"'I have heard
That that foul miscreant's dark and stubborn flesh
Recks not the force of arms:--such I forswear,
Nor sword nor burnish'd shield of ample round
Ask for the war; all weaponless, hand to hand
(So may great Higelac's smile repay my toil)
Beowulf will grapple with the mighty foe.'"
_Beowulf_ (Conybeare's tr.).

The warriors had no sooner stretched themselves out upon the benches in the
hall than, overcome by the oppressive air as well as by mead, they sank
into a profound sleep. Beowulf alone remained awake, watching for Grendel's
coming. In the early morning, when all was very still, the giant appeared,
tore asunder the iron bolts and bars which secured the door, and striding
into the hall, enveloped in a long, damp mantle of clammy mist, he pounced
upon one of the sleepers. He tore him limb from limb, greedily drank his
blood, and devoured his flesh, leaving naught but the head, hands, and feet
of his unhappy victim. This ghastly repast only whetted the fiend's
ravenous appetite, however, so he eagerly stretched out his hands in the
darkness to seize and devour another warrior. Imagine his surprise and
dismay when he suddenly found his hand caught in so powerful a grasp that
all his efforts could not wrench it free!

Grendel and Beowulf struggled in the darkness, overturning tables and
couches, shaking the great hall to its very foundations, and causing the
walls to creak and groan under the violence of their furious blows. But in
spite of Grendel's gigantic stature, Beowulf clung so fast to the hand and
arm he had grasped that Grendel, making a desperate effort to free himself
by a jerk, tore the whole limb out of its socket! Bleeding and mortally
wounded, he then beat a hasty retreat to his marshy den, leaving a long,