St. Charles Republican intelligencer. (St. Charles [Charles City], Iowa) 1856-1857, 1856-08-30

as he sang the hymn Of combat ane
:. joys OF triumph. In more Tranquil
mood, he told of love-love which baf
fles all sorrows, and heals every
wound. He detailed for the delight d
the fierce, but curious and story-lov.
ing Syrians, the original legends Of the
i West-harmonious echoes Of q mar
vellous and poetic past. He described
the lovely Emma, the royal fonce' of 9
powerful monarch, who sacrificed 9
throne for humble student-who en-
countered, on behalf of Eginhard, the
fearful wrath of the great Emperor
Charlemagne, her sire. This legend lee
to others. He told of a mysterious
cavalier, who descended the greer
banks of the Rhine in u bark, which
was drawn, with a chain of silver, by
a swan of Incompatible whiteness
who rescued the lovely orphan from
the tower where she was kept, and,
having espoused her, disappeared as
suddenly as he came, like some sad
and sombre specter, only from being
vexed by an imprudent question:
Then followed the story of Nothurga,
that beautiful and pious maiden, who,
being betrothed to knight who per-
ished in distant land, fed into exile
rather than forget her faith, and bu-
ried herself to the rcmotest solitude.
A white hind, which accompanied her
to the desert, brought her daily, sus-
| l. IN hc. ,n< hp
nourishment which faithful servant
had procured. But when autumn ar
rived, and the last leaves and flowers
had disappeared, the angels came
with better nourishment, and transfer
red her pure spirit to a more certain
refuge in Heaven. Still, however,
though she herself no longer appears
among the perishing flowers, her pure
and lovely body preserves, though un-
der it's covering of hoar-frost, the germ
of life in the beautiful little blue fow-
er, the daisy, which she loved, and
sleeps sweetly shrouded in roses that
never fail to bloom at the proper sea-
son above her grave, on the pleasant
banks of the Neckar. ....-.
With this plaintive romance, the
minstrel ended his touching ballads.
which declared the suferings of the
soul, and with gracious symbols of
hope, pointed to that celestial flow-
er which alone defies the winds and
the waves of life. The voice of the
musician had varied with his song.
1t had become more thrilling than at
first, while his eye became more and
more animated, his gestures more ex-
pressive inspiration seemed to open
from his soul and the sweet secret OF
a better future, and he seemed to
tremble with every excess of happi-
ness--even as the swallow, who, after
having fatigued his wings in travers-
ing a stormy sea, perceives, at sunset,
once more in view the precious spot
of earth where it finds home-the
murmuring fountain, the green plain,
the fresh shade, and the dear mater
nal nest.
1t was like so much magic to the
ears of the sultan and his court, the
songs Of the pale and light haired
stranger. Poetry is naturally grand
and powerful under the starry sky Of
the orient. There, music possesses a
natural melody, particularly under the
shade of the minarets of Antioch and
Smyrna, at those seasons when the
dropping earth is refreshed by breez-
es from Libanus when the birds bury
themselves in the foliage from the
piercing heat of MONDAY, and the 10.
Gust chirps monotonously in the shade
which he always loves when the but
terhy crouches above the moist places
or in the grass, and it is only the
green lizard that turns up his emer-
aid garments to the sun-there, to lie
in the shade, with the soft, refreshing
breeze stealing off to your embrace
from the lonely mountain heights
where they harbor, with the waters OF
the Ionian sea gliding to your feet,
then to hearken to the yaccntenr who
delights you with equal poetry and
music, is to realize the highest
raptures Of the day of Homer.
The sultan was equally liberal and
munifcent. He must reward the mu-
sician who had delighted him with
songs Of such refreshing sweetness,
and tales of such foreign interest and
beauty. Brocades of goldtissue were
cast at his feet, collars of precious
stones were offered for his neck,
harps of cedar wood, scarfs of silk,
dyed richly with the famous purple OF
the Tyrian, and other gifts, no less
valuable and precious, were offered
for his acceptance by the grateful
prince. We pass the mere bjoMteric,
the trihes which are simply beautiful
and tasteful, and mention, among
these other gifts, the ransom Of fifty
captives the soul of jew, and the
body Of beautiful Georgian captive
the one not dead, but living and
beautiful, the other quite alive, and
not wholly inaccessible, as we may
conjecture, to, reasonable conver-
sion. The. young Frank musician re-
jected all these gifts, and demanded,
as his recompense, only the privilege
Of rescuing one Of the christian cap
tives from the labors of the Asian
plough. His prayer was accorded
him and, conducted among the cap-