Page:The Heimskringla; or, Chronicle of the Kings of Norway Vol 3.djvu/302

 290 CHRONICLE OF THE SAGA XV. Chapter XIV. Of the fall of Grego- rius Dags- son. When Gregorius heard the news he took it much to heart, and inquired carefully where they were. Gregorius set out from Konghelle late in Yule, and came to Fors the thirteenth day of Yule, where he re- mained a night, and heard vespers the last day of Yule, which was a Saturday, and the holy Evangel was read before him. When Gregorius and his followers saw the men of King Hakon and Sigurd, the king's force ap- peared to them smaller than their OAvn. There was a river called Bifia between them, where they met; and there was unsound ice on the river, for there went a stream under the ice from it. King Hakon and his men had cut a rent in the ice, and laid snow over it, so that nobody could see it. When Gregorius came to the ice on the river the ice appeared to him unsound, he said ; and he advised the people to go to the bridge, which was close by, to cross the river. The bonder- troops replied, that they did not know why he should be afraid to go across the ice to attack so few people as Hakon had, and the ice was good enough. Gre- gorius said it was seldom necessary to encourage him to show bravery, and it should not be so now. Then he ordered them to follow him, and not to be standing on the land while he was on the ice ; and he said it was their counsel to go out upon the dangerous ice, but he had no wish to do so, or to be led by them. Then he ordered the banner to be advanced, and im- mediately went out on the ice with the men. As soon as the bonders found that the ice was unsound, they turned back. Gregorius fell through the ice, but not very deep, and he told his men to take care. There were not more than twenty men with him, the others having turned back. A man of King Hakon's troop shot an arrow at Gregorius, which hit him under the throat, and thus ended his life. Gregorius fell, and ten men with him. It is the talk of all men that he had been the most gallant lenderman in Norway that any man then living could remember ; and also he behaved the