Ludwig Tieck

“ A fresh wind from the land blew through the garden and the trees rustled in a lively and merry fashion; but this only made Peter feel all the more sorrowful.
— O faithless one, he exclaimed. I am an ungrateful wretch. Is this how I will repay her love? Am I to return to my fatherland as a perjurer? That would earn me a bad reputation among my kinsmen and all the nobility. And how could I ever look Magelone in the eyes, should she be still alive? And why should she not still be alive, when my life was so miraculously saved? Oh, I am a cowardly slave. I haven't even taken any risks for myself! ”

“ A trusted slave led the young man secretly into a court in the garden, where she was waiting for him. Peter was surprised and embarrassed; he was astonished at the beauty of Sulima, but his heart remained true to Magelone.
But the sweet impulse to see his fatherland again soon overcame all his senses and he bethought himself of a bold stroke. He met with the pagan girl more often, and she told him that such was her love for him she would flee with him, first to a kinsman of hers, who had located a ship that was ready to sail and could weigh anchor at a moment's notice. ”

“ Should one not trust in God when it is a question of one's fatherland or one's beloved?
Emboldened, he got into a small boat and unmoored it. Then he took an oar and made his way into the sea. It was a beautiful summer's night; all the stars stared down kindly on the moonlit world. The sea was calm and unruffled, and warm breezes played upon its serene surface. Peter's heart swelled with longing. He gave himself over to fortune and the stars, and courageously rowed on. ”