The tower of lahneck.
91
And wheeling round the tower, fled fast and far
Toward the Black Forest. Whether she had leant
Over the gulf too hardily, and, seared
By the near flight of that unholy bird,
Swerved and stepped falsely, whether desperate fear
Then fixed the wavering purpose in her soul
God saw, but Ida, starting at a shriek
That drowned the owl's hoot, only looked to know
She was alone.
What desolate hours were hers,
Who knelt down in the starlight, stretching forth,
Her shuddering arms to Heaven, and from that time
Patiently suffered!
Was she saved at last?
What say the bargemen floating down the Lahn,
The boatmen at the Ferry, to and fro
Hourly plying, or the rustic groups
That loiter as they pass? To their belief,
Since from its heights the robber baron swept
With his hawk's eye the valleys, never foot
Has trod the ruined summit. Only, once,
Albert, the fisher, resting on his oar
Toward the Black Forest. Whether she had leant
Over the gulf too hardily, and, seared
By the near flight of that unholy bird,
Swerved and stepped falsely, whether desperate fear
Then fixed the wavering purpose in her soul
God saw, but Ida, starting at a shriek
That drowned the owl's hoot, only looked to know
She was alone.
What desolate hours were hers,
Who knelt down in the starlight, stretching forth,
Her shuddering arms to Heaven, and from that time
Patiently suffered!
Was she saved at last?
What say the bargemen floating down the Lahn,
The boatmen at the Ferry, to and fro
Hourly plying, or the rustic groups
That loiter as they pass? To their belief,
Since from its heights the robber baron swept
With his hawk's eye the valleys, never foot
Has trod the ruined summit. Only, once,
Albert, the fisher, resting on his oar
