CHAPTER IV.

Lund Cathedral of St. Lawrence Legend of Finn the Giant -- The crypt- Marriage of Queen Philippa-Shift of St. Margaret The library Letters of James I.-Love-letters of Sophia Dorothea and Königsmark - Skull of Descartes - Charles XII. and his horse Brandklipparen.

LUND. THE CATHEDRAL.

WHEN you first gaze on the ancient church of St. Lawrence-its rounded apse, with fine exterior arcade, and corona typical of the crown of thorns, the richlycarved ornaments of its doorways-gems of the roundarch period-and then turn to the flying buttresses and square towers-" richly repaired in brick❞—you exclaim, "Was anything ever more hopeless! Will no one part of the building ever be completed?" And you are right. A curse hangs over the cathedral church of Lund, according to old prophecy and legend.

On the Hill of the Saints* by Lund lived in olden time a giant whose dwelling-place was under ground. Now St. Lawrence he came from Saxony, and preached the word of God-every hill was his pulpit, for as yet there was no church in the land. Then said the giant to him in mockery, "Your God surely deserves a

* Hill of the Saints-Helgonabacken-now covered with wood, is situated behind the bishop's palace, at the extremity of the town.

temple, if all you say of Him be true. Come! I myself will build you a church; but when it is finished, you must tell me my name. If not, oh light of the faith, I demand as a forfeit the two torches which shine in the canopy of heaven." "Mad pagan that you are!" replied the saint; "the sun and the moon will remain for ever in the sky, where God has placed them, to light the wise as well as the foolish, the good as well as the bad."

"Well answered," laughed the giant. "I demand, then, what you can give me-your eyes." "Provided the church be finished, you are welcome to take my eyes; for the greatness of God-the faith of Christ-can be preached by a blind man as well as by one that sees."

A site was chosen. The giant, bearing on his shoulders a mountain of stone, crushes it beneath his feet. First he builds the crypt, after the model of his own dwelling, with arches like those of heaven. "Be strong, be high, O walls," cries he; "the monk knows not my name; my daughter will play with his eyes before the moon is at her full."

The walls rise as by magic; a row of columns support the church. Already the giant sits on the roof; he laughs while he sings, "I have worked hard-there is little now left to do; before the sun sets, the monk must give me either my name or his eyes."

On the Hill of the Saints stood St. Lawrence; he gazed sadly on the sun, and exclaimed, "Oh, Lord Father! Thou gavest me my eyes: take them; I sacrifice them with joy."

Then at that moment there arose a voice, which came not from the heaven, nor the clouds, but from

beneath the earth, as a noise of thunder which disquiets the very depths of ocean, singing, "Sleep sweetly, little Solve, my son; father Finn sits on the wall top; he builds the church. Slumber gently, little Gerda, my fair daughter; thy father Finn returns at sunset with his promised present."

St. Lawrence, running joyfully to the church, cries out, "Finn, Finn (for I know thy name), come down; one

stone alone is wanting to the tower-that I can lay myself, for God has preserved my eyes." When Finn heard the words of the saint he answered, "So sure as I am called Finn of the giant race, never shall that last stone be placed; thy church shall remain, without and within, for ever unfinished." Then in his fury he rushed to the crypt below, and, seizing hold of a column, with tremendous force endeavoured to pull down the building; his wife too, bearing little Gerda in her arms, rushed to his aid. They tugged,

they pulled, but One was more powerful than they. Gradually their strength failed: Finn, his wife, and child, all turned into stone, and there you may see them to this day, embracing the hard column, to which they are for ever united.

Six centuries have elapsed. The work has been going on; work is going on still: something is always