Each who left said a few words which evinced a disinclination to desert the fireside for the grave and sea depths.
The last to go was Thorodd, and he said,—
“There is now no peace for us here; we are flitting one by one.”
After this Kiartan went in, and the priest took holy water and sprinkled the walls of the house; then he sang mass, and performed many ceremonies.
So the spectres haunted Frod river no more; Thurida got better rapidly, and the prospects of the farm mended.
STRANGE PAINS AND PENALTIES
Punishment is efficacious in deterring from crime only if it be certain and speedy. Severity is quite a minor point, and it will be found that the deterring effect of punishment is by no means proportionate to its cruelty.
The first requisite is certainty, for human nature is so constituted that if there be a chance of escape, ninety-nine out of a hundred will be found to run the risk. A slight punishment, if certain, is infinitely more likely to produce the required results than the most terrible exhibition of cruelty upon representative criminals. If certainty be a main requisite, speediness is also necessary; lasting and cruel punishments harden but do not reclaim.