The Book of Dreams and Ghosts - Andrew Lang (best ebook reader ubuntu .TXT) 📗

against being carried out.  When they came into the porch Glam put forth all his strength, and pulled Grettir close to him.  When Grettir saw that he could not stay himself he suddenly changed his plan, and threw himself as hard as he could against the monster’s breast, setting both his feet against an earth-fast stone that lay in the doorway.  Glam was not prepared for this, being then in the act of pulling Grettir towards him, so he fell backwards and went crashing out through the door, his shoulders catching the lintel as he fell.  The roof of the porch was wrenched in two, both rafters and frozen thatch, and backwards out of the house went Glam, with Grettir above him.

“Outside there was bright moonshine and broken clouds, which sometimes drifted over the moon and sometimes left it clear.  At the moment when Glam fell the cloud passed off the moon, and he cast up his eyes sharply towards it; and Grettir himself said that this was the only sight he ever saw that terrified him.  Then Grettir grew so helpless, both by reason of his weariness and at seeing Glam roll his eyes so horribly, that he was unable to draw his dagger, and lay well-nigh between life and death.

“But in this was Glam’s might more fiendish than that of most other ghosts, that he spoke in this fashion: ‘Great eagerness have you shown to meet me, Grettir, and little wonder will it be though you get no great good fortune from me; but this I may tell you, that you have now received only half of the strength and vigour that was destined for you if you had not met with me.  I cannot now take from you the strength you have already gained, but this I can see to, that you will never be stronger than you are now, and yet you are strong enough, as many a man shall feel.  Hitherto you have been famous for your deeds, but henceforth you shall be a manslayer and an outlaw, and most of your deeds will turn to your own hurt and misfortune.  Outlawed you shall be, and ever have a solitary life for your lot; and this, too, I lay upon you, ever to see these eyes of mine before your own, and then you will think it hard to be alone, and that will bring you to your death.’

“When Glam had said this the faintness passed off Grettir, and he then drew his dagger, cut off Glam’s head, and laid it beside his thigh.  Thorhall then came out, having put on his clothes while Glam was talking, but never venturing to come near until he had fallen.  He praised God, and thanked Grettir for overcoming the unclean spirit.  Then they set to work, and burned Glam to ashes, which they placed in a sack, and buried where cattle were least likely to pasture or men to tread.  When this was done they went home again, and it was now near daybreak.

“Thorhall sent to the next farm for the men there, and told them what had taken place.  All thought highly of the exploit that heard of it, and it was the common talk that in all Iceland there was no man like Grettir Asnundarson for strength and courage and all kinds of bodily feats.  Thorhall gave him a good horse when he went away, as well as a fine suit of clothes, for the ones he had been wearing were all torn to pieces.  The two then parted with the utmost friendship.

“Thence Grettir rode to the Ridge in Water-dale, where his kinsman Thorvald received him heartily, and asked closely concerning his encounter with Glam.  Grettir told him how he had fared, and said that his strength was never put to harder proof, so long did the struggle between them last.  Thorvald bade him be quiet and gentle in his conduct, and things would go well with him, otherwise his troubles would be many.  Grettir answered that his temper was not improved; he was more easily roused than ever, and less able to bear opposition.  In this, too, he felt a great change, that he had become so much afraid of the dark that he dared not go anywhere alone after night began to fall, for then he saw phantoms and monsters of every kind.  So it has become a saying ever since then, when folk see things very different from what they are, that Glam lends them his eyes, or gives them glam-sight.

“This fear of solitude brought Grettir, at last, to his end.”

Ghosts being seldom dangerous to human life, we follow up the homicidal Glam with a Scottish traditional story of malevolent and murderous sprites.

‘THE FOUL FORDS’ OR THE LONGFORMACUS FARRIER

“About 1820 there lived a Farrier of the name of Keane in the village of Longformacus in Lammermoor.  He was a rough, passionate man, much addicted to swearing.  For many years he was farrier to the Eagle or Spottiswood troop of Yeomanry.  One day he went to Greenlaw to attend the funeral of his sister, intending to be home early in the afternoon.  His wife and family were surprised when he did not appear as they expected and they sat up watching for him.  About two o’clock in the morning a heavy weight was heard to fall against the door of the house, and on opening it to see what was the matter, old Keane was discovered lying in a fainting fit on the threshold.  He was put to bed and means used for his recovery, but when he came out of the fit he was raving mad and talked of such frightful things that his family were quite terrified.  He continued till next day in the same state, but at length his senses returned and he desired to see the minister alone.

“After a long conversation with him he called all his family round his bed, and required from each of his children and his wife a solemn promise that they would none of them ever pass over a particular spot in the moor between Longformacus and Greenlaw, known by the name of ‘The Foul Fords’ (it is the ford over a little water-course just east of Castle Shields).  He assigned no reason to them for this demand, but the promise was given and he spoke no more, and died that evening.

“About ten years after his death, his eldest son Henry Keane had to go to Greenlaw on business, and in the afternoon he prepared to return home.  The last person who saw him as he was leaving the town was the blacksmith of Spottiswood, John Michie.  He tried to persuade Michie to accompany him home, which he refused to do as it would take him several miles out of his way.  Keane begged him most earnestly to go with him as he said he must pass the Foul Fords that night, and he would rather go through hell-fire than do so.  Michie asked him why he said he must pass the Foul Fords, as by going a few yards on either side of them he might avoid them entirely.  He persisted that he must pass them and Michie at last left him, a good deal surprised that he should talk of going over the Foul Fords when every one knew that he and his whole family were bound, by a promise to their dead father, never to go by the place.

“Next morning a labouring man from Castle Shields, by name Adam Redpath, was going to his work (digging sheep-drains on the moor), when on the Foul Fords he met Henry Keane lying stone dead and with no mark of violence on his body.  His hat, coat, waistcoat, shoes and stockings were lying at about 100 yards distance from him on the Greenlaw side of the Fords, and while his flannel drawers were off and lying with the rest of his clothes, his trousers were on.  Mr. Ord, the minister of Longformacus, told one or two persons what John Keane (the father) had said to him on his deathbed, and by degrees the story got abroad.  It was this.  Keane said that he was returning home slowly after his sister’s funeral, looking on the ground, when he was suddenly roused by hearing the tramping of horses, and on looking up he saw a large troop of riders coming towards him two and two.  What was his horror when he saw that one of the two foremost was the sister whom he had that day seen buried at Greenlaw!  On looking further he saw many relations and friends long before dead; but when the two last horses came up to him he saw that one was mounted by a dark man whose face he had never seen before.  He led the other horse, which, though saddled and bridled, was riderless, and on this horse the whole company wanted to compel Keane to get.  He struggled violently, he said, for some time, and at last got off by promising that one of his family should go instead of him.

“There still lives at Longformacus his remaining son Robert; he has the same horror of the Foul Fords that his brother had, and will not speak, nor allow any one to speak to him on the subject.

“Three or four years ago a herd of the name of Burton was found dead within a short distance of the spot, without any apparent cause for his death.” {272}

CHAPTER XIII
The Marvels at Fródá

The following tale has all the direct simplicity and truth to human nature which mark the ancient literature of Iceland.  Defoe might have envied the profusion of detail; “The large chest with a lock, and the small box,” and so on.  Some of the minor portents, such as the disturbances among inanimate objects, and the appearance of a glow of mysterious light, “the Fate Moon,” recur in modern tales of haunted houses.  The combination of Christian exorcism, then a novelty in Iceland, with legal proceedings against the ghosts, is especially characteristic.

THE MARVELS AT FRÓDÁ {273}

During that summer in which Christianity was adopted by law in Iceland (1000 A.D.), it happened that a ship came to land at Snowfell Ness.  It was a Dublin vessel, manned by Irish and Hebrideans, with few Norsemen on board.  They lay there for a long time during the summer, waiting for a favourable wind to sail into the firth, and many people from the Ness went down to trade with them.  There was on board a Hebridean woman named Thorgunna, of whom her shipmates said that she owned some costly things, the like of which would be difficult to find in Iceland.  When Thurid, the housewife at Fródá, heard of this she was very curious to see the articles, for she was a woman that was fond of show and finery.  She went to the ship and asked Thorgunna whether she had any woman’s apparel that was finer than the common.  Thorgunna said that she had nothing of the kind to sell, but had some good things of her own, that she might not be affronted at feasts or other gatherings.  Thurid begged a sight of these, and Thorgunna showed her treasures.  Thurid was much pleased with them, and thought them very becoming, though not of high value.  She offered to buy them, but Thorgunna would not sell.  Thurid then invited her to come and stay with her, because she knew that Thorgunna was well provided, and thought that she would get the things from her in course of time.

Thorgunna answered, “I am well pleased to go to stay with you, but you must know that I have little mind to pay for myself, because I am well able to work, and have no dislike to it, though I will not do any dirty work.  I must be allowed to settle what I shall