-
Articles/Ads
Article THE CONVERT. ← Page 3 of 7 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Convert.
indignant at the apathy of Hernwald , and too enli ghtened to pay much attention to the common superstition of his countrymen who held it dangerous to rescue a drowning man who they believed invariabl y lived to inflict some deadl y injury upon his preserver . " Be it at thy pleasure , " replied the Arch-Druid , " he that scoffeth the wisdom of his fathers may rue his follfor whshould the
y , y son be wiser than him who begat him ?" While his attendants bore the body to the cave , the old Druid kindled a fire of leaves , and as soon as the blaze was extinct , applied the hot ashes to the chest , hands and feet . Seating himself at the side of the stranger , he placed his head in his lap , and while the inferior priests chafed the limbs , chaunted the following Druidical rhymes :
I rembling betiveen life and death , Back I call thy parting breath . Though thy soul be on the wing , O ' er thy cold clay hovering , By the consecrated flame—By dread Odin ' s awful name , By this mystic holy rite — By the fearful words of miht
g AVhich the dead who hear awaken By ivhich hell and earth are shaken , By words , no human tongue may tell , AVhich bind the moon-beams in their spell , Arrest the bright stars in their track , Fleeting soul!—I call thee back .
Whether it was that the Arch-Druid had watched the effects of the priests endeavours and proportioned his song to their success , I cannot inform my readers , but certain it was , that at the close of his incantation , if so it may be termed , the stranger began to show signs of returning animation . " Prince , " exclaimed the Arch-Druid , a haughty smile of triumph curling his lips , "wilt thou longer doubt the power of Odin or the mi
ghty Thor , thou hast been witness of the miracles , the dead have been restored to confirm thy wavering faith . " " Surely father , " answered Egbert , " naught but human wisdom hath been here displayed " " Blaspheme not , prince , " said the old man , " lest I dismiss the soul for ever fromits mansion to bear witness against thee . " "Priest of the gods" lied Egbertawed b superstition which
, rep , y a he imagined he had despised , " how have I merited this stern reproach ? have thy rites been neglected , thy temples profaned , or have I embraced the faith of the Roman ? my heart answereth not to thy reproaches . "
" Not for these do I reproach thee , —thy sin is doubt . " The truth of the Aich-Druid ' s last assertion silenced the Briton , who scorned to descend to a falsehood , yet secretly he could not hel p wondering by what powers of prescience Hernwald had been able to trace the complexion of his thoughts , which he deemed confined to his own bosom until now . Although faint and exhausted from his long insensibility , the stranger was sufficiently recovered to murmur hi ' s thanks ; the monarch ordered him to be conveyed to his rude palace , and prepared
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Convert.
indignant at the apathy of Hernwald , and too enli ghtened to pay much attention to the common superstition of his countrymen who held it dangerous to rescue a drowning man who they believed invariabl y lived to inflict some deadl y injury upon his preserver . " Be it at thy pleasure , " replied the Arch-Druid , " he that scoffeth the wisdom of his fathers may rue his follfor whshould the
y , y son be wiser than him who begat him ?" While his attendants bore the body to the cave , the old Druid kindled a fire of leaves , and as soon as the blaze was extinct , applied the hot ashes to the chest , hands and feet . Seating himself at the side of the stranger , he placed his head in his lap , and while the inferior priests chafed the limbs , chaunted the following Druidical rhymes :
I rembling betiveen life and death , Back I call thy parting breath . Though thy soul be on the wing , O ' er thy cold clay hovering , By the consecrated flame—By dread Odin ' s awful name , By this mystic holy rite — By the fearful words of miht
g AVhich the dead who hear awaken By ivhich hell and earth are shaken , By words , no human tongue may tell , AVhich bind the moon-beams in their spell , Arrest the bright stars in their track , Fleeting soul!—I call thee back .
Whether it was that the Arch-Druid had watched the effects of the priests endeavours and proportioned his song to their success , I cannot inform my readers , but certain it was , that at the close of his incantation , if so it may be termed , the stranger began to show signs of returning animation . " Prince , " exclaimed the Arch-Druid , a haughty smile of triumph curling his lips , "wilt thou longer doubt the power of Odin or the mi
ghty Thor , thou hast been witness of the miracles , the dead have been restored to confirm thy wavering faith . " " Surely father , " answered Egbert , " naught but human wisdom hath been here displayed " " Blaspheme not , prince , " said the old man , " lest I dismiss the soul for ever fromits mansion to bear witness against thee . " "Priest of the gods" lied Egbertawed b superstition which
, rep , y a he imagined he had despised , " how have I merited this stern reproach ? have thy rites been neglected , thy temples profaned , or have I embraced the faith of the Roman ? my heart answereth not to thy reproaches . "
" Not for these do I reproach thee , —thy sin is doubt . " The truth of the Aich-Druid ' s last assertion silenced the Briton , who scorned to descend to a falsehood , yet secretly he could not hel p wondering by what powers of prescience Hernwald had been able to trace the complexion of his thoughts , which he deemed confined to his own bosom until now . Although faint and exhausted from his long insensibility , the stranger was sufficiently recovered to murmur hi ' s thanks ; the monarch ordered him to be conveyed to his rude palace , and prepared