The two or more million Finns who now occupy Finland, and are subject--much against their will--to the Czar, are the proud possessors of an epic poem--the Kalevala--which until last century existed only in the memory of a few peasants.

Scattered parts of this poem were published in 1822 by Zacharias Topelius, and Elias Loennrot, who patiently travelled about to collect the remainder, was the first to arrange the 22,793 verses into 50 runes or cantos.

The Kalevala attracted immediate attention and has already been translated into most modern languages.

Like most epics, its source is in the mythology and folk-lore of the people, and its style has been closely imitated by Longfellow in his Hiawatha.

The latest English adaptation of this great epic is Baldwin's "Sampo." Although Russian literature is rich in folk poetry and epic songs, none of the latter have been written down until lately, with the exception of the twelfth-century Song of Igor's Band.