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And nerv'd with horror,rose the mouldring dead.

Well might their ashes leave the quaking tomb,

And well might earth, to heaven for vengeance cry,

When sinners, for whose sake he left his home, Condemn'd the Son of God, in shame to die.

"On us, and on our children, be his blood."— This, sons of Judah, was your daring cry. On you, and on your children, like a flood It rush'd with ruin, death and infamy.

Long have your sons in heavy bondage groan'd,

Long been to every land a spoil and prey, Hated and scorn'd,-by no communion own'd, E'en grudg'd the boon of common sympathy.

Yet suffering remnant of a guilty race! Eternal mercy hath an bour decreed, When Christ, for Zions King, you shall confess,

Bow to his crown of thorns, and kiss his sceptre reed. E.

SCOTLAND.

There is perhaps, no country whose history excites deeper interest, than that of Scotland. It consists of a series of memorable incidents, each calculated to awaken the strongest sympathies and to call forth the most powerful emotions of the bosom. From the usurpation of Macbeth, to the tragical death of the unfortunate Mary, there is scarcely a reign, but is signalized by some event, manifesting a spirit of noble daring, a patriotism unquenchable, and a courage not to be subdued but by death. Nor is it human nature on the bright side only that is here delineated, but we find exhibited, the effects of the most malignant passions, dark lurking treachery,assassination and murder in its most terrific forms. The equality in power of rival chieftains, gathering strength in their mountains and fastnesses, uncontrolled by an energetic monarchy,―The untamed character of the Highlander ;-the chivalric spirit of the border noblemen, the intrigues of foreign Courts, all combined to produce the interesting incidents so abundant

ly scattered through the Scottish annals. A new interest has been recently given to this history, by the pen of the great Sir Walter Scott,in "The Tales of a Grandfather," a work more especially intended for the young, but I which is not without its interest to the mature in life. Were we to select the chapter of the greatest interest, perhaps it would be that which describes the life and death of Robert Bruce, the restorer of the Scottish Monarchy, the ancestor of the Stuarts and of the present reigning family in Great Britain.

The closing scene has been thrown into verse, by one of our own native bards, in a manner which we esteem peculiarly beautiful, and which we now extract from the "Legendary" a recent periodical work, many of whose pages have just claims upon public favor, and the lovers of a chastened style, in modern native poetry. The Bruce's heart is a splendid historical painting, faithfully copied from the original, without any of the sickly sentimental foppery of Moore, or the darker malignity of Byron; but rather in the manly, dignified style of the no longer Unknown of Scotland whose pen adorns whatever it touches.

THE BRUCE'S HEART.

THE couch of death King Robert prest; His nobles ranged around,

With head declined, and troubled breast,
To list his latest sound.

His temples bathed in painful dew,
The fainting monarch cried,
'Red Comyn in his sins I slew,
At the high altar's side.

"For this, a vow my soul hath bound, In armed lists to ride,

A warrior to the Holy Ground,

Where my Redeemer died. Lord James of Douglas! near me stand, Firm friend in all my care!

Bear thou this heart to that blest land, A contrite pilgrim there.'

He paused-for on in close pursuit,
With fierce and fatal strife,

He came, who treads with icy foot
Upon the lamp of life.

The brave Earl Douglas, trained to meet
Perils and dangers wild,

Low kneeling at his sovereign's feet
Wept like a weaned child.

Beneath Dunfermline's hallowed nave,
Enwrapt in cloth of gold,
The Bruce's relics found a grave,
Deep in their native mould;

But locked within its silver vase,
Next to Lord James's breast,
His heart was journeying on apace,
In Palestine to rest:

While many a noble Scottish knight,
With sable shield and plume,
Rode as its guard, in armor bright,
On to their Saviour's tomb.
Their war steeds pressed the soil of Spain,
And lightning fired their eye,
To mark, in bold and gorgeous train,
Her flower of chivalry.

Alphonso 'gainst the invading Moor
Drew forth his proud array,
And set the serried phalanx sure
To bide the battle fray.
'God save ye now, ye gallant band
Of Scottish nobles true!
Good service for the Holy Land

Ye on this field may do.
Forth with the cavalry of Spain

They rode in close array,
And the grim Saracen in vain

Opposed their onward way.
But Douglas, with his falcon glance,
O'erlooking spear and crest,

Saw brave St. Clair with broken lance,
By Moorish foes opprest.

He saw him by a thousand foes

Oppressed and overborne,
And high the blast of rescue rose
From his good bugle horn;

And, reckless of the Moorish spears,
In serried ranks around,

His monarch's heart, oft steeped in tears,
He from his neck unbound,

And flung it to the battle front,

And cried with laboring breath,
'Pass first, my liege, as thou wert wont-
I'll follow thee to death."

Stern Osmyn's lance was dire that day,
And keen the Moorish dart,

And there Earl Douglas wounded lay,
Upon the Bruce's heart.

Embalmed in Scotland's holiest tears,

That peerless chieftain fell,

And still the lyre through future years
His glorious deeds shall swell.
'The good Lord James,' that honored name
Each lisping child shall call,

And all who love the Bruce's fame
Shall mourn the Douglas' fall.

WORCESTER TALISMAN.

Published every other Saturday morning, by DORR & HOWLAND, Worcester, (Mass.) at $1 a year, payable in advance.

Agents paying five dollars will be entitled to receive SIX copies.

Letters, intended for THE TALISMAN, must be post paid to insure attention.

GRIFFIN AND MORRILL....PRINTERS.

NO. 8.

THE

Worcester Talisman.

JULY 12, 1828.

VOL. I.

POPULAR TALES.

THE FORTUNES OF MARTIN WALDECK. particular, with the woodland goblin of the

BY SIR WALTER SCOTT.

The solitudes of the Harz forest in Germany, but especially the mountains called Blockberg, or rather Brockenberg, are the chosen scene for tales of witches, demons, and apparitions. The occupation of the inhabitants, who are either miners or foresters, is of a kind that renders them peculiarly prone to superstition; and the natural phenomena which they witness in persuit of their solitary or subterraneous profession, are often set down by them to the interference of goblins or the power of magic. Among the various legends current in that wild country, there is a favourite one which supposes the Harz to be haunted by a sort of tutelar demon, in the shape of a wild man, of huge stature, his head wreathed with oak leaves, and his middle cinctured with the same, bearing in his hand a pine torn up by the roots. It is certain that many persons profess to have seen such a form traversing, with huge strides, the opposite ridge of a mountain, when divided from it by a narrow glen; and indeed the fact of the apparition is so generally admitted, that modern scepticism has only found refuge by ascribing it to optical decep

tion.

In elder times, the intercourse of the demon with the inhabitants was more familiar, and according to the traditions of the Harz, he was wont, with the caprice usually ascribed to these earth-born powers, to interfere with the affairs of mortals, sometimes for their weal, sometimes for their wo. But it was observed, that even his gifts often turned out, in the long run, fatal to those on whom they were bestowed, and it was no uncommon thing for the pastors, in their care for their flock, to compose long sermons, the burthen whereof was a warning against having any intercourse, direct or indirect, with the Harz demon. The fortunes of Martin Waldeck have been often quoted by the aged to their giddy children, when they were heard to scoff at a danger which appeared visionary.

A travelling capuchin had possessed himself of the pulpit of the thatched church at a little hamlet called Morgenbrodt, lying in the Harz district, from which he declaimed against the

wickedness of the inhabitants, their communication with fiends, witches, and fairies, and in Harz. The doctrines of Luther had already begun to spread among the peasantry, for the incident is placed under the reign of Charles V., and they laughed to scorn the zeal with which the venerable man insisted upon his topic. At length, as his vehemence increased with opposition, so their opposition rose in proportion to his vehemence. The inhabitants did not like to hear an accustomed quiet demon, who had inhabited the Brockenberg for so many ages, summarily confounded with Baalpeor, Ashtaroth, and Beelzebub himself, and condemned without reprieve to the bottomless Tophet. The apprehensions that the spirit might avenge himself on them for listening to such an illiberal sentence, added to their national interest in his behalf. A travelling friar, they said, that is here to-day and away to-morrow, may say what he pleases, but it is we, the ancient inhabitants of the country, that are left at the mercy of the insulted demon, and must, of course, pay for all. Under the irritation occasioned by these reflections, the peasants from injurious language betook themselves to stones, and having pebbled the priest pretty handsomely, they drove him out of the parish against demons elsewhere.

Three young men, who had been present and assisting upon this occasion, were upon their return to the hut, where they carried on the laborious and mean occupation of preparing charcoal for the smelting furnaces. On the way, their conversation naturally turned upon the demon of the Harz and the doctrine of the capuchin. Max and George Waldeck, the two elder brothers, although they allowed the language of the capuchin to have been indiscreet, and worthy of censure, as presuming to determine upon the precise character and abode of the spirit, yet contended it was dangerous, in the highest degree, to accept of his gifts, or hold any communication with him.He was powerful, they allowed, but wayward and capricious, and those who had intercourse with him seldom came to a good end. Did he not give the brave knight, Ecbert of Rabenwald, that famous black steed, by means of which he vanquished all the champions at the great tournament at Bremen? and did not the same steed afterward precipitate itself, with

its rider into an abyss so deep and fearful,that ||
neither horse nor man was ever seen more?-
Had he not given to Dame Gertrude Trodden,
a curious spell for making butter come? and
was she not burnt for a witch by the grand
criminal judge of the Electorate, because she
availed herself of his gift? But these and ma-
ny other instances which they quoted, of mis-
chance and ill-luck ultimately attending upon
the apparent benefits conferred by the Harz
spirit, failed to make any impression upon Mar-
tin Waldeck, the youngest of the brothers.

6

surrounded by some figures that appeared to wheel around it with antic gestures. Max at first bethought him of calling up his brothers; but recollecting the daring character of the youngest, and finding it impossible to wake the elder without also disturbing him-conceiving also what he saw to be an illusion of the demon, sent, perhaps, in consequence of the venturous expression used by Martin on the preceding evening, he thought it best to betake himself to the safeguard of such prayers as he could murmur over, and to watch, in great terror and annoyance, this strange and alarming apparition. After blazing for some time, the fire faded gradually away into darkness, and the rest of Max's watch was only disturbed by the remembrance of its terrors.

TO BE CONTINUED.

THE ITALIAN DIVER.

In the times of Frederic, king of Sicily, there lived a celebrated diver, whose name was Nicolas, and who from his amazing skill in swimming, and his perseverance under water, was surnamed the Fish. This man had from his infancy been used to the sea; and earned his scanty subsistence by diving for

Martin was youthful, rash, and impetuous; excelling in all the exercises which distinguish a mountaineer, and brave and undaunted from his familiar intercourse with the dangers that attended them. He laughed at the timidity of his brothers. 'Tell me not of such folly,' he said: the demon is a good demon-he lives among us as if he were a peasant like ourselves-haunts the lonely crags and recesses of the mountains like a huntsman or goatherd-and he who loves the Harz forest and its wild scenes cannot be indifferent to the fate of the hardy children of the soil. But, if the demon were as malicious as you would make him, how should he derive power over mortals who barely avail themselves of his gifts, with out binding themselves to submit to his pleas-corals and oysters, which he sold to the villagure? When you carry your charcoal to the furnace, is not the money as good that is paid you by blaspheming Blaize, the old reprobate overseer, as if you got it from the pastor himself? It is not the goblin's gifts which can endanger you then, but it is the use you shall make of them that you must account for.And were the demon to appear to me at this moment, and indicate to me a gold or silver mine, I would begin to dig away even before his back were turned, and I would consider myself as under protection of a much Greater than he, while I made a good use of the wealthed he pointed out to me.'

To this the elder brother replied, that wealth ill won was seldom well spent, while Martin presumptuously declared, that the possession of all the treasures of the Harz would not make the slightest alteration on his habits, morals, or character.

ers ashore. His long acquaintance with the sea, at last brought it to be almost his natural element. He frequently was known to spend five days in the midst of the waves, without any other provisions than the fish which he caught there and ate raw. He often swam over from Sicily into Calabria a tempestuous and dangerous passage, carrying letters from the king. He was frequently known to swim among the gulfs of the Lipari Islands, no way apprehensive of danger.

Some marriners, out at sea one day, observsomething at some distance from them, which they regarded as a sea monster; but, upon its near approach, it was known to be Nicolas, whom they took into their ship. When they asked him whither he was going in so stormy and rough a sea, and at such a distance from land, he shewed them a packet of letters which he was carrying to one of the His brother entreated Martin to talk less towns of Italy, exactly done up in a leather wildly upon this subject, and with some diffi- bag, in such a manner as that they could not culty contrived to withdraw his attention by be wetted by the seal. After eating a hearty calling it to the consideration of an approach-meal with the mariners, he took his leave, and ing boar-chase. This talk brought them to their hut, a wretched wigwam, situated upon one side of a wild, narrow, and romantic dell, in the recesses of the Brokenberg. They released their sister from attending upon the operation of charring the wood, which requires constant attention, and divided among themselves the duty of watching it by night, according to their custom, one always waking while his brothers slept.

Max Waldeck, the eldest, watched during the two first hours of the night, and was considerably alarmed, by observing upon the opposite bank of the glen, or valley, a huge fire

jumping into the sea pursued his voyage alone. In order to aid these powers of enduring the deep, nature seemed to have assisted him in a very extraordinary manner; for the spaces between his fingers and toes were webbed as in a goose; and his chest became so very capacious that he could take in, at one inspiration, as much breath as would serve him for a whole day.

The account of so extraordinary a person did not fail to reach the king himself, who, actuated by the general curiosity, ordered that Nicolas should be brought before him. It was no easy matter to find Nicolas, who generally

THE FORAGING PARTY.

A REVOLUTIONARY TALE.

In the latter part of the spring of the year 1777, a well mounted cavalier was seen winding his way along the well beaten road that led from to the It

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in South Carolina. was a beautiful day-the sun was flashing in mid-day splendor; while the cool zephyr passed along with a gentle and reviving flow. The uniform in which he was dressed showed him to be an American officer; the continental troops being then in that vicinity.

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spent his time in the solitudes of the deep; but at last, however, after searching, he was found and brought before his Majesty. The curiosity of this monarch had been long excited by the accounts which he had heard of the bottom of the gulf of Charybdis; he now, therefore, conceived that it would be a proper opportunity to have more certain information. He accordingly commanded our poor diver to examine the bottom of this dreadful whirlpool, and, as an incitement to his obedience, ordera golden cup to be flung in it. Nicolas was not insensible of the danger to which he was exposed; danger best known only to himself; and he therefore presumed to remonstrate; but the hopes of the reward, the desire of pleasing the king, and the pleasure of showing his skill, at last prevailed. He instantly jump-high spirited animal on which he was ed into the gulf, and was swallowed as instantmounted, showed by the sweat and ly up in its bosom. He continued for three foam which coursed down his flanks, quarters of an hour below; during which time the king and his attendants remained upon that his rider was on an errand of presthe shore anxious for his fate, but he at last sing import. appeared buffeting upon the surface, holding As they arrived near a large and elthe cup in triumph in one hand and making egant mansion that stood a little distance his way good among the waves with the othfrom the highway, and whose white er. It may be supposed he was received with applause upon his arrival on shore: the cup pillared sides, peeping through the was made the reward of his adventure; the green foliage of a thick grove of shade king ordered him to be taken prompt care of: trees in which it was embowered, indiand, as he was somewhat fatigued and debil- cated the abode of plenty and elegance, itated by his labor, after an hearty meal he both horse and rider seemed to recogwas put to bed, and permitted to refresh himself by sleeping. When his spirits were thus nize it as a well known place. rested, his account of the wonders he had seen cavalier dismounted at the gate, and dewas to the following effect. He would never, livered his charge to an old negro dohe said, have obeyed the king's commands mestic, who, by a profound bow, and a had he been apprized of half the dangers that grin which stretched his mouth from were before him. There were four things, he said, which rendered the gulf dreadful, not onear to ear, accompanied by a "How is ly to men, but to the fishes themselves: first massa to-day," testified his respects for the fear of the water bursting up from the bot- the gentleman, while his patting and tom, which requires great strength to resist; rubbing down the horse showed his resecondly, the abruptness of the rocks that on gard for that animal. The cavalier was every side threatened destruction; thirdly the met at the door by a venerable looking force of the whirlpool dashing against those rocks; and fourthly, the number and magni- old gentleman, whose silver headand furtude of the polipus fish, some of which appear- rowed cheek contrasted poorly with his ed as large as a man, and which, every where erect person and firm step,and by a bloomsticking against the rocks, projected their fib-ing young Hebe, apparently about 18. rous arms to entangle him. Being asked how he was able so readily to find the cup that had been thrown in, he replied that it happened to be flung by the waves into the cavity of a rock against which he himself was urged in his descent. This account, however, did not satisfy the king's curiosity: being requested to venture once more into the gulf for further discoveries, he at first refused; but the king, desirous of having the most exact information possible of all things to be found in the gulf repeated his solicitations; and, to give them still greater weight, produced a larger cup than the former, and added also a purse of gold. Upon these considerations the unfortunate Diver once again plunged into the whirlpool, and was never heard of more.

He was welcomed by both-by the former with a blunt frankness, and by the latter with a bashful emotion and crimsoned cheek, which together with the lustre emitted from her dark eye, told an unrevealed tale of plighted vows and pure affection. After a few inquiries respecting the state of the army, and learning that their visiter was to return that day, the old gentleman left the young couple in the parlor.

"Why do you return so soon, Edward," said the young lady; "though perhaps," she added with a smile, “you

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