cy over them that he did not scruple to rob them of
their dearest possession, purity, or innocence, as personified by
Balder the good.

Too late the gods realised how evil was this spirit that had found
a home among them, and too late they banished Loki to earth, where
men, following the gods' example, listened to his teachings, and were
corrupted by his sinister influence.

"Brothers slay brothers;
Sisters' children
Shed each other's blood.
Hard is the world;
Sensual sin grows huge.
There are sword-ages, axe-ages;
Shields are cleft in twain;
Storm-ages, murder-ages;
Till the world falls dead,
And men no longer spare
Or pity one another."

Norse Mythology (R. B. Anderson).

The Fimbul-winter

Seeing that crime was rampant, and all good banished from the earth,
the gods realised that the prophecies uttered of old were about to be
fulfilled, and that the shadow of Ragnarok, the twilight or dusk of the
gods, was already upon them. Sol and Mani grew pale with affright, and
drove their chariots tremblingly along their appointed paths, looking
back with fear at the pursuing wolves which would shortly overtake and
devour them; and as their smiles disappeared the earth grew sad and
cold, and the terrible Fimbul-winter began. Then snow fell from the
four points of the compass at once, the biting winds swept down from
the north, and all the earth was covered with a thick layer of ice.

"Grim Fimbul raged, and o'er the world
Tempestuous winds and snowstorms hurled;
The roaring ocean icebergs ground,
And flung its frozen foam around,
E'en to the top of mountain height;
No warming air
Nor radiance fair
Of gentle Summer's soft'ning light,
Tempered this dreadful glacial night."

Valhalla (J. C. Jones).

This severe winter lasted during three whole seasons without a break,
and was followed by three others, equally severe, during which all
cheer departed from the earth, and the crimes of men increased with
fearful rapidity, whilst, in the general struggle for life, the last
feelings of humanity and compassion disappeared.

The Wolves Let Loose

In the dim recesses of the Ironwood the giantess Iarnsaxa or Angur-boda
diligently fed the wolves Hati, Skoell, and Managarm, the progeny of
Fenris, with the marrow of murderers' and adulterers' bones; and
such was the prevalence of these vile crimes, t