qualities and fine gifts to get it done.



CHAPTER X.

REIGN OF KING OLAF THE SAINT.

The late two Jarls, now gone about their business, had both been
baptized, and called themselves Christians. But during their
government they did nothing in the conversion way; left every man to
choose his own God or Gods; so that some had actually two, the
Christian God by land, and at sea Thor, whom they considered safer in
that element. And in effect the mass of the people had fallen back
into a sluggish heathenism or half-heathenism, the life-labor of Olaf
Tryggveson lying ruinous or almost quite overset. The new Olaf, son
of Harald, set himself with all his strength to mend such a state of
matters; and stood by his enterprise to the end, as the one highest
interest, including all others, for his People and him. His method
was by no means soft; on the contrary, it was hard, rapid,
severe,--somewhat on the model of Tryggveson's, though with more of
_bishoping_ and preaching superadded. Yet still there was a great
deal of mauling, vigorous punishing, and an entire intolerance of
these two things: Heathenism and Sea-robbery, at least of Sea-robbery
in the old style; whether in the style we moderns still practise, and
call privateering, I do not quite know. But Vikingism proper had to
cease in Norway; still more, Heathenism, under penalties too severe to
he borne; death, mutilation of limb, not to mention forfeiture and
less rigorous coercion. Olaf was inexorable against violation of the
law. "Too severe," cried many; to whom one answers, "Perhaps in part