586. Ist entflohn, entflohn zu Schand' und Jammer, has fled, fled to disgrace and misery. The repetition of the word entflohn is beautiful in German. Zu Schand' und Jammer, to disgrace, &c. viz. to disgrace herself, and make herself miserable, to become a disgraced and miserable object. Ihr dürft nicht weilen, you dare not tarry, you must not tarry. Ereilen, to overtake, to attain by hastening after, an insep. comp. made of the particle er and eilen, to hasten, according to the same analogy as erreiten, to obtain by riding; erdenken, er sinnen, &c. sec. 476. Sich bewehren, refl. reg. verb, to arm one's self, made of the insep. part. be, and wehren, to defend, to resist, to keep off. Sich wehren, to defend one's-self: hence die Landwehre, the militia, the armed defence of the country. We have bewehren, to arm, to equip; bewähren, to aver, to ascertain, to confirm ; and bewahren, to guard, to preserve. 587. Und donnerte durch Hof und Haus, and thundered through yard and house; he ran about alarming every one in the house and yard with great noise, with his thundering voice. 588. Mein Sohn von Pommerland, my son of Pomerania. The old Baron gives this name to the young Pomeranian nobleman, because his daughter had been betrothed unto him, so that he considered him already as his son-in-law. Die Braut ist dir gestohlen, the bride is stolen from thee; meaning thy bride, thy betrothed one. Young females in Germany are called Braut the instant they are formally betrothed; but more emphatically so on the wedding-day. 589. Einhohlen, to come up with, is a reg. sep. comp. verb: hence you have the zu of the infinitive, between the prep. and the verb, einzuhohlen; ich hohle ein, ich hohlte ein, ich habe eingehohlet. Modern writers spell holen without the h, which serves, however, to lengthen the o. Ereilen is to overtake by making greater speed, but einhohlen, simply to come up with, without any particular speed. 590. Ein Donnerton von Hochburg's Pferdehufen, a thundering noise from the hoofs of Hochburg's (the old Baron's) horses. Den Zaum verhängt, hanging the bridle loosely, with loosened bridle; exactly the French la bride abattue, though the French generally use it as an adverbial expression, courir à bride abattue: in German mit verhängtem Zugel reiten, to ride full speed, tantivy. Verhängen, to hang amiss, not to hang properly; see herumhängen, sec. 515. Zu Trudchen's Grausen, to Gertrude's horror; just as you say in English, to my great surprise, zu meiner Verwunderung. Und liess vorbei die Lanze sausen, would be in prose, und liess die Lanze vorbei sausen, and let the lance pass by her hissing. 591. Hallan for halte an, imperative singular of the sep. irr. comp. anhallen, to stop, speaking of a carriage or horses: ich halte an, ich hielt an, ich habe angehalten. Ich habe keine Zeit anzuhalten, I have no time to stop. 592. Herbei vor meinen Klingenhieb, this way before the blow of my blade; come this way and stand the blows of my blade; for "encounter my sword." 593. Schimpf und Schande, insult and shame, disgrace and shame. These two words are frequently associated in familiar conversation. Bürger is the most popular German poet, for having ennobled common expressions in his poetry with a felicity peculiar to himself. Schiller reproached him with having too much neglected le beau idéal: but he has richly supplied the defect by the energy and the intensity with which he acts upon the feelings even of the uneducated classes of the community, to whom he has imparted a taste for writings that tend to sharpen the intellect. and humanize the heart. 594. Das leugst du, that thou liest, that is a lie. In common life we say, das lügst du, from the reg. verb lügen, to lie, to fib, to tell an untruth. The German poets are fond of giving the preference to the antiquated form of several verbs; the strong diphthong sounding more powerfully. They employ beugen instead of the common biegen, to bend; reuch instead of the imperative riech of riechen, to smell; fleuch instead of the imperative flieh of fliehen, to fly. Uz says: Fleuch, Alexänder, hin bis zu den kalten Scythen! 595. Fleus, instead of the imperative fliess of fliessen, to flow. Klopstock has :— Fleus, fleus, ewiger Quell, zerreiss den Felsen und Ströme ! 596. Schiller has dräuend instead of drohend, from drohen, to threaten, to menace. He Ballad of "the Diver”—der Taucher, says, in his beautiful Und dräuend wiess mir die grimmigen Zähne 597. Lügen is properly a neut. verb, and governs the accusative only as a compound verb, belügen, to belie; but poets often allow themselves to give a government to a neuter verb, and thus to astonish their hearers or readers by a construction to which they are unused, which adds a new charm to the thought. Thus Goethe says: Fern erblick'ich den Mohn; er glüht, doch komm ich dir näher 598. Von Kling und Klang, von ach! again chiming expressions, the former with a different vowel. Of this nature we have several; they are all Onomatopeias, imitating the sound of the action. Kling klang has given rise to the French word clinquant. Zickzack to the French zigzag. Mischmasch, to the French micmac. 599. We conclude Bürger's Ballad of the Elopement for our next lesson. Noch halt'! Bei Gött beschwör'ich dich! In Ehr'und Züchten hab'ich mich Dem Fräulein stets geweihet. Gieb.-Vater!-gieb mir Trudchen's Hand! Der Himmel gab mir Gold und Land. Mein Ritterruhm und Adel, Gottlob! trotzt jedem Tadel. Ach! Trudchen, wie voll Angst und Noth! Verblüht' in Todesblässe. Vor Zorn der Freiherr heiss und roth Glich einer Feueresse. Und Trudchen warf sich auf den Grund. Sie rang die schönen Hände wund, Und suchte bass, mit Thränen, Den Eifrer zu versöhnen. "O Vater, habt Barmherzigkeit, Verzeih' euch, wie ihr uns verzeiht, Wie oft habt ihr, auf Knie und Hand O Vater, Vater! Denkt zurück, Auch eures Kindes Leben. Der Freiherr warf sein Haupt herum, Der Freiherr rieb, wie taub und stumm, Vor Wehmuth brach ihm Herz und Blick; Doch schlang er Stolz den Strom zurück Um nicht durch Vaterthränen Den Rittersinn zu höhnen. Bald sanken Zorn und Ungestüm. Das Vaterherz wuchs über. Von hellen Zähren strömten ihm Die stolzen Augen über.— Er hob sein Kind vom Boden auf, Er liess der Herzensfluth den Lauf, Und wollte schier vergehen Vor wundersüssen Wehen. "Nun wohl! Verzeih' mir Gott die Schuld So wie ich dir verzeihe! Empfange meine Vaterhuld, Empfange sie auf's neue ! In Gottes Namen, sey es drum! Hier wandt' er sich zum Ritter um : Da! Nimm sie meinetwegen, Und meinen ganzen Segen! Komm, nimm sie hin, und sey mein Sohn, Wie ich dein Vater werde! Vergeben und vergessen schon Ist jegliche Beschwerde. Dein Vater, einst mein Ehrenfeind, Der's nimmer hold mit mir gemeint, That vieles mir zu Hohne. Ihn hasst' ich noch im Sohne. Mach's wieder gut! Mach's gut, mein Sohn, Auf dass ich meiner Güte Lohn In deiner Güte finde. So segne dann, der auf uns sieht, Stop! stop! I adjure you, by heaven! before your heart rues it! I have always been devoted to your young lady in all honour and modesty. Do, father, grant me Gertrude's hand! Heaven gave me gold and lands. My fame as a knight and my nobility are, God be thanked! above reproof. Alas! what anxiety and misery did poor Gertrude feel! She grew pale as death, whilst the baron, glowing, and red with passion, resembled a heated furnace. Gertrude threw herself on the ground; she wrung her beautiful hands wound, and strenuously endeavoured to pacify the angry baron with her tears. O father! have pity on your poor child! may heaven forgive you your sins, as you forgive us! Believe me, best of fathers! I never would have attempted this flight, had I not nauseated the Pomeranian nobleman's couch. How often have you rocked me and borne me on your knees and hands! how often have you not called me the child of your heart, your comfort in old age. O father! father! recollect past times; do not destroy all my happiness: you destroy at the same time the life of your child." The baron tossed his head aside, and turned his back upon them. The baron, as if deaf and dumb, rubbed his dark rough cheeks. His heart and eyes broke with sadness; yet he proudly repelled the stream, that a father's tears might not disgrace his character as a knight. But his passion and violence soon subsided. His parental heart got the victory. His proud eyes flowed over with big tears; he lifted his child up from the ground, gave a free course to the overflowings of his heart, and was almost sinking under wonderfully sweet pains. Well, then! may heaven forgive me my sins, as I forgive thee. Receive again, receive anew, a father's blessing! In the name of the Lord let it be so! He then turned to the knight. Here, said he, take her, I have no objection, and receive my blessing. Come, take her, and be my son, as I become your father. Already are all troubles forgotten and forgiven. Your father, once, the enemy of my fame, who never behaved with loyalty to me, did much to disgrace me. I still hated him in his son. Make amends for him! Repair his injuries, my son, in me and in my child, that I may find the reward of my goodness in your kindness! May He, who looks upon us, bless ye from generation to generation! Come! exchange rings and hands! and thus we'll end the matter. 600. Beschwören, irr. insep. act. verb, to adjure, to conjure, to intreat. It follows the irregularities of schwören, |