e disguise of the old woman Thok, he was called upon to shed a
tear for Balder. His action on this occasion convinced the gods that
nothing but evil remained within him, and they pronounced unanimously
upon him the sentence of perpetual banishment from Asgard.

AEgir's Banquet

To divert the gods' sadness and make them, for a short time, forget
the treachery of Loki and the loss of Balder, AEgir, god of the sea,
invited them to partake of a banquet in his coral caves at the bottom
of the sea.

"Now, to assuage the high gods' grief
And bring their mourning some relief,
From coral caves
'Neath ocean waves,
Mighty King AEgir
Invited the AEsir
To festival
In Hlesey's hall;
That, tho' for Baldur every guest
Was grieving yet,
He might forget
Awhile his woe in friendly feast."

Valhalla (J. C. Jones).

The gods gladly accepted the invitation, and clad in their richest
garb, and with festive smiles, they appeared in the coral caves at
the appointed time. None were absent save the radiant Balder, for
whom many a regretful sigh was heaved, and the evil Loki, whom none
could regret. In the course of the feast, however, this last-named
god appeared in their midst like a dark shadow, and when bidden to
depart, he gave vent to his evil passions in a torrent of invective
against the gods.

"Of the AEsir and the Alfar
That are here within
Not one has a friendly word for thee."

AEgir's Compotation, or Loki's Altercation (Thorpe's tr.).

Then, jealous of the praises which Funfeng, AEgir's servant, had won
for the dexterity with which he waited upon his master's guests,
Loki suddenly turned upon him and slew him. At this wanton crime,
the gods in fierce wrath drove Loki away once more, threatening him
with dire punishment should he ever appear before them again.

Scarcely had the AEsir recovered from this disagreeable interruption
to their feast, and resumed their places at the board, when Loki
came creeping in once more, resuming his slanders with venomous
tongue, and taunting the gods with their weaknesses or shortcomings,
dwelling maliciously upon their physical imperfections, and deriding
them for their mistakes. In vain the gods tried to stem his abuse;
his voice rose louder and louder, and he was just giving utterance to
some base slander about Sif, when he was suddenly cut short by the