hed off by striking the table with
his fist, seizing his tankard, and draining it to the bottom.

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

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

"Well, I didn't do much," replied Leif. "I only took possession, and
didn't keep it. This was the way of it. Fourteen years after this
voyage of Biarne, [about the year A.D. 1000] I was seized with a desire
to see these new lands. I bought Biarne's ship from him, set sail with
a good crew, and found the lands, just as Biarne had described them, far
away 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, but
returned home in spring. I called this part Vinland, and this is the
reason why: We had a German with us named Tyrker, who is with me here
still. One day Tyrker was lost; I was very anxious about him, fearing
that he had been killed by wild beasts or Skraelingers, [Esquimaux or
savages, probably Indians,] so I sent out parties to search. In the
evening we found him coming home in a state of great excitement, having
found fruit which, he said, was grapes. The sight and taste of the
fruit, to which he was used in his own land, had excited him to such an
extent that we thought he was drunk, and for some time he would do
nothing but laugh and devour grapes, and talk German, which none of us
understood. At last he spoke Norse, and told us that he had found vines
and grapes in great abundance. We found that this was true--at least we
found 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 this
circumstance I called it Vinland. Two years after that my brother
Thorwald went to Vinland, wintered three years there, was killed by the
Skraelingers, and his men returned to Greenland. Then my youngest
brother, Thorstein, who was Gudrid's husband, went off to Vinland to
fetch home the body of our brother Thorwald, but was driven back by
stress of weather. He was taken ill soon after that, and died. Since
then Gudrid has dwelt with my household, and glad we are to have her.
This is the whole story of Vinland; so if