H;I; RUNES. 



(iii board, ;iinl sailed In Iceland into tin- same river-mouth 

 as usual; and as soon as he had landed he carried away 

 l)oth children, *o that no one knew of his coining. That 

 evening he \\ent to Thorstein at (irnnd, who received him very 

 \\ell, mostly because his son Karl had gone abroad at the 

 time that <!ris had leen abroad, and Thorstein wanted to ask 

 iibout his journey, (iris spoke little. Thorstein inquired it' 

 he was ill. < iris answered that it was rather that he was not 

 well pleased with his doings; 'for I have brought hither two 

 children of thy sister.' 'How can that be?' said Thorstein. 

 ' And I will not acknowledge their relationship unattested.' 

 Then (iris showed him the stick, and he recognized his 

 words therenn, though it was long since he spoke them. 

 He acknowledged the children, but paid (iris to bring up 

 Klauti" (Svarfdada. c. 11). 



"Klaufi and Gris sailed from Solskel southward along the 

 Norwegian coast, until they came to an islet, where layt\\o 



/ 



ships with no men on them. They jumped on board one of 

 the ships, and Klaufi said: 'Tell thon, Gris, who has steered 

 these ships, for here are runes, which tell it.' Gris said he did 

 not know. Klaufi answered : ' Thou knowest, and must tell.' 

 Gris was obliged to do so, against his will, and thus rend the 

 runes: ' Karl steered the ship \\lien the runes were carved' 

 (Svarfdsela, c. 14). 



" One summer in the time of King Harald Hardradi it 

 happened, as was often the case, that an Icelandic ship came 

 to Nidaros (Throndhjem). On this ship there was a poor man 

 who kept watch during the night. While all slept he saw 

 two men go secretly up to Gaularas with digging tools and 

 begin to dig : he saw they sen relied for property, and when 

 he came on them unawares he saw that they had dug up a 

 chest filled with property. He said to the one who seemed 

 to be the leader that he wanted three marks for keeping quiet, 

 and some more if he should wish it. Thorfiim assented to 

 this, and weighed out to him three marks; when they opened 

 the chest a large ring and a thick necklace of gold lay upper- 

 most. The Icelander saw runes carved on the chest; these 

 said that Hakon Jarl had been the owner of this property" 

 (Fornmanna Sogur, vi. 271*. 



One day Thurid, the old foster-mother of Thorbjorn Ongul, 

 an enem of Grettir, asked to be taken down to the sea. 



she came there, she found the stump of a tree with 

 the roots on, as large as a man could carry. She looked at 



