Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
Germany: Vols. XVII–XVIII. 1876–79.
The Counts Sowing
By Margaret J. Preston (18201897)O
Piously praying within his stall,
Under the castle by the Rhine,
Grudgingly craved the lands whose line
Bordered his convent garden-wall.
For the growing needs of the Brotherhood;
These meadows we ’ll have or soon or late,
A part and parcel of our estate,
As sure as there ’s help in the Holy Rood.
If out of it come such good, I trow,
Vellum we have of an ancient stain,
Whereon we will write our title plain
As dated a hundred years ago.”
He rated the Count from year to year,
Who heard nor heeded the bold appeal;
For well he reckoned the royal seal
Whereby he could prove his tenure clear.
And weakened by hints of churchly threat,
He promised, at length, to yield the land
Forever and aye beneath his hand,
If one condition were fairly met.
A single crop in the meadows, mine,
The fief of my fathers heretofore;
And when it is ripe and had in store,
The soil you covet I thence resign.”
In the Holy Name, all sealed and signed:
The seed it was sown, and the green blades grew
Fast under his eye; but strange to view
Were the stalks that bent in the waving wind.
Brake forth as if born of sudden fears;
“Ach Himmel! what hopes are overthrown!
The crop of acorns the Count hath sown
Will not be ripe for a hundred years!”