'This ship is tossed in many a storm, it lands on many a shore,
And the wide sea, beneath the wind, it swiftly travels o'er;
'Tis like the human heart which brings no treasure and no gain,
Till, tossed by hard misfortune, it has known the sea of pain.'
And let there be upon the fringe round this inscription hung
Another legend which shall say in the Arabian tongue:
'Oh, might it be that Allah, the merciful, would send
To all my captive miseries a swift and happy end.'"
The countess said: "To build this ship methinks would please me well,
Such tasks the sorrows of thy heart might lighten or dispel;