But they had forgotten to take into
account the robustness of the rustic appetite, and before they had
proceeded far their bag of provisions was empty. To add to their
discomfort the rain began to pour down, but they would not seek
shelter. After midnight they arrived at Raemen, hungry and drenched, not
having slept for two nights, but happy and proud of their feat of
endurance.
It was in 1811 that Tegner's poem "Svea" received the prize of the
Swedish Academy; and the fact that it recalled (in single passages at
least) Oehlenschlaeger's "The Golden Horns," does not seem to have
weighed in the verdict. It is not in any sense an imitation; but there
is an audible reminiscence which is unmistakable in the metre and
cadence of the short-lined verses, descriptive of the vision. Never, I
fancy, had the Swedish language been made to soar with so strong a
wing-beat, never before had it been made to sing so bold a melody. To
me, I admit, "Svea" is too rhetorical to make any deep impression. It
has a certain stately academic form, which, as it were, impedes its
respiration and freedom of movement.
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