United States or Togo ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
The names of grand old French families, prefaced by the proprietarial forms of le and du, became mixed by marriage with such Swedish names as Svensson and such Dutch names as Staelkappe. They found themselves with rapture where the hills were rosy with peach-blossoms, and where every summer was simply an extract from Paradise.
It was not strange, then, that the farmer's boys, when they grew to be learned men and chose a name, should call themselves after the linden. The peasant folk had no family names in those days. Sven Carlsson was Sven, the son of Carl; and his son, if his given name were John, would be John Svensson. So it had always been.
"Thorgrim Svensson," he said, pausing, "because I will not have it said that I am afraid to look a sword in the face, I will fight your serf, on one condition: that this book, which can be of no use to you, you will give me if I get the better of him." The freckled face puckered itself into a shrewd squint. "And if you fail?" "If I fail," Alwin returned promptly, "Rolf Erlingsson will pay for me.
His little freckled face was wrinkled into a hundred shrewd puckers, and his eyes were two twinkling pin-points of sharpness. He seemed to thrust their glance into Alwin, as he advanced to meet his visitors; and the men who were helping him paused and looked at the thrall with expectant grins. Rolf said blandly, "Greeting, Thorgrim Svensson! We have come to see your horse-fight.
Word Of The Day