Romantic Ballads, Translated from the Danish; and Miscellaneous Pieces

Excerpt

Through gloomy paths unknown—
   Paths which untrodden be,
From rock to rock I roam
   Along the dashing sea.

BOWRING.

* * * * *

NORWICH:
printed and published by jarrold and sons.
1913

Contents.

Preface

Lines from Allan Cunningham to George Borrow

The Death-raven.  From the Danish of Oehlenslæger

Fridleif and Helga.  From the Danish of Oehlenslæger

Sir Middel.  From the Old Danish

Elvir-shades.  From the Danish of Oehlenslæger

The Heddybee-spectre.  From the Old Danish

Sir John.  From the Old Danish

May Asda.  From the Danish of Oehlenslæger

Aager and Eliza.  From the Old Danish

Saint Oluf.  From the Old Danish

The Heroes of Dovrefeld.  From the Old Danish

Svend Vonved.  From the Old Danish

The Tournament.  From the Old Danish

Vidrik Verlandson.  From the Old Danish

Elvir Hill.  From the Old Danish

Waldemar’s Chase

The Merman.  From the Old Danish

The Deceived Merman.  From the Old Danish

Miscellanies.

Cantata

The Hail-storm.  From the Norse

The Elder-witch

Ode.  From the Gælic

Bear song.  From the Danish of Evald

National song.  From the Danish of Evald

The Old Oak

Lines to Six-foot Three

Nature’s Temperaments.  From the Danish of Oehlenslæger

The Violet-gatherer.  From the Danish of Oehlenslæger

Ode to a Mountain-torrent.  From the German of Stolberg

Runic Verses

Thoughts on Death.  From the Swedish of C. Lohman

Birds of Passage.  From the Swedish

The Broken Harp

Scenes

The Suicide’s Grave.  From the German

The Original Title Page.
200 copies by subscription

PREFACE

The ballads in this volume are translated from the Works of Oehlenslæger, (a poet who is yet living, and who stands high in the estimation of his countrymen,) and from the Kiæmpé Viser, a collection of old songs, celebrating the actions of the ancient heroes of Scandinavia.

The old Danish poets were, for the most part, extremely rude in their versification.  Their stanzas of four or two lines have not the full rhyme of vowel and consonant, but merely what the Spaniards call the “assonante,” or vowel rhyme, and attention seldom seems to have been paid to the number of feet on which the lines moved along.  But, however defective their poetry may be in point of harmony of numbers, it describes, in vivid and barbaric language, scenes of barbaric grandeur, which in these days are never witnessed; and, which, though the modern muse may imagine, she generally fails in attempting to pourtray, from the violent desire to be smooth and tuneful, forgetting that smoothness and tunefulness are nearly synonymous with tameness and unmeaningness.

I expect shortly to lay before the public a complete translation of the Kiæmpé Viser, made by me some years ago; and of which, I hope, the specimens here produced will not give an unfavourable idea.

It was originally my intention to publish, among the “Miscellaneous Pieces,” several translations from the Gælic, formerly the language of the western world; the noble tongue

“A labhair Padric’ nninse Fail na Riogh....