according to the Christian rites; but the baptismal water had no power
where the fountain of belief had not streamed upon the heart.

Yet still he was the victor. Yes, more than human strength could have
accomplished against the powers of evil lay in his acts, which, as it
were, overpowered her. She suffered her arms to sink, and gazed with
wondering looks and blanched cheeks upon the man whom she deemed some
mighty wizard, strong in sorcery and the black art. These were mystic
Rhunes he had recited, and magic characters he had traced in the air.
Not for the glancing axe or the well-sharpened knife, if he had
brandished these before her eyes, would they have blinked, or would
she have winced; but she winced now when he made the sign of the cross
upon her brow and bosom, and she stood now like a tame bird, her head
bowed down upon her breast.

Then he spoke kindly to her of the work of mercy she had performed
towards him that night, when, in the ugly disguise of a frog, she had
come to him, had loosened his bonds, and brought him forth to light
and life. She also was bound--bound even with stronger fetters than he
had been, he said; but she also should be set free, and like him
attain to light and life. He would take her to Hedeby, to the holy
Ansgarius. There, in the Christian city, the witchcraft in which she
was held would be exorcised; but not before him must she sit on
horseback, even if she wished it herself--he dared not place her
there.

"Thou must sit behind me on the horse, not before me. Thine enchanting
beauty has a magic power bestowed by the evil one. I fear it; and yet
the victory shall be mine through Christ."

He knelt down and prayed fervently. It seemed as if the surrounding
wood had been consecrated into a holy temple; the birds began to sing,
as if they belonged to the new congregation; the wild thyme sent forth
its fragrant scent, as if to take the place of incense; while the
priest proclaimed these Bible words: "To give light to them that sit
in darkness, and in the shadow of death; to guide our feet into the
way of peace."

And he spoke of everlasting life; and as he discoursed, the horse
which had carried them in their wild flight stood still, and pulled at
the large bramble berries, so that the ripest ones fell on little
Helga's hand, inviting her to pluck them for herself.

She allowed herself patiently to be lifted upon the horse, and she sat
on its back like a somnambulist, who was ne