confusion of chronology common enough in the historians of this period. _Halfdan_ (or _Halden_) succeeded, who was, probably, the _Alf_ of Snorro.[148] This conjecture, too, is strengthened by the statement of the same Norwegian authority, that Yngve and Alf shared the government of the Swedes. Both would scarcely reign at Upsal; and we have strong reason for inferring that, while Yngve held that throne, Alf, or Halfdan, reigned over the Goths. And there is another confirmation in the fact that, on the death of Alf, the two people obeyed different rulers. In the reigns of _Siward_, _Eric_, _Halfdan II._, _Ragnald_, _Asmund_, and _Haquin_ (or Hako), we observe few points of coincidence between the history of the Goths and the Swedes: probably they were kings of the former people only, with the occasional superiority over Scania. But the name of Hako must not be dismissed without adverting to an incident which the author of _Macbeth_ has admitted into the greatest of his dramas. Hako, resolved to avenge the death of his brothers who had been assassinated at the Danish court, descended with a strong armament on the coast of Zealand, and marched towards the residence of the Danish king. On his way, to avoid observation, he passed through the woods; and when the path diverged into the open plain, he ordered his men each to cut down a large branch, that the paucity of his followers might not be discovered. Great was the wonder of the sentinel, to see a forest approaching the royal fortress, and he immediately carried the information to the king. The latter inquired how far the moving wood was distant from the walls; and, being answered that it was near, he felt that his last hour was also at hand. Issuing from the fortress to meet the foe on the open plain, he met the fate which he had foreseen.[149] [Sidenote: 448 to 623.]