d
elegance of the model disappears, and gives place to an almost childlike
and yet captivating sincerity. The story of the misfortunes of Orpheus,
written by Boethius in a very pretentious style, has in Alfred's
translation a charm of its own, the charm of the wild flower.

Among the innumerable versions of this tale, the king's is certainly the
one in which art has the least share, and in which emotion is most
communicative: "It happened formerly that there was a harper in the
country called Thrace, which was in Greece. The harper was inconceivably
good. His name was Orpheus. He had a very excellent wife who was called
Eurydice. Then began men to say concerning the harper that he could harp
so that the wood moved, and the stones stirred themselves at the sound,
and the wild beasts would run thereto, and stand as if they were tame;
so still that though men or hounds pursued them, they shunned them not.
Then said they that the harper's wife should die, and her soul should be
led to hell. Then should the harper become so sorrowful that he could
not remain among other men, but frequented the wood, and sat on the
mountain both day and night, weeping and harping, so that the woods
shook, and the rivers stood still, and no hart shunned any lion, nor
hare any hound; nor did cattle know any hatred, or any fear of others,
for the pleasure of the sound. Then it seemed to the harper that nothing
in this world pleased him. Then thought he that he would seek the gods
of hell and endeavour to allure them with his harp, and pray that they
would give him back his wife."

He goes down to the nether region; at the sweetness of his harping,
Cerberus "began to wag his tail." Cerberus was "the dog of hell; he
should have three heads." "A very horrible gatekeeper," Charon by name,
"had also three heads," according to the calculation of Alfred, whose
mythology is not very safe. Charon welcomes the harper, "because he was
desirous of the unaccustomed sound"; all sufferings cease at the melody
of the harp; the wheel of Ixion ceases to turn; the hunger of Tantalus
is appeased; the vulture ceases to torment King Tityus; and the prayer
of Orpheus is granted.

"But men can with difficulty, if at all, restrain love!" Orpheus
retraces his steps, and, contrary to his promise, looks behind and
stretches his hand towards the beloved shadow, and the shadow fades
away. Moral--for with Alfred everything has a moral--when going to
Christ, never look behi