Fridthjofs Saga | Page 5

mild eyes are blue and clear?As heaven, when no clouds appear,--?But I know eyes beside whose sparkles?A light, blue spring day quickly darkles.
And Gerd's fair cheeks, why praise them so??The northern-lights, on new fall'n snow,--?I know of cheeks whose rosy warnings?Portray at once two ruddy mornings.
I know a heart affection-crowned?Like Nanna's, though not so renowned?And Nanna's love, in song and story,?is justly reckoned Balder's glory.
For oh, what joy when death appears,?To have a faithful maiden's tears!?To prove a love so strong and tender,?With Hel's grim shades I'd gladly wander."
Meanwhile the princess gayly wove?In cloth, blue wave and greenest grove;?And as she sang a hero's story,?She also wove a hero's glory.
For soon there grew in snow-white wool?Bright shields from off the golden spool,?Here, red prevail the battle lances,?There, silver-stiffened armor glances.
Anon her fingers deftly trace?A hero,--see, 'tis Fridthjof's face;?And though at first almost affrighted,?She blushes, smiles and is delighted.
The birch tree's stem where Fridthjof went?Showed I and F in beauty blent;?As grew those runes in one, delighted,?So too those hearts in one united.
When Day invests the upper air,?The world-king with the golden hair,?When men to action urge each other,?They think alone of one another.
When Night pervades the upper air,?The world-queen with the raven hair,?When stars in silence greet each other,?They dream alone of one another.
"Thou Earth, who in the spring-time fair,?Bedeck'st with flowers thine emerald hair,?Give me the best; in wreaths I'll wind them,?And round my Fridthjof's brow will bind them."
"Thou sea, who mak'st thy dark caves bright?With myriad pearls' refulgent light,?Give me the best; I'll weave the clearest?A necklace for my Ing'borg dearest."
"Thou ornament of Odin's throne,?Eye of the world, O golden sun,?Wert thou but mine, thy blazing splendor?I'd give a shield to my defender."
"Thou guide in Odin's house at night,?Thou pale moon with thy lovely light,?Were thou but mine, thy pearly lustre?'Mid Ing'borg's golden hair should cluster."
But Hilding said: "My foster-son,?Your reason is by love outrun;?The norns are partial in bestowing?The blood that in her veins is flowing.
To Odin high, where bright stars shine,?Ascendeth her ancestral line;?No hope may son of Thorstein nourish,?For like with like alone can flourish."
But Fridthjof smiled: "My race," he said,?"Goes down unto the valiant dead;?The forest-king I slew, and merit?Thereby, the honor kings inherit.
"The free-born man will never yield,?He owns the world's unconquered field;?For fate can bind what she has broken,?And hope is crowned with kingly token.
"All power is noble; Thor presides?In Thrudvang, where all strength abides;?There worth, and not descent, is leader,--?The sword is e'er a valiant pleader.
"I'd fight the world for my sweet bride,?Yea, though the thunder-god defied.?Be glad and brave, my lily, never?Shah mortal dare our lives to sever."
II.
King Bele And Thorstein.
King Bele, sword-supported, in the palace stood;?And with him Thorstein, Viking's son, the peasant good.?His ancient war companion, grown old in glory,?His brow was scarred like rune-stones, his hair was hoary.
They stood, as on the mountain two temples stand?To honored gods devoted, now half in sand;?And many words of wisdom the walls are saying,?And holy recollections through domes are straying.
"The evening steals upon me," king Bele said,?"The helmet now is heavy, and stale the mead;?The fate of man grows darker, but all the clearer?High Valhal shines before me, as death draws nearer.
"My sons I here have summoned, and Thorstein's son?For they should cling together, as we have done;?But I would give the eaglets some words of warning--?Words may in death be sleeping ere dawns the morning."
Obedient to the mandate, the three advance--?First, Helge, dark and gloomy, with sullen glance;?He dwelt amid diviners; the hand he proffered?Was red with blood of victims, on altars offered.
The next who came was Halfdan, a light-haired swain:?His countenance was noble, but weak and vain;?He gaily bore a falchion, with which he gestured,?And seemed a youthful maiden, in armor vestured.
And after them came Fridthjof, in mantle blue;?He was stronger than the others, and taller, too;?He stood between the brothers, by contrast seeming?Like noon 'twixt night and morning, in splendor beaming.
"Ye sons," the king said gently, "my son goes down;?Together rule the kingdom and take the crown;?For unity is power, and no endeavor,?While lance with ring is circled, its stem can sever.
"Let power stand as sentry on every hand,?And freedom bloom protected throughout the land:?The sword is for protection, and not for plunder.?And shields are locks for peasants no foe can sunder.
"How foolish is the ruler his land to oppress,?For the people give the power which kings possess;?The crown of leafy verdure which decks the mountain?Will wither if the sunshine dries up the fountain.
"On four gigantic pillars is heaven's throne--?The throne of nations resteth on law alone!?Destruction waits on judgment; if misdirected;?By right are men ennobled and kings perfected.
"In Disarsal, O Helge, the high gods dwell--?Not pinioned as the snail is within his shell;?As far as daylight flieth, or thought's swift pinion,?Far as resound the echoes, is