. Siegfried, the hero of the North, and Beowulf, the hero of the Anglo-Saxons . a kings he bethought him of having men buildfor him a great banqueting-hall, greaterthan the children of men had ever heardtell of, that he might spend there happy,careless days, dealing out freely to oldand young the goods that God had blessedhim with. The fame of the work spread rapidlyand widely, and more than one tribe curi-ously watched its progress. It came toan end with a quickness which surprisedall men, and there the fair structure stood, Heorot 221 towering aloft into the blue air, the great-est
. Siegfried, the hero of the North, and Beowulf, the hero of the Anglo-Saxons . a kings he bethought him of having men buildfor him a great banqueting-hall, greaterthan the children of men had ever heardtell of, that he might spend there happy,careless days, dealing out freely to oldand young the goods that God had blessedhim with. The fame of the work spread rapidlyand widely, and more than one tribe curi-ously watched its progress. It came toan end with a quickness which surprisedall men, and there the fair structure stood, Heorot 221 towering aloft into the blue air, the great-est of all hall buildings, a gathering placefor happy men, defying destruction exceptfrom the irresistible might of fire. It wascalled Heorot--Hart-hall—because of thenoble crown of antlers which ran roundthe eaves of the building,—and the open-ing banquet was an event long remem-bered in the land, from the bountifulhospitality dispensed by the King and thewealth of gifts, in rings and other preciousthings, which he gave away with almostreckless lavishness on this II GRENDEL BUT there was one apart from all thisjoy who was consumed with maliceand with hatred, who vowed to turn thejoy into direst grief, the shouts of glad-ness into moans and wails, ere many dayshad come and gone. True, no humanwight was he, but one of the unholy broodof monsters, accursed of God, who dwellin moors, fens, and swamps, remote fromGod-fearing men, ever bent on doing hellswork of harm and destruction—the unblestposterity (so wise men tell) of Cain, thefirst shedder of innocent blood. To this Grendel, this outcast creature,dwelling in darkness, it was torture un-bearable to hear the sounds of rejoicingday by day, as they came, borne by the 232 Grendel 223 wind to him, across the moor—the tendersighing of the harp, the ringing song ofthe minstrel. Once, one skilled in holy song told ofthe creation of the world : how the Al-mighty made the earth, radiant withbeauty, and the waters that e
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