Soon too shall he learn its speech, and understand
the wonders of our kingdom, and dwell with his beloved in Atlantis
itself.'
"Thou perceivest well, dear Anselmus, that the Salamander of whom I
speak is no other than my father. Spite of his higher nature, he was
forced to subject himself to the paltriest afflictions of common life;
and hence, indeed, often comes the mischievous humor with which he
vexes many. He has told me now and then, that, for the inward make of
mind, which the Spirit-prince Phosphorus required as a condition of
marriage with me and my sisters, men have a name at present, which,
in truth, they frequently enough misapply: they call it a childlike
poetic mind. This mind, he says, is often found in youths, who, by
reason of their high simplicity of manners and their total want of
what is called knowledge of the world, are mocked by the populace. Ah,
dear Anselmus, beneath the Elder-bush thou understoodest my song, my
look; thou lovest the green Snake, thou believest in me, and wilt be
mine forevermore! The fair Lily will bloom forth from the Golden
Pot; and we shall dwell, happy, and united, and blessed, in Atlantis
together!
"Yet I must not hide from thee that in its deadly battle with the
Salamanders and Spirits of the Earth, the black Dragon burst from
their grasp and hurried off through the air. Phosphorus, indeed,
again holds him in fetters; but from the black Quills, which, in the
struggle, rained down on the ground, there sprung up hostile Spirits,
which on all hands set themselves against the Salamanders and Spirits
of the Earth.
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