her away to the land of the Taurians, where she had a temple and an
altar; and there is a story that, long years afterward, her brother
Orestes found her there, and led her back to her girlhood's home, even
to Mycenae. But whether this be true or not, I know that there have
been maidens as noble, as loving, as innocent as she, who have given up
their lives in order to make this world a purer and happier place in
which to live; and these are not dead, but live in the grateful
memories of those whom they loved and saved.




THE HOARD OF THE ELVES

REGIN'S STORY[1]

When the earth was still very young, and men were feeble and few, and
the Dwarfs were many and strong, the Asa-folk were wont oft-times to
leave their halls in heaven-towering Asgard in order to visit the
new-formed mid-world, and to see what the short-lived sons of men were
doing. Sometimes they came in their own god-like splendor and might;
sometimes they came disguised as feeble men folk, with all man's
weaknesses and all his passions. Sometimes Odin, as a beggar, wandered
from one country to another, craving charity; sometimes, as a warrior
clad in coat of mail, he rode forth to battle for the cause of right;
or as a minstrel he sang from door to door, and played sweet music in
the halls of the great; or as a huntsman he dashed through brakes and
fens, and into dark forests, and climbed steep mountains in search of
game; or as a sailor he embarked upon the sea, and sought new scenes in
unknown lands. And many times did men folk entertain him unawares.