situation, fulfilling its duties with signal ability, and maintaining an honourable and enviable position amongst a large circle of friends and admirers. This happy restoration quickly restored to Julia her olden spirits and beauty, and not a very long time elapsed before she and Kendal were united amidst general felicitations and pleasant prophecies. Thanks to Sarah, all the perpetrators of the above outrages were arrested, and suffered condign punishment. As for Hiram, his wrongsh' were now multiplied a thousandfold. He was robbed of his money, his jewels, his merchandise, his dogs. In bitterness of soul, he returned to Pedler's Rest, a really broken-down man; and there, shortly after, ended his days, a furious misanthrope. Ere he came to this sad end, however, Mr Kendal contrived to do many a kind thing for him; and would have made amends to the utmost of his power to the unfortunate Jew, if he had lived, for the miseries he had been, in some measure, instrumental in bringing upon him. Sarah was never seen in these parts more. She dared not stay after what had happened. Whither she went, or what became of her, is not known. ANY of our readers must have heard of this singular old poem; but we may safely presume that few have any distinct understanding of its purport. We therefore propose to give a concise summary of its contents, with a few remarks on its most interesting features. First, we may explain the German title of the poem, Nibelungen-Lied: Lied signifies a song or ballad, and Nibelungen is the name of an ancient royal race, of whom we learn little more than that they possessed in their fortresses immense treasures of gold and jewels. The connected poem, as we have it now in one of the old dialects of the German language, was produced in the middle 1 of the twelfth, or very early in the thirteenth century. One of the manuscripts may be dated about 1210, or at the time when Magna Charta was signed by King John; but there can be no doubt that the poem, as then written, was founded partly on heroic ballads current among the German people even from the time of the fifth century, or when Attila and the Huns overran Europe. There must, therefore, be a great interest in the study of this old poem, which affords some of the few glimpses left of the manners and customs of the ancient German tribes. Their old ballads, of which we find here some specimens, contained the primitive words of the German and English languages, which have now spread themselves over so great a part of the civilised world. The same root-words which we find in these ballads are now spoken, in varied forms, from the boundaries of Austria to the western shores of North America. Wherever we find these roots, such as God, man, day, night, earth, water, heaven, bread, house, father, mother-indeed, nearly all the short words in English-we may be sure that the several nations by whom they are spoken are united by blood, however divided geographically or politically. Thus we find a bond uniting all Germany, though now divided into so many states, with England, Scotland, North America, and Australia. That old race which once expressed its strength in such heroes as we find described in these ballads, has, since then, produced nearly all the great heroes of modern civilisation, and is now rapidly spreading itself over the whole world. The English language, which is chiefly composed of German and Latin, 'seems destined,' as Jacob Grimm says, 'to prevail in every corner of the earth;' and whence has it derived its force, conciseness, and clearness?— from the old vocabulary which we find employed in the NibelungenLied. These remarks will be sufficient here to indicate the importance of the poem in connection with the study of language. It may be regarded as belonging to English as well as to German literature. But apart from this point of view, it has attractions for us in the glimpses it affords of the morals and customs of old times. We must not expect to find in it any particular events of history faithfully narrated; but there are certain broad_and_general features, on the truth of which we may depend. The characteristics of the German tribes during the period of their migrations, or from the third to the fifth century, are clearly indicated. The notices given of their love of battle, hospitality, feudal loyalty, and modes of life, agree with all we have learned from other sources. On some of these points we may speak in the sequel; but, first, we will give an outline of the story, translating a few passages into verse having some resemblance to the simplicity of the original. We omit many long details of battles, singlecombats, and travels; but the reader will find in our brief sketch a faithful account of the plot and action of the whole poem. The first characters introduced to our notice are Kriemhild the Princess of Burgundy, and Siegfried the Dragon-slayer. 1. SIEGFRIED THE DRAGON-SLAYER GOES TO BURGUNDY. In Burgundy there flourished a maiden wondrous fairIn all the regions far around none could with her compare; And Kriemhild was the name of this most beauteous maid, For whose sake many warriors bold in bloody graves were laid. Now, Kriemhild had been warned in a dream, that if she ever married, her husband would meet with a violent and untimely death; she, therefore, had determined to pass her life in seclusion, under the protection of her mother the Queen-dowager Utè, and three brothers-Gunther, Gernót, and Geiselher-the Princes of Burgundy. The residence of this royal family was the castle of Worms, on the Rhine. There also lived, in the old times, at Santen, a castle on the Rhine, in the Netherlands, a prince of wonderful prowess, named Siegfried, the son of Siegmund and Siegelind : The glory of his prowess was spread through many a land, And many were the wonders of his strong and daring hand. Before he came to manhood his fame was widely spread, And his sword had won renown for him in many deeds of dread; But to tell of all his honours would fill too long a rhyme, So we pass them by in silence for the shortness of our time. One feat, however, must be mentioned: he had slain a vast dragon, and by bathing in its blood, had become invulnerable, excepting in one little spot between the shoulders, where a leaf happened to fall at the time when he was passing through this strange process. This young hero had heard of the beauty of Kriemhild the Princess of Burgundy, and determined, against all the warnings of his parents, to make an expedition to Worms, and there win the hand of the fair lady. In vain the father spoke of the dangerous rivals his son might find at the court of Burgundy. Siegfried declares, that rather than be contradicted in his purpose, he will make war against all Burgundy. Thus to his father, Siegmund, the hero Siegfried says: "Without the love of woman will I spend my lonely days, If I am not free to choose the maiden whom I love'— So Siegfried said: No counsel could his resolution move. Then if it must be so,' said Siegmund the king, 'I'll help you as I may, my son, but 'tis a dangerous thing; For Gunther at his court, where you will a-wooing go, Has many mighty warriors who will plan your overthrow? Accordingly, suitable preparations were made; and taking with 1 rowiu amid pozi adt repabin. I, ligur hum a company of twelve knights, the Dragon-slayer, boldly started on this new adventure yet unni bar,bisuf- & nom King Siegmund and the queen gave the warrior leave to go 1 · As they said Farewell' in sorrow, thus he comforted their wol: Nay, do not weep, good father, and dear mother, too, for me My life is safe; from bitter care let both your hearts be free When he arrives at Worms, he is at once recognised by Hagen, the terrible champion of Burgundy, and one of the most stronglymarked characters in this old poem. There is something of the chivalry of the middle ages in the other characters; but this Hagen is the genuine old Goth-fearless, faithful, inflexible in purpose, and ever ready for battle. As soon as he has caught a glance of the young hero, he says: Though I have never seen him before, this, I am sure, must be the Dragon-slayer, the man who con quered the land of the Nibelungen, and carried away the treasures of gold and jewels!' Impaed Siegfried, with his company, was received by the Princes of Burgundy with great hospitality; his departure was delayed from time to time, and, meanwhile, he was entertained with martial games, spectacles, and many adventures. So a year passed away; but during this time he was never allowed to see the Princess Kriemhild. She, however, in her nunlike seclusion, contrived to have some report of all that was passing in the court; and having heard of the arrival and the exploits of the hero, she so far forgot the warning of her dream, as to look frequently from her window upon Siegfried. This is very naturally and pleasantly narrated by the old minstrel : The ladies of King Gunther's court required the hero's name,t. A 0138 SAT And had he known that she whom he carried in his breastol of Was looking from her window, and marked him from the rest Or had he met her eye there, I verily believe He would have been as happy as a man may be and live! T T had but During this visit at Worms, the kings of Saxony and Denmark made war on the possessions of Burgundy, and this afforded to our hero a welcome opportunity of recommending himself still more strongly to King Gunther, the brother of Kriemhild. Into all the details of the battle-broken spears, battered shields and helmets, and crimsoned swords the old poet enters with a cordiality |