SPRING. FROM THE FRENCH OF CHARLES D'ORLEANS. XV. CENTURY. GENTLE Spring!-in sunshine clad, And thou,-thou makest the sad heart gay. And they shrink away, and they flee in fear, Winter giveth the fields and the trees, so old, And the rain, it raineth so fast and cold, Winter maketh the sun in the gloomy sky When thy merry step draws near. THE CHILD ASLEEP. FROM THE FRENCH. SWEET babe! true portrait of thy father's face, Upon that tender eye, my little friend, Soft sleep shall come, that cometh not to me! I watch to see thee, nourish thee, defend ;'T is sweet to watch for thee,-alone for thee! His arms fall down; sleep sits upon his brow; Would you not say he slept on Death's cold arm? Awake, my boy!-I tremble with affright! Sweet error!-he but slept, I breathe again;— THE GRAVE. FROM THE ANGLO SAXON. FOR thee was a house built For thee was a mould meant Thy house is not Dimly and dark. Doorless is that house, And dark it is within; There thou art fast detained And Death hath the key. Loathsome is that earth-house, And grim within to dwell. There thou shalt dwell, And worms shall divide thee. Thus thou art laid, And leavest thy friends; Thou hast no friend, Who will come to thee, Who will ever see How that house pleaseth thee; Who will ever open The door for thee For soon thou art loathsome KING CHRISTIAN. A NATIONAL SONG OF DENMARK. FROM THE DANISH OF JOHANNES EVALD. KING CHRISTIAN stood by the lofty mast "Fly!" shouted they, "fly, he who can! Nils Juel gave heed to the tempest's roar, He hoisted his blood-red flag once more, And shouted loud, through the tempest's roar, "Now is the hour! "Fly!" shouted they, "for shelter fly! Of Denmark's Juel who can defy The power?" North Sea! a glimpse of Wessel rent Thy murky sky! Then champions to thine arms were sent; Terror and Death glared where he went; From the waves was heard a wail, that rent From Denmark, thunders Tordenskiol❜, Path of the Dane to fame and might! Receive thy friend, who, scorning flight, And amid pleasures and alarms, THE HAPPIEST LAND. FRAGMENT OF A MODERN BALLAD. FROM THE GERMAN. THERE sat one day in quiet, The landlord's daughter filled their cups, Then sat they all so calm and still, And spake not one rude word. Nils Juel was a celebrated Danish Admiral, and Peder Wessel, a Vice-Admiral, who for his great prowess received the popular ticle of Tordenskiold, or Thunder-shield. In childhood he was a tailor's apprentice, and rose to his high rank before the age of twenty-eight, when he was killed in a duel. |