| 1 |
The
goddess hastened and made me the tea,
And then with the rum she braced it;
As for herself, she drank the rum
And left the tea untasted.
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| 2 |
She
leaned on my shoulder—the mural crown
Which adorned her head so neatly
Became, in consequence, rather crushed,
And she said to me low and sweetly,
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| 3 |
"I
have often thought with misgiving sore,
What a pity that dear man tarries
Uncared for among the frivolous French,
In the wicked town of Paris.
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| 4 |
"You
wander about in an aimless way;
You have not even beside you
A German publisher, faithful and wise,
As a Mentor to guard and guide you.
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| 5 |
"And
so many sylphs are weak and frail;
The temptations are truly appalling.
It is easy, alas! one's peace of soul
To lose beyond recalling.
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| 6 |
"Return
not to Paris, but stay with us here,
Where manners and morals obtain still.
Oh, pleasures in plenty and quiet delights
Unchidden among us remain still.
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| 7 |
"Yes,
stop with us here, in your native town;
You will relish it more than you once did.
You, yourself, must see we have a]so progressed:
No longer we do as each dunce did.
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| 8 |
"The
censor, besides, is now far less strict,
Our Hoffmann's grown old and mellow.
At your Reisebilder he slashes no more
As when young—he's a kindly old fellow.
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| 9 |
There
is much you rebelled at that now you'll accept
You yourself have grown wiser and older.
You may even be able to think of the past
With less rancour, now passion is colder .
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| 10 |
'Tis
exaggeration to say that all
Was wrong that we here at home did.
You could always by suicide sever your bonds,
As the slaves of ancient Rome did.
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| 11 |
"The
mass of the people have always enjoyed
Their freedom of thought unstinted.
Repression and gagging were strictly confined
To the limited number who printedsddd.
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| 12 |
"And
tyranny never held absolute sway;
Even demagogues, though they contemned them,
They only deprived of a citizen's rights
When they duly had judged and condemned them.
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| 13 |
"No,
Germany never was quite so bad,
Not even when ruder and younger.
In a German prison—I give you my word—
No man ever died of hunger.
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