horn of ale. But for this Odin would have had nothing to
drink--the most serious of all trials to the god.

At the end of the eighth day, while Geirrod, seated upon his throne,
was gloating over his prisoner's sufferings, Odin began to sing--softly
at first, then louder and louder, until the hall re-echoed with his
triumphant notes--a prophecy that the king, who had so long enjoyed
the god's favour, would soon perish by his own sword.

"The fallen by the sword
Ygg shall now have;
Thy life is now run out:
Wroth with thee are the Disir:
Odin thou now shalt see:
Draw near to me if thou canst."

Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).

As the last notes died away the chains dropped from his hands, the
flames flickered and went out, and Odin stood in the midst of the hall,
no longer in human form, but in all the power and beauty of a god.

On hearing the ominous prophecy Geirrod hastily drew his sword,
intending to slay the insolent singer; but when he beheld the sudden
transformation he started in dismay, tripped, fell upon the sharp
blade, and perished as Odin had just foretold. Turning to Agnar, who,
according to some accounts, was the king's son, and not his brother,
for these old stories are often strangely confused, Odin bade him
ascend the throne in reward for his humanity, and, further to repay
him for the timely draught of ale, he promised to bless him with all
manner of prosperity.

On another occasion Odin wandered to earth, and was absent so
long that the gods began to think that they would not see him in
Asgard again. This encouraged his brothers Vili and Ve, who by some
mythologists are considered as other personifications of himself,
to usurp his power and his throne, and even, we are told, to espouse
his wife Frigga.

"Be thou silent, Frigg!
Thou art Fioergyn's daughter
And ever hast been fond of men,
Since Ve and Vili, it is said,
Thou, Vidrir's wife, didst
Both to thy bosom take."

Saemund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).

May-Day Festivals

But upon Odin's return the usurpers vanished for ever; and in
commemoration of the disappearance of the false Odin, who had ruled
seven months and had brought nothing but unhappiness to the world,
and of the return of the benevolent deity, the heathen Northmen
formerly celebrated yearly festivals, which were long continued
as May Day rejoicings. Until very lately there was always, on that