off like spurs. He fetched again a deep breath, and rubbed his eyes and forehead. He then turned his horse to and fro, so that the sweat flowed from his withers, until he had bethought himself and formed his resolution. He then caused his silver horn to sound at home from the roof and parapets. Immediately a troop of vassals came up gallopping through corn and thorns; he drew them out man by man, and secretly whispered something in their ears: "Well then be in readiness, and attend to my horn!" Night having now enveloped hills and dales in black shades, and the lamps at Hochburg having every where ceased to glimmer, all being fast asleep except the young lady, who in feverish anguish was still awake, thinking of her knight. Now, hark! A sweet voice of love gently flew up to her, whispering: "Dear Gertrude! up! here am I already. Be quick! get up and dress thyself! I, I, thy knight, I call to thee! Quickly, quickly, come down to me; the ladder waits for thee, and my poney carries thee far off." "Oh, no! dear Charles, oh no! Hush! let me hear no more. Were I to run away with thee alone, how would my honour suffer! Dear Charles, let this last embrace be our only enjoyment before I part from thee for ever in my shroud!" "Ha, child! thou mayest build a world upon my faith as a knight; thou mayest, by heaven! cheerfully and freely trust thy honour and thy body to me! We'll instantly hasten to my mother; there the sacrament shall unite us. Come, come! thou art safe, trust to heaven and my care." "My father, alas! is an imperial baron, so proud of his ancestry. Desist! desist! I shake already with fear when I think of the violence of his anger! He will not rest neither night nor day until he has knocked thee down, torn thy heart out, and cast it into my lap." "Ha, child! be only once firmly seated in the saddle, and I fear nothing. The east and the west are open to us. Oh! do not tarry too long! Hark, my dear love, hark! What was it that moved? For heaven's sake, bestir thyself! Come, come! The night has ears; we should be completely undone." The lady tarried, stood, and stood; all her limbs were shuddering, when the knight seized her lily-white hand, and quickly pulled her down. Ah! what anxious and endearing caresses did the stars of the high firmament now witness in the midst of their troubles !-He took his love, and, with a swinging motion, tossed her upon his Polish horse. In the twinkling of an eye he himself was mounted on his Dane, and slung his martial horn round his neck. The knight kept behind, Gertrude rode before. The knight's spurs drove the Danish and the whip the Polish horse, and Hochburg was left behind. 553. Risch auf und fort! quickly up and away! Risch, adj. and adv. hasty, hastily, quick. It is sometimes combined with rasch, adj. and adv. speedy. Auf und fort, a preposition and an adverb converted into interjections. Adjectives and participles past may also be used as such. Die Dirne, fem. the girl. This word is employed only of unmarried females of low condition; but in Luther's time it marked no degradation. He says, Genesis, xxiv. 16, Re becca war eine schöne Dirne von Angesicht, “ And the damsel was very fair to look upon." 554. Holt'er Luft, he fetched breath. In common life we say, Athem holen, sec. 380. 555. Und rieb sich's klar vor Aug' und Stirne, and rubbed it clear to himself before eye and forehead; meaning, he rubbed his eyes and forehead till he saw matters more clearly, till he knew how to proceed. Reiben, to rub, is irr.; ich reibe, ich rieb, ich habe gerieben. 556. Bis er sich Rath ersonnen, until he to himself counsel found, till he be thought himself, omitting again the auxiliary hatte. Bis er sich Rath ersonnen hatte. Ersinnen, sec. 476. Sich Rath ersinnen, to bethink one'sself, to find ways and means; to hit upon an expedient. Heim, adv. home; daheim, at home, when there is no locomotion, which is the case here; it must therefore be considered as a poetical license. It is in both the English and German language a very expressive term, recalling, as it were, all the comforts of a cheerful home, and of a beloved native country. It is the root of a numerous tribe of nouns and verbs all relating to home. The French chez soi, is but a very poor equivalent for it; the word céans, which occurs so frequently in Molière's plays, and means "in the house," in this house, came nearer the English at home; but even this is grown obsolete, probably from a false delicacy, on account of its resemblance in sound with séant, which is always construed with être and the pron. poss. être sur son séant, to be seated, in a sitting posture. Das Heimweh, neut. the longing for home: the French la maladie du pays, which properly means the disease of the country, is not half so expressive. 557. Er liess sein Silberhorn schallen, he let his silver horn resound, he caused his horn to resound, he made it resound. The Germans have but one expression for getting a thing done, or causing a thing to be done, and letting or suffering it to be done. They use the verb lassen in both instances: ich lasse mir einen neuen Rock machen, I get a new coat made, (je me fais faire un habit neuf.) Lasst ihn herein kommen, let him come in, (laissez l'entrer.) 558. Herangesprengt kam stracks ein Heer Vasallen, immediately a troop of vassals came up gallopping. Ob serve the difference between the English and German language. The former says, came gallopping, with the participle active; the latter, kam herangesprengt, with the participle past. Heransprengen, sep reg. comp. to gallop up nearer to an object: heran denotes the approach to an object in the direction towards the speaker or agent. Stracks, adv. straightways, forthwith, is derived from the obsolete adj. strack, straight, which Luther uses 1 Samuel, vi. 12. Die Kühe gingen stracks weges, 559. Durch Korn und Dorn, again a chiming expression, through corn and thorns. 560. Raunen, reg. act. and neut. verb, to whisper, (the Latin insurrare.) 561. Und meines Horns gewärtig, and attentive to my horn. 562. Gewärtig seyn, to attend upon, to be prepared for, is always construed with the genitive. Ich war der Sache nicht gewärtig, I did not attend upon the matter, I did not expect it, I was not prepared for it. 563. Rabenschatten, ravenshades; an ellipsis for rabenschwartze schatten, shades as black as ravens. 564. Und seinen Ritter dachte, and thought of her knight. In common life we should say, und an seinen Ritter dachte. But it is more poetical to omit the an, which brings the object of the thought, as it were, nearer the thought. 565. Da horch! there hark! now hark! 566. Da bin ich schon, there am I already. We often use da for hier. Mein Bruder ist wieder da, my brother is here again. an, ich 567. Dich angezogen. The participle past, instead of the imperative Ziehe dich an! dress thyself. Sich anziehen, to dress one's-self, to put on one's clothes, is an irr. refl. comp. verb. Ich ziehe mich an, ich zog mich habe mich angezogen. The use of the part. past by way of imperative is one of the peculiarities of the German language. We say, zugeritten, ride on; umgekehrt, turn about; vorgetreten, advance; aufgeschaut, look up, &c. 568. Ich, ich, dein Ritter, rufe dir, I, I, thy knight, call to thee. We have several verbs that may be construed with the dative or with the accusative. The latter M is used in common life. Ich rufe dich, I call thee; but ich rufe dir, I call to thee, is more poetical. 569. Herab zu mir! down to me! is used here as an interjection, instead of come down to me! Herab is the English "down," and denotes motion downwards towards the speaker or agent; but it is confined to poetry and the higher styles of writing, and rarely used in familiar conversation. 570. Mein Klepper, my pony. The German language abounds in particular denominations of horses. We have Pferd, Ross, Gaul, Renner, Traber, Springer, Klepper, Zelter, Mähre, Schindmähre, Gurre, Krakke, Stute, Hengst, Füllen, Wallach, Klopfhengst, Beschäler, Schelhengst, Zuchthengst, Springhenst, Spurhengst, Mutterpferd, Schwanenhals, Speckhals, Ramskopf, Ramsnase, Stutzschwanz, Passgänger, Karrengaul, Leitpferd, Handpferd, Reitpferd, Zugpferd, Kutschenpferd, Jagdpferd, &c. : horse, courser, jade, race-horse, trotter, vaulter, pony, ambler, mare, an old jade, a bad jade, a tit, a stallion, a foal, a gelding, a twisted gelding, a stonehorse, a breed mare, a horse with a vaulted neck, a horse with a thick neck and shoulders, a horse with a head like a ram's head, a horse with a nose like that of a ram, a cropped horse, an ambling nag, a cart-horse, a led horse, a draught-horse, a coach-horse, a hunter, &c. We also distinguish horses by their colours, but we shall take another opportunity to mention their different names. 571. Herzens Karl, Charles of my heart, dear Charles. Cordiality is the principal feature in the national character of the Germans. It is imprinted in their language. Children call their parents Herzensvater, Herzensmutter, vulgarly Herzevater, Herzemutter. Bürger has endeavoured here, and in several other places, to ennoble those affectionate expressions by introducing them in his poems. He says, elsewhere :— Dabei ist's eine himmlisch schöne Sache And Voss translates Horace's " dulces liberos," by Herzenskinderchen. 572. Entränn'ich, instead of wenn ich entränne, if I eloped. 573. Dein und mein Genuss, thy and my enjoyment; in English and French, thy enjoyment and mine. 574. Du bist geborgen! thou art safe, sec. 41. 575. Sattelfest, adj. saddle-firm, firm in the saddle. 576. Um Gottes willen, for God's sake. Um, construed with the genitive of the object invoked, followed by the word willen. Um des Himmels willen, for heaven's sake; um meiner Mutter willen, for my mother's sake. But with the pronouns personal we say, um meinetwillen, for my sake; um ihrentwillen, for her sake, &c. The um is sometimes left out in familiar conversation. 577. Die Schwanenhand, again an ellipsis for die Schwanenweissehand, the swan-white hand, the hand white as a swan, the lily-white hand. Was ein Herzen, a poetical license for was für ein Herzen, what caresses! Hui! in the twinkling of an eye. Bürger uses this interjection more frequently than any other German poet; it is expressive of a very great rapidity. Aufsitzen, to mount upon a horse; absitzen, to dismount. Blieb im Nacken, instead of in ihrem Nacken, or blieb ihnen im Nacken, remained at their neck, was left behind them. We hope we are gratifying our readers by continuing Bürger's interesting ballad. It will be concluded in the next lesson. Ach! leise hört die Mitternacht, Voll Gier nach schnödem Goldgewinn, "Halloh! Halloh! Herr Reichsbaron! |