Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, GERMANY; A WINTER TALE: CAPUT 16, by HEINRICH HEINE


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

GERMANY; A WINTER TALE: CAPUT 16, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The carriage's jolting woke me up
Last Line: "when I view the matter closely."
Subject(s): Chezy, Helmine (1783-1856); Germany; Karschin, Anna Luise (1711-1791); Mendelssohn, Moses (1729-1786); Mendelssohn-bartholdy, Felix (1809-1847); Chezy, Wilhelmine Christiane Von Klencke; Germans; Karsch, Anna


THE carriage's jolting woke me up
From my dream, yet vainly sought I
To keep awake, so I slumber'd again,
And of Barbarossa thought I.

Again we went through the echoing halls,
And talked of great and small things;
He ask'd me this, and he ask'd me that,
And wish'd to know about all things.

He told me that not one mortal word
From the world above had descended
For many a year, -- in fact not since
The Seven-years' war had ended.

With interest he for Karschin ask'd,
For Mendelssohn (Moses the glorious),
For Louis the Fifteenth's mistress frail,
The Countess Du Barry notorious.

"O Emperor," cried I, "how backward thou art!
"Old Moses is dead and forgotten,
"With his Rebecca; and Abraham too,
"The son, is dead and rotten.

"This Abraham and Leah, his wife, gave birth
"To Felix, who proved very steady;
"His fame through Christendom far has spread,
"He's a Chapel-master already.

"Old Karschin likewise has long been dead,
"And Klenke, her daughter, is dead too;
"Helmine Chezy, the granddaughter, though,
"Still lives -- at least she is said to.

"Du Barry lived merrily, keeping afloat,
"For Louis the Fifteenth screen'd her
"As long as he lived, but when she was old
"They cruelly guillotined her.

"King Louis the Fifteenth died in his bed,
"By the doctors attended and seen to;
"Bnt Louis the Sixteenth was guillotined,
"And Antoinette the Queen too.

"The Queen the greatest courage display'd,
"And died like a monarch, proudly;
"But Madame Du Barry, when guillotined,
"Kept weeping and screaming loudly." --

The Emperor suddenly came to a stand,
And stared, as if doubting my meaning,
And said: "For the sake of heaven explain
"What is meant by that word guillotining?"

"Why, guillotining," I briefly replied,
"Is a method newly constructed,
"By means of which people of every rank
"From life to death are conducted.

"For this purpose, a new machine is employ'd" --
I continued, while closely he listen'd;
"Invented by Monsieur Guillotin,
"And 'guillotine' after him christen'd.

"You first are fasten'd to a board;
"'Tis lower'd; then quickly they shove you
"Between two posts; meanwhile there hangs
"A triangular axe just above you.

"They pull a string, and downward shoots
"The axe, quite lively and merry;
"And so your head falls into a bag,
"And nothing remains but to bury."

The Emperor here interrupted my speech:
"Be silent! May heaven confuse it,
"That foul machine! and God forbid
"That I should ever use it!

"The King and Queen! What? To a board
"Both fasten'd! What a position!
"'Tis contrary to all respect,
"And etiquette in addition!

"And who art thou, that darest to speak
"So coolly and so much, man?
"Just wait a while, and I'll soon clip
"Thy wings, or I'm a Dutchman!

"My inmost bile is deeply stirr'd
"At words so out of season;
"Thy very breath is full of crime
"And guilty of high treason!"

When in his zeal the old man rail'd,
And treated me thus cavalierly,
Surpassing all bounds, -- I sharply replied,
And told him my mind quite clearly.

"Barbarossa!" I cried, "thou'rt just as absurd
"As an old woman's silly fable;
"Go, lie down and sleep! without thy aid
"To free ourselves we are able.

"The republicans all would scoff and jeer,
"And shake their sides with laughter
"To see such a spectre, with sceptre and crown
"Act as leader, while we went after.

'Thy standard, too, no more I respect;
"My love for the black-red-golden
"Has been quench'd by the fools of the Burschenschaft,
"With their rage for the so-call'd olden.

"In Old Kyffhauser 'twere better that thou
"Shouldst pass thy days morosely;
"In truth, we've no need of an Emperor now,
"When I view the matter closely."





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