Author.-Jo h n Mi l t o n (1608-1674), second perhaps only to Shakespeare among English poets. L"Allegro, It Penseroso, Comus, Lycidas, Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, Samson Agonistes, and his Sonnets constitute a body of noble poetry to equal which would be difficult in any language. He is the poet of Puritan England. He was blind in his later years. He was for a time secretary to Oliver Cromwell.
General Notes.-After reading the poem several times, quote frommemory what Eve said about dawn, early morn, fragrance after showers, evening, and night. Why could she not enjoy the charms of these periods without Adam?
LESSON 58
THE mAkINg OF THE HAmmER
One day as Sif, Thor"s beautiful wife, was sitting in the palace Bilskirner in Thrudvang, or Thunder-world, she fell asleep, with her long hair falling about her shoulders like a shower of gold. She made a very pretty picture as she sat there in the sunlight; at least Loki thought so as he passed by and saw her motionless, like the statue of a goddess in a great temple, instead of a living goddess in her own palace.
Loki never saw anything beautiful without the wish that somehow he might spoil it; and, when he noticed that Sif was asleep, he thought it was a good time to carry off her golden hair, and so rob her of that of which Thor was most proud. As noiselessly as he could, and more like a thief than a god, he stole into the palace, cut off the golden locks, and carried them away, without leaving one behind as a trace of his evil deed.
When Sif awoke and found her beautiful hair gone, she went and hid herself, lest Thor on coming home should miss the beauty which had always been like light to his eyes. And presently Thor came; but no Sif was there to meet him, making him forget with one proud look from her tendereyes the dangers and labours of his life. She had never failed to greet him at the threshold before; and the strong god"s heart, which had never beat a second quicker at sight of the greatest giant in the world, grew faint with fear that in his absence some mishap had befallen her. He ran quickly from room to room in the palace, and at last he came upon Sif, hidden behind a pillar, her shorn head in her hands, weeping bitterly.
In a few broken words she told Thor what had happened; and, as she went on, Thor"s wrath grew hotter and hotter until he was terrible to behold. Lightnings flashed out of his deep-set eyes, the palace trembled under his angry strides, and it seemed as if his fury would burst forth like some awful tempest uprooting and destroying everything in its path.
"I know who did it, " he shouted, when Sif had ended her story. "It was Loki, and I"ll break every bone in his body "; and, without as much as saying good-bye to his sobbing wife, he strode off like a thunder cloud to Asgard, and there, coming suddenly upon Loki, he seized him by the neck and would have killed him on the spot, had not Loki confessed his deed and promised to restore the golden hair.
"I"ll get the swarthy elves to make a crown of golden hair for Sif more beautiful than she used to wear, " gasped Loki, in the grasp of the angry Thor; and Thor, who cared more for Sif"s beauty than for Loki"s punishment, let the thief go,having bound him by solemn pledges to fulfil his promise without delay.
Loki lost no time, but went far underground to the gloomy smithy of the dwarfs, who were called Ivald"s sons, and who were wonderful workers in gold and brass. "Make me a crown of golden hair, " said he, "that will grow like any other hair, and I will give you whatever you want for your work. "The bargain was quickly made, and the busy little dwarfs were soon at their task, and in a little time they had done all that Loki asked, and more too; for in addition to the shining hair they gave Loki the spear Gungner and the famous ship Skidbladner.
With those treasures in his arms Loki came into Asgard and began boasting of the wonderful things he had brought from the smithy of Ivald"s sons.
"Nobody like the sons of Ivald to work in metal! " he said. "The other dwarfs are all stupid knaves compared with them. "Now it happened that the dwarf Brok was standing by and heard Loki"s boasting; his brother Sindre was so cunning a workman that most of the dwarfs thought him by far the best in the world. It made Brok angry, therefore, to hear the sons of Ivald called the best workmen, and he spoke up and said: "My brother Sindre can make more wonderful things of gold and iron and brass than ever the sons of Ivald thought of. ""Your brother Sindre, " repeated Loki, scornfully. " Who is your brother Sindre ? ""The best workman in the world, " answered Brok.
Loki laughed loud and long. "Go to your wonderful brother Sindre, " said he, " and tell him if he can make three such precious things as the spear, the ship, and the golden hair, he shall have my head for his trouble. " And Loki laughed longer and louder than before.
Brok was off to the underworld before the laugh died out of his ears, determined to have Loki"s head if magic and hard work could do it. He went straight to Sindre and told him of the wager he had laid with Loki, and in a little while Sindre was hard at work in his smithy.
It was a queer place for such wonderful work as was done in it, for it was nothing but a great cavern underground, with tools piled up in little heaps around its sides, and thick darkness everywhere when the furnace fire was not sending its glow out into the blackness. If you had looked in now, you would have seen a broad glare of light streaming out from the furnace, for Brok was blowing the bellows with all his might, and the coals were fairly blazing with heat.
When all was ready, Sindre took a swine-skin, put it into the furnace, and, telling Brok to blow the bellows until his return, went out of the smithy. Brok kept steadily at work, although a gad-fly flew in, buzzed noisily about, and, finallysettling on his hand, stung him so that he could hardly bear it. After a while Sindre came back and took out of the furnace a wonderful boar with bristles of pure gold.
