CONNECTION WITH ASTROLOGY, ETC. 



163 



earfetho on ythum, 



thonne senig other man. 



Wit thset ge-cwaedon 



cniht-wesende 



and ge-bedtedon 



(wseron begen tha git 



on gedgoth-feore), 



f-hset wit, on gar-secg lit 



aldrum nethdon, 



and thaet ge-sefadon swa. 



Hsefdon swurd nacod, 



tha wit on sund redn, 



heard on handa ; 



wit unc with hron-fixas 



werian thdhton. 



!Ne he wiht fram me 



fldd-ythum feor 



fledtan nieahte, 



hrathor on holme, 



no ic fram him wolde j 



tha wit set-[s]omne 



on see wseron 



fif nihta fyrst, 



oth thset unc fldd td-draf, 



wado weallende, 



wedera cealdost, 



nipende niht, 



and northan [w]ind, 



heatho-grim and-hwearf : 



hreo wseron [y] tha. 



Wses mere-fixa 



mod on-hrered : 



of laboriousness on the waters, 



than any other man. 



We two had said that, 



when we were boys, 



and had promised 



(we were still both 



in the prime of youth) 



that we out on the ocean 



would venture our lives, 



and that we accomplished thus. 



We had our naked swords 



hard in our hands 



when we rowed upon the deep ; 



we thought to defend ourselves 



against the walruses. 



He could not, in any degree, 



more swift on the deep, 



swim far from me, 



over the waves of the sea : 



I would not from him. 



There we two together 



were on the sea 



the space of five nights, 



until the flood drove us asunder ; 



the boiling fords, 



the coldest of storms, 



the darkening night, 



and a wind from the north, 



fiercely turned us away : 



rough were the waves. 



The courage of the sea-fishes 



was excited : 



