skill we have to fight against the storm. Our sails are new, our
rigging is strong, and our vessel is staunch, and we are all valiant men
on board who have gone through many such a storm before."

That morning as I watched the coast, I remembered that the Vikings
believed and worshipped AEgir as the god of the sea. AEgir ruled over the
sea and the wind. Ran was his wife, and she had a net in which she
caught all those who were lost at sea; her Hall was at the bottom of the
ocean, and there she welcomed all the shipwrecked people.

AEgir and Ran had nine daughters, and their names were emblematic of the
waves. They were called _Hefring_ the Hurling, _Hroenn_ the Towering,
_Bylgja_ the Upheaving, _Bara_ the Lashing.

The five other daughters were called _Himinglaefa_ the Heaven Glittering,
_Bloedughadda_ the Bloody Haired, _Kolga_ the Cooling, _Unn_ the Loving,
_Dufa_ the Dove.

The Vikings dreaded Hefring, Hroenn, and Bylgja when far out at sea, and
Bara when they were approaching the shore. These four waves are those
the mariners dread to-day.

They believed that these daughters of AEgir and Ran were seldom partial
to men, that the wind awakened them and made them angry and fierce. They
called them "The white-hooded daughters of AEgir and Ran." They called
the spray their hair. They believed that in calm weather they walked on
the reefs and wandered gently along the shores, and that their beds
were rocks, stone-heaps, pebbles, and sands.

I had not been long on the sea before I found that I had exchanged the
terrific winds of Arctic "Snow Land" for the gales of the Arctic Ocean.
The weather was fearful! Snow, sleet, hurricanes, treacherous heavy
squalls, followed each other in succession.

"This is the winter weather we have here," said the captain; "we do not
expect any better at this time of the year. When there is a lull, it is
only to deceive us; then it blows harder than ever, and the snow or the
sleet falls thicker than before."

My fancy recalled again to me the words of the "Long Night": "I send
terrific gales and mighty snowstorms over oceans and lands."

As I looked at the ocean I saw a big towering wave rolling up towards
the stern of the ship and apparently gaining upon us. It was transparent
and of a deep green color. I imagined I could see Hefring with
glittering eyes, one of her arms directing the wave against us.

The men looked anxiously towards the wave, which was steadily advancing,
but our