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turbed and melancholy feeling when suddenly there stands by his side an ancient woman of the island-a lady by birth, but a solitary in her life-a maniac - -a sorceress-the heiress, (so, in her delusion, she believes, and so, in their superstition, the islanders believe her to be)—of all the mysterious power of the old prophetesses of the Norse the last of the true breed of Scandinavian Rheim-kennars—Norna of the Fitful Head. This woman has often before shewn kindness to young Mordaunt, who, again, without being altogether a believer in the unnatural pre-eminence of her powers, is too young to be able entirely to divest himself of some reverence and awe, when he finds himself in her imposing presence; and has, moreover, learned, from many singular incidents, to acknowledge the extraordinary shrewd ness and sagacious wit-if not witchcraft, of Norna. This strange woman advises and commands Mordaunt Mertoun, in spite of the coldness he has observed-nay, in spite of the nonarrival of the expected summons-to undertake his journey immediately across the wastes of the island towards the mansion of the old Udaller. Love, curiosity, jealousy, wrath, and some mixture of superstition to boot, make him obey the dictates of the Rheimkennar; and Mordaunt Mertoun arrives in the neighbourhood of Magnus Troil's habitation, at the very moment when all the throng of his expected visitors are pouring towards the scene of expected jollity within his hospitable gates. On the way he falls in with a most ludicrous couple-an absurd creature, half-farmer halfpedant-the deputy of the lord-chamberlain of those isles-a sort of Scottish agricultural-society-hero of the 17th century and a penurious old Scots maiden, his sister. These worthies, who have been transplanted from the farm of Cauldshouthers in Angus, for the hopeful purpose of improving what Mr Coke and Sir John Sinclair call "The first of human sciences," among the natives of these hyperborean islands, furnish admirable relief to the indigenous manners of Thule, and afford a great deal of excellent mirth throughout a considerable part of this romance. Bryce Snailsfoot, an Orkney pedlar, who chiefly deals in the sale of shipwrecked garments and the like, is also present

at this great feast: and he, too, is a character of great comic power. But the chief source of merriment is unquestionably Claud Halcro, a Zetlander, and a laird-a "dandy of sixty," and a poet of no contemptible order. Claud Halcro, in his youth, had sojourned some space among the wits of London; and his Cheval de Battaille is nothing less than the story of his having once been so fortunate as to be permitted a pinch from the box of Dryden himself-or, as he commonly styles him, "Glorious John." This insular literateur is a great man at the residence of Magnus Troil-it is he who sings, plays, dances the best: his judgment is without appeal in all matters of festive arrangement:-he is the Arbiter Elegantiarum among the "barbarous folk" of Zetland. For the rest, he is a kind-hearted old gentleman, and contributes considerably to the carrying on of the incidents in the romance. His literary conversation is, throughout, a perfect resurrection of the dead. The moment he speaks, the reader can never doubt that he is listering to one who had taken a pinch of snuff out of the box of Dryden.

Magnus Troil is very much surprised, it is evident, at seeing Mor daunt Mertoun arrive an uninvited guest; but, quoth he, "when Magnus Troil says welcome, his summons takes in all who hear his voice"-and, therefore, he constrains himself to receive Mertoun with some civility. The young ladies receive him in a style equally remote from what had formerly been usual. Minna, the dark beauty, is cold and stately-Brenda blushes as she turns away; but even in her demeanour it is easy to see the traces of some secret pique. Mertoun is totally unable to account for these severe changes; but Cleveland is the declared favourite of the fair sisters, and, as all men see and say, the lover of Minna: and Mertoun may be pardoned for suspecting the person who has supplanted him of having done so by not the most legitimate of means. In a word, he is jealous, and Cleveland is haughty; and it requires all the skill of old Halcro to prevent them quarrelling openly in the presence of the guests of Magnus Troil, while they are engaged in emptying an enor◄ mous punch-bowl, the fragile relique of some foundered East-Indiaman. Next day, after breakfast, the whole

company are summoned to assist in the capture of a whale, that has suffered itself to be left behind the tide in the shallow water of a small arm of the sea, or voe; and Mordaunt Mertoun and Captain Cleveland are, of course, among the most active in this singular species of diversion.

"Then you might have seen such a joyous, boisterous, and universal bustle, as only the love of sport, so deeply implanted in our natures, can possibly inspire. A set of country squires, about to beat for the first woodcocks of the season, were a comparison as petty, in respect to the glee, as in regard to the importance of the object; the battue, upon a strong cover in Ettrick-forest, for the destruction of the foxes; the insurrection of the sportsmen of the Lennox, when one of the duke's deer gets out from Inch-Mirran; nay, the joyous rally of the fox-chase itself, with all its blithe accompaniments of hound and horn, fall infinitely short of the animation with which the gallant sons of Thule set off to encounter the monster, whom the sea had sent for their amusement at so opportune a conjuncture.

"The multifarious stores of BurghWestra were rummaged hastily for all sorts of arms which could be used on such an occasion. Harpoons, swords, pikes, and halberts, fell to the lot of some; others contented themslves with hay-forks, spits, and whatever else could be found, that was at once long and sharp. Thus hastily equipped, one division under the command of Captain Cleveland, hastened to man the boats which lay in the little haven, while the rest of the party hurried by land to the scene of action.

-"Poor Triptolemus was interrupted in a plan, which he, too, had formed against the patience of the Zetlanders, and which was to have consisted in a lecture upon the agriculture, and the capabilities of the country, by this sudden hubbub, which put an end at once to Halcro's poetry, and to his no less formidable prose. It may be easily imagined that he took very little interest in the sport which was so suddenly substituted for his lucubrations, and he would not even have deigned to have looked upon the active scene which was about to take place, had he not been stimulated thereunto by the exhortations of Mrs Baby. 'Pit yoursell forward, man,' said that provident person, pit yoursell forward-wha kens whare a blessing may light ?-they say that a' men share and share equals-aquals in the creature's ulzie, and a pint o't wad be worth siller, to light the cruise in the lang dark nights that they speak of-pit yoursell forward, man-there's a graip to ye-faint heart never wan fair lady-wha kens but when it's fresh, it may eat weel enough, and spare butter ??

"What zeal was added to Triptolemus's motions, by the prospect of eating train-oil, instead of butter, we know not; but, as better might not be, he brandished the rural implement (a stable-fork) with which he was armed, and went down to wage battle with the whale.

"The situation in which the enemy's ill fate had placed him was particularly favourable to the enterprize of the islanders. A tide of unusual height had carried the animal over a large bar of sand, into the voe or creek in which he was now lying. So soon as he found the water ebbing, he became sensible of his danger, and had made deperate efforts to get over the shallow water, where the waves broke on the bar; but hitherto he had rather injured than mended his condition, having got himself partly aground, and lying therefore particularly exposed to the meditated attack. At this moment the enemy came down upon him. The front ranks consisted of the young and hardy, armed in the miscellaneous manner we have described; while, to witness and animate their efforts, the young women, and the elderly persons of both sexes, took their place among the rocks, which overhung the scene of action.

"As the boats had to double a little headland, ere they opened the mouth of the voe, those who came by land to the shores of the inlet had time to make the necessary reconnoissances upon the force and situation of the enemy, on whom they were about to commence a simultaneous attack by land and sea.

"This duty the stout-hearted and experienced general would entrust to no eyes but his own; and, indeed, his external appearance, and his sage conduct, rendered him alike qualified for the command which he enjoyed. His gold-laced hat was exchanged for a bear-skin cap, his suit of blue broad-cloth, with its scarlet lining, and loops and frogs of bullion, had given place to a red flannel jacket, with buttons of black horn, over which he wore a sealskin shirt, curiously seamed and plated on the bosom, such as are used by the Esquimaux, and sometimes by the Greenland whale-fishers. Sea-boots, of a formidable size, completed his dress, and in his hand he held a huge whaling-knife, which he brandished, as if impatient to employ it in the operation of flinching the huge animal which lay before them, the act of separating, that is, its flesh from its bones. Upon closer examination, however, he was obliged to confess, that the sport to which he had conducted his friends, however much it corresponded with the magnificent scale of his hospitality, was likely to be attended with its own peculiar dangers and difficulties.

"The animal, upwards of sixty feet in length, was lying perfectly still, in a deep part of the voe into which it had weltered,

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and where it seemed to await the return of tide, of which it was probably assured by instinct. A council of experienced harpooners was instantly called, and it was agreed that an effort should be made to noose the tail of this torpid leviathan, by casting a cable around it, to be made fast by anchors to the shore, and thus to secure against his escape, in case the tide should make before they were able to dispatch him.. Three boats were destined to this delicate piece of service, one of which the Udaller himself proposed to command, while Cleveland and Mertoun were to direct the two others. This being decided, they sat down on the strand, waiting with impatience, until the naval part of the force should arrive in the voe. It was during this interval, that Triptolemus Yellowley, after measuring with his eyes the extraordinary size of the whale, observed, that, in his poor mind, ‘A wain with six owsen, or with sixty owsen either, if they were the owsen of the country, could not drag siccan a huge creature from the water, where it was now lying, to the sea-beach.'

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The result is that the monstrous animal escapes in spite of all the efforts of experienced and inexperienced harpooners. The tide is making, and he at last "floats many a rood," overturning, in one of his struggles, the boat in which young Mertoun has his place. The rest get ashore easily, but Mertoun is stunned, and would have been lost-but for Cleveland, who rejoices in having an opportunity of paying back in the same coin the obligation under which the youth had laid him on their first meeting. Minna Troil grows pale as death when she perceives the peril of Mertoun; but Brenda shrieks aloud; and it is easy to be seen that old affection, in spite of appearances, has not been quite banished from their bosoms. However, all retreat hastily; and there is none close to the youth when he recovers full possession of himself except old Claud Halcro.

"About ten paces off stood Cleveland his hair and clothes dropping water, and his features wearing so peculiar an expression, as immediately to arrest the attention of Mordaunt. There was a suppressed smile on his check, and a look of pride in his eye, that implied liberation from a pain ful restraint, and something resembling gratified scorn. Claud Halcro hastened to intimate to Mordaunt, that he owed his life to Cleveland; and the youth, rising from the ground, and losing all other feelings in those of gratitude, stepped forward, with VOL. X.

his hand stretched out, to offer his warmest thanks to his preserver. But he stopped short in surprise, as Cleveland, retreating a pace or two, folded his arms on his breast, and declined to accept his proffered hand. He drew back in turn, and gazed with astonishment at the ungracious manner, and almost insulting look, with which Cleveland, who had formerly rather expressed a frank cordiality, or at least, openness of bearing, now, after having thus rendered him a most important service, chose to receive his thanks.

6

"It is enough,' said Cleveland, observing his surprise, and it is unnecessary to say more about it. I have paid back my debt, and we are now equal'

"You are more than equal with me, Mr Cleveland,' answered Mertoun, because you endangered your life to do for me what I did for you without the slightest risk;-besides,' he added, trying to give the discourse a more pleasant turn, I have your rifle gun to boot.'

Cowards only count danger for any point of the game,' said Cleveland. Danger has been my consort for life, and sailed with me on a thousand worse voyages ;and for rifles, I have enough of my own, and you may see, when you will, which can use them best.'

"There was something in the tone with which this was said, that struck Mordaunt

strongly; it was miching malicho, as Hamlet says, and meant mischief. Cleveland saw his surprise, came close up to him, and spoke in a low tone of voice:- Hark ye, my young brother. There is a custom amongst us gentlemen of fortune, that when we follow the same chase, and take the wind out of each other's sails, we think sixty yards of the sea-beach, and a brace of rifles, are no bad way of making our

odds even.'

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"Saint John, or Saint James either, may be mistaken in the matter,' said Eric; for I think neither of them lived in Zetland. I only say, that if there is faith in old saws, these two lads will do each other a mischief.""

The passages we have just quoted occur about the middle of the second volume, where so many scenes of great interest are crowded close upon each other, that we are much perplexed in selecting any one passage as more worthy of quotation than another. The scene during the night after the first day of Troil's three-day festival, when Brenda and Mordaunt meet by the sea-shore, and the youth finds means, not only to vindicate himself in the maiden's good opinion, but to learn from her that she observes with pain the progress which the unknown adventurer Cleveland has made in the affections of her elder sister, is one of peculiar felicity. Another night-scene, of the utmost power and splendour, represents Norna of the Fitful-Head, as finding her way into the bedchamber of the two sisters-partly for the purpose of warning Minna of the danger of listening to Cleveland's addresses, and partly of relieving her own misery of madness, by narrating the fearful story of domestic sorrows out of which her madness has sprung. The reader, when he first meets with Norna may be in some danger of mistaking her for a mere repetition of Meg Merrilies; but here he will see with what art these two characters are not only discriminated, but, if we may so speak, contrasted. Meg Merrilies, interesting as she is, is, after all, a lesser personage than Norna. The gypsey wants the grandeur of the Rheimkennar, for she wants her mi

sery.

The story of Norna is briefly

In

this: Her real name is Ulla Troil, and she is of the same family with the young ladies to whom she tells her story. In early youth she was seduced by a wanderer of appearance as fascinating as Cleveland, and of the same profession, and brought forth a son, whose birth gave her parents the utmost affliction. She was deserted by her lover shortly after, and had already sunk into a state of incipient insanity, when a terrible incident completed the havoc of her brain. passing by the door of her father's chamber one night, after he had gone to bed, she observed that it was not fastened, and she shut it. He was found dead in his bed next morning; and, as it was evident that he had been suffocated by noxious vapours, from the coals in the fire, which, had the door remained open, could not have proved fatal-the poor girl conceived herself to have incurred the guilt of parricide by an act, which was, in fact, one of dutifulness. She conceived that this had been a fearfu sacrifice necessary to her initiation inte the mysteries of Scandinavian_sorcery. and regarded herself, from that moment, as an outcast from the christian church, and the involuntary slave and priestess of the old fiendish deities of the North.-(By the way, we happen to know that this story has its foundation in one not only true but recent, the unhappy heroine of which was actually known to many persons who are still living in Shetland and Orkney.)

But the most charming scenes of all are those which depict the secret workings of the minds of Minna and Brenda, whose fullness of sisterly confidence (although not their sisterly affection,) has been shaken in consequence of the secret attachments that have gradually attained such strength in either bosom, as neither can exert courage enough to reveal to the other The sadness inspired into their innocent breasts by the sense of something like estrangement, gives rise to a varie ty of the most pathetic incidents and dialogues. But we cannot quote all the book. We shall, however, extract one scene, because it tells more strongly than any other single one upon the fable of the romance.

"That night, the mutual sorrow of Minna and Brenda, if it could not wholly remove the reserve which had estranged the sisters from each other, at least melted all

its frozen and unkindly symptoms. They wept in each other's arms; and though neither spoke, yet each became dearer to the other; because they felt that the grief which called forth these drops had a source common to them both.

"It is probable, that though Brenda's tears were most abundant, the grief of Minna was most deeply seated; for long after the younger had sobbed herself asleep, like a child, upon her sister's bosom, Minna lay awake, watching the dubious twilight, while tear after tear slowly gathered in her eye, and found a current down her cheek, as soon as it became too heavy to be supported by her long black silken eyelashes. As she lay, bewildered among the sorrowful thoughts which supplied these tears, she was surprised to distinguish beneath the window, the sounds of music. At first she supposed it was some freak of Claud Halcro, whose fantastic humour sometimes indulged itself in such serenades. But it was not the gue of the old minstrel, but the guitar which she heard; an instrument which none in the island knew how to touch except Cleveland, who had learned, in his intercourse with the South American Spaniards, to play on it with superior execution. Perhaps it was in these climates also that he had learned the song, which, though he now sung it under the window of a maiden of Thule, had certainly never been composed for the native of a climate so northerly and severe, since it spoke of productions of the earth and skies which are there unknown.

1.

Love wakes and weeps While Beauty sleeps! O for Music's softest numbers, To prompt a theme, For Beauty's dream, Soft as the pillow of her slumbers.

2.

6 Through groves of palm
Sigh gales of balm,
Fire-flies on the air are wheeling ;
While through the gloom
Comes soft perfume,

The distant bed of flowers revealing.

3.

'O wake and live,

No dream can give

A shadow'd bliss, the real excelling; No longer sleep,

From lattice peep, And list the tale that Love is telling.'

"The voice of Cleveland was deep, rich, and manly, and accorded well with the Spanish air, to which the words, probably a translation from the same language, had been adapted. His invocation would not probably have been fruitless, could Minna have arisen without awakening her

sister. But that was impossible; for Brenda, who, as we already mentioned, had wept bitterly before she had sunk into repose, now lay with her face on her sister's neck, and one arm stretched around her, in the attitude of a child which has cried itself asleep in the arms of her nurse. It was impossible for Minna to extricate herself from her grasp without awaking her; and she could not, therefore, execute her hasty purpose, of donning her gown, and hastening to the window to speak with Cleveland, who, she had no doubt, had resorted to this contrivance, to procure an interview. The restraint was sufficiently provoking, for it was more than probable that her lover came to take his last farewell; but that Brenda, inimical as she seemed to be of late towards Cleveland, should awake and witness it, was a thought not to be endured.

"There was a short pause, in which Minna endeavoured more than once, with as much gentleness as possible, to unclasp Brenda's arm from her neck; but whenever she attempted it the slumberer muttered some little pettish sound, like a child disturbed in its sleep, which sufficiently shewed that perseverance in the attempt would awaken her fully.

"To her great vexation, therefore, Minna was compelled to remain still and silent; when her lover, as if determined upon gaining her ear by music of another strain, sung the following fragment of a sea-ditty:

Farewell! Farewell! the voice you hear, Has left its last soft tone with you,Its next must join the seaward cheer, And shout among the shouting crew. The accents which I scarce could form Beneath your frown's controlling check, Must give the word, above the storm,

To cut the mast, and clear the wreck.

The timid eye I dared not raise,—— The hand, that shook when press'd to thine,

Must point the guns upon the chase,

Must bid the deadly cutlass shine.

To all I love, or hope, or fear,— Honour, or own, a long adieu ! To all that life has soft and dear, Farewell! save memory of you!'

"He was again silent; and again she, to whom the serenade was addressed, strove in vain to arise without rousing her sister. It was impossible; and she had nothing before her but the unhappy thought that Cleveland was taking leave in his desolation, without a single glance, or a single word. He, too, whose temper was so fiery, yet who subjected his violent mood with such sedulous attention to her will,could she but have stolen a moment but to say adieu to caution him against new

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