Wrought by spells of song,
From which shot a light
So that he the ground surface
Might perceive,
The wonders overscan."
_Beowulf_ (Metcalfe's tr.).

[Sidenote: Death of Beowulf.] The mighty treasure was all brought forth to
the light of day, and the followers, seeing that all danger was over,
crowded round their dying chief. He addressed them affectionately, and,
after recapitulating the main events his career, expressed a desire to be
buried in a mighty mound on a projecting headland, which could be seen far
out at sea, and would be called by his name.

"'And now,
Short while I tarry here--when I am gone,
Bid them upon yon headland's summit rear
A lofty mound, by Rona's seagirt cliff;
So shall my people hold to after times
Their chieftain's memory, and the mariners
That drive afar to sea, oft as they pass,
Shall point to Beowulf's tomb.'"
_Beowulf_(Conybeare's tr.).

These directions were all piously carried out by a mourning people, who
decked his mound with the gold he had won, and erected above it a Bauta, or
memorial stone, to show how dearly they had loved their brave king Beowulf,
who had died to save them from the fury of the dragon.