Rensselaer Journal, Volume 11, Number 30, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 January 1902 — GREAT POET’S MONUMENT [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

GREAT POET’S MONUMENT

A monument in Carrara marble.in commemoration of Heinrich Heine has been inaugurated in Montmartre cemetery, France, where his remains repose. The monument, which is due to the initiative of the late Empress Elizabeth of Austria, is the work of the Danish sculptor Hasselriis, and was recently exhibited in Vienna. The sculptor has represented Heine during the latter years of his life. It is Heine the Parisian. The head is slightly inclined forward. The eyes are closed, as if in meditation. Immediately below the ■ bust is a butterfly, the antique symbol of immortality. The pedestal bears a lyre entwined with a wreath of roses. On the reverse of the pedestal is a laurel wreath chiseled with the words, “Dem andenken Heine’s, das freisinnlge Wien” (“In commemoration of Heine from liberal-minded Vienna”). On the front of the base of the pedestal is the inscription: HEINRICH HEINE. Frau Heine. The following verses from a poem published by Heine- in 1869 are inscribed on thetumular slab: Wo wird einst des Wandermuden Letzte Ruhestatte sein? Unter Palmen in dem Suden? Unter Linden an dem Rhein? Werd’ich wo in einer Waste Eingescharrt von fremder Hand? Oder ruh’ich an der Kuste Eines Meeres in dem Sand? Immerhin! Mich wird umgeben Gotteshimmel, dort wie hier, Und als Todtenlampen schweben Nachts die. Sterne über mir. The lines may be roughly translated as follows: Where will some day be the last resting place of the wearied wanderer?

Under the palm trees of the South? Beneath the lindens of the Rhein? Shall I some day be buried in the desert by a stranger’s hand?

Or shall I rest in the sand of the seashore ? It matters not! Whether here or

there, I shall always be encircled by God’s heaven, and at night the stars above me will be my funeral lamps.— New York Tribune.

The Heine Monument. (From a photograph.)