Northern mythology

240 DANISH TRADITIONS.
soldier. Rising up he drank half the contents of the
bottle, and then held it out to the traitor saying "
: Scoundrel
! now thou shalt have only the half.^'
When this reached the ears of the king, he ordered the
soldier to be called before him, and gave him a coat of
arms, in which was a half-filled bottle ; and this bearing
has continued in his family, which yet lives
HERR ERLAND LIMBEK.
in Flensborg.
The Limbeks were an eminent race in Denmark, but are
now extinct ; from, it is said, the following cause.
While Herr Erland Limbek was residing at Gravengaard
in Jutland, there one day came a dwarf to him as
he was walking in his fields, complaining that he was engaged
in hostilities with another dwarf, and feared that he
was hardly strong enough to
withstand him, unless Herr
Erland would come to his aid on a certain day. He at
the same time promised the knight that if he would do so,
his race should be powerful and prosperous as long as the
world lasted. Herr Erland promised to assist the dwarf,
and fixed both time and place ; but being one night unable
to sleep, and tossing himself about in the bed, his wife
asked him why he was so restless ? He then imparted to
her the promise he had made to the dwarf, whereupon she
'^
exclaimed : God forbid, my dear husband ! that you
'^
should have intercourse with such demons ! and persuaded
him to break his word. Some time after, on a
Christmas eve, as Herr Erland was sitting merry with his
family and friends, the door of the room was opened, and
a little dwarf in a habit of gold embroidery entered, saying
'^
to the knight : Had you kept your word, I would have
kept mine ; but now your race shall from day to day degenerate
and be despised, and at last be extinguished, and
the last of your family shall be mad "
! Hereupon Herr
Erland became angry, and said :
" Dost thou threaten