xv.
invention of the Runic characters. He had also the address to persuade his followers that he could over-run the world in the twinkling of an eye; that he had the direction of the air and tempests; that he could transform himself into all shapes, could raise the dead, could foretel things to come, deprive his enemies by enchantment, of health and vigor, and discover all the treasures hid in the earth. They add, that by his tender and melodious airs, he could make the plains and Mountains open and expand with delight; and that the ghosts, thus attracted, would leave their infernal caverns, and stand motionless about him. Nor was he less dreadful and furious in battle; changing himself into the shape of a bear, a wild bull, or a lion, and amidst ranks of enemies committing the most horrible devastation, without receiving any wound
