The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1890-12-23


The Scandinavian !epends yarn va
thaI the m'st!etoc has fatal properties to
all W no touch the zap in pluckinc lis
punches. Far away in the North, upon
lonely mountain top, there Gwelt a
lew peasant families. an inmate OF onp
OF the Iowly dwellings was u Young GIRL
lovely, loving, beloved by and bstr9,h-
ed TO her next neighbor, 4 sturdy meas.
ant lad. The young sir! ieil sick. To
restore her to health her lover soroht
near aud lar ior the precious mis,leios
growing upon IA oak. At length his
search was rewarded. Upon a snow.
clad oak the coveted buncaes hung in
generous p-ofusion. With eager, r.ck.
!ess haste, io!ge,iul OF his own DANGER
he climbed the ok: seized the ;c.ciylnr
or deaIh-dealiug plant as banded and
fell l!leIes5 to the ground.
The mythology OF the North unfolds
to us the fatal power OF the mistle,oa in
the charming myth OF Baldur, the your 9
Sou OF orato1y and OF poetry.
Baltus the Good was the iavo,ite SON
OF Odln, amt beloved Of nj! the gods.
especially Tor his marvellous beauty All d
courage. FROM succession OF terrible
dreams he believed himself doomed 10
death, and related the hideous vision 70
the assembled gode, who with one accord
determined TO avert from him all danger,
and 10 this end conjnred all things,
Frigga, his mother, exacted from The
elements and from all things in nature,
animate and inanimate, Il vow under nc
circumstances TO 10 him harm.
Thus protected BalGur, as OF wore, led
the ch&ae aud courted danger in protesn
form, giving himself us target for the
other gods arrows, ba:tlc.axes, and
other weNpore, who, believing that dc
whatthey would they could do him nc
hurt, thus spor;ud with his va!or, deem
ing It an honor paid 10 Baldur.
Loci. the detrac:or of the gods and
the author OF all their misfortuncs, au
Cured that no harm could beia!l Baldpr
and filled with envy aud jealousy at 10,
libute thus paid 10 him by the othe,
gods, resor.ed TO this strategy to fin,
some way 10 work him evil. Assu,nin,
the disguise OF a woman, he sought M,
abode OF trigga, who questioned he. i
she knew how the gods were EMPLOYED
She replied to the question and to III,
passionate love and pride Of the nothe
for her darling, gifted son, that they
were testing their skill and the merits Q
their weapons upon Baldur, who wa
unscatched by them.
"Ay, ay," Frigca made answer
"naught can hurt Baldur. l have OK
acted AL oath from all things, TO do hin
no hsruI."
What" exclaimed the deceive,
have all things really awozn 10 spar
B0ldur?"
GAN things" returned Frigsa," OK
cept ~ insignificant plant that grow
: near Walhulla, called 'mis.!e.oe; any
, thing 60 weak could do him no harm.
t Hastily Lcci LETT the presence OF Fris
ga, and, resuminG his own shap,
searched for and found the irail plan
Appearing amidst the gods with
, branch OF mistletoe, he directed it wit
: aim so sure that Baldur was pierce
through the heart and expired instantl,
y legend OF the cruclixion, full {
pathos and beauty, tells the origin
!, the mistletoe in its concluding words, {
' follows:
, Eyer since that day the tree irol
0 which the cross was hewn has neve
been suffered to grow as a tree, but onl
exists as a parasite on other trees.
ut is neither fruit nor flower, b.
bears clusters OF wary white berries, an
saps the life Of any tree to which it a
. taches itself. It is called the mistl
toe.'"