giving his name, and Frithiof had claimed this
guest-right. The horn sounded a shrill blast in the hall and all was
still. The hour for vows was coming and the boar was now brought in.
His four knees were bent beneath him on the great silver dish; in his
mouth was an apple, and there were wreaths about his neck.

King Ring, his grey locks flowing, arose and straightway now
The boar's head gently touching, he thus declared his vow:
"I swear to conquer Frithiof, the champion in war,
So help me, Frey and Odin, and likewise mighty Thor."

Then with a smile defiant uprose the stranger tall
A look of wrath heroic spread o'er his features all--
He smote with sword the table till through the hall it rang
And up from oaken benches the steel-clad warriors sprang.

"And now, Sir King, please listen while I my vow shall tell--
Young Frithiof is my kinsman, and so I know him well;
'Gainst all the world I'll shield him, I give you here in word,
So help me now my norn, and likewise my good sword!"

The king laughed at this bold defiance. "Right daring, methinks your
speech," he said, "but in the Northland palace all fair words are
free." Then turning to the queen he bade her fill a horn of wine, the
very best. "I hope that he'll remain our guest through the winter," he
concluded.

The queen then took the great goblet and filled it with wine. With
trembling hand she gave it to the guest. He accepted the horn with a
bow of reverence and drank the wine at a draught in honour of the fair
queen who gave it.

Then the skald, the singer of the royal court, touched the strings of
his harp and sang a song of love and glory. As he sang he moved the
warriors' hearts to pity or roused them to anger and revenge at his
will. Such is the wonderful power of music and poetry. He sang of the
home in Valhal, where brave heroes go after death, and all hearts were
filled with a desire to be brave and noble that they might deserve a
place in heaven when their work on earth was finished.

So with mirth and song, with stories of the great heroes of their race,
King Ring and his court kept the merry Yule-tide in his castle.

The Ride on the Ice

King Ring had set forth a banquet for his queen in a palace far over
the lake. The ice on the lake was glistening in the sun, and the king
ordered his sleigh and his swiftest horse.

"Do not go on the ice," urged the stranger; "it may break, and the
water below i