The Works of Heinrich Heine (Volume 2) (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: THE NORTH SEA. (1825-1826.) Motto: Xenophon's Anabasis, It. 7. PART FIRST. (1825.) TWILIGHT.1 On the white strand of Ocean Sat I, sore troubled with thought and alone; The sun sank lower and lower, and cast Eed glowing shadows on the water, And the snow-white rolling billows, By the flood impelled, Foamed up while roaring nearer and nearer, A wondrous tumult, a-whistling and whispering, A-laughing and murmuring, sighing and washing, And 'mid them a lullaby known to me only. 1 The Translator does not venture to hope that he has succeeded in giving, in all respects, a perfect version of the extraordinary series of poema which form the first part of " The North Sea." Those familiar with the original will possibly be lenient. It seemed that I thought upon legends forgotten, World-old and beautiful stories, Which I once, when little, From the neighbours' children had heard, When we, of summer evenings, Sat on the steps before the house-door, Bending us down to the quiet narrative, With little hearts a-listening, And curious cunning glances;? While near the elder maidens, Close by sweet-smelling pots of roses, At the windows were calmly leaning, Eosy-hued faces, Smiling and lit by the moon. SUNSET. THE sun in crimsoned glory falls Down to the ever-quivering Grey and silvery ocean world; Airy figures, warm in rosy light, Wave-like roll after, while eastward rising, From autumn-like darkening veils of vapour, With sorrowful death-pale features, Breaks the silent moon; Like sparks of light behind her, Cloud-distant, glimmer the planets. Once there shone in heaven, Nobly united, Luna the goddess and Sol the god, And the bright thronging stars iu light swam rou...