Page:Konradwallenrod00mickgoog.djvu/37

At the feet of the maiden, the flower of our youth,
Than roses, than tulips, far fairer in sooth.

The Wilija despiseth the valley of flowers.
She seeks to the Niemen, her lover, to rove;
The Litwinka listens no love-tale of ours.
The youth of the strangers has filled her with love.

In powerful embrace doth the Niemen enfold,
And beareth o'er rocks and o'er wild deserts lone;
He presses his love to his bosom so cold,
They perish together in sea-depths unknown.

Thee too, poor Litwinka, the stranger shall call
Away from the joys of that sweet native vale;
Thou deep in Forgetfulness' billows must fall,
But sadder thy fate, for alone thou must fail.
 
For streamlet and heart by no warning are crost,
The maiden will love and the Wilija will run;
And in her loved Niemen the Wilija is lost,
In the dark prison-tower weeps the maiden undone.