O God that created me so helpless,Strengthen my belief and make it firm.Command an angel to come from Paradise,And take up his abode in my dwelling,To protect me from every troubleThat wicked folks are putting in my way;Jesus, that did'st suffer Thy crucifixion,Restrain their doings, and be with me Thyself.Little wonder though I am thoughtful--_Always at the time when I go to bedThe stones and the clods will arise--How could a saint get sleep there_?I am without peace or rest,Without repose or sleep till the morning;O Thou that art in the throne of grace,Behold my treatment and be a guard to me.Little wonder though I am troubled,So many stories about me in every place.Some that are unjust will be saying,"It is all owing to himself, that affair".Judge not except as you know,Though the Son of God were awaking you;No one knows if I have deserved moreThan a rich man that is without care.Although I am in trouble at this time,Verily, I shall be doubly repaid;When the call comes to me from my Saviour,I shall receive mercy and new grace;I fear no more vexation,When I ascend to be with Thy saints;O Thou that sittest on the throne,Assist my speaking and accept my prayer.O God, make me mindfulNight and day to be praying,Seeking pardon richlyFor what I have done, on my knees.Stir with the spirit of TruthTrue repentance in my bosom,That when Thou sendest death to seek me,Christ may take care of me.The bocan was not the only inhabitant of the spirit-world that DonaldBan encountered during his lifetime. A cousin of his mother was saidto have been carried off by the fairies, and one night Donald saw himamong them, dancing away with all his might. Donald was also outhunting in the year of the great snow, and at nightfall he saw a manmounted on the back of a deer ascending a great rock. He heard theman saying, "Home, Donald Ban," and fortunately he took the advice,for that night there fell eleven feet of snow in the very spot wherehe had intended to stay.We now take two modern Icelandic cases, for the purpose of leading upto the famous Icelandic legend of Grettir and Glam the Vampire, fromthe Grettis Saga. It is plain that such incidents as those in the twomodern Icelandic cases (however the effects were produced) mighteasily be swollen into the prodigious tale of Glam in the course oftwo or three centuries, between Grettir's time and the completeformation of his Saga.
