Karl Egon Ebert

“ And hotter, ever hotter, it became in that wide hall,
And louder, ever louder the crashing fragments fall,
And brighter, ever brighter, the red reflection glared,
And through the portals, half-consumed, the fiery torrent flared. ”

“ Ere long the chamber glowed with a still and sultry heat:
“The hour is come!” in hollow tones, the Saxon chiefs repeat.
The Danish King assayed to flee, the Duke he held him back:
“Stay! prove that knightly courage, at least, thou dost not lack!
That boisterous foe that storms below successfully withstand,
And thine shall be the Saxon throne, and thine the Saxon land!” ”