28 MAY 1881, Page 11

A FABLE FOR THE WISE.

AND all created things rebelled against Man. He had come among them, they knew not whence, with a com- mission to rule them ; and they had discovered that among them all, ho was the weakest creature. " I can drown him," said the Sea ; "I can burn him up," said Fire, "like anything else." " What can he do to me ?" said the Air, " that I should listen to his word ?" " I would bury him, with pleasure," said the Earth, " but he would only rot." " He cannot run," said the horse ; "or swim," said the shark ; "or fly," said the eagle; "Or even climb," said the monkey, "like me." "Ile has no tusks," said the elephant ; "or teeth," said the dog ; " or claws," said the tiger; "or fang," said the snake. "We will bear this no longer ; let us go before Odin, and have him sen- tenced to death, or, at least, deposed." And they swept the unhappy being, cowering with cold and shivering with fear, all naked and torn, up to the top of Jokull, where above the eternal snow Odin dwelt in Valhalla, within the Happy Plains. And as Odin sat at wassail, they flung Man be- fore his feet. And as the created things made their com- plaint, the Gods looked on Man with tearless eyes, and con- denined him in their souls. "This creature master I" thought Thor ; " he is not even the strongest." " I see no foresight in him," mused Heimdaller. "And where is his beauty ?" smiled Freya. "Why should the All-Father choose him P" asked Odin ; and he arose and stepped towards his throne, to pass the sentence of the Gods.

Bat as his foot reached the lowest step, Odin drew back and trembled, for above the throne he saw two luminous Eyes, piercing, yet calm as stars; and he knew the presence of Destiny, always the bearer of the All-Father's will. Form was there none, or robe ; only the Eyes were seen, but into those Eyes even Odin dared not gaze ; while from below them came forth a Voice, gentle as the south wind, yet chill as the blast from the glacier, freezing the resistance in every heart. " It is the will," said the viewless Voice, "of the All-Father, whose messenger I am, that Man shall rule, and that some created thing shall give Man an instrument of power ;" and the luminous Eyes were veiled. Then the Gods and all creatures, relieved of the dread presence, murmured discontent. "Shall we give him our immortality P" asked the Gods; "or I my depth P" moaned the Sea ; " or I my brightness ?" flashed the Fire; " or I.my omnipresence P" murmured the Air; "or I my riches P" gasped the Earth. Can I give him my speed?" said the horse; " or I my strength P" said the elephant ; " or I my spring ?" said the tiger ; "or I my venom P" hissed the snake. Everything created refused, and the grey goose, most spiteful of creatures, hissed contempt, and struck in its malice at the wretched creature, cowering powerless at Odin's feet, so hard that a feather fell, all bloody, on his lap.

Then once more the luminous Eyes shone forth, once more the soft rush of speech from below them was heard, and all were still to hearken. "Now, as ever, the will of the All-Father is done.

Thou halt thy talisman, 0 Man ! Go forth to rule." And Man arose, and went forth comforted, for he knew that with the feather had come to him that which other created things know not of, and which the unchanging Gods cannot have,—the power of accumulating wisdom. And he sought for knowledge, and

stored it ; and year by year his sway grew wider, and stronger, and more stern. He crossed the sea at his will, and harnessed the fire to his car, and tore riches from the earth, and flow through air without fear, and made of the lightning a slave, and used, or killed, or tortured all the beasts as he would. At last the Universe was his, and he its lord, and, weary with con- quest, he said,—" The All-Father must will that I be happy. I will go to Valhalla again, and see the Gods, and learn from them the secret of joyous immortality." And Air and Fire bore him up above the eternal snow to the Happy Plains above Jokull ; but lo ! there were no Gods there. And Man, enraged, called the lightning, and, swift as thought, raged through the Universe, seeking where the Gods might be hidden. In the depths of the sea, in the centre of the earth, in the boundless fields of air, he sought for the Gods, but found them not, or any sure tidings of whither they had fled. By times his servants brought rumours, and. he set off again on his quest ; but he found them not, and weary and angry, he once more betook himself to seek them in Valhalla. Ho found them not, but as he stepped from the Happy Plains on to the eternal snow, to recommence his downward path, be turned, and once more saw above, him the cairn, luminous Eyes, and waited for the softly-rushing Voice from below them. It came forth at last, as of old, soft as the south wind, chill as the blast from the glacier. "This is the will of the All-Father whose messenger I am. When Man shall rule all created things, then shall he also have gained the secret of the Gods. Go forth to rule once more, 0 Man." And man went forth in pride to search for the created thing that he ruled not, and he is searching still, though he sees it in every wave.—W.