CHAPTER XVII

THE WOOING OF HELGA


At love should no one
Ever wonder
In another;
A beauteous countenance
Oft captivates the wise,
Which captivates not the foolish.

A man must not
Blame another
For what is many men's weakness;
For mighty love
Changes the sons of men
From wise into fools.
Ha'vama'l


It happened, one day, that an accidental discovery caused Alwin to
regard these festivities in a new light.

It was a morning in November when he was in the hall, kneeling before
master to lace his high boots. Leif stood before the fire, wrapping
himself up for a ride across the Settlement. Some unknown cause had made
the atmosphere of the breakfast-table so particularly
ungenial,--Thorhild sitting with her back to her spouse, and Eric