Page:The Early Kings of Norway.djvu/185

 CHAPTER XII. OLAF THE TRANQUIL, MAGNUS BAREFOOT, AND SIGURD THE CRUSADER. The new King Olaf, his brother Magnus having soon died, bore rule in Norway for some iive-and- twenty years. Rule soft and gentle, not like his father's, and inclining rather to improvement in the arts and elegancies than to anything severe or dangerously laborious. A slim-built, witty-talking, popular and pretty man, with uncommonly bright eyes, and hair like floss silk : they called him Olaf Kyrre (the Tranquil or Easy-going). The ceremonials of the palace were much improved by him. Palace stiU continued to be built of huge logs pyramidally sloping upwards, with fireplace in the middle of the floor, and no egress for smoke or ingress for light except right overhead, which, in bad weather, you could shut, or all but shut, with a lid.