Sigrid

“ Ay, he looked like Sigurd Ribbung.
136Sigrid. Laughed he like Sigurd?
Lady Ragnhild. Ay, ay!
Sigrid. Then must we all pray.
Lady Ragnhild. [With the force of despair.] The Earl must be chosen King! ’Twill work ruin in his soul if he be not the first man in the land!
Sigrid. [More loudly.] Then must we all pray!
Lady Ragnhild. Hist! What is that? [At the window.] What shouts! All the men have risen; all the banners and standards wave in the wind.
Sigrid. [Seizes her by the arm.] Pray, woman! Pray for your husband!
Lady Ragnhild. Ay, Holy King Olaf, give him all the power in this land! ”

“ Thus in his isolation he was not alone, but could reach out in fellowship to the whole earth. It did not matter that he had failed. Others would follow stronger and wiser than himself. They would till his barren acre—perhaps out of his very dust would spring the harvest which had been denied him.
The moment's ecstasy passed, but behind it followed a deep and healing serenity. He walked on slowly. "Our dreams are real—reality is nothing," Sigrid had said, and now the words were illuminated with his own knowledge. ”

“ Sigrid rushed up, after her Kallem and Karl; the latter remained outside! He could hear that it was a fit of coughing, a terrible one again. He could not conceive that she still had so much strength; each separate cough seemed to stab his breast; it cut right through him and crushed him; the cold sweat broke out on him when he heard her groans of pain; he could not bear to listen, yet he dared not go away. Probably this was her last hour. He heard how Sigrid was weeping, and heard her say: "Oh mistress! mistress!"--and soon after: "She is dying!" He opened the door. ”

“ She sprang suddenly to her feet with an almost threatening gesture. "But it was me he loved—me he married. He didn't care for you—don't you flatter yourself—he wanted you—just to get even—just to hurt as he'd been hurt. You're nothing but a——"
She broke off. Sigrid had not moved or spoken, but there was that in the still white face which checked the torrent of savage insult. Mrs. Smithers got up. She rolled the mittens into a neat ball.
"I'm an old woman," she said, "and I hate violence. But just you mind what you're saying, Mrs. Barclay——"
Sigrid checked her with a gesture. ”

“ Men are just like babies in a crisis—always fussing about the unessentials. Of course, Major Tristram must stay—at any rate, until he is out of danger. And, Sigrid, as a sop to a hopeless passion, let me help nurse him."
"We'll pull him through together," Sigrid answered.
"Mr. Meredith, don't you think with Mrs. Compton and Mrs. Smithers on guard, the situation should pass muster?"
He shrugged his broad shoulders. He was looking at Anne—Anne whose white, tear-stained face peered out of the shadow like a pitiful, frightened ghost's, and somehow the sight filled him with a cold anger. ”

“ Sigrid's tender heart was at ease again, and she returned to the dancers. The older people stayed up far into the bright night, but the children soon went to bed. From her chamber window, Sigrid could see the huge bonfires on the hillsides far away. The witches are abroad on Midsummer's Eve, and these fires drive them away.
Every one goes to church on Midsummer's Day, which is also called St. John's Day. So the next morning, the Lund family drove several miles to a little country church. Before [66] they started, Sigrid went to find the sweep. ”

“ Sigrid replied, “how canst thou, a stripling of eighteen, hope to stand before a grown man, a mighty champion, armed with a magic sword? Thy words and thoughts are brave, as thou thyself art, but the odds are too great for thee: they are two to one, since Vakr, ever spiteful and malicious, will not stand idle while thou art in combat with Thorbiorn.”
“Well,” said Olaf, “I will not avoid them, but I will not seek a contest. If it must be so, I will fight bravely; thou shalt hear of my deeds.” ”

“ Mother will be so delighted.
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"It must be splendid to be a big boy and go to your school," continued Sigrid. "You do such interesting things. I wish that I could go on a school journey with my teacher for two or three days and see some of our wonderful old castles, as you do. Mother says perhaps Miss Eklund and I may go with her and father when they go through the Göta Canal to Göteborg, next summer, to visit Aunt Frederika. That will be better than a school journey."
"But, Sigrid, there are many wonderful things to see right here in our own beautiful Stockholm," said Erik. ”

“ Not till Alfred, Sigrid and he went to her apartments in the evening did he receive an explanation. Then Astrid told them about Svein's plans for her marriage.
"It is a shame!" exclaimed Sigrid. "Why, in England a girl must yield obedience to her father's wishes, but she is not forced into marrying in this way!"
Sigurd was silent, his brows knitted. "I am in a bad position," he said at last. "Of course, the simplest way out of it would be for you to come on board the 'Crane,' and for us to join King Olaf; but I am on a mission here that I must not neglect. ”

“ His horizon of thought shut down at food, shelter, and, now, Sigrid. Some latent bitterness was roused by ideas of useless luxuries, of words, or actions, or material things that were not needed, that did not bear directly on the problem of existence.
And to annoy him further, one of the articles in the lawyer's house which demanded a growing interest from Sigrid was a clock on the dressing-table of his eldest daughter's boudoir. Clocks on Petit Blanc were rare. The few in the village were either old-country timepieces or rackety, unreliable alarm-clocks. ”

“ In the little narrow space between the two windows, Sigrid's mother had planted bright green mosses and gray lichens with tiny red cups. A little wooden house and several painted wooden men and women were placed in this miniature [17] park, that kept green all winter. Sigrid liked her window better than any in the house, for all the others had only the mosses and coloured berries.
"Before many months, I believe you will be able to knit a pair of stockings," said Miss Eklund, as she watched her industrious pupil.
"Did you have to make all your stockings when you were a little girl?" ”

“ In summer he went once more to the Baltic with his ships, and steered to Svithjod. He sent a message to Queen Sigrid that he wished to have a meeting with her and she rode down to meet him. They talked together and he soon brought out the proposal that she should marry him. She replied, that this was foolish talk for him, who was so well married already that he might think himself well off. Harald says, "Asta is a good and clever woman; but she is not so well born as I am." Sigrid replies, "It may be that thou art of higher birth, but I think she is now pregnant with both your fortunes." ”

“ The parting between Olaf and Sigrid was very sad, for he feared that the king and queen would force her to marry the rich old king during his absence, and Sigrid dreaded the dangers that might befall Olaf during his travels. But they promised to remain true to one another, and that nothing but death should part them. And then Olaf started on his journey.
Now, on the borders of the king’s forest there lived an old man and his wife. The old man was called Geir, and his wife Trude. The old couple were very, very poor ”

“ Just because we are your friends it hurts worse." She ruffled her hair with an unhappy hand. "Sigrid, you can count on us, of course. I believe you may count on Mrs. Bosanquet, and the Judge follows automatically. She's furious just now, but she has a regular schoolgirl rave on you and it will be too strong for her. I daresay the other women will follow. Even Anne——" She saw Sigrid move restlessly in her chair, and hastily swung off, moved by she knew not what consciousness of pain. "It's the men who'll be the hardest to fight. ”

“ Such a heap of pretty things were concealed!
"Here is 'Little Women,'" said Sigrid in great delight. "How did you know it was just what I wanted, mother?" For the tenth time Sigrid got up to run and kiss her mother. The green and gold bound book from which she had torn the wrapping was a translation of Louisa M. Alcott's story, which is as dear to the little Swedish girl as to her American cousin.
"No lessons to-day," said Miss Eklund, [99] as the children came out of the dining-room.
"Hurrah!" shouted Erik. "Won't you take us for a sail on the lake, father? ”

“ He usually preferred to attend to his own affairs himself, but now as he walked home absorbed in sorrowful thoughts he wondered whether it would not be better for his mother to go and speak to her first - but she must ride over on the Grey. True, people might think it foolish to use a horse for so short a distance, but Sigrid would understand the meaning. ”

“ Queen Sigrid in Svithjod, who had for surname the Haughty, sat in her mansion, and during the same winter messengers went between King Olaf and Sigrid to propose his courtship to her, and she had no objection; and the matter was fully and fast resolved upon. Thereupon King Olaf sent to Queen Sigrid the great gold ring he had taken from the temple door of Hlader, which was considered a distinguished ornament. The meeting for concluding the business was appointed to be in spring on the frontier, at the Gaut river. Now the ring which King Olaf had sent Queen Sigrid was highly prized by all men ”

“ Sigrid's eyes shone with delight. "I know, I know," she exclaimed. "He cut off his hair and put on homespun clothes, so he looked like a peasant. Then he worked in the mines and on farms."
"Didn't the peasants know who he was?" asked Anna.
"Some of them did. They wanted to save him from the Danish soldiers. Father saw a house where a woman helped him to escape. She hung a towel from a window. With that for a rope, he climbed down and ran away.
"The story I like best is the one about the farmer who hid Gustaf Vasa in a load of straw. ”

“ You're a creature of instincts, and the instincts are rather better than the reasonings of most people. I think you're intrinsically loyal." I thought of the years he had slaved for Sigrid, as press agent, business representative, confidential adviser, contract maker and breaker, and faithful hound generally. "I'm sorry myself, Jake, to lose my temper. Let's forget it."
He insisted on buying me another double hamburger, and while I ate it with unblunted appetite he talked more about the play Sigrid was to present.
"Horror stuff is due for a comeback, Gib, and this will be the start. ”

“ He gave a cry of delight as he saw her, and gripped her hands until they hurt.
"Astrid!"
"Why, Sigurd!" she replied, noting how he had grown, "what a big man you have become already! Oh, how glad I am to see you—and how I need you, too!" she added in a lower tone.
Sigurd gave her a quick, anxious look, then turned. "Here, Alfred, Sigrid!" he shouted, and the next minute the two girls were in each other's arms, while the crowd looked on, amazed. Sigurd told King Svein something of their tale, then the king ordered all to follow him to the castle. ”

“ Monk began to smile. "I fancy he did try a little at first, but he soon saw that I had forestalled him, and so, with a good grace I'll admit, he left the field clear. If he had made any definite advances, I think Sigrid would have told me."
"Are you quite sure about that?" answered Clara, with an air of superiority. "One is not of course father confessor to one's fiancée. ”

“ If you treat me fairly, you'll have nothing to fear from me—and besides that, I'll give you the straight tip—I know something of Sigrid Fersen. She wants the cream of life—it's a sort of religion with her. In London there wasn't a man or woman who could stand up to her in magnificence. ”

“ I was, of course, accustomed to see Sigrid in that costume—the braided jacket and the little hat with the bird's wing on it—so at first glance I might have doubted; but after a more careful inspection I should never have hesitated in saying that it was Evelina,—she and no one else, if only this question of the finger hadn't cropped up."
"The photograph was examined, wasn't it?"
"If any photograph in this world has been examined, this is the one. As you may remember, the photographer Rodin and another expert gave their opinion upon it at the first trial. ”

“ The morning of the wedding rose bright and sunny, and the old king, who had arrived, was lodged in the palace. Leaving Geir and Trude among the assembled guests, Greybeard went down into the beautiful gardens, and there, seated on the stone bench near the fountain, he saw Sigrid, looking sad and pale. She had heard of the grey stranger and all his wonderful doings, and though glad that she was [209] not to marry this ugly old king, she could not forget Olaf. ”

“ You must know how to do these things so you will be able to take care of your own home when you grow up. But it is time for dinner now and I hear your mother's callers going. Make haste and put your knitting away lest she see her present."
Every morning, Sigrid had an early breakfast with her brother Erik, who went to a private school. He was studying very hard to go to the university at Upsala. Then she must study her lessons and learn many of the same things which her governess had been taught in the long winter months on the farm. ”

“ She fastened a ship's rope to the coil of gold about the king's neck and then handed the rope to her brother, who was outside.
"Whist! the men threw the rope over the branch of the huge oak. Up went the tent into the air, and the king was strangled with his own golden chain."
[28]
"What a horrible story!" said Sigrid with a shudder. "What became of the princess?"
"Oh, she and the other captives hastened away to the ships and sailed back to Finland. When the Vikings awoke from their heavy sleep, they were wild with rage. ”