in which iron was moulded and wrought by his brother, the smith Ilmarinen. This account, which occupies some 250 lines, gives the old man the information which he requires.* He sets his son at once to work, and, after a solemn invocation of God the Creator and Father in Heaven, he prepares an ointment of magic efficacy, which at once stills the agonizing pains and restores the wounded knee to perfect soundness. The efficacy of this remedy he attributes entirely to the power of God, whom he addresses as "God, full of beauty, mighty Creator, preserver from all evil." Vainamoinen expresses his deep feelings of joy and gratitude in words so full of deep Christian feeling that Castrén regards them as proof of the influence of Christianity itself. "Then his eyes did Vainamoinen Raise in thankfulness to heaven." ""'Tis from thence all help proceedeth, E'en from thence, from highest heaven, is but a child; but as a wife is duly honored. So he repeats his invitation, modestly stating his pretensions, as a man not to be looked down upon as inferior to other heroes. In answer, the maiden proposes conditions impossible, as she supposes, two of which he fulfils at once. The third, however, brings him into misfortune. He has to form a boat out of her broken shuttle. Vainamoinen feels that no one under the vault of heaven could make such a vessel as well as he could. He sets to work at once, and goes on for two days successfully, but on the third day his skill fails him. Two malignant spirits, often named in the poem and in the legends of the Finns, are on the watch, and give his hatchet a thrust which drives it into his knee, forcing it, in fact, into the flesh and into the arteries, so that the blood gushes out like a torrent. Vainamoinen, at first unconcerned, speaks magic words; but in his state of mental confusion, brought on probably by the sight of the maiden, he forgets the special words which would at once have effected a cure. Blood flows forth, as is described, in an unceasing stream, not as the blood of a mortal, but of a demi-god. Finding all means which he tried to stop it ineffectual, he gives way to terror and grief, and, though not without difficulty, gets into his sledge and drives his horse rapidly to a place where three roads meet. He tries first the lowest, then the middle one, but although both bring him to places where he hoped to find succor, he fails in each case. The third road, however, which leads him upwards, brings him to a house where an old man with a gray beard is sitting by the stove, who in answer to his question: "Is there any one here who can stop a torrent of blood?" says that "three words of the Creator could arrest rivers, and streams, and torrents." Vainamoinen enters the house; the blood streaming from his wound fills at once all the vessels that can be produced, and teaches the old man that one of the race of heroes is in his presence. Unfortunately, the old man cannot find the words needed on this occasion; words that describe the origin of iron. Vainamoinen here, however, can supply him with the teresting, both as regards the legend which per knowledge, and narrates at length a myth, followed by an account of the way He concludes his address with these words : "God alone the end effecteth, Ne'er by mighty hand accomplished.' With this strange and noble utterance, the first series of legends, which describe the character and work of Vainamoinen, comes virtually to a close. The next Rune finds him in his own home, where he at once endeavors to persuade Ilmarinen to fulfil his own promise to the Queen of the North. This part of the subject is dealt with briefly; but it is of importance, as touching the central point in the whole series of transactions. Ilmarinen is described as second only to Vainamoinen in wisdom and sound judgment. He is himself a demigod, a divine artificer, *The account given by Vainamoinen is in sonifies natural agencies, and also for the acquaintance which it shows with the miner's and metal-worker's art. who, as is assumed throughout, in subordination to the Supreme Deity, gave form, if not existence, to the firmament. In the tenth Rune he forms a mysterious Sampo, which Castrén regards as a magical instrument or talisman, to which certainly are attributed the wealth and prosperity of the nation who have the good fortune to possess it. As a reward of his work he receives the promise of the daughter of the North in marriage; but, like his brother Vainamoinen, he fails to secure her love, and returns home bitterly disappointed. The following Runes bring us into contact with one of the most striking and original characters in the poem, named Lemminkainen. In the eleventh and twelfth Runes we are told of his adventures with the beautiful but frail Kyblikki, whom, however, he abandons, and after a long discussion with his mother, who seeks to dissuade him, he resolves to go northwards, and court the beautiful daughter of the North. His adventures in this expedition, which are singularly wild and interesting, are described in the thirteenth to the sixteenth Runes. The next four Runes describe the second expedition of the two elder brothers, when Ilmarinen at last obtains the hand of the beautiful girl. ceremonies of the wedding, which are full of curious details, form an episode of not less than six Runes; and the conduct of the impetuous Lemminkainen, who, indignant at not being invited, resolves to go to the North and revenge himself, forms another episode, extending over Runes twenty-seven to thirty. an ancient hero, Kullervo, terminated by his suicide. There can be no doubt that this formed a separate chant in the recitation of the singers. But it bears evident marks of identity of authorship. The thirty-seventh Rune leads us back to Ilmarinen, who, having lost his wife, attempts to supply her place by magic creation. But failing in this, he resolves once more to go to the North and woo the younger sister of his late wife. He is ill-received by the parents; but carries the girl off by force. Indignant at her reproaches he casts her off and changes her into a sea-mew. On his return home he gives his elder brother an account of the extraordinary prosperity of the North, now in possession of the Sampo. The effect of this is described in Rune thirty-nine. Vainamoinen at once resolves to invade the North and obtain possession of the Sampo. In this expedition the two elder brothers are joined by Lemminkainen. Here follows another digression of strange interest. On their way the boat strikes on the back of a monstrous pike. They capture it, and with the backbone Vainamoinen forms a harp, on which he exercises his wondrous magic skill as the musician and songster of the uniThe verse. All living beings in earth and sea and atmosphere come at once to listen to his music, the effect of which is described as so affecting as to bring tears to every eye; great tears falling from his own eyes into the water become beautiful pearls. This passage, of course, reminds us of the old Greek legends of Orpheus and Bacchus; but it is evidently original. This part of the subject has been here of necessity dealt with very concisely; but it contains some of the most striking and interesting details in the whole poem. The characters of the three brothers, so unlike, yet all standing apart from other beings in the strength and originality of their nature, come before us with singular vividness, and excite a lively interest. The details of domestic life are in no place marked more distinctly than in Runes thirty-two, thirty-three, and thirty-four. Then follows a long episode of remarkable beauty, but wholly unconnected with the main subject of the poem. It relates to the disastrous adventures of We have now an account of the achievements of the three brothers, and especially of Vainamoinen, in the North. He claims the Sampo, as a matter of right. But the Queen of the North, Louhi, calls upon her warriors to oppose the invader. Vainamoinen, as in all other cases, trusts entirely to his wondrous magic power, and taking his harp, by his melodies lulls the whole people of the North into a deep sleep. He then seizes the Sampo, which the Queen of the North had hidden in a rocky mountain, and sets off to return home. On the third day, Louhi awakes from her sleep and sends a dense fog and strong wind against the robbers of the Sampo. In the storm Vainamoinen's new harp falls into the water. Louhi pursues them in a warship, and a desperate battle is fought on the sea, in which the forces of Kalewala are triumphant. Still the northern queen succeeds in getting hold of the Sampo, which she throws into the sea, where it is broken to atoms. Yet all places where fragments fall are enriched by it, the adjoining coasts especially, to the great joy of Vainamoinen. In the next Rune Vainamoinen seeks for his harp, which had fallen into the sea, but cannot find it, and makes himself a new harp of a birch, which he plays, and fills all beings that hear him with exceeding joy. In the forty fifth Rune, the Queen of the North sends pestilence and sundry diseases against Kalewala, ills which are met at once by Vainamoinen's magic skill. In the next Rune he also slays a bear, sent by the same foe, and, in accordance with Finnish customs, still observed in that district, a great feast is held, at which Vainamoinen plays on his harp and expresses hopes for the future prosperity of Kalewala. The forty-seventh Rune is one of the most remarkable in the poem. The moon and the sun come down to listen to the songster; but the Queen of the North makes them both prisoners, hides them in a mountain, and steals all the fire from the homes of Kalewala. Then Ukko, the god of the atmosphere, indignant at the darkness in Heaven, creates fire for a new moon and a new sun; here we have what looks like a reminiscence of Genesis i., but it is certainly of independent origin.* We have then circumstances undoubtedly significant and suggesting deep and true meanings, but obscure and open to speculation. Fire falls on the earth, and Vainamoinen and his brother go out to find it. The Daughter of the Airthat is, the mother of Vainamoinen in the ancient myth-appears to them and directs them to the place where it can be found. But unfortunately it has been swallowed by a mysterious fish. After fruitless attempts to catch the fish, they construct a magic net, in which he is caught. The fire at once spreads * Observe the order-first fire or light, then sun and moon as luminaries in heaven. around and lays waste the whole district, until at last it is overmastered by the magic art of the two brothers; from being a master it becomes a useful slave, and warms the homes of Kalewala. This brings us to the real close of the poem (Rune forty-nine). Ilmarinen first attempts to make a new sun and moon, but fails to supply them with light. Vainamoinen, again ascertaining by magic where the true moon and sun are hidden, determines on an expedition to the North to recover them. Failing in this, he returns home, and with his brother Ilmarinen sets about making new implements to open the rocky mountain. The Queen of the North, dreading the result, sets the sun and the moon free. Vainamoinen hails their return with a song of grateful feeling, which concludes the forty-ninth Rune. The fiftieth and last Rune. The forty-ninth Rune ended with the last acts and words of Vainamoinen, as the true head and representative of anteChristian civilization. The fiftieth Rune begins in an altogether different tone. We have in it the close of the system by which the national life of Finland had been previously moulded. It begins abruptly; without any previous intimation we are brought into the presence of a beautiful. virgin named Mariatta. She passed the first years of her life in the house of her father and dear mother. She is described as exceedingly beautiful, chaste, humble, and full of loving tenderness. She abstains from all animal food, even from eggs, not as things unclean in themselves, but because of her exceeding love for all living creatures. Her address to the golden cuckoo (as we have seen, the favorite bird of the Finns)* is full of terms of endearment. She lived long as a shepherdess, in which condition no venomous or unclean creatures dared to touch her. There she is addressed by a mysterious fruit, which asks her to gather and swallow it. She listens to its request, but the mysterious result is that she conceives a child. Her anxieties and distress during pregnancy are described, especially the pangs of childbirth. When they are coming on, in * Thus, too, in the Russian "Bylines," the cuckoo takes the place of the nightingale. accordance with Finnish customs, she beseeches her mother for the bath; but her mother rejects her request with indignation, feeling assured of her guilt. So also her father. Her answer to both is a simple assertion of chastity and the declaration that she would give birth to a great hero, a noble being, who would rule over the mighty, and especially over Vainamoinen. Strangely enough, she then addresses herself to a prince or king, named Ruotas, a name which all commentators identify with Herod. He and his hateful wife tell the maid, through whom she sends her request, that the only place fit for Mariatta would be a stall in the forest; there, surrounded by horses, she might give birth to her child. The maiden acts as she is thus directed. Her prayer to the Creator, full of piety and love, is given. in a few lines, asking for deliverance and preservation of life in her hour of bitter agony. Her loving care of the infant is then described, special mention being made of the swaddling clothes. But suddenly and mysteriously the child disappears. She seeks him for a long time in vain. Then she calls upon a bright star which appears to her suddenly : "O thou star by God created, Canst thou tell me of my infant, The star makes a remarkable an swer: "If I knew I would not say it, He Himself is my creator.'"' The same question is addressed to the moon, and the same answer given. Both the moon and the stars speak of their melancholy state in the cold and gloom of night. Finally, she addresses the sun : "Sun, O thou by God created, Know'st thou aught of my sweet infant??" The sun answers in joyous tone :"Well I know thy lovely infant, He it is who me created That with golden rays the daylight, I might give to happy mortals.' He tells her that the infant is plunged in a marsh. There Mariatta finds her child, whom she brings home, but can give him no name. All the mothers call him the Flowret; but strangers call him Idler. We then read that the child is to be baptized. An aged man, called Virokannas, came to baptize and to bless him; but will not do this until the child has been thoroughly examined and proved. The result is that Vainamoinen himself, as the representative of wisdom, is called in to examine the child. But, with a mysterious instinct of antipathy or terror, the aged hero declares that it is a child of the marsh and of a fruit, and that the fitting treatment is to throw it on the ground where the fruits grew, or to carry it to the marsh, and there crush its head with a tree. Then in words that remind us, though indistinctly, of the Apocryphal legends of the infancy, the child, though but two weeks old, calls out: "O thou old man without wisdom, and tells him that he will have to expiate his crime against the child of his own mother, and will be plunged in the marsh. tizes the child and pronounces the Thereupon the aged Virokannas bapformal blessing, that it should be King of Kariala and protector of all the powers of the universe. By Kariala we are to understand either the district then inhabited specially by the Finns, or, more probably, the whole earth, of which it was regarded as the centre. We have the clear announcement of a new dispensation under the sovereignty of an almighty king. But to Vainamoinen the result is utterly ruinous. He feels that his own work is come to an end. It began with the cultivation of the earth, and civilization of its inhabitants; and ended with a restoration to prosperity and happiness. But it is now all over. Once more, he sings for the last time, and, by words of magic power, calls into existence a boat of metal. On this he takes his departure; and, as he passes away over the waste of waters, he utters these words: "Let the dear time pass away, Men will still feel need of me that I may create another Sampo (that is, the means of all earthly prosperity), and renew in Heaven the moon and the sun, without which the earth is bereaved of all joy." And so the aged Vainamoinen leaves this earth and sails away to the unfathomable depths of space. There he still remains, on his magic boat. penter's bench of his brother; yet, as he says at last, be this as it may, I have shown the way to singers, and cleared their path for them. In future this is the way that must be trodden, this is the sure path open for all singers, rich in talents, and for all poets, who will sing to the youth now growing up, to the coming race." In a very few words I will now state the chief impressions made on my mind by this most remarkable poem. I. It has the fullest and justest claim to be called a national epic. We observe the singular unity of the composition, a unity not merely external, though in that respect it is rivalled by few, and surpassed by none; for with the excep "Still he left his harp among us, Left the beauteous tones in Suomi,* To the people's endless gladness, Lovely songs for Suomi's children." So ends this mysterious but noble poem. Before we consider its general bearings, we must call attention to the last words added by the poet himself. He says he must now bring his songs to a close, for all exertions have an end. Horses and steel, and water and fire, all cease when their work is done. Must not, therefore, song and poetry end, when wearied after the long joys of even, after the last hours of sunset?tion of the single episode from Runes He then speaks, in the melancholy tones thirty-one to thirty-four, every part of which are specially characteristic of the poem is concerned with the actions Finnish poetry, of his early youth. His and sayings of the three brothers. mother, he tells us, died very early; Among them Vainamoinen stands foreher love and her brightness, too, soon most. He is the chief and representaforsook him. Without human sympative of all pre-Christian civilization. thy, he had grown up among the firs The poem begins with his mysterious. and birches of the forest, ever dear and birth, and ends with his no less mysterifriendly to him. There he grew up like ous disappearance. His mother is a a young lark or thrush, but under the divine being; and he belongs to the government of a strange woman, a step- same supernatural sphere. His first mother, who assigned to him the windy acts upon earth are connected with its corner of the room, and the north side cultivation. From first to last he perof the house, where the unprotected in- forms all his exploits by virtue of words fant might be abandoned to the pitiless of magic efficacy, giving mysterious exstorms. There, he says, he began, as a pression to his deep insight into the lark, to move freely, to fly as a bird" origin and powers of the universe. On full of anguish; there he learned to one occasion only is he represented as know every wind, to understand each acting by mere force of arms, presentsound of the forest, to tremble at the ing in this respect a striking contrast to frost, and to lament in the cold; so, to the Homeric ideal of heroism. He is use the words of the most unhappy child spoken of always as a person of deep and of genius in our own days: tender affections; loving his mother, his brethren and his people. He is the great ideal musician, charming and controlling melodies, and bequeathing ruling all powers of Nature by his soulat last his harp to his own people. fail him, owing to mental perturbation. On one occasion only does his wisdom We find that, far from regarding the magic power which he possesses and uses so freely as his own inherent endowment, he recognizes one Supreme Being as source of all power, giver of all good gifts. It is true that Castrén looks upon these passages as proofs of Christian influences, but wherever the sacred name Jumala (i.e., God) occurs, "He learned. in suffering what he taught in song." He tells us he received no instruction, learnt nothing from the great or noble of the earth, received nothing from strange languages or distant lands. Alluding to the words which we read at the beginning of the poem, he says he had in his own house his teaching by the spindle of his mother and the car i.e., Finland. It is the only proper name of the district and people. This refers to the Finnish habit still preserved of reciting poems in the long winter evenings. NEW SERIES.-VOL. XLII., No. I 3 |