“But Hilding said, ’O foster son,
Set not thy heart her love upon,
For Destiny thy wish gainsaid;
King Bele’s daughter is the maid!

    “’From Odin’s self, in starry sky,
    Descends her ancestry so high;
    But thou art Thorsten’s son, so yield,
    And leave to mightier names the field.’”
                        TEGNER, Frithiof Saga (Spalding’s tr.)

[Sidenote:  Frithiof’s love for Ingeborg.] These wise admonitions came too late, however, and Frithiof vehemently declared that he would win the fair Ingeborg for his bride in spite of all obstacles and his comparatively humble origin.

Shortly after this Bele and Thorsten met for the last time, near the magnificent shrine of Balder, where the king, feeling that his end was near, had convened a solemn assembly, or Thing, of all his principal subjects, in order to present his sons Helge and Halfdan to the people as his chosen successors.  The young heirs were very coldly received on this occasion, for Helge was of a somber and taciturn disposition, and inclined to the life of a priest, and Halfdan was of a weak, effeminate nature, and noted for his cowardice.  Frithiof, who was present, and stood beside them, cast them both in the shade, and won many admiring glances from the throng.

    “But after them came Frithiof, in mantle blue—­
    He by a head was taller than th’ other two. 
    He stood between the brethren, as day should light
    Between the rosy morning and darksome night.” 
                              TEGNER, Frithiof Saga (Spalding’s tr.)

After giving his last instructions to his sons, and speaking kindly to Frithiof, who was his favorite, the old king turned to his lifelong companion, Thorsten, to take leave of him, but the old warrior declared that they would not long be parted.  Bele then spoke again to his sons, and bade them erect his howe, or funeral mound, within sight of that of Thorsten, that their spirits might commune, and not be sundered even in death.

    “’But lay us gently, children, where the blue wave,
    Beating harmonious cadence, the shore doth lave;
    Its murmuring song is pleasant unto the soul,
    And like a lamentation its ceaseless roll.

“’And when the moon’s pale luster around us streams,
And midnight dim grows radiant with silver beams,
There will we sit, O Thorsten, upon our graves,
And talk of bygone battles by the dark waves.

“’And now, farewell, my children!  Come here no more;
Our road lies to Allfather’s far-distant shore,
E’en as the troubled river sweeps to the sea: 
By Frey and Thor and Odin blessed may ye be.’”

                                                TEGNER, Frithiof Saga (Spalding’s tr.).

[Sidenote:  Helge and Halfdan.] These instructions were all piously obeyed when the aged companions had breathed their last.  Then the brothers, Helge and Halfdan, began to rule their kingdom, while Frithiof, their former playmate, withdrew to his own place at Framnaes, a very fertile homestead, lying in a snug valley closed in by the towering mountains and the ever-changing ocean.