The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1896-12-02

ment SO dire, that finding his excuses
of no avail, the wizard at last consent
ed to obey.
He began TO mutter terrible incanta-
tions, and fierce rumbling noise was
heard. Then, suddenly, the earth
trembled; the winds howled like angry
wolves, the clouds came up in masses
and hid the sun, and the earth was
clothed in darkness.
From the midst of the blackness,
which hung like pail, enshrouding
the universe, there suddenly flashed
/ ball of fire. 1t rolled across the heav-
ems till it rested upon the horizon, and
there it spread out till the whole west
ern sky was ailame.
Hermod gazed upon all this in won
der, fearing that il portended some
terrible evil. Nor was he wrong i'm his
conjecture, for suddenly there appeared
in the fiery glow n stream of blood,
flowing and growing ever larger and
deeper in color, till, turning into deep
est purple, it was lost in the blackness
of the surrounding sky.
"What means this awful sign?" the
god inquired.
"It means that blood shall flow in
Valhalla. Odin shall lose son by
vioIencer'
"What ~ cried Hermod, "shall L
bear such tidings to the king? Tell
me, is there no redress"
"Lookr' Rossthiof made answer.
There above the stream of blood Her
mod saw beautiful woman appear.
She was strong and as grand to look
upon as the Volkyrs in all their glory;
she was beautiful and wondrously fair
as the pale lights that flash upon the
northern shores. She stood there a
moment i'm an attitude of defiance,
which melted as Hermod looked, into
sOftness, as when the warm sun shines
upon Il snow. bound land, melting it
and touching it into answering life.
Suddenly there stood beside her a
little child, but so rapidly did he grow
TO strength and manhood that Hermod
marveled. Only when he attained his
full height did the god notice that he
grasped firmly bow and arrow.
As the picture stood out clearly, again
the wizard spoke:
"If Odin woos and wins the fair
Rinda in the land of the Ruthenes, she
will give to him a son who will avenge
his brothers death.
As the wizard ceased speaking, the
picture faded, and night settled down
again over the land. Then Hermod
released the aged Rossthiof, and mount
ing Sleipnir, sped rapidly to Asgard,
where he repeated to Odin all that he
had seen and heard.
The father of the gods was very sad
to think that he would lose son by
violence, but he was soon comforted at
the thought that another son would
avenge his brothers death, for that
was all the satisfaction true North
erner ever desired or required.
How the prophecy of Rossthiof was
fulfilled is "A well-known story. Balder,
the brave god Of light, impregnable to
harm because of the love that all heav-
en- and earth bore for him, was slain
by Hodur with branch of mistletoe.
Every one remembers how all things in
earth, sky and seas gave their solemn
vow not to injure the god. Only the
mistletoe, growing wild about the gate
of Asgard, was thought too harmless a
plant to extract vow from. And the
tale of the treacherous Loki, who di-
rected the arrow of the blind HOdur,
god of darkness, after fashioning it out
of a branch of mistletoe, and so causing |
the death of the beloved Balder, is al |
ready known to you, and needs no |
repetition.
The sorrow of Odin at the death of
his beloved son can well be imagined.
All Asgard mOurned the loss of their |
favorite, and the desire for retribution /
was strong within the breast of Odin.
When the grief for his loss was some-
what softened, however, he remember
ed the prediction of Rossthiof Then he /
set out on journey to visit the land of
Ruthenes.
The king of this eastern region was /
Billing. He was no longer young, and |
the fingers of the Norns had already |
woven his net and unwoven it till it 4
seemed but to need few more threads 4
before the co-d would snap.
Kinda, the beautiful princess of the |
land, had many suitOrs for her hand. I
Kings and princes and sons of premiers I
begged the honor of being her lord and I
master; but the maiden was rs proud 1
and scornful as she was beautiful and /
learned. Each suitor in turn, as he |
knelt before her, had received from her |
delicate hand box upon the ear. Aud |
with that singing his kingly or his
princely dignity, he had been bat too /
content to leave the princess to vent /
her shrewish temper upon his next |
rival
Just about this time, a large army |
threatened to invade the provinces OF
Billing, and he was almost wild in his
grief that Kinda would not marry, aud !
so provide him with fit champion to
defend his dominiOns. But she was in
eXorable.
"Why should wed man who lets |
me box his ears?' she cried, and then
her laughter would ring out, and the
king could not blame her.
Again she would put her arms about |
her fathers neck and say:
"Mother have none. You are faith
er and mother to me. 'Tis you love
with all my heart. My father, L will
never wed till III find one greater and
better than thou artr'
So, like all indulgent parents, he
would pat her golden head, and smile
upon her, and for the time the ap-
preaching enemy would be forgotten.