Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
Germany: Vols. XVII–XVIII. 1876–79.

Miscellaneous

Travelling

By Wilhelm Müller (1794–1827)

Translated by A. Baskerville

TO wander is the miller’s joy,

To wander!

What kind of miller must he be,

Who ne’er hath yearned to wander free,

To wander!

From water we have learned it, yes,

From water!

It knows no rest by night or day,

But wanders ever on its way,

Does water.

We see it by the mill-wheels, too,

The mill-wheels!

They ne’er repose, nor brook delay,

They weary not the livelong day,

The mill-wheels.

The stones, too, heavy though they be,

The stones, too,

Round in the giddy circle dance,

E’en fain more quickly would advance,

The stones would.

To wander, wander, my delight,

To wander!

O master, mistress, on my way

Let me in peace depart to-day,

And wander!