hundred years they troubled the country more or less. Whether the galley we are concerned with did or did not visit this country is a question which cannot now be determined. We do not know the name of the Viking owner, or anything about his doings or by what name he called his vessel. We can merely say that he lived at some time during the period from the end of the eighth to the middle of the eleventh century, and that when he died he was buried in his vessel, which was drawn up on land and had a mound of earth thrown over it, which, luckily for posterity, happened to consist of blue clay. At any rate it was in galleys such as this one that the Vikings arrived on our shores, and therefore, nationally, if not archæologically, we are interested in the discovery. strength to keep; those who had not, took from those who were weaker than themselves. The Vikings and their followers were for many a long day the special plague of Scotland. They had effected a settlement in Ireland, and having become acquainted with the Scotch ports, paid them several piratical visits. They spread themselves over the Hebrides as early as 793, and during the next two centuries they appear to have emigrated to Orkney, Shetland, Skye, and the Isle of Man, all of which places seem to have become Norwegian colonies. They associated and intermarried with the inhabitants, and to this day, their descendants may be readily distinguished, both in physiognomy and temperament, from those of Celtic origin. Many names of the clans as well as designations of places also bear testimony to the presence of the Vikings. During 870 a But it is far pleasanter to leave this dreary large and powerful armament sailed from record of bloodshed and strife and to Dublin under Anlaf and Ivar, overran all approach this priceless relic of antiquity North Britain, ravaging the country and imbued only with a spirit of admiration and pillaging its inhabitants, returning to Ire-appreciation for the vessel, such as Frithiof land gorged gorged with blood and plunder. had for his own beloved Ellida. When In 881 Constantine met his death whilst Frithiof, as a punishment for his contempt futilely fighting with them on the banks of the shrine of Balder, was sent by the of the Forth. They still continued their kings to demand tribute from the Orkneys, a descents on Scotland during the reign fearful storm arose-of Donald, who, however, signally defeated them twice. During the last battle, which was fought in 904 on the banks of the Tay, Donald himself was slain, but, unlike Constantine, not until he had killed the Viking leader. They plagued the country during the following years with varying success, and in 970, Kenneth III., a most energetic sovereign, gained a bloody victory over them at Luncarty, the tumuli to this day marking the scene of the exploit. It was not until 1014 that a treaty was made between Malcolm and King Sweno of Denmark, and the final departure of these marauders was witnessed by the long-suffering people. The struggle had been long and tediously protracted. From about 866 to 1014 it had continued, but eventually the pluck and steady determination of the Scotch conquered, and they had the satisfaction, after struggling for some 148 years, of seeing the last of their foes. But the piratical descents. of the Vikings were not confined to Scotland and Ireland. They seem to have made three descents upon England during the eighth century; but these do not appear to have caused much alarm among the inhabitants. During the end of Egbert's reign, however, their invasions became more frequent and much more disastrous, and for the next two "Now ocean fierce battles, The wave-troughs deeper grow, Mocks the angry ocean's rage. But the storm-spirits riding on whales oppose themselves to the vessel. Then. Frithiof thus speaks to his ship, for she could understand the voice of men Now, Ellida, let us sce It in truth thou bearest "Hearken to my calling And the good ship hears and is equal to the "Heed Ellida giveth To her lord's behest: Deep the monster's breast." Ellida, however, does not come out of the contest unscathed "But Ellida's prow Hath stricken with such force, * Translation by Rev. W. L. Blackley, London, 1880. thinks of the hideously fashioned and unseaworthy monsters which do duty nowadays for ships. At the present day, on the northern fjords in Norway, boats of a very similar description are still occasionally met with. In this galley the flanks and frame-timbers are fastened together with withes of tree-roots. Many writers see in this method of joining the lower timbers a source of great weakness to the boat. But considering what thoughtful and careful boat-builders these people evidently were, a charge of such a radical kind should not lightly be brought forward. May it not be probable that this method, which to many appears likely to be fraught with evil results, was in reality a great source of strength to the boat? At any rate it must be admitted that the system gave great elasticity to the whole structure, and who can say that tree-roots, when kept as they would be in this vessel, immersed in water, are not tough and strong? From what we know of the roots of aquatic plants, and of trees growing by the river-side, we should rather be inclined to say that the Vikings show in this particular their wisdom, and that they were more careful and scientific observers of nature and the form and quality of natural objects than many would give them credit for being. The bent timbers on the inside of the boat are naturally grown and have not been artificially bent. Naturally-grown bent timber is much more reliable than the steam-bent timber used in modern ship-building. Here then was a great point of strength about the galley. It would be quite impossible now to obtain naturally-bent timber for the enormous requirements of our ship-building yards, but if there were the supply for the demand it would be eagerly welcomed. The boards of the sides are of good, sound, well-seasoned, and selected oak, about an inch and a half in thickness. They are smoothly planed and firmly riveted together by iron rivets which have been carefully clinched on either side. These rivets do not quite correspond to what are technically known as bolts, but are more like large iron nails with protruding round boss-like heads. They are wonderfully well preserved. There are also a few oaken bolts near the upper parts of the sides. It is significant that there are no traces of a saw having been used anywhere about the vessel. The planks and timbers must therefore have been most laboriously cut down from large trunks by means of axe or hatchet. The vast toil that this implies can only fully be realised when one has carefully examined the vessel herself. We can imagine The planks have their edges moulded on the inside as well as on the outside. The mouldings consist of indented lines running down the length of the planks near the lower margins. One cannot help being impressed with the carefulness and good style displayed in the workmanship, not only generally but down to minute details. There is no scamping about anything. The vessel clearly bears the imprint of having been constructed for love rather than money. the searching of the forests; the long walks. through the dense underwood; the careful selecting of trees; the measurement of boughs for the bent timbers; the long and laborious task of felling, and the difficulty after all this of dragging the oak giants down to the shore. It is not to be wondered at that, after undergoing so much preliminary trouble and anxiety, they thought no time too long, no finish too elaborate to be spent in the completion of the vessel. Both bow and stern are similar in shape. They are pointed and must have risen a considerable distance out of the water. Unfortunately, the top of each was broken when the boat was discovered, so we cannot now determine whether she originally carried a figure or not. Judging from the slender proportions, it would seem that if there were any ornaments at the bow and stern, these adornments must have been very slight in character. The keel is deep and made of thick oak beams. As the vessel is now placed it is impossible to get a view underneath to see if there had been any metal keel fastened to the bottom. In the Frithiof Saga, however, the 'keel of copper" is spoken of, therefore it may safely be presumed that there might have been something similar in this vessel. The keel does not show signs of much friction. It may therefore be supposed that the vessel. was seldom dragged up over the shore, but generally kept at anchor in the fjords. These are deep close up to the land, a fact which supports the supposition. The vessel, however, must have been comparatively new when immured. An iron anchor was also found with the vessel on the starboard side, but so rusted away that it could not be preserved. It is interesting here to notice that in the Bayeux tapestry-to which reference is made further on--some of the galleys thereon depicted have anchors suspended from the starboard bow. is undoubtedly the rudder. This is in a marvellous state of preservation, and as sound and perfect as if only recently made. It is placed on the starboard side a foot or so from the stern of the vessel. In still older days there used to be two rudders to boats, one on either side of the stern, but during the Viking period the port rudder was discarded. Philologically too this rudder is of interest. Our present word starboard is a corruption of a much older word, steerboard, or the steering side of a vessel; the word having, doubtless, arisen from the ancient position of the rudder being, as on this galley, upon the right-hand side. Perhaps the rudder resembles most a large oar or cricket bat, consisting chiefly of blade with only a short handle. It is fixed, not directly to the boat, but to the distal end of a piece of conical wood, which projects about a foot from the vessel. This piece of wood is bored down its length, and no doubt a rope passing through it secured the rudder to the ship's side. It will thus be seen that the rudder could swing on this pivot quite independently of the ship. The steering was effected by a tiller fixed in a hole at the upper end of the handle portion, and probably as well by a rope fastened to the lower end of the blade. The rudder could evidently be shipped when the vessel was rowed and not sailed. The discovery of this galley is of great interest to artists. The general lines of the boat and her rudder will be the parts which will be likely to claim most attention. Hitherto representations of Viking galleys have necessarily been more or less fanciful. The rudder particularly seems always to have been the trouble. Some, boldly defying tradition and ignoring any difficulty at all in the matter, have drawn the rudder at the stern as it is placed in modern ships. Others, much more judicious, have solved the difficulty after a fashion by being careful to only depict the port side of the vessel. Others, more courageous and certainly more praiseworthy, have grappled with the difficulty and depicted the starboard side and drawn the rudder as passing out of a hole through the timbers of the vessel. It is therefore to be hoped that the correct shape of this galley will rapidly circulate amongst those of the artistic world, and for ever put a stop to the curious drawings and paintings of Viking galleys, some of which instead of giving us graceful and possible boats, present us with impossible vessels. having lines closely resembling those of the barges so familiar to us on the Thames. The one mast, which was movable, was placed, when erected for sailing, in a hole sunk in a beam at the bottom of the vessel. A few feet higher the mast passed through a large hole in an immense log curiously shaped at either end, somewhat like a fish's tail. wedge of wood was used to fix the mast in this upper beam. To facilitate its erection the hole was made lozenge-shape. A In the mound were also found parts of three small oaken boats in shape generally like the galley itself; a large, well-made, solid copper cauldron, similar to those in use at the present day; a few bedsteads of the low and short kind which all travellers in Norway know painfully well-indeed so like are they to the beds one sees in the country houses, that the same remark is applicable here which was made when speaking of the cars; some drinking cups and tubs and some pieces of carved and painted wood, the use of which is unknown. Several large, round shields of thin wood were also found. These could not have been for defence, but must have been used simply as ornaments, and traces of black and yellow paint are to be discerned upon them. At a much later date shields of this same description were used to ornament ships on gay and festive occasions, by being hung close beside one another all along the gunwales. We may presume therefore that such was their use on this galley. A landing stage made of an oak plank 24 feet long, 10 inches broad, and 23 inches thick was also found in the mound. The surface of this plank is carved ornamentally to prevent slipping when walking to and from the vessel. Those who know the Bayeux tapestry, in Normandy, will have their thoughts directed there on reading the description of this galley. In that famous piece of worsted-work there occur numerous representations of galleys exceedingly similar to this one. It is now generally allowed that the authenticity of this piece of work, one of the "highest authorities" on the Norman Conquest, may be relied upon. It would therefore have been worked in the eleventh century, and some authorities consider it not unlikely that it may have been actually wrought by the hands of Queen Matilda and her maidens. We see in it galleys with bows and sterns recurved and ornamented with elaborate figure-heads of men and animals-in our * Freeman's "Norman Conquest," vol. iii., page 563. eyes seeming now all more or less grotesquely treated-galleys with sails set; galleys with rowlocks; galleys with oars; in fact, there is great variety in the galleys depicted, and their details will well repay careful attention. Suffice it now to say that though in general these Norman galleys are somewhat similar to the Norse, in many particulars they differ. For instance, the ornamental shields on the gunwales of most are oval, while we have seen that those of this Norse galley are round. The Bayeux tapestry, historically interesting as it undoubtedly is, acquires additional interest from the light thrown upon it -so verifying in character-by the lately discovered Norwegian vessel. It must be borne in mind, however, that the vessel discovered at Sandefjord gives evidence of being much older than the date of the tapestry. The discovery of this galley throws a flood of quite unexpected light upon a period of history which is perhaps as dark and obscure as any during historic times. That one of the vessels which might have brought over Vikings to our shores should have been extant, seemed until last year an utterly vain and futile supposition. Certainly a portion of another vessel from this same period was discovered, similarly in a mound, at Tune, in 1867 (and now rests at Christiania under a shed close beside the Sandefjord vessel), but it is such a small portion, and that too in so imperfect a state, that any hopes which might have been indulged in as to our ever obtaining a perfect specimen seemed useless. But here we have a vessel in such sound and excellent condition that there is little about her structure and details to be left to the imagination. Indeed, so perfect is she that there are several things connected with her the meaning of which has, during the lapse of centuries, become lost or forgotten. We must wait patiently until archeologists. and students of the Viking period have had time to study the vessel and the objects that were found immured with her and to digest the facts, before we shall be much further enlightened in the matter. However, with the information we do possess, meagre though undoubtedly it is, little effort is required on our part to people her, to imagine her pulsating with that life which her crew saw in her. We can hear the wild songs of the rowers; we can listen to the sound of the curling water foaming under her bows as she rushes like some great sea-monster through the waves; we note the whistling wind and the taut bellying of her great square sail, and the fine determined face of the man at the helm. And then, too, can we not fancy` her full of armed men endowed with courage and endurance sufficient to cross a proverbially stormy sea? We picture to ourselves the feebly armed, and certainly not so bold and audacious, inhabitants of Britain at the time of these Scandinavian invasions, and then we can wonder no longer at the terror and victory that followed so universally for a time the inroads of these Vikings upon our coasts. THE POSY. BY ALFRED PERCEVAL GRAVES, AUTHOR OF "SONGS OF KILLARNEY." AS I went down my garden, Α Before the dew was dry, Along the road to Hawarden,* A lovely lass came by. Her cheek was rosy, rosy— Blue, blue her eye, I offered her a posy, Pansy, pansy— Yellow, white, and blue, She has won my fancy, * Pronounced "Harden." So much I mused about her, I could not sleep o' night, And one month without her Left me weak and white; Till lily-o'-the-valley Her leaves did decline, To seek my Valentine. Yellow, white, and blue, Far away with you. CHAPTER XXII.-" LOVE WILL FIND OUT THE WAY." SAND ANDY ANDREWS had his supper and went to bed, and meantime his former friend and associate was swiftly threading the high-road to the North with a purpose definite and clear. He knew what he meant to do. It had been the resolution of an instant, but none the less was it the result of all that had gone before; and could fair Nancy Irvine have now beheld her lover trudging over hill and dale, wending his way through silent woodlands, straggling villages, and lonely mosses, leaving behind mile after mile as daylight departed, and in the clear pale sky overhead the stars crept twinkling into sightcould she have seen him thus patiently and stubbornly pursuing his way all through the night, and halting not as the grey dawn broke, but only thinking of drawing nearer and nearer to her, she would have been more than mortal if she had not owned a thrill of pride in being so sought and sued for. He had started upon impulse, it is true, without pausing to calculate the wisdom or folly of the step, but the more he thought of it the better he was pleased with himself. Dick was singularly simple in this respect; Marion had never been able to teach him suspicion; but a stronger master than the Widow Netherby read him his lesson now. Love sharpens every sense, and brightens the dullest wits. Dick was not a dullard, and he was alive all at once to much that would have escaped another. He put two and two together with marvellous rapidity as he hastened along, and his courage rose as he felt himself upon the road, and knew by the light that he was in excellent time for the early train from Girvan to Glasgow. But he had not bargained for having too much instead of too little of that valuable commodity on his hands, and on finding himself safely arrived within the precincts of the slumbering town, apparently the only thing stirring within it, he was ready to wish he had not put his best foot forward so persistently; he might have allowed himself a little more law. Now he had nothing to do but to cool his heels till it should please the good people of the town to wake up and unclose their shutters; and, considering that he was hungry, impatient, and inclined to feel the air of daybreak somewhat chilly, it is no wonder that the hours dragged. It had been easy to feed his imagination Mischief, he felt convinced, was brewing, with visions of his love, of the surprise he and he ought to be on the spot to counteract should give her, and of the welcome she would it; to have delayed might have proved fatal; accord him, while stepping along beside the even the loss of a day might have undone rocky shore and beneath the starry heavens. him. Something-he could hardly have told He had not felt cheerless and lonely as the what-in Sandy's eye and smile made his voice of ocean beating up its hidden caves late companion scowl as he recalled it. He fell upon his ear, nor any special anxiety and had never before mistrusted Sandy. Indeed, distress as he strode away faster and faster |