mode of constructing the weapon never practised by the Indians, not even with their arrows of thin shell. Parts of the shaft still remain on some of them. When first discovered, the arrows were in a sort of quiver of bark, which fell to pieces when exposed to the air." The more generally received opinion amongst archæologists makes the skeleton to be that of an Indian. The following is the form in which the poem was printed in the Knickerbocker. Page 60. His soul ascends the Hall of Odin; and with the souls of warriors, drinks a skoal or health to the Northland. The Saga ends. In Scandinavia, this is the customary salutation when drinking a health. I have slightly changed the orthography of the word, in order to preserve the correct pronunciation [skaal]. Page 79. Excelsior. [The history of the development of this poem is suggested by the erasures and alterations which an examination of the original manuscript discloses. The first stanza with its erasures is as follows: The shades of night were falling fast When through an Alpine village pass'd through snow and ice bore above all price 'mid A youth who as the peasant sung A banner with the strange device Responded in an unknown tongue, Excelsior! The poet's first attempt was at a contrasted image of the peasant's humble life with its contentment, and the aspiring youth unintelligible to the peasant in the valley. It was too soon to introduce this contrast; he resolved to show the youth only, not speaking, but silently displaying his symbol, precious however to himself. Then the preciousness appeared commonplace or necessarily involved in the very action of the youth, and the poet returned to the idea of a contrast, but this time a contrast of cold, indifferent nature and passionate, spiritual man. What an immense advance in fulness of expression! It is curious, however, that in the second draft, on another paper, also preserved, the poet returned to this idea and tried again, A youth who bore a pearl of price, possibly seeking to connect the image with the Biblical one in order to suggest the interpretation of his parable by linking it with an accepted image of spiritual contempt of the world. There is a slight verbal correction also in 'mid for through, as if the physical difficulty of through ice annoyed him. The second stanza in the first draft reads : his eye beneath His brow was sad; but-underneath Flash'd like a faulchion from its sheath His steel blue eye rung And like a silver clarion sung, The accents of that His sweet voice in an unknown tongue, Excelsior! |