“Give kind heed to dead men—sick-dead, sea-dead, or sword-dead.”
Thus spoke Brunhilde, and Siegfried listened, and ever, as she stopped speaking, he begged to hear still more. Then she read for him many things written in the runes, and Siegfried listened, marvelling at her wisdom.
The circle of fire had now burnt itself out, but daylight had come, and Siegfried could plainly see the perilous ascent he had made up the mountain. Brunhilde took his hand and bade him farewell, but, before she left him, Siegfried put upon her finger the ring which he had taken from Andvari’s hoard. Then he watched her depart toward her castle in Isenland, feeling very lonely, and wishing he might follow her. But Greyfel’s head was turned a different way, and Siegfried knew that Odin had other things for him to do, so he allowed the horse to carry him away from Brunhilde’s country, though he would fain have gone thither. And Siegfried longed for the maiden, and sorrowed at parting from her; but Brunhilde, though she loved him well, bade him go his way, since thus it was written in the runes that not she, but another, should be the wife of Siegfried.
Siegfried at Gunther’s Court
FOR several days Siegfried rode across the country without meeting any one who could tell him in what land he was, or whither the roads would lead him. At times he longed to return to the palace of King Alf, and again he hoped that Odin was conducting him to new adventures which would prove that his father Siegmund had not prophesied great things of him in vain. He was growing very weary of the continued stretch of forest and mountain that never seemed to end, and he began to wonder whether his dream of greatness was not, after all, a thing of shadows—a mere will-o’-the-wisp, which it would be foolish for him to follow. Yet Odin’s sword was in his hand, and the strange blue-cloaked old man had already come to help him when he was most in need of guidance. So, not knowing, himself, in which direction to go, he let the reins lie loosely on Greyfel’s neck, and trusted to Odin to lead them.
Soon the forest ended and they came out into the open country where Siegfried hoped he might meet with some one who could tell him whither he was faring. The landscape now changed to meadows and ploughed fields, with here and there a castle perched high on the protecting hills. Siegfried kept as much as he could on the well-travelled roads, since there he would be most likely to meet with some other rider who could direct his way; but all those whom he saw seemed to be wanderers, like himself, and they could tell him little of the country or the people. In return, they would ask him whither he was going, and what was the object of his journey, but to all questions he offered no reply save that he was travelling in search of adventures. But at heart he had no desire for adventures, unless they led him among people and into the life of the world. He had grown weary of his solitude and his aimless wandering, and longed for the companionship of men.
One day, late in the evening, he found himself on the edge of a thick forest. He did not wish to enter this, for it looked dark and impenetrable, and already Greyfel was picking his way among brambles and over uncertain ground; so he turned the horse’s head and prepared to go back to the road he had lately left. But Greyfel knew better than his master where to go, and persisted in moving forward into what seemed to be the very heart of the forest. In a moment, however, Siegfried found that they were not stumbling helplessly about, for he heard the sharp, clear sound of the horse’s hoofs upon a hard road, while the glimmer of many lights in the distance told him he was not in a forest wilderness, but near some great city. Soon he met a man on horseback, and inquired of him what country this was, and whither the road would lead him.
“This is Burgundy, sir,” answered the stranger, “and yonder is the city where King Gunther[53A] himself dwells. There you are sure of finding shelter and entertainment for the night.” Siegfried thanked him, and spurred Greyfel toward the city.
In the palace of King Gunther, a great feast was being held. There was wine in costly beakers, and meat served upon plates of gold. At the place of each guest was a silver goblet, and these were often lifted high as the company drank to the health of Gunther and all his noble race. While the men feasted and drank, the women of the household stood at the palace windows looking down the road to see if some strolling minstrel might not be passing by who could be summoned in to help them beguile the weary hours that would follow the days of feasting.