ng
should help to lay the treasures in his grave and bury them far from
human use and profit. Accordingly, when the ten faithless dastards
ventured out from the shelter of the wood, and came shamefacedly to
the place where Wiglaf sat, sorrowing, at the head of dead Beowulf, he
stilled their cries of grief with one wave of the hand, which had
still been vainly striving to arouse his king by gentle touch, and,
gazing scornfully at them, he cried: "Lo! well may a truthful man say,
seeing you here, safely in the war-gear and ornaments which our dead
hero gave you, that Beowulf did but throw away his generous gifts,
since all he bought with them was treachery and cowardice in the day
of battle! No need had Beowulf to boast of his warriors in time of
danger! Yet he alone avenged his people and conquered the fiend--I
could help him but little in the fray, though I did what I could: all
too few champions thronged round our hero when his need was sorest.
Now are all the joys of love and loyalty ended; now is all prosperity
gone from our nation, when foreign princes hear of your flight and
the shameless deed of this day. Better is death to every man than a
life of shame!"

[Illustration: The death of Beowulf]

The Geats stood silent, abashed before the keen and deserved
reproaches of the young hero, and they lamented the livelong day. None
left the shore and their lord's dead corpse; but one man who rode over
the cliff near by saw the mournful little band, with Beowulf dead in
the midst. This warrior galloped away to tell the people, saying: "Now
is our ruler, the lord of the Geats, stretched dead on the plain,
stricken by the dragon which lies dead beside him; and at his head
sits Wiglaf, son of Weohstan, lamenting his royal kinsman. Now is the
joy and prosperity of our folk vanished! Now shall our enemies make
raids upon us, for we have none to withstand them! But let us hasten
to bury our king, to bear him royally to his grave, with mourning and
tears of woe." These unhappy tidings roused the Geats, and they
hastened to see if it were really true, and found all as the messenger
had said, and wondered at the mighty dragon and the glorious hoard of
gold. They feared the monster and coveted the treasure, but all felt
that the command now lay with Wiglaf. At last Wiglaf roused himself
from his silent grief and said: "O men of the Geats, I am not to blame
that our king lies here lifeless. He would fight the dragon and win
the tr