Folly's Bells - A German Legend (1897) (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Folly's Bells When the calm waters of the Zuyder Zee Ebb slowly out to meet the sleeping sea,? What time, o'erwearied, fierce Euroclydon, In the far caverns of the icy north, Dreaming of contests won, Forgets his goings forth,? The home-bound sailor's gleeful shout is stilled, His heart with horror chilled; For there, beneath the waves serene, Smit with a ghastly splendor through the green, He sees a city dead ? the towers and domes Of ancient Stavoren, once happy homes,? A wan eidolon now, the refluent sea In these brief moments of complacent mien From its long dole of darkness setting free? Like as from dungeon a dethroned queen. O Stavoren fair Stavoren Erst among noblest of the marts of trade; By wealth and pomp so graced How humbled how abased And to this doom betrayed By a weak Friesian dame, Who, blindly arrogant, Mocked at all pain and want, Perversely reckless of the sin and shame, If but her vanity Might hold supremacy. And to her sumptuous courts came embassies, A giddy, thriftless throng, Sent from all realms, with fulsome flatteries Joining her dowried minstrels in their song, Crying in blatant tones that her alone Empress of splendor all the world should own. Thus sped long, prosperous years. Fearless of adverse skies, With sunny brow, and eyes As yet undimmed by tears, From her fine windows far and wide looked she ? That haughty dame Richberta ? many a day Watching with pride the white sails, fleet and free, Fluttering outward from Stavoren bay, Or the home-coming keel, with treasures vast Deep-laden, dip lowly the bending mast. Ships the staunchest were hers to run Swift as a shuttle to and fro Every kingdom under the sun ? Weaving a web of friendship so, And of the bounty that blesses earth ? Wealth...