Ancient Scottish ballads, recovered from tradition, and never before ...

^218
—
reign of king Stephen, relates that " They squeezed
the heads of some with knotted cords, till they pierced
their brains, while they threw others into dungeons
swarming with serpents, snakes, and toads." Henry s
Britain, vol. 6, p. 346. This reminds us of the horri-
ble fate of the warlike Lodbrog, a Danish king, who, af-
ter successfully waging predatory warfare for a long time
against the Saxons, was at last taken prisoner by El-
la, king of Northumberland, and thrown into a dungeon
full of serpents. He is said to have composed amidst
his torments, an heroic death song, in which he thus
laments his fate, and describes his sufferings :
Aslanga's sons would soon draw nigh,
With utmost swiftness hither fly,
And arm'd with falchions gleaming bright,
Prepare the bitter deeds of fight,
If told, or could they but divine
What woe, what dire mischance is mine.
How many serpents round me hang,
And tear my flesh with poisonous fang;
A mother to my sons I gave,
With native worth who stamp'd them brave.
Fast to th' hereditary end,
To my allotted goal I tend.
Fix'd is the viper's mortal harm
Within my heart, his mansion warm,
In the recesses of my breast
The writhing snake has form'd his nest.
Evans's Old Ballads, vol. 3.
;