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206 Music of the Waters. |
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Cut trees and grain to load the ship
And pay them for the lengthened trip ;
Named ' Hella-land ' and ' Mark-land ' too,
And saw an island sweet with dew !
And grapes with great abundance found,
So named it Vinland all around,—
But after that forsook the shore
And north again for Greenland bore.
And now we cross the moonlit seas
To search this land of grapes and trees ;
Biarne, Thorward, Karlsefin
Go forth this better land to win,
With men and cattle not a few,
And household gear and weapons too :
And, best of all, with women dear
To comfort, counsel, check, and cheer.
Thus far we've made a prosperous way,
God speed us onward every day !"
It was unanimously agreed that this was a true account of the discovery of Vinland (America), and of their own expedition as far as it had gone; but one of the party, Biarne, insisted that the skipper had not done full justice to the subject of the latter, in omitting to mention a whale which had dived under the vessel, and substituted the following lines:—
"When Biarne, Thorward, Karlsefin This famous voyage did begin, They stood upon the deck one night And there beheld a moving sight : It made the very men grow pale, Their shudder almost rent the sail ! For lo ! they saw a mighty whale. It drew a shriek from Olaf brave, Then plunged beneath the briny wave, And while the women loudly shouted, Up came its blundering nose and spouted ; |
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