I think I like hearing of Old Things . ' They rearranged themselves comfortably , each chewing a grass stem . Puck propped himself on one strong arm and went on : ` Let 's think ! I met Weland first on a November afternoon in a sleet storm , on Pevensey Level -- ' ` Pevensey ? Over the hill , you mean ? ' Dan pointed south . ` Yes ; but it was all marsh in those days , right up to Horsebridge and Hydeneye . I was on Beacon Hill -- they called it Brunanburgh then -- when I saw the pale flame that burning thatch makes , and I went down to look . Some pirates -- I think they must have been Peofn 's men -- were burning a village on the Levels , and Weland 's image -- a big , black wooden thing with amber beads round his neck -- lay in the bows of a black thirty-two-oar galley that they had just beached . Bitter cold it was ! There were icicles hanging from her deck and the oars were glazed over with ice , and there was ice on Weland 's lips . When he saw me he began a long chant in his own tongue , telling me how he was going to rule England , and how I should smell the smoke of his altars from Lincolnshire to the Isle of Wight . I did n't care ! I 'd seen too many Gods charging into Old England to be upset about it . I let him sing himself out while his men were burning the village , and then I said -LRB- I do n't know what put it into my head -RRB- , `` Smith of the Gods , '' I said , `` the time comes when I shall meet you plying your trade for hire by the wayside . '' ' ` What did Weland say ? ' said Una . ` Was he angry ? ' ` He called me names and rolled his eyes , and I went away to wake up the people inland . But the pirates conquered the country , and for centuries Weland was a most important God .
He had temples everywhere -- from XXXXX to the Isle of Wight , as he said -- and his sacrifices were simply scandalous .
Dan England Hydeneye Lincolnshire Peofn Smith Una days first icicles