Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1864-06-30


their parched tongues on the blade.
i Next morning the bender said to the king,
shaking his head, you ride against Adils,
king of Sweden, with but feeble folk, for
there is thirst for wine and thirst for
blood, and he who thirsts for the one cares
little for the other. Send back the second
| naf OF your men alarms"
Well said," answered the king; and he
prepared to dismiss the second fifty. Pres
emily violent storm burst over the farm, so
that every timber creaked, ard the vanes on
the gables shrieked like the Huld-folk when
the wild huntsman binds them to his saddle
| bow. Thus the king was detained another
| night with the aged bender. And now, as
| they feasted in the hall and the wind sobbed
| without, the farmer heaped on more and more
| wood, till the fire roared up to the rafters
and the hall was red and fiery as furnace.
| One by one the Berserkirs retreated from their
seats and fed from the heat to cooler hooks
of the hall only the twelve champions and
King Hrolf sat still over the fire, their faces
scarlet in the glow.
Then the bonder came up to the king and
said You go against King Adils with poor
folk, for there is a fire hotter than this blaze,
and that is the fire of battle. Those who fee
the lesser fire will shun the greater. Send
back the Berserkirs."
he rode from the bonder's farm on the Upsala
road, he had with him but the twelve cham
pions.
At last king Hrolf and his champions came
to Upsala, and rode into the kings great hall.
They had concerted among themselves not to
declare which of them was Hrolf; and also
that Svipdag, who was a Swede, and known
to King Adils, should be their spokesman
SVipdag accordingly went to the high seat in
the great hall, and it was murky within
There sat Adils on his seat, and no man was
with him. Svipdag greeted the king, and
asked whether he gave peace. at is peace,
said Adils But the hall was hung with pur-
pie drapery, and the hangings trembled, and
then were thrust aside, and there rushed forth
a band of armed men, who thought to fall
upon the thirteen and STAY them in the hall.
But Hrolf and his champions fought well !;
they smote on the right and they smote on
the left, and they heaped up the dead at the
feet of the Swedish king till he feared
and cried aloud that he proclaimed
peace in the hall. So arms were dropped,
and the dead were carried out, and the blood
was wiped up.
Guests" said King Adils, "you must be
cold" So he ordered long fires to be light
ed,-these were fires running down the mid
die of the hall from top to bottom. Hrolf
sat before the fire on one side, and Adils sat
on the other with his men, and he was near
the door. Then Adils thought 81 have heard
that my kinsman Hrolf has sworn to fly Meth
er from sword nor flame; I can find out now
which is Hrolf" and he commanded more and
more wood and pitch to be heaped upon the
FIRE, till the hall glowed like a furnace, and
Hrolf and his twelve men were cut off from
the door by wall of fire. Bodvar and HALT
| with the others endeavored to screen the
king from the heat, without at the same time
drawing attention to him bnt at last they
marked how Adils and his men were outside
the door, and that they only rushed in to add
fuel to the fire. Their clothes began to smoke
and turn brown, and their boards to frizzle
So they flung their shields into the fire, and
eaping over the flames, caught each man an
; other who was quickening up the fire and
cast him into the blaze, saying, eye have
kindled the flame, enjoy the glow" and
Hrolf said The fire is not fed if leapt over ~
Now Adils fed away. But Queen Yrsa,
: mother of Hrolf, entered the hall, and kissing
\ him, gave him of the treasures of King Adils
her husband as much as he listed and the
best of all the gifts was Sviagris a glorious
1 gold ring of Adils. She gave then also
horses-red horses for each of the champi-
Ons, and one of the purest white for her son,
Hrolf Krake; and she babe them ride away
with speed, as Adls was collecting men to
destroy them.
Then King Hrolf and his men rode out of
Upsala laden with gold and silver, with
crowns and rings and silken cloaks, and no
man dared withstand them till they reached
the great grassy plains of Fyrisvellir. When
they were on the plains they looked behind,
and Adils with large body of men was in
pursuit. So they strewed gold upon the grass,
and when the Swedes saw the scattered
treasure they sprang from their horses and
paid no attention to the threats of their king,
for they were intent on gathering up the
E strewed silver and gold. Now is Hrolf mid
way across the plain, and the Swedes are
,, again in full pursuit. King Hrolf plucks off
, the glorious ring, and drops it twinkling, as
it falls upon the grass When Adils saw his
loved ring Sviagris, he could not restrain
himself though he was now close upon Hrolf
but he bowed himself and struck his spear
through the ring, endeavoring thus to secure
it without dismounting. Now turns Hrolf
Krake, wheeling his white horse round and
brandishing his bright sword Skofnung The
blade descends as the Swedish king is still
: bowed over the ring, and the Dane has smit-
en- him on the hams and made a grevious
wound, and avenged the murder of his father
; Helgi
So Hrolf Krake and his champions rode on
unmolested: and by shutdown they reached
little farm in the midst of the forest, where
= no sound reached save the moaning of the
wind among the pines, and the patter of the
falling cones, and, now and then, the song,
glorious as a trumpet blast, of the swans fv-
ing north. Outside this house stood an old
man with one eye, and 10 /! the king had
lighted on the same farm and farmer as he
had lighted on before. The old bonder greet
ed Hrof courteously, and asked whether all
had not Jared well with the king "Very
we'll" answered he. "And were you not as
successful with your twelve champions as you
could have been had you taken with you the
twelve Berserkirs and the hundred men at
E arms to boot?' "Quite so," answered the
king. Now" continued the old man, 81
will make you goodly present beseemng
your WORTH" and he entered his byre. Soon
he came out again, bearing a sword, corse-
let, and a shield The corselet was rusted
with blood, the sword hacked and notched,
and the shield all but cloven. "Those are
grlmly weapons, said the king; and he would
not receive them.
T Then the old bonder waxed wroth, and he
cried, "Thou takest thyself to be wise and
strong, but thou art not either wise or stronoin
His face became dark with anger, and his one
eye sparkled like a burning coal. For it is
an insult to a man to reject an offer which he
makes. Yet Hrolf did not desire to insult
the bender, but he refused the present as he
believed It to be offered in foolish Jest. Then
the bender would not ask the king and his
champions into his house, and they rode away
through the wood though it was night,
Presently Bodvar drew rein. Death
doomed men are blinded ]" he cried. eve
| IN, A. y