"And fast before her father's men,

Three days we've fled together; For should he find us in the glen,

My blood would stain the heather.

"His horsemen hard behind us ride:
Should they our steps discover,
Then who will cheer my bonnie bride,
When they have slain her lover?"

Outspoke the hardy Highland wight;
"I'll go, my chief, I'm ready;
It is not for your silver bright,
But for your winsome lady.

And by my word! the bonnie bird
In danger shall not tarry ;
So though the waves are raging white,
I'll row you o'er the ferry."

By this, the storm grew loud apace,
The water-wraith was shrieking;
And in the scowl of heaven each face
Grew dark as they were speaking.

But still as wilder blew the wind,
And as the night grew drearer,
Adown the glen rode arméd men,
Their trampling sounded nearer.

66

"O, haste thee, haste!" the lady cries, Though tempests round us gather; I'll meet the raging of the skies,

But not an angry father."

The boat has left the stormy land,
A stormy sea before her,-

When oh! too strong for human hand,
The tempest gathered o'er her.

And still they rowed amidst the roar
Of waters fast prevailing;

Lord Ullin reached that fatal shore-
His wrath was changed to wailing.

For sore dismayed, through storm and shade,
His child he did discover:

One lovely hand she stretched for aid,
And one was round her lover.

Come back! come back!" he cried in grief,
"Across this stormy water;

And I'll forgive your Highland chief,
My daughter! oh, my daughter!"

'Twas vain

the loud waves lashed the shore,

Return or aid preventing;

The waters wild went o'er his child,
And he was left lamenting.

Thomas Campbell.

COUNTRIES.

DWELLERS IN COLD

Tommy: But pray, sir, how do the little boys amuse themselves in such a dismal country as Greenland? Do their fathers take them out a fishing with them?

Mr. Barlow: When the men come home all covered with wet and icicles, and sit down comfortably in their huts to feast upon their prey, their common conversation is about the dangers and accidents they have met

All

with in their day's work. A Greenlander relates how he bounded over the waves to surprise the monstrous seal; how he pierced the animal with his harpoon who had nearly dragged the boat with him under the water; how he attacked him again in closer combat ; how the beast, enraged with his wounds, rushed upon him in order to destroy him with his teeth; and how, in the end, by courage and perseverance, he triumphed over his adversary and brought it safe to land. this he will relate with the vehemence and interest which people naturally feel for things which closely concern them. He stands in the midst of his neighbours and describes every minute circumstance of his adventures. The little children gather round, and eagerly listen to all he says; they feel themselves interested in every circumstance; they hear and wish to share in the toils and glories of their fathers. When they are a little bigger they exercise themselves in small skiffs, with which they learn to overcome the waves. Nothing can be more dangerous, or require greater dexterity, than the management of a Greenlander's boat. The least thing will overset it, and then the man who cannot disengage himself from the boat, which is fastened to his middle, sinks down below the waves, and is drowned if he cannot regain his balance. In their sportive parties, the children run about in a thousand different manners. They dive under their boats, and then set them right with their paddles. They learn to glide over the roughest billows, and face the greatest dangers with calmness, till in the end they acquire sufficient strength and address to fish for themselves, and to be admitted in the class of men.

Harry: Pray, sir, is this the country where men travel about upon sledges that are drawn by dogs?

Mr. Barlow: The country you are speaking of is called Kamschatka. It is, indeed, a cold and dreary country, but very distant from Greenland. The inhabitants there train up large dogs, which they harness to a sledge, upon which the master sits, and so performs his journey along the snow and ice. All the summer the people turn their dogs loose to shift for themselves, and prey upon the remains of fish which they find on the shore, or on the banks of the rivers. In the winter they assemble their dogs, and use them for drawing sledges across the snow. They have no reins to govern their dogs or stop them in their course. The driver sits upon his sledge and keeps himself as steady as he is able, holding in his hand a short stick, which he throws at the dogs if they displease him, and catches again with great dexterity as he passes. This way of travelling is not without danger, for the temper of the dogs is such that when they descend hills and slippery places, or pass through thickets where the driver is likely to be struck by thorns, they always quicken their pace. They do the same if their master should happen to fall off, which they at once discover by the sudden lightness of the carriage, for then they set off at such a rate that it is difficult to overtake them. The only way which the driver has to keep up with them is to throw himself flat on the ground and lay hold of the empty sledge, suffering himself to be thus dragged along the earth till the dogs, through weariness, relax their speed.

Frequently in their journeys, these travellers are surprised by unexpected storms of wind and snow, which render it impossible to proceed further. How ill would a European fare if he were in such a plight, a hundred miles or more from any habitable place,

exposed without shelter in the midst of extensive plains, and unable to procure either wood or fire! But the hardy native of these cold climates, inured from his infancy to overcome hardships of this kind, seeks the shelter of the first forest he can find. Then wrapping himself round in his warm fur garment, he sits with his legs under him; and, thus huddled up, he suffers himself to be covered round with snow, except a small hole which he leaves for the convenience of breathing. In this manner he lies, with his dogs around him, for several days, till the storm is past, and the roads again sufficiently clear for him to pursue his journey.

Tommy: I could not have thought it possible that men should be able to struggle with so many hardships. Surely the poor people who inhabit these cold climates leave them whenever they are able, and go to live in countries that are warmer and better?

Mr. Barlow: Not in the least. When they hear that there are no seals to be caught in other countries, they say that they must be wretched indeed, and far inferior to their own. Besides they have, in general, so great a contempt for all Europeans, that they have no inclination to visit the countries which they inhabit.

Tommy: How can that be? How can a number of wretched ignorant savages despise men that are so much superior to themselves?

Mr. Barlow: They do not acknowledge that Europeans are superior to themselves. The Greenlanders, for instance, see that those who visit them cannot manage a boat, or catch a seal as well as they can. For this reason they view them with great contempt, and look upon them as little better than barbarians.

K