matins-worship such as there have been few; sternly earnest to the
heart of it, and deep as death and eternity, at least on Olaf's own
part. For the rest Thormod sang a stave of the fiercest Skaldic
poetry that was in him; all the army straightway sang it in chorus
with fiery mind. The Bonder of the nearest farm came up, to tell Olaf
that he also wished to fight for him "Thanks to thee; but don't," said
Olaf; "stay at home rather, that the wounded may have some shelter."
To this Bonder, Olaf delivered all the money he had, with solemn order
to lay out the whole of it in masses and prayers for the souls of such
of his enemies as fell. "Such of thy enemies, King?" "Yes, surely,"
said Olaf, "my friends will all either conquer, or go whither I also
am going."

At last the Bonder army too was got ranked; three commanders, one of
them with a kind of loose chief command, having settled to take charge
of it; and began to shake itself towards actual advance. Olaf, in the
mean while, had laid his head on the knees of Finn Arneson, his
trustiest man, and fallen fast asleep. Finn's brother, Kalf Arneson,
once a warm friend of Olaf, was chief of the three commanders on the
opposite side. Finn and he addressed angry speech to one another from
the opposite ranks, when they came near enough. Finn, seeing the
enemy fairly approach, stirred Olaf from his sleep. "Oh, why hast
thou wakened me from such a dream?" said Olaf, in a deeply solemn
tone. "What dream was it, then?" asked Finn. "Idreamt that there
rose a ladder here reaching up to very Heaven," said Olaf; "I had
climbed and climbed, and got to the very last step, and should have
entered there hadst thou given me another moment." "King, I doubt
thou art _fey_; I do not quite like that dream."

The actual fight began about one of the clock in a most bright last