352 
LETTEKS FROM HIGH LATITUDES. 
against him. With them is joined the Norse jarl, Eric, 
the son of Hakon. Olaf Tryggvesson is sailing home¬ 
wards with a fleet of seventy ships,—himself command¬ 
ing the famous “ Long Serpent ,” the largest ship built in 
Norway. His enemies are lying in wait for him behind 
the islands. 
Nothing can be more dramatic than the description 
of the sailing of this gallant fleet—(piloted by the 
treacherous Earl Sigwald)—within sight of the am¬ 
bushed Danes and Swedes, who watch from their hiding- 
place the beautiful procession of hostile vessels, mis¬ 
taking each in turn for the “ Long Serpent and as often 
undeceived by a new and yet more stately apparition. 
She appears at length,—her dragon prow glittering in 
the sunshine,—all canvas spread—her sides bristling 
with armed men : “ and when they saw her, none spoke, 
—all knew it to be indeed the ‘ Serpent —and they 
went to their ships to arm for the fight.” As soon as 
Olaf and his forces have been enticed into the narrow 
passage, the united fleets of the three allies pour out of 
the Sound; his people beg Olaf to hold on his way 
and not risk battle with such a superior force,—but the 
King replied, high on the quarter-deck where he stood, 
