Ques. How is the child discovered?
Ans. This is an affair of some difficulty, but the inferior Lamas always succeed in finding the hidden divinity. The child into whom they supposed the Lama’s soul has entered, is required to remember the most private acts of the Lama’s life, to recognize, as familiar objects, the articles which he was accustomed to use, etc. The children thus examined have sometimes answered in so extraordinary a manner that many have supposed Satan was permitted to aid in the imposture.
CHAPTER VII.
MYTHOLOGY OF SCANDINAVIA.
Ques. What does this mythology include?
Ans. The ancient superstitions of that portion of Northern Europe now known as Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland.
Ques. What is the general character of Scandinavian mythology?
Ans. It has none of the grace and poetic beauty which characterize the fables of Greece and Rome; and it differs equally from the more mystical superstitions of the Persians and Hindoos. In warm and fertile regions, the temper, even of the barbarian, is softened into harmony with the scenes around him, and his superstitions, though still sensual, are more gentle and refined. On the other hand, the wild and rugged North made its own impress on the Scandinavian tribes, and their superstitions were gloomy and extravagant, with sometimes an element of savage grandeur and sublimity.
Ques. Was this mythology transmitted by oral tradition only?
Ans. This must have been the case for a long time; as the oldest of the Eddas was compiled only in the eleventh century, and the stories which it contains of the Northern gods and heroes, had been long familiar to the people in the recitations of their bards. The Scandinavian Skalds or bards were, like the Celtic, historians as well as minstrels.