ifmi: 
 
 HE STORY OF THE GLITTERING 
 PLAIN^ 
 
 HIGH HAS BEEN ALSO 
 CALLED THE LAND OF LIVING MEN 
 OR THE ACRE OF THE UNDYING<^ 
 
 WRITTEN BY gjlLLIAM g^ORRIS 
 
BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME 
 FROM THE 
 
 SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND 
 
 THE GIFT OF 
 
 iienrg W. Sa^e 
 
 1891 
 
 .fj-/'.^'fj..^. ^ 
 
 9963 
 
Cornell University Library 
 
 PR 5079.S8 1891a 
 
 The story of the glittering plain, which 
 
 3 1924 013 528 090 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of tiiis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924013528090 
 
mmittti SEtiitton, Jtij£ J^unDreli Copies. 
 
THESTORYOFTHEGLITTERING 
 PLAIN* WHICH HAS BfeEN ALSO 
 CALLED THE LAND OF LIVING 
 MEN OR THE ACRE OF THE UN. 
 DYING. WRITTEN BY WILLIAM 
 MORRIS. 
 
 [reprinted in FAC-SIMILE.] 
 
 PUBLISHED BY ROBERTS BROTHERS, 
 
 AT THEIR HOUSE, 3 SOMERSET 
 STREET, BOSTON, 1891. 
 
 'hi- 
 
A Table of the Chapters of this Book. 
 
 I. Of those Three who came to the House of 
 the Raven> i, C[ IL Evil Tidings come to hand 
 at Cleveland/ 4. C HI. The Warriors of the 
 Raven search the Seas, 9. C IV, Hallblithe tak/- 
 eth the Sea, tz, CV, They come unto .the Isle 
 of Ransom,i5.|[VI.OfaDwellingof Menon 
 the Isle of Ransom, 28. C VII. A Feast in the 
 Isle of Ransom, 37. C VIIL Hallblithe taketh 
 Ship again from the Isle of Ransom, 51. C[ IX. 
 They come to the Land of the Glittering Plain, 
 56. C X. They hold Converse with Folk of 
 the Glittering Plain, 66. C XL The Sea^eagle 
 reneweth his Life, 73. C XII. They look on 
 the King of the Glittering Plain, 79. C XI I L. 
 Hallblithe beholdeth the woman who loveth 
 him, 86. C XIV. Hallblithe has speech with 
 theKingagain,93j([XV.YetHallblithespeak/' 
 eth with the King, toi. C XVL Those Three 
 
 fo their ways to the edge of the Glittering 
 •lain, 106. C XVII. Hillblithe arnongst the 
 Mountains, 113. C XVI 1 1. Hallblithe dwelleth 
 in the wood alone, 126. C XIX. Hallblithe 
 builds him a skiff, 134. CiXX.So now saileth 
 Hallblithe away frcmi the Glittering Plain, 143. 
 CXXI. Of the Fight of the Champions in the 
 Hall of the Ravagers, 157. CXXII. They go 
 from the Isleof Ransom and cometo Cleveland 
 by the Sea, 178. 
 
THE STORY OF THE GLITTER^ 
 ING PLAIN OR THE LAND OF 
 LIVING MEN 
 
 CHAPTER L OF THOSE THREE 
 WHO CAME TO THE HOUSE 
 OF THE RAVEN 
 
 jT HAS BEEN 
 I told that there was 
 once a voung man 
 of free Kindred and 
 whose name was 
 Hallblithe: he was 
 fair, strong, SC not 
 untried in battle; 
 hewas oftheHouse 
 of the Raven of bid 
 time. C This ihan loved an exceeding fair 
 damsel called the Hostage, who was of the 
 House t>f the Rose, wherein it was ri?ht 8C 
 due that the men of the Raven should wed. 
 G. She loved him no less, & no man of the 
 kindred gains^d their love, and they were 
 to be wedded on Midsummer Night» 
 C Btit one day of early spring, when' the 
 days were yet short and the nights loiig, 
 Hallblithe sat before the porch orme house 
 smoothing an ash stave for his spear, and 
 he heard the sound of horsef^hoofs drawing 
 nigh, and he looked up and saw folk riding 
 
 *{f«. 
 
toward the house, and so presently they rode 
 through the garth gate ; and there was no man 
 but he about the house, so he rose up and went 
 to meet them, and he saw that they were but 
 three in company: they had weapons with them, 
 and thdr horses were of the best j but they were 
 no fellowship for a man to be afraid of; ror two 
 of them were old and feeble, and the third was 
 dark and sad, and drooping of aspect: it seemed 
 as if they had ridden far and fast, for their spurs 
 were bloody and their horses all a^-sweat* 
 Wallblithe hailed them, kindly and said: "Ye 
 arcnvayz-wom, and maybe ye nave to ride fur^ 
 ther ; so light down and come into the house, 
 and take bite and sup, and hay and com also 
 for your horses ; and then if ye needs must ride 
 on your way, depart when ye are rested; or else 
 if ye may, then abide here night'long, and go 
 your ways tO/tnorrow, & meantime that which 
 is ours shall be yours, and all shall be free to 
 you*'* C! Then spake the oldest of the elders in 
 a high piping voice and said : ** Young man, 
 we thank thee ; but though the days of the 
 springtide are waxing, the hours of our lives are 
 waning ; nor may we abide unless thou canst 
 truly tell us that this is the Land of the Glitx 
 tering Plain : and if that be so, then delay not, 
 lead us to thy lord, and perhaps he will make 
 us content." C Spake he who was somewhat 
 less stricken in years than the first : " Thanks 
 
 2 
 
have thou ! but wc need something more than 
 meat and drink^towitthe Land of Living Men, 
 And Oh ! but the time presses." C Spake the 
 sad and sorry carle: ** we seek the Land where 
 the days are many ; so many that he who hath, 
 forgotten how to laugh^ may learn the craft 
 again, and forget the days ot Sorrow/' 
 Then they all three cried aloud and said : 
 C " Is this the Land ? Is this the Land ?" 
 But Hallblithe wondered, and he laughed and 
 said ; ^* Wayfarers, look under the sun down 
 the plain which lieth betwixt the mountains 
 and the sea, and ye shall behold the meadows 
 all gleaming with the springlilies ; yet do we 
 not call this the Glittering rlain, but Clcve-* 
 land by the Sea. Here men die when their hour 
 comes, nor know I if the days of their life be 
 long enough for the forgetting of sorrow ; for 
 I am young & not yet a yokefellow of sorrow ; 
 but this I know, that they are long enough for 
 the doing of deeds that shall not die. And as 
 for Lord, I know not this word, for here dwell 
 we, the sons of the Raven, in good fellowship, 
 with our wives that we have wedded, and our 
 mothers who have borne us, and our sisters who 
 serve us. Again I bid you light down off your 
 horses, and eat and drink, and be merry j and 
 depart whenyewill,to seek what land ye will." 
 They scarce looked on him, but cried outtoge/ 
 tlicr mournfully : C ** This is not the Land ! 
 
 b2 3 
 
This is not the Land ! " C No more than that 
 they said, but turned aoout their horses & rode 
 out through the garth gate, and went clattering 
 up the road that led to the pass of the moun^ 
 tains. But Haflhlithe hearkened wondering, 
 till the sound of their horse^hoofs died away, 
 and then turned back to his work; and it was 
 then two hours after high^noon. 
 
 CHAPTER 11. EVILTIDINGS COME 
 TO HAND AT CLEVELAND. 
 
 jOT long had he work 
 
 ed ere 
 
 sound 
 
 he heard the 
 horsez-hoofs 
 & he look^ 
 
 of 
 
 once morC;, 
 
 ed not up, but said to 
 himself, "It is but the 
 lads bringing back the 
 teams from the acres, 
 and riding fast & drivx 
 ing hard for joy of heart 
 and in wantonness of youm/' C. But me sound 
 grew nearer and he looked up and saw over the 
 turf wall of the garth the flutter of white rai" 
 ment; and he said: C " Nay, it is the maidens 
 coming back from the sea^shore and the gather^- 
 ing of wrack/* C So he set himself the harder 
 to his work, and laughed, all alone as he was, 
 and said: ** She is With them: now I will not 
 look up again till they have ridden into the 
 garth, and she has come from among them, 6C 
 4 
 
leapt off her horse, and cast her arms about my 
 neck as her wont is } and it will rejoice her then 
 to mock me with hard words and kind voice & 
 longing heart; and I shall long for her and kiss 
 her, and swee;t shall the coming days seem to 
 us : and the daughters of our folk shall look on 
 and be kind and blithe with us/* C Therewith 
 rode the maidens into the garth, but he heard no 
 sound of laughter or merriment amongst them, 
 which v/as contrary to their wont j and his'heart 
 fell, and it was as if instead of the maidens' 
 laughter the voices of thosewayfarers came back 
 upon the wind crying out, " Is this the Land ? 
 Is this the Land ?" C Then he looked, up has^ 
 tily, and saw the maidens drawing near, ten of 
 the House of the Raven, and three of the House 
 of the Rose ; and he beheld them that their faces 
 were pale and woez-begone, and their raiment 
 rent, and there was no joy in them. Hallblithe 
 stood aghast while one who had gotten oflF her 
 horse (and she was the daughter of his own 
 mother) ran past him into the hall, looking not 
 at him, as it she durst not : and another rode 
 off swiftly to the horsez-stalls. But the others, 
 leaving their horses, drew round about him, & 
 for a while none durst utter a word; & he stood 
 
 gazing at them, with the spoke^shave in his 
 and, he also silent ; for he saw that the Host/ 
 age was not with them, and he knew that now 
 he was the yokefellow of sorrow. C At last he 
 
 5 
 
spoke gently & in a kind voice, and said: "Tell 
 me, sisters, what evil hath befallen ud, even i£ 
 it be the death of a dear friend, and the thing 
 that may not be amended/' 
 
 HEN spoke a fair woman of the 
 Rose, whose name was Bright^ 
 ling, and said: " Hallblithe, it is 
 not of death that we have to tell, 
 |l but of sundering, which may yet 
 SI be amended, vv e were on the 
 s^nd of the sea nigh the Ship^stead and the 
 Rollers of the Raven, and we were gathering 
 the wrack and playing together ; and we saw a 
 round^ship nigh to shore lying with her sheet 
 slack, ana her sail beating the mast j but we 
 deemed it to be none other than some bark of 
 the Fishz-biters, and thought no harm thereof, 
 but went on running and playing amidst the 
 little waves that fell on the sand, and the rip^ 
 pies that curled around our feet. At last there 
 came a small boat from the side of the rounds- 
 ship, and rowed in toward shore, and still we 
 feared not, though we drew a little aback from 
 the surf and let fall our gownz-hems. But the 
 prew ofthat boat beached her close to where we 
 stood, dC came hastily wading the «urf towards - 
 us ; and we saw that they were twelve weapon^ 
 cd men, great, and grim, and all clad in black 
 raiment. Then indeed were we afraid, And we 
 turned about and fled up the bed.ch } but now 
 6 
 
tt was too ktc, for the tide was at more than 
 half ebb and long was the way over the sand 
 to the place where we had left our horses tied 
 among the tamarisk^bushes. Nevertheless wc 
 ran, and had gotten up to the pebble.'beach be*- 
 fore they ran in amongst us ; and they caught 
 us, and cast us down on to the hard stones. 
 C Then they made us sit in a row on a ridge 
 of the pebbles ; & we were sore afraid, yet more 
 for defilement at their hands than for death ; 
 for they were evil>-looking men exceeding foul 
 of favour. Then said one of them i WTiich of 
 all you maidens is the Hostage of the House 
 of the Rose ? Then all we kept silence, for we 
 would not betray her. But the evil man spake 
 again : Choose ye then ■whether we shall take 
 one, or all of you across the waters in our black 
 ship. Yet still we others spake not, till arose 
 thy beloved, O Hallblithe, and said: Let it be 
 one then, and not all ; for I am the Hostage. 
 Hov/ shalt thou make us sure thereof? said me 
 evil carle. She looked on him proudly and said: 
 Because I say it. "Wilt thou swear it? said he. 
 Yea, said she, I swear it by the token of the 
 House wherein I shall wed ; bv the wings of 
 the Fowl that sceketh the Field of Slaying. It 
 is enough, said the man, come thou with us. 
 And ye maidens sit ye there, and move not till 
 we have made way on our ship, unless ye would 
 feel the pomt of the arrow. For ye are within 
 
 7 
 
bow/'sKot of the sKip, and we liave shot wea^- 
 pons aboard. So ,the Hostage departed with 
 them, and she unweeping, but we wept sorely. 
 And we sav/ the small boat come up to the side 
 ,6f the roundz-ship, and the Hostage going over 
 the gunwale alpng with those evil men, & we 
 heard the hale and how of the mariners as they 
 drew up the anchor & sheeted homej and then 
 the sweeps came out and the ship began to 
 move over the sea. And one of those evil^mind^ 
 ed men bent his bow and shot a shaft at us, but 
 it fell far short of where we sat, and the laugh of 
 those runagates came over the ^ands to us. So 
 we crept up the beach trembling, and then rose 
 to our feet and got to our horses, and rode hither 
 speedily, and our hearts are broken" for thy sor/ 
 row." C At that word came Hallblithe's own 
 sister out from the hall j and she bore weapons 
 with her, to wit Hallbhthe's sword and shield 
 and helm and hauberk. As for him he turned 
 back silently to his work, & set the steel of the 
 spear on the nev/ ashen shaft, & took the ham^ 
 mer and smote the nail in, and laid the weapon 
 on a round pebble that was thereby, & clench^ 
 ed the nail on the other side. Then he looked 
 about, & saw that the other damsel had brought 
 him his coal/'black war-horse ready saddlecTfe 
 bridled ; then he did on his armour, & girt his 
 sword to his side and leapt into the saddle, & 
 took his new/'shafted spear in hand&shookthe 
 8 
 
tein. But none of all those damsels durst say a 
 word to him or ask him whither he went, for 
 they feared his face, and the sorrow of his heart. 
 So he pot him out of the garth and turned to^' 
 ward tnc sea^shore, and they saw the glitter of 
 his spear^oint a minute over the turf^wall, & 
 heard the clatter of his horse^hoo& as he gal^ 
 loped over the hard way ; & thus he departed. 
 
 CHAPTER III. THE WARRIORS OF 
 THE RAVEN SEARCH THE SEAS. 
 J^SHEN the women be^ 
 [thought them, 8C they 
 I spake av/ordortwo to^* 
 gether, and then they 
 sundered and went one 
 I this way and one that, 
 to gather together the 
 warriors of the Raven 
 who were a^field, or on 
 
 _^___ I the way, nigh unto the 
 
 house, that they might follow Hallblithe down 
 to the sea^shoreandhelphim; after a while they 
 came back again by one & two and three, brings 
 ingwith them thewrathfulyoungmenj& when 
 there was upward of a score gathered in the garth 
 armed and horsed,they rode theirways to the sea, 
 beingmindedtothrustalong-'ship otthe Ravens 
 out over the Rollers into the sea, and follow the 
 strong/thieves of the waters & bring a^back the 
 Hostage, so that they might end the sorrow at 
 
 c 9 
 
once, and establish joy once more in the House 
 of the Raven and rfie House of the Rose. But 
 they had with them three lads of fifteen winters 
 or thereabouts to lead their horses back home 
 again, when they should have gone up on to the 
 Horse of the Brine. C Thus then they departed, 
 and the maidens stood in the garth-'gate till they 
 lost sight of them behind the sandhills, and then 
 turned back sorrowfully into the house, and sat 
 there talking low of their sorrow. And many a 
 time they had to tell their tale anew, as folk came 
 into the hall one after another from field and fell. 
 But the young men came down to the sea, and 
 found Hallblithe^s black horse straying about 
 amongst the tamarisk bushes above the beach ; 
 and they looked thence over the sand, and saw 
 neither Hallblithe nor anymant andthey gazed 
 out seaward, & saw neither ship nor sail on the 
 barren brine. Then they went down on to the 
 sand, and sundered their fellowship, and went 
 half one way, half the other, betwixt the sand^ 
 hills and the surf, where now the tide was flow-* 
 ing, till the necses of the east and the west, the 
 horns of the bay, stayed them. Then they met 
 together again by the Rollers, when the sun was 
 within an hour of setting. There and then they 
 laid hand to that ship which is called the Sea^* 
 mew, and they ran her down over the Rollers 
 into the waves, and leapt aboard and hoisted sail, 
 and ran out the oars and put to sea ; and a little 
 to 
 
wind was blowing seaward from the gates of the 
 mountains behind them. C So they quartered 
 the sea.^lain,as the kestrel doth the water^mea^ 
 dows, till the night fell on them^and was cloudy, 
 though whiles Uie wading moon shone out} and 
 they had seen nothing, neither sail nor ship, nor 
 aught else on the barren brine, savethe washing 
 of waves and the hovering of sea^fowl. So they 
 lay /to outside the horns of the bay and awaited 
 thedawning.Andwhenmomingwascomethey 
 made way again, and searched the sea, and sailed 
 to the out/'skerries, and searched them with care ; 
 then they sailed into the main and fared hither 
 and thither and up and down: and this they did 
 for eight days, and in all that time they saw no 
 ship nor sail, save three barks of the fish^biters 
 nign to the Skerry which is called Mew/'Stone. 
 C So they fared home to the Raven Bay, and 
 laid their keel on the Rollers, and so went their 
 ways sadly, home to the House of the Raven : 
 and they deemed that for this timethey could do 
 no more in seeking their valiant kinsman & his 
 fair damsel. Andllxcy were very sorry; for these 
 two werewellz-belovedof allmen. But since they 
 might not amend it, they abode in peace, awaits 
 ing what the change of days might bring them. 
 
 C2 ti 
 
CHAPTER IV. NOW HALLBLITHE 
 TAKETH THE SEA. 
 
 low must ft be told of 
 Hallblithe that he rode 
 fiercely down to the sea 
 shore, and from the top 
 of the beach he gazed a^ 
 bout him, and there be^* 
 low him was the Ship<« 
 stead and rollers of his 
 kindred, whereon lay the 
 three longships, the Sea^ 
 mew, and the Osprcy and the Erne. Heavy 
 and huge they seemed to him as they lay there, 
 black/sided, icy^cold with the washing of the 
 March waves, their golden dragon/heads look-* 
 ing seaward Wistfully. Biit first had he looked 
 out into the offing, and itwas only when he had 
 let his eyes come back from where the sea and 
 sky met, and they had beheld nothing but the 
 waste of waters, that he beheld the Ship^'Stead 
 closely; and therewith he saw where a little to 
 the west of it lay a skiff, which the low wave of 
 the tide lifted and let fall from time to time. It 
 had a mast, and a black sail hoisted thereon and 
 flapping with slackened sheet. A man sat in the 
 boat clad in black raiment, and the sun smote a 
 gleam firom the helm on^iis head. Then Hall^ 
 blithe leapt off his horse, and strode down the 
 sands shouldering hi^ spear; and when he came 
 
 12 
 
ncaf to the man in the boat he poised his spear 
 and shook it and cried out : ** Man, art thou friend 
 or foe ? " C Said the man j " Thou art a fair young 
 man: but there is grief in thy voice along wim 
 wrath. Cast not till thou hast heard me, and 
 may st deem whether I may do aught to heal thy 
 grief/' 
 
 C "What mayst thou do?," said Hallblithe; 
 **art thou not a robber of the sea, a> harrier of the 
 folks that dwell in peace?" The man laughed: 
 "Yea," said he, my craft is thieving and carry^ 
 ing off the daughters of folk,' so that we may 
 have a ransom for them. Wilt thou come over 
 the waters with me?" Hallblithe said wraths 
 fully: C ** Nay> rather, come thou ashore here! 
 Thou seemest a big man, and belike shall be 
 good of thine hands. Come and fight with me; 
 and then he of us who is vanquished, if he be 
 , unslain, shall serve the other for a year, and then 
 shalt thou do my business in the ransoming." 
 C The man in the boat laughed again, and that 
 so scornfully that he angered Hallblithe beyond 
 measure: then he arose in the boat and stood on 
 his feet swaying from side to side as he laughed. 
 He was passing hig, long/armed and big^head*' 
 ed, and long hair came from under hishelm like 
 the tail of a red horse; his eyes were gray and 
 gleaming, and his mouth wide. C In a while he 
 stayed his laughter 8t said: **0 Warrior of the 
 Raven, this were a simple game for thee toplay : 
 
 t3 
 
though it is not far from my mind, for fighting 
 when I needs must win is no dull work. Look 
 you, if I slay or vanquish thee, then all is said ; & 
 if by some chance stroke thou slayest me, then 
 is tnine only helper in this matter gone from 
 thee. Now to be short, I bid thee come aboard 
 to me if thou wouldst ever hear anotherword of 
 thy damsel betrothed. And moreover this need 
 not hinder thee to fight with me if thou hast a 
 mindto it thereafter; forwe shall sooncometo a 
 land hig enough for two to stand on. Or if thou 
 listest to fight in a boat rocking on the waves, I 
 see not but there may bemalihood in that also." 
 C! Now was the hot wrath somewhat run off 
 Hallblithe, nor durst he lose any chance to hear 
 a word of his beloved; so he said: ** Big man, I 
 will come aboard. But look thou to it, if thou 
 hast a mind to bewray me; for the sons of the 
 Raven die hard." C. ** Well," said the big man, 
 ** I have heard that their minstrels are of many 
 words, and think that they have tales to tell. 
 Come aboard and loiter not." Then Hallblithe 
 waded the surf and lightly strode over the gun^ 
 wale of the skifF& sat him down. The big man 
 thrust out into the deep and haled home the 
 sheet; but there was but little wind. C Then 
 said Hallblithe : " Wilt thou have me row, for I 
 wot not whitherward to steer?" C Said the red 
 carle: " Maybe thou art not in a hurry; I am 
 not: do as thou wilt." So Hallblithe took the 
 t4 
 
oars and rowed mightily, while the alien steer, 
 ed, and they went swiftly and lightly over the 
 sea, and the waves were little. 
 
 CHAPTER V. THEY COME UNTO 
 THE ISLE OF RAN SOM. 
 ^^^ ^^^ ^^yyjfWO the sun grew low, & 
 
 I it set; the stars and the 
 moon shone a while & 
 then it clouded over. 
 Hallbh'the still rowed 
 and rested not, though 
 he was weary j and the 
 big man sat and steers 
 ed, and held his peace. 
 I But when the nightwas 
 grown old and it was not far from the dawn, the 
 alien said 5 "Youngling of the Ravens, now shalt 
 thou sleep and I will row." 
 C Hallblithe was exceeding weary; so he gave 
 the oars to the alien and lay down in the stem 
 and slept. And in his sleep ne dreamed that he 
 was lying in the House of the Raven, and his 
 sisters came to him & said,'' Rise up now. Hall*' 
 blithe! wilt thou be a sluggard on the day of thy 
 wedding ? Come thou with us to the House of 
 the Rose that we may bear away the Hostage." 
 Then he dreamed that they departed, and he 
 arose andclad himself: but when he would have 
 gone out of the hall, then was it no longer day/ 
 Ught, but moonhght, and he dreamed that he 
 
 »5 
 
had dreamed : nevertheless he would have gone 
 abroad, but might not find the door j so he said 
 he would go out bv" a window} but the wall was 
 high and smooth (quite other than intheHouse 
 of the Raven, where were low windows all along 
 one aisle), nor was there any way to come at 
 them. But he dreamed that he was so abashed 
 thereat, and had such a weakness on him, that 
 he wept for pity of himself: and he went to his 
 bed to lie down; and lol there was no bed and 
 no hall; nought but a heath, wild and wide, and 
 empty under the moon. And still he wept in his 
 dream, and his manhood seemed departed &om 
 him, and he heard a voice crying out, ** Is this 
 the Land? Is this the Land?' 
 
 JHEREWITHAL he awoke, 
 and as his eyes cleared he beheld 
 die big man rowing 8C the black 
 sail flapping against the mast ; 
 for the wind had fallen dead and 
 they were fe.ring on over a long 
 smooth swell of the sea. It was broad daylight, 
 but round about them was a thick mist, which 
 seemed none the less as if the sun were ready to 
 shine through it. C As Hallblithe caught the 
 red man's eye, he smiled and nodded on him & 
 said: ** Now has the time come for thee first tc 
 eat & then to row. But tell me what is that upon 
 thy cheeks?" C Hallbh'the., reddening soraz^ 
 wnat, said s " The night dew hath fallen on me." 
 16 
 
C Quoth the sea-rover, ** It is no shame for thee 
 a youngling to remember thy betrothed in thy 
 sleep, and to weep because thoulackest her. But 
 now bestir thee, for it is later than thou mayest 
 deem." CE Therewith the big man drew in the 
 oars and came to the afiter-'part of the boat, and 
 drew meat and drink out of a locker therebv; 
 and they ate and drank together, & Hallblitne 
 grew strong and somewhat, less downcast; and 
 he w^ent forward and gatthe oars into his hands. 
 C! Then the big red man stood tip and looked 
 over his left shoulder and said: ** boon shall we 
 have a breeze and bright weather." C! Then he 
 looked into the midmost of the sail and fell a^ 
 whistling suchatune as thefiddles playtodanc^ 
 ing men and maids at Yule-tide, and his eyes 
 gleamed & glittered therewithal, & exceeding 
 big he looked. Then Hallblithe felt a little air 
 on his cheek, and the mist grew thinner, & the 
 sail began to fill with wind till the sheet tight-- 
 ened: then, lol the mist rising from the face of 
 the sea, and the sea's face rippling gaily under a 
 bright sun. Then the wind increased, and the 
 wall of mist departed & a few light clouds sped 
 over the sky, and the sail swelled and the boat 
 heeled over, &the seas fell white from theprow, 
 and they sped fast over the face of the waters. 
 C. Then laughed the red-haired man, and said: 
 " O croaker on the dead branch, now is the wind 
 such that no rowing of thine may catch up with 
 
 d 17 
 
It; so in with the oars now, and turn about, and 
 thou shalt see whitherward we are going/' 
 C Then Hallblithe turned about on the thwart 
 and looked across the sea, and lo ! before them 
 the high cliiFs and crags & mountains of a new 
 land which seemed to be an isle, and they were 
 deep blue under the sun, which now shone aloft 
 in the mid heaven. He said nought at all, but 
 sat looking and wondering what land it might 
 be; but the big man said: "Otomb of warriors, 
 is it not as if the blueness of the deep sea had 
 heaved itself up aloft, and turned from coloured 
 air into rock and stone, so wondrous blue it is ? 
 But that is because those crags and mountains 
 are so far away, and as we draw nigher to them, 
 thou shalt see them as they verily are, that they 
 are coal-black; and yonder land is .an isle, and 
 is called the Isle of Ransom. Therein shall be 
 the market for thee where thou mayst cheapen 
 thy betrothed. There mayst thou take her by 
 the hand and lead her away thence, when thou 
 hast dealt with the chapman of maidens and 
 hast pledged thee by the fowl of battle, and the 
 edge of tne fallow blade to pay that which he 
 will have of thee." 
 
 C As the big man spoke there was a mocking 
 in his voice and his face and in his whole huge 
 body, which made the sword of Hallblithe un> 
 easy in his scabbard; but he refrained his wrath, 
 and said: " Big man, the longer I look, the less 
 i8 
 
I can think howwe are to come up on to yonder 
 island ; for I can see nought but a huge cliff, and 
 great mountains rising beyond it." C "Thou 
 shalt the more wonder," said the alien, " the 
 liigherthou drawest thereto,' for it is not because 
 we are far away that thou canst see- no beach or 
 strand, or sloping of the land seaward, but be^ 
 cause there is nought of all these things. Yet 
 fear not! am I not with thee? thou shalt come 
 ashore on the Isle of Ransom." 
 CThen Hallblithe held his peace, and the other 
 spakenotforawhile,but gaveashort laugh once 
 or twice; and said at last in a big voice, ^' Little 
 Carrion/biter, why dost thou not ask me of rny 
 name ?" i£ Now Hallblithe was a tall man & a, 
 fell fighter; but he said: " Because I was thinks 
 ing of other things and not of thee." C" Well," 
 said the big man, in a voice still louder, "when 
 I am at home men call me the Puny Fox." 
 CThen I;;rallblithesaid: '** Art thou a Fox? It 
 may well be that thou shalt beguile rrie as such 
 beasts will ; but look to it, that if thou dost I sTiall 
 know how to avenge me." CThenrose'up.thc 
 hig man from the helm, and straddled wide. in 
 the boat, and cried out in a great roaring voice : 
 " Crag/nester, I am one of seven.brethrenj and 
 the smallest and weakest of them. ArtthoiTnot 
 afraid?" C" No," said Hallblithe, "for the six 
 others are nothere. Wilt thou fight hferc in boat, 
 O Fox?"C" Nay," said Fox, "rather we will 
 
 d2. 19 
 
drink a cup of wine together." C So he opened 
 the locker again and drew out thence a great horn 
 of some huge neat of the outlands, which was 
 girthed and stopped with silver, and also a gold^ 
 en cup, and he filled the cup from the horn and 
 gave it into H allblithe's hand and said : " Drink, 
 O black^fledged nestling! But call a health over 
 the cup if thou wilt." So Hallblithe raised the 
 cup aloft and cried*. " Health tothe House of the 
 Raven and to them that love it! an ill day to its 
 foemen ! " Then he set his lips to the cup and 
 drank J and that wine seemed to him better and 
 stronger than any he had ever tasted. Butv/hen 
 he had given the cup back again to Fox, that red 
 one filled it again, and cried over it, "TheTrea^ 
 sure of the Sea! and the King that di eth not!" 
 Then he drank, and filled again for Hallblithe, 
 and steered with hisknees meanwhile; and thus 
 they drank three cups each, and Fox smiled and 
 was peaceful and said but little, but Hallblithe 
 sat wondering how the world was changed for 
 him since yesterday. 
 
 i^"^ ^^'^ '^^^ *^^ ^^7 ^^o'wn all 
 
 1 clear of clouds & the wind piped 
 
 shrill behind them, and the great 
 
 waves rose and fell about them, 
 
 and the sun glittered on them in 
 
 I many colours. Fast flew the boat 
 
 before the wind as though it would never stop, 
 
 and the day was waning, and the wind still ris/ 
 
 20 
 
ing; and now the Isle of Ransom uphove huge 
 before them, and coal-black, and no beach and 
 no haven was to be seen therein; 'and still they 
 ran before the wind towards that black cliff-' wall, 
 against which the sea washed for ever, and no 
 keel ever built by man might live for one mo^ 
 ment 'twixt the surf and the cliff of that grim 
 land. The sun grew low, and sank red under the 
 sea, and that world of stone swallowed up half 
 the heavens before them, for they were now 
 come very nigh thereto; nor could Hallb lithe 
 see aught for it, but that they must be dashed 
 against the cl iff and perish inamomentof time. 
 jTILL the boat flew on; but now 
 I when the twilight was come, and 
 jthey had just opened up a long 
 1 reach of the cliff that lay beyond 
 high ness, Hallblithe thought 
 I he saw down by the edge of the 
 sea something darker than the face of the rock-' 
 wall, and he deemed it was a cave; they came a 
 little nearer and he saw it was a great cave high 
 enough to letaround-'ship go in with all her sails 
 set. 
 
 C " Son of the Raven," quoth Fox, "hearken, 
 forthy heart is not little. Yonder is the gate into 
 the Isle'of Ransom, and if thou wilt thou mayst 
 go through it. Yet it maybe that if thou goest a-* 
 shore on to the Isle something grievous shall be/ 
 fall thee, a trouble more than thou canst bear: a 
 
 2t 
 
shame itmay be. Now there are two choices for 
 thee: either to go up on to the Isle and face all; 
 or to die here by my hand having done nothing 
 unmanly or shameful : W^hat sayest thou ?' 
 C[*' Thou art of many words when time so press^ 
 es, Fox/' said Hallblithe. "Why should I not 
 choose to go up on to tne Island to deliver my 
 trothplight miaiden ? For the rest, slay me if thou 
 canst, if we comie alive out of this cauldron of 
 waters." C Said the big red man : " Look on 
 then, and note Fox how he steereth, as it were 
 through a needle's eye." 
 
 C Nowweretheyundemeath the black shadow 
 of the black cliff and amidstthetwilightthe surf 
 was tossed about like white fire. In the lower 
 heavens the stars were beginning to twinkle 
 and the moon was bright and yellow^, and aloft 
 all was peaceful, for no cloud sullied the sky. 
 One moment Hallblithe saw^ all this hanging 
 above the turmoil of thundering water and drip/" 
 ping rock and the next he w^as in the darkness 
 of the cave, the roaring wind and the waves stili 
 making thunder about him, though of a differ*- 
 entvoicefromtheharshhubbub without. Then 
 he heard Fox say : " Sit down now and take the 
 oars, for presently shall we be at home at the 
 landing place." 
 
 C So Hallblithe took the oars and rowed, and 
 as they went up the cave the sea fell, &.the wind 
 died out into the aimless gustiness of hollow 
 
 22 
 
places; and for a little while was all as dark as 
 dark might be. Then Hallblithe saw that the 
 darkness grewa little greycr,and helooked over 
 his shoulder and saw a star of light before the 
 bows of the boat, and Fox cried out: "Yea, it is 
 like day: bright will the moon be for such as 
 needs must be wayfanng to/nightl Cease row*" 
 ing, O Son of the coal/blue fowl, forthereis way 
 enough on her/' 
 
 C Then Hallblithe lay on his oars, and in a mi/ 
 nute the bows smote the land; then he turned 
 about and saw a steep stair of stone, and up the 
 sloping shaft thereof the moonlit sky ana the 
 bright stars. Then Fox arose and came forward 
 and leapt out of the boat 8C moored her to a big 
 stone: then he leapt back again and said: ''Bear 
 a hand with the victuals; we must bring them 
 out of theboat unlessthouwiltsleep supperless, 
 as I will not. For toz-night must we be guests to 
 ourselves, since it is far to the dwelling of my 
 people, & the old man is said to be a skin/chan/ 
 ger, a flit^by^night. And as to this cave, it is 
 deemed to be nowise safe to sleep therein, unless 
 the sleeper have a double share of luck. And thy 
 luck, mez-seemeth, O Son of the Raven, is as 
 now somewhat less than a single share. So to/ 
 night we shall sleep under the naked heaven." 
 C Hallblithe yea/said this, and they took the 
 meat and drink, such as they needed, from out 
 the boat, & climbed the steep stair no little way, 
 
 23 
 
and so came out on to a plain place, which seem-' 
 ed to Hallblithe bare and waste so far as he saw 
 it by the moonlight; for the twih'ght was gone 
 now, & nought was left of the light of day save 
 a glimmerinthewest. CThis Hallblithe deem^ 
 edwonderful,that no less out on the open heath 
 and brow of the land than in the shut-in cave, 
 all that tumult of the wind had fallen, and the 
 cloudless night was calm, and w^ith a little light 
 air blowing from the south and the landward. 
 C. Therewithal was Fox done with his loud^ 
 voiced braggart mood, and spoke gently and 
 peaceably like a wayfarer, who hath business of 
 his to look to like other men. Now he pointed 
 to certain rocks or low crags that a little way off 
 rose like a reefout of the treeless plain; then said 
 he: "Shipmate, underneath yonder rocks is our 
 resting/place for to^-night; and I pray thee not 
 to deem me churlish that I give thee no better 
 harbour. But I have a charge over thee to bring 
 thee safe thus far on thy quest; & thou wouldst 
 find it hard to live amongst such housemates as 
 thou w^ouldst find up yonder amongst our folk 
 to-night. But to-morrow shalt thou come to 
 speech with him who will deal with thee con-* 
 ceming the ra.nsom." C *' It is enough," said 
 Hallblithe, "and I thank thee for thy leading : 
 and as for thy rough & uncomely words which 
 thou hast given me, I pardon thee for them : for 
 I am none the worse of them : forsooth, if I had 
 24 
 
been, mv sword would iiayc had a voice in the 
 matter*' C'l amwwell content as jtis> Son of the 
 Raven,** quoth Fox^ " I have done my bidding 
 and all is well." CC Tell me then who it is hath 
 bidden thee bring me hither?" C "I may not 
 tell thee," said Fox; thou art here, be content, 
 as I am." C And he spake no more till they had 
 come to the reef aforesaid, which was some two 
 furlongs from the place where they had come 
 from out of the cave. There then they set forth 
 dieir supper on- the stones, and ate what they 
 would, & drank of that good strong wine while 
 the horn bare out. And now was Fox of few- 
 words, & when Hallblithe asked him concern^ 
 ing that land, he had little to sav. And at last 
 when Hallblithe asked him of that so perilous 
 house and those ■who manned it, he said to him: 
 C " Son of the Raven, it avails not asking of 
 these matters; for if I tell thee aught concerning 
 them I shall tell thee lies. Once again let it be 
 enough for thee that thou hast passed over the 
 sea safely on thy quest; and a more perilous sea 
 it is forsooth than thou deemest. But now let us 
 make an end of vain words, and make our bed 
 amidst these stones as best we may; for we 
 should be stirring betimes in the morning, 
 Hallblithe said little in answer, and they array*- 
 cd their sleeping places cunningly, as the hare 
 doth her form, and like men well used to lying 
 abroad. 
 
 Z5 *^ 
 
^ALBBLITHE was very weary 
 I and He sdcm fell asleep; and as he 
 I lay there, he dreamed a dream, or 
 jrhaybeTsaw'a.Visionj whether he 
 were asleep when .he saw it, or 
 I between sleeping and w^aking,* I 
 know not. But this was his dream or his vision; 
 that the Hostage was standiiigxiver him, & she 
 as he had iseen her but yesterday, bright^haired 
 and ruddy/theekeid ana white^skinned, kind of 
 hand and soft of voice, and shesaid iffi"^ him : 
 "Hallblithe, lookon'me & hearken; for I have 
 a message for thee/' And he looked and longed 
 for her, and his soul was ravished by the sweet-* 
 ness of his longingj'and he would have leapt up 
 and cast his arms about her; but sleep'and the 
 dream bound him, and he might not. Then the 
 image smiled on himand said :' ** Nayjiny love, 
 lie stilly for thou mayst' hot touch rnT: ncrc is 
 but the image of the''bo^y which thou desirest. 
 Hearken then. I am iiTevil plight, in the hands 
 of strong-ithieves of the'sea, nor know I what 
 they will do with nae, and I have no will to be 
 shamed; to be sold for a price froni one hand to 
 another, yet to be bedded without a price, & to 
 lie beside some foeman of our folk, and he to 
 cast his arms about me, will I, will I not: this is 
 a hard case. Therefore to^-morrow morning at 
 daybreak while men sleep, I think to steal forth 
 to the gunwale of the black ship and give my^ 
 26 
 
self to the gods, that they and not these runa-* 
 gates may be masters of my life and my soul, 
 & may do with me as they will: for indeed they 
 know that I may not bear the strange kinless 
 house, and the love and caressing of the alien 
 house^'master, & the mocking and stripes of the 
 alien house/mistress. Therefore let the Hoary 
 One of the sea take me and look to my matters 
 and carry me to life or death, which/so he will. 
 Thin now grows the night, but lie still a little 
 yet while I speak another word. C Maybe we 
 shall meet alive again, and maybe not: and if 
 not, though wc have never yet lain in one bed 
 together, yet I would have thee remember me: 
 yet not so that my image shall come between 
 thee and thy speech^-friend & bcdz-fellow of the 
 kindred that shall lie where I was to have Iain. 
 Yet again, if I live and thou livest, I have been 
 told and have heard that by one way or other I 
 am like to come to the Glittering Plain and the 
 Land of Living Men. O my beloved, if by any 
 way thou migntest come thither also, and we 
 might meet there, and we two alive, how good 
 it were! Seek that land then, beloved! seek it, 
 whether or no we once more behold the House 
 of the Rose, or tread the floor of the Raven 
 dwelling. And now must even this image of me 
 sunder from thee. Farewell!'' 
 C Therewith was the dream done and the vi^ 
 sion departed; and Hallblithe sat up full of an'' 
 
 27 6 2 
 
guish and longing; & he looked about him over 
 the dreary land, and it was somewhat light and 
 the sky was grown grey & cloudy, and he deem^ 
 ed that the dawn was come. So he leapt to his 
 feet and stooped down over Fox, and took him 
 by the shoulder, and shook him and said: " Fa/- 
 ring^fellow, awake ! the dawn is come, and we 
 have much to do." 
 
 Fox sat up and growled like a dog, and rubbed 
 his eyes and looked abouthim and said; '*Thou 
 hast waked me for nought: it is the false dawn 
 of the moon that shineth now behind the clouds 
 and casteth no shadow; it is but an hour after 
 midniglitv Go to sleep again, and let me be, else 
 will I not be a guideto thee when the day comes/*" 
 And he lay down and was asleep at once. Then 
 Hallblithe went and lay down again full of sor^ 
 row: Yet so weary was he that he presently fell 
 asleep, and dreamed no more. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. OF ADWELUNG OF 
 MAN ON THE ISLE OF RANSOM. 
 
 SHEN he awoke again 
 the suit shone on him 
 and the morning was 
 calm and windless. He 
 sat up and looked about 
 him, but could see no 
 signs of Fox save the 
 lair wherein he had lain. 
 So he arose to his feet 
 & sought for him about 
 
the crannies of the rocks, & found him not; and 
 
 he shouted for him, & had no answer. Then he 
 
 said, " Belike he has gone down to the boat to 
 
 put a thing in, or take a thing out." So he went 
 
 his ways to the stair down into the water^cave, 
 
 and he called on Fox from the top of the stair, 
 
 and had no answer. C So he went down that long 
 
 stair with a misgiving in his heart, ahd when he 
 
 came to the last step there w^as neither man nor 
 
 boat, nor aught else save the water and the living 
 
 rock. Then washeexceedingwroth,forheknew 
 
 that he had been beguiled, and he was in an evil 
 
 case, left alone on an Isle that he knew not, a 
 
 waste and desolate land, where it seemed most 
 
 like he should die of famine. C He wasted no 
 
 breath or might now in crying out for Fox, or 
 
 seeking him} for he said to himself? " I might 
 
 well have known that he was false and a liar, 
 
 whereas he could scarce refrain his joy at miy follv 
 
 and his guile. Now is it for me to strive for lire 
 
 against death'.'Then he turned and went slowly 
 
 up the stair, and came out on to the open face of 
 
 that Isle, and he saw that it was waste indeed, 
 
 & dreadful; a wilderness of black sand & stones 
 
 and ice^bome rocks, with here and there a little 
 
 grass growing in the hollows, and here & there 
 
 a dreary mire where the white^tufted rushes 
 
 shook in the wind, and here and there stretches 
 
 of moss blended with red^blossomed sengreen ; 
 
 & otherwhere noughtbutthe wind^-bitten creeps 
 
 29 
 
inc; willow clinging to the black sand, with a 
 wnite bleached stick and a leaf or two, & again 
 a stick andaleaf. In the offing looking landward 
 were great mountains, some very great & snow- 
 capped, some bare to the tops; and all that was 
 faraway, save the snov/, was deep.'blue in the 
 sunny morning. But about him on the heath 
 were scattered rocks like the reef beneath which 
 he had slept the last night, and peaks, and ham-' 
 mers, and knolls of uncouth shapes. C Then he 
 went to the edge of the cliffs & looked down on 
 the sea which lay wrinkled and rippling on to^- 
 ward the shore far below him, and long he gazed 
 thereon and all about, but could see neither ship 
 nor sail, nor aught else save the washing of waves 
 and the hovering of sea fowl. CE Then he said: 
 "Were it not well if I were to seek that house-- 
 master of whom Fox spake? Might he not flit 
 me at least to the Land of the Glittering Plain ? 
 Woe is me! now am I of that woful company, 
 & I also must needs cry out WTiere is the land? 
 W^here is the land ? * 
 
 IHEREWITH he turned tox 
 
 j w^ard the reef above their lair, but 
 
 as he went he thought and said : 
 
 " Nay, but was not this Stead a 
 
 lie like the rest of Fox's tale? and 
 
 I am I not alone in this sea-girt wil-" 
 
 demess ? Yea, & even that image of my Beloved 
 
 which I saw in the dream; perchance that also 
 
 90 
 
was a mere beguiling; for now I see that tKe 
 Puny Fox was in all ways wiser than is meet& 
 comely." Yet again he said : "At least I will seek 
 on, and find out whether there be another man 
 dwelling on this hapless Isle, Sc then the worst 
 of it willbe battle with him, and death by point 
 and edge rather than by hunger; or at the best 
 we may become friends and fellows and deliver 
 each other." Therewith he came to the reef, and 
 with much ado climbed to the topmost of its 
 rocks and looked down thence landward: and 
 betwixt him and the mountains, and by seem<' 
 ing not very far off, he saw smoke arising: but 
 no house he saw, nor any other token of a dwel/ 
 ling. So he came down from the stone & turned 
 his back upon the sea and went toward that 
 smoke with his sword in its sheath, 8C his spear 
 over his shoulder. Rough and toilsomie was the 
 way: three little dales he crossed amidst the 
 mountain necks, each one narrow & bare, with 
 a stream of water amidst, running seaward, and 
 whether in dale or on ridge, he went ever amidst 
 sand and stones, & the weeds of the wilderness, 
 and saw no man, or man/tended beast. C At 
 last, after he had been four hours on the way, 
 but had not gone very far, he topped a stony 
 bent, and from the brow thereof beheld a wide 
 valley grassy-grown for the more part, with a ri^ 
 ver running through it, and sheep and kinc and 
 horses feeding up and down it. Andamidstthis 
 
 3» 
 
dale by the stream^side, was a dwelling of men, 
 a long hall and other houses about it builded of 
 stone. C Then was Hallblithe glad, & he strode 
 down the bent speedily, his war^gear clashing 
 upon him : and as he came to the foot thereof 8C 
 on to the grass of the dale, he got amongst the 
 pasturingliorscs, and passed close fey the horses 
 herd and a woman that was with him. They 
 scowled at him as he went by, but meddled not 
 with him in anyway. Although they were giants 
 like of stature and fierce of face, they were not 
 ill-'favoured: they were red/'haired, and the wo*" 
 man as white as cream •where the sun had not 
 burned her skin; they had no weapons that Hall^ 
 blithe might see save the goad in the hand of the 
 carle. 
 
 O Hallblithe passed on and came 
 to the biggest house, the hall a," 
 foresaid ; it was very long, and low 
 as for its length, not ovi ? shapely 
 ] of fashion^ a mere gabled heap of 
 ! stones. Low &nd strait was the 
 door thereinto, and as Hallblithe entered stcop.-" 
 ing lowly J. iC the Sreof the steel of his spear that 
 he held before Jbim was quenched in the mirk of 
 tlie hall, he smiled and said to hiKiseif : " Now 
 If 'there were one anigh who would not have xnz 
 enter alive, and he v/ith a weapon in his hand, 
 soon were all the tale told.*^ But he got into the 
 hall unsmitten, and stood on the floor thereof, 
 
 32 
 
and spake: "The seleof the day to whomsoever 
 is herein I Will.any man speak to the newcom^ 
 er ? " C But none answereaor gave him greeting ; 
 and as his eyes got used to the dusk of the hall, 
 he looked about him, and neither on the floor or 
 the high seat nor in any ingle could he see a man; 
 & there was silence there, save for the crackling 
 of the flickering flame on the hearth amidmost, 
 and the^running of the rats behind the panelling 
 of the walls. C On one side of the hall was arow 
 of shut''beds,and Hallblithe deemed that there 
 mightbemen therein; but since none had greets 
 ed him he refrained him from searching them 
 for fear of a trap, and he thought, ** I will abide 
 amidst the floor, and if there be any that would 
 deal with me, friend or foe, let him come hither 
 to me." IE So he fell to walking up & down the 
 hall from buttery to dais, & his wargear rattled 
 upon him. At last as he walke(the thought he 
 heard a small thin peevish voice, which yet was 
 too husky for the squeak of a rat. So he stayed 
 his walk & stood still, and saids "Will any man 
 speak to Hallblithe, a new/comer, & a stranger 
 in this Stead?" 
 
 IHEN that small voice made a 
 word & said t "Why paceth the 
 fool up & down our hall, doing 
 nothing, even as the Ravens flap 
 croaking about the crags, abiding 
 the war/mote & the clash of the 
 f 33 
 
fallow blades?" C Said HaIIblithc,& his voice 
 sounded big in the hall: "Who calkth Hall/ 
 blithe a foor& mocketh at the sons of the Ra/, 
 ven?" C Spake the voice:" Why cometh not 
 the fool to the man that may not go to him ?" 
 C Then Hallblithebent forward to hearken, & 
 he deemed that the voice came from one of the 
 shut/beds, so he leaned his spear against a pillar, 
 and went into the shut/bed he had noted, and 
 sawwhere there lay along in it a man exceeding 
 old by seeming, sore wasted, with long hair as 
 white as snow^ lying over the bed/clothes. 
 C W^hen the elder sawHallblithe,he laughed a 
 thin cracked laugh as if in mockery and said : 
 "Hail new/comerl wilt thou eat?' C "Yea," 
 said Hallblithe. C "Go thou into the buttery 
 then," said the old carle, "and there shalt thou 
 find on th^ cupboard cakes and curds & cheese : 
 eat thy fill, & when thou hast done, look in the 
 ingle, and thou shalt see a cask of mead exceed/ 
 ing good^ & a stoup thereby, & two silver cups : 
 fill the stoup and bring it hither -with the cups ; 
 & then may we talk amidst of drinking, which 
 is good for aji old carle. Hasten thou! or I shall 
 deem thee a double fool who will not fare to fetch 
 his meat, though he be hungry." CThen Hall/ 
 blithe laughed, and went down the hall into the 
 buttery and found the meat, and ate his fill, and 
 came away with the drink back to the Long/ 
 hoary man, who chuckled as he came and said : 
 34 
 
" Fill up now for thee & for me, & call a Kcalth 
 to me and wish me somewhat/' C* I wish thee 
 luck/' said Hallblithe, and drank* Said the eld/ 
 cr : "And I wish thee more witsj is luck all that 
 thou mayst wish me ? What luck may an out/ 
 worn elder have?"C" Well then/' quoth Hall/ 
 bh'the, "what shall I wish thee? Wouldst thou 
 have me wish thee youth?" C"Yea, certes/' 
 said the Long/hoary, "that and nought else/' 
 C "Youth then I wish thee, if it may avail thee 
 aught/' said Hallblithe, & he drank again there/ 
 with. C " Nay, nay," said the old carle peevish/ 
 ly, "take a third cup, and wish me youth with 
 noidlewords tacked thereto/' C Said Hallblithe 
 raising the ctip : "Herewith I wish thee youth! " 
 & he drank. C" Good is the wish/' said the eld/ 
 er; now askthouthe old carle whatso thou wilt." 
 e. Said Hallblithe: "What is this land called?" 
 C "Son," said the other, "hast thou heard it 
 called the Isle of Ransom ?" C "Yea/' said Hall/ 
 blithe, "but what wilt thou call it?" C "By no 
 other name," said the hoary carle. C'lt is far 
 from other lands?" said Hallblithe. C"Yea," 
 said the carle, " when thelightwinds blow, & the 
 ships sail slow." C^'Whatdoyewholive here?" 
 said Hallblithe. "How do ye live, what'work 
 win ye?" € "We win diverse work," said the 
 elder, "but the gainfuUest is robbingmenbythc 
 high hand/' " Is it ye who have stolen from me 
 the Hostage of the Rose?" said Hallblithe. 
 
 £2. 35 
 
CSaid the Long/'hoary, "Maybe; I wot not; 
 in diverse ways my kinsmen traffic^ and they 
 visit many lands. W^hy should they not have 
 come to Cleveland also ?" C "Is she in this Isle, 
 thou old runagate ?" said Hallblithe. C " She is 
 not, thou young fool/' said the elder. C! Then 
 Hallblithe flushed red & spake : "Knowestthou 
 the Puny Fox?"C«How should I not?" said 
 the carle, ** since he is the son of one ofmy sons." 
 C! Dost thou call him a liar and a rogue ?" said 
 Hallblithe. |[The elder laughed ; *' Else were I 
 a fool," said he; "there are few bigger liars or 
 higgsr rogues than the Punv Foxl" C "Is he 
 here in this Isle?" said Hallblithe; "may I see 
 him ?" ^ The old man laughed again, and said : 
 " Nay, he is not here, unless he hath turned fool 
 since yesterday : why should he abide thy sword, 
 since he hath done what he would and brought 
 thee hither?" CThenhelaughed,as ahen cackles 
 a long while, and then said; "What more wilt 
 thouaskme?"C But Hallblithe was very wroth: 
 " It availeth nought to ask/' he said; " and now 
 I am in two minds whether I shall slay thee or 
 not." C! *' That were a meet deed for a Raven, but 
 not for a man/' said the carle, "and thou that 
 hast wished me luck I Ask, ask!" C But Hall.' 
 blithe was silent a long while. Then the carle 
 said, " Another cup for the longer after youth l" 
 C Hallblithe filled, and gave to him, & the old 
 man drank and said: "Thou deemest us all liars 
 36 
 
in the Isle of Ransom because of thy teguiling 
 by the Puny Fox : but therein thou errest. The 
 Puny Fox is our chiefest liar, and doth for us the 
 more part of such work as we need? therefore, 
 why should we others lie. Ask, ask P' C "Well 
 then," said Hallblithe, "why did the Puny Fox 
 bewray me, ai>d at whose bidding ? " C Said the 
 elder: " I know, but I will not tell thee. Is this a 
 lie?" C"Nay, I deem it not," said Hallblithe: 
 ** But, tell me, is it verily true thatmytrothplight 
 is not here, that I may ransom her?" C Said the 
 Long^hoary : " I swear it by the Treasure of the 
 Sea, that she is not here: the tale was but a lie of 
 the Puny Fox," 
 
 CHAPTER VII. A FEAST IN THE 
 ISLE OF RANSOM. 
 
 iALLBLITHE pon. 
 Idered his answer awhile 
 Iwith downcast eyes and 
 I said at last: "Have ye 
 la mind to ransom me, 
 I now that I have walked 
 into the trap ?" "There 
 is no need to talk of ran*" 
 som," said the elder; 
 i " thou mavst go out of 
 lis house when thou wilt, nor will any meddle 
 with thee if thou strayest about the Isle, when I 
 have set a mark on thee and riven thee atokeh : 
 norwilt thou be hindered if thou hast a mind to 
 
 37 
 
leave the Isle, if thou canst find means thereto; 
 moreover as long as thou art in the Isle, in this 
 house mayst thou abide, eating and drinking & 
 resting with us/' CE " How may I leave this," 
 said Hallblithe. C[ The elder laughed: "In a 
 ship," said he. ** And when/' said Hallblithe, 
 "shall I find a ship that shall carry me?" Said 
 the old carle,*' 'Whither wouldest thou my son i" 
 Hallblithe was silentawhile, thinking what an^ 
 swer he should make; then he said: "I would 
 go to the land of the Glittering Plain/' C " Son, 
 a ship shall not be lacking thee forthatvoyage/' 
 said the elder. " Thou mayst go to-morrow 
 mom. And I bid thee abide here to^'night, and 
 thy cheer shall not be ill. Yet if thou wilt believe 
 my word, it will be well for thee to say as little 
 as thou mayst to any man here, and that little 
 as little proud as maybe : for our folk are short 
 of temper and thou knowest there is no might 
 against many. Indeed it is not unlike that they 
 will not spealc one word to thee, & if that be so, 
 thou hast no need to open thy mouth to them. 
 And now I will tell thee that it is good that thou 
 hast chosen to go to the Glittering Plain. For 
 if thou wert otherwise minded, I wot not how 
 thou wouldest get thee a keel to carry thee, and 
 the wings have not yet begun to sprout on thy 
 shoulders, raven tho' thou be. Now I am glad 
 that thou art going thy ways to the Glittering 
 Plain to-morrow; fortnou wilt be good compa*' 
 38 
 
ny to me on the way j and I deem tliat thou wilt 
 be no churl when thou art glad/' C ** What/' 
 said Hallblithe/* art thou wending thither, thou 
 old man?" € "Yea/' said he, '*nor shall any 
 other be on the ship save thou and I, and the 
 mariners who waft us j and they forsooth shall 
 not go aland there* "Why should not I go, since 
 there are men to bear me aboard ? " C Said 
 Hallblithc, ** And when thou art come aland 
 there, what wilt thou do?" C "Thou shalt sec, 
 my son/' said the Long/hoary. ** It may be that 
 thy good wishes shall be of avail to me. Butnow 
 since all this may only be if I live through this 
 night, and since my heart hath been warmed by 
 the good mead, and thy fellowship, & whereas 
 I am somewhat sleepy, and it is long past noon, 
 go forth into the hall, & leave me to sleep, that 
 I may be as sound as eld will let me to^-mor/ 
 row. And as for thee, folk, both men & women 
 shall presently come into the hall, and I deem 
 not that any shall meddlewith thcej but if so be 
 that any challenge thee, whatsoever may be his 
 words, answer thou to him, * TH E HOUSE 
 OF THE UNDYING/ and there will be 
 an end of it. Only look thou to it that no naked 
 steel cometh out of thy scabbard. Go now, and 
 if thou wilt, go out of doors J yet art thou safer 
 within doors and nigher imto me/' 
 
 B9 
 
O HaFiblithc went back into the 
 main Kali, and the sun had got* 
 ten round now, and was shining 
 into the hall, through the cleres-* 
 Itory windows, so that he saw 
 I clearly all that was therein. And 
 he deemed the hall fairer within than without; 
 and especially over the shut-'beds were many 
 stories carven in the panelling, and Hallblithe 
 beheld them gladly. But of one thing he mar^ 
 veiled, that whereas he was in an island of the 
 strongs-thieves of the waters, and in their very 
 home & chiefest habitation, there were no ships 
 or seas pictured in that imagery, but fair groves 
 and gardens, with flowery grass & fruited trees 
 all about. And there were fair •women abiding 
 therein, and lovely young men, and warriors, 
 and strange beasts and many marvels, and the 
 ending of wrath and beginning of pleasure and 
 the crowning of love. And amidst these was 
 pictured oft and again a mighty king with a 
 sword by his side and a crown on his head; and 
 ever was he smiling and joyousj so that HaH.* 
 blithe, when he looked on him, felt of better 
 heart and smiled back on the carven image. 
 C So v/hifs Hallblithe looked on these mings, 
 and pondered his case carefully, all alone as ne 
 was m that alien hall, he heard a notse withottt 
 of talking and laughter, and presently the pat* 
 tenng of feet therewith, and men v/omen came 
 4© 
 
into the hall, a score or more, some young, some 
 old, some fair enough, and some hard-featured 
 and uncomely, but all above the stature of the 
 women whom he had seen in his own land. 
 C So he stood amidst the hall floor and abided 
 them; and they saw him and his shining war^ 
 gear, and ceased their talking and laughter, and 
 drew round about him, and gazed at him; but 
 none said aughttill an old crone came forth from 
 the ring, and said: "Who art thou, standing 
 under weapons in our hall?" CE He knew not 
 what to answer, and held his peace; and she 
 spake again : ** Whither wouldest thou, what 
 seekest thou ?" C Then answered Hallblithe ? 
 "THE HOUSE OFTHE UNDYING." 
 CE Nofie answered, & the other women all fell 
 away from him at once, and went about their 
 business hither and thither through the hall. 
 But the old crone took himlsythe hand, and led 
 him tip to the dais, and set him next to the mid^ 
 most highxseat. Then she made as if she w^ould 
 do off his war^gear, and he w^ould not gainsay 
 her, though he deemed that foes might be aneai^ 
 for in sooth he trusted in the old carle that he 
 would not bewray him, 8C moreover he deemed 
 it would be unmanlynot to take the risks of the 
 guesting, according to the custom of that coun^ 
 try. C So she took his armour and his weapons 
 and bore them off to a shut^bed next to that 
 wherein lay the ancient man, and she laid the 
 
 g 4* 
 
gear within it, all save the spear, which she laid 
 on the wall^ins above; and she made signs to 
 him that therein he was to lie ; btit she spake no 
 word to him. Then she brought him the hand-* 
 washing water in a basin of latten, and a goodly 
 towel therewith, and when he had washed she 
 went away from him, but not far. 
 This while the other women w^ere busy about 
 the hall J some swept the floor down, and when 
 it was swept strawed thereon rushes and hand-- 
 fuls of wild thyme; seme went into the buttery 
 and bore forth the boards and the trestles : some 
 went to the chests & brought out the rich hang^ 
 ings, the goodly bankers and dorsars, and did 
 them on the walls: some bore in the stoups and 
 horns and beakers, and some went their ways 
 and came not back awhile, for they were busied 
 about the cooking. But whatever they did, none 
 hailed him, or heeded him more than if he had 
 been an image, ashesatthere looking on. None 
 save the old woman who brought him the fore*- 
 supper, to w^it a great horn of mead, and cakes 
 and dried fish. 
 
 lO was the hall arrayed for the 
 feast very fairly, and Hallblithe 
 sat there while the sun westered 
 8C the house grew dim, and dark 
 at last, and they lighted the can^ 
 dies up and down the hall. But a 
 little after these were lit, a great horn was winded 
 42 
 
close without, and thereafter came the clatter of 
 arms about the door, & exceeding tall weapon/- 
 ed men came in, one score and five, and strode 
 two by two up to the foot of the daia, and stood 
 there in a row, And.Hallblithe deemed their 
 war /-gear exceeding good} they were all clad in 
 ringz-Tocked bymies, & had steel helms on their 
 heads with garlands of gold wroughtaboutthem 
 and they bore spears in their hands, and w^hite 
 shields hung at their backs» Nov/ came the w^o^ 
 men to them and unarmed them; & under their 
 armour their raiment was black; but they had 
 gold rings on their arms, & golden collars about 
 their necks. So they strode up the dais and took 
 their places on the high-'seat,not heeding^ Hall/- 
 blithe any more than if he were an image of 
 vrood. Nevertheless that man sat next to him 
 who was the chieftain of all and sat in the mid^ 
 most high/'seat; & he bore his sheathed sword 
 in his hand and laid it on the board before him, 
 & he was the only man of those chieftains who 
 had a weapon. ^ But when these were set down 
 there was again a noise without, and there came 
 in a throng of men armed & unarmed who took 
 their places on the endlong benches up & down 
 the hall; with these camewomen also, who most 
 of them sat amongst the men, but some busied 
 them with the serving: all these men were great 
 of stature, but none so big as the chieftains on 
 the high^seat* 
 
 g2 43 
 
CENow came the women in from the kitchen 
 bearing the meat, whereof no h'ttle was flesh/- 
 meat, & all was of ^e best. Hallblithewas duly 
 served likethe others, but stiil none spake to him 
 or even looked on him; though amongst themx 
 selves they spoke in big, rough voices so that the 
 rafters of the hall rang again. 
 CW^hen they had eaten their fill the women 
 filled round the cups and the horns to them, & 
 those vessels were both great & goodly. But ere 
 they fell to drinking uprose the chieftain who 
 sat furthest from the mid^mosthigh/'seat on the 
 right & cried a health: "THE TREASURE 
 OF THE SEA I'-' Then they all stood up and 
 shouted, women as w^ell as men, and emptied 
 their horns and cups to that health. Then stood 
 up the man furthest on the left and cried out, 
 "Drink a health to the Undyitig King!" And 
 again all men rose up & shouted ere they drank. 
 Other healths they drank, as the " Cold Keel," 
 the "Windwom Sail,", the "Quivering Ash" 
 and the " Furrowed Beach." And the wine and 
 mead flowed like rivers in that hall of the Wild 
 Men. As forHallblithe, he drank what he would 
 but stood not up, nor raised his cup to his lips 
 whenahealth was drunk; for he knew not whe^- 
 ther these men were his friends or his foes, and 
 he deemed it would be little^minded to drink to 
 their healths, lest he might be drinking death 
 and confusion to his own kindred. 
 
 44 
 
[UT when men had drunk awhile, 
 again a horn blew at the nether 
 end of the hall, and straight/ 
 way folk arose from the endlong 
 tables, and took away the boards 
 and trestles, and cleafed the floor 
 and stood against the wall; then the big chief/ 
 tain beside Hallblithe arose & cried out : **Now 
 let man dance with maid, and be we merry ! 
 Music, strike up!" Then flew the fiddle/bows 
 and twanged the harps, and the carles & queens 
 stood forth on the floor j & all the women were 
 clad in black raiment, albeit embroidered with 
 knots and wreaths of flowers. A while they 
 danced and then suddenly the music fell, and 
 they all went back to their places. Then the 
 chieftain in the high seat arose and took a horn 
 from his side, and blew a great blast on it that 
 filled the hall j then he cried in a loud voice t "3c 
 we merry! Let the champions come forth!" 
 C Men shouted gleefully thereat, and straight/ 
 way ran into the hall from out the screens three 
 tall men clad all in black armour with naked 
 swords in their hands, & stood amidst the hall/ 
 floor, somewhat on one side, and clashed their 
 swords on their shields and cried out: *'Come 
 forth ye Champions of the Raven!" C Then 
 leapt Hallblithe from his seat & set his hand to 
 his left side, but no sword was there; so he sat 
 down again, remennbering the warning of the 
 
 45 
 
Elder, & none heeded him. C Then there came 
 into the hall slowly and mournfully three men-' 
 at/'arms, clad and weaponed like the warriors of 
 his folk, with the imag^e of the Raven on their 
 helms and shields. So Hallblithe refrained him, 
 for besides that this seemed like to be a fair battle 
 of three against three, he doubted some snare, 8C 
 he determined to look on and abide. C[ So the 
 champions fell to laying on strokes that were no 
 child's play, though Hallblithe doubted if the 
 edges bit, and it was but a little while before the 
 Champions of the Raven fell one after another 
 before the Wild Men, & folk drew them by the 
 heels out into the buttery. Then arose great 
 laughter and jeering, and exceeding wroth was 
 Hallblithe; ho'wbeit he refrained him because 
 he Remembered all he had to do. But the three 
 Champions of the Sea strode round the hall, 
 tossing up their swords and catching them as 
 they fell, whil e the horns blew up behind them. 
 iFTER a while the hall grew 
 hushed, and the chieftain arose 
 and cried; ** Bring in now some 
 sheaves of the harvest we win, 
 we lads of the oar and the arrow!" 
 Then was there a stir atthe screen 
 doors, and folk pressed forward to see, and, lo, 
 there came forward a string of women, led in by 
 two w^eaponed carles; & the women were a score 
 in number, and they were barefoot & their hair 
 46 
 
hung loose & thei'r gowns were tingirt, & they 
 were chained together wristto wrist; yet had they 
 gold at arm & neck 5 there w4s silence in the hall 
 when they stood amidst of the floor. € Then in/- 
 deed Hallblithe could not refrain himself, Sc he 
 leapt from his seat and on to theboard, and over 
 it, and ran down the hall, & came to those wo^ 
 men & looked them in the face one by oiie, while 
 no man spake in the hall. But the Hostage was 
 not amongst them; nay forsooth, they none of 
 them favoured of the daughters of his people, 
 though they were comely and fair; so that again 
 H allblithe doubted if this were aughtbut a feast/- 
 hall play done to anger him ; whereas there was 
 but little grief in the faces of those damsels, and 
 more than one of them smiled wantonly in his 
 face as he looked on them. C So he turned about 
 and went back to his seat, having said now^ord, 
 and behind him arose much mocking and jeer*- 
 ing; butitangeredhimlittlenow; forheremem^ 
 beted the rede of the elder and how that he had 
 done according to his bidding, so that he deemed 
 the gain was his. So sprang up talk in the hall 
 betwixt man and man, and folk drank about 8C 
 were merry, till the chieftain arose again & smote 
 the board with the flat of his sword, & cried out 
 in a loud and angry voice, so that all could hear: 
 " Now let there be music and minstrelsy ere we 
 wend bedward ! " 
 
 a Therewith fell the hubbub of voices, & there 
 
 47 
 
came forth three men with great harps, and a 
 fourth man with them, who was the minstrel; 
 &the harpers smote their harps so that the roof 
 rang therewith, & the noise, though it was great, 
 was tuneable, and w^hen they had played thus a 
 h'ttle while, they abated their loudness some-' 
 what, & the minstrel hfted his voice and sang: 
 
 HE land lies black 
 W^ith winter's lack. 
 The wind blows cold 
 Round field and fold; 
 All folk are within. 
 And but weaving they win. 
 
 Where from finger to finger 
 
 the shuttle flies fast, 
 
 And the eyes of the singpr 
 
 look fain on the cast. 
 
 As he singeth the story 
 
 of summer undone. 
 
 And the barley sheaves hoary 
 
 ripe under the sun, 
 
 THEN the maidens stay 
 The light-'hung sley. 
 And the shuttles bide 
 By the blue web's side, 
 W hile hand in hand 
 With the carlcsthcy stand. 
 But ere to the measure 
 the fiddles strike up, 
 And the elders yet treasure 
 the last of the cup, 
 48 
 
There stand they a^hearkening 
 the blast from the lift, 
 And e'en night is a/'darkening 
 more under the drift, 
 
 THERE safe in the hall 
 
 They bless the wall, 
 
 And the roof o'er head 
 
 Of the valiant stead; 
 
 And the hands they praise 
 
 Of the olden days. 
 
 Then through the storm's roaring 
 
 the fiddles break out. 
 
 And they think not of warring, 
 
 but cast away doubt. 
 
 And, man before maiden, 
 
 their feet tread the floor. 
 
 And their hearts are unladen 
 
 of all that they bore, 
 
 BUT what winds are o'er/cold 
 For the heart of the bold ? 
 W^hat seas are o'er /-high 
 For the undoomed to die ? 
 Dark night and dread wind, 
 But the haven we find. 
 Then ashore mid the flurry 
 of stones washing surf I 
 Cloud^'hounds the moon worry^ 
 but light lies the turf; 
 Lo the long dale before us ! 
 the lights at the end^ 
 
 h 49 
 
Though the night darkens o'er us, 
 bid whither to wend. 
 
 WHO beatcth the door 
 By the foot^smitten floor ? 
 ^3v hat guests are these 
 From over the seas ? 
 Take shield and sword 
 For their greeting^word. 
 Lo, lo, the dance ended ! 
 Lo, midst of the hall 
 The fallow blades blended I 
 Lo, blood on the wall ! 
 Who liveth, who dieth ? 
 O men of the sea, 
 For peace the folk crieth : 
 our masters are ye. 
 
 NOW" the dale lies grey 
 At the dawn of day; 
 And fair feet pass 
 O'er the wind'-wom grass; 
 And they turn back to gaze 
 On the roof of old days. 
 
 COME tread ye the oaken^ 
 floored hall of the seal 
 Be your hearts yet unbroken ; 
 so fair as ye be, 
 That kings arc abiding 
 unwedded to gain 
 The news of our riding 
 the steeds of the main. 
 50 
 
C Much shouting & laughter arose atthe song's 
 end; and men sprang up & waved their swords 
 above the cups, while Hallblithe sat scowling; 
 down on their merriment. Lastly arose the chief 
 tain and called out loudly for the goodz-night cup, 
 and it went round and all men drank. Then the 
 horn blew for bed, & the chieftains went to their 
 chambers, & the others went to the out^bowers 
 or laid them down on the hall floor, & in a little 
 while none stood uprightthereon. So Hallblithe 
 arose, and went to the shut^bed appointed for 
 him, and laid him down and slept dreamlessly 
 till the morning. 
 
 CHAPTER VIIL HALLBLITHE TAx 
 KETH SHIP AGAIN AWAY FROM 
 THE ISLE OF RANSOM. 
 
 JHEN he awoke, the 
 I sun shone into the hall 
 by the window^s above 
 I the buttery, and there 
 were but few folk left 
 therein. But so soon 
 as Hallblithe was clad, 
 the old woman came to 
 him,&tookhimbythe 
 hand, & led him to the 
 board, & signed to him to eat of what was there/- 
 on; and he did so; & by then he was done, came 
 folk who went into the shutxbed where lay the 
 Long-'hoary, & they broughthim forth bed & all 
 
 hz 51 
 
&barc himouta^doors. Then the croncbrought 
 Hallblithe his arms and he did on byrny and 
 helm, girt his sword lo his side, took his spear in 
 his hand and went out a^doors; and there close 
 by the porch lay the Long^hoary upon a horse 
 litter. So Hallblitiie came up to him and gave 
 him the seleofthe day: & the elder said: "Good 
 morrow, son, I am glad to see thee. Did they try 
 thee hard last night?" C!And Hallblithe saw 
 two of the carles that had borne out the elder, 
 that they were talking together, ^ nd they looked 
 on him & laughed mockingly; so he said to the 
 elder: " Even fools may try a wise man, and so 
 it befel last night. Yet, as thou seest, mumming 
 hath not slain me." C Said the old man :"Wliat 
 thou sawest was not all mumming; it w^as done 
 according to our customs; and well nigh all of it 
 had been done, even hadst thou not been there. 
 Nay, I will tell thee; at some of our feasts it is 
 not lawful to eat either for the chieftains or the 
 carles, till a champion hath given forth a chaU 
 lenge, and been answered and met, & the battle 
 fought to an end. But ye men, what hindereth 
 you to go to the horses' heads & speed on the road 
 the chieftain who is no longer way^worthy?" 
 C So they ran to the horses and set down the 
 dale by the river^side, & just as Hallblithe was 
 going to follow afoot, there came a swain from 
 behind the house leading a red horse which he 
 brought to Hallblithe as one who bids mount. 
 52 
 
So HallblitKe leapt into the saddle and at once 
 caught up with the litter of the Longxhoary 
 doAvn along the river. They passed by no other 
 house, save here and thereacot beside somefold 
 or byre; they went easily, for the way was smooth 
 by the river^side ; so in less than two hours they 
 came where the said nver ran into the sea. There 
 was no beach there, for the water was ten fathom 
 deep closeuptothe lipoftheland; buttherewas 
 3c great haven land-locked all but a narrow out- 
 gate betwixt the sheer black clififs. Many a great 
 ship might have lain in that haven; but as nov/ 
 there was but one lying there, a round-ship not 
 very great, but exceeding trim and meet for the 
 sea. 
 
 fli There without more ado the carles took the 
 elder from the litter and bore him aboard, and 
 Hallblithe followed him as if he had been so 
 appointed. They laid the old man adownonthe 
 poop under a tilt of precious w^eb, and so went 
 aback by the way that they had come; & Hall- 
 blithe went & sat down beside the Long-hoary, 
 who spake to him & said : " Seest thou, son, how 
 easy it is for us twain to be shipped for the land 
 whither we wouldgo? But as easy as itisforthee 
 to go thither whereas w^e are going, just so hard 
 had it been for thee to go elsewhere. Moreover 
 i must tell thee that though manyan one of the 
 Isle of Ransom desireth to go this voyage, there 
 shall none else go, till the world is a year older, 
 
 53 
 
and he who shall go then shall be likest to me in 
 all ways, both in eld and m feebleness, and in 
 gibing speech, and all else; and now that I am 
 gone, his name shall be the same as thatwhere^ 
 by ye may call me to-day, and that is Grande 
 father. Art thou glad or sorry, Hallbh'the ?" 
 fE**Grandfather,"said Hallblithe, "I can scarce 
 tell thee: I move as one who hath no will to 
 wend one way or other* Meseems I am drawn 
 to go thither whereas we are going; therefore I 
 deem that I shall find my beloved on the Glit^ 
 tering Plain : and whatever befalleth afterward, 
 let it be as it will I" C "Tell me, my son," said 
 the Grandfather, **how many women are there 
 in the world ?" C " How may I tell thee ?" said 
 Hallblithe.C:"Well,then,"saidtheelder,<'how 
 many exceedingfair women are there?" CSaid 
 Hallblithe, '* Indeed I wot not." C " Howmany 
 of such hast thou seen?" said the Grandfather. 
 CMany," said Hallblithe; ^'the daughters of 
 my folk are fair, and there will be many other 
 such amongst the aliens." CiThen laughed the 
 elder, and said: "Yet, my son, he who had been 
 thy fellow since thy sundering from thy beloved, 
 would have said that in thy deeming there is 
 but one woman in the world; or at least one fair 
 woman: is it not so?" CEThen Hallblithe red-' 
 dened at first, as thoiigh he were angry; then he 
 said: "Yea, it is so." tCSaid the Grandfather in 
 a musing way: " I wonder if before long I shall 
 54 
 
think of ft as thou dost** CThcn Hallbh'the 
 
 gased at him marvelhng, and studied to see 
 
 wherein lay the gibe against himself; and the 
 
 Grandfather beheld him, and laughed as well 
 
 as he might, and said : " Son, son, didst thou not 
 
 wish me youthr C'Yea," said Hallblithe, "but 
 
 what ails thee to laugh so ? W^hat is it I have said 
 
 or done ?" C " Nought, nought," said the elder, 
 
 laughing still more, "only thou lookest so maz/ 
 
 ed. And w^ho knoweth what thy wish may bring 
 
 forth, d Thereat was Hallblithe sore puzzled; 
 
 butw^hile he set himselftoconsiderwhat the old 
 
 carle might mean, uprose the hale and how of 
 
 the mariners; they cast oflf the haw^sers from the 
 
 shore, ran out the sw^eeps, and drove the ship 
 
 through the haven^-gates. It was a bright sunny 
 
 day; wthin, the green water was oily^smooth, 
 
 without the rippling waves danced merrily unx 
 
 der a light breeze, and Hallblithe deemed the 
 
 wind to be fair; for the mariners shouted joy/ 
 
 ously and made all sail on the ship ; and she lay 
 
 over and sped through the waves, castingofif the 
 
 seas from her black bows. Soon were they clear 
 
 of those swart cliffs, and it was but a h'ttle aiter^* 
 
 wards that the Isle of Ransom was grown deep 
 
 blue behind them and far away. 
 
 55 
 
CHAPTER IX. THEY COME UNTO 
 THE LAND OF THE GLITTERING 
 PLAIN. 
 
 IS in the hall, so in the 
 ship, Hallblithe noted 
 that the folk weremer^ 
 ry and of many words 
 one with another, while 
 to him no man cast a 
 word save the Grande 
 father. As to Hallblithe 
 though he wondered 
 much what all this be^ 
 tokened, and what the land was whereto he was 
 wending, he was no man to fear an unboded 
 peril; and he said to himself that whatever 
 else betid, he should meet the Hostage on the 
 Glittering Plain j so his heart rose and he was 
 of good cheer, and as the Grandfather had fore^ 
 told, hewasamerryfaring^'fellowto him. Many 
 a gibe the old man cast at him, & whiles Hall/ 
 blithe gave him back as good as he took, and 
 whiles he laughed as the stroke went home and 
 silenced him ; and whiles he understood nought 
 of what the elder said. So wore the day and still 
 the wind held fair, though it was light; and the 
 sun set in a sky nigh cloudless, and there was 
 nowhere any forecast of peril. But when night 
 was come, Hallblithe lay down on a fair bed, 
 which was dight for him in the poop, & he soon 
 56 
 
fell asleep and dreamed not save such dreams as 
 are but made up of bygone memories, and be^ 
 token nought, and are not remembered. 
 
 jHEN he awoke, day lay broad 
 on the sea, and the waves were 
 little, the sky had but few clouds, 
 the sun shone bright, and the air 
 was warm and sweet^breathed. 
 C!He looked aside and saw the 
 old man sitting up in his bed, as ghastly as adead 
 man dug up again : his bushy eye^-brows were 
 wrinkled over his bleared old eyes, the long 
 white hair dangled forlorn from his gaunt heaa: 
 yet was his face smiling and he looked as happy 
 as the soul within him could make the half^oead 
 body. He turned now to Hallbh'the and said: 
 " Tnou art late awake : hadst thou been waking 
 earlier, the sooner had thine heart been glad^ 
 dened. Go forward now, and gaze thy fill and 
 come and tell me thereof." C "Thou art happy, 
 Grand&ther," said Hallblithe, "what good tid^ 
 ings hath mom brought us ?" C The land! the 
 landP'saidtheLongz-hoaryj^thereare no long- 
 er tears in this old body, else should I be weep- 
 ing for joy." CSaid Hallblithe: "Art thou go- 
 ing to meet some one who shall make thee glad 
 before thou diest, old man?" C'Some one?" 
 said the elder;"what one? Aretheynotall gone? 
 burned, and drowned, and slain and died abed? 
 Some one, young man ? Yea, forsooth some one 
 
 » S7 
 
indeed! Yea, the great wamor of tlie Wasters of 
 the Shore J theSea^eaglc who bore the sword & 
 the torch and the terror of the Ravagers over the 
 coal-'blue sea. It is myself, MYSELF that I 
 shall find on the Land of the Glittering Plain, 
 O young loverl'^ CHallblithe looked on him 
 wondering as he raised his wasted arms toward 
 the bows of the ship pitching down the slope of 
 the sunh't sea, or climbing up it. Then again the 
 old man fell back on his bed & muttered " W^hat 
 fool's work is this I that thou wilt draw me on to 
 talk loud, and waste my body with lack of pa/ 
 tience, I will talk with thee no more, lest my 
 heart swell and break, 8l quench the little spark 
 of life within me.** CThen Hallblithe arose to 
 his feet, and stood looking at him, wonderingso 
 much at his words, that for a while he forgatthe 
 land which they were nearing, though he had 
 caught glimpses of it, as the bows of the rounds 
 ship fell downward into the holloi,v of the sea. 
 The wind was but light, as hath been said, and 
 the waves little under it, but there was still a 
 smooth swell of the sea which came of breezes 
 now dead, and the ship wallowed thereon and 
 sailed but slowh 
 
 I awhile the old man opened his 
 
 I eyes again, and said in a low pee^ 
 
 vish voice: ** Why standest thou 
 
 staring at me? why hast thou not 
 
 gone forward to look upon the 
 
 I land? True it is that ye Ravens 
 
are short of wits." Said Hallblithc: "Be not 
 wrath, chieftain; I was wonderfngatthy words, 
 which arc exceeding marvellous ; tell me more 
 of this land of the Glittering Plain." C. Said the 
 Grandfather: "Why should I tell it thee? ask 
 of the mariners. They all know more than thou 
 dost." C'Thou knowest," said Hallblithe, 
 "that these men speak not to me, and take no 
 more heed of me than if I were an image which 
 they were carrying to sell to the next mighty 
 man they may hap on. Or tell me, thou old 
 man," said he fiercely, "is it perchance a thralls 
 market whereto they are bringing me? Have 
 they sold her there, and will they sell me also in 
 the same place,but into other hands ?" CTushI" 
 said the Grandfather somewhat feebly, "this 
 last word of thine is folly; there is no buying or 
 selling in the land whereto we are bouno. As to 
 thine other word, thatthese men have no fellow^ 
 ship with thee, it is true : thou art my fellow and 
 the fellow^ of none else aboard. Therefore if I feel 
 might in me, maybe I will tell thee somewhat." 
 CE Then he raised his head a little and said : 
 "The sun grows hot, the-wind faileth us, and 
 slow and slow are we sailing." 
 
 ^EN as he spoke there was a 
 I stir amidships, and Hallblithe 
 
 looked and beheld the mariners 
 
 handling the sweeps, & settling 
 [themselves on the rowingz-ben-" 
 
 ches. Said the elder; "There is 
 
noise amidships, wKat arc they doing?" C The 
 old man raised himself a little again, and cried 
 out in his shrill voice : ** Good lads I brave lads I 
 Thus would we do in the old time when we 
 drew a near some shore, and the beacons were 
 sending up smoke by day, and flame benights; 
 and the shore-^abiders di^ on their helms and 
 trembled. " Thrust her through lads I Thrust 
 her along I" Then he fell back again, and said 
 in a weak voice: **Make no more delay, guest, 
 but go forward and look upon the land, & come 
 back and tell me thereof, and then the tale may 
 flow from me. Haste, haste I" 3o Haliblithe 
 went down from the poop, and into the 'waist, 
 where now the rowers were hcnding to their 
 oars, and crying out fiercely as they tugged at 
 quivering ash j^ and he clomb on to the forecastle 
 and went forward right to the dragons-head, and 
 gazed long upon the land, while the dashing of 
 me oar /blades made the semblance of a gale 
 aboutthe ship's black sides. Then he came back 
 again to the Sea^-eagle, who said to him? ** Son, 
 what hast thou seen?** C "Right ahead lieth 
 the land, and it is still a good way ofiF. High rise 
 the mountains there, but by seeming there is no 
 snow on them; and though they be blue they 
 are not blue like the mountains of the Isle of 
 Ransom. Also it seemed to me as if fair slopes 
 of woodland & meadow comedown to the edge 
 of the sea. But it is yet far away." CL "Yea," 
 60 
 
said the elder, "is it so? Then will I not wear 
 myself with making words for thee. I will rest 
 rather, and gather might. Come again when an 
 hour hath worn, and tell me what thou seest; 
 and mayhappenthen thou shalt have my tale I" 
 And he laid him down therewith and seemed 
 to be asleep at once. And Hallblithe might iiot 
 amend it; so he waited patiently till the hour 
 had worn, and then went forward again, and 
 looked long and carefully, and came back and 
 said to the Sea^eagle, " The hour is worn." 
 C The old chieftain turned himself about and 
 said: "What hast thou seen ?" €. Said Hallx 
 blithe J "The mountains are pale and high, and 
 below them are hills dark with wood, & betwixt 
 them & the sea is a fair space of meadow^Iand, 
 and methought it was wide.'' C Said the old 
 man : " Sawest thou a rocky skerry rising high 
 out of the sea anigh the shore? C! *^Nay," 
 said Hallblithe, " If there be, it is all blended 
 with the meadows and the hills." Said the Sea^ 
 eagle: *' Abide the wearing of another hour, and 
 come and tell me again, and then I may have a 
 gainful word for thee." And he fell asleep again* 
 But Hallblithe abided, and when.the hour was 
 worn, he went forward and stood on the forex 
 castle. And. this was the third shift of the row*- 
 crs, and the stoutest men in the ship now held 
 the oars in their hands, & the ship shook thro* 
 all her length and breadth as they drave her 
 over the waters. 
 
 6i 
 
lO Hallblithc came aft to the old 
 man and found him asleep; so he 
 took him by the shoulder, & shook 
 him and said: "Awake, faring/fel*' 
 low, for the land is az-nigh." C. So 
 I the old man sat up & said : ""What 
 hast thou seen?" CE Said Hallblithe: "I have 
 seen the peaks and chfifs of the £a.t^off moun/ 
 tains; and belowthem are hills green with grass 
 and dark with woods, and thence stretch soft 
 green meadows down to the sea^strand, which 
 is fair & smooth, andyellow/' C ** Sawest thou 
 the skerry," said the bea^eagle* C "Yea," I saw 
 it, said Hallblithe, "and it rises sheer from out 
 the sea about a mile from the yellow strand; but 
 its rocks are black, like the rocks of the Isle of 
 Ransom." C "Son," said the elder, "give me 
 thine hands and raise me up a h'ttle." So Hall^ 
 blithe took him and raised him up, so that he 
 sat leaning against the pillows I and he looked 
 not on Hallblithe, but on the bows of the ship, 
 which now pitched but a little up and down, for 
 the sea was laid quiet now. Then he cried in 
 his shrill, piping voice : " It is the land ! It is the 
 land I" C But after a h'ttle while he turned to 
 Hallblithe and spake : " Short is the tale to tell : 
 thou hast wished me youth, and thy wish hath 
 thriven; for to-day, ere the sun goes down thou 
 shalt sec me as I was in the days when I reaped 
 the harvest ofthc sea with sharp sword & hardy 
 62 
 
heart For this is theUnd of the Undying King» 
 who is our lord and our gift^giver; and to some 
 he givcth the gift of youth renewed, & life that 
 shall abide here the Gloom of the Gods» But 
 none of us all-may come to the Glittering Plain 
 andtheKingUnoyingwithouttumingthehact 
 for thelast time on theisleof Ransom: nor may 
 any men of the Isle come hither save those who 
 are of the House of the Sea^eagle, and few of 
 those, save the chieftains of the House, such as 
 are they who sat hy thee on the high/seat that 
 even. Of these once in a while is chosen one of 
 us, who is old and spent and past battle, and is 
 borne to this land and the gift of the Undying. 
 Forsooth some of us have no will to take the 
 ^ft, for they say they are liefer to go to where 
 mcy shall meet more of our kindred than dwell 
 on the Glittering Plain and the Acre of the Un^ 
 dying; but as for me I was ever an overbearing 
 and naasterftil man, and meseemeth it is well 
 that I meet as few of our kindred as maybe: for 
 they are a strifeftil race/* 
 C HereatHallblithc marvelled exceedingly, & 
 hesaid: **Andwhatam I in all this story ? Why 
 am I come hither with thy ftirtherance?'* Said 
 the Sea^eagle: "We had a charge from theUn/ 
 dying King concerning thee^ that we should 
 bring thee hither alive and well, if so be thou 
 camiest to the Isle of Ransom. For what cause 
 we had the charge, I know not, nor do I greatly 
 
 63 
 
heed/' C Said HalMthcj ''And shall I also 
 have that gift of undying youth, and Hfe while 
 the world of men and gods endureth?" i£**l 
 must needs deem so," said the Sea^eagle, " so 
 long as thou abidest on the Glittering Plain ; & 
 I see not how thou mayst ever escape thence." 
 C Now Hallblithe heard him, how he said 
 "escape," and thereat he was somewhat ill at 
 ease, and stood and pondered a little. At last he 
 said: " Is this then all that thou hast to tell me 
 concerning the Glittering Plain?" C. "By the 
 Treasure of the Seal" said the Elder, "I know 
 no more of it. Xheliving shall learn. But I sup/ 
 posethatthou mayst seek thy troth^light maix 
 den there all thou wilt. Or thou mayst pray the 
 Undying King to have her thither to thee. 
 V&Hiatknow I ? Atleast, it is likethat there shall 
 be no lack of fair women there: or else the pro*- 
 mise of youth renewed is nought & vain. Shall 
 this not be enough for thee ? C" Nay," said 
 Hallblithe. C "What," said the elder, "must 
 it be one woman only?" C "One only," said 
 HaUblithe. 
 
 C The old man laughed his thin mocking 
 laugh, and said: " I will not assure thee but that 
 the land of the Glittering Plain shall change all 
 thatfortheeso soon as it touches the soles of thy 
 feet." C Hallblithe looked at him steadily and 
 smiled, and said: "Well is it then that I shall 
 find the Hostage there; for then shall we be of 
 64 
 
one mind, cither to sunder or to cleave together. 
 It is well with me this day." C "And with me 
 jtshallbewell ere long/* said the Sea^eagle. 
 ^^^^^^|UTnowtherowers ceased rawing 
 1 and lay on their oars, & the ship^ 
 men cast anchor; for they were 
 but a bowshot from the shore, & 
 the ship swung with the tide and 
 ' lay sidexlong to the shore. Then 
 said the Sea^cagle : ** Look forth, shipmate, and 
 tell me of the land." C And Hallblithe looked 
 and said: *' The yellow beach is sandy & shell.' 
 strewn, as I deem, and there is no great space of 
 it betwixt the sea and the flowery grass; and 
 a bowshot from the strand I see a uttle wood 
 amidstwhich are fairtrees blossoming." "Seest 
 thou any folk on the shore?" said the old man. 
 "Yea," said Hallblithe,** close to rfie edge of the 
 sea go four; and by seeming three are women, 
 for their long gowns flutter in the wind. And 
 one of these is clad in saffron colour, & another 
 in white, and another in watchet; but the carle 
 is clad in dark red; and their raiment is all glis^ 
 tening as with gold and gems; and by seeming 
 they are looking at our ship as though they 
 expected somewhat." C Said the Sea^eagle: 
 ** Why now do the shipmen tarry and have not 
 made ready the skiff? Swillers and belly ^gods 
 they be; slothful swine that forget their chief/ 
 tain.'' C But even as he spake came four of the 
 
 k 65 
 
shipmcn, and without more ado took him up, 
 bed and all, and bore him down into the waist 
 of the ship, whereunder lay the skiff with four 
 strong rowers lying on' their oars. These men 
 m'ade no sign to Hallblithe, nortook any heed 
 of him; but he caught up his spear, & followed 
 them and stood by as they lowered the old man 
 into the boat. Then he set his foot on the gun^ 
 wale of the ship and leapt down lightly into the 
 boat, and none hindered or helped him; and he 
 stood upright in the boat, a goodly image of bat/ 
 tie with the sun flashing back from his bright 
 helm, his spear in his hand, his white shield at 
 his back, and thereon the image of the Raven; 
 but if he had been but a salt-'boiling carle of the 
 sea^side none would have heeded him less. 
 
 CHAPTER X. THEY HOLD CON., 
 
 VERSE WITH FOLK OF THE GLIT., 
 
 TERING PLAIN. 
 
 jOW the rowers lifted the 
 ash/blades, & fell to row/' 
 ing towards shore : and 
 almost with the first of 
 their strokes, the Sea/ 
 eagle moaned out: 
 "Would we were there, 
 oh, would we were there! 
 Cold groweth eld about 
 I my heart. Raven's Son, 
 
 thou art standing up; tell me if thou canst see 
 66 
 
what these folk of the land are doin^^and if any 
 others have come thither?" C Said Hallblithe: 
 ** There arc none others come, but kine and 
 horses are feeding down the meadows. As to 
 what those four are doing, the women are put^ 
 ting off their shoon, and girding up their rai-* 
 ment, as if they would wade the water toward 
 us; 8C the carle, who was barefoot before, wend^^ 
 eth straight towards the sea, and there he stand*' 
 eth, for very little are the waves become/'CThe 
 old man answered nothing, and did but groan 
 for lack of patience; but presently when thewa/ 
 ter was yet waist deep the rowers stayed the 
 skiff, and two of them slipped overthe gunwale 
 into the sea, and between them all they took up 
 the chieftain on his bed and got him forth from 
 the boat and went toward the strand with him ; 
 and the landsfolk met them where the water 
 was shallower, and took him from their hands 
 and bore him forth on to the yellow sand, and 
 laid him down out of reach of the creeping rip/ 
 pie of the tide, Hallblithe withal slipped lighuy 
 out of the boat and waded the water after them. 
 But the shipmen rowed back again to their ship, 
 and presently Hallblithe heard the hale & how, 
 as they got up their anchor. 
 But when Hallblithe was come ashore, and was 
 drawn near the folk of the land, the women look/ 
 ed at him askance, and they laughed and said: 
 ** Welcome to thee also, O young man!" And 
 
 ka 67 
 
he beheld them, and saw that they were of the 
 stature of the maidens ofhis own land } they were 
 exceeding fair of skin and shapely of fashion, so 
 that the nakedness of their limbs under their 
 girded gowns, & all glistening with the sea was 
 most lovely & dainty tobehold. But Hallblithe 
 knelt by the Sea^eagle to note how he fared, and 
 said : ** How is it with thee, O chieftain ?" 
 The oldman answerednotaword,andheseem/' 
 cd to be asleep, and Hallblithe deemed that his 
 cheeks were ruddier and his skin less wasted and 
 wrinkled than aforetime. Then spake one df 
 those women : ** Fearnot,young man ; heis well 
 and will soon be better/' Her voice was as sweet 
 as a spring bird in the morning j she was whiter 
 skinned and dark/haired, and full sweetly fash^ 
 ioned; and she laughed on Hallblithe, but not 
 mockingly; and her fellows also laughed, as 
 though it were strange for him to be there. Then 
 they did on their shoon again, & with the carle 
 laid their hands to thebed whereon the old man 
 lay, and lifted him up, and bore him forth on to 
 the grass, turning their faces toward the flowery 
 wood aforesaid; and they went a little Way and 
 then laid him down again and rested; and so on 
 little by little, till they had brought him to the 
 edge or the wood, & still he seemed to be asleep. 
 Then the damsel who had spoken before, she 
 with the dark hair, said to Hallblithe, **AV 
 though we have gazed on thee as if with won/ 
 68 
 
der, this is not because we did not look to meet 
 thee^r but because thou art so fair and goodly a 
 man: so abide thou here till we come back to 
 thee from out of the wood." Therewith she 
 stroked his hand, and with her fellows lifted the 
 old man once more, and they bore him out of 
 sight into the thicket. C But Hallblithe went to 
 and fro a dozen paces from the wood, and look" 
 ed across the flowery meads and deemed he had 
 never seen any so fair. And afar off toward the 
 hills he saw a great roof arising, and thought he 
 could see men also; and nighertohim werekine 
 pasturing, and horses also, whereof some drew 
 anear him and stretched outtheirnecks& gazed 
 at him; and they were goodly after their kind; 
 & a fair stream of water came round the comer 
 out of the wood and down the meadows to the 
 sea; and Hallblithe went thereto and could see 
 that there was but little ebb and flow of the tide 
 on that shore; for the water of the stream was 
 clear as glass, and the grass and flowers grew 
 right down to its water; so he put off his helm 
 and drank of the stream and washed his face 8C 
 his hands therein, and then did on his helm a-' 
 gain and turned back again toward the wood, 
 feeling very strong & merry; and he looked out 
 seaward 8c saw the Ship of the Isle of Ransom 
 lessening fast; for a little land wind had arisen 
 and they had spread their sails to it; and he lay 
 down on the grass till the four folk of the coun^ 
 
try came out of the wood again, after they had 
 been gone soniewhat less than an hour, but the 
 Sea^eagle was not with them : and Hallblithe 
 rose up and turned to them, and the carle salut** 
 ed him and departed, going straighttowardthat 
 far»'away roof he had seen; and the women were 
 left with Hallblithe, and they looked athim and 
 he at them as he stood leaning on his spear. 
 CThen said the .blacks-haired damsel: ^'True 
 it is, O spearman, that if we did not know of 
 thee, our wonder would be g^reat that a man so 
 young and lucky booking should have sought 
 hither/' CI wot not why thou shouldest won^ 
 der,*' said Hallblithe j ** I will tell thee presently 
 wherefore I come hither. But tell me, is this the 
 Land of the Glittering Plain?" C "Even so," 
 said the damsel, ** dost thou not see howthe sun 
 shineth on it ? Just soTit shineth in the season 
 that other folks call winter." C *' Some such 
 marvel I thoughtto hear of," said he ; " for I have 
 been told that the land is marvellous; and fair 
 though these meadows be, they are notmarvel*- 
 lous to look on now: they are like other lands, 
 though it may be, fairer." C "That may be," 
 she said; "we have nought but hearsay of other 
 lands. If we ever knew them we have forgotten 
 them." CSaid Hallblithe "Is this land called 
 also the Acre of the Undying?" C As he spake 
 the words the smile faded from the damsel's face ; 
 she and her fellows grew pale, and she said: 
 70 
 
** Hold thy peace of such words! They arc not 
 lawful for any man to utter here. Yet maystthou 
 call it the Land of the Living/* CHe said: "I 
 crave pardon for the rash word/* 
 C Then they smiled again, and drew near to 
 him, and caressed him with their hands, and 
 looked on him lovingly; but he drew a little 
 aback from them and said: " I have come hither 
 seeking something which I have lost, the lack 
 whereof grieveth me/* € Quoth the damsel, 
 drawing nearer to him again, " Mayst thou find 
 it, thou lovely man, and whatsoever else thou 
 desirest/' C Then he said: "Hath a woman 
 named the Hostage been brought hither of late 
 days ? A fair woman, bright/haired and gray^ 
 eyed, kind of countenance, soft of speech, yet 
 outspoken and nought timorous; tall according 
 to our stature, but very goodly of &shion; a 
 woman of the House or the Rose, & my troth.^ 
 plight maiden/' C they looked on each other 
 and shook their heads, & the black^haired dam^ 
 sel spake: "We know of no such a woman nor 
 of the kindred which thou namest/' € Then 
 his countenance fell, and became piteous with 
 desire and grief, and he bent his brows upon 
 them, for they seemed to him light^-minded & 
 careless, though they yrere lovely. C But they 
 shrank from him trembling, and drew aback; 
 for they had all been standing close to him, bc^ 
 holding him with love, and she who had spoken 
 
 7* 
 
most had been holding his left hand fondly. 
 But now she said : ** Nay, look not on us so bit/ 
 terly ! If the woman be not in the land this com/ 
 eth not of our malice. Yet maybe she is here. 
 For such as come hither keep not their old 
 names, and soon forget them what they were. 
 Thou, shalt go with us to the King, & he shall 
 do for thee what thou wilt; for he is exceeding 
 mighty." C Then was^ Hallblithe appeased 
 somewhat J and he said: ''Are there many wd/ 
 men in the land?/' C " Yea^iinany/' saio that 
 damsel. C "Andmanythatareasfairas yebe?"i 
 said he. Then they laughed and were glad, and 
 drew near to him again and took his hands and 
 kissed them; and the black/haired damsel said: 
 ** Yea, yea, there be ntiany as fair as we be, and 
 some fairer," and she laughed. C "And that 
 King ofyours," said he, **how do you name 
 him?" IT **He is the King," said the damsel. 
 C "^Hath he no other name?" said Hallblithe. 
 "We may not utter it," she said; "but thou 
 shalt see him soon, ^atthere is nought but good 
 in him and mightiness." 
 
 72 
 
CHAPTER XL THE SEA.EAGLE 
 RENEWETH HIS LIFE. 
 
 I UTwhilethcy spake to/ 
 gethcr thus, came a man 
 from out of the wood 
 very tall of stature, red/ 
 bearded and black/hafr/ 
 ed ruddy/cheeked, full/ 
 limbed, most joyous of 
 aspect; a man by seem/ 
 ing of five & thirty win/ 
 ters. He strode straight 
 up to Hallblithe, and cast his arms about him, 
 and kissed his cheek, as if he had beentin old 
 and dear friend newly come from over seas« 
 C Hallblithe wondered and laughed, and said : 
 ** Who art thou that deemest me so dear ?" 
 C Said the man: "Short is thy memory. Son 
 of the Raven, that thou in so little space hast 
 forgotten thy shipmate and thy faring/fellow; 
 w^ho gave thee meat and drink, and good rede 
 in the Hall of the Ravagers/' Therewith he 
 laughed joyously and turned about to the three 
 maidens and took them by the hands & kissed 
 their lips, while they fawned upon him lovingly. 
 C Then said Hallblithe: " Hastthou verily got/ 
 ten thy youth again, which thou badestmcwish 
 thee? "Yea, in good sooth,'* said the red/beard/ 
 cd man J " I am the Sea/caglc of old days; and 
 I have gotten my youth, and love therewithal, 
 
 1 73 
 
and somewhat to love mofeovcr,'* Therewith 
 he turned to the fairest of the damsels, and she 
 waswhite^skinned andfraerant as the lily, rose<' 
 cheeked and slender, and the wind played with 
 the long locks of her golden hair, which hung 
 down below her knees; so he cast his arms about 
 her and strained her to his bosom, & kissed her 
 face many times, and she nothing loth, but ca." 
 ressing him with lips and hand. But the other 
 two damsels stood by smiling and joyous : and 
 thev clapped their hands together and kissed 
 each other for joy of the new lover; and at last 
 fell to dancing and skipping about them like 
 young lambs in the meadows of Spring^tide. 
 But amongst them all, stood up Hallolithe 
 leaning on his spear with smiling lips & knitted 
 brow; for hewas pondering in his mind in what 
 wise he might further his quest. C But after 
 they had danced a while the Sea^eagle left his 
 love that he had chosen & took a hand of either 
 of the two other danasels, and led them tripping 
 up to Hallblithe, and cried out: "Choose tnou, 
 Raven's baby, which of these twain thou wilt 
 have to^'thy mate; for scarcely shalt thou see 
 better or fairer." C But Hallblithe looked on 
 them proudly and sternly, and the blacks-haired 
 damsel hung down her head before him and 
 said softly: "Nay, nay, sea-'warrior; this one is 
 too lovely to be our mate. Sweeter love abides 
 him, and lips more longed for." 
 74 
 
IHEN stirted HalMthe's heart 
 I within him & he said: ^'O Ea/ 
 glc of the Sea, thou hast thy 
 youth again :whatthenwiltthou 
 do with it ? Wilt thou not weary 
 I for the moonlit main, and the 
 washing of waves and the dashingof spray, and 
 thy fellows all glistering with the brine? Where 
 now shall be the alien shores before thee, and 
 the landing for fame, and departure for the gain 
 of goods ? Wilt thou forgetthe ship's black side, 
 and the dripping of the windward oars, as the 
 squall falleth on when the sun hath arisen, and 
 the sail tuggeth hard on the sheet, and the ship 
 lieth over and the lads shout against the whistle 
 of the wind? Has the spear rallen from thine 
 hand, and hast thou buried the sword of thy fa^ 
 thers in the grave from which ^thy body hath 
 escaped ? What art thou, O Warrior, in the land 
 of the alien and the King ? Who shall heed thee 
 or tell the tale of thy glory, which thou hast co-' 
 vered over with the hand of a light woman, 
 whom thy kindred knoweth not, and who was 
 not bom in a house wherefrom it hath been ap<« 
 pointed thee from of old to take the pleasure of 
 woman? Whose thrall art thou now, thou lifter 
 of the spoil, thou scarer of the freelaom? The 
 bidding of what lord or King wilt thou do, O 
 Chieftain, that thou mayst eat thy meat in the 
 morning and lie soft in thy bed in the evening? 
 
 1* 75 
 
O Warrior of the Ravagers, here stand I, Hall" 
 blithe of the Raven, and I am come into an alien 
 land beset with marvels to seek mine own, and 
 find that which is dearest to mine heart; to wit, 
 mytrothplight maiden the Hostageofthe Rose, 
 the fair woman who shall lie in my bed, & bear 
 me children, and stand by me in field and fold, 
 by thwart and gunwale, Defore the bow and the 
 spear, by^he flickering of the cookingxfire, and 
 amidst the blaze of the burning hall, and beside 
 the bale-fire of the warrior of the Raven. O Sea/- 
 eagle, my guester amongst the foemen, my fel. 
 low^farer and shipmate, say now once for all 
 whether thou wilt help me in my quest, or fall 
 off from me as a dastard?" C Again the maid<' 
 ens shrank before his clear & high'-raised voice, 
 and they trembled and grew pale. 
 C! But the Sea^eagle laughed from a counte/- 
 nance kind with joy, and said: "Child of the 
 Raven, thy words are good and manly: but it 
 availeth nought in this land, and I wot not how 
 thou wilt fare, or why thou hast been sent a-* 
 mongst us. What wilt thou do ? Hadst thou 
 spoken these words to the Long^hoary, the 
 Grandfather, yesterday, his ears would have 
 been deaf to them; and now that thou speakest 
 them to the Sea/eagle, this joyous man on the 
 GlitteringPlain, he cannot do according to them, 
 for there is no other land than this which can 
 hold him. Here he is strong and stark, and full 
 76 
 
of joy and love} but otherwhere he would be but 
 a gibbering ghost drifting down the wind of 
 night. Therefore in whatsoever thou mayst do 
 within this land I will stand by thee and help 
 thee; but not one inch beyond it may my foot 
 go, whether it be down into the brine of the sea» 
 or up into the clefts of the mountains which are 
 the wall of this goodly land. 
 "Thou hast been my shipmate and I love thee, 
 lam thy friend; but here in this land must needs 
 be thelove and the friendship. For no ghost can 
 love thee, no ghost may help thee. And as to 
 what thbu sayestconcemingthe days gone past 
 and our joys upon the tumbling sea, true it is 
 that those days were good and lovely; but they 
 are dead and gone like the lads who sat on the 
 thwart beside us, and the maidens who took our 
 hands in the hall to lead us to the chamber. 
 Other days have come in their stead, and other 
 friends shall cherish us, WTiat then ? Shall we 
 wound thelivingto pleasure the dead, who can/' 
 not heed it? Shall we curse the Yuletide, & cast 
 foul water on the Holy Hearth of the winter 
 feast, because the summer once was fair and the 
 days flit and the times change? Now let us be 
 gladlForlifeliveth,'' 
 
 C Therewith he turned about to his damsel & 
 kissed her on the mouth. But Hallblithe's face 
 was grown sad and stem, and he spake slowly 
 and heavily: "So is it, shiqpmate, that whereas 
 
 77 
 
tKou sayest that the days flit, for thee they shall 
 flft no more; & the day may come for theewhen 
 thou shalt be weary, and know it, and long for 
 the lost which thou hast forgotten. But hereof 
 it availeth nought for me to speak any longer, 
 for thine ears are deaf to these words, and thou 
 wilt not hear them. Therefore I say no more 
 save that I thank thee for thy help whatsoever 
 it may be; and I will take it, ror the daVs 
 work iieth before me, and I bejin to think that 
 it may be heavy enough." C The women yet 
 looked downcast, and as if they would be gone 
 out of earshot; butthe Sea^'eagle laughed as one 
 who is well content, and said: ''Thou thyself 
 wilt nciake it hard for thyself after the wont of 
 thy proud and haughty race; but for me nothing 
 is hard any longer; neither thy scorn nor thy 
 forebodings of evil. Be thou my friend as much 
 as thou canst, and I will be thine wholly. Now 
 ye women, whither will ye lead us ? For I am 
 ready to see any new thing ye will show us." 
 Saiahis damsel : " Wewilltakeyoutothe King, 
 that your hearts may be the more gladdened. 
 And as for thy friend the Spearman, O Sea^ 
 warrior, let not his heart be downcasts Who 
 wotteth but that these two desires, the desire of 
 his heart, and the desire of a heart for him, may 
 not be one and the same desire, so that he shall 
 be fully satisfied ?" As she spoke she looked sideo 
 long at Hallblithe, with shy SC wheedling eyes; 
 78 
 
and he wondered at her word, and a new hope 
 sprang up in his heart that he was presently to 
 be brought face to face with the Hostage, and 
 that this was that love, sweeter than their love, 
 which abode in him, & his heart became lighter, 
 and his visage cleared. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. THEY LOOK ON 
 THE KING OF THE GLITTERING 
 PLAIN. 
 
 lO now the women led 
 them along up the 
 stream, and rlallblithe 
 went side by side by the 
 Seaz-eagle; but the wo^ 
 men had become aho^' 
 gether merry again, & 
 played and ran about 
 them as gamesome as 
 I young goats; and they 
 waded the shallows of the clear bright stream 
 barefoot to wash their limbs of the seabrine, & 
 strayed about the meadows, plucking the flowo' 
 ers and making them wreaths and chaplets, 
 which they did upon themselves and the Sea^ 
 eagle; but Hallbhthe ^ey touched not, for still 
 they feared him. They went on as the stream 
 led them up toward the hills, and ever were the 
 meads about them as fair and flowery as might 
 be. Folk they saw afar off, but fell in with none 
 for a good while, saving a man and a maid clad 
 
 79 
 
lightly as for midsummer days, who werewan^ 
 dcring together lovingly and happily by the 
 stream^side,andwho gazed wonderinglyonthe 
 stark Sea^eagle, & on Hallblithe with his glit^ 
 tering spear. The black^haired damsel greeted 
 these twain and spake something to them, and 
 they laughed merrily, & the man stooped down 
 amongst the grasses and blossoms of the bank, 
 and drew forth a basket, and spread dainty vic^ 
 tuals on the grass underawillow^tree, and bade 
 them be his guests that fair afternoon. So they 
 sat down there above the glistering stream and 
 ate and drank and were merry. Thereafter the 
 newcomers and their way headers departed with 
 kind words, and still set their faces towards the 
 hills. CAt last they saw before them a little 
 wooded hill, and underneath it something red 
 and shining, and other coloured things gleam/- 
 inginthesun about it. Then said the Sea-'eagle: 
 ** what have we yonder?" Said his damsel: 
 "That is the pavilion of the King; and about it 
 are the tents and tilts of oui: folk who are of his 
 fellowship ! for oft he abideth in the fields with 
 them, though he hath houses and halls as fair 
 as the heart of man can conceive.** " Hath he 
 no foemen to fear?" said the Sea^eagle. **How 
 should that be ?" said the damsel. *' If perchance 
 any came into this land to bring war upon him, 
 their battle^anger should depart when once the 
 bliss of the Guttering Plain had entered into 
 80 
 
their souls, and they would ask for nought but 
 leave to abide here & be happy. Yet I trow that 
 if he had foemen he could crush them as easily 
 as I setmyfooton this daisy /^CSoastheywent 
 on they fell in with many folk, men & women, 
 sporting and playinginthefields; and there was 
 no semblance of eld on any of them, and no scar 
 or blemish or feebleness of body or sadness of 
 countenance; nor did any bear a weapon or any 
 piece of armour. Now some of them gatherea 
 about the new/'comers, and wondered at Hall^ 
 blithe and his long spear and shining helm and 
 dark gray bymy; but none asked concerning 
 them, for all knew thatthey were folk new come 
 to the bliss of the Glittering Plain. So they 
 passed amidst these fair folk little hindered by 
 them, and into Hallblithe's thoughts it came 
 how joyous the fellowship of such should be 8C 
 how his heart should be raised by the sight of 
 them, if only his troth-plight maiden were by 
 his side. 
 
 IHUS then they came to the 
 King's pavilion, where it stood 
 in a bight of the meadow^and 
 at the Foot of the hill, with the 
 wood about it on three sides. So 
 fair a house Hallblithe deemed 
 he had never seen; for it was wrought all over 
 with histories and flowers, and with hems sewn 
 with gold, and with orphreys of gold and pearl 
 
 m 8t 
 
& gems. C There in tKe door of it sat the King 
 of the Land in an ivory chair; he was clad in a 
 golden gown, girt with a girdle of gems, and had 
 nis crown on his head and his sword byhis side. 
 For this was the hour wherein he heard what 
 any of his folk would say to him, and for that 
 very end he sat there in the door of his tent, and 
 folk were standing before him, and sitting and 
 lying on the grass round about j and now one, 
 now another, came up to him and spoke before 
 him. C His face shone like a star; it was ex^ 
 ceeding beauteous, and as kind as the even of 
 May in the gardens of the happy, when the 
 scent of the eglantine fills all the air, "When he 
 spoke his voice w^as so sweet that all hearts were 
 ravished, and none might gainsay him. C But 
 when Hallblithe set eyes on him, he knew^ at 
 once that this was he whose carven image he 
 had seen in the hall of the Ravagers, & his heart 
 beat fast, & he said to himself; ** Hold up thine 
 head now, O Son of the Raven, strengthen 
 thine heart, & let no man or god cow thee. For 
 how can thine heart change, which bade thee go 
 to the house wherefrom it was due to thee to 
 take the pleasure of woman, and thereto pledge 
 thy faith arid troth to her that loveth thee most, 
 and hankereth for thee day by day and hour by 
 hour, so that greatisthe love that we twain have 
 builded up " 
 
 C Nowthey drew nigh, for folk fell back before 
 82 
 
them to the right & left, as before men who arc 
 new come and have much to do} so that there 
 was nought between them and the face of the 
 King. But he smiled upon them so that he 
 cheered their hearts with the hope of fulfilment 
 of their desires, and he said: V Welcome, child'' 
 ren! Who be these whom ye have brought hithx 
 er for the increase of our joy ? Who is this tall, 
 ruddy "faced, joyous man so meet for the bliss of 
 the Glittering Plain ? And who is this goodly & 
 lovely youngman, who beareth weapons amidst 
 our peace, and whose face is sad and stem be'' 
 neatn the gleaming of his helm V 
 CSaid the dark^haired damsel: ''O fCingI O 
 Gift" giver and assurer of joy ! this tall one is he 
 who was once oppressed by eld, and who hath 
 come hither to thee from the Isle of Ransom, 
 accordingto the custom of the land." Said the 
 King: **TaII man, it is well that thou art come. 
 Now are thy days changed and thou yet alive. 
 For thee battle is ended, and therewith the re^ 
 ward of battle, which the warrior remembereth 
 not amidst the hard hand'-play : peace hath be^ 
 gun, and thou needest not be careful for the en*- 
 durance thereof: for in this land no man hath a 
 lack which he may not satisfy without taking 
 aught from any other. I deem not that thine 
 heart may conceive a desire which I shall not 
 fulfil for thee, or crave a gift which I shall not 
 give thee." CThen the Sea/cagle laughed for 
 
 mz 83 
 
joy, and turned his head this way and that, so 
 that he might the better take to him the smiles 
 of all those that stood around. C Then the King 
 said to Hallblithe: **Thou also art welcome; 
 I know thee who thou art:meseemeth great joy 
 awaiteth thee, and I will fulfil thy desire to the 
 uttermost." CSaid Hallblithe t **0 great King 
 of a happy land, I ask of thee nought save that 
 which none shall withhold from me uncursed." 
 C" I will give it to thee," said the King, "and 
 thou shalt bless me. But what is it which thou 
 wouldst? W^hat more canst thou have than the 
 Gifts of the land ?" C Said Hallblithe : *' I came 
 hither seeking no gifts, but to have mine own a.* 
 gain J and that is the bodily love of my troths 
 plight maiden. They stole her from me, and me 
 from her; for she loved me. I went down to the 
 sea<'side and found her not, nor the ship which 
 had borne her away. I sailed from thence to the 
 Isle of Ransom, for they told me that there I 
 should buy her for a price ; neither was her body 
 there. But her image came to me in a dream of 
 the night, and bade me seek her hither. There^ 
 fore, O King, if she be here in the land, show 
 me how I shall find her, and if she be not here, 
 show me how I may depart to seek her others 
 where. This is all my asking." € Said the King : 
 "Thy desire shall be satisfied; thou shalt have 
 the woman who would have thee, and whoni 
 thou shouldst have." C Hallblithe was glad^* 
 84 
 
dencd beyond measure by that word; and now 
 did the King seem to him a comfort Sc a solace 
 to every heart, even as he had deemed of his 
 carven image in the Hall of the Ravagersj and 
 he thanked him, and blessed him. C.But the 
 King bade him abide by him that night, 8C feast 
 with him. ^' And on the morrow/' said he, " thou 
 shalt go thy ways to look on her whom thou 
 ou^test to love.'* 
 
 C Therewith was come the eventide and begin/" 
 ning of night, warm and fragrant & brightwith 
 the twinkling of stars, and they went into the 
 King^s pavilion, and there was the feast as fair 
 and dainty as might be; 8C Hallblithehad meat 
 from the King's own dish, dnd drink from his 
 cup ; but the meat had no savour to him and the 
 drink no delight, because of the longing that 
 possessedhim. C And when the feast was done, 
 the damsels led Hallblithe to his bed in a fair 
 tent strewn with gold about his head like the 
 starry night, and he lay down and slept for sheer 
 weariness of body* 
 
 85 
 
CHAPTER XIIL HALLBLITHE BE. 
 HOLDETH THE WOMAN WHO 
 LOVETH HIM. 
 
 JUT on the morrow the 
 men arose, and the Sea/- 
 eagle & his damsel came 
 to Hallblithe; for the 
 other two damsels were 
 departed, and the Sea. 
 eagle said to him: "Here 
 am I well honoured and 
 measurelessly happy; & 
 I have a message for 
 thee from the King/' C'What is it?^' said 
 Hallblithe; but he deemed that he knew what 
 it would be, and he reddened for the joy of 
 his assured hbpe, CE Said the Seaz-eagle: *'Joy 
 to thee, O shipmate! I am to take thee to the 
 place where thy beloved abideth, and there shalt 
 thou see her, but not so as she can see thee; 
 and thereafter shalt thou go to the King, that 
 thou mayst tell him if she shall accomplish thy 
 desire." C Then was Hallblithe glad beyond 
 measure, and his heart danced within him, and 
 he deemed it but meet that the others should 
 be so joyous and blithe with him, for they led 
 him along without any delay, and were glad at 
 his rejoiciiig; and words failed him to tell of his 
 gladness. C. But as he went, the thoughts of his 
 coming converse with his beloved curled sweetly 
 86 
 
tound his heart, so that scarce anything had 
 seemed so sweet to him before; and he fell ax 
 pondering what they twain, he & the Hostage, 
 should do when they came together again; whc^ 
 ther they should abide on the Glittering Plain 
 or go back again to Cleveland by the Sea and 
 dwell in the House of the Kindred; and for his 
 part he yearned to behold the roof of his fathers 
 and to tread the meadow which his scythe had 
 swept, and the acres where his hook hadsmitten 
 the wheat. But he said to himself, " I will wait 
 till I hear her desire hereon." 
 C Now they went into the wood at the back of 
 the King's pavilion and through it and so over 
 the hill, and beyond it came into aland of hills 
 and dales exceeding fair and lovely; and a river 
 wound about the dales, lapping in turn the feet 
 ofonehill^side or the other; and in each dale (for 
 they passed through two) was a goodly house 
 of men, and tillage about it, and vineyards and 
 orchards. They went all day till the sun was 
 near setting, and were not weary, for they turn-- 
 cd into thehouses by the way when they would, 
 and had good welcome, ana meat & drink, and 
 what they would of the folk that dwelt there. 
 Thus anigh sunset they came into a dale fairer 
 than either of the others, and nigh to the end 
 where they had entered it was an exceeding 
 goodly house. Then said the damsel: C **We 
 are jiigh^hand to our joume/s end; let us sit 
 
 87 
 
down on the grass bythis river^side whilst I tell 
 thee the tale which the King would have thee 
 know." C! So they sat down on the grass beside 
 the brirraning river, scant two bowshots from 
 that fair house, & the damsel said, reading from 
 a scroll which she drew from her bosom: CO 
 Speamtian, in yonder house dwelleth the wo^ 
 man foredoomed to love thee: if thou wouldst 
 sec her, go thitherward, following the path 
 which tumeth from the river^side hy yonder 
 oak-tree, and thou shalt presently come to a 
 thicket of bay^trees at the edge of an applc^or^ 
 chard, whose trees are blossoming; abide thou 
 hidden by the bayxleaves, and thou shalt see 
 maidens come into the orchard, and at last one 
 fairer than all the others. This shall be thy love 
 foredoomed, and none other; and thou shalt 
 know her by this token, that when she hath set 
 her down on the grass beside the bay^tree, she 
 shall say to her maidens: 'Bring me now the 
 book wherein is the image of my beloved, that 
 I maysolacc myself with beholdingit beforethc 
 sun goes down and the night cometh/ " 
 C Now Hallblithe was troubled when she read 
 out these words, and he said : ''"What is this tale 
 about a book? I knownot of anybookthat lieth 
 betwixt me & my beloved." € " O Spearman," 
 ; said the damsel, " I may tell thee no more, be/ 
 causCr I know no more. But keep up thine heart! 
 For dost thou know any more than I do what 
 88 
 
hatK befallen thy beloved since thou wert sun^ 
 dered from her? and why should not this mat-' 
 ter of thebookbe one of the things that hath be*- 
 fallen her? Go now with joy, and come again 
 blessing us." CC "Yea, go, faring/fellow," said 
 the Sea^eagle, "and come back joyful, that we 
 may all be merry together* And we will abide 
 thee here." C Hallblithe foreboded evil, but he 
 held his peace & went his ways down the path 
 by the oak^-tree; and they abode there by the 
 water-'side, and were very merry talking of this 
 and that (but no whit of Hallblithe), and kiss-' 
 ing and caressing each other; so that it seemed 
 but a h'ttle while to them ere they saw HalU 
 blithe coming back by the oak/tree. He went 
 slowly, hanging his head like a man sore-'burx 
 dened with grief: thus he came up to them, and 
 stood there above them as they lay on the fra-* 
 grant grass, and he saying no word and looking 
 so sad and sorry, and withall so fell, that thcy 
 feared his grief and his anger, and would fain 
 have been away from him; so that they durst 
 not ask him a question for a long while, & the 
 sun sank below the hill while they abided thus. 
 CThen all trembling the damsel spake to the 
 Sea^eagle: "Speak to him, dear friend, else 
 must I flee away, for I fear his silence." C Quoth 
 the Seaz-cagle: *.* Shipmate & friend, whathath 
 betided ? How art thou ? May we hearken, and 
 mayhappen amend it?" CThen Hallblithe cast 
 
himself adown on the grass and said: " I am &c^ 
 cursed and beguiled; and I wander round and 
 round in a tangle that I may not escape from. 
 I am not far from deeming that this is a land of 
 dreams made formybeguiling. Orhas the earth 
 become so full of lies, that there is no room a^ 
 midst them foratrue man to stand uponhis feet 
 and go his ways ?" C Said the Sea^eagle : ** Thou 
 shalt tell us of what hath betid, and so ease the 
 sorrow of thy soul if thou wilt* Or if thou wilt, 
 thou shalt nurse thy sorrow in thine heart and 
 tell no man. Do wnat thou wiltj am I not be-* 
 come thy friend ?" 
 
 (AID Hallblithc: "I will tell you 
 1 tw^ain the tidings, and thereafter 
 ask me no more concerning them. 
 Hearken. I went whereas ye bade 
 I me, & hid myself in the bay^tree 
 I thicket; and there came maidens 
 into the blossoming orchard and made aresting^ 
 place with silken cushions close to where I was 
 lurking, and stood about as though they were 
 looking for some one to come. In a little time 
 came two more maidens, and betwixt them one 
 so much fairer than any there, that my heart 
 sank within me : whereas I deemed because of 
 her fairness that this would be the foredoomed 
 love whereof ye spake, and lo, she was in nought 
 like to my troth^plight maiden, save that she 
 was exceeding beauteous: nevertheless, hearts 
 90 
 
sick as I was, I determined to abide the token 
 that ye told me of. So she lay down amidst those 
 cushions, and I beheld her that she was sad of 
 countenance; and she was so near to me that I 
 could see the tears weUing into her eyes, and 
 running down her cheeks ; so that I should have 
 grieved sorely for her had I not been grieving 
 so sorely for myself. For presently she sat up 
 and said: ' O maiden, bring nie hitner the book 
 wherein is the image of my beloved, that I may 
 behold it in this season of sunset wherein I first 
 beheld it; that I may fill my heart with the sight 
 thereof before the sun is gone and the dafk night 
 come/ Then indeed my heart died within me 
 when I wotted that this was the love whereof 
 the King spake, that he would ^vc to me, and 
 she not mine own beloved, yet I could not choose 
 but abide and look on awhile, and she being one 
 thatany man mightlove beyond measure. Now 
 a maiden went away into the house and came 
 back again with a book covered vHth gold set 
 with gems; & the fair woman took it andopen^ 
 cd it, and I was so near to her that I saw every 
 leaf clearly as she turned the leaves. Andinthat 
 book were pictures of many things, as flaming 
 mountains, and castles of war, and ships upon 
 the sea, but chiefly of fair women, and queens, 
 and warriors and kings; andit was done in gold 
 and azure and cinnabar and minium. So she 
 turned the leaves, till she came to one whereon 
 
was pictured none other than myself, and over 
 against me was the image of mine own beloved, 
 the Hostage of the Rose, as if she were alive, so 
 that the heart within me swelled with the sob^ 
 bin? which I must needs refrain, which grieved 
 me like a sword^stroke. Shame also took hold 
 of me as the fair woman spoke to my painted 
 image, and I lying well-nigh, within touch of her 
 hand; but she said: *0 my beloved, why dost 
 thou delay to come to mer For I deemed that 
 this eve at least thou w^ouldst come, so many & 
 strong as are the meshes of love which we have 
 cast about thy feet. Oh come to-morrow at the 
 least and latest, or what shall I do, and where^ 
 with shall 1 quench the grief of my heart? Or 
 else why am I the daughter of the Undying 
 King, the Lord of the Treasure of the Sea? 
 W^hy have they w^rought new^ marvels for me, 
 and compelled the Ravagers of the Coasts to 
 serve me, and sent false dreams flitting on the 
 w^ings of the night? Yea, why is the earth fair& 
 fruitful, and the heavens kind above it, if thou 
 comest not toz-night, nor to-morrow, nor the 
 day after? And I the daughter of the Undying, 
 on whom the days shall grow and grow as the 
 grains of sand wnich the wind heaps up above 
 the sea^-beach. And life shall grow hugcr and 
 more hideous round about the lonely one, like 
 the ling^worm laid upon the gold, that waxcth 
 thereby, till it lies all round about the house of 
 92 
 
tKe queen entrapped, the moveless unending 
 ring of the years that change not.* So she spake 
 till the weeping ended her words, and I was all 
 abashed with shame and pale with anguish. I 
 stole quietly from my lair unheeded of any, save 
 that one damsel said that a rabbit ran in the 
 hedge, and another that a blackbird stirred in 
 the micket. Behold me, then, that my quest be/ 
 ginneth again amidst the tangle of lies where/ 
 into I have been entrapped." 
 
 CHAPTERXIV.HALLBLITHE HAS 
 SPEECH WITHTHE KINGAGAIN. 
 
 |E stood up when he had 
 made an end, as a man 
 ready for the road; but 
 thev lay there downcast 
 and abashed, & had no 
 words to answer him. 
 For the Sea/eagle was 
 sorry that his faring/fel/ 
 low w^as hapless, 8C was 
 
 iimimiiBiiMiw ■ ^°^T *hat he was sorry; 
 
 as for the damsel, she had not known but 
 that she was leading the goodly Spearman to 
 the fulfilment of his heart's desire. Albeit after 
 awhile she spake again & said: " Dear friends, 
 day is gone and night is at hand; now to/night 
 it were ill lodging at yonder house; & the next 
 house on our backward road is over far for way/ 
 worn folk. But haird by through the thicket is a 
 
 93 
 
fair little wood^awn, by thejip of a pool in the 
 stream wherein we may bathe us tO/rnorrow 
 morning; and it is grassy and flowery and shel-' 
 tercd from all winds that blow, and I have vic^- 
 tual enough in my wallet. Let us sup" and rest 
 there under the bare heaven, as oft is the wont 
 of us in this land; and on the morrow early we 
 will arise and get us back again to Wbod-'end, 
 where yet the King abideth, and there shalt 
 thou talk to him again, O Spearman." C Said 
 Hallblithe: "Takemewhitheryewill;butnow 
 nought'availeth. I am a captive in a land of lies, 
 and here most like shall I live betrayed and die 
 hapless."** Hold thy peace, dear friend, of such 
 words as those last, ' said she, "or I must needs 
 flee from thee, for they hurt me sorelv. Come 
 now to this pleasant place." 
 C She took him by the handand looked kindly 
 on him, and the Sea.'Cagle followed him, mur^ 
 muring an old song of the harvest/field, & they 
 went together by a path through a thicket of 
 whitethorn till they came unto a grassy place. 
 There then they sat them down, and ate and 
 drank what' they would, sitting by the lip of the 
 pool till a waning moon was bright over their 
 heads. And Hallblithe made no semblance of 
 content; buttheSea^eagle and his damsel were 
 grown merry again, & talked & sang together 
 like autumn stares, with the kissing and caress/ 
 ing of lovers. C So atlast those twain lay down 
 94 
 
amongst the flowcfs^ and slept in each othc/s 
 arms; but Hallblithe betook him to the brake 
 a little aloof^ and lay down, but slept not till 
 morning was at hand, when slumber and con/ 
 fused dreams overtook him« 
 C He was awaked from his sleep by the dam/ 
 sel, who came pushing through the thicket all 
 fresh and rosy from the river, and roused him, 
 and said; ** Awake now, Spearman, that we 
 may take our pleasure in the sun; for he is high 
 in the heavens now, and all the land laughs be/ 
 neath him/' C Her eyes glittered as she spoke, 
 and her limbs moved under her raiment as tho' 
 she would presently fall to dancing for very joy. 
 But Hallblithe arose wearily, & gave her back 
 no smile in answer, but thrust thro' the thicket 
 to the water, and washed the night from off 
 him, and so came back to the twain as they sat 
 dallyingtogcther overtheir breakfast. Hewould 
 not sit down by them, but ate a morsel of bread 
 as he stood, andsaid: ''Tell me howl can soon/ 
 estfindthe King: I bid you notlead me thither, 
 but let me go my ways alone. For with me time 
 presses, 8C with you meseemeth time is nought. 
 Neither am I a meet fellow for the happy.** 
 C But the Sea/eagle sprang up, and swore with 
 a great oath that he would nowise leave his 
 shipmate in the lurch. And the damsel saidt 
 " Fair man, I had best go with thee; I shall not 
 hinder thee, but further rather, so that thou 
 
 95 
 
shalt make one day's journey of two," C. And 
 she put forth her hand to him, & caressed him 
 smiling, and fawned upon him, and he heeded 
 it little, but hung not aback from them since 
 they were ready for the road: so they set forth 
 all three together, 
 
 IHEY made such diligence on the 
 ] backward road that the sun was 
 not set by then they came to 
 [Wbod^end; and there was the 
 King sitting in the door of his 
 'pavilion. Thither went Hall-' 
 blithe straight, and thrust through the throng, 
 and stood before the King; who greeted him 
 kindly, and was no less sweet of race than on 
 that other day. <[ Hallblithe hailed him not, 
 but said : " King, look on my anguish, and if 
 thou art other than a king of dreams and lies, 
 play nalongerwith me, but tell me straight out 
 if thou knowest of my troth-^light maiden, 
 whether she is in this land or not." C Then the 
 King smiled on him and said: "True it is that 
 I know of her; yet know I notwhether she is in 
 this land or not." C "King," said Hallblithe, 
 " w^ilt thou bring us together & stay my heart's 
 bleeding?" C Said the King: "I cannot, since 
 I know not where she is." C " W^hy didst thou 
 lie to me the other day?" said Hallblithe. C "I 
 lied not," said the King; " I bade bring thee to 
 the woman that loved thee, and whom thou 
 96 
 
shoaldst.love; and that is my daughter. And 
 look thou I Even "as I hiay not bring thee to 
 thine earthly love, so couldst thou not make 
 thyself manifest before my daught(5r, and be^ 
 come her deathless love* Is it not enough?" 
 C. He spake sternly for all tliat he smiled, and 
 Hallblithe said: "O King^ have pity on me!" 
 C "Yea" said the King; " pity thee T do: but I 
 will live despite thy sorrow; my pity of thee 
 shall not slay me, or make thee happy. Even in 
 such wise didst thou pity my daughter." C Said 
 Hallblithe: "Thou art mighty, O King, and 
 maybe the mightiest. Wilt thounothelp me J" 
 C " H ow can I help thee ? " said the King, '* thou 
 who wilt not help thyself. Thouhast seen what 
 thou shouldst do: oo it then and be holpen." 
 C Then said Hallblithe: "Wilt thbU not slay 
 me, O King, since thou wiltnot do aught else f * 
 C ** Nay," said the King, *' thy staying wilt not 
 serve me nor mine : I will neither help nor hin' 
 der. Thou art free to seek thy loVe wheresoever 
 thou wilt in this my realm. Depart in peace I" 
 C Hallblithe sawthat the Kin^wa^angry,tho' 
 he smiled upon him; yet so coldly, thatthe face 
 of him froze the very marrow of Hallblithe's 
 bones: and he said within himself: "This King 
 of lies shall not slay rat, though mine anguish 
 be hard to bear: for I am alive, and it may be 
 that my love is in this lanH, and I may find her 
 here, & howto reach another land I knownot," 
 
 97 
 
So he turned from before the face of the King 
 as the sun was setting, and he went down the 
 land southward betwixtthe mountains and the 
 sea, not heeding whether it were night or dayj 
 and he went on till it was long past midnight 
 and then for mere weariness laid him down 
 under a tree, not knowing where he was, & fell 
 asleep. C And in the morning he woke up to 
 the bright sun, and found folk standing round 
 about him, both men and women, and their 
 sheep were anigh them, for they were shepherd 
 folk. So when theysawthathewas awake, they 
 greeted him, and were blithe with him & made 
 much of him J and they took him home to their 
 house, and gave him to eat and to drink, and 
 asked him what he would that they might serve 
 him. And they seemed to him to be kind and 
 simple folk, and though he loathed to speak the 
 words, so sick at heart he was, yet he told them 
 how he was seeking his troth^plight maiden, 
 his earthly love, and asked them to say if they 
 had seen any woman like her. C They heard 
 him kindly and pitied him, and told him how 
 they liad heard of a woman in the land, who 
 sought her beloved even as he sought his. And 
 when he heard that his heart leapt up, & he asked 
 them to tell him more concerning this woman. 
 Then they said that she dwelt in the hill coun^ 
 try in a goodly house, and had set her heart on 
 a lovely man, whose image she had seen in a 
 p8 
 
book» and that no man but tliis one would con^ 
 tcntKcr; and this, they said, was a sad and Sorry- 
 matter; such as was unheard of hitherto iii the 
 land. C So when Hallblithe heard this, Ai hea/ 
 vily as his heart fell again, he changed not eoun/' 
 tenance, but thanked the kind folk 8C departed, 
 and went on down the land betwixt the moun/ 
 tains and the sea, and before nightfall he had 
 been into three more houses of folk, and asked 
 there of all comers concerning a woman who 
 was sundered from her beloved; and iat none of 
 ihem gat he any answer to make him less sorry 
 than yesterday. At the last of the threehe slept, 
 and on the morrow early there was the work to 
 begin again; and the next day was the same as 
 the last, and the day after differed not from it. 
 Thus he went on seeking his beloved betwixt 
 the mountains and the plain, till the great rock/ 
 wall came down to the side of the sea and made 
 an end of the Glittering Plain on that side. Then 
 he turned about and went back by the way that 
 he had come, and up the countiy betwixt the 
 mountains & the plain northward, until he had 
 been into every house of folk in those parts and 
 asked his question. C Then he went up into that 
 &ir countrv of the dales, & even anigh to where 
 dwelt the King's Daughter, and otherwhere in 
 the land and everywhere, quartering the realm 
 of the Glittering Plain as the heron quarters the 
 flooded meadow when the waters draw aback 
 
 2 9^ 
 
into the river. So that now all people knew him 
 when he came, and they wondered at him ; but 
 when he came to any house for the third or 
 fourth time, they wearied of him, and were glad 
 when he departed. C. Ever it was one of two 
 answers that he had: either folk said to him, 
 "There is no such woman; this land is happy, 
 and nought but happy people dwell herein;" 
 or else they told him of the woman who lived 
 in sorrow, and was ever looking on a book, that 
 she might bring to her the man whom she de^ 
 sired. C! W^hiles he wearied & longed for death, 
 but would not die until there was no corner of 
 the land unsearched. W^hileshe shook ofFweax 
 riness, and went about his quest as a craftsman 
 sets about his work in the morning. W^hiles it 
 irked Tiim to see the soft and merry folk of the 
 land, who had no skill to help him, & he longed 
 for the house of his fathers and the men of the 
 spear and the plough; and thought, "Oh, if I 
 might but get me back, if it were but for an hour 
 and to die there, to the meadow^s of the Raven, 
 and the acres beneath the mountains of Clever 
 land by the Sea. Then at least should I learn 
 some tale of what is orwhat hath been, howso^ 
 ever evil the tidings were, and not be bandied 
 about by lies for ever." 
 
 SCO 
 
CHAPTER XV. YET HALLBLITHE 
 SPEAKETH WITH THE KING. 
 
 \0 wore the days & the 
 1 moons; and now were 
 some six moons worn 
 since first he came to 
 the Glittering Plain ; & 
 he was come to W^ood^ 
 end again, and heard & 
 knew that the King 
 was sitting once more 
 I in the door of his pavi^ 
 lion to hearken to the words of his people, and 
 he said to himself: " I will speak yet again to 
 this man, if indeed he beaman j yea, though he 
 turn me into stone." C And he went up toward 
 the pavilion; and on the way it came into his 
 mind what the men of the kindred were doing 
 that morning; and he had a vision of them as it 
 were, and saw them yoking the oxen to the 
 plough, and slowly going down the acres, as the 
 shining iron drew the long furrow down the 
 stubhie/land, and the light haze hung about the 
 elm^trees in the calm morning, and the smoke 
 rose straight into the air from the roof of the 
 kindred. And he said:"W^hat is this? am I 
 death<'doomed this morningthatthis sight com/- 
 eth so clearly upon me amidst the falsenesis? of 
 this unchanging land ?" 
 CThus he came to the pavilion, and folk fell 
 
 JOt 
 
back before him to the right and the left, and he 
 stood before the King, and said to him : ** I can/ 
 not find her; she is not in thy land." CThen 
 spake the King, smiling upon him, as erst: 
 ** vVhat wilt thou then ? Is it not time to rest?" 
 fi H e said J " Yea, O King J but not in this land." 
 C Said the King ; ** Where else than in this land 
 wilt thou find rest? Without is battle and fa^ 
 mine, longing unsatisfied, and heart^'buming 
 and fear; within it is plenty and peace and gooo 
 will and pleasure without cease. Thy word hath 
 no meaning to me." C Said Hallblithe: " Give 
 me leave to depart, and I will bless thee." C ** Is 
 there nought else to do?" said the King. 
 C" Nought else," said Hallblithe. CThere^ 
 with he feltthattheKing'sface changed though 
 he still smiled on him, & again he felt his heart 
 grow cold before the King. CBut the King 
 spake and said : " I hinder not thy departure, nor 
 will any of my folk. No hand will be raised ay 
 gainst thee; there is no weapon in all the land, 
 save the deedless sword by my side and the 
 weapons which thou bearest." Said Hallblithe: 
 " Dost thou not owe me a joy in return for my 
 beguiling?" CYea," said the King, "reach out 
 thine hand to take it." C* One thing only may 
 I take of thee," said Hallblithe; **my troth-' 
 plight maiden or else the speeding of my de^- 
 parture." CThen said the King, and his voice 
 was terrible though yet he smiled: " I will not 
 hinder; I will not help. Depart in peace I" 
 102 
 

 [HEN Hallblithc turned away 
 dizzy & half fainting, & strayed 
 down the field, scarce knowing 
 where he was J and as he went he 
 felt his sleeve plucked at, & turn^ 
 ed about, andlo! he was face to 
 face with the Sea^eagle, no less joyous than a-' 
 foretime. He took Hallblithe in nis arms and 
 embraced him and kissed him, arid said: "Well 
 met faring^fellow ! Whither away ? " C " Away 
 out of this land of lies,'* said Hallblithe. CThe 
 Sea^eagle shook his head, and quoth he: ** Art 
 thou still seeking)a. dream ? And thou so fair 
 that thou puttest all other men to shame." C " I 
 seek no dream," said Hallblithe; ''but rather 
 the end of dreams." C'Well," said the Sea> 
 eagle, '^wewillnotwrangle aboutit. But heark^ 
 en. Hard by in apleasant nook of the meadows 
 have I set up my tent j and although it be not as 
 big as the King s pavilion, yet is it fair enough, 
 "wilt thou not come thither with me and rest 
 thee to/'night; and to-morrow we will talk of 
 this matter ?" €[ No-w Hallblithe was weary & 
 confused, and down-hearted beyoisd his wont, 
 and the friendly words of the Sea^eagle softened 
 his heart, and he smiled on him and said: "I 
 give thee thanks; I will come with thee: thou 
 art kind, and hast done nought to me save good 
 firom the time when I first saw thee lying in thy 
 bed in the Hall of the RavagerSt Dost thou re^ 
 
 to3 
 
mcmberthe day ?" C The Sca^eaglc knittedhis 
 brow as one strivingwith a troublous memory, 
 and saidt " But dimly, friend, as if it had passed 
 in an ugly dream: meseemeth my friendship 
 with thee began when I came to thee from out 
 of the wood, and saw thee standing with those 
 three damsels: that I remember mil well: ye 
 were fair to look on." CHallblithe wondered 
 at his words, but said no more about it, and they 
 went together to a flowery nook nigh a stream 
 of clear w^ater where stood a silken tent, green 
 like the grass v/hich it stood on, & flecked with 
 gold and goodly colours. Nigh it on the grass 
 lay the Sea^eagle's damsel, ruddy /-cheeked and 
 sweetz-lipped, as fair as aforetime. She turned 
 about when she heard men coming, and when 
 she saw Hallblithe a smile came into her face 
 like the sun breaking out on a fair but clouded 
 morning, and she went up to him and took him 
 by the hands and kissed his cheek, and said: 
 "welcome. Spearman I welcome back! "We 
 have heard of thee in many places, and have 
 been sorry that thou wert not glad, and now are 
 wc fain of thy returning. Shall not sweet life 
 begin for thee from henceforward?" C Again 
 was Hallblithe moved by her kind welcome; 
 but he shook his head and spake: "Thou art 
 kind, sister; yet if thou wouldst be kinder thou 
 wilt show me i way whereby I may escape from 
 this land. For abiding here has become irksome 
 »04 
 
to me, and meseemeth that hope is yet alive 
 vathout the Glittering Plain/' Her face fell as 
 she answered: "Yea, and fear also, and worse, 
 if aught be worse. But come, let us eat 8c drink 
 in this fair place, and gather for thee a little joy/- 
 ance before thou departest, if thou needs must 
 depart/' € He smiled on her as one not ill/con^ 
 tent, and laid himself down on the grass, while 
 the twain busied themselves, and brought forth 
 fair cushions and a gilded table, and laid dainty 
 victual thereon and good wine. CSo they ate 
 and drank together, and the Sea/eagle and his 
 mate became very joyous again, and Hallblithe 
 bestirred himseli not to be a mar/feast; for he 
 said within himself: ** I am departing, and after 
 this time I shall see them no more; and they are 
 kind and blithe with me, and have been arore/ 
 time; I will not make their nierry hearts sore. 
 For when I am gone I shall be remembered of 
 them but a little while." 
 
 P »05 
 
CHAPTERXVLTHOSETHREE GO 
 THEIR WAYS TO THE EDGE OF 
 THE GLITTERIN G PLAIN. 
 
 lO the evening wore 
 merrilyj 8C they made 
 Hallblitheliein an in.' 
 
 fie of the tent on a fair 
 ed, And he was weary 
 & slept thereon hke a 
 child. But in the morn^ 
 ing early they waked 
 him; and while they 
 
 I were breaking their 
 
 fast they began to speak to him of his depart 
 ture, and asked him if he had an inkling of the 
 way whereby he should get him gone, and he 
 said: "If I escape it miust needs be by way 'of 
 the mountains that wall the land abouttillthey 
 come dow^n to the sea. For on the sea is no ship 
 and no haven j and w^ell I wot that no man of 
 the land durst or can ferry me over to the land 
 of my kindred, or otherwhere without the Glit** 
 tering Plain. Tell me therefore (and I ask no 
 more of you), is there any rumour or memory 
 of a way that cleaveth yonder mighty wall of 
 rocktootherlands?"CSaidthe damsel: "There 
 is more than a memory or a rumour: there is a 
 road through the mountains known to all men. 
 For at whiles the earthly pilgrims come into the 
 Glittering Plain thereby; and yet but seldom, 
 106 
 
so many are the gtiefs and perils which bcsetthe 
 wayfarers on that road, w hereof thou hadst far 
 better bethink thee in time, and abide here and 
 be happy with us and others who long sore to 
 make liiee happy." C " Nay," said Hallbh'the, 
 **there is nought to do but tell me of the way, 
 and I will depart at once, blessing you." C Said 
 the Sea^eagle : " More than that at least will we 
 do. May I lose the bliss whereto I have "attain^ 
 ed, if I go not with thee to the very edge'of the 
 land of the Glittering Plain. Shall it not be so, 
 sweetheart ?" C "Yea, at least we may do that," 
 said the damsel; and she hung her head as if she 
 were ashamed, and said: "And that is all that 
 thou wilt get from us at'most." CSaid Hall-* 
 blithe : " Itis enough, and I asked not so much." 
 CThen the damsel busied herself, & set meat 
 and drink in two wallets, and took on& herself 
 and gave the other to the Sea^eagle,'and said : 
 " We will be thy porters, O Spearman, and will 
 
 gVe thee a full wallet from the last house by the 
 'esert of Dread, for when thou* hast ^entered 
 therein, thou mayst well find victual hard to 
 come by: and now let us linger no more since 
 the road is dear to thee." C! So they set forth on 
 foot, for in that land men were slow to feel weari^ 
 ness ; and turning about the hill of "Wood^-end, 
 they passed by some broken country, and came 
 at even to a house at the entrance or a long valx 
 Icy, with high and steeply i^sloping sides which 
 
 p2 107 
 
seemed, as it were, to cleave the dale country 
 wherein they had fared aforetime, Atthathouse 
 they slept wcll^guested by its folk, and the next 
 morning took their way down the valley, & the 
 folk of the house stood atthedoorto watch their 
 departure; for they had told the wayfarers that 
 they had fared but a little way thitherward and 
 knew of no folk who had used that road, C So 
 those three fared down the valley south ward all 
 day, ever mounting higher as they went. The 
 way was pleasant and easy, for they went over 
 fair, smooth, grassy lawns betwixt the hill*- 
 sides, beside a clear rattling stream that ran 
 northward; at whiles were clumps of tall trees, 
 oak for the most part, and at whiles thickets of 
 thorn and eglantine and other such trees: so that 
 they could rest well shaded when they would. 
 Cihey passed by no house of men, nor came 
 to any Such in the even, but lay down to sleep 
 in a thicket of thorn and eglantine, and rested 
 well, and on the morrow they rose up betimes 
 and went on th eir ways. 
 
 IHIS second dayastheyv/entthc 
 
 Ihill/sides on either hand grew 
 
 lower, till at last they died out 
 
 into a wide plain, beyond which 
 
 in the southern offingthemoun^ 
 
 I tains rose huge and bare. This 
 
 plain also was grassy and beset with trees and 
 
 thickets here and there. Hereon they saw wild 
 
 to8 
 
deer enough, as hart and buck, and roebuck & 
 swine: withal a lion came out of a brake hard 
 by them as they went, & stood gazing on them, 
 so that Hallblithe looked to his weapons and 
 the Sea^eagle took up a big stone to fight with, 
 being weaponless; but the damsel laughed, and 
 tripped on her way lightly with girt^upgown, 
 & the beast gave no more need to them.fCEasy 
 and smooth was their way over this pleasant 
 wilderness, and clear to see, though but little 
 used, and before nightfall, after they had gone 
 a long way, they came to a house» It was not 
 large nor high, but was built very strongly and 
 fairly of good ashlar: its door was shut, and on 
 the jamb thereof hung a slug^horn. The dam/- 
 scl, who seemed to know what to do, set her 
 mouth to the horn, and blew a blast; and in 
 a little while the door was opened, & a bigman 
 clad in red scarlet stood therein : he had no wea/- 
 pons, but was somewhat surly of aspect: he 
 spake not, but stood abiding the word: so the 
 oamsel took it up and said: "Art thou not the 
 Warden of the Uttermost House ?" C He said: 
 "I am/' C Said the damsel: "May we guest 
 here to night?" C He said: "The house lieth 
 open to you with all that it hath of victual and 
 plenishing: take what yz will, and use what ye 
 will/' C They thanked him; but he heeded nbt 
 their thanks, & withdrew him from them* So 
 they entered and found the table laid in a fair 
 
 109 
 
hall of stone catvfen and painted very goodiv; 
 so theviitc and drank therein, and Hallbh'tne 
 was of good heart, and the Sea^eagle and his 
 mate were merry, though they looked softly 
 and shyly on Hallblithe because of the sunder/ 
 ing; and they saw no man ii^ the house save the 
 man in scarlet, who went and came about his 
 business, paying no heed to them. So when the 
 night was deep they lay down in the shut^bed 
 off the hall, and slept, and the hours were ti^ 
 dingless to them until they woke in the mom-' 
 ing. C On the morrow they arose and broke 
 their fast, & thereafter the damsel spake to the 
 man in scarlet and said: ** May we till our wal/ 
 lets with victual for the way?" C Said the warx 
 den: "There lieth the meat." C So they filled 
 the wallets, while the man looked on ; and they 
 came to the door when they were ready, and he 
 unlocked it to them, saying no word. But when 
 they turned their faces towards the mountains 
 he spake at last, & stayed them at the first step. 
 Quoth he: " Whitheraway ? Ye takethewrong 
 road I " C Said Hallblithe : ** Nay, for we go to^ 
 ward the mountains and the cdgt of the Glit/ 
 tering Plain." C "Ye shall do ill to go thither," 
 said the Warden, "and I bid you forbear." 
 "O Warden of the Uttermost House, where/ 
 fore should we forbear?" C Said the scarlet 
 man : " Because my charge is to further those 
 who would go inward to the King, and to stay 
 tto 
 
those who would go outward from the King." 
 C "How then if we go outward despite thy 
 bidding?" said the Sea^cagle, "wilt thou then 
 hinder us perforce?" C " Howmay I/' said the 
 man, ** since thy fellow hath weapons ?" C " Go 
 we forth, then/' said the Sea^cagle. C'Yea," 
 said the damsel, "we will go forth. And know, 
 O Warden, that this weaponed man only is of 
 mind to fare over the cage of the Glittering 
 Plain; but we twain shall come back hither ax 
 gain, and fare inwards." C Said the Warden : 
 " Nought is it to me what ye will do when you 
 are past this house. Nor shall any man who go-* 
 cth out of this garth toward the mountains ever 
 come back inwards save he cometh in the com^ 
 pany of new comers to the Glittering Plain." 
 C ** v/ho shallhinder him ?" said the Sea^eaglc. 
 C" The KING," said the Warden. CThcn 
 there was silence awhile, & the man said : " Now 
 do as yc will." And therewith he turned back 
 into the house and shut the door. C But the 
 Sea^eagle and the damsel stood gazing on one 
 another, and at Hallblithe; 8C the damsel was 
 downcast and pale; but the Sea^eagle cried out: 
 " Forward now, O Hallblithe, since thou wiliest 
 it, and w^e will go with thee and share whatever 
 may befall thee; yea, right up to the very edge 
 of the Glittering Plain. And thou, O beloved, 
 why dost thou delay? Why dost thou stand as 
 if thy (ait feet were grown to the grass ?" C But 
 
 tit 
 
the damsel gave a lamentable cry, and cast her-' 
 
 self down on the ground, and knelt before the 
 
 Sea^-eagle, and took him by the knees, and said 
 
 betwixt sobbing and weeping: *' O my lord and 
 
 love, I pray thee to forbear, and the Spearman, 
 
 our friend, shall pardon us. For if thou goest, I 
 
 shall never see thee more, since my heart will not 
 
 serve me to go with thee. Oh forbear! I pray 
 
 thee!" C! And she grovelled on the earth before 
 
 him; and the Sea^eagle waxed red, and would 
 
 have spoken; but Hallblithe cut his speech a-- 
 
 cross, and said : " Friends, be at peace ! For this 
 
 is the minute that sunders us. Get ye back at 
 
 once to the heart of the Glittering Plain, and 
 
 live there and be happy; and take my blessing 
 
 and thanks for the love and help that ye have 
 
 given me. For your going forward with me 
 
 should destroy you and profit me nothing. It 
 
 would be but as the hostbringinghis guests one 
 
 field beyond his garth, when their goal is the 
 
 ends of the earth; and if there were a lion in the 
 
 path, why should he perish for courtesy's sake?" 
 
 CE Therewith he stooped down to the damsel, 
 
 andliftedher up and kissed her face; and he cast 
 
 his arms about the Sea^eagle and said to him: 
 
 "Farewell, shipmate!" C Then the damsel gave 
 
 him the wallet of victual, and bade him fare.' 
 
 well, weeping sorely; and he looked kindly on 
 
 them for a moment of time, and then turned a,^ 
 
 way from them and fared on toward the moun.' 
 
 tl2 
 
tamsi striding with great strides, holding his 
 head aloft« But they looked no more on him, 
 having no will to eke their sorrow, but went 
 their ways back again without delay, 
 
 CHAPTER XVIL HALLBLITHE A. 
 MONGSTTHE MOUNTAINS. 
 
 [O strode on Hallblithe; 
 I but when he had gone 
 butalittle way his head 
 turned, and the earth 
 and heavens wavered 
 before him, so that he 
 must needs sit down on 
 a stone by the wayside, 
 wondering what ailed 
 I him. Then he looked 
 up at the mountains, which now seemed quite 
 near to him at the blain's ending, and his weak^ 
 ness increased on nimi; and lol as he looked, it 
 was to him as if the crags rose up in the sky to 
 meet him and overhang him, and as if the earth 
 heaved up beneath him, and therewidi he fell 
 aback and lost all sense, so that he knew not 
 what was become of the earth and the heavens 
 & the passing of the minutes ofhis life. C When 
 he came to himself he knew not whether he had 
 lain so a great while or a little; he felt feeble, & 
 for a while he lay scarce moving, and beholding 
 nought, not even the sky above him. Presently 
 he turned about and saw hard stone on either 
 
 q »»3 
 
side, so he rose wearily and stood upon his feet, 
 and knew that he was faint with hunger and 
 thirst. Then he looTced around him, & saw that 
 he was in a narrow valley or cleft of the moun^ 
 tains amidst wan rocks. Dare & waterless, where 
 grew no blade of green; but he could see no fur^ 
 ther than the sides of that cleft, and he longed 
 to be out of it that he might see whitherward to 
 turn. Then he bethought him of his wallet, and 
 set his hand to it and opened it, thinking to get 
 victual thence; butlol itwas all spoilt & wasted. 
 None the less, for all his feebleness, he turned 
 and went toiling slowly along what seemed to 
 be a path little trodden leading upward out of 
 the cleft; and at last he reached the crest thereof, 
 and sat him down on a rock on the other side; 
 yet durst not raise his eyes a while and look on 
 theland, lesthe should see death manifest there^ 
 in. At last he looked, and saw that he was high 
 Tip amongst the mountain peaks: before him 
 and on either hand was but a world of fallow 
 stone rising ridge upon ridge like the waves of 
 the wildest of the winter sea. The sun not far 
 from its midmost shone down bright and hot 
 on that wilderness; yet was there no sign that 
 any man had ever been there since the begins 
 ning of the world, save that the path aforesaid 
 seemed to lead onward down the stony slope. 
 GThis way & that way and all about he gazed, 
 straining his eyes if perchance he might see any 
 114 
 
diversity in the stony waste; and at last betwixt 
 two peaks of the rock^wall on his left hand he 
 descried a streak of green mingling with the cold 
 blue of the distance; and he thoughtinhisheart 
 that this was the last he shotild see of the Glit^ 
 tering Plain. Then he spake aloud in that de/ 
 sert, and said, though there was none to hear: 
 " Now is my last hour come; and here is Hall^ 
 blithe of t^e Raven perishing, with his deeds 
 undoneandhislongingunfulfilled,&his bridal/ 
 bed acold for ever. Long may the House of the 
 Raven abide and flourish, "with many a man and 
 maiden, valiant and fair and fruitful I O kindred, 
 cast thy blessing on this man about to die here, 
 doing none otherwise thanye would havehim I " 
 C He sat there a little while longer,and thenhe 
 said to himself J " Death tarries ; were it notwell 
 that I go to meet him, even as the cot/carle pre/ 
 venteth the mighty chieftain?** Then he arose, 
 and went painfully down the slope, steadying 
 himself with the shaft of his gleaming spear; 
 but all at once he stopped; for it seemed to him 
 that he heard voices borne on the wind that blew 
 up the mountain/side. But he shook his head 
 and said J ** Now forsooth beginneth the dream 
 which shall last for ever; nowise am I beguiled 
 by it." None the less he strove the more eager/ 
 ly with the wind, and the way, and his feeble/ 
 ness; yet did the weakness wax on him, so that 
 itwasbutalittle while ere he faltered and reeled 
 
 q 2. ns 
 
and fell down once more m a swoon. C When 
 he cameto himself again he was no longer alone : 
 a man was kneeling down by him and holding 
 up his head, while another before him, as he 
 opened his eyes, put a cup of wine to his lips. 
 So Hallblithe drank & was refreshed; and prex 
 sently they gave him bread, and he ate, and his 
 heart was strengthened, and the happiness of 
 life returned to it, and he lay back, and slept 
 sweetly for a season. CW^hen he awoke from 
 that slumber he found that he had gotten back 
 much of his strength again, and he sat up and 
 looked around him, and saw three men sitting 
 anigh, armed and girt with swords, yet in evil 
 array, and sore travel^wom. One of these was 
 very old, with long white hair hanging down; 
 and another, though he was not so much strick" 
 en in years, still looked an old man of over sixty 
 winters. The third was a man some forty years 
 old, but sad and sorry and drooping of aspect. 
 C! So when they saw him stirring, they all fixed 
 their eyes upon him, and the oldest man said: 
 "Welcome to him who erst had no tidings for 
 us I" And the second said: "Tell us now thy 
 tidings." But the third, the sorry man, cried out 
 aloud, saying: ""Where is the land? Wliere is 
 the land?" 
 
 C Said H allblithc: " Mescemeth the land which 
 ye seekisthe landwhich I seektofilee from. And 
 now I will not hide that meseemeth I have seen 
 ti6 
 
you before, and that was at Cleveland by the 
 Sea when the days were happier." Then they 
 all three bowed their heads in yea^say, & spake: 
 " Whereistheland? Whereisthe land?" Then 
 Hallblfthe arose to his feet, and said : " Ye have 
 healed me of the sickness of death, and I will do 
 what I may to heal you of your sickness of sor^ 
 row. Come up the pass with me, & I will show 
 you the land afar off." 
 
 CThen they arose like young and brisk men, 
 and he led them over the brow of the ridge into 
 the little valley wherein he had first come to him^ 
 self: there he showed them that glimpse of a 
 green land betwixt the two peaks, which he had 
 beheld e'en now; and they stood a while look/- 
 in? at it and weepingfor joy. CThcn spake the 
 oldest of the seekers : " Show us the way to the 
 land." C'Nay," said Hallblithe, "I may not; 
 for when I would depart thence, I might not go 
 by mine own will, but was borne out hither, I 
 wot not how. For when I came to the edge of 
 the land against the will of the King, he smote 
 me, & then cast me out. Therefore since I may 
 not help you, find ye the land for yourselves, and 
 let me go blessing you, and come out of this dcx 
 sertby the way whereby ye entered it. For I have 
 an errand in the world." C Spake the youngest 
 of the seekers : " Nowartthoubecometheyoke<« 
 fellow of Sorrow, and thou must wena, not 
 whither thou wouldst, but whither she will: & 
 
 «7 
 
she would have thee go forward toward life, not 
 backward toward death." C Said the niid/'inost 
 seeker: " If we let thee go further into the wil^ 
 demess thou shalt surely die: for hence to the 
 peopled parts, & the City of Merchants, whence 
 wc come, is a month's journey: and there is 
 neither meat nor drink, nor beast nor bird, nor 
 any green thing all that way j and since we have 
 found thee famishing, we may well deem that 
 thou hast no victual. As to us we have but little; 
 so that if itbernuch more than three days' jour^ 
 ncy to the Glittering Plain, we may well starve 
 anddiewithin sightof the Acre of the Undying. 
 Nevertheless that little will we share with thee 
 if thou wilt help us to find that good land; so 
 that thou mayst yet put away Sorrow, and take 
 Joy again to my board and bed." C Hallblithe 
 hung his head and answered nought; for he was 
 conmsed hy the meshes of ill^hap, and his soul 
 grew sick with the bitterness of death. But the 
 sad man spake again arid said: "Thou hast an 
 errand sayest thou? is it such as a dead man 
 may do?' C Hallblithe pondered, and ajnidst 
 the anguish of his despair was borne in oh'him 
 a vision of the sea/'waves lapping the side of a 
 black ship, and a man therein : who but himself, 
 set free to do his errand, SC his heart was quicks 
 ened within him, and he said: "I thank you, 
 and I will wend back with you, since there is no 
 road for me save back again into the trap." 
 it8 
 
CThc three seekers seemed dad thereat, and 
 the second one said: ** Though death is pursue 
 ing, and life lieth ahead, yet will we not hasten 
 thee unduly. Time was when I was Captain of 
 the Host, and learned how battles were lost by 
 lack of rest. Therefore have thy sleep now, that 
 thou mayst wax in strength tor our helping." 
 C Said Hallblithe: ** I need not rest; I may not 
 rest ; I will not rest." C Said the sad man : " It is 
 lawful for thee to rest. So say I, who was once a 
 master of law." CSaid the long/hoary elder: 
 "And I command thee to restj I who -vyas once 
 the king of a mighty folk." C! In sooth Hall-* 
 blithe was now^ exceeding weary; so he laid him 
 dovm and slept sweetly in the stony wilderness 
 amidst those three seekers, the old, the sad, and 
 the very old. 
 
 I H E N he awoke he felt well and 
 strong again, and he leapt to his 
 feet and looked about him, and 
 saw the three seekers stirring, & 
 he deemed by the sun that it was 
 early morning. The sad man 
 brought forth bread and water and wine, & they 
 broke their fast; and when they had done he 
 spake and said: "Abideth now in wallet knd 
 bottle but one more full meal for us, and then 
 no more save a few crumbs and a drop or two of 
 wine if we husband it well." C Said the second 
 elder : ** Get we to the road, then, & naake haste. 
 
I have been seeking, and nueseenicth, though 
 the way be long, it is not utterly blind for us. 
 Or look thou, Raven^'son, is there not a path 
 yonder that leadeth onward up to the brow of 
 the ghyll again Pandas I have seen, it leadeth on 
 again down from the said brow." C Forsooth 
 there wasatrack that led through the stony tan^ 
 gle of the wilderness; so they took to the road 
 with a good heart, and went all day, and saw no 
 living thing, and not a blade of grass or a trickle 
 of water: nought save the wan rocks under the 
 sun; and though they trusted in their road that 
 it led them aright, they saw no other glimpse of 
 the Glittering Plain, because there rose a great 
 ridge hke a wall on the north side, & they went 
 as it were down along a trench of the rocks, al^ 
 beit it was whiles broken across hy ghylls, and 
 knolls, and reefs. C So at sunset they rested and 
 ate their victual, for they were very weary; and 
 thereafter they lay down, and slept as soundly 
 as if they were in the best of the halls of men. 
 On the morrow betimes they arose soberlyand 
 went their ways with few words, and, as they 
 deemed, the path still led them onward. And 
 now the great ridge on th? north' rose steeper & 
 steeper, and their crossing it seemed not to be 
 thoughtof;buttheirhalf.'blindtrackfailedthem 
 not. They rested at even, & ate and drank what 
 little they had left, save a mouthful or two of 
 wtne,ana then went on again by the light of the 
 120 
 
moon, which was so bright that they still saw 
 their way. And it happened to Hallblithe, as 
 mostly it does with men very traveI^wom,that 
 he went on and on scarce remembering where 
 he was, or who his fellows were, or that he had 
 any fellows. So at midnight they lay down in 
 the wilderness again, hungry and weary. They 
 rose at dawn and went forward with waning 
 nope t for nowthe mountain ridge on the north 
 was close to their path, rising up along a sheer 
 wall of pale stone over which nothing might go 
 save the fowl flying; so thatat first on that mom^ 
 ing they- looked for nothing save to lay their 
 bones in that grievous desert where no man 
 should find them. But, as beset with famine, 
 they fared on heavily down the narrow track, 
 there came a hoarse cry from Hallblithe's dry 
 throat, anditwas as if his cry had been answered 
 by another like to his; and the seekers turned, 
 andbeheld him pointingtothecIiff-'side,andlo ! 
 halfz-way up the pale sun^-litten crag stood two 
 ravens in a cranny of the stone, flapping their 
 wings and croaking, with thrusting forth and 
 twisting of their heads; & presently they came 
 floating on the thin pure air high up Over the 
 heads of the wayfarers, croakingfof the pleasure 
 of the meeting, as though they laughed thereat. 
 C Then rose the heart of Hallbiithe, and he 
 smote his palms together, and fell to singing an 
 old song orhis people, amidstthe rocks whereas 
 few men had sung aforetimie. 
 
 r 12« 
 
jHENCE axcyc and whither, 
 ] O fowl of our fathers ? 
 I What field have ye looked on, 
 I what acres unshorn ? 
 What land have ye left 
 I where the battle/'tolk gathers, 
 
 And the war^helms are white 
 
 o'er the paths of the com ? 
 
 WHAT tale do ye bear 
 of the people uncraven, 
 Where amidst the long hall*' 
 shadow sparkle the spears; 
 W^here aloft on the hall/ridge 
 now fiappeth the raven, 
 And singeth the song 
 of the nourishing years? 
 
 THERE gather the lads 
 in the first of the morning. 
 While white lies the battle/' 
 day's dew^on the grass. 
 And the kind steeds trot up 
 to the horn's voice of warning. 
 And the winds wake and whine 
 in the dusk of the pass. 
 
 O FOWL of our fathers, 
 why now are ye resting? 
 Come over the mountains 
 and Ibok on the foe* 
 
 \23. 
 
Full fair after fight won 
 
 shall yet be your nesting; 
 
 And your fledgtings 
 
 the sons of the kindred shall know. 
 
 Therewith he strode with his head upraised, & 
 above him flew the ravens, croaking as if they 
 answered his song in friendly fashion. C It was 
 but a little after this that the path turned aside 
 sharp toward the cliffs, and the seekers were a/ 
 bashed thereof, till H^lblithe running forward 
 beheldagreat cavern in thefaceof the cliff atthe 
 pathos ending: so he turned and cried on his fel-* 
 lows, andthey hastened up, and presently stood 
 before that cavern's mouth with doubt and joy 
 mingled in their minds; for now, mayhappen, 
 they had reached the gate of the Glittering Plain, 
 or mayhappen the gate of death. C! The sad man 
 hung his head and spake: ** Doth not some new 
 trap abide us ? What do we here ? is this aught 
 save death ?" Spake the elder of Elders : " Mvas 
 not death on either hand e'en now, even as trea^ 
 son besetteth the kingupon his throne ? " C And 
 thesecondsaid:"Yea,wewereasthehostwhicTi 
 hath no road save through the multitude of foex 
 men." C But Hallblithelaughed & said: "Why 
 do ye hang back, then ? As for me, if death be 
 here, soon is mine errand sped." Therewith he 
 led the way into the dark of the cave, and the 
 ravens hung aboutthecragover^-head croaking, 
 AS the men left the light. So was their way swal^ 
 
lowed up in the cavern, and day and its time be-' 
 came nought to them; they went on and on, & 
 became exceeding faint and weary, but rested 
 not, for death was behind them* Whiles they 
 deemed they heard waters running, and whiles 
 the singing of fowl; and to Hallblithe it seemed 
 that he heard his name called, so that he shouted 
 back in answer; but all was still when the sound 
 of his voice had died out. C At last, when they 
 were pressing on again after a short while of 
 resting, Hallblithe cried out that the cave was 
 lightening: so they hastened onward, and the 
 light grew till they could see each other, and 
 dimly they beheld thecavethatitwasboth wide 
 and nigh. Yet a little further, and their faces 
 showed white to one another, & they could see 
 jthe crannies of the rocks, and the bats hanging 
 garlanded from the roof. So then they came to 
 where the day streamed down bright on them 
 from a break overhead, and lo ! the sky & green 
 leaves waving against it. C To those way-worn 
 men it seemed hard to clamber out that w^ay, & 
 especially to the Elders: so they wenton a little 
 further to see if there were aught better abidinjg 
 them, but when they found the daylight failing 
 them again, they turned back to the place of the 
 break in the t,oof, lest they should waste their 
 strength and perish in the bowels of the moun^ 
 tain. So with much ado they hove up Hallblithe 
 till he got him first on to a ledge of the rocky 
 IZ4 
 
wall, and so, what by strength, what by cun-' 
 ning, into the dayUght through the rent in the 
 roof. So when he was without he made a rope 
 of his girdle and strips from his raiment, for he 
 was ever a deft craftsman, and made a shift to' 
 heave up therewith the sad man, who was light 
 and lithe of body; and then the two together 
 dealtwith the Elders one after another, till they 
 were all four on the face of the earth again. The 
 place whereto they had gotten was the side of a 
 huge mountain, stony and steep, but set about 
 with bushes, which seemed full fair to those 
 wanderers amongst the rocks. This mountains- 
 slope went down towards a fair green plain, 
 which Hallblithe made no doubt was the out^ 
 lying waste of the Glittering Plain: nay, he 
 deemed that he could see afar off thereon the 
 white walls of the Uttermost House. So much 
 he told the seekers in few words ; and then while 
 they grovelled on the earth and wept for pure 
 joy, whereas the sun was down and it was bc^ 
 ginning to grow dusk, he went & looked around 
 soberly to see if he might find water & any kind 
 of victual; and presently a little down the hill^ 
 side he came upon a place where a spring came 
 gushing up out of the earth and ran down to^ 
 ward the plain; and about it was green grass 
 growing plentifully, andalittle thicket ofbram-' 
 ble and wilding fruitz-trees. So he drank of the 
 water, and plucked him a few wilding apples 
 
 125 
 
somewhat better than csrahs, and then went up 
 the hill again and fetched the seekers to that 
 mountain hostelry; and while they drank of the 
 stream he plucked them apples and bramble/' 
 berries, Forindced they were asmen outof their 
 \yits, and v/ere da^ed by the extremity of their 
 joy, and as men long shut up in prison, to whom 
 the world of men^lolk hath become strange. 
 Simple as the victual v/a3,they w^ere some-what 
 streng^ened by it & by the plentiful water, & 
 as night was now upon them, it was of no avail 
 for them to go further j so they slept beneath the 
 boughs of the thom^bushes. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIIL HALLBLITHE 
 DWELLETH IN THE WOOD A. 
 LONE» 
 
 |UT on the morrow they 
 1 arose betimes, and broke 
 their fast on that wood/- 
 land victual, and then 
 went speedily down the 
 mountain^-siae; & Hall*- 
 blithe saw by the clear 
 morning light that it was 
 indeed the Uttermost 
 I House which he had 
 seen across the green waste. Sohetoldtheseek^ . 
 ers; but they were silent and heeded nought, 
 because of a fear that had come upon them, lest 
 they should die before they came into that good 
 i26 
 
land. At the foot of the mountain they came 
 upon a river, deep but notwide, with low grassy 
 banks, and Hallbh'the, who was an exceeding 
 strong swimmer, helped the seekers ovet with^ 
 out much ado; and there they stood upon.the 
 grass of that goodly waste. Hallblithe looked 
 on them to note if any change should come over 
 them, and he deemed that already they were 
 become stronger and of more avail. But he sp ake 
 nought thereof, and strode on toward the Ut^ 
 termost House, even as that other day he had 
 stridden away &om it*. Such diligence they 
 made, that it was butlittle after noon when they 
 came to the door thereof.Xhen Hallblithe took 
 the horn and blew^upon.it, while his fellows 
 stood by murmuring^ *i It is the Land I It is the 
 Land!' C! So came the Warden to the door clad 
 in red scarlet, and the elder went up to him and 
 said: "Is this the Land?" C'What Land?" 
 said the Warden. C " Is itthe Glittering Plain ?" 
 said the second of the seekers. C!"Yea,forsooth," 
 said the Warden. Said the sad man : ** W^ill ye 
 lead us to the King?" C" Ye shall come to the 
 . King," said the Warden. C** When, oh when ?" 
 cried they out all three. C'The morrow of to^ 
 morrow, maybe," said the Warden. CE"Oh! if 
 to-morrow were but come I" they cried. C "It 
 will come,'* said the red man; "enter ye the 
 house, and eat and drink and rest you." So they 
 entered, and the Warden heeded Hallblitheno^ 
 
 U7 
 
thing. They ate and drank and then went to 
 their rest, and Hallblithe lay in a shut/'bed off 
 from the hall, butthe Warden broughttheseekx 
 ers otherwhere, so that Hallblithe sawthem not 
 after he had gone to bed; but as for him he slept 
 and forgot that aught was. C In the morning 
 when he awoke he felt very strong and well-' 
 likingj and he beheld his limbs that they were 
 clear of skin and sleekandfair;andheheardone 
 hardbyinthe hall carolling and singingjoyous/' 
 ly. So he sprang from his bed with the wonder 
 of sleep yet in him, and drew the curtains of the 
 shut^'bed and looked forth into the hall; and lo ! 
 on the high/'seat a man of thirty winters by 
 seeming, tall, fair of fashion, with golden hair 
 and eyes as gray as glass, proud and noble of 
 aspect; and anigh him sat another man of like 
 age to look on, a man strong and burly, with 
 short curling brown hair and a red beard, and 
 ruddy countenance, and the mien of a warrior. 
 Also, up & down the hall, paced a man younger 
 of aspect than these two, tall and slender, black« 
 haired & dark/'eyed, amorous of countenance; 
 he it was who was singing a snatch of song as 
 he went lightly on the half pavement: a snatch 
 like to this: 
 
 u8 
 
(AIR is the world, now autumn's 
 wearing, 
 
 And the sluggard sun lies long 
 abed; 
 
 Sweet are the days, now winter's 
 nearing. 
 And all winds feign that the wind is dead. 
 
 DUMB is the hedge where the crabs hang 
 
 yellow. 
 
 Bright as the blossoms of the spring; 
 
 Dumb is the close where.the pears grow 
 
 mellow, 
 
 Arfd none but the dauntless redbreasts sing. 
 
 FAIR was the spring, but amidst his greening" 
 Grey were the days of the hidden sun; 
 Fair was the summer, but overweening, 
 So soon his o'er /-sweet days were done. 
 
 COME then, love, for peace is upon us, 
 Far oflf is failing, and far is fear. 
 Here where the rest in the end hath won us. 
 In the garnering tide of the happy year. 
 
 COME from the grey old house by the- water. 
 
 Where, far from the lips of the hungry sea. 
 
 Green groweth the grass o'er the field of the 
 
 slaughter. 
 
 And all is a tale for thee and me. 
 
 C So Hallblithe did on his raiment and went 
 into the hall; & when those three saw him they 
 smiled upon him kindly and greeted him; and 
 
 s 129 
 
the noble man atthe board said: *' Thanks have 
 thou, O Warrior of the Raven, for thy help in 
 our need : thy Reward from us shall not be lack'' 
 ing." CThen the brownz-haired man came up 
 to him, and clapped him on the back and said 
 to him? "Brisk man of the Raven, good is thy 
 help at need; even so shall be mine to thee hence^ 
 forward." C But the young man stepped up to 
 him lightly, and cast his arms about him, and 
 kissed him, and said : *' O friend and fellow, who 
 knoweth but I may one day Jielp thee as thou 
 hastholpen me? though thou art one who by 
 seeming mayst well help thyself. And now 
 maystthoubeasmerryasIamto^day!"CThen 
 they all three cried out joyously : " Itisthe Land ! 
 It is the Land!" CSo Hallblithe knew that 
 these men were the two elders' and the sad naah 
 of yesterday, and that they had renewed their 
 youth. CJoyously now did those men break 
 their fast: nor did Hallblithe make any grim 
 countenance, for bethought: *'That which these 
 dotards and drivellers have been mighty enough 
 to find, shall I not be mighty enough to flee 
 from?" Breakfast done, the seekers made little 
 delay, so eager as they were to behold the King, 
 and to have handsel of their new sweet life. So 
 they got them ready to depart, and the oncC' 
 captain said: ''Art thou able to lead us to the 
 King, O Ravenz-son, or must we seek another 
 man to do so much for us?" Said Hallblithe: 
 »30 
 
" I am ahle to lead you so nigh unto Wbod^'end 
 (where, as I deem, the King ahideth) that yc 
 shall not miss him/' Therewith they went to 
 the door, and the Warden unlocked to them, & 
 spake no word to them when they departed, 
 thou|4i they thanked him kindly for the guests 
 ing« C When they were without the garth, the 
 young man fell to running about the meadow 
 plucking great handfuls of the rich flowers that 
 grew about, singing & carolling the while. But 
 he who had been king looked up and down and 
 round about, and said at last: ^' Where be the 
 horses and the men?'' But his fellow with the 
 red beard said: ** Ravenz-son, in this land when 
 they journey, what do they as to riding or going 
 afoot?" SaidHallblithe: ** Fair fellows, ye shall 
 wot that in this land folk go afoot for the most 
 part, both men and women ; whereas they weary 
 butUttle,andarein no haste." C[ Then the oncex 
 captain clapped the once^king on the shoulder, 
 and said: ** Hearken, lord, and delay no longer, 
 but gfird up thy gown, since here is no mare's 
 son to help thee: for fair is to-'day that lies be** 
 fore us, with many a fair new day beyond it." 
 CSo Hallblithe led the way inward, thinking 
 of many things, yet but little of his fellows. Al^ 
 beit they, and the younger man especially, were 
 of many words; for this black/haired man had 
 many questions to ask, chiefly concerning the 
 women, what they were like to look on, and of 
 
 S2 t3i 
 
what mood they were. Hallblithe answered 
 thereto as longashemight,butatIasthelaughed 
 and said: "Friend, forbear thy questions now; 
 for meseemeth in a few hours thou shalt be as 
 wise hereon as is the (jod of Love himself/^ 
 CSo they made diligence along the road, and 
 all was tidingless till on the second day at even 
 they came to the first house oflF the waste. There 
 had they good w^elcome, and slept. But on the 
 morrow when they arose, Hallblithe spake to 
 the Seekers, and said: ''Now are things much 
 changed betwixt us since the time w^hen we first 
 met: for then I had all my desire, as I thought, 
 and ye had but one desire, and well nigh lacked 
 hope of its fulfilment. W^hereas now the lack 
 hath left you and come to me. W^herefore even 
 astimeagoneyemightnotabide even one night 
 at the House of the Raven, so hard as your de*- 
 sire lay on you; evensoitfareth w^ith me toxday, 
 that I am consumed with my desird, and I may 
 not abide with you; lest that befall which be-- 
 falleth betwixt the full man and the fasting. 
 W^hereforenow I bless you & depart." CThey 
 abounded in words of good^will to him,andthe 
 once^king said: "Abide with us, and we shall 
 see to it that thou have all the dignities that a 
 man may think of." CAnd the once^captain 
 said : " Lo, here is mine hand that hath been 
 mighty; never shalt thou lack it for the acconi« 
 plishment of thine uttermost desire; Abide with 
 132 
 
US." C Lastly said the young man : " Abide with 
 us, Son of the Raven! Set thine heart on a fair 
 woman, yea even were it the fairest; and I will 
 get her for thee, yea, even were my desire set on 
 her." C But he smiled on them, and shook his 
 head, and said : " All hail to you ! but mine er^* 
 rand is yet undone." And therewith he depart-* 
 ed. C! Heskirted W^ood^end and came nottoit, 
 but got him down to the side of the sea, not far 
 from where he first came aland, but somewhat 
 south of it. A fair oak.* wood came down close to 
 the beach of the sea; itw^as some four miles end/- 
 long and over-'thwart. Thither Haliblithe be^ 
 took him, and in a day or two got him wood-- 
 Wright's tools from a house of men a little out-* 
 side the wood, three miles from the sea^shore. 
 Then he set to work & built him a little frames 
 house on a lawn of the wood beside a clear 
 stream; for he was a very deft wood-'wright. 
 MC^ithal he made him a bow & arrows, and shot 
 what he would of the fowl and the deer for his 
 livelihood; and folk from that house and otker*' 
 whence came to see him, & brought him bread 
 and wine and spicery and other matters w^hich 
 he needed. And the days wore, and men got 
 used to him, and loved him as if he had been a 
 rare image which had been broughtto that land 
 for its adornment; & now they no longer called 
 him the Spearman, but the Wbod«'lover. And 
 as for him, he took all in patience, abiding what 
 the lapse of days should bring forth. 
 
 »33 
 
CHAPTER XIX. HALLBLITHE 
 BUILDS HIM A SKIFR 
 
 jFTERHallblithchad 
 been housed a little 
 while, and the time 'was 
 again drawing nigh to 
 the twelfth moon since 
 ; he had come to the 
 Glittering Plain, he 
 went in the wood one 
 day; and, pondering 
 I many things without 
 fixing on any one, he stood before a very great 
 oak-tree and looked at the tall straight bole 
 thereof, and there came into his head the words 
 of an old song which was written round a scroll 
 of the carving over the shut/bed, wherein he was 
 wont to lie when he was at home in the House 
 of the Raven: and thus it said: 
 
 I AM the oak/tree, and forsooth 
 Men deal by me with little ruth ; 
 My boughs they shred, my life they slay. 
 And speed me o'er the watery way. 
 
 He looked up into that leafy world for a little 
 and then turned back toward his house; but all 
 day long, whether he were at work or at rest, 
 that posy ran in his head, and he kept on saying 
 it over, aloud or not aloud, till the day was done 
 and he went to sleep. CThen in his sleep he 
 dreamed that an exceeding fair woman stood 
 t34 
 
by his bedside, and at first she seemed to him 
 to be an image of the Hostage. But presently 
 her face changed, andher body andher raiment; 
 and, lol it was the lovely woman, the King's 
 daughter whom he had seen wasting her heart 
 for the love of him» Then even in his dream 
 shamethereofovertookhim, andbecause ofthat 
 shame he awoke, and lay awake a little, heark/* 
 ening the wind going through the woodland 
 boughs, and the singing of the owl who had her 
 dwelling in the hollow oak nigh to his house. 
 Slumber overcame him in a little while, and a^ 
 gain the image of the King's daughter came to 
 him in his dream, and again when he looked 
 upon her, shame and pity rose so hotly in his 
 heart that he awoke weeping, and lay a while 
 hearkening to the noises of the night. The third 
 time he slept and dreamed; and once more that 
 image came to him. And now he looked, and 
 saw that she had in her hand a book covered 
 outside with gold and gems, even as he saw it 
 in the orchardz-close aforetime: and he beheld 
 her face thatit was no longer the face of one sick 
 with sorrow; but glad and clear, & most beau^ 
 teous. C Now she opened the book and held it 
 before Hallblithe and turned the leaves so that 
 he might see them clearly; and therein were 
 woods and castles painted, and burning moun^ 
 tains, and the wall of the world, and kings upon 
 their thrones, and fair women and warriors, all 
 
most lovely to behold, even as he had seen it 
 aforetime in the orchard when he lay lurking 
 amidst the leaves of the bay^tree. CE So at last 
 she came to the place in the book wherein was 
 painted Hallblithe's own image over against 
 the image of the Hostagej andhelooked there/- 
 on and longed» But she turned the leaf, and, lo ! 
 on one side the Hostage again, standing in a 
 fair garden of the spring with the lilies all about 
 her feet, and behind her the walls of a house, 
 grey, ancient, and lovely: and on the other leaf 
 over against her was painted a sea rippled by a 
 little wind and a boat thereon sailing sw^iftly, 
 and one man alone in the boat sitting & steering 
 with a cheerful countenance; and he, who but 
 Hallblithe himself Hallblithe looked thereon 
 for a while and then the King's daughter shut 
 the book, and the dream flowed into other im^ 
 aginingsofno import. 
 
 ^^l^^^flN the grey dawn Hallblithe a- 
 \ woke, & called to mind his dream, 
 and he leapt from his bed and 
 washed the night from offhim in 
 the stream, and clad himself and 
 I went the shortest way through 
 the wood to that House of folk aforesaid: and 
 as he went his face was bright and he sang the 
 second part of the carvcn posyj to wit: 
 
 136 
 
ALONG the gfrass I lie forlorn 
 That when a while of time is worn, 
 I may be filled with war and peace, 
 And bridge the sundering of the seas. 
 
 C He came out of the wood and hastened over 
 the flowery meads of the Glittering Plain, and 
 came to that same hous': when it was yet very 
 early. Atthe door he came across a damselbear^ 
 ing water from the well, and she spake to him 
 and said : " Welcome, Wbod^Iover f Seldom art 
 thou seen m our garth; and that is a pity of thee. 
 And now I look on thy face I see that gladness 
 hath come into thine heart, and that thou art 
 most fair and lovely. Here then is a token for 
 thee of the increase of gladness." Therewith she 
 set her buckets on the earth, and stood before 
 him, and took him by the ears, and drew down 
 his face to hers & kissed him sweetly. He smiled 
 on her and said: "I thank thee, sister, for the 
 kiss and the greeting; but I come here having a 
 lack." C'Tell us," she said, "that we may do 
 thee a pleasure." C He said: " I would ask the 
 folk to give me timber, both beams and battens 
 and boards ; for if I hew in the wood it -will take 
 long to season." C'AIl this is free for thee to 
 take from our woodxstore when thou hast 
 broken thy fast with us," said the damsel. 
 " Come thou in and rest thee." € She tookhim 
 by the hand and they went in together, and she 
 gave him to eat and drink, and wentup & down 
 
 t 137 
 
the house, saying to every one: " Here is come 
 theWbodxIovcr,andheis glad again; come and 
 see him." C So the folk gathered about him, & 
 made much of him. Ana when they had made 
 an end of breakfast, the head man of the House 
 said to him: "The beasts are in the wain, and 
 the timberabideth thy choosing; comeandsee." 
 So he brought Hallblithe to the timber-'bower, 
 where he chose for himself all that he needed of 
 oak^timber of the best; & they loaded the wain 
 therewith, and gave him w^hat he would more^ 
 over of nails and tree^nails and other matters ; 
 and he thanked them; and they said to him: 
 "W^hither now shall we lead thy timber?" 
 C'Down to the seaside," quoth he, "nighest 
 to my dwelling." C So did they, and more than 
 a score, men and women, went with him, some 
 in the w^ain, and some afoot. Thus they came 
 down to the sea^shore, and laid the timber on 
 the strand just above high-'water mark; and 
 straightway H allblithe fell to work shapin g him 
 a boat, for well he knewthe whole craft thereof; 
 and the folk looked on w^ondering, till the tide 
 had ebbed the little it was wont to ebb, and left 
 the moist sand firm and smooth; then the wO" 
 men left watching Hallblithe's work, and fell to 
 paddling barefoot in the clear water, for there 
 was scarce a ripple on the sea; and the carles 
 came and played with them so that Hallblithe 
 was left alone a while; for this kind of play was 
 138 
 
new to that folk, since they se|dom came down 
 
 to the sea^sfde. Thereafter they needs must 
 
 dance together, and would have had Hallblithe 
 
 dance with them; and when he nay said them 
 
 because he was fain of his work, in all playful<' 
 
 iiess they fell to taking the adze from out his 
 
 hand, whereathe became somewhat wroth, and 
 
 they were afraid and went and had their dance 
 
 out without him, C By this time the sun was 
 
 grown very hot, and they came to him again, 
 
 and lay down about him and watched his work, 
 
 for they were weary. And one of the women, 
 
 still panting with the dance, spake as she looked 
 
 on the loveliness of her limbs, which one of the 
 
 swains was caressing: ** Brother," said she, 
 
 "great strokes thou smitest; when wilt thou 
 
 have smitten the last of them, and come to our 
 
 house'again?" f[" Not for many days, fair sis' 
 
 ter," said he, without looking up, C " Alas that 
 
 thou shouldst talk so," said a carle, rising up 
 
 from the warm sand; "what shall all thy toil 
 
 win thee?"C Spake Hallblithe: "Maybe a 
 
 merry heart, or maybe death." € At that word 
 
 they all rose up together, and stood huddled to-* 
 
 gcther like sheep that have been driven to the 
 
 croft^gate, and the shepherd hath left them for 
 
 a little and they know not whither to go. Little 
 
 by little they got them to the wain & harnessed 
 
 their beasts thereto, and departed silently by 
 
 the way that they had come ; but in a little time 
 
 t2 t39 
 
Hallblithe heard their laughter and merry 
 speech across the flowery meadows. He heeded 
 their departure little, but went on working, and 
 worked the sun down, and on till the stars he^ 
 gan to twinkle. Then he wenthome to his house 
 in the wood, and slept and dreamed not, and 
 began again on the morrow with a good heart. 
 CTo be short, no day passed that he wrought 
 not his full tale of work, and the days wore, and 
 his shipwright's work throve. Often the folk of 
 that house, and from otherwhere round about, 
 came down to the strand to watch him working. 
 Nowise didthey wilfully hinderhim, butwhiles 
 when they could get no talk from him, they 
 would speak of him to each other, wondering 
 that he should so toil to sail upon the sea; for 
 they loved the sea but little, and it soon became 
 clear to themthathewaslookingtonoughtelset 
 though it may not be said that they deemed he 
 would leave the land for ever. On the other hand, 
 if they hindered him not, neither did they help, 
 saving when he prayed them for somewhat 
 which he needed, which they would then give 
 him blithely. C Of the Sea/eagle and his dam^ 
 sel, Hallblithe sawnought; whereathe was well 
 content, for he deemed it of no avail to make a 
 second sundering of it. C So he worked 8c kept 
 his heart up, and at last all was ready; he had 
 made himamast andasail,and oars, and what.' 
 so/other gear there was need of. So then he 
 140 
 
thrust his skiff into thcscaonancvcningwhen/ 
 as there were but two carles standing by; for 
 there would often be a score or two of folk. 
 These two smiled on him and bespake him 
 kindly^ but would not help him when he bade 
 them set shoulder to her bows and shove. Albeit 
 he got the skiff into the water without much 
 ado, and got into her, and brought her to where 
 a stream running from out of his wood made a 
 little haven for her up from the sea. There he 
 tied her to a tree^bole, and busied himself that 
 even with getting the gear into her, and victual 
 and water withal as much as he deemed he 
 should need: and so, being weary, he went to his 
 house to sleep, thinking that he should awake 
 in the grey of the morning and thrust out into 
 the deep sea. And he was the more content to 
 abide, because on that eve, as oftenest betid, the 
 wind ble-w landward from the sea, whereas in 
 the morning it oftenest blew seaward from the 
 land. In any case he thought to be astir so timex 
 ly that he should come alone to his keel, and de/- 
 part with no leaver-takings. But, as it fell out, he 
 overslept himself, so that when he came out in^ 
 to the wood clad in all his armour, with his sword 
 girt to his side, and his spear over his shoulder, 
 he heard the voices of folk, and presently found 
 so many gathered about his boat that he had 
 some ado to get aboard. IE The folk had brought 
 many gifts for him of such things as they deem-' 
 
 t4i 
 
ed he might need for a short voyage, as fruit and 
 wine, and woollen cloths to keep the cold night 
 from him; he thanked them kindly as he stepped 
 over the gunwale, & some of the women kissed 
 him : and one said (she it was, who had met him 
 at the stead that morning whenhe wcntto fetch 
 timber): "Thou wilt be back this even, wilt 
 thou not, brother? It is yet but early, and thou 
 shalt have time enough to take all thy pleasure 
 on the sea, and then come back to us to eat thy 
 meat in our house at nightfall/' CE She spake, 
 knitting her brows in longing forhis return; but 
 he knew that all those deemed he would come 
 back again soon; else had they deemed him a 
 rebel of the King, and might, as he thought, 
 have stayed him. So he changed not counten^* 
 ance in any wise, but said only : " Farewell, sis/ 
 ter, for this day, and farewell to all you till I come 
 back." Therewith he unmoored his boat, and 
 sat down and took. the oars, and rowed till he 
 was outof the little haven, and on the green sea, 
 and the keel rose and fell on the waves. Then 
 he stepped the mast and hoisted sail, and sheet<' 
 ed home, for the morning wind was blowing 
 gently from the mountains aver the meadows 
 of the Glittering Plain, so the sail filled, and the 
 keel leapt forward and sped over the face of the 
 cold sea. And it is to be skid that whether he 
 wotted or not, itwasthevcry day twelve months 
 since he had come to that shore along with the 
 X42 
 
Sea/'eagle. So that folk stood and watched the 
 skiff crowing less &Iess upon the deep till they 
 could scarce sec her. Then they turned about 
 and went into the wood to disport them, for the 
 sun was growing hot. Nevertheless, there were 
 some of them (and that damsel was one), who 
 came backto the sea^shore from time to timeall 
 day long; & even when the sun was down they 
 looked seaward under the rising moon, expects 
 ing to see Hallblithe's bark come into the shin.' 
 ing path which shedrew across thewaters round 
 about the Glittering Land. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. SO NOW SAILETH 
 HALLBLITHE AWAY FROM THE 
 GLITTERING PLAIN. 
 
 !UT as to Hallblithe, he 
 Isoon lost sight of the 
 Glittering Plain and the 
 mountains thereof, and 
 there was noughtbutsea 
 all round about him, and 
 his heart swelled with 
 joy ashe sniffed the brine 
 and watched the gleaxny 
 ling hills and valleys of 
 the restless deep; and he said to himself that he 
 was going home to his Kindred and the Roof of 
 his Fathers of old time. € He stood as near due 
 north as he might; butastheday wore,thewind 
 headed him, and he deemed it not well to bea^ 
 
 »43 
 
lest he should make his voyage overlong; so he 
 ran on with the wind abeam, and his little craft 
 leapt merrily over the sea^hills under the fresh^ 
 cning breeze. The sun set & the moon and stars 
 shone out, and he still sailed on, and durst not 
 sleep, save as a dog does, with one eye. At last 
 came dawn, and as the light grew: it w^as a fait 
 day with a falling wind, and a bright sky, but it 
 clouded over before sunset, and the wind fresh/- 
 cned from the north by east,' andj^would he, 
 would he not, Hallblithe must 'run before h 
 night'-long, till at sunrise it fell again, and all 
 day was too light for him to make much way 
 beating to northward; nor did it freshen till after 
 the moon"w^as risen some while after sunset. 
 € Andnowhew^assow^earythathe must needs 
 sleep; so he lashed the helm, and took a reef in 
 the sail, and ran before the wind, he sleeping in 
 the stem. C But past the middle of the night, 
 towards the dawning, he awoke with the sound 
 of a greatshoutinhisears.Sohelooked over the 
 dark waters, and saw nought, for the night was 
 cloudy again. Then he trimmed his craft, and 
 w^ent to sleep again, for he was overburdened 
 with slumben 
 
 IHEN he awoke it was broad 
 daylight; so he looked to the til*' 
 ler and got the boat's headalittle 
 up to the wind, and then gazed 
 about him with the sleep still in 
 his eyes. And as his eyes took in 
 144 
 
thcpicture before himhecould not refrain a cry; 
 for lo ! there arose up ^reatand grim right ahead 
 the black cliffs of the Isle of Ransom. Straights 
 wAy he got to the sheet, and strove to wear the 
 boat; but for all that he could do she drifted tO'' 
 wArd the land, for she was gotten into a strong 
 current of the sea that set shoreward. So he 
 struck sail, and took the oars & rowed mighti'- 
 ly so that he itiight bear her offshore; but it a,^ 
 vailed nothing, and still he drifted landw^ard. 
 H So he stood up from the oars, and turned a^ 
 bout and looked and saw that he w^as but some 
 three furlongs from the shore, and that he ^vas 
 come to the very havens-mouth whence he had 
 set sail with the Sea^eagle a twelvemonth ago : 
 and he knew that into that haven he needs must 
 get him, or be dashed to pieces against the high 
 cliffs of the land t andhe sawhow the waves ran 
 on to the cliffs, and whiles one higher than the 
 others smote the rock^wall and ran up it, as if it 
 could climb over on to the grassy lip beyond, 
 apd then fell back again leaving a river of brine 
 running down the steep. CTnen he said that 
 he would takewhatmight befall him inside the 
 haven. So he hoisted, sail again, and took the 
 tiller, and steered right for the naidmost of the 
 gate between therocks, wondering what should 
 await him there. Then it was but a few minutes 
 ere his bark shot into the smoothness of the 
 haven, and presently began to lose way; for all 
 
 u 145 
 
the wind was dead within that land'-locked 
 water. Hallblithe looked steadily round about 
 seeking his foe; but the haven was empty of 
 ship or boat; so he ran his eye along the shore 
 to see w^here he should best lay his keel; and as 
 aforesaid there was no beach there, & the water 
 was deep right up to the grassy lip of the land; 
 though the tides ran somewhat high,andatlow 
 water would a little steep undercliff go up from 
 the face of the sea. But now it was near the top 
 of the tide, and there was scarcetwo feet betwixt 
 the grass and the dark^green sea. C NpwHall^ 
 blithe steered toward an ingleof thehaven;and 
 beyond it, a little way off, rose a reef of rocks 
 out of the green grass, and thereby was a flock 
 of sheep feeding, and a big man lying down a," 
 mongst them, who seemed to be unarmed, as 
 Hallblithe could not sec any glint of steel about 
 him. C! Hallblithe drew^ nigh the shore, and the 
 big man stirred not; nor did he any the more 
 when the keel ran along the shore, and Hall^ 
 blithe leapt out and moored his crafttohis spear 
 stuck deep in the earth. And now Hallblithe 
 deems that the man must be either dead or a^ 
 sleep : so he drew his sword & had it in his right 
 hand, and in his left a sharp knife, and went 
 straight up to the man betwixt the sheep, and 
 found him so lying on his side that he could not 
 see his face; so he stirred him with his foot, and 
 cried out: "Awake, O Shepherd! for dawn is 
 146 
 
long past and day is come, and therewithal a 
 guest for thee I ** The man turned over and sloW'' 
 fy sat up, and, lo I who should it be but the Puny 
 Fox ? Hallblithe started back at the sight ofhim, 
 and cried out at him and said: ** Have I found 
 thee, O mine enemy?*' CiThe Puny Fox sat 
 up a little straighter, and rubbed his eyes and 
 said: "Yea, thou hast found me sitte enough. 
 But as to my being thine enemy, a word or two 
 maybe said about that presently/' C^W^hat I" 
 said Hallblithe, 'Most thou deem that aught 
 save tny sword will speak to thee?" C.**l wot 
 not," said the Puny rox, slowly rising to his 
 feet, "but I suppose thou wilt not slay me un/ 
 armed, and thou seest that I have no weapons/' 
 € ** Get thee weapons, then," quoth Hallblithe, 
 "and delay not; for the sight of thee alive sick^ 
 ens me/' C"I1I is that," said the Puny Fox, 
 "but come thou with me at once, where I shall 
 find both the weapons & a good fighting<^tead» 
 Hasten I time presseth, now thou art c6me at 
 last/' € "And mv boat?" said HaUblithe. 
 "Wilt thou carry ner in thy pouch?" said the 
 Puny Fox; "thou wilt not need her again, whe-- 
 ther thou slay me, or I thee/' C Hallblithe knit 
 his brows on him in his wrath; for he deemed 
 that Fox's meaning was to threaten him with 
 the vengeance of the kindred.H owbeit,he said 
 nought; for he deemed it ill to wrangle in words 
 with one whom he was presently to meet in 
 
 U2 147 
 
battle; so he followed asthePtinyFoxled.Fox 
 brought him pastthe reef of rock aforesaid, and 
 up a narrow cleft of the cliflEs overlooking the 
 sea, whereby they came into a little grassy-grown 
 meadow well nigh round in shape, as smooth 
 and level as a hall^floor, and fenced about by a 
 wall of rock: a place which had once been the 
 mouth of an earth^fire, and a cauldron of molten 
 stone. 
 
 jH EN they stood on the smooth 
 grass Fox said : " Hold theeth ere 
 alittle,whilel go to myweapon*" 
 chest, and then shall we see w^hat 
 is to be done." C Therewith he 
 turned aside to a cranny of the 
 rock, and going down on his hands and knees, 
 fell to creeping like a worm up a hole therein, 
 which belike led to a cavern ; for after his voice 
 had come forth from the earth, grunting and 
 groaning, and cursing this thing, and that, out 
 he comes again feet first, and casts dovm an 
 old rusty sw^ord w^ithout a sheath; a helm no 
 less rusty, and battered withal, and a round tar*- 
 get, curled up and outworn as if it would fall to 
 pieces of itself. Then he stands up and stretches 
 himself, and smiles pleasantly on Hallblithe 
 and says: "Now, mine enemy, when I have 
 donned helm and shield and got my sword in 
 hand, we may begin the play: as to a hauberk 
 I must needs go lack; for I could not come by it; 
 148 
 
I think the old man must have chaffered it a^ 
 
 waythewasevertoomoney^fain," C But Hall/ 
 
 blithe looked on him angrily and said: "Hast 
 
 thou brought mc hitherto mock me ? Hast thou 
 
 no better weapons wherewith to meet a warrior 
 
 of the Raven than these rusty shards, which 
 
 look as if thouhadst robbed a grave of the dead? 
 
 I will not fight thee so armed/' C" Well/' said 
 
 the Puny Fox, "and from out of a grave come 
 
 they verily: for in that little hole licth my fath^ 
 
 er's grandsire, the great Sea-mew of the Ra.^ 
 
 vagers, the father of that Sea^eaglewhom thou 
 
 knowest* But since thou thinkest scorn of these 
 
 weapons of a dead warrior, in go the old carle's 
 
 treasures again! It is as well maybe; since he 
 
 might be wrath beyond his wont if he were to 
 
 wake and miss them; and already this cold cup 
 
 of the once-'boiling rock is not wholly safe be/ 
 
 cause of him/' C bo he crept into the hole once 
 
 more, and out of it presently, and stood smiting, 
 
 his palms one against the other to dust them, 
 
 like a man who has been handling parchments 
 
 long laid by; and Hallblithe stood looking at 
 
 him, still w^rathful, but silent. CiXhen said the' 
 
 Puny Fox: "This at least was a w^ise word of 
 
 thine, that thou wouldst not fight me. For the 
 
 end of fighting is slaying; and it is stark folly to 
 
 fight without slaying; and now I see that tnou 
 
 desirest not to slay me : for if thou didst, why 
 
 didst thou refuse to fall on me armed with the 
 
 149 
 
ghosts ofwcapons that I borc owed iarom a ghost r 
 Na7, why didst thou not slay me as I crept out 
 of yonder hole ? Thou wouldst have h ad a cheap 
 bargain of me cither way. It would be rank 
 foUyto fight me/' CSaid Hallblithe hoarsely: 
 ** why didst thou bewray me, and lie to me, 
 and lure me away firom the quest of my beloved, 
 and waste a whole year of my hfe ?" C It is a 
 long story," said the Puny Fox, "which I may 
 tell thee some day. Meantime I may tell thee 
 this, that I was compelled thereto by one far 
 mightier than I, to wit the Undying King." 
 C! At that word the smouldering v/rath blazed 
 up in Hallblithe, and he drew his sword hastily 
 and hewed at the Puny Fox? but he leapt aside 
 nimbly and ran in on Hallblithe, ana caught 
 his sword«'arm by the wrist, and tore the wea** 
 pon out of his hand, and overbore him by sheer 
 weight and stature, and drave him to the earth. 
 Then he rose up, and let Hallblithe rise also, 
 and took his sword and gave it into his hand a^ 
 gain and said:** Crag^nester,thou art wrathful, 
 but little. Now thou hast thy sword again and 
 mayst slay me if thou wilt. Yet not until I have 
 spoken a word to thee: so hearken! or else by 
 the Treasure of the Sea I will slay theewithmy 
 bare hands. For I am strong indeed in this place 
 with my old kinsman beside me. "Wilt thou 
 hearken?" C* Speak," said Hallbh'the, "I 
 hearken." Said the Pimy Fox: "True it is that 
 150 
 
I lured thee away from thy quest, and wore a*- 
 way a year of thy life. Yet true it is also that I 
 repent me thereof, and ask thy pardon. What 
 sayest thou?" C Hallblithe spate not, but the 
 heat died out of his face & he was become some^ 
 what pale. Said the Puny Fox ; " Dost thou not 
 remember, O Raven, how thou badest me bat* 
 tie last year on the sca^-shore by the side of the 
 Rollers of the Raven? and how this was to be 
 the prize of battle, that the vanquished should 
 serve the vanquisher year.'long, and do all his 
 will? And now this prize and more thou hast 
 won without battle ; for I swear by the Treasure 
 of the Sea, and by the bones of the great Seax 
 mew yonder, that I will serve thee notyear4ong 
 but lif&'long, and that I will help thee in thy 
 
 2uest for thy beloved. "WTiat sayest thou? ' 
 [ Hallbh'the stood speechless a moment, look** 
 ing past the Puny Fox, rather than at him. 
 Then the sw^ord tumbled out of his hand on to 
 the g^ass, and great tears rolled down his cheeks 
 and fell on to his raiment, and he reached out 
 his hand to the Puny Fox and said : ** O friend, 
 wilt thou not bringmetoher ?forthe days wear, 
 and the trees are growingold round about the 
 Acres of the Raven." CEThen the Puny Fox 
 took his hand, and laughed merrily in his face, 
 and said : *' Greatis thine heart, O carrion^biter ! 
 But now that thou art miy friend I will tell thee 
 that I have a deeming of the whereabouts of 
 
 151 
 
thy beloved. Of where deemest thou was the 
 garden wherein thou sawest her standing on 
 thepageof the book in that dream of the night? 
 So it is, O Raven/son, that it is not for nothing 
 ihat my grandsire's father lieth in yonder hole 
 of the rocks; for of late he hath made me wise 
 in miehty lore. Thanks have thou,0 kinsman!" 
 And he turned him toward the rock wherein 
 was the grave. But HallbHthe said: "What is 
 to do now? Am I not in a land of foemen?" 
 C^Yea, forsootfi/' said the Puny Fox, "and 
 even if thou knewest where thy love is, thou 
 shouldst hardly escape from this isle unslain, 
 save for me." C!Said Hallblithe: *' Is there not 
 my bark, that I might depart at once ? for I deem 
 not that the Hostage is on the Isle of Ransom." 
 € The Puny Fox laughed boisterously & said : 
 " Nay, she is not. But as to thy boat, there is so 
 strong a set of the flood^'tide toward this end of 
 the isle, that with the wind blowing as now, 
 from the north/north/east, tiiou mayst not get 
 off the shore for four hours at least, and I mis^ 
 doubt me that within that time we shall have 
 tidings of a ship of ours conning into the haven. 
 Thy bark they shall take, and thee also if thou 
 art therein; and then soon were the story told, 
 for they know thee for a rebel of the Undying 
 King. Hearken ! Dost thou not hear the horn's 
 voice ? Come up hither and we shall see what is 
 towards." C So saying, he led hastily up a kind 
 152 
 
of stair in the rock^wall, until they reached a 
 cranny, whence thro ugh a hole in the cli£F, they 
 could see all over the haven. And lo ! as they 
 looked, in the very gate and entry of it came a 
 great ship heavingup her bows on the last swell 
 of theouter sea (where the wind had risen somex 
 what) , and rolling into the smooth, land-locked 
 water. Black was her sail, and the image of the 
 Sea-eagle enwrought thereon spread wide over 
 it; & the banner or the Flaming Sword stream- 
 ed out from the stem. Many men all-weaponed 
 wefe on the decks, and the minstrels high up 
 on the poop were blowing a merry song of re- 
 turn on their battlc-homs. C *' Lo, you," said 
 the Puny Fox, "thy luck or mine hath served 
 thee this time, in tnat the Flaming Sword did 
 not overhaul thee ere thou madest the haven. 
 We arc well here at least." C Said Hallblithe: 
 " But may not some of them come up hither 
 perchance ? " € " Nay, nay," said the Puny 
 Fox; "they fear the olamanin the cleft yonder; 
 for he is not over guest-fain. This mead is mine 
 own, as for other living men ; it is my unroofed 
 house, and I have here a housewith a roof also, 
 which I will showtheepresently, Fornow since 
 the Flaming Sword hath come, there is no need 
 for haste; nay, we cannot depart till they have 
 gone up-country. So I will showthee presently 
 what we shall do to-night." C So there they sat 
 and watched those men bring their ship to the 
 
 X t53 
 
shore and moor her hard by Hallblithc's boat. 
 They cried out when they saw her, and when 
 they were aland they gathered about herto note 
 her build, and the fashion of the spear whereto 
 she was tied* Then in a while the more part 
 of them, some four/score in number, departed 
 up the valley toward the great house and left 
 none but a naif dozen ship warders behind." 
 C "Seest thou, friend of the Ravens," said the 
 Fox,'*hadst thou been there, they might have 
 done with thee what they would. Did I not well 
 tobringtheeintomyunroofedhouse?"C"Yea, 
 verily,' said Hallblithe; *'but will not some of 
 thesnip^wards,orsomeof the others returning, 
 come up hither and find us ? I shall yet lay my 
 bones in this evil island." CThe Puny Fox 
 laughed, and said: '* It is not so bad as thy sour 
 looks would have it j anyhow it is good enough 
 for a grave, and at this present I may call it a 
 casket of precious things." C'W'hat meanest 
 thou?" said Hallblithe eagerly. C" Nay, nay," 
 said the other, ** noug^tbut what thou knowest. 
 Art thou not therein, and I myself? without 
 reckoning the old carle in the hole yonder. But 
 I promise thee thou shalt not die here this time, 
 unless thou wilt. And as to folk coming up hith-' 
 cr, I tell thee again they durst not; becausethey 
 fear my great-'grandsire over much. Not that 
 they are far wrong therein; for now he is dead, 
 the worst of him seemeth to come out of him, 
 »54 
 
and he is not easily dealt with, save by one who 
 
 hath some share of his wisdom. Thou thyself 
 
 couldst see by my kinsman, the Sea^eagIe,how 
 
 much of ill and churlish malice there may be in 
 
 our kindred when they wax old, and loneliness 
 
 and dreariness taketh hold of them. For I must 
 
 tell thee that I haveofthcard my father saythat 
 
 his father the Sca^eagle was in his youtn and 
 
 his prime blithe and buxom, a great lover of 
 
 women, and a very friendly fellow^. But ever, as 
 
 I say, as the men of our kind wax in years, they 
 
 worsen; and thereby maystthou deem how bad 
 
 the old man in yonder must be, since he hath 
 
 lain so long in the grave. But now we will go to 
 
 that house of mine on the other side of the mead, 
 
 over against my kinsman's," C Therewith he 
 
 led Hallblithe down from the rock, while Hall*- 
 
 blithe said to him : "What I art thou also dead 
 
 that thou hast a grave here?" C'Nay, nay," 
 
 said Fox, smiling, "am I so eviUconditioned 
 
 then ? I am no older than thou art." C " But tell 
 
 me," said Hallblithe, "wilt thou also wax evil 
 
 as thou growcst old?" C" Maybe not," said 
 
 Fox, looking hard at him, "for in my mind it is 
 
 that I may be taken into another house, and 
 
 another kmdred, and amongst them I shall be 
 
 healed of much that might turn to HV 
 
 ^% 155 
 
IHE RE WITH were theycome 
 
 1 across the little meadow to a 
 place where was a cave in the 
 rock closed with a door, and a 
 wicket window therein. Fox led 
 Hallblithe into it, and within it 
 was no ill dwelling; for it was dry and clean, & 
 there were stools therein and a table, 8C shelves 
 and lockers in the wall. W^hcn they had sat 
 them down Fox said: "Here mightst thou 
 dwell safely as long as thou wouldst, if thou 
 wouldst risk dealings with the old carle. But, 
 as I wot well that thou art in haste to be gone 
 and get home to thy kindred, I must bring thee 
 at dusk to-day close up to our feast'^hall, so that 
 thou mayst be at hand to do what hath to be 
 done to/night, so that we may get us goncto^ 
 morrow. Also thou must do off thy Raven gear 
 lest we meet any in the twilight as we go up to 
 the house; and here have I to hand home«-spun 
 raiment such as our warz-taken thralls wear, 
 which shall servethytum well enough; but this 
 thou needest not do on till the time is at hand 
 for our departure; and then I will bring thee 
 away, and bestow thee in a bower hard hy the 
 hall; and when thou art within, I may so look 
 to it that none shall go in there, or if they do, 
 they shall sec nought in thee save a carle known 
 to them by name. My kinsman hath learned 
 me to do harder things than this. But now it is 
 155 
 
time to cat and drinW C ThercwitK he drew 
 victual from out a locker and they fell to. But 
 when they had eaten, Fox taught Hallblithe 
 what he should do in the hall that night, as shall 
 be told hereafter. And then, with much talk 
 about many things, they wore away the day in 
 that ancient cup of the seething rock, 8C a little 
 before dusk set out for the hall, bearing with 
 them Hallblithe's gear bundled up together, as 
 though ithad been wares from over sea. So they 
 came to the house before the tables were set, & 
 the Puny Fox bestowed Hallblithe in a bower 
 which gave into the buttery, so that it was easy 
 to go straight into the mid^'most of the hall. 
 There was Hallblithe clad and armed in his 
 Raven gear; but Fox gave him a vizard to go 
 over his face, so that none might know him 
 when he entered therein, 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. OF THE FIGHTOF 
 THE CHAMPIONS IN THE HALL 
 OFTHERAVAGERS. 
 
 low it is to be told that 
 the chieftains came into 
 the hall that night & sat 
 downattheboardon the 
 dais, even as Hallblithe 
 had seen them do afore^' 
 time. And the chieftain 
 I of all, who was called the 
 Erne of the Sea^eagles, 
 rose up accordingto cus/> 
 ^57 
 
torn and saidj ** Hearken, folk! this is a night 
 of the champions, whereon we may not eat till 
 the pale blades have clashed togetner, and one 
 hath vanquished and another been overcome. 
 Now let them stand forth and give ovrt the 
 prize of victory which the vanquished shall pay 
 to the vanquisher* And let it De known, that, 
 whosoever m^ay be the champion that winneth 
 the battle, whetherhc be a kinsman, or an alien, 
 or a foeman declared; yea, though he have left 
 the head of my brother at the hall<'door,he shall 
 pass this night with us safe from sword, safe 
 from axe, safe from hand: he shall eat as we eat, 
 drink as we drink, sleep as we sleep, and depart 
 safe from any hand orweapon, and shall sail the 
 sea at his pleasure in his own keel or in ours, as 
 to him and us may be meet. Blow up horns for 
 the champions I" C So the horns blew a cheers 
 ful strain, and when they were done, there came 
 into the hall a tall man clad in black, and with 
 black armour and weapons saving the white 
 blade of his sword. He had a vizard over his 
 face, but his hair came dow^n from under his 
 helm like the tail of a red horse. C! So he stood 
 amidst the floor and cried out: *' I am the cham<' 
 pion of the Ravagers. But I swear by theTrea/ 
 sure of the Sea that I will cross no bladeto^night 
 save with an alien, a foeman of the kindred. 
 Hearest thou, O chieftain, O Erne of the Sea- 
 eagles?" C "Hear it I do/' said the chieftain, 
 »58 
 
"and I cTeemthatthymeaning is that; we should 
 go supperless to bed ; and this comcth of thy 
 perversity I for we know thee despite thy vizard. 
 Beh'kethou deetnest that thou shalt not be met 
 this even, and that there is no free alien in the 
 island to drawsword against thee. But beware ! 
 Forwhcnwe camealandthismomingwe found 
 a skifFof the aliens tied to a great spear stuck in 
 the bank of the haven ; so that there will be one 
 foeman at least abroad in the island. But we 
 said that if we should come on the man, we 
 would set his head on the gable of the hall with 
 the mouth open toward the North for a token 
 of reproach to the dwellers in the land over sea. 
 But now give out the prize of victory, & I swear 
 by the Treasure of the Sea that we will abide by 
 thy word." <[ Said the champion: '* These are 
 the terms & conditions of the battle j thatwhich^ 
 so of us is vanquished, he shall either die, or 
 serve the vanquisher for twelve moons, to fare 
 with him at his will, to go his errands, and do 
 according to his commandment in all wise. 
 Hearest thou, chieftain?" CE "Yea," said he, 
 "and bv the Undying King, both thou and we 
 shall abide by this bargain. So look to it that 
 thou smite great strokes, lest our hall lack a 
 gable^knop.Homs,blowupforthealiencham'' 
 pion!" C So again the horns were winded; & 
 ere their voice had died, in from the buttery 
 screens came a glittering image of war, & there 
 
 »59 
 
stood the alien champion over against thewar^ 
 rior of the sea; and he too had a vizard over his 
 face. C Now when the folk saw him, and how 
 slim and light and small he looked beside their 
 champion, and they beheld the Raven painted 
 on his w^hite shield, they hooted and laughed 
 for scorn of him & his littleness. But he tossed 
 his sword up lightly and caught it by the hilts 
 as it fell, and drew nigher to the champion of 
 the sea and stood facing him w^ithin reach of his 
 sword. Then the chieftain on thehigh^seat put 
 his two hands to his mouth and roared out: 
 "Fall on, ye champions, fall onl" C But the 
 folk in the hall w^ere so eager that they stood on 
 the benches and the boards, & craned over each 
 other's shoulders, so that they might lose no 
 whit of the hand^lay. Now flashed the blades 
 in the candlelit hall, and the red/'haired cham^ 
 pion hove up his sword and smote two great 
 strokes to right and to left; but the alien gave 
 way before him, and the folk cried out at him 
 in scorn and in joy of their champion, who fell 
 to raining down great strokes like the hail ax 
 midst the lightning. But so deft was the alien, 
 that he stood amidst it unhurt, and laid many 
 strokes on his foeman, and did all so lightly & 
 easily, that it seemed as if he were dancing ra^- 
 ther than fighting; and thefolk held their peace 
 & began to doubt if their huge champion would 
 prevail. Now the rcd-'haired fetched a mighty 
 i6o 
 
stroke at the alfent who leapt aside lightly and 
 
 gat his sword in his left hand and dealt a great 
 
 stroke on the other's head, and the red-haired 
 
 staggered, for he had overreached himself; 
 
 and again the alien smote him a left'-handed 
 
 stroke so that he fell full length on the floor 
 
 with a mighty clatter, and the sword flew out 
 
 of his hand: and the folk -were dumh.'founded. 
 
 C Then the alien threw himself on the sca,^ 
 
 champion, and knelt upon him, and shortened 
 
 his sword as if to slay him with a thrust. But 
 
 thereon the man overthrown cried out: ** Hold 
 
 thine hand, for I am vanquished I Now give me 
 
 peace according to the bargain struck between 
 
 us, that I shall serve thee year /-long, and follow 
 
 thee wheresoever thou goest." €. Therewith the 
 
 alien champion arose and stood off from hiiri, 
 
 and the man of the sea gat to his feet, and did 
 
 off his helm, so that all men could see that he 
 
 was the Puny Fox. C Then the victorious 
 
 champion unhelmed himself, &lo, it was Hall/ 
 
 blithe 1 And a shout arose in the hall, part of 
 
 wonder, part of wrath. C Then cried out the 
 
 Puny Fox : *' I call on all men here to bear wit- 
 
 ness that by reason of this battle, Hallblithe of 
 
 the Ravens is free to come and go as he will in 
 
 the Isle of Ransom, and to takehelp of any man 
 
 that will help him, and to depart from the isle 
 
 when he will and how he will, taking me with 
 
 him if so he will." C Said the chieftain: "Yea, 
 
 y j6i 
 
this is right & due, and so shall it be. But now, 
 since no freeman, who is not a foe of the passing 
 hour, may abide in our hall without eating of 
 our meat, come up here, Hallblithe, and sit by 
 me, and eat and drink of the best we have, since 
 the Noms would not give us thine head for a 
 gable^knop. But what wilt thou do with thy 
 thrall the Puny Fox; and whereto in the hall 
 wilt thou have him shown ? Or wilt thou that 
 he sit fasting in the darkness to^-night, laid in 
 gyves and fetters ? Or shall he have the cheer of 
 jwhipping& stripes, as befitteth athrall to whom 
 the master oweth a grudge ? ^X^hat is thy will 
 with him?" C Said Hallblithe: "My will is 
 that -thou give him a seat next to me, whether 
 that be high or Ioav, or the bench of thy prison^ 
 house. That he eat of my dish, and drink of my 
 cup, whatsover the meat and drink may be. 
 For tO/TnorroAV I mean that w^e twain shall go 
 under the earth-'CoUar together, and that our 
 blood shall run together and that we shall be 
 brothers in arms henceforward." Then Hall-* 
 blithe did on his helm again & drew his sword, 
 and looked aside to the Puny Fox to bid him 
 do the like, and he did so, and Hallblithe said: 
 " Chieftain, thou hast bidden me to table, and I 
 thank thee; but I will not set myteeth in meat, 
 out of our own house and land> which hath not 
 been truly given to me by one who wotteth of 
 me, unless I have conquered it as a prey of bat^ 
 ibz 
 
tie; neither will 1 casta He into the loving/cup 
 which shall pass from thy lips to mine : there^ 
 fore I will tell thee, that ^ough I laid a stroke 
 or two on the Puny Fox, and those no light 
 ones, yet was this battle nought true and real, 
 but a mere beguiling, even as that which I saw 
 foughten in this hall aforetime, when meseem/ 
 eth the slain men rose up again in time to drink 
 the goodxnight cup. Therefore, O men of the 
 Ravagers, & thou, O Puny Fox, there is nought 
 to bind your hands andrenrain your hearts, and 
 ye may slay me if ye w^ill without murder or 
 dishonour, and may make of the head of Hall^ 
 blithe a knop for vour feast'hall. Yet shall one 
 or two fall to eartn before I fall." C. Therewith 
 he shook his sword aloft, and a greatroar arose, 
 and weapons came down from the wall, & the 
 candles shone on naked steel. Butthe Puny Fox 
 came and stood by Hallblithe, and spake in his 
 ear amidst the uproar:" Well now, Drother^in-' 
 arms, I have been trying to learn thee the lore 
 of lies, and surely thou artthe worst scholar who 
 was ever smitten by master. And the outcome 
 of it is that I, who have lied so long and well, 
 must now pay for all, & die for a barren truth." 
 C Said Hallblithe : " Let all be as it will 1 1 love 
 thee, lies and all; but as for me I cannot handle 
 them. Lo you I great and grim shall be the slay/ 
 ing, and we shall not falT unavenged." C Said 
 the Puny Fox: ** Hearken! for stiU they hang 
 
 y 2 l6c 
 
 >3 
 
back. Belike it is I that have drawn this death 
 on thee and me. My last lie was a fool's lie and 
 we die for it: for what wouldst thou have done 
 hadst thou wotted that thy beloved, the Host-- 
 a?e of the Rose:" He broke off perforce; for 
 Hallblithe was looking to right and left and 
 handling his sword, & heard not that last word 
 of his; andfromboth sidesof thehallthethrong 
 was drawing round about those twain, weapon 
 in hand. Xhen Hallblithe set his eyes on a big 
 man in frontw^how^as heaving up a heavy short-* 
 sword and thought that he would at least slay 
 this one. But or ever he might smite, the great 
 horn blared out over the tumult, and men for** 
 bore a while and fell somew^hat silent. C! Xhen 
 came down to them the voice of the chieftain, a 
 loud voice, but clear and with mirth mingled 
 with anger in it, and he said: " W^hat do these 
 fools of the Ravagcrs cumberingthe floor of the 
 feast^hall, and shaking w^eapons w^hen there is 
 no foeman anigh? Are they dreaming^drunk 
 before the wine is poured? W^hy do they not 
 sit down in their places, and abide the bringing 
 in of the meat ? And ye women, where are ye, 
 why do ye delay our meat, when ye may well 
 wot that our hearts are drooping for hunger; & 
 all hath been duly done, the battle of the cham^ 
 pions fought & won, and the prize of war given 
 forth and taken ? How long, O folk, shall your 
 chieftains sit fasting?" C Then there arose great 
 164 
 
laugKter in the hall, and men withdrew them 
 from those twain and went and sat them down 
 in their places." C Then the chieftain said: 
 " Come up hither, I say, O Hallblithe, & bring^ 
 thy war^thrall with thee if thou wilt. But delay 
 not, unless it be so that thou art neither hungry 
 nor thirsty; and good sooth thou shouldst be 
 both; for men saythatthe ravens are hard to sa/ 
 tisfy. Come then& make good cheer with us I" 
 So Hallblithe thrust his sword into the sheath, 
 and the Puny Fox did the like, and they went 
 both together up the hall to the high^seat. And 
 Hallblithe sat down on the chieftain's right 
 hand, and the Puny Fox next to him; and the 
 chieftain, the Hrne, said: "O Hallblithe, dost 
 thou need thine armour at table; or dost thou 
 find it handvto take thy meat clad in thybymv 
 and girtwitn a sword ?' C Then laughed Hall' 
 blithe and said: "Nay, meseemcth to^-night I 
 shall needwar^gear no more." And he stood up 
 and did off all his armour 'and gave it, sword Sc 
 all, into the hands of a woman, who bore it off, 
 he knew not whither. And the Erne looked on 
 him 8c said: "Well is that! and now I see that 
 thou art a fair young man, and it is no marvel 
 though maidens desire thee." As he spake came 
 in the damsels with the victual, and the cheer 
 was exceeding good, and Hallblithe grew light* 
 hearted. 
 
 t65 
 
|UT when the healths had been 
 drunk as aforetime, and men had 
 I drunk a cup or two thereafter, 
 there rose a warrior from one of 
 the endlong benches, a bigyoung 
 ' man,black^haired&black/Deard«' 
 ed, ruddy of visage, and he said in a voice that 
 was rough andfat:"0 Eme,and ye other chiefs 
 tains, we have been talking here at our table 
 conccmingthis guest ofthine who hath beguiled 
 us, and we are not •wholly at one with thee as to 
 thy dealings with him» True it is, now that the 
 man hath our meat in his belly, that he must 
 depart from amongst us with a whole skin,un/' 
 less of his ow^n will he stand up to fight some 
 man of us here. Yet some of us think that he is 
 not so muchourfriend thatwe should help him 
 to a keel whereon to fare home to those that 
 hate us : and we say thatit would not be unlaw/ 
 ful to let the man abide in the isle, and proclaim 
 him a wolf s/head within a half^moon of to/ 
 day. Or what saycst thou ?" CSaid the Erne: 
 '•Wait for my word awhile, and hearken to an/ 
 other! Is the Grey/goose of the Ravagers in the 
 hall ? Let him give out his word on this matter." 
 CThen arose a white/headed carle fromata/ 
 ble nigh to the dais, whose black raiment was 
 well adorned with gold. Despite his years his 
 face was fair and little wrinkled; a man with a 
 straight nose and a well/fashioned mouth, and 
 166 
 
with eyes still bright and grey. He spake: "O 
 folk, I find that the Erne hath done well in 
 cherishing this guest. For first, if he hath be-- 
 guiled us, he did it not save by the furtherance 
 and sleight of our own kinsman; therefore if 
 any one is to die for beguiling us, let it be the 
 Puny Fox. Secondly, we may well wot that 
 heavy need hath driven the man to this bc<' 
 guilement; and I say that it was no unmanly 
 deed for him to enter our hall and beguile us 
 with his sleight; and that he hath played out 
 the play rightwell and cunningly with the wis/ 
 dom ofa warrior. Thirdly, the manliness of him 
 is well proven, in that having overcome us in 
 sleight, hehath spoken outthe sooth concerning 
 our beguilement and hath made himself our foe/ 
 man and captive when he might have sat down 
 by us as our guest freely and in all honour. And 
 this he did, not as contemning the Puny Fox 
 and his lies and crafty wiles (for he hath told us 
 that he loveth him) ; but so thathe might show 
 himself a man in that which trieth manhood. 
 Moreover, ye shall not forget that he is the rc/ 
 bel of the Undying King, who is our lord and 
 master; therefore in cherishing him we show 
 ourselves great-hearted, in that we fear not the 
 wrath of our master. Therefore I naysay the 
 word of the War/brand that we should make 
 this man awoirs<'head;for in so doing we shall 
 show ourselves lesser/hearted than he is, and of 
 
 167 
 
no account beside of him; and his head on our 
 hall^gable should be to us a nithing.^stake, & a 
 tree of reproach. So I bid thee, O Erne, to make 
 much of this man; andthoushaltdowell to give 
 him worthy gifts, such as warriors may take, so 
 that he may show them at home in the House 
 of the Raven, that it may be the beginning of 
 peace betwixt us and his noble kindred. This is 
 say, and later on I shall wax no wiser." 
 
 IH ERE WITH he sat down, & 
 1 there arose a murmur and stir in 
 the hall; but the more part said 
 that the Grey • goose had spoken 
 w^ell, and that it w^as good to be 
 I at peace with such manly fellows 
 as the new guest was. CBut the Erne said: 
 "One word will I lay hereto, to wit, that he who 
 desireth mine enmity let him do scathe to Hall^ 
 bh'the of the Ravens and hinder him." Then he 
 bade fill round the cups, and called a health to 
 Hallblithe,andall men drank to him, and there 
 was much joyance and merriment. C^ But when 
 the night w^as w^ell worri, the Erne turned to 
 Hallbfithe and said:"That wasagood word of 
 the Grey /-goose which he spake concerning the 
 giving of gifts: Raven-'son.wilt thou take a gift 
 of me and be my friend?" C'Thy friend will 
 I be," said HallWithc, "but no gik will I take 
 of thee or any other till I have the gift of rifts, 
 and that is my troth^plight maiden. I will not 
 i68 
 
be glad till I can be glad with her/* Then laughed 
 the Erne, and the Puny Fox grinned all across 
 his wide face, and Hallblithe looked from one 
 to the other of them & wondered attheir mirth, 
 and when they saw his wondering eyes, they 
 did but laugh the more; and the Erne said: 
 " Nevertheless, thou shalt see the gift which I 
 would give thee ; and then mayst thou take it or 
 leave it as thou wilt. Ho ye ! bring in the throne 
 of the Eastland with them that minister to it I" 
 Certain men left the hall as he spake, and came 
 back bearingwith them athronefashionedmost 
 goodly of ivory, parcel/" gilt and begemmed, and 
 adorned with marvellous craftsmanship: and 
 they set it down amidst of the hall-'floor and 
 went aback to their places, while the Erne sat 
 and smiled kindly on the folk and on Hallblithe. 
 Then arose the sound of fiddles and the lesser 
 harp, and the doors of the screen were opened, 
 and there flowed into the hall a company of fair 
 damsels not less than a score, each one with a 
 rose on her bosom, and they came and stood in 
 order behind the throne ot the Eastlands, and 
 they strewed roses on the ground before them: 
 and when they were duly ranged they fell to 
 singing: 
 
 169 
 
[O W wancth spring, 
 I While all birds sing, 
 And the south wind blows 
 The earliest rose 
 To and fro 
 I By the doors we know. 
 
 And the scented gale 
 
 Fills every dale» 
 
 Slow now arc brooks running 
 
 because of the weed, 
 
 And the thrush hath no cunning 
 
 to hide her at need. 
 
 So swift as she flieth 
 
 from hedge^row to tree, 
 
 As one that toil trieth, 
 
 and deedful must be. 
 
 AN D O ! that at last, 
 All sorrows past. 
 This night Flay 
 'Neath the oakz-bcams grey I 
 O, to wake from sleep, 
 To sec daAvn creep 
 Through the fruitful grove 
 Ofthe house that I love! 
 
 O I my feet to be treading 
 the threshold once more. 
 O'er w^hich once went the leading 
 of swords to the war! 
 O I my feet in the garden's 
 edge under the sun, 
 170 
 
Where the seeding grass hardens 
 for haysel begun 1 
 
 LO, lo I the wtnd blows 
 To the heart of the Rose, 
 And the ship lies tied 
 To the haven side I 
 But O for the fceel 
 The sails to feel I 
 And the alien ness 
 Grooving less and less I 
 
 As down the wind drivcth 
 and thrusts through the sea 
 The sail-'burg that striveth 
 to turn and go free, 
 But the lads at the tiller 
 they hold her in hand, 
 And the w^ind our weU^wiTler 
 drives fierce to the land. 
 
 \C^E shall wend it yet. 
 The highway wet; 
 For what is this 
 That ourbosoms kiss? 
 W^hat lieth sweet 
 Before our feet? 
 W^hat token hath come 
 To lead us home ? 
 
 'Tis the Rose of the garden 
 walled round from the croft 
 "Where the grey roof its warden 
 steep riseth aloft, 
 
 22 47» 
 
'Tis the Rose 'ncath the oakcn^ 
 beamed hall, where they bide. 
 The pledges unbroken, 
 the hand of the bride. 
 
 Hallbh'the heard the song, and half thought 
 it promised him somewhat ; but then he had 
 been so misled and mocked at, that he scarce 
 knew how to rejoice at it. C Now the Erne 
 spake: " W^ilt thou not take the chair and these 
 dainty songz-birds that stand about it? Much 
 weahh might come into thine hall if thou wert 
 to carry them over sea to rich men who have no 
 kindred, nor afRnity wherein to wed, but who 
 love women as well as other men." C Said 
 Hallblithe : "I have w^ealth enoww^ere I once 
 home again. As to these maidens, I know by 
 the fashion of them that they are no women of 
 the Rose, as by their song they should be. Yet 
 will I take any of these maidens that have will 
 to gow^ith me and be made sisters of my sisters, 
 and w^ed with the warriors of the Rose ; or if 
 they are of a kindred, and long to sit each in the 
 house of her folk, then will we send them home 
 over the sea with warriors to guard them from 
 all trouble. For this gift I thank thee. As to thy 
 throne, I bid thee keep it till a keel cometh thy 
 way from our land, bringing fair gifts for thee 
 & thine. Forwearenotsounwealthy,"C! Those 
 that sat nearby heard his words and praised 
 them; but the Erne said: "AH this is free to 
 172 
 
thee, and thou mayst do what thou wilt with 
 the gih% given to thee. Yet shalt thou have the 
 throne ; and I have thought of a way to make 
 thee take it. Or what sayst thou, Puny Fox?" 
 C Said the Puny Fox : "Yea if thou wilt, thou 
 mayst, but I thought it not of thee that thou 
 wouldst. Now is all well." C Again Hallblithe 
 looked from one to the other & wondered what 
 they meant. But the Erne cried out: " Bring in 
 nowthe sitter, who shall fill the empty throne!" 
 C. Then again the screen^doors opened, and 
 there came in tw^o weaponed men, leading be^ 
 tween them aw^oman clad in gold and garland^ 
 cd with roses. So fair was the fashion of her face 
 and all her body, that her coming seemed to 
 nrake a change in the hall, as' though the sun 
 had shone into it suddenly. She trod the hall.' 
 floor with firm feet, and sat dow^n on the ivory 
 chair. But even before she was seated therein 
 Hallblithe knew that the Hostage was under 
 that roof & coming toward him. And the heart 
 arose in his breast and fluttered therein, so sore 
 he yearned toward the Daughter of the Rose, 
 and his very speech^-friend. Then he heard the 
 Erne saying, " Hownow, Raven^-son, w^iltthou 
 have the throne and the sitter therein, or wilt 
 thou gainsay me once more?" i£ Thereafter he 
 himself spake, and the sound of his voice Avas 
 strange to him & as if he knew it not: "Chiefs 
 tain, I will not gainsay thee, but will take thy 
 
 «73 
 
gift, and thy friendship therewith, whatsoever 
 hath betided. Yet would I say a word or two 
 unto the woman that sitteth yonder. For I.have 
 been straying amongst wiles and images, and 
 mayhappen 1 shall yet find this to be but a 
 dream of the night, or a beguilement of the 
 day." Xherew^ith he arose from the table, and 
 walked slowly down tlie hall; but it was a 
 near thing that he did not fall a weeping before 
 all those aliens, so full his heart was. C He 
 came and stood before the Hostage, and their 
 eyes were upon each other, and for a little while 
 they had no words. Then Hallblithe began, 
 wondering at his voice as he spake: "Art thou 
 a woman and my speech-'friend ? For many 
 images have mocked me, and I have been en^ 
 compassed with lies, and led astray by behests 
 thathave not been fulfilled. Andtheworld hath 
 become strange to me, and empty of friends." 
 CThen she said: "Art thou verily Hallblithe? 
 For I also have been encompassed by lies, and 
 beset by images of things unnelpful."*C!"Vea," 
 said he, "I am Hallblithe of Ravens, wearied 
 with desire for mytroth^plightmaiden." Then 
 came the rosycolourinto the faimessof her face, 
 as the rising sun lighteth the garden of flowers 
 in the June morning; and she said:" !f thou art 
 Hallblithe, tell me what befell to the finger^ 
 gold/ring that my mother gave me when we 
 were both but little," iL Then his face grew 
 »74 
 
happy, and he smiled, and he said : " I put it for 
 tKee one autumntide in the snake's hole in the 
 bank above the river, amidst the roots of the 
 old thom^tree, that the snake might brood it, 
 and make the gold grow greater; but when 
 winter w^as over and we came to look for it, lo ! 
 there was neither ring nor snake, nor thom-* 
 tree: for the flood' had washed it all away/' 
 C Thereat she smiled most sweetly, & whereas 
 she had been looking on him hitherto -with 
 strained and anxious eyes, she now beheld him 
 simply and friendly; and she said : " O Hall^ 
 blithe, I am a woman indeed, and thy speech*' 
 friend« This is the flesh that desireth thee, and 
 the life that is thine, and the heart which thou 
 rejoicest. But now tell me, who are these huge 
 images around us, amongst whom I have sat 
 thus, once in every moon this year past, and 
 afterwards I was taken back to the women's 
 bower ? Are they men or mountain-'giants?'WilI 
 they slay us, or shut us up from the light and 
 air r Or hast thou made peace with them ? "W"ilt 
 thou then dwell with me here, or shall we go 
 backagainto Cleveland by the Sea? And when, 
 oh, when shall we depart x" He smiled & said: 
 "Quick come thy questions, beloved. These 
 are the folks of the Ravagers & the Sea^eagles: 
 they be men, though fierce and wild they be. 
 Our foes theyhave been, and have sundered us; 
 but now are they our friends, and have brought 
 
 »75 
 
us togcthei'. And to/morrow, O friend, sliall 
 we depart across the waters to Cleveland by the 
 Sea/' C She leaned forward, and was about to 
 speak softly to him, but suddenly started back, 
 and said: "There is a big, red-haired man, as 
 big as any here, behind thy shoulder. Is he also 
 a friend ? Whatwouldhe with us ?" C So Hall^ 
 blithe turned about, and beheld the Puny Fox 
 beside him, who took up the word and spoke, 
 smiling as a man in great glee: "O maiden of 
 the Rose, I am Hallblithe's thrall, and his scho" 
 lar,to unlearn the craft of lying, whereby I have 
 done amiss towards both nim&thee. wliereof 
 I will tell thee all the tale soon. But now I will 
 sav that it is true that we depart to-morrow for 
 Cleveland by the Sea, thou and he, and I in 
 company. Now I would ask thee, Hallblithe, 
 if thou wouldst have me bestow this gift of 
 thine in safe/keeping to-'night, since there is an 
 end of her sittinginthe hall like a graven image: 
 and toz-morrowthe way will be long and weari*- 
 some. What sayest thou?'* C Said the Hos/- 
 tage : *^ Shall Itrustthismanandgowith him?" 
 C ".Yea, thou shalt trust him," said Hallblithe, 
 "for he is trusty. And even were he not, it is 
 meet for us of the Raven and the Rose to do as 
 our worth biddeth us, and not to fear this folk. 
 And it behoveth us to do after their customs 
 since we are in their house." C "Thatis sooth," 
 she said; "big man, lead me out of the hall to 
 176 
 
my place. Farewell, HallbKtRe, for ali'ttle while, 
 and then shall there be no more sundering for 
 us." C Therewith she departed with the Puny 
 Fox, and Hallblithe went backto the high/'seat 
 and sat down by the Erne, who laughed on him 
 and said: ''Thou hast taken my gift, and that 
 is well : yet shall I tell thee that I would not have 
 given it to thee if I could have kept it for myself 
 in suchplightasthou wilt have it. Butalll could 
 do, antf the Puny Fox to help withal, availed 
 me nought. So good luck go with thine hands. 
 Now will we to bed, and to^-morrow I will lead 
 thee out on thy way; for to say sooth, there be 
 some here who are not well pleased with either 
 thee or me; and thou knowest that words arc 
 wasted on wilful men, but that deeds may avail 
 somewhat." Therewith he cried out for tne cup 
 of good^night,and when it was drunken, Hallx 
 blithe was shown to a fair shut^bed; even that 
 wherein he had lain aforetime; and there he 
 went to sleep in joy, and in good liking with all 
 men. 
 
 aa 
 
 ^77 
 
CHAPTER XXIL THEY GO FROM 
 THE ISLE OF RANSOM & COME 
 TO CLEVELAND BY THE SEA. 
 
 SJSjN the morning early 
 ~ Hallblithe arose from 
 his bed, and when he 
 came into the mid^hall 
 there was thePunyFox 
 and the Hostage with 
 him; Hallblithe kissed 
 her and embraced her, 
 & she him ; yet not like 
 lovers long sundered, 
 but as a man and maid betrothed are wontto do, 
 for there were folk coming and going about the 
 hall. Then spake the Puny Fox: "The Erne is 
 abiding us out in the meadow^ yonder; for now 
 nought will serve him but he must needs go un-* 
 dertne earth^coUar vHth us. Howsayesttnou,is 
 he enough thy friend?" Said Hallblithe, smiling 
 on the Hostage : ** Wliat hast thou to say to it, 
 beloved?" "Nought at all," she said, "if thou 
 art friend to any of these men. I may deem that 
 I have somewhatagainstthe chieftain, whereof 
 belike this big man may tell thee hereafter; but 
 even so much meseemeth I have against this 
 man himself, who is now become thy friend & 
 scholar; for he also strove for my beguilement, 
 and that not for himself, but for another." 
 C"True it is," said the Fox, "that I did it for 
 
another; even as yesterday I took thy mate 
 Hallblithe out of the trap whereinto he had 
 strayed^ & compassed his deliverance by means 
 of the unfaithful battle; and even as I would 
 have stolen thee for him, O Rose/maiden, if 
 need had been ; yea, even if I must have smitten 
 into ruin the roof^tree of the Ravagers. And how 
 could I tell thatthe Emewould give theeupun^ 
 stolen? Yea, thou sayest sooth, O noble & spot/ 
 less maiden; all my deeds, both good and ill, 
 have I done for others; and so I deem it shall 
 be while my life lasteth," <[Then Hallblithe 
 laughed and said: "Art thou nettled, fellow-- 
 in<'arms,attheword of a woman who knoweth 
 thee not? She shall yet be thy friend, O Fox. 
 But tell me, beloved, I deemed that thou hadst 
 not seen Fox before; how then can he have 
 helped the Erne against thee ?" C " Yetshe sayx 
 eth sooth," said Fox, "this was of my sleight: 
 for when I had to come before her, I changedmy 
 skin, as I well know how; there are others in 
 this land who can do so much as that. Butwhat 
 sayest thou concerning the brotherhood with 
 the Eme?" (["Let-it be so," said Hallblithe, 
 "he is manly and true, though masterful, and 
 is meet for this land of his. I shall not fall out 
 with him; for seldom meseemeth shall I seethe 
 Isle of Ransom." C" And I never again," said 
 the Puny Fox. C'Dost thou loathe it, then," 
 said the Hostage, "because of the evil thou hast 
 a a 2 J79 
 
done therein ?" C " Nay/' said he, "what is the 
 evil, when henceforth I shall do but good ? Nay, 
 I love the land. Belike thou deemest it but dreary 
 with its black rocks and black sand,andtreeless 
 wind-swept dales; but I kno.^y it in summer & 
 winter, and sun and shade, in storm and calm. 
 And I know where' the fathers dwelt and the 
 sons of their sons' sons have long lain in the 
 earth. I have sailed its windiest firths, & climbed 
 its steepest crags; and ye may well wot that it 
 hath a friendly face to me; and the land^w^ights 
 of the mountains will be sorry for my depart- 
 ture." C So he spake, & Hallblithe would have 
 answered him, but by now were they come to a 
 grassy hollow amidst the dale, where the Erne 
 had already made the earth^yoke ready. To wit, 
 he had loosened a strip of turf all save the two 
 ends, and had propped it up with two ancieht 
 dw^arf'-wrought spears, so that amidmost there 
 was a lintel to go under. So w^hen he savr those 
 others coming, he gave them the seleof theday, 
 and said to Hallblithe : "What is it to be ? shall 
 I be less than thy brother^in^anris hencefor.* 
 ward ?" Said Hallblithe s " Not a whit less. It is 
 rood to have brothers in other lands than one." 
 jO they made no delay, but clad in 
 I all theirwar-'gear, they went under 
 the earthz-yoke one after the other; 
 thereafter they stood together, and 
 1 each let blood in his arm, so that 
 the blood of all three mingled to< 
 
getter fell down on the grass of tKe ancient earth ; 
 and they swore friendship and brotherhood each 
 to each, CE But when all was done the Erne 
 spake: '^Brother Hallblithe, as I lay awake in 
 bed this morning I deemed that I would take 
 ship with thee to Cleveland by the Sea^ that I 
 might dwell there a while. But when I came 
 cut qf the hall, and saw the dale lying green be^ 
 twixt hill.'side and hill^side, and the glittering 
 river running down amidmost, and the sheep, 
 and kine, and horses feeding up and down on 
 either side the water : and I looked up atthe fells 
 and saw how deep blue they stood up against 
 the snowy peaks, and I thought of all our deeds 
 on the deep sea, and the merry nights in yonder 
 abode of men«Then I thought that I would not 
 leave the kindred, were it but for a while, unless 
 war and lifting called me. So now I will ride 
 with thee to the ship, and then farewell to thee." 
 C"Itis good,*' said Hallblithe, "thoughnotas 
 goodas it might be. Glad had we been with thee 
 in the hall of the Ravens.'* C As he spoke drew 
 anigh the carles leading the horses, and with 
 thena came six ofthose damsels whom the Erne 
 had given to Hallblithe the nightbefore;twoof 
 whom asked to be brought to their kindred over 
 sea; but the otherfourwerfefaintogowithHallx 
 blithe and the Hostage, and becomelheir sisters 
 at Cleveland by the Sea. C So then they got to 
 horse and rode down the daletowardthehaven> 
 
 i8i 
 
and the carles rode with them, so thatof wea/ 
 poned men they were a score in company. But 
 when they were half-way to the haven they saw 
 where hard by three knolls on the way /-side were 
 men standing with their weapons and war^gear 
 glittering in the sun. So the Erne laughed and 
 said: "Shall we have a word with war^brand 
 then ?" Butthey rode steadily on their way, and 
 when they came up to the knolls they saw that 
 it was War^brand indeed with a score of men 
 at his back; but they stirred not when they saw 
 Erne's company that it was great. Then Erne 
 laughed aloud&cried outinabigvoice/'What, 
 lads! ye ride early this morning; are there foex 
 men abroad in the isle?'* They shrank back be-* 
 fore him,but a carle of those who was hindermost 
 cried out: "Art thou coming back to us, Erne, 
 or have thy new friends boughtthee to lead them 
 in battle ? ' C Fear it nought," quoth Erne, " I 
 shall be back before the shepherd s noon." C So 
 they went their ways and came to the haven, 
 and there lay the Flaming Sword, and beside 
 her a trim bark, not right great, all ready for sea : 
 and Hallblithe's skin was made fast to her for 
 an after /-boat. CThen the Hostage and Hallx 
 blithe and the six damsels wentaboardher,and 
 when the Erne had bidden them farewell, they 
 cast o£f the hawsers and thrust her out through 
 the haven/mouth; but ere they had got mid^ 
 most of the haven, they saw llie Erne, that he 
 182 
 
had turned about, and was riding up tKe dale 
 with his house^carles, and each man s weapon 
 was shining in his hand: and they wondered if 
 he were riding to battle with War^brand; and 
 Fox said: "Meseemeth our brother /-in-'arms 
 hath in his mind to give those waylayers an evil 
 minute, and verily he is the man to do the same." 
 C. So they gat them out of the haven, and the 
 cbbz-tide drave out seaward strongly, and the 
 wind was fair for Cleveland by the Sea; & they 
 ran speedily past the black cliffs of the Isle of 
 Ransom, and soon were they hull down behind 
 them. But on the afternoon ofthe next day they 
 hove up the land ofthe kindreds, and by sunset 
 they beached their ship on the sand by the Rol^ 
 lers ofthe Raven, & went ashore without more 
 ado. And the strandwas empty of allmen, even 
 as on the day when Hallblithe first met the 
 Puny Fox. So then in the cool of the evening 
 they went up toward the House of the Raven. 
 Those damsels wenttogether hand in hand two 
 by two, and Hallblithe held the Hostage by the 
 hand; butthe Puny Foxwentalone beside them, 
 gleeful and of many words; telling them tales 
 of his wiles and his craft, and his skin^changing. 
 C " But now," quoth he, " I have left all that be** 
 hind me in the Isle of Ransom, and have but 
 one shape, and I would for your behoof that it 
 were a goodlier one: and but one wisdom have 
 I, even that which dwelleth in mine own head«' 
 
 X83 
 
bone. Yet ft may be that this may avail you one 
 time or other. But lo, you! though I am thy 
 thrall; have I not the look of a thrall^huckster 
 from over sea leading up my wares to the cheapo 
 fngstead?" They laughed at his words and were 
 merry, and much love there was amongst them 
 as they went up to the House of the Raven. 
 f[ But when they came thither they went into 
 the garth, and there was no man therein, for it 
 was now dusk, and thewindowsof the longhall 
 were yellow with candle-light. Then said Fox: 
 "Abide ye here a little} for 1 would go into the 
 hall alone and see the conditions of thy people, 
 O Hallblithe." C'Go thou, then," said Hall^ 
 blithe, "but be not rash, I counsel thee; for our 
 folk are not over^atient when they deem they 
 have a foe before them," C! The Puny Fox 
 laughed, and said: " Soitisthen theworld over, 
 that happy men are wilhil & masterful." Then 
 he drew his sword and smote on the door with 
 the pommel, and the door opened to him and 
 in he went: and he found that fair hall full of 
 folk and bright with candles; &he stood amidst 
 the floor; all men looked on him, and many 
 knew^ him at once to be a man of the Ravagers, 
 and silence fell upon the hall, but no man stirred 
 hand against him. Then he said: "Will ye 
 hearken to the word of an evil man, a robber of 
 the folks?" C Spake a chieftain from the dais: 
 "Words will not hurt us, sea.'warrior j and thou 
 184 
 
art but one among many; whcfcforc thy miffht 
 this eve is but as themight of a ncw/bombaby. 
 Speak, and afterwards eat and drink, & depart 
 safe from amongst us I" C Spakethc Puny Fox: 
 "What is gone with Hallblithe, a fair young 
 man of your Isindred, and with the Hostage of 
 the Rose, his troth/^plight maiden?" Cihen 
 was the hush yet greater in the hall, so that you 
 might have heard a pin drop; and Ae chieftain 
 said : *' It is a grief of ours that they are gone, & 
 that none hath brought us back their dead bO'' 
 dies that we might lay them in the Acre of the 
 Fathers." C Then leapt up a man from the end*- 
 long table nigh to Fox, and cried out: "Yea, 
 folk! they are gone, and we deem that runagates 
 of thy kindred, O new/'come man, have stolen 
 them from us } wherefor they shall one day pay 
 us." CThen laughed the Puny Fox and said: 
 " Some would say that stealing Hallblithe was 
 like stealing a lion, and that he might take care 
 of himself ; though he was not as big as I am." 
 C Said the last speaker: "Did thy kin or didst 
 thou steal him, O evil man?" C"Yea, I stole 
 him," quoth Fox, "but by sleight, and not by 
 might. C Then uprose great uproar in the hall, 
 but the chieftain on the high/seat cried out: 
 "Peace, peace I" and the noise abated, and the 
 chieftain said : " Dost thoumean^atthou com" 
 est hitherto giveus thine head for makingaway 
 with Hallblithe and theHostage?"C^*lmean 
 
 bb 185 
 
to ask rather," said the Fox, "what thou wilt 
 gjve me for the bodies of these twain?" C Said 
 the chieftain : " A boatload ofgold were not too 
 much if thou shouldst live a little longer." 
 C Quoth the Puny Fox: "Well, in anywise I 
 will go and bring in the bodies aforesaid, ahd 
 leave myrewardto the goodwill of the Ravens/' 
 C Therew^ith he turned about to go, butlo ! there 
 already in the door stood Hallblithe holdingthc 
 Hostage by the hand; and many in the hall saw 
 them, for the door was wide. Then they came 
 in and stood by the side of the Puny Fox, and 
 all men in the hall arose and shouted for joy. 
 But when the tumult was a little abated, the 
 Puny Fox cried out*. "O chieftain, and all ye 
 folk! ifaboatxload of gold were not too much 
 rew^ard for the bringing back the dead bodies of 
 your friends, what reward shall he have, who 
 hath brought back their bodies and the souls 
 therein?" Said the chieftain: "The man shall 
 choose his own reward," And the men in the 
 hall shouted their yeasay. C! Then said the Puny 
 Fox: "Well, then, this I choose, that ye make 
 me one ofyour kindred before the fathers of old 
 time." CThey all cried out that he had chosen 
 wisely and manfully; but Hallblithe said: "I 
 bid you do for him no less than this ; and ye shall 
 wot that he is already my sworn brother^n^ 
 arms." CNowthe chieftain cried out: " O Wan. 
 derers from over the sea, come up hither and sit 
 with us and be merry at last I " 
 186 
 
JO tKey went up to the dai's, Hall/- 
 I blithe and the Hostage, and the 
 Puny Fox and the six maidens 
 I withal. And since the nightwas yet 
 young, the supper of the men of 
 the Ravens was turned into the 
 wedding'-feast of Hallblithe and the Hostage, 
 andthatvery night she became a;wife of the Ra-' 
 vens, that she might bear to the House the best 
 of men and the fairest of women/' C! But onthe 
 morrow they broughtthePuny Fox to the mote** 
 stead of the kindreds thathe might stand before 
 the fathers and be made a son of the kindred; 
 and this they did because of the word of Hall/ 
 blithe, and because they believed in the tale 
 which he told them of the Glittering Plain and 
 the Acre of the Undying* The four maidens also 
 were made sisters of the House; and the other 
 twain were sent home to their kindred in all 
 honour, C Of the Puny Fox it is said that he 
 soon lost and forgot all the lore which he had 
 leamedof the ancient men, living and dead; and 
 became as other men and was no wizard. Yet 
 was he exceeding valiant and doughty; and he 
 ceased not to go with Hallblithe wheresoever he 
 went; & many deeds they did together, whereof 
 the memory of men hath failed: but neither 
 they nor any man of the Ravens came any more 
 to the Glittering Plain, or heard any tidings of 
 the folk that dwell there, 
 
 hbz iSy 
 
H E RE cndcth the Glittering F*kin, printed by 
 William Morris at the Kelmscott Press, Up^ 
 per Mall Hammersmilh, in the County of 
 Middlesex: and finished on the 4th day of 
 April of the year 1891. 
 Sold by Reeves & Turner 196 Strand London.