thou, Haco, son of my brother Sweyn: thy deeds were done in the light
of Heaven, in the sight of warriors in the open field; so should thine
honours find thee! Not with the vain fripperies of Norman knighthood
do I deck thee, but make thee one of the elder brotherhood of Minister
and Miles. I gird round thy loins mine own baldric of pure silver; I
place in thy hand mine own sword of plain steel; and bid thee rise to
take place in council and camps amongst the Proceres of England,--Earl
of Hertford and Essex. Boy," whispered the King, as he bent over the
pale cheek of his nephew, "thank not me. From me the thanks should
come. On the day that saw Tostig's crime and his death, thou didst
purify the name of my brother Sweyn! On to our city of York!"

High banquet was held in York; and, according to the customs of the
Saxon monarchs, the King could not absent himself from the Victory
Feast of his thegns. He sate at the head of the board, between his
brothers. Morcar, whose departure from the city had deprived him of a
share in the battle, had arrived that day with his brother Edwin, whom
he had gone to summon to his aid. And though the young Earls envied
the fame they had not shared, the envy was noble.

Gay and boisterous was the wassail; and lively song, long neglected in
England, woke, as it wakes ever, at the breath of Joy and Fame. As if
in the days of Alfred, the harp passed from hand to hand; martial and
rough the strain beneath the touch of the Anglo-Dane, more refined and
thoughtful the lay when it chimed to the voice of the Anglo-Saxon.
But the memory of Tostig--all guilty though he was--a brother slain in
war with a brother, lay heavy on Harold's soul. Still, so had he
schooled and trained himself to live but for England--know no joy and
no woe not hers--that by degrees and strong efforts he shook off his
gloom. And music, and song, and wine, and blazing lights, and the