l. Thorstein, the master of the house,
bade Gudrid lie down and sleep, saying that he would keep watch over the
bodies during the night; thus she did, and early in the night, Thorstein,
Eric's son, sat up and spoke saying that he desired Gudrid to be called
thither, for that it was his wish to speak to her: "It is God's will that
this hour be given me for my own and for the betterment of my condition."
Thorstein, the master, went in search of Gudrid, and waked her, and bade
her cross herself, and pray God to help her; "Thorstein, Eric's son, has
said to me that he wishes to see thee; thou must take counsel with
thyself now, what thou wilt do, for I have no advice to give thee." She
replies, "It may be that this is intended to be one of those incidents
which shall afterward be held in remembrance, this strange event, and it
is my trust that God will keep watch over me; wherefore, under God's
mercy, I shall venture to him and learn what it is that he would say, for
I may not escape this if it be designed to bring me harm. I will do this,
lest he go further, for it is my belief that the matter is a grave one."
So Gudrid went and drew near to Thorstein, and he seemed to her to be
weeping. He spoke a few words in her ear, in a low tone, so that she
alone could hear them; but this he said so that all could hear, that
those persons would be blessed who kept well the faith, and that it
carried with it all help and consolation, and yet many there were, said
he, who kept it but ill. "This is no proper usage which has obtained here
in Greenland since Christianity was introduced here, to inter men in
unconsecrated earth, with nought but a brief funeral service. It is my
wish that I be conveyed to the church, together with the others who have
died here; Gard, however, I would have you burn upon a pyre, as speedily
as possible, since he has been the cause of all of the apparitions which
have been seen here during the winter." He spoke to her also of her own
destiny, and said that she had a notable future in store for her, but he
bade her beware of marrying any Greenlander; he directed her also to give
their property to the church and to the poor, and then sank down again a
second time. It had been the custom in Greenland, after Christianity was
introduced there, to bury persons on the farmsteads where they died, in
unconsecrated earth; a pole was erected in the ground, touching the
breast of the dead, and subsequently, when the priests