In the song was celebrated
The espousals of Prince Israel
With the lovely Princess Sabbath,
Whom they call the silent princess.
Pearl and flower of perfect beauty
Is the Princess. Fairer never
Was the famous queen of Sheba,
Solomon’s old bosom-friend,
Ethiopian vain blue-stocking,
Who with her esprit would dazzle,
And with all her clever riddles
Was, I fear, extremely tedious.
But our Princess Sabbath, who was
Peace itself personified,
Held in utter detestation
All debates and wit-encounters.
Equally abhorr’d she noisy
And declamatory passion,—
All that pathos which with flowing
And dishevell’d hair storms wildly.
Modestly the silent princess
In her hood conceals her tresses;
Soft as the gazelle’s her looks are,
Slender as an Addas blooms she.
She allows her lover all things
Save this one,—tobacco-smoking:
“Loved one! smoking is forbidden,
“For to-day the Sabbath is.
“But at noon, in compensation,
“Thou a steaming dish shalt taste of,
“Which is perfectly delicious—
“Thou shall eat to-day some Schalet!”
“Schalet, beauteous spark immortal,
“Daughter of Elysium!”[83]
Thus would Schiller’s song have sung it,
Had he ever tasted Schalet.
Schalet is the food of heaven,
Which the Lord Himself taught Moses
How to cook, when on that visit
To the summit of Mount Sinai,