{"product_id":"2940013296084","title":"Erling The Bold","description":"CHAPTER ONE.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIN WHICH THE TALE BEGINS SOMEWHAT FURIOUSLY.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBy the early light of a bright summer morning, long, long ago, two small\u003cbr\u003eboats were seen to issue from one of the fiords or firths on the west\u003cbr\u003ecoast of Norway, and row towards the skerries or low rocky islets that\u003cbr\u003elay about a mile distant from the mainland.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlthough the morning was young, the sun was already high in the heavens,\u003cbr\u003eand brought out in glowing colours the varied characteristics of a\u003cbr\u003emountain scene of unrivalled grandeur.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe two shallops moved swiftly towards the islands, their oars shivering\u003cbr\u003ethe liquid mirror of the sea, and producing almost the only sound that\u003cbr\u003edisturbed the universal stillness, for at that early hour Nature herself\u003cbr\u003eseemed buried in deep repose.  A silvery mist hung over the water,\u003cbr\u003ethrough which the innumerable rocks and islands assumed fantastic\u003cbr\u003eshapes, and the more distant among them appeared as though they floated\u003cbr\u003ein air.  A few seagulls rose startled from their nests, and sailed\u003cbr\u003eupwards with plaintive cries, as the keels of the boats grated on the\u003cbr\u003erocks, and the men stepped out and hauled them up on the beach of one of\u003cbr\u003ethe islets.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA wild uncouth crew were those Norsemen of old!  All were armed, for in\u003cbr\u003etheir days the power and the means of self-defence were absolutely\u003cbr\u003enecessary to self-preservation.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMost of them wore portions of scale armour, or shirts of ring mail, and\u003cbr\u003eheadpieces of steel, though a few among them appeared to have confidence\u003cbr\u003ein the protection afforded by the thick hide of the wolf, which,\u003cbr\u003econverted into rude, yet not ungraceful, garments, covered their broad\u003cbr\u003eshoulders.  All, without exception, carried sword or battle-axe and\u003cbr\u003eshield.  They were goodly stalwart men every one, but silent and stern.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt might have been observed that the two boats, although bound for the\u003cbr\u003esame islet, did not row in company.  They were beached as far from each\u003cbr\u003eother as the little bay into which they ran would admit of, and the\u003cbr\u003ecrews stood aloof in two distinct groups.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the centre of each group stood a man who, from his aspect and\u003cbr\u003ebearing, appeared to be superior to his fellows.  One was in the prime\u003cbr\u003eof life, dark and grave; the other in the first flush of manhood, full\u003cbr\u003egrown, though beardless, fair, and ruddy.  Both were taller and stouter\u003cbr\u003ethan their comrades.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe two men had met there to fight, and the cause of their feud was--\u003cbr\u003eLove!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBoth loved a fair Norse maiden in Horlingdal.  The father of the maid\u003cbr\u003efavoured the elder warrior; the maid herself preferred the younger.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn those days, barbarous though they undoubtedly were, law and justice\u003cbr\u003ewere more respected and more frequently appealed to in Norway than in\u003cbr\u003ealmost any other country.  Liberty, crushed elsewhere under the\u003cbr\u003edeadweight of feudalism, found a home in the bleak North, and a rough\u003cbr\u003ebut loving welcome from the piratical, sea-roving!  She did not, indeed,\u003cbr\u003edwell altogether scathless among her demi-savage guardians, who, if\u003cbr\u003etheir perceptions of right and wrong were somewhat confused, might have\u003cbr\u003eurged in excuse that their light was small.  She received many shocks\u003cbr\u003eand frequent insults from individuals, but liberty was sincerely loved\u003cbr\u003eand fondly cherished by the body of the Norwegian people, through all\u003cbr\u003ethe period of those dark ages during which other nations scarce dared to\u003cbr\u003emention her name.","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47163492729072,"sku":"2940013296084","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013296084_p0.jpg?v=1763579128","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013296084","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}