OF THE ABODES OF FUTURE BLISS AND MISERY. 52. "What will remain," said Gangler, "after heaven and earth and the whole universe shall be consumed, and after all the gods, and the heroes of Valhalla, and all mankind shall have perished? For ye have already told me that every one shall continue to exist in some world or other, throughout eternity." "There will be many abodes," replied Thridi, "some good. others bad. The best place of all to be in will be Gimli, in heaven, and all who delight in quaffing good drink will find a great store in the hall called Brimir, which is also in heaven in the region Okolni. There is also a fair hall of ruddy gold called Sindri, which stands on the mountains of Nida, (Ničafjöll). In those halls righteous and well-minded men shall abide. In Náströnd there is a vast and direful structure with doors that face the north. It is formed entirely of the backs of serpents, wattled together like wicker work. But the serpents' heads are turned towards the inside of the hall, and continually vomit forth floods of venom, in which wade all those who commit murder, or who forswear themselves. As it is said in the Völuspá (st. 34, 35) 66 6 'She saw a hall Far from the sun And venom-drops Fall in through loopholes. 'There saw she wade, • In Vafthrúdnis-mál, st. 18. Men forsworn, And murderers.' "Hvergelinir, however, is the worst. "There Nidhögg quails Of the dead, the bodies."" * THE RENOVATION OF THE UNIVERSE. 53. "Will any of the gods survive, and will there be any longer a heaven and an earth?" demanded Gangler. 66 There will arise out of the sea," replied Har, "another earth most lovely and verdant, with pleasant fields where the grain shall grow unsown. Vidar and Vali shall survive; neither the flood nor Surtur's fire shall harm them. They shall dwell on the plain of Ida, where Asgard formerly stood. Thither shall come the sons of Thor, Modi and Magni, bringing with them their father's mallet Mjölnir. Baldur and Hödur shall also repair thither from the abode of death (Hel). There shall they sit and converse together, and call to mind their former knowledge and the perils they underwent, and the fight with the wolf Fenrir and the Midgard serpent. There too shall they find in the grass those golden tablets (orbs) which the Æsir once possessed. As it is said,— The compiler of the Prose Edda has omitted two couplets of the thirty-fifth strophe, one of them very important, as it shows that the Skald destined Náströnd not only for murderers and perjurers, but also for adulterers (blandishers, seducers-literally, "they who murmur or whisper in the ears of others' wives.") If Snorri was the person who made the extract from the Völuspá, the omission may easily be accounted for-(see the note, page 377). The thirty-fifth strophe, when complete, is as follows: "There saw she wade, Through heavy streams. And murderers, And those who others' wives There Nidhögg sucked When slaked Surtur's fire is. Will Mjölnir possess, And strife put an end to.' "Thou must know, moreover, that during the conflagration caused by Surtur's fire, a woman named Lif (Life), and a man named Lifthrasir, lie concealed in Hodmimir's forest. They shall feed on morning dew, and their descendants shall soon spread over the whole earth. As it is said *, "But Lif and Lifthrasir Shall keep themselves hid Shall serve them for food, And from them spring the races.' But what thou wilt deem more wonderful is, that the sun shall have brought forth a daughter more lovely than herself, who shall go in the same track formerly trodden by her mother. As it is said t,— 66 The radiant sun A daughter bears, Ere Fenrir takes her. On her mother's course When the gods have perished.' And now," continued Thridi, "if thou hast any further questions to ask, I know not who can answer thee, for I never heard tell of any one who could relate what will happen in the other ages of the world. Make, therefore, the best use thou canst of what has been imparted to thee." Upon this Gangler heard a terrible noise all around him: he looked everywhere, but could see neither palace nor city, nor anything save a vast plain. He therefore set out on his return to his own kingdom, where he related all that he had seen and heard, and ever since that time these tidings have been handed down by oral tradition. In Vafthrúdnis-mál, st. 45. + Ibid. st. 47. PART THE SECOND, COMMONLY CALLED THE CONVERSATIONS OF BRAGI*. (BRAGI-RŒÐUR.) EGIR'S JOURNEY TO ASGARD. 1. Egir, who was well skilled in magic, once went to Asgard, where he met with a very good reception. Supper time being come, the twelve mighty Esir,-Odin, Thor, Njörd, Frey, Tyr, Heimdall, Bragi, Vidar, Vali, Ullur, Hoenir and Forseti, together with the Asynjor,-Frigga, Freyja, Gefjon, Iduna, Gerda, Siguna, Fulla and Nanna, seated themselves on their lofty doom seats, in a hall around which were ranged swords of such surpassing brilliancy that no other light was requisite. They continued long at table, drinking mead of a very superior quality. While they were emptying their capacious drinking horus, Ægir, who sat next to Bragi, requested him to relate something concerning the Esir. Bragi instantly complied with his request, by informing him of what had happened to Iduna. IDUNA AND HER APPLES. 2. " Once," he said, "when Odin, Loki, and Hænir went on a journey, they came to a valley where a herd of oxen were grazing, and being sadly in want of provisions did not scruple to kill one for their supper. Vain, however, were their efforts to boil the flesh; they found it. every time they took off the lid of the kettle, as raw as when first put in. While they were endeavouring to account for this singular circumstance a noise was heard above them, and on looking up they beheld an enormous eagle perched on the branch of an oak tree. * We have somewhat abridged the translation of this part, of which Mallet only gave a mere abstract. If ye are willing to let me have my share of the flesh,' said the eagle, it shall soon be boiled; ' and on their assenting to this proposal, it flew down and snatched up a leg and two shoulders of the ox-a proceeding which so incensed Loki, that he laid hold of a large stock, and made it fall pretty heavily on the eagle's back. It was, however, not an eagle that Loki struck, but the renowned giant Thjassi, clad in his eagle-plumage. Loki soon found this out to his cost, for while one end of the stock stuck fast to the eagle's back, he was unable to let go his hold of the other end, and was consequently trailed by the eagle-clad giant over rocks and forests, until he was almost torn to pieces. Loki in this predicament began to sue for peace, but Thjassi told him that he should never be released from his hold until he bound himself by a solemn oath to bring Iduna and her apples out of Asgard. Loki very willingly gave his oath to effect this object, and went back in a piteous plight to his companions "On his return to Asgard, Loki told Iduna that, in a forest at a short distance from the celestial residence, he had found apples growing which he thought were of a much better quality than her own, and that at all events it was worth while making a comparison between them. Iduna, deceived by his words, took her apples, and went with him into the forest, but they had no sooner entered it than Thjassi, clad in his eagle-plumage, flew rapidly towards them, and catching up Iduna, carried her and her treasure off with him to Jötunheim. The gods being thus deprived of their renovating apples, soon became wrinkled and grey; old age was creeping fast upon them, when they discovered that Loki had been, as usual, the contriver of all the mischief that had befallen them. They therefore threatened him with condign punishment if he did not instantly hit upon some expedient for bringing back Iduna and her apples to Asgard. Loki having borrowed from Freyja her falcon-plumage, flew to Jötunheim, and finding that Thjassi was out at sea fishing, lost no time in changing Iduna into a sparrow and flying off with her; but when Thjassi returned and became aware of what had happened, he donned his eagle-plumage, and flew after them. When the Æsir saw Loki approach, holding Iduna transformed into a sparrow between his claws, and Thjassi with his outspread eagle wings ready to overtake him, they placed on the walls of Asgard |