Page:The Heimskringla; or, Chronicle of the Kings of Norway Vol 3.djvu/78

 66 CHRONICLE OF THE SAGA IX. before, the moment I saw thee ; and God be praised if the small help I could give was of any use to thee." The king replies, " I have to reward thee for all the days I have to live. And now, in the first place, I will give thee any farm in Sealand thou wouldst desire to have ; and, in the next place, will make thee a great man, if thou knowest how to conduct thyself." Karl thanked the king for his promise, and said he had now but one thing to ask. The king asked what that was. Karl said that he would ask to take his wife with him. The king said, " I will not let thee do that ; but I will provide thee a far better and more sensible wife. But thy wife can keep the bonder-farm ye had before, and she will have her living from it." The king gave Karl a great and valuable farm, and provided him a good marriage ; and he became a con- siderable man. This was reported far and wide, and much praised ; and thus it came to be told here north in Norway. Chapter King Harald staid in Opslo the winter after the Of the talk battle at Nisaa. In autumn, when the men came court^men ^^^ "tlic south, tlicrc was much talk and many stories about the battle which they had fought at Nisaa, and every one who had been there thought he could tell something about it. Once some of them sat in a cellar and drank, and were very merry and talkative. They talked about the Nisaa battle, and who had earned the greatest praise and renown. They all agreed that no man there had been at all equal to Earl Hakon. He was the boldest in arms, the quick- est, and the most lucky : what he did was of the greatest help, and he won the battle. King Harald, in the mean time, was out in the yard, and spoke Avith some people. He Avent then to the room-door, and