RUMOURS OF WAR
When the Kalevide awoke, he followed the traces of his horse
till he found the remains; and he secured the skin as a relic,
cursing the wolves, and then drew his sword, and rushed into
the wood in pursuit of them, breaking down the trees and bushes
in his way, and destroying all the wild beasts he met with,
while those who could fled to distant swamps and thickets. He
would have utterly exterminated all the wolves and bears, if
the increasing darkness of night had not compelled him at
length to desist from further pursuit. He retired to the open
country, and being wearied out, lay down to sleep on the skin
of the horse. But he had scarcely closed his eyes before a
messenger arrived from the elders of Esthonia, announcing that
war had broken out, and that a hostile army was ravaging the
country.
[Pg 62]
The Kalevide heard the long and woful story to an end, and then threw
himself down again to sleep off his weariness, when another messenger
arrived, whom he sharply upbraided for disturbing him.
The second messenger was a venerable old man with a white beard. He
saluted the king, and apologised for disturbing him, but reminded him
that when he was young the birds had sung to him that a ruler could
know no rest:
Heavy cares oppress the monarch,
And a weighty load the ruler;
Heavier yet a hero's burden:
Thousand duties wait the strongest;
More await the Kalevide!
He then spoke encouragingly to the king, assuring him that much
would result from all his labours for the good of his people.
The Kalevide answered that he would not shun toil and
weariness, and would do his best. The old man assured him that
nothing could prosper without the aid of the gods; and now the
Kalevide recognised that Ukko himself spoke with him. Then the
god exhorted him not to quarrel with destiny, and warned him to
beware of his sword, for murder
[Pg 63]
could only be atoned for by murder, and he who had murdered an
innocent man was never secure.
His voice died away in the wind, and the Kalevide sank into slumber
till dawn; and when he awoke he could only recall vague fragments of
the long discourse he had heard in his vision. He then gave the
Esthonian messenger directions for the conduct of the war, and
especially the defence of the coasts, asking to be particularly
informed if the war should spread farther and the need grow greater,
and then he himself would come at once; but he was compelled to rest a
little from his fatigues before he could take part in the war in
person.
Here is inserted the grand ballad of the Herald of War, from
Neus, _Ehstnische Volkslieder_, p. 305. It is out of place in
the _Kalevipoeg_, but will be included in a later section of
our work.
[Pg 64]