In anticipation of Queen Victoria's marriage, the January 1840 edition of The Mirror Of Literature published a poem written by her fiancé, Prince Albert. It's called Mein Lebewohl and talks about his love for his native country and the pain he feels in leaving it behind.
MEIN LEBEWOHL
Once more let me view thee,
Dear Home of my Heart!
And must I thus leave thee,
Thus painfully part?
From you, O fair meadows,
O hills hid in blue,
0 groves of sweet singing-trees,
Must I leave you!
Yes, far must I wander—
And distantly go, Where the Alps plant their feet,
Upon foot-stools of snow:
Where with billows of purple,
Old ocean resounds
Round the shores of the isles.
And their uttermost bounds;
Then to regions far south—
Yet, wherever I roam
Shall my heart still remember
My Motherly Home.
So that, be I in bustle,
Or be I in strife,
On the stormy arena
Of turbulent life,
Where success clings to him
Who hath most might of mind,
And the powerless-hearted
Hangs laggard behind—
Or make I my wars
'Neath the blue-spreading sky—
Tho' my breast act the Lion—
Yet there too shall lie
A sweet Lamb at its side,
Which where'er I may roam,
Will still yearn for the lap
Of its Motherly Home.
I may march o'er the earth
In its breadth and its length, While my youth is my shield,—
And my God is my strength,— Fierce and fast thro' all dangers
Courageously tread,
And my sword do brave service
Where most 'tis in stead.
But a day shall arrive—
(When I've struggled enough
to encounter the peril,
And buffet the rough,)
When my heart shall throw off
Its old slough of dull sadness,
And awake all at once,
To a glorious gladness!
When the star shall arise,
And the day dawn in gold,
That shall summon me back,
To my Homestead of old.
Lo—I quicken my feet—
Lo—I hasten my pace—
Yonder sparkles already,
That dayspring of grace:
And its ray of rich sunlight
Displays the old door,
And its living gold, clusters
On casement and floor—
O, it lights me at last,
From my desolate roam,
Once more to thy bosom,
My Motherly Home!
It's a beautiful poem, isn't it? What do you think of it?