





Transcribed from the 1913 Jarrold and Sons edition by David Price, email
ccx074@pglaf.org





ROMANTIC BALLADS,
TRANSLATED FROM THE DANISH;
AND
MISCELLANEOUS PIECES;


BY

GEORGE BORROW.

* * * * *

   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 Oehlenslaeger

Fridleif and Helga.  From the Danish of Oehlenslaeger

Sir Middel.  From the Old Danish

Elvir-shades.  From the Danish of Oehlenslaeger

The Heddybee-spectre.  From the Old Danish

Sir John.  From the Old Danish

May Asda.  From the Danish of Oehlenslaeger

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 Gaelic

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 Oehlenslaeger

The Violet-gatherer.  From the Danish of Oehlenslaeger

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


{i:S. Wilkin 1826 title page: tp1.jpg}




The London (John Taylor) Title Page.
300 copies including those bearing the imprint of
Wightman & Cramp.


{i:John Taylor 1826 title page: tp2.jpg}




PREFACE


The ballads in this volume are translated from the Works of OEHLENSLAEGER,
(a poet who is yet living, and who stands high in the estimation of his
countrymen,) and from the KIAEMPE 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
KIAEMPE 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 Gaelic, formerly the language of
the western world; the noble tongue

   "A labhair Padric' nninse Fail na Riogh.
   'San faighe caomhsin Colum naomhta' n I."

   Which Patrick spoke in Innisfail, to heathen chiefs of old
   Which Columb, the mild prophet-saint, spoke in his island-hold--

but I have retained them, with one exception, till I possess a sufficient
quantity to form an entire volume.




FROM ALLAN CUNNINGHAM,
TO GEORGE BORROW,


_On his proposing to translate the_ '_Kiaepe Viser_.'

Sing, sing, my friend; breathe life again
Through Norway's song and Denmark's strain:
On flowing Thames and Forth, in flood,
Pour Haco's war-song, fierce and rude.
O'er England's strength, through Scotland's cold,
His warrior minstrels marched of old--
Called on the wolf and bird of prey
To feast on Ireland's shore and bay;
And France, thy forward knights and bold,
Rough Rollo's ravens croaked them cold.
Sing, sing of earth and ocean's lords,
Their songs as conquering as their swords;
Strains, steeped in many a strange belief,
Now stern as steel, now soft as grief--
Wild, witching, warlike, brief, sublime,
Stamped with the image of their time;
When chafed--the call is sharp and high
For carnage, as the eagles cry;
When pleased--the mood is meek, and mild,
And gentle, as an unweaned child.
Sing, sing of haunted shores and shelves,
St. Oluf and his spiteful elves,
Of that wise dame, in true love need,
Who of the clear stream formed the steed--
How youthful Svend, in sorrow sharp,
The inspired strings rent from his harp;
And Sivard, in his cloak of felt,
Danced with the green oak at his belt--
Or sing the Sorceress of the wood,
The amorous Merman of the flood--
Or elves that, o'er the unfathomed stream,
Sport thick as motes in morning beam--
Or bid me sail from Iceland Isle,
With Rosmer and fair Ellenlyle,
What time the blood-crow's flight was south,
Bearing a man's leg in its mouth.
Though rough and rude, those strains are rife
Of things kin to immortal life,
Which touch the heart and tinge the cheek,
As deeply as divinest Greek.
In simple words and unsought rhyme,
Give me the songs of olden time.




THE DEATH-RAVEN.
FROM THE DANISH OF OEHLENSLAEGER.


The silken sail, which caught the summer breeze,
Drove the light vessel through the azure seas;
Upon the lofty deck, Dame Sigrid lay,
And watch'd the setting of the orb of day:
Then, all at once, the smiling sky grew dark,
The breakers rav'd, and sinking seem'd the bark;
The wild Death-raven, perch'd upon the mast,
Scream'd'mid the tumult, and awoke the blast.

Dame Sigrid saw the demon bird on high,
And tear-drops started in her beauteous eye;
Her cheeks, which late like blushing roses bloom'd,
Had now the pallid hue of fear assum'd:
"O wild death-raven, calm thy frightful rage,
Nor war with one who warfare cannot wage.
Tame yonder billows, make them cease to roar,
And I will give thee pounds of golden ore."

"With gold thou must not hope to pay the brave,
For gold I will not calm a single wave,
For gold I will not hush the stormy air,
And yet my heart is mov'd by thy despair;
Give me the treasure hid beneath thy belt,
And straight yon clouds in harmless rain shall melt,
And down I'll thunder, with my claws of steel.
Upon the merman clinging to your keel."

"What I conceal'd beneath my girdle bear,
Is thine--irrevocably thine--I swear.
Thou hast refus'd a great and noble prey,
To get possession of my closet key.
Lo! here it is, and, when within thy maw,
May'st thou much comfort from the morsel draw!"
The polish'd steel upon the deck she cast,
And off the raven flutter'd from the mast.

Then down at once he plung'd amid the main,
And clove the merman's frightful head in twain;
The foam-clad billows to repose he brought,
And tam'd the tempest with the speed of thought;
Then, with a thrice-repeated demon cry,
He soar'd aloft and vanish'd in the sky:
A soft wind blew the ship towards the land,
And soon Dame Sigrid reach'd the wish'd-for strand.

Once, late at eve, she play'd upon her harp,
Close by the lake where slowly swam the carp;
And, as the moon-beam down upon her shone,
She thought of Norway, and its pine-woods lone.
"Yet love I Denmark," said she, "and the Danes,
For o'er them Alf, my mighty husband, reigns."
Then 'neath her girdle something mov'd and yearn'd,
And into terror all her bliss was turn'd.

"Ah! now I know thy meaning, cruel bird... "
Long sat she, then, and neither spoke nor stirr'd.
Faint, through the mist which rob'd the sky in gray,
The pale stars glimmer'd from the milky way.
"Ah! now I know thy meaning, cruel bird... "
She strove in vain to breathe another word.
Above her head, its leaf the aspen shook--
Moist as her cheek, and pallid as her look.

Full five months pass'd, ere she,'mid night and gloom,
Brought forth with pain an infant from her womb:
They baptiz'd it, at midnight's murky hour,
Lest it should fall within the demon's power.
It was a boy, more lovely than the morn,
Yet Sigrid's heart with bitter care was torn.
Deep in a grot, through which a brook did flow,
With crystal drops they sprinkled Harrald's brow.

He grew and grew, till upon Danish ground
No youth to match the stripling could be found;
He was at once so graceful and so strong--
His look was fire, and his speech was song.
When yet a child, he tam'd the battle steed,
And only thought of war and daring deed;
But yet Queen Sigrid nurs'd prophetic fears,
And when she view'd him, always swam in tears.

One evening late, she lay upon her bed,
(King Alf, her noble spouse, was long since dead)
She felt so languid, and her aching breast
With more than usual sorrow was oppress'd.
Ah, then she heard a sudden sound that thrill'd
Her every nerve, and life's warm current chill'd:--
The bird of death had through the casement flown,
And thus he scream'd to her, in frightful tone:

"The wealthy bird came towering,
Came scowering,
O'er hill and stream.
'Look here, look here, thou needy bird,
How gay my feathers gleam.'

"The needy bird came fluttering,
Came muttering,
And sadly sang,
'Look here, look here, thou wealthy bird,
How loose my feathers hang.'

"Remember, Queen, the stormy day,
When cast away
Thou wast so nigh:--
Thou wast the needy bird that day,
And unto me didst cry.

"Death-raven now comes towering,
Comes scowering,
O'er hill and stream;
But when wilt thou, Dame Sigrid fair,
Thy plighted word redeem."

A hollow moan from Sigrid's bosom came,
While he survey'd her with his eye of flame:
"Fly," said she; "demon monster, get thee hence!
My humble pray'r shall be my son's defence."
She cross'd herself, and then the fiend flew out;
But first, contemptuously he danc'd about,
And sang, "No pray'r shall save him from my rage;
In Christian blood my thirst I will assuage."

Young Harrald seiz'd his scarlet cap, and cried,
"I'll probe the grief my mother fain would hide;"
Then, rushing into her apartment fair,
"O mother," said he, "wherefore sitt'st thou there,
Far from thy family at dead of night,
With lips so mute, and cheeks so ghastly white?
Tell me what lies so heavy at thy heart;
Grief, when confided, loses half its smart."

"O Harrald," sigh'd she, yielding to his pray'r,
"Creatures are swarming in the earth and air,
Who, wild with wickedness, and hot with wrath,
Wage war on those who follow virtue's path.
One of those fiends is on the watch for thee,
Arm'd with a promise wrung by him from me:
His blood-shot eyes in narrow sockets roll,
And every night he leaves his mirksome hole.

"He was a kind of God, in former days;
Kings worshipp'd him, and minstrels sang his praise;
But when Christ's doctrine through the dark North flam'd,
His, and all evil spirits' might was tam'd.
He now is but a raven; yet is still
Full strong enough to work on thee his will:
Lost is the wretch who in his power falls--
Vainly he shrieks, in vain for mercy calls."

She whisper'd to him then, with bloodless lip,
What had befallen her on board the ship;
But youthful Harrald listen'd undismay'd,
And merely gripp'd the handle of his blade.
"My son," she murmur'd, when her tale was told,
"Fear withers me, but thou look'st blythe and bold."
The youth uplifted then his sparkling eye,
And said, whilst gazing on the moon-lit sky,

"Once, my dear mother, at the close of day,
Among tall flowers in the grove I lay,
Soft sang the linnets from a thousand trees,
And, sweetly lull'd, I slumber'd by degrees.
Then, heaven's curtain was, methought, undrawn,
And, clad in hues that deck the brow of morn,
An angel slowly sank towards the earth,
Which seem'd to hail him with a smile of mirth.

"He rais'd his hand, and bade me fix my eye
Upon a chain which, hanging from the sky,
Embrac'd the world; and, stretching high and low,
Clink'd, as it mov'd, the notes of joy and wo:
The links that came in sight were purpled o'er
Full frequently with what seem'd human gore;
Of various metals made, it clasp'd the mould,--
Steel clung to silver, iron clung to gold.

"Then said the angel, with majestic air,--
'The chain of destiny thou seest there.
Accept whate'er it gives, and murmur not;
For hard necessity has cast each lot.'
He vanish'd--I awoke with sudden start,
But that strange dream was graven on my heart.
I go wherever fate shall please to call,--
Without God's leave, no fly to earth can fall."

It thunders--and from midnight's mirky cloud,
Comes peal on peal reverberating loud:
The froth-clad breakers cast, with sullen roar,
A Scottish bark upon the whiten'd shore.
Straight to the royal palace hasten then
A lovely maid and thirty sea-worn men.
Minona, Scotland's princess, Scotland's boast,
The storm has driven to the Danish coast.

Oft, while the train hew timber in the groves,
Minona, arm in arm, with Harrald roves.
Warm from his lip the words of passion flow;
Pure in her eyes the flames of passion glow.
One summer eve, upon a mossy bank,
Mouth join'd to mouth, and breast to breast, they sank:
The moon arose in haste to see their love,
And wild birds carroll'd from the boughs above.

But now the ship, which seem'd of late a wreck,
Floats with a mast set proudly on her deck.
Minona kisses Harrald's blooming face,
Whilst he attends her to the parting place.
His bold young heart beats high against his side--
She sail'd away--and, like one petrified,
Full long he stood upon the shore, to view
The smooth keel slipping through the waters blue.

Months pass, and Sigrid's sorrow disappears;
The wild death-raven's might no more she fears;
A gentle red bedecks her cheek again,
And briny drops her eye no longer stain.
"My Harrald stalks in manly size and strength;
Swart bird of darkness, I rejoice at length;
If thy curst claw could hurt my gallant son,
Long, long, ere this, the deed would have been done."

But Harrald look'd so moody and forlorn,
And thus his mother he address'd one morn:
"Minona's face is equall'd by her mind;
Methinks she calls me from her hills of wind?
Give me a ship with men and gold at need,
And let me to her father's kingdom speed;
I'll soon return, and back across the tide
Bring thee a daughter, and myself a bride."

Dame Sigrid promis'd him an answer soon,
And went that night, when risen was the moon,
Deep through the black recesses of the wood,
To where old Bruno's shelter'd cabin stood.
She enter'd--there he sat behind his board,
His woollen vestment girded by a cord;
The little lamp, which hung from overhead,
Gleam'd on the Bible-leaves before him spread.

"Hail to thee, Father!--man of hoary age,
Thy Queen demands from thee thy counsel sage.
Young Harrald to a distant land will go,
And I his destiny would gladly know:
Thou read'st the stars,--O do the stars portend
That he shall come to an untimely end?
Take from his mother's heart this one last care,
And she will always name thee in her pray'r."

The hermit, rising from his lonely nook,
With naked head, and coldly placid look,
Went out and gaz'd intently on the sky,
Whose lights were letters to his ancient eye.
"The stars," said he, "in friendly order stand,
One only, flashes like an angry brand:--
Thy Harrald, gentle Queen, will not be slain
Upon the _Earth_, nor yet upon the _Main_."

While thus the seer prophetically spoke,
A flush of joy o'er Sigrid's features broke:
"He'll not be slain