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I sent a letter to the maid,
And sent a ring—"The ring is thine;
So give me, sweet, thy love," I said,
"And leave thy father's house for mine."
The letter reach'd the maid, she ran,
And placed it in her father's hand:
"Read, O my father! if thou can,
And make thy daughter understand."
Her father read it—not a word
He said—but sigh'd—as he arose—
"O Lord of mercy! righteous Lord!"
What heavy: heavy sighs were those.
"My golden father![1] tell me why
Such sighs—such sadness—never pain
Heav'd from the breast a heavier sigh—
What did that wretched sheet contain?"
- ↑ Můg zlatý pantáto:—the common slavonian term of endearment.
