Saga is the goddess of history ; she dwells beneath the cool billows of Sokvabek, where she and Odin every day quaff mead from beakers of gold.
Sif is the wife of Thor, Kanna the wife of Balder, and Sigyn the wife of Loke ; but besides these there are several goddesses of less importance, who serve as hand- maids either of Frigg or of Freyja.
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NORSE MYTHOLOGY
Valkyries, maids of the slain, are sent out by Odin to ever}' battle to choose guests for Valhall and to deter- mine the victory. Surrounded by a halo of flashing- light, they ride in bloody armor with shining spears through the air and over the sea. Wlien their horses shake their manes, dew-drops settle in the deep valleys, and hail falls upon the lofty forests.
Tlie ruler of the sea is ^Eger, also called Hymer and Hlcr. He is a giant, but is still the friend of the asas. When the gods visit him, as they do every har- vest, his lialls are illuminated with shining gold. His wife is Ran ; she has a net with which she captures seafarers. The daughters of ^Eger and Ran are the billows. They are hostile to sailors, and try to upset their ships.
4. The following is an outline of the Norse mytho- logical legends. In the beginning of the world there was a glorious time of peace and happiness among gods and men. but giantesses came to Asgard, and the asas united themselves with them. Then their happiness was ruined, the atmosphere was infested with guile, and strife began in heaven and on earth — a strife which was to last until the destruction of both. The giants attack the asas both by force and by stratagem, and the latter are saved only by the power of Thor and the cunning of Loke.
Lolce, or, as he is sometimes called, Lopf, is indeed the instigator of the greatest misfortunes that happen to the gods. He is of giant race, but was adopted by the asas, and was already in the dawn of time the foster- brother of Odin. His countenance is fair, but his dis- position is evil. He is frequently called the slanderer of the asas, the grand contriver of deceit and fraud, and the reproach of gods and men. He often accompanies the asas, and they make use of his strength and cun- ning ; but he usually plots together with the giants for the purpose of bringing ruin upon the asas.
With the giantess Angerboda, Loke begat three chil- dren in Jotunheim. These are the Fenris-wolf, the Midgard-serpent, and Hel, the goddess of death. The asas knew that these children of Loke would cause them great mischief. Therefore they bound the wolf on a barren holm (rocky island), and put a sword in his open-stretched mouth. The Midgard-serpent they cast into the deep ocean, where he encircles the whole earth and bites his own tail. Thor once caught the Midgard- serpent on his hook, and would have slain him with his hammer had not the giant Hymer, who was with him, cut off the fishing-line. Hel was thrust down into Niflheim, and Odin commanded that all who died of sickness or old age should go to her. Her dwelling is called Helheim; it is large and terrible. It is in the most infernal pit of Hel's region, where her palace is called Anguish, the table Famine, the waiters Slowness and Delay, the threshhold Preciiiice, and the bed Care. Hel herself is half blue and half white, and of a grim and ghastly appearance. The English word "hell" is derived from or connected with her name.
The greatest sorrow was caused to gods and men by Loke, when he by his cunning brought about the death of Baldur. Baldur was tormented b}' terrible dreams, indicating that his life was in peril ; and this he com- municated to the gods, who resolved to conjure all ani- mate and inanimate things not to harm him. Frigg exacted an oath from all things that they should not harm Baldur. But still Odin felt anxious, and, saddling his horse Sleipner, he descended to Niflheim, where he awaked the vala, and compelled her to give him infor- mation about the fate of Baldur. When it had been made known that nothing in the world would harm Baldur, it became a favorite pastime of the gods at their meetings to put him up as a mark and shoot at him. But it vexed Loke to see that Baldur was not hurt ; so he assumed the guise of a woman, and went to Frigg, and asked if all things had sworn to spare Baldur. From Frigg he learned that she had neglected to exact an oath from a slender twig called the mistletoe. Loke im-
mediately went and pulled this up, proceeded to the place where the gods were assembled, and induced the blind god Hod to throw the mistletoe at his brother, and do him honor as the rest of the gods did. Loke himself guided Hod's hand; the twig hit Baldur, and he fell down lifeless. The asas were struck dumb and speechless by terror. Finally Frigg sent Hermod, who got Odin's horse, to Hel, to persuade the goddess of death to permit Baldur to return to Asgard. Hel prom- ised to release him on the condition that all nature would weep for him. The gods then despatched mes- sengers throughout all the world to beseech all things to weep, in order that Baldur might be delivered from the power of Hel. All things very willingly complied with the request— men, animals, the earth, stones, trees, and all metals— just as we see things weep when they come out of the frost into the warm air. When the messengers were returning with the conviction that their mission had been quite successful, they found on their way home a giantess who called herself Thokk. Thokk would not weep, and Hel kept her prey. But this Thokk was none else than Loke in disguise.