Elsie. All through life there are wayside inns,
        where man may refresh his soul with love;
Even the lowest may quench his thirst at rivulets fed
        by springs from above.

  Prince Henry. Yonder, where rises the cross of
        stone, our journey along the highway ends,
And over the fields, by a bridle path, down into the
        broad green valley descends.

  Elsie. I am not sorry to leave behind the beaten
        road with its dust and heat;
The air will be sweeter far, and the turf will be softer
        under our horses’ feet.

          (They turn down a green lane.)

  Elsie. Sweet is the air with the budding haws,
        and the valley stretching for miles below
Is white with blossoming cheery trees, as if just covered
        with lightest snow.

  Prince Henry. Over our heads a white cascade is
        gleaming against the distant hill;
We cannot hear it, nor see it move, but it hangs like
        a banner when winds are still.

  Elsie. Damp and cool is this deep ravine, and
        cool the sound of the brook by our side! 
What is this castle that rises above us, and lords it
        over a land so wide?

Prince Henry. It is the home of the Counts of
    Calva; well have I known these scenes of old,
Well I remember each tower and turret, remember the
    brooklet, the wood, and the wold.

  Elsie. Hark! from the little village below us the
    bells of the church are ringing for rain! 
Priests and peasants in long procession come forth
    and kneel on the arid plain.

  Prince Henry. They have not long to wait, for I
    see in the south uprising a little cloud,
That before the sun shall be set will cover the sky
    above us as with a shroud.

          (They pass on.)

* * * * *

THE CONVENT OF HIRSCHAU IN THE BLACK FOREST.

* * * * *

The Convent cellar. FRIAR CLAUS comes in with a light and a basket of empty flagons.

Friar Claus. I always enter this sacred place
With a thoughtful, solemn, and reverent pace,
Pausing long enough on each stair
To breathe an ejaculatory prayer,
And a benediction on the vines
That produce these various sorts of wines!

For my part, I am well content
That we have got through with the tedious Lent! 
Fasting is all very well for those
Who have to contend with invisible foes;
But I am quite sure it does not agree
With a quiet, peaceable man like me,
Who am not of that nervous and meagre kind
That are always distressed in body and mind! 
And at times it really does me good
To come down among this brotherhood,
Dwelling forever under ground,
Silent, contemplative, round and sound;
Each one old, and brown with mould,
But filled to the lips with the ardor of youth,
With the latent power and love of truth,
And with virtues fervent and manifold.