LEGENDS OF THE BATTLE.

The victory at Marathon was viewed by the people as a deliverance
by the gods themselves. It is fabled that before the battle the
voice of the god Pan was heard in the mountains, uttering warnings
and threatenings to the Persians, and inspiring the Greeks with
courage. Hence the wonderful legends of the battle, in which
Theseus, Hercules, and other local heroes are represented as
engaging in the combat, and dealing death among the flying
barbarians. In the following lines MRS. HEMANS has embraced the
description which the Greeks gave of the appearance and deeds of
Theseus on that occasion:

There was one, a leader crowned,
And armed for Greece that day;
But the falchions made no sound
On his gleaming war array.
In the battle's front he stood,
With his tall and shadowy crest;
But the arrows drew no blood,
Though their path was through his vest.

His sword was seen to flash
Where the boldest deeds were done;
But it smote without a clash;
The stroke was heard by none!
His voice was not of those
Who swelled the rolling blast,