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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m6thode. irrata to pelure, n A n 32X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 \ MB^^^n^ BALLADS AND OTHER POEALS I ORIGIAA/. ./.\7' /N.li\S/.A'r/ CONTENTS. »o» PAG V. Free Translation ok the Last Ki.k(!v ok pRorKKi its i Translation i-rom the Si-anisii 8 Free Translation from Prolertii's lo I^allai) 1 6 Ballads erom the Spanish 23 The Death of Old Klnc. Corm 29 The Bridal Song oe Helen 34 0\ AN ancient Panathenaic \'ase in a London I) RAW I no-room 39 Translatkjn oe Count Platen's 1,ini:s. "Das I-'nde I'OLENS " 42 Free Translation from the Icelandic of the " 1u)Da '" 44 The Visit of Thorfinn, Earl of Orkney, to Kino Magnus 55 M V ^\\'v^. T PREFACE. Sir Edmund Hkad, shortly before his death, had col- lected these poems and translations (which had appeared from time to time in Frascr's Mai^ivJfic) with a view to their being reprinted for private distribution amongst his friends. Those to whom the disposal of them has devolved have thought it better to republish them than to reprint them privately, because the circle of his friends and of those who take a friendly interest in dwelling upon all that he was and all that he did, is a very wide circle, and it would be difficult perhaps for any one to know where it ends, so as to include in a private distribution all whom he would himself have wished to be included, and all to whom any record of his mind, even in its lighter and more excursive opera- tions, or any traces of his steps on earth, will ha\'e a 1 "i^ I V r .''^ f Vlll /W/ihi\ value. It is for this memorial value that they are thus preserved ; not certainly as representing more than one or two of the l)ye-i)aths into which he occasionally betook himself when the main business and puri)Oses of his iife ])ermilted : for- though loving literature with an exceeding love, and knowing the literature of divers times ai\(l countries with the knowledge to which only love can lead, and with an extent of knowledge to which few, even through love, have found their way — he gave his life, after his tirst youth, to the public service at home and abroad, and such productions as these were merely the fruits of occasional retirement into literature when resting from pul)lic labours. BALLADS AND OTHER POEMS. 1 i if FREE TRANSLA T/OX OF THE LAST ELE(;\ OF PROPFrnus. [B. v., El. II.] [Supposed to be addressed by Cornelia, a Roman matron, tu hoi husband and children after her death. Certain line» iclatin;^' to mythology, and a few others, are omitted.] I jfi Vex not the grave with tears : its shadows deep Repulse the mourner and exclude the day : The bourne is passed : cease, Paulus, cease to weep ; A gate of adamant hath barr'd the wa} . I H'i ] Free Translation of the Last Elegy of Fropertius. II. I'rayer dies in echoes 'mid these gloomy bowers. And floats in vain round sullen Pluto's ear : Prayer moves the Gods above : th' infernal powers Nor list the sui)pliant voice, nor heed the tear. HI. Such were the truths taught by the trumpet's blare, When o'er my bier curl'd up the funeral flame ; \\'hat booted then our troth, or lineage fciir, Or those bright pledges which have graced our name IV. Could I thus 'scape from Fate's unbending laws ? No ! five small fingers now may lift my dust. All young and spotless let me plead my cause 'Jo ^-^^^acus and Minos — stern, yet just. V. {^ any maid could vaunt her sires in Rome, Ancestral fame was mine on either side ; For Spain and Carthage deck'd with spoils the home Where Scipio's blood was match'd with Libo's pride. Free Translation of the Last Elegy of Propcrt'nis. .* ■1^. VI. A girl, dear Paulus, ou our wedding day I wreath'd the bridal fillet in my hair : And soon, too soon, in death thus snatch'd away. No second name upon my tomb I bear. VII, Shades of our fathers ! ye, whose titles tell Of Afric shorn of empire at your feet ; And how the braggart race of Perseus fell — Achilles' sons hurl'd from Achilles' seat-— .1 B VIIl. Stand fordi, and witness that no sland'rer's breath E'er tainted on the Censor's roll my name ; Between the bridal torch and torch of death We liv'd and lov'd in wedded faith the same. Ill I ,[i:^ IX. It needed not a judge or law to guide One, in whose veins the blood of all her race Swell'd with the instinct of a conscious pride. And bade maintain a Roman matron's place. II 'i. In I'lcc Translation of the Last Elegy of Propertius. X. 1 shrink from none. If ancient tales be true, AVhen Vesta's fire was quench'd, Emilia's hand Her linen garment o'er the ashes threw, And show'd beneath its folds the kindled brand. XI. \Vc know how Claudia's slender girdle mov'd The Mighty Mother's ship : their vestal pride Will hail the faith in steadfast wedlock prov'd, And greet Cornelia seated at their side. XII. Thou too, Scribonia, gentle mother, say, N ovv thou art weeping o'er thy daughter's tomb, What is there in my course to wish away, Su\-e that I met in death an early doom ? XIII. "lis something for a mother, when she dies, To leave no barren hearth, no desert home ; I joy to think that sons have clos'd my eyes Who live to bear their ancient name in Rome. n A ¥ Free Translation of the Last Elegy of Propcrtiiis. XIV. My daughter ! let the world retrace in thee The even tenour of thy mother's life : Like me prolong thy line, and die like me, Firm in thy plighted troth, but once a wife. 1 XV. A woman's brighter triumph is attain'd When blame no more can wound nor flatt'ry move, When praise from all, unbrib'd and unrestrain'd, Meets o'er her bier the tears of those who love. I XVI. Still, Paulus, in my ashes lives one care ; Our children of their mother are bereft : The household charge we both were wont to share In undivided weight on thee is left. XVII. Affection's duty now devolves on thee : Oh ! let them not a mother's fondness miss. But when they clasp thy neck or climlj thy knee. Add to their sire's caress a mother's kiss. K) I I 6 Free. Tninslation of the Last Elei;y of Propertius. XVIII, Be careful, if thou e'er for me shalt weep, That they may never mark the tears thus shed ; Let it suffice thyself to mourn in sleep The wife whose spirit hovers o'er thy bed ; XIX. Or in thy chamber, if thou wilt, aloud Address that wife as if she could reply : Dim not our children's joys with sorrow's cloud, But dry the tear, and check the rising sigh. XX. Vou too, my children, at your father's side, In after years a step-dame if you see. Let no rash word offend her jealous pride, Nor indiscreetly wound by praising me. XXI. Obey his will in all : and should he bear In widow'd solitude the woes of age. Let it be yours to prop his steps with care. And with your gentle love those woes assuage. 11 ■ (t ...i.i^,^;.-^ana Free Tmiislatitvi of the Last E/e^v of Propertiiis. xxn. I lost no child : 'twas mine in death lo see Their faces cluster'd round : nor should I grieve If but the span of life cut off from me Could swell the years in store for those I leave. XXIII. My cause is pleaded and my tale is told : Pronounce me worthy of the meed I claim. And give me, where my fathers sleep of old, Such honour as befits Cornelia's house and name. li m ( s ) -C' TRANSLATION FROM THE SPANISH. 15o(ias hacian en Francia Alia (lentro cle Paris, etc. Grimm, Silva dc Romancei^ \\ 249, I0« i I I !*! I. The wedding is in Paris, Within the reahn of France. How well the Lady Beatrice Leads off the wedding dance ! And how the Count Don Martin Stands there that dance to see — " Or gaze ye on the dance, Sir Count, " Or gaze ye thus on me ? " Translation from the Spanish. • 11. " The dance ! fair maid? 'tis not the dance. " That thus can charm mine eye ; " I gaze upon thy face and form, " And, as I gaze, I sigh." " And is it so, Sir Count?" she says — " Then take me for your bride, " Or here to-night, a wedded wife, " I shall grace a dotard's side." / ^ . fj . ^ • . I" * .1 < •• /'it..-' . ' • <.'■-■ 9 /VJ. <^ il. C : •■"• - /}> /., , e> Qi ^ ■ ' ■' '- ft- • 1 ; ^ ( 10 FREE TRANSLATION FROM PROPERTIUS. [B. IV., El. hi.] l.ctiLT fnjiii a wife to lier liusl)aiK] with the annv in liic Ka>i. M\ own Lycotas ! let this scroll from me Tell ArethiLsa's love ; though at each line I pause, and doubt if one I never see. So long, so often, absent, can be mine. II. Thmk, when thou see'st the page defac'd and blurr'd, Each blot a tear affection bade me shed ; Think each nnperfect stroke and faulty word Trac'd by a hand which quivers all but dead. -^ Free Translation from Propcrtiits. II in. O'er Bactria's sands twice hast thou march'd in war ; Hast seen on barbed steed the Tartar ride — The frozen Geta; — Britain's painted car — And the dark Indian by tlie Eastern tide. IV. Is such a husband's fiiith? And did I buy No other love than tliis, when as thy bride, A girl with bhishing clieek and downcast eye, I heard thee plead, and vail'd my maiden pride ? V. Some fun'ral pyre our bridal torch had lit ; They set awry the fillet in my hair, And sprinkled waters from the Stygian pit : All evil omens — not the gods — were there. VI. Yes ! everywhere my vows in vain are paid : Thy cloak I weave this fourth revolving year. And curse whoe'er first fram'd a palisade Or bade the trumpet sound its note of fear. P m P -<■ , \ 12 Free Translation from Propcriius, VFl. Doth the spear gall those gentle hands of thine, Or corslet chafe those arms and shoulders fair ? 1 care not — so they round no other twine, And wanton lips im[)rint no kisses there. VIII. Men tell me that the glow of youthful sheen No longer on thy pallid face they see : I only pray such changes in thy mien May mark the foml regret thou feel'st for me. IX. When twilight wanes and sinks in bitter night, I kiss thy scatter'd arms, and restless lie And toss, complaining till the tardy light Hath wak'd the birds that sing of morning nigh. X. The scarlet fleece, when winter evenings close, I wind on shuttles for thy warlike weeds ; Or study in what course Araxes flows, And how the Parthians press their hardy steeds. Free Translation from Propcrtius. i ^ XI. r turn the map and struggle liarrl to learn Where God hatli pUic'd the land and where the sea ; What climes arc stift' with frost, what summers burn. And guess what wind may waft thee home to me. XII. One sister sits beside me, pale with cares : My old nurse wonders at thy lengdien'd stay, And totters to and fro, and chides, and swears 'Tis only Avinter keeps thee still away. Xlll. In barbarous freedom glad Hippolyte Could bare her breast, and bind with steel her brow As fain in tent and field I'd follow thee If Roman wives might tend the camp-fire now. !; XIV. Not Scythia's icy crags nor frozen streams Should bar my way : Love ev'ry heart doth tame ; But in a wife who waits her lord, it seems, 'Tis Venus' self who fans the living flame. >4 Free Translation f, om Propcrtius, XV. " Why do I wear this purple robe ? " I ask ; " Why lot my vvidowVl hand with jewels shine?" Hie house is silent all : her lonely task One maiden plies in these proud halls of thine. XVI. I like to hear our little Glaucis whine As if for thee : she only shares my bed. 1 load with flow'rs and vervain every shrine, And on the hearth the rracklinff incense shed. XVII. It matters not what omens, bad or good, The hooting owl or sputt'ring lamp may show : In fear or thankfulness a victim's blood IJy the priest's ready knife is sure to flow. xviri. Ah ! seek not out some chief in battle-fray Whose perfum'd scarf may of thy prowess tell Nor, wild for honour, dare upon that day To head the storm of Bactria's citadel— Free Translation from Propertms. XIX. That day when barb'rous slings with whizzing sounti Pour on our host their bullets' deadly rain, And as each Parthian wheels his courser round, The twanging bowstring tells a Roman slain. XX. Thy lance erect, borne through triumphant Rome, Behind the victor's car I pray to see — If only well assur'd thou bringest home A faith unstain'd, a heart still true to me. XXI. Then to the Capenian Gate I'll joyous go, And thank the gods for honour and for life : ril hang thy trophied arms, and write below — " These for her husband from a grateful wife.'' m ■h\ ' I : A '-H! ( • i6 ) BALLAD : FOUNDED OX A STORY GIVEN IN CONDE's Historia dc los Arabes en Espafia, vol. ii. p. 262. Thi.-, story is curious as illustrating the feelings of Western chivalry which prevailed on both sides in these frontier contests between the Spaniards and the Moors, notwithstanding the difference of religion. The adoption by the kings of Granada of a sort of coat of arms, as seen in the decorations of the Alhambra, points l(j the same intcr-pcndration of the notions of the two races thus in contact.] -K>^ if i From Antequera's late-won walls At the close of a summer's day, Nan-aez sent ten chosen men To drive a Moorish prey. & Ballad. II. ilight March-men all, with batter'd helir.s And true Toledo blades, They talk'd as they rode of Granada's wealth And her dark ey'd Moorish maids : III. How the foray burst from each well-known pass. And scar'd the frontier bands : How they drove the kine and swei)t the slaves From the Vega's smoking lands ; IV. Or how they laugh'd from the mountain brow To see for the rescue late, The glitt'ring line of gennet and plume Stream forth from Elvira's gate ; V. And now they had hemm'd Granada in, And hoped, on the banks of Xenil, By our Lady's grace to plant in short space The banner and cross of Castile. I: il ' •I W^ & Hi J«n"" in!" 1 8 Ballad. VI. 'I'liey linger'ci on till night should dim The Moorish warder s eye, When a hoof-tramp borne upon the breeze Bespoke a horseman nigh. .•S VII. A gallant rode deep sunk in thought ; He woke as from a trance, Too late to grasp his scimitar, And too late to poise his lance, VIII. When they seiz'd his rein, and search'd — it seenVd That the barb and his rider's air. With his jewelled vest and baldric of gold, Must promise a ransom liiir : IX. So to Antequera they led him back, And when Narvaez came. He greeted the youth with courtesy, And crav'd his rank and name. 1 ^ mmm Ballad. ly X. In silent thought the captive stood As though his senses slept ; And when the question struck his ear He started, gaz'd, and wept. y.i XI. The Spaniard check'd a sneer, but look'd With wonder on liis mood, For his practis'd eye could not misken The marks of gende blood. XII. The ^loor replied at length — " For myself " I am known by my own good sword, " But better far for my father's fame, '' Who is rocky Ronda's Lord." XIII. " I question not the race or name " Which thy words and bearing speak ; " I marvel though that a woman's tears " Should stain a warrior's cheek." fw? ■4 ^o Ballixd. XIV. '' I vvoep not thus, Sir Count," he said, " The chance of war to prove : •' I weep to fail in the plighted word " 1 had given my Lady-love : XV. •■ For a twelvemonth past to that maiden fair '^ Hath my tale of love been told : •' 1 had vow'd to bear her forth to-night " From Archidona's hold." XVI. Narvaez paus'd— " Though an infidel, " Thou com'st of a knightly strain— •' Wilt thou visit thy love on the word of a knight " To render thyself again ? " XVII. '^ Right gladly I will '."—He mounted his barb, And spurr'd him down from the tower, And soon he sat by his true-love's side Within her maiden bower. I ri Ballad. 2 I XVIII. " I know thee not again," she said, " With that unwonted sigh ; '• And where is the glance of eager joy " That flash'd in the lover's eye ? " XIX. *' Can 1 smile when I come as a captive thrall. " Releas'd on my plighted word ? •' Can I carry thee forth to share my lot " As the slaNC of a Christian Lord ? '' XX. The maiden rose ; she took her veil, And as she donn'd it, said — " I teach thee to know, in weal or woe, " The truth of a Moorish maid. XXI. '• It may be that this casket's gems " Their greedy souls will move ; " It may be e'en the infidel " Will pity constant love. I M : f T Ballad. XXII, • But come what may, I vow'd to-night " To fiy from my father's side ; • A slave or free, 'tis one to me — •' 1 still shall be thy bride." XXI 1 1. He strove in vain : at his gennet's croup That lady left her bower ; And as morning dawn'd the Moor and his bride Were in Antequera's tower. 4 XXIV. And old Narvaez wept when he saw The pair before him kneel : He thought on her he had woo'd and lost Of old, in fair Castile. ,! 1 XXV. I care not for your proffer'd gems : " Sir Knight, ye both are free ; This I>ady's love and thy word fulfiU'd " Shall be ransom for her and thee." VBOV BALLADS FROM TILE SPANLSIL The first of the following poems, like all good ballads, belongs to that class of composition which suggests far more than it narrates, ^\'e may assume tliat tlie lady whose fate it describes was married against her will to the enemy of her family (see stanza v.), and that the stranger knight is her early love, whom she had been compelled to renounce. The mode in which her hus- band convicts her, by successive questions, reminds us ol a well-known Scotch song of a purely comic c:haracter, and it is curious to trace this analogy between two jjoems of different countries, of which the spirit is so totally different. I allude to the song— the author of which is, I believe, not known— beginning with the following verse : — Our giuleman cam liame at e'en, And hanie cam he ; And there he saw a saddle horse, Where nae horse should be. 'i i \^ ., ^im^m^^fmrmn ■^4 Ballads from the Spanish. Oh, how cam this horse here ? How can this be ? How cam this horse here Without the leave o' me ? 1 am quite aware of the flict tliat the second ballad cannot be ranked among the highest productions of the class to which it belongs. Jiianca sois, senora mia, Mas que no el rayo del sol, &c. Priiiiavcni dc Romances, vol. ii. p. 52 ; Duran, vol. i. p. 13 ; Grimm, p. 242. -•o«- I. " Thou art fair, thou art fair, O Lady mine, " As the beam of morning bright : •• May I rest unarm'd in this bower of thine? " May I sleep without fear through the night ? II. ■' Seven years, seven years, it hath been the samej " These limbs have their harness worn, •" And are blacken'd as if by the furnace-flame, " All scath'd by the toils they have borne." ■i n Ballads from the Spanish. '^ III. '• Thou may'st sleep, Sir Knight, may'st sleep till day " Unarm'd, thou need'st not fear ; " To the mountains of Leon the Count is away ; '' He is gone to chase the deer. IV. '■ My curse go with him ! and ill may he speed ! " May his hounds die mad, his hawks be slain ! " And dead at the heels of his dark brown steed " May I see him dragged to his home again ! " V. Whilst thus they are talking, her Lord is there, And he calls in scorn and ire — Well, what art thou doing, my Lady so fair, " Thou child of a traitor sire ? " m V VI. •' I was combing my hair. Sir, in sorrowful cheer ; " I was combing it all alone, " Because to the mountains to chase the deer " My lord and master had gone." I 36 Ballads from t/ic Spanish . VII, '• This story, fliir lady, a man may doubt ; •' 'I'his story is nought but a lie. " Say, whose is yon steed that is standing without, '' And that ncigli'd as I came by?" VIII. '• That steed is my father's. Sir Count," she said : " He hath sent it a gift to thee." '• \\'hose arms are those in a heap thus laid " At thy chamber door I see ?" IX. " My brother, Sir Count, he hath sent to thee here " Those arms which lie on the floor" " Ay, well ! but the spear — say whose is the spear " That is leaning against the door ? " ■ ■ i: ' X. " Take thou that spear — I reck not of life — " And slay me where I stand : '' 'T will be but the meed that a perjured wife " Hath earn'd at her husband's hand." Ballads from the Spanish. "Caballcro ile Icjas tierras," &:c. Primavii-a dc Romances, vol, ii. p. SS. -•o*- "Thou stranger knight from foreign lands, " Whom passing by I see, *' Rein in thy steed and ground thy spear, " And speak one word to me. '' Oh ! tell me if perchance abroad " My husband thou hast seen ? " "■ How should I know unless I learn " Thy husband's guise and mien ? " " My husband is a gentleman, " Full young and fair to see, *' Well skilled in chess, and courtly games, " And sports of chivalry. " A Marquis is he, and his arms " Grav'd on his sword-hilt bears: " A surcoat too of rich brocade " With crimson lin'd he wears. '' There dangles from his lance's head, " And glitters in the sun, " A pennon fair of Portugal, " Which in the lists he won." I (I 28 lialhids from the Spaiiis/i. " If so it l)c, O Lady fair, " I knew thy luisl)an(l well : " In a (|uarrel at Valencia, " That Lord was stabb'd and fell : " lie was struck at play by a Milanese ; " And many a knight and dame " Griev'd for his death, and cherish still " Thy gallant husband's name. " Nay, more than that, men say one maid, " The daughter of his host — " Of (lenoa fair by birth she is — " Weeps for her lover lost. " But shouldst thou deign to love again — *' Is there no hoi)e for me ? " " No, no, Sir Knight— urge no such suit— " A nun I'm doomed to be." " A nun ! fair dame ? Thou'rt surely bound " To pause awhile," he cried ; " For 'tis the husband of thy heart '' Who standeth at thy side ! " 1 ( 2() ) FJIE DEATH OF OLD KING GO KM. A IIAM.AI). This ballad is founded on the story told in the Jonisvi- kingasaga, which, if it be the most striking, is jn'obably not the most authentic account of the events to which it relates. Historians seem to think it probable that Knut was killed in Ireland or in Yorkshire, rather than sUiin by his brother HarAld in Jutland. Queen Thyra is the person to whom the Danes owed that work of ^\hich we have again heard within the last few years — the " Dana- virke." She bore the name of *' Thyre Danebod" (Dane's help) as her son Knut was called " Dana-ast " or " Den- mark's Darling." In one of the popular songs describing the erection of the Danavirke, we are told : Det var Orel af Dronniiig Thyre Ret kaklt r)annel)0{l Kviiulon, soni ved Danmark's Styrc SacI mod Mandcmud. 30 The Death of Old King Gorm. " The 'Lymfiord' is the narrow inlet across the penin- sula of Jutland, just south of the main channel into the Baltic ; the western end was formerly closed by a neck of land from the North Sea, but Mr. Laing says, • This neck has, within these fifteen years, been washed away, and there is now a channel into the Baltic by this new passage for small craft.'" (Heimskringla, vol. i. p. 378, n. '884.) The date of Knut's death was about a. d. 935. " My brother is slain, and the fight is won ! '* Go now," Earl Harold said ; " And find me the man that will tell Kin^T Gorm •' How Knut his son is dead." 11. He paus'd and look'd on his liegemen all, But, I trow, no liegeman spoke ; He heard but the boom of the heaving tide As each crested billow broke. III. O'er Lymfiord the level sun Shed his last rays around, Where ships and corpses, oars and shields, Went drifting up the Sound. ^i«^ I The Death of Old King Gonn. j' IV. At length one said : " We know right well " That man, Lord Earl, is fey, " Who shall dare to tell to thy father's flice, " Hie deed that was done this day. V. '' King Gorm hath spoken— who bears that tale, " Full sore shall his tidings rue ; " The death of Knut is the death of the Kint " And the death of its teller too." >S. VI. The Earl hath gone to his mother's bow'r ; They have conn'd their counsels o'er, And when King Gorm at his wine was set Earl Harold spoke on the floor : — VII. '' I saw two falcons fight yestreen, " One white — the other grey : " The grey soar'd high u '.,s pride of i>kue, " But the white death.-strickcn lay." i^ The Death of Old King Gorfn. VIII. No more he utter'd, and fled from the hall As a man for his life dotli fly ; But the old King sate with mien unchang'd, And drain'd his goblet dry. IX. '• Now busk ye ! busk ye ! my maidens all," Queen Thyra cried that night, " For sable hangings must deck my hall " In lieu of the scarlet bright." Again on the morrow King Gorm sat there To drink with his liegemen bold ; He look'd on the walls, and he look'd on the Queen, And his heart grew cliill and cold. XI. He rose and rax'd him, while the tears P\>11 fist on his beard like rain — " Woe ! Denmark, woe ! my hour is come, " For Knut my son is slain ! " ■i^ The DcafJi of Old Kins: Gorm. II \ 1 1 . •' No tongue but thine own hath told tlie tale.' (^ueen 'J'hyra gently said ; He leant to the wall— he sunk in his chair— And (iorm the King was dead. s\ % i-^lj* ll ^ ft ' 1 ^ If o-H 7///'; liRIDAL SONG OF HELEN. A TraXSI.M 1«)\ IK>>M THK EIGHTEENTH IdYLI. OF Theocritus. ■'I'j' TTOK upa iiTTaor^i 'iavOurpixi wup Mfve\dt{), k. r. A. Where tair-haird Menelaus dwelt, Great Atreus' \'Ounger son, And Helen to his home was borne, Lonij; lov'd, now woo'd and won, Twelve damsels stood — the hyacinth ("deam'd in their braided hair — First of the land, Laconia's boast, A marvel bright and fliir — And wove with twinkling feet the dance, And all in concert sung, As the bridal bower on Helen closM, And the hall around them rung. w I 3 ■! T Tiic Jhidcil Si'Ui^ of TLicii. '' What ! gentle bridegroom ! gone so soon ^ "• To slumber art thou fled "' Tn drowsy mood, or tir'd and faint. " Or wine hatli touch'd thy head. ■• 'i'hus early wilt thou sleep — at least " Thou shouldst have left the maid, •' That here we girls as comrades all " Till morning might have play'd '' Beneath her loving mother's eye ; " For well we know for life, " From year to year, from night to morn. " She ever is thy wife. •' With happy omen didst thou come ; " Well hath thy wooing sped : •' Thou first amoiig e'en Sparta's chiefs ! " Jove's daughter shares thy bed : " Dless'd were the child that should repeal " That mother's form and lace, •' No maid that treads the ground of (irecc', " Can vie with Helen's grace. •• We know it — all of ecjual age, " We've bar'd in girlhood's })ride •• Our suj)i)le limbs in manly sport " Along Furotas' side — I 36 y/ic' Bridal So/i^ (>/ //''/'^v/. • l-'ull four times sixty Spartan maids '•In pastime gather'd here — •• And midst us all— we know it well— " There is not Helen's peer. " 'l^ie glow of dawn, the burst of spring, " The majesty of night — '■ They all are fliir, but fair as they, " She shines in golden light. " As the tall cypress rears its spire " And marks its place afar, '• Some garden's pride— as the fleet steed " Adorns the victor's car, '• So Lacedasmon's pride and joy, '' We see young Helen move, '' And scatter from her blushing brow " The rosy light of love. '• No hand like hers can reel the wool, " Or weave without a seam, •• With shuttle deft so close a web '• Cut from the loom's tall beam. •' Ay I and to sweep the sounding lyre '• And sing high themes like this — •■ Broacl-breastecl Pallas, and the might " Of Orthian Artemis — The Bridal Soui:: of Hcloi. No hand, no voice like Helen's is ; '• Yet in her eyes the while All woman's softest witchery beams, " And sparkles in her smile. In tranquil grace and beauty now " A matron in thy home Thou sitt'st ; but we, when spring-time comes. '' As girls again will roam. • Again we'll course along the meads, '' And when our flowers we twine. ' Like lambs that for their mothers bleat, ■' Shall we for Helen pine. ' Then first for thee of melilot '• We'll weave the votive wreath, • And hang it up in Helen's name " Yon giant plane beneath. ' For thee from out the silver urn, •' Where those broad branches spread, ' We'll draw our fragrant store, and there " The liquid perfume shed. '• On the smooth bark we'll grave the words. " That passers-by may see, •• In Doric phrase—' Oh : liarm me not— •' ' For T am Helen's tree.' .•) t ii '( 38 The Bridal Soni^of Jlchii. •• Mail lo the hero and his bride I— •• And may Latona shower •• (I'air offspring is Latona's gift) ■• Her blessings on your bower. •• May she too in her might divine — ■• The Cyprian Goddess — give •• 'I'hal Love's pure flame in both your breasts •• With equal ardour live. •' And Jove—great Jove — may he for aye •• With wealth and honour grace " Sons after sires of noblest blood — " Voiir children's children's race. '* Sleep, breathing confidence and jo)' ! " Sleep on till day appear ! •• Forget not though to wake at dawn : •• At dawn will we be here, - ^\'hen the first feather'd songster's voice " Shall call us from our rest, •• Till then farewell ! in Hymen's name •* r>c this fair wedding bless'd." ^ { JO ; ON AN ANCIENT PANATHENAIC VASE IN A LONDON BRA WLWGROOM. From the land of Attic song I was borne across the wave : From the mirtli of a festive throni:. To the gloom of a 1\iscan grave. Where the harness on the dead Clrew canker'd o'er with rust, Where the hero on his bed Lay mouldering into dust. .•\nd many an age and race Across broad Europe swept. While in that narrow place My lonely watch T ke})i. i. 40 ()// ail Ancient Panat/uiiaic Vasi I rcck'd not in my home, In the tomb beneath the sod, (")f the growth or dill of Rome, Or the change of F-urope's Clod. I)Ut empires wax'd anil wan'd. And nations passed away, While unbroken and unstain'd — I'rail as I am — I lay. Still see upon my side The warrior-goddess stand : How she ])oises in her stride Her lance with lifted hand. As of yore in Homer's song, Unchang'd she seems to wield. Terror of the Trojan throng. Her grisly Gorgon shield. Now unheeding at her feet, All in silk and lace array'd, Lisp and flirt and part and meet Flippant youth and fickle maid. In d London Drir Have fliU'n beneath your sword ? The life-blood of a single Pole Is worth a Cossack horde : And though the tyrant's slaves may he. Here mingled in one grave, With those who lavish'd all, and then Life for their country gave : Fair Freedom's tro]jhy on this sj^ot Your country yet shall see, And your Simonides shall sing This new Thermopylae. 44 ) I m I'RRIi TRANSLATION FROM THE ICE- LANDIC OF THE '' EDDAr '' HELGAKVfDA HUNDINGSRANA," II., St. 28. " Tiavutr cm ek, systir ! " Luning's " Edda," s. 339. Stanzas 37 and 49 are omitted. The first speaker is Handing, the brother of Sigruna, '.vho tells his sister that he has killed her husband, Helgi. Sigruna herself, her maiden or slave, the spirits of the dead, and Signma and Helgi in the grave, follow. Liining and Simrock speak of this episode as con- taining the t}pe of the story afterwards embodied in Biirgers '* I.enore ; " but in reality it is very ditferent in character, and is far more striking and pathetic. The German i>oem, " Es stehcn die Sterne am Himmel," of * T Free Tra)islatioii from tJic Icdandic of the '' Edday 45 wliich the autlior is unknown, and whicli is i)rinte(l in Bechstein's " Deutsches Lesebuch," s. 115 (if, as 1 suppose, it be genuine), really deprives Burger of much of the credit given to him. The story is the same as in his '' Lenore," but it is told with mujh greater simplicity. On the other hand, Sigruna resembles Lenore in nothing but the one fact, that each goes with her husband or her lover to the grave. Sigruna does this voluntarily, but the lady in both the other poems seems to be carried thither by main force, against her will. But there are other ballads whic h in this particular feature resemble the story of Sigiana more closely. In " William's Ghost ^' (Percy's " Relics," Ayton, ii., p. 98), we are told : — But she has kikil her robes (jf screen A piece below her knee, And a' Uie livelong winlcr's nii;lu The dead corpse followed siie. In the Danish ballad of " Aage and Klse " ((hundivig, W. ii. s. 493), the idea of the suffering inllicted on the dead lover by the sorrow of his living mistress is sirongl) expressed ; and Grundtvig. no doubt rightly, derives this composition from the Icelandic original. He gi\es a ; mi 46 Fn'd Translation from the Icelandic of the '' Edda.'' sjMrited Danish version of the concUiding stanzas here translated. " Clerk Saunders" is another Scotch ballad of a kindred character. " Aage and Else " will be found translated in Mr. Prior's Danish Ballads (vol. iii. p. 70), and the English reader will there see a prose version of a portion of the Icelandic story. Compare also Crimni. Ddnische Hcldenlieder (s. 73^ and the FortniL^hfly Rcvie^o (No. VI.) That the beauty and grandeur of the Icelandic arc most inadequately reproduced .1 this translation or paraphrase, no one is more conscious than myself; but the general train of thought and the feeling of the whole may perhaps in home degree be made accessible to the English reader. The two stanzas in ten-syllable metre re])resent the prose of Sa^mund, connecting the \crses with each other. 1. I/nndini^. Sister ! loth am I to show 'Hie deed of death which works thee woe ; Mow Melgi, lov'd in bower and hall. Before my sword was doom'd to fall : That prince who in his royal seal Tror — then I may clasp my lord again. ';/ ■I; 1 •m^mH^^-^mmimmm^^ Frre Translation frovi the Icchndit of t/w " luLuj. -49 VII. Ah ! my Helgi's sword of flame All his foes had learn'd to tame. Till beneatli his wrathful eye They and all their kin would fl\ . As goats that, when the wolf is near. Rush from the mountain, mad with fe:ir, VIII. Tall and fair, my Helgis form Tower'd amid the warrior-swurm. As some strong asli-tree on the heath O ershadows all the thorns beneatli : Or as that hart, the forest's pride. With dewy flank and stately stiide. Moves 'mid the herd, and tosses high His horns, diat gleam against the sky. Sigruna's maiden sat, and seeniM to mark How o'er the dreary heath there swept aloiig. With Helgi in their midst, at midnight dark. Toward the open grave, a ghostly throng. 4 1 ^rm W 1 i.^ i 1 i \r: ^ ^ 1 .' J 1 ^1 1, i. ^ It: «l i^-l M'fl 50 /vrt" Translation from the Icelandic of the '■^ Edda.'' X. Si^^runds Yc sliapes that passing by I set*. Maiden. Tell, (J tell me, what ye be ! Are ye i)hantoms of my brain ? Or are ye sj^rits of the slain, That sjiur the steed and shake the spear ? Is the end of all things here? ( )r, as if by second birth, Are these warriors given to earth ? XI. S/'irits. We are no phantoms of the brain : Spirits we of heroes slain, Si)ur the steed and shake the spear. The end of all things is not here ; Nor, as if by second birth. Are these warriors given to earth. , XII. Maiden Sigruna ! list the tale I tell, ... ^ ' x And (luit thy bower at Snevafell. Sii:^rnna). ^ ^ Hie thee forth, my lady fair ! Tlie grave is open I — Helgi's there ! Free Translation from the Icelandic of the ''• lidday Hasten, if with eager grasp It listeth thee thy lord to clasp. Go, staunch the blood at his behest. Welling from his wounded breast. XIII. Si^runa That we two thus should meet again, {in the to ml'). Helgi, makes thy wife as fiiin As Odin's hawks that sniff atar Fresh carnage on the field of war ; Or, bright with dew-drops, greet the day That litifhts them to some new-slain \)Xq\. XIV. Let me kiss that brow so pale, Ere we strip thee of thy mail ; Let me clasp thee to my heart, Stiff and bloody as tnou art. Thy matted hair is frosted o'er, All thy limbs are smear'd with gore ; Clammy are thy hands and brow — My king ! how can I help thee now? h:l 52 Free Transliition from the Icclaudic of the "• Edda^' XV. //c/i,7. riiinc eyes, my own Sigruna, shed The (lew of sorrow on tliis head. When derk'd with gold, in ]:)cauty bright. Thou wcepest throiigli the Hvelong night. I feel eat:h cruel tear-drop flow, As cold and piercing, fraught with woe. It trickles over Helgi's breast, Benumbs his heart and breaks his rest. XVI. Nay — let us rather seek again Affection's joyous cup to drain. CiOne are lands and life's bright morrow, Yet will we chant no song of sorrow : My bosom bleeds, but at my side Sits in the grave my chosen bride. XVII. Sigruna. See, my Helgi, Ylfing's race Here shall find fit resting-place ; On this pillow lay thy head. And let me smooth my hero's bed ; i Free Translation from the Icelandic of the " Edda'. For in the grave too I will rest My loving cheek on Helgi's breast ; As when there beam'cl a brighter day. And by my living lord I lay. ^vl XVIII. Jlei^i. To sleei) beneath this ghastly shade Thou hast not fear'd, my royal maid '. But, warm in life and beauty's charms, Hast clasp'd the dead within thine arm^,, Hogni's daughter ! now I see I may hope for all from thee ; Xor wilt thou still with tears and sighs Vex the couch where Helgi lies. XIX. 'Tis time for me to ride awa) . Where the red streaks of dawning day Have marked my path ; there must I speed O'er r.ifrost's bridge my pallid steed : And from my love must westward tly Beyond the bow which si)ans the sky. Before the cock wake with shrill, call The host within Valhalla's hall. 4- -3 11) 11 m It m 54 Fnv Translation from the. Icelandic of the " Edda^ XX. The warriors all were gone ; she sought her bower At Snevafell just as the mornmg broke ; But by the grave again at midnight's hour She sat and watch'd for him, and thus she spoke XXI, Sigriina. Ah !—had lie thought to come, I trow My warrior-king were with me now. From Valhalla Sigmund's son Long ere this his way had won. My hopes have wan'd. The eagle's brood Have sought their perch in yonder wood ; And mortal men, save those who weep, Lie buried all in dreamy sleep. ( vS .■^D THE VISIT OF TIJORFINN, EARL OF ORKNEY, TO KING MAGNUS. .\ UALLAl) SCKNt. I. KiNci Magnus sate at his midday meal, Where his licet at anchor rode, When a stranger cross'd the royal deck, And straight to the table strode. 11. He greeted the king ; he took the loaf That lay ujjon the board ; And broke and ate, as if of right. Whilst neither spoke a word. 5^ / V*v/ <\f 77tor/iiiii to k'iiii:, Af(i<;nus. III. Kiiii^ Magnus gaz'd ; as he wip'd his l)ear(l. •' AVill thou not drink ? " he said, And pass'd the cu[) : the stranger drank. And bow'd in thanks his head. I p: n IV. •• Thy name?" " My name is Thorfmn, sir." *' Karl Thorfmn can it l)e ?" lie smil'd — "Well, yes ; men call me thus " Beyond the western sea." V. '• And is it so ?" the king rejilied ; '' I had resolv'd me well, " That if we two met what passed when we met '• Thou shouldst not live to tell. VI. "' Together now we've broken bread " And thus my hand is stay'd ; " But think thou not the score is quit, " Though vengeance be delay'd." Visit of Thorfinn to Kiui;; Mas^nus. ^t vn. It chanced as friends they drank one day- On the deck a Norse-man stood : •• Lord earl," lie said, "from thee I claim " The price of a brother s blood. VIII. •' When Kirkwall-street was drench'd in gore. " And the king's men slaughter'd lay, " By thy command that brodier died— •' Wilt thou his man-bote pay ?" IX. Loud laugh'd the earl—" What ho : thou fool, "Thou must oft have heard it said, *' How Thorfinn scores of men hath slain, " But manbote never paid." X. " All this, lord earl, is nought to me ; " 'Tis nought if our king sits by, " Nor cares to avenge those men of his, " Led out like rdieep to die." s^ I'lsii of Thofinn to Kifii:^ Afagnus. XI. Then Thorfinn look'd again, and swore, " I]y the rood, I know thee well — ' ^^''iy» 1 g^ivc thee thy life in Kirkwall town. " When all thy comrades fell. XII, " My chance is hard — I have oft been blam'd '* Too many that I slew, '• And now this coil hath come about " Because I have slain too few." xni. 11ic king's brow flushed with wrath : " Forsooth, " It seemeth to vex thee sore, " That in thwarting my rights and slaying my men. '■ Thou hast not done still more." m XIV. l)Ut now a fair breeze fills each sail, And pennons are floating free, As the long war-ships, with tiieir dragon heads. Cio cleaving the dark blue sea. n«l w Visit of Tliorfuin to King Ma\;nus. 59 XV. \iHl aye to the west of the Norway-lleei Earl Thorfinn steers his bark ; Men saw her holchng her course with them One night wlien the sky grew dark : XVI. i>ut when morning broke that bark was gone I-'ar, far, o'er the western foam, Wliere Orkney breasts tin; waves, and where Karl Thorfmn sits in Kirkwall fair, Sole lortl of his island-home. ,V^,/^-._The incidents of this scene, if incidents the) can be called, are to be found in the Orkney Saga . anhew, l':arl Rognvald, the sun of 6o Visit of Thorfiiui to King Magnus. Hriisi, and put to deatli in cold blood the men of King Magnus, who had supported the claims of Rognvald. 'I'his is the massacre at Kirkwall alluded to in the ballad. 'I'horfinn held, not only the Orkneys, but also Caith- ness, and i)rol)ably (ialway and the Western Isles. He is said to have possessed nine earldoms in Scotland, and he was the ally of Macbeth, whose power, it has been conjectured, rested mainly on the influence of Thorfinn and the Norwegians of (Orkney. That he plundered frequently in England and Ireland is a matter of course, and is duly recorded in the Saga. He died in 1064 A.I). The fleet which was assembled when Thorfinn paid his visit to King Magnus was intended to act against Denmark, and was commanded jointly by that king and by Harold, the son of Sigurd (H^NrSnidi). who was subsecjuentJy killed at Stamfordbridge. — See Munch, Chronicon Rcgum Manniic, ])p. 48-50 ; Orkncy- inga Saga {Flatcyjar Ih)/k\ b. ii. s. 419). London : i'rinteil by S-mith, Eluf.u anu Co., Old Bailcj*. L.G. r i-