Ludwig Tieck

“ Perhaps in the corner a boy is sitting, lost in his thoughts; he sees in the dim glow of the lamp a picture of the joyful dawn; he fancies even that he can hear the lively cockcrow and feel the cool breeze rustling through the leaves, awakening the flowers of the meadow from their quiet sleep; he forgets himself and gradually dozes off as the fire burns out. Then he dreams, and everything appears before him in the splendour of the Sun: the well-known homeland, across which wonderful and strange shapes stride; trees grow up which he has never seen before ”

“ Thus do fame, glory, splendour and world-renowned beauty pass away, just as the golden clouds of evening sink behind the distant mountains and leave in their wake for but a brief moment a weak yellow glow: night draws on seriously and solemnly; armies of black clouds pass by beneath the starry splendour; and as the last light is extinguished, its place is taken by fear. ”

“ How he feels himself befriended by the whole world! How everything looks at him with tender pleasure! The shrubs whisper words of love in his ear as he passes by. Innocent lambs crowd around him. The spring seems with enticing murmurs to want to take him with it. The grass springs up under his feet fresh and green. ”