ARCADIA. 399 



** vering the caufe of it. He affumed the form 

 " of an old woman, and threw himfelf in the way 

 ** 0Î Friga» Flights of arrows, and Jhowers of majjy 

 ** rock^ faid he to her, fall upon thy Jon Balder, but 

 *' hurt him not. I know it well, faid Friga\ all 



* * thefe things have ■pledged unto me their oath. No- 

 ** thing in Nature has the power of doing him harm, 



* ' This grace have I obtained of every being pofjejfed of 

 ** power. Of one little florub alone I afked it not, 

 " becaufe it appeared to me too feeble to excite appre- 

 *' ben/ion. It adhered to the bark of an oak -, and 

 *^ fcarcely bad the advantage of a roof. It lived with- 

 " out earth . The name of it is Mijileteiyu Thus 

 " fpake Friga. Loke went inftantly in queft of 

 ** this little ihriib ; and mixing in the hofts of the 

 " Gods, while thcv were engaged in combat with 

 " the invulnerable Balder^ for battles are their 

 *' fports, he approached the blind Hœder. Where- 

 ^^ fore, faid he to him, levelleji thou not likezvife 

 '^ weapons againfi Balder P I am blind, replied Hœ- 

 ** der, neither am I provided with arms. Loke pre- 

 " fented to him the miftletoe of the oak, and faid 

 " to him : Balder is juji before thee. The blind 

 " Rœder let fly the fatal fliaft : Balder falls trans- 

 <* fixed and lifelefs. Thus the invulnerable fon of 

 *' a Goddefs was flain by a twig of miftletoe, 

 *' launched from the hand of one blind. This is 

 " the origin of the refped paid in the Gauls to 



f-^ this (hrub. 



** CompafTionate, 



