Last evening Prof. Charles S. Smith finished his interesting course of lectures on Icelandic Saga, by treating of Old Norse Poetry. The interest of the lecture lay chiefly in the recitation of portions of poems both in the original and translated; but a summary of some of the poems may be interesting as showing their character.

The subject of one was The Spy and the Sybil. It treated partly of Balda, who was the purest and whitest of the gods and Loci, who killed him. Balda had dreamed that his life was threatened, and the gods had made all things - the animals and the plants - promise not to harm him. But they had neglected a little plant which grew on the mountains, the mistletoe, which was so small that they thought it could do no harm. Loci heard of this, and possessing himself of a branch, repaired to an assemblage of the gods, when they were throwing things at Balda and sceing them avoid him. Loci gave the mistletoe to Balda's blind brother and directed him to throw it at Balda, - when he was killed.

Another concerns itself with The Mill Song. A certain king possessed a magical mill which would turn out anything its owner desired. He commanded the two giant maiden miller to grind out Peace, Happiness and Prosperity, which they did day and night without intermission. Finally he was killed by another king who took possession of the mill and ordered an unlimited amount of salt to be ground out, which he packed in such large quantities in a ship that it sank, and the salt, dissolving in the sea, gave it its salty character.

Finally there is a poem of the father who died, and a few days later appeared to his son and told him of the experiences he had after death. He had been through Hcll and seen punishments, and through Heaven and had seen rewards.