_Agne_, the son of Dag, mounted the vacant throne of the Swedes. Rich and warlike, he was held in high esteem; but the fate which hung over the sacred line of the Ynglings made him another of its victims. In a successful expedition against the Finns, in which he had slain the Finnish king, and, agreeably to the manners of the times, had made Skiolfa, the orphan daughter of the king, his mistress or wife, he had just returned to Stocksund, disembarked his troops, and pitched his tent on the margin of a wood. Here, to perform with passing splendour the last rites to the memory of Skiolfa’s father, he assembled a great number of guests. The cup went round until the king became intoxicated. As he wore the chain which had belonged to Visbur, Skiolfa besought him to confide the precious ornament to her care; but he fastened it the more closely round his neck and fell asleep. The tent was at the foot of a tree, and Skiolfa, assisted by her Finnish connections, tied a strong cord to the ornament, threw one end over a branch of the tree, and pulling with all their might, the body of Agne was raised, and left to dangle in the nightly breeze. The following morning Skiolfa and her companions were on their voyage to Finland, and nothing remained to the Swedes but the performance of the last rites to the royal victim. _Alaric_ or _Elrac_ and _Eric_, his two sons, divided the supreme power between them. For a season they were prosperous; but they were doomed to share the fate which hung over the house of Yngve. They were fond of equestrian exercises, especially of taming the most spirited horses. One day they rode at full gallop over an extensive plain; but they were never again seen alive: their corpses were found with their sculls fractured; and, as neither had any arms, it was supposed that they had killed each other with the reins, or that some malignant demon had destroyed them both. _Yngve_ and _Alf_, the sons of Alaric, shared the government of the Swedes; but they were dissimilar in character. The latter was studious of peace, a man of few words, and severe in manner; the former was fond of war, of his cups, and of conversation, and often protracted his orgies into the silence of night. Two such men, whose jealousy was further increased by the unwise division of power, could not long bear the society of each other. One evening Yngve stabbed his brother; but the victim had strength enough left to return the fatal blow. The supreme power was now held by one, _Hugleik_, the son of Alf. His end, too, was tragical. Being assailed by Hako, a celebrated sea king and Danish jarl, who numbered among his captains the unrivalled Sterkodder[128], he was vanquished and slain,—Snorro assures us by the hands of Hako; but it was, perhaps, by those of Sterkodder. The victor was not satisfied with the death of Hugleik: he subdued the Swiones, and forced them to acknowledge him as their king. Yet he is not ranked by