part of real courtship, and such true love as existed, was in defiance of the artificial regulations of society.

We shall have occasion to treat very fully of this important branch of our subject in the following pages.

The Romans in a great measure adopted their manners from the Greeks. Various arts of courtship were used among the Romans as among the Greeks, but only in illicit amours, and those had in them very little of a sentimental character. With our ideas of refinement and the romance of love, we are perpetually astonished at the want of such sentiments even among the poets of Greece and Rome. There is nothing in the history of man for which it is more difficult to account.

We have no evidence that there was any thing like courtship as a prelude to marriage. In the Roman authors, we frequently read of a father, brother, or guardian, giving his daughter, sister, or ward in marriage, but never where an intended bridegroom applied to the lady for her consent, although we have the most minute accounts of the manners and habits of the Roman people; and this is the more remarkable, since women, at a late period of the Roman empire, rose to a dignity and freedom scarcely paralleled in modern times.

The elements of our present civilization sprung up in the North; and the true dignity of woman was recognised in the mythology of Odin.

We find, therefore, that the ancient Scandinavian women were chaste, proud and emulous of glory. Their rights, in the affairs of love, were so far respected, that their own consent was to be won, before parent or guardian was consulted. To gain the affections of these haughty and high-toned dames, two things were necessary. The lover must not only be able to captivate his mistress by his personal qualities and assiduous attentions, but he must have performed such feats of arms as to have gained a renown that would make him worthy of her hand.

It is true that these observations apply especially to the higher classes of society-but as in all countries these set the fashion in manners and morals, we should doubtless find that all classes were governed by the same general principles.

Such portions of Scandinavian literature as have been preserved, afford us some fine examples of this union of love and war among the bold nations of the north. One of these is the following

ODE OF KING REGNER LODBROG.

We fought with swords that day, wherein I saw ten thousand of my foes rolling in the dust, near a promontory of England. A dew of blood distilled from our swords; the arrows which flew in search of the helmets bellowed through the air. The pleasure of that day was equal to that of clasping a fair virgin in my arms.

"We fought with swords. A young man should march early to the conflict of arms-man should attack_man_or bravely resist him; in this hath always consisted the nobility of the warrior. He who aspires to the love of his mistress ought to be dauntless in the clash of swords.

"We fought with swords in fifty and one battles under my floating banners. From my early youth, I have learned to dye the steel of my lance with blood; but it is time to cease. Odin hath sent his goddesses to conduct me to his palace. I am going to be placed on the highest seat, there to quaff goblets of beer with the gods. The hours of my life are rolled away."

Such was the life, the glory, the love and the religion of King Regner-such was the spirit of the times of which we are speaking a spirit not entirely lost among the descendants of the Norsemen.

We have a beautiful and touching ode of Harold the Valiant, of a later date, in which he enumerates the exploits by which he had hoped to gain the affections of his beloved, each stanza of which ends with a complaint of his want of success. It is worthy to be transcribed as an illustration of the ancient northern life and literature. We prefer a literal translation to any attempt to give the bold spirit of the composition in English verse:

ODE OF HAROLD THE VALIANT.

My ships have made the tour of Sicily; there were we all magnificent and splendid. My brown vessel, full of mariners, rapidly rowed to the utmost of my wishes.

Wholly taken up with war, I thought my course would never slacken; and yet a Russian maiden scorns me.

"In my youth, I fought with the people of Drontheim; their troops exceeded ours in number. It was a terrible conflict. I left their young king dead on the field; and yet a Russian maiden scorns me.

"One day, we were but sixteen in a vessel, a storm arose and swelled the sea; it filled the loaded ship, but we diligently cleared it out; thence I formed hopes of the happiest success; and yet a Russian maiden scorns me.

"I know how to perform eight exercises: I fight valiantly; I sit firmly on horse-back; I am inured to swimming; I know how to glide along on skates; I dart the lance, and am skilled at the oar; and yet a Russian maiden

scorns me.

"Can she deny that young and lovely maiden-that on that day, when posted near a city of the southern land, I joined battle, that then I valiantly handled my arms, and left behind me lasting monuments of my exploits ?—and yet a Russian maiden scorns me.

"I was born in the high country of Norway, where the inhabitants handle their bows so well; but I preferred guiding my ships, the dread of peasants, among the rocks of the ocean, and far from the habitations of men. I have run through all the seas with my vessels; and yet a Russian maiden scorns me.'

Such were the exploits and loves of the old Norsemen. At this day we should call them freebooters, buccaneers, robbers, pirates-yet centuries after, the same race is doing the same things, with a little more formality and hypocrisy. Under our old religion of Thor and Woden, or Odin, men believed that courage in war, and the slaughter of their enemies entitled them to the highest seats among the gods; their descendants are fully as brave and furious in war, but they profess to believe in a very different religion-a religion of love and peace! But we stray from our subject.

Besides arts and arms, the Norsemen had their charms and incantations, to acquire the good graces of the fairall these things proving that their women were not slaves in their affections, but that, instead of being given away or sold, they had to be wooed and won.

Odin, the prophet, and afterwards deity, of the northern mythology, probably alludes to some potent, love-compelling charm, in the following extract from one of his dis

courses:

THE SECRET OF ODIN.

"If I aspire to the love and favor of the chastest virgin, I can bend the mind of the snowy armed maiden, and make her yield wholly to my desires.

"I know a secret which I will never lose, it is to render myself always beloved of my mistress.

"But I know one which I will never impart to any female except my own sister, or to her whom I hold in my arms. Whatever is known only to one's-self is always of great value."

Odin's directions how to proceed in courtship, contained in the Hava-Maal, or sublime discourses of Odin, contain, however, no allusion to any secret charms. The advice strikes us as extremely sensible:

ODIN'S ADVICE TO LOVERS.

"He who would make himself beloved of a maiden must entertain her with fine discourses, and offer her engaging presents. He must almost incessantly praise her beauty.

"It requires good sense to be a skilful lover. If you would bend your mistress to your passion, you must only go by night to see her. Where a thing is known to a third person it never succeeds."

We have one more incident to relate as illustrative of the manners and customs of the old northern nations of Europe in respect to the matters of which we are considering. The young women were not always content with relying upon what fame had reported of the prowess of their lovers they often preferred to have an occular demonstration of their courage and skill, before the irrevocable choice was made. Of course the men were not backward in gratifying this inclination. The man who would go to distant lands and perform deeds of heroism, for the purpose of winning the love of some fair lady, would never hesitate to risk his life, when she was looking on, the witness of his valor, the reward of his success.

A hero, who aspired to the hand of a lady, was also required to perform some feat of arms of an importance, proportionate to the rank of the lady of his love. This, with other curious matters, is illustrated in the following story of

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GRYMER AND THE PRINCESS OF SWEDEN.

Grymer, a youth early distinguished in arms, who well knew how to dye his sword in the blood of his enemies, to run over the craggy mountains, to wrestle, to play at chess, trace the motions of the stars, and throw far from him heavy weights, frequently showed his skill in the chamber of damsels, before the lovely daughter of King Charles.

Desirous of acquiring her regard, he displayed his dexterity in handling his weapons, and the knowledge he had attained of the sciences. At length he ventured to say to her, Wilt thou, O fair princess, if I may obtain the king's consent, accept me for a husband?

"To this question she prudently replied: I must not make that choice myself, but go thou and offer the same proposal to my father.

Grymer, accordingly, proposed to king Charles for the hand of the lovely princess of whose heart he felt assured. But the king answered him in a rage. Thou canst indeed handle thy arms, said he, but what feat hast thou performed, what victory hast thou ever achieved or won to entitle thee to the hand of the Princess of Sweden? Thou must gain a great battle, and give a plenteous feast to the wolves, that hover around the bloody field, before my daughter can be thy wife!

"Grymer told the king that nothing would give him so much pleasure as to gratify him in this matter; and the king, pleased with his ardor, pointed out to him, in a neighboring kingdom, a hero renowned for arms, whom, if he could conquer, the princess should be his reward.

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Grymer, elated with his success, went to inform his princess. She was greatly agitated, and feared that her father had devoted her lover to death, but far from dissuading him from his undertaking, she provided him with a suit of impenetrable armor and a trusty sword.

"Grymer went forth, slew his adversary and the most