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Noch halt'! Bei Gott beschwör'ich dich !

Bevor's dein Herz gereuet.

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 heisz und roth

Glich einer Feueresse.

Und Trudchen warf sich auf den Grund.

Sie rang die schönen Hände wund,

Und suchte basz, mit Thränen,

Den Eifrer zu versöhnen.

"O Vater, habt Barmherzigkeit,

Mit euerm armen Kinde !

Verzeih' euch, wie ihr uns verzeiht,
Der Himmel auch die Sünde!
Glaubt, bester Vater, diese Flucht
Ich hätte nimmer sie versucht,
Wenn vor des Junkers Bette
Mich nicht geekelt hälte.

Wie oft habt ihr, auf Knie und Hand
Gewiegt mich und getragen!

Wie oft du Herzenskind! genannt.
Du Trost in alten Tagen !

O Vater, Vater! Denkt zurück,

Ermordet nicht mein ganzes Glück!
Ihr tödtet sonst daneben

Auch eures Kindes Leben."

Der Freiherr warf sein Haupt herum,

Und wiesz den krausen Nacken.

Der Freiherr rieb, wie taub und stumm,

Die dunkelrauhen Backen.

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 liesz der Herzensfluth den Lauf,
Und wollte schier vergehen

Vor wundersüszen 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 haszť' ich noch im Sohne.

Mach's wieder gut! Mach's gut, mein Sohn,

An mir und meinem Kinde !

Auf dasz ich meiner Güte Lohn

In deiner Güte finde.

So segne dann, der auf uns sieht,

Euch segne Gott, von Glied zu Glied!
Auf! Wechselt Ring und Hände!
Und hiermit Lied am Ende !"

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.

Ich

Beschwören, irr. insep. a. v. to adjure, to conjure, to intreat. It follows the irregularities of schwören, to swear. beschwöre, ich beschwor, ich habe beschworen. The insep. particle be, has, in this particular instance, the power of the Latin "ad." Sometimes beschwören only means to swear, and the be then has the mere strengthening power; as when we say, die Zeugen haben ihre Aussage beschworen, the wits nesses have confirmed their deposition by their oath.

Bevor's dein Herz gereuet, contraction for bevor es, before thy heart rues it. Bevor, conj. before. We also say ehe, and frequently both expressions are combined, particularly in law writings: ehe und bevor er stirbt, before he dies. Gereuet is the third person singular of the present of the indicative of the r. n. insep. comp. gereuen, used imperson ally: es gereuet mich, I rue it, I am sorry for it. Es gereuet dein Herz, thy heart rues it. Es gereuet mich differs from es dauert mich, I am sorry, and from es verdrieszt mich, it

vexes me, I am vexed, by referring always to something done amiss through our own fault.

In Ehr und Züchten, for in Ehre und Zucht, in honour and modesty, honourably and modestly. The common expression is, in allen Züchten und Ehren, in all modesty and honour. It is the pl. of die Zucht, f. the rearing of cattle or poultry; the education of children chiefly with regard to manners. All German words in ucht are f.

Hab'ich mich dem Fräulein støts geweihet, I have constantly devoted myself to the young lady. Das Fräulein, the young noble lady, is n. because it is a diminutive, page 140, No. IX. The termination lein prevails in the south of Germany, and has a graver and more solemn colouring than chen, which prevails in the north of Germany: this renders it nobler, and hence the word Fräulein has been adopted all over Germany, to denote the daughter of a nobleman. Latterly, however, it has also been extended to the daughters of commoners of education and fortune. There is an important chapter on German diminutives in Boileau's Nature and Genius of the German language.

Stets, adv. continually, constantly, assiduously, incessantly. . Er liegt stets über den Büchern, he is always over his books, he is continually at his studies.

Geweihet, part. past of the reg. a. v. weihen, to devote, to consecrate, page 188, XII. We say eine geweihte Kirche : eine geweihte Hostie, is with Roman Catholics, a consecrated Host, (wafer) what they call the "Venerabile," and with them geweihte Mönche, or Nonnen, are professed Monks or Nuns, such as have made their vow.

Gottlob ! praise be to the Lord! is an elliptical expression, instead of Gott sey lob! to God be praise; just as we say, Gott sey Dank! to God be thanks! It is remarkable that the English language has the ellipsis here-thank God; whilst in German we cannot say Gottdank! Again we say, wollte Gott! whilst the English say, would to God!

Trotzt jedem Tadel, bids defiance to every reproof, is above reproof. Trotzen, r. n. v. to defy, to brave, to dare, to outdare.

"Ein Kind trotzt seinen Aeltern wenn es den Muth

hat und das Recht zu haben glaubt, ihnen seinen Gehorsam zu verweigern und sich ihrem Willen zu widersetzen." Trotzen is derived from the old Saxon Trotten, to command, to rule, of which there is a vestige in the Swedish Drottning, a queen, and in the English threaten," and the German drohen, to menace. Der Tadel, m. reproof, blemish. See tadeln, V. page 284, XVIII.

66

Vor Zorn, for anger, in English, red with anger, heated with passion. We had vor, page 75, 76, V., as pointing at an obstacle. Whenever it denotes the cause, as here, it seems to be a corruption of für, for, on account of. We say in the same way, vor Hunger sterben, to die with hunger; vor Durst verschmachten, to languish with thirst; vor Freude weinen, to weep for joy; where it is again clearly für, “for,” and not vor," before."

Sie rang die schönen Hände wund, she wrung her beautiful bands wound, she wounded her beautiful hands by wringing them violently. Exactly as we say, sich müde laufen, to run one's-self tired; sich die Füsze wund laufen, to run one's feet wound, page 203, XIII. These are elliptical expressions, in which the verb machen must be supplied or understood by the reader or hearer, as referring to the adjective. Sie machte durch ringen die schönen Hände und. Thus Klopstock says:

"Die Zeisige haben das Ohr mir taub gezwitschert,"

The greenfinches made my ear deaf with their chirping.

Voss-" Das Mädchen das die rosige Wange nasz geweint: hat," the girl who made her rosy cheek wet with weeping. And Geszner-" Und sie warfen mit der gefallenen Frucht des Baumes ihn wach," and they (made him awake) awakened him, by throwing the fruit that had fallen from the tree at him.

Basz is an obsolete adj. and adv. the positive of the comparative besser, better. Poëts still employ it sometimes for very much" Sie hat mir basz gefallen, she pleased me - very much.

Habt Barmherzigkeit, have pity. Die Barmherzigkeit, f. pity, compassion, mercy, from the adj. barmherzig, merciful,.

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