Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1864-06-29

4
,,onths and awaking from sleep, they to
| a 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 toe king,
| shaking his head You ride against Adlls,
king of Sweden, with but feeble folk, for
/ there is a thirst for wine and a thirst Tor
| blood, and he who thirsts for the one cares
| little for the other Send back the second
| half of your men alarms.
| 0Well saidn answered the king; and he
| prepared to dismiss the second fifty. Pres
| entity 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 detained another
| night with the aged bonder. 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 &c You &C against King Adils with poor
| folk, for there is 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."
"Wen 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 king g great hall.
They had concerted among themselves not to
| declare which of item was Hrolf; and also
| that Svipdag, who was a Swede, and known
| Sbo he hair
Syipdag accordingly went to the high seat in
the great hail. 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. TT 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
band of armed men, who thought to fall
upon the thirteen and STAY them in the hall
But Hrolf anu 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 proclaime
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 Hrof has sworn to fly Meth
er from sword nor flame l 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 a wall of fire. Bodyar and Haiti
with the others endeavored TO screen the
king from the heat, without at the same time
| drawing attention TO him but 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, "Ee have
kindled the flame, enjoy the glow" and
Hrolf said g 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, ard one of the purest white for her son,
Hrolf Krake; and she babe them ride away
with speed, AdIls collecting men so
destroy them.
Then King Hrolf and his mer 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 FyrisvelhI. When
| they were on the plains they looked behind
and Adils with a 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
-.
for they were intent on gathering up the
| strewed silver and gold. Now i. HroIf 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
| brandt fishing his bright sword Skofnung. The
/ blade descends 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, an , 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 bender greet
ed Hrolf courteously, and asked whether all
| had not Jared well with the king. every
! 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
arms to boot?" "Quite So" answered the
king. Now" continued the old man, 81
will make you { goodly present beseeming
| your worth" and he entered his byre. Soon
he came out again, bearing a sword, corse-
let, and shield. The corselet was rusted
| with blood, the sword hacked and notched
and the shield all but cloven. Those are
grimIy weapons, said the king; and he would
not receive them.
Then the old bonder waxed wroth, and he
cried, Thou takest thyself to be wise and
strong, but thou art not either wise or strongi"
His face became dark with anger, and his one
eve sparkled like a burning coal. For it is
an insult to a man 10 reject an offer which he