4. TO A QUONDAM FOLLOWER OF GOETHE. (1832.)

Hast thou, then, superior risen To the chilly dream of glory Which great Weimar’s poet hoary Wove around thee, like a prison? Are thy old friends bores now voted?— Clara, Gretchen,—names familiar,— Serlo’s chaste maid, and Ottilia In the “Wahlverwandschaft” noted? Thou’rt with Germany enchanted, Art become a Mignon-hater, And thou seek’st for freedom greater Than Philina ever granted. Like a Luneburgomaster, Thou dost battle for the nation, Holding up to execration Kings, as causing all disaster. And I hear with pleasure hearty, What a pitch thy praises grow to, And how thou’rt a Mirabeau, too, At each Luneburg tea-party!