BUDDENBROOKS
Thee, my friend with silver hair.
And thy faithful, loving spouse,
And your children young and fair—
I salute you, and your house.
Industry and beauty chaste
See we linked in marriage band:
Venus Anadyomene
And cunning Vulcan’s busy hand.
May no future storms dismay
With unkind blast the joyful hour;
May each new returning day
Blessings on your pathway shower.
Ceaselessly shall I rejoice
O’er the fortune that is yours:
As to-day I lift my voice,
May I still, while life endures.
In your splendid walls live well.
And cherish with affection true
Him who in his humble cell
Penned to-day these lines for you.
He bowed to a unanimous outburst of applause.
“Charming, Hoffstede,” cried old Buddenbrook. “It was too charming for words. I drink your health.”
But when the Frau Consul touched glasses with the poet, a delicate blush mantled her cheek; for she had seen the courtly bow he made in her direction when he came to the part about the Venus Anadyomene.
