Alas! but ill-guarded we left our own shore,
Its gallant defenders shall guard it no more.
My castles are ruined, my country laid waste,
My liegemen lie slaughtered, my daughter disgraced;
In bondage, alas! must that noble maid sigh
Whom I to the Norman as bride did deny!”
Tears streamed down Herwig’s cheeks when he heard these dreadful tidings, and all were moved by the grief of the father and lover of Gudrun. Count Wate alone remained calm.
“Take heart, my lords,” he said, “for the day shall yet come when our sorrow will be turned to joy again. Cease these laments, I pray, lest Siegfried hear the sound thereof and take delight in your affliction.”
Hetel strove to regain his composure and asked mournfully what was to be done. Wate replied: “Now must we press Siegfried so closely on all sides that he will gladly seize an offer of alliance with us. This done, we shall have his aid and be free to pursue the base marauders!”
This counsel cheered all the knights, and the next morning they began such a furious assault on the castle as Siegfried never yet had been forced to endure. After many knights on both sides had fallen, Irolt shouted up to the walls: “If thou wouldst have peace with us then ask it of King Hetel, else shall no man of you go back alive to his own land!”