Curiosities of Olden TimesBaring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
History
Curiosities of Olden Times
Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
Curiosities and wonders
At nightfall they reached Stafholt, and asked the farmer to take them in.
He declined peremptorily, probably disliking the notion of housing a
corpse, and he shut the door in their faces. They could go no farther that
night, as the White river was before them, which was very deep and broad
and could only be traversed in safety by day; so they took the coffin
into an outhouse, and after some trouble persuaded the farmer to let them
sleep in his hall; but he would not give them any food, so they went
supperless to bed. Scarcely, however, was all quiet in the house before a
strange clatter was heard in the shed serving as larder. One of the farm
servants, thinking that thieves were breaking in, stole to the door, and
on looking in, beheld a tall naked woman, with thick brown hair, busily
engaged in preparing food. The poor fellow was so frightened that he fled
back to his bed, quaking like an aspen leaf. In another moment the nude
figure stalked into the hall, bearing victuals in both hands, and these
she placed on the table. By the dim light the bearers recognised
Thorgunna, and they understood now that she resented the churlishness of
the host, and had left her coffin to provide food for them. The farmer and
his wife were now speedily brought to terms, and leaving their beds they
displayed the utmost alacrity in supplying the necessities of their
guests. A fire was lighted; the wet clothes were taken off the travellers;
curd and beer, and a stew of Iceland-moss were set before them.
Hist!--a little noise in the outhouse! It is only Thorgunna stepping back
into her coffin.
Nothing transpired of any moment during the rest of the journey. The
bearers had but to narrate the story of the preceding night’s events, and
they were sure of a ready welcome wherever they halted.
At Skalholt all went well; the clerks accepted the gold ring, and chanted
over the body: they buried her deep, and put green turf over her. So,
their errand accomplished, the servants of Thorodd returned home.
At Frod river there was a large hall, with a closed bedroom at one end of
it. On each side of the hall were closets; in one of these closets dried
fish were stacked up, and flour was kept in the other. Every evening,
about meal-time, a great fire was lighted in the hall, and men used to sit
before it ere they adjourned to supper. The same night that the funeral
party returned the men were sitting chatting round the fire, when suddenly
they perceived a phosphorescent half-moon grow into brilliancy on the wall
of the apartment, and travel slowly round the hall against the sun. The
appearance continued all the while the men sat by the fire, and was
visible every evening after. Thorodd asked Thorir Stumpleg, his bailiff,
what this portended; and the man replied that it boded death to some one,
but to whom he could not say.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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