Thus, seamed with many scars, Bursting these prison bars, Up to its native stars My soul ascended! There from the flowing bowl Deep drinks the warrior’s soul, _Skoal!_ to the Northland! _skoal!_” —Thus the tale ended. NOTES AND QUESTIONS For Biography, see page 81. =Discussion.= 1. With which stanza does the narrative begin? 2. What may the first three stanzas be called? 3. Which of these three stanzas is descriptive? 4. In which does the Viking make himself known? 5. In what stanzas is the story told? 6. With what line does the story end? 7. What relation to the poem has the last line? 8. Describe the scene suggested by the first stanza; who is speaking? 9. Describe the guest to whom the poet speaks. 10. In using the word “fearful” to describe this guest, was the poet emphasizing only the outward appearance of his guest? 11. Can you use other words equally exact and poetical for “daunt” and “haunt”? 12. Give a name to the “flashes” that are seen when the Northern skies gleam in December. 13. To what is the voice of the skeleton compared? 14. Is it an apt comparison? 15. Does the second stanza prepare us for a story of happy things? 16. What stanzas help you to see the kind of people the Vikings were, and to imagine the life they led? 17. The Viking showed his wonderful courage in going out into the “open main” in a wild hurricane; give all the other evidences of his courage found in the poem. 18. The Introduction (pages 89 and 90) gives various motives for seeking adventures; do you think the Knights and the Vikings had the same motive? 19. How does this ballad differ from a folk ballad, such as “Sir Patrick Spens”? 20. Pronounce the following: daunt; palms; alms; haunt; launched. =Phrases= rude armor, 171, 3 fleshless palms, 171, 6 cavernous eyes, 171, 9 pale flashes, 171, 10 heart’s chamber, 171, 16 poor whimpering hound, 172, 3 frozen lair, 172, 5 souls that sped, 172, 18 measured in cups of ale, 172, 26 soft splendor, 173, 4 vows were plighted, 173, 8 lips unshorn, 173, 26 death without quarter, 174, 24 wings aslant, 174, 29 open main, 175, 1 stretching to leeward, 175, 8 time dried the maiden’s tears, 175, 14 stagnant fen, 175, 22 warlike gear, 175, 26 flowing bowl, 176, 1 THE THREE FISHERS CHARLES KINGSLEY Three fishers went sailing away to the West, Away to the West as the sun went down; Each thought on the woman who loved him the best, And the children stood watching them out of the town; For men must work and women must weep, And there’s little to earn and many to keep, Though the harbor bar be moaning.