The German Classics of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries Volume Iv Part 16

"THOUGH NONE THY NAME SHOULD CHERISH" [34]

Though none Thy Name should cherish, My faith shall be the same, Lest grat.i.tude should perish And earth be brought to shame.

With meekness Thou did'st suffer The pangs of death for me, With joy then I would offer This heart for aye to Thee.

[Ill.u.s.tration: #THE QUEEN OF NIGHT# _From the painting by Moritz von Schwind_]

I weep with strong emotion That death has been Thy lot, And yet that Thy devotion Thy people have forgot.

The blessings of salvation Thy perfect love has won, Yet who in any nation Regards what Thou hast done 3

With love Thou hast protected Each man his whole life through; Though all Thy care rejected, No less would'st Thou be true.

Such love as Thine must vanquish The proudest soul at last, 'Twill turn to Thee in anguish And to Thy knees cling fast.

Thine influence hath bound me; Oh, if it be Thy will, Be evermore around me, Be present with me still!

At length too shall the others Look up and long for rest, And all my loving brothers Shall sink upon Thy breast.

TO THE VIRGIN[35]

A thousand hands, devoutly tender, Have sought thy beauty to express, But none, oh Mary, none can render, As my soul sees, thy loveliness.

I gaze till earth's confusion fadeth Like to a dream, and leaves behind A heaven of sweetness which pervadeth My whole rapt being--heart and mind.

FRIEDRICH HoLDERLIN

HYPERION'S SONG OF FATE [36] (1799)

Ye wander there in the light On flower-soft fields, ye blest immortal Spirits.

Radiant G.o.dlike zephyrs Touch you as gently As the hand of a master might Touch the awed lute-string.

Free of fate as the slumbering Infant, breathe the divine ones.

Guarded well In the firm-sheathed bud Blooms eternal Each happy soul; And their rapture-lit eyes s.h.i.+ne with a tranquil Unchanging l.u.s.tre.

But we, 'tis our portion, We never may be at rest.

They stumble, they vanish, The suffering mortals, Hurtling from one hard Hour to another, Like waves that are driven From cliff-side to cliff-side, Endlessly down the uncertain abyss.

EVENING PHANTASIE[36] (1799)

Before his but reposes in restful shade The ploughman; wreaths of smoke from his hearth ascend. And sweet to wand'rers comes the tone of Evening bells from the peaceful village.

[Ill.u.s.tration: #FRIEDRICH HoLDERLIN# E. HADER]

The sailor too puts into the haven now, In distant cities cheerily dies away The busy tumult; in the arbor Gleams the festal repast of friends.h.i.+p.

But whither I? In labor, for slight reward We mortals live; in alternate rest and toil Contentment dwells; but why then sleeps not Hid in my bosom the thorn unsparing?

The ev'ning heaven blooms as with springtime's hue; Uncounted bloom the roses, the golden world Seems wrapt in peace; oh, bear me thither, Purple-wrought clouds! And may for me there

Both love and grief dissolve in the joyous light!

But see, as if dispelled by the foolish prayer, The wonder fades! 'Tis dark, and lonely Under the heaven I stand as erstwhile.

Come then to me, soft Sleep. Overmuch requires The heart; and yet thou too at the last shalt fade, Oh youth, thou restless dream-pursuer!

Peaceful and happy shall age then follow.

LUDWIG TIECK

PUSS IN BOOTS (1797)

_A fairy-tale for children in three acts, with interludes, a prologue and an epilogue_.

TRANSLATED BY LILLIE WINTER, B.A.

DRAMATIS PERSONae

THE KING

THE PRINCESS, _his daughter_

PRINCE NATHANIEL _of Malsinki_

LEANDER, _Court scholar_

HANSWURST, _Court fool_

_A Groom of the Chamber_

_The Cook_

LORENZ } BARTHEL } _Peasant brothers_ GOTTLIEB }

_Hinze, a tom-cat_

_A Tavern-keeper_

KUNZ } MICHEL } _Peasants_