The Horseman and Lake Constance
THE HORSEMAN rides in the valley’s glow, |
|
The sunbeam glistens on fields of snow, |
|
The sweat-drop falls as he speeds to gain |
|
The lake of Constance ere day doth wane, |
|
To pass with his steed in the ferry o’er, |
5 |
And land ere night on the further shore. |
|
On rugged path, with mettlesome steed, |
|
O’er brambles and stones he gains the mead. |
|
The mountains quitted he sees the land |
|
Extend like a snow-white sheet of sand, |
10 |
Behind him town and hamlet wane, |
|
And smooth is the path of the level plain. |
|
Not a hill around, not a house he sees, |
|
The rocks have vanished, no shrubs nor trees; |
|
A league hath he won, a second, a third, |
15 |
Aloft is the cry of the solan-goose heard, |
|
The water-hen soars on rustling wing, |
|
No other sounds through the stillness ring; |
|
No wanderer can his eye behold |
|
To point out the path his steps should hold. |
20 |
On, on, as on velvet, o’er yielding snow! |
|
“O, when will the murmuring waters glow?” |
|
The day hath waned, through the gloom of night |
|
In the distance glimmers a taper’s light. |
|
Mid the fog peers tree upon tree anew, |
25 |
Dark mountains limit the distant view. |
|
Again over stone and thorn he rides, |
|
Then digs his spurs in the horse’s sides, |
|
The dogs at the steed and his rider bay, |
|
The village hearth glows with inviting ray. |
30 |
“O, welcome, fair maid, at the window; say, |
|
To the lake, to the lake, how far, I pray?” |
|
The maiden gazed with wondering eye, |
|
“Both ferry and lake behind thee lie. |
|
And were it not bound by its icy crust, |
35 |
I should say thou hadst quitted the boat but just.” |
|
The stranger shuddered in dread suspense, |
|
“Yon plain behind, I have ridden thence!” |
|
The maiden uplifted her arms and spake, |
|
“Great God! thou hast ridden across the lake: |
40 |
The hoofs of thy steed have knocked at the grave, |
|
In the gulf of death, the fathomless wave; |
|
Did the billows beneath thee not vent their wrath? |
|
Broke not with a crash thy icy path? |
|
Thou wert not the prey of the silent brood, |
45 |
Of the ravenous pike, in the chilly flood?” |
|
She calls forth the village the tale to hear, |
|
The gathering groups of boys draw near; |
|
The dames and the sires crowd round the spot: |
|
“Rejoice, O fortunate man, at thy lot! |
50 |
Come in to the stove, to the steaming dish, |
|
Break bread at our board and eat of our fish!” |
|
The rider transfixed upon his steed, |
|
Unto the first word alone gave heed. |
|
His heart stood still, and on end his hair, |
55 |
The horrors behind him still grimly stare; |
|
His eye sees naught but the gulf profound, |
|
His mind sinks down to the deep, deep ground; |
|
Like rending ice in his ear it roars, |
|
From his brow in torrents the cold sweat pours. |
60 |
He sighs, falls from his steed to the ground; |
|
A grave on the shore of the lake he found.
Gustav Schwab |