Page:History of the Literature of the Scandinavian North.djvu/380

362 Then he emptied his glass and again struck up the last strophe of his song."

After that night Bellman sang no more. The contents of his last poem, dictated a short time before his death, which occurred February 11, 1795, are serious and religious, and thus he ended as he had begun, with "evangelical thought on death." During the last years of his life he wrote but little. In 1780 he published a collection of poetical meditations on the Sunday gospels, which, in a later edition, received the title, "Zions Högtid." The "Bacchanaliska Ordens-Kapitlets Handlingar" received a kind of continuation in the collection "Bacchi Tempel" (1783), which, however, are far inferior to his other humorous works. Finally, one year before his death he published a free translation of Gellert's fables, in which it is impossible to recognize the once great poet. His strength was clearly broken, though it seems at times to flash forth for a moment. The death of Gustav III was a severe blow to him, a loss which he felt the more as he henceforth had no one who could relieve him in his financial embarrassments. He sank into the deepest poverty, and was even thrown into prison for debt. He was, however, accidentally released by some people who, probably, were moved to this act of charity by curiosity, being desirious to hear Bellman sing. The poet at first refused to comply with their request, but at length he consented and began in a faint voice one of his most touching songs, in which his incurable disease is graphically depicted, but gradually he seemed to recover the old melodious ring of his voice. The malady, however, of which the poet sang had already taken hold of him with irresistible power.

The humorous pictures from popular life in which his talent shone the brightest were not originally intended for wider circles. He wrote his songs for the sole purpose of pleasing his friends, and he used to deliver them with a consummate mimic-dramatic talent, which brought out into bold relief every characteristic trait. Toward the end of his