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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of An Anthology of Jugoslav Poetry; Serbian
+Lyrics, by Various
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: An Anthology of Jugoslav Poetry; Serbian Lyrics
+
+Author: Various
+
+Editor: Beatrice Stevenson Stanoyevich
+
+Release Date: May 13, 2011 [EBook #36091]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANTHOLOGY OF JUGOSLAV POETRY ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Roberta Staehlin, Carol Ann Brown, and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+(This file was produced from images generously made
+available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+ Transcriber's Notes:
+
+ ['c] represents accent over letter "c".
+ [vc] represents caron over letter "c".
+ [vs] represents caron over letter "s".
+ [vz] represents caron over letter "z".
+
+ Corrected mis-numbered footnote anchors.
+ Added close quote at end of line 8, poem I ...and others cursing."...
+ Removed open quote at beginning of a page break of poem IX.
+ Added period to end of poem XXI.
+ Added close quote to end of first stanza of poem XXIX.
+ Added final period to J. W. W. at end of poem CXXIV.
+
+
+
+
+ AN ANTHOLOGY OF
+ JUGOSLAV POETRY
+
+ SERBIAN LYRICS
+
+ EDITED BY
+ DR. B. STEVENSON STANOYEVICH
+
+ [Illustration: Printer's logo]
+
+ BOSTON
+ RICHARD G. BADGER
+ THE GORHAM PRESS
+
+
+ COPYRIGHT, 1920, BY RICHARD G. BADGER
+ All Rights Reserved
+
+
+
+
+ Made in the United States of America
+ The Gorham Press, Boston, U. S. A.
+
+
+
+
+ TRANSLITERATION OF UNUSUAL
+ JUGOSLAV SCRIPT:
+
+ a = a in father, garden
+ e = e in men, envoy
+ i = i in tin, ill
+ o = o in son, note
+ u = u in rule, rumor
+ j = y in yoke, yes
+ c = ts in cats, lots
+ lj = ly in William, million
+ dj = dy in endure, verdure
+ gj = gy in George
+ nj = ny in Kenyon, opinion
+ [vc] = tch in watch, catch
+ ['c] = ch in culture, literature
+ [vs] = sh in ship, shade
+ [vz] = zh in azure, seizure
+ d[vz] = dzh in Badger, or j in James
+
+ The rest of the letters correspond to the English sounds.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+"Give me the making of a nation's songs, and let who will make their
+laws," was the maxim of a Scottish patriot. We would prefer to modify
+this rule, and say, "Give us the poems which the people make for
+themselves, and then we shall obtain a clear insight into the national
+character and learn what customs and laws they are likely to accept or
+reject." Folk-songs are the intimate expressions of the ideas of the
+people. What the comic drama is to the cultured, and the music-hall to
+the ill-educated portions of urban population, the popular song has
+been, and in some countries still is, to the rural peasantry, a true
+exponent of their sentiments, though too frequently inaccurate in
+statements of facts. Critics, as is well known, have censured Lord
+Macaulay for his indiscriminate adoption of the vulgar and often
+malignant rhapsodies sung in the streets of London. But the Russian
+_bylina_, collected by Danilov, Rybnikov, Sreznevsky and others, may be
+taken as furnishing unimpeachable evidence of the state of Russia during
+the invasions of the Mongols and Turks. The Jacobite poems give us the
+real feelings of the people of Scotland for nearly an entire century.
+The popular and rustic strains which are handed down from the reign of
+Henry III have rehabilitated the memory of Simon de Montfort. Moore's
+Irish melodies, originally composed for the delectation of English
+aristocrats, have been so generally admired in his native land that they
+exhibit pretty clear indications of what the Irish patriots would like
+to do if they had the power. And the battle-hymn by Rouget de Lisle is
+not only popular in France, but has recently been sung by the Russian
+bolsheviki when marching to occupy Tsarskoe Selo and other imperial
+lands.
+
+The songs to which the English form has been given in the following
+volume have been taken mostly from Vuk Karad[vz]i['c]'s invaluable
+collection: _Srpske Narodne Pjesme_ (Serbian National Songs).
+Karad[vz]i['c], of whom the literary world has heard so much, is the
+father of modern Serbian literature. He spent many years among the
+peasants in collecting the national treasures: ballads, tales, proverbs,
+anecdotes and other folklore. Before his time the songs had never been
+reduced to written form, and were kept out of reach of the public ear.
+He was only able to hear them partly because of a ruse and partly in
+secret, when he listened with inexhaustible patience to the girls
+spinning, or the _guslars_ (bards) trolling in taverns and at fairs, or
+the reapers chanting at their work. In the preface of his first book of
+_Srpske Narodne Pjesme_ Karad[vz]i['c] tells us that in Serbia two sorts
+of popular poetry exist--the historical ballads, and popular songs of a
+character which caused them to be described as _[vz]enske pjesme_
+(women's songs) chanted by country folk, both men and women and mostly
+in duet. It is the latter, _[vz]enske pjesme_, which having been
+translated into English are gathered together in the following
+anthology, _Serbian Lyrics_.
+
+Sir John Bowring, who unveiled to his countrymen the rich treasures of
+Slavic popular songs in general, is also distinguished by being the
+pioneer to point out the Serbian in particular. But the claims, which
+we, at the present day, feel ourselves entitled to make on a translator,
+are very different from those current in Bowring's time. Correctness and
+fidelity are now considered necessary requisites in a good translation,
+just as antiquarian exactness is expected in the publication of an old
+manuscript.
+
+Jugoslav lyric poetry is divided into several groups, as, for instance,
+one grouping contains poems concerning marriage. These songs tell of the
+beauty of the bride, of her joy and sorrow before departure from the
+home of her parents, as well as her feelings upon other occasions during
+wedlock. There are poems belonging to the group of bacchanalian songs,
+pronounced during the toast, and resounding with many refrains. Then
+there are lamentations (_tu[vz]balice_) which are mostly provincial,
+from Montenegro and Dalmatia. They are also accompanied by refrains,
+expressing sorrow after the death of some loved one, and extolling the
+virtues of the deceased, or the great misfortune felt by those left
+behind. All this emotion is described very fitly and in a touching
+manner. Further, there are poems commemorating the holy seasons and
+"red-letter days," as _sve[vc]arske pjesme_ sung on the _Slava_
+celebration of some _svetac_ (saint). To the same grouping belong
+Christmas poems hailing the glory of the Christ, and depicting the
+customs of that season (_koledo_). Saints, such as Sts. John, George,
+Peter, and others, have their own eulogies. There are besides poems
+exalting the Holy Ghost (_kralji[vc]ke pjesme_). _Dodole_, which
+originated from old customs of heathenism, are sung during the summer
+droughts. Others are reapers' songs, mostly sung at _prelo_ time (social
+gatherings). There are poems that are connected neither with marriage,
+nor death, nor harvests, but which treat of mythological or religious
+subjects; they are called _pobo[vz]ne_, describing the spiritual virtues
+of the Virgin, or the Christ, or the apostles. Here are also to be found
+humoristic and satirical compositions, directed against women, or
+especially against monks, widows, and old bachelors. They are as a rule
+sprightly songs and piquant, pleasant and witty.
+
+Critics who have written of the Serbian national songs declare that they
+are characterized by extreme delicacy both of feeling and workmanship,
+and that they are noble in their childlike purity, simple treatment of,
+and sympathy with, every phase of natural human experience. But these
+Serbian songs have quite a peculiar character of their own. They are
+directly, passionately, fiercely human, and rich with poetic sympathy.
+Love, glory, sorrow, death--are the themes constantly handled in a
+thousand weird and poetic phrases. There is a strong Indian flavor of
+the joy of rest in Mother Earth; and again, a keen thirst for the fight
+which smacks of the men who lived with Moslems around them. Although
+these chants occasionally recall something of the martial lilt of old
+Spanish ballads, they have an individual original turn which cannot be
+compared with any extant popular poetry. They have the uncanny mystery
+of the Celtic tales of love in death, which is very rare.
+
+The love songs of the Jugoslav lands have a dreamy, calm and exalted
+sweetness that reminds us of the Alps and the Cevennes. Among these the
+Bosnian _sevdalinke_ (love songs of Bosnia) are especially worthy of
+remark, for they are full of emotion, yearning and tender passion. The
+greater warmth of the songs of Herzegovina and Montenegro is owing more
+to the sonorous language than to any superiority in melody. Here are
+mostly to be found _tu[vz]balice_. As to Dalmatia, Croatia and Slovenia,
+their melodies are chiefly marked by simplicity and a feeling for the
+domestic side of life. Ba[vc]ka and Banat, blessed with much open air
+and sunshine, possess no love-songs in the strict sense of the term; but
+they have _serenade_ and _posko[vc]ice_, although for these there is
+little or no original melody. To the light-minded and bright-witted
+singers of these provinces imagination is easier than memory.
+
+A country very rich in melody is Serbia. Here one may find a truer and
+more intense musical feeling, a stronger love of the soil, and more
+sincere devotion to the beauty of nature, especially of spring and
+summer, than in any other part of Jugoslavia. The love songs of Serbia
+seem to have a special inspiration of their own. We may hear the
+shepherds singing in green pastures and among the fir-woods, or in the
+silence of the mountains. From the vineyards, from the fair and dances,
+and from the daily round of work the strains arise. Everywhere that
+youth is seen a poem is heard, and every occupation is accompanied by a
+song.
+
+We cannot, however, leave this part of our subject without mentioning
+some of the burlesque poems, which the Jugoslavs possess in great
+number, partly narrative and partly lyric. The Americans are accustomed
+to think of the Jugoslavs and their kinsmen as grave and sombre, or,
+when their passions are excited, prone to deeds of tragic violence.
+Those who are better acquainted with them know full well that they are
+as loquacious and sarcastically sportive in their social gatherings as
+any nation, and many of their verses are redolent of these qualities.
+They display all the gradations of the comic, from the diverting
+simplicity of the innocent confession of an enamoured girl, together
+with the ludicrous situation and disappointed vanity of her cheated
+lover, up to a strain of bitter satire and merciless irony. Poems marked
+by that simplicity which borders between the touching and the humorous
+are also represented in this volume. Such is the song, "Trouble with the
+Husband":
+
+ I married last year,
+ This year I repent.
+ Bad husband have I,
+ With temper like nettle:
+ My lot I resent.
+
+ The frost kills the nettle,
+ But this husband of mine,
+ He thinks the frost fine:
+ By the stove all day long
+ He does nothing but sit,
+ And says that the frost
+ He minds not one bit!
+
+ In Celovec 'tis market-day,
+ 'Tis market-day to-morrow;
+ I will take my husband there,
+ And will either there him change,
+ Or else will sell him at the fair.
+
+ Not too cheap I'll let him go,
+ Because he was so hard to get;
+ Rather than too cheaply sell him,
+ Back home again I'll take the man,
+ And love him--howsomuch I can!
+
+The western world has already heard of the rich mine of Jugoslav
+folk-literature. Nevertheless, comparatively speaking, only a very small
+number have been translated into English. The extreme simplicity of
+these verses, the peculiar character of the Serbian language, with its
+melodiously protracted words, its pompously sonorous sounds, and its
+harmonious diffuseness, all render it exceedingly difficult to translate
+Serbian lyrics without encountering the danger of making constant
+additions; especially when rendering it into a language with so many
+monosyllabic words, and so philosophically condensed, as the English.
+
+ MILIVOY STANOYEVICH.
+
+New York, 1920.
+
+
+
+
+ TABLE OF CONTENTS
+
+
+ POEMS TRANSLATED BY
+ SIR JOHN BOWRING
+
+ CHAPTER PAGE
+
+ I. THE CURSE 21
+ II. FAREWELL 23
+ III. THE VIOLET 24
+ IV. SMILIA 24
+ V. HARVEST SONG 25
+ VI. MAIDEN'S PRAYER 25
+ VII. KISSES 26
+ VIII. HARVEST SONG 27
+ IX. CURSE 27
+ X. SALUTATION OF THE MORNING STAR 28
+ XI. THE KNITTER 29
+ XII. ROYAL CONVERSE 30
+ XIII. ROSA 31
+ XIV. THE MAIDEN AND THE SUN 31
+ XV. THE MAIDEN'S WISH 32
+ XVI. THE FALCON 33
+ XVII. DEER AND VILA 34
+ XVIII. VIRGIN AND WIDOW 35
+ XIX. NIGHTINGALES 36
+ XX. THE RING 37
+ XXI. FRATRICIDE 38
+ XXII. LOVE 40
+ XXIII. MAPLE TREE 40
+ XXIV. SEMENDRIAN BEAUTY 41
+ XXV. SELF-ADMIRATION 42
+ XXVI. ASSIGNATION 42
+ XXVII. FOOLISH VOW 43
+ XXVIII. VILAS 43
+ XXIX. LEPOTA 44
+ XXX. IMPRECATIONS 45
+ XXXI. SECRETS DIVULGED 46
+ XXXII. WISHES 47
+ XXXIII. LOVER ASLEEP 47
+ XXXIV. EARLY SORROWS 48
+ XXXV. THE YOUNG SHEPHERDS 49
+ XXXVI. THOUGHTS OF A MOTHER 51
+ XXXVII. COUNSEL 52
+ XXXVIII. DESOLATION 52
+ XXXIX. APPREHENSION 53
+ XL. MILICA 54
+ XLI. THE CHOICE 55
+ XLII. FOR WHOM? 55
+ XLIII. LIBERTY 56
+ XLIV. THE DANCE 57
+ XLV. ELEGY 58
+ XLVI. INQUIRY 59
+ XLVII. DOUBT 60
+ XLVIII. THE SULTANESS 61
+ XLIX. BETROTHING 61
+ L. CAUTIONS 62
+ LI. MAIDEN'S CARES 63
+ LII. MOHAMMEDAN SONG 65
+ LIII. MINE EVERYWHERE 65
+ LIV. MAID AWAKING 67
+ LV. MOTHER'S LOVE 67
+ LVI. THE GREYBEARD 68
+ LVII. MOHAMMEDAN TALE 69
+ LVIII. LOVE'S DIFFICULTIES 71
+ LIX. WITCHES 72
+ LX. PLEDGES 72
+ LXI. COMPLAINT 73
+ LXII. SONG 74
+ LXIII. MOHAMMEDAN SONG 74
+ LXIV. BROTHERLESS SISTERS 75
+ LXV. MISFORTUNES 76
+ LXVI. TIMIDITY 77
+ LXVII. YOUTH ENAMOURED 78
+ LXVIII. BLACK EYES AND BLUE 79
+ LXIX. THE WIDOW 80
+ LXX. ALARMS 80
+ LXXI. FOND WIFE 81
+ LXXII. UNHAPPY BRIDE 81
+ LXXIII. LAST PETITION 82
+ LXXIV. LOVE FOR A BROTHER 83
+ LXXV. REBUKE 84
+ LXXVI. MAN'S FAITH 85
+ LXXVII. MAIDEN'S AFFECTION 85
+ LXXVIII. MARRIAGE SONGS 86
+ LXXIX. HEROES SERVED 89
+ LXXX. YOUTH AND AGE 89
+ LXXXI. CHOICE 90
+ LXXXII. ANXIETY 91
+ LXXXIII. INQUIRY 91
+ LXXXIV. FROZEN HEART 92
+ LXXXV. UNION IN DEATH 92
+
+
+ POEMS TRANSLATED BY
+ EARL OF LYTTON (OWEN MEREDITH)
+
+ LXXXVI. LOVE AND SLEEP 93
+ LXXXVII. LOVE CONFERS NOBILITY 95
+ LXXXVIII. A SOUL'S SWEETNES 95
+ LXXXIX. REMINISCENCES 96
+ XC. SLEEP AND DEATH 97
+ XCI. IMPERFECTION 98
+ XCII. EMANCIPATION 99
+ XCIII. PLUCKING A FLOWER 100
+ XCIV. A WISH 102
+ XCV. A SERBIAN BEAUTY 102
+ XCVI. SLEEPLESSNESS 103
+ XCVII. A MESSAGE 104
+ XCVIII. TRANSPLANTING A FLOWER 104
+ XCIX. ISOLATION 105
+ C. FATIMA AND MEHMED 106
+
+
+ POEMS TRANSLATED BY
+ J. W. WILES, M.A.
+
+ CI. MORAVA HORSES 107
+ CII. THE GIRL AND THE GRASS 108
+ CIII. THE SUN AND THE GIRL 108
+ CIV. CURSE AND BLESSING 109
+ CV. THE NICEST FLOWER IN THE WORLD 110
+ CVI. THE PRETTY TOMB 111
+ CVII. TODA AND HER FATE 112
+ CVIII. THE VILA 113
+ CIX. THREE ROSES 113
+ CX. HER DREAM 114
+ CXI. TROUBLE WITH THE HUSBAND 115
+ CXII. THE PEACOCK AND THE NIGHTINGALE 116
+ CXIII. THE FIRST TOAST 116
+ CXIV. THE HOD[VZ]A 117
+ CXV. WOES 118
+ CXVI. HARD TO BELIEVE 119
+ CXVII. THE CONDITIONS 119
+ CXVIII. PRAYER BEFORE GOING TO BED 120
+ CXIX. VISION BEFORE SLEEP 120
+ CXX. PRAYER IN THE FIELD 121
+ CXXI. A CHILD IN HEAVEN 121
+ CXXII. CHRISTMAS 122
+ CXXIII. CHRIST THINKS OF HIS MOTHER 123
+ CXXIV. THE BLESSED MARY AND JOHN THE BAPTIST 124
+ CXXV. THE HOLY MOTHER 125
+ CXXVI. DREAM OF THE HOLY VIRGIN 126
+ CXXVII. MOTHER AT THE TOMB OF HER SON 127
+ CXXVIII. MOTHER OVER HER DEAD SON 128
+ CXXIX. MOTHER'S LAMENT FOR HER SON 129
+ CXXX. GREATEST GRIEF FOR A BROTHER 130
+ CXXXI. THE DEATH CHAMBER OF HER FATHER-IN-LAW 131
+ CXXXII. KOLEDO 132
+ CXXXIII. A HORSE'S COMPLAINT 133
+ CXXXIV. A DANCE AT VIDIN 134
+ CXXXV. THE PRICE 135
+ CXXXVI. PREFERENCES 135
+ CXXXVII. A BRIDE'S DEVOTION 136
+ CXXXVIII. FIDELITY 136
+ CXXXIX. A SISTER'S LAMENT 137
+
+
+ POEMS TRANSLATED BY
+ BEATRICE STEVENSON STANOYEVICH, Ph.D.
+
+
+ CXL. THE PRAYER OF KARAGEORGE'S LADY 138
+ CXLI. THOU ART EVER, EVER MINE 139
+ CXLII. SEA MERCHANT 139
+ CXLIII. ANGELA AS WATCHMAN 140
+ CXLIV. A LAD AND HIS BETROTHED 140
+ CXLV. DIREFUL SICKNESS 141
+ CXLVI. ALL AS IT SHOULD BE 141
+ CXLVII. BEAUTY PREENS HERSELF 141
+ CXLVIII. HARVEST SONG 142
+ CXLIX. LONG NIGHTS 142
+ CL. EYEBROW LURE 143
+ CLI. GIRLHOOD 143
+ CLII. YOUTH WITH YOUTH 144
+ CLIII. COME MY LOVER, TO ME 144
+ CLIV. SIGHS 145
+ CLV. A BOUQUET OF LITTLE ROSES 145
+ CLVI. DREAM INTERPRETATION 146
+ CLVII. WITH SWEETHEART NIGHTS ARE SHORTEST 146
+ CLVIII. DAWN AWAKENED LAZAR 148
+ CLIX. A DEVILISH YOUNG MATRON 148
+ CLX. GIRL IS ETERNAL POSSESSION 149
+ CLXI. JOVO AND MARIA 150
+ CLXII. ROSE TREE 150
+ CLXIII. DARLING'S WRATH 151
+ CLXIV. LAD PIERCED WITH ARROW 151
+ CLXV. NOUGHT BUT KISSES 152
+ CLXVI. UNITED 152
+ CLXVII. GIRL PLEADS WITH JEWELLER 152
+ CLXVIII. WIFE DEARER THAN SISTER 153
+ CLXIX. GREATEST SORROW 154
+ CLXX. YOUTH AND GIRL 154
+
+
+
+
+ I
+
+ THE CURSE[1]
+
+
+ I heard a sprightly swallow say
+ To a gray cuckoo t'other day,--
+ "Thou art a happy bird indeed;
+ Thou dost not in the chimney breed,
+ Thou dost not hear the eternal jarring,
+ Of sisters and step-sisters warring;
+ Their woes and grievances rehearsing,
+ Cursing themselves, and others cursing."
+ A young step-sister once I saw,
+ Foul language at the elder throw;
+ "Perdition's daughter! hence depart;
+ Thou hast no fruit beneath thy heart."
+ And thus the elder one replied:
+ "Curse thy perverseness and thy pride!
+ Mihailo is a son of thine;
+ Now thou shalt bring forth daughters nine,
+ And madness shall their portion be.
+ Thy son shall cross the parting sea;
+ He never shall return to thee,
+ But, bathed in blood and wounded, pine!"
+ And thus she cursed;--the curse was true;[2]
+ Her sister's nine fair daughters grew;
+ And madness seized them,--seized them all:
+ Mihailo,--far away, and wounded,
+ By solitude and woe surrounded,
+ I heard him on his mother call:
+ "O mother! mother! send me now
+ A bandage of that snowy linen
+ Which you so thoughtlessly were spinning,
+ When curses wander'd to and fro.
+ In your rage you wove it,--now remove it;
+ Tear it for bandages, as you tore
+ Love and affection all asunder.
+ Where it was bleach'd thy son lies under;
+ With it cover his hot wounds o'er.
+ Rend it, mother; and send it, mother!
+ May it thy suffering son restore!"
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ II
+
+ FAREWELL[3]
+
+
+ Against white Buda's walls, a vine
+ Doth its white branches fondly twine;
+ O, no! it was no vine-tree there;
+ It was a fond, a faithful pair,
+ Bound each to each in earliest vow--
+ And, O! they must be severed now!
+ And these their farewell words:--"We part--
+ Break from my bosom--break--my heart!
+ Go to a garden--go, and see,
+ Some rose-branch blushing on the tree;
+ And from that branch of rose-flower tear,
+ Then place it on thy bosom bare;
+ And as its leaflets fade and pine,
+ So fades my sinking heart in thine."
+ And thus the other spoke: "My love!
+ A few short paces backward move,
+ And to the verdant forest go;
+ There's a fresh water-fount below;
+ And in the fount a marble stone,
+ Which a gold cup reposes on;
+ And in the cup a ball of snow--
+ Love! take that ball of snow to rest
+ Upon thine heart within thy breast.
+ And as it melts unnoticed there,
+ So melts my heart in thine, my dear!"
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ III
+
+ THE VIOLET[4]
+
+
+ How captivating is to me,
+ Sweet flower! thine own young modesty!
+ Though did I pluck thee from thy stem,
+ There's none would wear thy purple gem.
+ I thought, perchance, that Ali Bey--
+ But he is proud and lofty--nay!
+ He would not prize thee--would not wear
+ A flower so feeble though so fair:
+ His turban for its decorations
+ Had full blown roses and carnations.
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ IV
+
+ SMILIA[5]
+
+
+ Sweet Smilia-flowers did Smilia pull,
+ Her sleevelets and her bosom full;
+ By the cool stream she gather'd them,
+ And twined her many a diadem--
+ A diadem of flowery-wreaths;--
+ One round her brows its fragrance breathes;
+ One to her bosom-friend she throws;
+ The other where the streamlet flows
+ She flings, and says in gentlest tone--
+ "Swim on, thou odorous wreath! swim on,
+ Swim to my Juris' home, and there
+ O whisper in his mother's ear:
+ 'Say, wilt thou not thy Juris wed?--
+ Then give him not a widow's bed;
+ But some sweet maiden, young and fair.'"
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ V
+
+ HARVEST SONG
+
+
+ Take hold of your reeds, youths and maidens! and see
+ Who the kissers and kiss'd of the reapers shall be.
+ Take hold of your reeds, till the secret be told,
+ If the old shall kiss young, and the young shall kiss old
+ Take hold of your reeds, youths and maidens! and see
+ What fortune and chance to the drawers decree:
+ And if any refuse, may God smite them--may they
+ Be cursed by Paraskeva, the saint of to-day!
+ Now loosen your hands--now loosen, and see
+ Who the kissers and kiss'd of the reapers shall be.[6]
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ VI
+
+ MAIDEN'S PRAYER
+
+
+ Beauty's maiden thus invoked the Heavens:
+ "Send me down a whirlwind! let it scatter
+ Yonder stony tower--its halls lay open!
+ Let me look on Ger[vc]i['c] Manoilo.
+ If the otter on his knee is playing--
+ If the falcon sits upon his shoulder--
+ If the rose is blooming on his kalpak."[7]
+ What she pray'd for speedily was granted:
+ And a storm-wind came across the ocean;
+ And the stony tower fell down before it:
+ And she look'd on Ger[vc]i['c] Manoilo:
+ Saw the otter on his knees disporting:
+ Saw the falcon sitting on his shoulder:
+ Saw the rose upon his kalpak blooming.
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ VII
+
+ KISSES
+
+
+ What's the time of night, my dear?
+ For my maiden said, "I'll come"--
+ Said "I'll come,"--but is not here:
+ And 'tis now the midnight's gloom.
+ Lone and silent home I turn'd;
+ But upon the bridge I met her--
+ Kiss'd her: How my hot lips burned!--
+ How forget it--how forget her!
+ In one kiss full ten I drew:
+ And upon my lips there grew,
+ From that hour, a honey-dew,
+ As if sugar were my meat,
+ And my drink metheglin sweet.
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ VIII
+
+ HARVEST SONG
+
+
+ Lord and master! let us homewards, let us homewards haste:
+ Far, far distant are our dwellings--far across the waste.[8]
+ Some have aged mothers threat'ning--"Ne'er allow another:"
+ Some male-children[9] in the cradle, crying for their mother;
+ Some impatient lovers chiding;--dearer they than brother.
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ IX
+
+ CURSE
+
+
+ The maiden cursed her raven eyes,
+ She cursed them for their treacheries.
+ "Be blinded now, to you if heaven
+ All that is visible has given!
+ If ye see all, ye traitors, say
+ Why saw ye not my love to-day:--
+ He pass'd my door,--but, truants, ye
+ Gave not the gentlest hint to me.
+ He had a nosegay in his hand,--
+ He wore a gold embroider'd band.[10]
+ 'Twas made by other hands than mine!
+ Upon it wreathing branches twine:
+ May every branch embroidered there,
+ A miserable heart-wound bear;--
+ Upon each branch, may every leaf
+ Bring and betoken toil and grief."
+
+
+
+
+ X
+
+ SALUTATION OF THE MORNING STAR
+
+
+ Lo! the maiden greets the day-star! "Sister!
+ Sister star of morning! well I greet thee;
+ Thou dost watch the world from thine uprising
+ To thy sinking hour. In Hercegovina,
+ Tell me didst thou see the princely Stephan?
+ Tell me, was his snowy palace open,
+ Were his steeds caparisoned, and ready;
+ And was he equipp'd his bride to visit?"
+
+ Gently then the morning star responded:
+ "Lovely sister! beautiful young maiden,
+ True, I watch the world from my uprising
+ To my setting;--and in Hercegovina
+ Saw the palace of the princely Stephan;
+ And that snowy palace was wide open,
+ And his horse was saddled, and was ready,
+ And he was equipp'd his bride to visit:
+ But not thee--not thee--another maiden;
+ False tongues three have whisper'd evil of thee;
+ One has said--thine origin is lowly;
+ One, that thou art treacherous as a serpent;
+ And the third, that thou art dull and dreamy."
+
+ Then the maiden pour'd her imprecations:
+ "He who said my origin was lowly,
+ Never let a child of love be born him;
+ He who called me treacherous as a serpent,
+ Round his heart, O! let a serpent wreathe it;
+ Through hot summers in his hair be tangled,
+ Through cold winters in his bosom nestle;
+ He who dar'd to call me dull and dreamy,
+ Nine long years may he be worn by sickness,
+ And no sleep renew his strength to bear it."
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ XI
+
+ THE KNITTER
+
+
+ The maiden sat upon the hill,
+ Upon the hill and far away,
+ Her fingers wove a silken cord,
+ And thus I heard the maiden say:
+ "O with what joy, what ready will,
+ If some fond youth, some youth adored,
+ Might wear thee, should I weave thee now!
+ The finest gold I'd interblend,
+ The richest pearls as white as snow.
+ But if I knew, my silken friend,
+ That an old man[11] should wear thee, I
+ The coarsest worsted would inweave,
+ Thy finest silk for dog-grass leave,
+ And all thy knots with nettles tie."
+
+
+
+
+ XII
+
+ ROYAL CONVERSE
+
+
+ The king from the queen an answer craves;
+ "How shall we now employ our slaves?"
+ The maidens in fine embroidery,
+ The widows shall spin flax-yarn for me,
+ And the men shall dig in the fields for thee.
+
+ The king from the queen an answer craves,
+ "How shall we, lady, feed our slaves?"
+ The maidens shall have the honey-comb sweet,
+ The widows shall feed on the finest wheat,
+ And the men of maize-meal bread shall eat.
+
+ The king from the queen an answer craves;
+ "Where for the night shall rest our slaves?"
+ The maidens shall sleep in the chambers high,
+ The widows on mattress'd beds shall lie,
+ And the men on the nettles under the sky.
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ XIII
+
+ ROSA
+
+
+ Under roses slept the maiden Rosa,
+ And a rose fell down and waken'd Rosa;
+ To the flower-rose, said the maiden Rosa--
+ "Rose of mine! O fall, not on the maiden,
+ I am in no tune of soul to love thee,
+ For a heavy grief o'erwhelms my spirit;
+ Youth would have me--but old age hath won me.
+ An old bridegroom is a worthless maple;
+ When the wind is up it faints and trembles;
+ When the rain descends, decay decays it:
+ But a young bride, is a roselet budding;
+ When the wind is up, its fair leaves open,
+ When the rain descends, it shines in beauty,--
+ When the sun comes forth, it smiles and glories."
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ XIV
+
+ THE MAIDEN AND THE SUN
+
+
+ A maiden proudly thus the sun accosted:
+ "Sun! I am fairer far than thou,--far fairer;
+ Fairer than is thy sister[12] or thy brethren,--
+ Fairer than yon bright moon at midnight shining,
+ Fairer than yon gay star in heav'n's arch twinkling,
+ That star, all other stars preceding proudly,
+ As walks before his sheep the careful shepherd."
+ The sun complain'd to God of such an insult:
+ "What shall be done with this presumptuous maiden?"
+ And to the sun God gave a speedy answer:
+ "Thou glorious Sun! thou my beloved daughter![13]
+ Be joyous yet! say, why art thou dejected?
+ Wilt thou reward the maiden for her folly--
+ Shine on, and burn the maiden's snowy forehead.
+ But I a gloomier dowry yet will give her;
+ Evil to her shall be her husband's brother;
+ Evil to her shall be her husband's father.
+ Then shall she think upon the affront she gave thee."
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ XV
+
+ THE MAIDEN'S WISH
+
+
+ If I had, ah Laso!
+ All the emp'ror's treasures,
+ Well I know, ah Laso!
+ What with these I'd purchase;
+ I would buy, ah Laso!
+ Garden on the Sava;
+ Well I know, ah Laso!
+ What my hands would plant there;
+ I would plant, ah Laso!
+ Hyacinths, carnations.
+ If I had, ah Laso!
+ All the emp'ror's treasures,
+ Well I know, ah Laso!
+ What with these I'd purchase;
+ I would buy, ah Laso!
+ I would purchase Laso,
+ He should be, ah Laso!
+ Gardener in my Garden.
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ XVI
+
+ THE FALCON
+
+
+ The falcon soars both far and high,
+ He spreads his pinions in the sky,
+ Then from his cloudy heights he lowers,
+ And seats him on the city's towers:
+ He sees a laughing girl of grace,
+ In crystal water bathe her face;
+ And looks with open, eager eye
+ Upon her neck of ivory:
+ White as the snow upon the mountain;
+ And there he hears a youth recounting
+ His tale of love.--"Now bend thy head
+ Upon thy snowy neck," he said;
+ "Its whiteness is too bright for me:
+ And 'neath it sorrowing heart may be."
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ XVII
+
+ DEER AND VILA
+
+
+ A young deer tracked his way through the green forest,
+ One lonely day--another came in sadness;
+ And the third dawn'd, and brought him sighs and sorrow:
+ Then he address'd him to the forest Vila:
+ "Young deer!" she said, "thou wild one of the forest,
+ Now tell me what great sorrow has oppress'd thee?
+ Why wanderest thou thus in the forest lonely:
+ Lonely one day,--another day in sadness,--
+ And the third day with sighs and anguish groaning?"
+
+ And thus the young deer to the Vila answer'd:
+ "O thou sweet sister! Vila of the forest!
+ Me has indeed a heavy grief befallen;
+ For I had once a fawn, mine own beloved,
+ And one sad day she sought the running water:
+ She enter'd it, but came not back to bless me:
+ Then tell me, had she lost her way and wander'd?
+ Was she pursued and captured by the huntsman?
+ Or has she left me?--has she wholly left me?--
+ Loving some other deer--and I forgotten.
+ O! if she has but lost her way, and wanders,
+ Teach her to find it--bring her back to love me.
+ O! if she has been captured by the huntsman,
+ Then may a fate as sad as mine await him.
+ But if she has forsaken me--if, faithless,
+ She loves another deer--and I forgotten--
+ Then may the huntsman speedily o'er take her."
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ XVIII
+
+ VIRGIN AND WIDOW
+
+
+ Over Sarajevo flies a falcon,
+ Looking round for cooling shade to cool him.
+ Then he finds a pine on Sarajevo;
+ Under it a well of sparkling water;
+ By the water, Hyacinth, the widow,
+ And the Rose, the young, unmarried virgin.
+ He look'd down--the falcon--and bethought him:
+ "Shall I kiss grave Hyacinth, the widow;
+ Or the Rose, the young, unmarried virgin?"
+ Thinking thus--at last the bird determined--
+ And he whisper'd to himself sedately,
+ "Gold--though long employ'd, is far, far better
+ Than the finest silver freshly melted,"
+ So he kiss'd--kiss'd Hyacinth, the widow.
+ Very wroth wax'd then young Rose, the virgin:
+ "Sarajevo! let a ban be on thee!
+ Cursed be thy strange and evil customs!
+ For thy youths they love the bygone widows,
+ And thy aged men the untried virgins."
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ XIX
+
+ NIGHTINGALES
+
+
+ All the night two nightingales were singing
+ At the window of th'affianced maiden;
+ And th'affianced maiden thus address'd them:
+ "Tell me, ye two nightingales, O tell me!
+ Are ye brothers? are ye brothers' children?"
+
+ Thus the nightingales made speedy answer:
+ "Brothers are we not, nor brothers' children:
+ We are friends--friends of the verdant forest.
+ Once we had another friend--another--
+ But that friend is lost to us for ever.
+ We have heard that nuptial bliss awaits him;
+ And we came the youthful bride to look on,
+ And to offer her a golden spindle,
+ With the flax of Egypt bound around it."
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ XX
+
+ THE RING
+
+
+ The streamlet ripples through the mead, beneath the maple tree;
+ There came a maiden that stream to draw--a lovely maid was she;
+ From the white walls of old Belgrade that maid came smilingly.
+
+ Young Mirko saw, and offer'd her a golden fruit and said:
+ "O take this apple, damsel fair! and be mine own sweet maid!"
+ She took the apple--flung it back--and said, in angry tone,
+ "Neither thine apple, Sir! nor thee--presumptuous boy, be gone!"
+
+ The streamlet ripples through the mead, beneath the maple tree;
+ There came a maid that stream to draw--a lovely maid was she;
+ From the white walls of old Belgrade that maid came smilingly.
+
+ Young Mirko saw, and proffer'd her a golden brooch, and said:
+ "O take this brooch, thou damsel fair! and be mine own sweet maid!"
+ She took the brooch, and flung it back and said, in peevish tone,
+ "I'll neither have thee nor thy brooch--presumptuous boy, be gone!"
+
+ The streamlet ripples through the mead, beneath the maple tree;
+ There came a maid that stream to draw--the loveliest maid was she;
+ From the white walls of old Belgrade that maid came smilingly.
+
+ Young Mirko saw, and proffer'd her a golden-ring, and said:
+ "O take this ring, my damsel fair! and be mine own sweet maid!"
+ She took the ring--she slipp'd it on--and said, in sprightliest tone,
+ "I'll have thee and thy golden ring, and be thy faithful one."
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ XXI
+
+ THE FRATRICIDE
+
+
+ Between two mountains sank the sun--
+ Between two maids the enamour'd one.
+ He gave his kiss to one alone;
+ The other maid grew jealous then:
+ "Most faithless thou of faithless men!"
+
+ She said--and he replied--"Fair maid!
+ I fain would kiss thy cheeks of red,
+ But thou hast got a bickering brother,
+ Who loves to quarrel with another,
+ And I no quarrel seek, my love!"
+
+ She hied her to the darksome grove--
+ Silent--she turn'd o'er many a rock,
+ And look'd 'neath many a broken stock;
+ Probed weeds and briars, till she found
+ A poisonous serpent on the ground.
+ She smote it with her golden ring,
+ Tore from its mouth the venomy fang;
+ Its poisonous juice her hands did wring
+ Into a wine cup--and she sprang
+ On swiftest feet to Raduli--
+
+ Her own--her only brother he--
+ Her hands the fatal cup supplied--
+ He drank the poison--and he died.
+
+ Then sped she to the youth--"A kiss--
+ At least one kiss of love for this--
+ For this--for thee--I dress'd the cup
+ With poison--and he drank it up--
+ The brother that thou lov'st not--he
+ I poison'd for a kiss from thee"--
+
+ Away! away! thou murd'rous maid!
+ Avaunt! Avaunt!--the lover said:
+ "What fame--what courage could confide
+ In thee--a heartless fratricide."
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ XXII
+
+ LOVE
+
+
+ The youth he struck on the tambourine,
+ And nought was so bright as its golden sheen;
+ Of the hair of maidens twined together
+ Its strings, which he struck with a falcon's feather.
+ The maid look'd down from the balcony,
+ And thus to her inner self said she:--
+
+ "O heaven! what a noble youth is he!
+ Would'st thou but give this youth to me,
+ I would make of the garden-pinks his bed,
+ I would lay fair roses under his head;
+ And waked by perfume, with what delight
+ Would he kiss the maiden's forehead white!"
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ XXIII
+
+ MAPLE TREE
+
+
+ O thou brotherly maple tree!
+ Wilt thou be a friend to me?
+ Be a brother, and a friend!
+ To the green grass thy branches bend,
+ That I may climb to their highest tip!
+ Look o'er the sea, and see the ship,
+ Where my lover sits smiling now;
+ He binds the turban round his brow,
+ And over his shoulders the shawl he flings,
+ Which is full of mine own embroiderings.
+ For three long years my hands inwove
+ Those golden flowers to deck my love:
+ The richest silk of the brightest dyes
+ I work'd for him, and now my eyes
+ Would fain my absent lover see:
+ Assist me, brotherly maple tree!
+ And tell me, if he thinks of me!
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ XXIV
+
+ SEMENDRIAN BEAUTY
+
+
+ Lovely maiden of Semendria!
+ Hail thee, youth! and health be with thee!
+ Hast thou visited the markets?
+ Saw'st thou there a sheet of paper?
+ Like that paper is my forehead.
+ Hast thou ever seen the vineyard,
+ Seen the rosy wine that flows there?
+ Youth! my cheeks that wine resemble.
+ Didst thou ever walk the meadows,
+ Hast thou seen the black sloe-berry?
+ That black sloe my eyes will paint thee:
+ Hast thou wandered near the ocean?
+ Hast thou seen the _pijavica_?[14]
+ Like it are the maiden's eye-brows.
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ XXV
+
+ SELF-ADMIRATION
+
+
+ A maiden to the fountain went;
+ I saw her overhang the place--
+ And--she was young and innocent--
+ I heard her say with simple grace,
+ "Indeed she has a pretty face;
+ And if she had a spring-flower wreath,
+ How well 'twould sit upon her brow;
+ And she might hear the shepherd breathe,
+ Yes! thou shalt be my maiden now!
+ The shepherd--'midst his fleecy drove,
+ Goes like a moon the stars above."
+
+ S.J.B.
+
+
+
+
+ XXVI
+
+ ASSIGNATION
+
+
+ Maiden! let us share each other's kisses!
+ Tell me, tell me, where shall be our meeting,
+ In thy garden, or in mine, sweet maiden?
+ Under thine, or under my green rose-tree;
+ Thou shalt be a rose, my gentle angel:
+ I to a fond butterfly will change me,
+ Everlastingly o'er thee to flutter--
+ On thy flowers untired I will suspend me,
+ Living blest upon mine own love's kisses.
+
+ S.J.B.
+
+
+
+
+ XXVII
+
+ FOOLISH VOW
+
+
+ The maiden made a foolish vow:
+ "I'll never wear a flow'ret now:--
+ No flow'ret shall be ever mine--
+ I'll never drink the proffer'd wine.
+ No wine I'll drink--no friend I'll kiss
+ No, never more--my vow is this."
+ So rashly, rashly spoke the maid,
+ But soon--ah, soon--repentance said:
+
+ "A flowery garland o'er me,
+ How beautiful 'twould be:
+ And wine--it would restore me,
+ My heart's own gaiety:
+ And love might play before,
+ If one sweet kiss were free."
+
+ S.J.B.
+
+
+
+
+ XXVIII
+
+ VILAS
+
+
+ Vi[vs]nja,[15] lovely vi[vs]nja!
+ Lift thy branches higher;
+ For beneath thy branches,
+ Vilas[16] dance delight:
+ While Radi[vs]a[17] dashes
+ From the flow'rs the dewdrops.
+ Vilas two conveying,
+ To the third he whispers:
+ "O be mine, sweet Vila!
+ Thou, with mine own mother,
+ In the shade shalt seat thee;
+ Silken vestments spinning,
+ Weaving golden garments."
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ XXIX
+
+ LEPOTA[18]
+
+
+ Lepota went forth to the harvest--she held
+ A sickle of silver in fingers of gold:
+ And the sun mounted high o'er the parched harvest field;
+ And the maiden in song all her sympathies told,
+ "I'll give my white forehead to him who shall bind
+ All the sheaves which my sickle leaves scatter'd behind:
+ I'll give my black eyes to the friend who shall bring
+ A drought of sweet waters just fresh from the spring;
+ And to him who shall bear me to rest in the shade,
+ I will be--and for aye--an affectionate maid."
+
+ And she thought that her words were all wasted in air:
+ But a shepherd--just watching his sheepfold, was there;
+ And he flew, and with sedges he bound all the sheaves;
+ And he made her an arbor of hazelwood leaves;
+ And he ran to the spring, and he brought the sweet water;
+ And he look'd on the face of Beauty's young daughter,
+ And he said, "Lovely maiden, thy promise I claim;"
+ But the cheeks of the maiden were cover'd with shame,
+ And she said to the shepherd, while blushing--"Not so!
+ Go back to thy sheepfold--thou wanderer, go!
+ For if thou didst bind the loose sheaves, thou hast left
+ Thy sheep in the stubble, to wander bereft;
+ And if from the fountain the water thou beared'st,
+ Its freshness and coolness thou equally shared'st;
+ And if thou hast reared up an arbor of shade,
+ For thyself as for me it refreshment has made."
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ XXX
+
+ IMPRECATIONS
+
+
+ Through the long night a falcon cried,
+ "Awake, awake thee! youth! anon
+ Thy maiden will become a bride:
+ She puts her marriage garments on.
+ Awake! awake thee, youth! and send
+ A marriage blessing to thy friend."
+
+ "What! shall I be a marriage guest?
+ And shall I bid the maid be blest?
+ Hear then my marriage blessing hear!
+ No son her barren womb shall bear:
+ May every bit of bread she breaks
+ Bring with it wretchedness and woe,--
+ For every drop her thirst that slakes
+ May tears of bitter anguish flow!"
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ XXXI
+
+ SECRETS DIVULGED
+
+
+ Two lovers kiss each other in the meadows;
+ They think that no one sees the fond betrayal,
+ But the green meadows see them, and are faithless;
+ To the white flocks incontinent they say all;
+ And the white flocks proclaim it to the shepherd,
+ The shepherd to a high-road traveller brings it
+ He to a sailor on the restless ocean tells it,
+ The sailor to his spice-ship thoughtless sings it;
+ The spice-ship whispers it upon the waters,
+ The waters rush to tell the maiden's mother.
+
+ And thus impassioned spoke the lovely maiden--
+ "Meadows! of spring-days never see another!
+ Flocks! may the cruel ravenous wolves destroy ye.
+ Thee, shepherd! may the cruel Moslem slaughter.
+ Wanderer! may oft thy slippery footsteps stumble.
+ Thee, sailor! may the ocean billows smother.
+ Ship! may a fire unquenchable consume thee;
+ And sink into the earth, thou treacherous water!"
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ XXXII
+
+ WISHES
+
+
+ O that I were a little stream,
+ That I might flow to him--to him!
+ How should I dance with joy, when knowing
+ To whom my sparkling wave was flowing!
+ Beneath his window would I glide,
+ And linger there till morning-tide;
+ When first he rouses him to dress
+ In comely garb his manliness,--
+ Then should he weak, or thirsty be,
+ O he might stoop to drink of me!
+ Or baring there his bosom, lave
+ That bosom in my rippling wave
+ O what a bliss, if I could bear
+ The cooling power of quiet there!
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ XXXIII
+
+ LOVER ASLEEP
+
+
+ O nightingale! thy warblings cease,
+ And let my master sleep in peace:
+ 'Twas I who lull'd him to repose,
+ And I will wake from his rest;
+ I'll seek the sweetest flower that grows,
+ And bear it to his presence blest;
+ And gently touch his cheeks, and say,
+ "Awake, my master! for 'tis day."
+
+
+
+
+ XXXIV
+
+ EARLY SORROWS
+
+
+ O nightingale! sweet bird--they say,
+ That peace abides with thee;
+ But thou hast brought from day to day
+ A triple woe to me.
+ The first, first woe my spirit knew,
+ My first, first woe was this,
+ My mother never train'd me to
+ A lover's early bliss
+ My second woe, my second woe,
+ Was that my trusty steed,
+ Whene'er I mounted, seem'd to show
+ Nor eagerness nor speed.
+ My third, third woe--of all the worst,
+ Is that the maid I woo,
+ The maid I lov'd the best--the first,
+ Is angry with me, too.
+ Then dig an early grave for me,
+ Yon whiten'd fields among;
+ In breadth two lances let it be,
+ And just four lances long.
+ And o'er my head let roses grow,
+ There plant the red-rose tree;
+ And at my feet a fount shall flow,
+ O scoop that fount for me!
+ So when a youthful swain appears,
+ The roses he shall wreathe;
+ And when an old man bent with years,
+ He'll drink the stream beneath.
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ XXXV
+
+ THE YOUNG SHEPHERDS
+
+
+ The sheep, beneath old Buda's wall,
+ Their wonted quiet rest enjoy;
+ But ah! rude stony fragments fall,
+ And many a silk-wool'd sheep destroy;
+ Two youthful shepherds perish there,
+ The golden George, and Mark the fair.
+
+ For Mark, O many a friend grew sad,
+ And father, mother wept for him:
+ George--father, friend, nor mother had,
+ For him no tender eye grew dim:
+ Save one--a maiden far away,
+ She wept--and thus I heard her say:
+
+ My golden George--and shall a song,
+ A song of grief be sung for thee--
+ 'Twould go from lip to lip--ere long
+ By careless lips profaned to be;
+ Unhallow'd thoughts might soon defame
+ The purity of woman's name.
+
+ Or shall I take thy picture fair,
+ And fix that picture in my sleeve?
+ Ah! time will soon the vestment tear,
+ And not a shade, nor fragment leave:
+ I'll give not him I love so well
+ To what is so corruptible.
+
+ I'll write thy name within a book;
+ That book will pass from hand to hand,
+ And many an eager eye will look,
+ But ah! how few will understand!
+ And who their holiest thoughts can shroud
+ From the cold insults of the crowd?[19]
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ XXXVI
+
+ THOUGHTS OF A MOTHER
+
+
+ Lo! a fir-tree towers o'er Sarajevo,
+ Spreads o'er half the face of Sarajevo--
+ Rises up to heaven from Sarajevo:
+ Brothers and half-sisters there were seated;
+ And the brother cuts a silken garment,
+ Which he holds, and questions thus his sister:
+
+ "Brother's wife! thou sweet and lovely dovelet!
+ Wherefore art thou looking at the fir-tree?
+ Art thou rather dreaming of the poplar,
+ Or art thinking of my absent brother?"
+
+ To her brother thus the lady answer'd:
+ "Golden-ring of mine! my husband's brother!
+ Not about the fir-tree was I dreaming,
+ Nor the noble stem of lofty poplar;
+ Neither was I dreaming of my brother.
+ I was thinking of my only mother,
+ She with sugar and with honey reared me;
+ She for me the red wine pour'd at even,
+ And at midnight gave the sweet metheglin;
+ In the morning milk, with spirit chasten'd
+ So to give me cheeks of rose and lily;
+ And with gentle messages she waked me,
+ That her child might grow both tall and slender."
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ XXXVII
+
+ COUNSEL
+
+
+ "My Misho! tell me, tell me, pray,
+ Where wert thou wandering yesterday?"
+ "I did not ramble--did not roam;
+ A wretched headache kept me home."
+ "A thousand times I've said, I think
+ No widows love--no water drink!
+ But thou, a thoughtless unbeliever,
+ Wilt water drink, and get a fever;
+ Wilt give to widows thine affection,
+ And find remorse, or find rejection;
+ Now take my counsel,--drink of wine,
+ And be a virgin maiden thine!"
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ XXXVIII
+
+ DESOLATION
+
+
+ Gloomy night! how full thou art of darkness!
+ Thou, my heart! art fuller yet of sorrow,
+ Sorrow which I bear, but cannot utter!
+ I have now no mother who will hear me,
+ I have now no sister who will soothe me,--
+ Yet I had a friend--but he is absent!
+ Ere he comes, the night will be departed;
+ Ere he wakes, the birds will sing their matins,
+ Ere his kiss, the twilight hour will brighten:
+ Go thy way, my friend; the day is dawning!
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ XXXIX
+
+ APPREHENSION
+
+
+ "Sweet maiden mine! thou blushing rose!
+ Sweet, blushing roselet mine!
+ For me, what thought of honey flows
+ From those sweet lips of thine?"
+ 'I dare not speak with thee, my dear,
+ My mother has forbid me.'
+
+ "Sweet maid! thy mother is not here."
+ 'She saw me once, and chid me.
+ Sir, she is in the garden there,
+ Plucking the evergreen:--
+ O may her heart like mine decay,
+ Like mine decay unseen,--
+ Ere love's sweet power has pass'd away,
+ As it had never been.'
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ XL
+
+ MILICA
+
+
+ Long and lovely are Milica's eyebrows,
+ And they overhang her cheeks of roses--
+ Cheeks of roses, and her snowy forehead,
+ Three long years have I beheld the maiden,
+ Could not look upon her eyes so lovely--
+ On her eyes--nor on her snowy forehead.
+ To our country dance I lured the maiden,
+ Lured Milica,--lured her to our dances,
+ Hoping to look on her eyes so lovely.
+
+ While they danced upon the greensward, verdant
+ In the sunshine, sudden darkness gather'd,
+ And the clouds broke out in fiery lightning,
+ And the maidens all look'd up to heaven,--
+ All the maidens--all, except Milica.
+ She still look'd on the green grass, untrembling,
+ While the maidens trembled as they whisper'd:
+
+ "O Milica! thou our friend and playmate,
+ Art thou overwise--or art thou silly?
+ Thus to look upon the grass beneath us,
+ And not look up to the heaven above us,
+ To the clouds, round which the lightnings wind them?"
+ And Milica gave this quiet answer:
+ "I am neither overwise nor silly.
+ Not the _Vila,_ nor the cloud-upgatherer;
+ I am yet a maid--and look before me."
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ XLI
+
+ THE CHOICE
+
+
+ He slept beneath a poplar tree:
+ And three young maidens cross'd the way;
+ I listen'd to the lovely three,
+ And heard them to each other say:--
+ "Now what is dearest, love! to thee?"
+ The eldest said--'Young Ranko's ring
+ Would be to me the dearest thing.'
+ "No! not for me," the second cried;
+ "I'd choose the girdle from his side."
+ 'Not I,' the youngest said--'In truth,
+ I'll rather have the sleeping youth.
+ The ring, O sister! will grow dim,
+ The girdle will ere long be broken;
+ But this is an eternal token,--
+ His love for me and mine for him.'
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ XLII
+
+ FOR WHOM?
+
+
+ Sweet fountain, that so freshly flows!
+ And thou, my own carnation-rose,
+ That shines like a shining gem!
+ And shall I tear thee from thy stem?
+ For whom? my mother? ah! for whom?
+ My mother slumbers in the tomb.
+ For whom? my sister? who has fled,
+ To seek a foreign bridal bed.
+ For whom? my brother? he is far,
+ Far off, in dark and bloody war.
+ For whom, for whom, but thee, my love?
+ But thou art absent far above,
+ Above these three green mountains,
+ Beyond these three fresh fountains!
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ XLIII
+
+ LIBERTY
+
+
+ Nightingale sings sweetly
+ In the verdant forest;
+ In the verdant forest,
+ On the slender branches.
+
+ Thither came three sportsmen,
+ Nightingale to shoot at.
+ She implored the sportsmen,
+ "Shoot me not, ye sportsmen!
+
+ Shoot me not, ye sportsmen!
+ I will give you music,
+ In the verdant garden,
+ On the crimson rose-tree."
+
+ But the sportsmen seize her;
+ They deceive the songster,
+ In a cage confine her,
+ Give her to their loved one.
+
+ Nightingale will sing not--
+ Hangs its head in silence:
+ Then the sportsmen bear her
+ To the verdant forests.
+
+ Soon her song is waken'd;
+ "Woe! woe! betides us,
+ Friend from friend divided,
+ Bird from forest banish'd!"
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ XLIV
+
+ THE DANCE
+
+
+ Omar's court is near to Sarajevo;
+ All around it is a woody mountain:
+ In the midst there is a verdant meadow;
+ There the maidens dance their joyous Kolo[20]
+ In the Kolo there is Damian's loved one;
+ O'er the Kolo her fair head uprises,
+ Rises gay and lustrous in her beauty.
+ 'Midst the Kolo Nicholas address'd her:
+ "Veil your face, thou Damian's best beloved!
+ For to-day death's summons waits on Damian.
+ Half thy face veil over, lovely maiden!"
+ Hardly the prophetic words were utter'd,
+ Ere a gun was heard from the green forest;
+ Damian, wounded, fell amidst the Kolo--
+ Damian fell, and thus his love address'd him:
+ "O my Damian! O my sun of spring time!
+ Wherefore, wherefore, didst thou shine so brightly,
+ Thus so soon to sink behind the mountain?"
+ "My beloved! O thou rose all beauteous!
+ Wherefore didst thou bloom so fair, so lovely,
+ And I never can enjoy, nor wear thee?"
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ XLV
+
+ ELEGY
+
+
+ Konda died--his mother's only offspring.
+ O what grief was hers the youth to bury
+ Far away from his own natural dwelling,
+ So she bore him to a verdant garden,
+ And 'neath pomegranate trees interr'd him.
+ Every, every day she wandered thither:
+ "Doth the earth, sweet son, lie heavy on thee?
+ Heavy are the planks of maple round thee?"
+ From his grave the voice of Konda answers:
+ "Lightly presses the green earth upon me,
+ Lightly press the planks of maple round me.
+ Heavy is the virgins' malediction;
+ When they sigh, their sighs reach God's high presence;
+ When they curse, the world begins to tremble;
+ When they weep, even God is touch'd with pity."
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ XLVI
+
+ INQUIRY
+
+
+ A maiden sat on th' ocean shore,
+ And held this converse with herself:
+ "O God of goodness and of love!
+ What's broader than the mighty sea,
+ And what is longer than the field,
+ And what is swifter than the steed,
+ What sweeter than the honey dew,
+ What dearer than a brother is?"
+ A fish thus answer'd from the sea:
+ "O maid! thou art a foolish girl.
+ And heaven is broader than the sea;
+ The sea is longer than the field;
+ The eye is swifter than the steed;
+ Sugar more sweet than honey dew;
+ Dearer than brother is thy love."
+
+ S.J.B.
+
+
+
+
+ XLVII
+
+ DOUBT
+
+
+ Three young travellers travell'd forth to travel:
+ On their travels met a lovely maiden:
+ Each will give the lovely maiden a present:
+ One presents her with a fresh-pluck'd apple:
+ One presents her with _bosiljak_[21] flowering:
+ One a gold ring for the maiden's finger.
+ He who gave the maiden the _bosiljak_
+ Said, "The maid is mine--I claim the maiden."
+ He who gave the maid the fresh-pluck'd apple
+ Said, "The maid is _mine_--I claim the maiden."
+ He who gave the gold ring to the maiden
+ Said, "We'll go and seek the Judge together:
+ He shall say to whom belongs the maiden."
+
+ So they went and sought the Judge's presence:
+ "Judge, thou honourable, judge between us:
+ We three travell'd forth together,
+ And we met a maiden in our travels,
+ And we gave her--gave her each a present:
+ One of us a green and fresh-pluck'd apple:
+ One presented her _bosiljak_ flowering;
+ And the third a gold ring for her finger:--
+ Now decide to whom belongs the maiden."
+
+ Thus the honourable judge decided:
+ "We present _bosiljak_ for its odour:
+ As a pledge of love we give an apple:
+ But to give a ring is a betrothing;--
+ He who gave the ring must have the maiden."
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ XLVIII
+
+ THE SULTANESS
+
+
+ Listen! I hear a cry, a cry!
+ The bells are ringing lustily;
+ And the hens are cackling all in riot.
+ No! no! no! the bells are quiet;
+ The hens at rest with one another:
+ 'Tis the sister calls the brother:
+ "Brother! I am a Moslem slave!
+ Tear me from my Turkish grave.
+ Small the price which sets me free:
+ Of pearls two measures--of gold but three."
+
+ In vain she calls her brother.--'O no!
+ My treasures to my apparel go:
+ The gold my horse's bridle must deck:
+ My pearls must grace my maiden's neck;
+ Must buy a kiss--must buy a kiss.'
+ The maid her brother answer'd with this:
+ "I am no slave! I am no less
+ Than the sultan's chosen sultaness."
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ XLIX
+
+ BETROTHING
+
+
+ Here there is a maiden,
+ Young, and yet a virgin:
+ Give her then a husband,
+ Or give us the maiden,
+ And we will betroth her
+ To Ivan the student.
+ He's our parson's nephew--
+ He has art to write[22] on
+ Pinions of the eagle.
+ What shall be his subject?
+ What--but bright-eyed maidens
+ And the brows of heroes?
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ L
+
+ CAUTIONS
+
+
+ O thou lovely maiden!
+ Lo! thy praise has mounted
+ To the monarch's city
+ Maiden! thou hast planted
+ The six-branch'd _kaloper_[23]
+ And bosilka early.
+ But the youths unmarried
+ Long have been in waiting
+ To tear up thy balsam--
+ Thy bosilka pillage.
+ Know'st thou not they linger
+ Just to steal thy kisses?
+ Maiden! Maiden! never
+ Let those youths betray thee!
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ LI
+
+ MAIDEN'S CARES
+
+
+ O sleep! sweet sleep! in vain, in vain
+ I bid thee visit me:
+ The anxious thought disturbs my brain--
+ Whose shall the maiden be?
+ My mother says, "The goatherd, child!
+ The goatherd, child! for thee."
+ Nay, mother, nay! not he, not he;
+ That were no happiness for me:
+ He tracks the mountains steep and wild
+ Where rocks and dangers be.
+
+ O sleep! sweet sleep! in vain, in vain
+ I bid thee visit me:
+ The anxious thought disturbs my brain--
+ Whose shall the maiden be?
+ My mother says, "The shepherd, maid!
+ The shepherd, maid! for thee."
+ Nay, mother, nay! not he, not he;
+ That were no happiness for me:
+ He wanders through the distant glade
+ Where wolves and perils be.
+
+ O sleep! sweet sleep! in vain, in vain
+ I bid thee visit me:
+ The anxious thought disturbs my brain--
+ Whose shall the maiden be?
+ My mother says, "The tradesman, dear!
+ The tradesman, dear! for thee."
+ Nay, mother, nay! not he, not he;
+ That were no happiness for me:
+ He is a wanderer far and near,
+ His house no home may be.
+
+ O sleep! sweet sleep! in vain, in vain
+ I bid thee visit me:
+ The anxious thought disturbs my brain--
+ Whose shall the maiden be?
+ My mother says, "The tailor, then
+ The tailor, then, for thee!"
+ Nay, mother! nay; not he, not he!
+ That were no happiness for me:
+ The tailor's needle may be keen,
+ His children hungry be.
+
+ O sleep! sweet sleep! in vain, in vain
+ I bid thee visit me;
+ The anxious thought disturbs my brain--
+ Whose shall the maiden be?
+ My mother says,--"The peasant, take
+ The peasant, child! for thee."
+ Yes! mother, yes! in him I see
+ Both love and happiness for me;
+ For though his labouring hands are black,
+ The whitest bread eats he.
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ LII
+
+ MOHAMMEDAN SONG
+
+
+ His breath is amber,--sharp his reed;
+ The hand which holds it, O! how white.
+ He writes fair talismans,--a creed,
+ For maidens doth the loved one write:
+ "Of him that will not have thee,--think not!
+ From him that fain would have thee, shrink not."
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ LIII
+
+ MINE EVERYWHERE
+
+
+ "Come with me, thou charming maiden!
+ Be my love and come with me."
+ 'Wherefore play with words so foolish?
+ That can never, never be;
+ I had rather in the tavern
+ Bear the golden cup, than ever,--
+ Ever promise to be thine.'
+ "I am the young tavern-keeper,
+ So thou wilt indeed be mine."
+
+ 'Wherefore play with words so foolish?
+ No such fate will e'er befall;
+ In the coffee-house I'd rather
+ Serve, envelop'd in my shawl,
+ Rather than be thine at all.'
+ "But I am the coffee boiler,
+ Thee, my maiden, will I call."
+
+ 'Wherefore play with words so foolish?
+ That can never, never be;
+ Rather o'er the field I'll wander,
+ Changed into a quail, than ever,
+ Ever give myself to thee.'
+ "But I am a vigorous sportsman,
+ And thou wilt belong to me."
+
+ 'Play not, youth! with words so foolish,
+ That can never, never be;
+ Rather to a fish I'd change me,
+ Dive me deep beneath the sea,
+ Rather than belong to thee.'
+ "But I am the finest network,
+ Which into the sea I'll cast;
+ Mine thou art, and mine thou shalt be,--
+ Yes; thou must be mine at last;
+ Be it here, or be it there,
+ Mine thou must be everywhere."
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ LIV
+
+ MAID AWAKING
+
+
+ Lovely maiden gather'd roses,
+ Sleep o'ertook her then;
+ Pass'd a youth and call'd the maiden,
+ Waked the maid again:
+ "Wake! O wake! thou lovely maiden,
+ Why art slumbering now?
+ All the rosy wreaths are fading,
+ Fading on thy brow.
+ He, thy heart's own love, will marry;
+ He will break his vow!"
+ 'Let him marry, let him marry,
+ I shall not complain;
+ But the thunderbolt of heav'n
+ Shall destroy him then.'
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ LV
+
+ MOTHER'S LOVE
+
+
+ On the balcony young Jovan sported,
+ While he sported, lo! it crash'd beneath him,
+ And he fell,--his right arm broke in falling!
+ Who shall find a surgeon for the sufferer?
+ Lo! the Vila[24] of the mountain sends one,
+ But the recompense he asks is heavy;
+ Her white hand demands he of the mother,--
+ Of the sister all her silken ringlets,--
+ Of the wife he asks her pearl-strung necklace.
+
+ Freely gave her hand young Jovan's mother,
+ Freely gave her silken hair his sister,
+ But his wife refus'd her pearly treasure:--
+ "Nay! I will not give my pearl-strung necklace,
+ For it was a present of my father."
+ Anger then incens'd the Mountain-Vila,
+ Into Jovan's wounds she pour'd her poison,
+ And he died,--Alas! for thee, poor mother!
+
+ Then began the melancholy cuckoos,[25]
+ Cuckoos then began their funeral dirges;
+ One pour'd out her mournful plaints unceasing,
+ One at morning mourn'd, and mourn'd at ev'ning,
+ And the third when'er sad thoughts came o'er her.
+ Tell me which is the unceasing mourner?
+ 'Tis the sorrowing mother of young Jovan.
+ Which at morning mourns and late at evening?
+ 'Tis the grieving sister of young Jovan.
+ Which when melancholy thoughts come o'er her?
+ 'Tis the youthful wife,--the wife of Jovan.
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ LVI
+
+ THE GREYBEARD
+
+
+ I heard young Falisava say:
+ "I'll have no ancient greybeard, nay!
+ A sprightly beardless youth for me."
+ An aged man the maiden heard,
+ He shaves his long and snowy beard,
+ And paints his chin like ebony:
+ To Falisava then he goes--
+ "My heart! my soul! my garden rose!
+ A beardless youth is come for thee."
+ And then she listen'd--they were wed--
+ And to the old man's home they sped.
+
+ Then twilight came, and evening's shade--
+ And said the old man to the maid:
+ "Sweet Falisava! maiden fair!
+ Our bed beside the stove prepare,
+ And the warm feather-mattress bear"--
+ The maiden heard--the maiden went,
+ And gather'd flowers of sweetest scent--
+ Of sweetest scent and fairest hue,
+ Which on the old man's bed she threw,
+ And like on a strong-wing'd eagle then
+ Flew to her father's home again.
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ LVII
+
+ MOHAMMEDAN TALE
+
+
+ Who is mourning there in Glamodelec's fortress?
+ 'Tis the Vila--'tis an angry serpent?
+ 'Tis no Vila--'tis no angry serpent!
+ 'Tis the maid Emina there lamenting--
+ There lamenting, for her woe is grievous!
+ Lo! the Ban[26] the maiden hath imprison'd--
+ Hath imprison'd her, and will baptize her;
+ But Emina never will be faithless--
+ From the white-wall'd tower will fling her rather.
+
+ Thus the unbelieving Ban address'd her:
+ "Unbelieving Ban! a moment tarry,
+ While I hasten to the upper story."
+ And she hasten'd to the upper story;
+ Look'd around her from the white-wall'd fortress:
+ In the distance saw her father's dwelling--
+ Saw the white school where she pass'd her childhood
+ "O my father's home! my poor heart's sorrow!
+ School of childhood! once that childhood's terror!
+ Many a day of weariness and sorrow
+ Did thy small-writ lessons give Emina."
+
+ Then she wrapp'd her snowy robes around her--
+ Thought not of the band that bound her tresses,
+ And she flung her from the fortress turret.
+ But her hair-band caught the open window--
+ From the window, ah she hung suspended--
+ Hung a week suspended from the window--
+ Then her hair gave away--and then the maiden
+ On the greensward fell.
+
+ The Christian heard it--
+ He, the Christian Ban, and hasten'd thither;
+ Oft and oft he kiss'd the dead Emina;
+ And he peacefully entom'd the maiden.
+ O'er her grave a chapel he erected,
+ And with golden apples he adorn'd it.
+ Ere a week had pass'd away, descended
+ On her tomb a beauteous light from heaven;
+ At her head a beauteous light was kindled;
+ At her feet another light shone sweetly;
+ And her aged mother saw and wonder'd
+ From her chain she took her knife, and plunged it--
+ Plunged it deep within her troubled bosom--
+ Fell, and died--O melancholy mother!
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ LVIII
+
+ LOVE'S DIFFICULTIES
+
+
+ I loved her from her infancy,
+ Lado![27] Lado!
+ From childhood to maturity,
+ Lado! Lado!
+ And when I claim'd the smiling maid,
+ Lado! Lado!
+ "Ye are of kindred blood!" they said,
+ Lado! Lado!
+ "Brother and sister's children ye,
+ Lado! Lado!
+ It were a sin to steal a kiss,"
+ Lado! Lado!
+ Oh what a sacrifice is this!
+ Lado! Lado!
+ I'll steal a kiss though I be riven,
+ Lado! Lado!
+ From every, every hope of heaven,
+ Lado! Lado!
+ For what would heaven become to me
+ Lado! Lado!
+ When the long nights of autumn flee,
+ Lado! Lado!
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ LIX
+
+ WITCHES
+
+
+ The sky is cover'd with stars again:
+ The plains are cover'd with flocks of sheep:
+ But where is the shepherd? On the plain
+ The shepherd is lost in careless sleep:
+ The youthful Radoje sleeps:--Arise!
+ Awake! his sister Jania cries.
+
+ "Jania! sister nay! depart!
+ My body to witches is plighted:
+ My mother has torn away my heart,
+ And my aunt my mother lighted."
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ LX
+
+ PLEDGES
+
+
+ The wind was with the roses playing:
+ To Ranko's tent it blew their leaves:
+ Milica, Ranko, there were staying,
+ And Ranko writes--Milica weaves.
+ His letter done, he drops his pen:
+ Her finish'd web she throws aside:
+ And lo! I heard the lover then
+ Low whisper to his promised bride:
+ "Milica! tell me truly now
+ And dost thou love me--love me best?
+ Or heavy is thy nuptial vow?"--
+ And thus the maid the youth address'd:
+ "O trust me--thou my heart--my soul--
+ That thou art dearer far to me--
+ Far dearer, Ranko! than the whole
+ Of brothers--many though they be:
+ And that the vows we pledged together
+ Are lighter than the lightest feather."
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ LXI
+
+ COMPLAINT
+
+
+ O flower! so lovely in thy bloom,
+ Be evil fate thy mother's doom!
+ Thy mother, who so kindly nurst,
+ And sent thee to our village first.
+ Where heroes o'er their cups romancing,
+ And our young striplings stones are flinging,
+ And our delighted brides are dancing,
+ And our gay maidens songs are singing--
+ 'Twas then I saw thee, lovely flower!
+ And lost my quiet from that hour.
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ LXII
+
+ SONG
+
+
+ The winter is gone,
+ Beloved, arise!
+ The spring is come on,
+ The birds are all singing:
+ Beloved, arise!
+
+ The roses are springing;
+ Earth laughs out in love:
+ Beloved, arise!
+ And thou, my sweet dove!
+ O waste not thy time:
+ Beloved, arise.
+
+ Enjoy the sweet bliss
+ Of a kiss--of a kiss:
+ Beloved, arise
+ In the hour of thy prime,
+ Beloved, arise!
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ LXIII
+
+ MOHAMMEDAN SONG
+
+
+ I have piercing eyes--the eyes of falcons:
+ I am of undoubted noble lineage:
+ I can read the heart of Osman Aga:
+ I was ask'd by Osman Aga's mother:
+
+ "Cursed witch: and yet most lovely maiden!
+ Why with white and red dost paint thy visage?
+ Fascinate no longer Osman Aga!
+ I will speed me to the verdant forest,
+ Build me up of maple-trees a dwelling,
+ And lock up within it Osman Aga."
+
+ Then the maid replied to Osman's mother:
+ "Lady Anka! Osman Aga's mother--
+ I have falcon eyes--and eyes of devils:
+ With them I can ope thy ample dwelling--
+ With them visit, too, thy Osman Aga."
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ LXIV
+
+ BROTHERLESS SISTERS
+
+
+ Two solitary sisters, who
+ A brother's fondness never knew,
+ Agreed, poor girls, with one another,
+ That they would make themselves a brother:
+ They cut them silk, as snow-drops white;
+ And silk, as richest rubies bright;
+ They carved his body from a bough
+ Of box-tree from the mountain's brow;
+ Two jewels dark for eyes they gave;
+ For eyebrows, from the ocean's wave
+ They took two leeches; and for teeth
+ Fix'd pearls above, and pearls beneath;
+ For food they gave him honey sweet,
+ And said, "Now live, and speak, and eat."
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ LXV
+
+ MISFORTUNES
+
+
+ On the hill, the fir-tree hill,
+ Grows a tall fir-tree:
+ There a maiden, calm and still,
+ Sits delightedly.
+ To a youthful swain she pledges
+ Vows: "O come to me:
+ Lightly spring across the hedges:
+ Come--but slightly.
+ Come at eve--lest harm betide thee.
+ If any home thou seek,
+ In our quiet dwelling hide thee;
+ Not a whisper speak."
+ And he o'er the hedges sprung,
+ Lo! a twig he tore:
+ When the house-door ope he flung,
+ Noisy was the door.
+ When he enter'd in, there fell
+ Shelves upon the floor,
+ 'Twas the broken china's knell--
+ O the luckless hour!
+ Then her mother comes afeard,
+ Trips and cuts her knee;
+ And her father burns his beard
+ In perplexity.
+ And the youth must quench the fire,
+ And the maiden must retire.
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ LXVI
+
+ TIMIDITY
+
+
+ Lo! upon the mountain green
+ Stands a fir-tree tall and thin--
+ 'Tis no fir-tree--none at all--
+ 'Tis a maiden thin and tall.
+ Three long years the enamour'd one
+ Fed upon her eyes alone;
+ On the fourth, he sought the bliss
+ Of the maiden's primal kiss
+ "Why, thou witching maid! repel me--
+ Why with foot of scorn dost tread,
+ On my feet, my boots of red!
+ Why despise me, maiden! tell me."
+
+ "No, my friend, I will not tread
+ On thy feet, thy boots of red!
+ Come at evening--come and string
+ Pearls for me--and thou shalt fling
+ O'er me my embroider'd shawl.
+ We will go at morning's call
+ To the kolo--Friend! but thou
+ Must not touch the maiden now--
+
+ Know'st thou not that busy slander
+ Follows us wher'er we wander?
+ Evil tongues are ever talking;
+ Calumny abroad is walking
+ Know'st thou that a simple kiss
+ Ample food for slander is?
+ 'Never did we kiss,' you'll say,
+ 'Till last evening and to-day.'
+ Come at evening--come, my dear.
+ Sisters' eyes will watch thee here."
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ LXVII
+
+ YOUTH ENAMOURED
+
+
+ "Where wert thou! Misho! yesterday?"
+ "O 'twas a happy day for me!
+ A lovely maiden cross'd my way
+ A maiden smiling lovelily
+ And those sweet smiles for me were meant;
+ I claimed her--mother answer'd, 'No!'
+ Would steal her--vain was the intent,
+ For many guardians watch'd her so.
+ There grows a verdant almond-tree
+ Before her house--its boughs I'll climb;
+ Wail like a cuckoo mournfully,
+ And swallow-like, at evening time,
+ Pour forth my woe in throbbings deep
+ And like a sorrowing widow sigh,
+ And like a youthful maiden weep.
+ So may her mother turn her eye,
+ Pitying my grief, her heart may move,
+ And she may give me her I love."
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ LXVIII
+
+ BLACK EYES AND BLUE
+
+
+ I wish the happy time were nigh,
+ When youths are sold, that I might buy.
+ But for an azure-eyed Mlinar,[28]
+ I would not give a single dinar,
+ Though for a raven-black eyed youth,
+ A thousand golden coins, in truth.
+ Alas! alas! and is it true?
+ My own fair youth has eyes of blue;
+ Yes! they are blue--yet dear to me--
+ Will he forgive my levity?
+ Ye maidens! pray him to forgive me;
+ Nay! spare me now--and rather leave me
+ To tell him "I am yours"--and smile
+ In fond affection all the while.
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ LXIX
+
+ THE WIDOW
+
+
+ Rose! O smile upon the youth no longer;
+ He in his impatience to be wedded,
+ Chose a widow for his years unsuited,
+ And wher'er she goes, where'er she tarries,
+ She is mourning for her ancient husband.
+ "O my husband! first and best possession!
+ Happy were the days we spent together!
+ Early we retired and late we waken'd
+ Thou didst wake me kissing my white forehead,
+ 'Up, my heart! the sun is high in heaven,
+ And our aged mother is arisen.'"
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ LXX
+
+ ALARMS
+
+
+ Fairest youths are here--but not the fairest!
+ Could I hear him now, or could I see him,--
+ Could I know if he be sick, or faithless!
+ Were he sick, my ears would rather hear it,
+ Than that he had loved another maiden.
+ Sickness may depart, and time restore him,--
+ If enamour'd,--never! never! never!
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ LXXI
+
+ FOND WIFE
+
+
+ O! If I were a mountain streamlet,
+ I know where I would flow
+ I'd spring into the crystal Sava,
+ Where the gay vessels go,
+ That I might look upon my lover--
+ For fain my heart would know
+ If, when he holds the helm, he ever
+ Looks on my rose, and thinks
+ Of her who gave it;--if the nosegay
+ I made of sweetest pinks
+ Is faded yet, and if he wear it.
+ On Saturday I cull
+ To give him for a Sabbath present
+ All that is beautiful.
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ LXXII
+
+ UNHAPPY BRIDE
+
+
+ The maiden gave the ring she wore
+ To him who gave it her before:
+ "O take the ring--for thou and thine
+ Are hated,--not by me--but mine--
+ Father and mother will not hear thee
+ Brother and sister both forswear thee
+ Yet, think not, youth,--I think not ill
+ Of her who needs must love thee still!
+ I am a poor unhappy maid,
+ Whose path the darkest clouds o'ershade,
+ I sowed sweet basil, and there grew
+ On that same spot the bitterest rue
+ And wormwood, that unholy flower,
+ I now alone my marriage dower;
+ The only flower which they shall wear
+ Who to the maiden's marriage comes,
+ When for my marriage altar there
+ The guests shall find the maiden's tomb."
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ LXXIII
+
+ LAST PETITION
+
+
+ Upon her mother's bosom lay
+ Young Mira, and she pined away.
+ 'Twas in her own maternal bed;
+ And thus the anxious mother said:--
+ "What ails thee, tell me, Mira, pray?"
+
+ "O ask me not, my mother dear!
+ I feel that death approaches near,
+ I shall not rise from this my bed;
+ But, mother mine! when I am dead--
+ O mother mine! call round me all
+ My playmates to my funeral;
+ And let the friends I loved receive
+ The little gifts that I shall leave;
+ Then let me sleep in peace beneath.--
+
+ There's one, my mother, I should grieve
+ To be divided from in death.
+ Then call around me priests divine,
+ And pious pilgrims, mother mine!
+ The forehead of thy dying daughter
+ Steep in the rose's fragrant water.
+ And, mother, let my forehead be
+ Dried with the rose-leaves from the tree;
+ And pillow not thy daughter's head,
+ O mother! with the common dead;
+ But let me have a quiet tomb
+ Adjacent to my Mirjo's home,
+ And near my Mirjo's nightly bed;
+ So when he wakes his thoughts shall dwell
+ With her he loved and loved so well."
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ LXXIV
+
+ LOVE FOR A BROTHER
+
+
+ The sun sank down behind the gold-flower'd hill;
+ The warriors from the fight approach the shore:
+ There stood young George's wife, serene and still:
+ She counted all the heroes o'er and o'er,
+ And found not those she loved--though they were three:--
+ Her husband, George; her marriage friend, another
+ Who late had led the marriage revelry;
+ The third, her best-loved, her only brother.
+
+ Her husband he was dead; she rent her hair
+ For him--Her friend was gone,--for him she tore
+ Her cheeks--Her only brother was not there:
+ For him she pluck'd her eye-balls from their bed.
+ Her hair grew forth as lovely as before;
+ Upon her cheeks her former beauties spread;
+ But nothing could her perish'd sight restore:
+ Nought heals the heart that mourns a brother dead.
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ LXXV
+
+ REBUKE
+
+
+ "Maiden! hast thou seen my steed?"
+ "Faithless one! not I, indeed!
+ But I heard that thou hadst tied him
+ To the mountain-maple tree;
+ When a stranger pass'd beside him,
+ Full of scorn and rage was he:
+ With his hoofs the ground he beat;
+ Of his master's guilt he knew.
+ Not one maiden did he cheat.
+ No; that master cheated two:
+ One has borne a wretched child;
+ One with grief and shame is wild."
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ LXXVI
+
+ MAN'S FAITH
+
+
+ Say! dost thou remember when under the vine,
+ Thy tears fell in streams on the breast of thy maid;
+ When thy heart burst in joy as I own'd thee for mine?
+ Alas! for the maiden whose peace is betray'd
+ By the tears and the vows of a falsehood like thine!
+ As the changeable sky--now o'erclouded, now bright,
+ Is the faith of thy race--their language to-day,
+ "I will wed thee to-morrow, my love and my light!"
+ To-morrow--"Let's wait till the harvest's away."
+ The harvest is ended, the winter is nigh
+ And another maid dwells in their hearts and their eye.
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ LXXVII
+
+ MAIDEN'S AFFECTION
+
+
+ "Black is the night--an outcast lad
+ Is wandering in our village, mother!
+ Thy daughter's heart is very sad,
+ Sad even to death! He has no home:
+ O give him ours, he has no other,
+ And bid the lad no longer roam!"
+ "Nay! daughter, let this outcast stray,
+ He is a proud and city youth;
+ Will ask for wine at break of day,
+ And costly meats at eve, forsooth,
+ And for his city-tutor'd head
+ Will want a soft and stately bed."
+
+ "O mother! In God's name divine,
+ Give the poor lad a shelter now:
+ My eyes shall serve instead of wine,
+ For costly meats my maiden brow.
+ My neck shall be his honey comb.
+ His bed the dewy grass shall be,
+ And heaven his stately canopy.
+ His head shall rest upon my arm.
+ O mother! give the youth a home,
+ And shelter, shelter him from harm."
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ LXXVIII
+
+
+ MARRIAGE SONGS
+
+
+ The Marriage Leader:
+
+ "Make ready! make ready,"
+ To his sister the youth is repeating;
+ "Make ready my steed for the wedding,
+ O sister! the young Doge[29] is waiting.
+ I'm bid to the wedding, I'm summon'd to guide
+ To the wedding the maiden--the Doge's young bride."
+
+
+ The approaching bridegroom:
+
+ What is shining on the verdant mountain?
+ Sun--or moon--that shines so brightly,
+ 'Tis not sun, or moon that shines so brightly,
+ 'Tis the bridegroom hasting to the marriage.
+
+
+ Parting of the bride:
+
+ Sweetest of maidens! O be still,
+ Be silent--prithee weep not now
+ Thy mother she will weep--wilt fill
+ Her sorrowing eyes with tears, for thou
+ Wilt leave thy cherish'd home ere long:
+ And when thy young companions go
+ To the fresh stream, amidst the throng
+ She'll seek thee--will she find thee! No!
+
+
+ Departure of the wedding guests:
+
+ O thou young bridegroom, thou rose in its beauty,
+ Lo! we have brought thee a rosemary branch,
+ And if the rosemary branch should decay,
+ Thine will the shame be, the sorrow be ours.
+ Scatter the rosemary leaves o'er thy way;
+ Let not destruction disparage its flowers.
+
+
+ To the bride, when the marriage hood is first put on:
+
+ Maid from a distant forest tree,
+ A verdant leaf is blown to thee;
+ And that green leaf has fixed it now,
+ In the green garland on thy brow:
+ The garland green, that we have bound
+ Maiden! thy auburn ringlets round:
+ O no! it is no leaf, that we
+ Have braided in a wreath for thee;
+ 'Tis the white hood that thou must wear,
+ The token of domestic care:
+ Thou hast no mother now--another,
+ A stranger must be called thy mother;
+ And sister-love thy heart must share,
+ With one who was not born thy brother.
+
+
+ At the marriage:
+
+ An apple tree at Ranko's door was growing,
+ Its trunk was silver, golden were its branches;
+ Its branches golden and of pearls its foliage,
+ Its leaves were pearls, and all its apple corals.
+ And many dovelets, on the branches seated,
+ Coo'd in their fond affection to each other;
+ Coo'd loudly, and they pluck'd the pearls--one only
+ One, only one was silent, one was silent--
+ It coo'd not, pluck'd no pearls from off the branches:
+ That one was terrified by Ranko's mother:
+ "Begone--grey dovelet! thou art an intruder!
+ Was not the apple-tree by Ranko planted?
+ By Ranko planted, and by Ranko watered,
+ That it might shade the guests at Ranko's marriage,
+ Shade all his guests beneath its joyous branches."
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ LXXIX
+
+ HEROES SERVE
+
+
+ Upon the silent Danube's shore,
+ When ev'ning wastes, 'tis sweet to see
+ 'Their golden wine cups flowing o'er';
+ Our heroes in their revelry.
+
+ A youthful beauty pours the wine,
+ And each will pledge a cup to her;
+ And each of charms that seem divine,
+ Would fain become a worshipper.
+
+ "Nay! heroes, nay!" the virgin cried,
+ "My service--not my love--I give:
+ For one alone--for none beside:
+ For one alone I love and live."
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ LXXX
+
+ YOUTH AND AGE
+
+
+ Lo! the maid her rosy cheeks is laving.
+ Listen! while she bathes her snowy forehead:
+ "Forehead! if I thought an old man's kisses
+ Would be stamp'd upon thee, I would hasten
+ To the forest, and would gather wormwood
+ Into boiling water press its bitters:
+ With it steep my forehead ev'ry morning,
+ That the old man's kiss might taste of wormwood.
+ But, if some fair youth should come to kiss me,
+ I would hurry to the verdant garden:
+ I would gather all its sweetest roses,
+ Would condense their fragrance,--and at morning,
+ Every morning, would perfume my forehead
+ So the youth's sweet kiss would breathe of fragrance,
+ And his heart be gladden'd with the odour.
+ Better dwell with youth upon the mountains,
+ Than with age in luxury's richest palace:
+ Better sleep with youth on naked granite,
+ Than with eld on silks howe'er voluptuous."
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ LXXXI
+
+ CHOICE
+
+
+ In my court the morning's twilight found me;
+ At the chase the early sun while rising,
+ I upon the mountain--and behind it,
+ On that mountain, 'neath a dark-green pine tree
+ Lo! I saw a lovely maiden sleeping;
+ On a clover-sheaf her head was pillow'd;
+ On her bosom lay two snowy dovelets;
+ In her lap there was a dappled fawnkin.
+ There I tarried till the fall of ev'ning:
+ Bound my steed at night around the pine-tree:
+ Bound my falcon to the pine-tree branches:
+ Gave the sheaf of clover to my courser:
+ Gave the two white dovelets to my falcon:
+ Gave the dappled fawn to my good greyhound:
+ And, for me,--I took the lovely maiden.
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ LXXXII
+
+ ANXIETY
+
+
+ I fain would sing--but will be silent now,
+ For pain is sitting on my lover's brow;
+ And he would hear me--and, though silent, deem
+ I pleased myself, but little thought of him,
+ While of nought else I think; to him I give
+ My spirit--and for him alone I live;
+ Bear him within my heart, as mothers bear
+ The last and youngest object of their care.
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ LXXXIII
+
+ INQUIRY
+
+
+ Say, heavenly spirit! kindly say,
+ Where tarries now this youth of mine;
+ Say, is he speeding on his way,
+ Or doth he linger, drinking wine?
+
+ If he be speeding on,--elated
+ With joy and gladness let him be:
+ If quaffing wine,--in quiet seated,
+ O! his be peace and gaiety!
+
+ But if he love another maiden,
+ I wish him nought but sorrow:--No!
+ Then be his heart with anguish laden!
+ And let Heaven smite his path with woe!
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ LXXXIV
+
+ FROZEN HEART
+
+
+ Thick fell the snow upon St. George's day;
+ The little birds all left their cloudy bed;
+ The maiden wander'd bare-foot on her way;
+ Her brother bore her sandals, and he said:
+ "O sister mine! cold, cold thy feet must be."
+ "No! not my feet, sweet brother! not my feet--
+ But my poor heart is cold with misery.
+ There's nought to chill me in the snowy sleet
+ My mother--tis my mother who hath chill'd me,
+ Bound me to one who with disgust hath fill'd me."
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ LXXXV
+
+ UNION IN DEATH
+
+
+ Fondly lov'd a youth and youthful maiden,
+ And they wash'd them in the self-same water,
+ And they dried them with the self-same linen
+ Full a year had pass'd, and no one knew it
+ Yet another year--'twas all discover'd,
+ And the father heard it, and the mother;
+ But the mother check'd their growing fondness,
+ Banish'd love, and exiled them for ever.
+
+ To the stars he look'd, and bade them tell her:
+ "Die, sweet maiden! on the week's last even;
+ Early will I die on Sabbath morning."
+
+ As the stars foretold the event, it happen'd;
+ On the eve of Saturday the maiden
+ Died--and died the youth on Sunday morning:
+ And they were, fond pair, together buried;
+ And their hands were intertwined together:
+ In those hands they placed the greenest apples;
+ When behold! ere many moons had shone there,
+ From the grave sprung up a verdant pine-tree,
+ And a fragrant crimson rose-tree follow'd:
+ Round the pine the rose-tree fondly twined it,
+ As around the straw the silk clings closely.
+
+ S. J. B.
+
+
+
+
+ LXXXVI
+
+ LOVE AND SLEEP[30]
+
+
+ I walkt the high and hollow wood, from dawn to even-dew,
+ The wild-eyed wood stared at me, and unclaspt, and let me through,
+ Where mountain pines, like great black birds, stood percht against
+ the blue.
+
+ Not a whisper heaved the woven woof of those warm trees:
+ All the little leaves lay flat, unmoved of bird or breeze:
+ Day was losing light all round, by indolent degrees.
+
+ Underneath the brooding branches, all in holy shade,
+ Unseen hands of mountain things a mossy couch had made:
+ There asleep among pale flowers my beloved was laid.
+
+ Slipping down, a sunbeam bathed her brows with bounteous gold,
+ Unmoved upon her maiden breast her heavy hair was roll'd,
+ Her smile was silent as the smile on corpses three hours old.
+ "O God!" I thought, "if this be death, that makes not sound nor stir."
+ My heart stood still with tender awe, I dared not waken her,
+ But to the dear God, in the sky, this prayer I did prefer:
+
+ "Grant, dear Lord, in the blessed sky, a warm wind from the sea,
+ Then shake a leaf down on my love from yonder leafy tree;
+ That she may open her sweet eyes, and haply look on me."
+
+ The dear God, from the distant sea, a little wind releast,
+ It shook a leaflet from the tree, and laid it on her breast,
+ Her sweet eyes ope'd and looked on me. How can I tell the rest?
+
+ O. M.
+
+
+
+
+ LXXXVII
+
+ LOVE CONFERS NOBILITY
+
+
+ He. Violet, little one mine,
+ I would love thee, but thou art so small.
+
+ She. Love me, my love, from those heights of thine,
+ And I shall grow tall, so tall,
+ The pearl is small, but it hangs above
+ The royal brow, and a kingly mind
+ The quail is little, little, my love,
+ But she leaves the hunter behind.
+
+ O. M.
+
+
+
+
+ LXXXVIII
+
+ A SOUL'S SWEETNESS
+
+
+ He. O maiden of my soul!
+ What odour from the orange hast thou stole,
+ That breathes about thy breast with such sweet power?
+ What sweetness, unto me
+ More sweet than amber honey to the bee
+ That builds in the oaken hole,
+ And sucks the essential summer of the year
+ To store with sweetest sweets her hollow tower?
+ Or is it breath of basil, maiden dear?
+ Or of the immortal flower?
+
+ She. By the sweet heavens, young lover!
+ No odour from the orange have I stole;
+ Nor have I robb'd for thee,
+ Dearest the amber dower
+ Of the building bee,
+ From any hollow tower
+ In oaken bole:
+ But if, on this poor breast thou dost discover
+ Fragrance of such sweet power,
+ Trust me, O my beloved and my lover,
+ 'Tis not of basil, nor the immortal flower,
+ But from a virgin soul.
+
+ O. M.
+
+
+
+
+ LXXXIX
+
+ REMINISCENCES
+
+
+ He. "And art thou wed, my beloved?
+ My Beloved of long ago?"
+
+ She. "I am wed, my Beloved. And I have given
+ A child to this world of woe.
+ And the name I have given my child is thine:
+ So that, when I call to me my little one,
+ The heaviness of this heart of mine
+ For a little while may be gone.
+ For I say not ... 'Hither, hither, my son!'
+ But ... 'Hither, my Love, my Beloved.'"
+
+
+
+
+ XC
+
+ SLEEP AND DEATH
+
+
+ The morning is growing: the cocks are crowing:
+ Let me away, love, away!
+
+ 'Tis not the morning light;
+ Only the moonbeam white.
+ Stay, my white lamb, stay,
+ And sleep on my bosom, sleep.
+
+ The breeze is blowing: the cattle are lowing:
+ Let me away, love, away!
+
+ 'Tis not the cattle there;
+ Only the call to prayer.
+ Stay, my white lamb, stay,
+ And sleep on my bosom, sleep.
+
+ The Turks are warning to the mosque, 'tis morning!
+ Let me away, love, away!
+
+ 'Tis not the Turks, sweet soul!
+ Only the wolves that howl.
+ Stay, my white lamb, stay,
+ And sleep on my bosom, sleep.
+
+ The white roofs are gleaming: the glad children screaming:
+ Let me away, love, away!
+
+ 'Tis the night-clouds that gleam:
+ The night winds that scream.
+ Stay, my white lamb, stay,
+ And sleep on my bosom, sleep.
+
+ My mother in the gateway calls to me.... "Come straightway"
+ And I must away, love, away!
+
+ Thy mother's in her bed,
+ Dumb, holy, and dead.
+ Stay, my white lamb, stay,
+ And sleep on my bosom, sleep.
+
+ O. M.
+
+
+
+
+ XCI
+
+ IMPERFECTION
+
+
+ All in the spring,
+ When little birds sing,
+ And flowers do talk
+ From stalk to stalk;
+ Whispering to a silver shower,
+ A violet did boast to be
+ Of every flower the fairest flower
+ That blows by lawn or lea.
+ But a rose that blew thereby
+ Answer'd her reproachfully,
+ (All in the spring,
+ When little birds sing,
+ And flowers do talk
+ From stalk to stalk):
+ "Violet, I marvel me
+ Of fairest flowers by lawn or lea
+ The fairest thou should'st boast to be;
+ For one small defect I spy,
+ Should make thee speak more modestly:
+ Thy face is fashion'd tenderly,
+ But then it hangs awry."
+
+ O. M.
+
+
+
+
+ XCII
+
+ EMANCIPATION
+
+
+ The Day of Saint George! and a girl pray'd thus:
+ "O Day of Saint George, when again to us
+ Thou returnest, and they carouse
+ Here in my mother's house,
+ May'st thou find me either a corpse or a bride,
+ Either buried or wed;
+ Rather married than dead;
+ But, however, that may betide,
+ And whether a corpse or a spouse,
+ No more in my mother's house."
+
+ O. M.
+
+
+
+
+ XCIII
+
+ PLUCKING A FLOWER
+
+
+ He. O maiden, vermeil rose!
+ Unplanted, unsown,
+ Blooming alone
+ As the wild-flower blows,
+ With a will of thine own!
+ Neither grafted nor grown,
+ Neither gather'd nor blown,
+ O maiden, O rose!
+ Blooming alone
+ In the green garden-close
+ Unnoticed, unknown,
+ Unpropt, unsupported,
+ Unwater'd, and uncourted,
+ Unwoo'd and unwed,
+ A sweet wild rose,
+ Who knows? Who knows?
+ Might I kiss thee, and court thee?
+ My kiss would not hurt thee!
+ A sweet, sweet rose,
+ In the green garden-close,
+ If a gate were undone,
+ And if I might come to thee
+ And meet thee alone?
+ Sue thee, and woo thee,
+ And make thee my own?
+ Clasp thee, and cull thee, what harm would be done?
+
+ She. Beside thy field my garden blows,
+ Were a gate in the garden left open ... who knows?
+ And I water'd my garden at eventide?
+ (Who knows?)
+ And if somebody silently happen'd to ride
+ That way? And a horse to the gate should be tied?
+ And if somebody (Who knows who,), unespied,
+ Were to enter my garden to gather a rose?
+ Who knows?... I suppose
+ No harm need be done. My beloved one,
+ Come lightly, come softly, at set of the sun!
+ Come, and caress me!
+ Kiss me, and press me,
+ Fold me, and hold me!
+ Kiss me with kisses that leave not a trace,
+ But set not the print of thy teeth on my face,
+ Or my mother will see it, and scold me.
+
+ O. M.
+
+
+
+
+ XCIV
+
+ A WISH
+
+
+ I would I were a rivulet,
+ And I know where I would run!
+ To Save, the chilly river,
+ Where the market boats pass on;
+ To see my dear one stand
+ By the rudder; and whether the rose
+ Which, at parting, I put in his hand,
+ Warm with a kiss in it, blows;
+ Whether it blows or withers:
+ I pluckt it on Saturday;
+ I gave it to him on Sunday;
+ On Monday he went away.
+
+ O. M.
+
+
+
+
+ XCV
+
+ A SERBIAN BEAUTY
+
+
+ 'Tis the Kolo[31] that dances before the white house,
+ And 'tis Stojan's fair sister, O fair, fair is she!
+ Too fair she is truly, too fair, heaven knows,
+ (God forgive her!) so cruel to be.
+ The fair Vila, whom the wan clouds fondly follow
+ O'er the mountain wherever she roam it,
+ Is not fairer nor whiter than she.
+ Her long soft eyelash is the wing of the swallow
+ When the dew of the dawn trembles from it,
+ And as dawn-stars her blue eyes to me:
+ Her eyebrows so dark are the slender sea-leeches;
+ Her rich-bloomed cheeks are the ripe river peaches,
+ Her teeth are white pearls from the sea;
+ Her lips are two half-open'd roses;
+ And her breath the south wind, which discloses
+ The sweetness that soothes the wild bee.
+ She is tall as the larch, she is slender
+ As any green bough the birds move;
+ See her dance--'tis the peacock's full splendour!
+ Hear her talk--'tis the coo of the dove!
+ And, only but let her look tender--
+ 'Tis all heaven melting down from above!
+
+ O. M.
+
+
+
+
+ XCVI
+
+ SLEEPLESSNESS
+
+
+ Sleep will not take the place of Love,
+ Nor keep the place from Sorrow.
+ Oh, when the long nights slowly move
+ To meet a lonely morrow,
+ The burden of the broken days,
+ The grief that on the bosom weighs,
+ And all the heart oppresses,
+ But lightly lies on restless eyes
+ Love seals no more with kisses.
+
+ O. M.
+
+
+
+
+ XCVII
+
+ A MESSAGE
+
+
+ Sweet sister of my loved, unloving one,
+ Kiss thy wild brother, kiss him tenderly!
+ Ask him what is it, witless, I have done
+ That he should look so coldly upon me?
+ Ah, well ... I know he recks not! Let it be.
+ Yet say ... "There's many a woodland nodding yet
+ For who needs wood when winter nights be cold."
+ Say ... "Love to give finds ever love to get.
+ There lack not goldsmiths where there lacks not gold.
+ The wood will claim the woodman by-and-by;
+ The gold (be sure!) the goldsmith cannot miss;
+ Each maid to win finds lads to woo: and I...."
+ Well, child, but only tell him, tell him this!
+ Sweet sister, tell him this!
+
+ O. M.
+
+
+
+
+ XCVIII
+
+ TRANSPLANTING A FLOWER
+
+
+ O maiden, mother's golden treasure!
+ Purest gold of perfect pleasure!
+ Do they beat thee, and ill-treat thee,
+ That I meet thee all alone?
+ Do they beat thee, that I meet thee
+ All too often, all too late,
+ After nightfall, at the gate
+ Of the garden, all alone?
+ Tell me, tell me, little one,
+ Do they do it? If I knew it,
+ They should rue it! I would come
+ Oftener, later, yet again,
+ (Hail, or snow, or wind, or rain!)
+ Oftener, later! Nor in vain:
+ For if mother, for my sake,
+ Were to drive thee out of home,
+ Just three little steps 'twould take
+ (Think upon it, little one!)--
+ Just three little steps, or four,
+ To my door from mother's door.
+ Love is wise. I say no more.
+ Ponder on it, little one!
+
+ O. M.
+
+
+
+
+ XCIX
+
+ ISOLATION
+
+
+ The night is very dark and very lonely:
+ And as dark, and all as lonely, is my heart:
+ And the sorrow that is in it night knows only:
+ For the dawn breaks, and my heart breaks. Far apart
+ From my old self seems my new self. And my mother
+ And my sister are in heaven,--so they say:
+ And the dear one dearer yet than any other
+ Is far, far away.
+ The sweet hour of his coming ... night is falling!
+ The hour of our awakening ... bird on bough!
+ The hour of last embraces ... friends are calling
+ "Love, farewell!" ... and every hour is silent now.
+
+ O. M.
+
+
+
+
+ C
+
+ FATIMA AND MEHMED
+
+
+ Beneath a milk-white almond tree,
+ Fatima and Mehmed be.
+ The black earth is their bridal bed;
+ The thick-starred sky clear-spread
+ Is their coverlet all the night,
+ As they lie in each other's arms so white.
+ The grass is full of honey-dew;
+ The crescent moon, that glimmers through
+ The unrippled leaves, is faint and new:
+ And the milk-white almond blossoms
+ All night long fall on their bosoms.
+
+ O. M.
+
+
+
+
+ CI
+
+ MORAVA HORSES[32]
+
+
+ On the banks of Morava,
+ Sleek black horses danced,
+ "Could not we," one horse did say,
+ "Over this river swim to-day?"
+ But the second cried, "Beware,
+ Deep flows the stream, beware, beware!
+ 'Twas by these banks of Morava,
+ At set of sun a knight was drowned,
+ And dawn had broke ere he was found.
+ If mother this poor knight had had,
+ Within a day his fate she'd know,
+ And him to seek next day would go;
+ The third day, finding him, would weep,
+ And who knows how long sad heart keep?"
+ To which a third black horse replied
+ "No mother mourns him as lost son,
+ But mother-in-law the knight has one!
+ She in one year would surely cry:
+ 'What has my daughter's husband done?'
+ And in two years find time to go
+ Toward the place where he lay low;
+ And when there should have passed years three,
+ His grave, perchance, she then might see--
+ Where long since green grass had grown,
+ The peacock preened himself and flown."
+
+ J. W. W.
+
+
+
+
+ CII
+
+ THE GIRL AND THE GRASS
+
+
+ In the green grass a girl fell asleep;
+ When she awoke the grass was red,
+ And her ruddy cheeks were green instead.
+ Before the Kadi the girl sued the grass:
+ Give me, O grass, my color red!"
+ And to the girl the red grass said:
+ "Thy color red, I'll give it thee,
+ When my color green thou dost give me."
+ Then before the Kadi they exchanged color
+ And became bosom-sisters for ever and ever.
+
+ J. W. W.
+
+
+
+
+ CIII
+
+ THE SUN AND THE GIRL
+
+
+ To the great sun a radiant maiden cried:
+ "Bright sun, thy beauty cannot equal mine!"
+ Whereon the burning orb complained to God:
+ "Let me bring low her pride, and scorch her face."
+ To which request his mighty Maker said:
+ "The burden that she bears is weight enough;
+ Her father and her mother, both I've taken;
+ One simple, smiling youth alone is left to her;
+ Touch not their joy, let him be fond of her."
+
+ J. W. W.
+
+
+
+
+ CIV
+
+ CURSE AND BLESSING
+
+
+ To the river ran the mother,
+ To her Mary by the water,
+ Dreaming there, the pretty daughter:
+ "Have you washed the linen, Mary?"
+ "Why, mother dear, not yet begun;
+ A naughty youth did come my way,
+ And muddy made the silvery water."
+ "I'll curse him, then; I'll curse him, daughter!
+ Cold be his heart as ice is cold."
+ "As cold as the sun o'er the corn-fields, mother!"
+ "May his face be black before all men!"
+ "As black as the snow on the mountains, mother!"
+ "May he be hanged!--Dost hear, my daughter!"
+ "But hanged upon my neck, dear mother!"
+ "From grievous wounds he then shall suffer!"
+ "Let my own teeth, then, cause them, mother!"
+ "May the wild torrent take him, daughter!"
+ "And bring him home to me, my mother!"
+
+ J. W. W.
+
+
+
+
+ CV
+
+ THE NICEST FLOWER IN THE WORLD
+
+
+ A yellow orange by the sea
+ Vaunted much his beauty,
+ This boast the red, round apple heard,
+ Scolded the orange for his word,
+ "See my superiority!"
+
+ The apple's boast the meadow heard,
+ The meadow rich beflowered:
+ "Boast not, thou smooth, round apple red,
+ But see how I am carpeted,
+ So green and richly dowered!"
+
+ The meadow's boast the maiden heard:
+ "Deem'st flowery mead, so great thy worth!
+ Though sweetly thou art sure bedight,
+ Yet still I am the sweetest sight,
+ That can be found in all the earth."
+
+ These vaunts heard all a daring youth:
+ "This maid, I see she is in truth,
+ She is by far the sweetest flower
+ That can be found in all the earth.
+ That orange, I will bring it down,
+ That apple-tree, I'll root it up,
+ That meadow's flowers shall all be mown,
+ And thou, fair maid, shalt be mine own!"
+
+ J. W. W.
+
+
+
+
+ CVI
+
+ THE PRETTY TOMB
+
+
+ "Wait, my girl, I want to talk,
+ Though my talk will wound thee!"
+ "Speak, O Youth; I'll listen, speak!
+ Even though thou wound me"
+ "Well, I am about to die."
+ "Die! Where will they bury thee?"
+ "I pray to rest upon thy breast."
+ "Ah! blind and foolish is thy prayer!
+ That were unseemly cemet'ry.
+ My bosom is no graveyard lone,
+ An apple orchard is my breast
+ Where fruits do ripen, birds do rest!"
+
+ J. W. W.
+
+
+
+
+ CVII
+
+ TODA AND HER FATE
+
+
+ Many youths paid court to Toda,
+ She, the blithesome shepherd girl;
+ So with mirthful laugh she cried:
+ "The youth on whom my apple falls,
+ 'Tis henceforth he my heart enthralls."
+ Then Toda threw her apple red,
+ Which fell upon a grey-haired head.
+ Toda had not wished such love,
+ So sent him off to draw her water.
+ She sent him thus unto the river,
+ That no more trouble he might give her!
+ But safely back the old man came,
+ Brought the water, smiled and spake:
+ "O love me, Toda, love me, Toda."
+ Toda did not want to love him,
+ So sent him off to cut down branches,
+ Not caring should they fall upon him;
+ But safely back the old man came,
+ Brought the wood, and smiled and spake:
+ "O love me, Toda, little Toda!"
+ Toda did not want to love him,
+ So sent him to the war to fight,
+ Not caring what might be his plight:
+ But safely back the old man came,
+ Back from the war, and spake the same:
+ "O love me, Toda, Toda, love me!
+ That which must be, let it be."
+
+ J. W. W.
+
+
+
+
+ CVIII
+
+ THE VILA
+
+
+ Under the clouds there's nought to me
+ So handsome as a falcon bird.
+ A falcon I did wish to be,
+ And my wish by God was heard.
+ High to the clouds I flew,
+ And over the clouds too!
+ Then to a nut-tree I shot down.
+ Under the tree a vila sleeping!
+ Or else some being strange to me!
+ Oh, God Himself, and He alone, can say,
+ But she was fairer than the fairest summer day.
+
+ J. W. W.
+
+
+
+
+ CIX
+
+ THREE ROSES
+
+
+ Red Sun! too quickly art thou hasting down;
+ A little while prolong thy stay,
+ Smile from thy evening gate on me,
+ Till I've adorned with roses three--
+ Roses of silk in purest gold--
+ My darling's garment that I hold:
+ The first rose, a rose for my own country dear,
+ The second, a rose for sweet mother,
+ The third, the rose of my own bridal crown.
+ O stay, glad Sun! too quickly art thou going down!
+
+ J. W. W.
+
+
+
+
+ CX
+
+ HER DREAM
+
+
+ The girl awoke at dawn of day,
+ Aroused by trilling roundelay;
+ "Nightingale, oh, stop thy singing!
+ Stop thy singing, pray!
+ Cease thy songs, and fly away
+ To Cattaro, down by the bay.
+
+ To Cattaro now speed thy flight,
+ To tell the dream I've dreamt this night:
+ I found me in his garden gay,
+ Gathering fair roses;
+ With his eye he followed me,
+ As I passed from tree to tree.
+
+ I brought him then red roses fair,
+ And tied them in his steed's black hair.
+ Smiling, then a ring he gave me;
+ Ah, a ring so rare!
+ And he kissed me where I stood;
+ A kiss that made to me all good.
+
+ Smiling, yes, a kiss he gave me!
+ Than golden ring with diamond bright
+ More precious far in my heart's sight.
+ Stop singing, bird!
+ This is my dream; go, tell him so,
+ Go! wing thy way to Cattaro."
+
+ J. W. W.
+
+
+
+
+ CXI
+
+ TROUBLE WITH THE HUSBAND
+
+
+ I married last year,
+ This year I repent.
+ Bad husband have I,
+ With temper like nettle:
+ My lot I resent.
+
+ The frost kills the nettle,
+ But this husband of mine,
+ He thinks the frost fine:
+ By the stove all day long
+ He does nothing but sit,
+ And says that the frost
+ He minds not one bit!
+
+ In Celovec 'tis market-day,
+ 'Tis market-day to-morrow;
+ I will take my husband there,
+ And will either there him change,
+ Or else will sell him at the fair.
+ Not too cheap I'll let him go,
+ Because he was so hard to get;
+ Rather than too cheaply sell him,
+ Back home again I'll take the man,
+ And love him--howsomuch I can!
+
+ J. W. W.
+
+
+
+
+ CXII
+
+ THE PEACOCK AND THE NIGHTINGALE
+
+
+ How beautiful it is this evening-time!
+ The noblemen, they quaff the cool wine,
+ And to their knee there comes a little stag,
+ With golden peacock proudly on one shoulder,
+ While on the other, perching there as neighbour,
+ Behold a silver-throated nightingale!
+ Upon whom gazing, saith the peacock golden:
+ "How now, my silver-throated friend!
+ If mine it were to trill thy liquid note,
+ To every noble knight I'd sing a song,
+ And honour each in turn from my clear throat."
+ Answered the nightingale in silver voice:
+ "List, lustrous peacock in thy blue and gold!
+ If mine it were, that sheeny fan of thine,
+ Its golden feathers all I would pluck out,
+ And decorate these nobles round about."
+
+ J. W. W.
+
+
+
+
+ CXIII
+
+ THE FIRST TOAST
+
+
+ Rising at the banquet table,
+ Now acclaim we our first toast,
+ To our God's high honour drink we,
+ Only of His glory think we--
+ No first place to human boast!
+ To celebrate the Lord's great glory--
+ What equal duty to be found?
+ Say, all ye who sit around,
+ Save truly to have earned the dinner!
+
+ J. W. W.
+
+
+
+
+ CXIV
+
+ THE HOD[vZ]A[33]
+
+
+ In Mostar was a sheker-meyteph,[34]
+ Thirty young ladies were learning there,
+ Omer-effendia was their hod[vz]a,
+ And pretty Maru[vs]a their kalfa.[35]
+
+ One day Maru[vs]a opened the Koran:
+ "Tell us now, hod[vz]a, tell what is written!'
+ Hod[vz]a reads silently, then he speaks loudly:
+ "First page--The hod[vz]a is going to marry!
+
+ "Willeth so Allah, so willeth hod[vz]a--thus on page two!
+ And on page three--Whom will he marry, whom will he marry?
+ Thus on page three--He'll marry the pretty Maru[vs]a."
+
+ J. W. W.
+
+
+
+
+ CXV
+
+ WOES
+
+
+ Woe to the wolf that eats not flesh,
+ Woe to the knight who drinks not wine,
+ Woe to the maid who counteth love
+ No gift divine.
+
+ Woe to legs with a foolish head,
+ And woe to gilt on an unclean bed.
+
+ Woe to satin on humped shoulders.
+
+ Woe to the gun in a fearsome hand,
+ Woe to the strong in that village where
+ But cowards stand.
+
+ Woe to the mother-in-law in the house of her son-in-law.
+
+ Woe to the wolf whom the ravens feed,
+ And to the knight who children doth need
+ Him to defend.
+
+ Woe to the cock who strutteth on ice,
+ Woe to the nightingale singing in the mill;
+ In such a din, far better to be still!
+
+ J. W. W.
+
+
+
+
+ CXVI
+
+ HARD TO BELIEVE
+
+
+ A man ne'er born once told a tale
+ To seven stout ghosts so hearty and hale;
+ A ship went sailing 'mid greenwood trees,
+ While the burning sun her crew did freeze.
+ A horse danced o'er the billowy sea,
+ From him a duck with hoofs did flee.
+ From an empty cup two knights did quaff,
+ Served by a maid whose head was off.
+ Two wingless geese flew up in the sky,
+ As a legless hero ran hard by;
+ While near him scampered two roasted hares,
+ Hotly pursued by three dogs in pairs.
+ Then to the deaf man the dumb man spoke:
+ "What a monstrous lie! but I hope it's a joke."
+
+ J. W. W.
+
+
+
+
+ CXVII
+
+ THE CONDITIONS
+
+
+ Listen, listen man of God,
+ If thou wouldest serve thy God,
+ In thy lifetime do thou good,
+ And revere thine elder brother,
+ So thy younger thee revere.
+ Neither boast when fortune smileth,
+ Nor complain in days of trouble;
+ Grasp not an another's good;
+ For when death befalleth man,
+ Nought he takes from out the world,
+ Save his deeds and crossed white hands--
+ When he goeth to the Judgment,
+ Where king's rank is unaccounted,
+ Rich men can no more be proud,
+ Poor men be no more despised.
+
+ J. W. W.
+
+
+
+
+ CXVIII
+
+ PRAYER BEFORE GOING TO BED
+
+
+ With a cross I lay me down,
+ With a cross I get me up,
+ All day long it doth protect,
+ And angels in the night are near;
+ Archangels, they shall ward my death,
+ And God's my guard till all things end.
+
+ J. W. W.
+
+
+
+
+ CXIX
+
+ VISION BEFORE SLEEP
+
+
+ To sleep I laid me down,
+ Making my prayer to God;
+ I called upon His angels;
+ Heaven was unveiled to me;
+ The Seraphim, they worshipped there,
+ And prayed this prayer to Christ our Lord:
+ "While he doth rest, all through his sleep,
+ Frome visions dark do Thou him keep."
+
+ J. W. W.
+
+
+
+
+ CXX
+
+ PRAYER IN THE FIELD
+
+
+ We pray unto the Heavenly Lord,
+ Koledo, Koledo![36]
+ Dew to send upon our fields,
+ Koledo!
+ To give grain to wheat and maize,
+ Koledo, Koledo!
+ To give fruits in all the glades,
+ Koledo!
+ To give colours to the flowers,
+ Koledo, Koledo!
+ To give health to sheep and cattle,
+ Koledo!
+ And pardon, joy and song to all,
+ Koledo, Koledo!
+
+ J. W. W.
+
+
+
+
+ CXXI
+
+ A CHILD IN HEAVEN
+
+
+ Yesternight was born a Child,
+ But it passed from earth at morn,
+ Unbaptized to heaven's door.
+ "Open, heavenly watchman, open!"
+ "Nay, foolish babe, thou must away!
+ Sinful thou art, away, away!"
+
+ "Foolish I am--but sinful, nay;
+ Born yesternight, I died to-day;
+ In the green forest I was born,
+ Where no sponsor, where no priest;
+ Therefore unbaptized I come!"
+
+ Then the heavenly watcher answered:
+ "Go thou yet a short way on;
+ Go on, my babe, and thou shalt find
+ Three watersprings; from one to drink,
+ From one to wash, the third a font of blessing.
+ The first shall breast-milk be to thee;
+ The second is thy mother's tears,
+ And from the third thou shalt baptized be,
+ And joyful entrance gain to heaven."
+
+ J. W. W.
+
+
+
+
+ CXXII
+
+ CHRISTMAS
+
+
+ Why trembleth so the earth,
+ Set in this sphere of blue?
+ Christ our God was born hereon,
+ He, the Virgin's Holy Son,
+ Christ Who heaven and earth created,
+ And us sinners on the earth.
+ In awe when He shall come to judge,
+ We all shall stand before Him then,
+ Both righteous and unrighteous men.
+
+ J. W. W.
+
+
+
+
+ CXXIII
+
+ CHRIST THINKS OF HIS MOTHER
+
+
+ On angel wing in upward flight
+ Rise soul and body of our Lord,
+ When piercing heaven with high gaze,
+ He calleth for one down to go,
+ Down to darksome Golgotha,
+ Where Mary bending near the Cross,
+ Weepeth in bitter agony:
+ "Let herald hasten now to tell her
+ I am risen unto heaven."
+ Great Michael heard, two angels sent,
+ Swift to convey the tidings glad:
+ "O thou of women all most blest,
+ Let not thy heart with fear be filled;
+ From the tomb thy Son is risen,
+ Risen to the Father's throne,
+ Saving men from Death's dominion."
+
+ J. W. W.
+
+
+
+
+ CXXIV
+
+ THE BLESSED MARY AND JOHN THE BAPTIST
+
+
+ The Blessed Mary sent an angel
+ Unto John the Camel-girdled--
+ "God's wish it is, and my wish too,
+ That thou shouldst now my Son baptize."
+ John went responsive to the river,
+ Down into Jordan with the Christ,
+ And there upon him with his Lord,
+ Open wide the gate of heaven,
+ The roseate sun did light the east,
+ Sign of that Spirit-first of which spake John,
+ Whose purging heat doth purify from sin,
+ And in Jordan's flowing river
+ Man's sin was taken all away!
+ Our salvation is in heaven!
+ Save, O God, all trusting souls,
+ Save them from the devil's toils.
+
+ J. W. W.
+
+
+
+
+ CXXV
+
+ THE HOLY MOTHER
+
+
+ Sadly walked the Holy Mother
+ On the Holy Mountain.
+ Suddenly espied she something
+ Brightly shining in the dust:
+ The Cross, it was, of her own Son.
+ With gentlest hands she caressed it,
+ She did wash it with her tears,
+ And after dried it with her hair.
+ Kneeling then she uttered prayer.
+ Speaking to the Holy Cross:
+ "O sweet Cross, thou Cross of honour,
+ Upon thee my Son has died,
+ Hellish pains on thee He suffered,
+ Hellish pains from those hot nails,
+ To redeem our sinful souls.
+ When He did upon thee bleed,
+ His blood it fell in priceless seed,
+ Whence there sprang all lovely flowers,
+ And angels, coming down to gather,
+ Made them into wreathes and garlands
+ That they might adorn all heaven."
+
+ J. W. W.
+
+
+
+
+ CXXVI
+
+ DREAM OF THE HOLY VIRGIN
+
+
+ The Holy Virgin dreaming slept,
+ And in her dream a great tree grew,
+ Its branches from her own heart crept,
+ O'er spreading earth, north, south, east, west,
+ And piercing, spire-like, heaven's blue.
+ Sore troubled by her dream she rose
+ And sought straightway a saintly brother;
+ "Hear Saint Basil, my brother hear!
+ Let me tell my vision wondrous
+ I dreamed and lo! a great tree grew,
+ Its branches from my own heart crept,
+ O'erspreading earth north, south, east, west,
+ And towering up through heaven's blue.
+ What saith this vision Saint, to you?"
+ Then Basil answered to the Virgin:
+ "O sister dear, thy vision's clear:
+ 'A tree did spring from thy warm heart?'
+ To bear the Christ shall be thy part.
+ 'Those spreading branches covering all?'
+ Sinners He'll save from evil's thrall.
+ 'That height spire-piercing heaven's blue?'
+ To God the Father Christ shall rise
+ Passing from earth and fleshly view."
+
+ J. W. W.
+
+
+
+
+ CXXVII
+
+ MOTHER AT THE TOMB OF HER SON
+
+
+ Alas! my son, how fareth it with thee,
+ In thy new dwelling, new and strange and dark?
+ Strange thy dwelling without windows!
+ At daybreak, Vinko, thy sad mother rose,
+ Her earliest thought as but of thee,
+ Her first thought, Vinko; Vinko her first call!
+ Thorns are growing at the house-door,
+ Cuckoos mourn around the house,
+ Downcast thy brothers wait for thee,
+ To talk with thee, to walk with thee--
+ But now that ne'er can be.
+ With head bent down and brow o'ercast,
+ They make their way--for where art thou!
+ In ashes our hearth fire is hidden,
+ And when I saw the sun this morning,
+ I thought: It is the moon,
+ When thy sisters said to me:
+ "Dim thine eyes, it is the sun!"
+ "For me no sun," said I to them,
+ "Pale in the dust now is my sun,
+ No light have I above the earth."
+ Down in thy dwelling, oh my son,
+ Say, is it cold, my Sun, my Sun;
+ If it be cold as is my breast
+ It is too cold, too cold to rest.[37]
+
+ J. W. W.
+
+
+
+
+ CXXVIII
+
+ MOTHER OVER HER DEAD SON
+
+
+ Where art thou flying? Where, oh where?
+ My falcon?
+ To what silent land and lone?
+ Say, hero mine!
+ Around thy friends and brothers ask me:
+ How shall I answer them!
+ "Where goes Perko? Tell us, Mother!"
+ Woe to me, oh woe to me!
+ If I answered, I might blame thee!
+ How blame _thee_?
+ Alway thou askedst me: May I go here--or should
+ I stay?
+ I knew thy way!
+ But now thou askedst not; nor may I give thee
+ "Yea" or "nay,"--
+ O blank, blank day!
+ Better, child, I went to thee, than to stay
+ As mother here
+ Having lost the light of day!
+
+ J. W. W.
+
+
+
+
+ CXXIX
+
+ MOTHER'S LAMENT FOR HER SON
+
+
+ Wherefore do I marvel, wherefore need I wonder?
+ Traveller the dearest!
+ That through this lower world already thou hast sped,
+ Ray of light the fleetest!
+ Together we'd a little talk, but we looked for more,
+ Thou my golden store!
+ To the realms of heaven thou from earth art gone,
+ Thou my heaven and earth!
+ Thou thy flight hast taken, sure, to a land of flowers,
+ Dearest of my flowers!
+ Thy journey leadeth up to God, unto the blest in Paradise,
+ Thou my Paradise!
+ Thou shalt behold the Judgment Place,
+ Merciful my son!
+ Soon shalt reach those halls of rest,
+ Thou who gav'st me labour!
+ There shalt find the noble dead,
+ Thou my sweetest life!
+ Greet them all, the rich and poor,
+ Best of all my riches!
+ Salute the noblemen and princes.
+ Thou my prince of princes!
+
+ J. W. W.
+
+
+
+
+ CXXX
+
+ GREATEST GRIEF FOR A BROTHER
+
+
+ O'er Neven woods the sun went down,
+ The sun went down behind the forest,
+ As came the heroes off the sea.
+ The young wife counted anxiously,
+ The wife of George the Hospodar,
+ Counted the warriors, found them all,
+ Save her three treasures who were missing.
+ She could not find her Hospodar
+ Nor the best man at their wedding,
+ And the third treasure was not there;
+ This treasure was her dearest brother.
+ For her brave lord she cuts her tresses,
+ For her best man she wounds her cheeks,
+ And for her brother puts out both her eyes.
+ She cuts her hair, it grows again;
+ She wounds her cheeks, the wounds do heal;
+ But none can heal those hurt blind eyes,
+ Nor yet her heart for her lost brother.
+
+ J. W. W.
+
+
+
+
+ CXXXI
+
+ THE DEATH CHAMBER OF HER FATHER-IN-LAW
+
+
+ Why art thou thus attired?
+ My more than father!
+ Why art thou thus bedight, so knightly armed?
+ My fearless knight!
+ Thou art departing for the city?
+ My shining city!
+ In order there to meet the lords and knights,
+ O my wise lord!
+ Or go'st thou to a marriage feast?
+ My pride, my noble guest!
+ --But why! thine eyes are closed to me!
+ O closed, O closed to me!
+ And--can it be!--thy mouth is bound!
+ This black, black morning!
+ If thou art gone, and com'st not back--
+ How empty is the house!
+ How is it thou couldst leave us so?
+ To us, O woe, O woe!
+ Far, far thy journey, and the end not here!
+ But better is it there!
+ Mother and father, they will greet thee there,
+ Among the Blest!
+ Thy brothers, too, and children in celestial light,--
+ O blessed, blessed sight!
+ Thee will they greet: we in their thoughts shall be,
+ O heavenly harmony!
+ But thou wilt stay, and ne'er return to us,
+ O woe, O woe to us!
+
+ J. W. W.
+
+
+
+
+ CXXXII
+
+ KOLEDO
+
+
+ The king came to court our Margaret fair,
+ Koledo, Koledo!
+ And mother sang clear to our Margaret fair:
+ Koledo, Koledo!
+ "Oh, Margaret, haste! my daughter dear,
+ Koledo, Koledo!
+ The King, he has come to court you here,
+ Koledo, Koledo!"
+ Then thus sweet Margaret to mother's call:
+ "Koledo, Koledo!
+ I told you, mother mine, I told you,
+ Koledo, Koledo!
+ I want not kings, I want not knights,
+ Koledo, Koledo!
+ 'Tis Jesus Himself alone doth bind me,
+ Koledo, Koledo!
+ I've vowed to Him, true shall He find me,
+ Koledo, Koledo!"
+
+ J. W. W.
+
+
+
+
+ CXXXIII
+
+ A HORSE'S COMPLAINT
+
+
+ A horse left his knight on Kossovo,
+ On a dreadsome place on Kossovo.
+ Finding his steed, the knight put question:
+ "O horse of mine, my greatest treasure,
+ Why hast thou left me here so lonely,
+ In this deadsome place on Kossovo?
+ What have I done thus to displease thee?
+ Say, horse of mine, why didst thou leave me?
+ Did press my saddle hard upon thee?
+ Thy jewelled bridle, was it heavy?
+ Or have I ridden thee too far?"
+ To his knight the horse made answer:
+ "Thy saddle pressed not hard upon me,
+ Thy jewelled bridle was not heavy,
+ Nor hast thou ridden me too far.
+ But this it is that doth displease me:
+ So oft thou tarriest at the tavern,
+ While I am tethered at the door.
+ Three maidens fair are dwelling there,
+ Whose beauty makes thee all forgetful,
+ While I am out here cold and fretful;
+ Then angrily I paw the earth,
+ And eat the grass down to its root,
+ And drink the water dry as stone,
+ While thou dost leave me here alone."
+
+ J. W. W.
+
+
+
+
+ CXXXIV
+
+ A DANCE AT VIDIN
+
+
+ One day at Vidin they did dance the Kolo:
+ "Oh, let me, mother, go and see!"
+ "There is thy brother, go with him!"
+ "My brother! he can stay at home,
+ I do not want to go with him."
+
+ One day at Vidin they did dance the Kolo:
+ "Oh! let me, mother, go and see!"
+ "There is thy father, go with him!"
+ "Oh, let my father stay at home,
+ I do not want to go with him."
+
+ One day at Vidin they did dance the Kolo:
+ "Oh! let me, mother, go and see!"
+ "There is thy darling, go with him!"
+ "Oh, come, my sweetheart, come with me!
+ I'll dance the Kolo there with thee!"
+
+ J. W. W.
+
+
+
+
+ CXXXV
+
+ THE PRICE
+
+
+ How many towns from here to the coast?
+ Seventy-seven sunlit towns,
+ And villages green a thousand!
+ And all of these I'd give for the street
+ Where I my sweetheart first did meet,
+ And e'en the street I'd give as the price
+ To meet him again--aye, but for a trice!
+
+ J. W. W.
+
+
+
+
+ CXXXVI
+
+ PREFERENCES
+
+
+ Three maids were talking on a night,
+ Upon a silvery moonlight night.
+ They walked and talked of many things,
+ They asked what each preferred to have.
+ Two did listen to the eldest:
+ "A castle white is what I'd like."
+ Then two did hear the second say:
+ "'Tis velvet blue with gold I like."
+ Then two listened to the youngest:
+ "A sweetheart true I would prefer.
+ Should the castle all be ruined,
+ My darling would rebuild it up;
+ The velvet would with time wear out,
+ My darling he could buy me more--
+ A sweetheart true is richer store!"
+
+ J. W. W.
+
+
+
+
+ CXXXVII
+
+ A BRIDE'S DEVOTION
+
+
+ A Bride most fair fed a swan and a lion,
+ A swan and a lion and a falcon grey.
+ To her came merchants from far away:
+ "Sell us, sweet maid, your swan and your lion,
+ This swan and this lion and falcon grey!"
+ "Ye men from afar, go away, go away,
+ My godfather cometh to see me wed,
+ And this lion I tend till the time be sped;
+ And for my true friend who best man shall be,
+ This white swan I keep, and for none but he!
+ But this falcon grey ye covet so much,
+ 'Tis my true love's own; none shall it touch."
+
+ J. W. W.
+
+
+
+
+ CXXXVIII
+
+ FIDELITY
+
+
+ A youth to God did pray,
+ About his sweetheart dear,
+ That he the gem might be
+ Which trembled in her ear.
+
+ He wished to be the beads
+ Reposing on her breast,
+ That he might hear her say
+ That she loved him best.
+
+ The prayer he prayed was heard
+ A pearl beside the shore,
+ His darling picked him up,
+ And on her necklet bore.
+
+ He listened and he heard
+ How true her loving heart:
+ She told the other maids
+ She ne'er from him would part.
+
+ J. W. W.
+
+
+
+
+ CXXXIX
+
+ A SISTER'S LAMENT
+
+
+ Sister was I of kingly brothers three,
+ But now my kings are gone from me,
+ Woe, woe, woe!
+
+ Better kingdoms they are asking,
+ Better work than this world's tasking,
+ And God will grant it, where they go,
+ Better service He'll bestow,
+ But for me, alas! Oh! woe!
+
+ So kingly brothers ne'er were known,
+ Now my heart breaketh here alone.
+ This world for me too dark is now,
+ And I took dark for it, I trow!
+ Woe, woe, woe!
+
+ J. W. W.
+
+
+
+
+ CXL
+
+ THE PRAYER OF KARAGEORGE'S LADY[38]
+
+
+ Prayed of God the Karageorge's Lady!
+ "Give me, God, to bear a maiden lovely,
+ Patternized by Carapi['c]a Vasa,
+ Grant us, O God, to choose name of beauty,
+ Name of beauty, precious gold of mother.
+ When shall come the baby, christen'd Goldie,
+ Swaddling clothes her mother will then make her,
+ Flowing clothes of linen for her infant,
+ All of silk and cloth of gold so beauteous,
+ As she's Goldie let gold bless her slumber.
+ When she's come to her little cradle,
+ Then her mother will make little cradle,
+ Little cradle of gold will she make her,
+ As she's Goldie, let cradle be golden.
+ When Goldie is grown up to be spinner,
+ Spinning-wheel her mother then will make her,
+ Of gold will she make her golden spindle,
+ As she's Goldie let her wheel be golden.
+ When Goldie knows how to embroider,
+ Golden frame her mother will then make her,
+ Of gold will she make her spinning trinket,
+ As she's Goldie, may her work be golden."[39]
+
+ B. S. S.
+
+
+
+
+ CXLI
+
+ THOU ART EVER, EVER MINE[40]
+
+
+ O my girl, O my soul,
+ What does mother say to you?
+ Will she marry you to me?
+ Her son-in-law can I be?
+ She might give you, she might not,
+ Thou art ever, ever mine!
+
+ B. S. S.
+
+
+
+
+ CXLII
+
+ SEA MERCHANT[41]
+
+
+ Listen, my girl, listen, my beauty!
+ Thy eyes are corals in the sea,
+ I am a merchant on the sea
+ Buying the riches of the sea.
+
+ Listen, my girl, listen, my beauty!
+ Thy teeth are tiniest pearls,
+ I am a merchant on the sea
+ Buying tiniest pearls of the sea.
+
+ Listen, my girl, listen, my beauty!
+ Thy hands are whiter than the wool,
+ I am a merchant on the sea
+ Trading in wool o'er the sea.
+
+ B. S. S.
+
+
+
+
+ CXLIII
+
+ ANGELA AS WATCHMAN[42]
+
+
+ Falcon is winging high,
+ But the fortress gates are higher;
+ And Angela is watching there
+ Aureoled in sunshine,
+ Belted with the moonbeams,
+ And flowering with the stars.
+
+ B. S. S.
+
+
+
+
+ CXLIV
+
+ A LAD AND HIS BETROTHED[43]
+
+
+ Little lad is wandering
+ Through a wooded copse,
+ Strutting with a green bough
+ Walking down the slopes.
+ Looking on a courtyard
+ Sees young Jana sweeping:
+
+ "O thou pearl, my sweet one,
+ Whence my ring in keeping?"
+ Thus she answered proudly:
+ "May thy brother know, perchance,
+ And should it bring God's blessing
+ He'll join our wedding dance."
+
+ B. S. S.
+
+
+
+
+ CXLV
+
+ DIREFUL SICKNESS[44]
+
+
+ What shall I do, what shall I do?
+ My nights are sleepless,
+ My heart is so restless--
+ Ah, sorrow, anew,
+ I'll die,
+ My love, for you.
+
+ B. S. S.
+
+
+
+
+ CXLVI
+
+ ALL AS IT SHOULD BE[45]
+
+
+ When the sun sets at even,
+ My love is just coming to me
+ And when the moon has passed Heaven
+ My lover is going from me.
+ So the paths are all darken'd with shadow,
+ Just as it should be, should be
+ In shadow that no one can see.
+
+ B. S. S.
+
+
+
+
+ CXLVII
+
+ BEAUTY PREENS HERSELF[46]
+
+
+ For whom powders face so lovely, Beauty?
+ For whom has she dropped her hair on shoulder,
+ For whom is she wearing charms in bosom?
+ Is it for Valach, or for a Magyar?
+ It is not for Valach nor for Magyar,
+ It is for this Stojan, mighty reaper,
+ Who in Kolo always takes the leadship,
+ When he's playing, every heart is touched.
+ When he's dancing, dances like a puppet.
+
+ B. S. S.
+
+
+
+
+ CXLVIII
+
+ HARVEST SONG[47]
+
+
+ Hurry, hurry, robust harvesters,
+ At field's end there's water and a maiden,
+ Cooling water, and a maiden youthful,
+ Drink ye water, and embrace your maiden.
+
+ B. S. S.
+
+
+
+
+ CXLIX
+
+ LONG NIGHT[48]
+
+
+ These are long nights, these are long nights,
+ For him who does not kiss black eyes,
+ He it is who cannot slumber,
+ For his heart is pierced with sorrow.
+
+ B. S. S.
+
+
+
+
+ CL
+
+ EYEBROW LURE[49]
+
+
+ Oh, my girl, my sweetest flower,
+ Curl not ends of eyebrow bower,
+ Do not grieve your youthful laddies,
+ As your way doth torment me:
+ Leading horse, I wander barefoot--
+ Carrying boots, I wander barefoot--
+ Bearing bread, I cannot eat it--
+ Treading water, cannot drink it.
+
+ B. S. S.
+
+
+
+
+ CLI
+
+ GIRLHOOD[50]
+
+
+ Girlhood was my golden tsardom!
+ Tsar was I while girlhood lasted;
+ Ah, if I could turn me backward,
+ Well I know how I'd live girlhood.
+
+ B. S. S.
+
+
+
+
+ CLII
+
+ YOUTH WITH YOUTH[51]
+
+
+ On the river Sitnitsa
+ Little green fir standeth!
+ Who's young and stripling,
+ Youth with green youth sleepeth.
+ Ah, but see that youthful Jovo,
+ All alone is he,
+ Seeing that the youthful Mara
+ Joins him secretly.
+
+ B. S. S.
+
+
+
+
+ CLIII
+
+ COME, MY LOVER, TO ME[52]
+
+
+ Full and thick is shadow,
+ Come, my love, to meadow,
+ For I've a verdant garden,
+ Red roses for a warden;
+ Golden kerchief will I make thee,
+ Christmas gift of love from me,
+ To carry so splendidly
+ In the memory of thy darling.
+
+ B. S. S.
+
+
+
+
+ CLIV
+
+ SIGHS[53]
+
+
+ Oh my heart, I feel me sighing,
+ Methinks that my lover calls me to him,
+ But in truth my sweetheart's love hath ceased.
+ Cried out falcon from a fir branch lofty:
+ "O girl lovely! Sinfully you are speaking,
+ Only past night your love called you lovely,
+ Drinking wine unto your bounteous pleasure:
+ 'O my girl, my soul of me most dearest,
+ I have made for thee a hiding,
+ Half my bed and half my arm,
+ Half a pillow, half a cover,
+ Half a cushion, heart of mine in bosom.'"
+
+ B. S. S.
+
+
+
+
+ CLV
+
+ A BOUQUET OF LITTLE ROSES[54]
+
+
+ O girl of my soul, my soul,
+ Take this bunch of rosebuds neat,
+ Should thy bouquet fade and fail,
+ Come once more, my soul, to me
+ I will pluck again for thee.
+
+ B. S. S.
+
+
+
+
+ CLVI
+
+ DREAM INTERPRETATION[55]
+
+
+ Darling sweetheart on his free arm sleeping,
+ Makes he motion to sound gong in waking:
+ "Awake, my dear, dearer than mine own eyes,
+ Last night I a strange dream was a-dreaming:
+ My fez swept 'way on the troubled water,
+ Pearls were strewing richly in my lap-robe,
+ And my watch in pieces four was broken."
+ Sweetheart waking, calmly speaking this-wise:
+ "Easy is it to interpret dreaming,
+ That your fez was swept by troubled water
+ Means you're to go forth to battle army;
+ That pearls richly scatter'd in your lap-robe
+ Must mean our tears, thine with mine are mingling;
+ That your watch in pieces four was broken
+ Means in truth that our hearts will be breaking
+ When we're forced to take leave of each other."
+
+ B. S. S.
+
+
+
+
+ CLVII
+
+ WITH SWEETHEART NIGHTS ARE SHORTEST[56]
+
+
+ Cyclone downward rumbling,
+ All the castle trembling.
+ In castle is a girl
+ Crying, never ceasing:
+ "Alas, how long nights are!
+ When sleeping near to papa;
+ On nine soft mattresses,
+ On nine softest cushions,
+ 'Neath nine fine coverlets."
+
+ "Alas, how long nights are!
+ When sleeping near to mother;
+ On nine soft mattresses,
+ On nine softest cushions,
+ 'Neath nine fine coverlets."
+
+ "Alas, how long nights are!
+ When sleeping near to brother;
+ On nine soft mattresses,
+ On nine softest cushions,
+ 'Neath nine fine coverlets."
+
+ "Alas, how long nights are!
+ When sleeping near to sister;
+ On nine soft mattresses,
+ On nine softest cushions,
+ 'Neath nine fine coverlets."
+
+ Cyclone downward rumbling,
+ All the castle trembling.
+ In castle is a girl
+ Crying, never ceasing:
+ "Alas, how short the nights are!
+ Sleeping with my darling,
+ Just on single mattress,
+ On a single pillow,
+ 'Neath a single cover."
+
+ B. S. S.
+
+
+
+
+ CLVIII
+
+ DAWN AWAKENED LAZAR[57]
+
+
+ 'Wakening Lazar dawn was stealing:
+ "Get up, Lazar; rise up, Lazar!
+ Horse of thine has thirst for water."
+ Forthwith up leaps Lazar quickly,
+ Grasps his horse's bridle lightly,
+ Leading horse, he goes to water,
+ But at water's edge was maiden,
+ With his foot he touched hers gently,
+ Kissed the while her black eyes sparkling,
+ Clasping her about the bosom.
+
+ B. S. S.
+
+
+
+
+ CLIX
+
+ A DEVILISH YOUNG MATRON[58]
+
+
+ When I lived a girl with mother,
+ Good advice was given me often,
+ That I should not drink the red wine,
+ That I should not wear green wreathlets,
+ That I shouldn't kiss a stranger.
+ But I poor girl deeply thinking over:
+ There's no red cheek without red wine sparkling,
+ There's no pleasure without green wreath glistening,
+ Neither amour without stranger wooer.
+
+ B. S. S.
+
+
+
+
+ CLX
+
+ GIRL IS ETERNAL POSSESSION[59]
+
+
+ In a garden works a maiden,
+ Digging furrow, water decoy,
+ To the garden 'luring water,
+ To give drink to early flowers,
+ Early flowers, whitest basil,
+ Whitest basil, gold carnation;
+ Where she's furrowing, there she's sleeping.
+ Putting head in sweetest basil,
+ Hands are lying in carnations,
+ Feet are plac'd in shallow hollow,
+ Covered with a fragile kerchief;
+ Beat upon her dew-drops slender,
+ Like a rain-soaked watermelon.
+ Now there comes a callow youth,
+ Callow youth and not yet married,
+ Grasping two posts, leaps the railing,
+ Springing lightly into garden,
+ Then commences soliloquizing:
+ "Should I pluck a bunch of flowers?
+ Should I kiss a sleeping maiden?
+ Bunch of flowers lasts till mid-day,
+ But a maiden lasts forever."
+
+ B. S. S.
+
+
+
+
+ CLXI
+
+ JOVO AND MARIA[60]
+
+
+ Breeze fans up o'er roses 'long the meadow,
+ To the rich white tent of Jovo, youthful,
+ Where there's Jovo with Maria sitting:
+ Jovo writing and Maria sewing;
+ Ink runs short for Jovo where he's writing,
+ And Maria golden thread is losing,
+ Then to Maria, Jovo thus is speaking:
+ "Oh, my Maria, mine own cherish'd lov'd one!
+ Is my soul to thee a dear possession?
+ For a pillow is my right hand doughty?"
+ Mara to him gently whispering slowly:
+ "Believe me, Jovo, darling of my heart-throb,
+ Dearer to me is thy soul much dearer,
+ Than are altogether four of brothers;
+ Softer to me thy own right hand doughty,
+ Than four softest pillows of my choosing."
+
+ B. S. S.
+
+
+
+
+ CLXII
+
+ ROSE TREE[61]
+
+
+ Planted rose-tree midst of Novi-Sad town,
+ O my rose-bud, O my sorrow rose tree,
+ Cannot pick you, neither give you sweetheart:
+ For my sweetie vents her anger on me,
+ Gliding past my courtyard stealthy,
+ Like the slave who passes Turkish graveyard.
+
+ B. S. S.
+
+
+
+
+ CLXIII
+
+ DARLING'S WRATH[62]
+
+
+ O my darling, be not wrathful;
+ Should I, myself, show my hot displeasure,
+ All of Bosnia never could appease us,
+ Not all Bosnia nor the Hercegovina.
+
+ B. S. S.
+
+
+
+
+ CLXIV
+
+ LAD PIERCED WITH ARROW[63]
+
+
+ Alas hero I'm with arrow pierced,
+ O my Yetsa, thy white face is guilty,
+ Thy black eye-balls are the piercing arrows,
+ Thy white arms are now a very torment.
+ Come, my love bird, to my white court homing,
+ Come to heal my heart's own sore displeasure,
+ To bind up my wounds with thy throat's whiteness,
+ To salve suffering with thy honey kisses.
+
+ B. S. S.
+
+
+
+
+ CLXV
+
+ NOUGHT BUT KISSES[64]
+
+
+ Up and down went youth in mountain,
+ In a garden, girl round fountain;
+ On her threw he hawthorn red,--
+ Lightly answering, blackthorn sped,--
+ Think you they intend to kill?
+ Nought but kisses that they will.
+
+ B. S. S.
+
+
+
+
+ CLXVI
+
+ UNITED[65]
+
+
+ Little girl, the small black-eyed,
+ Hero, wondering stupefied:
+ 'Had we means of barter!
+ To lead us near together!
+ I my life long would not quit her,
+ None could make our friendship wither.'
+
+ B. S. S.
+
+
+
+
+ CLXVII
+
+ GIRL PLEADS WITH JEWELLER[66]
+
+
+ Oh, my jeweller, for your trade's sake, listen!
+ Make me hero, all of gold my hero,
+ I will spoil him, as his mother dares not,
+ I will kiss him until dawns the twilight,
+ Till day breaks ever will caress him.
+
+ B. S. S.
+
+
+
+
+ CLXVIII
+
+ WIFE DEARER THAN SISTER[67]
+
+
+ Lo! behold behind the forest
+ Someone loudly screams--
+ "'Tis a voice," says youthful hero,
+ "Girlish-like it seems."
+ When behold! he looked and spied her,
+ Tiny girl, tree-bound they'd tied her,
+ With fine silken seams.
+ Hear! she prays of youthful hero, dazzled by his might:
+ "Come to me, thou youthful hero, O most beauteous, wonderknight.
+ Come to free me, youthful hero, and I'll be thy sister true."
+ Thus she spake, but laughing he, "O, there's one at home like you."
+ "Come to free me then, my brother; sister-in-law I'll be no other."
+ ('But at home she sits by mother.')
+ "Then I'll be thy golden bride.
+ Take me to thy meadows wide,
+ Take me to thy castles white,
+ Take me, take me from this plight."
+ So she spake to gallant lover,
+ Hovering near and just above her,
+ Clasps her in his arms to love her--
+ Such a gallant knight!
+
+ B. S. S.
+
+
+
+
+ CLXIX
+
+ GREATEST SORROW[68]
+
+
+ All young heroes here save mine,
+ All young gallant heroes brave.
+ O! that I were sure he'd tarry,
+ Lingering in some sickness grave,
+ Rather than the wish to marry
+ Sends him courting another maid.
+ O! may he be too ill to travel,
+ May him dread illness cause to pine,
+ Rather than to court another,
+ Never, never to be mine.
+
+ B. S. S.
+
+
+
+
+ CLXX
+
+ YOUTH AND GIRL[69]
+
+
+ O maiden, thou gentlest rose
+ When thou wert growing what didst thou behold?
+ Hast thou observed a pine-tree growing
+ Or the slender, proud fir-tree blowing,
+ Or did'st gaze at my youngest brother?--
+
+ O glad, young hero, brilliant Sun!
+ Never at the pine-tree blowing
+ Have I look'd in wonder gazing
+ Neither at the slender fir-tree,
+ Nor thy youngest brother, free,
+ Rather have I grown to suit thee,
+ Tender knight, to suit but thee.
+
+ B. S. S.
+
+
+
+
+NOTES
+
+
+[Footnote 1: This song as also those signed "S. J. B." has been
+transversified and published by (Sir) John Bowring, "Servian Popular
+Poetry," London, 1827.]
+
+[Footnote 2: The Serbian peasants, especially women, firmly believe that
+saints, parents, rulers, bishops and clergymen have the privilege of
+cursing and that the person to whom the curse is addressed is bound to
+undergo the consequences pronounced by the curser. There are several
+instances in the Serbian heroic ballads by which it is proven that the
+national Serbian bards, and indeed all the peasants who participated in
+the composition of their epic poetry, believe that curses pronounced by
+privileged persons always come true. Thus in the ballad _Uros and
+Mrnjavcevici_ King Vukasin of Macedonia, angry with his son Marko
+Kralyevich because the latter, when chosen for arbiter, said that the
+imperial crown belonged to Carevic Uros and not to him (Vukasin),
+exclaimed:
+
+ "O son Marko, may God smother thee!
+ Mayest thou have no tomb, nor progeny
+ May thy soul not leave thy body
+ Before thou hast served the Turkish emperor!"
+
+While Marko's kingly father cursed him, Carevic Uros blesses him thus:
+
+ "O my Kum Marko, God second thee!
+ Thy face shine at divan
+ Thy sabre smother in duels!
+ May no one excel thee in heroism
+ Thy name be reverently remembered.
+ As long as Sun and Moon shine!"
+
+And the bard finishes his poem with, "Whatever they said, it came true."
+
+Another oral tradition tells us how a nobleman _Velimir Bogati_ (Velimir
+the Rich) who once refused hospitality to Knez Lazar, the emperor of
+Serbia (1389), was cursed by the noble prince and how Velimir's first
+son indeed drowned himself in the river Lepenica, his second son fell
+from his horse and died in consequence of the accident and how his
+third, and now only son, was imprisoned by his father in one of the
+remotest towers of his castle in order to avoid any danger of
+experiencing the prince's curse. One day, however, Velimir Bogati
+brought to his imprisoned son some grapes from his own vineyard, in
+order that the poor young fellow should at least know what time of the
+year it was, and lo! while the boy was eating the grapes a small viper
+jumped out of the bunch and mortally bit him. The news of the sudden
+death of the young nobleman spread rapidly amongst the neighboring
+villages and fortified the peasants in their belief that one cannot
+escape the curse.
+
+Par extension a _kletva_ (curse) can be effective even if pronounced, as
+in the above song, by other persons than those privileged.
+
+Another saga narrates how a peasant greedily coveted and wished to
+appropriate a corn field that belonged to his neighbour and, in order to
+attain his evil end, he buried in the middle of that field his only son
+whom he had previously taught what to say when interrogated. The judge
+and the plaintiffs came with the defender to the spot and the
+mischievous peasant in order to mystify those present, exclaimed: "O
+black earth, speak of thy own free will, to whom dost thou rightly
+belong?"
+
+"I belong to thee," the voice from below was heard.
+
+The lawful owner, hearing this, started aback. And the judge's verdict
+appointed the field to belong to the covetous and wrong claimant. And
+the parties dispersed in wonder.
+
+Then the father began to dig the ground in order to disinter his son.
+But--there was not the shadow of one! He called loudly and the child
+answered the call but the voice from beneath the earth was ever fainter
+and fainter. Finally the child turned to a mole.
+
+Thus became, according to Serbian tradition, the first mole. (Edit.)]
+
+[Footnote 3: Sir John Bowring, although a remarkable transversifier and
+at times a true interpreter of popular songs of the Slavs, has taken too
+much of that _licentia poetica_ in his rendering of this, one of the
+most beautiful lyrics ever composed by Serbian peasant women. The reader
+may judge for himself, when comparing Sir John Bowring's liberal
+transversification with the following _verbatim_ translation (which he,
+himself, felt absolutely indispensable to reproduce) what a great
+injustice is inflicted upon the popular songs of any people by even the
+most conscientious transversifier and how infinitely less untrue to the
+original a rendering can be. (Edit.)
+
+Of this little poem, which Goethe calls "wonderful," the following is an
+almost literal translation:
+
+ Full of wine, white branches of the vine-trees
+ To white Buda's fortress white had clung them:
+ No! it was no vine-tree, white and pregnant!
+ No! it was a pair of faithful lovers,
+ From their early youth betrothed together.
+ Now they are compell'd to part untimely.
+ One address'd the other at their parting,
+ "Go! my soul! burst out and leave my bosom!
+ Thou wilt find a hedge-surrounded garden,
+ And a red-rose branch within the garden;
+ Pluck a rose from off the branch, and place it,
+ Place it on thy heart, within thy bosom;
+ Then behold!--ev'n as that rose is fading,
+ Fades my heart within thy heart thou loved one!"
+ And thus answer'd then the other lover:
+ "Thou, my soul! turn back a few short paces.
+ There thou wilt discern a verdant forest;
+ In it is a fount of crystal water;
+ In the fount there is a block of marble;
+ On the marble block a golden goblet;
+ In the goblet thou wilt find a snow-ball.
+ Love! take out that snow-ball from the goblet,
+ Lay it on thy heart within thy bosom;
+ See it melt--and as it melts, my lov'd one!
+ So my heart within thy heart is melting."
+
+ (S. J. B.)
+]
+
+[Footnote 4: This song has obviously been composed by a Serbian woman of
+Mohammedan faith. A large percentage of Serbians in Bosnia, Hercegovina
+and even Macedonia are still adhering to the Koran. Ali Bey surely must
+have been a Serbian bey. (Edit.)]
+
+[Footnote 5: Smilia, the _grapharium arenarium_, or "lovely love." Also
+a woman's name. (S. J. B.)]
+
+[Footnote 6: This song is sung at the close of the harvest, when all the
+reapers are gathered together. Half as many reeds as the number of
+persons present are so bound that no one can distinguish the two ends
+which belong to the same reed. Each man takes one end of the reeds on
+one side, each of the women takes one end at the other. The withes that
+bind the reeds are severed, and the couples that hold the same reed kiss
+one another. (S. J. B.)]
+
+[Footnote 7: _Kalpak_, the fur cap of the Serbians. (S. J. B.)]
+
+[Footnote 8: This is one of the songs sung at the breaking up of the
+company, addressed to the giver of the festival. (S. J. B.)]
+
+[Footnote 9: _Musko cedo_ (male child). The male sex is in Serbia, as
+elsewhere, deemed entitled to more care and attention than the other.
+(S. J. B.)]
+
+[Footnote 10: A handkerchief embroidered and given by a girl to a boy is
+considered in Jugoslavia as a symbol of love and faith. (Edit.)]
+
+[Footnote 11: As unfortunately Serbian parents often, very often, select
+the husband of their marriageable daughter, the poor girl, unless
+disobedient and rebellious, meekly accedes to the choice even if her
+bridegroom should be an old man. This is obviously a remnant of Turkish
+dominion in Serbia. (Edit.)]
+
+[Footnote 12: _Zvezda_, star, is of the feminine gender. (S. J. B.)]
+
+[Footnote 13: Sun is feminine in Serbian. (S. J. B.)]
+
+[Footnote 14: The leech, _Sanguisuga_; but in Serbian there is no
+disagreeable association with the word. It is the name usually employed
+to describe the beauty of the eyebrows, as swallows' wings are the
+simile used for eyelashes. (S. J. B.)]
+
+[Footnote 15: _Visnja_, the universal Slavonian name of the Vistula
+cherry-tree. The _Cerasum apronianum_ of Linne. (S. J. B.)]
+
+[Footnote 16: The _Vila_ nearly corresponds to the _Peri_ of the
+Persians, and the _Woela_ of the Scandinavians. (S. J. B.)]
+
+[Footnote 17: _Radisa_ is the name of a man. _Radovanje_--joy. (S. J.
+B.)]
+
+[Footnote 18: _Lepota_ is the Serbian word for beauty. (S. J. B.)]
+
+[Footnote 19: I shall be accused of having _decorated_ this. The
+translation is more free than I have generally given; but in order to
+show how little I have deviated from the thought of the original, I give
+the conclusion. (S. J. B.)
+
+ "Ako bi te u pjesmu pjevala,
+ Pjesma ide od usta do usta,
+ Pa ce doci u pogana usta;
+ Ako bi te u rukave vezla,
+ Rukav ce se odma izderati,
+ Pa ce tvoje ime poginuti;
+ Ako bi te u knjigu pisala
+ Knjiga ide od ruke do ruke,
+ Pa ce doci u pogane ruke."
+
+ Vuk i. p. 200
+]
+
+[Footnote 20: The popular national dance of the Serbians. (S. J. B.)]
+
+[Footnote 21: _Bosiljak_, the _Ocimum basilicum_ of Linne (S. J. B.)]
+
+[Footnote 22: As the Serbians have had during the long Ottoman rule to
+attend to much sterner duties than that of cultivating literature and
+art, and, as the greater part of the population (sixty per cent at
+least) are even to this day completely illiterate, ability to read and
+write is still considered an 'art' with the peasantry. (Edit.)]
+
+[Footnote 23: _Kaloper_, balsamita vulgaris of Linne. (S. J. B.)]
+
+[Footnote 24: _Vila_ (pronounced veelah) is with the Serbians a female
+deity (Muse or Grace) of incomparable beauty and tenderness. But she can
+be very hostile to mortals. (Cf. note 16. Edit.)]
+
+[Footnote 25: The cuckoo (_Kukavica_), according to Serbian tradition,
+was a maiden who mourned so unceasingly for a dead brother, that she was
+changed into a bird, and thence continues without rest her melancholy
+note. A Serbian girl who has lost a brother never hears a cuckoo without
+shedding tears.--"I a poor cuckoo," is equivalent to "woe is me!" (S. J.
+B.)]
+
+[Footnote 26: _Ban_ is obviously a corrupt form of the Polish or Cech or
+Ruthenian title _Pan_, meaning "Mr." or, in direct address, "Sir." To
+this day that word has been conserved only by those Serbians who have
+lived in the Austro-Hungarian territory called Croatia, and is applied
+as a title to their political chief. (Edit.)]
+
+[Footnote 27: Lado is the vocative of _Lada_, the goddess of love, in
+the old Slavonian mythology. _Lado!_ is a melancholy interjection in
+Serbian, whereas _Lele!_ the vocative of Lela, the god of love, has
+frequently a cheerful association. _Polela_ (after love) the goddess of
+marriage, is also sometimes apostrophised. Talvj remarks, that _Ljad_,
+in Russian, signifies misfortune. In common parlance, _Lele mene_
+(Serbian) imports "Woe is me!" (S. J. B.)]
+
+[Footnote 28: _Mlinar_, the miller. (S. J. B.)]
+
+[Footnote 29: Wesely imagines that this expression has been introduced
+into Serbian poetry by the influence of the interesting ballad on the
+marriage of Maxim Cernojevic (see _Quarterly Review_ for December,
+1826). The intimate intercourse which existed between Serbia and Venice
+may account for the phraseology. (S. J. B.)]
+
+[Footnote 30: This song, as also others signed "O. M.", has been
+transversified by Robert Bulwer Lytton (Owen Meredith), "Serbske Pesme;
+or National Songs of Serbia," London, 1861. (Edit.)]
+
+[Footnote 31: _Kolo_, signifying literally a wheel, is the generic term
+for all the Serbian national dances in most of which the dancers, either
+taking hands, or united each to each by a handkerchief tied round the
+waist or to the girdle, form a ring and advance or retreat to and from
+the centre to a monotonous music, either of the voice or some very
+simple wind instruments. Both sexes take part in these dances, which are
+frequently in the open air. (O. M.)]
+
+[Footnote 32: This song as also those signed "J. W. W.", has been
+transversified and published by J. W. Wiles, "Serbian Songs and Poems:
+Chords of the Yugoslav Harp," New York, 1917.]
+
+[Footnote 33: _Hodza_, i. e. Mohammedan priest. (J. W. W.)]
+
+[Footnote 34: Turkish seminary. (J. W. W.)]
+
+[Footnote 35: _Kalfa_, governess. (J. W. W.)]
+
+[Footnote 36: _Koledo_: In ancient times the Serbians, as all the Slavs,
+often used this word as a refrain in their bucolic songs. It was an
+address to _Ledo_, the ancient Slav divinity who presided over the
+process of fertility and protected fields and flowers. (J. W. W.)]
+
+[Footnote 37: Loud lamentations, by women rather than men, are an
+ancient custom among the Serbs. These dirges are again and again
+extemporized with spontaneous poetic feeling. Girls let down their hair
+and lament in the orchards and precincts of the house. (J. W. W.)]
+
+[Footnote 38: This song, as well as others signed "B. S. S.," has been
+rendered into English by the Editor.]
+
+[Footnote 39: "The Prayer of Karageorge's Lady" is number 685 of Vol. I
+of Vuk Karadzic's collection. (Edition of 1891.)
+
+[Footnote 40: No. 428 Vol. I. (Edition of 1891).]
+
+[Footnote 41: No. 445 Vol. I. (Edition of 1891).]
+
+[Footnote 42: No. 468 Vol. I. (Edition of 1891).]
+
+[Footnote 43: No. 474 Vol. I. (Edition of 1891).]
+
+[Footnote 44: No. 581 Vol. I. (Edition of 1891).]
+
+[Footnote 45: No. 792 Vol. I. (Edition of 1891).]
+
+[Footnote 46: No. 765 Vol. I. (Edition of 1891).]
+
+[Footnote 47: No. 247 Vol. I. (Edition of 1891).]
+
+[Footnote 48: No. 314 Vol. I. (Edition of 1891).]
+
+[Footnote 49: No. 338 Vol. I. (Edition of 1891).]
+
+[Footnote 50: No. 409 Vol. I. (Edition of 1891).]
+
+[Footnote 51: No. 446 Vol. V. (Edition of 1898).]
+
+[Footnote 52: No. 298 Vol. V. (Edition of 1898).]
+
+[Footnote 53: No. 279 Vol. V. (Edition of 1898).]
+
+[Footnote 54: No. 335 Vol. I. (Edition of 1891).]
+
+[Footnote 55: No. 309 Vol. V. (Edition of 1898).]
+
+[Footnote 56: No. 294 Vol. I. (Edition of 1891).]
+
+[Footnote 57: No. 466 Vol. I. (Edition of 1891).]
+
+[Footnote 58: No. 459 Vol. I. (Edition of 1891).]
+
+[Footnote 59: No. 453 Vol. I. (Edition of 1891).]
+
+[Footnote 60: No. 287 Vol. I. (Edition of 1891).]
+
+[Footnote 61: No. 472 Vol. I. (Edition of 1891).]
+
+[Footnote 62: No. 473 Vol. I. (Edition of 1891).]
+
+[Footnote 63: No. 482 Vol. I. (Edition of 1891).]
+
+[Footnote 64: No. 487 Vol. I. (Edition of 1891).]
+
+[Footnote 65: No. 488 Vol. I. (Edition of 1891).]
+
+[Footnote 66: No. 491 Vol. I. (Edition of 1891).]
+
+[Footnote 67: No. 300 Vol. I. (Edition of 1891).]
+
+[Footnote 68: No. 359 Vol. I. (Edition of 1891).]
+
+[Footnote 69: No. 422 Vol. I. (Edition of 1891).]
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of An Anthology of Jugoslav Poetry;
+Serbian Lyrics, by Various
+
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