DANUBE IN ——
Round me are dwelling the falcon-eyed race, the Phaeacian people;
Sunday with them never ends; ceaselessly moves round the spit.
MAIN.
Ay, it is true that my castles are crumbling; yet, to my comfort,
Have I for centuries past seen my old race still endure.
SAALE.
Short is my course, during which I salute many princes and nations;
Yet the princes are good—ay! and the nations are free.
ILM.
Poor are my banks, it is true; but yet my soft-flowing waters
Many immortal lays here, borne by the current along.
PLEISSE.
Flat is my shore and shallow my current; alas, all my writers,
Both in prose and in verse, drink far too deep of its stream!