 | The select poems of Dr. Thomas Dunn English (exclusive of the "Battle lyrics") |  |
169
THE GNOME-KING'S BRIDE.
Where shadows brown forever sleep
Within the woodland dark and deep,
Miles distant from the travelled way,
There stood a cabin old and grey,
Where dwelt a woodman, Franz his name—
Franz Rupp—with Elisabeth his dame.
Within the woodland dark and deep,
Miles distant from the travelled way,
There stood a cabin old and grey,
Where dwelt a woodman, Franz his name—
Franz Rupp—with Elisabeth his dame.
Hard toiler Franz, from morn till night,
And ever poor in toil's despite,
He bore without complaint his life,
And cherished well his buxom wife,
And loved his daughter young and fair—
Sweet Bertha of the sunlight hair.
And ever poor in toil's despite,
He bore without complaint his life,
And cherished well his buxom wife,
And loved his daughter young and fair—
Sweet Bertha of the sunlight hair.
Near by the cabin, from the ground
There rose a green and treeless mound;
Who raised it there no mortal knew,
But on it flowers and herbage grew,
And oft the story round was told
That gnomes beneath it stored their gold.
There rose a green and treeless mound;
Who raised it there no mortal knew,
But on it flowers and herbage grew,
And oft the story round was told
That gnomes beneath it stored their gold.
Few dared too near that mound approach;
None dared within its bounds encroach;
Although 'twas said who there would delve,
When night was on the stroke of twelve,
And silently his labors speed,
Would gain great riches for his meed.
None dared within its bounds encroach;
Although 'twas said who there would delve,
When night was on the stroke of twelve,
And silently his labors speed,
Would gain great riches for his meed.
170
Now spread a sickness far and wide,
And half of those it seized on died;
And who escaped its fatal stroke
Rose from their beds with spirit broke
And forms enfeebled with disease—
And poor Franz Rupp was one of these.
And half of those it seized on died;
And who escaped its fatal stroke
Rose from their beds with spirit broke
And forms enfeebled with disease—
And poor Franz Rupp was one of these.
Worst of all troubles hunger is,
And hunger came to him and his;
Till, desperate with the famine grim,
That in his cabin glared at him,
He sought at night the gnome-king's mound,
And dug within the enchanted ground.
And hunger came to him and his;
Till, desperate with the famine grim,
That in his cabin glared at him,
He sought at night the gnome-king's mound,
And dug within the enchanted ground.
His spade and mattock there he plied
In silence at the midnight tide;
But ere a dozen strokes he dealt
A presence in the place he felt,
And words, in accents loud and clear,
Fell thus upon his awe-struck ear:
In silence at the midnight tide;
But ere a dozen strokes he dealt
A presence in the place he felt,
And words, in accents loud and clear,
Fell thus upon his awe-struck ear:
“Nothing for nothing; here is store
Of dearworth coin from yellow ore;
This chest contains the treasure which
Shall make its owner wondrous rich—
Something for something; this be thine
Thy daughter Bertha's hand be mine.
Of dearworth coin from yellow ore;
This chest contains the treasure which
Shall make its owner wondrous rich—
Something for something; this be thine
Thy daughter Bertha's hand be mine.
“Take it, or leave it; if you leave,
An orphan Bertha soon will grieve.
Take it, or leave it; if you take,
A promise to the gnome you make,
And in a twelvemonth and a day
He comes to bear his bride away.”
An orphan Bertha soon will grieve.
Take it, or leave it; if you take,
A promise to the gnome you make,
And in a twelvemonth and a day
He comes to bear his bride away.”
171
A moated castle, tall and stout,
Looked o'er the country round about;
Great fields of wheat, and meadows wide,
And orchards vast on either side;
Of all the rich—no meagre host—
Franz Rupp of Ruppenheim had most.
Looked o'er the country round about;
Great fields of wheat, and meadows wide,
And orchards vast on either side;
Of all the rich—no meagre host—
Franz Rupp of Ruppenheim had most.
Men envied much his wealth and state,
And wondered at the happy fate
Of him, the year before a boor
Cribbed in a cabin, sick and poor,
Who, through a kinsman's strange devise,
(So ran the story) thus had rise.
And wondered at the happy fate
Of him, the year before a boor
Cribbed in a cabin, sick and poor,
Who, through a kinsman's strange devise,
(So ran the story) thus had rise.
But Franz himself grew wan and pale;
Health, spirit, hope began to fail
As slipt the allotted term away,
Space of a twelvemonth and a day,
At close of which the gnome would stand
To claim the gentle Bertha's hand.
Health, spirit, hope began to fail
As slipt the allotted term away,
Space of a twelvemonth and a day,
At close of which the gnome would stand
To claim the gentle Bertha's hand.
Where Iser pierces Linden Wood,
Six leagues away a convent stood,
And Franz sought Father Boniface,
The good superior of the place,
And soon to him the tale he told
How Bertha's hand was pledged for gold.
Six leagues away a convent stood,
And Franz sought Father Boniface,
The good superior of the place,
And soon to him the tale he told
How Bertha's hand was pledged for gold.
Long mused the abbot. “Son,” he said,
“No Christian with a gnome should wed;
No priest such couple may unite
With blessed ring and holy rite;
But having made a promise, you
Must keep it to the letter true.
“No Christian with a gnome should wed;
No priest such couple may unite
With blessed ring and holy rite;
But having made a promise, you
Must keep it to the letter true.
172
“With you this missal take, and bide
What time the gnome will seek his bride;
And then let Bertha utter prayer
And sign the Holy Cross in air,
And with this Blessed Book in hands,
Thrice kiss the gnome-king where he stands.
What time the gnome will seek his bride;
And then let Bertha utter prayer
And sign the Holy Cross in air,
And with this Blessed Book in hands,
Thrice kiss the gnome-king where he stands.
“No demon, if the gnome be such,
This Blessed Book may dare to touch;
If he should be a thing of good,
He will not turn before the Rood;
If he be evil, as he may,
At kisses three he'll flee away.”
This Blessed Book may dare to touch;
If he should be a thing of good,
He will not turn before the Rood;
If he be evil, as he may,
At kisses three he'll flee away.”
Yet something more the abbot said,
How men with fortune on them shed
To Holy Church some gold should spare—
“The convent chapel needs repair—”
And then, to lighten Franz's woe,
With book and blessing bade him go.
How men with fortune on them shed
To Holy Church some gold should spare—
“The convent chapel needs repair—”
And then, to lighten Franz's woe,
With book and blessing bade him go.
With steady step the night came on,
And long the light had past and gone,
When in his sad and splendid home
Sat Franz, woe-watching for the gnome—
Franz and his dame, and, trembling there,
Sweet Bertha with the rippling hair.
And long the light had past and gone,
When in his sad and splendid home
Sat Franz, woe-watching for the gnome—
Franz and his dame, and, trembling there,
Sweet Bertha with the rippling hair.
Ah! could the bargain be undone,
Scattered the wealth the promise won,
And, for the horror of that day,
Take back the cottage thatched and grey!
Something for something: hope not so;
The gnome will not his claim forego.
Scattered the wealth the promise won,
And, for the horror of that day,
Take back the cottage thatched and grey!
Something for something: hope not so;
The gnome will not his claim forego.
173
Ten strokes! eleven—twelve! and now
The luckless three in terror bow;
For howls the angry wind without,
Sweep storm and tempest round about,
And sounds a voice above the din:
“Open, and let the bridegroom in!”
The luckless three in terror bow;
For howls the angry wind without,
Sweep storm and tempest round about,
And sounds a voice above the din:
“Open, and let the bridegroom in!”
Start bolts, fall bars, and open flies
The oaken door. Before their eyes
The gnome-king with his elfish train,
His black locks flaked with storm and rain,
And wet his robes of cramoisie,
Short, swart and full of wrath is he.
The oaken door. Before their eyes
The gnome-king with his elfish train,
His black locks flaked with storm and rain,
And wet his robes of cramoisie,
Short, swart and full of wrath is he.
With frowning brow he mutters low:
“Is't thus you pay the debt you owe?
And would you dare to-night refuse
All that I claim as rightful dues?
Speak! must I right myself, or take
Freely this maid for honor's sake?
“Is't thus you pay the debt you owe?
And would you dare to-night refuse
All that I claim as rightful dues?
Speak! must I right myself, or take
Freely this maid for honor's sake?
The holy sign the maiden made—
The gnome was not thereby dismayed;
She bore aloft the Blessed Book—
The gnome nor fled, nor shrunk, nor shook;
She looked within his eyes so bright,
And kissed him on his forehead white.
The gnome was not thereby dismayed;
She bore aloft the Blessed Book—
The gnome nor fled, nor shrunk, nor shook;
She looked within his eyes so bright,
And kissed him on his forehead white.
She kissed him once—he said no word;
She kissed him twice—he never stirred;
She kissed him thrice—what change befell!
Good saints and angels, guard us well!
The dwarfish gnomes dissolved in air;
A prince, with nobles round, stood there.
She kissed him twice—he never stirred;
She kissed him thrice—what change befell!
Good saints and angels, guard us well!
The dwarfish gnomes dissolved in air;
A prince, with nobles round, stood there.
174
Ring, silvern bells in spire and tower—
The prince escapes the eldrich power;
Let song and feasting round us be—
They break the spell, those kisses three;
Weave garlands brave of white and green—
The gnome's bride is the Saxon queen.
The prince escapes the eldrich power;
Let song and feasting round us be—
They break the spell, those kisses three;
Weave garlands brave of white and green—
The gnome's bride is the Saxon queen.
| The select poems of Dr. Thomas Dunn English (exclusive of the "Battle lyrics") | |