Obedience was readily sworn to Friga by fire and by water, by iron and all other metals, by stone and clay, bush and tree, by swift consumption and all other diseases; as well as by all the animals of the earth; the air, and the sea. Nothing was freed from this oath but a tender mistletoe clinging to an oak, for from it she feared no ill.
The gods now thought their favorite was perfectly safe, and in their delight began a number of pastimes with him. Some threw sharp-pointed lances at him; and behold! they fell harmless to the earth without causing him the least pain. Others, smote him on the bare head with their swords, but not a single lock was ruffled. Smiling like a fresh spring morning, Balder stood in the midst of the gods, sharing the happiness which they felt, and playfully grasping the arrows and spears which they aimed at him.
Their pleasure was so unbounded that it soon reached the ears of the malicious Loki, who found his only happiness in stirring up strife and causing distress both to gods and men, and he hastened to the spot, that he might, if possible, blight their pleasures. Taking the form of a gray-haired old woman, with a staff in her trembling and withered hand, he reverently approached the goddess Friga. 'Pray, inform me, gracious mother of the earth,' said he, 'what is the cause of all this mirth and joy, that I may share in it with the gods.'
'Have you not heard,' replied Friga, with a beaming countenance, ' that all the beings and powers of the earth have taken an oath not to injure Balder? A terrible danger was hanging over him; but the sentence of the Nome has been defeated, and he is now safe, and will not have to descend to the regions of the pale and ghastly Hela!'
'Has everything sworn this oath?' inquired Loki.
' Yes', was the reply; ' everything has sworn to me, except a small plant of mistletoe which I saw growing on the eastern side of Valhalla. Why should I fear any mischief from such a harmless, trifling thing as that? '
This information was sufficient for the wicked Loki, who was glad to And that it was the mistletoe, which strangles the tree to which it clings for support, that had been passed over by Friga. So, stealing quietly away from the palace, he fled with the swiftness of thought in search of the plant, which he soon found. He broke off a piece of its hard stem, shaped it into an arrow, and returning in the same disguise as before, approached the happy circle of the gods. He soon discovered a fitting instrument for his base design. Hadu, the blind god, was standing at a little distance listening to the joyful shouts and merry laughter which arose from the happy company, and Loki tottered towards him. 'Why', said he, 'do you not take part in the amusement of your companions?'
' Gladly would I do so', replied Hadu; ' but alas! I am blind, and cannot join in honoring Balder with the other gods.'
'That is a great affliction', said the wily Loki; ' but if you will only take this bow and arrow in your hands, I will shew you how you can honor the hero of the day.'
Following the directions of the stranger, Hadu took the bow, discharged the arrow, and Balder suddenly fell lifeless to the ground.
Never before had such sorrow distressed the hearts of the dwellers in Odin's palace. For a while they stood speechless and paralyzed with grief and astonishment; then forming a group around the dead body, burst into loud cries, which echoed and re-echoed throughout the arched halls of Valhalla. Their terror and anguish were so great that none of them could speak a word. When the power of speech returned, they began to inquire who could have been wicked enough to do so foul a deed; but no one thought of avenging their murdered companion, for they were assembled in a sanctuary, where no act of punishment could take place; and Loki had again disappeared With deep sighs and piercing lamentations, the corpse was carried to the sea-shore to be devoted to the flames. Balder's ship lay upon the strand, and his body was to be burned on the deck; but first the vessel had to be launched. All the efforts of the gods to push it into the sea were, however, in vain; they could not move it a single inch. They were then obliged to call the giantess Hyrrockin to their help. Preceded by a rushing sound, the giantess appeared with streaming hair, riding a wolf bridled with a serpent. She laid her powerful hands on the vessel, and pushed it with such violence into the sea that the rollers on which it was standing burst into flames. Enraged at her vehemence, Thor lifted his hammer, and would have dashed her to the earth had not the other gods quieted him. Then arose a new disaster. Nanna, the beautiful wife of Balder, was so overwhelmed with sorrow at the death of her beloved husband, that her heart broke, and she sank into the arms of Friga a lifeless corpse. United in death, as they had been in life, Balder and Nanna were laid upon the funeral pile which had been erected on the deck of the ship, and burned to ashes, amid the loud wailing and bitter lamentations of the gods."
"This, my children," said Hilding, "is the story of the death of Balder, through which the palace of Valhalla sustained a loss never to be replaced."
Ingeborg and Frithiof had listened with the deepest interest to the sad story; while, in the distance, they heard the rolling of the chariot in which Thor, the god of thunder, travelled through the sky, and saw the flashes of fire from the strokes of his mighty hammer. Tears glistened in Ingeborg's eyes as she thought of the melancholy fate of Balder and Nanna, and the heart of Frithiof was stirred with deep emotion. After a short time, they rose and went home again; and Ingeborg stole silently into her chamber, while Frithiof continued in conversation with Hilding.
"Horrible as death is," said he, "I would willingly die, and go down to the terrible dwelling-place of Hela, if I only felt sure that Ingeborg would mourn for me as Nanna mourned for Balder! "
These wards alarmed Hilding. "Can it be possible, my son," he exclaimed, "that you are cherishing a love which can end in nothing but sorrow and disappointment? The ancestors of King Beli reach back to the gods themselves, while you are but the son of a yeoman. Beli will choose a husband for his daughter from among princes, and it is quite in vain for you to think of wooing her."
Frithiof smiled at the words of his venerable tutor, and then replied in a burst of noble passion, in which his eyes flashed like fire: " With the thunder-god, birth is nothing; courage is the only thing which he regards. He who is descended from the gods, and is destitute of bravery and spirit, is disowned by them. They love and reward those only who strive to excel in courage and virtue. The fame which I have won in hunting the wild beasts of the forest is worth as much to me as if I could trace my ancestors back to the halls of Odin!"
" Alas, alas! " exclaimed Hilding, " this love will yield you nothing but thorns and misery! How blind I must have been not to have sooner noticed the evil that was brooding! "
" Speak not thus, my father," replied Frithiof. " Never, till now, have I dreamed of Ingeborg becoming my wife; but my heart tells me that it can be satisfied with no other than the king's daughter. I swear to you, by all the gods, that I will never give her up, even if it be necessary to win her at the point of the sword! If I have to fight with Thor himself, I will be parted from her only with my life. Woe to the man that tries to separate us! "
While Frithiof thus gave vent to his love for Ingeborg, .she sat in her quiet chamber, and compared him in her mind to Balder, praying to the gods to protect the high-spirited youth, and to crown him with honor and fame.
CHAPTER III. KING BELI AND THORSTEN.
The snows of age began to gather on the head of King Beli and the devoted companion-in-arms who, for years, had been always