as hind wheel to the end of the journey, much to his supposed
discomfort. There are many stories of this."

"Hans Christian Andersen's stories have made us acquainted with
Nissen, or the house goblin," said Hardy.

"There is little more to tell you then," said the Pastor, "except that
Nissen's description is defined by our traditions in Jutland to be a
little fellow with sharp cat-formed ears, and to have fingers only,
and no thumb. He is supposed to inhabit particular farm-houses and
their range of buildings, and, when there is a scarcity of fodder,
will steal from another farm; and if there be another Nissen there,
they will fight each for the interests of the farm he frequents. He
will play tricks on the people working at the farms, particularly so
if every Thursday night his porridge is neglected to be put in its
accustomed place, generally in the threshing barn."

"But have you no traditions of underground people?" asked Hardy.

"The stories of underground people are more abundant than any other
class of tradition," replied the Pastor. "We call them Underjordiske,
which means underground people; but by it is included Elle folk or
elves, Trolds or goblins, and Bjaerg folk or hill people. Their homes
are chiefly placed by tradition in the tumuli or barrows to which we
have before referred; and at times a tumulus is seen as standing on
four pillars, while the Underjordiske dance underneath and drink ale
and mead. At times it is related that they come out of their dwellings
in the barrows with their red cows, or to air their money, or clean
their kitchen utensils. Through all these stories the manner of life
of the Underjordiske is the same as that of the Danish Bonde or
farmer. They are not, however, always supposed to live in the barrows,
as several stories exist of the Bjaerg folk coming to a Bonde and
asking him to shift his stable to another place, as the dung from his
cattle falls on his (the Bjaergmand's) dining-table, and it is
disagreeable. If the Bonde obeys, he is promised prosperity, and
everything thrives on his farm. They can also, however, be revengeful,
and are dangerous generally. Their particular aversion is church
bells, and it is generally attributed to their influence that there
are so few Underjordiske seen nowadays."

"Can you relate any stories of them?" asked Hardy.

"Very many," replied the Pastor. "There are several collections of
these traditions, and although each collection is genera