equal to a struggle with the king, betook himself to the
Hebrides, where a number of other Norse chieftains had sought a refuge
from similar persecutions. His great strength and sagacity, no less than
his distinguished birth, secured him a favorable reception and much
influence. He was so tall that no Norwegian horse could carry him, for
which reason he was compelled always to walk, and was surnamed Rollo the
Ganger, or Walker. Though not formally recognized as chieftain, he seems
gradually, by dint of his eminence, to have assumed command over the
Norse exiles; and it was probably at his advice that they resolved to
abandon the bleak and barren Hebrides, and seek a more congenial home in
a sunnier clime. At all events a large expedition was fitted out and set
sail for the south, early in the tenth century. It landed first in
Holland, but finding that all-too-accessible country already devastated
by other vikings, they proceeded to the coast of France and entered the
mouth of the river Seine. Charles the Simple, a feeble, foolish, and
good-natured man, was then king of France, but utterly unequal to the
task of defending his territory against foreign invaders or domestic
pretenders. The empire of Charlemagne had been broken up and divided
among his grandsons; and the fraction which was to be France, was then
confined between the Loire and the Meuse.

Here was a golden opportunity for Rollo the Ganger and his vikings.
Meeting with no formidable opposition, they sailed up the Seine and cast
anchor at the town of Jumieges, five leagues from Rouen. This ancient
city, which had suffered much from recent sieges and invasions, was in
no condition to defend itself. It was of slight avail that the priests
chanted in the churches, with the fervor of despair: "Deliver us, oh
God, from the fury of Norsemen!" The vikings continued to pillage the
surrounding territory, and were daily expected to sack the city. In this
dire dilemma the Archbishop of Rouen offered himself as an ambassador to
the pagans, in the hope that perhaps he might become an instrument in
the hand of God to avert the impending doom. But if, as seemed more
probable, martyrdom was in store for him, he was ready to face death
without flinching. Rollo, however, who could honor courage even in an
enemy, received him courteously, and after a brief negotiation pledged
himself, in case the city surrendered, to take peaceful possession of it
and to molest no one. This pledg