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I would not, Githa, that the tree of my house, planted in the storm, and watered with lavish blood, should wither away." The old Earl paused, and Githa said, loftily: "Fear not that thy name will pass from the earth, or thy race from power.
We belong to a land where men are valued for what they are, not for what their dead ancestors might have been. So has it been for ages in Saxon England, where my fathers, through Godwin, as thou sayest, might have been ceorls; and so, I have heard, it is in the land of the martial Danes, where my fathers, through Githa, reigned on the thrones of the North."
It so chanced, while this interview took place between Githa and the Earl, that Gurth, hawking in the woodlands round Hilda's house, turned aside to visit his Danish kinswoman. The prophetess was absent, but he was told that Edith was within; and Gurth, about to be united to a maiden who had long won his noble affections, cherished a brother's love for his brother's fair betrothed.
"Githa," at last said the Earl, "thou hast been to me a good wife and a true, and thou hast borne me tall and bold sons, some of whom have caused us sorrow, and some joy; and in sorrow and in joy we have but drawn closer to each other.
"Githa," at last said the Earl, "thou hast been to me a good wife and a true, and thou hast borne me tall and bold sons, some of whom have caused us sorrow, and some joy; and in sorrow and in joy we have but drawn closer to each other.
And beyond one dim day, in which his betrothed shall clasp him with the arms of a bride, all is dark to my vision dark dark. Speak not to me, Githa; for a burthen, heavy as the stone on a grave, rests on a weary heart!"
Then, reaching the threshold, she waved her hand thrice over the floor, and muttered in the Danish tongue a rude verse, which, translated, ran somewhat thus: "All free from the knot Glide the thread of the skein, And rest to the labour, And peace to the pain!" "It is a death-dirge," said Githa, with whitening lips, but she spoke inly, and neither husband nor son heard her words.
"Wife, wife," said the Earl, stamping his foot, "hear me and obey me; for my words on earth may be few, and while thou gainsayest me the blood mounts to my brain, and my eyes see through a cloud." "Forgive me, sweet lord," said Githa, humbly.
All these considerations, therefore, urged the Earl to persist in his original purpose: but a warning voice in his heart, more powerful than all, sided with the prayer of Githa, and the arguments of Gurth.
"Patient hast thou been, O my mother, and now I will linger no more, nor hearken to other voice than your own. I will see the King this day, and ask his leave to cross the sea to Duke William." Then Githa rose, and fell on the Earl's breast weeping.
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