Lucy Foster Madison

“ Hakon looked at the maiden.
“It is true, O jarl,” she said in answer to the look. “’Tis the custom of the Saxon thus to reward those who make glee for them.”
“’Tis custom in all lands,” said Hakon with a smile, taking from his neck a chain of gold. “Take this, maiden; as thou playest on the harp of a king, it is fitting that thou shouldst receive royal gifts. ’Tis a chain of gold that hath never known alloy. Behold, from its centre hangs an amulet that ever faithful guards the wishes of the wearer.” ”

“ Thou shalt truly come to thy glory. Hail to thee! Hail to thee! Gunnehilde hath spoken.”
She arose and bowed thrice before the trembling maiden.
“But what dost thou mean?” inquired the girl when she could command her voice. “What glory is it that shall be mine? I fear that I do not understand.”
“Thou hast no further need of galdra or witchcraft. Bright is the woof of thy fate. The skein of thy life is interwoven with those who are great. No need is there for thee to consult the runes. Ask no more of the wicca. Glorious will be thy last hours.”
Egwina dared ask no more. ”

“ The Saxon clasped the amulet with the hand that held it in his own.
“Egwina, this night wilt thou exchange with me the true-lofa?”
“Edward, what meanest thou?” The maiden looked up at him in startled amazement.
“Thou art duller than thy wont, Egwina, if thou knowest not,” smiled Edward. “I mean our betrothal. Always have I intended to wed thee, if thou wert willing, when proper time should come. What then so fitting as that we plight our troth now when all rejoice in the happiness of Ethelred and Ethelfleda?”
“But, Edward,” faltered Egwina, “thou art the atheling, and I but a gleemaiden. ”

“ Listen, and thou shalt hear one now.”
“Nay; rather let me hear more of thy tales,” and Egwina looked appealingly at the skald. “Well dost thou tell them, and I wonder not that thou art welcome where there is glee.”
“Thou shalt hear them then,” cried Sigurd, flattered by her words. “Later, daughter, canst thou use her for thy art. Now let her listen to mine, for I have need to refresh my memory. Wise is she in the lore of our craft; for a daughter of a skald, and a skald maiden is she. Then knowest thou, maiden, how Skadi, the daughter of Thyassi Jötun, came to Asgard to avenge her father?” ”

“ Elswitha sprang to her feet, her face transfigured with joy.
“God be praised!” she cried. “It is my lord. Now, my children, ye are in sooth safe. O thank God! Thank God!”
But even as she spoke, the door fell inward with a crash, and the Northmen burst into the room. Wulfhere drew his seax, and threw himself in front of the women and children. The youths—Edward and the cup-bearer—ranged themselves beside him.
“Minstrel, sheathe thy sword,” cried the foremost of the Danes. “Arms and battle are not for thee. It is thine to sing the praises of warriors. Sheathe thy sword.” ”

“ Were it not that I fear the Dane, beshrew me if I would ask aught better than to dwell therein.”
“But why could we not, grandfather? Then might it be that we could behold again the youth and the maiden whom we met in the forest. Didst thou see aught of them?”
“No, child; and let not thy heart dwell upon them. Not long are nobles mindful of their words. Whilst thou may be in favor to-day, the morrow doth full oft bring unkindness.”
“But the maiden, Ethelfleda, her brother called her, seemed not like one to forget,” and Egwina twirled the sapphire ring upon her finger. ”

“ Early one morning, just as the first faint streaks of dawn were tinting the sky, Egwina was awakened from slumber by the shouts of men and the clash of steel. In alarm, the Danes sprang to their arms, but the Saxons had surprised them too completely for anything but a furious resistance. From the first they cut down the Northmen in great numbers, for they were filled with the inspiration of despair, deeming death inevitable and preferring to fall in battle rather than by starvation. ”

“ The loud laughter of Dane and the song of skald were hushed. Knowing naught of the cause, the jarls rushed forth from the mead hall with Guthrum at their head. Awed and panic-stricken, many threw themselves on the ground in paroxysms of terror.
“’Tis Ragnarok, the twilight of the gods!” cried Guthrum in fear. “Dim groweth the sun! Soon will the stars fall, and time shall be no more!”
With hoarse cries the Danes repeated, “Ragnarok! Ragnarok!”
In the distance the cocks crew, and the birds chirped in the tree-branches as they nested to rest. Egwina and Siegbert drew close to Hilda. ”

“ They proceeded silently, for the heart of the maiden was heavy, and Gyda, too, seemed weighed down by some care. At last the seid woman aroused herself, and turned to the girl:
“Let us beguile the journey by talk, my child. Wouldst thou that I should read thy rede for thee?”
“Nay, Gyda; I care no more for rede or rune. Dark are the shadows which they cast, and I would fain be free from their witchery.”
“Yet, natheless, give me thy palm. Believe as thou wilt. Belief cometh not at the bidding; neither doth it depart. Thou believest not; I believe. ”

“ They roared with merriment at the tricks of the minstrel, and listened entranced to the singing of Egwina.
“To Guthrum! To Guthrum they must go!” cried one of the crowd which surrounded them. “’Twill warm the heart of the king to hear them!”
So to the abode of Guthrum were they taken. The king sat on his high seat at meat when the warden spake to him:
“A Saxon minstrel is without, good king. The strings he touches with a master’s hand; and as he plays the maiden with him sings to his harp tales of heroes and brave deeds. ”

“ How fine the night is! Dost thou remember how chill and drear was the awful night that the Northmen fell upon us at Chippenham? How fair thou didst look that night when, child though thou wert, thou didst stand up in the hall and sing. Fair thou wert, Egwina, but not so fair as now. Thou mindest me of a fawn with thy shyness and grace. Tell me, hast thou kept the charm I gave thee?”
“Yes, Edward.” Egwina drew the chain from under the folds of her tunic. “See! The amulet is as thou didst fasten it.” ”

“ Time may bring obliteration to the scars of the skin; to the soul never, save through the blood of Him who alone can purify.”
Egwina turned and looked the speaker full in the face.
“Well hast thou spoken, Denewulf,” she said.
“Egwina! is it truly thou?” and the bishop, for he was none other than Denewulf, the swineherd, whom the king had appointed to this position, seized the maiden’s hands. “Dear child, is it thus that I see thee at last?”
“It is thus, Denewulf,” answered Egwina, sadly. “Where is Adiva? I knew not that thou wert the bishop.” ”

“ Maiden, no runes have I graven for thee on the bark of elm, nor Scinlaeca (spirits of the departed) have I called from the graves of the dead; but easy is it to read thy rede. Listen! for Skulda hath passed into the soul of her servant, and fast doth thy fate run from her lips. Thy vision portendeth great honors to thee. None greater than thou shall live in the land. Retainers many shall be thine, with honor and riches also. After thee shall thy son come, and he shall be more glorious than thou. All men shall look up to him and bow before him for his greatness and wisdom. ”

“ She lives now for thee—thee alone. Hence she loves naught else but thee. Let her waste not for thy love, and suffer naught to come between thee. As thou dealest with her, so may God deal with thee.”
“So may God deal with me,” repeated Edward, solemnly. “Welcome, my bride, and thrice welcome! Never more shall we be parted. We two will live with but one heart and one purpose.”
“Welcome also thy bride’s brother,” and the king brought Siegbert forward. “Hast thou room in thy heart for another brother? Marry! once I thought him loth to let thee have Egwina, and hard did I plead for thee.” ”

“ Egwina shrank close to her grandfather.
“No song, even for thy life, girl,” commanded the old man sternly.
“Strike up, old scald! Is thy harp mute that thou dost not sweep it?” spoke the leader.
“A song! A song in praise of Guthrum! Guthrum the bold!”
But Wulfhere folded his arms across his harp and remained silent.
“Silent art thou?” demanded he who seemed to be the chief.
“’Tis fear that whitens his face and makes his tongue cleave to the roof of his mouth,” laughed a youth mockingly.
“Haco, take the harp,” commanded the jarl. “Do thou sing for us. Then will the old man be stirred to obey. ”

“ The Dragon hath come forth from his lair. He is within thy walls, Guthrum! Seize him, lest he devour thee!”
“My king, we must fly,” whispered Egwina, with pale face. “I fear the wicca, for she hath marvelous power.”
“Nay,” said Alfred. “Tremble not, little one. Be not afraid. There is One higher than wicca, in whose hands we are. Let us meet the danger as Saxons.”
He turned and stood as if to hear what the seid woman said, and the trembling maiden drew close to his side.
“What is it that thou sayest, Gyda?” called Guthrum the king. “That an enemy is in our midst? ”

“ The Saxon King is my Flygia. Thou dost not mind returning thither, dost thou?”
“Nay,” answered the girl sadly; “it matters not where we wayfare.”
“Be not cast down, child,” said the woman gently. “Some dark threads are woven into the woof of each life. All cannot be golden. Thou art young and soon will thy trouble fall from thee even as the shadow halting between the light and the darkness passes away into the night. Sorrow sits not long with the young. Come, let us eat.”
Egwina partook mechanically of the food set before her, and then prepared to follow Gyda on her journey. ”

“ None but Saxons can penetrate into these wolds and fens,” spoke up the swineherd quickly. “And not even Saxons if they be not accustomed to it. I and others of my kind can go through the fastnesses as easily as thou canst follow a path; because we wot of them, but the Northmen would become weary and wander aimlessly about, unwitting whither to go until they would perish in the forest.”
“It glads my heart to hear it,” breathed the maiden. “I want no more to see them. They are so fearful! None do they spare, neither youth nor age. I would, oh, I would that the king were here. ”

“ When all had sung, the jarl cried:
“Methinks I see a skald maiden who hath not yet sung? Norse doth she look but Saxon is her dress.”
“Right art thou, O Hakon,” cried Sigurd. “Keen as the eagle’s are the eyes of Odin’s son that see afar off. The maiden is fair enow for Norse, but is a Saxon. A skald maiden is she, and I misdoubt not knoweth well many songs.”
“I would hear thy harp,” said the jarl, and Egwina stood forth and sang a quaint little Norse song that her grandsire had taught her. ”

“ Never have I seen a king. Hast thou?”
“Once,” said Egwina, “when I was seven, grandfather and I were in Sherborne when King Ethelred passed through. Methought that he was handsome and noble in appearance, but granther said that I was too young to know much about it, that the atheling, Alfred, was handsomer by far and that the land would be better when he was king; not only for his talents, but also because our holy father, the pope, had crowned him king in Rome.”
“Well! Drink hael to the king’s coming,” and the swineherd tossed off another horn of mead. ”

“ A knock at the door brought Ethelfleda and Egwina from an adjoining room.
“Open, my daughter,” said the king.
“But it may not be one of thy followers,” said the girl, dubiously.
“Open; keep not one without who may need shelter from the wind. Piercing is the blast. Open unto him whomever it may be.”
Ethelfleda opened the door not widely, as was the wont of the Saxons, for she feared that one might be without who sought the king.
“Bread, maiden! Give me bread to eat for Christ His sake,” pleaded a man who stood there. ”

“ Egwina laughed, interested in spite of her fears.
“Methinks I would rather choose by the countenance than the feet,” she cried merrily. “Men’s looks reflect their deeds, and a clear eye doth oft show a kind heart as well as a brave one.”
“True, child. Much wisdom is there in thy speech. Remember well thy words, and when Skulda doth mingle another’s golden thread with thine, look well to face and heart as well as strength of arm, and well-shaped feet.”
“Already is the web of her fate woven,” declared the seid woman. “Skulda hath already interwoven with hers the warp and woof of greatness.” ”

“ Pleasant have been my days. Pleasant, most pleasant, have been thine. Then wherefore dost thou sigh? Is it because thou art alone?”
“Nay, Gyda,” said the maiden gently. “’Tis only that I mourn the loss of my friend. Otherwise I would not have it to be, for Ethelfleda is happy. She believes that naught can change us; but thou wottest, Gyda, that now new duties will claim her attention, and it cannot be with us as it hath been. Unworthy is it in me to grieve, but yet, methinks I shall be the better for it.”
“Egwina,” said Gyda abruptly, “art thou happy here? ”

“ Stay,” as Egwina swept the strings of the harp, “knowest thou the king’s favorite songs?”
“Yea, they are the Christian hymns,” replied Egwina, promptly.
“Then sing those, and afterward shalt thou sing the others.”
Again the maiden swept the strings, saying as she did so: “Methinks the king liketh this hymn the best of any. ’Tis a hymn of thanksgiving on the creation.
“Befits it well that man should raise
To Heaven the song of thanks and praise,
For all the gifts a bounteous God
From age to age hath still bestowed. ”

“ The earth, when conquered, gives us the stars.’”
“Does it truly say that?” cried Egwina, in delight. “Show me, Wilfred.”
Wilfred placed his finger on the page, and said: “Art sure that thou understandest, little one?” The girl nodded her head sagely.
“I cannot just tell it,” she said; “but it is like this: should the king do some noble thing his example would incite others to follow where he would lead.”
“True, maiden. Thou hast given the thought in mine own mind. Bright art thou, and methinks would prove an apt pupil. Wouldst like for me to teach thee to read, Egwina?” ”

“ Laugh an’ thou wilt, even though it be at my foolish pride. ’Tis something better to be the wife of a bishop than of a swineherd, is it not?”
“But still he is the same, Adiva, swineherd or bishop,” said the maiden. “What doth it matter what he doeth? ’Tis the man whom thou hast wed.”
“Thou art young,” remarked Adiva, with an upward lift of the head. “Wisdom thou wilt acquire as thou growest older. Denewulf was good enow as a husband when a swineherd, but few were the mancuses and pence that came our way. ”

“ Denewulf pressed the king’s hand again and again, while over Adiva’s face came a curious look. It was a blending of triumph at the thought of having sheltered no less a personage than the king, awe at his presence, and fear of the sharp words which she had more than once addressed to him.
“My lord,” she cried, “thou wilt not hold against a poor woman the sharpness of her tongue, wilt thou? Thou wottest how pointed it becomes when the temper is overwrought. ”

“ What hath become of him?”
“I know not,” answered Egwina. “I trow that he liveth, for when granther and I rested in one of the villages, his messenger of war passed through. But the Saxons would not hearken to the summons.”
“Sayest thou so?” exclaimed he who seemed to be the spokesman. “Sayest thou so? Then, are we in sore straits in sooth. Alfred is a wise king and would drive out the Dane if the Saxons would follow him. But what is the throne without men? Of himself he can do naught. Evil hath surely come on the land. But thou art cold, little one!” ”

“ Say on, sister.”
Egwina told all. The life in the forest at the cottage of Denewulf; Athelney, the palace and Edward’s love; of Gyda and the ordeal, and finally how she came to be there at Anlaf’s.
Siegbert turned to her, an anxious expression on his face.
“Not now, Egwina, wilt thou seek the cloister, wilt thou? Thy brother cannot give thee up, now that he hath found thee.”
“Dear brother, never will I leave thee unless thou sendest me from thee,” said Egwina, kissing him. “We will go to the king, and thou shalt enter his service, and learn of his wisdom. ”