his thrōne and sat with the rest of the Lords in the Judgment Hâll. Hermod flew in and having saluted Odin, pointed to the dwarfs and elves hanging like a cloud in the doorway, to show that he had fülfill'd his mission. Then Odin beckon❜d the little people to come forward. Cowering and whispering they peept ōver one another's shoulders; now ran a little way into the hâll, then back again, hälf cūrious, hälf afraid; and it was not until Odin had beckon'd three times that they finally reacht his footstool. Then Odin spoke to them in cälm, lōw, serious tones about the badness of mischievous ways. The very worst only laught in a forward härden'd manner; but many lookt up surprised and a little pleas'd at the novelty of serious words; the light elves all wept, for they were tender-hearted little things. length Odin spōke by name to the two dwârfs whom he had seen drowning the strange man. "Whose blood (pr. blud) was it that you mixt with honey and put into the jär?”

At

"Oh," cried the two dwârfs, jumping up into the air and clapping their hands, "that was Kvaşîr's blood; dōn't you know who Kvāṣîr was? He sprang up out of the peace made between the Lords of the sea and air and yourselves, and has been wandering about these seven years

or mōre, and sō wiṣe he was that men thought he must be a god. Well, we found him lying in a meadow drown'd in his own wisdom, sõ wē mixt his blood with honey and gave it to giant Suttung to keep; was not that well done, Odin ?"

And then

"Well done?" answer'd Odin, "well done? you cowardly crüël dwârfs! I myself saw you kill him. For shame, for shame!" Odin past sentence upon them all. Those who had been mōst wicked were to live thenceforth a long way underground, and spend their time in throwing füël upon the great central fire of the earth; those who had only been mischievous were to work in the gōld and diamond mines, fashioning precious stones and metals. All might come up at night, but must vanish at dawn. Then Odin waved his hand, and the dwarfs, chattering shrilly, turn'd round and scamper'd down the palace steps and out of the city, over the green fields, to their deep-buried homes in the earth.

But the light elves still linger'd with upturn'd, tearful, smiling faces, like morning dew in the sunshine. "And you," said Odin, looking them through and through with his serious eỹeş, “and ÿoü

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"Oh! indeed, Odin," interrupted they,

speaking all together in quick, uncertain tōnes, "Oh! indeed, Odin, we are not very wicked ; we have never done anybody any härm."

"Have you ever done anybody any good?" askt Odin.

"Oh! nō, indeed, we have never done any thing at all."

"You may gō then to live among the flowers, and play with the wild bees and summer insects. You must, however, find something to do or you will grow to be mischievous like the dwarfs."

"If only we had some one to teach us," said the light elves, "for we are very foolish little people."

Odin lookt round inquiringly, but seeing no teacher for the simple little elveș, hē turn'd to Niord, who nodded his head good naturedly, and said, “Yes, yes, I'll see about it," and then strōde out of the Hall, away through the city gātes, and sat down upon the edge of the mountain.

After a while Niord began to whistle in an alärming manner, louder and louder, in strong wild gusts, now advancing, now retreating; then he dropt his voice a little lōwër and lōwër, till it became like a bird's, low, soft and enticing; and from far off in the south a little

fluttering answer came, sweet as the invitation itself, nearer and nearer, until both the sounds dropt into one. Then through the clear sky two forms came floating, wonderfully fair-a brother and sister their beautifül ärmş twined round one another, their golden hair bāṭh'd in sunlight and lifted by the wind.

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"My son and daughter, "Frey and Freyja, Summer and Beauty," said Niord, proudly.

When they lighted on the hill, Niord took his son by the hand, and led him gracefully to the foot of the throne, saying, "Look, dear brother Lord, what a fair young instructor I have brought for the pretty little elves."

Odin was much pleas'd with Frey, but before making him king and schoolmäster of the light elves deşired to know what he consider'd himself competent to teach?

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"I am the genius of clouds and sunshine,' answer'd Frey, and as he spoke, the essences of a hundred perfumes were exhaled from his breath, "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 pōur sweetness into the swelling fruit, to lead the bees through the honey-passages of the flowers, to make the single stâlk an ear of wheat, to hatch bîrds' eggs, and train the little bîrds to sing

all this and much more will I teach them," said

Frey.

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Then,” replied Odin, "it is well!" and Frey led his scholars away with him to Elfhōme, which is in every beautiful place under the sun.

Wherever Frey came, was summer and sunshine. Flowers sprang up under his feet; bright-wing'd insects hover'd about him like flying blossoms, and his wârm breath ripen'd the fruit on the trees, and gave a bright ÿellōw color to the corn, and a purple bloom to the grāpes as he past through the fields and vineyards.

When he rōde in his cär, drawn by the stately boar Golden Bristles, soft winds blew before him filling the air with fragrance and spreading the news "Van Frey is coming!" and every hälf clōş'd flower burst into perfect beauty, while forest and field and hill püt on their richest dresses to greet his presence.

Under Frey's care the little light elves learnt âll the pleasant things he had promised to teach them; and it was in truth a sweet sight to see them in the evenings 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, or drop them into the hälf-closed cups of the sleepy flowers. And