Though the gods are usually triumphant in these old Northern sagas, the demons on occasion gained their bad ends. It was thus in the story of Baldur, the god of light and most beloved of all the gods. In the full beauty of his youth he was killed by the power of Loki, the embodiment of envy, hatred, and revenge, and incidentally the god of fire. In the beginning Loki lived happily with the other gods; but Odin cursed him for ever for his wickedness. It was foretold that the loved Baldur was to be the victim of some treachery, and the gods made efforts to prevent such a catastrophe. Frigga, who was the wife of Odin, placed a spell upon everything, so that there might be nothing in Nature that could hurt Baldur. On account of its insignificance, the mistletoe was forgotten by the goddess, and of this Loki made an instrument of destruction. Having fashioned a dart out of a branch of the innocent shrub, Loki persuaded Hodur, the blind brother of Baldur, to hurl the weapon at his brother in sport, the innocent child believing that this wood, as all other, was charmed. The arrow pierced Baldur to the heart, killing him, and causing universal mourning among the gods. Among the demons were Skretti, who has left his name to many a haunted rock in Norway, and Niki, who is a terrible water demon, still dreaded by the ignorant folk in the mountains. Each year he demands victims and carries off the children who stray within his power. Our familiar nursery friends Jack and Jill are descendants of Hjuki and Bil, the ebbing and flowing tides, the tumbling crests of which, breaking one over another as the waves wash the shore, are rather aptly described in the nursery rhyme.
SNOW-CAPPED MOUNTAIN AT SUNDALSOREN
ON THE FJORDS
ON THE FJORDS
We were awakened rather roughly next morning. At an early hour two steamers landed at Næs, and a stream of tourists emerged. For two hours vehicles of all sorts filed past our hotel. They took the drive we had taken in solitude and moonlight the previous evening, and by the time the last carriage of the goers passed out of sight the first carriole of the comers-back was visible. Our dream was ended. We fled the Romsdal, thanking a merciful chance which, at least for a time and for our first impression, had given us the Romsdal in its most ideal beauty.
Moonlight also was it when we left on an almost passengerless steamer, which took us up the glorious fjord back to Molde. Here we passed another week to our profit and satisfaction. Some interesting old wooden buildings on the water, about to be pulled down, provided subjects for Nico's brush, and I wandered about and admired, peaceful in the consciousness that when Nature for a time should cease to suffice me I had in reserve a resource—the hotel library consisted of a sixteen-volume History of England and a few odd volumes of an Encyclopædia!
In an old book on Norway which I came across, the author mentions a visit he made to a little village near a river which he calls Osterthal. It was rather an involuntary visit: they had lost their way.—"We came to a minister's house, whose son's wedding was being celebrated. It was full of people of all descriptions, forming a droll caricature scene. [At the date this was written all the country-folk would be in national costume.] Our effects were brought in by the multitude without our paying any attention to them; the parson's silver plate was lying about in every direction, his watches hung in every room. [The author mentions this apparent plenitude of watches on several occasions, as giving a sign of prosperity.] A hundred persons at least were present of the poorest sort, eating and drinking in every room of the house, yet such is the honesty of the population that everything was safe. Our host received us most generously, and would accept of no reward; he was even seriously displeased that we presented his daughter with a couple of ducats, because she would load us with bread and other provisions. We spent the night in the utmost conviviality, and proceeded the next day over waste mountains and marshes on foot, till we crossed the frontier and arrived at Lerma."