The skies were all glowing, portentously bright,
With strong coruscations of vibrating light :*
In shadowy forms, on the long-streaming glare,
The insignia of battle shot swift through the air;
In lines and in circles successively whirl'd,
Fantastical arrows and jav'lins were hurl'd,†
That, flashing and falling in mimic affray,
In the distant horizon died darkly away,

Where a blood-dropping banner seem'd slowly to sail,
And expand its red folds to the death-breathing gale.
FIOLFAR look'd forth from his time-honour'd halls,
Where the trophies of battle emblazon'd the walls:
He heard the faint song as at distance it swell'd,
And the blazing of ether with triumph beheld;
He saw the white flames inexhaustibly stream,

And he knew that his fathers rode bright on the beam,
That the spirits of warriors of ages long past
Were flying sublime on the wings of the blast.
-"Ye heroes!" he cried, "that in danger arose,

The bulwark of friends and the terror of foes;

By ODIN with glory eternally crown'd;

By valour and virtue for ever renown'd;

It is well known with what superstitious anxiety the Aurora Borealis was formerly regarded. Ignorance and credulity readily discerned in its brilliant phenomena the semblance of aerial battles: and it is not surprising, that from such a source the valiant should draw prognostics of victory, and the timid of defeat and destruction. Thus Lucan, in describing the prodigies which preceded the civil

war:

Tum ne qua futuri

Spes saltem trepidas mentes levet, addita fati
Pejoris manifesta fides, superique minaces
Prodigiis terras implerunt, æthera, pontum.
Ignota obscuræ viderunt sidera noctes,

Ardentemque polum flammis, cœloque volantes
Obliquas per inane faces, crinemque timendi
Sideris, et terris mutantem regna cometen.
Fulgura fallaci micuerunt crebra sereno,
Et varias ignis tenso dedil aëre formas;

Nunc jaculum longo, nnuc sparso lumine lampas
Emicuit cœlo.

The northern lights which appeared in London in 1560 were denominated burning spears.

Like yours may my arm in the conflict be strong,
Like yours may my name be recorded in song,
And when HILDA and MISTA* my spirit shall bear
The joys of VALHALLA and ODIN to share,

Oh then may you smile on the deeds I have done,
And bend forward with joy to acknowledge your son!"

III.

The sword clatter'd fiercely on helm and on shield, For NORWAY and LOCHLIN had met in the field; The long lances shiver'd, the swift arrows flew, The string shrilly twang'd on the flexible yew; Rejoicing, the VALKYRE strode through the plain, And guided the death-blow, and singled the slain. Long, long did the virgins of LOCHLIN deplore The youths whom their arms should encircle no more, For, strong as the whirlwinds the forest that tear, And strew with its boughs the vast bosom of air, The NORWEYANS bore down with all-conquering force, And havoc and slaughter attended their course. FIOLFAR through danger triumphantly trod, And scatter'd confusion and terror abroad; Majestic as BALDER,† tremendous as THOR, He plung'd in the red-foaming torrent of war: Through the thickest of battle he hasten'd at length Where YRRODORE stood in the pride of his strength: "Turn, traitor!" he cried, "thy destruction is nigh! Thy soul to the regions of HELA‡ shall fly, Where the base and the guilty for ever are toss'd Through NILFHIL's nine worlds of unchangeable frost !" -"Vain boaster! no! never shall YRRODORE yield!"But the sword of FIOLFAR had shatter'd his shield:

* Two of the Valkyræ, or fatal sisters.

The Scandinavian Apollo, the son of Odin. He was the most amiable and beautiful of all the Deities; and drove the chariot of the sun, till, being killed by Hoder through the machinations of Lok, he was compell'd to fix his residence in the palace of Hela, when his office was transferred to Dellinger.

The Goddess of Death. She presided over Nilfhil, or Nistheimr, the hell of the Gothic nations, which was situated in the frozen regions at the north pole. At the south pole was the region of fire, inhabited by Surtur, the enemy of Odin, and his attendant genii and giants, by whom, in the twilight of the Gods, the world is to be consumed.

VOL. III.

3

Indignantly YRRODORE sprung on the foe,

And rear'd his strong arm for a death-dealing blow,
But the monarch of NORWAY impatiently press'd,
And sheath'd the bright steel in his enemy's breast.
Swift flow'd the black blood, and in anguish he breath'd,
Yet he mutter'd these words as expiring he writh'd:
"And deem'st thou, FIOLFAR, the conquest is thine?
No! victory, glory, and vengeance, are mine!
In triumph I die; thou shalt languish in pain:
For ne'er shall NITALPHA delight thee again!
The wakeful DUERGI* the caverns surround,
Where in magical slumbers the maiden is bound;
Those magical slumbers shall last till the day,
When ODIN shall summon thy spirit away:
Then, then shall she wake to remembrance and pain,
To seek her FIOLFAR, and seek him in vain,
Long years of unvarying sorrow to prove,
And weep and lament on the grave of her love!".
He said, and his guilt-blacken'd spirit went forth,
And rush'd to the caves of the uttermost north;
Still destin'd to roam through the frost-cover'd plain,
Where HELA has fix'd her inflexible reign,
Till the day when existence and nature shall end,
When the last fatal TWILIGHT on earth shall descend,
When FENRIS and Lok, by all beings accurst,
Their long-galling chains shall indignantly burst,
When the trump of HEIMDALLER the signal shall peal
Of the evils CREATION is destin'd to feel,

And SURTUR shall scatter his ruin-fraught fire,
And earth, air, and ocean, burn, sink, and expire!

IV.

Now dreary and dark was the field of the dead, For NORWAY had conquer'd, and LOCHLIN had fled : The hoarse raven croak'd from the blood-streaming ground, Where the dead and the dying lay mingled around:

The warriors of NORWAY were sunk in repose,

And rush'd, in idea, again on their foes;

Yet lonely and sad did FIOLFAR remain

Where the monarch of LOCHLIN had fall'n on the plain;

* Dwarfs.

In the silence of sorrow he lean'd on his spear,
For YRRODORE's words echoed still in his ear:
When sudden, through twilight, again he descried
The sable-clad form standing tall by his side:
"Behold me, Fiolfar: my promise I keep :
NITALPHA is fetter'd in magical sleep:

Yet I to thy arms can the maiden restore,

And passion and vengeance shall harm her no more.
The monarch of LOCHLIN, enrag'd at her scorn,
Confin'd her in DEURANIL'S caverns forlorn,
Nor dar'd he endeavour, though deeply he sigh'd,
By force to obtain what affection denied."-
"Strange being! what art thou? thy nature declare."-
"The name of NERIMNHER from mortals I bear:
'Mid desolate rocks, in a time-hollow'd cell,
At distance from man and his vices I dwell;
But, obedient to ODIN, I haste from the shade,
When virtue afflicted solicits my aid;

For the mystical art to my knowledge is giv'n,

That can check the pale moon as she rolls through the heav'n,

Can strike the dark dwellers of NILFHIL with dread,

And breathe the wild verse that awakens the dead.

My voice can the spells of thy rival destroy :
Then follow, FIOLFAR, I lead thee to joy !"-
As flow'd the deep accents mysterious and stern,
FIOLFAR felt hope to his bosom return;

He follow'd the stranger by vale and by flood,
Till they pierc'd the recesses of DEURANIL'S Wood:
Through untrodden thickets of ash and of yew,
Whose close-twining boughs shut the sky from their view,
Slow-toiling they wound, till before them arose
The black-yawning caves of NITALPHA's repose.
A blue-burning vapour shone dim through the gloom,
And roll'd its thin curls round a rude-fashion'd tomb,
Where the weary DUERGI, by magic constrain'd,
With eyes never closing, their station maintain'd.
Loud shouting they rose when the strangers advanc'd,
But fear glaz'd their eyes, and they paus'd as entranc'd,
While the mighty NERIMNHER, in fate-favour'd hour,
Thus breath'd the strong spell that extinguish'd their pow'r:
"By the hall of VALHALLA, where heroes repose,
And drink beer and mead from the skulls of their foes;

By the virtues of FREYER,* and valour of THOR ;
By the twelve giant-sisters, the rulers of war;
By the unreveal'd accents, in secret express'd,
Of old by VALFANDER to BALDER address'd;
By the ills which the guilty and dastardly share;
By HELA's dominions of pain and despair;
By SURTU'S wide regions of death-spreading fire;
Hence, children of evil! DUERGI, retire !"—

The DUERGI with yells made the cavern resound,
As, reluctantly yielding, they sunk through the ground;
And the youth felt his breast with anxiety swell,
While thus the magician concluded the spell:

"Fair maid, whom the tomb's dreary confines surround, Whom the dark, iron slumber of magic has bound, Let life and delight re-illumine thine eyes,

Arise, star of beauty! NITALPHA, arise!"

The vapour-flame died in a bright-beaming flash;

The tomb burst in twain with an earth-shaking crash ;
All wonder, NITALPHA arose in her charms,
She knew her FIOLFAR, she flew to his arms,
And he found ev'ry shadow of sorrow depart,

As he clasp'd the dear maiden again to his heart.

L

HENRIETTE.

[Published in 1806.]

OUD and long the church-bells ringing
Spread their signals on the air;
Tow'rds his ELLEN lightly springing,
Faithless EDWARD hastens there.

Can he dare to wed another?

Can he all his vows forget?

Can he truth and conscience smother,
And desert his HENRIETTE?

Pale remorse my steps attending,
Whither can I hope to fly?

When shall all my woes have ending?
Never, never, till I die!

* The son of Niord.