From Harburg to Hamburg we drove in an hour.
The shades of night were thickening;
The stars of heaven in welcome shone;
The air was soft and quickening.

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When I reached my mother's, the dear thing's joy
Was so great and unexpected
She was almost scared; she clasped her hands
In rapture unaffected.

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"My child! And after thirteen years
Like this again to meet, dear!
You must be hungry; tell me quick,
What will you have to eat, dear ?

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"I have fish, cold goose, and oranges
The sweetest you ever tasted."
"Then give me the oranges, fish, and goose,
I promise they won't be wasted."

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I ate with a will, and my mother was gay,
But alas! I am no romancer;
She asked me this, and she asked me that,
And her questions were hard to answer.

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"My darling child, in your foreign home
Are you carefully served and tended?
Does your wife understand how to keep a house?
Are your shirts and stockings mended?"

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"Dear little mother, the fish is good,
But fish is a risky diet;
You so easily choke on a bone if you speak;
Just leave me a moment in quiet."

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When the excellent fish had been despatched,
The goose was served up duly,
And my mother began her questions again;
It was awkward to answer truly.

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"My darling child! In which country, say,
Has life the greater zest now?
You've tried the French and the German both,
And which do you like the best now?"

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Dear mother, this German goose is superb,
But in France a tradition they follow,
When it comes to the stuffing, that's better than ours,
And in sauces they beat us hollow."

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And after the goose had disappeared
The oranges took their station
Before me in turn, and I found them sweet
Beyond all expectation.

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But then my mother began again—
When happy you know how one chatters—
She asked me a thousand things, and touched
On painful and personal matters.

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"My child! And what are at present your views ?
Is your interest still as hearty
In politics as it used to be ?
What is your creed? Your party ?"

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"Dear little mother, these oranges here
Could certainly not be beaten.
With the greatest enjoyment I suck the juice,
But I leave the rind uneaten."

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