ewell to
the beloved country which he never expected to see again.

After thus parting from his native land, Frithiof roved the sea as a
pirate, or viking. His code was never to settle anywhere, to sleep on
his shield, to fight and neither give nor take quarter, to protect
the ships which paid him tribute and to plunder the others, and to
distribute all the booty to his men, reserving for himself nothing
but the glory of the enterprise. Sailing and fighting thus, Frithiof
visited many lands, and came at last to the sunny isles of Greece,
whither he would fain have carried Ingeborg as his bride; and the
sights called up such a flood of sad memories that he was well-nigh
overwhelmed with longing for his beloved and for his native land.

At the Court of Sigurd Ring

Three years had passed away and Frithiof determined to return
northward and visit Sigurd Ring's court. When he announced his
purpose to Bjoern, his faithful companion reproached him for his
rashness in thinking to journey alone, but Frithiof would not be
turned from his purpose, saying: "I am never alone while Angurvadel
hangs at my side." Steering Ellida up the Vik (the main part of the
Christiania Fiord), he entrusted her to Bjoern's care, and, enveloped in
a bear-hide, which he wore as a disguise, he set out on foot alone for
the court of Sigurd Ring, arriving there as the Yuletide festivities
were in progress. As if nothing more than an aged beggar, Frithiof sat
down upon the bench near the door, where he quickly became the butt
of the courtiers' rough jokes. When one of his tormentors, however,
approached too closely, the seeming beggar caught him in a powerful
grasp and swung him high above his head.

Terrified by this exhibition of superhuman strength, the courtiers
quickly withdrew from the dangerous vicinity, while Sigurd Ring,
whose attention was attracted by the commotion, sternly bade the
stranger-guest approach and tell who thus dared to break the peace
in his royal hall.

Frithiof answered evasively that he was fostered in penitence, that
he inherited want, and that he came from the wolf; as to his name,
this did not matter. The king, as was the courteous custom, did not
press him further, but invited him to take a seat beside him and the
queen, and to share his good cheer. "But first," said he, "let fall
the clumsy covering which veils, if I mistake not, a proper form."

Frithiof gladly accepted the invitation thus cordially given, and