t had dared take such a liberty; but excused Sigvat,
seeing what the perilous alternative was. And Magnus, by such accident,
this boy was called; and he, not another, is the prime origin and
introducer of that name Magnus, which occurs rather frequently, not
among the Norman Kings only, but by and by among the Danish and Swedish;
and, among the Scandinavian populations, appears to be rather frequent
to this day.

Magnus, a youth of great spirit, whose own, and standing at his
beck, all Norway now was, immediately smote home on Denmark; desirous
naturally of vengeance for what it had done to Norway, and the sacred
kindred of Magnus. Denmark, its great Knut gone, and nothing but a
drunken Harda-Knut, fugitive Svein and Co., there in his stead, was
become a weak dislocated Country. And Magnus plundered in it, burnt it,
beat it, as often as he pleased; Harda-Knut struggling what he could to
make resistance or reprisals, but never once getting any victory over
Magnus. Magnus, I perceive, was, like his Father, a skilful as well
as valiant fighter by sea and land; Magnus, with good battalions, and
probably backed by immediate alliance with Heaven and St. Olaf, as
was then the general belief or surmise about him, could not easily be
beaten. And the truth is, he never was, by Harda-Knut or any other.
Harda-Knut's last transaction with him was, To make a firm Peace and
even Family-treaty sanctioned by all the grandees of both countries, who
did indeed mainly themselves make it; their two Kings assenting: That
there should be perpetual Peace, and no thought of war more, between
Denmark and Norway; and that, if either of the Kings died childless
while the other was reigning, the other should succeed him in both
Kingdoms. A magnificent arrangement, such as has several times been
made in the world's history; but which in this instance, what is very
singular, took actual effect; drunken Harda-Knut dying so speedily, and
Magnus being the man he was. One would like to give the date of this
remarkable Treaty; but cannot with precision. Guess somewhere about
1040: [17] actual fruition of it came to Magnus, beyond question, in
1042, when Harda-Knut drank that wassail bowl at the wedding in Lambeth,
and fell down dead; which in the Saxon Chronicle is dated 3d June of
that year. Magnus at once went to Denmark on hearing this event; was
joyfully received by the headmen there, who indeed, with their fellows
in Norway, had been main contrivers