Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882). Complete Poetical Works. 1893.
AppendixII. Unacknowledged and Uncollected Translations. Song of the Rhine
F
Beneath Helvetia’s Alpine steep,
And joined in youthful company
Its fellow-travellers to the sea.
The Neckar, the Mosel, the Lahn, and the Main,
And strengthened by each rushing tide,
Onward he marched in kingly pride.
The satraps of his power,
The current’s flowing veins unclasped—
He moves in pride no more.
On that rebellious day,
And, bursting from their monarch’s yoke,
Each chose a separate way.
Flowed sidewards o’er the land,
And a nameless brook, by Leyden’s wall,
The Rhine sank in sand.