Page:Konradwallenrod00mickgoog.djvu/43

Rh Ah! since that time, in good and evil plight, I dream of thee and those fair heavens bright.

The cross upon thy breast rejoiced mine eyes; The sign of future bliss therein I read. Alas! when from the cross the thunder flies, All things around are silenced, perished. Nought I regret, though bitter tears I pour; Thou tookest all from me, but hope leftst o'er.

"Hope!" the low echoes from the shore replied, The valleys and the forest Konrad woke, And laughing wildly, answered, "Where am I? To hear in this place—hope? Wherefore this song? I do recall thy vanished happiness. Three lovely daughters from one mother born, And thou the first demanded as a bride. Woe unto you, fair flowers! woe to you! A fearful viper crept into the garden. And where the reptile's livid breast has touched The grass is withered and the roses fade, And yellow as the reptile's bosom grow. Fly from the present in thought; recall the days Which thou hadst spent in joyousness without—