She placed the glittering circle on her finger, and followed the water-elf into the river. Thus protected, she could walk through the water as on dry land, and breathe in the river as freely as in the air.
They came to the beautiful green meadow, pa.s.sed the clump of water-lilies, in the midst of which the woman"s quick eye had already noted the bell, and entered the crystal castle. There, in a s.p.a.cious and glittering hall, lay, on a gla.s.s bed with shining pillows of fish-scales, the wife of the water-elf. She was tossing in restless pain, and as the woman entered she stretched out her hands entreatingly. The little nymph knelt sobbing by her sick mother"s side, and even the rough sons looked on with grave faces.
The boatman"s widow went up to the bed, and laid her warm hand on the sick fairy"s cold, white forehead. Almost instantaneously the pain vanished, and she fell into a gentle sleep.
The little nymph grasped the woman"s hand, and said, while her eyes shone with grateful tears, "Come, I will get you some of our beautiful lilies."
The old water-sprite, in his anxiety about his wife, had quite forgotten the little prisoner below the bell, and, besides, he had no reason to suspect that this strange woman knew anything about the little soul. So, though he did not like to see his daughter so friendly with the human race, he did not try to hinder her from getting the flowers, but sat down quietly to watch his sick wife"s slumber.
How the mother"s heart beat as she arrived at the lilies, pressed through their intertwining stems, and stood at last close to the bell.
With trembling hand she knocked, and the sound thrilled through the child"s spirit.
The little water-elf stood in amazement as she watched her visitor making her way so eagerly among the lilies, and great was her alarm when she heard the bell sound, for she thought of her sick mother and her father"s wrath. But before she had time to remonstrate, the little soul said, "Who knocks?" She knew it could not be her friend the young nymph, for she came only at night, and this was early in the morning. "Who knocks?" she asked again with trembling voice.
The mother thought her heart would break with joy; her breath left her, and she could not answer just at once; yet the greatest haste was needful, for the old water-sprite might be beside her every moment.
"It is your mother, my dear child," she said at last with trembling lips; "tell me, oh! tell me quickly how I can set you free."
"Mother, mother!" cried the little prisoner; "mother, is it you?"
"It is indeed, my darling," said the mother anxiously; "but we must not lose any time, for the water-sprite may come any moment, and then I shall not be able to help you."
The words brought the little soul back to reality.
"Mother, dear mother, throw the bell down, and your child"s soul will thank you for ever in the heavenly world," begged the girlish voice.
The mother put forth all her strength, but the bell, which the spirits moved so easily, would not yield an inch before the woman"s efforts.
When the old water-sprite heard it sound, he went to one of the high-arched windows, and saw the widow struggling to overturn her poor child"s prison. He beckoned to his sons, and quickly but noiselessly the three left the palace. Once outside, they screamed with furious rage.
The little captive heard the wild cry, and trembled. The mother heard it, and the thought that on one moment hung her own life and her dear child"s future happiness gave her gigantic strength; one desperate effort, and the heavy bell gave way, and lay on its side.
It was almost too late; for the angry water-sprites had reached the spot, and stretched out their hands to seize the woman.
But the little soul had left her prison, s.n.a.t.c.hed up her mother in her arms, and darted quick as lightning up through the waves. When they reached the land the mother felt her child"s arms taken from around her, while a light, cold kiss was pressed upon her cheek. Then the slight, transparent form of her loved one soared like a cloud towards heaven, till it was lost to her sight. With mingled joy and grief she watched the vanishing soul.
"Oh! leave me not behind, my child; take me also up to heaven!" she cried, amid streaming tears.
Night came once more, and with his starry mantle covered joy and sorrow, life and death. The poor mother lay on a narrow couch in the cabin of her boat. She was wearied out with the day"s lamentations, and a gentle sleep had kindly blotted from her mind her bitter sorrow.
It seemed to the sleeping one as if heavenly radiance filled the little room, and an angel with shining wings approached her bed. But when she looked on the face it was that of her dear child, whom she had yesterday freed from the power of the water-sprite.
"Mother, dear mother, come!" said the loved voice; "I am sent to fetch thee, that thou mayest keep the Easter feast in heaven with father and me."
And she took her mother in her arms, soared out into the night, high above land and sea, higher and higher, past the glittering stars, till they arrived at last in the glorious heavenly temple, and met the loved father and the beautiful angels.
Next morning, when the nephew found the woman was not rising, he went into the cabin and stepped up to the bed. There she lay, cold and dead, but her hands were folded in prayer, and round her mouth and her closed eyes was a smile of peace and happiness.
The Last Home of the Giants.
[Ill.u.s.tration: ASLOG RETURNS TO HER FATHER.]
Vale and mountain alternated in beautiful succession beneath the blue sky of Norway thousands of years ago just as they do to-day, and the Gulf Stream flowed then as now past its rugged coasts; yet it was a far different land. In the thick forests no axe had yet been heard felling the strong timbers that the Norwegian rivers would bear down to the sea, to float hereafter as n.o.ble ships upon the breast of the ocean; in the sheltered bays no cosy houses nestled with their neatly-kept surroundings of garden and field; no boat yet flew over the sea with nets and fishing tackle. Man had not yet sought out as a home this beautiful northern land.
A race of giants, of tall and powerful build, dwelt there. Their lifetime was measured by centuries as ours by years. They tore rocks asunder with their hands, and left the great streams a free channel.
They bore huge blocks on their shoulders to the sh.o.r.e, and built them into castles whose turrets towered into the clouds. Their voice drowned the roar of the ocean, and scared the eagle from its nest. But this powerful race, beneath whose tread the ground trembled, were of peaceful, harmless disposition. No quarrel divided, nor envy embittered, their hearts. They lived together like the children of one great family.
Their chief was Hrungnir. His companions voluntarily submitted to his control; for he excelled them all in years, wisdom, and strength, as a father his children.
Hrungnir lived in a splendid castle by the sea. The mountains of Norway had had to yield their most precious metals to adorn the walls of his giant dwelling within and without. The chief"s numerous flocks and herds roamed over miles of land, the bears of the thick forests were slain in hundreds by his hands that their skins might cover pillows for his guests, and the tables and drinking-horns gleamed with precious stones. But Hrungnir"s most cherished possession was Guru, his only daughter. Her hair shone golden as the stars of the northern night, her eyes were blue as the sky of her native land, and her skin was of dazzling whiteness.
The most powerful giants of the whole country were suitors for Guru"s hand, and Hrungnir promised his daughter to him who should excel in swiftness in the race, or whose arm should be strongest to hurl huge boulders. Then the mighty men came down from their castles in the mountains, where the snowstorm sweeps round the h.o.a.ry peaks, and from sea-side fortresses, till Hrungnir"s roof could scarcely give shelter to the host of powerful suitors. The tables smoked with countless dishes, the horns of mead were filled and filled again, and from the windows the songs of the giants sounded forth so loudly that the waves fled back in terror towards the sea.
After the feast, the giants went out to the strand, broke huge ma.s.ses from the rocks, and hurled them out in the sea as children would throw pebbles. Far out into the ocean flew the ma.s.ses of stones, but none so far as those thrown by the hand of Andfind, the valiant youth whose castle stood amid the rocks of the storm-swept Doverfjeld, whose wealth almost equalled Hrungnir"s, whose beauty bore comparison with that of Guru herself. Then when the suitors arranged themselves on the strand for the race, and the shingle resounded with their golden sandals, Andfind left all his rivals far behind, and his long fair locks floated like golden pennons on the rock that was the goal of the race, while his fellow-suitors were still toiling along the course.
Andfind was victor, and Guru"s heart sang for joy, for she had long loved him in secret, though she was prepared to submit to her father"s wish, even if he had chosen some other for his son-in-law.
Far from grudging envy, the giants loudly applauded the conqueror, bore him on their shoulders to Hrungnir"s castle, where the chief bade him welcome, and called his daughter to meet her chosen bridegroom.
The lovely Guru came dressed in a sky-blue robe with a silver-embroidered hem, which she and her maids had woven and wrought in the retirement of the women"s room. Round her white neck and rounded arms lay gleaming jewels, and her locks were bound with a golden fillet. Thus she came to meet the guests. Hrungnir took his daughter"s hand, laid it in Andfind"s right, and then, as priest of the household, the chief united them in the indissoluble ties of marriage.
Night fell round the Castle of Hrungnir. The chief and his guests lay wrapped in deep slumbers, preparing for the enjoyment of a new day.
But destruction approached them, as they slept, with stealthy steps; for Odin, that crafty king, of whose origin no man could tell, came with his trusty warriors down from the mountains. They had heard of the beauty of Norway, and wished to win it for their home. They had heard that the bravest in the land were feasting in Hrungnir"s castle, and they had waited till the hours of slumber that they might strike unawares the foes with whom they could not have dared to cope on equal terms.
The moonlight glided through the open windows and fell on the forms of the defenceless sleepers: the deep breathing of the warriors and the murmur of the waves were the only sounds that the ear could distinguish. But dark shadows fell in the moonlit hall, tall forms climbed in at the windows, and noiselessly, holding their weapons carefully to prevent them from clashing, they stole into the rooms.
With sure aim they bathed their swords in the heart"s blood of the sleepers, so that, with one last groan, each warrior yielded up his brave spirit. The pavement swam in blood, but Odin"s band pa.s.sed from hall to hall and never slipped on their gory path.
The death-groan, though short, reached Guru"s ear. She rose and listened. No, it was no dream; there came that sound again with dreadful distinctness. She threw on her garments and sprang to the window, and when she drew aside the curtain she saw strange forms in the courtyard, bearing with difficulty a heavy burden. She looked more closely, and recognised in the clear moonlight the b.l.o.o.d.y corpse of her n.o.ble father. She stole up to Andfind"s couch, and whispered, "Awake, awake, my husband, and let us fly, for treachery and death have entered our house!"
The b.l.o.o.d.y work seemed finished in the other rooms, and now the dreaded footsteps were drawing near.
Guru raised a stone from the pavement and disclosed a secret stair.
She bade Andfind descend, and then quickly following him, she carefully closed the opening behind her.
By a narrow pa.s.sage which led beneath the castle and the rocks to the strand they reached the sea unseen. There a boat lay rocking, which Guru and her maids had often used for pleasant sails. They stepped in. Andfind spread the sail and seized the helm, and the boat flew out into the open sea.
Odin had conquered. The n.o.blest of the land were killed in the inglorious victory of that night, and the weak remnant of the giant race were obliged to leave their old home and seek a refuge in unknown lands. Notwithstanding this ign.o.ble beginning, Odin"s reign was one of wisdom, power, and beneficence.
Of Guru and her husband nothing more was ever heard. Whether the sea had swallowed the boat in its hungry depths, or whether the waves had borne them to happier coasts, none had ever brought back the tidings to their old home. But in the winter evenings, when the maidens sat around the blazing pine-log, and talked at their spinning about the days of the Norwegian giants, some aged dame would tell her shuddering listeners of that night of death, and of the mysterious fate of Guru and her n.o.ble bridegroom.
Odin"s reign was long since ended. His wisdom and his crimes were both alike well-nigh forgotten. Olaf had many years ago brought in the knowledge of the Christian religion, and reared churches on the sites of the old altars; and to the ancient honesty and strength of the nation was added the mild spirit of the religion of the cross.
On the spot where Hrungnir"s castle once stood rose now a fortress as proud, and well-nigh as strong, as that of the giant chief; the flocks that grazed around it were as great as his; and the present possessor, Samund, like him, counted as his dearest treasure an only daughter.