Page:The Works of J. W. von Goethe, Volume 6.djvu/531

Rh wooden building whence a most discordant howling issued. It was the feeding-hour of the wild animals which were there enclosed for exhibition. The lion roared with that fearful voice with which he was accustomed to terrify both woods and wastes. The horses trembled, and no one could avoid observing how the monarch of the desert made himself terrible in the tranquil circles of civilised life. Approaching nearer, they remarked the tawdry, colossal pictures on which the beasts were painted in the brightest colours, intended to afford irresistible temptation to the busy citizen. The grim and fearful tiger was in the act of springing upon a negro to tear him to pieces. The lion stood in solemn majesty, as if he saw no worthy prey before him. Other wonderful creatures in the same group presented inferior attractions.

"Upon our return," said the princess, "we will alight, and take a nearer inspection of these rare creatures."

"Is it not extraordinary," replied the prince, "that man takes pleasure in fearful excitements? The tiger, for instance, is lying quietly enough within his cage; and yet here the brute must be painted in the act of springing fiercely on a negro, in order that the public may believe that the same scene is to be witnessed within. Do not murder and death, fire and desolation, sufficiently abound, but that every mountebank must repeat such horrors? The worthy people like to be alarmed, that they may afterward enjoy the delightful sensation of freedom and security."

But whatever feelings of terror such frightful representations might have inspired, they disappeared when they reached the gate and surveyed the cheerful prospects around. The road led down to a river, a narrow brook in truth, and only calculated to bear light skiffs, but destined afterward, when swelled into a wider stream, to take another name, and to water distant