Hans Euler
" HARK , Martha, there's a knocking! Go, bid the man come in:
Some wayworn pilgrim, haply, who long hath wandering been.
God greet thee, handsome soldier! Sit at our table here!
The bread is white and spongy, the drink is fresh and clear."
" It is not drink nor victuals that now can do me good;
But if thou art Hans Euler, my thirst is for thy blood!
Know thou, for months my vengeance hath marked thee as a foe;
I had a brother yonder, — thy hand hath laid him low.
" And in the deadly struggle, a solemn oath I swore,
On thee I would avenge him, ere many months were o'er"
" And if I slew thy brother, it was in lawful strife;
And com'st thou to avenge him? — then stand, now, for thy life!"
" But not within the house here, not between wall and door,
No, in that broader mansion for which I fought before!
The sabre, Martha, bring me, with which I smote my foe,
And shouldst thou never see me, " Tyrol is great enow!"
" And now they climb together the naked cliff that soars,
Just as the morning opens its golden eastern doors;
Hans leads the way, the stranger behind him gaily leaps,
And with them ever higher the sunshine mounts the steeps.
And they have reached the summit, — the Alp world lies below,
In all its wondrous greatness, in all its gorgeous glow;
Low creeping mists hang over the vales so richly blest,
Huts in their arms enfolded, and herds upon their breast.
Between, gigantic torrents, below, the dark ravine,
Beside them crowns of forest, beneath, broad, breezy green,
And felt, though all unseen, there, encircled by God's rest,
The soul of ancient loyalty in every home and breast.
They both look down upon it, — then sinks the stranger's hand;
But Hans points proudly downward to the dear fatherland:
" Lo, there is what I fought for — thy brother was its foe;
Lo, there is what I smote for, for her I laid him low."
The stranger gazes downward, he looks in Hans's face,
Fain would he lift his arm up, — it starts not from its place; —
" And didst thou slay my brother? — it was in lawful strife:
And wilt thou now forgive me? — Come, Hans, we're friends for life!"
Some wayworn pilgrim, haply, who long hath wandering been.
God greet thee, handsome soldier! Sit at our table here!
The bread is white and spongy, the drink is fresh and clear."
" It is not drink nor victuals that now can do me good;
But if thou art Hans Euler, my thirst is for thy blood!
Know thou, for months my vengeance hath marked thee as a foe;
I had a brother yonder, — thy hand hath laid him low.
" And in the deadly struggle, a solemn oath I swore,
On thee I would avenge him, ere many months were o'er"
" And if I slew thy brother, it was in lawful strife;
And com'st thou to avenge him? — then stand, now, for thy life!"
" But not within the house here, not between wall and door,
No, in that broader mansion for which I fought before!
The sabre, Martha, bring me, with which I smote my foe,
And shouldst thou never see me, " Tyrol is great enow!"
" And now they climb together the naked cliff that soars,
Just as the morning opens its golden eastern doors;
Hans leads the way, the stranger behind him gaily leaps,
And with them ever higher the sunshine mounts the steeps.
And they have reached the summit, — the Alp world lies below,
In all its wondrous greatness, in all its gorgeous glow;
Low creeping mists hang over the vales so richly blest,
Huts in their arms enfolded, and herds upon their breast.
Between, gigantic torrents, below, the dark ravine,
Beside them crowns of forest, beneath, broad, breezy green,
And felt, though all unseen, there, encircled by God's rest,
The soul of ancient loyalty in every home and breast.
They both look down upon it, — then sinks the stranger's hand;
But Hans points proudly downward to the dear fatherland:
" Lo, there is what I fought for — thy brother was its foe;
Lo, there is what I smote for, for her I laid him low."
The stranger gazes downward, he looks in Hans's face,
Fain would he lift his arm up, — it starts not from its place; —
" And didst thou slay my brother? — it was in lawful strife:
And wilt thou now forgive me? — Come, Hans, we're friends for life!"
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