Then the wind fell, with night, and there was calm;

But through the dark they watch'd the burning ship

Still carried o'er the distant waters on. Farther and farther, like an eye of fire. And long, in the far dark, blazed Balder's pile;

But fainter, as the stars rose high, it flared,

The bodies were consumed, ash choked the pile.

And as, in a decaying winter-fire, A charr'd 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 Odin's hall At table, and the funeral-feast began. All night they ate the boar Serimner's flesh,

And from their horns, with silver rimm'd, drank mead,

Silent, and waited for the sacred morn. And morning over all the world was spread.

Then from their loathed feasts the Gods arose. [ride And took their horses, and set forth to

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, unfulfill'd,

To leave for ever Balder in the grave, An unrecover'd prisoner, shade with shades.

But how, ye say, should the fulfilment fail?

Smooth sound the terms, and light to be fulfill'd;

For dear-beloved was Balder while he lived

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

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 ruled.

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 cast his trunk to choke the abysmal

To show him spits and beaches of the sea Far off, where some unwarn'd might fail to weep

Niord, the God of storms, whom fishers know;

Not born in Heaven; he was in Vanheim rear'd,

With men, but lives a hostage with the Gods;

He knows each frith, and every rocky creek

Fringed with dark pines, and sands where seafowl scream

They two scour'd 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

tears?

Thok with dry eyes will weep o'er Balder's pyre,

Weep him all other things, if weep they will

I weep him not! let Hela keep her prey." She spake, and to the cavern's 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 dear country, and can plain descry

A fire of wither'd furze which boys have lit

Upon the cliffs, or smoke of burning

weeds

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 enter'd, on the extremest bound

Of Niflheim, he saw one ghost come near,

Hovering, and stopping oft, as if afraidHoder, the unhappy, whom his own hand slew,

And Hermod look'd, and knew his brother's ghost,

And call'd him by his name, and sternly said :

"Hoder, ill-fated, blind in heart and

eyes!

Why tarriest thou to plunge thee in the gulf

Of the deep inner gloom, but flittest here, In twilight, on the lonely verge of Hell, Far from the other ghosts, and Hela's throne?

Doubtless thou fearest to meet Balder's voice,

Thy brother, whom through folly thou didst slay."

He spoke; but Hoder answer'd 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 pity

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 long'd 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 com'st no more."

He spake, and turn'd to go to the inner gloom.

But Hermod stay'd him with mild words, and said :

"Thou doest well to chide me, Hoder blind!

Truly thou say'st, the planning guilty mind

Was Lok's; 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 appeased! and tell:

Sits Balder still in pomp by Hela's side. Or is he mingled with the unnumber'd dead?"

And the blind Hoder answer'd him

and spake :

"His place of state remains by Hela's side,

But empty; for his wife, for Nanna

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 toward thee, nor train up

Forset, thy son, to be beloved like thee. Here must thou lie, and wait an endless age.

Therefore for the last time, O Balder, hail!"

He spake; and Balder answer'd him, and said :

"Hail and farewell! for here thou com'st no more.

Yet mourn not for me, Hermod, when thou sitt'st

In Heaven, nor let the other Gods lament,

As wholly to be pitied, quite forlorn. For Nanna hath rejoin'd me, who, of old, In Heaven, was seldom parted from my

side;

And still the acceptance follows me,, which crown'd

My former life, and cheers me even here. The iron frown of Hela is relax'd When I draw nigh, and the wan tribes

of dead

Love me, and gladly bring for my award Their ineffectual feuds and feeble hatesShadows 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 marshall'd in one flaming square

Against the Gods, upon the plains of

Heaven.

I mourn thee, that thou canst not help

us then."