Introductory Note
Project Gutenberg EPUB3 edition
Bellows, Henry Adams
Gerth spake:
24. “For no man’s sake | will I ever suffer
To be thus moved by might;
But gladly, methinks, | will Gymir seek
To fight if he finds thee here.”
Skirnir spake:
25. “Seest thou, maiden, | this keen, bright sword
That I hold here in my hand? [115]
Before its blade | the old giant bends,—
Thy father is doomed to die.
26. “I strike thee, maid, | with my magic staff,
To tame thee to work my will;
There shalt thou go | where never again
The sons of men shall see thee.
27. “On the eagle’s hill | shalt thou ever sit,
And gaze on the gates of Hel;
More loathsome to thee | than the light-hued snake
To men, shall thy meat become.
28. “Fearful to see, | if thou comest forth,
Hrimnir will stand and stare,
(Men will marvel at thee;) [116]
More famed shalt thou grow | than the watchman of the gods!
Peer forth, then, from thy prison.
29. “Rage and longing, | fetters and wrath,
Tears and torment are thine;
Where thou sittest down | my doom is on thee
Of heavy heart
And double dole.
30. “In the giants’ home | shall vile things harm thee
Each day with evil deeds;
Grief shalt thou get | instead of gladness,
And sorrow to suffer with tears.
31. “With three-headed giants | thou shalt dwell ever,
Or never know a husband;
(Let longing grip thee, | let wasting waste thee,—) [117]
Be like to the thistle | that in the loft
Was cast and there was crushed.
32. “I go to the wood, | and to the wet forest,
To win a magic wand;
. . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . .