The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-06-29

/
oath with him, nor was / ever too much
friend to his wife. And now if l had been
| forewarned, and had been afoot with my wea-
pons, then should many a man have lost his
life or ever 1 had fallen, and all those brethren
should have been slain, and thardor work
would the Staying of me have been than
the slaying of the mightiest bull or the
mightiest boar of the wildwood And even
therewithal life left the King; but Gudrun
moaned and drew weary breath, and Bryn-
hid heard it, and laughed when she heard her
moaning. Then said Gunnar, Thou laughest
not because thy heartroots are gladded. or
else why doth thy visage wax SO wan I? +
And Gudrun said, My kinsmen have slain
my husband but ye, when we next ride to
the war and are come into the battle, then
shall ye look about, and see that Sigurd is
neither on the right hand nor the left, and ye
shall know that he was your good-hap and
your strength; and G he had lived and had
sons, then should ye have been strengthened
by his offspring and his kim"
How simply and deeply pathetic Bryn-
child, finding life intolerable, "caught up
sword and thrust it beneath her armpits,
praying for a last boon that her body be
burned on one funeral pile with Sigurds;
land then died Brynhild, and was burned
there by the side of Sigurd, and thus their
life-days ended" After time Gudrun was
persuaded to marry King Atli, though full
of evil foreboding. "Thus, then, must it
needs befall, however against the will of me,
and for little Joy shall it be and for great
grief" and so the bridal feast was held:
but never did her heart laugh on
him, and little sweet and kind was their life
together"
Atl covets the hoard of gold won by
Sigurd when he slew the man-dragon, and
now held by Gunnar and his brethren There
fore Atli treacherously invites these to his
realm, and in spite of warnings from Gudrun
and boding dreams of their own wives Gun
mar, Hagli, and other of the best heroes of the
Niblungs-otherwise called Giukings-set
forth by ship, and at last reach King Atlis
burg and hall. Here they are set upon by
host of armed men, but defend themselves
fiercely and skilfully, Staying great numbers.
tiercely, and eagerly they fight, but the
Giukings fell on so hard that King Atli gave
back into the hall, and within doors was the
fight, and fierce beyond all fights. That bat
tie was the death of many man, but such
was the ending thereof that there fell all the
folk of those brethren, and they twain alone
stood up on their feet, and yet many more
must fare to hell first before
their weapons And now they
fell on Gunnar the king, and because
of the host of men that set on him was
hand laid on him, and he was cast into fetters;
afterwards fought Hogni, with the stoutest
heart and the greatest manhood; and he
felled to earth twenty of the stoutest of the
champions of King Atli, and many he thrust
into the fire that burnt amidst the hail. and
all were of one accord that such a man might
scarce be seen; yet in the end was he borne
down by many and taken. Then said King
Atli, "A marvellous thing how many men
have gone their ways before him Gut the
heart from out of him, and let that be his
banen Hogni said, DO acc ording to thy
will; merrily will l abide whatso thou wilt
do against me; and thou shalt see that
my heart is not adrad, for hard matters
have 1 made trial of ere now, and all things
that may try man was fain to bear, whiles
yet was unhurt; but now sorely am 1 hurt,
and thou alone henceforth wilt bear mastery
in our dealings together" Then spake
counsellor of King Atli, Better rede 1 see
thereto; take we the thrall HALL, and give
respite to Hogni; for this thrall is made to
die, since the longer he lives the less worth
shall he be-. The thrall hearkened and cried
out aloft and fled away anywhither where he
might hope for shelter, crying out that hard
portion was his because of their strife and
doings, and an ill day for him whereon he
must be dragged to death from his sweet
life and his swine-keeping. But they caught
him, and turned a knife against him, and
he yelled and screamed or ever he felt
the point thereof. Then in such wise spake
Hogni as a man seldom speaketh who is
fallen into hard need, for he prayed for the
thralls life, and said that these shrieks he
could not do away with, and that it were
lesser matter to him to play out the play to
the end; and therewlthal the thrall gat his
life as for that time; but Gunnar and Hogni
are both laid in fetters. Then spake King
Atli with Gunnar the king, and bade him tell
out concerning the gold, and where it was, if
he would have his life. But he answered,
Nay, first will behold the bloody heart of
Hogni, my brother So now they caught hold
of the thrall again, and cut the heart from
out of him, and bore it unto King Gunnar,
but he said-'The faint heart of Hjalli
may ye here behold, little like the proud
heart of Hogni, for as much as it trembleth
now, more by the half it trembled whenas it
lay in the breast of him.. So now they fell
on Hogni even as Atli urged them, and cut
the heart from out of him, but such was the
might of his manhood that he laughed while
he abode that torment and all wondered at
his worth, and in perpetual memory it is held
sithence. Then they showed it to Gunnar,
and he said-The mighty heart of Hogni,
little like the faint heart of HALL, for little
as it trembleth now, less it trembled whenas
in his breast it lay! But now, o Atli, even as
we die so shalt thou die; and 10, 1 alone wot
where the gold is, nor shall Hogni be to tell
thereof now to and fro played the matter in
my mind whiles we both lived, but now have
l myself determined for myself, and the
Rhine river shall rule over the gold, rather
than the Huns shall bear it on the hands of
them. Then said King Atli, Have away
the bondsman;' and so they did eat. But
Gudrun called to her men, and came
to Atli, and said:-'May it fare ill
with thee now and from henceforth
even as thou hast i'll held to thy word with