And Alfred, King of the Saxons,

Had a book upon his knees,

And wrote down the wondrous tale

Of him who was first to sail

Into the Arctic seas.

"So far I live to the northward,

No man lives north of me;

To the east are wild mountain-chains,

And beyond them meres and plains;

To the westward all is sea.

"So far I live to the northward,

From the harbor of Skeringes-hale,

If you only sailed by day,

With a fair wind all the way,

More than a month would you sail.

"I own six hundred reindeer,

With sheep and swine beside;

I have tribute from the Finns,
Whalebone and reindeer-skins,

And ropes of walrus-hide.

Here Alfred, King of the Saxons, Ceased writing for a while;

And raised his eyes from his book, With a strange and puzzled look,

And an incredulous smile.

But Othere, the old sea-captain,
He neither paused nor stirred,
Till the King listened, and then
Once more took up his pen,

And wrote down every word.

"And now the land," said Othere,

"Bent southward suddenly,

And I followed the curving shore

And ever southward bore

Into a nameless sea.

"And there we hunted the walrus,

The narwhale, and the seal;

Ha! 'twas a noble game !

And like the lightning's flame

Flew our harpoons of steel.

"There were six of us altogether,

Norsemen of Helgoland;

In two days and no more

We killed of them threescore,

And dragged them to the strand !”

Here Alfred the Truth-Teller

Suddenly closed his book,

And lifted his blue eyes,

With doubt and strange surmise
Depicted in their look.

And Othere the old sea-captain
Stared at him wild and weird,

Then smiled, till his shining teeth

Gleamed white from underneath

His tawny, quivering beard.

And to the King of the Saxons,

In witness of the truth,

Raising his noble head,

He stretched his brown hand, and said,

"Behold this walrus-tooth!"