Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882). Complete Poetical Works. 1893.
TranslationsFrom the German. Whither?
By Wilhelm Müller
I
From its rocky fountain near,
Down into the valley rushing,
So fresh and wondrous clear.
Nor who the counsel gave;
But I must hasten downward,
All with my pilgrim-stave;
And ever the brook beside;
And ever fresher murmured,
And ever clearer, the tide.
Whither, O brooklet, say!
Thou hast, with thy soft murmur,
Murmured my senses away.
That can no murmur be;
’T is the water-nymphs, that are singing
Their roundelays under me.
And wander merrily near;
The wheels of a mill are going
In every brooklet clear.