but i do not know how you will do it in our bishopric, dishonouring thereby god's command, the holy church, and our episcopal authority. but you must bestow a great amount of gifts and estates on this foundation, and thereby pay the mulct due to god and to us for such transgression." then said the king, "take what thou wilt of our possessions. thou art far more reasonable than bishop magne." then the king went away, as well pleased with this bishop as ill pleased with him who had laid a prohibition on him. thereafter the king married the girl, and loved her tenderly. 41. improvement of konungahella. king sigurd improved the town of konungahella so much, that there was not a greater town in norway at the time, and he remained there long for the defence of the frontiers. he built a king's house in the castle, and imposed a duty on all the districts in the neighbourhood of the town, as well as on the townspeople, that every person of nine years of age and upwards should bring to the castle five missile stones for weapons, or as many large stakes sharp at one end and five ells long. in the castle the king built a cross-church of timber, and carefully put together, as far as regards the wood and other materials. the cross-church was consecrated in the 24th year of king sigurd's reign (a.d. 1127). here the king deposited the piece of the holy cross, and many other holy relics. it was called the castle church; and before the high altar he placed the tables he had got made in the greek country, which were of copper and silver, all gilt, and beautifully adorned with jewels. here was also the shrine which the danish king eirik eimune had sent to king sigurd; and the altar book, written with gold letters, which the patriarch had presented to king sigurd. 42. king sigurd's death. three years after the consecration of the cross-church, when king sigurd was stopping at viken, he fell sick (a.d. 1130). he died the night before mary's-mass (august 15), and was buried in halvard's church, where he was laid in the stone wall without the choir on the south side. his son magnus was in the town at the time and took possession of the whole of the king's treasury when king sigurd died. sigurd had been king of norway twenty-seven years (a.d. 1104-1130), and was forty years of age when he died. the time of his reign was good for the country; for there was peace, and crops were good. saga of magnus the blind and of harald gille. preliminary remarks an age of conflict now begins in norway. on his death, in 1130, sigurd left his son magnus and his brother harald. they soon divided the government, and then entered upon a five-years' conflict, until magnus, in 1135, with eyes picked out, went into a convent. the next year, 1136, a new pretender appeared in the person of sigurd slembe, who took king harald's life in 1137. magnus died in 1139. other literature in regard to this epoch is "fagrskinna" and "morkinskinna". the corresponding part of "agrip" is lost. skalds quoted are: haldor skvaldre, einar skulason, and ivar ingemundson. 1. magnus and harald proclaimed kings. king sigurd's son magnus was proclaimed in oslo king of all the country immediately after his father's death, according to the oath which the whole nation had sworn to king sigurd; and many went into his service, and many became his lendermen. magnus was the handsomest man then in norway; of a passionate temper, and cruel, but distinguished in bodily exercises. the favour of the people he owed most to the respect for his father. he was a great drinker, greedy of money, hard, and obstinate. harald gille, on the other hand, was very pleasing in intercourse, gay, and full of mirth; and so generous that he spared in nothing for the sake of his friends. he willingly listened to good advice, so that he allowed others to consult with him and give counsel. with all this he obtained favour and a good repute, and many men attached themselves as much to him as to king magnus. harald was in tunsberg when he heard of his brother king sigurd's death. he called together his friends to a meeting, and it was resolved to hold the hauga thing (1) there in the town. at this thing, harald was chosen king of half the country, and it was called a forced oath which had been taken from him to renounce his paternal heritage. then harald formed a court, and appointed lendermen; and very soon he had as many people about him as king magnus. then men went between them, and matters stood in this way for seven days; but king magnus, finding he had fewer people, was obliged to give way, and to divide the kingdom with harald into two parts. the kingdom accordingly was so divided (october 3, 1130) that each of them should have the half part of the kingdom which king sigurd had possessed; but that king magnus alone should inherit the fleet of ships, the table service, the valuable articles and the movable effects which had belonged to his father, king sigurd. he was notwithstanding the least satisfied with his share. although they were of such different dispositions, they ruled the country for some time in peace. king harald had a son called sigurd, by thora, a daughter of guthorm grabarde. king harald afterwards married ingerid, a daughter of ragnvald, who was a son of the swedish king inge steinkelson. king magnus was married to a daughter of knut lavard, and she was a sister of the danish king valdernar; but king magnus having no affection for her, sent her back to denmark; and from that day everything went ill with him, and he brought upon himself the enmity of her family. endnotes: (1) hauga-thing means a thing held at the tumuli or burial mounds.--l. 2. of the forces of harald and magnus. when the two relations, harald and magnus, had been about three years kings of norway (a.d. 1131-1133), they both passed the fourth winter (a.d. 1134) in the town of nidaros, and invited each other as guests; but their people were always ready for a fight. in spring king magnus sailed southwards along the land with his fleet, and drew all the men he could obtain out of each district, and sounded his friends if they would strengthen him with their power to take the kingly dignity from harald, and give him such a portion of the kingdom, as might be suitable; representing to them that king harald had already renounced the kingdom by oath. king magnus obtained the consent of many powerful men. the same spring harald went to the uplands, and by the upper roads eastwards to viken; and when he heard what king magnus was doing, he also drew together men on his side. wheresoever the two parties went they killed the cattle, or even the people, upon the farms of the adverse party. king magnus had by far the most people, for the main strength of the country lay open to him for collecting men from it. king harald was in viken on the east side of the fjord, and collected men, while they were doing each other damage in property and life. king harald had with him kristrod, his brother by his mother's side, and many other lendermen; but king magnus had many more. king harald was with his forces at a place called fors in ranrike, and went from thence towards the sea. the evening before saint lawrence day (august 10), they had their supper at a place called fyrileif, while the guard kept a watch on horseback all around the house. the watchmen observed king magnus's army hastening towards the house, and consisting of full 6000 men, while king harald had but 1500. now come the watchmen who had to bring the news to king harald of what was going on and say that king magnus's army was now very near the town. the king says, "what will my relation king magnus sigurdson have? he wants not surely to fight us." thjostolf alason replies, "you must certainly, sire, make preparation for that, both for yourself and your men. king magnus has been drawing together an army all the summer for the purpose of giving you battle when he meets you." then king harald stood up, and ordered his men to take their arms. "we shall fight, if our relative king magnus wants to fight us." then the war-horns sounded, and all harald's men went out from the house to an enclosed field, and set up their banners. king harald had on two shirts of ring-mail, but his brother kristrod had no armour on; and a gallant man he was. when king magnus and his men saw king harald's troop they drew up and made their array, and made their line so long that they could surround the whole of king harald's troop. so says haldor skvaldre:- "king magnus on the battle-plain from his long troop-line had great gain; the plain was drenched with warm blood, which lay a red and reeking flood." 3. battle at fyrileif. king magnus had the holy cross carried before him in this battle, and the battle was great and severe. the king's brother, kristrod, had penetrated with his troop into the middle of king magnus's array, and cut down on each side of him, so that people gave way before him everywhere. but a powerful bonde who was in king harald's array raised his spear with both hands, and drove it through between kristrod's shoulders, so that it came out at his breast; and thus fell kristrod. many who were near asked the bonde why he had done so foul a deed. the bonde replies, "he knows the consequences now of slaughtering my cattle in summer, and taking all that was in my house, and forcing me to follow him here. i determined to give him some return when the opportunity came." after this king harald's army took to flight, and he fled himself, with all his men. many fell; and ingemar sveinson of ask, a great chief and lenderman, got there his death-wound, and nearly sixty of king harald's court-men also fell. harald himself fled eastward to viken to his ships, and went out of the country to king eirik eimune in denmark, and found him in seeland and sought aid from him. king eirik received him well, and principally because they had sworn to each other to be as brothers (1); and gave him halland as a fief to rule over, and gave him seven long-ships, but without equipment. thereafter king harald went northwards through halland, and many northmen came to meet him. after this battle king magnus subdued the whole country, giving life and safety to all who were wounded, and had them taken care of equally with his own men. he then called the whole country his own, and had a choice of the best men who were in the country. when they held a council among themselves afterwards, sigurd sigurdson, thorer ingeridson, and all the men of most understanding, advised that they should keep their forces together in viken, and remain there, in case harald should return from the south; but king magnus would take his own way, and went north to bergen. there he sat all winter (a.d. 1135), and allowed his men to leave him; on which the lendermen returned home to their own houses. endnotes: (1) these brotherhoods, by which one man was bound by oath to aid or avenge another, were common in the middle ages among all ranks. "sworn brothers" is still a common expression with us.--l. 4. death of asbjorn and of nereid. king harald came to konungahella with the men who had followed him from denmark. the lendermen and town's burgesses collected a force against him, which they drew up in a thick array above the town. king harald landed from his ships, and sent a message to the bondes, desiring that they would not deny him his land, as he wanted no more than what of right belonged to him. then mediators went between them; and it came to this, that the bondes dismissed their troops, and submitted to him. thereupon he bestowed fiefs and property on the lendermen, that they might stand by him, and paid the bondes who joined him the lawful mulcts for what they had lost. a great body of men attached themselves, therefore, to king harald; and he proceeded westwards to viken, where he gave peace to all men, except to king magnus's people, whom he plundered and killed wherever he found them. and when he came west to sarpsborg he took prisoners two of king magnus s lendermen, asbjorn and his brother nereid; and gave them the choice that one should be hanged, and the other thrown into the sarpsborg waterfall, and they might choose as they pleased. asbjorn chose to be thrown into the cataract, for he was the elder of the two, and this death appeared the most dreadful; and so it was done. halder skvaldre tells of this:- "asbjorn, who opposed the king, o'er the wild cataract they fling: nereid, who opposed the king, must on hagbard's high tree swing. the king given food in many a way to foul-mouthed beasts and birds of prey: the generous men who dare oppose are treated as the worst of foes." thereafter king harald proceeded north to tunsberg, where he was well received, and a large force gathered to him. 5. of the counsels proposed. when king magnus, who was in bergen, heard these tidings, he called together all the chiefs who were in the town, and asked them their counsel, and what they should now do. then sigurd sigurdson said, "here i can give a good advice. let a ship be manned with good men, and put me, or any other lenderman, to command it; send it to thy relation, king harald, and offer him peace according to the conditions upright men may determine upon, and offer him the half of the kingdom. it appears to me probable that king harald, by the words and counsel of good men, may accept this offer, and thus there may be a peace established between you." then king magnus replied, "this proposal i will not accept of; for of what advantage would it be, after we have gained the whole kingdom in summer to give away the half of it now? give us some other counsel." then sigurd sigurdson answered, "it appears to me, sire, that your lendermen who in autumn asked your leave to return home will now sit at home and will not come to you. at that time it was much against my advice that you dispersed so entirely the people we had collected; for i could well suppose that harald would come back to viken as soon as he heard that it was without a chief. now there is still another counsel, and it is but a poor one; but it may turn out useful to us. send out your pursuivants, and send other people with them, and let them go against the lendermen who will not join you in your necessity, and kill them; and bestow their property on others who will give you help although they may have been of small importance before. let them drive together the people, the bad as well as the good; and go with the men you can thus assemble against king harald, and give him battle." the king replies, "it would be unpopular to put to death people of distinction, and raise up inferior people who often break faith and law, and the country would be still worse off. i would like to hear some other counsel still." sigurd replies, "it is difficult for me now to give advice, as you will neither make peace nor give battle. let us go north to throndhjem, where the main strength of the country is most inclined to our side; and on the way let us gather all the men we can. it may be that these elfgrims will be tired of such a long stride after us." the king replies, "we must not fly from those whom we beat in summer. give some better counsel still." then sigurd stood up and said, while he was preparing to go out, "i will now give you the counsel which i see you will take, and which must have its course. sit here in bergen until harald comes with his troops, and then you will either suffer death or disgrace." and sigurd remained no longer at that meeting. 6. of harald's force. king harald came from the east along the coast with a great army, and this winter (a.d. 1135) is called on that account the crowd-winter. king harald came to bergen on christmas eve, and landed with his fleet at floruvagar; but would not fight on account of the sacred time. but king magnus prepared for defence in the town. he erected a stone-slinging machine out on the holm, and had iron chains and wooden booms laid across over the passage from the king's house to nordnes, and to the monks bridge. he had foot-traps made, and thrown into saint john's field, and did not suspend these works except during the three sacred days of christmas. the last holyday of yule, king harald ordered his war-horns to sound the gathering of his men for going to the town; and, during the yule holydays, his army had been increased by about 900 men. 7. king magnus taken prisoner. king harald made a promise to king olaf the saint for victory, that he would build an olaf's church in the town at his own expense. king magnus drew up his men in the christ church yard; but king harald laid his vessels first at nordnes. now when king magnus and his people saw that, they turned round towards the town, and to the end of the shore; but as they passed through the streets many of the burgesses ran into their houses and homes, and those who went across the fields fell into the foot-traps. then king magnus and his men perceived that king harald had rowed with all his men across to hegravik, and landed there, and had gone from thence the upper road up the hill opposite the town. now magnus returned back again through the streets, and then his men fled from him in all directions; some up to the mountains, some up to the neighbourhood of the convent of nuns, some to churches, or hid themselves as they best could. king magnus fled to his ship; but there was no possibility of getting away, for the iron chains outside prevented the passage of vessels. he had also but few men with him, and therefore could do nothing. einar skulason tells of this in the song of harald:- "for a whole week an iron chain cut off all sailing to the main: bergen's blue stable was locked fast,- her floating wains could not get past." soon after harald's people came out to the ships, and then king magnus was made prisoner. he was sitting behind in the forecastle upon the chests of the high-seat, and at his side hakon fauk, his mother's brother, who was very popular but was not considered very wise, and ivar assurson. they, and many others of king magnus's friends, were taken, and some of them killed on the spot. 8. king magnus mutilated. thereafter king harald had a meeting of his counsellors, and desired their counsel; and in this meeting the judgment was given that magnus should be deposed from his dominions, and should no longer be called king. then he was delivered to the king's slaves, who mutilated him, picked out both his eyes, cut off one foot, and at last castrated him. ivar assurson was blinded, and hakon fauk killed. the whole country then was reduced to obedience under king harald. afterwards it was diligently examined who were king magnus's best friends, or who knew most of his concealments of treasure or valuables. the holy cross king magnus had kept beside him since the battle of fyrileif, but would not tell where it was deposited for preservation. bishop reinald of stavanger, who was an englishman, was considered very greedy of money. he was a great friend of king magnus, and it was thought likely that great treasure and valuables had been given into his keeping. men were sent for him accordingly, and he came to bergen, where it was insisted against him that he had some knowledge of such treasure; but he denied it altogether, would not admit it, and offered to clear himself by ordeal. king harald would not have this, but laid on the bishop a money fine of fifteen marks of gold, which he should pay to the king. the bishop declared he would not thus impoverish his bishop's see, but would rather offer his life. on this they hanged the bishop out on the holm, beside the sling machine. as he was going to the gallows he threw the sock from his foot, and said with an oath, "i know no more about king magnus's treasure than what is in this sock;" and in it there was a gold ring. bishop reinald was buried at nordnes in michael's church, and this deed was much blamed. after this harald gille was sole king of norway as long as he lived. 9. wonderful omens in konungahella. five years after king sigurd's death remarkable occurrences took place in konungahella (a.d. 1135). guthorm, a son of harald fletter, and saemund husfreyja, were at that time the king's officers there. saemund was married to ingebjorg, a daughter of the priest andres brunson. their sons were paul flip and gunne fis. saemund's natural son was called asmund. andres brunson was a very remarkable man, who carried on divine service in the cross church. his wife (1) was called solveig. jon loptson, who was then eleven years old, was in their house to be fostered and educated. the priest lopt saemundson, jon's father, was also in the town at that time. the priest andres and solveig had a daughter by name helga, who was einar's wife. it happened now in konungahella, the next sunday night after easter week, that there was a great noise in the streets through the whole town as if the king was going through with all his court-men. the dogs were so affected that nobody could hold them, but they slipped loose; and when they came out they ran mad, biting all that came in their way, people and cattle. all who were bitten by them till the blood came turned raging mad; and pregnant women were taken in labour prematurely, and became mad. from easter to ascension-day, these portentous circumstances took place almost every night. people were dreadfully alarmed at these wonders; and many made themselves ready to remove, sold their houses, and went out to the country districts, or to other towns. the most intelligent men looked upon it as something extremely remarkable; were in dread of it; and said, as it proved to be, that it was an omen of important events which had not yet taken place. and the priest andres, on whit sunday, made a long and excellent speech, and turned the conclusion of it to the distressing situation of the townspeople; telling them to muster courage, and not lay waste their excellent town by deserting it, but rather to take the utmost care in all things, and use the greatest foresight against all dangers, as of fire or the enemy, and to pray to god to have mercy on them. endnotes: (1) the catholic priests appear to have had wives at that time in norway, and celibacy to have been confined to the monks. --l. 10. the rise of war in konungahella. thirteen loaded merchant ships made ready to leave the town, intending to proceed to bergen; but eleven of them were lost, men and goods, and all that was in them; the twelfth was lost also, but the people were saved, although the cargo went to the bottom. at that time the priest lopt went north to bergen, with all that belonged to him, and arrived safely. the merchant vessels were lost on saint lawrence eve (august 10). the danish king eirik and the archbishop assur, both sent notice to konungahella to keep watch on their town; and said the vindland people had a great force on foot with which they made war far around on christian people, and usually gained the victory. but the townspeople attended very little to this warning, were indifferent, and forgot more and more the dreadful omens the longer it was since they happened. on the holy saint lawrence day, while the words of high mass were spoken, came to the vindland king rettibur to konungahella with 550 vindland cutters, and in each cutter were forty-four men and two horses. the king's sister's son dunimiz, and unibur, a chief who ruled over many people, were with him. these two chiefs rowed at once, with a part of their troops, up the east arm of the gaut river past hising isle, and thus came down to the town; but a part of the fleet lay in the western arm, and came so to the town. they made fast their ships at the piles, and landed their horses, and rode over the height of bratsas, and from thence up around the town. einar, a relation of priest andres, brought these tidings up to the castle church; for there the whole inhabitants of the town were gathered to hear high mass. einar came just as the priest andres was holding his discourse; and he told the people that an army was sailing up against the town with a great number of ships of war, and that some people were riding over bratsas. many said it must be the danish king eirik, and from him they might expect peace. the people ran down into the town to their properties, armed themselves, and went down upon the piers, whence they immediately saw there was an enemy and an immense army. nine east-country trading vessels belonging to the merchants were afloat in the river at the piers. the vindland people first directed their course toward these and fought with the merchants, who armed themselves, and defended themselves long, well, and manfully. there was a hard battle, and resistance, before the merchant vessels were cleared of their men; and in this conflict the vindland people lost 150 of their ships, with all the men on board. when the battle was sharpest the townsmen stood upon the piers, and shot at the heathens. but when the fight slackened the burgesses fled up to the town, and from thence into the castle; and the men took with them all their valuable articles, and such goods as they could carry. solveig and her daughters, with two other women, went on shore when the vindlanders took possession of the merchant vessels. now the vindlanders landed, and mustered their men, and discovered their loss. some of them went up into the town, some on board the merchant ships, and took all the goods they pleased; and then they set fire to the town, and burnt it and the ships. they hastened then with all their army to assault the castle. 11. the second battle. king rettibur made an offer to those who were in the castle that they should go out, and he would give them their lives, weapons, clothes, silver, and gold; but all exclaimed against it, and went out on the fortification; some shot, some threw stones, some sharp stakes. it was a great battle, in which many fell on both sides, but by far the most of the vindlanders. solveig came up to a large farm called solbjorg, and brought the news. a message war-token was there split, and sent out to skurbagar, where there happened to be a joint ale-drinking feast, and many men were assembled. a bonde called olver miklimun (mickle mouth) was there, who immediately sprang up, took helmet and shield, and a great axe in his hand, and said, "stand up, brave lads, and take your weapons. let us go help the townspeople; for it would appear shameful to every man who heard of it, if we sit here sipping our ale, while good men in the town are losing their lives by our neglect." many made an objection, and said they would only be losing their own lives, without being of any assistance to the townspeople. then said olver, "although all of you should hold back, i will go alone; and one or two heathens, at any rate, shall fall before i fall." he ran down to the town, and a few men after him to see what he would do, and also whether they could assist him in any way. when he came near the castle, and the heathens saw him, they sent out eight men fully armed against him; and when they met, the heathen men ran and surrounded him on all sides. olver lifted his axe, and struck behind him with the extreme point of it, hitting the neck of the man who was coming up behind him, so that his throat and jawbone were cut through, and he fell dead backwards. then he heaved his axe forwards, and struck the next man in the head, and clove him down to the shoulders. he then fought with the others, and killed two of them; but was much wounded himself. the four who remained took to flight, but olver ran after them. there was a ditch before them, and two of the heathens jumped into it, and olver killed them both; but he stuck fast himself in the ditch, so that two of the eight heathens escaped. the men who had followed olver took him up, and brought him back to skurbagar, where his wounds were bound and healed; and it was the talk of the people, that no single man had ever made such a bloody onset. two lendermen, sigurd gyrdson, a brother of philip, and sigard, came with 600 men to skurbagar; on which sigurd turned back with 400 men. he was but little respected afterwards, and soon died. sigard, on the other hand, proceeded with 200 men towards the town; and they gave battle to the heathens, and were all slain. while the vindlanders were storming the castle, their king and his chiefs were out of the battle. at one place there was a man among the vindlanders shooting with a bow, and killing a man for every arrow; and two men stood before him, and covered him with their shields. then saemund husfreyja said to his son asmund, that they should both shoot together at this bowman. "but i will shoot at the man who holds the shield before him." he did so, and he knocked the shield down a little before the man; and in the same instant asmund shot between the shields, and the arrow hit the bowman in the forehead, so that it came out at his neck, and he fell down dead. when the vindlanders saw it they howled like dogs, or like wolves. then king rettibur called to them that he would give them safety and life, but they refused terms. the heathens again made a hard assault. one of the heathens in particular fought so bravely, and ventured so near, that he came quite up to the castle-gate, and pierced the man who stood outside the gate with his sword; and although they used both arrows and stones against him, and he had neither shield nor helmet, nothing could touch him, for he was so skilled in witchcraft that weapon could not wound him. then priest andres took consecrated fire; blew upon it; cut tinder in pieces, and laid it on the fire; and then laid the tinder on the arrow-point, and gave it to asmund. he shot this arrow at the warlock; and the shaft hit so well that it did its business, and the man of witchcraft fell dead. then the heathens crowded together as before, howling and whining dreadfully; and all gathered about their king, on which the christians believed that they were holding a council about retreating. the interpreters, who understood the vindland tongue, heard the chief unibur make the following speech: "these people are brave, and it is difficult to make anything of them; and even if we took all the goods in their town, we might willingly give as much more that we had never come here, so great has been our loss of men and chiefs. early in the day, when we began to assault the castle, they defended themselves first with arrows and spears; then they fought against us with stones; and now with sticks and staves, as against dogs. i see from this that they are in want of weapons and means of defense; so we shall make one more hard assault, and try their strength." it was as he said, that they now fought with stakes; because, in the first assault, they had imprudently used up all their missile weapons and stones; and now when the christians saw the number of their stakes diminishing, they clave each stake in two. the heathens now made a very hot attack, and rested themselves between whiles, and on both sides they were exhausted. during a rest the vindland king rettibur again offered terms, and that they should retain the weapons, clothes, and silver they could carry out of the castle. saemund husfreyja had fallen, and the men who remained gave the counsel to deliver up the castle and themselves into the power of the heathens; but it was a foolish counsel; for the heathens did not keep their promises, but took all people, men, women, and children, and killed all of them who were wounded or young, or could not easily be carried with them. they took all the goods that were in the castle; went into the cross church, and plundered it of all its ornaments. the priest andres gave king rettibur a silver-mounted gilt sceptre, and to his sister's son dunimiz he gave a gold ring. they supposed from this that he was a man of great importance in the town, and held him in higher respect than the others. they took away with them the holy cross, and also the tables which stood before the altar, which sigurd had got made in the greek country, and had brought home himself. these they took, and laid flat down on the steps before the altar. then the heathens went out of the church. rettibur said, "this house has been adorned with great zeal for the god to whom it is dedicated; but, methinks, he has shown little regard for the town or house: so i see their god has been angry at those who defended them." king rettibur gave the priest andres the church, the shrine, the holy cross, the bible, the altar-book, and four clerks (prisoners); but the heathens burnt the castle church, and all the houses that were in the castle. as the fire they had set to the church went out twice, they hewed the church down, and then it burnt like other houses. then the heathens went to their ships with the booty; but when they mustered their people and saw their loss, they made prisoners of all the people, and divided them among the vessels. now priest andres went on board the king's ship with the holy cross, and there came a great terror over the heathens on account of the portentous circumstance which took place in the king's ship; namely, it became so hot that all thought they were to be burnt up. the king ordered the interpreter to ask the priest why this happened. he replied, that the almighty god on whom the christians believed, sent them a proof of his anger, that they who would not believe in their creator presumed to lay hands on the emblem of his suffering; and that there lay so much power in the cross, that such, and even clearer miracles, happened to heathen men who had taken the cross in their hands. the king had the priest put into the ship's boat, and the priest andres carried the holy cross in his grasp. they led the boat along past the ship's bow, and then along the side of the next ship, and then shoved it with a boat-hook in beside the pier. then andres went with the cross by night to solbjorg, in rain and dreadful weather; but brought it in good preservation. king rettibur, and the men he had remaining, went home to vindland, and many of the people who were taken at konungahella were long afterwards in slavery in vindland; and those who were ransomed and came back to norway to their udal lands and properties, throve worse than before their capture. the merchant town of konungahella has never since risen to the importance it was of before this event. 12. of magnus the blind. king magnus, after he was deprived of sight, went north to nidaros, where he went into the cloister on the holm, and assumed the monk's dress. the cloister received the farm of great hernes in frosta for his support. king harald alone ruled the country the following winter, gave all men peace and pardon who desired it, and took many of the men into his court-service who had been with king magnus. einar skulason says that king harald had two battles in denmark; the one at hvedn isle, and the other at hlesey isle:- "unwearied champion! who wast bred to stain thy blue-edged weapons red! beneath high hvedn's rocky shore, the faithless felt thy steel once more." and again, thus:- "on hlesey's plain the foe must quail 'fore him who dyes their shirts of mail. his storm-stretched banner o'er his head flies straight, and fills the foe with dread." 13. of king harald gille and bishop magnus. king harald gille was a very generous man. it is told that in his time magnus einarson came from iceland to be consecrated a bishop, and the king received him well, and showed him much respect. when the bishop was ready to sail for iceland again, and the ship was rigged out for sea, he went to the hall where the king was drinking, saluted him politely and warmly, and the king received him joyfully. the queen was sitting beside the king. then said the king, "are you ready, bishop, for your voyage?" he replied that he was. the king said, "you come to us just now at a bad time; for the tables are just removed, and there is nothing at hand suitable to present to you. what is there to give the bishop?" the treasurer replies, "sire, as far as i know, all articles of any value are given away." the king: "here is a drinking goblet remaining; take this, bishop; it is not without value." the bishop expressed his thanks for the honour shown him. then said the queen, "farewell, bishop! and a happy voyage." the king said to her, "when did you ever hear a noble lady say so to a bishop without giving him something?" she replies, "sire, what have i to give him?" the king: "thou hast the cushion under thee." thereupon this, which was covered with costly cloth, and was a valuable article, was given to the bishop. when the bishop was going away the king took the cushion from under himself and gave it him, saying, "they have long been together." when the bishop arrived in iceland to his bishop's see, it was talked over what should be done with the goblet that would be serviceable for the king; and when the bishop asked the opinion of other people, many thought it should be sold, and the value-bestowed on the poor. then said the bishop, "i will take another plan. i will have a chalice made of it for this church, and consecrate it, so that all the saints of whom there are relics in this church shall let the king have some good for his gift every time a mass is sung over it." this chalice has since belonged to the bishopric of skalholt; and of the costly cloth with which the cushions given him by the king were covered, were made the choristers' cloaks which are now in skalholt. from this the generous spirit of king harald may be seen, as well as from many other things, of which but a few are set down here. 14. beginning of sigurd slembidjakn. there was a man, by name sigurd, who was brought up in norway, and was called priest adalbrikt's son. sigurd's mother was thora, a daughter of saxe of vik, a sister of sigrid, who was mother of king olaf magnuson, and of kare, the king's brother who married borghild, a daughter of dag eilifson. their sons were sigurd of austrat and dag. sigurd of austrat's sons were jon of austrat, thorstein, and andres the deaf. jon was married to sigrid, a sister of king inge and of duke skule. this sigurd, in his childhood, was kept at his book, became a clerk, and was consecrated a deacon; but as he ripened in years and strength he became a very clever man, stout, strong, distinguished for all perfections and exercises beyond any of his years,--indeed, beyond any man in norway. sigurd showed early traces of a haughty ungovernable spirit, and was therefore called slembidjakn. he was as handsome a man as could be seen, with rather thin but beautiful hair. when it came to sigurd's ears that his mother said king magnus was his father, he laid aside all clerkship; and as soon as he was old enough to be his own master, he left the country. he was a long time on his travels, went to palestine; was at the jordan river; and visited many holy places, as pilgrims usually do. when he came back, he applied himself to trading expeditions. one winter he was in orkney with earl harald, and was with him when thorkel fostre summarlidason was killed. sigurd was also in scotland with the scottish king david, and was held in great esteem by him. thereafter sigurd went to denmark; and according to the account of himself and his men, he there submitted to the iron ordeal to confirm his paternal descent, and proved by it, in the presence of five bishops, that he was a son of king magnus barefoot. so says ivar ingemundson, in sigurd's song:- "the holiest five of men alive,- bishops were they,- solemnly say, the iron glowing red hot, yet showing no scaith on skin, proves cause and kin." king harald gille's friends, however, said this was only a lie, and deceit of the danes. 15. sigurd in iceland. it is told before of sigurd that he passed some years in merchant voyages, and he came thus to iceland one winter, and took up his lodging with thorgils odson in saurby; but very few knew where he was. in autumn, when the sheep were being driven into a fold to be slaughtered, a sheep that was to be caught ran to sigurd; and as sigurd thought the sheep ran to him for protection, he stretched out his hands to it and lifted it over the fold dyke, and let it run to the hills, saying, "there are not many who seek help from me, so i may well help this one." it happened the same winter that a woman had committed a theft, and thorgils, who was angry at her for it, was going to punish her; but she ran to sigurd to ask his help, and he set her upon the bench by his side. thorgils told him to give her up, and told him what she had committed; but sigurd begged forgiveness for her since she had come to him for protection, and that thorgils would dismiss the complaint against her, but thorgils insisted that she should receive her punishment. when sigurd saw that thorgils would not listen to his entreaty, he started up, drew his sword, and bade him take her if he dared; and thorgils seeing that sigurd would defend the woman by force of arms, and observing his commanding mien, guessed who he must be, desisted from pursuing the woman, and pardoned her. there were many foreign men there, and sigurd made the least appearance among them. one day sigurd came into the sitting-room, and a northman who was splendidly clothed was playing chess with one of thorads house-servants. the northman called sigurd, and asked him his advice how to play; but when sigurd looked at the board, he saw the game was lost. the man who was playing against the northman had a sore foot, so that one toe was bruised, and matter was coming out of it. sigurd, who was sitting on the bench, takes a straw, and draws it along the floor, so that some young kittens ran after it. he drew the straw always before them, until they came near the house-servant's foot, who jumping up with a scream, threw the chessmen in disorder on the board; and thus it was a dispute how the game had stood. this is given as a proof of sigurd's cunning. people did not know that he was a learned clerk until the saturday before easter, when he consecrated the holy water with chant; and the longer he stayed there the more he was esteemed. the summer after, sigurd told thorgils before they parted, that he might with all confidence address his friends to sigurd slembidjakn. thorgils asked how nearly he was related to him, on which he replies, "i am sigurd slembidjakn, a son of king magnus barefoot." he then left iceland. 16. of sigurd slembe. when harald gille had been six years (a.d. 1136), king of norway, sigurd came to the country and went to his brother king harald, and found him in bergen. he placed himself entirely in the king's hands, disclosed who his father was, and asked him to acknowledge their relationship. the king gave him no hasty or distinct reply; but laid the matter before his friends in a conference at a specially appointed meeting. after this conference it became known that the king laid an accusation against sigurd, because he had been at the killing of thorkel fostre in the west. thorkel had accompanied harald to norway when he first came to the country, and had been one of harald's best friends. this case was followed up so severely, that a capital accusation against sigurd was made, and, by the advice of the lendermen, was carried so far, that some of the king's pursuivants went one evening late to sigurd, and called him to them. they then took a boat and rowed away with sigurd from the town south to nordnes. sigurd sat on a chest in the stern of the boat, and had his suspicions that foul play was intended. he was clothed in blue trousers, and over his shirt he had a hood tied with ribands, which served him for a cloak. he sat looking down, and holding his hood-strings; and sometimes moved them over his head, sometimes let them fall again before him. now when they had passed the ness, they were drunk, and merry, were rowing so eagerly that they were not taking notice of anything. sigurd stood up, and went on the boat's deck; but the two men who were placed to guard him stood up also, and followed him to the side of the vessel, holding by his cloak, as is the custom in guarding people of distinction. as he was afraid that they would catch hold of more of his clothes, he seized them both, and leaped overboard with them. the boat, in the meantime, had gone on a long way, and it was a long time before those on board could turn the vessel, and long before they could get their own men taken on board again; and sigurd dived under water, and swam so far away that he reached the land before they could get the boat turned to pursue him. sigurd, who was very swift of foot, hied up to the mountains, and the king's men travelled about the whole night seeking him without finding him. he lay down in a cleft of the rocks; and as he was very cold he took off his trousers, cut a hole in the seat of them, and stuck his head through it, and put his arms in the legs of them. he escaped with life this time; and the king's men returned, and could not conceal their unsuccessful adventure. 17. treachery towards king harald. sigurd thought now that it would be of no use to seek any help from king harald again; and he kept himself concealed all the autumn and the beginning of the winter. he lay hid in bergen, in the house of a priest. king harald was also in the town, and many great people with him. now sigurd considered how, with his friends' help, he might take the king by surprise, and make an end of him. many men took part in this design; and among them some who were king harald's court-men and chamberlains, but who had formerly been king magnus's court-men. they stood in great favour with the king, and some of them sat constantly at the king's table. on saint lucia's day (december 13), in the evening when they proposed to execute this treason, two men sat at the king's table talking together; and one of them said to the king, "sire, we two table-companions submit our dispute to your judgment, having made a wager of a basket of honey to him who guesses right. i say that you will sleep this night with your queen ingerid; and he says that you will sleep with thora, guthorm's daughter." the king answered laughing, and without suspecting in the least that there lay treachery under the question, that he who had asked had lost his bet. they knew thus where he was to be found that night; but the main guard was without the house in which most people thought the king would sleep, viz., that which the queen was in. 18. murder of king harald. sigurd slembe, and some men who were in his design, came in the night to the lodging in which king harald was sleeping; killed the watchman first; then broke open the door, and went in with drawn swords. ivar kolbeinson made the first attack on king harald; and as the king had been drunk when he went to bed he slept sound, and awoke only when the men were striking at him. then he said in his sleep, "thou art treating me hardly, thora." she sprang up, saying, "they are treating thee hardly who love thee less than i do." harald was deprived of life. then sigurd went out with his helpers, and ordered the men to be called to him who had promised him their support if he should get king harald taken out of the way. sigurd and his men then went on, and took a boat, set themselves to the oars, and rowed out in front of the king's house; and then it was just beginning to be daylight. then sigurd stood up, spoke to those who were standing on the king's pier, made known to them the murder of king harald by his hand, and desired that they would take him, and choose him as chief according to his birth. now came many swarming down to the pier from the king's house; and all with one voice replied, that they would never give obedience or service to a man who had murdered his own brother. "and if thou are not his brother, thou hast no claim from descent to be king." they clashed their weapons together, and adjudged all murderers to be banished and outlawed men. now the king's horn sounded, and all lendermen and courtmen were called together. sigurd and his companions saw it was best for them to get way; and he went northward to north hordaland, where he held a thing with the bondes, who submitted to him, and gave him the title of king. from thence he went to sogn, and held a thing there with the bondes and was proclaimed king. then he went north across the fjords, and most people supported his cause. so says ivar ingemundson:- "on harald's fall the bondes all, in hord and sogn, took magnus' son. the things swore too they would be true to this new head in harald's stead." king harald was buried in the old christ church. saga of sigurd, inge, and eystein, the sons of harald preliminary remarks. sigurd died a.d. 1155, eystein 1157, and inge 1161. other literature is "morkinskinna" and "fagrskinna." sigurd slembe is the subject of a drama by bjornstjerne bjornson, translated into english by william morton payne, and published by houghton, mifflin & co., boston, 1888. skalds quoted are: kolle, einar skulason, and thorbjorn skakkaskald. 1. history of kings sigurd and inge. queen ingerid, and with her the lendermen and the court which had been with king harald, resolved to send a fast-sailing vessel to throndhjem to make known king harald's death, and also to desire the throndhjem people to take king harald's son sigurd for king. he was then in the north, and was fostered by sadagyrd bardson. queen ingerid herself proceeded eastward immediately to viken. inge was the name of her son by king harald, and he was then fostered by amunde gyrdson, a grandson of logberse. when they came to viken a borgar-thing was immediately called together, at which inge, who was in the second year of his age, was chosen king. this resolution was supported by amunde and thjostolf alason, together with many other great chiefs. now when the tidings came north to throndhjem that king harald was murdered, the throndhjem people took sigurd, king harald's son, to be the king; and this resolution was supported by ottar birting, peter saudaulfson, the brothers guthorm of reine, and ottar balle, sons of asolf and many other great chiefs. afterwards the whole nation almost submitted to the brothers, and principally because their father was considered holy; and the country took the oath to them, that the kingly power should not go to any other man as long as any of king harald's sons were alive. 2. of sigurd slembidjakn. sigurd slembe sailed north around stad; and when he came to north more, he found that letters and full powers had arrived before him from the leaders who had given in their allegiance to harald's sons; so that there he got no welcome or help. as sigurd himself had but few people with him, he resolved to go with them to throndhjem, and seek out magnus the blind; for he had already sent a message before him to magnus's friends. now when they came to the town, they rowed up the river nid to meet king magnus, and fastened their land-ropes on the shore at the king's house; but were obliged to set off immediately, for all the people rose against them. they then landed at monkholm, and took magnus the blind out of the cloister against the will of the monks; for he had been consecrated a monk. it is said by some that magnus willingly went with them; although it was differently reported, in order to make his cause appear better. sigurd, immediately after yule (january, a.d. 1137), went forth with his suite, expecting aid from his relations and magnus's friends, and which they also got. sigurd sailed with his men out of the fjord, and was joined afterwards by bjorn egilson, gunnar of gimsar, haldor sigurdson, aslak hakonson, the brothers bendikt and eirik, and also the court which had before been with king magnus, and many others. with this troop they went south to more, and down to the mouth of raumsdal fjord. here sigurd and magnus divided their forces, and sigurd went immediately westwards across the sea. king magnus again proceeded to the uplands, where he expected much help and strength, and which he obtained. he remained there the winter and all the summer (a.d. 1137), and had many people with him; but king inge proceeded against him with all his forces, and they met at a place called mynne. there was a great battle, at which king magnus had the most people. it is related that thjostolf alason carried king inge in his belt as long as the battle lasted, and stood under the banner; but thjostolf was hard pressed by fatigue and fighting; and it is commonly said that king inge got his ill health there, and which he retained as long as he lived, so that his back was knotted into a hump, and the one foot was shorter than the other; and he was besides so infirm that he could scarcely walk as long as he lived. the defeat began to turn upon magnus and his men; and in the front rank of his array fell haldor sigurdson, bjorn egilson, gunnar of gimsar, and a great number of his men, before he himself would take to his horse and fly. so says kolle:- "thy arrow-storm on mynne's banks fast thinn'd the foemen's strongest ranks; thy good sword hewed the raven's feast on mynne's banks up in the east. shield clashed on shield, and bucklers broke under thy battle-axe's stroke; while thou, uncovered, urged the fray, thy shield and mail-coat thrown away." and also this:- "the king to heaven belonging fled, when thou, in war's quick death-game bred, unpanzered, shieldless on the plain his heavy steel-clad guards hadst slain. the painted shield, and steel-plate mail, before thy fierce attack soon fail, to magnus who belongs to heaven, was no such fame in battle given." magnus fled eastward to gautland, and then to denmark. at that time there was in gautland an earl, karl sonason, who was a great and ambitious man. magnus the blind and his men said, wherever they happened to meet with chiefs, that norway lay quite open to any great chieftain who would attack it; for it might well be said there was no king in the country, and the kingdom was only ruled by lendermen, and, among those who had most sway, there was, from mutual jealousy, most discord. now karl, being ambitious of power, listens willingly to such speeches; collects men, and rides west to viken, where many people, out of fear, submit to him. when thjostolf alason and amunde heard of this, they went with the men they could get together, and took king inge with them. they met earl karl and the gautland army eastward in krokaskog, where there was a great battle and a great defeat, king inge gaining the victory. munan ogmundson, earl karl's mother's brother, fell there. ogmund, the father of munan, was a son of earl orm eilifson, and sigrid, a daughter of earl fin arnason. astrid, ogrnund's daughter, was the mother of earl karl. many others of the gautland people fell at krokaskog; and the earl fled eastward through the forest. king inge pursued them all the way out of the kingdom; and this expedition turned out a great disgrace to them. so says kolle:- "i must proclaim how our great lord coloured deep red his ice-cold sword; and ravens played with gautland bones, and wolves heard gautlanders' last groans. their silly jests were well repaid,- in krokaskog their laugh was laid: thy battle power was then well tried, and they who won may now deride." 3. king eirik's expedition to norway. magnus the blind then went to denmark to king eirik eimune, where he was well received. he offered the king to follow him if he would invade norway with a danish army, and subdue the country; saying, that if he came to norway with his army, no man in norway would venture to throw a spear against him. the king allowed himself to be moved by magnus's persuasions, ordered a levy, and went north to norway with 200 ships; and magnus and his men were with him on this expedition. when they came to viken, they proceeded peacefully and gently on the east side of the fjord; but when the fleet came westward to tunsberg, a great number of king inge's lendermen came against them. their leader was vatnorm dagson, a brother of gregorius. the danes could not land to get water without many of them being killed; and therefore they went in through the fjord to oslo, where thjostolf alason opposed them. it is told that some people wanted to carry the holy halvard's coffin out of the town in the evening when the fleet was first observed, and as many as could took hold of it; but the coffin became so heavy that they could not carry it over the church floor. the morning after, however, when they saw the fleet sailing in past the hofud isle, four men carried the coffin out of the town, and thjostolf and all the townspeople followed it. 4. the town of oslo burnt. king eirik and his army advanced against the town; and some of his men hastened after thjostolf and his troop. thjostolf threw a spear at a man named askel, which hit him under the throat, so that the spear point went through his neck; and thjostolf thought he had never made a better spear-cast, for, except the place he hit, there was nothing bare to be seen. the shrine of st. halvard, was taken up to raumarike, where it remained for three months. thjostolf went up to raumarike, and collected men during the night, with whom he returned towards the town in the morning. in the meantime king eirik set fire to halvard's church, and to the town, which was entirely burnt. thjostolf came soon after to the town with the men he had assembled, and eirik sailed off with his fleet; but could not land anywhere on that side of the fjord, on account of the troops of the lendermen who came down against them; and wherever they attempted a landing, they left five or six men or more upon the strand. king inge lay with a great number of people into hornborusund, but when he learned this, he turned about southwards to denmark again. king inge pursued him, and took from him all the ships he could get hold of; and it was a common observation among people, that never was so poor an expedition made with so great an armament in another king's dominions. king eirik was ill pleased at it, and thought king magnus and his men had been making a fool of him by encouraging him to undertake this expedition, and he declared he would never again besuch friends with them as before. 5. of sigurd slembidjakn. sigurd slembidjakn came that summer from the west sea to norway, where he heard of his relation king magnus's unlucky expedition; so he expected no welcome in norway, but sailed south, outside the rocks, past the land, and set over to denmark, and went into the sound. he fell in with some vindland cutters south of the islands, gave them battle, and gained the victory. he cleared eight ships, killing many of the men, and he hanged the others. he also had a battle off the island mon with the vindland men, and gained a victory. he then sailed from the south and came to the eastern arm of the gaut river, and took three ships of the fleet of thorer hvinantorde, and olaf, the son of harald kesia, who was sigurd's own sister's son; for ragnhild, the mother of olaf, was a daughter of king magnus barefoot. he drove olaf up the country. thjostolf was at this time in konungahella, and had collected people to defend the country, and sigurd steered thither with his fleet. they shot at each other, but he could not effect a landing; and, on both sides, many were killed and many wounded. ulfhedin saxolfson, sigurd's forecastle man, fell there. he was an icelander, from the north quarter. sigurd continued his course northwards to viken and plundered far and wide around. now when sigurd lay in a harbour called portyrja on limgard's coast, and watched the ships going to or coming from viken to plunder them, the tunsberg men collected an armed force against him, and came unexpectedly upon them while sigurd and his men were on shore dividing their booty. some of the men came down from the land, but some of the other party laid themselves with their ships right across the harbour outside of them. sigurd ran up into his ship, and rowed out against them. vatnorm's ship was the nearest, and he let his ship fall behind the line, and sigurd rowed clear past, and thus escaped with one ship and the loss of many men. this verse was made upon vatnorm (1):- "the water serpent, people say, from portyrja slipped away." endnotes: (1) vatnorm, the name of this man, means the water-serpent, and appears to have been a favourite name for war-ships also; hence the pun in the lines upon vatnorm.--l. 6. the murder of beintein. sigurd slembidjakn sailed from thence to denmark; and at that time a man was lost in his ship, whose name was kolbein thorliotson of batald. he was sitting in a boat which was made fast to the vessel, and upset because she was sailing quickly. when they came south to denmark, sigurd's ship itself was cast away; but he got to alaborg, and was there in winter. the summer after (a.d. 1138) magnus and sigurd sailed together from the south with seven ships, and came unexpectedly in the night to lister, where they laid their ships on the land. beintein kolbeinson, a court-man of king inge, and a very brave man, was there. sigurd and his men jumped on shore at daylight, came unexpectedly on the people, surrounded the house, and were setting fire to the buildings; but beintein came out of a store-house with his weapons, well armed, and stood within the door with drawn sword, his shield before him, helmet on, and ready to defend himself. the door was somewhat low. sigurd asked which of his lads had most desire to go in against beintein, which he called brave man's work; but none was very hurried to make ready for it. while they were discussing this matter sigurd rushed into the house, past beintein. beintein struck at him, but missed him. sigurd turned instantly on beintein; and after exchanging blows, sigurd gave him his death-stroke, and came out presently bearing his head in his hands. they took all the goods that were in the farm-house, carried the booty to their ships, and sailed away. when king inge and his friends, and also kolbein's sons, sigurd and gyrd, the brothers of beintein, heard of beintein's murder, the king sent a great force against sigurd slembe and his followers; and also travelled himself, and took a ship from hakon paulson pungelta, who was a daughter's son of aslak, a son of erling skjalgson of sole, and cousin of hakon mage. king inge drove hakon and his followers up the country, and took all their gear. sigurd stork, a son of eindride of gautdal, and his brother, eirik hael, and andres kelduskit, son of grim of vist, all fled away into the fjords. but sigurd slembe, magnus the blind and thorieif skiappa sailed outside the isles with three ships north to halogaland; and magnus was in winter (a.d. 1139) north in bjarkey isle with vidkun jonson. but sigurd had the stem and stern-post of his ship cut out, made a hole in her, and sank her in the inner part of egisfjord, and thereafter he passed the winter at tialdasund by gljufrafjord in hin. far up the fjord there is a cave in the rock; in that place sigurd sat with his followers, who were above twenty men, secretly, and hung a grey cloth before the mouth of the hole, so that no person could see them from the strand. thorleif skiappa, and einar, son of ogmund of sand, and of gudrun, daughter of einar arason of reikiaholar, procured food for sigurd during the winter. it is said that sigurd made the laplanders construct two boats for him during the winter up in the fjord; and they were fastened together with deer sinews, without nails, and with twigs of willow instead of knees, and each boat could carry twelve men. sigurd was with the laplanders while they were making the boats; and the laplanders had good ale, with which they entertained sigurd. sigurd made these lines on it:- "in the lapland tent brave days we spent. under the grey birch tree; in bed or on bank we knew no rank, and a merry crew were we. "good ale went round as we sat on the ground, under the grey birch tree; and up with the smoke flew laugh and joke, and a merry crew were we." these boats were so light that no ship could overtake them in the water, according to what was sung at the time:- "our skin-sewed fin-boats lightly swim, over the sea like wind they skim. our ships are built without a nail; few ships like ours can row or sail." in spring sigurd and magnus went south along the coast with the two boats which the laplanders had made; and when they came to vagar they killed svein the priest and his two sons. 7. of sigurd's slembe's campaign. thereafter sigurd came south to vikar, and seized king sigurd's lendermen, william skinnare and thorald kept, and killed them both. then sigurd turned south-wards along the coast, and met styrkar glaesirofa south of byrda, as he was coming from the south from the town of nidaros, and killed him. now when sigurd came south to valsnes, he met svinagrim outside of the ness, and cut off his right hand. from thence he went south to more, past the mouth of the throndhjem fjord, where they took hedin hirdmage and kalf kringluauge. they let hedin escape, but killed kalf. when king sigurd, and his foster-father, sadagyrd, heard of sigurd slembidjakn's proceedings, and what he was doing, they sent people to search for him; and their leader was jon kauda, a son of kalf range. bishop ivar's brother, and besides the priest jon smyril. they went on board the ship the reindeer, which had twenty-two rowing benches, and was one of the swiftest sailing vessels, to seek sigurd; but as they could not find him, they returned north-wards with little glory; for people said that they had got sight of sigurd and his people, and durst not attack them. afterwards sigurd proceeded southwards to hordaland, and came to herdla, where einar, a son of laxapaul, had a farm; and went into hamar's fjord, to the gangdaga-thing. they took all the goods that were at the farm, and a long-ship of twenty-two benches which belonged to einar; and also his son, four years old, who was living with one of his labouring people. some wanted to kill the boy, but others took him and carried him with them. the labouring man said, "it will not be lucky for you to kill the child; and it will be of no use to you to carry him away, for it is my son, and not einar's." and on his word they let the boy remain, and went away. when einar came home he gave the labourer money to the value of two ore of gold, and thanked him for his clever invention, and promised him his constant friendship. so says eirik odson, who first wrote down this relation; and he heard himself einar paulson telling these circumstances in bergen. sigurd then went southward along the coast all the way east to viken, and met fin saudaulfson east at kvildar, as he was engaged in drawing in king inge's rents and duties, and hanged him. then they sailed south to denmark. 8. of king inge's letter to king sigurd. the people of viken and of bergen complained that it was wrong for king sigurd and his friends to be sitting quietly north in the town of nidaros, while his father's murderer was cruising about in the ordinary passage at the mouth of the throndhjem fjord; and king inge and his people, on the other hand, were in viken in the midst of the danger, defending the country and holding many battles. then king inge sent a letter north to the merchant-town nidaros, in which were these words: "king inge haraldson sends his brother king sigurd, as also sadagyrd, ogmund svipte, ottar birting, and all lendermen, court-men, house-people, and all the public, rich and poor, young and old, his own and god's salutation. the misfortune is known to all men that on account of our childhoods--thou being five, and i but three years of age--we can undertake nothing without the counsel of our friends and other good men. now i and my men think that we stand nearer to the danger and necessity common to us both, than thou and thy friends; therefore make it so that thou, as soon as possible, come to me, and as strong in troops as possible, that we may be assembled to meet whatever may come. he will be our best friend who does all he can that we may be united, and may take an equal part in all things. but if thou refuse, and wilt not come after this message which i send thee in need, as thou hast done before, then thou must expect that i will come against thee with an armament; and let god decide between us; for we are not in a condition to sit here at so great an expense, and with so numerous a body of troops as are necessary here on account of the enemy, and besides many other pressing charges, whilst thou hast half of all the land-tax and other revenues of norway. live in the peace of god!" 9. ottar birting's speech. then ottar birting stood up in the thing, and first of all answered thus: "this is king sigurd's reply to his brother king inge--that god will reward him for his good salutation, and likewise for the trouble and burden which he and his friends have in this kingdom, and in matters of necessity which effect them both. although now some think there is something sharp in king inge's message to his brother sigurd, yet he has in many respects sufficient cause for it. now i will make known to you my opinion, and we will hear if king sigurd and the other people of power will agree to it; and it is, that thou, king sigurd, make thyself ready, with all the people who will follow thee, to defend thy country; and go as strong in men as possible to thy brother king inge as soon as thou art prepared, in order to assist each other in all things that are for the common good; and may god almighty strengthen and assist you both! now, king, we will have thy words." peter, a son of saudaulf, who was afterwards called peter byrdarsvein, bore king sigurd to the thing. then the king said, "ye must know that, if i am to advise, i will go as soon as possible to my brother king inge." then others spoke, one after the other; but although each began his speech in his own way, he ended with agreeing to what ottar birting had proposed; and it was determined to call together the war-forces, and go to the east part of the country. king sigurd accordingly went with great armament east to viken, and there he met his brother king inge. 10. fall of magnus the blind. the same autumn (a.d. 1139) sigurd slembe and magnus the blind came from denmark with thirty ships, manned both with danes and northmen. it was near to winter. when the kings heard of this, they set out with their people eastwards to meet them. they met at hvalar, near holm the grey, the day after martinmas, which was a sunday. king inge and king sigurd had twenty ships, which were all large. there was a great battle; but, after the first assault, the danes fled home to denmark with eighteen ships. on this sigurd's and magnus's ships were cleared; and as the last was almost entirely bare of men, and magnus was lying in his bed, hreidar griotgardson, who had long followed him, and been his courtman, took king magnus in his arms, and tried to run with him on board some other ship. but hreidar was struck by a spear, which went between his shoulders; and people say king magnus was killed by the same spear. hreidar fell backwards upon the deck, and magnus upon him; and every man spoke of how honourably he had followed his master and rightful sovereign. happy are they who have such praise! there fell, on king magnus's ship, lodin saupprud of linustadar, bruse thormodson; and the forecastle-men to sigurd slembidjakn, ivar kolbeinson and halyard faeger, who had been in sigurd slembe's fore-hold. this ivar had been the first who had gone in, in the night, to king harald, and had laid hands on him. there fell a great number of the men of king magnus and sigurd slembe, for inge's men let not a single one escape if they got hold of him; but only a few are named here. they killed upon a holm more than forty men, among whom were two icelanders--the priest sigurd bergthorson, a grandson of mas; the other clemet, a son of are einarson. but three icelanders obtained their lives: namely, ivar skrauthanke, a son of kalf range, and who afterwards was bishop of throndhjem, and was father of the archbishop eirik. ivar had always followed king magnus, and he escaped into his brother jon kauda's ship. jon was married to cecilia, a daughter of gyrd bardson, and was then in king inge's and sigurd's armament. there were three in all who escaped on board of jon's ship. the second was arnbjorn ambe, who afterwards married thorstein's daughter in audsholt; the third was ivar dynta, a son of stare, but on the mother's side of a throndhjem family,--a very agreeable man. when the troops came to know that these three were on board his ship, they took their weapons and assaulted the vessel, and some blows were exchanged, and the whole fleet had nearly come to a fight among themselves; but it came to an agreement, so that jon ransomed his brothers ivar and arnbjorn for a fixed sum in ransom, which, however, was afterwards remitted. but ivar dynta was taken to the shore, and beheaded; for sigurd and gyrd, the sons of kolbein, would not take any mulct for him, as they knew he had been at their brother beintein's murder. ivar the bishop said, that never was there anything that touched him so nearly, as ivar's going to the shore under the axe, and turning to the others with the wish that they might meet in joy here-after. gudrid birger's daughter, a sister of archbishop jon, told eirik odson that she heard bishop ivar say this. 11. sigurd slembe taken prisoner. a man called thrand gialdkere was the steersman of king inge's ship. it was come so far, that inge's men were rowing in small boats between the ships after those who were swimming in the water, and killed those they could get hold of. sigurd slembe threw himself overboard after his ship had lost her crew, stripped off his armour under the water, and then swam with his shield over him. some men from thrand's vessel took prisoner a man who was swimming, and were about to kill him; but he begged his life, and offered to tell them where sigurd slembe was, and they agreed to it. shields and spears, dead men, weapons, and clothes, were floating all around on the sea about the ships, "ye can see," said he, "a red shield floating on the water; he is under it." they rowed to it immediately, took him, and brought him on board of thrand's ship. thrand then sent a message to thjostolf, ottar, and amunde. sigurd slembe had a tinder box on him; and the tinder was in a walnut-shell, around which there was wax. this is related, because it seems an ingenious way of preserving it from ever getting wet. he swam with a shield over him, because nobody could know one shield from another where so many were floating about; and they would never have hit upon him, if they had not been told where he was. when thrand came to the land with sigurd, and it was told to the troops that he was taken, the army set up a shout of joy. when sigurd heard it he said, "many a bad man will rejoice over my head this day." then thjostolf alason went to where sigurd was sitting, struck from his head a silk hat with silver fringes, and said. "why wert thou so impudent, thou son of a slave! to dare to call thyself king magnus barefoot's son?" sigurd replied, "presume not to compare my father to a slave; for thy father was of little worth compared to mine." hal, a son of the doctor thorgeir steinson, king inge's court-man, was present at this circumstance, and told it to eirik odson, who afterwards wrote these relations in a book, which he called "hryggjarstykke". in this book is told all concerning harald gille and his sons, and magnus the blind, and sigurd slembidjakn, until their deaths. eirik was a sensible man, who was long in norway about that time. some of his narratives he wrote down from hakon mage's account; some were from lendermen of harald's sons, who along with his sons were in all this feud, and in all the councils. eirik names, moreover, several men of understanding and veracity, who told him these accounts, and were so near that they saw or heard all that happened. something he wrote from what he himself had heard or seen. 12. torture of sigurd slembe. hal says that the chiefs wished to have sigurd killed instantly; but the men who were the most cruel, and thought they had injuries to avenge, advised torturing him; and for this they named beintein's brothers, sigurd and gyrd, the sons of kolbein. peter byrdarsvein would also avenge his brother fin. but the chiefs and the greater part of the people went away. they broke his shin-bones and arms with an axe-hammer. then they stripped him, and would flay him alive; but when they tried to take off the skin, they could not do it for the gush of blood. they took leather whips and flogged him so long, that the skin was as much taken off as if he had been flayed. then they stuck a piece of wood in his back until it broke, dragged him to a tree and hanged him; and then cut off his head, and brought the body and head to a heap of stones and buried them there. all acknowledge, both enemies and friends, that no man in norway, within memory of the living, was more gifted with all perfections, or more experienced, than sigurd, but in some respects he was an unlucky man. hal says that he spoke little, and answered only a few, and in single words, under his tortures, although they spoke to him. hal says further, that he never moved when they tortured him, more than if they were striking a stock or a stone. this hal alleged as proof that he was a brave hero, who had courage to endure tortures; for he still held his tongue, and never moved from the spot. and farther he says, that he never altered his voice in the least, but spoke with as much ease as if he was sitting at the ale-table; neither speaking higher nor lower, nor in a more tremulous voice than he was used to do. he spoke until he gave up the ghost, and sang between whiles parts of the psalm-book, and which hal considered beyond the powers and strength of ordinary men. and the priest who had the church in the neighbourhood let sigurd's body be transported thither to the church. this priest was a friend of harald's sons: but when they heard it they were angry at him, had the body carried back to where it had been, and made the priest pay a fine. sigurd's friends afterwards came from denmark with a ship for his body, carried it to alaborg, and interred it in mary church in that town. so said dean ketil, who officiated as priest at mary church, to eirik; and that sigurd was buried there. thjostolf alason transported magnus the blind's body to oslo, and buried it in halvard's church, beside king sigurd his father. lodin saupprud was transported to tunsberg; but the others of the slain were buried on the spot. 13. eystein haraldson comes to norway. when the kings sigurd and inge had ruled over norway about six years, eystein, who was a son of harald gille, came in spring from scotland (a.d. 1142). arne sturla, thorleif brynjolfson, and kolbein hruga had sailed westward over the sea after eystein, accompanied him to norway, and sailed immediately with him to throndhjem. the throndhjem people received him well; and at the eyra-thing of ascension-day he was chosen king, so that he should have the third part of norway with his brothers sigurd and inge. they were at this time in the east part of the country; and men went between the kings who brought about a peace, and that eystein should have a third part of the kingdom. people believed what he said of his paternal descent, because king harald himself had testified to it, and he did not resort to the ordeal of iron. king eystein's mother was called bjadok, and she followed him to norway. magnus was the name of king harald gille's fourth son, who was fostered by kyrpingaorm. he also was chosen king, and got a fourth part of the country; but magnus was deformed in his feet, lived but a short time, and died in his bed. einar skulason speaks of them:- "the generous eystein money gave; sigurd in fight was quick and brave; inge loved well the war-alarm; magnus to save his land from harm. no country boasts a nobler race the battle-field, or thing, to grace. four brothers of such high pretence the sun ne'er shone upon at once." 14. murder of ottar birting. after king harald gille's death queen ingerid married ottar birting, who was a lendermen and a great chief, and of a throndhjem family, who strengthened king inge's government much while he was in his childhood. king sigurd was not very friendly to ottar; because, as he thought, ottar always took king inge's side. ottar birting was killed north in the merchant town (nidaros), in an assault upon him in the twilight as he was going to the evening song. when he heard the whistling of the blow he held up his cloak with his hands against it; thinking, no doubt, it was a snowball thrown at him, as young boys do in the streets. ottar fell by the stroke; but his son, alf hrode, who just at the same moment was coming into the churchyard, saw his father's fall, and saw that the man who had killed him ran east about the church. alf ran after him, and killed him at the corner of the choir; and people said that he had good luck in avenging his father, and afterwards was much more respected than he had been before. 15. beginning of king eystein. king eystein haraldson was in the interior of the throndhjem district when he heard of ottar's murder, and summoned to him the bonde-army, with which he proceeded to the town; and he had many men. ottar's relations and other friends accused king sigurd, who was in the town, of having instigated this deed; and the bondes were much enraged against him. but the king offered to clear himself by the ordeal of iron, and thereby to establish the truth of his denial; and accordingly a peace was made. king sigurd went to the south end of the country, and the ordeal was never afterwards heard of. 16. beginning of orm the king-brother. queen ingerid had a son to ivar sneis, and he was called orm, and got the surname of king-brother. he was a handsome man in appearance, and became a great chief, as shall be told hereafter. ingerid afterwards married arne of stodreim, who was from this called king's-mate; and their children were inge, nikolas, philip of herdla, and margaret, who was first married to bjorn buk, and afterwards to simon karason. 17. journey of erling skakke and earl ragnvald. kyrpingaorm and ragnhild, a daughter of sveinke steinarson, had a son called erling. kyrpingaorm was a son of svein sveinson, who was a son of erling of gerd. otto's mother was ragna, a daughter of earl orm eilifson and sigrid, a daughter of earl fin arnason. the mother of earl orm was ragnhild, a daughter of earl hakon the great. erling was a man of understanding, and a great friend of king inge, by whose assistance and counsel erling obtained in marriage christina, a daughter of king sigurd the crusader and queen malmfrid. erling possessed a farm at studla in south hordaland. erling left the country; and with him went eindride unge and several lendermen, who had chosen men with them. they intended to make a pilgrimage to jerusalem, and went across the west sea to orkney. there earl ragnvald and bishop william joined them; and they had in all fifteen ships from orkney, with which they first sailed to the south hebrides, from thence west to valland, and then the same way king sigurd the crusader had sailed to norvasund; and they plundered all around in the heathen part of spain. soon after they had sailed through the norvasund, eindride unge and his followers, with six ships, separated from them; and then each was for himself. earl ragnvald and erling skakke fell in with a large ship of burden at sea called a dromund, and gave battle to it with nine ships. at last they laid their cutters close under the dromund; but the heathens threw both weapons and stones, and pots full of pitch and boiling oil. erling laid his ship so close under the dromund, that the missiles of the heathens fell without his ship. then erling and his men cut a hole in the dromund, some working below and some above the water-mark; and so they boarded the vessel through it. so says thorbjorn skakkaskald, in his poem on erling:- "the axes of the northmen bold a door into the huge ships' hold hewed through her high and curved side, as snug beneath her bulge they ride. their spears bring down the astonished foe, who cannot see from whence the blow. the eagle's prey, they, man by man, fall by the northmen's daring plan." audunraude, erling's forecastle-man, was the first man who got into the dromund. then they carried her, killing an immense number of people; making an extraordinarily valuable booty, and gaining a famous victory. earl ragnvald and erling skakke came to palestine in the course of their expedition, and all the way to the river jordan. from thence they went first to constantinople, where they left their ships, travelled northwards by land, and arrived in safety in norway, where their journey was highly praised. erling skakke appeared now a much greater man than before, both on account of his journey and of his marriage; besides he was a prudent sensible man, rich, of great family, eloquent, and devoted to king inge by the strictest friendship more than to the other royal brothers. 18. birth of hakon herdebreid. king sigurd went to a feast east in viken along with his court, and rode past a house belonging to a great bonde called simon. while the king was riding past the house, he heard within such beautiful singing that he was quite enchanted with it, and rode up to the house, and saw a lovely girl standing at the handmill and grinding. the king got off his horse, and went to the girl and courted her. when the king went away, the bonde simon came to know what the object of the king's visit had been. the girl was called thora, and she was simon the bonde's servant-girl. simon took good care of her afterwards, and the girl brought forth a male child (a.d. 1047), who was called hakon, and was considered king sigurd's son. hakon was brought up by simon thorbergson and his wife gunhild. their own sons also, onund and andreas, were brought up with hakon, and were so dear to him that death only could have parted them. 19. eystein and the peasants of hising isle. while king eystein haraldson was in viken, he fell into disputes with the bondes of reine and the inhabitants of hising isle, who assembled to oppose him; but he gave them battle at a place called leikberg, and afterwards burnt and destroyed all around in hising; so that the bondes submitted to his will, paid great fines to the king, and he took hostages from them. so says einar skulason:- "the viken men won't strive again, with words or blows, the king to oppose. none safety found on viken's ground, till all, afraid, pledge and scat paid." and further:- "the king came near; he who is dear to all good men came down the glen, by leikberg hill. they who do ill, the reine folk, fly or quarter cry." 20. war expedition of king haraldson. soon after king eystein began his journey out of the country over sea to the west (a.d. 1153), and sailed first to caithness. here he heard that earl harald maddad's son was in thursa, to which he sailed directly in three small boats. the earl had a ship of thirty banks of oars, and nearly eighty men in her. but they were not prepared to make resistance, so that king eystein was able to board the ship with his men; and he took the earl prisoner, and carried him to his own ship, but the earl ransomed himself with three marks of gold: and thus they parted. einar skulason tells of it thus:- "earl harald in his stout ship lay on the bright sand in thursa bay; with fourscore men he had no fear, nor thought the norse king was so near, he who provides the eagle's meals in three small boats along-shore steals; and maddad's son must ransom pay for his bad outlook that fair day." from thence king eystein sailed south along the east side of scotland, and brought up at a merchant-town in scotland called aberdeen, where he killed many people, and plundered the town. so says einar skulason:- "at aberdeen, too, i am told, fell many by our norsemen bold; peace was disturbed, and blue swords broke with many a hard and bloody stroke." the next battle was at hartlepool in the south, with a party of horsemen. the king put them to flight, and seized some ships there. so says einar:- "at hartlepool, in rank and row, the king's court-men attack the foe. the king's sharp sword in blood was red, blood dropped from every norse spear-head. ravens rejoice o'er the warm food of english slain, each where he stood; and in the ships their thirst was quenched: the decks were in the foe's blood drenched." then he went southwards to england, and had his third battle at whitby, and gained the victory, and burnt the town. so says einar:- "the ring of swords, the clash of shields, were loud in whitby's peaceful fields; for here the king stirred up the strife.- man against man, for death or life. o'er roof and tower, rose on high the red wrath-fire in the sky; house after house the red fiend burns; by blackened walls the poor man mourns." thereafter he plundered wide around in england, where stephen was then the king. after this king eystein fought with some cavalry at skarpasker. so says einar:- "at skarpasker the english horse retire before the norse king's force: the arrow-shower like snow-drift flew, and the shield-covered foemen slew." he fought next at pilavik, and gained the victory. so says einar:- "at pilavik the wild wolf feeds, well furnished by the king's brave deeds he poured upon the grass-green plain a red shower from the perthmen slain. on westwards in the sea he urges, with fire and sword the country purges: langtown he burns; the country rang, for sword on shield incessant clang." here they burnt langatun, a large village; and people say that the town has never since risen to its former condition. after this king eystein left england in autumn, and returned to norway. people spoke in various ways about this expedition. 21. of harald's sons. there was good peace maintained in norway in the first years of the government of harald's sons; and as long as their old counsellors were alive, there was some kind of unanimity among them. while inge and sigurd were in their childhood, they had a court together; but eystein, who was come to age of discretion, had a court for himself. but when inge's and sigurd's counsellors were dead,--namely, sadagyrd bardson, ottar birting, amunde gyrdson, thjostolf alason, ogmund svipter, and ogmund denger, a brother of erling skakke (erling was not much looked up to while ogmund lived),--the two kings, inge and sigurd divided their courts. king inge then got great assistance from gregorius dagson, a son of dag eilifson by ragnhild a daughter of skapte ogmundson. gregorius had much property, and was himself a thriving, sagacious man. he presided in the governing the country under king inge, and the king allowed him to manage his property for him according to his own judgment. 22. habits and manners of harald's sons. when king sigurd grew up he was a very ungovernable, restless man in every way; and so was king eystein, but eystein was the more reasonable of the two. king sigurd was a stout and strong man, of a brisk appearance; he had light brown hair, an ugly mouth; but otherwise a well-shaped countenance. he was polite in his conversation beyond any man, and was expert in all exercises. einar skulason speaks of this:- "sigurd, expert in every way to wield the sword in bloody fray, showed well that to the bold and brave god always luck and victory gave. in speech, as well as bloody deeds, the king all other men exceeds; and when he speaks we think that none has said a word but he alone." king eystein was dark and dingy in complexion, of middle height, and a prudent able man; but what deprived him of consideration and popularity with those under him were his avarice and narrowness. he was married to ragna, a daughter of nicolas mase. king inge was the handsomest among them in countenance. he had yellow but rather thin hair, which was much curled. his stature was small; and he had difficulty in walking alone, because he had one foot withered, and he had a hump both on his back and his breast. he was of cheerful conversation, and friendly towards his friends; was generous, and allowed other chiefs to give him counsel in governing the country. he was popular, therefore, with the public; and all this brought the kingdom and the mass of the people on his side. king harald gille's daughter brigida was first married to the swedish king inge halsteinson, and afterwards to earl karl sonason, and then to the swedish king magnus. she and king inge haraldson were cousins by the mother's side. at last brigida married earl birger brose, and they had four sons, namely, earl philip, earl knut, folke, and magnus. their daughters were ingegerd, who was married to the swedish king sorkver, and their son was king jon; a second daughter was called kristin, and a third margaret. harald gille's second daughter was called maria, who was married to simon skalp, a son of halkel huk; and their son was called nikolas. king harald gille's third daughter was called margaret, who was married to jon halkelson, a brother of simon. now many things occurred between the brothers which occasioned differences and disputes; but i will only relate what appears to me to have produced the more important events. 23. cardinal nikolas comes to the country. in the days of harald's sons cardinal nikolas came from rome to norway, being sent there by the pope. the cardinal had taken offence at the brothers sigurd and eystein, and they were obliged to come to a reconciliation with him; but, on the other hand, he stood on the most affectionate terms with king inge, whom he called his son. now when they were all reconciled with him, he moved them to let jon birgerson be consecrated archbishop of throndhjem and gave him a vestment which is called a pallium; and settled moreover that the archbishop's seat should be in nidaros, in christ church, where king olaf the saint reposes. before that time there had only been common bishops in norway. the cardinal introduced also the law, that no man should go unpunished who appeared with arms in the merchant-town, excepting the twelve men who were in attendancce on the king. he improved many of the customs of the northmen while he was in the country. there never came a foreigner to norway whom all men respected so highly, or who could govern the people so well as he did. after some time he returned to the south with many friendly presents, and declared ever afterwards that he was the greatest friend of the people of norway. when he came south to rome the former pope died suddenly, and all the people of rome would have cardinal nikolas for pope, and he was consecrated under the name of adrian; and according to the report of men who went to rome in his days, he had never any business, however important, to settle with other people, but he would break it off to speak with the northmen who desired to see him. he was not long pope, and is now considered a saint. 24. miracle of king olaf. in the time of harald gille's sons, it happened that a man called haldor fell into the hands of the vindland people, who took him and mutilated him, cut open his neck, took out the tongue through the opening, and cut out his tongue root. he afterwards sought out the holy king olaf, fixed his mind entirely on the holy man, and weeping besought king olaf to restore his speech and health. thereupon he immediately recovered his speech by the good king's compassion, went immediately into his service for all his life, and became an excellent trustworthy man. this miracle took place a fortnight before the last olafsmas, upon the day that cardinal nikolas set foot on the land of norway. 25. miracles of king olaf on richard. in the uplands were two brothers, men of great family, and men of fortune, einar and andres, sons of guthorm grabard, and brothers of king sigurd haraldson's mother; and they had great properties and udal estates in that quarter. they had a sister who was very handsome, but did not pay sufficient regard to the scandal of evil persons, as it afterwards appeared. she was on a friendly footing with an english priest called richard, who had a welcome to the house of her brothers, and on account of their friendship for him she did many things to please him, and often to his advantage; but the end of all this was, that an ugly report flew about concerning this girl. when this came into the mouth of the public all men threw the blame on the priest. her brothers did the same, and expressed publicly, as soon as they observed it, that they laid the blame most on him. the great friendship that was between the earl and the priest proved a great misfortune to both, which might have been expected, as the brothers were silent about their secret determination, and let nothing be observed. but one day they called the priest to them, who went, expecting nothing but good from them; enticed him from home with them, saying that they intended to go to another district, where they had some needful business, and inviting him to go with them. they had with them a farm-servant who knew their purpose. they went in a boat along the shore of a lake which is called rands lake, and landed at a ness called skiptisand, where they went on shore and amused themselves awhile. then they went to a retired place, and commanded their servant-man to strike the priest with an axe-hammer. he struck the priest so hard that he swooned; but when he recovered he said, "why are ye playing so roughly with me?" they replied, "although nobody has told thee of it before, thou shalt now find the consequence of what thou hast done." they then upbraided him; but he denied their accusations, and besought god and the holy king olaf to judge between them. then they broke his leg-bones, and dragged him bound to the forest with them; and then they put a string around his head, and put a board under his head and shoulders, and made a knot on the string, and bound his head fast to the board. then the elder brother, einar, took a wedge, and put it on the priest's eye, and the servant who stood beside him struck upon it with an axe, so that the eye flew out, and fell upon the board. then he set the pin upon the other eye, and said to the servant, "strike now more softly." he did so, and the wedge sprang from the eye-stone, and tore the eyelid loose. then einar took up the eyelid in his hand, and saw that the eye-stone was still in its place; and he set the wedge on the cheek, and when the servant struck it the eye-stone sprang out upon the cheek-bone. thereafter they opened his mouth, took his tongue and cut it off, and then untied his hands and his head. as soon as he came to himself, he thought of laying the eye-stones in their place under the eyelids, and pressing then with both hands as much as he could. then they carried him on board, and went to a farm called saeheimrud, where they landed. they sent up to the farm to say that a priest was lying in the boat at the shore. while the message was going to the farm, they asked the priest if he could talk; and he made a noise and attempted to speak. then said einar to his brother, "if he recover and the stump of his tongue grow, i am afraid he will get his speech again." thereupon they seized the stump with a pair of tongs, drew it out, cut it twice, and the third time to the very roots, and left him lying half dead. the housewife in the farm was poor; but she hastened to the place with her daughter, and they carried the priest home to their farm in their cloaks. they then brought a priest, and when he arrived he bound all his wounds; and they attended to his comfort as much as they were able. and thus lay the wounded priest grievously handled, but trusting always to god's grace, and never doubting; and although he was speechless, he prayed to god in thought with a sorrowful mind, but with the more confidence the worse he was. he turned his thoughts also to the mild king olaf the saint, god's dear favourite, of whose excellent deeds he had heard so much told, and trusted so much more zealously on him with all his heart for help in his necessity. as he lay there lame, and deprived of all strength, he wept bitterly, moaned, and prayed with a sore heart that the dear king olaf would help him. now when this wounded priest was sleeping after midnight, he thought he saw a gallant man coming to him, who spoke these words, "thou art ill off, friend richard, and thy strength is little." he thought he replied to this assentingly. then the man accosted him again, "thou requirest compassion?" the priest replies, "i need the compassion of almighty god and the holy king olaf." he answered, "thou shalt get it." thereupon he pulled the tongue-stump so hard that it gave the priest pain; then he stroked with his hands his eyes, and legs, and other wounded members. then the priest asked who he was. he looked at him, and said, "olaf, come here from throndhjem;" and then disappeared. but the priest awoke altogether sound, and thus he spoke: "happy am i, and thanks be to the almighty god and the holy king olaf, who have restored me!" dreadfully mishandled as he had been, yet so quickly was he restored from his misfortune that he scarcely thought he had been wounded or sick. his tongue was entire; both his eyes were in their places, and were clear-sighted; his broken legs and every other wound were healed, or were free from pain; and, in short, he had got perfect health. but as a proof that his eyes had been punched out, there remained a white scar on each eyelid, in order that this dear king's excellence might be manifest on the man who had been so dreadfully misused. 26. king inge and sigurd hold a thing. king eystein and king sigurd had quarrelled, because king sigurd had killed king eystein's court-man harald, the viken man, who owned a house in bergen, and also the priest jon tapard, a son of bjarne sigurdson. on account of this affair, a conference to settle it was appointed in winter in the uplands. the two sat together in the conference for a long time, and so much was known of their conference that all three brothers were to meet the following summer in bergen. it was added, that their conference was to the effect that king inge should have two or three farms, and as much income as would keep thirty men beside him, as he had not health to be a king. when king inge and gregorius heard this report, they came to bergen with many followers. king sigurd arrived there a little later, and was not nearly so strong in men. sigurd and inge had then been nineteen years kings of norway (a.d. 1155). king eystein came later still from the south than the other two from the north. then king inge ordered the thing to be called together on the holm by the sound of trumpet; and sigurd and inge came to it with a great many people. gregorius had two long-ships, and at the least ninety men, whom he kept in provisions. he kept his house-men better than other lendermen; for he never took part in any entertainment where each guest brings his liquor, without having all his house-men to drink with him. he went now to the thing in a gold-mounted helmet, and all his men had helmets on. then king inge stood up, and told the assembly what he had heard; how his brothers were going to use him, and depose him from his kingdom; and asked for their assistance. the assembled people made a good return to his speech, and declared they would follow him. 27. of gregorius dagson. then king sigurd stood up and said it was a false accusation that king inge had made against him and his brother, and insisted that gregorius had invented it; and insinuated that it would not be long, if he had his will, before they should meet so that the golden helmet should be doffed; and ended his speech by hinting that they could not both live. gregorius replied, that sigurd need not long so much for this, as he was ready now, if it must be so. a few days after, one of gregorius's house-men was killed out upon the street, and it was sigurd's house-men who killed him. gregorius would then have fallen upon king sigurd and his people; but king inge, and many others, kept him back. but one evening, just as queen ingerid, king inge's mother, was coming from vespers, she came past where sigurd skrudhyrna, a courtman of king inge, lay murdered. he was then an old man, and had served many kings. king sigurd's courtmen, halyard gunnarson, and sigurd, a son of eystein trafale, had killed him; and people suspected it was done by order of king sigurd. she went immediately to king inge, and told him he would be a little king if he took no concern, but allowed his court-men to be killed, the one after the other, like swine. the king was angry at her speech; and while they were scolding about it, came gregorius in helmet and armour, and told the king not to be angry, for she was only saying the truth. "and i am now," says he, "come to thy assistance, if thou wilt attack king sigurd; and here we are, above 100 men in helmets and armour, and with them we will attack where others think the attack may be worst." but the most dissuaded from this course, thinking that sigurd would pay the mulct for the slaughter done. now when gregorius saw that there would be no assault, he accosted king inge thus: "thou wilt frighten thy men from thee in this way; for first they lately killed my house-man, and now thy court-man, and afterwards they will chase me, or some other of thy lendermen whom thou wouldst feel the loss of, when they see that thou art indifferent about such things; and at last, after thy friends are killed, they will take the royal dignity from thee. whatever thy other lendermen may do, i will not stay here longer to be slaughtered like an ox; but sigurd the king and i have a business to settle with each other to-night, in whatever way it may turn out. it is true that there is but little help in thee on account of thy ill health, but i should think thy will should not be less to hold thy hand over thy friends, and i am now quite ready to go from hence to meet sigurd, and my banner is flying in the yard." then king inge stood up, and called for his arms, and ordered every man who wished to follow him to get ready, declaring it was of no use to try to dissuade him; for he had long enough avoided this, but now steel must determine between them. 28. of king sigurd's fall. king sigurd sat and drank in sigrid saeta's house ready for battle, although people thought it would not come to an assault at all. then came king inge with his men down the road from the smithy shops, against the house. arne, the king's brother-in-law, came out from the sand-bridge, aslak erlendson from his own house, and gregorius from the street where all thought the assault would be worst. king sigurd and his men made many shots from the holes in the loft, broke down the fireplaces, and threw stones on them. gregorius and his men cut down the gates of the yard; and there in the port fell einar, a son of laxapaul, who was of sigurd's people, together with halvard gunnarson, who was shot in a loft, and nobody lamented his death. they hewed down the houses, and many of king sigurd's men left him, and surrendered for quarter. then king sigurd went up into a loft, and desired to be heard. he had a gilt shield, by which they knew him, but they would not listen to him, and shot arrows at him as thick as snow in a snow-shower, so that he could not stay there. as his men had now left him, and the houses were being hewn down, he went out from thence, and with him his court-man thord husfreyja from viken. they wanted to come where king inge was to be found, and sigurd called to his brother king inge, and begged him to grant him life and safety; but both thord and sigurd were instantly killed, and thord fell with great glory. king sigurd was interred in the old christ church out on the holm. king inge gave gregorius the ship king sigurd had owned. there fell many of king sigurd's and king inge's men, although i only name a few; but of gregorius's men there fell four; and also some who belonged to no party, but were shot on the piers, or out in the ships. it was fought on a friday, and fourteen days before saint john the baptist's day (june 10, 1155). two or three days after king eystein came from the eastward with thirty ships, and had along with him his brother's son hakon, a son of king sigurd. eystein did not come up to the town, but lay in floruvagar, and good men went between to get a reconciliation made. but gregorius wanted that they should go out against him, thinking there never would be a better opportunity; and offered to be himself the leader. "for thou, king, shalt not go, for we have no want of men." but many dissuaded from this course, and it came to nothing. king eystein returned back to viken, and king inge to throndhjem, and they were in a sort reconciled; but they did not meet each other. 29. of gregorius dagson. somewhat later than king eystein, gregorius dagson also set out to the eastward and came to his farm bratsberg in hofund; but king eystein was up in the fjord at oslo, and had his ships drawn above two miles over the frozen sea, for there was much ice at that time in viken. king eystein went up to hofund to take gregorius; but he got news of what was on foot, and escaped to thelemark with ninety men, from thence over the mountains, and came down in hardanger; and at last to studla in etne, to erling skakke's farm. erling himself had gone north to bergen; but his wife kristin, a daughter of king sigurd, was at home, and offered gregorius all the assistance he wanted; and he was hospitably received. he got a long-ship there which belonged to erling, and everything else he required. gregorius thanked her kindly, and allowed that she had behaved nobly, and as might have been expected of her. gregorius then proceeded to bergen, where he met erling, who thought also that his wife had done well. 30. reconciliation of eystein and inge. then gregorius went north to throndhjem, and came there before yule. king inge was rejoiced at his safety, and told him to use his property as freely as his own, king eystein having burnt gregorius's house, and slaughtered his stock of cattle. the ship-docks which king eystein the elder had constructed in the merchant town of nidaros, and which had been exceedingly expensive, were also burnt this winter, together with some good vessels belonging to king inge. this deed was ascribed to king eystein and philip gyrdson, king sigurd's foster-brother, and occasioned much displeasure and hatred. the following summer king inge went south with a very numerous body of men; and king eystein came northwards, gathering men also. they met in the east (a.d. 1156) at the seleys, near to the naze; but king inge was by far the strongest in men. it was nearly coming to a battle; but at last they were reconciled on these conditions, that king eystein should be bound to pay forty-five marks of gold, of which king inge should have thirty marks, because king eystein had occasioned the burning of the docks and ships; and, besides, that philip, and all who had been accomplices in the deed, should be outlawed. also that the men should be banished the country, against whom it could be proved that they gave blow or wound to king sigurd; for king eystein accused king inge of protecting these men; and that gregorius should have fifteen marks of gold for the value of his property burnt by king eystein. king eystein was ill pleased with these terms, and looked upon the treaty as one forced upon him. from that meeting king inge went eastward to viken, and king eystein north to throndhjem; and they had no intercourse with each other, nor were the messages which passed between them very friendly, and on both sides they killed each other's friends. king eystein, besides, did not pay the money; and the one accused the other of not fulfilling what was promised. king inge and gregorius enticed many people from king eystein; among others, bard standale brynjolfson, simon skalp, a son of halkel huk, halder brynjolfson, jon halkelson, and many other lendermen. 31. of eystein and inge. two years after king sigurd's fall (a.d. 1157) both kings assembled armaments; namely, king inge in the east of the country, where he collected eighty ships; and king eystein in the north, where he had forty-five, and among these the great dragon, which king eystein magnuson had built after the long serpent; and they had on both sides many and excellent troops. king inge lay with his ships south at moster isle, and king eystein a little to the north in graeningasund. king eystein sent the young aslak jonson, and arne sturla, a son of snaebjorn, with one ship to meet king inge; but when the king's men knew them, they assaulted them, killed many of their people, and took all that was in the ship belonging to them. aslak and arne and a few more escaped to the land, went to king eystein, and told him how king inge had received them. thereupon king eystein held a house-thing, and told his followers how ill king inge had treated his men, and desired the troops to follow him. "i have," said he, "so many, and such excellent men, that i have no intention to fly, if ye will follow me." but this speech was not received with much favour. halkel huk was there; but both his sons, simon and jon, were with king inge. halkel replied, so loud that many heard him, "let thy chests of gold follow thee, and let them defend thy land." 32. king eystein's death. in the night many of king eystein's ships rowed secretly away, some of them joining king inge, some going to bergen, or up into the fjords; so that when it was daylight in the morning the king was lying behind with only ten ships. then he left the great dragon, which was heavy to row, and several other vessels behind; and cut and destroyed the dragon, started out the ale, and destroyed all that they could not take with them. king eystein went on board of the ship of eindride, a son of jon morner, sailed north into sogn, and then took the land-road eastwards to viken. king inge took the vessels, and sailed with them outside of the isles to viken. king eystein had then got east as far as fold, and had with him 1200 men; but when they saw king inge's force, they did not think themselves sufficiently strong to oppose him, and they retired to the forest. every one fled his own way, so that the king was left with but one man. king inge and his men observed king eystein's flight, and also that he had but few people with him, and they went immediately to search for him. simon skalp met the king just as he was coming out of a willow bush. simon saluted him. "god save you, sire," said he. the king replied, "i do not know if thou are not sire here." simon replied, "that is as it may happen." the king begged him to conceal him, and said it was proper to do so. "for there was long friendship between us, although it has now gone differently." simon replied, it could not be. then the king begged that he might hear mass before he died, which accordingly took place. then eystein laid himself down on his face on the grass, stretched out his hands on each side, and told them to cut the sign of the cross between his shoulders, and see whether he could not bear steel as king inge's followers had asserted of him. simon told the man who had to put the king to death to do so immediately, for the king had been creeping about upon the grass long enough. he was accordingly slain, and he appears to have suffered manfully. his body was carried to fors, and lay all night under the hill at the south side of the church. king eystein was buried in fors church, and his grave is in the middle of the church-floor, where a fringed canopy is spread over it, and he is considered a saint. where he was executed, and his blood ran upon the ground, sprang up a fountain, and another under the hill where his body lay all night. from both these waters many think they have received a cure of sickness and pain. it is reported by the viken people that many miracles were wrought at king eystein's grave, until his enemies poured upon it soup made of boiled dog's flesh. simon skalp was much hated for this deed, which was generally ascribed to him; but some said that when king eystein was taken simon sent a message to king inge, and the king commanded that king eystein should not come before his face. so king sverre has caused it to be written; but einar skulason tells of it thus:- "simon skalp, the traitor bold, for deeds of murder known of old, his king betrayed; and ne'er will he god's blessed face hereafter see." saga of hakon herdebreid (hakon the broad-shouldered) (1) preliminary remarks. this saga describes the feud between hakon sigurdson and his uncle inge. the only skald quoted is einar skulason. endnotes: (1) the period is from a.d. 1157 to 1161.--l. 1. beginning of hakon herdebreid. hakon, king sigurd's son, was chosen chief of the troop which had followed king eystein, and his adherents gave him the title of king. he was ten years old. at that time he had with him sigurd, a son of halvard hauld of reyr, and andreas and onund, the sons of simon, his foster-brothers, and many chiefs, friends of king sigurd and king eystein; and they went first up to gautland. king inge took possession of all the estates they had left behind, and declared them banished. thereafter king inge went to viken, and was sometimes also in the north of the country. gregorius dagson was in konungahella, where the danger was greatest, and had beside him a strong and handsome body of men, with which he defended the country. 2. of gregorius dagson. the summer after (a.d. 1158) hakon came with his men, and proceeded to konungahella with a numerous and handsome troop. gregorius was then in the town, and summoned the bondes and townspeople to a great thing, at which he desired their aid; but he thought the people did not hear him with much favour, so he did not much trust them. gregorius set off with two ships to viken, and was very much cast down. he expected to meet king inge there, having heard he was coming with a great army to viken. now when gregorius had come but a short way north he met simon skalp, haldor brynjolfson, and gyrd amundason, king inge's foster-brothers. gregorius was much delighted at this meeting, and turned back with them, being all in one body, with eleven ships. as they were rowing up to konungahella, hakon, with his followers, was holding a thing without the town, and saw their approach; and sigurd of reyr said, "gregorius must be fey to be throwing himself with so few men into our hands." gregorius landed opposite the town to wait for king inge, for he was expected, but he did not come. king hakon put himself in order in the town, and appointed thorliot skaufaskalle, who was a viking and a robber, to be captain of the men in the merchant ships that were afloat in the river; and king hakon and sigurd were within the town, and drew up the men on the piers, for all the townspeople had submitted to king hakon. 3. king hakon's flight. gregorius rowed up the river, and let the ship drive down with the stream against thorliot. they shot at each other a while, until thorliot and his comrades jumped overboard; and some of them were killed, some escaped to the land. then gregorius rowed to the piers, and let a gangway be cast on shore at the very feet of hakon's men. there the man who carried his banner was slain, just as he was going to step on shore. gregorius ordered hal, a son of audun halson, to take up the banner, which he did, and bore the banner up to the pier. gregorius followed close after him, held his shield over his head, and protected him as well as himself. as soon as gregorius came upon the pier, and hakon's men knew him, they gave way, and made room for him on every side. afterwards more people landed from the ships, and then gregorius made a severe assault with his men; and hakon's men first moved back, and then ran up into the town. gregorius pursued them eagerly, drove them twice from the town, and killed many of them. by the report of all men, never was there so glorious an affair as this of gregorius; for hakon had more than 4000 men, and gregorius not full 400. after the battle, gregorius said to hal audunson, "many men, in my opinion, are more agile in battle than ye icelanders are, for ye are not so exercised as we norwegians; but none, i think, are so bold under arms as ye are." king inge came up soon after, and killed many of the men who had taken part with hakon; made some pay heavy fines, burnt the houses of some, and some he drove out of the country, or treated otherwise very ill. hakon fled at first up to gautland with all his men; but the winter after (a.d. 1159), he proceeded by the upper road to throndhjem, and came there before easter. the throndhjem people received him well, for they had always served under that shield. it is said that the throndhjem people took hakon as king, on the terms that he should have from inge the third part of norway as his paternal heritage. king inge and gregorius were in viken, and gregorius wanted to make an expedition against the party in the north; but it came to nothing that winter, as many dissuaded from it. 4. fall of gyrd and havard. king hakon left throndhjem in spring with thirty ships nearly; and some of his men sailed before the rest with seven ships, and plundered in north and south more. no man could remember that there ever before had been plundering between the two towns (bergen and nidaros). jon the son of halkel huk collected the bondes in arms, and proceeded against them; took kolbein ode prisoner, killed every woman's son of them in his ship. then they searched for the others, found them all assembled in seven ships, and fought with them; but his father halkel not coming to his assistance as he had promised, many good bondes were killed, and jon himself was wounded. hakon proceeded south to bergen with his forces; but when he came to stiornvelta, he heard that king inge and gregorius had arrived a few nights before from the east at bergen, and therefore he did not venture to steer thither. they sailed the outer course southwards past bergen, and met three ships of king inge's fleet, which had been outsailed on the voyage from the east. on board of them were gyrd amundason, king inge's foster-brother, who was married to gyrid a sister of gregorius, and also lagman gyrd gunhildson, and havard klining. king hakon had gyrd amundason and havard klining put to death; but took lagman gyrd southwards, and then proceeded east to viken. 5. of the consultations of king inge. when king inge heard of this he sailed east after them, and they met east in the gaut river. king inge went up the north arm of the river, and sent out spies to get news of hakon and his fleet; but he himself landed at hising, and waited for his spies. now when the spies came back they went to the king, and said that they had seen king hakon's forces, and all his ships which lay at the stakes in the river, and hakon's men had bound the stems of their vessels to them. they had two great east-country trading vessels, which they had laid outside of the fleet, and on both these were built high wooded stages (castles). when king inge heard the preparations they had made, he ordered a trumpet to call a house-thing of all the men; and when the thing was seated he asked his men for counsel, and applied particularly to gregorius dagson, his brother-in-law erling skakke, and other lendermen and ship-commanders, to whom he related the preparations of hakon and his men. then gregorius dagson replied first, and made known his mind in the following words:--"sometimes we and hakon have met, and generally they had the most people; but, notwithstanding, they fell short in battle against us. now, on the other hand, we have by far the greatest force; and it will appear probable to the men who a short time ago lost gallant relations by them, that this will be a good occasion to get vengeance, for they have fled before us the greater part of the summer; and we have often said that if they waited for us, as appears now to be the case, we would have a brush with them. now i will tell my opinion, which is, that i will engage them, if it be agreeable to the king's pleasure; for i think it will go now as formerly, that they must give way before us if we attack them bravely; and i shall always attack where others may think it most difficult." the speech was received with much applause, and all declared they were ready to engage in battle against hakon. then they rowed with all the ships up the river, until they came in sight of each other, and then king inge turned off from the river current under the island. now the king addressed the lendermen again, and told them to get ready for battle. he turned himself especially to erling skakke, and said, what was true, that no man in the army had more understanding and knowledge in fighting battles, although some were more hot. the king then addressed himself to several of the lendermen, speaking to them by name; and ended by desiring that each man should make his attack where he thought it would be of advantage, and thereafter all would act together. 6. erling's speech. erling skakke replied thus to the king's speech: "it is my duty, sire, not to be silent; and i shall give my advice, since it is desired. the resolution now adopted is contrary to my judgment; for i call it foolhardy to fight under these circumstances, although we have so many and such fine men. supposing we make an attack on them, and row up against this river-current; then one of the three men who are in each half room must be employed in rowing only, and another must be covering with the shield the man who rows; and what have we then to fight with but one third of our men? it appears to me that they can be of little use in the battle who are sitting at their oars with their backs turned to the enemy. give me now some time for consideration, and i promise you that before three days are over i shall fall upon some plan by which we can come into battle with advantage." it was evident from erling's speech that he dissuaded from an attack; but, notwithstanding, it was urged by many who thought that hakon would now, as before, take to the land. "and then," said they, "we cannot get hold of him; but now they have but few men, and we have their fate in our own hands." gregorius said but little; but thought that erling rather dissuaded from an attack that gregorius's advice should have no effect, than that he had any better advice to give. 7. of hakon's fleet. then said king inge to erling, "now we will follow thy advice, brother, with regard to the manner of attacking; but seeing how eager our counsellors are for it, we shall make the attack this day." erling replied, "all the boats and light vessels we have should row outside the island, and up the east arm of the river, and then down with the stream upon them, and try if they cannot cut them loose from the piles. then we, with the large ships, shall row from below here against them; and i cannot tell until it be tried, if those who are now so furiously warm will be much brisker at the attack than i am." this counsel was approved by all. there was a ness stretched out between their fleet and hakon's, so that they could not see each other. now when hakon and his men, who had taken counsel with each other in a meeting, saw the boat-squadron rowing down the river, some thought king inge intended to give them battle; but many believed they did not dare, for it looked as if the attack was given up; and they, besides, were very confident, both in their preparations and men. there were many great people with hakon: there were sigurd of reyr, and simon's sons; nikolas skialdvarson; eindride, a son of jon mornef, who was the most gallant and popular man in the throndhjem country; and many other lendermen and warriors. now when they saw that king inge's men with many ships were rowing out of the river, hakon and his men believed they were going to fly; and therefore they cut their land-ropes with which they lay fast at the piles, seized their oars, and rowed after them in pursuit. the ships ran fast down with the stream; but when they came further down the river, abreast of the ness, they saw king inge's main strength lying quiet at the island hising. king inge's people saw hakon's ships under way, and believed they were coming to attack them; and now there was great bustle and clash of arms, and they encouraged each other by a great war-shout. hakon with his fleet turned northwards a little to the land, where there was a turn in the bight of the river, and where there was no current. they made ready for battle, carried land-ropes to the shore, turned the stems of their ships outwards, and bound them all together. they laid the large east-country traders without the other vessels, the one above, the other below, and bound them to the long-ships. in the middle of the fleet lay the king's ship, and next to it sigurd's; and on the other side of the king's ship lay nikolas, and next to him endride jonson. all the smaller ships lay farther off, and they were all nearly loaded with weapons and stones. 8. sigurd of reyr's speech. then sigurd of reyr made the following speech: "now there is hope that the time is come which has been promised us all the summer, that we shall meet king inge in battle. we have long prepared ourselves for this; and many of our comrades have boasted that they would never fly from or submit to king inge and gregorius, and now let them remember their words. but we who have sometimes got the toothache in our conflicts with them, speak less confidently; for it has happened, as all have heard, that we very often have come off without glory. but, nevertheless, it is now necessary to fight manfully, and stand to it with steadiness; for the only escape for us is in victory. although we have somewhat fewer men than they, yet luck determines which side shall have the advantage, and god knows that the right is on our side. inge has killed two of his brothers; and it is obvious to all men that the mulct he intends to pay king hakon for his father's murder is to murder him also, as well as his other relations, which will be seen this day to be his intent. king hakon desired from the beginning no more of norway than the third part, which his father had possessed, and which was denied him; and yet, in my opinion, king hakon has a better right to inherit after his father's brother, king eystein, than inge or simon skalp, or the other men who killed king eystein. many of them who would save their souls, and yet have defiled their hands with such bloody deeds as inge has done, must think it a presumption before god that he takes the name of king; and i wonder god suffers such monstrous wickedness as his; but it may be god's will that we shall now put him down. let us fight then manfully, and god will give us victory; and, if we fall, will repay us with joys unspeakable for now allowing the might of the wicked to prevail over us. go forth then in confidence, and be not afraid when the battle begins. let each watch over his own and his comrade's safety, and god protect us all." there went a good report abroad of this speech of sigurd, and all promised fairly, and to do their duty. king hakon went on board of the great east-country ship, and a shield-bulwark was made around him; but his standard remained on the long-ship in which it had been before. 9. of king inge's men. now must we tell about king inge and his men. when they saw that king hakon and his people were ready for battle, and the river only was between them, they sent a light vessel to recall the rest of the fleet which had rowed away; and in the meantime the king waited for them, and arranged the troops for the attack. then the chiefs consulted in presence of the army, and told their opinions; first, which ships should lie nearest to the enemy; and then where each should attack. gregorius spoke thus: "we have many and fine men; and it is my advice, king inge, that you do not go to the assault with us, for everything is preserved if you are safe. and no man knows where an arrow may hit, even from the hands of a bad bowman; and they have prepared themselves so, that missiles and stones can be thrown from the high stages upon the merchant ships, so that there is less danger for those who are farthest from them. they have not more men than we lendermen can very well engage with. i shall lay my ship alongside their largest ship, and i expect the conflict between us will be but short; for it has often been so in our former meetings, although there has been a much greater want of men with us than now." all thought well of the advice that the king himself should not take part in the battle. then erling skakke said, "i agree also to the counsel that you, sire, should not go into the battle. it appears to me that their preparations are such, that we require all our precaution not to suffer a great defeat from them; and whole limbs are the easiest cured. in the council we held before to-day many opposed what i said, and ye said then that i did not want to fight; but now i think the business has altered its appearance, and greatly to our advantage, since they have hauled off from the piles, and now it stands so that i do not dissuade from giving battle; for i see, what all are sensible of, how necessary it is to put an end to this robber band who have gone over the whole country with pillage and destruction, in order that people may cultivate the land in peace, and serve a king so good and just as king inge who has long had trouble and anxiety from the haughty unquiet spirit of his relations, although he has been a shield of defence for the whole people, and has been exposed to manifold perils for the peace of the country." erling spoke well and long, and many other chiefs also; and all to the same purpose--all urging to battle. in the meantime they waited until all the fleet should be assembled. king inge had the ship baekisudin; and, at the entreaty of his friends, he did not join the battle, but lay still at the island. 10. beginning of the battle. when the army was ready they rowed briskly against the enemy, and both sides raised a war-shout. inge's men did not bind their ships together, but let them be loose; for they rowed right across the current, by which the large ships were much swayed. erling skakke laid his ship beside king hakon's ship, and ran the stem between his and sigurd's ship, by which the battle began. but gregorius's ship swung upon the ground, and heeled very much over, so that at first she could not come into the battle; and when hakon's men saw this they laid themselves against her, and attacked gregorius's ship on all sides. ivar, hakon mage's son, laid his ship so that the stems struck together; and he got a boat-hook fastened on gregorius, on that part of his body where the waist is smallest, and dragged him to him, by which gregorius stumbled against the ship's rails; but the hook slipped to one side, or gregorius would have been dragged over-board. gregorius, however, was but little wounded, for he had on a plate coat of armour. ivar called out to him, that he had a "thick bark." gregorius replied, that if ivar went on so he would "require it all, and not have too much." it was very near then that gregorius and his men had sprung overboard; but aslak unge threw an anchor into their ship, and dragged them off the ground. then gregorius laid himself against ivar's ship, and they fought a long while; but gregorius's ship being both higher sided and more strongly manned, many people fell in ivar's ship, and some jumped overboard. ivar was so severely wounded that he could not take part in the fight. when his ship was cleared of the men, gregorius let ivar be carried to the shore, so that he might escape; and from that time they were constant friends. 11. king hakon's flight. when king inge and his men saw that gregorius was aground, he encouraged his crew to row to his assistance. "it was," he said, "the most imprudent advice that we should remain lying here, while our friends are in battle; for we have the largest and best ship in all the fleet. but now i see that gregorius, the man to whom i owe the most, is in need of help; so we must hasten to the fight where it is sharpest. it is also most proper that i should be in the battle; for the victory, if we win it, will belong to me. and if i even knew beforehand that our men were not to gain the battle, yet our place is where our friends are; for i can do nothing if i lose the men who are justly called the defence of the country, who are the bravest, and have long ruled for me and my kingdom." thereupon he ordered his banner to be set up, which was done; and they rowed across the river. then the battle raged, and the king could not get room to attack, so close lay the ships before him. first he lay under the east-country trading ship, and from it they threw down upon his vessel spears, iron-shod stakes, and such large stones that it was impossible to hold out longer there, and he had to haul off. now when the king's people saw that he was come they made place for him, and then he laid alongside of eindride jonson's ship. now king hakon's men abandoned the small ships, and went on board the large merchant vessels; but some of them sprang on shore. erling skakke and his men had a severe conflict. erling himself was on the forecastle, and called his forecastlemen, and ordered them to board the king's ship; but they answered, this was no easy matter, for there were beams above with an iron comb on them. then erling himself went to the bow, and stayed there a while, until they succeeded in getting on board the king's ship: and then the ship was cleared of men on the bows, and the whole army gave way. many sprang into the water, many fell, but the greater number got to the land. so says einar skulason:- "men fall upon the slippery deck- men roll off from the blood-drenched wreck; dead bodies float down with the stream, and from the shores witch-ravens scream. the cold blue river now runs red with the warm blood of warriors dead, and stains the waves in karmt sound with the last drops of the death-wound. "all down the stream, with unmann'd prow, floats many an empty long-ship now, ship after ship, shout after shout, tell that kign hakon can't hold out. the bowmen ply their bows of elm, the red swords flash o'er broken helm: king hakon's men rush to the strand, out of their ships, up through the land." einar composed a song about gregorius dagson, which is called the river-song. king inge granted life and peace to nikolas skialdvarson when his ship was deserted, and thereupon he went into king inge's service, and remained in it as long as the king lived. eindride jonson leaped on board of king inge's ship when his own was cleared of men, and begged for his life. king inge wished to grant it; but havard klining's son ran up, and gave him a mortal wound, which was much blamed; but he said eindride had been the cause of his father's death. there was much lamentation at eindride's death, but principally in the throndhjem district. many of hakon's people fell here, but not many chiefs. few of king inge's people fell, but many were wounded. king hakon fled up the country, and king inge went north to viken with his troops; and he, as well as gregorius, remained in viken all winter (a.d. 1160). when king inge's men, bergliot and his brothers, sons of ivar of elda, came from the battle to bergen, they slew nickolas skeg, who had been hakon's treasurer, and then went north to throndhjem. king hakon came north before yule, and sigurd was sometimes home at reyr; for gregorius, who was nearly related to sigurd, had obtained for him life and safety from king inge, so that he retained all his estates. king hakon was in the merchant-town of nidaros in yule; and one evening in the beginning of yule his men fought in the room of the court, and in this affray eight men were killed, and many were wounded. the eighth day of yule, king hakon's man alf rode, son of ottar birting, with about eighty men, went to elda, and came in the night unexpectedly on the people, who were very drunk, and set fire to the room; but they went out, and defended themselves bravely. there fell bergliot, ivar's son, and ogmund, his brother, and many more. they had been nearly thirty altogether in number. in winter died, north in the merchant-town, andres simonson, king hakon's foster-brother; and his death was much deplored. erling skakke and inge's men, who were in bergen, threatened that in winter they would proceed against hakon and his men; but it came to nothing. gregorius sent word from the east, from konungahella, that if he were so near as erling and his men, he would not sit quietly in bergen while hakon was killing king inge's friends and their comrades in war north in the throndhjem country. 12. the conflict upon the piers. king inge and gregorius left the east in spring, and came to bergen; but as soon as hakon and sigurd heard that inge had left viken, they went there by land. when king inge and his people came to bergen, a quarrel arose between haldor brynjolfson and bjorn nikolason. bjorn's house-man asked haldor's when they met at the pier, why he looked so pale. he replied, because he had been bled. "i could not look so pale if i tried, at merely being bled." "i again think," retorted the other, "that thou wouldst have borne it worse, and less manfully." and no other beginning was there for their quarrel than this. afterwards one word followed another, till from brawling they came to fighting. it was told to haldor brynjolfson, who was in the house drinking, that his house-man was wounded down on the pier and he went there immediately. but bjorn's house-men had come there before, and as haldor thought his house-man had been badly treated, he went up to them and beat them; and it was told to bjorn buk that the people of viken were beating his house-men on the pier. then bjorn and his house-men took their weapons, hurried down to the pier, and would avenge their men; and a bloody strife began. it was told gregorius that his relation haldor required assistance, and that his house-men were being cut down in the street; on which gregorius and his men ran to the place in their armour. now it was told erling skakke that his sister's son bjorn was fighting with gregorius and haldor down on the piers, and that he needed help. then he proceeded thither with a great force, and exhorted the people to stand by him; saying it would be a great disgrace never to be wiped out, if the viken people should trample upon them in their own native place. there fell thirteen men, of whom nine were killed on the spot, and four died of their wounds, and many were wounded. when the word came to king inge that gregorius and erling were fighting down on the piers, he hastened there, and tried to separate them; but could do nothing, so mad were they on both sides. then gregorius called to inge, and told him to go away; for it was in vain to attempt coming between them, as matters now stood. he said it would be the greatest misfortune if the king mixed himself up with it; for he could not be certain that there were not people in the fray who would commit some great misdeed if they had opportunity. then king inge retired; and when the greatest tumult was over, gregorius and his men went to nikolas church, and erling behind them, calling to each other. then king inge came a second time, and pacified them; and both agreed that he should mediate between them. when king inge and gregorius heard that king hakon was in viken, they went east with many ships; but when they came king hakon fled from them, and there was no battle. then king inge went to oslo, and gregorius was in konungahella. 13. munan's death. soon after gregorius heard that hakon and his men were at a farm called saurby, which lies up beside the forest. gregorius hastened there; came in the night; and supposing that king hakon and sigurd would be in the largest of the houses, set fire to the buildings there. but hakon and his men were in the smaller house, and came forth, seeing the fire, to help their people. there munan fell, a son of ale uskeynd, a brother of king sigurd hakon's father. gregorius and his men killed him, because he was helping those whom they were burning within the house. some escaped, but many were killed. asbjorn jalda, who had been a very great viking, escaped from the house, but was grievously wounded. a bonde met him, and he offered the man money to let him get away; but the bonde replied, he would do what he liked best; and, adding that he had often been in fear of his life for him, he slew him. king hakon and sigurd escaped, but many of their people were killed. thereafter gregorius returned home to konungahella. soon after king hakon and sigurd went to haldor brynjolfson's farm of vettaland, set fire to the house, and burnt it. haldor went out, and was cut down instantly with his house-men; and in all there were about twenty men killed. sigrid, haldor's wife, was a sister of gregorius, and they allowed her to escape into the forest in her night-shift only; but they took with them amunde, who was a son of gyrd amundason and of gyrid dag's daughter, and a sister's son of gregorius, and who was then a boy about five years old. 14. of the fall of gregorius dagson. when gregorius heard the news he took it much to heart, and inquired carefully where they were. gregorius set out from konungahella late in yule, and came to fors the thirteenth day of yule, where he remained a night, and heard vespers the last day of yule, which was a saturday, and the holy evangel was read before him. when gregorius and his followers saw the men of king hakon and sigurd, the king's force appeared to them smaller than their own. there was a river called befia between them, where they met; and there was unsound ice on the river, for there went a stream under the ice from it. king hakon and his men had cut a rent in the ice, and laid snow over it, so that nobody could see it. when gregorius came to the ice on the river the ice appeared to him unsound, he said; and he advised the people to go to the bridge, which was close by, to cross the river. the bonde-troops replied, that they did not know why he should be afraid to go across the ice to attack so few people as hakon had, and the ice was good enough. gregorius said it was seldom necessary to encourage him to show bravery, and it should not be so now. then he ordered them to follow him, and not to be standing on the land while he was on the ice, and he said it was their council to go out upon the dangerous ice, but he had no wish to do so, or to be led by them. then he ordered the banner to be advanced, and immediately went out on the ice with the men. as soon as the bondes found that the ice was unsound they turned back. gregorius fell through the ice, but not very deep, and he told his men to take care. there were not more than twenty men with him, the others having turned back. a man of king hakon's troop shot an arrow at gregorius, which hit him under the throat, and thus ended his life. gregorius fell, and ten men with him. it is the talk of all men that he had been the most gallant lenderman in norway that any man then living could remember; and also he behaved the best towards us icelanders of any chief since king eystein the elder's death. gregorius's body was carried to hofund, and interred at gimsey isle, in a nunnery which is there, of which gregorius's sister, baugeid, was then the abbess. 15. king inge hears of gregorius's fall. two bailiffs went to oslo to bring the tidings to king inge. when they arrived they desired to speak to the king: and he asked, what news they brought. "gregorius dagson's death," said they. "how came that misfortune?" asked the king. when they had told him how it happened, he said, "they gave advice who understood the least." it is said he took it so much to heart that he cried like a child. when he recovered himself he said, "i wanted to go to gregorius as soon as i heard of haldor's murder; for i thought that gregorius would not sit long before thinking of revenge. but the people here would think nothing so important as their yule feasts, and nothing could move them away; and i am confident that if i had been there, he would either have proceeded more cautiously, or i and gregorius would now have shared one lodging. now he is gone, the man who has been my best friend, and more than any other has kept the kingdom in my hands; and i think it will be but a short space between us. now i make an oath to go forth against hakon, and one of two things shall happen: i shall either come to my death, or shall walk over hakon and his people; and such a man as gregorius is not avenged, even if all were to pay the penalty of their lives for him." there was a man present who replied, "ye need not seek after them, for they intend to seek you." kristin, king sigurd's daughter and king inge's cousin, was then in oslo. the king heard that she intended going away. he sent a message to her to inquire why she wished to leave the town. she thought it was dangerous and unsafe for a female to be there. the king would not let her go. "for if it go well with me, as i hope, you will be well here; and if i fall, my friends may not get leave to dress my body; but you can ask permission, and it will not be denied you, and you will thereby best requite what i have done for you." 16. of king inge. on saint blasius' day (february 3, 1161), in the evening, king inge's spies brought him the news that king hakon was coming towards the town. then king inge ordered the war-horns to call together all the troops up from the town; and when he drew them up he could reckon them to be nearly 4000 men. the king let the array be long, but not more than five men deep. then some said that the king should not be himself in the battle, as they thought the risk too great; but that his brother orm should be the leader of the army. the king replied, "i think if gregorius were alive and here now, and i had fallen and was to be avenged, he would not lie concealed, but would be in the battle. now, although i, on account of my ill health, am not fit for the combat as he was, yet will i show as good will as he would have had; and it is not to be thought of that i should not be in the battle." people say that gunhild, who was married to simon, king hakon's foster-brother, had a witch employed to sit out all night and procure the victory for hakon; and that the answer was obtained, that they should fight king inge by night, and never by day, and then the result would be favourable. the witch who, as people say, sat out was called thordis skeggia; but what truth there may be in the report i know not. simon skalp had gone to the town, and was gone to sleep, when the war-shouts awoke him. when the night was well advanced, king inge's spies came to him, and told him that king hakon and his army were coming over the ice; for the ice lay the whole way from the town to hofud isle. 17. king inge's speech. thereupon king inge went with his army out on the ice, and he drew it up in order of battle in front of the town. simon skalp was in that wing of the array which was towards thraelaberg; and on the other wing, which was towards the nunnery, was gudrod, the king of the south hebudes, a son of olaf klining, and jon, a son of svein bergthor buk. when king hakon and his army came near to king inge's array, both sides raised a war-shout. gudrod and jon gave king hakon and his men a sign, and let them know where they were in the line; and as soon as hakon's men in consequence turned thither, gudrod immediately fled with 1500 men; and jon, and a great body of men with him, ran over to king hakon's army, and assisted them in the fight. when this news was told to king inge, he said, "such is the difference between my friends. never would gregorius have done so in his life!" there were some who advised king inge to get on horseback, and ride from the battle up to raumarike; "where," said they, "you would get help enough, even this very day." the king replied, he had no inclination to do so. "i have heard you often say, and i think truly, that it was of little use to my brother, king eystein, that he took to flight; and yet he was a man distinguished for many qualities which adorn a king. now i, who labour under so great decrepitude, can see how bad my fate would be, if i betook myself to what proved so unfortunate for him; with so great a difference as there is between our activity, health, and strength. i was in the second year of my age when i was chosen king of norway, and i am now twenty-five; and i think i have had misfortune and sorrow under my kingly dignity, rather than pleasure and peaceful days. i have had many battles, sometimes with more, sometimes with fewer people; and it is my greatest luck that i have never fled. god will dispose of my life, and of how long it shall be; but i shall never betake myself to flight." 18. king inge's fall. now as jon and his troop had broken the one wing of king inge's array, many of those who were nearest to him fled, by which the whole array was dispersed, and fell into disorder. but hakon and his men went briskly forwards; and now it was near daybreak. an assault was made against king inge's banner, and in this conflict king inge fell; but his brother orm continued the battle, while many of the army fled up into the town. twice orm went to the town after the king's fall to encourage the people, and both times returned, and went out again upon the ice to continue the battle. hakon's men attacked the wing of the array which simon skalp led; and in that assault fell of king inge's men his brother-in-law, gudbrand skafhogson. simon skalp and halvard hikre went against each other with their troops, and fought while they drew aside past thraelaberg; and in this conflict both simon and halvard fell. orm, the king's brother, gained great reputation in this battle; but he at last fled. orm the winter before had been contracted with ragna, a daughter of nikolas mase, who had been married before to king eystein haraldson; and the wedding was fixed for the sunday after saint blasius's mass, which was on a friday. orm fled east to svithjod, where his brother magnus was then king; and their brother ragnvald was an earl there at that time. they were the sons of queen ingerid and henrik halte, who was a son of the danish king svein sveinson. the princess kristin took care of king inge's body, which was laid on the stone wall of halvard's church, on the south side without the choir. he had then been king for twenty-three years (a.d. 1137-1161). in this battle many fell on both sides, but principally of king inge's men. of king hakon's people fell arne frirekson. hakon's men took all the feast and victuals prepared for the wedding, and a great booty besides. 19. of king hakon and queen kristin. then king hakon took possession of the whole country, and distributed all the offices among his own friends, both in the towns and in the country. king hakon and his men had a meeting in halvard's church, where they had a private conference concerning the management of the country. kristin the princess gave the priest who kept the church keys a large sum of money to conceal one of her men in the church, so that she might know what hakon and his counsellors intended. when she learnt what they had said, she sent a man to bergen to her husband erling skakke, with the message that he should never trust hakon or his men. 20. of olaf's miracle. it happened at the battle of stiklestad, as before related, that king olaf threw from him the sword called hneiter when he received his wound. a swedish man, who had broken his own sword, took it up, and fought with it. when this man escaped with the other fugitives he came to svithjod, and went home to his house. from that time he kept the sword all his days, and afterwards his son, and so relation after relation; and when the sword shifted its owner, the one told to the other the name of the sword and where it came from. a long time after, in the days of kirjalax the emperor of constantinople, when there was a great body of varings in the town, it happened in the summer that the emperor was on a campaign, and lay in the camp with his army. the varings who had the guard, and watched over the emperor, lay on the open plain without the camp. they changed the watch with each other in the night, and those who had been before on watch lay down and slept; but all completely armed. it was their custom, when they went to sleep, that each should have his helmet on his head, his shield over him, sword under the head, and the right hand on the sword-handle. one of these comrades, whose lot it was to watch the latter part of the night, found, on awakening towards morning, that his sword was gone. he looked after it, and saw it lying on the flat plain at a distance from him. he got up and took the sword, thinking that his comrades who had been on watch had taken the sword from him in a joke; but they all denied it. the same thing happened three nights. then he wondered at it, as well as they who saw or heard of it; and people began to ask him how it could have happened. he said that his sword was called hneiter, and had belonged to king olaf the saint, who had himself carried it in the battle of stiklestad; and he also related how the sword since that time had gone from one to another. this was told to the emperor, who called the man before him to whom the sword belonged, and gave him three times as much gold as the sword was worth; and the sword itself he had laid in saint olaf's church, which the varings supported, where it has been ever since over the altar. there was a lenderman of norway while harald gille's sons, eystein, inge, and sigurd lived, who was called eindride unge; and he was in constantinople when these events took place. he told these circumstances in norway, according to what einar skulason says in his song about king olaf the saint, in which these events are sung. 21. olaf's miracle in favour of the varings. it happened once in the greek country, when kirjalax was emperor there, that he made an expedition against blokumannaland. when he came to the pezina plains, a heathen king came against him with an innumerable host. he brought with him many horsemen, and many large waggons, in which were large loop-holes for shooting through. when they prepared for their night quarters they drew up their waggons, one by the side of the other, without their tents, and dug a great ditch without; and all which made a defence as strong as a castle. the heathen king was blind. now when the greek king came, the heathens drew up their array on the plains before their waggon-fortification. the greeks drew up their array opposite, and they rode on both sides to fight with each other; but it went on so ill and so unfortunately, that the greeks were compelled to fly after suffering a great defeat, and the heathens gained a victory. then the king drew up an array of franks and flemings, who rode against the heathens, and fought with them; but it went with them as with the others, that many were killed, and all who escaped took to flight. then the greek king was greatly incensed at his men-at-arms; and they replied, that he should now take his wine-bags, the varings. the king says that he would not throw away his jewels, and allow so few men, however bold they might be, to attack so vast an army. then thorer helsifig, who at that time was leader of the varings replied to the king's words, "if there was burning fire in the way, i and my people would run into it, if i knew the king's advantage required it." then the king replied, "call upon your holy king olaf for help and strength." the varings, who were 450 men, made a vow with hand and word to build a church in constantinople, at their own expense and with the aid of other good men, and have the church consecrated to the honour and glory of the holy king olaf; and thereupon the varings rushed into the plain. when the heathens saw them, they told their king that there was another troop of the greek king's army come out upon the plain; but they were only a handful of people. the king says, "who is that venerable man riding on a white horse at the head of the troop?" they replied, "we do not see him." there was so great a difference of numbers, that there were sixty heathens for every christian man; but notwithstanding the varings went boldly to the attack. as soon as they met terror and alarm seized the army of the heathens, and they instantly began to fly; but the varings pursued, and soon killed a great number of them. when the greeks and franks who before had fled from the heathens saw this, they hastened to take part, and pursue the enemy with the others. then the varings had reached the waggon-fortification, where the greatest defeat was given to the enemy. the heathen king was taken in the flight of his people, and the varings brought him along with them; after which the christians took the camp of the heathens, and their waggon-fortification. magnus erlingson's saga. preliminary remarks. with this saga, which describes a series of conflicts, snorre's "heimskringla" ends. king eystein died in 1177, but magnus erlingson continued to reign until his death in 1184. the conflicts continued until the opposition party was led to victory by king sverre. the only skald quoted is thorbjorn skakkaskald. 1. of magnus erlingson's beginning. when erling got certain intelligence of the determinations of hakon and his counsellors, he sent a message to all the chiefs who he knew had been steady friends of king inge, and also to his court-men and his retinue, who had saved themselves by flight, and also to all gregorius's house-men, and called them together to a meeting. when they met, and conversed with each other, they resolved to keep their men together; and which resolution they confirmed by oath and hand-shake to each other. then they considered whom they should take to be king. erling skakke first spoke, and inquired if it was the opinion of the chiefs and other men of power that simon skalp's son, the son of the daughter of king harald gille, should be chosen king, and jon halkelson be taken to lead the army; but jon refused it. then it was inquired if nikolas skialdvarson, a sister's son of king magnus barefoot, would place himself at the head of the army; but he answered thus:--it was his opinion that some one should be chosen king who was of the royal race; and, for leader of the troops, some one from whom help and understanding were to be looked for; and then it would be easier to gather an army. it was now tried whether arne would let any of his sons, king inge's brothers, be proclaimed king. arne replies, that kristin's son, she was the daughter of king sigurd the crusader, was nearest by propinquity of descent to the crown of norway. "and here is also a man to be his adviser, and whose duty it is to take care of him and of the kingdom; and that man is his father erling, who is both prudent, brave, experienced in war, and an able man in governing the kingdom; he wants no capability of bringing this counsel into effect, if luck be with him." many thought well of this advice. erling replied to it, "as far as i can see or hear in this meeting, the most will rather be excused from taking upon themselves such a difficult business. now it appears to me altogether uncertain, provided we begin this work, whether he who puts himself at the head of it will gain any honour; or whether matters will go as they have done before when any one undertakes such great things, that he loses all his property and possibly his life. but if this counsel be adopted, there may be men who will undertake to carry it through; but he who comes under such an obligation must seek, in every way, to prevent any opposition or enmity from those who are now in this council." all gave assurance that they would enter into this confederacy with perfect fidelity. then said erling, "i can say for myself that it would almost be my death to serve king hakon; and however dangerous it may be, i will rather venture to adopt your advice, and take upon me to lead this force, if that be the will, counsel, and desire of you all, and if you will all bind yourselves to this agreement by oath." to this they all agreed; and in this meeting it was determined to take erling's son magnus to be king. they afterwards held a thing in the town; and at this thing magnus erlingson, then five years old, was elected king of the whole country. all who had been servants of king inge went into his service, and each of them retained the office and dignity he had held under king inge (a.d. 1161). 2. king magnus goes to denmark. erling skakke made himself ready to travel, fitted out ships, and had with him king magnus, together with the household-men who were on the spot. in this expedition were the king's relatives,--arne; ingerid, king inge's mother, with her two sons; besides jon kutiza, a son of sigurd stork, and erling's house-men, as well as those who had been gregorius's house-men; and they had in all ten ships. they went south to denmark to king valdemar and buriz heinrekson, king inge's brother. king valdemar was king magnus's blood-relation; for ingebjorg, mother of king valdemar, and malmfrid, mother of kristin, king magnus's mother, were cousins. the danish king received them hospitably, and he and erling had private meetings and consultations: and so much was known of their counsels, that king valdemar was to aid king magnus with such help as might be required from his kingdom to win and retain norway. on the other hand, king valdemar should get that domain in norway which his ancestors harald gormson and svein forked-beard had possessed; namely, the whole of viken as far north as rygiarbit. this agreement was confirmed by oath and a fixed treaty. then erling and king magnus made themselves ready to leave denmark, and they sailed out of vendilskage. 3. battle of tunsberg. king hakon went in spring, after the easter week, north to throndhjem, and had with him the whole fleet that had belonged to king inge. he held a thing there in the merchant-town, and was chosen king of the whole country. then he made sigurd of reyr an earl, and gave him an earldom, and afterwards proceeded southwards with his followers all the way to viken. the king went to tunsberg; but sent earl sigurd east to konungahella, to defend the country with a part of the forces in case erling should come from the south. erling and his fleet came to agder, and went straight north to bergen, where they killed arne brigdarskalle, king hakon's officer, and came back immediately against king hakon. earl sigurd, who had not observed the journey of erling and his followers from the south, was at that time east in the gaut river, and king hakon was in tunsberg. erling brought up at hrossanes, and lay there some nights. in the meantime king hakon made preparations in the town. when erling and his fleet were coming up to the town, they took a merchant vessel, filled it with wood and straw, and set fire to it; and the wind blowing right towards the town, drove the vessel against the piers. erling had two cables brought on board the vessel, and made fast to two boats, and made them row along as the vessel drove. now when the fire was come almost abreast of the town, those who were in the boats held back the vessel by the ropes, so that the town could not be set on fire; but so thick a smoke spread from it over the town, that one could not see from the piers where the king's array was. then erling drew the whole fleet in where the wind carried the fire, and shot at the enemy. when the townspeople saw that the fire was approaching their houses, and many were wounded by the bowmen, they resolved to send the priest hroald, the long-winded speaker, to erling, to beg him to spare them and the town; and they dissolved the array in favour of hakon, as soon as hroald told them their prayer was granted. now when the array of towns-people had dispersed, the men on the piers were much thinned: however, some urged hakon's men to make resistance: but onund simonson, who had most influence over the army, said, "i will not fight for earl sigurd's earldom, since he is not here himself." then onund fled, and was followed by all the people, and by the king himself; and they hastened up the country. king hakon lost many men here; and these verses were made about it:- "onund declares he will not go in battle 'gainst earl sigurd's foe, if earl sigurd does not come, but with his house-men sits at home. king magnus' men rush up the street, eager with hakon's troop to meet; but hakon's war-hawks, somewhat shy, turn quick about, and off they fly." thorbjorn skakkaskald also said:- "the tunsberg men would not be slow in thy good cause to risk a blow; and well they knew the chief could stain the wolves' mouths on a battle-plain. but the town champion rather fears the sharp bright glance of levelled spears; their steel-clad warrior loves no fight where bowstring twangs, or fire flies bright." king hakon then took the land-road northwards to throndhjem. when earl sigurd heard of this, he proceeded with all the ships he could get the seaway north-wards, to meet king hakon there. 4. of erling and hakon. erling skakke took all the ships in tunsberg belonging to king hakon, and there he also took the baekisudin which had belonged to king inge. then erling proceeded, and reduced the whole of viken in obedience to king magnus, and also the whole country north wheresoever he appeared up to bergen, where he remained all winter. there erling killed ingebjorn sipil, king hakon's lenderman of the north part of the fjord district. in winter (a.d. 1162) king hakon was in throndhjem; but in the following spring he ordered a levy, and prepared to go against erling. he had with him earl sigurd, jon sveinson, eindride unge, onund simonson, philip peterson, philip gyrdson, ragnvald kunta, sigurd kapa, sigurd hiupa, frirek keina, asbjorn of forland, thorbjorn, a son of gunnar the treasurer, and stradbjarne. 5. of erling's people. erling was in bergen with a great armament, and resolved to lay a sailing prohibition on all the merchant vessels which were going north to nidaros; for he knew that king hakon would soon get tidings of him, if ships were sailing between the towns. besides, he gave out that it was better for bergen to get the goods, even if the owners were obliged to sell them cheaper than they wished than that they should fall into the hands of enemies and thereby strengthen them. and now a great many vessels were assembled at bergen, for many arrived every day, and none were allowed to go away. then erling let some of the lightest of his vessels be laid ashore, and spread the report that he would wait for hakon, and, with the help of his friends and relations, oppose the enemy there. he then one day called a meeting of the ship-masters, and gave them and all the merchant ships and their steersmen leave to go where they pleased. when the men who had charge of the cargoes, and were all ready to sail away with their goods, some for trade, others on various business, had got leave from erling skakke to depart, there was a soft and favourable wind for sailing north along the coast. before the evening all who were ready had set sail, and hastened on as fast as they could, according to the speed of their vessels, the one vying with the other. when this fleet came north to more, hakon's fleet had arrived there before them: and he himself was there fully engaged in collecting people, and summoning to him the lendermen, and all liable to serve in the levy, without having for a long time heard any news from bergen. now, however, they heard, as the latest news, that erling skakke had laid his ships up in bergen, and there they would find him; and also that he had a large force with him. king hakon sailed from thence to veey, and sent away earl sigurd and onund simonson to gather people, and sent men also to both the more districts. after king hakon had remained a few days at the town he sailed farther, and proceeded to the south, thinking that it would both promote his journey and enable new levies to join him sooner. erling skakke had given leave on sunday to all the merchant vessels to leave bergen; and on tuesday, as soon as the early mass was over, he ordered the warhorns to sound, summoned to him the men-at-arms and the townsmen, and let the ships which were laid up on shore be drawn down into the water. then erling held a house-thing with his men and the people of the levy; told them his intentions; named ship commanders; and had the names called over of the men who were to be on board of the king's ship. this thing ended with erling's order to every man to make himself ready in his berth wherever a place was appointed him; and declared that he who remained in the town after the baekisudin was hauled out, should be punished by loss of life or limb. orm, the king's brother, laid his ships out in the harbour immediately that evening, and many others, and the greater number were afloat before. 6. of erling skakke. on wednesday, before mass was sung in the town, erling sailed from bergen with all his fleet, consisting of twenty-one ships; and there was a fresh breeze for sailing northwards along the coast. erling had his son king magnus with him, and there were many lendermen accompanied by the finest men. when erling came north, abreast of the fjord district, he sent a boat on shore to jon halkelson's farm, and took nikolas, a son of simon skalp and of maria, harald gille's daughter, and brought him out to the fleet, and put him on board the king's ship. on friday, immediately after matins, they sailed to steinavag, and king hakon, with thirteen ships, was lying in the harbour in the neighbourhood. he himself and his men were up at play upon the island, and the lendermen were sitting on the hill, when they saw a boat rowing from the south with two men in it, who were bending back deep towards the keel, and taking hasty strokes with their oars. when they came to the shore they did not belay the boat, but both ran from it. the great men seeing this, said to each other, "these men must have some news to tell;" and got up to meet them. when they met, onund simonson asked, "have ye any news of erling skakke, that ye are running so fast?" they answered, as soon as they could get out the words, for they had lost their breath, "here comes erling against you, sailing from the south, with twenty-one ships, or thereabouts, of which many are great enough; and now ye will soon see their sails." then said eindride unge, "too near to the nose, said the peasant, when his eye was knocked out." they went in haste now to where the games were playing, and immediately the war-horns resounded, and with the battle-call all the people were gathered down to the ships in the greatest haste. it was just the time of day when their meat was nearly cooked. all the men rushed to the ships, and each ran on board the vessel that was nearest to him, so that the ships were unequally manned. some took to the oars; some raised the masts, turned the heads of the vessels to the north, and steered for veey, where they expected much assistance from the towns. 7. fall of king hakon. soon after they saw the sails of erling's fleet, and both fleets came in sight of each other. eindride unge had a ship called draglaun, which was a large buss-like long-ship, but which had but a small crew; for those who belonged to her had run on board of other ships, and she was therefore the hindmost of hakon's fleet. when eindride came abreast of the island sek, the baekisudin, which erling skakke himself commanded, came up with her; and these two ships were bound fast together. king hakon and his followers had arrived close to veey; but when they heard the war-horn they turned again to assist eindride. now they began the battle on both sides, as the vessels came up. many of the sails lay midships across the vessels; and the ships were not made fast to each other, but they lay side by side. the conflict was not long before there came disorder in hakon's ship; and some fell, and others sprang overboard. hakon threw over him a grey cloak, and jumped on board another ship; but when he had been there a short time he thought he had got among his enemies; and when he looked about him he saw none of his men nor of his ships near him. then he went into the baekisudin to the forecastle-men, and begged his life. they took him in their keeping, and gave him quarter. in this conflict there was a great loss of people, but principally of hakon's men. in the baekisudin fell nikolas, simon skalp's son; and erling's men are accused of having killed him themselves. then there was a pause in the battle, and the vessels separated. it was now told to erling that hakon was on board of his ship; that the forecastle-men had taken him, and threatened that they would defend him with arms. erling sent men forwards in the ship to bring the forecastle-men his orders to guard hakon well, so that he should not get away. he at the same time let it be understood that he had no objection to giving the king life and safety, if the other chiefs were willing, and a peace could be established. all the forecastle-men gave their chief great credit and honour for these words. then erling ordered anew a blast of the war-horns, and that the ships should be attacked which had not lost their men; saying that they would never have such another opportunity of avenging king inge. thereupon they all raised a war-shout, encouraged each other, and rushed to the assault. in this tumult king hakon received his death-wound. when his men knew he had fallen they rowed with all their might against the enemy, threw away their shields, slashed with both hands, and cared not for life. this heat and recklessness, however, proved soon a great loss to them; for erling's men saw the unprotected parts of their bodies, and where their blows would have effect. the greater part of hakon's men who remained fell here; and it was principally owing to the want of numbers, as they were not enough to defend themselves. they could not get quarter, also excepting those whom the chiefs took under their protection and bound themselves to pay ransom for. the following of hakon's people fell: sigurd kapa, sigurd hiupa, and ragnvald kunta; but some ships crews got away, rowed into the fjords, and thus saved their lives. hakon's body was carried to raumsdal, and buried there; but afterwards his brother, king sverre, had the body transported north to the merchant town nidaros, and laid in the stone wall of christ church south of the choir. 8. flight of the chiefs of hakon's men. earl sigurd, eindride unge, onund simonson, frirek keina, and other chiefs kept the troop together, left the ships in raumsdal, and went up to the uplands. king magnus and his father erling sailed with their troops north to nidaros in throndhjem, and subdued the country as they went along. erling called together an eyra-thing, at which king magnus was proclaimed king of all norway. erling, however, remained there but a short time; for he thought the throndhjem people were not well affected towards him and his son. king magnus was then called king of the whole country. king hakon had been a handsome man in appearance, well grown, tall and thin; but rather broad-shouldered, on which account his men called him herdebreid. as he was young in years, his lendermen ruled for him. he was cheerful and friendly in conversation, playful and youthful in his ways, and was much liked by the people. 9. of king sigurd's beginning. there was an upland man called markus of skog, who was a relation of earl sigurd. markus brought up a son of king sigurd mun, who was also called sigurd. this sigurd was chosen king (a.d. 1162) by the upland people, by the advice of earl sigurd and the other chiefs who had followed king hakon. they had now a great army, and the troops were divided in two bodies; so that markus and the king were less exposed where there was anything to do, and earl sigurd and his troop, along with the lendermen, were most in the way of danger. they went with their troops mostly through the uplands, and sometimes eastwards to viken. erling skakke had his son king magnus always with him, and he had also the whole fleet and the land defence under him. he was a while in bergen in autumn; but went from thence eastward to viken, where he settled in tunsberg for his winter quarters (a.d. 1163), and collected in viken all the taxes and revenues that belonged to magnus as king; and he had many and very fine troops. as earl sigurd had but a small part of the country, and kept many men on foot, he soon was in want of money; and where there was no chief in the neighbourhood he had to seek money by unlawful ways,--sometimes by unfounded accusations and fines, sometimes by open robbery. 10. earl sigurd's condemnation. at that time the realm of norway was in great prosperity. the bondes were rich and powerful, unaccustomed to hostilities or violence, and the oppression of roving troops; so that there was soon a great noise and scandal when they were despoiled and robbed. the people of viken were very friendly to erling and king magnus, principally from the popularity of the late king inge haraldson; for the viken people had always served under his banner. erling kept a guard in the town, and twelve men were on watch every night. erling had things regularly with the bondes, at which the misdeeds of sigurd's people were often talked over; and by the representations of erling and his adherents, the bondes were brought unanimously to consider that it would be a great good fortune if these bands should be rooted out. arne, the king's relation, spoke well and long on this subject, and at last severely; and required that all who were at the thing,--men-at-arms, bondes, towns-men, and merchants,--should come to the resolution to sentence according to law earl sigurd and all his troop, and deliver them to satan, both living and dead. from the animosity and hatred of the people, this was agreed to by all; and thus the unheard-of deed was adopted and confirmed by oath, as if a judgment in the case was delivered there by the thing according to law. the priest hroald the long-winded, who was a very eloquent man, spoke in the case; but his speech was to the same purpose as that of others who had spoken before. erling gave a feast at yule in tunsberg, and paid the wages of the men-at-arms at candlemas. 11. of erling. earl sigurd went with his best troops down to viken, where many people were obliged to submit to his superior force, and many had to pay money. he drove about thus widely higher up the country, penetrating into different districts. but there were some in his troop who desired privately to make peace with erling; but they got back the answer, that all who asked for their lives should obtain quarter, but they only should get leave to remain in the country who had not been guilty of any great offenses against erling. and when sigurd's adherents heard that they would not get leave to remain in the country, they held together in one body; for there were many among them who knew for certain that erling would look upon them as guilty of offences against him. philip gyrdson made terms with erling, got his property back, and went home to his farm; but soon after sigurd's men came there, and killed him. they committed many crimes against each other, and many men were slain in their mutual persecution; but here what was committed by the chiefs only is written down. 12. erling gets news of earl sigurd. it was in the beginning of lent that news came to erling that earl sigurd intended to come upon him; and news of him came here and there, sometimes nearer, sometimes farther off. erling sent out spies in all quarters around to discover where they were. every evening he assembled all the men-at-arms by the war-horn out of the town; and for a long time in the winter they lay under arms all night, ready to be drawn up in array. at last erling got intelligence that sigurd and his followers were not far distant, up at the farm re. erling then began his expedition out of the town, and took with him all the towns-people who were able to carry arms and had arms, and likewise all the merchants; and left only twelve men behind to keep watch in the town. erling went out of the town on thursday afternoon, in the second week of lent (february 19); and every man had two days' provisions with him. they marched by night, and it was late before they got out of the town with the men. two men were with each shield and each horse; and the people, when mustered, were about 1200 men. when they met their spies, they were informed that sigurd was at re, in a house called rafnnes, and had 500 men. then erling called together his people; told them the news he had received, and all were eager to hasten their march, fall on them in the houses, or engage them by night. erling replied to them thus:--"it is probable that we and earl sigurd shall soon meet. there are also many men in this band whose handy-work remains in our memories; such as cutting down king inge, and so many more of our friends, that it would take long to reckon them up. these deeds they did by the power of satan, by witchcraft, and by villainy; for it stands in our laws and country rights, that however highly a man may have been guilty, it shall be called villainy and cowardly murder to kill him in the night. this band has had its luck hitherto by following the counsel of men acquainted with witchcraft and fighting by night, and not in the light of day; and by this proceeding have they been victorious hitherto over the chiefs whose heads they have laid low on the earth. now we have often seen, and proved, how unsuitable and improper it is to go into battle in the nighttime; therefore let us rather have before our eyes the example of chiefs better known to us, and who deserve better to be imitated, and fight by open day in regular battle array, and not steal upon sleeping men in the night. we have people enough against them, so few as they are. let us, therefore, wait for day and daylight, and keep together in our array in case they attack us." thereafter the whole army sat down. some opened up bundles of hay, and made a bed of it for themselves; some sat upon their shields, and thus waited the daydawn. the weather was raw, and there was a wet snowdrift. 13. of earl sigurd's battle array. earl sigurd got the first intelligence of erling's army, when it was already near to the house. his men got up, and armed themselves; but not knowing how many men erling had with him, some were inclined to fly, but the most determined to stand. earl sigurd was a man of understanding, and could talk well, but certainly was not considered brave enough to take a strong resolution; and indeed the earl showed a great inclination to fly, for which he got many stinging words from his men-at-arms. as day dawned, they began on both sides to draw up their battle array. earl sigurd placed his men on the edge of a ridge between the river and the house, at a place at which a little stream runs into the river. erling and his people placed their array on the other side of the river; but at the back of his array were men on horseback well armed, who had the king with them. when earl sigurd's men saw that there was so great a want of men on their side, they held a council, and were for taking to the forest. but earl sigurd said, "ye alleged that i had no courage, but it will now be proved; and let each of you take care not to fail, or fly, before i do so. we have a good battle-field. let them cross the bridge; but as soon as the banner comes over it let us then rush down the hill upon them, and none desert his neighbour." earl sigurd had on a red-brown kirtle, and a red cloak, of which the corners were tied and turned back; shoes on his feet; and a shield and sword called bastard. the earl said, "god knows that i would rather get at erling skakke with a stroke of bastard, than receive much gold." 14. earl sigurd's fall. erling skakke's army wished to go on to the bridge; but erling told them to go up along the river, which was small, and not difficult to cross, as its banks were flat; and they did so. earl sigurd's array proceeded up along the ridge right opposite to them; but as the ridge ended, and the ground was good and level over the river, erling told his men to sing a paternoster, and beg god to give them the victory who best deserved it. then they all sang aloud "kyrie eleison", and struck with their weapons on their shields. but with this singing 300 men of erling's people slipped away and fled. then erling and his people went across the river, and the earl's men raised the war-shout; but there was no assault from the ridge down upon erling's array, but the battle began upon the hill itself. they first used spears then edge weapons; and the earl's banner soon retired so far back, that erling and his men scaled the ridge. the battle lasted but a short time before the earl's men fled to the forest, which they had close behind them. this was told earl sigurd, and his men bade him fly; but he replied, "let us on while we can." and his men went bravely on, and cut down on all sides. in this tumult fell earl sigurd and jon sveinson, and nearly sixty men. erling lost few men, and pursued the fugitives to the forest. there erling halted his troops, and turned back. he came just as the king's slaves were about stripping the clothes off earl sigurd, who was not quite lifeless. he had put his sword in the sheath, and it lay by his side. erling took it, struck the slaves with it, and drove them away. then erling, with his troops, returned, and sat down in tunsberg. seven days after earl sigurd's fall erling's men took eindride unge prisoner, and killed him, with all his ship's crew. 15. markus of skog, and sigurd sigurdson. markus of skog, and king sigurd, his foster-son, rode down to viken towards spring, and there got a ship; but when erling heard it he went eastwards against them, and they met at konungahella. markus fled with his followers to the island hising; and there the country people of hising came down in swarms, and placed themselves in markus's and sigurd's array. erling and his men rowed to the shore; but markus's men shot at them. then erling said to his people, "let us take their ships, but not go up to fight with a land force. the hisingers are a bad set to quarrel with,--hard, and without understanding. they will keep this troop but a little while among them, for hising is but a small spot." this was done: they took the ships, and brought them over to konungahella. markus and his men went up to the forest district, from which they intended to make assaults, and they had spies out on both sides. erling had many men-at-arms with him, whom he brought from other districts, and they made attacks on each other in turn. 16. beginning of archbishop eystein. eystein, a son of erlend himaide, was selected to be archbishop, after archbishop jon's death; and he was consecrated the same year king inge was killed. now when archbishop eystein came to his see, he made himself beloved by all the country, as an excellent active man of high birth. the throndhjem people, in particular, received him with pleasure; for most of the great people in the throndhjem district were connected with the archbishop by relationship or other connection, and all were his friends. the archbishop brought forward a request to the bondes in a speech, in which he set forth the great want of money for the see, and also how much greater improvement of the revenues would be necessary to maintain it suitably, as it was now of much more importance than formerly when the bishop's see was first established. he requested of the bondes that they should give him, for determining law-suits, an ore of silver value, instead of what they had before paid, which was an ore of judgment money, of that kind which was paid to the king in judging cases; and the difference between the two kinds of ore was, that the ore he desired was a half greater than the other. by help of the archbishop's relations and friends, and his own activity, this was carried; and it was fixed by law in all the throndhjem district, and in all the districts belonging to his archbishopric. 17. of markus and king sigurd. when sigurd and markus lost their ships in the gaut river, and saw they could get no hold on erling, they went to the uplands, and proceeded by land north to throndhjem. sigurd was received there joyfully, and chosen king at an eyra-thing; and many gallant men, with their sons, attached themselves to his party. they fitted out ships, rigged them for a voyage, and proceeded when summer came southwards to more, and took up all the royal revenues wheresoever they came. at this time the following lendermen were appointed in bergen for the defence of the country:--nikolas sigurdson, nokve palson, and several military leaders; as thorolf dryl, thorbjorn gjaldkere, and many others. as markus and sigurd sailed south, they heard that erling's men were numerous in bergen; and therefore they sailed outside the coast-rocks, and southwards past bergen. it was generally remarked, that markus's men always got a fair wind, wherever they wished to sail to. 18. markus and king sigurd killed. as soon as erling skakke heard that sigurd and markus had sailed southwards, he hastened to viken, and drew together an armed force; and he soon had a great many men, and many stout ships. but when he came farther in viken, he met with a strong contrary wind, which kept him there in port the whole summer. now when sigurd and markus came east to lister, they heard that erling had a great force in viken; so they turned to the north again. but when they reached hordaland, with the intention of sailing to bergen, and came opposite the town, nikolas and his men rowed out against them, with more men and larger ships than they had. sigurd and markus saw no other way of escaping but to row away southwards. some of them went out to sea, others got south to the sound, and some got into the fjords. markus, and some people with him, sprang upon an isle called skarpa. nikolas and his men took their ships, gave jon halkelson and a few others quarter, but killed the most of them they could get hold of. some days after eindride heidafylja found sigurd and markus, and they were brought to bergen. sigurd was beheaded outside of grafdal, and markus and another man were hanged at hvarfsnes. this took place on michaelmas day (september 29, 1163), and the band which had followed them was dispersed. 19. erling and the people of hising isle. frirek keina and bjarne the bad, onund simonson and ornolf skorpa had rowed out to sea with some ships, and sailed outside along the land to the east. wheresoever they came to the land they plundered, and killed erling's friends. now when erling heard that sigurd and markus were killed, he gave leave to the lendermen and people of the levy to return home; but he himself, with his men, set his course eastward across the folden fjord, for he heard of markus's men there. erling sailed to konungahella, where he remained the autumn; and in the first week of winter erling went out to the island hising with his men, and called the bondes to a thing. when the hising people came to the thing, erling laid his law-suit against them for having joined the bands of sigurd and markus, and having raised men against him. assur was the name of one of the greatest of the bondes on the island, and he answered erling on account of the others. the thing was long assembled; but at the close the bondes gave the case into erling's own power, and he appointed a meeting in the town within one week, and named fifteen bondes who should appear there. when they came, he condemned them to pay a penalty of 300 head of cattle; and the bondes returned home ill pleased at this sentence. soon after the gaut river was frozen, and erling's ships were fast in the ice; and the bondes kept back the mulct, and lay assembled for some time. erling made a yule feast in the town; but the hising people had joint-feasts with each other, and kept under arms during yule. the night after the fifth day of yule erling went up to hising, surrounded assur's house, and burnt him in it. he killed one hundred men in all, burnt three houses, and then returned to konungahella. the bondes came then, according to agreement, to pay the mulct. 20. death of frirek keina and bjarne. erling skakke made ready to sail in spring as soon as he could get his ships afloat for ice, and sailed from konungahella; for he heard that those who had formerly been markus's friends were marauding in the north of viken. erling sent out spies to learn their doings, searched for them, and found them lying in a harbour. onund simonson and ornolf skorpa escaped, but frirek keina and bjarne the bad were taken, and many of their followers were killed. erling had frirek bound to an anchor and thrown overboard; and for that deed erling was much detested in the throndhjem country, for the most powerful men there were relatives of frirek. erling ordered bjarne the bad to be hanged; and he uttered, according to his custom, many dreadful imprecations during his execution. thorbjorn skakkaskald tells of this business:- "east of the fjord beyond the land, unnoticed by the pirate band, erling stole on them ere they knew, and seized and killed all keina's crew. keina, fast to an anchor bound, was thrown into the deep-blue sound; and bjarne swung high on gallows-tree, a sight all good men loved to see." onund and ornolf, with the band that had escaped, fled to denmark; but were sometimes in gautland, or in viken. 21. conference between erling and eystein. erling skakke sailed after this to tunsberg, and remained there very long in spring (a.d. 1164); but when summer came he proceeded north to bergen, where at that time a great many people were assembled. there was the legate from rome, stephanus; the archbishop eystein, and other bishops of the country. there was also bishop brand, who was consecrated bishop of iceland, and jon loptson, a daughter's son of king magnus barefoot; and on this occasion king magnus and jon's other relations acknowledged the relationship with him. archbishop eystein and erling skakke often conversed together in private; and, among other things, erling asked one day, "is it true, sir, what people tell me, that you have raised the value of the ore upon the people north in throndhjem, in the law cases in which money-fees are paid you?" "it is so," said the archbishop, "that the bondes have allowed me an advance on the ore of law casualties; but they did it willingly, and without any kind of compulsion, and have thereby added to their honour for god and the income of the bishopric." erling replies, "is this according to the law of the holy olaf? or have you gone to work more arbitrarily in this than is written down in the lawbook?" the archbishop replies, "king olaf the holy fixed the laws, to which he received the consent and affirmative of the people; but it will not be found in his laws that it is forbidden to increase god's right." erling: "if you augment your right, you must assist us to augment as much the king's right." the archbishop: "thou hast already augmented enough thy son's power and dominion; and if i have exceeded the law in taking an increase of the ore from the throndhjem people, it is, i think, a much greater breach of the law that one is king over the country who is not a king's son, and which has neither any support in the law, nor in any precedent here in the country." erling: "when magnus was chosen king, it was done with your knowledge and consent, and also of all the other bishops here in the country." archbishop: "you promised then, erling, that provided we gave our consent to electing magnus king, you would, on all occasions, and with all your power, strengthen god's rights." erling: "i may well admit that i have promised to preserve and strengthen god's commands and the laws of the land with all my power, and with the king's strength; and now i consider it to be much more advisable, instead of accusing each other of a breach of our promises, to hold firmly by the agreement entered into between us. do you strengthen magnus in his dominion, according to what you have promised; and i will, on my part, strengthen your power in all that can be of advantage or honour." the conversation now took a more friendly turn; and erling said, "although magnus was not chosen king according to what has been the old custom of this country, yet can you with your power give him consecration as king, as god's law prescribes, by anointing the king to sovereignty; and although i be neither a king, nor of kingly race, yet most of the kings, within my recollection, have not known the laws or the constitution of the country so well as i do. besides, the mother of king magnus is the daughter of a king and queen born in lawful wedlock, and magnus is son of a queen and a lawfully married wife. now if you will give him royal consecration, no man can take royalty from him. william bastard was not a king's son; but he was consecrated and crowned king of england, and the royalty in england has ever since remained with his race, and all have been crowned. svein ulfson was not a king's son in denmark, and still he was a crowned king, and his sons likewise, and all his descendants have been crowned kings. now we have here in norway an archiepiscopal seat, to the glory and honour of the country; let us also have a crowned king, as well as the danes and englishmen." erling and the archbishop afterwards talked often of this matter, and they were quite agreed. then the archbishop brought the business before the legate, and got him easily persuaded to give his consent. thereafter the archbishop called together the bishops, and other learned men, and explained the subject to them. they all replied in the same terms, that they would follow the counsels of the archbishop, and all were eager to promote the consecration as soon as the archbishop pleased. 22. king magnus's consecration. erling skakke then had a great feast prepared in the king's house. the large hall was covered with costly cloth and tapestry, and adorned with great expense. the court-men and all the attendants were there entertained, and there were numerous guests, and many chiefs. then king magnus received the royal consecration from the archbishop eystein; and at the consecration there were five other bishops and the legate, besides a number of other clergy. erling skakke, and with him twelve other lendermen, administered to the king the oath of the law; and the day of the consecration the king and erling had the legate, the archbishop, and all the other bishops as guests; and the feast was exceedingly magnificent, and the father and son distributed many great presents. king magnus was then eight years of age, and had been king for three years. 23. king valdemar's embassy. when the danish king valdemar heard the news from norway that magnus was become king of the whole country, and all the other parties in the country were rooted out, he sent his men with a letter to king magnus and erling, and reminded them of the agreement which erling had entered into, under oath, with king valdemar, of which we have spoken before; namely, that viken from the east to rygiarbit should be ceded to king valdemar, if magnus became the sole king of norway. when the ambassadors came forward and showed erling the letter of the danish king, and he heard the danish king's demand upon norway, he laid it before the other chiefs by whose counsels he usually covered his acts. all, as one man, replied that the danes should never hold the slightest portion of norway; for never had things been worse in the land than when the danes had power in it. the ambassadors of the danish king were urgent with erling for an answer, and desired to have it decided; but erling begged them to proceed with him east to viken, and said he would give his final answer when he had met with the men of most understanding and influence in viken. 24. erling and the people of viken. erling skakke proceeded in autumn to viken, and stayed in tunsberg, from whence he sent people to sarpsborg to summon a thing (1) of four districts; and then erling went there with his people. when the thing was seated erling made a speech in which he explained the resolutions which had been settled upon between him and the danish king, the first time he collected troops against his enemies. "i will," said erling, "keep faithfully the agreement which we then entered into with the king, if it be your will and consent, bondes, rather to serve the danish king than the king who is now consecrated and crowned king of this country." the bondes replied thus to erling's speech: "never will we become the danish king's men, as long as one of us viken men is in life." and the whole assembly, with shouts and cries, called on erling to keep the oath he had taken to defend his son's dominions, "should we even all follow thee to battle." and so the thing was dissolved. the ambassadors of the danish king then returned home, and told the issue of their errand. the danes abused erling, and all northmen, and declared that evil only proceeded from them; and the report was spread, that in spring the danish king would send out an army and lay waste norway. erling returned in autumn north to bergen, stayed there all winter, and gave their pay to his people. endnotes: (1) this reference to a thing of the people in the affairs of the country is a striking example of the right of the things being recognised, in theory at least, as fully as the right of our parliaments in later times.--l. 25. letters of the throndhjem people. the same winter (a.d. 1165) some danish people came by land through the uplands, saying they were to go, as was then the general practice, to the holy king olaf's festival. but when they came to the throndhjem country, they went to many men of influence, and told their business; which was, that the danish king had sent them to desire their friendship, and consent, if he came to the country, promising them both power and money. with this verbal message came also the danish king's letter and seal, and a message to the throndhjem people that they should send back their letters and seals to him. they did so, and the most of them received well the danish king's message; whereupon the messengers returned back towards lent. erling was in bergen; and towards spring erling's friends told him the loose reports they had heard by some merchant vessels that had arrived from throndhjem, that the throndhjem people were in hostility openly against him; and had declared that if erling came to throndhjem, he should never pass agdanes in life. erling said this was mere folly and idle talk. erling now made it known that he would go to unarheim to the gangdag-thing; and ordered a cutter of twenty rowing benches to be fitted out, a boat of fifteen benches, and a provision-ship. when the vessels were ready, there came a strong southerly gale. on the thursday of the ascension week, erling called his people by sound of trumpet to their departure; but the men were loath to leave the town, and were ill inclined to row against the wind. erling brought his vessels to biskupshafn. "well," said erling, "since ye are so unwilling to row against the wind, raise the mast, hoist the sails, and let the ship go north." they did so, and sailed northwards both day and night. on wednesday, in the evening, they sailed in past agdanes, where they found a fleet assembled of many merchant vessels, rowing craft, and boats, all going towards the town to the celebration of the festival,--some before them, some behind them--so that the townspeople paid no attention to the long-ships coming. 26. erling and the people of throndhjem. erling came to the town just as vespers was being sung in christ church. he and his men ran into the town, to where it was told them that the lenderman, alf rode, a son of ottar birting, was still sitting at table, and drinking with his men. erling fell upon them; and alf was killed, with almost all his men. few other men were killed; for they had almost all gone to church, as this was the night before christ's ascension-day. in the morning early, erling called all the people by sound of trumpet to a thing out upon evrar. at the thing erling laid a charge against the throndhjem people, accusing them of intending to betray the country, and take it from the king; and named bard standale, pal andreason, and razabard, who then presided over the town's affairs, and many others. they, in their defence, denied the accusation; but erling's writer stood up, produced many letters with seals, and asked if they acknowledged their seals which they had sent to the danish king; and thereupon the letters were read. there was also a danish man with erling who had gone with the letters in winter, and whom erling for that purpose had taken into his service. he told to these men the very words which each of them had used. "and you, razabard, spoke, striking your breast; and the very words you used were, 'out of this breast are all these counsels produced.'" bard replied, "i was wrong in the head, sirs, when i spoke so." there was now nothing to be done but to submit the case entirely to the sentence erling might give upon it. he took great sums of money from many as fines, and condemned all those who had been killed as lawless, and their deeds as lawless; making their deaths thereby not subject to mulct. then erling returned south to bergen. 27. king valdemar's expedition to norway. the danish king valdemar assembled in spring (a.d. 1165) a great army, and proceeded with it north to viken. as soon as he reached the dominions of the king of norway, the bondes assembled in a great multitude. the king advanced peacefully; but when they came to the mainland, the people shot at them even when there were only two or three together, from which the ill-will of the country people towards them was evident. when they came to tunsberg, king valdemar summoned a hauga-thing; but nobody attended it from the country parts. then valdemar spoke thus to his troops: "it is evident that all the country-people are against us; and now we have two things to choose: the one to go through the country, sword in hand, sparing neither man nor beast; the other is to go back without effecting our object. and it is more my inclination to go with the army to the east against the heathens, of whom we have enough before us in the east country, than to kill christian people here, although they have well deserved it." all the others had a greater desire for a foray; but the king ruled, and they all returned back to denmark without effecting their purpose. they pillaged, however, all around in the distant islands, or where the king was not in the neighbourhood. they then returned south to denmark without doing anything. 28. erling's expedition to jutland. as soon as erling heard that a danish force had come to viken, he ordered a levy through all the land, both of men and ships, so that there was a great assemblage of men in arms; and with this force he proceeded eastward along the coast. but when he came to lidandisnes, he heard that the danish army had returned south to denmark, after plundering all around them in viken. then erling gave all the people of the levy permission to return home; but he himself and some lendermen, with many vessels, sailed to jutland after the danes. when they came to a place called dyrsa, the danes who had returned from the expedition lay there with many ships. erling gave them battle, and there was a fight, in which the danes soon fled with the loss of many people; and erling and his men plundered the ships and the town, and made a great booty, with which they returned to norway. thereafter, for a time, there was hostility between norway and denmark. 29. erling's expedition to denmark. the princess krisfin went south in autumn (a.d. 1165) to denmark, to visit her relation king valdemar, who was her cousin. the king received her kindly, and gave her fiefs in his kingdom, so that she could support her household well. she often conversed with the king, who was remarkably kind towards her. in the spring following (a.d. 1166) kristin sent to erling, and begged him to pay a visit to the danish king, and enter into a peace with him. in summer erling was in viken, where he fitted out a long-ship, manned it with his finest lads, and sailed (a single ship) over to jutland. when he heard that the danish king valdemar was in randaros, erling sailed thither, and came to the town just as the king sat at the dinner-table, and most of the people were taking their meal. when his people had made themselves ready according to erling's orders, set up the ship-tents, and made fast the ship, erling landed with twelve men, all in armour, with hats over their helmets, and swords under their cloaks. they went to the king's lodging, where the doors stood open, and the dishes were being carried in. erling and his people went in immediately, and drew up in front of the high-seat. erling said, "peace and safe conduct we desire, king, both here and to return home." the king looked at him, and said, "art thou here, erling?" he replies, "here is erling; and tell us, at once, if we shall have peace and safe conduct." there were eighty of the king's men in the room, but all unarmed. the king replies, "peace ye shall have, erling, according to thy desire; for i will not use force or villainy against a man who comes to visit me." erling then kissed the king's hand, went out, and down to his ship. erling stayed at randaros some time with the king, and they talked about terms of peace between them and between the countries. they agreed that erling should remain as hostage with the danish king; and that asbjorn snara, bishop absalon's brother, should go to norway as hostage on the other part. 30. king valdemar and erling. in a conference which king valdemar and erling once had together. erling said, "sire, it appears to me likely that it might lead to a peace between the countries if you got that part of norway which was promised you in our agreement; but if it should be so, what chief would you place over it? would he be a dane?" "no," replied the king; "no danish chief would go to norway, where he would have to manage an obstinate hard people, when he has it so easy here with me." erling: "it was on that very consideration that i came here; for i would not on any account in the world deprive myself of the advantage of your friendship. in days of old other men, hakon ivarson and fin arnason, came also from norway to denmark, and your predecessor, king svein, made them both earls. now i am not a man of less power in norway than they were then, and my influence is not less than theirs; and the king gave them the province of halland to rule over, which he himself had and owned before. now it appears to me, sire, that you, if i become your man and vassal, can allow me to hold of you the fief which my son magnus will not deny me, by which i will be bound in duty, and ready, to undertake all the service belonging to that title." erling spoke such things, and much more in the same strain, until it came at last to this, that erling became valdemar's man and vassal; and the king led erling to the earl's seat one day, and gave him the title of earl, and viken as a fief under his rule. earl erling went thereafter to norway, and was earl afterwards as long as he lived; and also the peace with the danish king was afterwards always preserved. earl erling had four sons by his concubines. the one was called hreidar, the next ogmund; and these by two different mothers: the third was called fin; the fourth sigurd: these were younger, and their mother was asa the fair. the princess kristin and earl erling had a daughter called ragnhild, who was married to jon thorbergson of randaberg. kristin went away from the country with a man called grim rusle; and they went to constantinople, where they were for a time, and had some children. 31. beginning of olaf. olaf, a son of gudbrand skafhaug, and maria, a daughter of king eystein magnuson, were brought up in the house of sigurd agnhot in the uplands. while earl erling was in denmark (a.d. 1166), olaf and his foster-father gathered a troop together, and many upland people joined them; and olaf was chosen king by them. they went with their bands through the uplands, and sometimes down to viken, and sometimes east to the forest settlements; but never came on board of ships. now when, earl erling got news of this troop, he hastened to viken with his forces; and was there in summer in his ships, and in oslo in autumn (a.d. 1167) and kept yule there. he had spies up the country after this troop, and went himself, along with orm, the king-brother, up the country to follow them. now when they came to a lake called.... .... (1) they took all the vessels that were upon the lake. endnotes: (1) the name of the lake not given. 32. of erling. the priest who performed divine service at a place called rydiokul, close by the lake, invited the earl to a feast at candlemas. the earl promised to come; and thinking it would be good to hear mass there, he rowed with his attendants over the lake the night before candlemas day. but the priest had another plan on hand. he sent men to bring olaf news of earl erling's arrival. the priest gave erling strong drink in the evening, and let him have an excessive quantity of it. when the earl wished to lie down and sleep, the beds were made ready in the drinking-room; but when they had slept a short time the earl awoke, and asked if it was not the hour for matins. the priest replied, that only a small part of the night was gone, and told him to sleep in peace. the earl replied, "i dream of many things to-night, and i sleep ill." he slumbered again, but awoke soon, and told the priest to get up and sing mass. the priest told the earl to sleep, and said it was but midnight. then the earl again lay down, slept a little while, and, springing out of bed, ordered his men to put on their clothes. they did so; took their weapons, went to the church, and laid their arms outside while the priest was singing matins. 33. battle at rydiokul. as olaf got the message in the evening, they travelled in the night six miles, which people considered an extraordinarily long march. they arrived at rydiokul while the priest was still singing mass, and it was pitch-dark. olaf and his men went into the room, raised a war-shout, and killed some of the earl's men who had not gone to the early mass. now when erling and his men heard the war-shout, they ran to their weapons, and hastened down to their ships. olaf and his men met them at a fence, at which there was a sharp conflict. erling and his men retreated along the fence, which protected them. erling had far fewer men, and many of them had fallen, and still more were wounded. what helped earl erling and his men the most was, that olaf's men could not distinguish them, it was so dark; and the earl's men were always drawing down to their ships. are thorgeirson, father of bishop gudmund fell there, and many other of erling's court-men. erling himself was wounded in the left side; but some say he did it himself in drawing his sword. orm the king-brother was also severely wounded; and with great difficulty they escaped to their ships, and instantly pushed off from land. it was generally considered as a most unlucky meeting for olaf's people, as earl erling was in a manner sold into their hands, if they had proceeded with common prudence. he was afterwards called olaf the unlucky; but others called his people hat-lads. they went with their bands through the uplands as before. erling again went down to viken to his ships, and remained there all summer. olaf was in the uplands, and sometimes east in the forest districts, where he and his troop remained all the next winter (a.d. 1168). 34. battle at stangar. the following spring the hat-lads went down to viken, and raised the king's taxes all around, and remained there long in summer. when earl erling heard this, he hastened with his troops to meet them in viken, and fell in with them east of the fjord, at a place called stangar; where they had a great battle, in which erling was victorious. sigurd agnhot, and many others of olaf's men, fell there; but olaf escaped by flight, went south to denmark, and was all winter (a.d. 1169) in alaborg in jutland. the following spring olaf fell into an illness which ended in death, and he was buried in the maria church; and the danes call him a saint. 35. harald's death. king magnus had a lenderman called nikolas kufung, who was a son of pal skaptason. he took harald prisoner, who called himself a son of king sigurd haraldson and the princess kristin, and a brother of king magnus by the mother's side. nikolas brought harald to bergen, and delivered him into earl erling's hands. it was erling's custom when his enemies came before him, that he either said nothing to them, or very little, and that in all gentleness, when he had determined to put them to death; or rose with furious words against them, when he intended to spare their lives. erling spoke but little to harald, and many, therefore, suspected his intentions; and some begged king magnus to put in a good word for harald with the earl; and the king did so. the earl replies, "thy friends advise thee badly. thou wouldst govern this kingdom but a short time in peace and safety, if thou wert to follow the counsels of the heart only." earl erling ordered harald to be taken to nordnes, where he was beheaded. 36. eystein eysteinson and the birkebeins. there was a man called eystein, who gave himself out for a son of king eystein haraldson. he was at this time young, and not full grown. it is told of him that he one summer appeared in svithjod, and went to earl birger brosa, who was then married to brigida, eystein's aunt, a daughter of king harald gille. eystein explained his business to him, and asked their assistance. both earl birger and his wife listened to him in a friendly way, and promised him their confidence, and he stayed with them a while. earl birger gave him some assistance of men, and a good sum for travelling expenses; and both promised him their friendship on his taking leave. thereafter eystein proceeded north into norway (a.d. 1174), and when he came down to viken people flocked to him in crowds; and eystein was there proclaimed king, and he remained in viken in winter. as they were very poor in money, they robbed all around, wherefore the lendermen and bondes raised men against them; and being thus overpowered by numbers, they fled away to the forests and deserted hill grounds, where they lived for a long time. their clothes being worn out, they wound the bark of the birch-tree about their legs, and thus were called by the bondes birkebeins. they often rushed down upon the settled districts, pushed on here or there, and made an assault where they did not find many people to oppose them. they had several battles with the bondes with various success; and the birkebeins held three battles in regular array, and gained the victory in them all. at krokaskog they had nearly made an unlucky expedition, for a great number of bondes and men-at-arms were assembled there against them; but the birkebeins felled brushwood across the roads, and retired into the forest. they were two years (a.d. 1175-1176) in viken before they showed themselves in the northern parts of the country. 37. birkebeins, king eystein, and skakke. magnus had been king for thirteen years when the birkebeins first made their appearance. they got themselves ships in the third summer (a.d. 1176), with which they sailed along the coast gathering goods and men. they were first in viken; but when summer advanced they proceeded northwards, and so rapidly that no news preceded them until they came to throndhjem. the birkebeins' troop consisted principally of hill-men and elfgrims, and many were from thelemark; and all were well armed. their king, eystein, was a handsome man, and with a little but good countenance; and he was not of great stature, for his men called him eystein meyla. king magnus and earl erling were in bergen when the birkebeins sailed past it to the north; but they did not hear of them. earl erling was a man of great understanding and power, an excellent leader in war, and an able and prudent ruler of the country; but he had the character of being cruel and severe. the cause of this was principally that he never allowed his enemies to remain in the country, even when they prayed to him for mercy; and therefore many joined the bands which were collected against him. erling was a tall strong-made man, somewhat short-necked and high-shouldered; had a long and sharp countenance of a light complexion, and his hair became very grey. he bore his head a little on one side; was free and agreeable in his manners. he wore the old fashion of clothes,--long body-pieces and long arms to his coats, foreign cloak, and high shoes. he made the king wear the same kind of dress in his youth; but when he grew up, and acted for himself, he dressed very sumptuously. king magnus was of a light turn of mind, full of jokes; a great lover of mirth, and not less of women. 38. of nikolas. nikolas was a son of sigurd hranason and of skialdvor, a daughter of brynjolf ulfalde, and a sister of haldor brynjolfson by the father's side, and of king magnus barefoot by the mother's side. nikolas was a distinguished chief, who had a farm at ongul in halogaland, which was called steig. nikolas had also a house in nidaros, below saint jon's church, where thorgeir the scribe lately dwelt. nikolas was often in the town, and was president of the townspeople. skialdvor, nikolas's daughter, was married to eirik arnason, who was also a lenderman. 39. of eirik and nikolas. as the people of the town were coming from matins the last day of marymas (september 8th), eirik came up to nikolas, and said, "here are some fishermen come from the sea, who report that some long-ships are sailing into the fjord; and people conjecture that these may be the birkebeins. it would be advisable to call the townspeople together with the war-horns, to meet under arms out on eyrar." nikolas replies, "i don't go after fishermen's reports; but i shall send out spies to the fjord, and in the meantime hold a thing to-day." eirik went home; but when they were ringing to high mass, and nikolas was going to church, eirik came to hint again, and said, "i believe the news to be true; for here are men who say they saw them under sail; and i think it would be most advisable to ride out of town, and gather men with arms; for it appears to me the townspeople will be too few." nikolas replies, "thou art mixing everything together; let us first hear mass, and then take our resolution." nikolas then went into the church. when the mass was over eirik went to nikolas, and said, "my horses are saddled; i will ride away." nikolas replies, "farewell, then: we will hold a thing to-day on the eyrar, and examine what force of men there may be in the town." eirik rode away, and nikolas went to his house, and then to dinner. 40. the fall of nikolas. the meat was scarcely put on the table, when a man came into the house to tell nikolas that the birkebeins were roving up the river. then nikolas called to his men to take their weapons. when they were armed nikolas ordered them to go up into the loft. but that was a most imprudent step; for if they had remained in the yard, the townspeople might have come to their assistance; but now the birkebeins filled the whole yard, and from thence scrambled from all sides up to the loft. they called to nikolas, and offered him quarter, but he refused it. then they attacked the loft. nikolas and his men defended themselves with bow-shot, hand-shot, and stones of the chimney; but the birkebeins hewed down the houses, broke up the loft, and returned shot for shot from bow or hand. nikolas had a red shield in which were gilt nails, and about it was a border of stars. the birkebeins shot so that the arrows went in up to the arrow feather. then said nikolas, "my shield deceives me." nikolas and a number of his people fell, and his death was greatly lamented. the birkebeins gave all the towns-people their lives. 41. eystein proclaimed king. eystein was then proclaimed king, and all the people submitted to him. he stayed a while in the town, and then went into the interior of the throndhjem land, where many joined him, and among them thorfin svarte of snos with a troop of people. when the birkebeins, in the beginning of winter (a.d. 1177), came again into the town, the sons of gudrun from saltnes, jon ketling, sigurd, and william, joined them; and when they proceeded afterwards from nidaros up orkadal, they could number nearly 2000 men. they afterwards went to the uplands, and on to thoten and hadaland, and from thence to ringerike, and subdued the country wheresover they came. 42. the fall of king eystein. king magnus went eastward to viken in autumn with a part of his men and with him orm, the king's brother; but earl erling remained behind in bergen to meet the berkebeins in case they took the sea route. king magnus went to tunsberg, where he and orm held their yule (a.d. 1177). when king magnus heard that the birkebeins were up in re, the king and orm proceeded thither with their men. there was much snow, and it was dreadfully cold. when they came to the farm they left the beaten track on the road, and drew up their array outside of the fence, and trod a path through the snow with their men, who were not quite 1500 in number. the birkebeins were dispersed here and there in other farms, a few men in each house. when they perceived king magnus's army they assembled, and drew up in regular order; and as they thought their force was larger than his, which it actually was, they resolved to fight; but when they hurried forward to the road only a few could advance at a time, which broke their array, and the men fell who first advanced upon the beaten way. then the birkebeins' banner was cut down; those who were nearest gave way and some took to flight. king magnus's men pursued them, and killed one after the other as they came up with them. thus the birkebeins could never form themselves in array; and being exposed to the weapons of the enemy singly, many of them fell, and many fled. it happened here, as it often does, that although men be brave and gallant, if they have once been defeated and driven to flight, they will not easily be brought to turn round. now the main body of the birkebeins began to fly, and many fell; because magnus's men killed all they could lay hold of, and not one of them got quarter. the whole body became scattered far and wide. eystein in his flight ran into a house, and begged for his life, and that the bonde would conceal him; but the bonde killed him, and then went to king magnus, whom he found at rafnnes, where the king was in a room warming himself by the fire along with many people. some went for the corpse, and bore it into the room, where the king told the people to come and inspect the body. a man was sitting on a bench in the corner, and he was a birkebein, but nobody had observed him; and when he saw and recognised his chief's body he sprang up suddenly and actively, rushed out upon the floor, and with an axe he had in his hands made a blow at king magnus's neck between the shoulders. a man saw the axe swinging, and pulled the king to a side, by which the axe struck lower in the shoulder, and made a large wound. he then raised the axe again, and made a blow at orm, the king-brother, who was lying on a bench, and the blow was directed at both legs; but orm seeing the man about to kill him, drew in his feet instantly, threw them over his head, and the blow fell on the bench, in which the axe stuck fast; and then the blows at the birkebein came so thick that he could scarcely fall to the ground. it was discovered that he had dragged his entrails after him over the floor; and this man's bravery was highly praised. king magnus's men followed the fugitives, and killed so many that they were tired of it. thorfin of snos, and a very great number of throndhjem people, fell there. 43. of the birkebeins. the faction which called itself the birkebeins had gathered together in great numbers. they were a hardy people, and the boldest of men under arms; but wild, and going forward madly when they had a strong force. they had few men in their faction who were good counsellors, or accustomed to rule a country by law, or to head an army; and if there were such men among them who had more knowledge, yet the many would only allow of those measures which they liked, trusting always to their numbers and courage. of the men who escaped many were wounded, and had lost both their clothes and their arms, and were altogether destitute of money. some went east to the borders, some went all the way east to svithjod; but the most of them went to thelemark, where they had their families. all took flight, as they had no hope of getting their lives from king magnus or earl erling. 44. of king magnus erlingson. king magnus then returned to tunsberg, and got great renown by this victory; for it had been an expression in the mouths of all, that earl erling was the shield and support of his son and himself. but after gaining a victory over so strong and numerous a force with fewer troops, king magnus was considered by all as surpassing other leaders, and that he would become a warrior as much greater than his father, earl erling, as he was younger. 