hallend, hallend!"

--it must be a dull ear which would be satisfied with the omission of
rhythm and rhyme.

I have a more serious objection, however, to urge against Mr. Hayward's
prose translation. Where all the restraints of verse are flung aside, we
should expect, at least, as accurate a reproduction of the sense,
spirit, and tone of the original, as the genius of our language will
permit. So far from having given us such a reproduction, Mr. Hayward not
only occasionally mistakes the exact meaning of the German text,[H] but,
wherever two phrases may be used to express the meaning with equal
fidelity, he very frequently selects that which has the less grace,
strength, or beauty.[I]

[H] On his second page, the line _Mein Lied ertoent der unbekannten
Menge_, "My song sounds to the unknown multitude," is translated: "My
_sorrow_ voices itself to the strange throng." Other English
translators, I notice, have followed Mr. Hayward in mistaking _Lied_ for
_Leid_.

I:
I take but one out of numerous instances, for the sake of
illustration. The close of the Soldier's Song (Part I. Scene II.) is:--

"Kuehn is das Muehen,
Herrlich der Lohn!
Und die Soldaten
Ziehen davon."

Literally:

Bold is the endeavor,
Splendid the pay!
And the soldiers
March away.

This Mr. Hayward translates:--

Bold the adventure,
Noble the reward--
And the soldiers
Are off.

For there are few things which may not be said, in English, in a twofold
manner,--one poetic, and the other prosaic. In German, equally, a word
which in ordinary use has a bare prosaic character may receive a fairer
and finer quality from its place in verse. The prose translator should
certainly be able to feel the manifestation of this law in both
languages, and should so choose his words as to meet their reciprocal
requirements. A man, however, who is not keenly sensible to the power
and beauty and value of rhythm, is likely to overlook these delicate yet
most necessary distinctions. The author's thought is stripped of a last
grace in passing through his mind, and frequently presents very much the
same resemblance to the original as an unhewn shaft to the fluted
column. Mr. Hayward unconsciously illustrates his lack of a refined
appreciation of verse, "in giving," as he says, "_a sort of rhythmical
arrangement_ to the lyrical parts," his obje