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diff --git a/41283.txt b/41283.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 7b46155..0000000 --- a/41283.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7130 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's The Heroes of Asgard, by Annie Keary and E. Keary - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Heroes of Asgard - Tales from Scandinavian Mythology - -Author: Annie Keary - E. Keary - -Release Date: November 3, 2012 [EBook #41283] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HEROES OF ASGARD *** - - - - -Produced by Bryan Ness and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - - - - - THE - HEROES OF ASGARD - - _TALES FROM SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY_ - - - BY A. & E. KEARY - - WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY HUARD - - New York - - THE MACMILLAN COMPANY - - LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., LTD. - - 1909 - - _All rights reserved_ - - - New edition September, 1906. Reprinted July, 1909. - - Norwood Press: - - Berwick & Smith Co., Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. - - - - -PREFACE. - - -In preparing the Second Edition of this little volume of tales from -the Northern Mythology for the press, the Authors have thought it -advisable to omit the conversations at the beginning and end of the -chapters, which had been objected to as breaking the course of the -narrative. They have carefully revised the whole, corrected many -inaccuracies and added fresh information drawn from sources they had -not had an opportunity of consulting when the volume first appeared. -The writers to whose works the Authors have been most indebted, are -Simrock, Mallet, Laing, Thorpe, Howitt and Dasent. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - PAGE - - INTRODUCTION, 9 - - - CHAPTER I. THE AESIR. - - PART I.--A GIANT--A COW--AND A HERO, 41 - II.--AIR THRONE, THE DWARFS, AND THE LIGHT ELVES, 51 - III.--NIFLHEIM, 59 - IV.--THE CHILDREN OF LOKI, 67 - V.--BIFROeST, URDA, AND THE NORNS, 72 - VI.--ODHAERIR, 81 - - - CHAPTER II. HOW THOR WENT TO JOeTUNHEIM. - - PART I.--FROM ASGARD TO UTGARD, 109 - II.--THE SERPENT AND THE KETTLE, 130 - - - CHAPTER III. FREY. - - PART I.--ON TIPTOE IN AIR THRONE, 147 - II.--THE GIFT, 152 - III.--FAIREST GERD, 157 - IV.--THE WOOD BARRI, 163 - - - CHAPTER IV. THE WANDERINGS OF FREYJA. - - PART I.--THE NECKLACE BRISINGAMEN, 169 - II.--LOKI--THE IRON WOOD--A BOUNDLESS WASTE, 177 - III.--THE KING OF THE SEA AND HIS DAUGHTERS, 185 - - - CHAPTER V. IDUNA'S APPLES. - - PART I.--REFLECTIONS IN THE WATER, 191 - II.--THE WINGED-GIANT, 198 - III.--HELA, 212 - IV.--THROUGH FLOOD AND FIRE, 218 - - - CHAPTER VI. BALDUR. - - PART I.--THE DREAM, 231 - II.--THE PEACESTEAD, 240 - III.--BALDUR DEAD, 247 - IV.--HELHEIM, 250 - V.--WEEPING, 256 - - - CHAPTER VII. THE BINDING OF FENRIR. - - PART I.--THE MIGHT OF ASGARD, 263 - II.--THE SECRET OF SVARTHEIM, 272 - III.--HONOUR, 279 - - - CHAPTER VIII. THE PUNISHMENT OF LOKI, 285 - - - CHAPTER IX. RAGNAROeK. - - OR, THE TWILIGHT OF THE GODS, 295 - - - INDEX OF NAMES, WITH MEANINGS, 315 - - - - -List of Illustrations. - - - PAGE - - GIANT SUTTUNG AND THE DWARFS, 86 - - GIANT SKRYMIR AND THOR, 115 - - FREYJA IN THE DWARFS' CAVE, 172 - - IDUNA GIVING THE MAGIC APPLES, 195 - - SKADI CHOOSING HER HUSBAND, 227 - - TYR FEEDING FENRIR, 265 - - THE PUNISHMENT OF LOKI, 292 - - - - -THE HEROES OF ASGARD. - - - - -INTRODUCTION. - - -If we would understand the religion of the ancient Scandinavians, we -ought to study at the same time the myths of all Teutonic nations. A -drawing together of these, and a comparison of one with another, has -been most beautifully effected by Simrock, in his _Handbuch der -Deutschen Mythologie_, where he tells us that whilst the Scandinavian -records are richer and more definite, they are also younger than -those of Germany, which latter may be compared to ancient half -choked-up streams from which the fuller river flows, but which, it is -to be remarked, that river has mingled in its flowing. Grimm says -that both religions--the German and the Northern--were in the main -identical, though in details they varied; and as heathenism lingered -longer in Scandinavia than in any other part of Europe, it is not -surprising that there, rather than anywhere else, we should find the -old world wants and hopes and fears, dark guesses, crude imaginings, -childlike poetic expressions, crystallised into a pretty definite -system of belief and worship. Yes, we can walk through the glittering -ice halls of the old frozen faith, and count its gems and wonder at -its fearful images; but the warm heart-reachings from which they -alike once flowed, we can only darkly feel, at best but narrowly pry -into here and there. Ah! if we could but break up the poem again into -the syllables of the far off years. - -The little tales which follow, drawn from the most striking and -picturesque of the Northern myths, are put together in the simplest -possible form, and were written only with a design to make the -subject interesting to children. By-and-bye, however, as we through -their means become in a slight degree acquainted with the characters -belonging to, and the parts played by, the various deities of this -mythology, it will not be uninteresting to consider what their -meaning may be, and to try if we can trace the connection of one with -another. At present it seems best, as an introduction to them--and -without it they would be scarcely intelligible--to give a very slight -sketch of the Northern mythology, as it is gathered from the earliest -Scandinavian sources, as well as a short account of the sources from -which it is gathered. - -Laing, in the introduction to his Translation of the Heimskringla -Saga, says,--"A nation's literature is its breath of life, without -which a nation has no existence, is but a congregation of -individuals. During the five centuries in which the Northmen were -riding over the seas, and conquering wheresoever they landed, the -literature of the people they overcame was locked up in a dead -language, and within the walls of monasteries. But the Northmen had a -literature of their own, rude as it was." Songs and sagas, mythical -and heroic, were the staple of this literature of the north; and -these appear to have been handed down by word of mouth from skald to -skald until about the beginning of the twelfth century. Then Saemund -the Learned, and others, began to commit them to writing. Saemund the -Learned was born in Iceland about the year 1057, fifty years after -Christianity had been positively established in that island. He -passed his youth in Germany, France, and Italy, studying at one time -with a famous master, "by whom he was instructed in every kind of -lore." So full, indeed, did Saemund's head become of all that he had -learnt, that he frequently "forgot the commonest things," even his -own name and identity, so that when asked who he was, he would give -the name of any one he had been reading about. He was also said to be -an astrologer, and a charming little anecdote is related of him in -this capacity, which, however, would be out of place here. When he -went back to Iceland, he became priest of Oddi, instructed the people -about him, studied the old religion, and, besides writing a history -of Norway and Iceland, which has been lost, transcribed several of -the mythic and heroic songs of the North, which together form a -collection known by the name of the _Poetic_, _Elder_, or _Saemund's -Edda_. The songs themselves are supposed to date from about the -eighth century; Saemund wrote them down in the twelfth. The oldest -copy of his original MS. is of the fourteenth century, and this copy -is now in the Royal Library of Copenhagen. A few years ago they were -translated into English by B. Thorpe. So much for the history of the -_Elder Edda_--great-grandmother the name is said to mean, but after -all she scarcely seems old enough to be called a great-grandmother. -We have traced her growing up, and seen how she has dressed herself, -and we begin to think of her almost as a modern young lady. When we -listen to the odd jumble of tales she tells us, too, we are more than -half inclined to quarrel with her, though without exactly knowing -whether it is with her youth or her age that we find fault. You are -too young to know what you are talking about, great-grandmother, we -complain; but, oh dear! you mumble so and make use of such odd -old-fashioned words we can scarcely understand you. Saemund was not -the only man who wrote down songs and sagas; he had some -contemporaries, many successors; and, about fifty years after his -death, we hear of Snorro Sturleson, a rich man, twice Supreme -Magistrate of the Icelandic Republic, who also lived for some time at -Oddi, and who has left many valuable additions to the stock of -Icelandic written lore. Laing says of him--"Snorro Sturleson has done -for the history of the Northmen, what Livy did for the history of the -Romans." Amongst other things, he wrote a sort of commentary or -enlargement of Saemund's _Edda_, probably drawn from MSS. of Saemund -and of others, which were preserved at Oddi. This is called the -_Prose_, _Younger_, or _Snorro's Edda_, and was translated many years -ago by M. Mallet into French. Added to these two sources of -information respecting the Scandinavian mythology, there are many -allusions to the myths scattered through the heroic lays with which -Northern literature abounds. - -The _Poetic Edda_ consists of two parts--the mythological and the -heroic. The mythological songs contain an account of the formation -and destruction of the world, of the origin, genealogies, adventures, -journeys, conversations of the gods, magic incantations, and one lay -which may be called ethical. This portion of the _Edda_ concludes -with a song called "The Song of the Sun," of which it is supposed -Saemund himself was the author. Thorpe, the English translator, says, -"It exhibits a strange mixture of Christianity and heathenism, whence -it would seem that the poet's own religion was in a transition state. -We may as well remark here that the only allusion to Christianity in -the _Elder Edda_, with the exception of this last song, which stands -quite alone, is a single strophe in an incantation:-- - - "An eighth I will sing to thee, - If night overtake thee, - When out on the misty way, - That the dead Christian woman - No power may have to do thee harm." - -Which savours curiously of the horror which these heathens then -evidently felt of the new faith. - -The _Younger Edda_ is a very queer old lady indeed. She begins by -telling a sort of story. She says "there was once a King called -Gylfi, renowned for his wisdom and skill in magic;" he being seized -with a desire to know all about the gods, and wishing also to get his -information first-hand, sets off on a journey to Asgard itself, the -gods' own abode. When he gets there he finds a mysterious Three -seated upon three thrones--the High, the Equally High, and the Third. -The story-teller is supposed to have taken this picture from a temple -at Upsal, where the thrones of Odin, Thor, and Frey were placed in -the same manner, one above another. Gylfi introduces himself as -Gangler, a name for traveller (connected with the present Scotch word -gang), and proceeded to question the Three upon the origin of the -world, the nature and adventures of the gods, &c., &c. Gangler's -questions, and the answers which he receives, will, with reference to -the _Elder Edda_ tales, help us to get just the short summary we want -of the Scandinavian mythology--the mythology grown up and old, and -frozen tight, as we find it in the _Eddas_. - -"What was the beginning of things?" asks Gangler; and Har (the -highest of the Three), replying in the words of an ancient poem, -says,-- - - "Once was the age - When all was not-- - No sand, nor sea, - No salt waves, - No earth was found, - Nor over-skies, - But yawning precipice - And nowhere grass." - -This nothingness was called Ginnungagap, the gap of gaps, the gaping -of the chasms: and Har goes on to relate what took place in it. On -the north side of Ginnungagap, he says, lay Niflheim, the shadowy -nebulous home of freezing cold and gathering gloom; but on the south -lay the glowing region of Muspellheim. There was besides a roaring -cauldron called Hvergelmir, which seethed in the middle of Niflheim, -and sent forth twelve rivers called the strange waves; these flowed -into the gap and froze there, and so filled the gap with ice: but -sparks and flakes of fire from Muspellheim fell upon the ice. -Ginnungagap on the north side was now filled with ice and vapour and -fleeting mists and whirlwinds, but southwards with glowing radiancy, -with calm and light and wind--still air; and so, continues Har, the -heat met the frost, the frost melted into drops, the drops quickened -into life, and there was a human form called Ymir, a giant. "Was he a -god?" asks Gangler. "Oh! dear no," answers Har; "we are very far -indeed from believing him to have been a god; he was wicked and the -father of all the Frost Giants." "I wonder what he ate?" said -Gangler. "There was a cow," Har went on to explain; "she was made out -of the drops, too, and the giant fed upon her milk." "Good," answered -Gangler; "but what fed the cow?" "She licked the stones of -Ginnungagap, which were covered with salt hoar frost;" and then Har -goes on to relate how by degrees a man, Bur, grew up out of the -stones as the cow licked them, good, not like Ymir, but the father of -the gods; and here we may remark that the giant and the god equally -were the sole progenitors of their immediate descendants. Ymir was -the father of the first giant, Bur had a son called Boer. But after -that the races mix to a certain extent, for Boer married a giantess -and became the father of three sons, Odin, Vili and Ve. - -"Was there any degree of good understanding between these two races?" -asks Gangler. "Far from it," replies Har; and then he tells how the -sons of the god slew all the frost giants but one, dragged the body -of old Ymir into the middle of Ginnungagap, made the earth out of -it,--"from his blood the seas, from his flesh the land, from his -bones the mountains, of his hair the trees, of his skull the heavens -and of his brains the clouds. Then they took wandering flakes from -Muspellheim, and placed them in the heavens." Until this time, says -the _Voeluspa_. - - "The sun knew not - Where she a dwelling had, - The moon knew not - What power he possessed, - The stars knew not - Where they had a station." - -About this time it happened that the sons of the god took a walk -along the sea-beach, and there found two stems of wood which they -fashioned into the first man and woman:-- - - "Spirit gave them Odin - Sense gave Hoenir - Blood gave Lodin (Loki) - And goodly colour." - -After this it is said that the all-holy gods, the AEsir, the Lords, -went to their judgment seats, held council, and gave names to the -"night and to the waning moon, morn, midday, afternoon, and eve -whereby to reckon years." Then they built a city called Asgard in the -middle of the earth, altars and temples, "made furnaces, forged tongs -and fabricated tools and precious things;" after which they stayed at -home and played joyously with tables. This was the golden age of the -gods; they were happy. "To them," says the old song, "was naught the -want of gold, until there came three maids all powerful from the -giants." - -In some mysterious way it appears that a desire for gold seized upon -the gods in the midst of their innocent golden play. Then they formed -the dwarfs, in order that these might get gold for them out of the -earth. The dwarfs till then had been just like maggots in Ymir's dead -flesh, but now received human likeness. A shadow begins to creep over -the earth, the golden age is past. At the same time three things -happen. The gods discover the use or want of gold; the first war -breaks out, as it is said, "Odin hurled his spear amid the people, -and then was the first war;" and the three all-powerful giant maids -appear. "Gold," says the old song (and calls her by a name as if she -were a person), "they pierced with lances,-- - - "And in the High one's Hall - Burnt her once, - Burnt her thrice, - Oft not seldom, - Yet she still lives. - Wolves she tamed, - Magic arts she knew, she practised, - Ever was she the joy - Of evil people." - -The three giant maidens are the three Fates--the sisters,--Past, -Present and Future. They came from giant land, which in this place -typifies the first mixed cause of all things; they came at the moment -when the golden age was disappearing; they stand upon the very edge -of its existence, at once the bringers and the avengers of evil. "The -golden age ceased when gold was invented," is an old saying. "After -the golden age, time begins," is another, or, in the words of a -German proverb, "To the happy no hour strikes." And now let us see -what sort of looking world these giants, gods, men, dwarfs and -fateful maids whom Har has been talking about were living in. - -"Round without," Har says so; but a _flat_ round. The outmost circle -a frozen region full of frost giants; inside that circle, the sea; in -the middle of the sea, the earth in which men live, called Midgard, -and made out of Ymir's eyebrows; in the midst of the earth Asgard, -the city of the gods. It seems to be rather a disputed point whether -or not Asgard was on the top of a hill. Heavenly mountains are -mentioned in the _Edda_, but they are placed at the edge of heaven -under one end of the rainbow, not at all near Asgard, if Asgard was -in the middle of the earth. However, to make the city more -conspicuous we have placed it on the summit of a hill in the picture -of the Scandinavian World which stands at the beginning of this -chapter, and here remark that this picture must not be looked at -exactly in a geographical light even from a Scandinavian point of -view. It is rather an expression of ideas than of places, for we have -tried to figure by it what is said about the great World Tree -Yggdrassil and its three roots. "That ash," says Har, which was -indeed the earth-bearer, "is the greatest and best of all trees." Its -branches spread over the whole world and even reach above heaven. It -has three roots, very wide asunder. One of them goes down to -Ginnungagap. The frost giants live over it, and over this root is a -deep well which we shall hear more of by-and-bye. In the picture this -root could not be shown, but the branches which encircle the ice -region are supposed to spring from it. Another root extends to -Niflheim, the old roaring cauldron lies under it, a great snake -called Nidhoegg gnaws it night and day as the old lay says. -"Yggdrasil's ash suffers greater hardship than men know of. Nidhoegg -tears it." Under this root also lies Helheim, a home of the dead. The -third root is in heaven: gods and men live under it, in Asgard and -Midgard; the giant fate-sisters also live under it, at the top of the -Rainbow's arch in their palace very beauteous, which stands by the -Holy Urda Fount. They water the tree every day with the holy water, -so that ever "it stands green over Urda's Fount." - -These maidens are called Norns;--they fix the destinies of men, Har -says; "but besides them," he adds, "there are a great many other -norns--indeed, for each man that is born there is a norn to decide -his fate." - -"Methinks, then," says Gangler, "that these Norns were born far -asunder; they are not of the same race." "Some belong to the AEsir, -some come from the Elves, and some are dwarfs' daughters." Besides -these wonders, we are told that an eagle perched amongst the highest -branches of Yggdrasil with a hawk between his eyes, four harts ran -amongst the branches and bit off the buds, and a squirrel called -Ratatoesk or branch borer ran up and down, carrying messages between -the Eagle and Nidhoegg, as one account says, causing strife between -them--a kind of typical busybody, in fact. - -Such is the myth of Yggdrasil, of which Jacob Grimm remarks "it bears -the stamp of a very high antiquity, but does not appear to be fully -unfolded." Of course, it was only the symbol of a thought, the -Scandinavians could not have believed that there was such a tree. But -of what thought was it the symbol? The editor of Mallet's _Northern -Antiquities_ says, "We are inclined to regard this mythic Tree as the -symbol of ever-enduring time, or rather of universal nature, ever -varying in its aspects but subsisting throughout eternity." It is -called somewhere "Time's hoary nurse," and we see the principles of -destruction and of renovation acting upon it. One root in the -formless elemental abyss, one in the formed ice-frozen-over -giant land, its branches spreading over the whole world; one -reaching up to the unseen. Its name means "Ygg"--terror, horror, -fear--"drasil"--horse or bearer--and the first syllable is one of the -names of Odin the chief god. We must not omit to mention that our -Maypoles and the German Christmas trees are offshoots of Yggdrasil, -"that ash, the greatest and best of trees." - -"But who is the first and eldest of the gods?" Gangler asks. "We call -him Allfather," says Har, "but besides this he has twelve names." - -Allfather, Odin or Woden, the eldest son of Boer by a giantess, is the -chief god of the _Eddas_, and it is quite true, as Har says, that he -has many names. He was called Allfather--the father of gods and men, -and Valfather or the chooser, because he chose which of the slain in -battle should come and live with him in heaven; he called himself by -many names when he travelled, he was known as Ygg, but generally, -chiefly, he was Odin. The meaning of the first syllable of this last -name is terror (like Ygg), or violent emotion. Simrock says that air -in calm or storm lies at the root of Odin's being; from this he grew -up to be a god of the spirit, a king of gods, "as in the simple ideas -of the people," he says, "nature and spirit are inseparable; he -became as much a commander of the spirits of men as of the forces of -nature." Air, widespread and most spiritual of the elements, how -naturally akin it seems to that wind, blowing where it listeth, which -moves in hidden ways the spirits of men. Inspiration, madness, -poetry, warrior-rage, the storm of wind, the storm of mind--we find -Odin in them all. Thor the thunder-god stood next in importance to -Odin. Odin was his father, and he had a giantess mother, Joerd (the -earth). Besides these Har enumerates Baldur, Tyr, Vidar, Vali, Hoedur, -Bragi, all called sons of Odin;--we shall hear the stories that -belong to them by-and-bye. - -All these were of the race of the AEsir or Asgard gods; there were -other deities counted amongst them, and yet kept a little -distinct--the Vanir gods and goddesses. These were of a different -race, and it is not clear how and when they became mixed with the -AEsir. What the _Eddas_ say about it is simply this, that the AEsir -made peace with the Vanir and exchanged hostages with them. Amongst -these we find Nioerd a kind of sea-coast god, the original of Nipen -still known in Norway, his son and daughter Frey and Freyja, -"beauteous and mighty,"--Frey presiding over rain, sunshine, and the -fruits of the earth; Freyja goddess of the beautiful year and of -love, and Heimdall, a god who lived upon the heavenly hills at one -end of the rainbow. A sea-king called AEgir, whose nature is not -quite defined whether he belonged to the god or the giant is -occasionally mentioned in the _Edda_ tales, and also a wise giant -Mimer. But there is besides a mysterious being whom we name last -because he requires a little explanation. This is Loki. He was one of -the AEsir; we read of his being with Odin when that god took his -fateful walk along the seashore and made man, he helped Odin in the -work; we come upon him frequently travelling with the gods, sometimes -at least as a friend, and yet it is evident that Loki was looked upon -as an evil being. "Some call him the calumniator of the gods," says -Har, "the contriver of all fraud and mischief, the disgrace of gods -and men. Loki is handsome," he adds, "and well made, but of a very -fickle mood and most evil disposition. He surpasses all beings in -those arts called cunning and perfidy." Simrock says that fire lies -at the root of Loki's being as air lies in that of Odin,--fire which -has good and evil in it, but most outwardly _destructive_ power; -hence the beginning of the idea of his evil-heartedness. From simple -nature myths, it is quite easy to conceive that the moral principle, -as it grew up in a people, would develop spiritual ones, and the -character of the gods would materially alter with the growth of the -religion. Good and evil are scarcely conceptions which the wars of -the elements give birth to. By the law is the knowledge of sin. The -name of Loki, it is said, may mean the bright element. - -Amongst the goddesses who were called Asyniur, Frigga stands out -chief in the _Eddas_ as Odin's wife, but several others are named, -and also the Valkyrior, swayers of the battle and heavenly serving -maidens. The peace between the AEsir and the Vanir, and the -perceptible difference between these races of gods, points to an -amalgamation of the religions of two tribes of Teutons in very early -times: their faiths would be similar, drawn indeed from one source, -but would have been modified by the circumstances and requirements of -the divergent tribes. Simrock supposes that the Vanir worshippers may -have been dwellers by the sea, and have had a special reverence for -wind and water deities--mild, wide, beneficent airs. Their gods are a -little milder in nature than those of Asgard, they are also more -purely nature deities, with less of the moral element in their -characters, which looks as if the two faiths had joined at different -stages of development, at different levels one may say, so that the -line between them is still discernible. We have seen how Har explains -to Gangler the formation of the universe in Ginnungagap out of the -strange ice waves; primeval giant; beneficent might of the gods; its -endurance, rooted in the mighty Tree, that reached from depth to -height,-- - - "Laved with limpid water, - Gnawed by more serpents - Than any one would think - Of witless mortals." - -He had also something to say concerning the future of the world. -"What hast thou to tell me about it?" said Gangler; and Har -replied,--"In the first place there will come a winter;" and then he -described the destruction of the world--flood and storm, and ice and -fire, and warfare, a supreme conflict; all the powers of evil, the -chaotic powers--primeval chaos surging again out of Niflheim and -Muspellheim--on one side, the gods, the forming orderly principle of -the course of the universe, on the other--all rage within, and -through the mighty ash, which itself trembles, "Groans that aged -tree." Monsters and gods alike fall, killing each other, and one -cannot say with whom the victory lies; for though the sun, moon, and -stars are made away with, and the earth sinks into the flood, it soon -emerges again, "beauteously green," destined, as it would seem, to -run a second course. Brighter, purer? The account is so mixed that -one cannot say, and why should we puzzle over it; perhaps they knew -as little what they thought and hoped as we know about them--those -old song-singers and myth-spinners of days gone by, as one of them -says,-- - - "Few may see - Further forth - Than when Odin - Meets the wolf." - -Notwithstanding, we cannot help feeling, as we contemplate this myth, -that there was something noble, very grimly courageous in its -fatalism. Simrock says, "the course of Northern mythology is like a -drama." The world's beginning, the golden years, the first shadow of -evil, evil that came with times, evil fated to come, the troubles of -various kinds, all death shadows which fell upon the gods (we shall -trace them in the following tales); and above all, hanging over all, -crowning all, the twilight, the struggle, the end, the renewing; for -it is not, be it observed, the end of the world, of time, of -succession of events that is recorded in this myth (called the -Ragnaroek Myth), but rather of the struggling powers that had been -brought by these, that had formed these. Looking through this drama -two things chiefly strike us, fatalism and combat. The two do not -contradict one another. The gods fight the giants from the earliest -times; they go on fighting them in a thousand ways, even though they -know that their own final defeat and destruction are fixed--they ward -off the evil day as far as possible, hoping through its shadow again -and again, dauntless to the end. It is impossible to help admiring -the impulses which led to the building up, and dictated the worship -of this idea,--the worship of the gods who were to die, who were, in -spite of most courageous defiance of it, after all but the servants -of the inevitable. Of course it was perfectly simple and natural that -this conception of unceasing strife, of the alternate victory and -defeat of light and darkness, cold and heat, should arise in the -minds of any worshippers of the natural world, but it must, one would -think, have acquired some moral significance to these heathen -Northmen by the time that Odin had come to be Allfather, even -Valfather, and Frigga, through the nourishing earth, the lady of -married love and of the hearth. A good deal of this courageous spirit -of conflict and self-surrender comes into the Scandinavian myths and -heroic tales. We read of one of the gods' messengers, who, when -implored to desist from an undertaking because danger threatened, -replied, "For one day was my age decreed and my whole life -determined." In a lay of Odin, it says, "We ourselves die, but the -fair fame never dies of him who has earned it;" and this reminds us -of the Scandinavian custom of engraving the records of their warlike -deeds upon their shields. "When a young warrior was at first -enlisted," it is said, "they gave him a white and smooth buckler, -which was called the 'shield of expectation,' which he carried until -he had earned its record." It is related of one of the celebrated -Jomsburg sea-rovers called Bui, that finding himself defeated in an -engagement, and seeing that all further resistance was fruitless, he -took his treasure--two chests full of gold--and, calling out -"Overboard all Bui's men," plunged into the sea and perished. But -better far is the following:--"A warrior having been thrown upon his -back in wrestling with his enemy, and the latter finding himself -without arms, the vanquished person promised to wait without changing -his posture while the other fetched a sword to kill him, and he -faithfully kept his word." - -Such traits as these lie on the light side of the Northern character, -pity that the other side is such a dark one. Craft, avarice, -cruelty--we cannot shut our eyes to them--cropping up everywhere, in -the stories of the gods, and still more frequently in the sagas whose -details are sometimes most revolting. Amongst other stories, we have -one of a young sea-rover, called Sigurd, by-the-bye, a son of that -very Bui mentioned above. Sigurd and his companions had been taken -prisoners, and were condemned to be beheaded. They were all seated on -a log of wood, and one after another had his head struck off, whilst -king Hakon their capturer looked on; the account says, that he came -out after breakfast to watch the execution. The sea-rovers all met -their fate with unflinching courage, and as the executioner asked -each one, before he struck the blow, what he thought of death, each -gave some fierce mocking answer; but when it came to Sigurd's turn, -and he was asked what he thought of death, he answered, "I fear not -death, since I have fulfilled the greatest duty of life, but I must -pray thee not to let my hair be touched by a slave, or stained with -my blood." The story tells us he had long fair hair, as fine as silk, -flowing in ringlets over his shoulders. One of the cruel king Hakon's -followers, being moved, it seems, either with pity for Sigurd's hair -or admiration of his courage, stept forward and held the ringlets -whilst the executioner struck, upon which Sigurd twitched his head -forward so strongly that the warrior who was holding his hair had -both his hands cut off, "and this practical joke so pleased the -king's son," continues the tale, "that he gave Sigurd his life." - -"Thou tellest me many wonderful things," said Gangler; "what are the -names of the Homesteads in heaven?" In answer, Har tells him about -Odin's halls, and Thor's, and Baldur's, and Frigga's, and many -another bounteous, wide-spreading, golden-roofed mansion; amongst -them of Valhalla, which Odin had prepared especially for warriors who -fell in battle and who were thenceforth to be his sons, called -Einherjar, heroes, champions. "Methinks," said Gangler, "there must -be a great crowd in Valhalla, and often a great press at the door -among such a number of people constantly thronging in and out." "Why -not ask," says Har, "how many doors there are?-- - - "Five hundred doors - And forty eke - I think are in Valhall. - -"But what does Odin give the warriors to eat?" asked Gangler. "The -flesh of the good boar Saehrimnir, and this is more than enough -(though few know how much is required for heroes), for in spite of -its being eaten every day it becomes whole again every night; truly -it is the best of flesh." "And what have the heroes to drink?" asked -Gangler "for they must require a plentiful supply; do they drink only -water?" "A silly question that," replied Har; "dost thou imagine that -Allfather would invite kings and jarls and other great men and give -them nothing to drink but water? In that case the heroes would think -they had paid dearly to get to Valhall, enduring great hardships and -receiving deadly wounds; they would find they had paid too great a -price for water drink. No, no, the case is quite otherwise, in -Valhall there is a famous goat that supplies mead enough for all the -heroes and to spare." "Mighty things these," said Gangler; "but how -do the heroes amuse themselves when they are not drinking?" "Every -day they ride into the court and fight till they cut each other in -pieces, this is their pastime; but when meal-tide approaches they -return to drink in Valhall." "Odin is great and mighty," answered -Gangler, "as it is said in one of the AEsir's own poems,-- - - "The ash Yggdrasill - Is the first of Trees, - As Skidbladnir of ships, - Odin of AEsir - Sleipnir of steeds, - Bifrost of bridges, - Bragi of Bards, - Habrok of hawks - And Garm of hounds is." - -"But do all the dead go to Valhalla?" No; down below in Niflheim -there was another home of the dead which was ruled over by the -underworld goddess Hela, and called after her Helheim. Coldness and -discomfort, according to one account, were rather its characteristics -than actual suffering; and as all the dead were said to go there who -died of sickness or old age, it was probably at one time regarded -more as a place of misfortune than of punishment. The cold, -hidden-away condition of the dead, separated from the bright, warm -life of the upper world, would naturally suggest their being -consigned to the keeping of some under-world deity, unless, indeed, -they could lay claim to a second higher life by virtue of any great -warlike deed done up here. By degrees misfortune must have deepened -into suffering; and, as the moral sense quickened, the idea would -arise of there being a retribution for misdeeds done on earth as well -as an emptiness of its missed glories. There is a description given -of some place of punishment--it is not quite clear what place it -refers to--in these words,-- - - "A hall standing - Far from the sun - In Nastrond, - Its doors turn northward, - Venom drops fall - Through its apertures; - The Hall is twined - With serpents' backs. - - There she saw wading, - Through sluggish streams, - Bloodthirsty men - And perjurers; - There Nidhoeg sucks - The corpse of the dead - The wolf tears men-- - Understand ye yet, or what?" - -"Now," says Har; that was when he had finished his description of -Ragnaroek, "If thou, Gangler, hast any more questions to ask, I know -not who can answer thee, for I never heard tell of any one who could -relate what will happen in the other ages of the world." "Upon -which," the story says, "Gangler heard a terrible noise all round -him; he looked everywhere, but could see neither palace, nor city, -nor any thing save a vast plain. He therefore set out on his return -home." And so disappears king Gylfi. - -But we, who are not so presumptuous as to enquire into the future of -the ages, and are neither learned nor over inquisitive like king -Gylfi, will go on listening to the great-grandmothers' stories, giant -stories and god stories--a little bit that one remembers, and a -little bit that another remembers, and so on; and all the time we -will try to make the story tellers clear to one another and to -ourselves as they go on, translating their old fashioned words into -our own common every day words and modes of speech, so that we may -have at least a chance of understanding them. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -THE AESIR. - - -PART I. A GIANT--A COW--AND A HERO. - -In the beginning of ages there lived a cow, whose breath was sweet, -and whose milk was bitter. This cow was called Audhumla, and she -lived all by herself on a frosty, misty plain, where there was -nothing to be seen but heaps of snow and ice piled strangely over one -another. Far away to the north it was night, far away to the south it -was day; but all around where Audhumla lay a cold, grey twilight -reigned. By-and-by a giant came out of the dark north, and lay down -upon the ice near Audhumla. "You must let me drink of your milk," -said the giant to the cow; and though her milk was bitter, he liked -it well, and for him it was certainly good enough. - -After a little while the cow looked all round her for something to -eat, and she saw a very few grains of salt sprinkled over the ice; so -she licked the salt, and breathed with her sweet breath, and then -long golden locks rose out of the ice, and the southern day shone -upon them, which made them look bright and glittering. - -The giant frowned when he saw the glitter of the golden hair; but -Audhumla licked the pure salt again, and a head of a man rose out of -the ice. The head was more handsome than could be described, and a -wonderful light beamed out of its clear blue eyes. The giant frowned -still more when he saw the head; but Audhumla licked the salt a third -time, and then an entire man arose--a hero majestic in strength and -marvellous in beauty. - -Now, it happened that when the giant looked full in the face of that -beautiful man, he hated him with his whole heart, and, what was still -worse, he took a terrible oath, by all the snows of Ginnungagap, -that he would never cease fighting until either he or Bur, the hero, -should lie dead upon the ground. And he kept his vow; he did not -cease fighting until Bur had fallen beneath his cruel blows. I cannot -tell how it could be that one so wicked should be able to conquer one -so majestic and so beautiful; but so it was, and afterwards, when the -sons of the hero began to grow up, the giant and his sons fought -against them, too, and were very near conquering them many times. - -But there was of the sons of the heroes one of very great strength -and wisdom, called Odin, who, after many combats, did at last slay -the great old giant, and pierced his body through with his keen -spear, so that the blood swelled forth in a mighty torrent, broad and -deep, and all the hideous giant brood were drowned in it excepting -one, who ran away panting and afraid. - -After this Odin called round him his sons, brothers, and cousins, and -spoke to them thus: "Heroes, we have won a great victory; our enemies -are dead, or have run away from us. We cannot stay any longer here, -where there is nothing evil for us to fight against." - -The heroes looked round them at the words of Odin. North, south, -east, and west there was no one to fight against them anywhere, and -they called out with one voice, "It is well spoken, Odin; we follow -you." - -"Southward," answered Odin, "heat lies, and northward night. From the -dim east the sun begins his journey westward home." - -"Westward home!" shouted they all; and westward they went. - -Odin rode in the midst of them, and they all paid to him reverence -and homage as to a king and father. On his right hand rode Thor, -Odin's strong, warlike, eldest son. On his left hand rode Baldur, the -most beautiful and exalted of his children; for the very light of the -sun itself shone forth from his pure and noble brow. After him came -Tyr the Brave; the Silent Vidar; Hoedur, who, alas! was born blind; -Hermod, the Flying Word; Bragi, Hoenir, and many more mighty lords -and heroes; and then came a shell chariot, in which sat Frigga, the -wife of Odin, with all her daughters, friends, and tirewomen. - -Eleven months they journeyed westward, enlivening the way with -cheerful songs and conversation, and at the twelfth new moon they -pitched their tents upon a range of hills which stood near the -borders of an inland sea. The greater part of one night they were -disturbed by mysterious whisperings, which appeared to proceed from -the sea-coast, and creep up the mountain side; but as Tyr, who got up -half a dozen times, and ran furiously about among the gorse and -bushes, always returned saying that he could see no one, Frigga and -her maidens at length resigned themselves to sleep, though they -certainly trembled and started a good deal at intervals. Odin lay -awake all night, however; for he felt certain that something unusual -was going to happen. And such proved to be the case; for in the -morning, before the tents were struck, a most terrific hurricane -levelled the poles, and tore in pieces the damask coverings, swept -from over the water furiously up the mountain gorges, round the base -of the hills, and up again all along their steep sides right in the -faces of the heroes. - -Thor swung himself backwards and forwards, and threw stones in every -possible direction. Tyr sat down on the top of a precipice, and -defied the winds to displace him; whilst Baldur vainly endeavoured to -comfort his poor mother, Frigga. But Odin stepped forth calm and -unruffled, spread his arms towards the sky, and called out to the -spirits of the wind, "Cease, strange Vanir (for that was the name by -which they were called), cease your rough play, and tell us in what -manner we have offended you that you serve us thus." - -The winds laughed in a whispered chorus at the words of the brave -king, and, after a few low titterings, sank into silence. But each -sound in dying grew into a shape: one by one the strange, -loose-limbed, uncertain forms stepped forth from caves, from gorges, -dropped from the tree tops, or rose out of the grass--each wind-gust -a separate Van. - -Then Nioerd, their leader, stood forward from the rest of them, and -said, "We know, O mighty Odin how you and your company are truly the -AEsir--that is to say, the lords of the whole earth--since you slew -the huge, wicked giant. We, too, are lords, not of the earth, but of -the sea and air, and we thought to have had glorious sport in -fighting one against another; but if such be not your pleasure, let -us, instead of that, shake hands." And, as he spoke, Nioerd held out -his long, cold hand, which was like a windbag to the touch. Odin -grasped it heartily, as did all the AEsir; for they liked the -appearance of the good-natured, gusty chief, whom they begged to -become one of their company, and live henceforth with them. - -To this Nioerd consented, whistled good-bye to his kinsfolk, and -strode cheerfully along amongst his new friends. After this they -journeyed on and on steadily westward until they reached the summit -of a lofty mountain, called the Meeting Hill. There they all sat -round in a circle, and took a general survey of the surrounding -neighbourhood. - -As they sat talking together Baldur looked up suddenly, and said, "Is -it not strange, Father Odin, that we do not find any traces of that -giant who fled from us, and who escaped drowning in his father's -blood?" - -"Perhaps he has fallen into Niflheim, and so perished," remarked -Thor. - -But Nioerd pointed northward, where the troubled ocean rolled, and -said, "Yonder, beyond that sea, lies the snowy region of Joetunheim. -It is there the giant lives, and builds cities and castles, and -brings up his children--a more hideous brood even than the old one." - -"How do you know that, Nioerd?" asked Odin. - -"I have seen him many times," answered Nioerd, "both before I came to -live with you, and also since then, at night, when I have not been -able to sleep, and have made little journeys to Joetunheim, to pass -the time away." - -"This is indeed terrible news," said Frigga; "for the giants will -come again out of Joetunheim and devastate the earth." - -"Not so," answered Odin, "not so, my dear Frigga; for here, upon this -very hill, we will build for ourselves a city, from which we will -keep guard over the poor earth, with its weak men and women, and -from whence we will go forth to make war upon Joetunheim." - -"That is remarkably well said, Father Odin," observed Thor, laughing -amidst his red beard. - -Tyr shouted, and Vidar smiled, but said nothing; and then all the -AEsir set to work with their whole strength and industry to build for -themselves a glorious city on the summit of the mountain. For days, -and weeks, and months, and years they worked, and never wearied; so -strong a purpose was in them, so determined and powerful were they to -fulfil it. Even Frigga and her ladies did not disdain to fetch stones -in their marble wheelbarrows, or to draw water from the well in -golden buckets, and then, with delicate hands, to mix the mortar upon -silver plates. And so that city rose by beautiful degrees, stone -above stone, tower above tower, height above height, until it crowned -the hill. - -Then all the AEsir stood at a little distance, and looked at it, and -sighed from their great happiness. Towering at a giddy height in the -centre of the city rose Odin's seat, called Air Throne, from whence -he could see over the whole earth. On one side of Air Throne stood -the Palace of Friends, where Frigga was to live; on the other rose -the glittering Gladsheim, a palace roofed entirely with golden -shields, and whose great hall, Valhalla, had a ceiling covered with -spears, benches spread with coats of mail, and five hundred and forty -entrance-gates, through each of which eight hundred men might ride -abreast. There was also a large iron smithy, situated on the eastern -side of the city, where the AEsir might forge their arms and shape -their armour. That night they all supped in Valhalla, and drank to -the health of their strong, new home, "The City of Asgard," as Bragi, -their chief orator, said it ought to be called. - - -PART II. AIR THRONE, THE DWARFS, AND THE LIGHT ELVES. - -In the morning Odin mounted Air Throne, and looked over the whole -earth, whilst the AEsir stood all round waiting to hear what he -thought about it. - -"The earth is very beautiful," said Odin, from the top of his throne, -"very beautiful in every part, even to the shores of the dark North -Sea; but, alas! the men of the earth are puny and fearful. At this -moment I see a three-headed giant striding out of Joetunheim. He -throws a shepherd-boy into the sea, and puts the whole of the flock -into his pocket. Now he takes them out again one by one, and cracks -their bones as if they were hazel-nuts, whilst, all the time, men -look on, and do nothing." - -"Father," cried Thor in a rage, "last night I forged for myself a -belt, a glove, and a hammer, with which three things I will go forth -alone to Joetunheim." - -Thor went, and Odin looked again. - -"The men of the earth are idle and stupid," said Odin. "There are -dwarfs and elves, who live amongst them, and play tricks which they -cannot understand, and do not know how to prevent. At this moment I -see a husbandman sowing grains of wheat in the furrows, whilst a -dwarf runs after him, and changes them into stones. Again, I see two -hideous little beings, who are holding under water the head of one, -the wisest of men, until he dies; they mix his blood with honey; they -have put it into three stone jars, and hidden it away." - -Then Odin was very angry with the dwarfs, for he saw that they were -bent on mischief; so he called to him Hermod, his Flying Word, and -despatched him with a message to the dwarfs and light elves, to say -that Odin sent his compliments, and would be glad to speak with them, -in his palace of Gladsheim, upon a matter of some importance. - -When they received Hermod's summons the dwarfs and light elves were -very much surprised, not quite knowing whether to feel honoured or -afraid. However, they put on their pertest manners, and went -clustering after Hermod like a swarm of ladybirds. - -When they were arrived in the great city they found Odin descended -from his throne, and sitting with the rest of the AEsir in the -Judgment Hall of Gladsheim. Hermod flew in, saluted his master, and -pointed to the dwarfs and elves hanging like a cloud in the doorway -to show that he had fulfilled his mission. Then Odin beckoned the -little people to come forward. Cowering and whispering they peeped -over one another's shoulders; now running on a little way into the -hall, now back again, half curious, half afraid; and it was not until -Odin had beckoned three times that they finally reached his -footstool. Then Odin spoke to them in calm, low, serious tones about -the wickedness of their mischievous propensities. Some, the very -worst of them, only laughed in a forward, hardened manner; but a -great many looked up surprised and a little pleased at the novelty of -serious words; whilst the light elves all wept, for they were -tender-hearted little things. At length Odin spoke to the two dwarfs -by name whom he had seen drowning the wise man. "Whose blood was it," -he asked, "that you mixed with honey and put into jars?" - -"Oh," said the dwarfs, jumping up into the air, and clapping their -hands, "that was Kvasir's blood. Don't you know who Kvasir was? He -sprang up out of the peace made between the Vanir and yourselves, and -has been wandering about these seven years or more; so wise he was -that men thought he must be a god. Well, just now we found him lying -in a meadow drowned in his own wisdom; so we mixed his blood with -honey, and put it into three great jars to keep. Was not that well -done, Odin?" - -"Well done!" answered Odin. "Well done! You cruel, cowardly, lying -dwarfs! I myself saw you kill him. For shame! for shame!" and then -Odin proceeded to pass sentence upon them all. Those who had been the -most wicked, he said, were to live, henceforth, a long way -underground, and were to spend their time in throwing fuel upon the -great earth's central fire; whilst those who had only been -mischievous were to work in the gold and diamond mines, fashioning -precious stones and metals. They might all come up at night, Odin -said; but must vanish at the dawn. Then he waved his hand, and the -dwarfs turned round, shrilly chattering, scampered down the -palace-steps, out of the city, over the green fields, to their -unknown, deep-buried earth-homes. But the light elves still lingered, -with upturned, tearful, smiling faces, like sunshiny morning dew. - -"And you," said Odin, looking them through and through with his -serious eyes, "and you----" - -"Oh! indeed, Odin," interrupted they, speaking all together in quick, -uncertain tones; "Oh! indeed, Odin, we are not so very wicked. We -have never done anybody any harm." - -"Have you ever done anybody any good?" asked Odin. - -"Oh! no, indeed," answered the light elves, "we have never done -anything at all." - -"You may go, then," said Odin, "to live amongst the flowers, and play -with the wild bees and summer insects. You must, however, find -something to do, or you will get to be mischievous like the dwarfs." - -"If only we had any one to teach us," said the light elves, "for we -are such foolish little people." - -Odin looked round inquiringly upon the AEsir; but amongst them there -was no teacher found for the silly little elves. Then he turned to -Nioerd, who nodded his head good-naturedly, and said, "Yes, yes, I -will see about it;" and then he strode out of the Judgment Hall, -right away through the city gates, and sat down upon the mountain's -edge. - -After awhile he began to whistle in a most alarming manner, louder -and louder, in strong wild gusts, now advancing, now retreating; then -he dropped his voice a little, lower and lower, until it became a -bird-like whistle--low, soft, enticing music, like a spirit's call; -and far away from the south a little fluttering answer came, sweet -as the invitation itself, nearer and nearer until the two sounds -dropped into one another. Then through the clear sky two forms came -floating, wonderfully fair--a brother and sister--their beautiful -arms twined round one another, their golden hair bathed in sunlight, -and supported by the wind. - -"My son and daughter," said Nioerd, proudly, to the surrounding AEsir, -"Frey and Freyja, Summer and Beauty, hand in hand." - -When Frey and Freyja dropped upon the hill Nioerd took his son by the -hand, led him gracefully to the foot of the throne, and said, "Look -here, dear brother Lord, what a fair young instructor I have brought -for your pretty little elves." - -Odin was very much pleased with the appearance of Frey; but, before -constituting him king and schoolmaster of the light elves, he desired -to know what his accomplishments were, and what he considered himself -competent to teach. - -"I am the genius of clouds and sunshine," answered Frey; and as he -spoke, the essences of a hundred perfumes were exhaled from his -breath. "I am the genius of clouds and sunshine, and if the light -elves will have me for their king I can teach them how to burst the -folded buds, to set the blossoms, to pour sweetness into the swelling -fruit, to lead the bees through the honey-passages of the flowers, to -make the single ear a stalk of wheat, to hatch birds' eggs, and teach -the little ones to sing--all this, and much more," said Frey, "I -know, and will teach them." - -Then answered Odin, "It is well;" and Frey took his scholars away -with him to Alfheim, which is in every beautiful place under the -sun. - - -PART III. NIFLHEIM. - -Now, in the city of Asgard dwelt one called Loki, who, though amongst -the AEsir, was not of the AEsir, but utterly unlike to them; for to do -the wrong, and leave the right undone, was, night and day, this -wicked Loki's one unwearied aim. How he came amongst the AEsir no one -knew, nor even whence he came. Once, when Odin questioned him on the -subject, Loki stoutly declared that there had been a time when he was -innocent and noble-purposed like the AEsir themselves; but that, after -many wanderings up and down the earth, it had been his misfortune, -Loki said, to discover the half-burnt heart of a woman; "since when," -continued he, "I became what you now see me, Odin." As this was too -fearful a story for any one to wish to hear twice over Odin never -questioned him again. - -Whilst the AEsir were building their city, Loki, instead of helping -them, had been continually running over to Joetunheim to make friends -amongst the giants and wicked witches of the place. Now, amongst the -witches there was one so fearful to behold in her sin and her -cruelty, that one would have thought it impossible even for such an -one as Loki to find any pleasure in her companionship: nevertheless, -so it was that he married her, and they lived together a long time, -making each other worse and worse out of the abundance of their own -wicked hearts, and bringing up their three children to be the plague, -dread, and misery of mankind. These three children were just what -they might have been expected to be from their parentage and -education. The eldest was Joermungand, a monstrous serpent; the second -Fenrir, most ferocious of wolves; the third was Hela, half corpse, -half queen. When Loki and his witch-wife looked at their fearful -progeny they thought within themselves, "What would the AEsir say if -they could see?" "But they cannot see," said Loki; "and, lest they -should suspect Witch-wife, I will go back to Asgard for a little -while, and salute old Father Odin bravely, as if I had no secret -here." So saying, Loki wished his wife good-morning, bade her hide -the children securely in-doors, and set forth on the road to Asgard. - -But all the time he was travelling Loki's children went on growing, -and long before he had reached the lofty city Joermungand had become -so large, that his mother was obliged to open the door to let his -tail out. At first it hung only a little way across the road; but he -grew, Oh, how fearfully Joermungand grew! Whether it was from sudden -exposure to the air, I do not know; but, in a single day he grew from -one end of Joetunheim to the other, and early next morning began to -shoot out in the direction of Asgard. Luckily, however, just at that -moment Odin caught sight of him, when, from the top of Air Throne, -the eyes of this vigilant ruler were taking their morning walk. -"Now," said Odin, "it is quite clear, Frigga, that I must remain in -idleness no longer at Asgard, for monsters are bred up in Joetunheim, -and the earth has need of me." So saying, descending instantly from -Air Throne, Odin went forth of Asgard's golden gates to tread the -earth of common men, fighting to pierce through Joetunheim, and slay -its monstrous sins. - -In his journeyings Odin mixed freely with the people of the countries -through which he passed; shared with them toil and pleasure, war and -grief; taught them out of his own large experience, inspired them -with his noble thoughts, and exalted them by his example. Even to the -oldest he could teach much; and in the evening, when the labours of -the day were ended, and the sun cast slanting rays upon the village -green, it was pleasant to see the sturdy village youths grouped round -that noble chief, hanging open mouthed upon his words, as he told -them of his great fight with the giant of long ago, and then pointing -towards Joetunheim, explained to them how that fight was not yet over, -for that giants and monsters grew round them on every side, and they, -too, might do battle bravely, and be heroes and AEsir of the earth. - -One evening, after thus drinking in his burning words they all -trooped together to the village smithy, and Odin forged for them all -night arms and armour, instructing them, at the same time, in their -use. In the morning he said, "Farewell, children; I have further to -go than you can come; but do not forget me when I am gone, nor how to -fight as I have taught you. Never cease to be true and brave; never -turn your arms against one another; and never turn them away from the -giant and the oppressor." - -Then the villagers returned to their homes and their field-labour, -and Odin pressed on, through trackless uninhabited woods, up silent -mountains, over the lonely ocean, until he reached that strange, -mysterious meeting-place of sea and sky. There, brooding over the -waters like a grey sea fog, sat Mimer, guardian of the well where wit -and wisdom lie hidden. - -"Mimer," said Odin, going up to him boldly, "let me drink of the -waters of wisdom." - -"Truly, Odin," answered Mimer, "it is a great treasure that you seek, -and one which many have sought before, but who, when they knew the -price of it, turned back." - -Then replied Odin, "I would give my right hand for wisdom willingly." - -"Nay," rejoined the remorseless Mimer, "it is not your right hand, -but your right eye you must give." - -Odin was very sorry when he heard the words of Mimer, and yet he did -not deem the price too great; for plucking out his right eye, and -casting it from him, he received in return a draught of the -fathomless deep. As Odin gave back the horn into Mimer's hand he felt -as if there were a fountain of wisdom springing up within him--an -inward light; for which you may be sure he never grudged having given -his perishable eye. Now, also, he knew what it was necessary for him -to do in order to become a really noble Asa,[1] and that was to push -on to the extreme edge of the earth itself, and peep over into -Niflheim. Odin knew it was precisely that he must do; and precisely -that he did. Onward and northward he went over ice-bound seas, -through twilight, fog, and snow, right onward in the face of winds -that were like swords until he came into the unknown land, where -sobs, and sighs, and sad, unfinished shapes were drifting up and -down. "Then," said Odin, thoughtfully, "I have come to the end of all -creation, and a little further on Niflheim must lie." - - [1] Asa--the singular of AEsir. - -Accordingly he pushed on further and further until he reached the -earth's extremest edge, where, lying down and leaning over from its -last cold peak, he looked into the gulf below. It was Niflheim. At -first Odin imagined that it was only empty darkness; but, after -hanging there three nights and days, his eye fell on one of -Yggdrasil's mighty stems. Yggdrasil was the old earth-tree, whose -roots sprang far and wide, from Joetunheim, from above, and this, the -oldest of the three, out of Niflheim. Odin looked long upon its -time-worn, knotted fibres, and watched how they were for ever gnawed -by Nidhoegg the envious serpent, and his brood of poisonous diseases. -Then he wondered what he should see next; and one by one spectres -arose from Nastroend, the Shore of Corpses--arose and wandered pale, -naked, nameless, and without a home. Then Odin looked down deeper -into the abyss of abysses, and saw all its shapeless, nameless ills; -whilst far below him, deeper than Nastroend, Yggdrasil, and Nidhoegg, -roared Hvergelmir, the boiling cauldron of evil. Nine nights and days -this brave wise Asa hung over Niflheim pondering. More brave and more -wise he turned away from it than when he came. It is true that he -sighed often on his road thence to Joetunheim; but is it not always -thus that wisdom and strength come to us weeping. - - -PART IV. THE CHILDREN OF LOKI. - -When, at length, Odin found himself in the land of giants--frost -giants, mountain giants, three-headed and wolf-headed giants, -monsters and iron witches of every kind--he walked straight on, -without stopping to fight with any one of them, until he came to the -middle of Joermungand's body. Then he seized the monster, growing -fearfully as he was all the time, and threw him headlong into the -deep ocean. There Joermungand still grew, until, encircling the whole -earth, he found that his tail was growing down his throat, after -which he lay quite still, binding himself together; and neither Odin -nor any one else has been able to move him thence. When Odin had -thus disposed of Joermungand, henceforth called the Midgard Serpent, -he went on to the house of Loki's wife. The door was thrown open, and -the wicked Witch-mother sat in the entrance, whilst on one side -crouched Fenrir, her ferocious wolf-son, and on the other stood Hela, -most terrible of monsters and women. A crowd of giants strode after -Odin, curious to obtain a glance of Loki's strange children before -they should be sent away. At Fenrir and the Witch-mother they stared -with great eyes, joyfully and savagely glittering; but when he looked -at Hela each giant became as pale as new snow, and cold with terror -as a mountain of ice. Pale, cold, frozen, they never moved again; but -a rugged chain of rocks stood behind Odin, and he looked on fearless -and unchilled. - -"Strange daughter of Loki," he said, speaking to Hela, "you have the -head of a queen, proud forehead, and large, imperial eyes; but your -heart is pulseless, and your cruel arms kill what they embrace. -Without doubt you have somewhere a kingdom; not where the sun shines, -and men breathe the free air, but down below in infinite depths, -where bodiless spirits wander, and the cast-off corpses are cold." - -Then Odin pointed downwards towards Niflheim, and Hela sank right -through the earth, downward, downward, to that abyss of abysses, -where she ruled over spectres, and made for herself a home called -Helheim, nine lengthy kingdoms wide and deep. - -After this, Odin desired Fenrir to follow him, promising that if he -became tractable and obedient, and exchanged his ferocity for -courage, he should not be banished as his brother and sister had -been. So Fenrir followed, and Odin led the way out of Joetunheim, -across the ocean, over the earth, until he came to the heavenly -hills, which held up the southern sky tenderly in their glittering -arms. There, half on the mountain-top and half in air, sat Heimdall, -guardian of the tremulous bridge Bifroest, that arches from earth to -heaven. - -Heimdall was a tall, white Van, with golden teeth, and a wonderful -horn, called the Giallar Horn, which he generally kept hidden under -the tree Yggdrasil; but when he blew it the sound went out into all -worlds. - -Now, Odin had never been introduced to Heimdall--had never even seen -him before; but he did not pass him by without speaking on that -account. On the contrary, being altogether much struck by his -appearance, he could not refrain from asking him a few questions. -First, he requested to know whom he had the pleasure of addressing; -secondly, who his parents were, and what his education had been; and -thirdly, how he explained his present circumstances and occupation. - -"My name is Heimdall," answered the guardian of Bifroest, "and the son -of nine sisters am I. Born in the beginning of time, at the -boundaries of the earth, I was fed on the strength of the earth and -the cold sea. My training, moreover, was so perfect, that I now need -no more sleep than a bird. I can see for a hundred miles around me as -well by night as by day; I can hear the grass growing and the wool on -the backs of sheep. I can blow mightily my horn Giallar, and I for -ever guard the tremulous bridge-head against monsters, giants, iron -witches, and dwarfs." - -Then asked Odin, gravely, "Is it also forbidden to the AEsir to pass -this way, Heimdall? Must you guard Bifroest, also, against them?" - -"Assuredly not," answered Heimdall. "All AEsir and heroes are free to -tread its trembling, many-coloured pavement, and they will do well to -tread it, for above the arch's summit I know that the Urda fountain -springs; rises, and falls, in a perpetual glitter, and by its sacred -waters the Nornir dwell--those three mysterious, mighty maidens, -through whose cold fingers run the golden threads of Time." - -"Enough, Heimdall," answered Odin. "Tomorrow we will come." - - -PART V. BIFROeST, URDA, AND THE NORNS. - -Odin departed from Heimdall, and went on his way, Fenrir obediently -following, though not now much noticed by his captor, who pondered -over the new wonders of which he had heard. "Bifroest, Urda, and the -Norns--what can they mean?" - -Thus pondering and wondering he went, ascended Asgard's Hill, walked -through the golden gates of the City into the palace of Gladsheim, -and into the hall Valhalla, where, just then, the AEsir and Asyniur[2] -were assembled at their evening meal. Odin sat down to the table -without speaking, and, still absent and meditative, proceeded to -carve the great boar, Saehrimnir, which every evening eaten, was -every morning whole again. No one thought of disturbing him by asking -any questions, for they saw that something was on his mind, and the -AEsir were well-bred. It is probable, therefore, that the supper would -have been concluded in perfect silence if Fenrir had not poked his -nose in at the doorway, just opposite to the seat of the lovely -Freyja. She, genius of beauty as she was, and who had never in her -whole life seen even the shadow of a wolf, covered her face with her -hands, and screamed a little, which caused all the AEsir to start and -turn round, in order to see what was the matter. But Odin directed a -reproving glance at the ill-mannered Fenrir, and then gave orders -that the wolf should be fed; "after which," concluded he, "I will -relate my adventures to the assembled AEsir." - - [2] Asyniur--Goddesses. - -"That is all very well, Asa Odin," answered Frey; "but who, let me -ask, is to undertake the office of feeding yon hideous and unmannerly -animal?" - -"That will I, joyfully," cried Tyr, who liked nothing better than an -adventure; and then, seizing a plate of meat from the table, he ran -out of the hall, followed by Fenrir, who howled, and sniffed, and -jumped up at him in a most impatient, un-AEsir-like manner. - -After the wolf was gone Freyja looked up again, and when Tyr was -seated once more, Odin began. He told them of everything that he had -seen, and done, and suffered; and, at last, of Heimdall, that strange -white Van, who sat upon the heavenly hills, and spoke of Bifroest, and -Urda, and the Norns. The AEsir were very silent whilst Odin spoke to -them, and were deeply and strangely moved by this conclusion to his -discourse. - -"The Norns," repeated Frigga, "the Fountain of Urd, the golden -threads of time! Let us go, my children," she said, rising from the -table, "let us go and look at these things." - -But Odin advised that they should wait until the next day, as the -journey to Bifroest and back again could easily be accomplished in a -single morning. - -Accordingly, the next day the AEsir and Asyniur all rose with the -sun, and prepared to set forth. Nioerd came from Noatun, the mild -sea-coast, which he had made his home, and with continual gentle -puffings out of his wide, breezy mouth, he made their journey to -Bifroest so easy and pleasant, that they all felt a little sorry when -they caught the first glitter of Heimdall's golden teeth. But -Heimdall was glad to see them; glad, at least, for their sakes. He -thought it would be so good for them to go and see the Norns. As far -as he himself was concerned he never felt dull alone. On the top of -those bright hills how many meditations he had! Looking far and wide -over the earth how much he saw and heard! - -"Come already!" said Heimdall to the AEsir, stretching out his long, -white hands to welcome them; "come already! Ah! this is Nioerd's -doing. How do you do, cousin," said he; for Nioerd and Heimdall were -related. - -"How sweet and fresh it is up here!" remarked Frigga, looking all -round, and feeling that it would be polite to say something. "You are -very happy, Sir," continued she, "in having always such fine scenery -about you, and in being the guardian of such a bridge." - -And in truth Frigga might well say "such a bridge;" for the like of -it was never seen on the ground. Trembling and glittering it swung -across the sky, up from the top of the mountain to the clouds, and -down again into the distant sea. - -"Bifroest! Bifroest!" exclaimed the AEsir, wonderingly; and Heimdall was -pleased at their surprise. - -"At the arch's highest point," said he, pointing upward, "rises that -fountain of which I spoke. Do you wish to see it to-day?" - -"That do we, indeed," cried all the AEsir in a breath. "Quick, -Heimdall, and unlock the bridge's golden gate." - -Then Heimdall took all his keys out, and fitted them into the diamond -lock till he found the right one, and the gate flew open with a sound -at the same time sad and cheerful, like the dripping of leaves after -a thunder-shower. - -The AEsir pressed in; but, as they passed him, Heimdall laid his hand -upon Thor's shoulder, and said "I am very sorry, Thor; but it cannot -be helped. You must go to the fountain alone by another way; for you -are so strong and heavy, that if you were to put your foot on -Bifroest, either it would tremble in pieces beneath your weight, or -take fire from the friction of your iron heels. Yonder, however, are -two river-clouds, called Koermt and Ermt, through which you can wade -to the Sacred Urd, and you will assuredly reach it in time, though -the waters of the clouds are strong and deep." - -At the words of Heimdall Thor fell back from the bridge's head, vexed -and sorrowful. "Am I to be sent away, then, and have to do -disagreeable things," said he, "just because I am so strong? After -all, what are Urda and the Norns to me, and Koermt and Ermt? I will go -back to Asgard again." - -"Nay, Thor," said Odin, "I pray you, do not anything so foolish. -Think again, I beseech you, what it is that we are going to see and -hear. Koermt and Ermt lie before you, as Bifroest before us. It is -yonder, above both, that we go. Neither can it much matter, Thor, -whether we reach the Fountain of Urd over Bifroest or through the -cloud." - -Then Thor blushed with shame at his own weakness, which had made him -regret his strength; and, without any more grumbling or hanging back, -he plunged into the dreadful river-clouds, whose dark vapours closed -around him and covered him. He was hidden from sight, and the AEsir -went on their way over the glittering bridge. - -Daintily and airily they trod over it; they swung themselves up the -swinging arch; they reached its summit on a pale, bright cloud. Thor -was there already waiting for them, drenched and weary, but cheerful -and bold. Then, all together, they knocked at the door of the pale, -bright cloud; it blew open, and they passed in. Oh! then what did -they see! Looking up to an infinite height through the purple air, -they saw towering above them Yggdrasil's fairest branches, leafy and -of a tender green, which also stretched far and wide; but, though -they looked long, the AEsir could distinguish no topmost bough, and it -almost seemed to them that, from somewhere up above, this mighty -earth-tree must draw another root, so firmly and so tall it grew. On -one side stood the Palace of the Norns, which was so bright that it -almost blinded them to look at it, and on the other the Urda fountain -plashed its cool waters--rising, falling, glittering, as nothing ever -glitters on this side the clouds. Two ancient swans swam under the -fount, and around it sat Three. Ah! how shall I describe them--Urd, -Verdandi, Skuld. They were mighty, they were wilful, and one was -veiled. Sitting upon the Doomstead, they watched the water as it rose -and fell, and passed golden threads from one to another. Verdandi -plucked them with busy fingers from Skuld's reluctant hand, and wove -them in and out quickly, almost carelessly; for some she tore and -blemished, and some she cruelly spoiled. Then Urd took the woof away -from her, smoothed its rough places, and covered up some of the torn, -gaping holes; but she hid away many of the bright parts, too, and -then rolled it all round her great roller, Oblivion, which grew -thicker and heavier every moment. And so they went on, Verdandi -drawing from Skuld, and Urd from Verdandi; but whence Skuld drew her -separate bright threads no one could see. She never seemed to reach -the end of them, and neither of the sisters ever stopped or grew -weary of her work. - -The AEsir stood apart watching, and it was a great sight. They looked -in the face of Urd, and fed on wisdom; they studied the countenance -of Verdandi, and drank bitter strength; they glanced through the veil -of Skuld, and tasted hope. At length, with full hearts, they stole -away silently, one by one, out by the pale, open door, re-crossed the -bridge, and stood once more by the side of Heimdall on the heavenly -hills; then they went home again. Nobody spoke as they went; but ever -afterwards it was an understood thing that the AEsir should fare to -the Doomstead of the Nornir once in every day. - - -PART VI. ODHAERIR. - -Now upon a day it happened that Odin sat silent by the Well of Urd, -and in the evening he mounted Air Throne with a troubled mind. -Allfather could see into Dwarf Home from his high place, as well as -over man's world; his keen eye pierced, also, the mountains and -darkness of Joetunheim. - -On this evening, a tear, the fate-sisters' gift, swam across his -vision, and--behold, is that an answering tear which he sees down -there in Dwarf Home, large, luminous, golden, in the dark heart of -the earth? "Can dwarfs weep?" exclaimed Allfather, surprised as he -looked a second and a third time, and went on looking. Fialar and -Galar, the cunning dwarfs who had killed Kvasir, were kneeling -beside the tear. "Is it theirs?" said Allfather again, "and do they -repent?" No; it was not a tear; Odin knew it at last. More precious -still, it was Kvasir's blood--golden mead now, because of the -honey-drops from Earth's thousand bees and flowers which these -thoughtless mischief-schemers, but wonder workers, had poured into -it. "It is three," said Odin, "three precious draughts!--Odhaerir is -its name--and now the dwarfs will drink it, and the life and the -light, and the sweetness of the world will be spilt, and the heart of -the world will die!" But the dwarfs did not drink it; they could only -sip it a little, just a drop or two at a time. The Father of Hosts -watched how they were amusing themselves. - -Fialar and Galar, and a whole army of the little blackfaced, -crooked-limbed creatures, were tilting the big jars over to one side, -whilst first one, and then another, sucked the skim of their golden -sweetness, smacking their lips after it, grinning horribly, leaping -up into the air with strange gestures; falling backwards with shut -eyes some of them, as if asleep; tearing at the earth and the stones -of their cavern homes others, like wild beasts; rolling forth -beautiful, senseless, terrible words. - -It was Fialar and Galar who did that; and behold, in a little while, -one after another, the dwarfs gathered round them as they spoke, and -listened, open-mouthed, with clenched fists, stamping, and roaring -applause until at last they seized the weapons that lay near, cocked -their earth caps, each alit with a coloured star, and marched in -warlike fashion, led on by Fialar and Galar, straight up through -their cavernous ways, to Manheim, and across it into the Frozen Land. - -Giant Vafthrudnir, that "Ancient Talker," he who sits ever in his -Hall weaving new and intricate questions for the gods, saw them; and -looking up towards the brooding heavens, he exchanged glances with -the Father of Hosts. But the dwarfs did not come near Vafthruednir's -Halls; they never looked aside at him, nor up to the Air Throne of -the Asa; only rushed heedlessly on till they stumbled over the Giant -Gilling, who was taking a nap upon the green bank of Ifing. Ifing -looks a lazy stream; one can hardly see at first sight that it flows -at all; but it flows, and flows quietly, unceasingly, and is so deep -that neither god nor giant has ever yet been able to fathom it. It -is, in fact, that stream which divides for ever the Joetuns from the -Gods, and of it Odin himself once said:-- - - "Open shall it run - Throughout all time, - On that stream no ice shall be." - -So the dwarfs found Gilling asleep; they knew how deep Ifing was, -they knew that if they could once roll the giant Gilling in there he -would never get out again, and then they should have done something -worth speaking about. - -"I have killed a giant," each dwarf might say, and, who knows, even -the AEsir might begin to feel a little afraid of them. - -"It all comes from drinking Kvasir's blood," they said, and then with -their thousand little swords and spears, and sticks and stones, they -worked away until they had plunged the sleeping giant into the -stream. Allfather's piercing eye saw it all, and how the silly dwarfs -jumped and danced about afterwards, and praised themselves, and -defied the whole world, gods, giants and men. - -"It is not for us," they said, "any more to run away before Skinfaxi -the shining horse that draws day over humankind, whose mane sheds -light instead of dew; we will dance before him and crown ourselves -with gold, as the gods and as men do every morning." - -But, in the midst of all their gleeful folly, the ground they stood -upon began to shake under them, and an enormous darkness grew between -them and the sky. Then the dwarfs stopped their rejoicing as if a -spell had fallen upon them, dropping their weapons, huddling close to -one another, cowering, whispering. Giant Suttung, son of that Gilling -whom they had just slain, was coming upon them in great fury to -avenge his father's death. They were dreadfully frightened; Giant -Gilling asleep had been easy to manage, but a giant awake, a giant -angry--they were not the same dwarfs that they had seemed half an -hour ago--and so it happened that they quite easily let Suttung carry -them all off to a low rock in the sea which was dry just then, but -would be washed over by the morning tide. "There you are," said -Suttung as he threw them all down upon the rock, "and there you shall -stay until the hungry grey wave comes." "But then we shall be -drowned," they all screeched at once, and the seamews started from -their nests ashore and swooped round the lonely rock, and screeched -as well. Suttung strode back to the shore and sat on the high rocks -over the seamews' nests, and poked his fingers into the nests and -played with the grey-winged birds, and paddled his feet in the -breakers, and laughed and echoed the dwarfs and the seamews. -"Drowned, drowned, yes, then you will be drowned." Then the dwarfs -whispered together and consulted, they all talked at once, and every -one of them said a different thing, for they were in fact a little -intoxicated still by the sips they had taken of Odhaerir. At last -Fialar and Galar said the same same thing over so often that the -others began to listen to them. "The sky is getting quite grey," they -said, "and the stars are going out, and Skinfaxi is coming, and the -waves are gathering and gathering and gathering; hoarse are the -voices of the Seaking's daughters; but why do we all sit chattering -here instead of getting away as we might easily do if we did but -bribe the giant Suttung with a gift." "Yes, yes, yes," shouted the -silly little people, "shall we give him our cap jewels, or our -swords, or our pick-axes, or our lanterns, or shall we promise to -make him a necklace out of the fire of the sun and the flowers of the -earth, or shall we build him a ship of ships?" - -[Illustration: GIANT SUTTUNG AND THE DWARFS.] - -"Nonsense," said Fialar and Galar; "How should a giant care for such -things as these? Our swords could not help him; he does not want -pick-axes nor lanterns who lives amongst the mountain snows, nor -ships who can stride across the sea, nor necklaces--Bah! A giant -loves life, he drinks blood, he is greedy besides and longs to taste -the gold mead of the gods." - -Then all the dwarfs shouted together, "Let us give him our gold mead, -our wondrous drink, Odhaerir, our Kvasir's blood in the three stone -jars." - -Odin heard from Air Throne's blue deep. He brooded over the scene. -"The sweetness, and the life, and the light of the world, then," he -said, "are to satiate a giant's greediness of food and blood"--and -it was for mankind that he became Terror in the trembling Height. -Allfather feared nothing for the gods at that time: could he not -pierce into Joetunheim, and Svartheim, and Manheim alike? Suttung -heard also from the Rock.--"And what may this Odhaerir be worth that -you boast of so much?" he shouted to the dwarfs. "Wisdom, and labour, -and fire, and life, and love," said the dwarfs. "Tut, tut, tut!" -answered Suttung. "Does it taste well?" "Honey and wine; like the -blood of a God and the milk of the Earth." Then Suttung got up slowly -from the rock, pressing it down with his hands into two little dells -as he rose, and strode to the island, from which he took up all the -dwarfs at a grasp--they clinging to his fists and wrists like needles -to a magnet; and, with one swoop, threw them ashore just as the -hungry waves began to lap and wash about the dwarf's-peril. So the -dwarfs jumped, and leaped, and laughed, and sang, and chattered -again, and ran on before Suttung, to fetch him the golden mead, -Odhaerir. Three big stone jars, all full. The Spirit-mover, the -Peace-offer, the Peace-kiss. Suttung lifted the lids, and looked into -the jars. "It doesn't look much," he said; "and, after all, I don't -know that I shall care to taste it; but I'll take the jars home to my -daughter Gunnloed, and they will make a pretty treasure for her to -keep." - -Odin brooded over the scene. It was a grey winter's morning in -Joetunheim--ice over all the rivers, snow upon the mountains, -rime-writing across the woods, weird hoar letters straggling over the -bare branches of the trees, writing such as giants and gods can read, -but men see it only as pearl-drops of the cold. Suttung could read it -well enough as he trudged along to his Mountain Home--better than he -had ever read it before; for was he not bearing upon his shoulders -the wondrous Kvasir's life-giving blood, Odhaerir. Odin read it, "This -is ominous, Odin; this is dark. Shall the gold mead be made captive -in frozen halls?" For behold, the life-tear becomes dark in the dark -land, as Suttung's huge door opened to let him in, him and his -treasure, and then closed upon them both, Suttung gave the mead to -his daughter Gunnloed to keep, to guard it well, and--the heart of -Manheim trembled, it was empty and cold. Then Odin looked north and -south and east and west, over the whole world. "Come to me," he said, -and two swift-winged ravens flew towards him. It seemed as if they -came out of nothing; for in a moment they were not there and they -were there. Their names were Hugin and Munin, and they came from the -ends of the earth, where Odin sent them every morning. Every evening -he was wont to say of them,-- - - "I fear me for Hugin, - Lest he come not back, - But much more for Munin." - -Yet they never failed to come back, both of them, at the dim hour in -which they recounted to the Father of Hosts the history of the day -that was past, and the hope of the day that was to come. On this -evening, Munin's song was so terrible that only the strength of a god -could possibly have endured to its end. Hugin struck another note, -profounder and sweet. Then said Odin, when cadence after cadence had -filled his ears, and he had descended from Air Throne, "Night is the -time for new counsels; let each one reflect until the morrow who is -able to give advice helpful to the AEsir." - -But when the jewelled horse ran up along the sky, from whence his -mane shed light over the whole world, when giants and giantesses, and -ghosts and dwarfs crouched beneath Yggdrasil's outer Root, when -Heimdall ran up Bifrost and blew mightily his horn in Heaven's -height, there was only one found who gave counsel to Odin, and that -was Odin himself. "Odhaerir," he said, "which is a god-gift, must come -up to men's earthly dwellings. Go forth, Hugin, go forth, Munin," -said the Asa, and he also went forth alone, none knowing where he -went, nor how. - -So Odin journeyed for a long, long while towards Suttung's Hall, -across the windy, wintry ways of Joetunheim, seeing well before him -the yellow mead as he went, through rocks, and woods, and rivers, and -through night itself, until at last it happened that Odin came into a -meadow upon a summer morning in Giant Land. Nine slaves were mowing -in the meadow, whetting some old rusty scythes which they had, -working heavily, for they were senseless fellows, and the summer day -grew faster upon them than their labour grew to completion. "You seem -heavy-hearted," said Odin to the thralls; and they began to explain -to him how rusty and old their scythes were, and that they had no -whetstone to sharpen them with. Upon this Odin offered to whet their -scythes for them with his whetstone: and no sooner had he done so -than the scythes became so sharp that they could have cut stones as -easily as grass. Instead of mowing, however, the thralls began to -clamour round Odin, beseeching him to give his whetstone to them. -"Give it to me! give it to me: give it to me!" cried one and another; -and all the time Odin stood quietly amongst them, throwing his -whetstone up in the air, and catching it as it fell. Then the thralls -tried if they could catch it, leaning stupidly across one another, -with their scythes in their hands. Was Allfather surprised at what -happened next? He could hardly have been that; but he was sorry when, -looking down as the whetstone fell, he saw all the thralls lying dead -at his feet, killed by each other's sharpened weapons. "This is an -Evil Land," said Odin, as he looked down on the dead thralls, "and I -am a bringer of evil into it." - -So he journeyed on till he came to the house of Suttung's brother, -Baugi. Odin asked Baugi to give him a night's lodging, and Baugi, -who knew no more than the thralls had done who this traveller was, -consented, and began to talk to Odin of the trouble he was in. "This -is hay harvest," he said, "as you must have seen, walking here -through the meadows; and I have a mighty field to gather in, but how -to do it puzzles me, because my nine slaves whom I sent out sound and -well this morning, all fell dead about the middle of the day. How -they managed it, I can't imagine, and it puts me out sadly, for -summer days don't last long in Joetunheim." "Well," said Odin, "I'm -not a bad hand at mowing, and I don't mind undertaking to do the work -of nine thralls for you, Baugi, for a certain reward you may give me, -if you will." "What is that?" inquired Baugi, eagerly. "A draught of -that golden mead, Odhaerir, which Suttung obtained from the dwarfs, -and which his daughter Gunnloed keeps for him." "Oh! that," said -Baugi, "isn't so good as my homebrewed for a thirsty mower; but you -shall have it. It is a bargain between us." So Odin worked for Baugi -the whole summer through with the labour of nine instead of with the -labour of one; and when the last field was reaped, and wintry mists -were gathering, the god and the giant began to talk over their -bargain again. "We will come together to Suttung's house," said -Baugi, "and my brother shall give you the draught which you desire so -much." But when the two came to Suttung's house, and asked him for -the mead, Suttung was exceedingly angry, and would not hear a word -about it from either of them. "You don't drink it yourself, brother," -pleaded Baugi, "although you might do so every day if you liked, -without asking anybody's leave, or doing one stroke of work for it, -whilst this man has toiled night and day for nine months that he -might taste it only once." "Odhaerir is for us giants, nevertheless," -answered Suttung, "and well does my daughter Gunnloed guard it from -dwarfs and from men, from spectres, from Asyniur, and from AEsir. Have -I not sworn that so it shall be guarded by all the snows of -Joetunheim, and by the stormy waves, and by the yawning chasm of the -abyss." Then Baugi knew that nothing more was to be said, and he -advised Odin to go back with him at once, and drink beer. But Odin -was not to be turned from his purpose so easily. "You promised me a -draught of the gold mead, Baugi," he said, "and I can see it through -the rock in its three treasure jars; sit down by me and look through -the rock till you can see it too." So Odin and Baugi sat down -together, and pierced the rock with their glances all that day until -they had made a small hole in it; and at night, when Suttung was -asleep, and when Gunnloed was asleep, and whilst the gold mead shone -steadily in the heart of the cave, Odin looked up towards Asgard, and -said,-- - - "Little get I here by silence: - Of a well-assumed form I will make good use; - For few things fail the wise." - -And then this strong wise Asa picked up from the ground the little, -mean, wriggling form of a worm and put it on and crept noiselessly -into the hole which he and Baugi had made,-- - - "The giant's ways are under me, - The giant's ways are over me," - -said Odin as he wriggled through the stone, but when he had got quite -through to the inner side, to Gunnloed's room, Odin took his proper -form again. - -"I see her upon her golden seat," he said as he looked upon the -sleeping Gunnloed where she lay, and Odin was surprised to see a -giant-maid so beautiful. Surprised and sorry. "For I must leave her -weeping," he mused. "How shall she not weep, defrauded of her -treasure in an Evil Land." And Odin loved and pitied the beautiful -maiden so much, that he would have returned to Asgard without the -mead had that been possible. Alas for Gunnloed, it was less possible -than ever since Allfather had seen her. For Gunnloed awoke in the -light of Odin's glance and trembled, she did not know why, she did -not know at first that he was an Asa, but, when he asked her for her -treasure she could not keep it from him, she could not have kept -anything from him. She rose from her golden couch, her blue eyes -melted into the tenderness of a summer sky, she undid the bars and -bolts and coverings of Odhaerir, which she had guarded so faithfully -till then, and knelt before Odin and stretched her hands towards him -and said, "Drink, for I think you are a god." - -A draught, a draught, a long, deep draught, and the spirit of the Asa -was shaken through its height and through its depth, and again a -draught of love flowing forth to the outermost, to the abysses, and -one draught again--peace--in rushing, still. - -Why are you weeping so, Gunnloed? Oh! Why do you weep? Did you not -give him your whole treasure, "your fervent love, your whole soul;" -you kept nothing back, and Odhaerir is for ever the inheritance of the -gods. The dwarfs sold it for their lives, the giantess lost it of her -love, gods win it for the world. - -"It is for the AEsir, it is for men," said Odin. "It is Odin's booty, -it is Odin's gift;" and immediately, in haste to share it, the Asa -spread eagle's wings, and flew far up, away from the barren rock, and -the black, cold halls of Suttung, towards his heavenly home. Alas for -Gunnloed! she has lost her treasure and her Asa too. How cold the -cavern is now in which she sits! her light is gone out; she is left -alone; she is left weeping upon her golden throne. But Odin soared -upwards--flew on toward Asgard, and the AEsir came crowding upon the -city's jewelled walls to watch his approach. And soon they perceived -that two eagles were flying towards the city, the second pursuing the -first. The pursuing eagle was Suttung, who, as soon as he found that -his mead was gone, and that Odin eagle-wise had escaped his -vengeance, spread also _his_ eagle's wings, very strong and very -swift, in pursuit. Suttung appeared to gain upon Odin. Frigga feared -for her beloved. The Asyniur and the AEsir watched breathlessly. Frost -giants and Storm giants came crowding up from the deeps to see. "Does -Odin return amongst the gods?" they asked, "or will Suttung destroy -him?" It was not possible, however, that the struggle should end in -any way but one. The Divine bird dropped from the height upon his -Hall--the High One's Hall--and then there burst from him such a flood -of song that the widest limits of AEsir Land were overflowed--some -sounds even spilt themselves upon the common earth. "It is Poetry -herself, it is Odin's booty, it is Odin's gift. It is for the AEsir, -it is for the AEsir," said a thousand and a thousand songs. "And for -men," answered Allfather, with his million ringing, changing voices; -"it is for men." "Such as have sufficient wit to make a right use of -it," said Loki. And this was the first discordant note that troubled -Asgard after Odin's return. - - * * * * * - -In this tale, or rather in this arrangement of tales, most of the -chief gods are named, and one or two of the myths concerning them are -hinted at. The sweet mixture made out of Kvasir's blood, and given to -the giant Suttung to keep, was called, as we have seen, Odhaerir. It -was kept in three jars, and though the name of it as a whole was -Odhaerir, the portion in the second jar was also called "Sohn," and -that in the third jar "Bohn." Odhaerir is mentioned in two of the -_Elder Edda_ Songs, and in the _Younger Edda_ an account is given of -Odin bringing it up to Asgard. Neither of the _Eddas_, it must be -remarked, mentions the banishment of the dwarfs and elves in -connection with Kvasir's death. The golden mead, Odhaerir, is supposed -to signify poetry. The first syllable of the name means mind and -feeling. Odhaerir, spirit mover. "Sohn" means reconciliation, or the -_offer_ of peace. "Bohn" means the _acceptance_ of peace,--these two -latter names referring to the origin of Kvasir, who was created out -of the peace made between the AEsir and the Vanir. - -Simrock thinks that "Kvasir," meaning fermentation, implies the -excitement necessary to poetry; that Odin, labouring for a draught of -the precious mead, suggests that poetry can only be possessed through -labour, and that his receiving it from the beautiful Gunnloed, -expresses it as the gift and crown of love. Odin drinking it three -times signifies the _intensity_ through which poetry lives,--it is -intoxication. Odin appears to have felt very wise after his three -draughts; for he is made to say-- - - "Potent songs I learned, - And a draught obtained - Of the precious mead, - Then I began to bear fruit - And to know many things. - Word by word - I sought out words, - Fact by fact - I sought out facts. - Runes I graved, - Very large characters, - Very potent characters." - -One of the _Edda_ songs is called the "High One's Lay." So we may -conclude it was inspired by Suttung's mead. One or two of the -strophes are worth quoting, just to show what the lay is like. The -following are selected from different places and have no connection -with one another. - - "At eve the day is to be praised, - A sword after it is proved; - Ice after it has passed away, - Beer after it is drunk." - - "Cattle die, - Kindred die, - We ourselves also die; - But I know one thing - That never dies-- - Judgment on each one dead." - - "I was once young, - I was journeying alone, - And lost my way; - Rich I thought myself - When I met another. - Man is the joy of man." - -Here is a contrast-- - - "Two are adversaries; - The tongue is the bane of the head; - Under every cloak - I expect a hand." - - "A firmer friend - No man ever gets - Than great sagacity." - - "Givers and requiters - Are longest friends." - - "A worse provision - No man can carry - Than too much beer-bibbing; - So, good is not, as it is said, - Beer for the sons of men." - - "My garments in a field - I gave away - To two wooden men; - Heroes they seemed to be - When they got cloaks." - - "Much too early - I came to many places - But too late to others; - The beer was drunk, - Or not ready - The disliked seldom hits the moment." - -We often read of Odin disguising himself, sometimes in animal, more -frequently in human form. He wanders about the world, and very -curious stories are told about his adventures. Sometimes he asks his -wife's leave before setting off,-- - - "Counsel thou me now, Frigg! - As I long to go - An all-wise giant to visit." - -And Frigg answers,-- - - "In safety mayest thou go, - In safety return; - In safety on thy journeyings be; - May thy wit avail thee - When thou, father of men! shalt - Hold converse with the giant." - -But Odin was not obliged to take long journeys himself when he wanted -to know what was going on in the world,--he had, as we have seen, two -messengers whom he sent out daily,--the Ravens Hugin and Munin, -thought and memory,-- - - "Hugin and Munin - Each dawn take their flight - Earth fields over; - I fear me for Hugin - Lest he come not back, - But much more for Munin." - -Perhaps because of Munin being memory he was expected to fail first. - -Odin looking over into Niflheim, is thus alluded to in an old song. -The god is made to say,-- - - "I know that I hung - On a wind-rocked tree - Nine whole nights. - Downward I peered, - To runes applied myself, - Wailing learnt them, - Then fell down thence." - -The next strophe tells how he got the draught of the precious mead. -In this myth, it seems as if Odin hung upon Yggdrassil. Simrock -mentions a singular little German tale which may possibly have some -connection with it, and has evidently an Eastern origin. "A man," it -says, "in danger of falling into a brook, held fast with one hand to -a shrub whilst his feet rested on a small piece of grass. In this -predicament, he saw two mice (day and night) gnawing at the root of -the shrub, and the grass undermined by four worm heads. Then a -dragon appeared and opened his mouth to swallow him up, whilst an -elephant reached his trunk towards him. At the same time he seized -with eager mouth some honey which dropt from the tree." Simrock says -that the eating of the honey is like people being occupied with -frivolity whilst the world-battle goes on, but may not the story -possibly have a little to do with Odin and Yggdrassil and Odhaerir. - -We heard before that Odin was connected with Air. We see him here -on his High Throne looking over all worlds, wandering over the -earth, piercing even to the deep, giving his eye to Mimer for -wisdom--consequently having only one eye, one Sun in Heaven--some -suppose that the pledged eye means the setting of the Sun nightly. -Mimer, who guards the well, means the remembrance of the origin of -things which was water--the strange waves that flowed into -Ginnungagap. An odd story is told of Mimer, who was originally a -giant though received by the AEsir, viz., that he was sent as a -hostage to the Vanir, who cut off his head and sent it back to Odin. -The head remained so wise that the father of the gods used to -consult it on all important occasions; as the lay says-- - - "Odin speaks - With Mim's head." - -Heimdall, guardian of the Bridge (whose exact name was "trembling -rest") was perhaps the most important of the Vanir. He is represented -in one old lay as travelling about the world by himself, which is a -sure sign that he was originally a very great god indeed. Upon this -journey he became the father of the three races of men, the Thralls, -the Karls and the Jarls. The way in which these three races are -compared with one another is very curious. - -The Thralls are described with "shrivelled skin, knotty knuckles, -thick fingers, hideous faces, curved backs and protruding heels, they -are made to erect fences, manure fields, tend swine, keep goats and -dig turf." The Karls' children are said to be clothed in linen, to be -ruddy headed and have twinkling eyes, and they grow up to "tame oxen, -make ploughs, build houses, make carts and farm;" but the favoured, -useless Jarls, "Light of hair, bright cheeks, eyes piercing as a -serpent's," grow up to "shake the shield, to brandish spears, - - "Horses to ride, - Dogs to slip, - Swords to draw, - Swimming to practise." - -Heimdall keeps the bridge alike from thunder god and frost giants, -but at Ragnaroek, the swarthy god Surtur, who lives on the borders of -Muspellheim, will ride over it and shatter it to pieces. Heimdall's -horn is mentioned,--this is supposed to mean the crescent moon, and -Mimer's drinking horn also means the moon. Later, when the stories of -the gods had dwindled down into weird, unholy legends, and Odin had -sunk into the wild Huntsman, the crescent moon was his horn. One of -Heimdall's names was Irmin, and this means "Shining." The milky way -is called Irmin strasse or Irmin's way, and the wild hunt was -supposed to go over the milky way, which is also called Waldemar's -way in Denmark, and Waldemar is a common name of hunters. - -Loki and his children in these myths are evidently the destructive -principle, either physically, or morally, or both. Joermungand and -Fenrir are much alike. Joermungand means "the universal Wolf," and of -Fenrir it is said "he goes about revengeful, with open jaws devouring -all things." Hela had originally another side to her character, but -here as Loki's daughter she has only the nature of his other -children. - -The myth about Loki finding the half-burnt heart of a woman is said -to be a very young one; and so perhaps it is not worth considering -the meaning of. - -The god about whom, next to Odin, most stories are told, is Thor. In -some parts of the north he was a more prominent object of worship -even than Odin, Norway and Iceland being especially devoted to his -service. - - * * * * * - -Let us now hear how Thor went to Joetunheim. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -HOW THOR WENT TO JOeTUNHEIM. - - -PART I. FROM ASGARD TO UTGARD. - -Once on a time, Asa Thor and Loki set out on a journey from Asgard to -Joetunheim. They travelled in Thor's chariot, drawn by two milk-white -goats. It was a somewhat cumbrous iron chariot, and the wheels made a -rumbling noise as it moved, which sometimes startled the ladies of -Asgard, and made them tremble; but Thor liked it, thought the noise -sweeter than any music, and was never so happy as when he was -journeying in it from one place to another. - -They travelled all day, and in the evening they came to a -countryman's house. It was a poor, lonely place; but Thor descended -from his chariot, and determined to pass the night there. The -countryman, however, had no food in his house to give these -travellers; and Thor, who liked to feast himself and make every one -feast with him, was obliged to kill his own two goats and serve them -up for supper. He invited the countryman and his wife and children to -sup with him; but before they began to eat he made one request of -them. - -"Do not, on any account," he said, "break or throw away any of the -bones of the goats you are going to eat for supper." - -"I wonder why," said the peasant's son, Thialfi, to his sister Roska. -Roska could not think of any reason, and by-and-bye Thialfi happened -to have a very nice little bone given him with some marrow in it. -"Certainly there can be no harm in my breaking just this one," he -said to himself; "it would be such a pity to lose the marrow;" and as -Asa Thor's head was turned another way, he slyly broke the bone in -two, sucked the marrow, and then threw the pieces into the goats' -skins, where Thor had desired that all the bones might be placed. I -do not know whether Thialfi was uneasy during the night about what he -had done; but in the morning he found out the reason of Asa Thor's -command, and received a lesson on "wondering why," which he never -forgot all his life after. - -As soon as Asa Thor rose in the morning he took his hammer, Mioelnir, -in his hand, and held it over the goat-skins as they lay on the -floor, whispering runes the while. They were dead skins with dry -bones on them when he began to speak; but as he said the last word, -Thialfi, who was looking curiously on, saw two live goats spring up -and walk towards the chariot, as fresh and well as when they brought -the chariot up to the door Thialfi hoped. But no; one of the goats -limped a little with his hind leg, and Asa Thor saw it. His brow grew -dark as he looked, and for a minute Thialfi thought he would run far, -far into the forest, and never come back again; but one look more at -Asa Thor's face, angry as it was, made him change his mind. He -thought of a better thing to do than running away. He came forward, -threw himself at the Asa's feet, and, confessing what he had done, -begged pardon for his disobedience. Thor listened, and the displeased -look passed away from his face. - -"You have done wrong, Thialfi," he said, raising him up; "but as you -have confessed your fault so bravely, instead of punishing you, I -will take you with me on my journey, and teach you myself the lesson -of obedience to the AEsir which is, I see, wanted." - -Roska chose to go with her brother, and from that day Thor had two -faithful servants, who followed him wherever he went. - -The chariot and goats were now left behind: but, with Loki and his -two new followers, Thor journeyed on to the end of Manheim, over the -sea, and then on, on, on in the strange, barren, misty land of -Joetunheim, Sometimes they crossed great mountains; sometimes they had -to make their way among torn and rugged rocks, which often, through -the mist, appeared to them to wear the forms of men, and once for a -whole day they traversed a thick and tangled forest. In the evening -of that day, being very much tired, they saw with pleasure that they -had come upon a spacious hall, of which the door, as broad as the -house itself, stood wide open. - -"Here we may very comfortably lodge for the night," said Thor; and -they went in and looked about them. - -The house appeared to be perfectly empty; there was a wide hall, and -five smaller rooms opening into it. They were, however, too tired to -examine it carefully, and as no inhabitants made their appearance, -they ate their supper in the hall, and lay down to sleep. But they -had not rested long before they were disturbed by strange noises, -groanings, mutterings, and snortings, louder than any animal that -they had ever seen in their lives could make. By-and-bye the house -began to shake from side to side, and it seemed as if the very earth -trembled. Thor sprang up in haste, and ran to the open door; but, -though he looked earnestly into the starlit forest, there was no -enemy to be seen anywhere. Loki and Thialfi, after groping about for -a time, found a sheltered chamber to the right, where they thought -they could finish their night's rest in safety; but Thor, with -Mioelnir in his hand, watched at the door of the house all night. As -soon as the day dawned he went out into the forest, and there, -stretched on the ground close by the house, he saw a strange, -uncouth, gigantic shape of a man, out of whose nostrils came a breath -which swayed the trees to their very tops. There was no need to -wonder any longer what the disturbing noises had been. Thor -fearlessly walked up to this strange monster to have a better look at -him; but at the sound of his footsteps the giant-shape rose slowly, -stood up an immense height, and looked down upon Thor with two great -misty eyes, like blue mountain-lakes. - -[Illustration: GIANT SKRYMIR AND THOR.] - -"Who are you?" said Thor, standing on tiptoe, and stretching his neck -to look up; "and why do you make such a noise as to prevent your -neighbours from sleeping?" - -"My name is Skrymir," said the giant sternly; "I need not ask yours. -You are the little Asa Thor of Asgard; but pray, now, what have you -done with my glove?" - -As he spoke he stooped down, and picked up the hall where Thor and -his companions had passed the night, and which, in truth, was -nothing more than his glove, the room where Loki and Thialfi had -slept being the thumb. - -Thor rubbed his eyes, and felt as if he must be dreaming. Rousing -himself, however, he raised Mioelnir in his hand, and, trying to keep -his eyes fixed on the giant's face, which seemed to be always -changing, he said, "It is time that you should know, Skrymir, that I -am come to Joetunheim to fight and conquer such evil giants as you -are, and, little as you think me, I am ready to try my strength -against yours." - -"Try it, then," said the giant. - -And Thor, without another word, threw Mioelnir at his head. - -"Ah! Ah!" said the giant; "did a leaf touch me?" - -Again Thor seized Mioelnir, which always returned to his hand, however -far he cast it from him, and threw it with all his force. - -The giant put up his hand to his forehead. "I think," he said, "that -an acorn must have fallen on my head." - -A third time Thor struck a blow, the heaviest that ever fell from -the hand of an Asa; but this time the giant laughed out loud. - -"There is surely a bird on that tree," he said, "who has let a -feather fall on my face." - -Then, without taking any further notice of Thor, he swung an immense -wallet over his shoulder, and, turning his back upon him, struck into -a path that led from the forest. When he had gone a little way he -looked round, his immense face appearing less like a human -countenance than some strange, uncouthly-shaped stone toppling on a -mountain precipice. - -"Ving-Thor,"[3] he said, "let me give you a piece of good advice -before I go. When you get to Utgard don't make much of yourself. You -think me a tall man, but you have taller still to see; and you -yourself are a very little mannikin. Turn back home whence you came, -and be satisfied to have learned something of yourself by your -journey to Joetunheim." - - [3] Ving-Thor--Winged-Thor. - -"Mannikin or not, _that_ will I never do," shouted Asa Thor after the -giant. "We will meet again, and something more will we learn, or -teach each other." - -The giant, however, did not turn back to answer, and Thor and his -companions, after looking for some time after him, resumed their -journey. Before the sun was quite high in the heavens they came out -of the forest, and at noon they found themselves on a vast barren -plain, where stood a great city, whose walls of dark, rough stone -were so high, that Thor had to bend his head quite far back to see -the top of them. When they approached the entrance of this city they -found that the gates were closed and barred; but the space between -the bars was so large that Thor passed through easily, and his -companions followed him. The streets of the city were gloomy and -still. They walked on for some time without meeting any one; but at -length they came to a very high building, of which the gates stood -open. - -"Let us go in and see what is going on here," said Thor; and they -went. - -After crossing the threshold they found themselves in an immense -banqueting hall. A table stretched from one end to the other of it; -stone thrones stood round the table, and on every throne sat a giant, -each one, as Thor glanced round, appearing more grim, and cold, and -stony than the rest. One among them sat on a raised seat, and -appeared to be the chief; so to him Thor approached and paid his -greetings. - -The giant chief just glanced at him, and, without rising, said, in a -somewhat careless manner, "It is, I think, a foolish custom to tease -tired travellers with questions about their journey. I know without -asking that you, little fellow, are Asa Thor. Perhaps, however, you -may be in reality taller than you appear; and as it is a rule here -that no one shall sit down to table till he has performed some -wonderful feat, let us hear what you and your followers are famed -for, and in what way you choose to prove yourselves worthy to sit -down in the company of giants." - -At this speech, Loki, who had entered the hall cautiously behind -Thor, pushed himself forward. - -"The feat for which I am most famed," he said, "is eating, and it is -one which I am just now inclined to perform with right good will. Put -food before me, and let me see if any of your followers can despatch -it as quickly as I can." - -"The feat you speak of is one by no means to be despised," said the -King, "and there is one here who would be glad to try his powers -against yours. Let Logi," he said to one of his followers, "be -summoned to the hall." - -At this, a tall, thin, yellow-faced man approached, and a large -trough of meat having been placed in the middle of the hall, Loki sat -to work at one end, and Logi at the other, and they began to eat. I -hope _I_ shall never see any one eat as they ate; but the giants all -turned their slow-moving eyes to watch them, and in a few minutes -they met in the middle of the trough. It seemed, at first, as if they -had both eaten exactly the same quantity; but, when the thing came to -be examined into, it was found that Loki had, indeed, eaten up all -the meat, but that Logi had also eaten the bones and the trough. Then -the giants nodded their huge heads, and determined that Loki was -conquered. The King now turned to Thialfi, and asked what he could -do. - -"I was thought swift of foot among the youth of my own country," -answered Thialfi; "and I will, if you please, try to run a race with -any one here." - -"You have chosen a noble sport, indeed," said the King; "but you must -be a good runner if you could beat him with whom I shall match you." - -Then he called a slender lad, Hugi by name, and the whole company -left the hall, and, going out by an opposite gate to that by which -Thor had entered, they came out to an open space, which made a noble -race-ground. There the goal was fixed, and Thialfi and Hugi started -off together. - -Thialfi ran fast--fast as the reindeer which hears the wolves howling -behind; but Hugi ran so much faster that, passing the goal, he turned -round, and met Thialfi half-way in the course. - -"Try again, Thialfi," cried the King; and Thialfi, once more taking -his place, flew along the course with feet scarcely touching the -ground--swiftly as an eagle when, from his mountain-crag, he swoops -on his prey in the valley; but with all his running he was still a -good bow-shot from the goal when Hugi reached it. - -"You are certainly a good runner," said the King; "but if you mean to -win you must do a little better still than this; but perhaps you wish -to surprise us all the more this third time." - -The third time, however, Thialfi was wearied, and though he did his -best, Hugi, having reached the goal, turned and met him not far from -the starting-point. - -The giants again looked at each other, and declared that there was no -need of further trial, for that Thialfi was conquered. - -It was now Asa Thor's turn, and all the company looked eagerly at -him, while the Utgard King asked by what wonderful feat he chose to -distinguish himself. - -"I will try a drinking-match with any of you," Thor said, shortly; -for, to tell the truth, he cared not to perform anything very worthy -in the company in which he found himself. - -King Utgard appeared pleased with this choice, and when the giants -had resumed their seats in the hall, he ordered one of his servants -to bring in his drinking-cup, called the "cup of penance," which it -was his custom to make his guests drain at a draught, if they had -broken any of the ancient rules of the society. - -"There!" he said, handing it to Thor, "we call it well drunk if a -person empties it at a single draught. Some, indeed, take two to it; -but the very puniest can manage it in three." - -Thor looked into the cup; it appeared to him long, but not so very -large after all, and being thirsty he put it to his lips, and thought -to make short work of it, and empty it at one good, hearty pull. He -drank, and put the cup down again; but, instead of being empty, it -was now just so full that it could be moved without danger of -spilling. - -"Ha! ha! You are keeping all your strength for the second pull I -see," said Utgard, looking in. Without answering, Thor lifted the cup -again, and drank with all his might till his breath failed; but, when -he put down the cup, the liquor had only sunk down a little from the -brim. - -"If you mean to take three draughts to it," said Utgard, "you are -really leaving yourself a very unfair share for the last time. Look -to yourself, Ving-Thor; for, if you do not acquit yourself better in -other feats, we shall not think so much of you here as they say the -AEsir do in Asgard." - -At this speech Thor felt angry, and, seizing the cup again, he drank -a third time, deeper and longer than he had yet done; but, when he -looked into the cup, he saw that a very small part only of its -contents had disappeared. Wearied and disappointed he put the cup -down, and said he would try no more to empty it. - -"It is pretty plain," said the King, looking round on the company, -"that Asa Thor is by no means the kind of man we always supposed him -to be." - -"Nay," said Thor, "I am willing to try another feat, and you -yourselves shall choose what it shall be." - -"Well," said the King, "there is a game at which our children are -used to play. A short time ago I dare not have named it to Asa Thor; -but now I am curious to see how he will acquit himself in it. It is -merely to lift my cat from the ground--a childish amusement truly." - -As he spoke a large, grey cat sprang into the hall, and Thor, -stooping forward, put his hand under it to lift it up. He tried -gently at first; but by degrees he put forth all his strength, -tugging and straining as he had never done before; but the utmost he -could do was to raise one of the cat's paws a little way from the -ground. - -"It is just as I thought," said King Utgard, looking round with a -smile; "but we all are willing to allow that the cat _is_ large, and -Thor but a little fellow." - -"Little as you think me," cried Thor, "who is there who will dare to -wrestle with me in my anger?" - -"In truth," said the King, "I don't think there is any one here who -would choose to wrestle with you; but, if wrestle you must, I will -call in that old crone Elli. She has, in her time, laid low many a -better man than Asa Thor has shown himself to be." - -The crone came. She was old, withered, and toothless, and Thor shrank -from the thought of wrestling with her; but he had no choice. She -threw her arms round him, and drew him towards the ground, and the -harder he tried to free himself, the tighter grew her grasp. They -struggled long. Thor strove bravely, but a strange feeling of -weakness and weariness came over him, and at length he tottered and -fell down on one knee before her. At this sight all the giants -laughed aloud, and Utgard coming up, desired the old woman to leave -the hall, and proclaimed that the trials were over. No one of his -followers would _now_ contend with Asa Thor, he said, and night was -approaching. He then invited Thor and his companions to sit down at -the table, and spend the night with him as his guests. Thor, though -feeling somewhat perplexed and mortified, accepted his invitation -courteously, and showed, by his agreeable behaviour during the -evening, that he knew how to bear being conquered with a good grace. - -In the morning, when Thor and his companions were leaving the city, -the King himself accompanied them without the gates; and Thor, -looking steadily at him when he turned to bid him farewell, -perceived, for the first time, that he was the very same Giant -Skrymir with whom he had met in the forest. - -"Come, now, Asa Thor," said the giant with a strange sort of smile on -his face, "tell me truly, before you go, how you think your journey -has turned out, and whether or not I was right in saying that you -would meet with better men than yourself in Joetunheim." - -"I confess freely," answered Asa Thor, looking up without any false -shame on his face, "that I have acquitted myself but humbly, and it -grieves me; for I know that in Joetunheim henceforward it will be said -that I am a man of little worth." - -"By my troth! no," cried the giant, heartily. "Never should you have -come into my city if I had known what a mighty man of valour you -really are; and now that you are safely out of it, I will, for once, -tell the truth to you, Thor. All this time I have been deceiving you -by my enchantments. When you met me in the forest, and hurled -Mioelnir at my head, I should have been crushed by the weight of your -blows had I not skilfully placed a mountain between myself and you, -on which the strokes of your hammer fell, and where you cleft three -deep ravines, which shall henceforth become verdant valleys. In the -same manner I deceived you about the contests in which you engaged -last night. When Loki and Logi sat down before the trough, Loki, -indeed, eat like hunger itself; but Logi is fire, who, with eager, -consuming tongue, licked up both bones and trough. Thialfi is the -swiftest of mortal runners; but the slender lad, Hugi, was my -thought; and what speed can ever equal his? So it was in your own -trials. When you took such deep draughts from the horn, you little -knew what a wonderful feat you were performing. The other end of that -horn reached the ocean, and when you come to the shore you will see -how far its waters have fallen away, and how much the deep sea itself -has been diminished by your draught. Hereafter, men watching the -going out of the tide will call it the ebb, or draught of Thor. -Scarcely less wonderful was the prowess you displayed in the second -trial. What appeared to you to be a cat, was, in reality, the Midgard -serpent, which encircles the world. When we saw you succeed in moving -it we trembled lest the very foundations of earth and sea should be -shaken by your strength. Nor need you be ashamed of having been -overthrown by the old woman Elli, for she is old age; and there never -has, and never will be, one whom she has not the power to lay low. We -must now part, and you had better not come here again, or attempt -anything further against my city; for I shall always defend it by -fresh enchantments, and you will never be able to do anything against -me." - -At these words Thor raised Mioelnir, and was about to challenge the -giant to a fresh trial of strength; but, before he could speak, -Utgard vanished from his sight; and, turning round to look for the -city, he found that it, too, had disappeared, and that he was -standing alone on a smooth, green, empty plain. - -"What a fool I have been," said Asa Thor, aloud, "to allow myself to -be deceived by a mountain giant!" - -"Ah," answered a voice from above, "I told you, you would learn to -know yourself better by your journey to Joetunheim. It is the great -use of travelling." - -Thor turned quickly round again, thinking to see Skrymir behind him; -but, after looking on every side, he could perceive nothing, but that -a high, cloud-capped mountain, which he had noticed on the horizon, -appeared to have advanced to the edge of the plain. - - -PART II. THE SERPENT AND THE KETTLE. - -Thor turned away from Giant-land, and on the road homeward he passed -through the Sea-King's dominions. There he found that AEgir the Old -was giving a banquet to all the AEsir in his wide coral-caves. At a -little distance Thor stood still to listen and to look. It was a fair -sight: cave within cave stretched out before him decked with choicest -shells, whilst far inward lay the banqueting-hall, lighted with -shining gold; white and red coral-pillars stood at uneven distances; -the bright-browed AEsir reclined at the board on soft water couches; -AEgir's daughters--the fair-haired waves--murmured sweet music as they -waited on their guests; and little baby-ripples ran about laughing -in all the corners. Thor walked through the caves and entered the -hall. As he did so Odin looked up from his place at AEgir's right -hand, and said,-- - -"Good evening, son Thor; how has it fared with you in Joetunheim?" - -Thor's face grew a little cloudy at this question, and he only -answered,-- - -"Not as it ought to have done, father." Then he placed himself -amongst AEgir's guests. - -"In my dominions," said King AEgir, looking all round, "an -extraordinary thing has happened." - -"And what may that be, brother?" asked Nioerd. - -"From the shores of Joetunheim," answered AEgir, "the sea has run back -a quarter of a mile, drawing itself away as if a giant were drinking -it in." - -"Is that all you have got to say, father?" said a tall Wave, as she -swept her hair over the Sea-King's shoulder, and peeped up from -behind him; "is that all you know of the wonders which are going on -in your deep home? Listen." - -Then AEgir bent forward on his seat; the AEsir all ceased speaking, -and drew in their breath; the waves raised their arched necks, and -were still, listening. From a great way off came the sound of a -sullen swell. - -"Who is that speaking?" asked Odin. - -"That is Joermungand speaking," said Thor. - -"And what does he say, Thor?" - -"He says that I could not conquer him." - -"Pass round the foaming mead," cried AEgir, who saw that it was time -to turn the conversation. - -But alas! AEgir's mead-kettle was so small, that before it had gone -half down the table it stood empty before Tyr. - -"There is a giant called Hymir," remarked Tyr, "who lives far over -the stormy waves to eastward at the end of heaven." - -The AEsir all looked up. - -"He has a kettle," Tyr went on to say, "which is a mile deep, and -which would certainly hold mead enough for all this company." - -"If Hymir would lend it to us," said AEgir, "we could finish our -supper; but who would go to the end of heaven to borrow a kettle?" - -Then Thor rose from the table, and began to tighten round him his -belt of power; he put on his iron gloves, and took Mioelnir in his -hand. - -"What! off again to Giant-land, Ving-Thor?" cried AEgir. - -"Didn't you say you wanted Mile-deep?" said Thor. "I am going to -borrow it of Hymir for you. Will you come with me, Tyr?" - -Tyr sprang up joyfully, and the two brothers started on their -journey. When they arrived at Hymir's dwelling, which was a -roughly-hewn cavern on the shore of a frozen sea, the first person -they met was a wonderful giantess with nine hundred heads, in which -glittered fiery eyes, and which grew out from all parts of her body, -so that it was impossible to tell whether she was walking upon her -head or her heels. As Thor and Tyr were looking at her trying to -discover this, a woman came out of the giant's home quite as lovely -as the giantess was hideous. She greeted them on the threshold. Her -golden hair fell thick upon her shoulders; her mild eyes shone upon -them; and with words of welcome she held out her hands and led them -into the cavern. There she offered them meat and drink, and bade them -rest until her husband, Hymir, should come home. As the darkness came -on, however, and the time of his expected return drew near, she -became silent and anxious; and at last she said, "I am very much -afraid that my husband will be angry if he sees strangers here when -he comes in. Take my advice, now, Asa Thor and Asa Tyr, and hide -behind one of these pillars in the rock. My lord, I assure you, is -surly sometimes, and not nearly so hospitable as I could wish." - -"We are not accustomed to hide ourselves," remarked Thor. - -"But you shall come forth when I call you," answered the woman. - -So the AEsir did as she desired. By-and-bye they heard heavy footsteps -far off, over the frozen sea, coming nearer and nearer every moment. -The distant icebergs resounded, and at last Hymir burst open the door -of his cavern, and stalked angrily in. He had been unsuccessful that -day in the chase, his hands were frost-bitten, and a "hard-frozen -wood stood upon his cheek." - -As soon as the fair-browed woman saw what mood he was in she went -gently towards him, placed her hand in his, and told him of the -arrival of the guests; then, with a sweet smile and voice, she -entreated him to receive the strangers kindly, and entertain them -hospitably. - -Hymir made no answer; but, at one glance of his eye towards the place -where the AEsir were hidden, the pillar burst asunder, and the -cross-beam which it supported fell with a crash to the ground. Eight -ponderous kettles had been hanging on the beam, and all but one were -shivered to atoms. - -Thor and Tyr then stepped forth into the middle of the hall, and -Hymir received them civilly, after which he turned his attention to -supper; and, having cooked three whole oxen, he invited the AEsir to -eat with him. Thor fell to work with great relish, and when he had -eaten the whole of one ox, prepared to cut a slice out of another. - -"You eat a great deal," said Hymir, sulkily, but Thor was still very -hungry, and went on with his supper until he had eaten two entire -oxen. Then said Hymir, "Another night, Ving-Thor, you must provide -your own supper; for I can't undertake to keep so expensive a guest." - -Accordingly, early the next morning, Hymir prepared to go out -fishing, and offered Thor a place in his boat. On their way to the -shore they passed a herd of oxen feeding. - -"Have you provided a bait for me?" said Thor to the giant. - -"You must get one for yourself," answered Hymir, surlily. - -So Thor was obliged to cut off the head of one of the oxen for a -bait. - -"You'll never be able to carry _that_ head," said Hymir; for, in -truth, the ox to which it had belonged was an enormous animal, called -"Heaven Breaking." - -But Thor made nothing of the head, slung it over his shoulder, and -carried it down to the boat. As they got under weigh, Thor and Hymir -each took an oar; but Thor pulled so fast, and with such mighty -strokes, that the giant was obliged to stop for breath, and beg that -they might go no further. - -"We have already reached the spot," he said, "where I always catch -the finest whales." - -"But I want to go further out to sea," said Thor. - -"That will be dangerous, Ving-Thor," said Hymir; "for if we row any -further we shall come to the waters under which Joermungand lies." - -Thor laughed, and rowed on. At last he stopped, baited his hook with -the ox's head, and cast the line out into the sea, whilst Hymir leant -over the other side of the boat, and caught two whales. - -Now, when the great Joermungand smelt Thor's bait he opened wide his -monstrous jaws, and eagerly sucked in both head, and hook, and line; -but no sooner did he feel the pain than he struggled so fiercely, and -plunged so wildly, that Thor's hands were in an instant dashed -against the sides of the boat. Still Thor did not lose his hold, but -went on pulling with such wondrous force that his feet burst through -the boat, and rested on the slippery rocks beneath. At last the -venomous monster's mountain-high head was hauled above the waves, and -then, indeed, it was a dreadful sight to see Thor, in all the power -of his god-like strength, casting his fiery looks on the serpent, and -the serpent glaring upon him, and spitting forth poisoned venom. Even -Hymir's sun-burnt cheek changed colour as he beheld beneath his feet -the sinking boat, and at his side the deadliest monster of the deep. -At last, in the wildness of his fear, he rushed before Thor, and cut -his line in sunder. Immediately the serpent's head began to sink; but -Thor hurled Mioelnir with fearful force after it into the waters. - -Then did the rocks burst; it thundered through the caverns; old -mother earth all shrank; even the fishes sought the bottom of the -ocean; but the serpent sank back, with a long, dull sound, beneath -the waves, a deep wound in his head, and smothered vengeance in his -heart. - -Ill at ease and silent, Hymir then turned to go home, and Thor -followed him, carrying boat and oars, and everything else, on his -shoulders. Now, every fresh sight of Thor increased the giant's envy -and rage; for he could not bear to think that he had shown so little -courage before his brave guest, and, besides, losing his boat and -getting so desperately wet in his feet by wading home through the -sea, did not by any means improve his temper. When they got home, -therefore, and were supping together, he began jeering and taunting -Thor. - -"No doubt, Asa Thor," he said, "you think yourself a good rower and a -fine fisher, though you did not catch anything to-day; but can you -break that drinking-cup before you, do you think?" - -Thor seized the cup, and dashed it against an upright stone. But, lo! -the stone was shattered in pieces, and the cup unbroken. Again, with -greater strength, he hurled the cup against the pillars in the rock: -it was still without a crack. - -Now, it happened that the beautiful woman was sitting spinning at her -wheel just behind where Thor was standing. From time to time she -chanted snatches of old runes and sagas in soft tones; and now, when -Thor stood astonished that the cup was not broken, the woman's voice -fell on his ear, singing low the following words:-- - - "Hard the pillar, hard the stone, - Harder yet the giant's bone. - Stones shall break and pillars fall; - Hymir's forehead breaks them all." - -Then Thor once more took the cup, and hurled it against the giant's -forehead. The cup was this time shivered to pieces; but Hymir himself -was unhurt, and cried out, "Well done at last, Ving-Thor; but can you -carry that mile-deep kettle out of my hall, think you?" - -Tyr tried to lift it, and could not even raise the handle. - -Then Thor grasped it by the rim, and, as he did so, his feet pressed -through the floor. With a mighty effort he lifted it; he placed it on -his head, while the rings rang at his feet; and so in triumph he bore -off the kettle, and set out again for AEgir's Hall. - -After journeying a little way he chanced to look round, and then he -saw that a host of many-headed giants, with Hymir for their leader, -were thronging after him. From every cavern, and iceberg, and jagged -peak some hideous monster grinned and leered as a great wild beast -waiting for his prey. - -"Treachery!" cried Thor, as he raised Mioelnir above his head, and -hurled it three times among the giants. - -In an instant they stood stiff, and cold, and dead, in rugged groups -along the shore; one with his arm raised; another with his head -stretched out; some upright, some crouching; each in the position he -had last assumed. And there still they stand, petrified by ages into -giant rocks; and, still pointing their stony fingers at each other, -they tell the mighty tale of Thor's achievements, and the wondrous -story of their fate. - -"Pass round the foaming mead," cried King AEgir, as Thor placed -"Mile-deep" on the table; and this time it happened that there was -enough for every one. - - * * * * * - -Thor, as his name implies, was the thunder god; his realm was called -Thrudvang, which is said to mean the "Region of Fortitude." Of his -hall, Bilskirnir (storm-serene), Odin says, "Five hundred floors, and -forty eke, has Bilskirnir with its windings. Of all the roofed -houses that I know is my son's the greatest." His hammer, Mioelnir, -"To pound, or grind,"--Megingjardir, his belt of prowess--his goats, -whose names signify "To crack, grind, gnash" and "race at -intervals"--his attendant Thialfi, the swift falling thunder shower, -all help to picture him in this character; but he ought to be -understood, also, in the larger sense of a god of cultivation and the -order of nature, in opposition to the whole tribe of the Hrimthursar, -frost-giants, mountain-giants, fog-enchantments, and the like sterile -portions and retarding forces of the physical world. The principle of -combat in the physical world, Thor appears also as the chief hero-god -and warrior; his victories are moral as well as physical--his life -was unceasing warfare. - -In the _Edda_ account of Thor going to Utgard, the giant-king whom he -finds there is called Utgard-_Loki_; and it is to be observed that -Loki, who, we saw, had his own root in fire, is in Utgard opposed to -Logi who is also fire, so that in this myth Loki stands in opposition -to two beings nearly akin to himself. This may be explained as -follows. Utgard, outer-world, or under-world, means outside of both -the human and godly regions, and reminds us of the chaotic, -elementary powers. Utgard-Loki, or out-worldly-Loki, represents -outside of human world in its evil aspect--the destructive apart from -the formative principle. Connected with him appears elementary fire -(Logi), and Loki is opposed to the latter because at the time this -myth was conceived he had come to mean evil _in_ the world rather -than that elementary double-natured fire out of which the idea of his -evil had originally crept. This view of Utgard, viz., its connection -with the chaotic powers, explains the apparent defeats of Thor during -his visit there, for Thor is a deity of the formed universe, he can -subdue _that_ to his will, not the first double-natured elements out -of which it was built up. - -How naturally would the dark frozen land and misty mountain shapes of -the north, suggest to the ancient song singers these ideas concerning -outworldly and inworldly giants and wild unfathomable powers and -enchanted combatants. - -It must be confessed that Asa Thor does not always appear in the -favourable light in which the tales given here represent him. There -are one or two very uncomfortable stories about him, bringing out -those dark traits of craft and cruelty which, as we saw before, so -often stained the bright shields of northern warriors. In particular, -there is a story of his losing his hammer and going to Joetunheim to -recover it, disguised as Freyja. When his craft had succeeded, and he -felt the hammer in his grasp again, "Loud laughed," says the lay, -"the fierce hearted one's soul in his breast." After which he slew, -first the giant who had robbed him, then _all_ the giant's race. -Perhaps, even so far as that we could have forgiven him, but--the -giant, it is said, had "a luckless sister, an aged sister," and the -hero-god must need slay her too. "Blows she got, a hammer's stroke," -and "so," ends the lay, "did Odin's son get his hammer back," -apparently well satisfied with the whole performance. But are the -Warrior-god's descendants so very different from himself--the giant's -sister, the aged, luckless sister, who does not seem as if she could -do anybody much harm, is she not apt even now to fall beneath the -vengeful hammers of our modern Thors, remorselessly stricken down -after the real battle has been fought and won? - - * * * * * - -From the fierce thunder deity we turn to Njord's bright children, -Frey and Freyja, "Beauteous and mighty." - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -FREY. - - -PART I. ON TIPTOE IN AIR THRONE. - -I told you, some time ago, how Van Frey went away into Alfheim with -the light elves, of whom Odin made him king and schoolmaster. - -You have heard what Frey was like, and the kind of lessons he -promised to teach his pupils, so you can imagine what pleasant times -they had of it in Alfheim. - -Wherever Frey came there was summer and sunshine. Flowers sprang up -under his footsteps, and bright-winged insects, like flying flowers, -hovered round his head. His warm breath ripened the fruit on the -trees, and gave a bright yellow colour to the corn, and purple bloom -to the grapes, as he passed through fields and vineyards. - -When he rode along in his car, drawn by the stately boar, Golden -Bristles, soft winds blew before him, filling the air with fragrance, -and spreading abroad the news, "Van Frey is coming!" and every -half-closed flower burst into perfect beauty, and forest, and field, -and hill, flushed their richest colours to greet his presence. - -Under Frey's care and instruction the pretty little light elves -forgot their idle ways, and learned all the pleasant tasks he had -promised to teach them. It was the prettiest possible sight to see -them in the evening filling their tiny buckets, and running about -among the woods and meadows to hang the dew-drops deftly on the -slender tips of the grass-blades, or to drop them into the -half-closed cups of the sleepy flowers. When this last of their day's -tasks was over they used to cluster round their summer-king, like -bees about the queen, while he told them stories about the wars -between the AEsir and the giants, or of the old time when he lived -alone with his father Nioerd, in Noatun, and listened to the waves -singing songs of far distant lands. So pleasantly did they spend -their time in Alfheim. - -But in the midst of all this work and play Frey had a wish in his -mind, of which he could not help often talking to his clear-minded -messenger and friend Skirnir. "I have seen many things," he used to -say, "and travelled through many lands; but to see all the world at -once, as Asa Odin does from Air Throne, _that_ must be a splendid -sight." - -"Only Father Odin may sit on Air Throne," Skirnir would say; and it -seemed to Frey that this answer was not so much to the purpose as his -friend's sayings generally were. - -At length, one very clear summer evening, when Odin was feasting with -the other AEsir in Valhalla, Frey could restrain his curiosity no -longer. He left Alfheim, where all the little elves were fast asleep, -and, without asking any one's advice, climbed into Air Throne, and -stood on tiptoe in Odin's very seat. It was a clear evening, and I -had, perhaps, better not even try to tell you what Frey saw. - -He looked first all round him over Manheim, where the rosy light of -the set sun still lingered, and where men, and birds, and flowers -were gathering themselves up for their night's repose; then he -glanced towards the heavenly hills where Bifroest rested, and then -towards the shadowy land which deepened down into Niflheim. At length -he turned his eyes northward to the misty land of Joetunheim. There -the shades of evening had already fallen; but from his high place -Frey could still see distinct shapes moving about through the gloom. -Strange and monstrous shapes they were, and Frey stood a little -higher, on tiptoe, that he might look further after them. In this -position he could just descry a tall house standing on a hill in the -very middle of Joetunheim. While he looked at it a maiden came and -lifted up her arms to undo the latch of the door. It was dusk in -Joetunheim; but when this maiden lifted up her white arms, such a -dazzling reflection came from them, that Joetunheim, and the sky, and -all the sea were flooded with clear light. For a moment everything -could be distinctly seen; but Frey saw nothing but the face of the -maiden with the uplifted arms; and when she had entered the house and -shut the door after her, and darkness fell again on earth, and sky, -and sea,--darkness fell, too, upon Frey's heart. - - -PART II. THE GIFT. - -The next morning, when the little elves awoke up with the dawn, and -came thronging round their king to receive his commands, they were -surprised to see that he had changed since they last saw him. - -"He has grown up in the night," they whispered one to another -sorrowfully. - -And in truth he was no longer so fit a teacher and playfellow for the -merry little people as he had been a few hours before. - -It was to no purpose that the sweet winds blew, and the flowers -opened, when Frey came forth from his chamber. A bright white light -still danced before him, and nothing now seemed to him worth looking -at. That evening when the sun had set, and work was over, there were -no stories for the light elves. - -"Be still," Frey said, when they pressed round, "If you will be still -and listen, there are stories enough to be heard better than mine." - -I do not know whether the elves heard anything; but to Frey it seemed -that flowers, and birds, and winds, and the whispering rivers, united -that day in singing one song, which he never wearied of hearing. - -"We are fair," they said; "but there is nothing in the whole world so -fair as Gerda, the giant-maiden whom you saw last night in -Joetunheim." - -"Frey has dew-drops in his eyes," the little elves said to each other -in whispers as they sat round looking up at him, and they felt very -much surprised; for only to men and the AEsir is it permitted to be -sorrowful and weep. - -Soon, however, wiser people noticed the change that had come over the -summer king, and his good-natured father, Nioerd, sent Skirnir one -day into Alfheim to inquire into the cause of Frey's sorrow. - -He found him walking alone in a shady place, and Frey was glad enough -to tell his trouble to his wise friend. - -When he had related the whole story, he said,-- - -"And now you will see that there is no use in asking me to be merry -as I used to be; for how can I ever be happy in Alfheim, and enjoy -the summer and sunshine, while my dear Gerd, whom I love, is living -in a dark, cold land, among cruel giants?" - -"If she be really as beautiful and beloved as you say," answered -Skirnir, "she must be sadly out of place in Joetunheim. Why do not you -ask her to be your wife, and live with you in Alfheim?" - -"That would I only too gladly do," answered Frey; "but if I were to -leave Alfheim only for a few hours, the cruel giant, Ryme,[4] would -rush in to take my place; all the labours of the year would be undone -in a night, and the poor, toiling men, who are watching for the -harvest, would wake some morning to find their corn-fields and -orchards buried in snow." - - [4] Ryme--the Frost Giant. - -"Well," said Skirnir, thoughtfully, "I am neither so strong nor so -beautiful as you, Frey; but, if you will give me the sword that hangs -by your side, I will undertake the journey to Joetunheim; and I will -speak in such a way of you, and of Alfheim, to the lovely Gerd, that -she will gladly leave her land and the house of her giant-father to -come to you." - -Now, Frey's sword was a gift, and he knew well enough that he ought -not to part with it, or trust it in any hands but his own; and yet -how could he expect Skirnir to risk all the dangers of Joetunheim for -any less recompense than an enchanted sword? and what other hope had -he of ever seeing his dear Gerda again? - -He did not allow himself a moment to think of the choice he was -making. He unbuckled his sword from his side and put it into -Skirnir's hands; and then he turned rather pettishly away, and threw -himself down on a mossy bank under a tree. - -"You will be many days in travelling to Joetunheim," he said, "and -all that time I shall be miserable." - -Skirnir was too sensible to think this speech worth answering. He -took a hasty farewell of Frey, and prepared to set off on his -journey; but, before he left the hill, he chanced to see the -reflection of Frey's face in a little pool of water that lay near. In -spite of its sorrowful expression, it was as beautiful as the woods -are in full summer, and a clever thought came into Skirnir's mind. He -stooped down, without Frey's seeing him, and, with cunning touch, -stole the picture out of the water; then he fastened it up carefully -in his silver drinking-horn, and, hiding it in his mantle, he mounted -his horse and rode towards Joetunheim, secure of succeeding in his -mission, since he carried a matchless sword to conquer the giant, and -a matchless picture to win the maiden. - - -PART III. FAIREST GERD. - -I told you that the house of Gymir, Gerda's father, stood in the -middle of Joetunheim, so it will not be difficult for you to imagine -what a toilsome and wondrous journey Skirnir had. He was a brave -hero, and he rode a brave horse; but, when they came to the barrier -of murky flame that surrounds Joetunheim, a shudder came over both. - -"Dark it is without," said Skirnir to his horse, "and you and I must -leap through flame, and go over hoar mountains among Giant Folk. The -giants will take us both, or we shall return victorious together." - -Then he patted his horse's neck, and touched him with his armed heel, -and with one bound he cleared the barrier, and his hoofs rang on the -frozen land. - -Their first day's journey was through the land of the Frost Giants, -whose prickly touch kills, and whose breath is sharper than swords. -Then they passed through the dwellings of the horse-headed and -vulture-headed giants,--monsters terrible to see. Skirnir hid his -face, and the horse flew along swifter than the wind. - -On the evening of the third day they reached Gymir's house. Skirnir -rode round it nine times; but though there were twenty doors, he -could find no entrance; for fierce three-headed dogs guarded every -door-way. - -At length he saw a herdsman pass near, and he rode up and asked him -how it was possible for a stranger to enter Gymir's house, or get a -sight of his fair daughter Gerd. - -"Are you doomed to death, or are you already a dead man," answered -the herdsman, "that you talk of seeing Gymir's fair daughter, or -entering a house from which no one ever returns?" - -"My death is fixed for one day," said Skirnir, in answer, and his -voice, the voice of an Asa, sounded loud and clear through the misty -air of Joetunheim. It reached the ears of the fair Gerd as she sat in -her chamber with her maidens. - -"What is that noise of noises," she said, "that I hear? The earth -shakes with it, and all Gymir's halls tremble." - -Then one of the maidens got up, and peeped out of the window. - -"I see a man," she said; "he has dismounted from his horse, and he is -fearlessly letting it graze before the door." - -"Go out and bring him in stealthily, then," said Gerda; "I must again -hear him speak; for his voice is sweeter than the ringing of bells." - -So the maiden rose, and opened the house-door softly, lest the grim -giant, Gymir, who was drinking mead in the banquet-hall with seven -other giants, should hear and come forth. - -Skirnir heard the door open, and understanding the maiden's sign, he -entered with stealthy steps, and followed her to Gerda's chamber. As -soon as he entered the doorway the light from her face shone upon -him, and he no longer wondered that Frey had given up his sword. - -"Are you the son of an Asa, or an Alf, or of a wise Van?" asked -Gerda; "and why have you come through flame and snow to visit our -halls?" - -Then Skirnir came forward and knelt at Gerda's feet, and gave his -message, and spoke as he had promised to speak of Van Frey and of -Alfheim. - -Gerda listened; and it was pleasant enough to talk to her, looking -into her bright face; but she did not seem to understand much of what -he said. - -He promised to give her eleven golden apples from Iduna's grove if -she would go with him, and that she should have the magic ring -Draupnir from which every day a still fairer jewel fell. But he found -there was no use in talking of beautiful things to one who had never -in all her life seen anything beautiful. - -Gerda smiled at him as a child smiles at a fairy tale. - -At length he grew angry. "If you are so childish, maiden," he said, -"that you can believe only what you have seen, and have no thought of -AEsirland or the AEsir, then sorrow and utter darkness shall fall upon -you; you shall live alone on the Eagle Mount turned towards Hel. -Terrors shall beset you; weeping shall be your lot. Men and AEsir will -hate you, and you shall be doomed to live for ever with the Frost -Giant, Ryme, in whose cold arms you will wither away like a thistle -on a house-top." - -"Gently," said Gerd, turning away her bright head, and sighing. "How -am I to blame? you make such a talk of your AEsir and your AEsir; but -how can I know about it, when all my life long I have lived with -giants?" - -At these words, Skirnir rose as if he would have departed, but Gerda -called him back. - -"You must drink a cup of mead," she said, "in return for your -sweet-sounding words." - -Skirnir heard this gladly, for now he knew what he would do. He -took the cup from her hand, drank off the mead, and, before he -returned it, he contrived cleverly to pour in the water from his -drinking-horn, on which Frey's image was painted; then he put the -cup into Gerda's hand, and bade her look. - -She smiled as she looked; and the longer she looked, the sweeter grew -her smile; for she looked for the first time on a face that loved -her, and many things became clear to her that she had never -understood before. Skirnir's words were no longer like fairy tales. -She could now believe in AEsirland, and in all beautiful things. - -"Go back to your master," she said, at last, "and tell him that in -nine days I will meet him in the warm wood Barri." - -After hearing these joyful words, Skirnir made haste to take leave, -for every moment that he lingered in the giant's house he was in -danger. One of Gerda's maidens conducted him to the door, and he -mounted his horse again, and rode from Joetunheim with a glad heart. - - -PART IV. THE WOOD BARRI. - -When Skirnir got back to Alfheim, and told Gerd's answer to Frey, he -was disappointed to find that his master did not immediately look as -bright and happy as he expected. - -"Nine days!" he said; "but how can I wait nine days? One day is long, -and three days are very long, but 'nine days' might as well be a -whole year." - -I have heard children say such things when one tells them to wait for -a new toy. - -Skirnir and old Nioerd only laughed at it; but Freyja and all the -ladies of Asgard made a journey to Alfheim, when they heard the -story, to comfort Frey, and hear all the news about the wedding. - -"Dear Frey," they said, "it will never do to lie still here, sighing -under a tree. You are quite mistaken about the time being long; it is -hardly long enough to prepare the marriage presents, and talk over -the wedding. You have no idea how busy we are going to be; everything -in Alfheim will have to be altered a little." - -At these words Frey really did lift up his head, and wake up from his -musings. He looked, in truth, a little frightened at the thought; -but, when all the Asgard ladies were ready to work for his wedding, -how could he make any objection? He was not allowed to have much -share in the business himself; but he had little time, during the -nine days, to indulge in private thought, for never before was there -such a commotion in Alfheim. The ladies found so many things that -wanted overlooking, and the little light elves were not of the -slightest use to any one. They forgot all their usual tasks, and went -running about through groves and fields, and by the sedgy banks of -rivers, peering into earth-holes, and creeping down into flower-cups -and empty snail-shells, every one hoping to find a gift for Gerda. - -Some stole the light from glow-worms' tails, and wove it into a -necklace, and others pulled the ruby spots from cowslip leaves, to -set with jewels the acorn cups that Gerda was to drink from; while -the swiftest runners chased the butterflies, and pulled feathers from -their wings to make fans and bonnet-plumes. - -All the work was scarcely finished when the ninth day came, and Frey -set out from Alfheim with all his elves, to the warm wood Barri. - -The AEsir joined him on the way, and they made, together, something -like a wedding procession. First came Frey in his chariot, drawn by -Golden Bristles, and carrying in his hand the wedding-ring, which was -none other than Draupnir, the magic ring of which so many stories are -told. - -Odin and Frigga followed with their wedding gift, the Ship -Skidbladnir, in which all the AEsir could sit and sail, though it -could afterwards be folded up so small, that you might carry it in -your hand. - -Then came Iduna, with eleven golden apples in a basket on her fair -head, and then two and two all the heroes and ladies with their -gifts. - -All round them flocked the elves, toiling under the weight of their -offerings. It took twenty little people to carry one gift, and yet -there was not one so large as a baby's finger. Laughing, and singing, -and dancing, they entered the warm wood, and every summer flower sent -a sweet breath after them. Everything on earth smiled on the -wedding-day of Frey and Gerda, only--when it was all over, and every -one had gone home, and the moon shone cold into the wood--it seemed -as if the Vanir spoke to one another. - -"Odin," said one voice, "gave his eye for wisdom, and we have seen -that it was well done." - -"Frey," answered the other, "has given his sword for happiness. It -may be well to be unarmed while the sun shines and bright days last; -but when Ragnaroek has come, and the sons of Muspell ride down to the -last fight, will not Frey regret his sword?" - - * * * * * - -Frey appears as the summer god, and the Boar was sacred to him -because, from its tearing up the earth with its tusks, it typified -agriculture and return of the seed-sowing time. Gerda is supposed to -represent the frozen earth, which Summer seeing from far off loves -and woos to his embrace. The lighting of the sky by the uplifted -giant maiden's arms is explained to mean the Northern Lights glancing -from one end of heaven to the other. Frey parts with his sword in -order to win Gerda--this is alluded to in both _Eddas_ as if it were -wrong or at any rate highly imprudent. "When the sons of Muspell come -at Ragnaroek," it is said, and Frey shall have to meet Surtur in -battle, "then will thou, unhappy, not have wherewith to fight." The -ship Skidbladnir was said to have been made by four dwarfs in the -beginning of time; it is alluded to in a poem quoted before. Draupnir -is not mentioned in the _Edda_ in connection with Frey and Gerda. - -The Northmen had three grand religious festivals in their year: they -all took place in the winter half of the year, between the harvest -and seed time. One was celebrated in midwinter about the turn of the -day, and from so very nearly coinciding with our Christmas, its name, -"Yule," came to be applied to the Christian festival. Yule is derived -from a name of Odin, but it is said by Laing that this winter feast -was held in honour of Thor. In Fouque's writings a custom is named -which the Scandinavians had of making vows to accomplish some great -enterprise before another new year, over a golden boar's head at this -winter feast; the mention of the golden boar seems to connect the -festival with the god Frey, probably it was a general propitiation of -the summer deities for the coming year; the second festival was in -honour of the goddesses; the third, about spring, in honour of Odin, -because at this season warlike expeditions began to be undertaken. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -THE WANDERINGS OF FREYJA. - - -PART I. THE NECKLACE BRISINGAMEN. - -Now, though Frey was made king and schoolmaster of the light elves, -and spent the greater part of his time with them in Alfheim, his -sister Freyja remained in the city of Asgard, and had a palace built -for her named Folkvang. In this palace there was one very beautiful -hall, Sessrymnir--the "Roomy Seated"--where Freyja entertained her -guests, and she had always plenty of them; for every one liked to -look at her beautiful face, and listen to her enchanting music which -was quite superior to anybody else's. She had, moreover, a wonderful -husband named Odur, who was one of the sons of the immortals, and had -come from a long way off on purpose to marry her. Freyja was a little -proud of this, and used often to speak of it to Frigga and the other -ladies of Asgard. Some of them said she was a very fortunate person; -but some were a little jealous of her, whilst Frigga always gravely -warned her not to be vain on account of her happiness, lest sorrow -should overtake her unawares. - -Everything went on quite smoothly, however, for a long time, Freyja -leading a very gay and beautiful life in the sunshine of her -happiness, and herself a very radiant joy to every one around her. -But one day, one unlucky day, Freyja, this fair and sunshiny young -Vana, went out alone from Asgard to take a walk in Alfheim. She hoped -to meet somewhere thereabouts her dear brother Frey, whom she had not -seen for a long time, and of whom she wanted to ask a very particular -favour. The occasion for it was this;--Heimdall and AEgir were -expected to dine at Valhalla the next day, and Freyja and her husband -were invited to meet them. All the lords and ladies of Asgard were to -be there. Nioerd, too, was coming, with his new wife, Skadi, the -daughter of a giant. - -"Every one will be beautifully dressed," said Freyja, "and _I_ have -not a single ornament to wear." - -"But you are more beautiful than any one, Freyja," said her husband; -"for you were born in the spacious Wind-Home." - -"All are not so high-minded as you, Odur," answered his wife; "and if -I go to Valhalla without an ornament of any kind I shall certainly be -looked down upon." - -So saying, Freyja set off, as I told you, to Alfheim, determined to -ask of her good-natured brother a garland of flowers at, least. But -somehow or other she could not find Frey anywhere. She tried to keep -in Alfheim--she thought she was there; but all the time she was -thinking of her dress and her ornaments, planning what she should -wear, and her steps went downward, downward, away from Alfheim to the -cavern of four dwarfs. - -"Where am I?" said Freyja to herself, as she at last lost the light -of day, and went down, wandering on deeper and deeper between the -high walls, and under the firm roof of rock. "Why, surely this must -be Svartheim; and yet it is not unpleasant, nor quite dark here, -though the sun is not shining." - -And in truth it was not dark; for, far on before her, winding in and -out through the cavern's innermost recesses, were groups of little -men, who had each a lantern in his cap and a pickaxe in his hand; and -they were working hard, digging for diamonds, which they piled up the -walls, and hung across the roof in white and rose-coloured coronets, -marvellously glittering. - -Four clever little dwarf-chiefs were there directing the labours of -the rest; but, as soon as they caught sight of Freyja, they sat down -in the centre of the cavern, and began to work diligently at -something which they held between them, bending over it with -strange chattering and grimaces. Freyja felt very curious to see what -it was; but her eyes were so dazzled with the blaze of diamonds and -lanterns, that she was obliged to go nearer in order to distinguish -it clearly. Accordingly, she walked on to where the four dwarfs were -sitting, and peeped over their shoulders. Oh! brilliant! exquisitely -worked! bewildering! - -[Illustration: FREYJA IN THE DWARFS' CAVE.] - -Freyja drew back again with almost blinded eyes; for she had looked -upon the necklace Brisingamen, and at the same moment a passionate -wish burst forth in her heart to have it for her own, to wear it in -Valhalla, to wear it always round her own fair neck. "Life to me," -said Freyja, "is no longer worth having without Brisingamen." Then -the dwarfs held it out to her, but also looked cunningly at one -another as they did so, and burst into a laugh so loud that it rang -through the vaulted caverns, echoed and echoed back again from side -to side, from dwarf to dwarf, from depth to depth. - -Freyja, however, only turned her head a little on one side, stretched -out her hand, grasped the necklace with her small fingers, and then -ran out of the cavern as quickly as ever she could, up again to the -green hill-side. There she sat down and fitted the brilliant ornament -about her neck, after which she looked a little shyly at the -reflection of herself in a still pool that was near, and turned -homewards with an exulting heart. She felt certain that all was well -with her; nevertheless, all was not well, but very miserable indeed. -When Freyja was come back to Asgard again, and to her palace of -Folkvang, she sought her own private apartments, that she might see -Odur alone, and make him admire her necklace Brisingamen. But Odur -was not there. She searched in every room, hither and thither; but -alas! he was not to be found in any room or any hall in all the -palace of Folkvang. Freyja searched for him in every place; she -walked restlessly about, in and out, among the places of the "Roomy -Seated." She peered wistfully, with sad eyes, in the face of every -guest; but the only face she cared to see, she never saw. - -Odur was gone, gone back for ever to the home of the Immortals. -Brisingamen and Odur could not live together in the palace of -Folkvang. But Freyja did not know this; she did not know why Odur was -gone, nor where he was gone; she only saw he was not there, and she -wrung her hands sadly, and watered her jewels with salt, warm tears. - -As she sat thus and mourned in the entrance of her palace, all the -ladies of Asgard passed by on their way to Valhalla, and looked at -her. Some said one thing, some another; but no one said anything at -all encouraging, or much to the purpose. Frigga passed by last of -all, and she raised her head with a little severe shake, saying -something about beauty, and pride, and punishment, which sank down so -deeply into the heart of the sorrow-stricken young Vana that she got -up with a desperate resolution, and, presenting herself before the -throne of Asa Odin, spoke to him thus: "Father of AEsir, listen to my -weeping, and do not turn away from me with a cruel frown. I have -searched through my palace of Folkvang, and all through the city of -Asgard, but nowhere is Odur the Immortal to be found. Let me go, -Father Odin, I beseech you, and seek him far and near, across the -earth, through the air, over the sea, even to the borders of -Joetunheim." - -And Odin answered, "Go, Freyja, and good fortune go with you." - -Then Freyja sprang into her swift, softly-rolling chariot, which was -drawn by two cats, waved her hand as she rose over the city, and was -gone. - - -PART II. LOKI--THE IRON WOOD--A BOUNDLESS WASTE. - -The cats champed their bright bits, and skimmed alike over earth and -air with swift, clinging steps, eager and noiseless. The chariot -rolled on, and Freyja was carried away up and down into every part of -the world, weeping golden tears wherever she went; they fell down -from her pale cheeks, and rippled away behind her in little sunshiny -rivers, that carried beauty and weeping to every land. She came to -the greatest city in the world, and drove down its wide streets. - -"But none of the houses here are good enough for Odur," said Freyja -to herself; "I will not ask for him at such doors as these." - -So she went straight on to the palace of the king. - -"Is Odur in this palace?" she asked of the gate-keeper. "Is Odur, the -Immortal, living with the king?" - -But the gate-keeper shook his head, and assured her that his master -had never even heard of such a person. - -Then Freyja turned away, and knocked at many other stately doors, -asking for Odur; but no one in all that great city so much as knew -her husband's name. - -Then Freyja went into the long, narrow lanes and shabby streets, -where the poor people lived, but there it was all the same; every one -said only, "No--not here," and stared at her. - -In the night-time Freyja went quite away from the city, and the -lanes, and the cottages, far off to the side of a lake, where she lay -down and looked over into the water. - -By-and-bye the moon came and looked there too, and the Queen of Night -saw a calm face in the water, serene and high; but the Queen of -Beauty saw a troubled face, frail and fair. - -Brisingamen was reflected in the water too, and its rare colours -flashed from the little waves. Freyja was pleased at the sight of her -favourite ornament, and smiled even in the midst of her tears; but as -for the moon, instead of Brisingamen, the deep sky and the stars were -around her. - -At last Freyja slept by the side of the lake, and then a dark shape -crept up the bank on which she was lying, sat down beside her, and -took her fair head between its hands. It was Loki, and he began to -whisper into Freyja's ear as she slept. - -"You were quite right, Freyja," he said, "to go out and try to get -something for yourself in Svartheim, instead of staying at home with -your husband. It was very wise of you to care more for your dress and -your beauty than for Odur. You went down into Svartheim, and found -Brisingamen. Then the Immortal went away; but is not Brisingamen -better then he? Why do you cry, Freyja? Why do you start so?" - -Freyja turned, moaning, and tried to lift her head from between his -hands; but she could not, and it seemed in her dream as if a terrible -nightmare brooded over her. - -"Brisingamen is dragging me down," she cried in her sleep, and laid -her little hand upon the clasp without knowing what she was doing. - -Then a great laugh burst forth in Svartheim, and came shuddering up -through the vaulted caverns until it shook the ground upon which she -lay. Loki started up, and was gone before Freyja had time to open her -eyes. - -It was morning, and the young Vana prepared to set out on her -journey. - -"Brisingamen is fair," she said, as she bade farewell to her image in -the lake. "Brisingamen is fair; but I find it heavy sometimes." - -After this, Freyja went to many cities, and towns, and villages, -asking everywhere for Odur; but there was not one in all the world -who could tell her where he was gone, and at last her chariot rolled -eastward and northward to the very borders of Joetunheim. There Freyja -stopped; for before her lay Jarnvid, the Iron Wood, which was one -road from earth to the abode of the giants, and whose tall trees, -black and hard, were trying to pull down the sky with their iron -claws. In the entrance sat an Iron Witch, with her back to the forest -and her face towards the Vana. Jarnvid was full of the sons and -daughters of this Iron Witch; they were wolves, and bears, and foxes, -and many-headed ravenous birds. - -"Eastward," croaked a raven as Freyja drew near-- - - "Eastward in the Iron Wood - The old one sitteth;" - -and there she did sit, talking in quarrelsome tones to her wolf-sons -and vulture-daughters, who answered from the wood behind her, -howling, screeching, and screaming all at the same time. There was a -horrible din, and Freyja began to fear that her low voice would never -be heard. She was obliged to get out of her chariot, and walk close -up to the old witch, so that she might whisper in her ear. - -"Can you tell me, old mother," she said, "where Odur is? Have you -seen him pass this way?" - -"I don't understand one word of what you are saying," answered the -iron woman; "and if I did, I have no time to waste in answering -foolish questions." - -Now, the witch's words struck like daggers into Freyja's heart, and -she was not strong enough to pull them out again; so she stood there -a long time, not knowing what she should do. - -"You had better go," said the crone to her at last; "there's no use -in standing there crying." For this was the grandmother of -strong-minded women, and she hated tears. - -Then Freyja got into her chariot again, and went westward a long way -to the wide, boundless land where impenetrable forests were growing, -and undying nature reigned in silence. She knew that the silent Vidar -was living there; for, not finding any pleasure in the gay society of -Asgard, he had obtained permission from Father Odin to retire to this -place. "He is one of the AEsir, and perhaps _he_ will be able to help -me," said the sad-hearted young Vana, as her chariot rolled on -through empty moor-lands and forests, always in twilight Her ear -heard no sound, her eye saw no living shape; but still she went on -with a trembling hope till she came to the spot - - "Begrown with branches - And high grass, - Which was Vidar's dwelling." - -Vidar was sitting there firm as an oak, and as silent as night. Long -grass grew up through his long hair, and the branches of trees -crossed each other over his eyes; his ears were covered with moss, -and dewdrops glistened upon his beard. - -"It is almost impossible to get to him," sighed Freyja, "through all -these wet leaves, and I am afraid his moss-covered ears are very -deaf." But she threw herself down on the ground before him, and said, -"Tell me, Vidar, does Odur hide among thick trees? or is he wandering -over the broad west lands?" - -Vidar did not answer her--only a pale gleam shot over his face, as if -reflected from that of Freyja, like sunshine breaking through a wood. - -"He does not hear me," said Freyja to herself, and she crushed -nearer to him through the branches. "Only tell me, Vidar," she said, -"is Odur here?" But Vidar said nothing, for he had no voice. - -Then Freyja hid her face in her lap, and wept bitterly for a long -time. "An Asa," she said, at last, looking up, "is no better to one -than an Iron Witch when one is really in trouble;" and then she -gathered her disordered dress about her, threw back her long bright -hair, and, springing into her chariot, once again went wearily on her -way. - - -PART III. THE KING OF THE SEA AND HIS DAUGHTERS. - -At last she came to the wide sea-coast, and there everything was -gloriously beautiful. It was evening, and the western sky looked like -a broad crimson flower. No wind stirred the ocean, but the small -waves rippled in rose-coloured froth on the shore, like the smiles of -a giant at play. - -AEgir, the old sea-king, supported himself on the sand, whilst the -cool waters were laving his breast, and his ears drank their sweet -murmur; for nine waves were his beautiful daughters, and they and -their father were talking together. Now, though AEgir looked so stormy -and old, he was really as gentle as a child, and no mischief would -ever have happened in his kingdom if he had been left to himself. But -he had a cruel wife, called Ran, who was the daughter of a giant, and -so eagerly fond of fishing that, whenever any of the rough winds came -to call upon her husband, she used to steal out of the deep sea-caves -where she lived, and follow ships for miles under the water, dragging -her net after her, so that she might catch any one who fell -overboard. - -Freyja wandered along the shore towards the place where the Sea King -was lying, and as she went she heard him speaking to his daughters. - -"What is the history of Freyja?" he asked. - -And the first wave answered,-- - -"Freyja is a fair young Vana, who once was happy in Asgard." - -Then the second wave said,-- - -"But she left her fair palace there, and Odur, her Immortal Love." - -Third wave,-- - -"She went down to the cavern of dwarfs." - -Fourth wave,-- - -"She found Brisingamen there, and carried it away with her." - -Fifth wave,-- - -"But when she got back to Folkvang she found that Odur was gone." - -Sixth wave,-- - -"Because the Vana had loved herself more than Immortal Love." - -Seventh wave,-- - -"Freyja will never be happy again, for Odur will never come back." - -Eighth wave,-- - -"Odur will never come back as long as the world shall last." - -Ninth wave,-- - -"Odur will never return, nor Freyja forget to weep." - -Freyja stood still, spell-bound, listening, and when she heard the -last words, that Odur would never come back, she wrung her hands, and -cried,-- - -"O, Father AEgir! trouble comes, comes surging up from a wide sea, -wave over wave, into my soul." And in truth it seemed as if her -words had power to change the whole surface of the ocean--wave over -wave rose higher and spoke louder--Ran was seen dragging her net in -the distance--old AEgir shouted, and dashed into the deep--sea and sky -mixed in confusion, and night fell upon the storm. Then Freyja sank -down exhausted on the sand, where she lay until her kind daughter, -the sleepy little Siofna, came and carried her home again in her -arms. After this the beautiful Vana lived in her palace of Folkvang, -with friends and sisters, AEsir and Asyniur, but Odur did not return, -nor Freyja forget to weep. - - * * * * * - -Freyja, as she appears in the Edda, was the goddess of the beautiful -year and of all sorts of love. The story of her marriage with Odur is -extremely obscure; it is even thought that Odur is only a form of -Odin, and, in like manner, that Freyja and Frigga are very intimately -connected. - -Frigga was the patroness of married love, of the happiness and duties -of the home (originally, she and Freyja and all the great goddesses -were probably personifications of the earth); but Freyja, as goddess -of love, is less developed in idea than Frigga, she has more of the -nature goddess, less of the woman in her. She was said to divide the -spoil with Odin in battle, taking half the slain for herself and -leaving him the other half, which points to her having been at one -time his wife and sharing all with him. Supposing her to have been -the beautiful year, or rather the earth during the beautiful part of -the year, Odur leaving her would imply the beginning of the -shortening of the days at midsummer. The source of summer flies, -Summer seeks him weeping golden tears. Do these mean Autumn's golden -leaves and falling fruits? or that the Sun's beautiful gifts must -ever follow him. - -This myth of Summer's source, the Sun, declining from the year has, -it is supposed, been given to Odur because it was not important -enough to belong to the greatest of the gods, although it was really -wrapped up in his nature, and the names Odur and Odin are identical -in German. Simrock says, "Every mythology tells us of the death of -the beautiful part of the year like the flight of a god, who is -mourned by his wife or his beloved." Looked at from this point of -view, we see the summerly earth vaunting and decking herself with her -richest jewels in the deepest pride of her delight at the very moment -when the spirit of her existence is stealing away from her. The -summer-decked earth, without the sun of her life, is soulless, has -become mortal. But it must be confessed that the _Edda_ is very -obscure about Brisingamen, and does not mention the necklace in -connection with Odur's departure. The Iron Witch was the mother of -two wolves who devoured the sun and the moon at Ragnaroek, she is not -mentioned in the myth of Freyja, but in another lay. It has been -suggested that Freyja's tears may be dew, and she in the character of -Aurora when she sheds them, weeping for some star god of the night. - - * * * * * - -We shall now hear the story of Iduna--a dwarf's daughter, the wife of -Bragi and goddess of Spring, the renewing of life. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -IDUNA'S APPLES. - - -PART I. REFLECTIONS IN THE WATER - -Of all the groves and gardens round the city of Asgard--and they were -many and beautiful--there was none so beautiful as the one where -Iduna, the wife of Bragi, lived. It stood on the south side of the -hill, not far from Gladsheim, and it was called "Always Young," -because nothing that grew there could ever decay, or become the least -bit older than it was on the day when Iduna entered it. The trees -wore always a tender, light green colour, as the hedges do in spring. -The flowers were mostly half-opened, and every blade of grass bore -always a trembling, glittering drop of early dew. Brisk little winds -wandered about the grove, making the leaves dance from morning till -night and swaying backwards and forwards the heads of the flowers. - -"Blow away!" said the leaves to the wind, "for we shall never be -tired." - -"And you will never be old," said the winds in answer. And then the -birds took up the chorus and sang,-- - -"Never tired and never old." - -Iduna, the mistress of the grove, was fit to live among young birds, -and tender leaves, and spring flowers. She was so fair that when she -bent over the river to entice her swans to come to her, even the -stupid fish stood still in the water, afraid to destroy so beautiful -an image by swimming over it; and when she held out her hand with -bread for the swans to eat, you would not have known it from a -water-lily--it was so wonderfully white. - -Iduna never left her grove even to pay a visit to her nearest -neighbour, and yet she did not lead by any means a dull life; for, -besides having the company of her husband, Bragi, who must have been -an entertaining person to live with; for he is said to have known a -story which never came to an end, and yet which never grew wearisome. -All the heroes of Asgard made a point of coming to call upon her -every day. It was natural enough that they should like to visit so -beautiful a grove and so fair a lady; and yet, to confess the truth, -it was not quite to see either the grove or Iduna that they came. - -Iduna herself was well aware of this, and when her visitors had -chatted a short time with her, she never failed to bring out from the -innermost recess of her bower a certain golden casket, and to -request, as a favour, that her guests would not think of going away -till they had tasted her apples, which, she flattered herself, had a -better flavour than any other fruit in the world. - -It would have been quite unlike a hero of Asgard to have refused such -courtesy; and, besides, Iduna was not as far wrong about her apples -as hostesses generally are, when they boast of the good things on -their tables. - -There is no doubt her apples _had_ a peculiar flavour; and if any one -of the heroes happened to be a little tired, or a little out of -spirits, or a little cross, when he came into the bower, it always -followed that, as soon as he had eaten one apple, he found himself as -fresh, and vigorous, and happy as he had ever been in his life. - -So fond were the heroes of these apples, and so necessary did they -think them to their daily comfort, that they never went on a journey -without requesting Iduna to give them one or two, to fortify them -against the fatigues of the way. - -[Illustration: IDUNA GIVING THE MAGIC APPLES.] - -Iduna had no difficulty in complying with this request; she had no -fear of her store ever failing, for as surely as she took an apple -from her casket another fell in; but where it came from Iduna could -never discover. She never saw it till it was close to the bottom of -the casket; but she always heard the sweet tinkling sound it made -when it touched the golden rim. It was as good as play to Iduna to -stand by her casket, taking the apples out, and watching the fresh -rosy ones come tumbling in, without knowing who threw them. - -One spring morning Iduna was very busy taking apples out of her -casket; for several of the heroes were taking advantage of the fine -weather to journey out into the world. Bragi was going from home for -a time; perhaps he was tired of telling his story only to Iduna, -and perhaps she was beginning to know it by heart; and Odin, Loki, -and Hoenir had agreed to take a little tour in the direction of -Joetunheim, just to see if any entertaining adventure would befall -them. When they had all received their apples, and taken a tender -farewell of Iduna, the grove--green and fair as it was--looked, -perhaps, a little solitary. - -Iduna stood by her fountain, watching the bright water as it danced -up into the air and quivered, and turned, and fell back, making a -hundred little flashing circles in the river; and then she grew -tired, for once, of the light and the noise, and wandered down to a -still place, where the river was shaded by low bushes on each side, -and reflected clearly the blue sky overhead. - -Iduna sat down and looked into the deep water. Besides her own fair -face there were little, wandering, white clouds to be seen reflected -there. She counted them as they sailed past. At length a strange form -was reflected up to her from the water--large, dark, lowering wings, -pointed claws, a head with fierce eyes--looking at her. - -Iduna started and raised her head. It was above as well as below; the -same wings--the same eyes--the same head--looking down from the blue -sky, as well as up from the water. Such a sight had never been seen -near Asgard before; and, while Iduna looked, the thing waved its -wings, and went up, up, up, till it lessened to a dark spot in the -clouds and on the river. - -It was no longer terrible to look at; but, as it shook its wings a -number of little black feathers fell from them, and flew down towards -the grove. As they neared the trees, they no longer looked like -feathers--each had two independent wings and a head of its own; they -were, in fact, a swarm of Nervous Apprehensions; troublesome little -insects enough, and well-known elsewhere, but which now, for the -first time, found their way into the grove. - -Iduna ran away from them; she shook them off; she fought quite -bravely against them; but they are by no means easy to get rid of; -and when, at last, one crept within the folds of her dress, and -twisted itself down to her heart, a new, strange feeling thrilled -there--a feeling never yet known to any dweller in Asgard. Iduna did -not know what to make of it. - - -PART II. THE WINGED-GIANT. - -In the meantime Odin, Loki, and Hoenir proceeded on their journey. -They were not bound on any particular quest. They strayed hither and -thither that Odin might see that things were going on well in the -world, and his subjects comporting themselves in a becoming manner. -Every now and then they halted while Odin inspected the thatching of -a barn, or stood at the smithy to see how the smith wielded his -hammer, or in a furrow to observe if the ploughman guided his -plough-share evenly through the soil. "Well done," he said if the -workman was working with all his might; and he turned away, leaving -something behind him, a straw in the barn, a piece of old iron at -the forge-door, a grain in the furrow--nothing to look at; but ever -after the barn was always full, the forge-fire never went out, the -field yielded bountifully. - -Towards noon the AEsir reached a shady valley, and, feeling tired and -hungry, Odin proposed to sit down under a tree, and while he rested -and studied a book of runes which he had with him, he requested Loki -and Hoenir to prepare some dinner. - -"I will undertake the meat and the fire," said Hoenir; "you, Loki, -will like nothing better than foraging about for what good things you -can pick up." - -"That is precisely what I mean to do," said Loki. "There is a -farm-house near here, from which I can perceive a savoury smell. It -will be strange, with my cunning, if I do not contrive to have the -best of all the dishes under this tree before your fire is burnt up." - -As Loki spoke he turned a stone in his hand, and immediately he -assumed the shape of a large black cat. In this form he stole in at -the kitchen-window of a farm-house, where a busy housewife was -intent on taking pies and cakes from a deep oven, and ranging them on -a dresser under the window. Loki watched his opportunity, and -whenever the mistress's back was turned he whisked a cake or a pie -out of the window. - -"One, two, three. Why, there are fewer every time I bring a fresh one -from the oven!" cried the bewildered housewife. "It's that thieving -cat. I see the end of her tail on the window-sill." Out of the window -leant the housewife to throw a stone at the cat, but she could see -nothing but a thin cow trespassing in her garden; and when she ran -out with a stick to drive away the cow, it, too, had vanished, and an -old raven, with six young ones, was flying over the garden-hedge. - -The raven was Loki, the little ones were the pies; and when he -reached the valley, and changed himself and them into their proper -shapes, he had a hearty laugh at his own cleverness, and at the old -woman's dismay. - -"Well done, Loki, king of thieves," said a chorus of foxes, who -peeped out of their holes to see the only one of the AEsir whose -conduct they could appreciate; but Odin, when he heard of it, was -very far from thinking it well done. He was extremely displeased with -Loki for having disgraced himself by such mean tricks. - -"It is true," he said, "that my subjects may well be glad to furnish -me with all I require, but it should be done knowingly. Return to the -farmhouse, and place these three black stones on the table from -whence you stole the provisions." - -Loki--unwilling as he was to do anything he believed likely to bring -good to others--was obliged to obey. He made himself into the shape -of a white owl, flew once more through the window, and dropped the -stones out of his beak; they sank deep into the table, and looked -like three black stains on the white deal-board. - -From that time the housewife led an easy life; there was no need for -her to grind corn, or mix dough, or prepare meat. Let her enter her -kitchen at what time of day she would, stores of provisions stood -smoking hot on the table. She kept her own counsel about it, and -enjoyed the reputation of being the most economical house-keeper in -the whole country-side; but one thing disturbed her mind, and -prevented her thoroughly enjoying the envy and wonder of the -neighbouring wives. All the rubbing, and brushing, and cleaning in -the world would not remove the three black stains from her kitchen -table, and as she had no cooking to do, she spent the greater part of -her time in looking at them. - -"If they were but gone," she said, a hundred times every day, "I -should be content; but how is one to enjoy one's life when one cannot -rub the stains off one's own table?" - -Perhaps Loki foresaw how the good wife would use her gift; for he -came back from the farm-house in the best spirits. "We will now, with -Father Odin's permission, sit down to dinner," he said; "for surely, -brother Hoenir, while I have been making so many journeys to and fro, -you have been doing something with that fire which I see blazing so -fiercely, and with that old iron pot smoking over it." - -"The meat will be by this time ready, no doubt," said Hoenir. "I -killed a wild ox while you were away, and part of it has been now for -some time stewing in the pot." - -The AEsir now seated themselves near the fire, and Hoenir lifted up -the lid of the pot. A thick steam rose up from it; but when he took -out the meat it was as red and uncooked as when he first put it into -the pot. - -"Patience," said Hoenir; and Odin again took out his book of Runes. -Another hour passed, and Hoenir again took off the lid, and looked at -the meat; but it was in precisely the same state as before. This -happened several times, and even the cunning Loki was puzzled; when, -suddenly, a strange noise was heard coming from a tree near, and, -looking up, they saw an enormous human-headed eagle seated on one of -the branches, and looking at them with two fierce eyes. While they -looked it spoke. - -"Give me my share of the feast," it said, "and the meat shall -presently be done." - -"Come down and take it--it lies before you," said Loki, while Odin -looked on with thoughtful eyes; for he saw plainly that it was no -mortal bird who had the boldness to claim a share in the AEsir's -food. - -Undaunted by Odin's majestic looks, the eagle flew down, and, seizing -a large piece of meat, was going to fly away with it, when Loki, -thinking he had now got the bird in his power, took up a stick that -lay near, and struck a hard blow on the eagle's back. The stick made -a ringing sound as it fell; but, when Loki tried to draw it back, he -found that it stuck with extraordinary force to the eagle's back; -neither could he withdraw his own hands from the other end. - -Something like a laugh came from the creature's half-human, -half-bird-like mouth; and then it spread its dark wings and rose up -into the air, dragging Loki after. - -"It is as I thought," said Odin, as he saw the eagle's enormous bulk -brought out against the sky; "it is Thiassi, the strongest giant in -Joetunheim, who has presumed to show himself in our presence. Loki has -only received the reward of his treachery, and it would ill-become us -to interfere in his behalf; but, as the monster is near, it will be -well for us to return to Asgard, lest any misfortune should befall -the city in our absence." - -While Odin spoke, the winged creature had risen up so high as to be -invisible even to the eyes of the AEsir; and, during their return to -Asgard, he did not again appear before them; but, as they approached -the gates of the city, they were surprised to see Loki coming to meet -them. He had a crest-fallen and bewildered look; and when they -questioned him as to what had happened to him since they parted in -such a strange way, he declared himself to be quite unable to give -any further account of his adventures than that he had been carried -rapidly through the air by the giant, and, at last, thrown down from -a great height near the place where the AEsir met him. - -Odin looked steadfastly at him as he spoke, but he forbore to -question him further: for he knew well that there was no hope of -hearing the truth from Loki, and he kept within his own mind the -conviction he felt that some disastrous result must follow a meeting -between two such evil-doers as Loki and the giant Thiassi. - -That evening, when the AEsir were all feasting and telling stories to -each other in the great hall of Valhalla, Loki stole out from -Gladsheim, and went alone to visit Iduna in her grove. It was a -still, bright evening. The leaves of the trees moved softly up and -down, whispering sweet words to each other; the flowers, with -half-shut eyes, nodded sleepily to their own reflections in the -water, and Iduna sat by the fountain, with her head resting in one -hand, thinking of pleasant things. - -"It is all very well," thought Loki; "but I am not the happier -because people can here live such pleasant lives. It does not do me -any good, or cure the pain I have had so long in my heart." - -Loki's long shadow--for the sun was setting--fell on the water as he -approached, and made Iduna start. She remembered the sight that had -disturbed her so much in the morning; but when she saw only Loki, she -looked up and smiled kindly; for he had often accompanied the other -AEsir in their visits to her grove. - -"I am wearied with a long journey," said Loki abruptly, "and I would -eat one of your apples to refresh me after my fatigue." The casket -stood by Iduna's side, and she immediately put in her hand and gave -Loki an apple. To her surprise, instead of thanking her warmly, or -beginning to eat it, he turned it round and round in his hand with a -contemptuous air. - -"It is true then," he said, after looking intently at the apple for -some time, "your apples are but small and withered in comparison. I -was unwilling to believe it at first, but now I can doubt no longer." - -"Small and withered!" said Iduna, rising hastily. "Nay, Asa Odin -himself, who has traversed the whole world, assures me that he has -never seen any to be compared to them." - -"That will never be said again," returned Loki; "for this very -afternoon I have discovered a tree, in a grove not far from Asgard, -on which grow apples so beautiful that no one who has seen them will -ever care again for yours." - -"I do not wish to see or hear of them," said Iduna, trying to turn -away with an indifferent air; but Loki followed her, and continued -to speak more and more strongly of the beauty of this new fruit, -hinting that Iduna would be sorry that she had refused to listen when -she found all her guests deserting her for the new grove, and when -even Bragi began to think lightly of her and of her gifts. At this -Iduna sighed, and Loki came up close to her, and whispered in her -ear,-- - -"It is but a short way from Asgard, and the sun has not yet set. Come -out with me, and, before any one else has seen the apples, you shall -gather them, and put them in your casket, and no woman shall ever -have it in her power to boast that she can feast the AEsir more -sumptuously than Iduna." - -Now Iduna had often been cautioned by her husband never to let -anything tempt her to leave the grove, and she had always been so -happy here, that she thought there was no use in his telling her the -same thing so often over; but now her mind was so full of the -wonderfully beautiful fruit, and she felt such a burning wish to get -it for herself, that she quite forgot her husband's commands. - -"It is only a little way," she said to herself; "there can be no harm -in going out just this once;" and, as Loki went on urging her, she -took up her casket from the ground hastily, and begged him to show -her the way to this other grove. Loki walked very quickly, and Idun -had not time to collect her thoughts before she found herself at the -entrance of Always Young. At the gate she would gladly have stopped a -minute to take breath; but Loki took hold of her hand, and forced her -to pass through, though, at the very moment of passing, she half drew -back; for it seemed to her as if all the trees in the grove suddenly -called out in alarm, "Come back, come back, Oh, come back, Iduna!" -She half drew back her hand, but it was too late; the gate fell -behind her, and she and Loki stood together without the grove. - -The trees rose up between them and the setting sun, and cast a deep -shadow on the place where they stood; a cold, night air blew on -Iduna's cheek, and made her shiver. - -"Let us hasten on," she said to Loki; "let us hasten on, and soon -come back again." - -But Loki was not looking on, he was looking up. Iduna raised her eyes -in the direction of his, and her heart died within her; for there, -high up over her head, just as she had seen it in the morning, hung -the lowering, dark wings--the sharp talons--the fierce head, looking -at her. For one moment it stood still above her head, and then lower, -lower, lower, the huge shadow fell; and, before Idun found breath to -speak, the dark wings were folded round her, and she was borne high -up in the air, northwards, towards the grey mist that hangs over -Joetunheim. Loki watched till she was out of sight, and then returned -to Asgard. The presence of the giant was no wonder to him; for he -had, in truth, purchased his own release by promising to deliver up -Iduna and her casket into his power; but, as he returned alone -through the grove, a foreboding fear pressed on his mind. - -"If it should be true," he thought, "that Iduna's apples have the -wonderful power Odin attributes to them! if I among the rest should -suffer from the loss!" - -Occupied with these thoughts, he passed quickly among the trees, -keeping his eyes resolutely fixed on the ground. He dare not trust -himself to look around; for once, when he had raised his head, he -fancied that, gliding through the brushwood, he had seen the dark -robes and pale face of his daughter Hela. - - -PART III. HELA. - -When it was known that Iduna had disappeared from her grove, there -were many sorrowful faces in Asgard, and anxious voices were heard -inquiring for her. Loki walked about with as grave a face, and asked -as many questions, as any one else; but he had a secret fear that -became stronger every day, that now, at last, the consequence of his -evil ways would find him out. - -Days passed on, and the looks of care, instead of wearing away, -deepened on the faces of the AEsir. They met, and looked at each -other, and turned away sighing; each saw that some strange change was -creeping over all the others, and none liked to be the first to -speak of it. It came on very gradually--a little change every day, -and no day ever passing without the change. The leaves of the trees -in Iduna's grove deepened in colour. They first became a sombre -green, then a glowing red, and, at last, a pale brown; and when the -brisk winds came and blew them about, they moved every day more -languidly. - -"Let us alone," they said at length. "We are tired, tired, tired." - -The winds, surprised, carried the new sound to Gladsheim, and -whispered it all round the banquet-hall where the AEsir sat, and then -they rushed back again, and blew all through the grove. - -"We are tired," said the leaves again; "we are tired, we are old; we -are going to die;" and at the word they broke from the trees one by -one, and fluttered to the ground, glad to rest anywhere; and the -winds, having nothing else to do, went back to Gladsheim with the -last strange word they had learned. - -The AEsir were all assembled in Valhalla; but there were no stories -told, and no songs sung. No one spoke much but Loki, and he was that -day in a talking humour. He moved from one to another, whispering an -unwelcome word in every ear. - -"Have you noticed your mother Frigga?" he said to Baldur. "Do you see -how white her hair is growing, and what a number of deep lines are -printed on her face?" - -Then he turned to Frey. "Look at your sister Freyja and your friend -Baldur," he said, "as they sit opposite to us. What a change has come -over them lately! Who would think that that pale man and that faded -woman were Baldur the beautiful and Freyja the fair?" - -"You are tired--you are old--you are going to die,"--moaned the -winds, wandering all round the great halls, and coming in and out of -the hundred doorways, and all the AEsir looked up at the sad sound. -Then they saw, for the first time, that a new guest had seated -herself that day at the table of the AEsir. There could be no question -of her fitness on the score of royalty, for a crown rested on her -brow, and in her hand she held a sceptre; but the fingers that -grasped the sceptre were white and fleshless, and under the crown -looked the threatening face of Hela, half corpse, half queen. - -A great fear fell on all the AEsir as they looked, and only Odin found -voice to speak to her. "Dreadful daughter of Loki!" he said, "by what -warrant do you dare to leave the kingdom where I permit you to reign, -and come to take your place among the AEsir, who are no mates for such -as you?" - -Then Hela raised her bony finger, and pointed, one by one, to the -guests that sat round. "White hair," she said, "wrinkled faces, weary -limbs, dull eyes--these are the warrants which have summoned me from -the land of shadows to sit among the AEsir. I have come to claim you, -by these signs, as my future guests, and to tell you that I am -preparing a place for you in my kingdom." - -At every word she spoke a gust of icy wind came from her mouth and -froze the blood in the listeners' veins. If she had stayed a moment -longer they would have stiffened into stone; but when she had spoken -thus, she rose and left the hall, and the sighing winds went out with -her. - -Then, after a long silence, Bragi stood up and spoke. "AEsir," he -said, "We are to blame. It is now many months since Idun was carried -away from us; we have mourned for her, but we have not yet avenged -her loss. Since she left us a strange weariness and despair have come -over us, and we sit looking on each other as if we had ceased to be -warriors and AEsir. It is plain that, unless Idun returns, we are -lost. Let two of us journey to the Urda fount, which we have so long -neglected to visit, and enquire of her from the Norns--for they know -all things--and then, when we have learnt where she is, we will fight -for her liberty, if need be, till we die; for that will be an end -more fitting for us than to sit here and wither away under the breath -of Hela." - -At these words of Bragi the AEsir felt a revival of their old strength -and courage. Odin approved of Bragi's proposal, and decreed that he -and Baldur should undertake the journey to the dwelling-place of the -Norns. That very evening they set forth; for Hela's visit showed them -that they had no time to lose. - -It was a weary time to the dwellers in Asgard while they were absent. -Two new citizens had taken up their abode in the city, Age and Pain. -They walked the streets hand-in-hand, and there was no use in -shutting the doors against them; for however closely the entrance was -barred, the dwellers in the houses felt them as they passed. - - -PART IV. THROUGH FLOOD AND FIRE. - -At length, Baldur and Bragi returned with the answer of the Norns, -couched in mystic words, which Odin alone could understand. It -revealed Loki's treacherous conduct to the AEsir, and declared that -Idun could only be brought back by Loki, who must go in search of -her, clothed in Freyja's garments of falcon feathers. - -Loki was very unwilling to venture on such a search; but Thor -threatened him with instant death if he refused to obey Odin's -commands, or failed to bring back Iduna; and, for his own safety he -was obliged to allow Freyja to fasten the falcon wings to his -shoulders, and to set off towards Thiassi's castle in Joetunheim, -where he well knew that Iduna was imprisoned. - -It was called a castle; but it was, in reality, a hollow in a dark -rock; the sea broke against two sides of it; and, above, the -sea-birds clamoured day and night. - -There the giant had taken Iduna on the night on which she had left -her grove; and, fearing lest Odin should spy her from Air Throne, he -had shut her up in a gloomy chamber, and strictly forbidden her ever -to come out. It was hard to be shut up from the fresh air and -sunshine; and yet, perhaps, it was safer for Idun than if she had -been allowed to wander about Joetunheim, and see the monstrous sights -that would have met her there. - -She saw nothing but Thiassi himself and his servants, whom he had -commanded to attend upon her; and they, being curious to see a -stranger from a distant land, came in and out many times every day. - -They were fair, Iduna saw--fair and smiling; and, at first, it -relieved her to see such pleasant faces round her, when she had -expected something horrible. - -"Pity me!" she used to say to them; "pity me! I have been torn away -from my home and my husband, and I see no hope of ever getting back." -And she looked earnestly at them; but their pleasant faces never -changed, and there was always--however bitterly Idun might be -weeping--the same smile on their lips. - -At length Iduna, looking more narrowly at them, saw, when they turned -their backs to her, that they were hollow behind; they were, in -truth, Ellewomen, who have no hearts, and can never pity any one. - -After Iduna saw this she looked no more at their smiling faces, but -turned away her head and wept silently. It is very sad to live among -Ellewomen when one is in trouble. - -Every day the giant came and thundered at Iduna's door. "Have you -made up your mind yet," he used to say, "to give me the apples? -Something dreadful will happen to you if you take much longer to -think of it." Iduna trembled very much every day, but still she had -strength to say, "No;" for she knew that the _most_ dreadful thing -would be for her to give to a wicked giant the gifts that had been -entrusted to her for the use of the AEsir. The giant would have taken -the apples by force if he could; but, whenever he put his hand into -the casket, the fruit slipped from beneath his fingers, shrivelled -into the size of a pea, and hid itself in crevices of the casket -where his great fingers could not come--only when Iduna's little -white hand touched it, it swelled again to its own size, and this she -would never do while the giant was with her. So the days passed on, -and Iduna would have died of grief among the smiling Ellewomen if it -had not been for the moaning sound of the sea and the wild cry of the -birds; "for, however others may smile, these pity me," she used to -say, and it was like music to her. - -One morning when she knew that the giant had gone out, and when the -Ellewomen had left her alone, she stood for a long time at her window -by the sea, watching the mermaids floating up and down on the waves, -and looking at heaven with their sad blue eyes. She knew that they -were mourning because they had no souls, and she thought within -herself that even in prison it was better to belong to the AEsir than -to be a mermaid or an Ellewoman, were they ever so free or happy. - -While she was still occupied with these thoughts she heard her name -spoken, and a bird with large wings flew in at the window, and, -smoothing its feathers, stood upright before her. It was Loki in -Freyja's garment of feathers, and he made her understand in a moment -that he had come to set her free, and that there was no time to lose. -He told her to conceal her casket carefully in her bosom, and then he -said a few words over her, and she found herself changed into a -sparrow, with the casket fastened among the feathers of her breast. - -Then Loki spread his wings once more, and flew out of the window, and -Iduna followed him. The sea-wind blew cold and rough, and her little -wings fluttered with fear; but she struck them bravely out into the -air and flew like an arrow over the water. - -"This way lies Asgard," cried Loki, and the word gave her strength. -But they had not gone far when a sound was heard above the sea, and -the wind, and the call of the sea-birds. Thiassi had put on his eagle -plumage, and was flying after them. For five days and five nights the -three flew over the water that divides Joetunheim from Asgard, and, at -the end of every day, they were closer together, for the giant was -gaining on the other two. - -All the five days the dwellers in Asgard stood on the walls of the -city watching. On the sixth evening they saw a falcon and a sparrow, -closely pursued by an eagle, flying towards Asgard. - -"There will not be time," said Bragi, who had been calculating the -speed at which they flew. "The eagle will reach them before they can -get into the city." - -But Odin desired a fire to be lighted upon the walls; and Thor and -Tyr, with what strength remained to them, tore up the trees from the -groves and gardens, and made a rampart of fire all round the city. -The light of the fire showed Iduna her husband and her friends -waiting for her. She made one last effort, and, rising high up in the -air above the flames and smoke, she passed the walls, and dropped -down safely at the foot of Odin's throne. The giant tried to follow; -but, wearied with his long flight, he was unable to raise his -enormous bulk sufficiently high in the air. The flames scorched his -wings as he flew through them, and he fell among the flaming piles of -wood, and was burnt to death. - -How Idun feasted the AEsir on her apples, how they grew young and -beautiful again, and how spring, and green leaves, and music came -back to the grove, I must leave you to imagine, for I have made my -story long enough already; and if I say any more you will fancy that -it is Bragi who has come among you, and that he has entered on his -endless story. - - * * * * * - -Iduna has a connection with the underworld, carried away by a giant -and kept captive in his frozen regions, the earth meanwhile becoming -winterly, old; death threatening all things. Her story is curiously -hinted at in the _Elder Edda_, where Iduna is represented as falling -down from Yggdrasil's Ash into the nether world. Odin sends Heimdall -and Bragi to bring her up again, and to ascertain from her if she has -been able to discover anything about the destruction and duration of -the world and heaven. Instead of answering she bursts into tears--the -bright, tearful return of Spring--or may this mean the impossibility -of wringing from Nature answers to the questions and longings that -fill the heart, even the tender year with its messages of hope and -hints of immortality is unable to give the full assurance for which -we yearn. - -Iduna is supposed to typify the Spring, and her falling into -captivity for a time to the giant Thiassi corresponds to the falling -of the leaf in Autumn. The union of Poetry with Spring seems very -appropriate, and we must not forget to mention that Bragi's name -calls to mind the old story of the Bragarfull. At feasts, in old -times, it was the custom to drink from cups of mead. One to Odin for -victory, one to Frey and one to Nioerd for a good year and peace, and -the fourth to Bragi. It was called the "Cup of Vows," and the drinker -vowed over it to perform some great deed worthy of the song of a -skald. - -In connection with the story of Iduna--being, indeed, almost a sequel -to it--we find the myth of Skadi, which is as follows:-- - -The giant Thiassi had a very tall daughter, called Skadi. When she -found that her father never returned from his pursuit of Idun, she -put on her armour and set off to Asgard to revenge his death. The -heroes, however, were not inclined to allow her the honour of a -combat. They suggested to her that, perhaps, it would answer her -purpose as well, if, instead of fighting them, she were to content -herself with marrying one of their number, and it appeared to Skadi -that this might possibly be revenge enough. The AEsir, however, could -not make up their minds who should be the victim. It was agreed, at -last, that they should all stand in some place of concealment -where only their feet could be seen, and that Skadi should walk -before them, and, by looking at the feet, choose her husband. Now, -Skadi had privately made up her mind to marry Baldur; so, after -looking carefully at all the feet, she stopped before a pair, which, -from their beautiful shape, she thought could only belong to the -handsome Sun-god. When, however, the figure belonging to the feet -emerged from the hiding-place, it was discovered that she had chosen -the bluff, gusty old Nioerd instead of the beautiful young Baldur; and -she was not particularly well pleased with her choice, though she was -obliged to abide by it. - -[Illustration: SKADI CHOOSING HER HUSBAND.] - -When Skadi and Nioerd were married they found, as persons do find who -marry each other for the shape of their feet, and other such wise -reasons, that it was not at all an easy thing to live happily -together. They could not even agree about the place where they should -live. Skadi was never happy out of Thrymheim--the home of noise in -misty Joetunheim, and Nioerd could not forget pleasant Noeatun, and the -clear, sunny seas where he had dwelt in his youth. At last they -agreed that they would spend three days in Noeatun, and nine days in -Thrymheim; but one day, when Nioerd was returning to Noeatun, he could -not help breaking out into the following song:-- - - "Of mountains I am weary, - Nine nights long and dreary, - All up the misty hill, - The wolf's long howl I heard. - Methought it sounded strangely-- - Methought it sounded ill - To the song of the swan bird." - -And Skadi immediately answered: - - "Never can I sleep - In my couch by the strand, - For the wild, restless waves - Rolling over the sand, - For the scream of the seagulls, - For the mew as he cries, - These sounds chase for ever - Sweet sleep from mine eyes." - -Then, putting on a pair of snow-skates, she set off more swiftly than -the wind, and Nioerd never saw more of her. Ever afterwards, with her -bow in her hand, she spent her time in chasing wild animals over the -snow, and she is the queen and patroness of all skaters. - -The next story is about Baldur, of whom Har says "that he is the best -of the sons of Odin. So fair and dazzling that rays of light seem to -issue from him, and thou mayest form some idea of the beauty of his -hair when I tell thee that the whitest of all plants is called -'Baldur's brow'" (a plant in Sweden still called Baldur's eyebrow). -Baldur is the mildest, the wisest, and the most eloquent of all the -AEsir. - - "Broad glance 'tis called - Where Baldur the Fair - Hath built him a bower - In that land where I know - The least loathliness lieth." - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -BALDUR. - - -PART I. THE DREAM. - -Upon a summer's afternoon it happened that Baldur the Bright and -Bold, beloved of men and AEsir, found himself alone in his palace of -Broadblink. Thor was walking low down among the valleys, his brow -heavy with summer heat; Frey and Gerda sported on still waters in -their cloud-leaf ship; Odin, for once, slept on the top of Air -Throne; a noon-day stillness pervaded the whole earth; and Baldur in -Broadblink, the wide-glancing most sunlit of palaces, dreamed a -dream. - -Now the dream of Baldur was troubled. He knew not whence nor why; but -when he awoke he found that a most new and weighty care was within -him. It was so heavy that Baldur could scarcely carry it, and yet he -pressed it closely to his heart, and said, "Lie there, and do not -fall on any one but me." Then he rose up, and walked out from the -expanded splendour of his hall, that he might seek his own mother, -Frigga, and tell her what had happened to him. He found her in her -crystal saloon, calm and kind, waiting to listen, and ready to -sympathise; so he walked up to her, his hands pressed closely on his -heart, and lay down at her feet sighing. - -"What is the matter, dear Baldur?" asked Frigga, gently. - -"I do not know, mother," answered he. "I do not know what the matter -is; but I have a shadow in my heart." - -"Take it out, then, my son, and let me look at it," replied Frigg. - -"But I fear, mother, that if I do it will cover the whole earth." - -Then Frigga laid her hand upon the heart of her son that she might -feel the shadow's shape. Her brow became clouded as she felt it; her -parted lips grew pale, and she cried out, "Oh! Baldur, my beloved -son! the shadow is the shadow of death!" - -Then said Baldur, "I will die bravely, my mother." - -But Frigga answered, "You shall not die at all; for I will not sleep -to-night until everything on earth has sworn to me that it will -neither kill nor harm you." - -So Frigga stood up, and called to her everything on earth that had -power to hurt or slay. First she called all metals to her; and heavy -iron-ore came lumbering up the hill into the crystal hall, brass and -gold, copper, silver, lead, and steel, and stood before the Queen, -who lifted her right-hand high in the air, saying, "Swear to me that -you will not injure Baldur;" and they all swore, and went. Then she -called to her all stones; and huge granite came with crumbling -sand-stone, and white lime, and the round, smooth stones of the -sea-shore, and Frigga raised her arm, saying, "Swear that you will -not injure Baldur;" and they swore, and went. Then Frigga called to -her the trees; and wide-spreading oak-trees, with tall ash and sombre -firs came rushing up the hill, with long branches, from which green -leaves like flags were waving, and Frigga raised her hand, and said, -"Swear that you will not hurt Baldur;" and they said, "We swear," and -went. After this Frigga called to her the diseases, who came blown -thitherward by poisonous winds on wings of pain, and to the sound of -moaning. Frigga said to them, "Swear:" and they sighed, "We swear," -then flew away. Then Frigga called to her all beasts, birds, and -venomous snakes, who came to her and swore, and disappeared. After -this she stretched out her hand to Baldur, whilst a smile spread over -her face, saying, "And now, my son, you cannot die." - -But just then Odin came in, and when he had heard from Frigga the -whole story, he looked even more mournful than she had done; neither -did the cloud pass from his face when he was told of the oaths that -had been taken. - -"Why do you still look so grave, my lord?" demanded Frigg, at last. -"Baldur cannot now die." - -But Odin asked very gravely, "Is the shadow gone out of our son's -heart, or is it still there?" - -"It cannot be there," said Frigg, turning away her head resolutely, -and folding her hands before her. - -But Odin looked at Baldur, and saw how it was. The hands pressed to -the heavy heart, the beautiful brow grown dim. Then immediately he -arose, saddled Sleipnir, his eight-footed steed, mounted him, and, -turning to Frigga, said, "I know of a dead Vala,[5] Frigg, who, when -she was alive, could tell what was going to happen; her grave lies on -the east side of Helheim, and I am going there to awake her, and ask -whether any terrible grief is really coming upon us." - - [5] Vala--a prophetess. - -So saying Odin shook the bridle in his hand, and the Eight-footed, -with a bound, leapt forth, rushed like a whirlwind down the mountain -of Asgard, and then dashed into a narrow defile between rocks. - -Sleipnir went on through the defile a long way, until he came to a -place where the earth opened her mouth. There Odin rode in and down a -broad, steep, slanting road which led him to the cavern Gnipa, and -the mouth of the cavern Gnipa yawned upon Niflheim. Then thought Odin -to himself, "My journey is already done." But just as Sleipnir was -about to leap through the jaws of the pit, Garm, the voracious dog -who was chained to the rock, sprang forward, and tried to fasten -himself upon Odin. Three times Odin shook him off, and still Garm, as -fierce as ever, went on with the fight. At last Sleipnir leapt, and -Odin thrust just at the same moment; then horse and rider cleared the -entrance, and turned eastward toward the dead Vala's grave, dripping -blood along the road as they went; while the beaten Garm stood baying -in the cavern's mouth. - -When Odin came to the grave he got off his horse, and stood with his -face northwards looking through barred enclosures into the city of -Helheim itself. The servants of Hela were very busy there making -preparations for some new guest--hanging gilded couches with curtains -of anguish and splendid misery upon the walls. Then Odin's heart died -within him and he began to repeat mournful runes in a low tone to -himself. - -The dead Vala turned heavily in her grave at the sound of his voice, -and, as he went on, sat bolt upright. "What man is this," she asked, -"who dares disturb my sleep?" - -Then Odin, for the first time in his life, said what was not true; -the shadow of Baldur dead fell upon his lips, and he made answer, "My -name is Vegtam, the son of Valtam." - -"And what do you want from me?" asked the Vala. - -"I want to know," replied Odin, "for whom Hela is making ready that -gilded couch in Helheim?" - -"That is for Baldur the Beloved," answered the dead Vala. "Now go -away, and let me sleep again, for my eyes are heavy." - -But Odin said, "Only one word more. Is Baldur going to Helheim?" - -"Yes, I've told you that he is," answered the Vala. - -"Will he never come back to Asgard again?" - -"If everything on earth should weep for him," answered she, "he will -go back; if not, he will remain in Helheim." - -Then Odin covered his face with his hands, and looked into darkness. - -"Do go away," said the Vala, "I'm so sleepy; I cannot keep my eyes -open any longer." - -But Odin raised his head, and said again, "Only tell me this one -thing. Just now, as I looked into darkness, it seemed to me as if I -saw one on earth who would not weep for Baldur. Who was it?" - -At this the Vala grew very angry and said, "How couldst _thou_ see in -darkness? I know of only one who, by giving away his eye, gained -light. No Vegtam art thou, but Odin, chief of men." - -At her angry words Odin became angry too, and called out as loudly as -ever he could, "No Vala art thou, nor wise woman, but rather the -mother of three giants." - -"Go, go!" answered the Vala, falling back in her grave; "no man shall -waken me again until Loki have burst his chains and Ragnaroek be -come." After this Odin mounted the Eight-footed once more, and rode -thoughtfully towards home. - - -PART II. THE PEACESTEAD. - -When Odin came back to Asgard, Hermod took the bridle from his -father's hand, and told him that the rest of the AEsir were gone to -the Peacestead--a broad, green plain which lay just outside the city. -Now this was, in fact, the playground of the AEsir, where they -practised trials of skill one with another, and held tournaments and -sham fights. These last were always conducted in the gentlest and -most honourable manner; for the strongest law of the Peacestead was, -that no angry blow should be struck, or spiteful word spoken, upon -the sacred field; and for this reason some have thought it might be -well if children also had a Peacestead to play in. - -Odin was too much tired by his journey from Helheim to go to the -Peacestead that afternoon; so he turned away, and shut himself up in -his palace of Gladsheim. But when he was gone, Loki came into the -city by another way, and hearing from Hermod where the AEsir were, set -off to join them. - -When he got to the Peacestead, Loki found that the AEsir were standing -round in a circle shooting at something, and he peeped between the -shoulders of two of them to find out what it was. To his surprise he -saw Baldur standing in the midst, erect and calm, whilst his friends -and brothers were aiming their weapons at him. Some hewed at him with -their sword--others threw stones at him--some shot arrows pointed -with steel, and Thor continually swung Mioelnir at his head. "Well," -said Loki to himself, "if this is the sport of Asgard, what must that -of Joetunheim be? I wonder what Father Odin and Mother Frigg would say -if they were here?" But as Loki still looked, he became even more -surprised, for the sport went on, and Baldur was not hurt. Arrows -aimed at his very heart glanced back again untinged with blood. The -stones fell down from his broad bright brow, and left no bruises -there. Swords clave, but did not wound him; Mioelnir struck him, and -he was not crushed. At this Loki grew perfectly furious with envy and -hatred. "And why is Baldur to be so honoured," said he, "that even -steel and stone shall not hurt him?" Then Loki changed himself into a -little, dark, bent, old woman, with a stick in his hand, and hobbled -away from the Peacestead to Frigga's cool saloon. At the door he -knocked with his stick. - -"Come in!" said the kind voice of Frigg, and Loki lifted the latch. - -Now when Frigga saw, from the other end of the hall, a little, bent, -crippled, old woman, come hobbling up her crystal floor, she got up -with true queenliness, and met her half way, holding out her hand, -and saying in the kindest manner, "Pray sit down, my poor old friend; -for it seems to me that you have come from a great way off." - -"That I have, indeed," answered Loki in a tremulous, squeaking voice. - -"And did you happen to see anything of the AEsir," asked Frigg, "as -you came?" - -"Just now I passed by the Peacestead, and saw them at play." - -"What were they doing?" - -"Shooting at Baldur." - -Then Frigg bent over her work with a pleased smile on her face. "And -nothing hurt him?" she said. - -"Nothing," answered Loki, looking keenly at her. - -"No, nothing," murmured Frigg, still looking down and speaking half -musingly to herself; "for all things have sworn to me that they will -not." - -"Sworn!" exclaimed Loki, eagerly; "what is that you say? Has -everything sworn then?" - -"Everything," answered she, "excepting, indeed, the little shrub -mistletoe, which grows, you know, on the west side of Valhal, and to -which I said nothing, because I thought it was too young to swear." - -"Excellent!" thought Loki; and then he got up. - -"You're not going yet, are you?" said Frigg, stretching out her hand -and looking up at last into the eyes of the old woman. - -"I'm quite rested now, thank you," answered Loki in his squeaky -voice, and then he hobbled out at the door, which clapped after him, -and sent a cold gust into the room. Frigga shuddered, and thought -that a serpent was gliding down the back of her neck. - -When Loki had left the presence of Frigg, he changed himself back to -his proper shape, and went straight to the west side of Valhal, where -the mistletoe grew. Then he opened his knife, and cut off a large -branch, saying these words, "Too young for Frigga's oaths, but not -too weak for Loki's work." After which he set off for the Peacestead -once more, the mistletoe in his hand. When he got there he found that -the AEsir were still at their sport, standing round, taking aim, and -talking eagerly, and Baldur did not seem tired. - -But there was one who stood alone, leaning against a tree, and who -took no part in what was going on. This was Hoedur, Baldur's blind -twin-brother; he stood with his head bent downwards, silent, whilst -the others were speaking, doing nothing when they were most eager; -and Loki thought that there was a discontented expression on his -face, just as if he were saying to himself, "Nobody takes any notice -of me." So Loki went up to him, and put his hand upon his shoulder. - -"And why are you standing here all alone, my brave friend?" said he. -"Why don't _you_ throw something at Baldur. Hew at him with a sword, -or show him some attention of that sort." - -"I haven't got a sword," answered Hoedur, with an impatient gesture; -"and you know as well as I do, Loki, that Father Odin does not -approve of my wearing warlike weapons, or joining in sham fights, -because I am blind." - -"Oh! is that it?" said Loki. "Well, I only know _I_ shouldn't like to -be left out of everything. However, I've got a twig of mistletoe here -which I'll lend you if you like; a harmless little twig enough, but I -shall be happy to guide your arm if you would like to throw it, and -Baldur might take it as a compliment from his twin-brother." - -"Let me feel it," said Hoedur, stretching out his uncertain hands. - -"This way, this way, my dear friend," said Loki, giving him the twig. -"Now, as hard as ever you can, to do _him honour_; throw!" - -Hoedur threw--Baldur fell, and the shadow of death covered the whole -earth. - - -PART III. BALDUR DEAD. - -One after another they turned and left the Peacestead, those friends -and brothers of the slain. One after another they turned and went -towards the city; crushed hearts, heavy footsteps, no word amongst -them, a shadow upon all. The shadow was in Asgard too,--had walked -through Frigga's hall, and seated itself upon the threshold of -Gladsheim. Odin had just come out to look at it, and Frigg stood by -in mute despair as the AEsir came up. - -"Loki did it! Loki did it!" they said at last in confused, hoarse -whispers, and they looked from one to another, upon Odin, upon Frigg, -upon the shadow which they saw before them, and which they felt -within. "Loki did it! Loki, Loki!" they went on saying; but it was no -use repeating the name of Loki over and over again when there was -another name they were too sad to utter which yet filled all their -hearts--Baldur. Frigga said it first, and then they all went to look -at him lying down so peacefully on the grass--dead, dead. - -"Carry him to the funeral pyre!" said Odin, at length; and four of -the AEsir stooped down, and lifted their dead brother. - -With scarcely any sound they carried the body tenderly to the -sea-shore, and laid it upon the deck of that majestic ship called -Ringhorn, which had been _his_. Then they stood round waiting to see -who would come to the funeral. Odin came, and on his shoulders sat -his two ravens, whose croaking drew clouds down over the Asa's face, -for Thought and Memory sang one sad song that day. Frigga -came,--Frey, Gerda, Freyja, Thor, Hoenir, Bragi, and Idun. Heimdall -came sweeping over the tops of the mountains on Golden Mane, his -swift, bright steed. AEgir the Old groaned from under the deep, and -sent his daughters up to mourn around the dead. Frost-giants and -mountain-giants came crowding round the rimy shores of Joetunheim to -look across the sea upon the funeral of an Asa. Nanna came, Baldur's -fair young wife; but when she saw the dead body of her husband her -own heart broke with grief, and the AEsir laid her beside him on the -stately ship. After this Odin stepped forward, and placed a ring on -the breast of his son, whispering something at the same time in his -ear; but when he and the rest of the AEsir tried to push Ringhorn into -the sea before setting fire to it, they found that their hearts were -so heavy they could lift nothing. So they beckoned to the giantess -Hyrrokin to come over from Joetunheim and help them. She, with a -single push, set the ship floating, and then, whilst Thor stood up -holding Mioelnir high in the air, Odin lighted the funeral pile of -Baldur and of Nanna. - -So Ringhorn went out floating towards the deep, and the funeral fire -burnt on. Its broad red flame burst forth towards heaven; but when -the smoke would have gone upward too, the winds came sobbing and -carried it away. - - -PART IV. HELHEIM. - -When at last the ship Ringhorn had floated out so far to sea that it -looked like a dull, red lamp on the horizon, Frigga turned round and -said, "Does any one of you, my children, wish to perform a noble -action, and win my love for ever?" - -"I do," cried Hermod, before any one else had time to open his lips. - -"Go, then, Hermod," answered Frigg, "saddle Sleipnir with all speed, -and ride down to Helheim; there seek out Hela, the stern mistress of -the dead, and entreat her to send our beloved back to us once more." - -Hermod was gone in the twinkling of an eye, not in at the mouth of -the earth and through the steep cavern down which Odin went to the -dead Vala's grave; he chose another way, though not a better one; -for, go to Helheim how you will, the best is but a downward road, and -so Hermod found it--downward, slanting, slippery, dark and very cold. -At last he came to the Giallar Bru--that sounding river which flows -between the living and the dead, and the bridge over which is paved -with stones of glittering gold. Hermod was surprised to see gold in -such a place; but as he rode over the bridge, and looked down -carefully at the stones, he saw that they were only tears which had -been shed round the beds of the dying--only tears, and yet they made -the way seem brighter. But when Hermod reached the other end of the -bridge, he found the courageous woman who, for ages and ages, had -been sitting there to watch the dead go by, and she stopped him -saying,-- - -"What a noise you make. Who are you? Yesterday five troops of dead -men went over the Giallar Bridge, and did not shake it so much as -you have done. Besides," she added, looking more closely at Hermod, -"you are not a dead man at all. Your lips are neither cold nor blue. -Why, then, do you ride on the way to Helheim?" - -"I seek Baldur," answered Hermod. "Tell me, have you seen him pass?" - -"Baldur," she said, "has ridden over the bridge; but there below, -towards the north, lies the way to the Abodes of Death." - -So Hermod went on the way until he came to the barred gates of -Helheim itself. There he alighted, tightened his saddle-girths, -remounted, clapped both spurs to his horse, and cleared the gate by -one tremendous leap. Then Hermod found himself in a place where no -living man had ever been before--the City of the Dead. Perhaps you -think there is a great silence there, but you are mistaken. Hermod -thought he had never in his life heard so much noise; for the echoes -of all words were speaking together--words, some newly uttered and -some ages old; but the dead men did not hear who flitted up and down -the dark streets, for their ears had been stunned and become cold -long since. Hermod rode on through the city until he came to the -palace of Hela, which stood in the midst. Precipice was its -threshold, the entrance-hall, Wide Storm, and yet Hermod was not too -much afraid to seek the innermost rooms; so he went on to the -banqueting-hall, where Hela sat at the head of her table, and served -her newest guests. Baldur, alas! sat at her right-hand, and on her -left his pale young wife. When Hela saw Hermod coming up the hall she -smiled grimly, but beckoned to him at the same time to sit down, and -told him that he might sup that night with her. It was a strange -supper for a living man to sit down to. Hunger was the table; -Starvation, Hela's knife; Delay her man; Slowness, her maid; and -Burning Thirst, her wine. After supper Hela led the way to the -sleeping apartments. "You see," she said, turning to Hermod, "I am -very anxious about the comfort of my guests. Here are beds of unrest -provided for all, hung with curtains of weariness, and look how all -the walls are furnished with despair." - -So saying she strode away, leaving Hermod and Baldur together. The -whole night they sat on those unquiet couches and talked. Hermod -could speak of nothing but the past, and as he looked anxiously round -the room his eyes became dim with tears. But Baldur seemed to see a -light far off, and he spoke of what was to come. - -The next morning Hermod went to Hela, and entreated her to let Baldur -return to Asgard. He even offered to take his place in Helheim if she -pleased; but Hela only laughed at this, and said, "You talk a great -deal about Baldur, and boast how much every one loves him; I will -prove now if what you have told me be true. Let everything on earth, -living or dead, weep for Baldur and he shall go home again; but if -_one_ thing only refuse to weep, then let Helheim hold its own; he -shall _not_ go." - -"Every one will weep willingly," said Hermod, as he mounted Sleipnir, -and rode towards the entrance of the city. Baldur went with him as -far as the gate, and began to send messages to all his friends in -Asgard, but Hermod would not listen to many of them. - -"You will so soon come back to us," he said, "there is no use in -sending messages." - -So Hermod darted homewards, and Baldur watched him through the bars -of Helheim's gateway as he flew along. - -"Not soon, not soon," said the dead Asa; but still he saw the light -far off, and thought of what was to come. - - -PART V. WEEPING. - -"Well, Hermod, what did she say?" asked the AEsir from the top of the -hill, as they saw him coming; "make haste and tell us what she said." -And Hermod came up. - -"Oh! is that all?" they cried, as soon as he had delivered his -message. "Nothing can be more easy;" and then they all hurried off to -tell Frigga. She was weeping already, and in five minutes there was -not a tearless eye in Asgard. - -"But this is not enough," said Odin; "the whole earth must know of -our grief that it may weep with us." - -Then the father of the AEsir called to him his messenger maidens--the -beautiful Valkyrior--and sent them out into all worlds with these -three words on their lips, "Baldur is dead!" But the words were so -dreadful that at first the messenger maidens could only whisper them -in low tones as they went along, "Baldur is dead!" The dull, sad -sounds flowed back on Asgard like a new river of grief, and it seemed -to the AEsir as if they now wept for the first time--"Baldur is dead!" - -"What is that the Valkyrior are saying?" asked the men and women in -all the country round, and when they heard rightly, men left their -labour and lay down to weep--women dropped the buckets they were -carrying to the well, and, leaning their faces over them, filled them -with tears. The children crowded upon the doorsteps, or sat down at -the corners of the streets, crying as if their own mothers were dead. - -The Valkyrior passed on. "Baldur is dead!" they said to the empty -fields; and straightway the grass and the wild field-flowers shed -tears. "Baldur is dead!" said the messenger maidens to the rocks and -the stones; and the very stones began to weep. "Baldur is dead!" the -Valkyrior cried; and even the old mammoth's bones, which had lain for -centuries under the hills, burst into tears, so that small rivers -gushed forth from every mountain's side. "Baldur is dead!" said the -messenger maidens as they swept over silent sands; and all the shells -wept pearls. "Baldur is dead!" they cried to the sea, and to -Joetunheim across the sea; and when the giants understood it, even -they wept, whilst the sea rained spray to heaven. After this the -Valkyrior stepped from one stone to another until they reached a rock -that stood alone in the middle of the sea; then, all together, they -bent forward over the edge of it, stooped down and peeped over, that -they might tell the monsters of the deep. "Baldur is dead!" they -said; and, the sea monsters and the fish wept. Then the messenger -maidens looked at one another, and said, "Surely our work is done." -So they twined their arms round one another's waists, and set forth -on the downward road to Helheim, there to claim Baldur from among the -dead. - -Now after he had sent forth his messenger maidens, Odin had seated -himself on the top of Air Throne that he might see how the earth -received his message. At first he watched the Valkyrior as they -stepped forth north and south, and east and west; but soon the whole -earth's steaming tears rose up like a great cloud, and hid everything -from him. Then he looked down through the cloud, and said, "Are you -all weeping?" The Valkyrior heard the sound of his voice as they went -all together down the slippery road, and they turned round, -stretching out their arms towards Air Throne, their long hair falling -back, whilst, with choked voices and streaming eyes, they answered, -"The world weeps, Father Odin; the world and we." - -After this they went on their way until they came to the end of the -cave Gnipa, where Garm was chained, and which yawned over Niflheim. -"The world weeps," they said one to another by way of encouragement, -for here the road was so dreadful; but just as they were about to -pass through the mouth of Gnipa they came upon a haggard witch named -Thaukt, who sat in the entrance with her back to them, and her face -towards the abyss. "Baldur is dead! Weep, weep!" said the messenger -maidens, as they tried to pass her; but Thaukt made answer-- - - "What she doth hold, - Let Hela keep; - For naught care I, - Though the world weep, - O'er Baldur's bale. - Live he or die - With tearless eye, - Old Thaukt shall wail." - -And with these words leaped into Niflheim with a yell of triumph. - -"Surely that cry was the cry of Loki," said one of the maidens; but -another pointed towards the city of Helheim, and there they saw the -stern face of Hela looking over the wall. - -"One has not wept," said the grim Queen, "and Helheim holds its own." -So saying she motioned the maidens away with her long, cold hand. - -Then the Valkyrior turned and fled up the steep way to the foot of -Odin's throne, like a pale snow-drift that flies before the storm. - -After this a strong child, called Vali, was born in the city of -Asgard. He was the youngest of Odin's sons--strong and cold as the -icy January blast; but full, also, as it is of the hope of the new -year. When only a day old he slew the blind Hoedur by a single blow, -and then spent the rest of his life in trying to lift the shadow of -death from the face of the weeping earth. - - * * * * * - -The death of Baldur was probably in the first place an expression of -the decline of the Summer sun. At midsummer Freyja's husband forsook -her, at midsummer also the bright god begins to turn his face -Helheim-wards. Midsummer day is observed in the North of Europe under -the name of Beltan, and fires are lighted upon the hills, a custom -which evidently had its origin in a commemoration of Baldur's death. -Some think that Baldur and Hoedur typify the two halves of the year. -At the turn of the day in Summer Hoed kills Baldur, at the turn of -the day in Winter Vali kills Hoedur. Vali was the son of Odin and -Rind, a giantess, whose name means the winterly earth, so that -clearly Vali comes at midwinter. Why the mistletoe should be used to -kill Baldur it is difficult to say. Might its being so weak and small -imply the very small beginning of the day's decline. - -But Baldur, from the description given of him in the _Edda_, must -surely be a personification of goodness morally, as well as the sun -of the outward year, and his not returning from Helheim, being -retained there through the machinations of Loki, seems to be a sort -of connecting link between the first sorrow of the gods, the -beginning of evil and their final defeat by the evil powers at -Ragnaroek--the giants have already one foot upon the gods. - - * * * * * - -The hero of the next story is Tyr, mentioned in the first chapter as -the only one of the AEsir who could feed the monster Fenrir. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -THE BINDING OF FENRIR. - - -PART I. THE MIGHT OF ASGARD. - -I hope you have not forgotten what I told you of Fenrir, Loki's -fierce wolf-son, whom Odin brought home with him to Asgard, and of -whose reformation, uncouth and wolfish as he was, All-Father -entertained some hope, thinking that the wholesome, bright air of -Gladsheim, the sight of the fair faces of the Asyniur and the hearing -of the brave words which day by day fell from the lips of heroes, -would, perhaps, have power to change the cruel nature he had -inherited from his father, and make him worthy of his place as a -dweller in the City of Lords. - -To Tyr, the brave and strong-handed, Odin assigned the task of -feeding Fenrir, and watching him, lest, in his cruel strength, he -should injure any who were unable to defend themselves. And truly it -was a grand sight, and one that Asa Odin loved, to see the two -together, when, in the evening after the feast was over in Valhalla, -Fenrir came prowling to Tyr's feet to receive his food from the one -hand strong enough to quell him. - -Tyr stood up in his calm strength like a tall, sheltering rock in -which the timid sea-birds find a home; and Fenrir roared and howled -round him like the bitter, destroying wave that slowly undermines its -base. - -[Illustration: TYR FEEDING FENRIR.] - -Time passed on. Tyr had reached the prime of his strength; but Fenrir -went on growing, not so rapidly as to awaken fear, as his brother -Joermungand had done, but slowly, surely, continually--a little -stronger and a little fiercer every day. - -The AEsir and the Asyniur had become accustomed to his presence; the -gentlest lady in Asgard no longer turned away from the sight of -his fierce mouth and fiery eye; they talked to each other about the -smallest things, and every daily event was commented on and wondered -about; but no one said anything of Fenrir, or noticed how gradually -he grew, or how the glad air and the strong food, which gave valour -and strength to an Asa, could only develope with greater rapidity -fierceness and cruelty in a wolf. And they would have gone on living -securely together while the monster grew and grew, if it had not been -that Asa Odin's one eye, enlightened as it was by the upspringing -well of wisdom within, saw more clearly than the eyes of his brothers -and children. - -One evening, as he stood in the court of Valhalla watching Tyr as he -gave Fenrir his evening meal, a sudden cloud of care fell on the -placid face of All-Father, and when the wolf, having satisfied his -hunger, crouched back to his lair, he called together a council of -the heads of the AEsir--Thor, Tyr, Bragi, Hoenir, Frey, and Nioerd; -and, after pointing out to them the evil which they had allowed to -grow up among them unnoticed, he asked their counsel as to the best -way of overcoming it before it became too strong to withstand. - -Thor, always ready, was the first to answer. "One would think," he -said, "to hear the grave way in which you speak, Father Odin, that -there was no such thing as a smithy near Asgard, or that I, Asa Thor, -had no power to forge mighty weapons, and had never made my name -known in Joetunheim as the conqueror and binder of monsters. Set your -mind at rest. Before to-morrow evening at this time I will have -forged a chain with which you shall bind Fenrir; and, once bound in a -chain of my workmanship, there will be nothing further to fear from -him." - -The assembled AEsir applauded Thor's speech; but the cloud did not -pass away from Odin's brow. - -"You have done many mighty deeds, Son Thor," he said; "but, if I -mistake not, this binding of Fenrir will prove a task too difficult -even for you." - -Thor made no answer; but he seized Mioelnir, and, with sounding -steps, strode to the smithy. All night long the mighty blows of -Mioelnir rang on the anvil, and the roaring bellows breathed a hot -blast over all the hill of Asgard. None of the AEsir slept that night; -but every now and then one or other of them came to cheer Thor at his -work. Sometimes Frey brought his bright face into the dusky smithy; -sometimes Tyr entreated permission to strike a stout blow; sometimes -Bragi seated himself among the workers, and, with his eyes fixed on -the glowing iron, poured forth a hero song, to which the ringing -blows kept time. - -There was also another guest, who, at intervals, made his presence -known. By the light of the fire the evil form of Fenrir was seen -prowling round in the darkness, and every now and then a fiendish, -mocking laugh filled the pauses of the song, and the wind, and the -ringing hammer. - -All that night and the next day Thor laboured and Fenrir watched, -and, at the time of the evening meal, Thor strode triumphantly into -Father Odin's presence, and laid before him Laeding, the strongest -chain that had ever yet been forged on earth. The AEsir passed it from -one to another, and wondered at its immense length, and at the -ponderous moulding of its twisted links. - -"It is impossible for Fenrir to break through this," they said; and -they were loud in their thanks to Thor and praises of his prowess; -only Father Odin kept a grave, sad silence. - -When Fenrir came into the court to receive his food from Tyr, it was -agreed that Thor and Tyr were to seize and bind him. They held their -weapons in readiness, for they expected a fierce struggle; but, to -their surprise, Fenrir quietly allowed the chain to be wound round -him, and lay down at his ease, while Thor, with two strokes of -Mioelnir, rivetted the last link into one of the strongest stones on -which the court rested. Then, when the AEsir were about to -congratulate each other on their victory, he slowly raised his -ponderous form, which seemed to dilate in the rising, with one bound -forward snapped the chain like a silken thread, and walked leisurely -to his lair, as if no unusual thing had befallen him. - -The AEsir, with downcast faces, stood looking at each other. Once more -Thor was the first to speak. "He who breaks through Laeding," he said, -"only brings upon himself the still harder bondage of Dromi." And -having uttered these words, he again lifted Mioelnir from the ground, -and, weary as he was, returned to the smithy and resumed his place at -the anvil. - -For three days and nights Thor worked, and, when he once more -appeared before Father Odin, he carried in his hand Dromi--the -"Strong Binding." This chain exceeded Laeding in strength by one half, -and was so heavy that Asa Thor himself staggered under its weight; -and yet Fenrir showed no fear of allowing himself to be bound by it, -and it cost him very little more effort than on the first evening to -free himself from its fetters. - -After this second failure Odin again called a council of AEsir in -Gladsheim, and Thor stood among the others, silent and shamefaced. - -It was now Frey who ventured first to offer an opinion. "Thor, Tyr, -and other brave sons of the AEsir," he said, "have passed their lives -valiantly in fighting against giants and monsters, and, doubtless, -much wise lore has come to them through these adventures. I, for the -most part, have spent my time peacefully in woods and fields, -watching how the seasons follow each other, and how the silent, dewy -night ever leads up the brightly-smiling day; and, in this watching, -many things have been made plain to me which have not, perhaps, been -thought worthy of regard by my brother Lords. One thing that I have -learned is, the wondrous strength that lies in little things, and -that the labour carried on in darkness and silence ever brings forth -the grandest birth. Thor and Mioelnir have failed to forge a chain -strong enough to bind Fenrir; but, since we cannot be helped by the -mighty and renowned, let us turn to the unknown and weak. - -"In the caverns and dim places of the earth live a tiny race of -people, who are always working with unwearied, noiseless fingers. -With Asa Odin's permission, I will send my messenger, Skirnir, and -entreat aid of them; and we shall, perhaps, find that what passes -the might of Asgard may be accomplished in the secret places of -Svartheim." - -The face of Asa Odin brightened as Frey spoke, and, rising -immediately from his seat, he broke up the council, and entreated -Frey to lose no time in returning to Alfheim and despatching Skirnir -on his mission. - - -PART II. THE SECRET OF SVARTHEIM. - -In spite of the cloud that hung over Asgard all was fair and peaceful -in Alfheim. Gerda, the radiant Alf Queen, made there perpetual -sunshine with her bright face. The little elves loved her, and -fluttered round her, keeping up a continual merry chatter, which -sounded through the land like the sharp ripple of a brook over stony -places; and Gerda answered them in low, sweet tones, as the answering -wind sounds among the trees. - -These must have been pleasant sounds to hear after the ringing of -Mioelnir and the howling of Fenrir; but Frey hardly gave himself time -to greet Gerd and his elves before he summoned Skirnir into his -presence, and acquainted him with the danger that hung over Asgard, -and the important mission which the AEsir had determined to trust to -his sagacity. Skirnir listened, playing with the knot of his wondrous -sword, as he was wont to do, in order to make known to every one that -he possessed it; for, to confess the truth, it was somewhat too heavy -for him to wield. - -"This is a far different mission," he said, "from that on which you -once sent me--to woo fairest Gerd; but, as the welfare of Asgard -requires it, I will depart at once, though I have little liking for -the dark caves and cunning people." - -Frey thanked him, and, putting a small key into his hand, which was, -indeed, the key to the gate of Svartheim, he bade him farewell, and -Skirnir set out on his journey. - -The road from Alfheim to Svartheim is not as long as you would be apt -to imagine. Indeed, it is possible for a careless person to wander -from one region to another without being at once aware of it. -Skirnir, having the key in his hand, took the direct way. The -entrance-gate stands at the opening of a dim mountain-cave. Skirnir -left his horse without, and entered; the air was heavy, moist, and -warm, and it required the keenest glances of Skirnir's keen eyes to -see his way. Innumerable narrow, winding paths, all leading -downwards, opened themselves before him. As he followed the widest, a -faint clinking sound of hammers met his ear, and, looking round, he -saw groups of little men at work on every side. Some were wheeling -small wheelbarrows full of lumps of shining metal along the ledges of -the rock; some, with elfin pickaxes and spades, were digging ore from -the mountain-side; some, herded together in little caves, were busy -kindling fires, or working with tiny hammers on small anvils. As he -continued his downward path the last remnant of daylight faded away; -but he was not in total darkness, for now he perceived that each -worker carried on his head a lantern, in which burned a pale, dancing -light. Skirnir knew that each light was a Will-o'-the-wisp, which the -dwarf who carried it had caught and imprisoned to light him in his -work during the day, and which he must restore to the earth at night. - -For many miles Skirnir wandered on lower and lower. On every side of -him lay countless heaps of treasure--gold, silver, diamonds, rubies, -emeralds--which the cunning workers stowed away silently in their -dark hiding-places. At length he came to the very middle of the -mountain, where the rocky roof rose to an immense height, and where -he found himself in a brilliantly-lighted palace. Here, in truth, -were hung all the lights in the world, which, on dark, moonless -nights, are carried out by dwarfs to deceive the eyes of men. -Corpse-lights, Will-o'-the-wisps, the sparks from glow-worms' tails, -the light in fire-flies' wings--these, carefully hung up in tiers -round and round the hall, illuminated the palace with a cold blue -light, and revealed to Skirnir's eyes the grotesque and hideous -shapes of the tiny beings around him. Hump-backed, cunning-eyed, -open-mouthed, they stood round, laughing, and whispering, and -pointing with shrivelled fingers. One among them, a little taller -than the rest, who sat on a golden seat thickly set with diamonds, -appeared to be a kind of chief among them, and to him Skirnir -addressed his message. - -Cunning and wicked as these dwarfs were, they entertained a wholesome -fear of Odin, having never forgotten their one interview with him in -Gladsheim; and, therefore, when they heard from whom Skirnir came, -with many uncouth gesticulations they bowed low before him, and -declared themselves willing to obey All-Father's commands. They asked -for two days and two nights in which to complete their task, and -during that time Skirnir remained their guest in Svartheim. - -He wandered about, and saw strange sights. He saw the great earth -central fire, and the swarthy, withered race, whose task it is -ceaselessly to feed it with fuel; he saw the diamond-makers, who -change the ashes of the great fire into brilliants; and the dwarfs, -whose business it is to fill the cracks in the mountain-sides with -pure veins of silver and gold, and lead them up to places where they -will one day meet the eyes of men. Nearer the surface he visited the -workers in iron and the makers of salt-mines; he drank of their -strange-tasting mineral waters, and admired the splendour of their -silver-roofed temples and dwellings of solid gold. - -At the end of two days Skirnir re-entered the audience-hall, and then -the chief of the dwarfs put into his hand a slender chain. You can -imagine what size it was when I tell you that the dwarf chief held it -lightly balanced on his forefinger; and when it rested on Skirnir's -hand it felt to him no heavier than a piece of thistle-down. - -The Svart King laughed loud when he saw the disappointment on -Skirnir's face. "It seems to you a little thing," he said; "and yet I -assure you that in making it we have used up all the materials in the -whole world fit for the purpose. No such chain can ever be made -again, neither will the least atom of the substances of which it is -made be found more. It is fashioned out of six things. The noise made -by the footfall of cats; the beards of women; the roots of stones; -the sinews of bears; the breath of fish; and the spittle of birds. -Fear not with this to bind Fenrir; for no stronger chain will ever be -made till the end of the world." - -Skirnir now looked with wonder at his chain, and, after having -thanked the dwarfs, and promised to bring them a reward from Odin, he -set forth on his road home, and, by the time of the evening meal, -reached Valhalla, and gladdened the hearts of the AEsir by the tidings -of his success. - - -PART III. HONOUR. - -Far away to the north of Asgard, surrounded by frowning mountains, -the dark lake, Amsvartnir, lies, and, above the level of its troubled -waters, burns Lyngvi, the island of sweet broom, flaming like a jewel -on the dark brow of Hela. In this lonely isle, to which no ship but -Skidbladnir could sail, the AEsir, with Fenrir in the midst, assembled -to try the strength of the dwarfs' chain. - -Fenrir prowled round his old master, Tyr, with a look of savage -triumph in his cruel eyes, now licking the hand that had so long fed -him, and now shaking his great head, and howling defiantly. The AEsir -stood at the foot of Gioell, the sounding rock, and passed Gleipnir, -the chain, from one to another, talking about it, while Fenrir -listened. "It was much stronger than it looked," they said; and Thor -and Tyr vied with each other in their efforts to break it; while -Bragi declared his belief that there was no one among AEsir or giants -capable of performing so great a feat, "unless," he added, "it should -be you, Fenrir." - -This speech roused the pride of Fenrir; and, after looking long at -the slender chain and the faces of the AEsir, he answered, "Loath am I -to be bound by this chain; but, lest you should doubt my courage, I -will consent that you should bind me, provided one of you put his -hand into my mouth as a pledge that no deceit is intended." - -There was a moment's silence among the AEsir when they heard this, and -they looked at one another. Odin looked at Thor, and Thor looked at -Bragi, and Frey fell behind, and put his hand to his side, where the -all-conquering sword, which he alone could wield, no longer rested. - -At length Tyr stepped forward valiantly, and put his strong right -hand, with which he had so often fed him, into the wolf's cruel jaws. - -At this signal the other AEsir threw the chain round the monster's -neck, bound him securely with one end, and fastened the other to the -great rock Gioell. When he was bound Fenrir rose, and shook himself, -as he had done before; but in vain he raised himself up, and bounded -forward--the more he struggled the more firmly the slender chain -bound him. - -At this sight the AEsir set up a loud shout of joy; for they saw their -enemy conquered, and the danger that threatened Asgard averted. Only -Tyr was silent, for in the struggle he had lost his hand. - -Then Thor thrust his sword into the mouth of Fenrir, and a foaming -dark flood burst forth, roared down the rock and under the lake, and -began its course through the country a turbid river. So it will roll -on till Ragnaroek be come. - -The sails of Skidbladnir now spread themselves out to the wind; and -the AEsir, seated in the magic ship, floated over the lake silently in -the silent moonlight; while, from the top of Bifroest, over the Urda -fount and the dwelling of the Norns, a song floated down. "Who," -asked one voice, "of all the AEsir has won the highest honour?" and, -singing, another voice made answer, "Tyr has won the highest honour; -for, of all the AEsir, he has the most worthily employed his gift." - -"Frey gave his sword for fairest Gerd." - -"Odin bought for himself wisdom at the price of his right eye." - -"Tyr, not for himself, but for others, has sacrificed his strong -right hand." - - * * * * * - -The wolf Fenrir is annihilation; he was destined to swallow the chief -of the gods at Ragnaroek. We see him here as destruction chained until -his time for mischief should come again--the destructive side of -nature morally and physically is personified in him. Why the dwarfs -should be able to make a chain strong enough to bind him, which the -gods had failed to do, is a puzzle. May it mean that subtlety can -compass ends which force has to relinquish, or possibly a better -thing than subtlety, gentleness? - -Tyr, who plays an important part in this myth, was the son of Odin -and a giantess. His name means "Shining;" at one time he was probably -a chief of gods. He is also a sort of war god, something like Thor, a -finer hero, though, by a long way. Har says of him, "he is the most -daring and intrepid of the gods, hence a man who surpasses all others -in valour is called Tyr-strong." His having only one hand refers -partly to his character of war god, and means that the victory can -only be awarded to one side. "Thou never couldst settle a strife -betwixt two," was said to his shame, and, we may add, to that of all -war gods for ever. - -Tyr gives his name to Tuesday, as Odin to Wednesday, Thor to -Thursday, and Freyja or Frigga to Friday. Some suggest that Loki is -the patron of Saturday. He--Loki--forms the subject of the next -chapter. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -THE PUNISHMENT OF LOKI. - - -After the death of Baldur, Loki never again ventured to intrude -himself into the presence of the AEsir. He knew well enough that he -had now done what could never be forgiven him, and that, for the -future, he must bend all his cunning and vigilance to the task of -hiding himself for ever from the eyes of those whom he had so -injured, and escaping the just punishment he had brought upon -himself. - -The world is large, and I am very cunning, said Loki to himself, as -he turned his back upon Asgard, and wandered out into Manheim; there -is no end to the thick woods, and no measure for the deep waters; -neither is there any possibility of counting the various forms under -which I shall disguise myself. All-Father will never be able to find -me; I have no cause to fear. But, though Loki repeated this over and -over again to himself, he _was_ afraid. - -He wandered far into the thick woods, and covered himself with the -deep waters; he climbed to the tops of misty hills, and crouched in -the dark of hollow caves; but above the wood, and through the water, -and down into the darkness, a single ray of calm, clear light seemed -always to follow him, and he knew that it came from the eye of -All-Father, who was watching him from Air Throne. - -Then he tried to escape the judging eye by disguising himself under -various shapes. Sometimes he was an eagle on a lonely mountain-crag; -sometimes he hid himself as one among a troop of timid reindeer; -sometimes he lay in the nest of a wood-pigeon; sometimes he swam, a -bright-spotted fish, in the sea; but, wherever he was, among living -creatures, or alone with dead nature, everything seemed to know him, -and to find some voice in which to say to him, You are Loki, and you -have killed Baldur. Air, earth, or water, there was no rest for him -anywhere. - -Tired at last of seeking what he could nowhere find, Loki built -himself a house by the side of a narrow, glittering river which, at a -lower point, flashed down from a high rock into the sea below. He -took care that his house should have four doors in it, that he might -look out on every side, and catch the first glimpse of the AEsir when -they came, as he knew they would come, to take him away. Here his -wife, Siguna, and his two sons, Ali and Nari, came to live with him. - -Siguna was a kind woman, far too good and kind for Loki. She felt -sorry for him now that she saw he was in great fear, and that every -living thing had turned against him, and she would have hidden him -from the just anger of the AEsir if she could; but the two sons cared -little about their father's dread and danger; they spent all their -time in quarrelling with each other; and their loud, angry voices, -sounding above the waterfall, would speedily have betrayed the -hiding-place, even if All-Father's piercing eye had not already -discovered it. If only the children would be quiet, Siguna used to -say anxiously every day; but Loki said nothing; he was beginning to -know by experience that there was that about his children that could -never be kept quiet or hidden away. - -At last, one day when he was sitting in the middle of his house -looking alternately out of all the four doors, and amusing himself as -well as he could by making a fishing net, he spied in the distance -the whole company of the AEsir approaching his house. The sight of -them coming all together--beautiful, and noble, and free--pierced -Loki with a pang that was worse than death. He rose without daring to -look again, threw his net on a fire that burned on the floor, and, -rushing to the side of the little river, he turned himself into a -salmon, swam down to the deepest, stillest pool at the bottom, and -hid himself between two stones. The AEsir entered the house, and -looked all round in vain for Loki, till Kvasir, one of Odin's sons, -famous for his keen sight, spied out the remains of the fishing-net -in the fire; then Odin knew at once that there was a river near, and -that it was there where Loki had hidden himself. He ordered his sons -to make a fresh net, and to cast it into the water, and drag out -whatever living thing they could find there. It was done as he -desired. Thor held one end of the net, and all the rest of the AEsir -drew the other through the water. When they pulled it up the first -time, however, it was empty, and they would have gone away -disappointed, had not Kvasir, looking earnestly at the meshes of the -net, discovered that something living had certainly touched them. -They then added a weight to the net, and threw it with such force -that it reached the bottom of the river, and dragged up the stones in -the pool. - -Loki now saw the danger he was in of being caught in the net, and, as -there was no other way of escape, he rose to the surface, swam down -the river as quickly as he could, and leaped over the net into the -waterfall. He swam and leaped quickly as a flash of lightning, but -not so quickly but that the AEsir saw him, knew him through his -disguise, and resolved that he should no longer escape them. They -divided into two bands. Thor waded down the river to the waterfall; -the other AEsir stood in a group below. Loki swam backwards and -forwards between them. Now he thought he would dart out into the sea, -and now that he would spring over the net back again into the river. -This last seemed the readiest way of escape, and, with the greatest -speed, he attempted it. Thor, however, was watching for him, and, as -soon as Loki leaped out of the water, he stretched out his hand, and -caught him while he was yet turning in the air. Loki wriggled his -slippery, slimy length through Thor's fingers; but the Thunderer -grasped him tightly by the tail, and, holding him in this manner in -his hand, waded to the shore. There Father Odin and the other AEsir -met him; and, at Odin's first searching look, Loki was obliged to -drop his disguise, and, cowering and frightened, to stand in his -proper shape before the assembled Lords. One by one they turned their -faces from him; for, in looking at him, they seemed to see over again -the death of Baldur the Beloved. - -I told you that there were high rocks looking over the sea not far -from Loki's house. One of these, higher than the rest, had midway -four projecting stones, and to these the AEsir resolved to bind Loki -in such a manner that he should never again be able to torment the -inhabitants of Manheim or Asgard by his evil-doings. Thor proposed to -return to Asgard, to bring a chain with which to bind the prisoner; -but Odin assured him that he had no need to take such a journey, -"Loki," he said, "has already forged for himself a chain stronger -than any you can make. While we have been occupied in catching him, -his two sons, Ali and Nari, transformed into wolves by their evil -passions, have fought with, and destroyed, each other. With their -sinews we must make a chain to bind their father, and from that he -can never escape." - -It was done as Asa Odin said. A rope was made of the dead wolves' -sinews, and, as soon as it touched Loki's body, it turned into bands -of iron, and bound him immoveably to the rock. Secured in this manner -the AEsir left him. - -But his punishment did not end here. A snake, whose fangs dropped -venom, glided to the top of the rock, and leaned his head over to -peer at Loki. The eyes of the two met and fixed each other. The -serpent could never move away afterwards; but every moment a burning -drop from his tongue fell down on Loki's shuddering face. - -[Illustration: THE PUNISHMENT OF LOKI.] - -In all the world there was only one who pitied him. His kind wife -ever afterwards stood beside him, and held a cup over his head to -catch the poison. When the cup was full, she was obliged to turn away -to empty it, and drops of poison fell again on Loki's face. He -shuddered and shrank from it, and the whole earth trembled. So will -he lie bound till Ragnaroek be come. - - * * * * * - -Loki, as we have seen all along, whatever his origin may have been, -had come to mean evil by the time these myths were formed,--the -destructive principle, the originator of all corruption--as, father -of devouring Hel, of Fenrir, the wolf annihilator, and of Joermungand, -the universal wolf. There is a curious story in one of the _Eddas_ -about a feast which the King of the Sea gave to the gods. By the way, -one song says of AEgir, "Sat the Rock-dweller, glad as a child:" which -is the introduction to another feast he gave the gods. If he began -by being glad on this latter occasion, expecting a happy -entertainment, he must have had a grievous disappointment, for Loki, -bent on mischief, would insist upon feasting with the AEsir. Things -rarely went well where Loki was, which the gods knew and begged him -not to come. But Loki would come, and directly he was seated at the -table he began his mischief-making, doing his best to make the gods -quarrel with one another, insulting them by turns, reminding each of -some fault or misfortune least pleasant to remember. Altogether it -must have been a most uncomfortable dinner-party. At last Thor, who -had been on a journey, came back; and, after a good deal of abuse had -passed between him and Loki, the latter appeared to take alarm and -slank away from his enraged companions. One account says that it was -immediately after this the gods caught Loki and bound him, but -another does not mention his capture in connection with AEgir's feast. -Simrock says that Loki, in his character of accuser at this banquet, -represents the guilty conscience of the gods. From this he becomes -the guilty conscience itself, a personification of the consciousness -of sin. His attempts at concealment, the four doors of his house -placed every way that he might be alert in descrying danger, his -making the net by which he was caught (for the AEsir were said to copy -the net which they found in Loki's house), his being bound with the -entrails of his own children--results of evil deeds--all carry out -this idea. He is, says Simrock, the Bad itself as well as the -consciousness of it. He is sin chained as Fenrir is destruction -chained. The gods are moral power, they are his chains, for it is -said that when he shudders they tremble. And yet, how real he has -become in this myth, so much a _person_ that we can scarcely help -wishing him to escape by means of his ingenious disguises, and are -certainly glad that at last some one is left to pity him--the -faithful wife, standing by, who wards off from him so much of his -punishment. - - * * * * * - -We now come to Ragnaroek; and "first," as Har said, "there will come a -winter." But that is not exactly how we tell the story. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -RAGNAROeK, OR THE TWILIGHT OF THE GODS. - - -Since the day that Baldur died no one had walked in the bright halls -of Broadblink--no one had even stepped through the expanded gates. -Instead of undimmed brightness, a soft, luminous mist now hung over -the palace of the dead Asa, and the Asyniur whispered to one another -that it was haunted by wild dreams. - -"I have seen them," Freyja used to say; "I have seen them float in at -sunset through the palace windows and the open doors; every evening -I can trace their slight forms through the rosy mist; and I know -that those dreams are wild and strange from the shuddering that I -feel when I look at them, or if ever they glance at me." - -So the Asyniur never went into Broadblink, and though the AEsir did -not think much about the dreams, they never went there either. - -But one day it happened that Odin stood in the opening of the palace -gates at sunset. The evening was clear and calm, and he stood -watching the western sky until its crimson faded into soft blue grey; -then the colours of the flowers began to mix one with another--only -the tall white and yellow blossoms stood out alone--the distance -became more dim. It was twilight, and there was silence over the -earth whilst the night and the evening drew near to one another. Then -a young dream came floating through the gates into Broadblink. Her -sisters were already there; but she had only just been born, and, as -she passed Odin, she touched him with a light hand, and drew him -along with her into the palace. She led him into the same hall in -which Baldur had dreamed, and there Odin saw the night sky above -him, and the broad branches of Yggdrasil swaying in the breeze. The -Norns stood under the great ash; the golden threads had dropped from -their fingers; and Urd and Verdandi stood one on each side of Skuld, -who was still veiled. For a long time the three stood motionless, but -at length Urd and Verdandi raised each a cold hand, and lifted the -veil slowly from Skuld's face. Odin looked breathlessly within the -veil, and the eyes of Skuld dilated as he looked, grew larger and -larger, melted into one another, and, at last, expanded into -boundless space. - -In the midst of space lay the world, with its long shores, and vast -oceans, ice mountains, and green plains; AEsirland in the midst, with -Manheim all round it; then the wide sea, and, far off, the -frost-bound shores of Joetunheim. Sometimes there was night and -sometimes day; summer and winter gave place to one another; and Odin -watched the seasons as they changed, rejoiced in the sunshine, and -looked calmly over the night. - -But at last, during one sunrise, a wolf came out of Jarnvid, and -began to howl at the sun. The sun did not seem to heed him, but -walked majestically up the sky to her mid-day point; then the wolf -began to run after her, and chased her down the sky again to the low -west. There the sun opened her bright eye wide, and turned round at -bay; but the wolf came close up to her, and opened his mouth, and -swallowed her up. The earth shuddered, and the moon rose. Another -wolf was waiting for the moon with wide jaws open, and, while yet -pale and young, he, too, was devoured. The earth shuddered again; it -was covered with cold and darkness, while frost and snow came driving -from the four corners of heaven. Winter and night, winter and night, -there was now nothing but winter. - -A dauntless eagle sat upon the height of the Giantess' Rock, and -began to strike his harp. Then a light red cock crowed over the Bird -Wood. A gold-combed cock crowed over Asgard, and over Helheim a cock -of sooty red. From a long way underground Garm began to howl, and at -last Fenrir broke loose from his rock-prison, and ran forth over the -whole earth. Then brother contended with brother, and war had no -bounds. A hard age was that. - - "An axe age, - A sword age, - Shields oft cleft in twain; - A storm age, - A wolf age, - Ere the earth met its doom." - -Confusion rioted in the darkness. At length Heimdall ran up Bifroest, -and blew his Giallar horn, whose sound went out into all worlds, and -Yggdrasil, the mighty ash, was shaken from its root to its summit. -After this Odin saw himself ride forth from Asgard to consult Mimer -at the Well of Wisdom. Whilst he was there Joermungand turned mightily -in his place, and began to plough the ocean, which caused it to swell -over every shore, so that the world was covered with water to the -base of its high hills. Then the ship Naglfar was seen coming over -the sea with its prow from the east, and the giant Hrym was the -steersman. - -All Joetunheim resounded, and the dwarfs stood moaning before their -stony doors. Then heaven was cleft in twain, and a flood of light -streamed down upon the dark earth. The sons of Muspell, the sons of -fire, rode through the breach, and at the head of them rode the -swarth Surt, their leader, before and behind whom fire raged, and -whose sword outshone the sun. He led his flaming bands from heaven to -earth over Bifroest, and the tremulous bridge broke in pieces beneath -their tread. Then the earth shuddered again; even giantesses -stumbled; and men trod the way to Helheim in such crowds that Garm -was sated with their blood, broke loose, and came up to earth to look -upon the living. Confusion rioted, and Odin saw himself, at the head -of all the AEsir, ride over the tops of the mountains to Vigrid, the -high, wide battle-field, where the giants were already assembled, -headed by Fenrir, Garm, Joermungand, and Loki. Surtur was there, too, -commanding the sons of fire, whom he had drawn up in several shining -bands on a distant part of the plain. - -Then the great battle began in earnest. First, Odin went forth -against Fenrir, who came on, opening his enormous mouth; the lower -jaw reached to the earth, the upper one to heaven, and would have -reached further had there been space to admit of it. Odin and Fenrir -fought for a little while only, and then Fenrir swallowed the AEsir's -Father; but Vidar stepped forward, and, putting his foot on Fenrir's -lower jaw, with his hand he seized the other, and rent the wolf in -twain. In the meantime Tyr and Garm had been fighting until they had -killed each other. Heimdall slew Loki, and Loki slew Heimdall. Frey, -Beli's radiant slayer, met Surtur in battle, and was killed by him. -Many terrible blows were exchanged ere Frey fell; but the Fire King's -sword outshone the sun, and where was the sword of Frey? Thor went -forth against Joermungand; the strong Thunderer raised his arm--he -feared no evil--he flung Mioelnir at the monster serpent's head. -Joermungand leaped up a great height in the air, and fell down to the -earth again without life; but a stream of venom poured forth from his -nostrils as he died. Thor fell back nine paces from the strength of -his own blow; he bowed his head to the earth, and was choked in the -poisonous flood; so the monster serpent was killed by the strong -Thunderer's hand; but in death Joermungand slew his slayer. - -Then all mankind forsook the earth, and the earth itself sank down -slowly into the ocean. Water swelled over the mountains, rivers -gurgled through thick trees, deep currents swept down the -valleys--nothing was to be seen on the earth but a wide flood. The -stars fell from the sky, and flew about hither and thither. At last, -smoky clouds drifted upward from the infinite deep, encircling the -earth and the water; fire burst forth from the midst of them, red -flames wrapped the world, roared through the branches of Yggdrasil, -and played against heaven itself. The flood swelled, the fire raged; -there was now nothing but flood and fire. - -"Then," said Odin, in his dream, "I see the end of all things. The -end is like the beginning, and it will now be for ever as if nothing -had ever been." - -But, as he spoke, the fire ceased suddenly; the clouds rolled away; a -new and brighter sun looked out of heaven; and he saw arise a second -time the earth from ocean. It rose slowly as it had sunk. First, the -waters fell back from the tops of new hills that rose up fresh and -verdant; raindrops like pearls dripped from the freshly budding -trees, and fell into the sea with a sweet sound; waterfalls splashed -glittering from the high rocks; eagles flew over the mountain -streams; earth arose spring-like; unsown fields bore fruit; there was -no evil, and all nature smiled. Then from Memory's Forest came forth -a new race of men, who spread over the whole earth, and who fed on -the dew of the dawn. There was also a new city on Asgard's Hill--a -city of gems; and Odin saw a new hall standing in it, fairer than the -sun, and roofed with gold. Above all, the wide blue expanded, and -into that fair city came Modi and Magni, Thor's two sons, holding -Mioelnir between them. Vali and Vidar came, and the deathless Hoenir; -Baldur came up from the deep, leading his blind brother Hoedur -peacefully by the hand; there was no longer any strife between them. -Two brothers' sons inhabited the spacious Wind-Home. - -Then Odin watched how the AEsir sat on the green plain, and talked of -many things. "Garm is dead," said Hoed to Baldur, "and so are Loki, -and Joermungand, and Fenrir, and the world rejoices; but did our dead -brothers rejoice who fell in slaying them?" - -"They did, Hoed," answered Baldur; "they gave their lives willingly -for the life of the world;" and, as he listened, Odin felt that this -was true; for, when he looked upon that beautiful and happy age, it -gave him no pain to think that he must die before it came--that, -though for many, it was not for him. - -By-and-bye Hoenir came up to Hoed and Baldur with something glittering -in his hand--something that he had found in the grass; and as he -approached he said, "Behold the golden tablets, my brothers, which in -the beginning of time were given to the AEsir's Father, and were lost -in the Old World." - -Then they all looked eagerly at the tablets, and, as they bent over -them, their faces became even brighter than before. - -"There is no longer any evil thing," said Odin; "not an evil sight, -nor an evil sound." - -But as he spoke dusky wings rose out of Niflheim, and the -dark-spotted serpent, Nidhoegg, came flying from the abyss, bearing -dead carcases on his wings--cold death, undying. - -Then the joy of Odin was drowned in the tears that brimmed his heart, -and it was as if the eternal gnawer had entered into his soul. "Is -there, then, no victory over sin?" he cried. "Is there no death to -Death?" and with the cry he woke. His dream had faded from him. He -stood in the palace gates alone with night, and the night was dying. -Long since the rosy clasp of evening had dropped from her; she had -turned through darkness eastward, and looked earnestly towards dawn. -It was twilight again, for the night and the morning drew near to one -another. A star stood in the east--the morning star--and a coming -brightness smote the heavens. Out of the light a still voice came -advancing, swelling, widening, until it filled all space. "Look -forth," it said, "upon the groaning earth, with all its cold, and -pain, and cruelty, and death. Heroes and giants fight and kill each -other; now giants fall, and heroes triumph; now heroes fall, and -giants rise; they can but combat, and the earth is full of pain. Look -forth, and fear not; but when the worn-out faiths of nations shall -totter like old men, turn eastward, and behold the light that -lighteth every man; for there is nothing dark it doth not lighten; -there is nothing hard it cannot melt; there is nothing lost it will -not save." - - * * * * * - -Of course the _Eddas_ do not say anything about Odin seeing Ragnaroek -in a dream, or about his having any idea of a light that was to come; -but, divested of this slender veil, the story as it here stands is -almost an exact likeness of the northern myth. In one _Edda_ it is -given as the prophecy of a Vala or seeress, and the last line is "Now -she will descend," meaning that the Vala had finished her -prophesying, and would come down from her high seat. - -We have now heard a little about the AEsir, those gods in whom Har -said we were to believe; and, are they like each other or unlike? we -ask ourselves. At first we say unlike, but after thinking about them -a little while, very much alike indeed. It is certain that the -_Eddas_ speak of them as distinct, but then, as we saw before, the -_Eddas_ are not really very old; compared with the religion they -explain, they are almost young. - -Simrock points out clearly the likenesses between the gods--a very -few of them we touch upon. Let us begin, by putting in a line for -ourselves to look at, Odin, Tyr, Heimdall, Thor, Frey, and Baldur. -Odin--air, stormy and serene, the heavens with sun, moon and stars; -Odin the wanderer; Odin on Air-throne, seeing over the whole world; -Odin, the Summer, as Odur; the patron of battles, the chooser of the -slain, the pledger of one eye, drinking from Mimer's horn. Tyr, the -shining, the warrior god, the pledger of one hand. Heimdall, as -Irmin, the shining, a dweller upon heavenly mountains, who sees and -hears far off, who wanders over the earth, blows his golden horn. -Thor, whose dwelling is the heavens; god of the storm, of -cultivation; the warrior, the chooser of the slain; for it is said -that whilst Odin had all the Jarls that fell in battle, Thor claimed -the Thralls for his share. Frey, the Summer, god of the fruitful -year, the pledger of his sword. It is supposed that Frey was once the -husband of Freyja, and that it was their separation which founded the -myth of Freyja's wanderings and tears; this would connect him with -Odur or Odin. Baldur, Summer, or Sun god, pledges his life to the -under-world. In leaving the earth to weep for him, he recalls the -desertion of Freyja and her tears. Turning to the goddesses, we see -Joerd or the earth spoken of as a wife of Odin; Rind, the winterly -earth; Freyja, so nearly joined to Frigg, the summerly earth; Iduna, -the spring of the earth; Gerda, also the winterly earth; Hela, the -under-world. What strikes us through all this is that it would be -natural for the early earth dwellers first to worship the heavens -with all that they contain and suggest, whilst the action of heavenly -influences upon the earth would reveal her to them as the great -mother, stern, cold, tender, fruitful, consuming, embosoming, -reproducing all in one. There are many ways in which gods and -goddesses multiply. In the first place Gylfis will begin to ask -questions and pry into first causes and ways and means of existence, -whence would easily arise a division of nature into elementary -powers, air, water, fire, to say nothing of the giants and chaotic -regions which would suggest themselves. One side or another of life -must always be uppermost, and nature in its differences grows into -new personalities; from nature myths again moral ones easily develop, -and new variations meet the new requirements. Again, tribe joins -tribe and pantheons mingle, the chief god of one race becoming the -son, say, or the brother, of another tribe's chief god, and so on. - -The fact of Thor receiving Thralls in battle whilst Odin claimed the -Jarls, looks as if Thor had fallen at one time from the first to a -second place. Simrock says that Tyr answers to Zeus, and that perhaps -he was the oldest of the Asgard gods; but he says also that Odin has -gathered up into himself all the highest attributes of the gods. The -only allusions that can be relied on as genuine which the _Eddas_ -contain to a higher god than Odin is one very obscure strophe in the -Voluspa which says speaking of Ragnaroek,-- - - "Then comes the Mighty One, - To the great judgment, - The powerful from above - Who rules over all. - He shall doom pronounce - And strifes allay, - Holy peace establish - Which shall ever be." - -Another still more difficult to understand in Hyndla's lay, - - "Then shall another come, - Yet mightier, - Although I dare not - His name declare. - Few may see - Further forth - Than when Odin - Meets the Wolf." - -Simrock, however, thinks that he sees some gleams of a higher unseen -Hidden Power very faintly here and there, and between this Being and -Odin he also fancies that he can trace some connection. But he is -very uncertain on the point. - -Simrock says of the goddesses in the Scandinavian mythology that they -most of them represent only one side of the original Earth Mother, -dividing the double nature between them; so we see some personating -the fruitful, beneficent, life-giving renovating earth, whilst Hela -has only the dark side left in her nature. It is, however, to be -observed that whilst half a corpse she is half a woman. Gerda and -Iduna are mixed in nature, also Rinda and others of Odin's giantess -wives. He says, also, that Hela is the eldest of the goddesses, and -that the root idea remains with her,--a receiver of the dead, as -earth is,--though she became so degraded. Odin gave her power over -nine worlds, and here we see a trace of the old idea of her being the -great Earth Mother. "From a goddess of the underworld to a goddess of -death is one step. A goddess of the underworld should be life-giving -as well as destroying; but soon the heathen horror of death appears, -and the destroyer is looked upon as the ender only, not the fresh -begetter;" she becomes a hunger that will not be satisfied, and hence -Hela is a daughter of Loki. - -Out of the flood, into the flood again,--Niflheim and Muspelheim join -hands in the twilight. As in the first beginning of things we saw -the strange waves alternately frozen and melted by these -antagonistic powers, and out of this antagonism a form--so in -Ragnaroek we see the flood once more supreme, the rival forces, cold -and heat, both fighting against the formed, ordered world--both, -because both alike represent elemental forces which must precede -formation. So, also, a second time the world emerges out of the -struggle, Simrock thinks, a renewed world morally and physically; and -certainly it does seem to have made some advance upon the old order -of things,--it stands forth beautiful at once. But does this mean any -more, we wonder, than the golden age come back, with fate in the -back-ground. So many of the same powers seem to be at work in the two -worlds, that we can only think of a succession of events in looking -at the picture. We see again the golden tables, we see Hoedur as well -as Baldur. There is one very obscure verse which seems to imply that -the giant fate-maidens are in the renewed world. Sons succeed their -fathers. Odin's sons inherit Odin's hall; the two mentioned are Vali -and Vidar, who were both descended from giantesses, and giants always -typify the baser part of nature. Thor's sons retain the badge of -warfare. On the other hand, it is said that Hoed and Baldur come up -_peacefully_ together from the deep; it has been remarked, also, that -no Vanir gods (inferior to those of Asgard) are mentioned. There is -also a strophe in the Voeluspa which talks of peace established, and -of heavenly Gimill, gold bedecked, where the righteous people are to -dwell for evermore, and enjoy happiness-- - - "She a Hall sees standing than the sun brighter, - With gold bedecked in Gimill. - There shall the righteous people dwell, - And for evermore happiness enjoy." - -But again, immediately following these hopeful strains, we are shown -the dark-spotted snake--the Eternal Gnawer, with a corpse upon his -wings. - - "The dark dragon flying from beneath, the glistening serpent, - On his wings bears Nidhoegg, flying o'er the plain a corpse." - -Our ears are puzzled by the strain, and we cannot catch the melody's -last tone. Is it a joy note or a wail? from Gimill's gold roofs, from -the shore of corpses? "Who can search into the beginning; who can -search into the end?" - - - - -INDEX OF NAMES, WITH MEANINGS. - - -SELECTED FROM MALLET'S "NORTHERN ANTIQUITIES," AND FROM THORPE'S -"NORTHERN MYTHOLOGY." - -_AEgir_--The King of the Sea. The name means, "to flow." - -_AEsir_--Gods or Lords. Singular, As or Asa. - -_Alf_, _Elf_--Alfheim, Elfhome. - -_Ali_ or _Vali_--The name of one of Loki's children. It signifies, -"strong." - -_Amsvartnir_--Name of a lake. It means, "grief, black, gloomy." - -_Angurbodi_--The mother of Joermungand, Hela, and Fenrir. The name -signifies, "anguish boding." - -_Asgard_--Literally, "God's-ward," or "the abode of the gods." - -_Asyniur_--Goddesses. - -_Audhumla_--The first cow. Signifies, "void, darkness." - - -_Baldur_--Bright, white, bold. - -_Barri_--The Warm Wood. - -_Beli_--The stag killed by Frey. _Beli_ signifies, "to bellow." - -_Bifroest_--Name given to the rainbow. It means, "the Tremulous or -Aerial Bridge." - -_Bilskirnir_--Name of Thor's mansion. It signifies either "bright -space" or "storm-serene." - -_Boer_ or _Bur_--The first hero. - -_Bragi_--The god of eloquence. From _braga_, "to shine;" or _bragga_, -"to adorn." _Bragr_, which in Norse signifies "poetry," has become in -English "to brag," and a poet "a braggart." From Bragi's bumper, the -Bragafull, comes our word "bragget," and probably, also, the verb "to -brew;" Norse, _brugga_. - -_Breidablik_--Name of Baldur's abode. It means, "broad-blink, -wide-glancing, expanded splendour." - -_Brisingamen_--Name of Freyja's necklace. From _brising_ "flaming." - - -_Dain_--Signifies, "swoon," or "complete repose." It is the name of -one of the four harts which ran about among the branches of -Yggdrasil; also the name of a dwarf. - -_Draupnir_--A ring of Odin, which, after being placed on Baldur's -pile, acquired the power of dropping every ninth night eight rings of -equal weight with itself. - -_Dromi_--Name of a chain by which Fenrir was bound, and from which he -freed himself. It has since become a proverb in Sweden, "To get loose -from Laeding, and to dash out of Dromi," when anything is to be done -with great exertion. - -_Duneyr_--Name of one of the harts which lived in Yggdrasil. - -_Durathror_--Light sleep. Another of the harts. - -_Durin_--Name of a dwarf. Signifies, "light sleep." - -_Dvalin_--Torpor. Name of one of the harts; also of a dwarf. - - -_Einherjar_--Chosen heroes. - -_Elivagar_--Stormy waves. The name of the rivers which flowed forth -from Hvergelmir, and hardened into ice in Ginnungagap, the abyss of -abysses, situated between Niflheim and Muspellheim. - -_Elli_--Old Age. She wrestled with Thor in Joetunheim. - -_Elvidnir_--The entrance-hall of Hela's palace. It means, "wide -storm." - -_Ermt_--Name of a river through which Thor had to wade. - - -_Fenrir_ or _Fenris Ulfr_--Monster wolf, or dweller in an abyss, or -howling wolf of the deep. - -_Fensalir_--Frigga's abode. _Fensaloon_, or watery deep. - -_Folkvang_--Freyja's abode. Literally, "the folk's field or -habitation." - -_Frey_ and _Freyja_--Master and mistress, from whence the German word -"frau." The names also signify, "mild, joyous, fructifying, -beauteous." - -_Frigga_ or _Frigg_--Free, beauteous, winsome. - - -_Garm_--The dog with bloody breast and jaws who guarded the way to -Helheim. From gerr, "voracious," a word probably cognate with English -"gorge." - -_Gerd_, _Gerda_, or _Gerdur_--From _gera_, "to do--make," as in -_akrgerd_, "agriculture." - -_Gimli_--Name of the heavenly city which existed after the -destruction and renewal of the world. Signifies, "fire," or "gem." - -_Ginnungagap_--The space between Niflheim and Muspellheim. Literally, -"the gap of gaps, the abyss of abysses, the yawning, gaping abyss." - -_Gjallar-bru_--The sounding river leading from the abodes of the -living to those of the dead. - -_Gjallar-horn_--From _gjalla_, "to resound, to clang." Cognate with -the English, "to yell." - -_Gjoell_--Name of river, meaning "the horizon." It signifies, -"sonorous, fulgid," and has reference to the popular belief of the -sun's sound when it goes down and when it rises, or when day breaks -forth; the _skriek of day_, our "break of day." - -_Gladsheim_--Odin's abode. Literally, "glad's home," or "the abode of -gladness;" from whence the English word "gladsome." - -_Gleipnir_--The chain made by dwarfs for the binding of Fenrir. It -signifies, "the devouring." - -_Gnipa_--Cave leading to Helheim. - -_Gullinbursti_--Golden Bristles. Name of Frey's hog. - -_Gulltoppr_--Golden Mane. The name of Heimdall's steed. - - -_Heimdall_--Guardian of the rainbow. His name signifies, "the pole or -post of the world." The rainbow, when incomplete, is still called by -the northern nations Veirstolpe, literally, "a weather-post." - -_Hela_--The Queen of the Dead. Some say that her name means "intense -cold;" others, "a large hole or cavity." - -_Helheim_--The home of Hela. - -_Hermod_--The name of Odin's messenger. It signifies, "a host," or -"army of courage." - -_Himinbioerg_--Heimdall's abode. The name signifies, "heavenly -mountains." - -_Hlidskjalf_--The name of Odin's throne, from whence he looked over -the earth. It means literally, "a trembling or wavering slope." - -_Hoedur_ or _Hoed_--The blind god. His name means, "war, combat." - -_Hoenir_--The god of mind or perception. He is sometimes called the -rapid _As_, or _Long-foot_. - -_Hringhorn_--Literally, "ringed horn." The name of Baldur's ship. - -_Hrym_ or _Ryme_--Name of a giant, from whence "rime frost." - -_Hugi_ or _Hugin_--Spirit, breath, thought. The name of one of Odin's -ravens. - -_Hvergelmir_--The roaring cauldron, or spring of hot water, which -bubbled up out of Niflheim. - -_Hymir_--Name of a giant. From _hum_, "the sea." - -_Hyrrokin_--Literally, "smoky fire." The name of a giantess. - - -_Iduna_ or _Idun_--Guardian of the apples of immortality. - - -_Jarnvid_--Iron Wood. - -_Joermungand_--Universal serpent. - -_Joetunheim_--Giants' home. Grimm thinks that the old Norse for giant, -_ioetun_, is cognate with the old Saxon _eten_, and may be derived -from _eta_, "to eat." - - -_Kerlaug_--One of the rivers through which Thor had to wade on his -way to the Doomstead. - -_Koermt_--Another of the rivers through which Thor waded. - -_Kvasir_--Name of a man killed by dwarfs; also of one of Odin's sons. - - -_Laeding_--Name of one of the chains used to bind Fenrir. - -_Landvidi_--Vidar's abode. Literally, "wide land." - -_Logi_--Flame. - -_Loki_--Either flame, or derived from _luka_, "to shut;" whence the -English "lock." - -_Lyngvi_--The island of sweet broom. - - -_Magni_--The powerful. One of Thor's sons. - -_Manheim_--The abode of men. - -_Mani_--The moon. - -_Mardoell_--Sea-nymph; from whence, perhaps, the English word, "doll." - -_Megingjardir_--Thor's girdle of might, the belt of prowess. - -_Midgard_--Name applied to the earth; "middle-ward," or "inclosure." - -_Mimer_--Guardian of Wisdom's Well. The name signifies, "to keep in -memory," or "to be mindful." Mimer's Well was supposed to be situated -at that end of the rainbow opposite to Himinbioerg. Mimer drank water -from his well out of a horn, whence the popular superstition that a -cup is to be found at the end of the rainbow. - -_Mioelnir_--Name of Thor's hammer. It signifies, "to pound or grind;" -whence the English word "mill." - -_Moedgudur_--Name of the woman who stood at the end of the bridge -leading to Helheim. It signifies, "courageous," from whence the -English word "mood." - -_Modi_--The name of one of Thor's sons. It signifies, "courage." - -_Munin_--Name of one of Odin's ravens. It signifies, "memory." - -_Muspellheim_--The Muspellhome. _Muspell_ means "elemental fire." - - -_Naglfar_--Name of the ship that appears at Ragnaroek, made of nails. -_Nagl_ means "nail." - -_Nanna_--Baldur's wife. The name signifies, "daring." - -_Nari_--One of Loki's sons. The name signifies, "binding." - -_Nastroend_--Literally, "the shore of corpses." - -_Nidhoegg_--Serpent at the root of Yggdrasil. The name may be rendered -"dark gnawer." - -_Niflheim_--Literally, "nebulous home." - -_Njoerd_--A Van, the universal nourishing power in air and water. -There is in the North an aquatic plant still called "Njoerd's glove." - -_Noeatun_--The name of Njoerd's home. It means, "the place of ships." - -_Nornir_--singular _Norn_--Name given to the Fates. - - -_Odin_--Called by the Saxons _Wodan_ or _Woden_. Several places still -retain the name of Odin in Germany and Sweden, as, also, Wednesbury, -in Staffordshire. - -_Odur_--The name of Freyja's husband. - - -_Ragnaroek_--The twilight of the gods. - -_Ran_--Wife of AEgir. Her name signifies, "plunder, robbery." - -_Ratatosk_--The name of the squirrel which ran up and down Yggdrasil. - -_Roska_--The sister of Thialfi, Thor's attendant. The name signifies, -"quick, lively, active;" from whence comes the English word "rash." - - -_Saehrimnir_--Name of the boar every evening eaten in Valhalla. - -_Sessrymnir_--The name of Freyja's hall. It signifies, "seat roomy;" -from whence the English word "room." - -_Sif_--Name of Thor's wife. - -_Siguna_--Name of Loki's wife. - -_Siofna_--Daughter of Freyja and goddess of sleep. - -_Skadi_--The wife of Nioerd. _Skadi_ signifies, "the hurtful." Her -habitation was Thrymheim, "noise-home." - -_Skidbladnir_--Name of Frey's ship. The English word "blade," or -"leaf," comes from Bladnir. - -_Skirnir_--Frey's messenger. The name signifies, "serene, pure, -clear." The English word "sheer" comes from it. - -_Skrymir_--Name of a giant. From _skrum_, "show, brag, feint." - -_Skuld_--One of the Nornir. _Skuld_ signifies, "what is to come." - -_Sleipnir_--Name of Odin's horse. He had eight legs. _Sleipnir_ -signifies, "smooth, gliding;" from whence the English word -"slippery." - -_Sol_--The sun. - -_Surt_ or _Surtur_--The fire-god, who lived in Muspellheim. His name -signifies, "swart, browned by fire." - -_Suttung_--A giant, whose name means, "to drink." - -_Svartalfheim_ or _Svartheim_--Literally, "swart or dark home." It -was the region of the dwarfs, or dark elves. - - -_Thaukt_--Name of a witch. - -_Thialfi_--One of Thor's attendants. Supposed to mean, "the -thunder-shower." - -_Thiassi_--Name of Skadi's father. It signifies, "violent, -tempestuous." - -_Thor_--God of thunder. Also called _Ving-Thor_, or _Winged-Thor_; -_Auku_, or _Oku-Thor_; _Chariot-Thor_. - -_Thrudvang_ or _Thrudheim_--Thor's abode. The name signifies, "the -region of fortitude," or "dense, closely packed together." - -_Thrymheim_--Noise-home. - -_Tyr_--The god after whom Tuesday was named. - - -_Urd_--One of the Nornir. Her name signifies, "past." - -_Urda_--The name of the sacred fount, which was situated over -Bifroest. - -_Utgard_--The name of the chief city of Joetunheim. Literally, -"outer-ward." - - -_Valhalla_--Name of a hall in Gladsheim. It means literally, "hall of -the chosen." - -_Valkyrior_--singular, _Valkyria_--Odin's maidens. The name means -literally, "choosers of the slain." - -_Vanaheim_--The home of the Vanir. - -_Vanir_--singular masculine, _Van_; singular feminine, _Vana_--The -name of the gods of the air and water. _Vanr_ signifies, "empty." - -_Vegtam_--A wanderer. - -_Verdandi_--One of the Nornir. Her name signifies, "present." - -_Vidar_--The silent god. _Vidar_ signifies, "a wood or forest." - -_Vidblain_--The wide blue. - -_Vigrid_--Name of the battle-field on which the gods and the evil -powers contended during Ragnaroek. _Vigrid_ signifies, "battle, ride." - -_Vingolf_--Abode of the goddesses. Means literally, "the floor of -friends." - -_Voluspa_--The name of an old poem. - - -_Yggdrasil_--The name of the earth tree. - -_Ymir_--The first giant. _Ymir_ means, "a confused noise." - - - - -THE STANDARD SCHOOL LIBRARY. - -(Each Volume, cloth, 50 cents. Sold singly or in sets.) - - -BAILEY. LESSONS WITH PLANTS. Suggestions for Seeing and -Interpreting Some of the Common Forms of Vegetation. By L. H. Bailey. -12mo. Illustrated. xxxi + 491 pages. - -This volume is the outgrowth of "observation lessons." The book is -based upon the idea that the proper way to begin the study of plants -is by means of plants instead of formal ideals or definitions. -Instead of a definition as a model telling what is to be seen, the -plant shows what there is to be seen, and the definition follows. - - -BARNES. YANKEE SHIPS AND YANKEE SAILORS. Tales of 1812. By James -Barnes. 12mo. 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Edited by Stephen Bonsal. 12mo. xi + -316 pages. - -These letters throw much light on our recent history. The story of -our "Expansion" is well told, and the problems which are its -outgrowth are treated with clearness and insight. - - -BUCK. BOYS' SELF-GOVERNING CLUBS. By Winifred Buck. 16mo. x + 218 -pages. - -The history of self-governing clubs, with directions for their -organization and management. The author has had many years' -experience as organizer and adviser of self-governing clubs in New -York City and the vicinity. - - -CARROLL. ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND. By Lewis Carroll. -12mo. Illustrated. xiv + 192 pages. - -CARROLL. THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS AND WHAT ALICE FOUND THERE. By -Lewis Carroll. 12mo. Illustrated. xv + 224 pages. - -The authorized edition of these children's classics. They have -recently been reprinted from new type and new cuts made from the -original wood blocks. - - -CHURCH. THE STORY OF THE ILIAD. By Rev. A. J. 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Half a dozen or more tales are given from each book. - - -DIX. A LITTLE CAPTIVE LAD. By Beulah Marie Dix. 12mo. -Illustrated. vii + 286 pages. - -The story is laid in the time of Cromwell, and the captive lad is a -cavalier, full of the pride of his caste. The plot develops around -the child's relations to his Puritan relatives. It is a well-told -story, with plenty of action, and is a faithful picture of the times. - - -EGGLESTON. SOUTHERN SOLDIER STORIES. By George Cary Eggleston. -12mo. Illustrated. xi + 251 pages. - -Forty-seven stories illustrating the heroism of those brave Americans -who fought on the losing side in the Civil War. Humor and pathos are -found side by side in these pages which bear evidence of absolute -truth. - - -ELSON. SIDE LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. - -This volume takes a contemporary view of the leading events in the -history of the country from the period of the Declaration of -Independence to the close of the Spanish-American War. The result is -a very valuable series of studies in many respects more interesting -and informing than consecutive history. - - -GAYE. THE GREAT WORLD'S FARM. Some Account of Nature's Crops and -How they are Sown. By Selina Gaye. 12mo. Illustrated. xii + 365 -pages. - -A readable account of plants and how they live and grow. It is as -free as possible from technicalities and well adapted to young -people. - - -GREENE. PICKETT'S GAP. By Homer Greene. 12mo. Illustrated. vii + -288 pages. - -A story of American life and character illustrated in the personal -heroism and manliness of an American boy. It is well told, and the -lessons in morals and character are such as will appeal to every -honest instinct. - - -HAPGOOD. ABRAHAM LINCOLN. By Norman Hapgood. 12mo. Illustrated. -xiii + 433 pages. - -This is one of the best one-volume biographies of Lincoln, and a -faithful picture of the strong character of the great President, not -only when he was at the head of the nation, but also as a boy and a -young man, making his way in the world. - - -HAPGOOD. GEORGE WASHINGTON. By Norman Hapgood. 12mo. Illustrated. -xi + 419 pages. - -Not the semi-mythical Washington of some biographers, but a clear, -comprehensive account of the man as he really appeared in camp, in -the field, in the councils of his country, at home, and in society. -Whenever possible the narrative is given in the words of -contemporaries, in extracts from letters, journals, and the -publications of the time. There are reproductions of the four most -famous portraits of Washington, and several facsimiles of pages from -his journal and other writings. - - -HUFFORD. SHAKESPEARE IN TALE AND VERSE. By Lois Grosvenor -Hufford. 12mo. ix + 445 pages. - -The purpose of the author is to introduce Shakespeare to such of his -readers as find the intricacies of the plots of the dramas somewhat -difficult to manage. The stories which constitute the main plots are -given, and are interspersed with the dramatic dialogue in such a -manner as to make tale and verse interpret each other. - - -HUGHES. TOM BROWN'S SCHOOL DAYS. By Thomas Hughes. 12mo. -Illustrated. xxi + 376 pages. - -An attractive and convenient edition of this great story of life at -Rugby. It is a book that appeals to boys everywhere and which makes -for manliness and high ideals. The lively and spirited account of the -English school-boy's daily life, with its vivid descriptions of -sports, games, and occasional "scrapes," is as delightful to read as -on its first publication. The sympathetic and imaginative -illustrations of Arthur Hughes are retained. - - -HUTCHINSON. THE STORY OF THE HILLS. A Book about Mountains for -General Readers. By Rev. H. W. Hutchinson. 12mo. Illustrated. xv + -357 pages. - -Besides the purely geological matter, there are entertaining chapters -on "Mountains and Men," "Mountain Plants and Animals," and "Sunshine -and Storm on the Mountain." The entire subject-matter of the book is -diversified by anecdote and quotation. - -"A clear account of the geological formation of mountains and their -various methods of origin in language so clear and untechnical that -it will not confuse even the most unscientific."--Boston _Evening -Transcript_. - - -ILLINOIS GIRL. A PRAIRIE WINTER. By an Illinois Girl. 16mo. 164 -pages. - -A record of the procession of the months from midway in September to -midway in May. The observations on Nature are accurate and -sympathetic, and they are interspersed with glimpses of a charming -home life and bits of cheerful philosophy. - - -INGERSOLL. WILD NEIGHBORS. OUTDOOR STUDIES IN THE UNITED STATES. -By Ernest Ingersoll. 12mo. Illustrated. xii + 301 pages. - -Studies and stories of the gray squirrel, the puma, the coyote, the -badger, and other burrowers, the porcupine, the skunk, the woodchuck, -and the raccoon. - - -INMAN. THE RANCH ON THE OXHIDE. By Henry Inman. 12mo. -Illustrated. xi + 297 pages. - -A story of pioneer life in Kansas in the late sixties. Adventures -with wild animals and skirmishes with Indians add interest to the -narrative. - - -JOHNSON. CERVANTES' DON QUIXOTE. Edited by Clifton Johnson. 12mo. -Illustrated. xxiii + 398 pages. - -A well-edited edition of this classic. The one effort has been to -bring the book to readable proportions without excluding any really -essential incident or detail, and at the same time to make the text -unobjectionable and wholesome. - - -JUDSON. THE GROWTH OF THE AMERICAN NATION. By Harry Pratt Judson. -12mo. Illustrations and maps. xi + 359 pages. - -The cardinal facts of American History are grasped in such a way as -to show clearly the orderly development of national life. - - -KEARY. THE HEROES OF ASGARD: TALES FROM SCANDINAVIAN MYTHOLOGY. -By A. and E. Keary. 12mo. Illustrated. 323 pages. - -The book is divided into nine chapters, called "The AEsir," "How Thor -went to Joetunheim," "Frey," "The Wanderings of Freyja," "Iduna's -Apples," "Baldur," "The Binding of Fenrir," "The Punishment of Loki," -"Ragnaroek." - - -KING. DE SOTO AND HIS MEN IN THE LAND OF FLORIDA. By Grace King. -12mo. Illustrated. xiv + 326 pages. - -A story based upon the Spanish and Portuguese accounts of the -attempted conquest by the armada which sailed under De Soto in 1538 -to subdue this country. Miss King gives a most entertaining history -of the invaders' struggles and of their final demoralized rout; while -her account of the native tribes is a most attractive feature of the -narrative. - - -KINGSLEY. MADAM HOW AND LADY WHY: FIRST LESSONS IN EARTH LORE FOR -CHILDREN. By Charles Kingsley. 12mo. Illustrated. xviii + 321 pages. - -Madam How and Lady Why are two fairies who teach the how and why of -things in nature. There are chapters on Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Coral -Reefs, Glaciers, etc., told in an interesting manner. The book is -intended to lead children to use their eyes and ears. - - -KINGSLEY. THE WATER BABIES: A FAIRY TALE FOR A LAND BABY. By -Charles Kingsley. 12mo. Illustrated. 330 pages. - -One of the best children's stories ever written; it has deservedly -become a classic. - - -LANGE. OUR NATIVE BIRDS: HOW TO PROTECT THEM AND ATTRACT THEM TO -OUR HOMES. By D. Lange. 12mo. Illustrated. x + 162 pages. - -A strong plea for the protection of birds. Methods and devices for -their encouragement are given, also a bibliography of helpful -literature, and material for Bird Day. - - -LOVELL. STORIES IN STONE FROM THE ROMAN FORUM. By Isabel Lovell. -12mo. Illustrated. viii + 258 pages. - -The eight stories in this volume give many facts that travelers wish -to know, that historical readers seek, and that young students enjoy. -The book puts the reader in close touch with Roman life. - - -McFARLAND. GETTING ACQUAINTED WITH THE TREES. By J. Horace -McFarland. 8vo. Illustrated. xi + 241 pages. - -A charmingly written series of tree essays. They are not scientific -but popular, and are the outcome of the author's desire that others -should share the rest and comfort that have come to him through -acquaintance with trees. - - -MAJOR. THE BEARS OF BLUE RIVER. By Charles Major. 12mo. -Illustrated. 277 pages. - -A collection of good bear stories with a live boy for the hero. The -scene is laid in the early days of Indiana. - - -MARSHALL. WINIFRED'S JOURNAL. By Emma Marshall. 12mo. -Illustrated. 353 pages. - -A story of the time of Charles the First. Some of the characters are -historical personages. - - -MEANS. PALMETTO STORIES. By Celina E. Means. 12mo. Illustrated. x -+ 244 pages. - -True accounts of some of the men and women who made the history of -South Carolina, and correct pictures of the conditions under which -these men and women labored. - - -MORRIS. MAN AND HIS ANCESTOR: A STUDY IN EVOLUTION. By Charles -Morris. 16mo. Illustrated. vii + 238 pages. - -A popular presentation of the subject of man's origin. The various -significant facts that have been discovered since Darwin's time are -given, as well as certain lines of evidence never before presented in -this connection. - - -NEWBOLT. STORIES FROM FROISSART. By Henry Newbolt. 12mo. -Illustrated. xxxi + 368 pages. - -Here are given entire thirteen episodes from the "Chronicles" of Sir -John Froissart. The text is modernized sufficiently to make it -intelligible to young readers. Separated narratives are dovetailed, -and new translations have been made where necessary to make the -narrative complete and easily readable. - - -OVERTON. THE CAPTAIN'S DAUGHTER. By Gwendolen Overton. 12mo. -Illustrated. vii + 270 pages. - -A story of girl life at an army post on the frontier. The plot is an -absorbing one, and the interest of the reader is held to the end. - - -PALGRAVE. THE CHILDREN'S TREASURY OF ENGLISH SONG. Selected and -arranged by Francis Turner Palgrave. 16mo. viii + 302 pages. - -This collection contains 168 selections--songs, narratives, -descriptive or reflective pieces of a lyrical quality, all suited to -the taste and understanding of children. - - -PALMER. STORIES FROM THE CLASSICAL LITERATURE OF MANY NATIONS. -Edited by Bertha Palmer. 12mo. xv + 297 pages. - -A collection of sixty characteristic stories from Chinese, Japanese, -Hebrew, Babylonian, Arabian, Hindu, Greek, Roman, German, -Scandinavian, Celtic, Russian, Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, -Anglo-Saxon, English, Finnish, and American Indian sources. - - -RIIS. CHILDREN OF THE TENEMENTS. By Jacob A. Riis. 12mo. -Illustrated. ix + 387 pages. - -Forty sketches and short stories dealing with the lights and shadows -of life in the slums of New York City, told just as they came to the -writer, fresh from the life of the people. - - -SANDYS. TRAPPER JIM. By Edwyn Sandys. 12mo. Illustrated. ix + 441 -pages. - -A book which will delight every normal boy. Jim is a city lad who -learns from an older cousin all the lore of outdoor life--trapping, -shooting, fishing, camping, swimming, and canoeing. The author is a -well-known writer on outdoor subjects. - - -SEXTON. STORIES OF CALIFORNIA. By Ella M. Sexton. 12mo. -Illustrated. x + 211 pages. - -Twenty-two stories illustrating the early conditions and the romantic -history of California and the subsequent development of the state. - - -SHARP. THE YOUNGEST GIRL IN THE SCHOOL. By Evelyn Sharp. 12mo. -Illustrated. ix + 326 pages. - -Bab, the "youngest girl," was only eleven and the pet of five -brothers. Her ups and downs in a strange boarding school make an -interesting story. - - -SPARKS. THE MEN WHO MADE THE NATION: AN OUTLINE OF UNITED STATES -HISTORY FROM 1776 TO 1861. By Edwin E. Sparks. 12mo. Illustrated. -viii + 415 pages. - -The author has chosen to tell our history by selecting the one man at -various periods of our affairs who was master of the situation and -about whom events naturally grouped themselves. The characters thus -selected number twelve, as "Samuel Adams, the man of the town -meeting"; "Robert Morris, the financier of the Revolution"; -"Hamilton, the advocate of stronger government," etc., etc. - - -THACHER. THE LISTENING CHILD. A selection from the stories of -English verse, made for the youngest readers and hearers. By Lucy W. -Thacher. 12mo. xxx + 408 pages. - -Under this title are gathered two hundred and fifty selections. The -arrangement is most intelligent, as shown in the proportions assigned -to different authors and periods. Much prominence is given to purely -imaginative writers. The preliminary essay, "A Short Talk to Children -about Poetry," is full of suggestion. - - -WALLACE. UNCLE HENRY'S LETTERS TO THE FARM BOY. By Henry Wallace. -16mo. ix + 180 pages. - -Eighteen letters on habits, education, business, recreation, and -kindred subjects. - - -WEED. LIFE HISTORIES OF AMERICAN INSECTS. By Clarence Moores -Weed. 12mo. Illustrated. xii + 272 pages. - -In these pages are described by an enthusiastic student of entomology -such changes as may often be seen in an insect's form, and which mark -the progress of its life. He shows how very wide a field of -interesting facts is within reach of any one who has the patience to -collect these little creatures. - - -WELLS. THE JINGLE BOOK. By Carolyn Wells. 12mo. Illustrated. viii -+ 124 pages. - -A collection of fifty delightful jingles and nonsense verses. The -illustrations by Oliver Herford do justice to the text. - - -WILSON. DOMESTIC SCIENCE IN GRAMMAR GRADES. A Reader. By Lucy L. -W. Wilson. 12mo. ix + 193 pages. - -Descriptions of homes and household customs of all ages and -countries, studies of materials and industries, glimpses of the homes -of literature, and articles on various household subjects. - - -WILSON. HISTORY READER FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. By Lucy L. W. -Wilson. 16mo. Illustrated. xvii + 403 pages. - -Stories grouped about the greatest men and the most striking events -in our country's history. The readings run by months, beginning with -September. - - -WILSON. PICTURE STUDY IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. By Lucy L. W. -Wilson. 12mo. Illustrated. - -Ninety half-tone reproductions from celebrated paintings both old and -modern, accompanied by appropriate readings from the poets. All -schools of art are represented. - - -WRIGHT. HEART OF NATURE. By Mabel Osgood Wright. 12mo. -Illustrated. - -This volume comprises "Stories of Plants and Animals," "Stories of -Earth and Sky," and "Stories of Birds and Beasts," usually published -in three volumes and known as "The Heart of Nature Series." It is a -delightful combination of story and nature study, the author's name -being a sufficient warrant for its interest and fidelity to nature. - - -WRIGHT. FOUR-FOOTED AMERICANS AND THEIR KIN. By Mabel Osgood -Wright, edited by Frank Chapman. 12mo. Illustrated. xv + 432 pages. - -An animal book in story form. The scene shifts from farm to woods, -and back to an old room, fitted as a sort of winter camp, where vivid -stories of the birds and beasts which cannot be seen at home are told -by the campfire,--the sailor who has hunted the sea, the woodman, the -mining engineer, and wandering scientist, each taking his turn. A -useful family tree of North American Mammals is added. - - -WRIGHT. DOGTOWN. By Mabel Osgood Wright. 12mo. Illustrated. xiii -+ 405 pages. - -"Dogtown" was a neighborhood so named because so many people loved -and kept dogs. For it is a story of people as well as of dogs, and -several of the people as well as the dogs are old friends, having -been met in Mrs. Wright's other books. - - -YONGE. LITTLE LUCY'S WONDERFUL GLOBE. By Charlotte M. Yonge. -12mo. Illustrated. xi + 140 pages. - -An interesting and ingenious introduction to geography. In her dreams -Lucy visits the children of various lands and thus learns much of the -habits and customs of these countries. - - -YONGE. UNKNOWN TO HISTORY. By Charlotte M. Yonge. 12mo. -Illustrated. xi + 589 pages. - -A story of the captivity of Mary Queen of Scots, told in the author's -best vein. - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Heroes of Asgard, by Annie Keary and E. 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