''The Hostess' Daughter''

THE HOSTESS' DAUGHTER

Ludwig Uhland

Three students had cross'd o'er the Rhine's dark tide;
At the door of a hostel they turned aside.

"Hast thou, Dame hostess, good ale and wine?
And where is thy daughter, so sweet and fine?"

"My ale and wine are cool and clear;
On her death-bed lieth my daughter dear."

And when to the chamber they made their way,
In a sable coffin the damsel lay.

The first — the veil from her face he took,
And gazed upon her with mournful look:

"Alas! fair maiden — didst thou still live,
To thee my love would I henceforth give!"

To second — he lightly replaced the shroud,
Then round he turned him, and wept aloud:

"Thou liest, alas! on thy death-bed here;
I loved thee fondly for many a year!"

The third — he lifted again the veil,
And gently he kissed those lips so pale:

"I love thee now, as I loved of yore,
And thus will I love thee forevermore!"

1809


-trans. W.W. Skeat
-German title: Der Wirtin Töchterlein.

(Illustration is Carl Philipp Fohr, Knights before a Charcoal Burner's Hut, 1816.)