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 Æsir, 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 Æsir stood at the foot of Giöll, 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 Æsir 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 Æsir, 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 Æsir 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 Æsir threw the chain round the monster's neck, bound him securely with one end, and fastened the other to the great rock Giöll. 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 Æsir 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 Ragnarök be come.

The sails of Skidbladnir now spread themselves out to the wind; and the Æsir, seated in the magic ship, floated over the lake silently in the silent moonlight; while, from the top of Bifröst, over the Urda fount and the dwelling of the Norns, a song floated down. "Who," asked one voice, "of all the Æsir has won the highest honour?" and, singing, another voice made answer, "Tyr has won the highest honour; for, of all the Æsir, 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 Ragnarök. 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 Æsir. 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 Æsir 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 Æsir 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 Æsir 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 Æsir 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 Æsir 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 Æsir 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 Æsir 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 Æsir 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 Æsir 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 Æsir 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 Ragnarök 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 Jörmungand, 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 Ægir, "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 Æsir. 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 Ægir'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 Æsir 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 Ragnarök; and "first," as Har said, "there will come a winter." But that is not exactly how we tell the story.

CHAPTER IX.

RAGNARÖK, 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 Æsir 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; Æsirland in the midst, with Manheim all round it; then the wide sea, and, far off, the frost-bound shores of Jötunheim. 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 Bifröst, 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 Jörmungand 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 Jötunheim 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 Bifröst, 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 Æsir, ride over the tops of the mountains to Vigrid, the high, wide battle-field, where the giants were already assembled, headed by Fenrir, Garm, Jörmungand, 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 Æsir'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 Jörmungand; the strong Thunderer raised his arm--he feared no evil--he flung Miölnir at the monster serpent's head. Jörmungand 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 Jörmungand 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 Miölnir between them. Vali and Vidar came, and the deathless Hœnir; Baldur came up from the deep, leading his blind brother Hödur 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 Æsir sat on the green plain, and talked of many things. "Garm is dead," said Höd to Baldur, "and so are Loki, and Jörmungand, and Fenrir, and the world rejoices; but did our dead brothers rejoice who fell in slaying them?"

"They did, Höd," 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 Hœnir came up to Höd 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 Æsir'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, Nidhögg, 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 Ragnarök 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 Æsir, 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 Jörd or the earth spoken of as a wife of Odin; Rind, the winterly earth; Freyja, so nearly joined to Frigg, the summerly earth; Idūna, 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 Ragnarök,--

"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 Idūna 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 Ragnarök 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 Hödur 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 Höd 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 Völuspa 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 Nidhögg, 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."

_Ægir_--The King of the Sea. The name means, "to flow."

_Æsir_--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 Jörmungand, 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."

_Bifröst_--Name given to the rainbow. It means, "the Tremulous or Aërial Bridge."

_Bilskirnir_--Name of Thor's mansion. It signifies either "bright space" or "storm-serene."

_Bör_ 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 Læding, 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.

_Elivágar_--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 Jötunheim.

_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."

_Gjöll_--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."

_Himinbiörg_--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."

_Hödur_ or _Höd_--The blind god. His name means, "war, combat."

_Hœnir_--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.

_Idūna_ or _Idūn_--Guardian of the apples of immortality.

_Jarnvid_--Iron Wood.

_Jörmungand_--Universal serpent.

_Jötunheim_--Giants' home. Grimm thinks that the old Norse for giant, _iötun_, 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.

_Körmt_--Another of the rivers through which Thor waded.

_Kvasir_--Name of a man killed by dwarfs; also of one of Odin's sons.

_Læding_--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.

_Mardöll_--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 Himinbiörg. 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.

_Miölnir_--Name of Thor's hammer. It signifies, "to pound or grind;" whence the English word "mill."

_Mödgudur_--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 Ragnarök, made of nails. _Nagl_ means "nail."

_Nanna_--Baldur's wife. The name signifies, "daring."

_Nari_--One of Loki's sons. The name signifies, "binding."

_Naströnd_--Literally, "the shore of corpses."

_Nidhögg_--Serpent at the root of Yggdrasil. The name may be rendered "dark gnawer."

_Niflheim_--Literally, "nebulous home."

_Njörd_--A Van, the universal nourishing power in air and water. There is in the North an aquatic plant still called "Njörd's glove."

_Nöatun_--The name of Njörd'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.

_Ragnarök_--The twilight of the gods.

_Ran_--Wife of Ægir. 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."

_Sæhrimnir_--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 Niörd. _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 Bifröst.

_Utgard_--The name of the chief city of Jötunheim. 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 Ragnarök. _Vigrid_ signifies, "battle, ride."

_Vingolf_--Abode of the goddesses. Means literally, "the floor of friends."

_Voluspá_--The name of an old poem.

_Yggdrasil_--The name of the earth tree.

_Ymir_--The first giant. _Ymir_ means, "a confused noise."

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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.