Page:The Heimskringla; or, Chronicle of the Kings of Norway Vol 2.djvu/94

 86 CHRONICLE OF THE SAGA VII. war. The king laughed, and said, " The time may come, friend, when thou wilt command ships." Then the king called to him Halfdan and Guttorm ; and first he asked Guttorm, "What wouldst thou like best to have ? " ".Corn land/' replied he. " And how great wouldst thou like thy corn land to be?" " I would have the whole ness that goes out into the lake sown with corn every summer." On that ness there are ten farms. The king replies, " There would be a great deal of corn there." And, turning to Halfdan, he asked, " And what wouldst thou like best to have?" " Cows," he replied. "How many wouldst thou like to have?" " When they went to the lake to be watered I would have so many, that they stood as tight round the lake as they could stand." " That would be a great housekeeping," said the king; " and therein ye take after your father." Then the king says to Harald, " And what wouldst thou like best to have?" " House-servants." " And how many wouldst thou have?" " ! so many I would like to have as would eat up my brother Halfdan' s cows at a single meal." The king laughed, and said to Aasta, "Here, mother, thou art bringing up a king." And more is not related of them on this occasion. In Sweden it was the old custom, as long as heathenism prevailed, that the chief sacrifice took thccountry, place in Goe month* at Upsal. Then sacrifice was offered for peace, and victory to the king ; and thither came people from all parts of Sweden. All the Things of the Swedes, also, were held there, and markets, and Chapter LXXVI. Ofthedi- vision of laws in Sweden.
 * Goe month included part of February and of March.