The Sun.
London, England, 1863-05-13 00:00:00

IME SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENiNG, MAY 13, 186.3.

Western

,e Society.

:GENCE.

LI

----

RE.

Gudrun, A Story of the North Sea. From the
Medimval German. 1 Vol. Edmonston and
Douglas.
There is a species of literature which is somewhat
akin to those fossil remains of the man moth and
the mastodon and other similar relics of the past,
which endure to the amazement of the present time
to attest that there were "giants in those days." Of
such is the Gudrunlied (from which this volume is
derived) and the famous Nibelungenlied of the
Germans ; the marvellous Saga of the Norse,
rendered familiar to us by Mary Howitt I the loves
of Bragela, and the exploits of Fingal, as preserved
in the shadowy numbers of Ossian, and some
others. We are wrong, however, in comparing
these literary relics to fossil remains, for the latter
consist merely of dried bones from which all life has
long since departed, while the traditionary poems
of ancient days on the of her hand, fragmentary and
confused as they appear, preserve, if they preserve
anything—the spirit and fire of their ancient
vitality. They are ghosts rather than corpses.
Thry are best described by that happy definition
of Echo—
" The vocal soul that lingers to the last,
Where Echo's step of yore in substance passed."
In this class of literature, the story of Gudrun, the
daughter of Heel, a mighty king on the shores of
Friesland, and his imperious queen Hilda, daughter
of Wild Hagen, king of Ireland. Gadrun, the
tender and devoted bride of Herwig, is ranked by
critics as second only to the Nibelungenlied. Frag-
ments only of the original poem remain, and of
those fragments part are considered spurious. The
translator of this volume has d emed it best to pre-
sent to English readers a continuous prose narrative
of the fortunes of Gudrun. And a very interesting
narrative it is, recounting the perilous adventures
of that peerless maiden, who is a worthy embodi
ment of the noble virtues of her race. Full of inte
rest also is the very ably written introduction
which narrates all that is known of the origin o,
the old world famous legends and romances
Speaking of the family resemblance of the ancient
ballads of different lands, the writer happily ob-
serves—

Cast into shape at first by a single mind, they soon be-
,me, from the interest of the subject, the property of all
he Northern races, and are met with in lands widely sun-
dered. Borne by means as manifwld and imperceptible as
those by which thistle-seeds are wafted, they reached the
moors of Scotland, the bleak coasts of Orkney, the dark
forests of Germany, the green valleys of Ireland. The
highland grandame taught them to the boy et her knee ;
the peasants of the IYmube repeated them in their huts;
the Icelandic mother sang them to her babe while ,he
northern lights gleamed across the sky, and the ice-floes
thundered on the shore. Ilarshmayseem the syllables, rude
may be the theme, but these wild lays, shouted out with a
forcible enunciation of the consonants impossible to our
vocal organs, and emphasized by bellowing into the holluw
of the shield, claim our reverence as the first poetic efforts
of the race; in them lies the germ of those exquisite crea-
tions which have given us 'nobler loves and nobler cares,'
the most precious heritage which the centuries have
gathered for our favoured time."
A. little later on, alluding to the fervour of the
middle ages, we find the following forcible descrip-
tion of the building of those great cathedrals of
former days erected by our forefathers, not "for
an age, but for all time":—
"To dec..ribe the natureof the sudden religious awakening
which accompanied the first crusade would bo a difficult
task; the great cathedrals of the age are the best witnesses
that real strength and depth of religious feeling animated a
large portion of the men of that time. Each worked
vigorously in his degree. The builder piled the mighty
stones ; the poet tabou-ed with his pen ; the warriorowl dared
the the perils of the sea, the rage of the Saracen.
by year, generation after generation, arose tit
structures which look down upon the
calmness
and gran-
modern facility with an unattainable
the buders but their
deur. Truly has the poet said thatteean yoSsewgettlyOrsiouosf
What
lives into the stones. d
aDovegn rdepgrayoi mustnt edho atv
hve eer
hhaa:nrdo
ll tirelessao dtracery,
ahandseery,
animated the souls of those
eda
withPtAw a?
ni:kykwe
skilful
uhr cw
the
majestic columhp.ea.ntyhddeyseeotfianinrineudgsbtrdyorpf,oat the
shaped the
o.emn gloom with hues
their task, who.
arch, and raised
ael onvfdet
rytyr towers.acfeorni er oa
fn
the d beautifiedht
o ved
iganhdtedontyll: 8-
1
d
leave the grea
wheremrhheosbauyisld—sa church to God and not to fame,
l
e
his name."
To
of
emerald,
eallVma unselfish
dvtsdeewl Brij ifiaoympr:kphaahruneksi drnpefitl.ihareii strohjet:ltirhillaePwP with
In external appearance "
attractive—printed on udrun" is singularly
it is furthermore paper of unusual thickness,
adorned w
and medimval illustrationeith quaint typography

The Shilling 'Volume Library Matilda n
the Dane.
By C. J. Collins. Ward and Lock.
Very truthfully, it would appear, has the Poor
Laureate exclaimed, in his address to the fair
Princess of Wales--
"Norman, and Saxon, and Dane are we!
Ire are all Dane in our welcome of thee !

for the Danish element is just now peAcluelsiaanrdlyraplr"omi-
neut in the liter..tore of the day. After turning over
PageB of " Ciddrun," a partially Scandinavian
romance, the next volume that comes to our hand
is entitled, "Matilda the Dane," and is dedicated to
the Princess of Wales. Matilda the Dane is. how-
ever, a misnomer, the lair heroine of the volume

A Simple TVoman. By the Author of " Nut. b, o
Maids'' 1 vol. Smith and .E;ut r,
A simple story cf a simple woman, very simply,
and naturally, and beautifully told. The adjt-ctive,
is this ins'ance, of course implying the existence
of all true feminine cpulifications, without art, or
artifice, or affectation. We all remember the pert.
tribute to such womanly simplicity, when Tenny-
son'e "Princess," casting aside " her falser sell,"
remains simply "woman,"—
"Lovelier in that guise
Than in her mould that other when she rose
From purple deeps to conquer all with love,"
Mary Shenstone, however, has no falser self to cost
aside. She is throughout her history natural, and
genuine, and truthful. At first a frank, articss•
Simple Girl,and thee a tender,loviug, Simple Woman.
An orphan, educated under the tender care of a
sailor-uncle and a dear Aunt Fair—a simple loving
woman herself—Mary Shenstone arrives, at the
commencement of the story, on a visit to the
Brookes', of Buckley, her mother's family. That
proud and wealthy household is under a blight.
Harry Brooke, the master of all, is an old
man, rigid with paralysis, and a prisoner in
his room. The household is governed by the
widow of his son, a very haughty and
obnoxious individual, generally feared and
very generally detested. Her three daughters,
Vie, and Arbell, and Chor, or Octavia, Arabelle, and
Charlotte, have in their various ways the faults and
follies likely to characterise the daughters of such a
mother. The redeeming member of the family is
Ralph Brooke, the reputed heir. Ralph
the constant visitor of the old grandt,thee,
gloomy chamber, where the ts:',:,od qualities
of the young man are chtrmingly manifested
—gentle qualities the more attractive in one who
inherits the pride and self-will of a haughty
and imperious race. We will not spoil the interest
of the story beyond hinting that the plot turns upon
a will made by the old squire in a fit of passion,
just before his seizure (and unknown to all the
family), in which his son is disinherited and hi.
daughter Mary, the mother of MaaryetS,thteani:
tne
degree, is
made his heiress. This incident, in
resembh s the main incident of Mrs. Oliphant's
capital story of " Zaide3 ;" but the resemblance is
immaterial to the interest of either story, as both
are in other respects quite dissimilar. The little
struggle in Mary's heart when, loving Ralph, she
discovers that she is to rob him of his inheritance,
is charmingly told. Like a " Simple" Woman, as
she is, Mary shrinks painfully from the idea of be-
coming the '' benefactress" of her lover—" his bene-
factress I Ralph was her king. She would never
depose him from his throne," The scene in the old
man's death-chamber-e-when his senses are partially
restored, when the timid, neglected granddaughter
stands forth before the startled family (including the
astounded Mrs. Brooke), and strong in the power of
her simple love gives a meaning to the anxious
incoherent articulations, and a life and vigour to
the eager but almost impotent hand—is described
with singular skill and dramatic force. "The Simple
Woman," if we mistake not, will find favour with
many readers,

hf•itif.; nn Erig iist'• Pr i ?he hiNter 01 G
of England, and the pouscrt of Chziestiar,, VII. I
of
tn-rk. Tho story, with
tact, it; very extravagant in i!a details o
,find
ephemera! in its character.

lencler four,ri

ua of

Willman Tales of the Borders. New Edition.
Vol. 1. Ward acid Lock.
We are glad to find that these popular storks
are now to be issued in shilling volumes, the first
of which has just made its appearance. Like the
Last Minstrel of Walter Scott—
" The last of all the Bards Was he
Wha sung of Border Chivalry."
I'he name of John Mackay Wilson is identified
the records of Border chivalry and ram
ance. In
with
the households of the past generation these tales
were familiar friends, and now, by the happy
advent of this new edition, they are placed within
reach of the rising generation, and %N ill, Nye doubt
not, achieve a new and deserved aucceas,

Agnes of Sorrento. By Mrs, Beccher St, Jwc,.
New Edition. Smith and Elder,
girtidd authoress
This interesting story, from the
of "Uncle Tom's Cabin," originally
appeared in
the pages of the Corn/till Magazine. It is now
issued in a separate form, and will be welcome
to many readers. The pure and gentle Agnes ,
and the Painter-monk, her uncle, are very attrac-
tive portraits, and afford a new evidence of the
diversified power of the mind that imagined, and.
of the hand that delineated., Uncle Tom and TorAy,

Tc4!eau from Geology. Sonnets, Stanzas, Sketches,
and other Poeme. By Matthew Brydie. Hard-
wicke.
A metrical version of the creation of the world
would required the inspiration of a Milton at the
very least. It is not surprising, therefore, that Mr.
Brydie has proved num.:al to the very ambitious
task he has undertPken. Of the minor poems,
those on " Infancy" and " Childhood" aro among
the happiest.

Autobiography of Lutfullah, a Mahornedan Gentle-
man. Edited by E. B. Eastwick, F.R.S.,F.S.A.
New Edition. Smith and Elder.
Many more than those already acquainted with
it will be interested in this work as a mere lite-
rary curiosity, it being the composition of a na-
tive Mahomedan. On a re-examination it will be
found useful, also, as conveying the opinions of
" one of themselves," on the habits, customs, and
characters of the Hindostanese.

The Procession of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales,
and the Princess Alexandra of Denmark front
Eton to Windsor. Published by W. F. Taylor,
High-street, Windsor.
On the festive occasion of the Royal wedding,
when the whole United Kingdom participated in
one common re lowing, the old town of Windsor was,
of course, conspicuous in the manifestations of its
loyal affection. " The Royal town of Windsor," says
the letter-press accompanying this bridal panorama,
" decked itself out in the gayest of holiday attire;
the damage which bad been caused by the wind and
heavy rains had been fully repaired; festoons gar-
landed the town ; flags multiplied immensely ;
words of greeting to welcome the coming and speed
the palling guest abounded on every hand; fair
hands were busily employed in giving some finishing
touch to window decorations; gladness and gaiety
.ppeared everywhere: and all seemed merry as the
marriage bells that ushered in the early morning,
Within the enclosure formed by the iron gates and
George IV.'s gate, rows of covered seats were here
erected, and these were crowded with all the
charms and attractions that beauty, wealth, and
fashion command. The bonnets and dresses of
the ladies were light and elegant, almost bridal in
their character,and a ith scarcely an exception every
person wore a wedding favour." The letter-press
refers to the day of the wedding, March 10, while
the picture represents the arrival of the Princess,
March 7. The above description, however, is
equally appropriate to both occasions. The whole
line of procession from Eton to Windsor is faithfully
represented and prettily coloured in an engraving,
which unfolds to the length of at least three yards.
To the good people of Windsor, especially, it will
serve as a suitable memento of a memorable and
happy occasion.