The while it is away."


EPILOGUE TO SCHILLER'S "SONG OF THE
BELL"[20]

[This fine piece, written originally in 1805, on Schiller's death,
was altered and recast by Goethe in 1815, on the occasion of the
performance on the stage of the _Song of the Bell_. Hence the allusion
in the last verse.]

To this city joy reveal it!
Peace as its first signal peal it!

(_Song of the Bell_--concluding lines).

And so it proved! The nation felt, ere long,
That peaceful signal, and, with blessings fraught,
A new-born joy appeared; in gladsome song
To hail the youthful princely pair we sought;
While in the living, ever-swelling throng
Mingled the crowds from every region brought,
And on the stage, in festal pomp arrayed,
The HOMAGE OF THE ARTS[21] we saw displayed.

When, lo! a fearful midnight sound I hear,
That with a dull and mournful echo rings.
And can it be that of our friend so dear
It tells, to whom each wish so fondly clings?
Shall death o'ercome a life that all revere?