From whom I hold, as fiefs, since birth,
Honor and life, the goods of earth,
Soul-and the hopes of Heaven!'
So may the Lord of Hosts, who hears
His lowliest servant's supplication,
Accord the man who Him reveres-
Honor on earth--in Heaven salvation.
Far-famed even now through Swisserland,
Thy kingly rule and knightly hand;
Six daughters thine;2 and they,'
Inspired he cries, shall crown thy stem
Each with a regal diadem,
Bright till the Judgment-day.""
The mighty Kaisar heard amazed!
His heart was in the days of old;
Into the minstrel's eyes he gazed,
That tale the Kaisar's own had told.
Yes, in the bard the priest he knew,
And in the purple vailed from view
The gush of holy tears!
All on the Kaisar fix their sight;
Each in the Kaisar sees the knight;
And God's elect reveres !
1 The office, at the coronation feast, of the Count Palatine of the Rhine (Grand Sewer of the Empire, and one of the Seven Electors) was to bear the Imperial Globe and set the dishes on the board; that of the King of Bohemia was cup-bearer. The latter was not, however, present, as Schiller himself observed in a note (omitted in the editions of his collected works), at the coronation of Rudolf.
2 At the coronation of Rudolf was celebrated the marriage-feast of three of his daughters-to Ludwig of Bavaria, Otto of Brandenburg, and Albrecht of Saxony. His other three daughters married afterward Otto, nephew of Ludwig of Bavaria, Charles Martell, son of Charles of Anjou, and Wenceslaus, son of Ottocar of Bohemia. The royal house of England numbers Rudolf of Hapsburg amongst its an
THE FIGHT WITH THE DRAGON.
WHXdown the long streets, roaring loud!
HY run so fast the hurtling crowd
Is Rhodes on fire ?-more fast the throng,
Wedg'd close and closer, storms along.
High o'er the train, he seems to lead,
Behold a Knight on warlike Steed!
Behind is dragged a wondrous load;
Beneath what Monster groans the road?
With wide jaws like the Crocodile,
In shape a Dragon to the sight,
All eyes in wonder gaze the while-
Now on the Monster, now the Knight.
A thousand voices shout in glee,
"This is the Dragon-come and see-
That did on herd and herdsmen feast,
And this the Knight who slew the beast.
Before him, in that dreadful strife,
Has many a champion ventured life,
But ne'er returned to mortal sight-
All honor to the victor Knight !”
So to the Convent Cloister all
The gathering crowd swept clamorous on;— In haste convened within the hall,
Sate the vowed Knighthood of St. John.
Before the noble Master there,
The young Knight came with modest air;
The roaring crowd fill'd all the space
Beyond the rails that fenced the daïs;
The Victor took the word, and spake,-
“The duty knights with knighthood take .
Is done; and, slain beneath my hand,
Lies the Devourer of the land.
Safe is the traveler from to-day,
And safe the grazing herds repose,
Safe to the shrine of grace, his way
Along the rocks the pilgrim goes!"
Stern look'd the Master,-" Thou hast done,"
He said, "a hero's deed, my son.
By valor knights are famous made;
A valiant soul thou hast display'd.
But to the knight, whose holier sword
Is vow'd to fight for Christ our Lord,—
Who wears His cross-say, what is still
The first great law he must fulfill ?"
All round grew pale;-with downcast head
Replied the Victor of the day-
"To him who wears the cross," he said,
"The first great law is-TO OBEY!"
And yet that duty, son," replied
The chief," methinks thou hast denied ; And in the encounter which our law
Forbade, hast dared thy sword to draw.”
Master, when all is told, decide,"
With steadfast tone, the knight replied:
For I that law's true sense and will
But sought devoutly to fulfill.
Not blindly, with presumptuous heart,
Against the monster did I go;
But hoped, by stratagem and art,
To wrest the victory from the foe.
Five of our Order, whose renown
Flashed gem-like in Religion's crown,
Fell, rashly prodigal of life ;-
'Twas then thy law forbade the strife.
Yet gloom was in my heart-desire
To share the conflict gnawed like fire:
In the still visions of the night,
Panting, I fought the fancied fight;
And when the morrow glimmering came,
With tales of ravage freshly done,
Indignant grief and fiery shame
Seized on me-and Resolve begun.
“ And thus my inward musings ran—
What graces youth and honors man?
How lived the great in days of old,
Whose fame to time by bards is told—
Up to the Gods' renown and bliss
Raised by the blinded Heathenesse ?
By deeds that prove the hero's worth,
They cleared from monster broods the earth—
They sought the lion in his den—
They battled with the Minotaur--
Nor grudged to shed their blood for men,
And save from death one victim more.
"Is but the Saracen to feel
(Has he such worth?)-the Christian's steel? Are we to idols only brave?
Or is our mission earth to save
From every ill, and every harm,
Freed by the Christian's stalwart arm?
Yet wisdom must his valor lead,
And sage
Thus oft I mused, and went alone
The fell Devourer's tracks to spy;
device should force precede.'
I saw and light upon me shone,
And Found, O Victory!' was my cry!
“Then, Prince, I sought thee with the prayer
To breathe once more my native air;
The license given the ocean past—
I reached the shores of home at last.
Scarce hail'd the old beloved land,
Than huge, beneath the artist's hand,
To each well-mark'd dread feature true,
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