Wōden's, or Wednes-day, and he had great strength and wisdom; and at last he slew the ōld giant, whose blood (pr. blud) well'd fōrth in such a mighty torrent that all the hideous giants were drown'd except one who ran away panting and afraid.

Then Odin câll'd to his sons and kin-fōlk, "We cannot stay longer here, where is nō ēvil to fight against ;" and they said, "It is well spōken, Odin; we follow ÿou.”

"Southward," answer'd Odin, "heat lies; northward night. From the dim east the sun begins his journey westward home."

"Westward hōme!" shouted they âll; and westward they went.

Odin rōde in the midst of them. On his right rōde Thor, Odin's strong wârlike, eldest son, whose day is our fifth, or Thurṣ-day; on his left Bâldur, the most beautiful of his children; after him Tyr the Brave; Vidär the Silent; Hōdur, who, alas! was born blind; Hermod, the flying Word, and many more lords and heroes; and then, in a shell chariot, Frigga, wife of Odin with all her daughters, friends and

tirewomen.

At the twelfth new moon they pitcht their tents on a range of hills near an inland sea. The greater part of one night they were dis

turb'd by mysterious whisperings that crept up the mountain side; but Tyr, who got up a dozen times and ran furiously about among the gorse and bushes, could see no one. Odin lay awake, and in the morning a terrific hurricane swept about the bases of the hills, and drōve furiously up the mountain gorges right in the faces of the heroes.

But Odin stept forth unruffled, and câll'd out to the spirits of the wind to cease, and tell in what manner the heroes had offended them.

The winds laugh'd, but after a few low titterings sank into silence, and each sound grew into a shape; one by one the loose-limb'd unċertain forms stept forth from caves, from gorges, dropt from tree tops, or rōșe out of the grass, each gust a separate Van.

Then Niord their leader stood forwârd, and said, “Wē knōw mighty Odin, you are lords of the whole earth. Wē, too, are lords, lords of the sea and the air, and we thought to have had sport in fighting; but if that be not your pleasure let us shake handṣ." And he held out a long, cold hand, like a windbag. Odin graspt it heartily, and so did they all, for they liked the good natured, gusty chief, whom they begg'd to live thenceforth with them.

To this Niord consented, whistled good bye to his kinfōlk, and strōde along cheerfully westwârd, with his new friends. When they came to a lofty mountain câll'd Meeting Hill, and sat in a cîrcle, Niord pointed out the snowy region of Gianthōme, where lived the giant who escaped drowning in his father's blood, and where he built cities and brought up his hideous children.

"This is terrible news," said Frigga, "for the giants will come out again and waste the earth."

"Not sō," said Odin, "not sō; we will build a city upon this very hill, and keep guärd ōver the poor earth with its weak men and women, and thence we will make wâr upon Gianthōme."

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That is well, Fäṭher Odin, cried Thor, laughing amidst his red beard. Tyr shouted and Vidär smiled, and all set to work with their whole strength to build a glorious city on the summit of the mountain. They workt for years, and never wearied. Even Frigga and her ladies brought stones in their märble wheelbarrows, and wâter in golden buckets, and mixt the mortar with their delicate hands on silver plates. And so the city rōșe, height above height, till it crown'd the hill.

At a giddy height in the center rōşe Odin's seat, Air Thrōne, whence he could see the whōle

Earth. On one side of it stood the Palace of Friends, where Frigga was to live; on the other Gladhōme, a palace rooft with golden shields, whose great hâll Valhalla had a ceiling of spears, benches spread with coats of mail, and five hundred and forty entrances through which eight hundred men might ride abreast. There was also a lärge iron (pr. i-urn) smithy, to fōrge ärms and shape ärmor. Their new hōme was câlled ASGARD, that is, the hōme of the Gods.

2. FREY AND THE LIGHT ELVES.

In the morning Odin mounted Air Thrōne and lookt over the whole earth, whilst âll stood round waiting to hear what he thought about

it.

"The earth is very beautiful," said Odin,

very beautiful in every pärt, even to the shores of the därk North Sea; but the men, alas are fearful. Even now I see a threeheaded giant strīding out of Gianthōme; hē throws a shepherd-boy into the sea and puts the whole flock into his pocket; hē tākes them out again one by one, and cracks their bōnes as if they were hazel-nuts, whilst the men all the time look on and do nothing."

"Father," cried Thor in a rage, "I will gō

alōne to Gianthōme with the belt and glove and hammer I forged last night." And Thor

went.

Then said Odin again, earth are idle and stupid.

"The men of the

There are dwârfs

and elves who live among them and play tricks they do not know how to prevent. I see a husbandman sowing wheat in the furrows while a dwârf runs after him and changes them into stōnes. Two hideous little beings, again, hōld the head of a strange man under wâter till hē dies; they mix his blood (pr. blud) with honey; they put it into a jär and give it to a giant to keep for them."

Then Odin was very angry with the dwârfs, for he saw they were bent on mischief; sō hē câll'd to Hermon, his Flying Word, and sent him to the dwarfs and light elves, to say, with Odin's compliments, that he would bē glad to speak with them, in his palace of Gladhōme, upon a matter of some importance.

When the dwarfs and light elves receiv'd this summons they were very much surprised, not knowing whether to feel honor'd or afraid; but they put on their pertest manners and went clustering after Hermod like a swârm of ladybirds.

Upon their arrival Odin came down from