"By my troth, so does not Mat Jute," replied Elsie. "He would rather slay every man alive, than permit any one to say a bad word concerning his master. He once lifted his knife against me, on that very score, though he vowed he loved me as the apple of his eye. He would not be afraid to make a thrust at the king himself, if a regular war should break out between him and the marsk." "Are you mad, girl?" exclaimed Lady Ingé, in astonishment. "The marsk is the king's subject. If he should wage war against the king, he would be a traitor and shameless rebel." "I do not understand that," said Elsie; "but this I know well, that if the marsk could not have his wife secure against our king, when he was waging war for him like a brave man, it is not so unreasonable, that, as a brave man, he should feel angry, and do the best he can to right himself." "This is certainly a false and shameful rumour. A genuine Skiolding[17] can never disgrace his high lineage." "It is all the same to me," answered the maiden; "but I should be quite as well satisfied if Mat Jute would only keep himself aloof from the great and their quarrels. The small suffer at last, and he may one day meet with some great mishap. I well remember how the ballad goes:-- "The knight, and eke his swain, They rode from the Ting together: The knight they let go free-- The swain they hanged in a tether." "Let us rather sing one of the good old ballads, little Elsie," said Lady Ingé, interrupting the light-minded maiden; "and lay rightly to heart what you are singing, and so perhaps you may one day come to recollect that you are a Danish girl." "I can well bear that in mind," replied Elsie: "I can never understand a word of German, and have trouble enough with the Jutlandish." "But a Danish girl is true to her lover, and a Danish man deserts not king or country. Do you remember the ballad of King Didrik? Let us sing that." Lady Ingé began, and her two handmaidens accompanied her:-- "The king he rules the castle, And else he rules the land, And he rules many a warrior bold, With drawn sword in his hand: For the king he rules the castle."