And Thor commandeth clouds and winds;
Ye azure lakes, that I love so well,
Ye woods and brakes, farewell.”
The fifth scene is Ingeborg’s lament for her lost lover (“Storms wildly roar”),—a soprano solo, which, if not as dramatic as the music assigned to Frithjof, is nevertheless full of beautiful sentiment. The work closes with a delightful chorus, with short phrases for Frithjof (“Now he crosseth the Floods of the salt desert Waste”), supposed to be sung on board the hero’s good ship “Ellida” as they sail off for conquest and the enjoyment of the booty he has promised his companions.
[18] An admirable translation of the Saga was made by George Stephens, published in London and Stockholm in 1839. It includes besides the Saga, a life of Tegnér, by Bishop Franzén of Hernösand, Sweden; the Frithjof literature; description of Ingeborg’s Arm Ring, by Hildebrand, the Royal Antiquarian of Sweden; Crusell’s songs; and numerous notes and illustrations.
[19] In the original Saga the “Farewell” has six verses, the first, second, and sixth of which are thus literally translated:—
“Heimskringla’s forehead,
Thou lofty North!
Away I’m hurried
From this thine earth.