A
Greek Empress, "The Mature Zoe," As Gibbon Calls Her,
Falls In Love With Him, And Her Husband, Constantine
Monomachus,
Puts him in prison; but Saint Olaf still
protects his mauvais sujet of a brother, and inspires "a
lady of
Distinction" with the successful idea of helping
Harald out of his inaccessible tower by the prosaic
expedient of a ladder of ropes. A boom, however, across
the harbour's mouth still prevents the escape of his
vessel. The Sea-king is not to be so easily baffled.
Moving all his ballast, arms, and men, into the afterpart
of the ship, until her stem slants up out of the sea, he
rows straight at the iron chain. The ship leaps almost
half-way over. The weight being then immediately transferred
to the fore-part, she slips down into the water on the
other side, - having topped the fence like an Irish hunter.
A second galley breaks her back in the attempt. After
some questionable acts of vengeance on the Greek court,
Harald and his bold Vaeringers go fighting and plundering
their way through the Bosphorus and Black Sea back to
Novogorod, where the first part of the romance terminates,
as it should, by his marriage with the object of his
secret attachment, Elisof, the daughter of the Russian
king.
Hardrada's story darkens towards the end, as most of the
tales of that stirring time are apt to do. His death on
English ground is so striking, that you must have patience
with one other short Saga; it will give you the battle
of Stanford Bridge from the Norse point of view.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 268 of 286
Words from 74576 to 74844
of 79667
