Justinus Kerner: “The Wealthiest Prince”
Excerpt, “Ballads From The German.” Translator: Henry Inglis. 1864.

THE WEALTHIEST PRINCE
At Worms, one day, a princely band,
In the height of their content,
And pride of ancestry and land,
Held high boastful argument.
.
“Glorious,” cried the Saxon king,
“Are the riches of my land!
The silver ore lies glistering
Through the rock and river strand.”
.
“Ours is the fabled Grecian horn,”
Said the ruler of the Rhine;
“Our vales wave with golden corn;
On our mountains grows the vine.”
.
“We have our cities red with gold,”
Quoth the Bairisch monarch proud;
“We have our monasteries old,
With the wealth of kings endowed.”
,
Then up spake Württemberg so bold;
His beard of the darkest dye:
“Nor Vintages, nor grain, nor gold,
Nor convents, nor towns have I.
.
“But I can roam our forests deep,
When the sun has sunk to rest;
And I can lay my head in sleep
Upon the wanderer’s breast.”
.
Then Saxon, Bairisch, and Rhine
Proclaimed through the Kaiser’s hall:
“Graf of the beard, the palm is thine;
Thy treasure is best of all.”