Page:Gummere (1909) The Oldest English Epic.djvu/176

160 made mistakes; the scribe is always guilty in these cases until he is proved innocent; and so arises store of controversy over textual matters in infinite detail. But the meaning and the vigor of the whole are beyond controversy.

Then cried to his band the battle-young king: “&thinsp;’Tis no dawn from eastward; no dragon flies; nor burn on this hall the hornéd gables: but hither comes bearing a hostile band its battle-gear bright: the birds are calling, “gray-coat” howls, and harsh dins the war-wood,