174 



WAR-SHIPS. 



"When Fridthjof got out of Sogn (fjord) a strong gale and 

 a heavy storm came upon them, and the waves were very 

 great. The ship sailed very fast, for it was swift and one of 



the best for the sea. 



***** 



" They were driven (by the storm) northward into the 

 sounds near to the islands called Solundir ; the wind was then 

 at its hardest. Fridthjof sang : 



The sea begins to swell much, 

 The clouds are now struck, 

 Old witchcraft causes 

 That the sea moves ; 



I will not fight 

 I n the gale ; 

 Let the Solundir 

 Shelter the men. 



"They laid the ship under the Solundir in order to wait 

 there. At once the wind fell. They then sailed out from the 

 island in good hope, for they had a fair wind for awhile. 

 Then the wind grew stronger. When they (Fridthjof and his 

 foster-brother Bjorn) were a long way out at sea, the sea began 

 to move fearfully again, and such a snowstorm arose that the 

 men in the stern and the stem could not see the other, and the 

 ship was so filled with water that they had to bale it all the 

 time. Fridthjof sang : 



We, the renowned warriors of chiefs, 



Have come out on the deep ; 



We cannot see the waves 



Ou account of the witch-storm. 



The Soluudir (isles) are out of sight, 

 And all the eighteen men 

 That defend Ellidi 

 Stand baling. 



" Bjorn said : ' The one who travels widely must meet good 

 and evil.' ' That is certain, foster-brother,' said Fridthjof. 



" Fridthjof said this was the time to try good men, though 

 it was easier to sit in Baldrshagi. They made themselves 

 ready with boldness, for valiant men were in the ship, and it 

 was the best ship which has been in the northern lauds. 

 Fridthjof sang : 



The waves cannot be seen ; 



We have come westward in the sea ; 



All the sea looks 



As if one saw embers ; l 



The breakers tumble down, 

 The swan-tops make mounds ; 2 

 Now Ellidi is overrun 

 By a high billow. 



" Then great waves dashed over the ship so that they stood 

 all baling. 



The soft-mouthed maiden 

 on the swan-slope 



Where the clothes lay bleaching 

 Will drink if I sink. " 



night. 



Phosphorescent, looking like fire at 



2 That is, swells as high as a mound. 



