Page:The Works of J. W. von Goethe, Volume 1.djvu/211



the restless vexation of his present humour, it came into his head to go and see the old harper; hoping by his music to scare away the evil spirits that tormented him. On asking for the man, he was directed to a mean public-house, in a remote corner of the little town; and, having mounted up-stairs there to the very garret, his ear caught the fine twanging of the harp coming from a little room before him. They were heart-moving, mournful tones, accompanied by a sad and dreary singing. Wilhelm glided to the door; and as the good old man was performing a sort of voluntary, the few stanzas of which, sometimes chanted, sometimes in recitative, were repeated more than once, our friend succeeded, after listening for awhile, in gathering nearly this:

The heart-sick, plaintive sound of this lament pierced deep into the soul of the hearer. It seemed to him as Rh