’A land of old upheaven from the abyss
     By fire, to sink into the abyss again;
     Where fragments of forgotten peoples dwelt,
     And the long mountains ended in a coast
     Of ever-shifting sands, and far away
     The phantom circle of a moaning sea.’

“Cornishmen of the last generation used to tell stories of strange household relics picked up at the very low tides, nay, even of the quaint habitations seen fathoms deep in the water.”

There are those who believe that these Scandinavian Eddas came, in the first instance, from Druidical Briton sources.

The Edda may be interpreted to mean that the Comet strikes the planet west of Europe, and crushes down some land in that quarter, called “the bridge of Bifrost.”

Then follows a mighty battle between the gods and the Comet.  It can have, of course, but one termination; but it will recur again and again in the legends of different nations.  It was necessary that the gods, the protectors of mankind, should struggle to defend them against these strange and terrible enemies.  But their very helplessness

[1.  “All the Year Round.”]

{p. 146}

and their deaths show how immense was the calamity which had befallen the world.

The Edda continues: 

“The sons of Muspel direct their course to the plain which is called Vigrid.  Thither repair also the Fenris-wolf and the Midgard-serpent.”

Both the comets have fallen on the earth.

“To this place have also come Loke” (the evil genius of the Norse mythology) “and Hrym, and with him all the Frost giants.  In Loke’s company are all the friends of Hel” (the goddess of death).  “The sons of Muspel have then their efficient bands alone by themselves.  The plain Vigrid is one hundred miles (rasts) on each side.”

That is to say, all these evil forces, the comets, the fire, the devil, and death, have taken possession of the great plain, the heart of the civilized land.  The scene is located in this spot, because probably it was from this spot the legends were afterward dispersed to all the world.

It is necessary for the defenders of mankind to rouse themselves.  There is no time to be lost, and, accordingly, we learn—­

“While these things are happening, Heimdal” (he was the guardian of the Bifrost-bridge) “stands up, blows with all his might in the Gjallar-horn and awakens all the gods, who thereupon hold counsel.  Odin rides to Mimer’s well to ask advice of Mimer for himself and his folk.

“Then quivers the ash Ygdrasil, and all things in heaven and earth tremble.”

The ash Ygdrasil is the tree-of-life; the tree of the ancient tree-worship; the tree which stands on the top of the pyramid in the island-birth place of the Aztec race; the tree referred to in the Hindoo legends.

“The asas” (the godlike men) “and the einherjes” (the heroes) “arm themselves and speed forth to the battlefield.  Odin rides first; with his golden helmet, resplendent