When the next morning’s sun arose, and its light the mountain peaks, and fell in a flood of down upon the rich uplands and the broad green fields of Nibelungen Land, Siegfried, with his earls and men, rode through the valley, and down to the seashore. There a pleasant sight met his eyes: for the little bay was white with the sails of a hundred gold-beaked which lay at anchor; and on the sandy beach there stood in order three thousand island ,—the bravest and the best of all the Nibelungens,—clad in armor, and ready to hear and to do their master’s bidding. And Siegfried told them why he had thus hastily called them together; and he gave to each one rich gifts of gold and jewels and raiment. Then he chose from among them one thousand of the most trustworthy, who should follow him back to Isenland; and these went aboard the waiting vessels, amid the cheers and the farewells of their comrades who were left behind. And when every thing was in readiness, the anchors were and the sails were set, and the little fleet, by pleasant winds, sailed out of the bay, and across the calm blue sea. And Siegfried’s , with a golden dragon banner floating from the masthead, led all the rest.
On the fourth day after Siegfried’s departure from Isenland, Dankwart and grim old Hagen sat in a room of the castle at Isenstein. Outside and below they heard the fair-haired warriors of Queen Brunhild pacing to and fro, and ready, at a word, to seize upon the strangers, and either to put them to death, or to drive them forever from the land. Old Hagen’s brows were closely knit, and his face was dark as a thunder-cloud, and his hands played with his sword-hilt, as he said,—
“Where now is Gunther, the man whom we once called king?”
“He is on the balcony above, talking with the queen and her ,” answered Dankwart.
“The craven that he is!” cried Hagen . “Once he was a king, and to be obeyed; but now who is the king? That upstart Siegfried has but to say what shall be done, and our master Gunther, blindly and like a child, complies. Four days ago we might have taken ship, and sailed safely home. Now our vessel is gone, the boasted hero is gone, and nothing is left for us to do but to fight and die.”
“But we are sure of Odin’s favor,” returned Dankwart; and a wild light gleamed from his eyes, and he his sword high over his head. “A place in Valhal is promised to us; for, him who bravely dies with his blood-stained sword beside him and his heart unrent with fears, the All-Father’s victory-wafters will gently carry home. Even now, methinks, I sit in the banqueting-hall of the heroes, and the flowing .”
In the mean while Gunther stood with Queen Brunhild at an upper window, and looked out upon the great sea that spread forever and away towards the setting sun. And all at once, as if by magic, the water was covered with white-sailed ships, which, driven by friendly winds and the hands of AEgir’s daughters and the arms of many a stalwart oarsman, came flying towards the bay.
“What ships are those with the snow-white sails and the dragon-stems?” asked Brunhild, wondering.
Gunther gazed for a moment towards the swift-coming fleet, and his eyes were gladdened with the sight of Siegfried’s dragon-banner floating from the vessel in the van. A great load seemed lifted from his breast, for now he knew that the hoped-for help was at hand. And, smiling he answered the queen,—
“Those white-sailed ships are mine. My body-guard—a thousand of my trustiest fighting-men—are on board, and every man is ready to die for me.”
And as the vessels came into the harbor, and the sailors furled the sails, and cast the anchors into the sea, Siegfried was seen standing on the golden of his ship, arrayed in princely raiment, with his earls and chiefs around him. And their bright armor glittered in the sunlight, and their shields shone like so many golden mirrors. A fairer sight had the folk of Isenstein never seen.
Long and earnestly Queen Brunhild gazed, and then, turning away, she burst into tears; for she knew that she had been again outwitted, and that it was vain for her to struggle against the Norns’ decrees. Then, crushing back the grief and the sore that rose in her heart, she again to Gunther, and her eyes shone stern and strange.
“What now will you have me do?” she asked; “for you have fairly won me, and my wayward fancies shall no longer you. Shall I greet your friends with kindness, or shall we send them back again over the sea?”
“I pray you give them welcome to the broad halls of Isenstein,” he answered; “for no truer, nobler men live than these my liegemen.”
So the queen sent word to Siegfried and his Nibelungen warriors to leave the ships and come . And she herself, as radiant now as a morning in May, went down to meet them and welcome them. Then she had a great feast made in honor of the heroes, and the long, low-raftered feast-hall rang with the sounds of merriment, instead of with the clash of arms. The fair-haired, blue-eyed warriors of the queen sat side by side with the tall strangers from over the sea. And in the high-seat was Brunhild, her face exceeding pale, yet beauteous to ; and by her side sat Gunther, smiling and glad, and clad in his kingly raiments. And around them were the earls and chieftains, and many a fair lady of Isenland, and Hagen, smiling through his frowns, and Dankwart, now grown fearless, and Siegfried sad and thoughtful. Mirth and gladness ruled the hour, and not until the morning star began to fade in the coming sunlight lid the guests retire to rest.
Only a few days longer did the heroes tarry in Isenland; for the mild spring days were growing warmer, and all faces were southward turned, and the queen herself was anxious to haste to her South-land home. When, at last, the time for leave-taking came, the folk of Isenland gathered around to bid their queen Godspeed. Then Brunhild called to Dankwart, and gave him her golden keys, and bade him unlock her closets where her gold and jewels were stored, and to with hands unstinted her treasures among the poor. And many were the tearful , and many the kind words said, as the radiant queen went down to the waiting, white-winged vessel, and stepped aboard with Gunther and the heroes of the Rhine. But she was not to go alone to the land of strangers; for with her were to sail a hundred fair young damsels, and more than fourscore noble , and two thousand blue-eyed warriors, the bravest of her land.
When all had gone on board the waiting fleet, the anchors were hoisted, and the sails were unfurled to the breeze; and amid the tearful farewells of friends, and the shouting of the sailors, the hundred heavy-laden vessels from the bay, and were soon far out at sea. And the sorrowing folk of Isenland turned away, and went back to their daily tasks, and to the old life of pain and pleasure, of shadow and sunshine; and they never saw their loved -queen again.
The gay white fleet, with its precious of noble men and fair ladies, sped swiftly onwards through Old AEgir’s kingdom; and it seemed as if Queen Ran had forgotten to spread her nets, so smooth and quiet was the sea; and the waves slept on the peaceful of the waters: only and Sky-clear danced in the wake of the flying ships, and added to the general joy. And on shipboard music and song enlivened the dragging hours; and from morn till eve no sounds were heard, save those of merriment and sport, and glad good cheer. Yet, as day after day passed by, and no sight met their eyes but the calm blue waters beneath, and the calm blue sky above, all began to wish for a view, once more, of the solid earth, and the fields, and the wild greenwood. But the ships sailed , and every hour brought them nearer and nearer to the wished-for .
At length, on the ninth day, they came in sight of a long, flat coast, stretching far away towards the Lowlands, where Old AEgir and his daughters—sometimes by wasting , sometimes by stealthy strategy—ever plot and to widen the Sea-king’s . When the sailors saw the green shore rising up, as it were, out of the quiet water, and the wild woodland lying and dark beyond, and when they knew that they were nearing the end of their long sea-voyage, they rent the air with their joyful shouts. And a brisker breeze sprang up, and filled the sails, and made the ships leap forward over the water, like glad living creatures.
It was then that the thought came to King Gunther that he ought to send fleet to Burgundy-land to make known the happy issue of his bold emprise, and to tell of his glad home-coming, with Brunhild, the warrior-, as his queen. So he called old Hagen to him, and told him of his thoughts, and asked him if he would be that .
“Nay,” answered the frowning chief. “No bearer of glad tidings am I. To every man Odin has given gifts. To some he has given light hearts, and cheery faces, and glad voices; and such alone are fitted to carry good news and happy greetings. To others he has given darker souls, and less lightsome faces, and more manners; and these may bear the brunt of the battle, and rush with Odin’s heroes to the : but they would be ill at ease standing in the presence of fair ladies, or telling glad tidings at court. Let me still linger, I pray, on board this narrow ship, and send your friend Siegfried as herald to Burgundy-land. He is well fitted for such a duty.”
So Gunther sent at once for Siegfried, to whom, when he had come, he said,—
“My best of friends, although we are now in sight of land, our voyage still is a long one; for the river is yet far away, and, when it is reached, its course is , and the current will be against us, and our progress must needs be slow. The folk at home have had no tidings from us since we left them in the early spring; and no doubt their hearts grow anxious, and they long to hear of our whereabouts, and whether we or no. Now, as we near the headland which out dark and green before us, we will set you on shore, with the noble Greyfell, and as many comrades as you wish, to haste with all speed to Burgundy, to tell the glad news of our coming to the loved ones waiting there.”
Siegfried at first held back, and tried to excuse himself from this errand,—not because he felt any fear of danger, but because he scorned to be any man’s , to go and do at his beck and bidding. Then Gunther spoke again, and in a different tone.
“Gentle Siegfried,” he said, “if you will not do this errand for my sake, I pray that you will undertake it for the sake of my sister, the fair Kriemhild, who has so long waited for our coming.”
Then willingly did the prince agree to be the king’s herald. And on the morrow the ship touched land; and Siegfried bade his companions a short farewell, and went ashore with four and twenty Nibelungen chiefs, who were to ride with him to Burgundy. And, when every thing was in readiness, he mounted the noble Greyfell, as did also each warrior his favorite steed, and they briskly away; and their glittering armor and nodding were soon lost to sight among the green trees of the wood. And the ship which bore Gunther and his kingly party weighed anchor, and moved slowly along the shore towards the distant river’s mouth.
For many days, and through many strange lands, rode Siegfried and his Nibelungen chiefs. They galloped through the woodland, and over a waste, and came to a peopled country rich in farms and meadows, and dotted with pleasant towns. And the folk of that land wondered greatly at sight of the radiant Siegfried, and the tall warriors with him, and their noble steeds, and their sunbright armor. For they thought that it was a company of the gods riding through the mid-world, as the gods were to do in the golden days of old. So they greeted them with smiles, and kind, good words, and flowers and blessings in their way.
They stopped for a day in Vilkina-land, where dwelt one Eigill, a famous , who, it is said, was a brother of Veliant, Siegfried’s fellow- in the days of his boyhood. And men told them this story of Eigill. That once on a time old Nidung, the king of that land, in order to test his skill with the bow, bade him shoot an apple, or, as some say, an , from the head of his own little son. And Eigill did this; but two other arrows, which he had hidden beneath his coat, dropped to the ground. And when the king asked him what these were for he answered, “To kill thee, , had I my child.”
After this our heroes rode through a rough hill-country, where the ground was covered with sharp stones, and the roads were steep and hard. And their horses lost their shoes, and were so by the travel, that they were forced to turn aside to seek the house of one Welland, a famous smith, who re-shod their steeds, and entertained them most three days and nights. And it is said by some that Welland is but another name for Veliant, and that this was the selfsame foreman whom we knew in Siegfried’s younger days. But, be this as it may, he was at this time the master of all smiths, and no one ever more cunningly. And men say that his grandfather was Vilkinus, the first king of that land; and that his grandmother, Wachitu, was a fair , who lived in the deep green sea; and that his father, Wada, had carried him, when a child, upon his shoulders through water five deep, to apprentice him to the cunning , from whom he learned his trade. And if this story is true, he could not have been Veliant. He was to a beautiful lady, who sometimes took the form of a swan, and flew away to a pleasant lake near by, where, with other swan-maidens, she spent the warm summer days among the reeds and the water-lilies. And many other strange tales were told of Welland the smith: how he had once made a boat from the single trunk of a tree, and had sailed in it all around the mid-world; how, being in one foot, he had forged a winged garment, and flown like a through the air; and how he had wrought for Beowulf, the Anglo-Saxon hero, a gorgeous war-coat that no other smith could equal.[EN#28] And so pleasantly did Welland entertain his guests that they were to leave him; but on the fourth day they ............