Bursch Groggenburg

by William Edmondstoune Aytoun

"Bursch! if foaming beer content ye,

Come and drink your fill;

In our cellars there is plenty:

Himmel! how you swill!

That the liquor hath allurance,

Well I understand;

But 'tis really past endurance,

When you squeeze my hand!"

(Page 71)

And he heard her as if dreaming,

Heard her half in awe;

And the meerschaum's smoke came streaming

From his open jaw:

And his pulse beat somewhat quicker

Than it did before,

And he finished off his liquor,

Staggered through the door;

Bolted off direct to Munich,

And within the year

Underneath his German tunic

Stowed whole butts of beer.

And he drank like fifty fishes,

Drank till all was blue;

For he felt extremely vicious --

Somewhat thirsty too.

But at length this dire deboshing

Drew towards an end;

Few of all his silber-groschen

Had he left to spend.

And he knew it was not prudent

Longer to remain;

So, with weary feet, the student

Wended home again.

(Page 72)

At the tavern's well known portal,

Knocks he as before,

And a waiter, rather mortal,

Hiccups through the door, --

"Master's sleeping in the kitchen;

You'll alarm the house;

Yesterday the Jungfrau Fritchen

Married baker Kraus!"

Like a fiery comet bristling,

Rose the young man's hair,

And, poor soul! he fell a-whistling

Out of sheer despair.

Down the gloomy street in silence,

Savage-calm he goes;

But he did no deed of vi'lence --

Only blew his nose.

Then he hired an airy garret

Near her dwelling-place;

Grew a beard of fiercest carrot,

Never washed his face;

Sate all day beside the casement,

Sate a dreary man;

Found in smoking such an easement

As the wretched can;

(Page 73)

Stared for hours and hours together,

Stared yet more and more;

Till in fine and sunny weather,

At the baker's door,

Stood, in apron white and mealy,

That belovéd dame,

Counting out the loaves so freely,

Selling of the same.

Then like a volcano puffing,

Smoked he out his pipe;

Sigh'd and supp'd on ducks and stuffing,

Ham and kraut and tripe;

Went to bed, and in the morning,

Waited as before,

Still his eyes in anguish turning

To the baker's door;

Till, with apron white and mealy,

Came the lovely dame,

Counting out the loaves so freely,

Selling of the same.

So one day -- the fact's amazing! --

On his post he died;

And they found the body gazing

At the baker's bride.

Source: The Book of Ballads. Edited by Bon Gaultier [i.e. W. E. Aytoun and Theodore Martin]. A New Edition, with Several New Ballads. London [1849], pp. 70-73

See also The book of ballads. Redfield 1852 http://fulltext10.fcla.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=juv&idno=UF00002011&format=pdf Bursch Groggenburg http://fulltext10.fcla.edu/DLData/UF/UF00002011/file18.pdf

Comments: It is a parody of Schiller Ritter Toggenburg of which one can find the German text in the German branch of Wikisource.