Thereto gave answer Siegfried: / "An if she thus hath said, Full well shall she repent it / ere doth rest my head: Before all thy good warriors / of that I'll make me free, And swear by my high honor / such thing hath ne'er been told by me." 859 Then spake of Rhine the monarch: / "That shalt thou let us see. The oath that thou dost offer, / if such performed be, Of all false accusation / shalt thou delivered stand." In ring to take their station / did he the high-born thanes command. 860 The full valiant Siegfried / in oath the hand did give. Then spake the lordly monarch: / "Well now do I perceive How thou art all blameless, / of all I speak thee free; What here maintains my sister, / the same hath ne'er been done by thee." 861 Thereto gave answer Siegfried: / "If gain should e'er accrue Unto my spouse, that Brunhild / from her had cause to rue, Know that to me full sorely / 'twould endless sorrow be." Then looked upon each other / the monarchs twain right graciously. 862 "So should we govern women," / spake the thane Siegfried, "That to leave wanton babble / they should take good heed. Forbid it to thy wife now, / to mine I'll do the same. Such ill-becoming manner /in sooth doth fill my heart with shame." 863 No more said many a lady / fair, but thus did part. Then did the Lady Brunhild / grieve so sore at heart, That it must move to pity / all King Gunther's men. To go unto his mistress / Hagen of Tronje saw ye then. 864 He asked to know her worry, / as he her weeping saw. Then told she him the story. / To her straight made he vow, That Lady Kriemhild's husband / must for the thing atone, Else henceforth should never / a joyous day by him be known. 865 Then came Ortwein and Gernot / where they together spake, And there the knights did counsel / Siegfried's life to take. Thither came eke Giselher, / son of Ute high. When heard he what they counselled, / spake he free from treachery: 866 "Ye good knights and noble, / wherefore do ye that? Ne'er deserved hath Siegfried / in such way your hate, That he therefor should forfeit / at your hands his life. In sooth small matter is it / that maketh cause for woman's strife." 867 "Shall we rear race of bastards?" / Hagen spake again: "Therefrom but little honor / had many a noble thane. The thing that he hath boasted / upon my mistress high, Therefor my life I forfeit, / or he for that same thing shall die." 868 Then spake himself the monarch: / "To us he ne'er did give Aught but good and honor: / let him therefore live. What boots it if my anger / I vent the knight upon? Good faith he e'er hath shown us, / and that full willingly hath done." 869 Then outspake of Metz / Ortwein the thane: "In sooth his arm full doughty / may bring him little gain. My vengeance full he'll suffer, / if but my lord allow." The knights--nor reason had they-- / against him mortal hate did vow. 870