84
The tower of lahneck.
An English stranger with her German guide
Trod breathlessly the difficult path that winds
Up to the ruined walls. The two were friends,
And with light laughter and familiar jests
Made the way pleasant, till they paused at last
Under the castle's shadow, to look down
On the blue Lahn that widens to the Rhine,
The Rhine itself beyond, the broad, fair scene
Outspread below. The English girl spoke first
After long silence; with clasped hands, and head
Thrown back, retreating slow, and with her eye
Measuring the lone high tower. "Oh, Margaret!
Eagles by daylight, and gray owls that blink
Under the o'er -bright moon, on yon great height
Blindly possess the wealth that would enrich
A human soul for ever!"
Through a maze
Of matted shrubbery they forced a path
Close to the ruin. A projecting wall
Sheltered a low-arched door, that, cloaked by vines,
And half way blocked with slippery stones, framed in
Intensest darkness. With light, fearless tread,
Trod breathlessly the difficult path that winds
Up to the ruined walls. The two were friends,
And with light laughter and familiar jests
Made the way pleasant, till they paused at last
Under the castle's shadow, to look down
On the blue Lahn that widens to the Rhine,
The Rhine itself beyond, the broad, fair scene
Outspread below. The English girl spoke first
After long silence; with clasped hands, and head
Thrown back, retreating slow, and with her eye
Measuring the lone high tower. "Oh, Margaret!
Eagles by daylight, and gray owls that blink
Under the o'er -bright moon, on yon great height
Blindly possess the wealth that would enrich
A human soul for ever!"
Through a maze
Of matted shrubbery they forced a path
Close to the ruin. A projecting wall
Sheltered a low-arched door, that, cloaked by vines,
And half way blocked with slippery stones, framed in
Intensest darkness. With light, fearless tread,
