Note 35 — Chapter IV
Eden Paul translation
Compare Mrs. Browning's graceful treatment of a young girl's imaginings, in her well-known poem, "The Romance of a Swan's Nest."
"Little Ellie sits alone . . . . . While she thinks what shall be done, And the sweetest pleasure chooses For her future within reach. Little Ellie in her smile Chooses, 'I will have a lover Riding on a steed of steeds: He shall love me without guile, . . . . . And the steed shall be red-roan, And the lover shall be noble, With an eye that takes the breath: And the lute he plays upon Shall strike ladies into trouble, As his sword strikes men to death.' . . . . .
And later, little Ellie imagines her lover kneeling at her knee to tell her—
'I am a duke's eldest son, Thousand serfs do call me master, But, O love, I love but thee!'" —Translator's Note.