The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1892-05-15
The work of wayland goes weird as she mus % 60

mn T. y,
,,nre nolished modern English loses huch
| ~ ira strength The last half line gives eA-
| nresslon 10 the utter fataiism lnat seel"o ~
| have possessed all the early leuIOnlc poo
| pies ,;,,,;o,sir Tho
one of the most spirited descrlptiohsl 'no
entire poem is the account "a NO -
Eeoxulf with Greudel's mother. the sne-
monster of the sea-depths. who IS bent upon
rsvenoin0 tho death OF her sen. We hrst give
the description OF their home
Lands inaccessible. wind beaten nesses,
! FearfnIest fen-deeps, where flood from tho
.No,,h nistsof the nesses netservard rattles.
! The stream under earth; not far Is II hence
Measured by mile-lengths that tho mere water
Which forests hang over, with frost-whitinr
covered.
There ever at night an Ill meaning portent
4 gre-hOOd ma SEQ: mOng children OF men
None liyeih 20 wise that wot OF the bottom;
though harassed by hounds the heath-step-
Fly 10 the forest, firm -antlered he-deer,
Sourred from afar, his Spirit me yieldotn.
Ills life on the shore ere IN lie will venture
To cover his head. up. irio'
Then the struggle itself
He shrank not from battl6) seized by the shout
der
The mother Of Greudel; then mighty in strug
swung he his enemy, since his anger was kin
That She fel TO the floor. With furious grapple
She gave him requitai early thereafter.
And stretched out TO grab him; the strongest OF
Faint-mooded stumbled till he fell in his traces,
Foot-going champion. Then she sat on the
And welded her war-knife wido-blnded, flash
INK.
For her son would take vengeance, her one only
BARN.
His broast-armor woven bode on his shoulder;
10 guarded his life the entrance defended
'Gslnst sword point and edges;
He graspei. then. the sword-hllt. knight Of the
Bold and bsttle-grim. brandished his ring
Hopeless OF living, holly he smoto her.
That the fend- woman neck firmly II grappled'
Broke through h0r bone-ioints' the bill fully
Fate-cursed body. she fell to the ground. them
The hand-sword was bloody. the hero exulted;
. he brand was brilliant, brightly II gImmered.
just as from heaven. gcmlik shineth
The torch OF the ornament. .pp. % %.
We give our last extract from the conclu-
sion OF the poem. describing BeOwulf grave,
the grave OF the hero. who. after great deeds
IN the service Of another, returned 10 his own
land ruled fifty years, and fighting with a
dragon preylng upon his people. came on
victorious. but himself wounded unto death
The men OF the Weders made accordingly
A hill on the height, high and extensive,
Ofsea-going sailors to be seen az q distance,
And the brave one beacon built where the ire
In ten days space, with a wall surrounded it,
As wisest Of world folk could most worthlly
plant.
The placed i'm the barrow rings and jewels.
A. sucu ornaments as erst IN The treasure
Nur-mOOled men had won IN pOssesslOu'
The earnings Of earlmen 90 earth they entrusted,
Tho gold 10 the dust where yer they IeIlalne'h
As useless 70 mOrtals "a ia foregoing era5
Round the deadmound rode then theidoughty-
Hairns az ali twelve of the chiefs Of the people.
More would they mourn. lament for their ruler,
Speak in measure. mention him with pleasure.
Weighed his worth. and his warllAe achieve
Nightly commended as lis meet one praise his
Iiege lord IN words and love HIM IN spirit,
When forth from his body he fares 20 destruc-
ton. lpp. lNo' lO''
This last episode intimates the fund of ma
terlal contained in the poem for the study Of
old Teutonic myths customs. manners and an
tquities We must recommend It 20 all who
would know something Of the glories Ct their
race more than twelve centuries ago. when
our ancestors were still heather and, az yet.
holding possessions near the Cattegat before
their passage over into Britain. Here IS %
be found tho unconscious history OF the race.
their thoughts and Inspirations. as best and
truest told In the words and songs OF the old
bards and gleemen IN tho train OF the Saxon
mobiles. singing IN the mead-hall. where beer
and gifts were expended without stint.
All possessed with this interest would be
repaid by the perusal of this translation the
reading Of q poem itself being ever more vital
than all the talk and writing about II. 10 may
be read for its inherent grandeur and poetic
expression no mean standard when we reflect
that our language had been producing mas
terpieces IN verse for twelve centuries before
the Poet Laureate sang Of Arthur and his
court-the apothe0sis OF the old Cells and
Celtic traditions, which these IeutOns, whose
life is depicted Ia tho epic on BeOwult. dis
placed.
The few extracts cited are intended in no
sense TO give tie stOry-that we must leave %
the reader. Not Gt all are we concerned here
with the origin ot these myths, and the nu-
merous explanations they have received nor
with the separation Of the poem into It's com
ponent and integral parts. and the relation of
these fragmentary episodes 10 tho final form
in which We possess It. Professor Hall has
made an earnest and able attempt o. maze
the earliest epic Of our race and language
our Hand many have not hesitated 10 name
II more accessible 10 the general reader. and
it Is as literature that We have chosen 20 view
the poem. That Il IS receiving constantly ln-
creased attention Is seen from the fact that
almost the same week that gave us Professor
Halls translation IN verse brought Us news OF
"A prose version of Professor Earle. OF Oxford.
England.
10. a'day when tie best TRANSACTIONS OF Homer
and Dante and other classics ars being urged
upon those students who are so engrOssed
with the discussion Of small points that they
have not time 70 read IN the original the whole
work, and who even fail 20 gain d clear con
csption of the genius intuslng the whole
through their minuteness and circumscrip-
ton of vision. we may surely IN ike manner
urge all students of colleges having a class
room acquaintance with few hundred lines
Of the original. at once 70 60 about reading
the translation. But We hope for
even more We trust that this
translation NAV DO the means Of bringing not
simply our special students IN English. but
greater number of our boOk-loying public and
general readers into Il closer intimacy with
the beauty and strength OF our earlier litera-
ture We certainly hope that there will be
appreciated and encouraged the painstaking
efforts and patient .abOTs Of Yirginian scholar
ship
The Decennal Missionary Conference OF
I.Gf. will la ha1T IA I.rtIau ......,,...,.....