The old tradition embodied in the preceding story from the Isle of Man,
is also current,--with various modifications,--in the north of Germany,
in Denmark, and in Sweden. Afzelius, in his interesting account of
Swedish popular superstitions, mentions some curious notions on this
subject. The country people in Sweden still preserve an old belief that
if a person drinks of the contents of a beaker, offered to him by the
goblins inhabiting the mountains, he loses all recollection of the past,
and must become one of them. Several cups are said to have been
purloined from these mysterious beings by persons who stealthily avoided
partaking of the proffered liquor. Some are still shown in churches, to
which they were presented by the purloiners; and it is asserted that
these oddly-shaped vessels were formerly used in the Communion Service.
The goblins in Sweden have their principal meetings at midnight before
Christmas, and their amusements consist chiefly in music and dancing.
They generally assemble in those isolated spots among the mountains
where are found large stones resting on pillars, around which they
delight to dance. It is considered decidedly dangerous to encounter them
at their pastimes on Christmas Eve.
Many years ago,--some say it was so far back as in the year 1490,--a
farmer's wife in Sweden, whose name was Cissela Ulftand, distinctly
heard, on Christmas Eve, the wild music of the goblins who had assembled
not far from her house. The farm in which the good woman lived is called
Ljungby, and the group of curiously-placed stones around which the
goblins had congregated is well known to many people; indeed, almost
everyone in Sweden knows the Magle-Stone.
Well, when Mistress Ulftand heard the music, she spoke to one of her
farm-servants, a strong and daring young fellow, and induced him to
saddle a horse and to ride in the direction of the Magle-Stone, that he
might learn something about the mysterious people, and tell her
afterwards all he had seen. The lad rather liked the adventure; he lost
no time in mounting his horse, and was soon galloping towards the scene
of the music and rejoicing. In approaching the Magle-Stone, he somewhat
slackened his speed; however, he drew quite near to the dancers.
After he had been gazing a little while at the strange party, a handsome
damsel came up to him and handed him a drinking-horn and a pipe, with
the request that he would first drink the health of the King and then
blow the pipe. The lad accepted both, the drinking-horn and the pipe;
but, as soon as he had them in his hands, he poured out the contents of
the horn, and spurring his horse he gallopped off over hedges and
ditches straight homewards. The whole company of goblins followed him in
the wildest uproar, threatening and imploring him to restore to them
their property; but the fellow proved too quick for them, and succeeded
in safely reaching the farm, where he delivered up the trophies of his
daring enterprise to his mistress. The goblins now promised all manner
of good luck to the farmer's wife and her family, if she would return to
them the two articles; but she kept them, and they are still preserved
in Ljungby as a testimony to the truth of this wonderful narrative.
The drinking-horn is of a metallic composition, the nature of which has
not been exactly ascertained; its ornaments are, however, of brass. The
pipe is made of the bone of a horse. Moreover, the possession of these
relics, we are told, has been the cause of a series of disasters to the
owners of the farm. The lad who brought them to the house died three
days after the daring enterprise, and the day following, the horse
suddenly fell down and expired. The farm-house has twice burnt down,
and the descendants of the farmer's wife have experienced all kinds of
misfortunes, which to enumerate would be not less laborious than
painful. It is only surprising that they should still keep the unlucky
horn and pipe.