ing inquired after. Now, when the king had sat late into
the night, the bishop reminded him that it was time to go to bed, and
the king did so. But after the king was undressed, and had laid himself
in bed, the guest sat upon the foot-stool before the bed, and still
spoke long with the king; for after one tale was ended, he still wanted
a new one. Then the bishop observed to the king, it was time to go to
sleep, and the king did so; and the guest went out. Soon after the king
awoke, asked for the guest, and ordered him to be called, but the guest
was not to be found. The morning after, the king ordered his cook and
cellar-master to be called, and asked if any strange person had been
with them. They said, that as they were making ready the meat a man
came to them, and observed that they were cooking very poor meat for the
king's table; whereupon he gave them two thick and fat pieces of beef,
which they boiled with the rest of the meat. Then the king ordered that
all the meat should be thrown away, and said this man can be no other
than the Odin whom the heathens have so long worshipped; and added, "but
Odin shall not deceive us."

72. THE THING IN THRONDHJEM.

King Olaf collected a great army in the east of the country towards
summer, and sailed with it north to Nidaros in the Throndhjem country.
From thence he sent a message-token over all the fjord, calling the
people of eight different districts to a Thing; but the bondes changed
the Thing-token into a war-token; and called together all men, free and
unfree, in all the Throndhjem land. Now when the king met the Thing,
the whole people came fully armed. After the Thing was seated, the king
spoke, and invited them to adopt Christianity; but he had only spoken a
short time when the bondes called out to him to be silent, or they
would attack him and drive him away. "We did so," said they, "with Hakon
foster-son of Athelstan, when he brought us the same message, and we
held him in quite as much respect as we hold thee." When King Olaf saw
how incensed the bondes were, and that they had such a war force that he
could make no resistance, he turned his speech as if he would give way
to the bondes, and said, "I wish only to be in a good understanding
with you as of old; and I will come to where ye hold your greatest
sacrifice-festival, and see your customs, and thereafter we shall
consider which to hold by." And in this all agreed; and as the king
spoke mildly and frien