poetic soul; wherein things discontinuous and inanimate shaped themselves together into life, and the Universe with its wondrous purport stood significantly imaged; overarching, as with heavenly firmaments and eternal harmonies, the little scene where men strut and fret their hour. His poem, unlike so many old and new pretenders to that name, has a basis and organic structure, a beginning, middle, and end; there is one great principle and idea set forth in it, round which all its multifarious parts combine in living union. Remarkable

it is, moreover, how along with this essence and primary condition of all poetic virtue, the minor external virtues of what we call Taste and so forth, are, as it were, presupposed; and the living soul of Poetry being there, its body of incidents, its garment of language, come of their own accord. So too in the case of Shakespeare: his feeling of propriety, as compared with that of the Marlowes and Fletchers, his quick sure sense of what is fit and unfit, either in act or word, might astonish us, had he no other superiority. But true Inspiration, as it may well do, includes that same Taste, or rather a far higher and heartfelt Taste, of which that other "elegant " species is but an ineffectual, irrational apery: let us see the herald Mercury actually descend from his Heaven,

and the bright wings, and the graceful movement of these, will not be wanting.'

What follows is but a brief epitome of the Nibelungenlied, its lengthy nature forbidding the doing more than merely sketching an outline of its leading incidents.

In the Burgundian land there dwelt in ancient times, in the Castle of Worms on the Rhine, a beautiful princess named Kriemhilt, sister to King Gunther and the Princes Gernot and Geiselher. In another castle down the river there also lived a brave young prince called Siegfried, son of Siegmund, King of the Netherlands, who had early gained great fame by his prowess.

The glory of his prowess was spread through many a land, And many were the wonders of his strong and daring hand.

He had passed some of his youthful years in a smith's workshop, but his great strength proving destructive to all the anvils, and besides being at that time of a quarrelsome disposition, Mimer, his master, determined to get rid of him. For this purpose Mimer sent him to a neighbouring forest, ostensibly to procure charcoal for the smithy fire, but with the hope that a dragon which had its den there might meet Siegfried and slay him.

However, Siegfried conquers the dragon, and having bathed in its blood, he became altogether invulnerable, with the exception of one little spot between his shoulders, upon which a lime-tree leaf had fallen. Siegfried was possessed of an immense treasure of gold and precious gems—this treasure he had gained from the two sons of a deceased king of Nibelungen; they could not agree as to the division of the property at their father's death, and called upon Siegfried, who chanced to be riding by, to decide between them, offering him the sword Balmung for his trouble.* Dividing

* Of this sword Balmung there is a curious tradition. Siegfried's old master, Mimer, is supposed to have been the maker of it, and Scandinavian chronicles give the following account of its manufacture. Mimer was challenged by another craftsman named Amilius, who had made a suit of armour which no sword could dint, to equal that feat, or own himself the second smith. This Mimer would not do, and proceeded to forge Balmung, with which, when it was finished, he, 'in presence of the king,' cut asunder 'a thread of wool floating on the water.' This would have seemed a fair edge to most smiths—not so to Mimer; he sawed the blade to pieces, welded it in a red-hot fire for three days,' tempered it 'with milk and oatmeal,' and by much other cunning brought out a sword which severed a ball of wool floating on water.' Still this did not suffice, and Mimer returned to his smithy, where, by means only known to himself, he produced, in the course of seven weeks, a third and final edition, which cut asunder a whole floating pack of wool. The comparative trial now took place. Amilius, cased in his impenetrable armour, sat down on a bench, in presence

the treasure as he best could, the two princes were dissatisfied and quarrelled with Siegfried, who thereupon slew them both, taking possession of the whole, along with a 'cloak of darkness,' which had the peculiar property of rendering its wearer invisible at will. He also slew the giants and dwarfs who were the guardians of the treasure, with the exception of their chief, whose life was spared on the condition of obeying the commands of Siegfried at any time.

Siegfried had heard of the wondrous beauty of Kriemhilt, and was determined to win her hand, although his father Siegmund endeavoured to deter the young hero from his purpose by telling him he would have many and dangerous rivals. But this did not avail, and at last

King Siegmund and the queen gave the warrior leave to go; As they said 'Farewell' in sorrow, thus he comforted their

woe:

of assembled thousands, and bade Mimer strike with his sword. Mimer fetched his best blow, on which Amilius observed, that there was a strange feeling of cold iron in his inwards. 'Shake thyself,' said Mimer; the luckless smith did so, and fell in two halves, being cleft sheer through from collar to haunch, never more to swing hammer in this world!-Illustrations of Northern Antiquities.

'Nay, do not weep, good father, and dear mother, too, for

me

My life is safe; from bitter care let both your hearts be free.'

Siegfried was resolved to encounter any danger rather than refrain from his attempt, and accordingly, in company with several young knights, he set out for the Castle of Worms, where he was received hospitably. Here he met also with Haco or Hagen, the champion of Burgundy-cruel, fierce, and relentless, ever ready for war and bloodshed-one of the leading characters in the tragic scenes of this old poem. For a year Prince Siegfried, the Dragon-Slayer, remained at the Burgundian court, during which period he was never allowed to see Kriemhilt, who, however, learned all that was passing in the court. The reason for the young princess remaining in this seclusion was that she had seen in a dream a falcon she had trained and cherished struck down by two fierce eagles, and this was interpreted to mean that if ever she married, her husband would meet with a sudden and violent death, and the fear of this trouble made her resolve never to marry. But Siegfried's fame and skill in warlike arts had reached the ears of the princess, and she could not refrain from watching him secretly from her