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DEER AND VILA.

A young deer track'd his way through the lone forest
One lonely day-another came in sadness-

And the third dawn'd, and brought him sighs and sorrow;

Then he address'd him to the forest Vila :

"Young deer," she said, "thou wild one of the forest!
Now tell me what great sorrow has oppress'd thee;
Why wanderest thou thus in the forest lonely:
Lonely one day-another day in sadness-

And the third day with sighs and anguish groaning?"
And thus the young deer to the Vila answered:
"O thou sweet sister! Vila of the forest!
Me has indeed a heavy grief befallen;
For I had once a fawn, mine own beloved,
And one sad day she sought the running water;
She enter'd it, but came not back to bless me.
Then, tell me, has she lost her way and wander'd?
Was she pursued and captured by the huntsman?
Or has she left me ?-has she wholly left me-
Loving some other deer—and I forgotten?
Oh, if she has but lost her way, and wanders,
Teach her to find it-bring her back to love me!
Oh, if she has been captured by the huntsman,
Then may a fate as sad as mine await him!
But if she has forsaken me-if, faithless,

She loves another deer, and I forgotten

Then may the huntsman speedily o'ertake her *.”

This version differs considerably from the German one of Talvi. We feel quite convinced that Mr. Bowring has mistaken the sense.

VOL. II.

Y

We have already observed* how almost all nations compare female beauty to that of the beings of their legendary creed. With the Servians the object of comparison is the lovely Vila. "She is fairer than the mountain-Vila," is the highest praise of woman's beauty. In the ballad of "The Sister of the Kapitan Leka" it is said of the heroine Rossandra, that in no country, either Turkey, or the land of the Kauran, or Giaours, was her fellow to be found. No white Bula (Mohammedan), no Vlachin (Greek), no slender Latiness (Roman Catholic), could compare with her.

And who on the hills hath seen the Vila

E'en the Vila, brother, must yield to her.

The swiftness of the Vila also affords a subject of comparison: a fleet horse is said to be “ Vilaish,” or "swift as a Vila."

In the fine Illyrian ballad of " Lord Mercury+" we find another species of supernatural beings, which we know not well how to class. Lord Mercury had been despatched by the king to fetch

* Vol. I. p. 32.

† La Guzla, ou Choix de Poésies Illyriques. Paris, 1827.

the queen to the camp. nights without stopping.

He rode three days and

"And when he was upon the shore of the lake of Cettina, he bade his squires to pitch his tent, and himself went down to the lake to drink. And the lake was covered with a thick mist, and mingled cries were heard issuing from the fog.

"And the water was agitated, and boiled up like the whirlpool of the Jemizza when it sinks beneath the earth. When the moon arose, the fog dispersed; and, behold! an army of little dwarfs on horseback galloped along the lake as if it was frozen.

"As they attained the shore, man and horse increased till they were of the size of the mountaineers of Dooaré *, and they formed in ranks, and went along in good order, riding along the plain, and bounding with joy.

"And sometimes they became gray as the fog, and the grass was seen through their bodies; and other times their arms glittered, and they seemed all fire. Suddenly a warrior, mounted on a black courser, issued from the ranks.

"And when he was before Mercury he made his horse curvet, and showed that he wished to combat with him. Then Mercury made the sign of the cross, and spurring his good horse, he charged the phantom at full speed, with his lance depressed.

"Eight times did they meet in the middle of their course, and their lances bent on their cuirasses like leaves of the iris ;

*These people are remarkable for their lofty stature.

but at each encounter the horse of Mercury fell on his knees, for the horse of the phantom was much the stronger.

"Let us alight,' said Mercury, and fight once more on foot.' Then the phantom sprang down from his horse, and ran against brave Mercury; but he was borne to the ground at the first shock, maugre his stature and his great strength.

"Mercury! Mercury! Mercury! thou hast vanquished me!' said the phantom. For my ransom I will give thee a counsel: Return not unto thy house, for thou there wilt meet thy death.' The moon was veiled, and champion and army instantly vanished."

Lord Mercury neglected this and other warnings: he returned home, and was poisoned by his faithless spouse, Euphemia.

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When evening's shades o'er Goree's isle extend,
The nimble Yumbos from the Paps descend,
Slily approach the natives' huts, and steal,
With secret hand, the pounded coos-coos meal.

MS.

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