Beowulf

XVII

Men say to me, as son thou wishest

yon hero to hold. Thy Heorot purged,

jewel-hall brightest, enjoy while thou canst,

with many a largess; and leave to thy kin

folk and realm when forth thou goest

to greet thy doom. For gracious I deem

my Hrothulf,[2] willing to hold and rule

nobly our youths, if thou yield up first,

prince of Scyldings, thy part in the world.

I ween with good he will well requite

offspring of ours, when all he minds

that for him we did in his helpless days

of gift and grace to gain him honor!"

Then she turned to the seat where her sons wereplaced,

Hrethric and Hrothmund, with heroes' bairns,

young men together: the Geat, too, sat there,

Beowulf brave, the brothers between.

[1] That is, these two Danes, escaping home, had told the story

of the attack on Hnaef, the slaying of Hengest, and all the

Danish woes. Collecting a force, they return to Frisia and kill

Finn in his home. [2] Nephew to Hrothgar, with whom he

subsequently quarrels, and elder cousin to the two young sons of

Hrothgar and Wealhtheow, -- their natural guardian in the event

of the king's death. There is something finely feminine in this

speech of Wealhtheow's, apart from its somewhat irregular and

irrelevant sequence of topics. Both she and her lord probably

distrust Hrothulf; but she bids the king to be of good cheer,

and, turning to the suspect, heaps affectionate assurances on his

probity. "My own Hrothulf" will surely not forget these favors

and benefits of the past, but will repay them to the orphaned

boy.