Under its loosened vest By the hawk frighted. To hear my story. "While the brown ale he quaffed, The sea-foam brightly, "She was a Prince's child, I but a Viking wild, And though she blushed and smiled, Should not the dove so white "Scarce had I put to sea, Among the Norsemen! When on the white-sea-strand, With twenty horsemen. "Then launched they to the blast, Bent like a reed each mast, Yet we were gaining fast, When the wind failed us; And with a sudden flaw Came round the dusty Skaw So that our foe we saw Laugh as he hailed us. "And as to catch the gale Through the black water! "As with his wings aslant, Bore I the maiden. "Three weeks we westward bore, And when the storm was o'er, Cloud-like we saw the shore Stretching to leeward; There for my lady's bower Stands looking sea-ward. She was a mother: Death closed her mild blue eyes, "Still grew my bosom then, The sunlight hateful! "Thus, seamed with many scars, My soul ascended; There from the flowing bowl THE WRECK OF THE HESPERUS. IT was the schooner Hesperus, That sailed the wintry sea; And the skipper had taken his little daughter, To bear him company. Blue were her eyes as the fairy-flax, Her cheeks like the dawn of day, And her bosom white as the hawthorn buds, The skipper he stood beside the helm, And he watched how the veering flaw did blow The smoke now West, now South. Then up and spake an old Sailor, Had sailed the Spanish main, "I pray thee, put into yonder port, "Last night the moon had a golden ring, A gale from the North-east; The snow fell hissing in the brine, She shuddered and paused, like a frighted steed, "Come hither! come hither! my little He wrapped her warm in his seaman's coat, Against the stinging blast; He cut a rope from a broken spar, And bound her to the mast. "O father! I hear the church-bells ring, Oh, say, what may it be?" ""Tis a fog-bell on a rock-bound coast!"And he steered for the open sea. "O father! I hear the sound of guns, "O father, I see a gleaming light, But the father answered never a word, *In Scandinavia this is the customary salutation when drinking health. I have slightly changed the orthography of the word, in order to preserve the correct pronunciation. Lashed to the helm, all stiff and stark, With his face turned to the skies, The lantern gleamed through the gleamings now On his fixed and glassy eyes. Then the maiden clasped her hands and prayed That saved she might be ; And she thought of Christ, who stilled the wave And fast through the midnight dark and drear, And ever the fitful gusts between A sound came from the land; It was the sound of the trampling serf, She struck where the white and fleecy waves But the cruel rocks, they gored her side, Her rattling shrouds, all sheathed in ice, At daybreak, on the bleak sea-beach, To see the form of a maiden fair, Lashed close to a drifting mast. The salt sea was frozen on her breast, The salt tears in her eyes; And he saw her hair, like the brown sea-weed, On the billows fall and rise. Such was the wreck of the Hesperus, In the midnight and the snow! Christ save us all from a death like this, On the reef of Norman's Woe! THE LUCK OF EDENHALL. FROM THE GERMAN OF UHLAND. [The tradition upon which this ballad is founded, and the "shards of the Luck of Edenhall," still exist in England. The goblet is in the possession of Sir Christopher Musgrave, Bart., of Eden Hall, Cumberland, and is not so entirely shattered as the ballad leaves it.] OF Edenhall, the youthful Lord And cries, 'mid the drunken revellers all, Then said the Lord, "This glass to praise, The gray-beard with trembling hand obeys: It beams from the Luck of Edenhall. First rings it deep, and full and mild, "For its keeper takes a race of might, Kling! klang!-with a harder blow than all As the goblet ringing flies apart, On the morrow the butler gropes alone, "The stone wall," saith he, "doth fall aside THE ELECTED KNIGHT. FROM THE DANISH. [The following strange and somewhat mystical ballad is from Nyerup and Rahbek's "Danske Viser" of the Middle Ages. It seems to refer to the first preaching of Christianity in the North, and to the institution of Knight-Errantry. The three maidens I suppose to be Faith, Hope, and Charity. The irregularities of the original have been carefully preserved in the translation.] SIR OLUF he rideth over the plain, Full seven miles broad and seven miles wide, But never, ah never, can meet with the man A tilt with him dare ride. He saw under the hill-side A Knight full well equipped; He wore upon his spurs Twelve little golden birds; Anon he spurred his steed with a clang, He wore upon his mail Twelve little golden wheels Anon in eddies the wild wind blew, And round and round the wheels they flew. He wore before his breast A lance that was poised in rest: And it was sharper than diamond-stone, He wore upon his helm A wreath of ruddy gold: And that gave him the Maidens Three, The youngest was fair to behold. Sir Oluf questioned the Knight oftsoon If he were come from Heaven down: "Art thou Christ of Heaven?" quoth he "So will I yield me unto thee." "I am not Christ the great, Thou shalt not yield thee yet; I am an unknown Knight, Three modest Maidens have me bedight." "Art thou a Knight elected, And have three Maidens thee bedight? So shalt thou ride a tilt this day, For all the Maidens' honour!" The first tilt they together rode They put their steeds to the test; The second tilt they together rode, They proved their manhood best. The third tilt they together rode, Neither of them would yield; The fourth tilt they together rode, They both fell on the field. Now lie the Lords upon the plain, And their blood runs unto death; Now sit the Maidens in the high tower, The youngest sorrows till death. Wreathea thereon was the Bible with leaves, and the dove, washed with silver, Under its canopy fastened, had on it a necklace of wind-flowers. But in front of the choir, round the altar-piece painted by Hörberg,* Crept a garland gigantic; and bright-curling tresses of angels. Peeped like the sun from a cloud, from out of the shadowy leaf-work. Likewise the lustre of brass, new-polished, blinked from the ceiling, And for lights there were lilies of Pentecost set in the sockets. Loud rang the bells already; the thronging crowd was assembled Far from valleys and hills, to list to the holy preaching. Hark! then roll forth at once the mighty tones from the organ, THE CHILDREN OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. Hover like voices from God, aloft like invisible FROM THE SWEDISH OF BISHOP TEGNER. PENTECOST, day of rejoicing, had come. The church of the village Gleaming stood in the morning's sheen. On the spire of the belfry, Tipped with a vane of metal, the friendly flames of the Spring-sun Glanced like the tongues of fire, beheld by Apostles aforetime. Clear was the heaven and blue, and May, with her cap crowned with roses, Stood in her holiday dress in the fields, and the wind and the brooklet Murmured gladness and peace, God's peace with lips rosy-tinted Whispered the race of the flowers, and merry on balancing branches Birds were singing their carol, a jubilant hymn to the Highest. Swept and clean was the churchyard. Adorned like a leaf-woven arbour Stood its old-fashioned gate; and within upon each cross of iron Hung was a fragrant garland, new twined by the hands of affection Even the dial, that stood on a hillock among the departed, (There full a hundred years had it stood,) was embellished with blossoms. Like to the patriarch hoary, the sage of his kith and the hamlet, Who on his birth-day is crowned by children and children's children. So stood the ancient prophet, and mute with his pencil of iron Marked on the tablet of stone, and measured the time and its changes. While all around at his feet, and eternity slumbered in quiet. Also the church within was adorned, for this was the season When the young, their parents' hope, and the loved-ones of heaven, Should at the foot of the altar renew the vows of their baptism. Therefore each nook and corner was swept and cleaned, and the dust was Blown from the walls and ceiling, and from the oil-painted benches. There stood the church like a garden; the Feast of the Leafy Pavilions* Saw we in living presentment. From noble arms on the church wall Grew forth a cluster of leaves, and the preacher's pulpit of oak-wood Budded once more anew, as aforetime the rod before Aaron. *The Feast of the Tabernacles: in Swedish, Löfhyddohögtiden, the Leaf-huts'-high-tide. spirits. Like as Elias in heaven, when he cast off from him his mantle, Even so cast off the soul its garments of earth; and with one voice Chimed in the congregation, and sang an anthem immortal Of the sublime Wallín,† of David's harp in the Took every living soul, and lifted it gently to heaven, And every face did shine like the Holy One's face upon Tabor. Lo! there entered then into the church the Reverend Teacher. Father he hight and he was in the parish; a Clothed from his head to his feet the old man of christianly plainness Friendly was he to behold, and glad as the seventy winters. heralding angel Walked he among the crowd, but still a contemplative grandeur Lay on his forehead as clear, as on moss-covered grave-stone a sunbeam. As in his inspiration (an evening twilight that faintly Gleams in the human soul, even now, from the Th' Grey, with his eyes uplifted to heaven, so seemed then the old man; Such was the glance of his eye, and such were his tresses of silver. All the congregation arose in the pews that were numbered. But with a cordial look, to the right and the left Nodding all hail and peace, disappeared in the hand, the old man, innermost chancel. Simply and solemnly proceeded the Christian service, Singing and prayer, and at last an ardent dis course from the old man. Many a moving word and warning, that out of the heart came, Fell like the dew of morning, like manna on those in the desert. Afterwards, when all was finished, the Teacher reentered the chancel, Followed therein by the young. On the right hand the boys had their places, Delicate figures, with close-curling hair and cheeks rosy-blooming. But on the left hand of these, there stood the tremulous lilies, Tinged with the blushing light of the morning, the diffident maidens, Folding their hands in prayer, and their eyes cast down on the pavement. Now came, with question and answer, the catechism. In the beginning Answered the children with troubled and faltering voice, but the old man's Glances of kindness encouraged them soon, and the doctrines eternal Flowed, like the waters of fountains, so clear from lips unpolluted. Whene'er the answer was closed, and as oft as they named the Redeemer, Lowly louted the boys, and lowly the maidens all courtesied. Friendly the Teacher stood, like an angel of light there among them, And to the children explained he the holy, the highest, in few words, Thorough, yet simple and clear, for sublimity always is simple, Both in sermon and song, a child can seize on its meaning. Even as the green-growing bud is unfolded when Spring-tide approaches, Leaf by leaf is developed, and, warmed by the radiant sunshine, Blushes with purple and gold, till at last the perfected blossom Opens its odorous chalice, and rocks with its crown in the breezes, So was unfolded here the Christian lore of salvation, Line by line from the soul of childhood. fathers and mothers The Like the Lord's Prophet sublime, and awful as Death and as Judgment, Stood he, the God-commissioned, the soulsearcher, earthward descending. Glances, sharp as a sword, into hearts, that to him were transparent, Shot he; his voice was deep, was low like the thunder afar off. So on a sudden transfigured he stood there, he spake and he questioned. "This is the faith of the Fathers, the faith the Apostles delivered, This is moreover the faith whereunto I baptised you, while still ye Lay on your mother's breasts, and nearer the portals of heaven. Slumbering received you then the Holy Church in its bosom; Wakened from sleep are ye now, and the light in its radiant splendour Rains from the heaven downward;-to-day on the threshhold of childhood Kindly she frees you again, to examine and make your election, For she knows nought of compulsion, and only conviction desireth. This is the hour of your trial, the turning-point of existence, Seed for the coming days; without revocation departeth Now from your lips the confession. Bethink ye, before ye make answer! Think not, oh think not with guile to deceive the questioning Teacher. Sharp is his eye to-day, and a curse ever rests upon falsehood. Enter not with a lie on life's journey: the multitude hears you, Brothers and sisters and parents, what dear upon earth is and holy Standeth before your sight as a witness; the Judge everlasting Looks from the sun down upon you, and angels in waiting beside him Grave your confession in letters of fire, upon tablets eternal. Thus then,-believe ye in God, in the Father who this world created? Him who redeemed it the Son, and the Spirit where both are united? Will ye promise me here, (a holy promise!) to cherish God more than all things earthly, and every man as a brother? Will ye promise me here, to confirm your faith by your living, Th' heavenly faith of affection! to hope, to forgive, and to suffer, Be what it may your condition, and walk before Will ye promise me this before God and man?”— Answered the maidens eke. Then dissolved from the brow of the Teacher Clouds with the thunders therein, and he spake in accents more gentle, Soft as the evening's breath, as harps by Babylon's rivers. "Hail, then, hail to you all! To the heirdom of heaven be ye welcome! Children no more from this day, but by covenant brothers and sisters! Yet, for what reason not children? Of such is the kingdom of heaven. Here upon earth an assemblage of children, in heaven one Father, Ruling them all as his household,-forgiving in That is of human life a picture, as Scripture turn and chastising, has taught us. Blessed are the pure before God! Upon purity and upon virtue Resteth the Christian Faith; she herself from on high is descended. Strong as a man and pure as a child, is the sum of the doctrine, Which the Divine One taught, and suffered and died on the cross for. Oh! as ye wander this day from childhood's sacred asylum Downward and ever downward, and deeper in Ages chill valley, Oh! how soon will ye come,-too soon!-and long to turn backward Up to its hill-tops again, to the sun-illumined, where Judgment Stood like a father before you, and Pardon, clad like a mother, Gave you her hand to kiss, and the loving heart was forgiven, Life was a play and your hands grasped after the roses of heaven. Seventy years have I lived already; the Father eternal Gave me gladness and care; but the loveliest hours of existence, When I have steadfastly gazed in their eyes, 1 have instantly known them, Known them all again;-they were my childhood's acquaintance. Therefore take from henceforth, as guides in the paths of existence, Prayer, with her eyes raised to heaven, and Innocence, bride of man's childhood. Innocence, child beloved, is a guest from the world of the blessed. Beautiful, and in her hand a lily; on life's roar | Only to love and to be loved again, he breathed ing billows Swings she in safety, she heedeth them not, in the ship she is sleeping. Calmly she gazes around in the turmoil of men; in the desert Angels descend and minister unto her; she herself knoweth Naught of her glorious attendance; but follows faithful and humble, Follows so long as she may her friend; oh, do not reject her, For she cometh from God and she holdeth the keys of the heavens. Prayer is Innocence, friend; and willingly flyeth incessant 'Twixt the earth and the sky, the carrier-pigeon of heaven. Son of Eternity, fettered in Time, and an exile, the Spirit Tags at his chains evermore; and struggles like flames ever upward. Still he recalls with emotion his Father's manifold mansions, Thinks of the land of his fathers, where blossomed more freshly the flowers, Shone a more beautiful sun, and he played with the winged angels. Then grows the earth too narrow, too close; and homesick for heaven Longs the wanderer again, and the Spirit's longings are worship; Worship is called his most beautiful hour, and its tongue is entreaty. Ah! when the infinite burden of life descendeth upon us, Crushes to earth our hope, and under the earth, in the graveyard,- Then it is good to pray unto God; for his sorrowing children Turns he ne'er from his door, but he heals and helps and consoles them.'" Yet it is better to pray when all things arc prosperous with us, Pray in fortunate days, for life's most beautiful Fortune Kneels down before the Eternal's throne; and, with hands interfolded, Praises thankful and moved the only Giver of blessings. Or do ye know, ye children, one blessing that comes not from Heaven? What has mankind forsooth, the poor! that it has not received? Therefore. fall in the dust and pray! The seraphs adoring [who Cover with pinions six their face in glory of him Hung his masonry pendant on naught, when the world he created. Earth declareth his might, and the firmament uttereth his glory. Races blossom and die, and stars fall downward from heaven, Downward like withered leaves; at the last stroke of midnight millenniums Lay themselves down at his feet, and he sees them, but counts them as nothing. Whall shall stand in his presence? The wrath of the Judge is terrific, Casting the insolent down at a glance. When he speaks in his anger. Hillocks skip like the kid, and mountains leap like the roebuck. Yet, why are ye afraid, ye children? This awful Avenger, Ah! is a merciful God! God's voice was not in the earthquake, Not in the fire, nor the storm, but it was in the whispering breezes. Love is the root of creation; God's essence; worlds without number Lie in his bosom like children; he made them for this purpose only, forth his spirit Into the slumbering dust, and upright standing, it laid its Hand on its heart, and felt it was warm with a flame out of heaven. Quench, oh quench not that flame! It is the breath of your being. Love is life, but hatred is death. Not father, nor mother Loved you, as God has loved you: for 'twas that you may be happy Gave he his only Son. When he bowed down his head in the death-hour Solemnized Love its triumph; the sacrifice then was completed. Lo! then was rent on a sudden the veil of the temple, dividing Earth and heaven apart; and the dead, from their sepulchres rising. Whispered with pallid lips and low in the ears of each other Th' answer, but dreamed of before, to creation's enigma,-Atonement! Depths of Love are Atonement's depths, for Love is Atonement. Therefore, child of mortality! love thou the merciful Father; Wish what the Holy One wishes, and not from fear, but affection; Fear is the virtue of slaves; but the heart that loveth is willing; Perfect was before God, and perfect is Love, and Love only. Lovest thou God as thou oughtest, then lovest thou likewise thy brethren; One is the sun in heaven, and one, only one, is Love also. Bears not each human figure the godlike stamp on his forehead? [not sailing Readest thou not in his face thine origin? Is he Lost like thyself on an ocean unknown, and is he not guided By the same stars that guide thee? Why shouldst thou hate then thy brother? Hateth he thee, forgive! For 'tis sweet to stammer one letter Of the Eternal's language;-on carth it is called Forgiveness! Knowest thou Him, who forgave, with the crown of thorns round his temples? Earnestly prayed for his foes, for his murderers? Say dost thou know him? Ah! thou confessest his name, so follow likewise his example. Think of thy brother no ill. but throw a veil over his failings, Guide the erring aright; for the good, the heavenly Shepherd Took the lost lamb in his arms, and bore it back to its mother. This is the fruit of Love, and it is by its fruits that we know it. Love is the creature's welfare, with God; but Love among mortals Is but an endless sigh! He longs, and endures, and stands waiting, Suffers and yet rejoices, and smiles with tears on his eyelids. Hope, so is called upon earth, his recompense,Hope the befriending, Does what she can, for she points evermore up to heaven and faithful Plunges her anchor's peak in the depths of the grave, and beneath it Paints a more beautiful world, a dim, but a sweet play of shadows! Races, better than we, have leaned on her wavering promise, Having nought else but Hope. Then praise we our Father in heaven, Him, who has given us more; for to us has Hope been transfigured, |