C.D. Warner, et al., comp. The Library of the World’s Best Literature.
An Anthology in Thirty Volumes. 1917.

May-Night

Translation of Sir John Bowring

NIGHT of May! thou night of peace and silence,

When the moonlight silvers the starred vault;

Tell me then, blonde maiden! blue-eyed floweret,

Shining pearl! what thoughts thy heart assault.

Mine are misty dreamings, passing shadows;

But they keep me sleepless—crowning me

Like the monarch of a mighty kingdom,

And the crown is held, dear maid! is held by thee.

What a theft it were, and what a contrast

With the trashy purse that thieves purloin,

Could I steal these dreams, and then convert them

Into solid and substantial coin!