Balder Dead (An Episode)

I     SENDING     So on the floor lay Balder dead; and round     Lay thickly strewn swords axes darts and spears     Which all the Gods in sport had idly thrown     At Balder, whom no weapon piercd or clove:     But in his breast stood fixt the fatal bough     Of mistletoe, which Lok the Accuser gave     To Hoder, and unwitting Hoder threw:     Gainst that alone had Balders life no charm.     And all the Gods and all the Heroes came     And stood round Balder on the bloody floor     Weeping and wailing; and Valhalla rang     Up to its golden roof with sobs and cries:     And on the tables stood the untasted meats,     And in the horns and gold-rimmd skulls the wine:     And now would Night have falln, and found them yet     Wailing; but otherwise was Odins will:     And thus the Father of the Ages spake:     Enough of tears, ye Gods, enough of wail!     Not to lament in was Valhalla made.     If any here might weep for Balders death     I most might weep, his Father; such a son     I lose today, so bright, so lovd a God.     But he has met that doom which long ago     The Nornies, when his mother bare him, spun,     And Fate set seal, that so his end must be.     Balder has met his death, and ye survive:     Weep him an hour; but what can grief avail?     For you yourselves, ye Gods, shall meet your doom,     All ye who hear me, and inhabit Heaven,     And I too, Odin too, the Lord of all;     But ours we shall not meet, when that day comes,     With womans tears and weak complaining cries     Why should we meet anothers portion so?     Rather it fits you, having wept your hour,     With cold dry eyes, and hearts composd and stern,     To live, as erst, your daily life in Heaven:     By me shall vengeance on the murderer Lok,     The Foe, the Accuser, whom, though Gods, we hate,     Be strictly card for, in the appointed day.     Meanwhile, to-morrow, when the morning dawns,     Bring wood to the seashore to Balders ship,     And on the deck build high a funeral pile,     And on the top lay Balders corpse, and put     Fire to the wood, and send him out to sea     To burn; for that is what the dead desire.     So having spoke, the King of Gods arose     And mounted his horse Sleipner, whom he rode,     And from the hall of Heaven he rode away     To Lidskialf, and sate upon his throne,     The Mount, from whence his eye surveys the world.     And far from Heaven he turnd his shining orbs     To look on Midgard, and the earth, and men:     And on the conjuring Lapps he bent his gaze     Whom antlerd reindeer pull over the snow;     And on the Finns, the gentlest of mankind,     Fair men, who live in holes under the ground:     Nor did he look once more to Idas plain,     Nor towards Valhalla, and the sorrowing Gods;     For well he knew the Gods would heed his word,     And cease to mourn, and think of Balders pyre.     But in Valhalla all the Gods went back     From around Balder, all the Heroes went;     And left his body stretchd upon the floor.     And on their golden chairs they sate again,     Beside the tables, in the hall of Heaven;     And before each the cooks who servd them placd     New messes of the boar Serimners flesh,     And the Valkyries crownd their horns with mead.     So they, with pent-up hearts and tearless eyes,     Wailing no more, in silence ate and drank,     While Twilight fell, and sacred Night came on.     But the blind Hoder left the feasting Gods     In Odins hall, and went through Asgard streets,     And past the haven where the Gods have moord     Their ships, and through the gate, beyond the wall.     Though sightless, yet his own mind led the God.     Down to the margin of the roaring sea     He came, and sadly went along the sand     Between the waves and black oerhanging cliffs     Where in and out the screaming seafowl fly;     Until he came to where a gully breaks     Through the cliff wall, and a fresh stream runs down     From the high moors behind, and meets the sea.     There in the glen Fensaler stands, the house     Of Frea, honourd Mother of the Gods,     And shows its lighted windows to the main.     There he went up, and passd the open doors:     And in the hall he found those women old,     The Prophetesses, who by rite eterne     On Freas hearth feed high the sacred fire     Both night and day; and by the inner wall     Upon her golden chair the Mother sate,     With folded hands, revolving things to come:     To her drew Hoder near, and spake, and said:     Mother, a child of bale thou barst in me.     For, first, thou barest me with blinded eyes.     Sightless and helpless, wandering weak in Heaven;     And, after that, of ignorant witless mind     Thou barest me, and unforeseeing soul:     That I alone must take the branch from Lok,     The Foe, the Accuser, whom, though Gods, we hate,     And cast it at the dear-lovd Balders breast     At whom the Gods in sport their weapons threw     Gainst that alone had Balders life no charm.     Now therefore what to attempt, or whither fly?     For who will bear my hateful sight in Heaven?     Can I, O Mother, bring them Balder back     Or for thou knowst the Fates, and things allowd     Can I with Helas power a compact strike,     And make exchange, and give my life for his?     He spoke: the Mother of the Gods replied:     Hoder, ill-fated, child of bale, my son,     Sightless in soul and eye, what words are these?     That one, long portiond with his doom of death,     Should change his lot, and fill anothers life,     And Hela yield to this, and let him go!     On Balder Death hath laid her hand, not thee;     Nor doth she count this life a price for that.     For many Gods in Heaven, not thou alone,     Would freely die to purchase Balder back,     And wend themselves to Helas gloomy realm.     For not so gladsome is that life in Heaven     Which Gods and Heroes lead, in feast and fray,     Waiting the darkness of the final times,     That one should grudge its loss for Balders sake,     Balder their joy, so bright, so lovd a God.     But Fate withstands, and laws forbid this way.     Yet in my secret mind one way I know,     Nor do I judge if it shall win or fail:     But much must still be tried, which shall but fail.     And the blind Hoder answerd her, and said:     What way is this, O Mother, that thou showst?     Is it a matter which a God might try?     And straight the Mother of the Gods replied:     There is a way which leads to Helas realm,     Untrodden, lonely, far from light and Heaven.     Who goes that way must take no other horse     To ride, but Sleipner, Odins horse, alone.     Nor must he choose that common path of Gods     Which every day they come and go in Heaven,     Oer the bridge Bifrost, where is Heimdalls watch,     Past Midgard Fortress, down to Earth and men;     But he must tread a dark untravelld road     Which branches from the north of Heaven, and ride     Nine days, nine nights, towards the northern ice,     Through valleys deep-engulphd, with roaring streams.     And he will reach on the tenth morn a bridge     Which spans with golden arches Gialls stream,     Not Bifrost, but that bridge a Damsel keeps,     Who tells the passing troops of dead their way     To the low shore of ghosts, and Helas realm.     And she will bid him northward steer his course:     Then he will journey through no lighted land,     Nor see the sun arise, nor see it set;     But he must ever watch the northern Bear     Who from her frozen height with jealous eye     Confronts the Dog and Hunter in the south,     And is alone not dipt in Oceans stream.     And straight he will come down to Oceans strand;     Ocean, whose watery ring enfolds the world,     And on whose marge the ancient Giants dwell.     But he will reach its unknown northern shore,     Far, far beyond the outmost Giants home,     At the chinkd fields of ice, the waste of snow:     And he will fare across the dismal ice     Northward, until he meets a stretching wall     Barring his way, and in the wall a grate.     But then he must dismount, and on the ice     Tighten the girths of Sleipner, Odins horse,     And make him leap the grate, and come within.     And he will see stretch round him Helas realm,     The plains of Niflheim, where dwell the dead,     And hear the roaring of the streams of Hell.     And he will see the feeble shadowy tribes,     And Balder sitting crownd, and Helas throne.     Then he must not regard the wailful ghosts     Who all will flit, like eddying leaves, around;     But he must straight accost their solemn Queen,     And pay her homage, and entreat with prayers,     Telling her all that grief they have in Heaven     For Balder, whom she holds by right below:     If haply he may melt her heart with words,     And make her yield, and give him Balder back.     She spoke: but Hoder answerd her and said:     Mother, a dreadful way is this thou showst.     No journey for a sightless God to go.     And straight the Mother of the Gods replied:     Therefore thyself thou shalt not go, my son.     But he whom first thou meetest when thou comst     To Asgard, and declarst this hidden way,     Shall go, and I will be his guide unseen.     She spoke, and on her face let fall her veil,     And bowd her head, and sate with folded hands.     But at the central hearth those Women old,     Who while the Mother spake had ceased their toil,     Began again to heap the sacred fire:     And Hoder turnd, and left his mothers house,     Fensaler, whose lit windows look to sea;     And came again down to the roaring waves,     And back along the beach to Asgard went,     Pondering on that which Frea said should be.     But Night came down, and darkend Asgard streets.     Then from their loathed feast the Gods arose,     And lighted torches, and took up the corpse     Of Balder from the floor of Odins hall,     And laid it on a bier, and bare him home     Through the fast-darkening streets to his own house     Breidablik, on whose columns Balder gravd     The enchantments, that recall the dead to life:     For wise he was, and many curious arts,     Postures of runes, and healing herbs he knew;     Unhappy: but that art he did not know     To keep his own life safe, and see the sun:     There to his hall the Gods brought Balder home,     And each bespake him as he laid him down:     Would that ourselves, O Balder, we were borne     Home to our halls, with torchlight, by our kin,     So thou mightst live, and still delight the Gods.     They spake: and each went home to his own house.     But there was one, the first of all the Gods     For speed, and Hermod was his name in Heaven;     Most fleet he was, but now he went the last,     Heavy in heart for Balder, to his house     Which he in Asgard built him, there to dwell,     Against the harbour, by the city wall:     Him the blind Hoder met, as he came up     From the sea cityward, and knew his step;     Nor yet could Hermod see his brothers face,     For it grew dark; but Hoder touchd his arm:     And as a spray of honeysuckle flowers     Brushes across a tired travellers face     Who shuffles through the deep dew-moistend dust,     On a May evening, in the darkend lanes,     And starts him, that he thinks a ghost went by     So Hoder brushd by Hermods side, and said:     Take Sleipner, Hermod, and set forth with dawn     To Helas kingdom, to ask Balder back;     And they shall be thy guides, who have the power.     He spake, and brushd soft by, and disappeard.     And Hermod gazd into the night, and said:     Who is it utters through the dark his hest     So quickly, and will wait for no reply?     The voice was like the unhappy Hoders voice.     Howbeit I will see, and do his hest;     For there rang note divine in that command.     So speaking, the fleet-footed Hermod came     Home, and lay down to sleep in his own house,     And all the Gods lay down in their own homes.     And Hoder too came home, distraught with grief,     Loathing to meet, at dawn, the other Gods:     And he went in, and shut the door, and fixt     His sword upright, and fell on it, and died.     But from the hill of Lidskialf Odin rose,     The throne, from which his eye surveys the world;     And mounted Sleipner, and in darkness rode     To Asgard. And the stars came out in Heaven,     High over Asgard, to light home the King.     But fiercely Odin gallopd, movd in heart;     And swift to Asgard, to the gate, he came     And terribly the hoofs of Sleipner rang     Along the flinty floor of Asgard streets;     And the Gods trembled on their golden beds     Hearing the wrathful Father coming home;     For dread, for like a whirlwind, Odin came:     And to Valhallas gate he rode, and left     Sleipner; and Sleipner went to his own stall:     And in Valhalla Odin laid him down.     But in Breidablik Nanna, Balders wife,     Came with the Goddesses who wrought her will,     And stood round Balder lying on his bier:     And at his head and feet she stationd Scalds     Who in their lives were famous for their song;     These oer the corpse intond a plaintive strain,     A dirge; and Nanna and her train replied.     And far into the night they waild their dirge:     But when their souls were satisfied with wail,     They went, and laid them down, and Nanna went     Into an upper chamber, and lay down;     And Frea seald her tired lids with sleep.     And twas when Night is bordering hard on Dawn,     When air is chilliest, and the stars sunk low,     Then Balders spirit through the gloom drew near,     In garb, in form, in feature as he was     Alive, and still the rays were round his head     Which were his glorious mark in Heaven; he stood     Over against the curtain of the bed,     And gazd on Nanna as she slept, and spake:     Poor lamb, thou sleepest, and forgettst thy woe.     Tears stand upon the lashes of thine eyes,     Tears wet the pillow by thy cheek; but thou,     Like a young child, hast cried thyself to sleep.     Sleep on: I watch thee, and am here to aid.     Alive I kept not far from thee, dear soul,     Neither do I neglect thee now, though dead.     For with to-morrows dawn the Gods prepare     To gather wood, and build a funeral pile     Upon my ship, and burn my corpse with fire,     That sad, sole honour of the dead; and thee     They think to burn, and all my choicest wealth,     With me, for thus ordains the common rite:     But it shall not be so: but mild, but swift,     But painless shall a stroke from Frea come,     To cut thy thread of life, and free thy soul,     And they shall burn thy corpse with mine, not thee.     And well I know that by no stroke of death,     Tardy or swift, wouldst thou be loath to die,     So it restord thee, Nanna, to my side,     Whom thou so well hast lovd; but I can smooth     Thy way, and this at least my prayers avail.     Yes, and I fain would altogether ward     Death from thy head, and with the Gods in Heaven     Prolong thy life, though not by thee desird:     But Right bars this, not only thy desire.     Yet dreary, Nanna, is the life they lead     In that dim world, in Helas mouldering realm;     And doleful afire the ghosts, the troops of dead,     Whom Hela with austere control presides;     For of the race of Gods is no one there     Save me alone, and Hela, solemn Queen:     And all the nobler souls of mortal men     On battle-field have met their death, and now     Feast in Valhalla, in my Fathers hall;     Only the inglorious sort are there below,     The old, the cowards, and the weak are there,     Men spent by sickness, or obscure decay.     But even there, O Nanna, we might find     Some solace in each others look and speech,     Wandering together through that gloomy world.     And talking of the life we led in Heaven,     While we yet livd, among the other Gods.     He spake, and straight his lineaments began     To fade: and Nanna in her sleep stretchd out     Her arms towards him with a cry; but he     Mournfully shook his head, and disappeard.     And as the woodman sees a little smoke     Hang in the air, afield, and disappear     So Balder faded in the night away.     And Nanna on her bed sunk back: but then     Frea, the Mother of the Gods, with stroke     Painless and swift, set free her airy soul,     Which took, on Balders track, the way below:     And instantly the sacred Morn appeard.     II     JOURNEY TO THE DEAD     FORTH from the East, up the ascent of Heaven,     Day drove his courser with the Shining Mane;     And in Valhalla, from his gable perch,     The golden-crested Cock began to crow:     Hereafter, in the blackest dead of night,     With shrill and dismal cries that Bird shall crow,     Warning the Gods that foes draw nigh to Heaven;     But now he crew at dawn, a cheerful note,     To wake the Gods and Heroes to their tasks.     And all the Gods, and all the Heroes, woke.     And from their beds the Heroes rose, and donnd     Their arms, and led their horses from the stall,     And mounted them, and in Valhallas court     Were rangd; and then the daily fray began.     And all day long they there are hackd and hewn     Mid dust, and groans, and limbs loppd off, and blood;     But all at night return to Odins hall     Woundless and fresh: such lot is theirs in Heaven.     And the Valkyries on their steeds went forth     Toward Earth and fights of men; and at their side     Skulda, the youngest of the Nornies, rode:     And over Bifrost, where is Heimdalls watch,     Past Midgard Fortress, down to Earth they came:     There through some battle-field, where men fall fast,     Their horses fetlock-deep in blood, they ride,     And pick the bravest warriors out for death,     Whom they bring back with them at night to Heaven,     To glad the Gods, and feast in Odins hall.     But the Gods went not now, as otherwhile,     Into the Tilt-Yard, where the Heroes fought,     To feast their eyes with looking on the fray:     Nor did they to their Judgement-Place repair     By the ash Igdrasil, in Idas plain,     Where they hold council, and give laws for men:     But they went, Odin first, the rest behind,     To the hall Gladheim, which is built of gold;     Where are in circle rangd twelve golden chairs,     And in the midst one higher, Odins throne:     There all the Gods in silence sate them down;     And thus the Father of the Ages spake:     Go quickly, Gods, bring wood to the seashore,     With all, which it beseems the dead to have     And make a funeral pile on Balders ship.     On the twelfth day the Gods shall burn his corpse.     But Hermod, thou, take Sleipner, and ride down     To Helas kingdom, to ask Balder back.     So said he; and the Gods arose, and took     Axes and ropes, and at their head came Thor,     Shouldering his Hammer, which the Giants know:     Forth wended they, and drove their steeds before:     And up the dewy mountain tracks they fard     To the dark forests, in the early dawn;     And up and down and side and slant they roamd:     And from the glens all day an echo came     Of crashing falls; for with his hammer Thor     Smote mid the rocks the lichen-bearded pines     And burst their roots; while to their tops the Gods     Made fast the woven ropes, and hald them down,     And loppd their boughs, and clove them on the sward,     And bound the logs behind their steeds to draw,     And drove them homeward; and the snorting steeds     Went straining through the crackling brushwood down,     And by the darkling forest paths the Gods     Followd, and on their shoulders carried boughs.     And they came out upon the plain, and passd     Asgard, and led their horses to the beach,     And loosd them of their loads on the seashore,     And rangd the wood in stacks by Balders ship;     And every God went home to his own house.     But when the Gods were to the forest gone     Hermod led Sleipner from Valhalla forth     And saddled him; before that, Sleipner brookd     No meaner hand than Odins on his mane,     On his broad back no lesser rider bore:     Yet docile now he stood at Hermods side,     Arching his neck, and glad to be bestrode,     Knowing the God they went to seek, how dear.     But Hermod mounted him, and sadly fard,     In silence, up the dark untravelld road     Which branches from the north of Heaven, and went     All day; and Daylight wand, and Night came on.     And all that night he rode, and journeyd so,     Nine days, nine nights, towards the northern ice,     Through valleys deep-engulphd, by roaring streams:     And on the tenth morn ho beheld the bridge     Which spans with golden arches Gialls stream,     And on the bridge a Damsel watching armd,     In the strait passage, at the further end,     Where the road issues between walling rocks.     Scant space that Warder left for passers by;     But, as when cowherds in October drive     Their kine across a snowy mountain pass     To winter pasture on the southern side,     And on the ridge a wagon chokes the way,     Wedgd in the snow; then painfully the hinds     With goad and shouting urge their cattle past,     Plunging through deep untrodden banks of snow     To right and left, and warm steam fills the air     So on the bridge that Damsel blockd the way,     And questiond Hermod as he came, and said:     Who art thou on thy black and fiery horse     Under whose hoofs the bridge oer Gialls stream     Rumbles and shakes? Tell me thy race and home.     But yestermorn five troops of dead passd by     Bound on their way below to Helas realm,     Nor shook the bridge so much as thou alone.     And thou hast flesh and colour on thy cheeks     Like men who live and draw the vital air;     Nor lookst thou pale and wan, like men deceasd,     Souls bound below, my daily passers here.     And the fleet-footed Hermod answerd her:     O Damsel, Hermod am I calld, the son     Of Odin; and my high-roofd house is built     Far hence, in Asgard, in the City of Gods:     And Sleipner, Odins horse, is this I ride.     And I come, sent this road on Balders track:     Say then, if he hath crossd thy bridge or no?     He spake; the Warder of the bridge replied:     O Hermod, rarely do the feet of Gods     Or of the horses of the Gods resound     Upon my bridge; and, when they cross, I know.     Balder hath gone this way, and taen the road     Below there, to the north, toward Helas realm.     From here the cold white mist can be discernd,     Not lit with sun, but through the darksome air     By the dim vapour-blotted light of stars,     Which hangs over the ice where lies the road.     For in that ice are lost those northern streams     Freezing and ridging in their onward flow,     Which from the fountain of Vergelmer run,     The spring that bubbles up by Helas throne.     There are the joyless seats, the haunt of ghosts,     Helas pale swarms; and there was Balder bound.     Ride on; pass free: but he by this is there.     She spake, and steppd aside, and left him room.     And Hermod greeted her, and gallopd by     Across the bridge; then she took post again.     But northward Hermod rode, the way below:     And oer a darksome tract, which knows no sun,     But by the blotted light of stars, he fard;     And he came down to Oceans northern strand     At the drear ice, beyond the Giants home:     Thence on he journeyd oer the fields of ice     Still north, until he met a stretching wall     Barring his way, and in the wall a grate.     Then he dismounted, and drew tight the girths,     On the smooth ice, of Sleipner, Odins horse,     And made him leap the grate, and came within.     And he beheld spread round him Helas realm,     The plains of Niflheim, where dwell the dead,     And heard the thunder of the streams of Hell.     For near the wall the river of Roaring flows,     Outmost: the others near the centre run     The Storm, the Abyss, the Howling, and the Pain:     Those flow by Helas throne, and near their spring.     And from the dark flockd up the shadowy tribes:     And as the swallows crowd the bulrush-beds     Of some clear river, issuing from a lake,     On autumn days, before they cross the sea;     And to each bulrush-crest a swallow hangs     Swinging, and others skim the river streams,     And their quick twittering fills the banks and shores     So around Hermod swarmd the twittering ghosts.     Women, and infants, and young men who died     Too soon for fame, with white ungraven shields;     And old men, known to Glory, but their star     Betrayd them, and of wasting age they died,     Not wounds: yet, dying, they their armour wore,     And now have chief regard in Helas realm.     Behind flockd wrangling up a piteous crew,     Greeted of none, disfeaturd and forlorn     Cowards, who were in sloughs interrd alive:     And round them still the wattled hurdles hung     Wherewith they stampd them down, and trod them deep,     To hide their shameful memory from men.     But all he passd unhaild, and reachd the throne     Of Hela, and saw, near it, Balder crownd,     And Hela sat thereon, with countenance stern;     And thus bespake him first the solemn Queen:     Unhappy, how hast thou endurd to leave     The light, and journey to the cheerless land     Where idly flit about the feeble shades     How didst thou cross the bridge oer Gialls stream,     Being alive, and come to Oceans shore?     Or how oerleap the grate that bars the wall?     She spake: but down off Sleipner Hermod sprang,     And fell before her feet, and claspd her knees;     And spake, and mild entreated her, and said:     O Hela, wherefore should the Gods declare     Their errands to each other, or the ways     They go? the errand and the way is known.     Thou knowst, thou knowst, what grief we have in Heaven     For Balder, whom thou holdst by right below:     Restore him, for what part fulfils he here?     Shall he shed cheer over the cheerless seats,     And touch the apathetic ghosts with joy?     Not for such end, O Queen, thou holdst thy realm.     For Heaven was Balder born, the City of Gods     And Heroes, where they live in light and joy:     Thither restore him, for his place is there.     He spoke; and grave replied the solemn Queen:     Hermod, for he thou art, thou Son of Heaven!     A strange unlikely errand, sure, is thine.     Do the Gods send to me to make them blest?     Small bliss my race hath of the Gods obtaind.     Three mighty children to my Father Lok     Did Angerbode, the Giantess, bring forth     Fenris the Wolf, the Serpent huge, and Me:     Of these the Serpent in the sea ye cast,     Who since in your despite hath waxd amain,     And now with gleaming ring enfolds the world:     Me on this cheerless nether world ye threw     And gave me nine unlighted realms to rule:     While on his island in the lake, afar,     Made fast to the bord crag, by wile not strength     Subdud, with limber chains lives Fenris bound.     Lok still subsists in Heaven, our Father wise,     Your mate, though loathd, and feasts in Odins hall;     But him too foes await, and netted snares,     And in a cave a bed of needle rocks,     And oer his visage serpents dropping gall.     Yet he shall one day rise, and burst his bonds,     And with himself set us his offspring free,     When he guides Muspels children to their bourne.     Till then in peril or in pain we live,     Wrought by the Gods: and ask the Gods our aid?     Howbeit we abide our day: till then,     We do not as some feebler haters do,     Seek to afflict our foes with petty pangs,     Helpless to better us, or ruin them.     Come then; if Balder was so dear belovd,     And this is true, and such a loss is Heavens     Hear, how to Heaven may Balder be restord.     Show me through all the world the signs of grief:     Fails but one thing to grieve, here Balder stops:     Let all that lives and moves upon the earth     Weep him, and all that is without life weep:     Let Gods, men, brutes, beweep him; plants and stones.     So shall I know the lost was dear indeed,     And bend my heart, and give him back to Heaven.     She spake; and Hermod answerd her, and said:     Hela, such as thou sayst, the terms shall be.     But come, declare me this, and truly tell:     May I, ere I depart, bid Balder hail     Or is it here withheld to greet the dead?     He spake; and straightway Hela answerd him:     Hermod, greet Balder if thou wilt, and hold     Converse: his speech remains, though he he dead.     And straight to Balder Hermod turnd, and spake:     Even in the abode of Death, O Balder, hail!     Thou hearst, if hearing, like as speech, is thine,     The terms of thy releasement hence to Heaven:     Fear nothing but that all shall be fulfilld.     For not unmindful of thee are the Gods     Who see the light, and blest in Asgard dwell;     Even here they seek thee out, in Helas realm.     And sure of all the happiest far art thou     Who ever have been known in Earth or Heaven:     Alive, thou wert of Gods the most belovd:     And now thou sittest crownd by Helas side,     Here, and hast honour among all the dead.     He spake; and Balder utterd him reply,     But feebly, as a voice far off; he said:     Hermod the nimble, gild me not my death.     Better to live a slave, a capturd man,     Who scatters rushes in a masters ball,     Than be a crownd king here, and rule the dead.     And now I count not of these terms as safe     To be fulfilld, nor my return as sure,     Though I be lovd, and many mourn my death:     For double-minded ever was the seed     Of Lok, and double are the gifts they give.     Howbeit, report thy message; and therewith,     To Odin, to my Father, take this ring,     Memorial of me, whether savd or no:     And tell the Heaven-born Gods how thou hast seen     Me sitting here below by Hela s side,     Crownd, having honour among all the dead.     He spake, and raisd his hand, and gave the ring.     And with inscrutable regard the Queen     Of Hell beheld them, and the ghosts stood dumb.     But Hermod took the ring, and yet once more     Kneeld and did homage to the solemn Queen;     Then mounted Sleipner, and set forth to ride     Back, through the astonishd tribes of dead, to Heaven.     And to the wall he came, and found the grate     Lifted, and issued on the fields of ice;     And oer the ice he fard to Oceans strand,     And up from thence, a wet and misty road,     To the armd Damsels bridge, and Gialls stream.     Worse was that way to go than to return,     For him: for others all return is barrd.     Nine days he took to go, two to return;     And on the twelfth morn saw the light of Heaven.     And as a traveller in the early dawn     To the steep edge of some great valley comes     Through which a river flows, and sees beneath     Clouds of white rolling vapours fill the vale,     But oer them, on the farther slope, descries     Vineyards, and crofts, and pastures, bright with sun     So Hermod, oer the fog between, saw Heaven.     And Sleipner snorted, for he smelt the air     Of Heaven: and mightily, as wingd, he flew.     And Hermod saw the towers of Asgard rise:     And he drew near, and heard no living voice     In Asgard; and the golden halls were dumb.     Then Hermod knew what labour held the Gods:     And through the empty streets he rode, and passd     Under the gate-house to the sands, and found     The Gods on the seashore by Balders ship.     III     FUNERAL     THE GODS held talk together, groupd in knots,     Round Balders corpse, which they had thither borne;     And Hermod came down towards them from the gate.     And Lok, the Father of the Serpent, first     Beheld him come, and to his neighbour spake:     See, here is Hermod, who comes single back     From Hell; and shall I tell thee how he seems     Like as a farmer, who hath lost his dog,     Some morn, at market, in a crowded town     Through many streets the poor beast runs in vain,     And follows this man after that, for hours;     And, late at evening, spent and panting, falls     Before a strangers threshold, not his home,     With flanks a-tremble, and his slender tongue     Hangs quivering out between his dust-smeard jaws,     And piteously he eyes the passers by:     But home his master comes to his own farm,     Far in the country, wondering where he is     So Hermod comes to-day unfollowd home.     And straight his neighbour, movd with wrath, replied:     Deceiver, fair in form, but false in heart,     Enemy, Mocker, whom, though Gods, we hate     Peace, lest our Father Odin hear thee gibe.     Would I might see him snatch thee in his hand,     And bind thy carcase, like a bale, with cords,     And hurl thee in a lake, to sink or swim.     If clear from plotting Balders death, to swim;     But deep, if thou devisedst it, to drown,     And perish, against fate, before thy day!     So they two soft to one another spake.     But Odin lookd toward the land, and saw     His messenger; and he stood forth, and cried:     And Hermod came, and leapt from Sleipner down,     And in his Fathers hand put Sleipners rein,     And greeted Odin and the Gods, and said:     Odin, my Father, and ye, Gods of Heaven!     Lo, home, having performd your will, I come.     Into the joyless kingdom have I been,     Below, and lookd upon the shadowy tribes     Of ghosts, and commund with their solemn Queen;     And to your prayer she sends you this reply:     Show her through all the world the signs of grief:     Fails but one thing to grieve, there Balder stops.     Let Gods, men, brutes, beweep hint, plants and stones.     So shall she know your loss was dear indeed,     And bend her heart, and give you Balder back.     He spoke; and all the Gods to Odin lookd:     And straight the Father of the Ages said:     Ye Gods, these terms may keep another day.     But now, put on your arms, and mount your steeds,     And in procession all come near, and weep     Balder; for that is what the dead desire.     When ye enough have wept, then build a pile     Of the heapd wood, and burn his corpse with fire     Out of our sight; that we may turn from grief,     And lead, as erst, our daily life in Heaven.     He spoke; and the Gods armd: and Odin donnd     His dazzling corslet and his helm of gold,     And led the way on Sleipner: and the rest     Followd, in tears, their Father and their King.     And thrice in arms around the dead they rode,     Weeping; the sands were wetted, and their arms,     With their thick-falling tears: so good a friend     They mournd that day, so bright, so lovd a God.     And Odin came, and laid his kingly hands     On Balders breast, and thus began the wail:     Farewell, O Balder, bright and lovd, my Son!     In that great day, the Twilight of the Gods.     When Muspels children shall beleaguer Heaven,     Then we shall miss thy counsel and thy arm.     Thou camest near the next, O Warrior Thor!     Shouldering thy Hammer, in thy chariot drawn,     Swaying the long-haird Goats with silverd rein;     And over Balders corpse these words didst say:     Brother, thou dwellest in the darksome land,     And talkest with the feeble tribes of ghosts,     Now, and I know not how they prize thee there,     But here, I know, thou wilt be missd and mournd.     For haughty spirits and high wraths are rife     Among the Gods and Heroes here in Heaven,     As among those, whose joy and work is war:     And daily strifes arise, and angry words:     But from thy lips, O Balder, night or day,     Heard no one ever an injurious word     To God or Hero, but thou keptest back     The others, labouring to compose their brawls.     Be ye then kind, as Balder too was kind:     For we lose him, who smoothd all strife in Heaven.     He spake: and all the Gods assenting waild.     And Freya next came nigh, with golden tears:     The loveliest Goddess she in Heaven, by all     Most honourd after Frea, Odins wife:     Her long ago the wandering Oder took     To mate, but left her to roam distant lands;     Since then she seeks him, and weeps tears of gold:     Names hath she many; Vanadis on earth     They call her; Freya is her name in Heaven:     She in her hands took Balders head, and spake:     Balder, my brother, thou art gone a road     Unknown and long, and haply on that way     My long-lost wandering Oder thou hast met,     For in the paths of Heaven he is not found.     Oh, if it be so, tell him what thou wert     To his neglected wife, and what he is,     And wring his heart with shame, to hear thy word.     For he, my husband, left me here to pine,     Not long a wife, when his unquiet heart     First drove him from me into distant lands.     Since then I vainly seek him through the world,     And weep from shore to shore my golden tears,     But neither god nor mortal heeds my pain.     Thou only, Balder, wert for ever kind,     To take my hand, and wipe my tears, and say:     Weep not, O Freya, weep no golden tears!     One day the wandering Oder will return,     Or thou wilt find him in thy faithful search     On some great road, or resting in an inn,     Or at a ford, or sleeping by a tree.     So Balder said; but Oder, well I know,     My truant Oder I shall see no more     To the worlds end; and Balder now is gone;     And I am left uncomforted in Heaven.     She spake; and all the Goddesses bewaild.     Last, from among the Heroes one came near,     No God, but of the Hero-troop the chief     Regner, who swept the northern sea with fleets,     And ruld oer Denmark and the heathy isles,     Living; but Ella capturd him and slew:     A king, whose fame then filld the vast of Heaven,     Now time obscures it, and mens later deeds:     He last approachd the corpse, and spake, and said:     Balder, there yet are many Scalds in Heaven     Still left, and that chief Scald, thy brother Brage,     Whom we may bid to sing, though thou art gone:     And all these gladly, while we drink, we hear,     After the feast is done, in Odins hall:     But they harp ever on one string, and wake     Remembrance in our soul of wars alone,     Such as on earth we valiantly have wagd,     And blood, and ringing blows, and violent death:     But when thou sangest, Balder, thou didst strike     Another note, and, like a bird in spring,     Thy voice of joyance minded us, and youth,     And wife, and children, and our ancient home.     Yes, and I too rememberd then no more     My dungeon, where the serpents stung me dead,     Nor Ellas victory on the English coast;     But I heard Thora laugh in Gothland Isle;     And saw my shepherdess, Aslauga, tend     Her flock along the white Norwegian beach:     Tears started to mine eyes with yearning joy     Therefore with grateful heart I mourn thee dead.     So Regner spake, and all the Heroes groand.     But now the sun had passd the height of Heaven,     And soon had all that day been spent in wail;     But then the Father of the Ages said:     Ye Gods, there well may be too much of wail.     Bring now the gatherd wood to Balders ship;     Heap on the deck the logs, and build the pyre.     But when the Gods and Heroes heard, they brought     The wood to Balders ship, and built a pile,     Full the decks breadth, and lofty; then the corpse     Of Balder on the highest top they laid,     With Nanna on his right, and on his left     Hoder, his brother, whom his own hand slew.     And they set jars of wine and oil to lean     Against the bodies, and stuck torches near,     Splinters of pine-wood, soakd with turpentine;     And brought his arms and gold, and all his stuff,     And slew the dogs which at his table fed,     And his horse, Balders horse, whom most he lovd,     And threw them on the pyre, and Odin threw     A last choice gift thereon, his golden ring.     They fixt the mast, and hoisted up the sails,     Then they put fire to the wood; and Thor     Set his stout shoulder hard against the stern     To push the ship through the thick sand: sparks flew     From the deep trench she ploughd so strong a God     Furrowd it and the water gurgled in.     And the Ship floated on the waves, and rockd:     But in the hills a strong East-Wind arose,     And came down moaning to the sea; first squalls     Ran black oer the seas face, then steady rushd     The breeze, and filld the sails, and blew the fire.     And, wreathd in smoke, the Ship stood out to sea.     Soon with a roaring rose the mighty fire,     And the pile crackled; and between the logs     Sharp quivering tongues of flame shot out, and leapt,     Curling and darting, higher, until they lickd     The summit of the pile, the dead, the mast,     And ate the shrivelling sails; but still the Ship     Drove on, ablaze, above her hull, with fire.     And the Gods stood upon the beach, and gazd:     And, while they gazd, the Sun went lurid down     Into the smoke-wrapt sea, and Night came on.     Then the wind fell, with night, and there was calm.     But through the dark they watchd the burning Ship     Still carried oer the distant waters on     Farther and farther, like an Eye of Fire.     And as in the dark night a travelling man     Who bivouacs in a forest mid the hills,     Sees suddenly a spire of flame shoot up     Out of the black waste forest, far below,     Which woodcutters have lighted near their lodge     Against the wolves; and all night long it flares:     So flard, in the far darkness, Balders pyre.     But fainter, as the stars rose high, it burnd;     The bodies were consumd, ash chokd the pile     And as in a decaying winter fire     A charrd log, falling, makes a shower of sparks     So, with a shower of sparks, the pile fell in,     Reddening the sea around; and all was dark.     But the Gods went by starlight up the shore     To Asgard, and sate down in Odins hall     At table, and the funeral-feast began.     All night they ate the boar Serimners flesh,     And from their horns, with silver rimmd, drank mead,     Silent, and waited for the sacred Morn.     And Morning over all the world was spread.     Then from their loathd feast the Gods arose,     And took their horses, and set forth to ride     Oer the bridge Bifrost, where is Heimdalls watch,     To the ash Igdrasil, and Idas plain:     Thor came on foot; the rest on horseback rode.     And they found Mimir sitting by his Fount     Of Wisdom, which beneath the ashtree springs;     And saw the Nornies watering the roots     Of that world-shadowing tree with Honey-dew:     There came the Gods, and sate them down on stones:     And thus the Father of the Ages said:     Ye Gods, the terms ye know, which Hermod brought.     Accept them or reject them; both have grounds.     Accept them, and they bind us, unfulfilld,     To leave for ever Balder in the grave,     An unrecoverd prisoner, shade with shades.     But how, ye say, should the fulfilment fail?     Smooth sound the terms, and light to be fulfilld;     For dear-belovd was Balder while he livd     In Heaven and Earth, and who would grudge him tears?     But from the traitorous seed of Lok they come,     These terms, and I suspect some hidden fraud.     Bethink ye, Gods, is there no other way?     Speak, were not this a way, the way for Gods?     If I, if Odin, clad in radiant arms,     Mounted on Sleipner, with the Warrior Thor     Drawn in his car beside me, and my sons,     All the strong brood of Heaven, to swell my train,     Should make irruption into Helas realm,     And set the fields of gloom ablaze with light,     And bring in triumph Balder back to Heaven?     He spake; and his fierce sons applauded loud.     But Frea, Mother of the Gods, arose,     Daughter and wife of Odin; thus she said:     Odin, thou Whirlwind, what a threat is this!     Thou threatenest what transcends thy might, even thine.     For of all powers the mightiest far art thou,     Lord over men on Earth, and Gods in Heaven;     Yet even from thee thyself hath been withheld     One thing; to undo what thou thyself hast ruld.     For all which hath been fixt, was fixt by thee:     In the beginning, ere the Gods were born,     Before the Heavens were builded, thou didst slay     The Giant Ymir, whom the Abyss brought forth,     Thou and thy brethren fierce, the Sons of Bor,     And threw his trunk to choke the abysmal void:     But of his flesh and members thou didst build     The Earth and Ocean, and above them Heaven:     And from the flaming world, where Muspel reigns,     Thou sentst and fetchedst fire, and madest lights,     Sun Moon and Stars, which thou hast hung in Heaven,     Dividing clear the paths of night and day:     And Asgard thou didst build, and Midgard Fort:     Then me thou madst; of us the Gods were born:     Then, walking by the sea, thou foundest spars     Of wood, and framedst men, who till the earth,     Or on the sea, the field of pirates, sail:     And all the race of Ymir thou didst drown,     Save one, Bergelmer; he on shipboard fled     Thy deluge, and from him the Giants sprang;     But all that brood thou hast removd far off,     And set by Oceans utmost marge to dwell:     But Hela into Niflheim thou threwst,     And gavst her nine unlighted worlds to rule,     A Queen, and empire over all the dead.     That empire wilt thou now invade, light up     Her darkness, from her grasp a subject tear?     Try it; but I, for one, will not applaud.     Nor do I merit, Odin, thou shouldst slight     Me and my words, though thou be first in Heaven     For I too am a Goddess, born of thee,     Thine eldest, and of me the Gods are sprung;     And all that is to come I know, but lock     In my own breast, and have to none reveald.     Come then; since Hela holds by right her prey,     But offers terms for his release to heaven,     Accept the chance; thou canst no more obtain.     Send through the world thy messengers: entreat     All living and unliving things to weep     For Balder; if thou haply thus mayst melt     Hela, and win the lovd one back to Heaven.     She spake, and on her face let fall her veil,     And bowd her head, and sate with folded hands.     Nor did the all-ruling Odin slight her word;     Straightway he spake, and thus addressd the Gods:     Go quickly forth through all the world, and pray     All living and unliving things to weep     Balder, if haply he may thus be won.     When the Gods heard, they straight arose, and took     Their horses, and rode forth through all the world.     North south east west they struck, and roamd the world,     Entreating all things to weep Balders death:     And all that livd, and all without life, wept.     And as in winter, when the frost breaks up,     At winters end, before the spring begins,     And a warm west wind blows, and thaw sets in     After an hour a dripping sound is heard     In all the forests, and the soft-strewn snow     Under the trees is dibbled thick with holes.     And from the boughs the snowloads shuffle down;     And in fields sloping to the south dark plots     Of grass peep out amid surrounding snow,     And widen, and the peasants heart is glad     So through the world was heard a dripping noise     Of all things weeping to bring Balder back:     And there fell joy upon the Gods to hear.     But Hermod rode with Niord, whom he took     To show him spits and beaches of the sea     Far off, where some unwarnd might fail to weep     Niord, the God of storms, whom fishers know     Not born in Heaven; he was in Vanheim reard,     With men, but lives a hostage with the Gods:     He knows each frith, and every rocky creek     Fringd with dark pines, and sands where seafowl scream:     They two scourd every coast, and all things wept.     And they rode home together, through the wood     Of Jarnvid, which to east of Midgard lies     Bordering the Giants, where the trees are iron;     There in the wood before a cave they came     Where sate, in the caves mouth, a skinny Hag,     Toothless and old; she gibes the passers by:     Thok is she calld; but now Lok wore her shape:     She greeted them the first, and laughd, and said:     Ye Gods, good lack, is it so dull in Heaven.     That ye come pleasuring to Thoks Iron Wood?     Lovers of change ye are, fastidious sprites.     Look, as in some boors yard a sweet-breathd cow     Whose manger is stuffd full of good fresh hay     Snuffs at it daintily, and stoops her head     To chew the straw, her litter, at her feet     So ye grow squeamish, Gods, and sniff at Heaven.     She spake; but Hermod answerd her and said:     Thok, not for gibes we come, we come for tears.     Balder is dead, and Hela holds her prey,     But will restore, if all things give him tears.     Begrudge not thine; to all was Balder dear.     But, with a louder laugh, the Hag replied:     Is Balder dead? and do ye come for tears?     Thok with dry eyes will weep oer Balders pyre.     Weep him all other things, if weep they will     I weep him not: let Hela keep her prey!     She spake; and to the caverns depth she fled,     Mocking: and Hermod knew their toil was vain.     And as seafaring men, who long have wrought     In the great deep for gain, at last come home,     And towards evening see the headlands rise     Of their own country, and can clear descry     A fire of witherd furze which boys have lit     Upon the cliffs, or smoke of burning weeds     Out of a tilld field inland; then the wind     Catches them, and drives out again to sea:     And they go long days tossing up and down     Over the grey sea ridges; and the glimpse     Of port they had makes bitterer far their toil     So the Gods cross was bitterer for their joy.     Then, sad at heart, to Niord Hermod spake:     It is the Accuser Lok, who flouts us all.     Ride back, and tell in Heaven this heavy news.     I must again below, to Helas realm.     He spoke; and Niord set forth back to Heaven.     But northward Hermod rode, the way below;     Tho way he knew: and traversd Gialls stream,     And down to Ocean gropd, and crossd the ice,     And came beneath the wall, and found the grate     Still lifted; well was his return foreknown.     And once more Hermod saw around him spread     The joyless plains, and heard the streams of Hell.     But as he enterd, on the extremest hound     Of Niflheim, he saw one Ghost come near,     Hovering, and stopping oft, as if afraid;     Hoder, the unhappy, whom his own hand slew:     And Hermod lookd, and knew his brothers ghost,     And calld him by his name, and sternly said:     Hoder, ill-fated, blind in heart and eyes!     Why tarriest thou to plunge thee in the gulph     Of the deep inner gloom, but flittest here,     In twilight, on the lonely verge of Hell,     Far from the other ghosts, and Helas throne?     Doubtless thou fearest to meet Balders voice,     Thy brother, whom through folly thou didst slay.     He spoke; but Hoder answerd him, and said:     Hermod the nimble, dost thou still pursue     The unhappy with reproach, even in the grave?     For this I died, and fled beneath the gloom,     Not daily to endure abhorring Gods,     Nor with a hateful presence cumber Heaven     And canst thou not, even here, pass pitying by?     No less than Balder have I lost the light     Of Heaven, and communion with my kin:     I too had once a wife, and once a child,     And substance, and a golden house in Heaven:     But all I left of my own act, and fled     Below, and dost thou hate me even here?     Balder upbraids me not, nor hates at all,     Though he has cause, have any cause; but he,     When that with downcast looks I hither came,     Stretchd forth his hand, and, with benignant voice,     Welcome, he said, if there be welcome here,     Brother and fellow-sport of Lok with me.     And not to offend thee, Hermod, nor to force     My hated converse on thee, came I up     From the deep gloom, where I will now return;     But earnestly I longd to hover near,     Not too far off, when that thou camest by,     To feel the presence of a brother God,     And hear the passage of a horse of Heaven,     For the last time: for here thou comst no more.     He spake, and turnd to go to the inner gloom.     But Hermod stayd him with mild words, and said:     Thou doest well to chide me, Hoder blind.     Truly thou sayst, the planning guilty mind     Was Loks; the unwitting hand alone was thine.     But Gods are like the sons of men in this     When they have woe, they blame the nearest cause.     Howbeit stay, and be appeasd; and tell     Sits Balder still in pomp by Helas side,     Or is he mingled with the unnumberd dead?     And the blind Hoder answerd him and spake:     His place of state remains by Helas side,     But empty: for his wife, for Nanna came     Lately below, and joind him; and the Pair     Frequent the still recesses of the realm     Of Hela, and hold converse undisturbd.     But they too doubtless, will have breathd the balm     Which floats before a visitant from Heaven,     And have drawn upwards to this verge of Hell.     He spake; and, as he ceasd, a puff of wind     Rolld heavily the leaden mist aside     Round where they stood, and they beheld Two Forms     Make towards them oer the stretching cloudy plain.     And Hermod straight perceivd them, who they were,     Balder and Nanna; and to Balder said:     Balder, too truly thou foresawst a snare.     Lok triumphs still, and Hela keeps her prey.     No more to Asgard shalt thou come, nor lodge     In thy own house, Breidablik, nor enjoy     The love all bear towards thee, nor train up     Forset, thy son, to be belovd like thee.     Here must thou lie, and wait an endless age.     Therefore for the last time, O Balder, hail!     He spake; and Balder answerd him and said:     Hail and farewell, for here thou comst no more.     Yet mourn not for me, Hermod, when thou sittst     In Heaven, nor let the other Gods lament,     As wholly to be pitied, quite forlorn:     For Nanna hath rejoind me, who, of old,     In Heaven, was seldom parted from my side;     And still the acceptance follows me, which crowned     My former life, and cheers me even here.     The iron frown of Hela is relaxd     When I draw nigh, and the wan tribes of dead     Trust me, and gladly bring for my award     Their ineffectual feuds and feeble hates,     Shadows of hates, but they distress them still.     And the fleet-footed Hermod made reply:     Thou hast then all the solace death allows,     Esteem and function: and so far is well.     Yet here thou liest, Balder, underground,     Rusting for ever: and the years roll on,     The generations pass, the ages grow,     And bring us nearer to the final day     When from the south shall march the Fiery Band     And cross the Bridge of Heaven, with Lok for guide,     And Fenris at his heel with broken chain:     While from the east the Giant Rymer steers     His ship, and the great Serpent makes to land;     And all are marshalld in one flaming square     Against the Gods, upon the plains of Heaven.     I mourn thee, that thou canst not help us then.     He spake; but Balder answerd him and said:     Mourn not for me: Mourn, Hermod, for the Gods:     Mourn for the men on Earth, the Gods in Heaven,     Who live, and with their eyes shall see that day.     The day will come, when Asgards towers shall fall,     And Odin, and his Sons, the seed of Heaven:     But what were I, to save them in that hour?     If strength could save them, could not Odin save,     My Father, and his pride, the Warrior Thor,     Vidar the Silent, the Impetuous Tyr?     I, what were I, when these can naught avail?     Yet, doubtless. when the day of battle comes,     And the two Hosts are marshalld, and in Heaven     The golden-crested Cock shall sound alarm,     And his black Brother, Bird from hence reply,     And bucklers clash, and spears begin to pour     Longing will stir within my breast, though vain.     But not to me so grievous, as, I know,     To other Gods it were, is my enforcd     Absence from fields where I could nothing aid:     For I am long since weary of your storm     Of carnage, and find, Hermod, in your life     Something too much of war and broils, which make     Life one perpetual fight, a bath of blood.     Mine eyes are dizzy with the arrowy hail;     Mine ears are stunnd with blows, and sick for calm.     Inactive therefore let me lie, in gloom,     Unarmd, inglorious: I attend the course     Of ages, and my late return to light,     In times less alien to a spirit mild,     In new-recoverd seats, the happier day.     He spake; and the fleet Hermod thus replied:     Brother, what seats are these, what happier day?     Tell me, that I may ponder it when gone.     And the ray-crowned Balder answerd him:     Far to the south, beyond The Blue, there spreads     Another Heaven, The Boundless: no one yet     Hath reachd it: there hereafter shall arise     The second Asgard, with another name.     Thither, when oer this present Earth and Heavens     The tempest of the latter days hath swept,     And they from sight have disappeard, and sunk,     Shall a small remnant of the Gods repair:     Hoder and I shall join them from the grave.     There re-assembling we shall see emerge     From the bright Ocean at our feet an Earth     More fresh, more verdant than the last, with fruits     Self-springing, and a seed of man preservd,     Who then shall live in peace, as now in war.     But we in Heaven shall find again with joy     The ruind palaces of Odin, seats     Familiar, halls where we have suppd of old;     Re-enter them with wonder, never fill     Our eyes with gazing, and rebuild with tears.     And we shall tread once more the well-known plain     Of Ida, and among the grass shall find     The golden dice with which we playd of yore;     And that will bring to mind the former life     And pastime of the Gods, the wise discourse     Of Odin, the delights of other days.     O Hermod, pray that thou mayst join us then!     Such for the future is my hope: meanwhile,     I rest the thrall of Hela, and endure     Death, and the gloom which round me even now     Thickens, and to its inner gulph recalls.     Farewell, for longer speech is not allowd.     He spoke, and wavd farewell, and gave his hand     To Nanna; and she gave their brother blind     Her hand, in turn, for guidance; and The Three     Departed oer the cloudy plain, and soon     Faded from sight into the interior gloom.     But Hermod stood beside his drooping horse,     Mute, gazing after them in tears: and fain,     Fain had he followd their receding steps,     Though they to Death were bound, and he to Heaven,     Then; but a Power he could not break withheld.     And as a stork which idle boys have trappd,     And tied him in a yard, at autumn sees     Flocks of his kind pass flying oer his head     To warmer lands, and coasts that keep the sun;     He strains to join their flight, and, from his shed,     Follows them with a long complaining cry     So Hermod gazd, and yearnd to join his kin.     At last he sighd, and set forth back to Heaven