The Norsemen in the West

  CHAPTER TWO.

  STRONG EMOTIONS ARE SUCCEEDED BY SUPPER, AND FOLLOWED BY DISCUSSIONS ONDISCOVERY, WHICH END IN A WILD ALARM!

  When Karlsefin had been introduced to Leif Ericsson, the former turnedround and presented to him and Biarne his friend Thorward, the captainof the other ship. Thorward was not a tall man, but was very broad andstout, and had a firm yet pleasing cast of countenance. Both Thorwardand Karlsefin were men of about thirty-five years of age.

  "Are you not on viking-cruise?" asked Leif as they walked up to thehouse together, while the male members of his household and the men ofthe settlement assisted the crews to moor the ships.

  "No; my friend Thorward and I are not men of war. We prefer thepeaceful occupation of the merchant, and, to say truth, it is notunprofitable."

  "I would that more were of your way of thinking," said Leif. "I do notlove the bloody game of war, and glad am I that we have got into a quietcorner here in Greenland, where there is small occasion for it. Biarne,too, is of our way of thinking, as no doubt you already know."

  "He has often told me so, and, if I mistake not, has feathered his nestwell by merchanting."

  "He has," answered Biarne for himself, with a laugh.

  While they thus advanced, talking, little Olaf had kept walking in frontof the tall stranger, looking up into his face with unboundedadmiration. He had never before seen any man so magnificent. Hisfather and Biarne, whom he had hitherto regarded as perfect specimens ofmankind, were quite eclipsed. Looking backward and walking forward isan unsafe process at any time. So Olaf found it on the presentoccasion, for he tripped over a stone and in falling hit his little nosewith such violence that it soon became a big nose, and bled profusely.

  Karlsefin picked him up and set him on his legs. "My poor boy, don'tcry," he said.

  "No fear of _him_ crying," observed Leif; "he never cries,--save whenhis feelings are hurt. When you touch these he _is_ addicted toblubbering.--Run, lad, and Gudrid will wash you."

  Olaf bounded into the house, where he was carried off to a sleeping-roomand there carefully sponged by the sympathetic Gudrid. "Oh!--" heexclaimed, while his face was being washed.

  "Does it pain you much, dear?" said the pretty aunt, interrupting him.

  "Oh!" he continued, enthusiastically, "I never did see such a splendidman before."

  "What splendid man, child?"

  "Why, Karlsefin."

  "And who is Karlsefin?"

  "The stranger who has come across the sea from Norway."

  "Indeed," said Gudrid.

  Whether it was the sound of the stranger's voice in the adjoining room,or anxiety to complete her hospitable preparations, that caused Gudridto bring her operations on Olaf to an abrupt termination, we cannottell, but certain it is that she dried him rather quickly and hastenedinto the outer hall, where she was introduced to the two strangers indue form as widow Gudrid.

  She had no difficulty in distinguishing which was Olaf's "splendid man!"She looked at Karlsefin and fell in love with him on the spot, butGudrid was modest, and not sentimental. It is only your mawkishlysentimental people who are perpetually tumbling into love, and out ofit, and can't help showing it. Cupid shot her right through the heartwith one powerful dart, and took her unawares too, but she did not showthe smallest symptom of having been even grazed. She neither blushednor stammered, nor looked conscious, nor affected to look unconscious.She was charmingly natural!

  But this was not all: Karlsefin also fell in love on the spot,--overhead and ears and hair, and hat to boot; neither did he show sign of it!After the trifling ceremonies usual on an introduction were over, heturned to continue his conversation with Leif and paid no furtherattention to Gudrid, while she busied herself in preparing supper. Itis true that he looked at her now and then, but of course he looked ateverybody, now and then, in the course of the evening. Besides, it iswell-known what is said about the rights of the feline species inreference to royalty. At supper Gudrid waited on the guests, Karlsefintherefore, necessarily paid her somewhat more attention in accepting hercivilities, but Thorward was quite as attentive as he, so that the mostsharp-witted match-maker in the world would have failed to note anysymptom of anything whatever in regard to either of them.

  Gudrid felt this a little, for she was accustomed to admiration from theyoung men of Ericsfiord and Heriulfness, and, you know, people don'tlike to want what they are accustomed to. What Karlsefin thought, hedid not show and never mentioned, therefore we cannot tell.

  Now, good reader, pray do not run away with the notion that this loveaffair is the plot on which the story is to hinge! Nothing of the kind.It ran its course much more rapidly, and terminated much more abruptly,than you probably suppose--as the sequel will show.

  During supper there was not much conversation, for all were hungry, butafterwards, when cans of home-brewed ale were handed round, the tonguesbegan to move. Leif soon observed that Karlsefin merely sipped hisbeer, but never once drank.

  "You do not drink," he said, pushing a large silver tankard towards him;"come, fill up."

  "Thanks, I drink but sparingly," said Karlsefin, taking up the largetankard and admiring the workmanship.

  "In good sooth ye do," cried Biarne, with a laugh; "a mouse could hardlyslake his thirst with all that you have yet imbibed."

  "I have been so long at sea," rejoined Karlsefin, smiling, "that I havelost my relish for beer. We had nothing but water with us. Where gotyou this tankard, Leif, it is very massive and the workmanship such asone seldom meets with save in kings' houses?"

  "It belonged to a king!" replied Leif, with a look of pride. "Good KingOlaf Tryggvisson gave it to me on an occasion when I chanced to do himsome small service. Many winters have passed since then."

  "Indeed, Leif! then you must be a favourite with King Olaf," exclaimedKarlsefin, "for I am the bearer of another gift to you from his royalhand."

  "To me?"

  "Ay. Hearing that I meant to sail over to Greenland this summer, heasked me to bear you his remembrances, and gave me two slaves to presentto you in token of his continued friendship."

  Leif's face beamed with satisfaction, and he immediately filled andquaffed a bumper of ale to King Olaf's health, which example wasfollowed by Biarne and the guests, as well as by the house-carls who saton benches in various parts of the hall drinking their ale and listeningto the conversation. Even little Olaf--who had been named after theking of Norway--filled his tankard to the brim with milk, and quaffed itoff with a swagger that was worthy of a descendant of a long line ofsea-kings, who could trace their lineage back to Odin himself.

  "The slaves," continued Karlsefin, "are from the land of the Scots.Wouldst like to see a Scotsman, Gudrid?" he added, turning to the widowwho sat near him.

  "I should like it much. I have heard of the Scots in Iceland. 'Tissaid they are a well-favoured race, stout warriors, and somewhat fond oftrading."

  Leif and Biarne both laughed loud and long at this.

  "In good truth they are a stout race, and fight like very wild-cats, asBiarne and I can testify; as to their being well-favoured, there can beno question about that; though they are rather more rugged than thepeople farther south, and--yes, they _are_ good traders, and exceedinglycautious men. They think well before they speak, and they speakslowly--sometimes they won't speak at all. Ha! ha! Here, I drink tothe land of the Scot. It is a grand good land, like our own dear oldNorway."

  "Brother-in-law," exclaimed Gudrid, reproachfully, "do you forget thatyou are an Icelander?"

  "Forget!" exclaimed Leif, tossing back his yellow locks, and raising thetankard again to pledge his native land; "no, I shall only forgetIceland when I forget to live; but I don't forget, also, that it is onlyabout 130 years since my great-grandfather and his companions came overfrom Norway to Iceland. Before that it was an unpeopled rock in theNorthern Sea, without name or history. [Iceland was colonised byNorsemen about the year 874.] 'Twas as little known then as Vinland isknown now."
br />   "By the way, Biarne," said Karlsefin, turning to his friend, "themention of Vinland reminds me that, when you and I met last, you did notgive me a full account of that discovery, seeing that you omitted tomention your own share in it. Tell me how was it, and when and wherewas it? Nay, have I unintentionally touched on a sore point?" he added,on observing a slight shade of annoyance pass over Biarne's usuallycheerful countenance.

  "He _is_ a little sore about it," said Leif, laughing. "Come, Biarne,don't be thin-skinned. You know the saying, A dutiful son makes a gladfather. You had the best of reasons for acting as you did."

  "Ay, but people don't believe in these best of reasons," retortedBiarne, still annoyed, though somewhat mollified by Leif's remarks.

  "Never mind, 'tis long past now. Come, give us the saga. 'Tis a goodone, and will bear re-telling."

  "Oh yes," exclaimed Olaf, with sparkling eyes, for the boy dearly lovedanything that bore the faintest resemblance to a saga or story, "tellit, Biarne."

  "Not I," said Biarne; "Leif can tell it as well as I, if he chooses."

  "Well, I'll try," said Leif, laying his huge hand on the table andlooking earnestly at Karlsefin and Thorward. The latter was a verysilent man, and had scarcely uttered a word all the evening, but heappeared to take peculiar interest in Vinland, and backed up the requestthat Leif would give an account of its discovery.

  "About twenty summers ago," said Leif, "my father, Eric the Red, and hisfriend Heriulf, Biarne's father, came over here from Iceland. [A.D.986.] Biarne was a very young man at the time--little more than a boy--but he was a man of enterprise, and fond of going abroad, and possesseda merchant-ship of his own with which he gathered wealth, and, I willsay it, reputation also--though perhaps I should not say that to hisface.

  "He was a good son, and used to be by turns a year abroad and a yearwith his father. He chanced to be away in Norway when Heriulf and myfather Eric came over to Greenland. On returning to Iceland he was somuch disappointed to hear of his father's departure that he would notunload his ship, but resolved to follow his old custom and take up hiswinter abode with his father. `Who will go with me to Greenland?' saidhe to his men. `We will all go,' replied the men. `Our expedition,'said Biarne, `will be thought foolish, as none of us have ever been onthe Greenland sea before.' `We mind not that,' said the men--so awaythey sailed for three days and lost sight of Iceland. Then the windfailed; after that a north wind and a fog set in, and they knew notwhere they were sailing to; and this lasted many days. At length thesun appeared. Then they knew the quarters of the sky, and, aftersailing a day and a night, made the land.

  "They saw that it was without mountains, was covered with wood, and thatthere were small hills inland. Biarne saw that this did not answer tothe description of Greenland; he knew he was too far south, so he leftthe land on the larboard side, and sailed two days and nights beforethey got sight of land again. The men asked Biarne if this wasGreenland, but he said it was not, `For on Greenland,' he says, `thereare great snowy mountains, but this is flat and covered with trees.'Here the wind fell and the men wanted to go ashore, `Because,' saidthey, `we have need of wood and water.' Biarne replied, `Ye are not inwant of either;' and the men blamed him for this,--but the season wasfar spent, he knew not how long it might take him to find Greenland, sohe had no time to spare.--Was it not so?" said Leif, appealing to hisfriend.

  "It was so," replied Biarne, nodding gravely.

  "Well then," continued Leif, "it must be told that he ordered them tohoist the sail, which they did, and, turning the bow from the land, keptthe sea for three days and nights, with a fine breeze from thesouth-west, when a third time land was seen, with high snowy mountains.Still Biarne would not land, for it was not like what had been reportedof Greenland. They soon found it to be an island, and, turning from it,stood out to sea, when the breeze increased to a gale, forcing them totake in a reef; so they sailed for three days and nights more, and madeland the fourth time. This turned out to be Greenland, and quite closeto Heriulf's dwelling at Heriulfness. Biarne then gave up seafaring,and dwelt with his old father as long as he lived; but since his deathhe has been sometimes at sea and sometimes at home. Now, these landswhich Biarne discovered, were what I have since called Vinland."

  "Yes," exclaimed Biarne, with a look of indignation; "and when Iafterwards fared to Norway they blamed me for not going on shore andexploring these lands--as if I, at the end of autumn, could afford toput off time in explorations, when it was all I could do to make my portbefore the winter set in!" He finished off by striking the table withhis fist, seizing his tankard, and draining it to the bottom.

  "I have often observed," said Karlsefin, quietly, "that people who sitby their firesides at home, and do nothing, are usually very severe andnoisy in their remarks on those who fare abroad and do great things; butthat arises not so much from ill-will as ignorance."

  "But what of your own doings, Leif?" said Thorward, breaking in hereimpatiently.

  "Well, I didn't do much," replied Leif. "I only took possession, anddidn't keep it. This was the way of it. Fourteen years after thisvoyage of Biarne, [about the year A.D. 1000] I was seized with a desireto see these new lands. I bought Biarne's ship from him, set sail witha good crew, and found the lands, just as Biarne had described them, faraway to the south of Greenland. I landed and gave names to some places.At the farthest south point we built huts and spent the winter, butreturned home in spring. I called this part Vinland, and this is thereason why: We had a German with us named Tyrker, who is with me herestill. One day Tyrker was lost; I was very anxious about him, fearingthat he had been killed by wild beasts or Skraelingers, [Esquimaux orsavages, probably Indians,] so I sent out parties to search. In theevening we found him coming home in a state of great excitement, havingfound fruit which, he said, was grapes. The sight and taste of thefruit, to which he was used in his own land, had excited him to such anextent that we thought he was drunk, and for some time he would donothing but laugh and devour grapes, and talk German, which none of usunderstood. At last he spoke Norse, and told us that he had found vinesand grapes in great abundance. We found that this was true--at least wefound a berry which was quite new to us. We went off next day, and,gathering enough to load our boat, brought them away with us. From thiscircumstance I called it Vinland. Two years after that my brotherThorwald went to Vinland, wintered three years there, was killed by theSkraelingers, and his men returned to Greenland. Then my youngestbrother, Thorstein, who was Gudrid's husband, went off to Vinland tofetch home the body of our brother Thorwald, but was driven back bystress of weather. He was taken ill soon after that, and died. Sincethen Gudrid has dwelt with my household, and glad we are to have her.This is the whole story of Vinland; so if you want to know more about ityou must e'en go on a voyage of discovery for yourself."

  "I should like nothing better," replied Karlsefin, "if I could only--"

  At that moment the door was burst violently open, and a man withbloodshot eyes and labouring breath rushed in exclaiming, "TheSkraelinger! the Skraelinger are upon us!"