On the Rhine
In a post I wrote earlier today about Germany’s power problems, there was a link with a photo of a low-water Rhine and the caption: “A ferry cruises past the partially dried riverbed of the Rhine river in Bingen, Germany on Aug. 9.”
Here’s the photo:
Because I had to memorize a great deal of poetry in grade school, what immediately sprang to mind for me on reading that caption (“the Rhine river in Bingen, Germany”) was a cryptic stanza forming part of that sentimental old chestnut, Longfellow’s “The Children’s Hour,” about play-time with his own children:
They almost devour me with kisses,
Their arms about me entwine,
Till I think of the Bishop of Bingen
In his Mouse-Tower on the Rhine!
We had to memorize that poem, but I had no idea who or what the bishop or the mouse tower were, although even back then at least I knew something about the Rhine. It occurs to me now that this is the age of the internet, and I can finally find out about the rest quite easily. So here it is, and it turns out to be a surprisingly grisly tale; I’ll leave it to you to follow the link and read the details yourselves.
On looking at “The Children’s Hour” again just now, as adult and parent and even grandparent, I have to say that the deeper point of the poem used to be lost on me but now I get it – especially the last few stanzas. The entire thing is a description of how the three youngest of Longfellow’s children pretend to surprise him towards the end of the day in his study, making believe he is a fortified castle and they are an invasion force. The game is fun, and Longfellow plays along.
But those last three verses reveals how Longfellow really feels:
Do you think, O blue-eyed banditti,
Because you have scaled the wall,
Such an old mustache as I am
Is not a match for you all!I have you fast in my fortress,
And will not let you depart,
But put you down into the dungeon
In the round-tower of my heart.And there will I keep you forever,
Yes, forever and a day,
Till the walls shall crumble to ruin,
And moulder in dust away!
The particular fortress that was Longfellow has long since mouldered away, along with all of his children. But the poem and the feeling remain – although I doubt many school-kids are taught to memorize the poem these days.
Fugit inreparabile tempus.
Apropos of that photo caption: My grandmother (a schoolteacher in her youth) used to recite a poem by Caroline Norton (1808-1877) titled “Bingen on the Rhine”– though I doubt she knew about the poet’s adulterous relationship with Lord Melbourne, Queen Victoria’s first prime minister.
First stanza: A soldier of the Legion lay dying in Algiers,
There was lack of woman’s nursing, there was dearth of woman’s tears;
But a comrade stood beside him, while his life-blood ebbed away,
And bent, with pitying glances, to hear what he might say.
The dying soldier faltered, and he took that comrade’s hand,
And he said, “I nevermore shall see my own, my native land;
Take a message, and a token, to some distant friends of mine,
For I was born at Bingen,–at Bingen on the Rhine.
You can read the rest of Norton’s poem here: https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/bingen-rhine
The other association I have with Rhine-related poetry is that old German anti-French song, “Die Wacht am Rhein,” which you can listen to here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JT-xxcD9_w&ab_channel=FriedaSchmidt
And its Yale version, “Bright College Years”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0kMqI9sGRM&t=23s&ab_channel=Dr.Ludwig%27sarchive
And of course, Heine’s “Die Lorelei.”
I remember Bingen-am-Rhine because my daughter and I stayed at a hotel in an old castle – Schloss Rheinfels (which was absolutely beautiful, and historic, and whose dining room looked out over the river, and honestly, I thought we could have dropped bread rolls down on the railway tracks at the food of the rock cliffs that the hotel and castle ruins were built on). I had to have my old Volvo serviced at a garage in Bingen, while we went sightseeing. We had apparently gotten some bad gasoline at some point, which fouled the engine. The Rhine valley, and the Mosel, too – were beautiful beyond words.
I have now retired from my community college teaching job, but I always taught this poem in my American Literature classes, along with “Paul Revere’s Ride” and “The Wreck of the Hesperus.” These have become classics for a reason.
“Bingen on the Rhine” is quoted in Stephen Crane’s “The Open Boat.” The author says that when he was out at sea in an open boat trying to survive, the poem suddenly meant something to him.
I’m not sure what’s up with the Rhine, but Western reservoirs I can tell you a little about: the Gang Green, years ago, instituted policies for releasing water that assured it would get to this point.
Everyone knows that the population of the Western States has increased substantially over the past fifty years. So they assume that water consumption has gone up concomitantly. Actually, aggregate water usage in the West is down to about what it was in the mid-sixties. Between more efficient water use commercially and residentially, along with running industry, mining, and agriculture out, the total water used in the West is about what it was in 1965.
But it’s a DROUGHT!!! Well, yeeeeeesss…
But there have always been dryer years followed by wetter years followed by dryer years… But as an averaged whole, precipitation has actually gone UP in the past sixty years. We’re in a dryer period right now, but not as dry as the dry period of about fifty years ago.
What the Gang Green had been doing is basically not allowing reservoirs to hold water when it’s wetter so it’s there in the dryer period. I noticed it this year when I was in Idaho. The nearby reservoir was very low, but the canals were running fast and high in the spring. I’ve never seen the canals that full and far that early. I keep reading about a “drought” in Idaho. But the populated part of the state is also the dryest. And rely on reservoirs and snow melt. Snow this year was better than some years and not as good as others. Which is to say, there should be more water in the reservoir.
But the Gang Green instituted a policy by which water is released early and often with no regard for reserving it for future drought conditions.
“Even in a world that’s being shipwrecked, remain brave and strong.”
Hildegard of Bingen
“Glance at the sun. See the moon and stars. Gaze at the beauty of the green earth. Now think.”
Hildegard of Bingen