Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1864-07-02


mouths and awaking from sleep, they ran 10
vat full of costly wine, which they tapped
and drank to the dregs-all but the twelve
champions. who bit their swords, and cooled
their parched tongues on the blade.
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 a thirst for wine and thirst for
blood, and he who thirsts for the one cares
little for the other Send back the second
half of your men alarms"
"Well said" answered the king; and he
prepared to dismiss the second nifty. fres-
emily a violent storm burst over the farm, SO
that every timber creaked, and 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 Toasted 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 thelr
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 fire hotter than this blaze,
and that is the fire of battle. Those who nee
the lesser fire will shun the greater. Send
back the Berserkirs."
"Well said" answered the king; so, when
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 Syipdag, 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. ut 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 slay 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. Hrof
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; can find out now
| which is Hrolf." and he commanded more and
II a,,1 ffah To ha nr hn
| fire, till the hall glowed like a furnace, and
Hrolf and his twelve men we're cut off from
| the door by wall of fire. Bodvar and Haiti
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
leaping over the flames, caught each man an
other who was quickening up the fire and
cast him into the blaze, saying, aye have
kindled the fame, 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, glorious
| gold ring of Adils. She gave them 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 Adils 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 we're intent on gathering up the
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 trumpet blast, of the swans fly
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 Hrolf courteously, and asked whether all
had not Jared well with the king. every
well, )" 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
arms to bOot?" "Quite So" answered the
king. SNOW" continued the old man, 81
will make you goodly present beseeming
your WORTH" ana he entered his byre. Soon
lIv Out as~ia, be~.iu5 a 5rv.d, "a
let, and a shield. The corselet was rusted
with blood, the sword hacked and notched,
and the shield all but cloven. "Those are
grimly weapons" said the king and he would
not receive them.
Then the old bonder waxed wroth, and he
cried, "Thou takest myself to be wise and
strong, but thou art not either wise or strongln
lis face became dark with anger, and his one
eye sparkled like burning coal. For it is
an insult to a man to reject an offer which he