sorrows, and without any notice to the reader, a married man. Not only a wife, but a family of children, are noticed, quite by-the-bye, at a moment when the reader expects, from a little relenting on the part of his mistress, that a treaty of matrimonial alliance is about to be opened. A great variety of songs are introduced in the romance, suited to the events and state of mind of the moment.

mance.

The conclusion dwells with melancholy on the increase of that lawless free-booting spirit which we learn from history had gained ground in Germany, and laments the neglect of those conventional principles of chivalric virtue with which the age had opened. To inculcate the advantage of those principles, and particularly to insist on the duty of making the love and favour of the ladies the ruling guides of a true knight, seem to be the moral objects of Ulrich's ro"When I was yet a little boy," says he, "I often heard wise men say, that no one could attain true worth who did not attach himself faithfully to the service of one lady; that no one was so light of heart, so free in spirit, as he who loved one lady dearer even than himself." And he accordingly very early vowed so to dedicate himself "with body, goods, heart, and life." In these principles he was brought up by the Margrave Henry of Austria, who "taught him many of his own virtues,-taught him to talk of the ladies, to ride on horseback, and to make

N

soft verses." "Never," said he, "wilt thou have the

favour of virtuous ladies if thou dealest in deceitful

flattery and lies." "Had I observed all his advice," adds Ulrich, "I had been a better man than I am."

The romance then runs through a series of wild adventures, illustrated with "dance-songs," "watchsongs," &c. He is at one time in adversity, but still he bears up. "I lost great wealth; what of that? I still kept up my spirit. My lady smiled on me, and I forgot all the rest :"--and anon he sings another "Tanz-weise."

Thirty and three years, he concludes, had he served as a true knight, when he wrote that book. He apologizes for saying so much of himself; "but it needs must be so; my lady commanded it, and what she orders that must I do. The book belongs to all good ladies."

The following is one of the songs appropriately introduced in the course of the story. It is a dialogue between the knight and his lady. The Love of these German minstrels, it will be recollected, is a feminine deity, "frau minne."

Frouwe schöne, frouwe reine,

Frouwe selig, frouwe guot, &c.

"Lady beauteous, lady pure,

Lady happy, lady kind,

Love, methinks, has little power,

So proud thy bearing, o'er thy mind.

Didst thou feel the power of love,
Then would those fair lips unclose,
And be taught in sighs to move."

"What is love, then, good sir knight? Is it man or woman? say;

Tell me, if I know it not,

How it comes to pass, I pray.

Thou should'st tell me all its story,
Whence, and where, it cometh here,
That my heart may yet be wary."

"Lady, love so mighty is,

All things living to her bow; Various is her power, but I

Will tell thee what of her I know.

Love is good, and love is ill,
Joy and woe she can bestow,
Spreading life and spirit still."

"Can love banish, courteous knight,
Pining grief and wasting woe?

Pour gay spirits on the heart,
Polish, grace, and ease bestow?

If in her these powers may meet,
Great is she, and thus shall be
Her praise and honour great."

Lady, I will say yet more;
Lovely are her gifts, her hand
Joy bestows, and honour too;
The virtues come at her command,
Joys of sight and joys of heart
She bestows, as she may choose,
And splendid fortune doth impart."

"How shall I obtain, sir knight,

All these gifts of lady love? Must I bear a load of care?

Much too weak frame would prove.

my

Grief and care I cannot bear ;

Can I then the boon obtain ;

Tell me, sir knight, then, how and where."

Lady, thou should'st think of me

As I of thee think,-heartily.

Thus shall we together blend

Firm in love's sweet harmony,

Thou still mine, I still thine."

"It cannot be, sir knight, with me;
Be your own, I'll still be mine."

GOESLI OF EHENHEIM.

OF "Her Goesli von Ehenheim" only a few verses

remain. He belongs to the first half of the 13th century. One of his songs thus opens;

Nu ist der blúenden heide voget

Mit gewalt uf uns gezoget,
Hoeret wie mit winde broget! &c.

Now will the foe of ev'ry flower,

Send forth the tempest of his rage;
List! how his winds the battle wage,
And blow the fields and woodlands o'er !
Him nought withstands: his giant power
Tears from the plat the rose away,
And withers up each flow'ret gay;

So sharp his rage is to devour.
For this, the meads are sorrowing,

The birds are dumb, no longer song
Bursts the mute groves and hills among,

Chill'd by cold snows,-Yet still my love I sing.....