Godey's Lady's Book

GODEY'S LADY'S BOOK
Philadelphia, April 1850

THE NIEBELUNGBEN.

OR, A FEW WEEKS WITH A STUDENT IN THE COUNTRY.

BY PROF. CHARLES E. BLUMENTHAL.

(Continued from page 208.)

CHAPTER III.

MR. FILMOT closed his book, and placed his finger between the leaves so as not to lose his place, while Mrs. Thorale and the rest of the party turned eagerly to listen to Mr. Karsh's promised explanation of Brunhilda's strange conduct towards Siegfried.

Mr. Karsh commenced by telling them that it was not his intention to give a lecture upon northern mythology, or northern Sagas, but only to refer to such portions of both as have a direct bearing upon the Niebelungen Lied. He then continued—

"The Volsung Saga is a mythic narrative of the lives and adventures of Volsung and his grandson, Sigurd Sigmundson, whom all learned antiquarians consider to be the Siegfrid of the Niebelungen Lied. This Saga informs us that Odin, the All Father (for there is another All Father), gave Sigurd a valuable present, the wonderful horse Grani; and that Reigen forged for him the famous sword Gramr, which, aside from its supernatural powers as a sword, possessed the peculiar properties of a divining-rod. This sword, the compiler of the Niebelungen Lied calls Balmung.

"Sigurd, urged on by Reigen, attacks and kills Fafnir, Reigen's brother, who was the owner of an immense hort, or treasure. Another Saga tells us how Fafnir obtained his vast wealth. Odin, Loki, and Haenir, according to the Saga, stopped one day, while traveling upon earth, at the house of Hreidmar, a great enchanter. In the course of the evening, they happened to display an otter skin, which Hreidmar immediately recognized as the skin of one of his sons, who was in the habit of fishing disguised as an otter. The father accused the gods (who were called Aesir) of having slain his favorite child; and Loki confessed that he had killed him inadvertently with a stone. After this confession, Hreidmar, with his sons, Reigen and Fafnir, seized the Aesir, who were powerless against persons they had wronged, and demanded of them, as a ransom, that they should cover the skin with unalloyed gold. Loki was, thereupon, requested to go to Blackelfdom to obtain the requisite amount of gold. He went, and, taking with him Ran's net, caught Andvari, the lord of Andvarifors, who inhabited the lake in the shape of a pike. Andvari purchased his liberty, by giving up all the gold which he kept concealed in his caverns; but when Loki compelled him to surrender also a magical ring, which he valued even more than all his gold, he laid a curse upon it, which doomed every one into whose possession it should come to an unnatural and violent death. When Loki returned with the treasure, he gave it to Odin, who was anxious to keep the ring; but Hreidmar forced him to part with it, to cover a few hairs of the otter skin that he had left bare. Odin, who was loth to give it up, became angry, and renewed the curse laid upon it by Andvari.

"When Hreidmar's sons afterwards asked their father to give them a share of the gold, he refused to comply with their request. Fafnir, who was the more violent of the two, would not brook the refusal, but slew his father and took possession of the treasure and the ring. refusing, in his turn, to share them with his brother. But fearing that Reigen might seek to avenge the death of Hreidmar, he took their father's helmet (Egershelm) and the sword Hrotha, and went to Gnytaheath, where he concealed his treasure in a cavern, and watched over it night and day in the shape of a dragon.

"Reigen, who became, a few years after this event, the teacher of the youthful Sigurd Sigmundson, induced his pupil to pledge himself to avenge Hreidmar's death upon the patricide. Sigurd, who was eager to fulfill his promise, went to Gnytaheath and killed Fafnir; and then, following the directions of the sorceress of the heath, he took a drop of the dragon's heart's blood and laid it upon his tongue, and thus obtained the power of understanding the language of the birds. A few days after Fafnir's death, Sigurd heard a feathered songster tell its mate that Reigen meditated the death of the son of Sigmund. The song of the warbler roused him to a sense of his danger. He armed himself, and attacked Reigen with the very weapon which the son of Hreidmar had so carefully forged for him. Reigen was killed, and confessed, before he died, that he had intended to slay his pupil.

"Sigurd wept over the body of his tutor, and then left his father's house and the land of his birth; for grief did not suffer him to remain on the spot where he had killed his teacher and friend. With the curse-laden ring, Advarinaut, on his finger, and his good sword, Gramr, or Balmung, by his side, he roved from land to land, seeking for adventures. One day, while riding through a dense forest in the northern part of Europe, he found a young and very beautiful girl fast asleep beneath an arbor of oak trees. It was the Valkyrior Hildre, who, though only twelve years old, was already condemned by Odin, to a magic sleep in Skataland (the grove of heroes), for having refused her love to Healmgumar, one of the favorites of the All Father. Sigurd dispelled the charm, by cutting the magic cords with which the Valkyrior was bound.

"The Hebe of Valhalla was now restored to consciousness and liberty; but not to her place in the hall of the gods. With no friend, but her deliverer to counsel and advise, she threw herself upon his protection, and told him her name and the story of her wrongs. Sigurd, captivated by her beauty and loveliness, offered her his heart and hand, and the services of his good sword Gramr; and she accepted his offer with the confidence of a child. He then changed her mane to Brunhilda; and, after he had restored her to the castle of Isenstein, he gave her the ring, Andvarinaut; for he was, as yet, ignorant that a fearful curse went with it. But, after a few months, he proved fickle, like many other men, and left her, without having fulfilled his promise to marry her. Brighter eyes, and a more gentle heart, drew him from his allegiance.

"It is therefore evident, that Siegfrid was no stranger to Brunhilda, when he arrived at her castle with King Gunther. And, if we take in consideration the relation which she at one time sustained to him, it ought not to surprise us that we find her treating him as she did; for ladies rarely pardon infidelities of this kind."

MR. FILMOT. This account of Sigurd's early adventures, serves to explain many passages in the poem which appeared to me obscure, and alluding to things not mentioned there. The Volsung Saga not only explains Brunhilda's strange conduct towards Siegfrid, but it proves also, notwithstanding the Christian elements that enter into the Niebelungen Lied, that the actors in the drama belonged to the heathen times of Germany.

MRS. THORALE. Mr. Karsh, it appears to me, from the account which you have given us of the gods of Valhalla, that these respectable monsters (I will no more call them foggy) were as immoral as any god of Rome or Greece. Your Loki seems to have had no scruples when stealing, or robbing, if you please, the gold of poor Andvary.

MR. KARSH. I will admit that Loki's character is beyond defending. But that god is the only immoral denizen of Valhalla; and it gives me pleasure to be able to say, that he did not belong to the Aesir. The younger Edda, when speaking of him says: "There is a deity who is numbered among the Aesir, though he is not one of them; he is called, by some, the calumniator of the gods. He contrives all manner of mischief, and is often the disgrace of gods and men. His name is Loki, or Loptur. He is the son of the giant Farbauti. His mother is called Laufey, or Hal: and his brothers are Byleist and Helbelinde. Loki is handsome and well made, but of a very fickle mood and very evil disposition. He surpasses all beings in cunning and perfidy. Many a time has he exposed the gods to great peril, and afterwards saved them again by his artifices. A great number of his tricks and wicked deeds are related in the Edda, and in various Sagas." His character seems to have been a compound of that of Momus and Mercury, with a strong dash of the frailties that belonged to Jupiter. His final destiny accords well with the northern ideas of a just retribution.

The Edda tell us: "Evil, indeed, were the deeds of Loki: first of all, in that he had caused Baldur to be slain, and then in having prevented him from being delivered out of Hel. But was he not punished for these crimes?" It then proceeds to relate how he endeavored to escape the avenging wrath of Valhalla's gods, the cunning and skillful ways by which he, for a while, succeeded in eluding pursuit, and how he was at last captured in his own snares.

Speaking of his punishment, it says: "The gods, having seized Loki, dragged him without commiseration into a cavern, and bedded him upon three sharp-pointed rocks, to which they bound him. Skadi then suspended a serpent over him, in such a manner that the venom of the reptile had to fall drop by drop on his face. But Sigma, Loki's wife, stands by his side, and receives the drops as they fall in a cup, which she empties as soon as it is filled. But, while doing this, the venom falls upon her husband, and causes him to howl with horror, and to writhe his body so violently, that it shakes the earth, and this produces what men call earthquakes. There will Loki lie until Rguaroeck." Thus we see that the only immoral divinity of Valhalla, met with, at least poetic, justice for his evil deeds. Can as much be said in favor of high Olympus?

MRS. THORALE. You are an able advocate, Mr. Karsh. The brief sketch which you have given us of Valhalla's worst divinity, makes one quite desirous of becoming acquainted with its other and better denizens. Will you not favor us by opening the portals of the Pantheon a little wider, and enable us to take at least a glimpse of the rest of its colossal inmates?

MR. KARSH. It will give me pleasure to comply with your request at some future day. But I fear that I have already occupied too much of your time this morning, and thus prevented you from hearing what my friend Filmot has to tell us of the Niebelungen Lied. Mr. Filmot, I hope you will pardon me for having interrupted you so long?

MR. FILMOT. You do yourself injustice by calling that an interruption which has proved to us a valuable explanation. You have given us the key to Brunhilda's conduct and to a great part of that which I am about to relate.

—

CHAPTER IV.

MR. FILMOT opened the Niebelungen Lied, and continued:—

"As soon as Brunhilda had recovered from the emotion caused by the unexpected arrival of Siegfrid, she suppressed every manifestation of ire, and listened calmly to him when he made known to her King Gunther's object in coming to her castle. When he had finished, she told him that he was welcome with his royal master, and then continued (with a smile at the vaunted prowess of her Burgundian wooer), by telling them the conditions upon which she must be won; warning the king, at the same time, of the consequences that must follow, if he should fail in obtaining the victory.

: 'Said she, "If soothe he by thy lord, and thou his liegman true,; And he be able to succeed in games I have in view,; And he'll be conqueror in all—then will I be his wife.; If one I gain—then all of you make forfeiture of life.; ' "He must the stone beyond me throw, and bound to where it lies;; And then with me the javelin hurl—to ponder well were wise;; For 'twere light thing, through games like these, to lose both life and fame.; He yet has time to change his mind." So said the royal dame.'

"Gunther hesitates at first when he hears these conditions; but Siegfrid is already at his side, and whispers to him to be undismayed. Thus urged on by his friend, he finally concludes to accept the challenge, though with some serious misgivings as to the result of the contest. Nor do I wonder at it! For where could we find a beau of the present age, who would dare to woo such a lady love upon such conditions? But poor Gunther began to look still more blank, and to give up all hope of success, when he saw the preparations the fair Brunhilda was making for the lists. Her chamberlain, who had been ordered to bring her her shield, returns with four men who carry it with difficulty, and she takes it from their hands as if it were of ordinary size and weight.

'Then was there weighty javelin brought, to her that matchless queen;

'Twas sharp and strong, and huge withal, yet light to her I ween;

For 'twas the one she always used, nor ever threw in vain—

It had three blades of steel so keen, to sunder iron chain.

'That Brunhilda was passing strong, I am prepared to own;

To her was brought, within the ring, a very ponderous stone;

It was of large circumference, 'tis true: though very strong,

A dozen knights would hardly drag its ponderous weight along.'

"When Hagen and his brother saw these formidable preparations, and the numerous followers who thronged around their queen, they got very angry; and Hagen, ever bold and impetuous, declared aloud, that a snare had been laid for his king and companions, by which all were to lose their lives. Brunhilda, he insisted, must be some kin to the devil. He then addressed his brother, and lamented bitterly that they had been induced to lay aside their armor and swords, for, with the latter in their hands, he declared that he deemed himself, with his companions, a match for Brunhilda and all her host. Brunhilda, who had overheard his remarks, smiled scornfully, and bade one of her attendants to bring them their swords and armor.

"Siegfrid, who had in the mean time managed to leave the ground unperceived by any one, now returned (wrapped in his Tarnkappe, and invisible to mortal eyes) to help Gunther through his difficulties. And sorely stood the poor king in need of this help; for his courage decreased visibly, and he began already to give himself up as lost. But Siegfrid, who stood unseen by his side, whispered to him to be of good cheer, and only go through the motions of the contest; that he, himself, would accomplish everything that was to be done. He tells him then—

' "Give her the shield, I'll wield it in the fray;

And you with strict attention mark whatever I may say;

Make you the dumb-show requisite, and I the work will do." '

"Prodigies of strength and skill are then performed on both sides.

'She poised the javelin high in air—then did the match commence.

The stranger guests did greatly fear Brunhilda's vehemence.

'The maiden hurled, with potent arm, the keen-edged javelin

At Gunther's heart; the whizzing spear with vigor entered in

The ample shield, which Siegfrid bore upon his stalwart arm.

From polished steel the sparks flew forth, like fire urged on by storm.

'The purple blood flowed from the mouth of Siegfrid the knight.

Who, soon recovering from the shock, rose then in all his might,

Wrenched from the shield the cutting spear Brunhilda had just thrown,

And hurled it at the haughty queen with force beyond her own.

'It drove out sparkles from her mail, as if upraised by wind!

Brunhilda fell through desperate throw, by son of Queen Siglind.

But fair Brunhilda very soon her footing reattained,

And said, "My thanks to Gunther brave, he has this wager gained."

'Then sprung she, full of spite, to where the cumbrons granite lay,

Which, having raised from off the ground, she poised now for the fray.

The stone was hurled twelve fathoms length before it touched the ground;

Though far the throw, more distant still the active maid did bound.

'Thereon did Siegfrid run, to where he saw the missile go;

Gunther did featly posturize while Siegfrid made the throw.

The good Siglinda's only son was daring, strong, and tall,

He cast the stone beyond her mark, and farther leaped withal.

'Through keen subtleties he had obtained such art and strength,

That he King Gunther with him took the whole of that leap's length.'

"Brunhilda, who saw herself now fairly vanquished, confessed at last, though with surprise and mortification, that she acknowledged King Gunther as her lord and future husband.

"But a new difficulty now presented itself; Brunhilda declared herself unwilling to go to Worms without a suitable train of warriors, such as became her rank and wealth; and she insisted upon sending messengers to her kinsmen and vassals, to come to her castle with their retainers to serve her as an escort to Burgundie.

"Hagen, the Nestor of the party, disliked the new aspect of things, and feared that this sudden whim of the queen concealed some treachery. But Siegfrid, who is never at a loss for an expedient in any emergency, offered his services to remove the obstacle. Provided with his useful Tarnkappe, he entered his boat and steered, unseen by human eye, across the sea to Niebelungenland. As soon as he reached his castle in that country, he summoned his faithful vassals, the Recken of that mysterious region, which he had conquered by the edge of his sword, and selected one thousand of the best and bravest, and returned with them to the castle of Isenstein, where he introduced them as Gunther's warriors, and pretended that they had been delayed by stress of weather.

"A suitable escort having thus been provided for Brunhilda, she threw no further obstacles in the way, but consented to accompany her lord to his capital. The whole party then set out upon their journey to Worms, where they arrive without any accident having befallen them on the way.

"Magnificent preparations were then made for the bridal feasts; for there were two, that of Gunther and Brunhilda, and that of Siegfrid and Chrimhild. There is no end to the gorgeous display of tables laden with meat and drink, metheglin and wine; no end to the jousting, and the various amusements peculiar to an age half heathen and half Christian.

"But a small, dark cloud hangs with threatening aspect over the gay assembly. Queen Brunhilda looks at the noble Siegfrid with an evil eye, full of bitter hatred and deep malice.

"That small cloud is the harbinger of an awful storm, which is to sweep over all who were there and then gathered together for merriment and rejoicing; in it was sheathed the blade which is hereafter to shed the blood of every heart which throbbed so joyously around that board. The poem proceeds now to relate the portentous events which precede, and, in a manner, foreshadow the final catastrophe."

Here, Mr. Filmot was interrupted by his sister, who said—

"Brother, it appears to me that you have now come to that part of the poem where the story begins to take a dark and gloomy character. If I am correct in my presumption, I would propose that we hear the rest after dinner. What you have told us of the courtship (though it was a strange one) and of the wedding, will stimulate our appetites better than thoughts filled with carnage and bloodshed."

"Your are right in your conjecture," replied Mr. Filmot. "The shadows begin to fade soon after the wedding; and the gloom henceforth darkens from stanza to stanza, until the fate of all the persons in the drama ends in the night of death. I have no objection to partaking of your dinner, as soon as you can get it ready; talking and the open air have put me in an excellent condition to do justice to it. And my be it would be as well to defer relating the incidents of the rest of the epic to another day."

"No, no," said Mrs. Thorale; "let us have the whole of them after dinner. I am anxious to know how Brunhilda and Siegfrid get along together since they have now become related by marriage. In the mean time, my dear Mariana, I wish you would tell me how can I be of some service to you in helping to prepare your rural entertainment."

"It will give me pleasure," replied Miss Filmot, "to have you and the rest of our guests aid me in arranging the simple country fare which I intend to spread before you. You need not fear a Duke of Orleans' entertainment; the food is already cooked."

—

CHAPTER V.

THE hint which Miss Filmot had thrown out was eagerly caught at by the members of the little party, and all hastened to her assistance.

Develour, Karsh, and Filmot constructed a rustic table of some boards and fallen branches, and laughed merrily at their awkward attempt at the carpenter's trade, each one carrying off some honorable scar obtained in the service of the fair ladies. Miss Filmot and Mrs. Thorale produced and prepared the contents of two large baskets; and the Misses Ross, assisted by their aid-de-camps, Mr. Ross and Captain Sanker, undertook the charge of arranging everything on the table.

When the contents of the two baskets had been transferred to the dishes on the board, Mr. Develour bowed to Miss Filmot, and said—

"Will you permit me to add to your ample provisions the little stock which I have brought with me for my sylvan repast?"

Permission having been given, he placed the fore and middle finger of his right hand over his lips, and gave so loud and shrill a whistle, that it seemed more like the cry of a bird of prey than a sound uttered by human lips. After a second or two, that whistle was answered by one as loud and shrill, which seemed to come from behind a hill in the rear of the party; and shortly afterwards, a Moor appeared beneath the trees, carrying a beautiful but foreign-looking basket.

"I see you still retain your Abyssinian," said Mr. Karsh, as soon as he recognized the man.

"Sabi never leaves me," replied Mr. Develour. "I would as soon think of parting with my shadow as with him."

He then addressed a few words in Amharic to the Moor who stood before him, with his arms crossed over his breast. The man bowed, and took from the basket which he had brought with him, a plateful of Malaga grapes, a silver basket filled with delicious pine-apples, another full of fine oranges and dates; then two bottles of wine, one of port and the other of Tokay; and, finally, two silver goblets of a strange and fantastic shape.

The members of the little party looked in silence and with some astonishment at the servant and at the strange-looking articles which he arranged upon the table. When Sabi had finished, he bowed again to his master: and then seated himself, in oriental style, beneath a tree at a short distance from the company.

Miss Filmot requested her guests to take their seats without ceremony. She herself took the head of the table; and Mr. Karsh, at her request, assumed the duties of her vis-a-vis. Mr. Develour, Miss Keelvay, Miss Harriet Ross, and Mr. Filmot occupied the seats on her right; and Mr. Ross, Mrs. Thorale, Captain Sanker, and Miss Angeline Ross those on her left.

The substantials soon disappeared before appetites which had been sharpened by exercise and a pure atmosphere; and every one seemed to have forgotten the Niebelungen and all the strange things they had seen and heard that morning.

Miss Keelvay, who was again as buoyant in mind as if nothing had occurred to ruffle it, said to Miss Ross—

"Harriet, would it not be delightful to live every day in this Adam and Eve way—at least during the summer months? I wish only I had prevailed upon the doctor to accompany us; I should have enjoyed the party so much more."

Miss Filmot looked at her brother, while an arch smile curled her pretty lips. Miss Ross, who had been examining her new silk frock, replied—

"Yes, it would be charming, if one only did not soil one's dress so much. I am almost afraid to sit down anywhere."

"Never mind your dress," said Miss Keelvay, sneeringly. "It is vulgar to think of these things, at least, to let other people know that we do. I wonder what has prevented the doctor from coming? I am afraid he is till offended, because I sneered at those two girls we met at the party the other evening. I am sure I could not know that they were his cousins. What funny tales people tell about them."

"Take care!" exclaimed Miss Harriet. "There now, you have ruined my new silk dress, which pa bought me in New York. You have spilled your wine on it, and the acid has spotted it in three places. It has taken the color out and spoiled the figure."

Mr. Develour took a small flask from his pocket, and, handing it to Miss Ross, said—

"If you will be kind enough to put a drop of this fluid upon each spot, it will restore the color and the figure where they have been obliterated."

Miss Ross took the flask, and, with doubt depicted on her face, did as she had been directed. But hardly had the fluid touched her dress before she exclaimed, with amazement—

"Why, this is wonderful! It looks as good as new. Where can I buy any of this stuff, Mr. Dovloor?"

Mr. Develour smiled, as he replied—"Not short of Ifata, I fear; but—"

Mr. Horace Ross interrupted him before he had time to finish the sentence, by saying, very pompously, and with a self-satisfied smile—

"Mr. Develour, you undervalue the commercial importance of our country. Anything that can be bought in Infanta, or any other town in Spain, is sure to find its way to New York."

Mr. Develour replied, in a careless tone—"Ifata is in Africa, south of Habesh (Abyssinia)."

Mr. Ross, though apparently, a little confused, said, hastily, "Yes, yes, that is what I meant. I confounded it with Spain, because the Moors of Infata were once the lords of Spain. I have always thought that the title Infantes, which is given to the children of the King of Spain, is in some way connected with the name of that African kingdom, just like the eldest son of the King of England is called the Prince of Wales."

The two Misses Ross looked at one another, and then around upon the company, while their countenances showed plainer than words that they were proud of their brother's superior learning. Mr. Develour laughed only with his eyes, as he replied—

"The Moors of Ifata (not Infata, as you were pleased to call it) never were lords or even inhabitants of Spain. But your fancy of basing the title of the royal children of Castile upon the African kingdom, is certainly fully as good as that which, not long ago, led some writer in a periodical to base the word journeyman upon a custom which prevailed in Germany, by which a mechanic was required to travel three years before he was permitted to settle down as a master workman. However, I fear you will have to look to some other source for the origin of the title Infante. By the way, the eldest child does not share that title. With your permission, Mr. Ross, we will now turn from Spain to Hungary. Will you do me the favor of joining me in a glass of this Tokay?"

Mr. Ross bowed, and then drank a glass full of the noble juice of the Hungarian grape. Placing the empty goblet upon the table, he said—

"A fine wine, and deserving to come from the land of the brave Magyars."

"And yet," said Mr. Develour, while a mischievous twinkle lurked in his eye, "if I add to it a few drops of this still nobler extract, it would not only improve the flavor of the wine, but confer even a greater boon upon him who drinks it: it would put him into a temporary possession of all he covets."

"Then let me have it," exclaimed Captain Sanker. "It is true, I have no faith in anything of the kind; but, for that very reason, I am willing to test the truth of your assertion."

Mr. Develour replied, calmly and evasively, "It is a dangerous experiment."

But Captain Sanker persisted, and said, "I am willing to run the risk of its witchery, if you can assure me that the extract will not endanger my life."

Mr. Develour cast one of his searching glances at the captain, and then said—

"I give it to you reluctantly. It will not endanger your life if taken in the quantity which I will pour out for you. But do not meddle with it, if you are not completely master of your nerves and imagination."

Captain Sanker, instead of any reply, held out his hand for the cup. Mr. Develour poured three drops of the liquid into one of the silver goblets filled with wine, and handed it to him. As soon as Sabi saw what his master was doing, he rose from his seat and placed himself behind Mr. Develour's chair, or camp-stool, with his eyes riveted upon the captain's face.

(To be continued.)

Godey's Lady's Book is brought to you by