6 of Asbiorn,' Gunlaug and Rafen,' 'The Combat of Thalmar,' &c. The Song of Hroke the Black,' 'The Death of Hacon,' Fragment of Biarkamal.' In his notes to the first poem is the following paragraph, Translations made like Dr. Percy' (speaking of Cottle's Edda of Sœmund), 'by a person unacquainted with the Icelandic language, through the medium of a Latin prose translation, cannot be expected to represent the style and spirit of the originals; but Mr. C. has not even taken the trouble of understanding the Latin.' In his notes on The Death of Hacon,' he observes, An English prose translation, from the Latin version of Peringskiold, has been published by Dr. Percy in his Runic Poetry,' which is not quite so inaccurate as the rest of that book; his translation of Regner Lodbroc's Ode teems with errors,* and indeed scarce a line of it is properly interpreted. Mr. Johnstone has had the merit of publishing the original text of that Ode more accurately than Worm or Biörner, with an English and Latin prose version, in which he has rectified Dr. Percy's errors, though his style is very indifferent. There is a celebrated passage which has been completely misunderstood by all its translators: Erat circa matutinum tempus, Cassidis campos mordebant gladii. In primaria sede osculari.-Worm. Literatura Runica.† 'And in another stanza, Erat sicut splendidam virginem In lecti juxta se collocare. Then follow your version and Johnstone's; and then"What notion the learned translators entertained of kissing young widows, I cannot pretend to say; but it is singular that they should have imagined Regner Lodbroc could have thought it like breaking heads with a broad sword. The fact is, that the lines mean the very reverse. At added to an Icelandic word has the force of a negative, * "The geographical errors are particularly singular; Processimus ad terram prostratorum' (i. e. the field of slaughter), is there translated' we marched to the land of Vals;' and in Skioldungorum prælio,' at Skioldunga.' The Skioldungi were, in fact, the descendants of Skiold, King of Denmark." "This is an inaccurate title; Runer, from which is formed the adjective runic, is simply the Icelandic word for letters, literature, or charms wrought by means of letters." and is frequently used. Var, means was; vurat, was not. The lines ought to have been thus rendered: 'It was not early in the morning when men were compelled to fly from the report of battle, where sharp swords bit the surface of the helmets. This was not like kissing a young widow on the highest seat.' By which he meant that they had a long and hard contest, and that the spirit of war was very different from the pleasures of peace." In another place," Dr. Percy, who follows Peringskiold, asserts, that Bauga was a subordinate god of war; but no such person is mentioned in either edition, and I can find no account of him. I believe that Peringskiold, who was puzzled by the word, got rid of the difficulty by translating it Bogonis, and that Bogo was deified by the learned Bishop." "These are the only passages which occurred to me on taking up the book this morning, in which you are mentioned; and as there is a design of reprinting the Runic Poetry in the new edition of the Northern Antiquities,' I know you will readily forgive the trouble I give you in transmitting them for your consideration. The book is but lately printed, and probably has not yet reached you. "I had the pleasure of seeing Dr. Crawford when he was in Edinburgh, and regret that I saw him so seldom, and that he left town without mentioning the result of his consultation of Dr. Munro. I hope it has been more beneficial to you than Mr. Ware's advice. If I had been at home I would have returned, by Dr. Trail, the originals of Grainger's letters; but another opportunity may soon occur, or I will send them through the War Office. I hope the Ode, &c. arrived. They were sent to Belfast long ago. Miss Stewart and Miss Bannerman are quite delighted with your present of the Reliques,' the most superbly bound books that ever were seen. They will thank you. With my affectionate respects to Mrs. Percy, I am ever, my dear Lord, yours faithfully, "RO. ANDERSON." Bp. PERCY to Dr. ANDERSON. Dromore House, Aug. 16, 1804. "DEAR SIR, "The complaint in my eyes compels me to use the pen of a secretary, which I hope you will excuse; but I am desirous to avail myself of any means to thank you for your obliging letter of the 26th of July, and I gladly seize the opportunity of transmitting to you, by my friend Dr. Trail, a copy of the Runic Poetry which I published above forty years ago, desiring you will candidly peruse it, and see if it is worth republishing now at the end of the Northern Antiquities. For my own part I had ceased to think of them both; but, if you wish to revive the latter, I cannot help thinking the former will tend to illustrate the subject, notwithstanding the severe criticism of Mr. Herbert, whose book I have never seen, nor do I recollect to have heard of it, but if you will give me the title and date I will endeavour to procure it. Notwithstanding that he condemns, in the gross, translations like mine, made through the medium of a Latin version, yet I humbly conceive an English reader will form thereby as good a notion of the peculiar images and general subject of the original, as from his own paraphrase (for it can be no other) in English verse; but in my translation I had an advantage, which Mr. Herbert seems to have overlooked, in having it compared with the original by the great master of Northern literature, the Rev. Edw. Lye, author of the Anglo-Saxon Lexicon, 2 vols. fol. and of the other learned works which I have mentioned in my preface. And if here or there a passage escaped his vigilance, or were mistranslated by following two such respectable authorities as Wormius and Peringskiold, those two great northern luminaries, it will surely be very pardonable, considering the difficulty of the undertaking. "However, to form a truer judgment of the subject, you would do well to compare my version of the 'Ode on the Death of King Ragner Lodbrog,' with that of Dr. Blair in his Dissertation on Ossian's poetry. "I shall say no more at present till I have seen Mr. Herbert's book, but I desire you to accept all the kind respects of this family, and believe me to be, dear Sir, "Your very faithful servant, "THO. DROmore. (Signed) "P.S. I have not yet heard of the arrival at Belfast of the copies of Miss Stewart's Ode, and beg you will inform me to whom they are consigned. I will not fail to remit to you the ten guineas which I promised on that account. Before I close up this letter, allow me to mention that Dr. Blair, having Wormius' book before him, in which is printed the original of Egil the Scald, a poem altogether in rhymes, and those very nicely formed, as you will see by page 92 of my book, (which, though printed in Runic characters, he could easily have decyphered,) has hastily pronounced that the termination of rhymes was utterly unknown to the ancient Islandic poets; and herein he has been followed by Dr. Robert Henry in his History of England, and I suppose by other compilers, which will give the more importance to a republication of my juvenile attempt, wherein that point is sufficiently ascertained." Dr. ANDERSON to Bp. PERCY. Heriot's Green, 15th Sept. 1804. "MY DEAR LORD, "I designed your Lordship a letter in continuation before now, but the fine weather of the month of August, the romantic scenery of Strath-Endrick and Monteith, and the engaging kindness of my friends, detained me in the country till about the time of Dr. Trail's return from Ireland. "Almost immediately on my coming home, I had the pleasure of receiving your Lordship's packet from the Doctor's hands, accompanied by the intelligence, which I did not find in it, of your being surrounded by all your family, and by his assurances of your being in excellent health and spirits; which helped to reconcile me in some measure to your making use for the first time in our correspondence of the pen of a secretary. "By a note from New Street, received yesterday, mentioning the present opportunity of a private conveyance, I am glad to learn that the Doctor has had a few lines from your own hand the other day; a circumstance which convinces me that the complaint in your eyes is not worse, though you will probably use your own pen sparingly, as a safe and prudent precaution for the preservation of your sight. "The Doctor, I am sorry to think, is so much plagued with a lumbago, which has vexed him since he came from Ireland, that he cannot undertake so long a walk as to Heriot's Green. "I have carefully re-perused your Lordship's little volume of Runic Poetry, and am fully convinced that the reprinting it at the end of the second volume of the Northern Antiquities' will tend to illustrate the subject, and form a suitable addition to that work. Indeed I am of opinion that it will be more properly placed in the Antiquities' than in the fourth volume of the Reliques,' where I believe you had an intention of placing it; I mean the version of the five poems. "The criticisms of Mr. Herbert are petulant; but, in reprinting the Poems, I thought it right that you should know they existed, that you might, if necessary, take some notice of them. Even the remarks in your letter to me might easily be extended to an ample and satisfactory vindication of the general fidelity of your version. "Mr. Herbert's book is entitled 'Specimens of Icelandic Poetry,' &c. printed at London some time in 1803 or 1804, a thin 8vo. Within the same period this young Oxonian has published two similar volumes, chiefly of Latin versions of popular poetry, and some originals. I cannot find any of his volumes here, but they may be procured of any of the London booksellers. "Messrs. Longman and Rees have been here a few days; but they never recurred to the subject of the Antiquities; and the opinion of Rees respecting your Lordship's conduct towards Cadell and Davies precluded any further discussion. Your Lordship will yet, I hope, find a moment of leisure to dictate a statement of the concern you had in the edition of Goldsmith. "The copies of Miss Stewart's 'Ode' have long since arrived at Belfast; and if they have not reached Dromore House, Mr. Magee is certainly very much to blame. "Your Lordship's intended liberality towards the publisher merits every praise. The author on every consideration is out of the case. Your present of the 'Reliques,' superbly bound, is the highest honour and the most estimable acknowledgment she could receive from the editor. "The best way that I could think of applying your |