|
LALLA ROOKIE;
0)11 MENTAL ROtMANCE.
THOMAS M 1 l It E
( I N IAI NN A TI:
J .1 i I i.\jil V J LN T T'REEr,
BE IA EN F-I RTH f NL fill
1 448.
-7. i.
TO
\1MIUE[. ROG(;ER., Em,.,
THIS POFM IS DEDICATED,
b V HI i IEi Y; i iF [k i.'I ,. ri 0 i
A. Frl.TI,,' i \ i r -+liP ,
TIhO)l5 JJMOORE
A. 1,, I 1, ;1."
LALLA ROOKH.
IN iNh eFk.rinTh \:ar .-f 'he reign .1 Auring-
7. le. AbdIllaih Knc ul the L .-'rr bh.jbria, a
Itil.ti l J s..*.Jdaror I.r.,m lie I.'r i' l 7.irngl. having
aJd sti hiw 'I'" th'ri in m..r rI tie 'fnl, sei jiut
.-'r.' : r, n i nr -, ii h. rir.vh h r ih' Prophet ;
ac.-J pi z t 411 ... Irdil [ltr.-.A..li III, jr i -h'tful val-
It- i.l a r-lnir. ir dil i..r a -h.-..t iine i Ui Delu
i.r t, a w.is. Her '. 1_ H rirlJiiJd tj .\ urungze-
b( in a -IlI ''i r'.-ninli. rI kiusi'an aliv. ,'urihy
al.ikf i.l : ii.jr -,rid he ij. 'i, arid an- alter-
vurd 'i ..i, i'. i h- _iri0 .-Flrie 'J'- r to Sut ar,
mw r ,t I b.- n lb'tr e.1r. l Ar"iL. ii [ 'Drine [the clay
ofl 'i- i ,i- a l F'l r, at l Ltcll-i,, u marriage was
Oa r'-.l *,.".i'n t.:t r. '', n ih.: Prirc'- In .r-., a nd
ih- \.',irc' :- dr ,i-ibitr '..1 ir E,[.ripcror. L .LLA
I..:. iit .- Pr.i-i J.: :r it d b thie p-'?raool
h Ir .nir a, n...r,. I l:'j l ih a Lcli.. Shrine,
i.. i-J:, ,-.r ab\ '.,I hi"',. htr-.'.iie- w ha rI i mes
:.1i-J j,,-n. inilelii tiI -hAI r,..a_-i ,:,I Prt- ia and
H md ..-ii. Ii um s nT. r.dced that the. niipiial
h 'ildJ t '.l-.Ite.ed'.aJ t.ahnicre; r hr-.e the
-sui' K.r-,e. a" ----n a- ihfi c-re -1 ti.e Empire
wi.uld p timii. asc i'.' iric 't, lir the Cirst time.
hia loly biidc. and 8a11E r a le mrnmbha' repose
in Iha, enrchanir.2 .Illr'. coriduci her over the
6nowiy hll- inio Bui haria.
Tulip C'nee
6 LALLA ROOKIE.
The day cfl LA[.LLEA Riuai' dparrurc from
Delb, was as -pl-red.d a. jurshinE aid pageantry
could rrak uii. The b-.,aare and bath, w-.rc all
covrred w.oh ih,. nr.hr-iil apeeir, ; hundreds '-1'
gilded barie'i_. upmn thc. Jumnn loaviaed with ihir
banfnere shining a, iie .rlertr ; il ihr:.u-h the
atrei group; of ',iariuill child frn w r -iri -.
ing the moil de'lirOu fl rovwer. arouI nd. a;in ihi
Per gan ini.tI al called it1' .r-. rin.. l : Rc.-
se" ; till evc ry part i lihe ciIV u, fracriran
as iI a cuaraan 1 mu-k frnm Khnier had prsieed
through it. 1 tie PF'rn-.;, hra.inl taktn I,-ae
FoI her kind father. wIho,.n partin -hung a cor-
rnelian of Y lien round her rei'k, or in. v .h
wag inenrinbl: a roc Ir.'-ni he Ki-ran.-a-in
having sicnt a rronidcrable pre-ent lu iht- fakira
Swho kepI up the Perr-cliiii Lamp in her i,,ter's
lomb, meekly rus(:endrd thc prjl-nkfen p-ripared
fIor hbr, and while Alurunr.be Ei,,od o10 ake
the last look fr-.,m hi i b i-...ny. ihe pr.ceaion
moved slowly r.n ihe roid wi Lah.,re
Scld'umr had the Ea itrn w rld s,.en a caval-
cadc ai superb F[r, ni ihei ardir,- in ih.- uiJ-
urbs. to tlie Imperial prIljce, ii a_ onae unrl'ro-
ken line olf cplendir. 'I Ii chllant app ardnceof
the Rajas and M -iaul I.id, d..-ig h'-il: by
thoae insignia i.f the Emperor' lfi.-r, ihe leaih-
erar fil the egre o Cailmere in their turbanes, and
the small tlier-rirnmed keiltt-drum rwi the bows
of their saddle, :-the cooll, arnwor Li their cav-
alhers. whovied on 'ihj Oc.:a4don ifl h the guards
of the great Keder Kahn, in the brightness of
their silver battle-axes and the messiness of their
maces of gold; the glittering of the gilt pine ap
Gul ReaZee.
AN ORIENTAL ROMIANIE. ,
pies on ihe tnp, of [he palankeens;-ihe em-
broilrcd irariipair_- of Ih el pharir, toirting ,.n
the.r bLackc small lurrtnI in ihe shjp. ou ilmle
ant[4ue i. rnpl, -. 'ihii hi h [i1.- lidii f ol L-
LA Rui R IV. a IL t'er: *:i-:hrnilld ; lie ruse-
color..J l Ili-: [. 'lu li: ,;' .- it I dii p uuU
litter, -i rttc rir. I Of i h h a i i r ..iLri- -rmal,3
slave iri f'aiin- I.-ir ihrou;h rhi: ,irr lias 'nuh
fear. 'r .:.I I Ar r,-r.\ _U4 hrrit- mii Cie: ; finl ihe
low 1 'r..op oI 'ijriarian ari-I Cta.Iri .tiari mvils
ofhowir, rh...rn 1hie i-0 %ii:g Kine had s:ii 10 ac-
cor.i ,r.i hi intld aid k i... r...l- .,ri :a.'I esd
ofthe lrier. upon -lail -r.bi irr lii:-r- ;:-all
was I ri nr. iaL -.jul ,r-.J | .;rnr i'.ii arid plieas-
ed c hr, iii cnih.. di a .nl ilnsi.i- t f AIErEFN,
GrEat Ntu.qr ...r Ch niii ...1:.f ilir H-akin. wiho
was bL:'rr. irl tJ i iii r,:i min :d.i o'tl Alir the
Prin. :s nd L.iiioi ..r. d hntr ,,l nor the least
irnp..a- r i.i e.]i c >:[ I ie p i-.. int.
F .i L rLr Fr; w'si a I'J'.J >I" ,I rvy hinn., Irom
the p(ri..nlir...- ii a df 'I.r'i .-i d i IrI t'l1 lhe
deep 'r ,a e .i .rc[ ..I -. : ri.:f a'i lileratr ; I'rom
thie ii ir ..ire*I a cairi eri u rFi ,c 1i 3 t i l,) the
comip.io'illr.ri ., a i c~p"' p... i : nsid u-.h inlj,-rince
had hi: op.in..n up:.n ihi %jrnoi- r'i' oil ihe
day. that all rhe .-'.:.k a d pi..i- i r .f ,I hi J t.- d
in a %e --1i hm r .i p:.lI.r l t.ia .i'i andl ..pin-
ionE 'ri t-l'jrili-rJ iier p..n ih i li oi l Sa-i]. Should
the Prin.-. wi rin....n-Ja e., i J.r n.iht. d-.:lara
tha! ,'i t h.:.- J th- [iir ....i I 1 ar -'r- .A nd hi3
zea. l..ar r'.ijnr....l which .Au..r.r'i'be wa. a mu-
nificer.- pr,:,i :ior, :. j ..:mul is dianiirlrc.rl. ae
that of ifl- .:.ld-ir.ih wh.. lell in lote w ilh the
diamond eyes of ihie id:.l of Jaghernaui.
Diirng the tirt dias olf htir journey, LaLLA
Rooke, who had passed all het lile iihian tha
8 LALLA ROOKH.
shadow of the Royal Gardens of Delhi, found
enough in the beauty of the scenery through
which they passed to interest her mind and de-
light her imagination; and, when at evening, or
in the heat of the day, they turned off from the
high road to those retired and romantic places
which had been selected for her encampments,
sometimes on the banks of a small rivulet, as
clear as the waters of the Lake of Pearl ; some-
times under the sacred shades of a banyan tree,
from which the view opened upon a glade cover-
ed with antelopes; and often in those hidden,
embowered spots, described by one from the Isles
of the West, as, places of melancholy, delight
-and safety, where all the company around was
wild peacocks and turtle-doves ;"-she felt a
charm in these scenes, so lovely and so new to
her, which for a time, made her indifferent to
every other amusement. But LALLA ROOKH
was young, and the young love variety ; nor
could the conversation of her ladies and the great
Chamberlain, FADLADEEN, (the only persons, of
course, admitted to her pavilion,)sufficiently en-
liven those many vacant hours, which were de-
voted neither to the pillow nor the palankeen.
There was a little Persian slave who sung sweet-
ly to the Vina, and who now and then lulled the
Princess to sleep with the ancient ditties of her
country, about the loves of Wamak and Ezra,
the fair haired Zal and his mistress Rodahver:
not forgetting the combat of Rustam with the
terrible White Demon. At other times she was
amused by thosegraceful dancing girls of Delhi,
who had been permitted by the Brahmins of the
Great Pagoda to attend her, much to the horror
of the good Musselman FADLADEtEN, who could
%N ORIVNrtL ROMANric. 9
sre r-r'hini -rmr-1.ii or n"r.-Il.Ir in lideior;,
nird it ". ..in ihe- .-r ii-..Iisir. iu their g*jicn
uri sh % l lrn jl...r-kiir31]..ri.
Hill it'.. 3r..j ni ii rl: r .Ji.ir ..ni tt" i re-
r irr il Id L L t r. I. r ..il li-,r ..I ,r. l.., i n- h is
anrd nl... Tn- t- ,.j. I -i i' n.. .,- h ritiily,
'lF-ri il Ir Li. II ..ll i 1. F ilit rin.trig
Tihc 3 Ir, ndi ii : i; r ...'- i -.l r. %a4 a
,iutii,, *iEil .,nI t h ehneif nilj. Ii I r-I br.icd
ihr.n. l 1.., i i .i \',Ili l..,r il. n.,,r.,: r of reI L-'in
IhlI .'- r.,, ; ol r h, E .h .. r n ...r his R.oyal
.ii.rr hli.f ..._ .r'-d t- Lpr-i.l- .- ,I bL rLing ad-
Inicri Toi iblr, [.i i]-nl i ..: rnii.- tha' be
[ai t t h -. -I. F: Ii .- r i- i r, : ..ri rih jp)ur-
li, ,1 .h :.,lj[l is ,., i t.1' ,1 r l.:' ii -i] A tl
Ih, ni," r..I n. t" 1 ."-I n A t fel.%ai- d his
cruri. l -.i,h r i.d Fiji n, r..l ir. I.:J il- fia-
ll\' ,h .l J ,**- .,I I Ilit l. _lll,' .rpurnl a h -ll.h
1; i tllr.: d Ir...i Ih-t bl...I i-, ) ...I 0 0 I h l-.'.F
a,.: i--. I..r rl.p nIri rrri l i,.. Ir. l.i .tih in-
-h.: [ i i* Ii. r .. i .' in Ir,. Ill,. Ee n
a r. Irjfi-n h h.rij i .- r..:.-ir L.' E; in h r
rl i,:ll l '. hl ll. T,] ., ,J ....r.',.l.,dJ It', Ii lh 't i.E :l-
,.nrl r.. -r i' I ii...r.t..l, nd..v_. Otthl-i: ,.- i pr-,ted
-.bur .rrl, i. i .l,i r...,, c\ln-.ir...r ... I r reii hie r;
- he Ii 11i l -in .1 h-. I i r i. :lIikr htr j.ori
i-. i nt, ..-r I l ; p .i-. r ,,.i,: ..*I l .i; li .., ; ir e
.- a i, l ....., 1;. ] .. t' .. r. a .:,
h1', .-r h. )., { lip r a ,I. l I ..I ...,;l rl rl l i Iw -.Jt --
", h 'i hi-," r,.'[.' h.ar r n,) inn % i:.ijrn. .ri'r "nn'ilrn. ,
-. r,, i I, i .hl i i'h iu l'r:,, v i r '', I-- iil rv
E ,. '..c f .. ii llmr rr ],,,-n I hi .ura thip-
pir_ I. h'.l.,.r HI dr- 3 -,as6lirMple. e.l not
m lh u).jT ...rr.. mirkn( '... L'-",lhr1-n a : rarnd Ihe La-
Tri In. lln ApOllo
10) LALLA ROOKH.
dies ofl he Princeis war.- r, not I.n.r in dif-.',oer-
ing iht I, i.I.' ih, h i,. i ,: ,r- i.d Ih, hl,. h l'ar-
larin arp, was ,t he rn..i d, e li'.ale kind ilial the
bhal.o."ar ,..I Ihi. r .ippi H r r i hr.- i r. ,
io.'.. o. er iiii i t. -...h .h wad .*.'-,ruli .j b, f low-
(r i .,,dl.- .I IK'iha hIui... -in'ir il ,II f io pe rl,
(disp..-pr:.i% ,ril-i ar ir or l i.iJ,.r. i h,.;_l_ l.. r-.ir
did ihi ijiwiie tnb.t :r. ol I. i.indhl, '-a-
cap. LiB ubctr'. a11)1i ll the6 fatir CIeL,.s, v, ho,
however they might give way to FADLADEEN up-
on the unimportant topics of religion and gov-
ernment, had the spirits of martyrs in every
thing relating to such momentous matters as
jewels and embroidery.
For the purpose of relieving the pauses of re-
-citation by music, the young Cashmerian held
in his hand a kitar;-such as, in old times, the
Arab maids of the West used to listen to by
moonlight in the gardens of the Alhambra-and
having premised, with much humility, that the
storyhe was about to relate was founded on the
adventures of that Veiled Prophet of Khorassan
who, in the year of the Hegira 163, created such
alarm throughout the Eastern empire, made an
obeisance to the Princess, and thus began:-
THE VEILED PROPH CT
OF
KHORASSA ,.'
In that delightful Province (1 I lt :ri.n,
The first of Persian lands he sl .... .. j.:..,
Where, all the loveliest children .-,-i heini.
Flowerets and fruits blush overt tr% rr- iri,
And, fairest of all streams, the NI. -. i ia.,
Among MEROU'st bright palacr- a 1' e L- r ;-
There, on that throne, to which rI,-' 1h,.1 I.il.:'
Of millions rais'd him, sat the Pi.lph. i-Lhi.ir.
The Great MOKRANA. O'er h, Icatulr- ihur;
The Veil, the Silver Veil, which I. tj.j.1 duni
In mercy there, to hide from mri Il Ci ilht
His dazzling brow, till man could Iual r-i bilat.
For, far less luminous, his votaric. -.i. i
Were ev'n the gleams, miracul),,l:, .h id
O'er MoussA'st cheek, when d.:., n tle r.iount he
trod,
All glowing from the presence of li- G(.1i!
On either side, with ready he.,ri. and htand.,
His chosen guard of bold Belikr slIn.if,
*Khorassan signifies, in the old P-.r.i ar ,inJIuaE,
Province, or region of the sun.---i1, I' .4.,,,'.
t One of the Royal Cities ofKhar.,iian
t Moses.
NI THE VEILrD PROPHET OF hHOR%'3AN.
Young fire-eyed disputants, who deem their
swords,
On points of faith, more eloquent than words;
And such their zeal, there's not a youth with
brand
Uplifted there, but, at the Chief's command,
Would make his own devoted heart its sheath,
And bless the lips that doom'd so dear a death!
In hatred to the Caliph's hue of night,*
Their vesture, helms and all, is snowy white;
Their weapons various;-some, equipped for
speed,
With javelins of the light Kathaian reed;
Or bows of Buffalo horn, and shining quivers
Fill'd with the stems that bloom on IRAK 's rivers;
While some, for war's more terrible attacks,
Wield the huge mace and ponderous battle-axe;
And, as they wave aloft in morning's beam
The milk-white plumage of their helms, they seem
Like a chenar-tree grove, when Winter throws
O'er all its tufted heads his feathering snows.
Between the porphyry pillars, that uphold
The rich moresque-work of the roof of gold,
Aloft the Haram's curtain'd galleries rise, [eyes,
Where, through the silken net-work, glancing
From time to time, like sudden gleams that glow
Through autumn clouds, shine o'er the pomp be-
low:-
SBlack was the color adopted by the Caliphs of the
House of Abbas, in their garments, turbans, and
standards.
t Pichula, used anciently for arrows by the Per-
sians.
THE VI ILLD PR ..PHr.r OF KiIORASIAN. 13
Whai ipt i. 1..u C tinf t. l.ILI'-hilu saini-. would
To liur, IItil autjh ht but Hea.r'n hiji pla.c.J yYou
i.n rit '
Or thit th.- I...r l lti i- ; t 'ol "'rl r.:.ulhi hind
In th.ir gro- ; .:h .I. s\,, .r pr. lii:i'- -*eirI l ild
No-w---r.lILful Ih,.lt' --eu.lll'li'hrind I'roII
T .-i pt.'- rp l ...l ,, t...-,:r, ih -.h ,pr' .,I Ia e,
it l're.tur, -. I. [.li l[ iT tih. ..*i *, ir- n11 -. -a
T'h. iw r on c iilh will ,.-',- Pjrlh.-
T Ih,. r r, i.-11 ar...l L l[. '1 n1 ,lh r_1 1[ll..l .
Arid r-in.,r i i EH' it i lth Lii'- Ii n, r..''. r Ia. e'.
\An I har.h r h% Pr...lcl,-l_'l .l li, tt.IJJin e onr e.
Ari,| *T'v r\ f : I u'e..s.' riL i l b:'...jlth hi' i un.
From iI'i..i-. wTin. kir.'-l at B a..sl '4 LI lrnirin
l..'. riit '
'' ith P rF Ih .ll1'i ,ltl, 1 tl,.urt titc 'lT X 1EoN'"t
Fra.ii Pu t-i.t'- c\.- *,t lull r.iL i Its l r' 'l-kt ray,
Anr II .i t i st.. | ....' n I, in d .\z. it i'ud rktir euJles.
Arnd ill. Cul'.J r ,r h -l, ,,f .lilh \\ (-_,:i-n I el.;
All. .I. art ltrr.,--a-'t l.uliJ L i- doIUr haltlh
To I...rir tLtt f(ur i.,:ur.: NsrsL'rn for H,.ien!
Burt sh" ili. 'I_..jl ni. ihi- jrm-Jd ar nTTvr !
Wlh I iunhiumi r. i- it. rn:t Ih .'l w.eil,
\1'Ilb l tr i-r,, ..I th. ri h -h- 'lhr [ i ,
Bwil.' hiI ri' ihib t itl'd aoi'I .s.sltl ft's.,
T Il.brr in I'.t r.1i irn "li IhlinTa nreatr Chiilt -
gi:| ;intr .d h' t .-- I', r. .
I (lina.
14 THE VEILED PROPHET OF KHORASSiN.
Like tulip-bed.. of dJik rent shape, and diveg,
Bendindg bnea-ah lh' iin-i.I.l- %%\ L-.win.J'.- ighs I
W hat neta-nadi- iir .N r i .ut l i.r F".tih IL '-i ,ll
An.d tIj,-l.J t1.m st il. as tLltnm urni. d*tirne,-
\Vhit ilazzll..: inir rlli.'rN .ilI |tI T. p. w r
Hath dtn l. -L.i Pr,:.f.l ,r I l.iii, ir hj r .!-w i. hoar
N.,It 0.h the [pagii.it noiw, thi.u-i th n...l le,
[Ir.,ud.-
Y.in w.irt...r uull. ivliii.ii: i.-n itt cru i d,
1V t Ih -l,.,r t. ,it.tih l.,l|i ,'| l.r...i, r'J cripe,
.\A nJ ur-b,.,lihJ t..,rr,.[ ,: .l' h i..:l, arin ,A ,,ipu,
S.i fliirt.li lu-iI ul JI l.:.fri atJi-If iv.. .,
like nt r'-. ilii pl .i in .1 -hirrer -' kv ;-
That. v-.uth i,-ij ,- i j.r.-rlvi.-. ,.rth h..r,jes
( 'i',..,ukr -pril- Jlil. I -- pr i.ti, 'd, ..nd.,-
1;- runit l .i.ir all nrivi ra .iryJ bell. 1
The cre e riij ;ijn.IJal ,. i h, I .c n.--iin Chiel.
Thbiuh ; w his'r-',the \\ .e.t lr.: adv knows
Y ,urc Azir 'sm Il1 ;-.,-....rid Ih' I'lympian
Ere mnit-..,J J1 Arker,'I ,.'cr I .Iown.y ch-'ek.
O'r,n r t. line.. lip f n.l i[.r .o i'. the (;r-.ek,"
H-: lir. r'..I h. re v ill p,..- ,i,....i. '.J hi- hains;
(hr! v h,) coil.l, C '0ri iin Ih ..J :'l r. ii th plains
( l )1 ; rh s ( i i i:c r i..,r ..I i h 1.-Ia rliu'
Kindlinie i tiblm hhii j..i. "ith It. if ..nd rvyei;
4',Id ii .ilk ii h re lt ll-t hl .d 1,-i:n riii r a-r
T hl sh,_uL, I;,,r-prrr, ,, h, r ]J.:,'V,
N-,r I ,.I ho. -. ,.i.J-li;, brELljihi.ri ir ip air
S il niut.-l-y Ald h. r irpri t bj i titi here
In th.- '.r of'lie t.'itrrt I.'i raI ri.i.n-r t 11.fr Em-
pr-.a Irn,: Iur it n.uUit! I .-h'1 .n, mse O-ls bon,
\til I
THE VEILED PROPHET OF KHORASS4N. 15
N..t li. that youthful wv.rridr.-no. ioo well
For lIu- -ial' uij..il i work'd the awakenirng pell;
Arid now. relunii-r ii to it- own d ar land,
Fill 1 iho., dream of cAi' that. Lainly Wrand,
Haunr [lie yurng he rt;-|.rou.l Mce of human
k ind,
(.Il nil ii ')'- lc!r.J anJ retln'j ;
I}'id e %.. A,, like lI hri'-i,.. 'e fair dJ ctit.
Shiber- r utr iiLid u -.i -'n ..n. ., m,ala,. to meelt!-
,...r .1- h,-.r.Jl dii a, L'mi. ,VJ, rutl'd
To rii. it lir rn i.ji arid li rll. Jni bz'd
On Itb lai i li M.ri l ,'. hi.st rtifuri'd,
j'l.,e wvir' m ..I *iii.u-nt, ** Frcedom to the
\ orli,"
At 1r.'- Ill6 f6l-. h]I ,ir.1, hu .u uLr p 'd
'Th' inIl- -ir'ia' -unriI ,-; c ery t,:, n blade,
'Tha I-:.ught t.. i, h ith.a, l.i ,,ir' sajTed iext,
f'ccrnm .. lul 'JL.I. 1 ,r ith,- i.,rl.J nnd ihe next;
And n.:'-r d.id faith wnh her -mnooth bandage
,inr,.l
CE-. n...r- J d.ou11y will.ii to be bllind.
In .iriJ. '- iU.w r ;-rnctr wa f-,)ul i'-pir'd
I Ilthi Ih h'r Irm.-l in that i r ni. t Ji .sild,
Thar. h;,. th' enthllu-it there, oiho, kneeling,
pile
l\'1rh pr..u- w [,l;-.re ithI Sil .r \'.-i* ,
H .hIr t ihe ;-.rm, ti v.hi. h he h.-nd, hi; knee,
.i -- .iir rcJ rnine anri I, -ent to frhe
Thui feI-r'rd w,.rlI froni ,-, r bond anJ stain,
And L'i'ng. ,- primil dalirct bia.k a'a;n !
.n-ow a- ."ung A\zi' knilt, that motley cronvd
Of 01ill carthi's nation sunk the knee and bow'd
I16 THE VEILrD PROPHET 01' KIIUR.lSA.N.
With shout o1" A t !" echoina lIne "nd loud;
W while high in ir. al-,., e th, Pr.:.ph' t's htLad.
Hundred' aof ,rbiicr. ItC the una.ean .I-read,
W av'di, ld-k the ixnm- ul their hiie .ir.j.- that ti n
Tihe lvin thirr.,: o -ar-taUj ht 'SN)LIMI. !
Tte-n ihu cI he puke:--- -.rninger, irIoi vi-h nrw
lh:- Ir jil.e
Trh iiil iihJlat- n.;.w. I''w tr.ck'J it- lime
F.,r nmarl lrrl j.. in i '. rh iihi- arnl dance
Of thlt exi l.ti r -i r hr. rJLV ,h.i.-* i.%ram d range.
A throuu.-b a l.ari:h-race, hc ere, from hund to
handle.
The iin Inolu'l train mnn their l-h.r;*inr brand.
From rrir.:. l r treine ihI urt.e tiriJ :ii- h'J E-,ul
Raupidl iJ,-'e, ull At rach tihe V-r.1 !
N.r fi,;nk 't.- urlr tle I T..s -Spir;ts, warni'J
WVith Ju-kier rit and I.r i'rih'e ii-.Jiuni larm'J
That rLun it- .ur-e ;-Beir.., ti. t aonil dJine,
ThJl s dei'lri thr..uch ,irfk ir:iii,, liry r -hirne.
'Ul l W 31 lli -- rl(- i Itl.1 II' 1 10 A b % I l .II..
T.o whlh ll He-', ecu \c|lt theI- ProuJ One
kn.ll :T
4uh:h t-h, r,.'rinln ri Ir.ll .e.:e ihjt i l,''.',J
lii Mt.r-- c .- tm. :- nd, thierei- de-. .:ndirig
i...w'.l
ThIrueach rI iny r. .ra-hr.:-l' breath' ;-in l.t
*Trielr irin iil..11r ardijl' 'ume i" l Joe-
trIr. l:t. Ii'il. *
i A l, .l:r -l Airiri III K ,r-A p l4 i rir,'p
A.di rt ihf dll e r.iiei[,..d lir. r.pi Ltid iLuci-
fer,) who refused."---7The Koran, clhap. it.
Jesus.
THE VEILED PROPHFT OF KHORASSAN. 17
And in Mnns it'rD o burned; ti11, hastening on,
(As a bright river. that Ir.m fall ti fiall
In miniay a m.i.: d, 4-n.Jdr,a. i.':hh itir.-ush all,
Frind .:,,rei I ir itfion iii re, ,cih lih'riith past,
fr. ..-.W lull lak.- ..I' i heiht i r. -1 .i t l..r )
Ti t l-l.- l :'rpiir. ?.eIliiid Calmn inJ fri.'
1"Frrm jlapn e ,i .b i.j.., .iti.:- iii. mi!"
.\i.jii, throdJhirltl tll" js.emnly at theae words
Th,,,J ,-jd ,I v-..i'e runi. ; the i-."rri.r'_ _words
Stri pi.Lridr. up t,~ b. 'n ; a 'udilen wind
In th' open bai.ncrr plit '. ar'l l irm i hiriJ
T i'i.'--c PLr..iin hilini .-i ai t ii. l [ii ,ill .:..uJJ screen
TIh' Harnni'4' i.:.linr-'., w rhjit Iiand wetrr seen
,11 9 i rnm br.-.;J..r .J *.: ri, ..:,., lrt l ri .ie
A pi ri m"e I.,rih :-li k thu.,: thl Hourts jL" e
\hAitl L-io'k ,ring to tliher L.ini: th' Inmmortal
** t the.-:," pursued ihe Ch'l, ** are truths
.ublrri.m,
Thla clam a holer mtod and ialmer time
Thi tnxih illoi 0l no)w ;-tih- ,.rdJ triut tinst
The .l.,rklin, prionr-hou-e o i minkind burst,
Erc Price con i i. r them., ..r Truth l:i in
Hir neakeriiri d.y-hebt in a i. rld I"fsmn!
Bul th,-i. c(lE-tial wanrriur. Itbrn, xhi.-n all
E irh', .hnnres and lbrum., ticjre our banner iall;
\,hen ihe glad slate shall at Dh- e Seet Iny down
Hi te-I.klenl b j0in, tht r)rIJi l:'rilr hi crow n,
The pri .- hi, book, the ,oniquiror Iun .' Tejih.
\nrid fr':m the lips olTruibh one mnighty breath
Shall, like a iturlwind, 6.Watler in its breeze
18 TRE VEIIED PROPHET OF KHORASSAN.
That whole dark pile of human mockeries ;-
Then shall the reign of Mind commence on earth,
And starting fresh as from a second birth,
Man, in the sunshine of the world's new spring,
Shall walk transparent, like some holy thing!
Then, too, your Prophet from his angel brow
Shall cast the veil that hides its splendors now,
And gladden'd Earth shall through her wide ex-
panse,
Bask in the glories of his countenance!
For thee, young warrior, welcome!-thou hast yet
Some task to learn, some frailties to forget,
Ere the white war-plume o'er thy brow can
wave;-
But, once my own, mine all till in the grave!"
The pomp is at an end-the crowds are gone-
Each ear and heart still haunted by the tone
Of that deep voice, which thrill'd like ALLA's
own !
The young, all dazzled by the plumes and lances,
The glittering throne, and Haram's half-caught
glances;
The old, deep pondering on the promised reign
Of peace and truth; and all the female train
Ready to risk their eyes, could they but gaze
A moment on that brow's miraculous blaze!
But there was one among the chosen maids
Who blushed behind the gallery's silken shades-
One to whose soul the pageant of to-day,
Has been like death;-you saw her pale dismay,
Ye wondering sisterhood, and heard the burst
Of exclamation from her lips, when first
THE VEILED PROPHET OF KHORASSAN. 19
She saw that youth, too well, too dearly known,
Silently kneeling at the Prophet's throne.
Ah ZELICA there was a time, when bliss
Shone o'er thy heart from every look of his;
When but to see him, hear him, breathe the air
In which he dwelt, was thy soul's fondest prayer!
When round him hung such a perpetual spell,
Whate'er he did, none ever did so well.'
Too happy days! when, if he touch'd a flower
Or gem of thine, 'twas sacred from that hour;
When thou didst study him, till every tone,
And gesture, and dear look, became thy own,--
Thy voice like his, the changes of his face
In thine reflected with still lovelier grace,
Like echo, sending back sweet music, fraught
With twice th' wrial sweetness it had brought!
Yet now he comes- -brighter, than even he
E'er beam'd before,-but ah! not bright forthee;
No-dread, unlook'd for, like a visitant
From th' other world, he comes as if to haunt
Thy guilty soul with dreams of lost delight,
Long lost to all but memory's aching sight ;-
Sad dreams! as when the Spirit of our Youth
Returns in sleep, sparkling with all the truth
And innocence once ours, and leads us back,
In mournful mockery, o'er the shining track
Of our young life, and points out every ray
Of hope and peace we've lost upon the way!
Once happy pair! in proud BOKHARA'S groves,
Who had not heard of their first youthful loves?
Born by that ancient flood,* which fromits spring
The, Amoo, which rises near the Belur Tag, or
"0 THE VEILED PROPHET OF KHORASSAN.
In th,- d irk mountains swiftly wandering,
Euri. h'd t. every pilgrim brook that shines
\'vii reib- from BUCHAnIA's ruby mines,
And I. ni.Jir to the Caspian half its strength,
In th.e ...id Lake of Eagles sinks at length;-
Tlwr', o.n the banks of that bright river born,
The li.,wcr, that hung above its wave at morn,
BIc5s'd r..1 [he waters, as they murmured by
With h,,lir scent and lustre, than the sigh
And -ri.n glance offirst affection cast
U; pon ihr youth's smooth current, as it passed!
ilm w jr .J-surbed this vision-far away
1fo'-m her flnd eyes summoned to join th' array
Of PERSIA'S warriors on the hills of THuACE,
The youth exchanged his sylvan dwelling place
For the rude tent and war-field's deathful clash;
His ZELIcA's sweet glances for the flash
Of Grecian wild-fire,-and love's gentle chains
For bleeding bondage on BrZAsTIUM's plains.
Month after month, in widowhood of soul
Drooping, the maiden saw two summers roll
Their suns away-but, ah! how cold and dim
Ev'n summer suns when not beheld with him!
From time to time, ill-omen'd rumors came,
(Like spirit tongues, muttering the sick man's
name,
Just ere he dies,)-at length those sounds of
dread
Fell withering on her soul, "AzIm is dead!"
Dark Mountains, and running nearly from east to
west, splits into two branches, one of which falls in-
to the Caspian sea, and the other into Aral Nahr, or
the Lake of Eagles.
THE VEILED PROPHET OF KHORASSAN. '21
Of grief, beyond all other griefs, when fate
First leaves the young heart lone and desolate
In the wide world, without that only tie
For which it lov'd to live or fear'd to die:-
Lorn as the hung-up lute, that ne'er hath spoken
Since the day its master-chord was broken!
Fond maid, the sorrow of her soul was uch,
Ev'n reason blighted sunk beneath its tou.-h ;
And though, ere long, her sanguine spirit rcse
Above the first dead pressure of its woes,
Though health and bloom returned, the delicaLe
chain
Of thought, once tangled, never cleared ag; n.
Warm, lively, soft as in youth's happiest .1 y.
The mind was still all there, but turn'd a tra.y
A wandering bark, upon whose pathway *b.me
All stars of heav'n except the guiding ont !
Again she smil'd, nay, much and brightly smif'd,
But 'twas a lustre, strange, unreal, wild;
And when she sung to her lute's touching: strain,
'Twas like the notes, halfextacy, half pai,
The bulbul* utters, ere her soul depart,
When vanquish'd by some minstrel's p,;vc rful
art,
She dies upon the lute whose sweetness broke hcr
heart!
Such was the mood in which that mission i;,und
Young ZEICA,- that mission, which around
The Eastern world in every region blest
With woman's smile, sought out its lovel,est,
To grace that galaxy of lips and eyes,
*The Nightingale.
2-' THE VEILED PROPHET OF KHORASSAN.
Which the Veiled Prophet destined for the skies!
And such quick welcome as a spark receives
Dropp'd on a bed of Autumn's wither'd leaves,
Did every tale of these enthusiasts find
In the wild maiden's sorrow-blighted mind.
All fire at once the madd'ning zeal she caught;-
Elect of Paradise! blest, rapturous thought;
Predestin'd bride, in heaven's eternal dome,
Of some brave youth-ha! durst they say of
some ?"
No-of the one, one only object trac'd
In her heart's core too deep to be effac'd;
The one whose memory, fresh as life, is twined
With every broken link of her lost mind;
Whose image lives, though Reason's self be
wrecked,
Safe 'mid the ruins of her intellect!
Alas, poor ZELICA it needed all
The fantasy, which held thy mind in thrall,
To see in that gay Haram's glowing maids
A sainted colony for Eden's shades;
Or dream that he, of whose unholy flame
Thou wert too soon the victim,-shining came,
From Paradise, to people its pure sphere
With souls like thine, which he hath ruin'd here!
No-had not Reason's light totally set,
And left thee dark, thou had'st an amulet
In the lov'd image, graven on thy heart,
Which would have sav'd thee from the tempter's
art,
And kept alive, in all its bloom of breath,
That purity, whose fading is love's death!-
THE VEILED PROPHET OF KHORASSAR. 23
But lost, inflam'd-a restless zeal took place
Of the mild virgin's still and feminine grace;-
First of the Prophet's favorites, proudly first
In zeal and charms,-too well th' Impostor nurs'd
Her soul's delirium, in whose active frame,
Thus lighting up a young, luxuriant flame,
He saw more potent sorceries to bind
To his dark yoke the spirits of mankind,
More subtle chains than hell itself e'er twin'd.
No art was spared, no witchery;-all the skill
His demons taught him was employed to fill
Her mind with gloom and extacy by turns-
That gloom, through which frenzy but fiercer
burns;
That extacy, which from the depths of sadness
Glares like the maniac's moon, whose light is
madness!
'Twas from a brilliant banquet, where the
sound
Of poesy and music breathed around,
Together picturing to her mind and ear
The glories of that heav'n, her destin'd sphere,
Where all was pure, where every stain that lay
Upon the spirit's light should pass away,
And realizing more than youthful love
E'er wish'd or dreamed, she should forever rove
Through fields of fragrance by her Azui's side,
His own bless'd, purified, eternal bride !-
'Twas from a scene, a witching trance like this,
He hurried her away, yet breathing bliss,
To the dim charnel-house;- through all its
steams
24 THE VEILED PROPfEIT OF KH1IRAuS3.N.
Of damp an. dreth, led oinly by tho e gleam.s
Which Ioul corrupti:.n l _h-,. a "unh desicii
To show the ga. ,rJ pr.ud ', t.I ....:n .tiinc-
And pcltiin" onit iLhriULh upribhl rr..atk 0l diJ ad,
\Vhich I,: the. m:.adjn. l..hjtl.h 'r ,t-,j l.v Ir. id,
beem'd through ti he 1lu, 41h dJea '-lhi lit round iii thEm
T)o mo\e their lip- in mtitringi d-i -he 1pa'%i-
There, inr that awiijl pli. tr. .whtn -al hiJ quaTlld
And pli:.d e.J in 4lnrit.e -_i h ua 1i irf l iJr uahi.
u.:h.-,h ithe Iook andl ta-.IP l hlil rtd L,.-..
W'll. haunti her Lill -.' di --lie tibound her -.u.l
By a dark .ijh, Ln hell'. own lan.-rire tan'd,
N -tr, r.hile .irth his rin lr. I r. i-. :- _:cld.',J.
Wtul:, the [blu, airch of ildv hunrr ,m''r thn, ioi l.lt,
Neter. by that all-impre.i.n- a .....th.
In Ijot ,r 0 .wrr..- lr..,i n hro I i.i 1 0 4 %. r.-
'he swur,. an.i the ti dJr i.aarnril t.. m.:.J." '. r,
nevcr"
From li.it dread h..,ut. er.i;rI t|ly, ilv i' en
To hint an.-.h-,. bLtlj t.'il I,til il.I. !-I., Hr nm-n;
Her train, Jh r ht ir. htr pi--ionr all iiitlAur,'.J.
How proud she -t.o.iil.hn it, full Harain nrim'J
Th.' Pril:te.. I [hte FJit !--:.i. l 1 .h'd h, t. u-
W itV h hizhi. ala i.ii i riot o.t t -i.. ki'
When rond'im,J in tirJan-c i le\ ilhJi hiri,
'h sa6aw Ihai Harni kritti, her pro-il.it iur. -h p-
\Wtll rnHiclt Mol. N 1i1. hk Ih.i I;rmin alone
Haid sfll- nougtih tI.. nmk the 1 .orlil lua umn ;
Light, lov,-y limbs, I)to t h h ihe i,,ril'. p.I
Gate m,.,tion airy ad the d.nciig spray,
THE VEILED PROPHET OF RHORASSAN. 25
When from its stem the small bird wings away!
Lips in whose rosy labyrinth, when she smil'd,
The soul was lost, and blushes swift and wild
As are the momentary meteors sent
Across th' uncalm, but beauteous firmament.
And then her look-oh! where's the heart so
wise,
Could unbewildered meet those matchless eyes!
Quick, restless, strange, but exquisite withal,
Like those of angels just before their fall; [crost
Now shadow'd with the shames of earth-now
By glimpses of the heaven her heart had lost;
In every glance that broke without control,
The flashes of a bright but troubled soul,
Where sensibility still wildly played,
Like lightning, round the ruins it had made!
And such was nowyoung ZELICA-SO changed
From her who, some years since, delighted rang'd
The almond groves, that shade BOKHARA'S tide,
All life and bliss, with AZIM by her side!
So alter'd was she now, this festal day,
When, 'mid the proud Divan's dazzling arNy,
The vision of that youth, whom she had lov'd,
And wept as dead, before her breath'd and
mov'd;-
When-bright, she thought as if from Eden's
track
But half-way trodden, he had wandered back
Again to earth, glistening with Eden's light-
Her beauteous A zIM shone before her sight! -
Oh Reason who shall say what qid.1L renew
When least we look for it, thy broken ilew !
26 THE VEILED PROPHET OF KHORASSAN.
Through what small vistas o'er the darkened
brain
Thy intellectual day-beam bursts again;
And how, like forts, to which beleaguerers win
Unhop'd for entrance through some friend within,
One clear idea waken'd in the breast
By memory's magic lets in all the rest!
Would it were thus, unhappy girl, with thee!
But, though light came, it came but partially ;
Enough to show the maze, in which thy sense
Wander'd about,-but not to guide it thence;
Enough to glimmer o'er the yawning wave,
But not to point the harbor which might save.
Hours of delight and peace, long left behind,
With that dear form came rushing o'er her mind;
But oh! to think how deep her soul had gone
In shame and falsehood since those moments
shone;
And, then her oath!-there madness lay again,
And, shuddering, back she sunk into her chain
Of mental darkness, as if blest to flee
From light whose every glimpse was agony I!
Yet, one relief this glance of former years
Brought, mingled with its pain-tears, floods of
tears,
Long frozen at her heart, but now like rills
Let loose in spring time from the snowy hills,
And gushing warm after a sleep of frost,
Through valleys where their flow had long been
lost !
Sad and subdued, for the first time her frame
Trembled with horror, when the summons came
THE VEILED PROPHET Of KHORA S.AN. 27
n\ irmimon proudly nd rare. whi-h oll but she,
.lid 'j i i n .,i'i hj.J l, ardJ ", h i\lrac,,)
C' mr^ Il!,'K j l at hit pilr oI p[rnrr,
A t. > :rn ..r lr.. r:i.....l in.] Il r,
B dlie mtr, ,ri'- -ir I.,rr il] ',1 0 l.|5 e ., e" aL v
'h.. PJr.,. .I ..'I r \, I.1 ri ar'.d i o pr y ;
S..r.]thI+r "- l,, ,' l.r., l **,t n. r I r., t ILh 0 4,
OIJi thu-, ri iit inp-h I ti -i iri lJ L ri.'fn.
Sll I.jt,. n.:. ',*.. -ur, h .u I r ,n h i i b!
A- 1 uri..: Pi...- "li i ar, tIJ u' h, line':. lhAln
Chit.[
\ h n h. .li- C ih., rrn s.. ,. J e ii,:r t.jne
O l' i-, ir: .j. ili i i.[h iit .ji, he. rill Ft t w in,
"['ef I I,,I,-,t,:, .-ur,. ll F. a I lt l IZ(,rl
T'i r I. i(. -l.r. ur. ..a1' I 1 .1 il1 i 1111 [ Jpri l i
H J..I. i Ir- ithnl ow .t r... .:.riti .1i --u l'. dia.-
.And uih.r'.J d -j.h r eii -l-" l m.-r:rorui thing'a,
A, n r:.. It-. ly. -ri je .i ,ril crin '-
rIll ni h-k itir qIrI.-, -, |jijr | iI a- ourt.
"'lhr.= .. i i l.i.; he sl, l..i, ..1' ,Ji-ni.jv ij ,j| ,h l ;
Y 7,: jril.qli..r. h r ir in ..Ll s.w .
TEr. r t...u :i t ..ll hiult. i h r, ,I lh.,t bnrt ht
I.r-..
V 'li l'.- ei I _. in, m- lt'i- irn t con.:eil'dJ,
\\...ul.l ..-..n, pr...u. tr inn ph t.L' I.. r I- T % 'd,
T .- l'-r .J1.l..n mi l 1th, nr t., l ,,opr., i.-. .i: r.
IM ...r w-ill :] jill, r i, i lh,:r ir-ar, -.r ;oi._ I.r-,
M ,l!- Ihl r,3 ; I.', [1ir.-,, h I rtlh'l, or.' ,r t1rE,
"r-.-m %.rh rh Ih pl, r.t i I tJl 1-j L .]. p,. ,iru,
E '"n purr t.in 1 .i .- ,-. pi.rt,irne.s ri-.c
Tfii+ou h ll.i ij ,ni i',kd ic i rt wI iL'core I-i the
'k .c--
28 THEIR. VEILED PROPHir C'F KHORAS3AN.
And twilit whpn A sz i., jrI i e e nihbrice
iuOulJd C0 It hk r i i-', ri. rnj i irke nIL e trace
TL|. llrV Iilil, L'," i.llt, I,: IIID PR.' PIll r
"1'hrv.. a Cirt it l, % .J. iridJ.-L.r d ,:r? ', tus C rl
Had chain'd her soul beneath the tempter's ftet
And made her think ev'n damning falsehoo
sweet.
But now that shape which had appalled he
view,
That Semblance-oh how terrible, if true!-
Which came across her frenzy's full career
With shock of consciousness, cold, deep, severe
As when in northern seas, at midnight dark,
An isle of ice encounters some swift bark,
And, startling all its wretches from their sleep,
By one cold impulse hurls them to the deep;-
So came that shock not frenzy's self could bear,
And waking up each long, lull'd image there,
But check'd her headlong soul, to sink it it
despair!
Wan and dejected, through the evening dusk
She now went slowly to that small kiosk,
Where, pondering alone his impious schemes,
MOKATNA waited her-too wrapt in dreams
Of the fair-ripening future's rich success,
To heed the sorrow, pale and spiritless,
That sat upon his victim's downcast brow,
Or mark how slow her step, how alter'd now
From the quick, ardent, Priestess, whose lighi
bound
THE VEILED PRfIPHET OF KHORASSAr,. 29
"tme like a ,piriF j'Er the uncehoing griurnd,-
'rjn, Ibal %%IJ Zi. Li A, Uwh'j, r):' f el i'ir
IJ th h atJJ F I re, I t'J.'e et' Lh.,JL',F .a trance '
i[i..n b[i riict. trhF e ilh.,J *.u.is s b I.v.
1, t.l .I .p l r i Ir.e.F-r, .. .-t I.I, 1. i t r r y
ilin n ri..-', ,l ii 1.1, i.- 0 h. v I- rh i hil., .pr'a
ri hol' K ... r %,' ; 1 r i ii .I' i. .,:
!ur brill r.i :,, [ u.'l flI chr .. :...l, li;.n.J-l
.. 1.il l-., il' L : hi *.! *I i l i r le i'r ..r i- .'l.-
'p .I iI : l i I ln \'. i' d ii h l h i l il- n 1,i ll. .
t ,, l ii. .l I t1.- J- .r..J ..... L. [, raF ,r
0.i In l .,nrld l I.. jl, Fthoujtl lie [,ue-d on
i li. re,.
St....J ,, ill'. -i',h Ki nf I "f 't cller w rine,
Arni ll: i. J F %F r i -.r I h. .'niiI.I y AI. s .; ;
1.) li I.i i. h i ui ,a i lipf 1.l 111 fu F i dlrauu hl
I',..k /,-.,IFu-l,, iF l h dr[ i. Lh..v qujtl'I.,
l.ikt- Z .'/ pri't .L I H..1,inL.- hj,.i power
r1. Ir i t] th. .ul' rtmirl Inl [l ]'. r !
Arnd 1.ll h.I .Irj iF k -. p .ij r.,:r ,..,uj.j1 se
T]'h.' ppr.i. IeL dn, e i..' hm r, rw ;
AIl ILitrli. Ci.lt. I'iIj h il ul.l lilt.: tl A 'Lich
F'runi EL-. iFt rit Falji -..r Mn. ihe p.., -
C," \ ., %o vm l, r I ,i, .irF '-lt .i, n rl in[ i'n' en,
]'u." Ej r I. MrtrlJ. [ r irf.siiI ki Nll I 1iLU'%ren;
Th iI"i, ,.r -..IT [.;r C,..'r] rnd i 'l rhin ar
r ll ,..i F-r .iIi i' l,- '-- un- i, i i il []. i 1k 'a.
1 ,. .C(r, r,,. ..I 4 11,. S. ,n ..I' eI .,i -- I '. r .,
I Ar, Al- i',l I ir n 1 : I l iln i O .rf', (llc[i shA.J1 r iii
1Iii. ir iii,,
fiir l Ti I IIi- .IIr iF uihi .. il 116 3j 61l .
30 THE VEILED PROPHET OF KHORASSAN.
God's images, forsooth!-such gods as he
Whom INrIA serves, the monkey deity ;*-
Ye creatures of a breath, proud things of clay,
To whom, if LUCIFER, as grandams say,
Refus'd, though at the forfeit of Heaven's light,
To bend in worship, LueCIra was right!
Soon shall I plant this foot upon the neck
Of your foul race, and without fear or check,
Luxuriating in hate, avenge my shame,
My deep-felt, long-nurst loathing of man's name!
Soon, at the head of myriads, blind and fierce
As hooded falcons, through the universe
I'll sweep my darkening, desolating way,
Weak man my instrument, curst man my prey!
"Ye wise, ye learned, who grope your dull
way on
By the dim twinkling gleams of ages gone,
Like superstitious thieves, who think the light
From dead men's marrow guides them best at
niehtt-
Y -I i I .' o honors-wealth,-yes, sages, yes,
I know, grave fools, your wisdom's nothingness;
Undazzled it can track yon starry sphere,
But a gilt slick, a bauble blinds it here.
How I shall laugh when trumpeted along,
In lying speech and still more lying song,
S By these learned slaves, the meanest of the throng;
The god of Hannaman.
A kind of lantern formerly used by robbers, call-
ed the Hand of Glory, the candle for which was
made of the fat of a dead malefactor. This, how-
ever, was rather a Western than an Eastern super-
stition.
THE VEILED FPROPFIET OF KlIORASOAN. 31
Their iLts bought up, their wisd.nm shrunk so
smi] ill.
A scepn,'s pur,. point can nitld it .il!
-" Ye -..', h li: .r.,. -1' m .-r M .le u-re -,
M\ ho.;P Irlih ehn-u, -, ihr m rns-lr-It which it
I tr .-.ii- ;
W" ho. -...ldtr t'rn h ian Ni 't .,r,* lniulk to ruse
B; r.t *,I -c h :.|"'ii .ioo r -nil_-rl e I.. lh- kic ;
1 Shall hr4.1 rif ,r ,.h. ..\ -.urJn ,. t-s I.:,.
fcr ,. ht rdI. ulli-.i d. t.\ ri rihjin Lul ITiIe.
.Your I.rD-.ihni_ > ,. i[.i.. ii.-p.rici L.o ,,k
O( e ra e .:.I" rI n.*,..i tl.r [iA tlrili ltt.,-, peak;
Y ..ur iijurt r,, re- ri 1ji htd .' i l',i'tr blol
F .,r trijdtr- i t.-.. h i r [.jl t .o I r rij tr:l .i ;
Anid 3o r utalt [pn.ciu ..I" .l- d.li'.r ..I the Iore
'T hI .'..,rlk. l' l.,j .-i- I .1. A '" ,-h r,
W' hert i ... i pri, .1 -I t. r. Fi l'jIj 'd t.. ridde
In iL.,l t.. It rn rL.-le t 4 a h god are d .it ;'
T'le .i1.1ll h t.: n -i tr -- i.,. ...,.us lrui
Ilirk.r- to .J J..1. Irl-rr ..irk ;j. li iu.J r' h we' e,
"urk.i tI c.,o ).i. i r, r -lur -I .I t -Ici. w,-L P ,
A\ l' h iim. 11 -n.. 1 .I ri. i i .il ** .i r ,-r r. tte,
'V hile rIll.. r L ._iI i.. l,,., ill th. l., t h ve.
A HeI '. i.... t mu-i' h e.e. to- I. rJ .:.I' Ju.t,-
A ,plri'-.] P.r alr.i--u irL- *,:,l-A, IWr: aiu t:
ThAi Pro--pht Ill mu-tin.- r Lu, holy .,all,
Ali'tO I;r,,J. rr h, i -'ri. t-uit Lh, r l-s f all;
liourntis Ir b..sy *:.mraL.:rinc? l. r eii .,
A rin.J iru I I n.Ja di.i + f..r all r j r.i .- .anir aui- ,.
aiL I r.- !--j lujr .:.r v'rry iIn-.pirn-.
The hie c.-n OI ta-hl ii but whai eieh d:,iires,
'* m ', A',.iV jol I-. p Wj.
32 THE VEILED PROPHET OF KHORASSAN.
And, soul or sense, whatever the object be,
Man would be man to all eternity!
So let him-EBLIS! grant this crowning curse,
But keep him what he is, no hell were worse."-
"Oh my lost soul!" exclaimed the shuddering
maid,
Whose ears had drunk like poison all he said.-
MOKANNA started-not abashed, afraid,-
He knew no more of fear than one who dwells
Beneath the tropics knows of icicles!
But, in those dismal words that reached his ear,
"Oh my lost soul!" there was a sound so drear,
So like that voice, among the sinful dead,
In which the legend o'er Hell's gate is read!
That, new as 'twas from her, whom nought could
dim
Or sink till now, it startled even him.
"Ha, my fair Priestess !" thus, with ready
wile,
Th' impostor turn'd to greet her-" thou whose
smile
Hath inspiration in its rosy beam
Beyond th' enthusiast's hope or prophet's dream !
Light of the Faith who twin'st religion's zeal
So close with love's, men know not which they
feel,
Nor which to sigh for in their trance of heart,
The Heav'n thou preachest, or the Heav'n thou
art !
What should I be without thee ? without thee
How dull were power, how joyless victory !
THE VEILED PROPHET OF KHORASSAN. 33
Though borne by angels, if that smile of thine
Bless'd not my banner. 'rvere but half dime.
But-whby so mournful, child. those eyes. that
All il.f. la.-t nicht-whatl is their gl"ry gone ?
Coure. rome--thi mrorn'-. Itigue haih made them
They want rekindling-suns thcmAslves would
fail.
Did n.i their cornet bring, as I to thee,
T'rom .ighi's own fount, supplies of brilliancy !
Thou seecl his ,up-no juice o earth is here,
But the pure watersof thlt upper sphere,
Whoe rtill o'er ruby Lbd and topa., iluow,
atching the gem's bright clor as thry go.
Nightly my G-enu come arid fill theie urns-
Nay, drink-in etery dr.'.p hi'. c6s nce bums;
'Ttidll make thi t s.ul ll iarr, ih.-.- ece, eall lighl;
Co'ume. come, I want ih.y loivche-.i -mi!e.s to-night :
'1 here i..1 a uth- hy h-Lrt '-Iljou sjaw'st trin,
ihn ;
Li.i..',l I.e rrit ro~hly u.,h the p.'l-like men
Thioul'I h'e t., oi u' tlr irn ihe lowrri albo *-
Thou.h tit. I .ajr. hath thoughts to.). lern for love,
Tol rul'd I.b that cold ei,. my ol bhbI
T'[- .-rlJ calls \'irtue-t' miu-' conquer his-
Nuy shrink not, pretty sige ; 'lis not lur thee
To scan the maues of Hrav'n's mystery.
The seLel mu.t pass through tre. ere nt can yield
fi in tlrumenti for mighty hand- to wield.
Thi' se'r night I mean to try the art
Of powerful beauty on that warrior's heart,
34 TRE VEILED PROPHET OF KHORAAS i..
All that my Haram boasts of bloom and wit,
Of skill and charms, most rare and exquisite,
Shall tempt the boy;-young MIRZALA's blue
eyes,
Whose sleepy lid like snow on violets lies;
AnouYA's cheeks, warm as a spring-day sun,
And lips, that, like the seal of SoLoMOx,
Have n gic in their pressure; ZESA's lute,
And LILLA's dancing feet, that gleam and shoot
Rapid and white as sea birds o'er the deep!-
All shall combine their witching powers to steep
My convert's spirit in that softening trance,
From which to Heav'n is but the next advance;-
That glowing, yielding fusion of the breast,
On which religion stamps her image best.
But hear me, Priestess, though each nymph of
these
Hath some peculiar practised power to please,
Some glance or step, which at the mirror tried,
First charms herself, then all the world beside;
There still wants one to make the victory sure,
One, who in every look joins every lure:
Through whom all beauty's beams concenter'd
pass,
Dazzling and warm, as through love's burning
glass;
Whose gentle lips persuade without a word,
Whose words, ev'n when unmeaning, are ador'd
Like inarticulate breathing from a shrine,
Which our fate takes for granted are divine!
Such is the nymph we want, all warmth and
light,
THE VEILED PROPHET OF KHORASSAN. 3J
To crown the rich temptations of to-night;
Such the refined enchantress that must be
This Hero's vanquisher,--and thou art she !"
With her hands clasp'd, her lips apart and pale,
The maid had stood, gazing upon the Veil
From whence these words, like south-wind,
through a fence
Of Kerzrah flow'rs, came filled with pestilencen,
So boldly utter'd too! as if all dread
Of frowns from her, of virtuous frowns, were fled,
And the wretch felt assured, that once plung'd in,
Her woman's soul would know no pause in sin!
At first, though mute she listened, like a dream
Seem'd all he said; nor could her mind, whose
beam
As yet was weak, penetrate half his scheme.
But when at length he utter'd Thou art she !"
All flash'd at once, and, shrieking piteously,
"Oh not for worlds!" she cried-" Great God !
to whom
I once knelt innocent, is this my doom ?
Are all my dreams, my hopes of heavenly bliss,
My purity, my pride, then come to this,
To live the wanton of a fiend! to be
The pander of his guilt-oh, infamy!
And sunk, myself, as low as hell can steep
In its hot flood, drag others down as deep!
Others !-ha! yes-that youth who came to-day ;
*"It is commonly said in Persia, that if a man
breathe in the hot south-wind, which in June or July
asses over that flower, [the Kerzerah,] it will kill
Im."---Thetr*enot.
.............
36 THrz VEILD PROPHET OF KHORASSAa.
Not him I lov'd-not him-oh! do but say,
But swear to me this moment 'tis not he,
And I will serve, dark fiend! will worship, even
thee !"
"Beware, young raving thing!-in time be-
ware,
Nor utter what I cannot, must not hear
Ev'n from thy lips. Go-try thy lute, thy voice
The boy must feel their magic-I rejoice
To see those fires, no matter whence they rise,
Once more illuming my fair Priestess' eyes;
And should the youth, whom soon those eyae
shall warm,
Ind.td resemble thy dead lover's form,
So much the happier wilt thou find thy doom,
As one warm lover, full of life and bloom,
Excels ten thousand cold ones in the tomb.-
Nay, nay, no frowning, sweet! those eyes were
made
For love, not anger-I must be obeyed."
Obey'd !-'tis well-yes, I deserve it all-
Orr me, on me heaven's vengeance cannot fall
Too heavily-but Azim, brave and true,
And beautiful-must he be ruin'd too?
Must he too, glorious as he is, be driven
A renegade like me from Love and Heaven ?
Like me ?-weak wretch, I wrong him-not
like me;
No-he's all truth, and strength, and purity!
Fill up your madd'ning hell-cup to the brim,
Its witchery fiends will have no charm for him.
THS VEILED PROPHET OF XHORASSAN. 37
Let loose your glowing wantons from their bow-
ers,
He loves, he loves, and can defy their powers!
Wretch as t am, in his heart still I reign
Pure as when first we met without a stain!
Though ruin'd-lost-my memory, like a charm
Left by the dead, still keeps his soul from harm.
Oh! never let him know how deep the br ow
He kiss'd at parting is dishonor'd now-
Ne'er tell him how debas'd, how sunk is she.
Whom once he lov'd-once! stillloves doair, rl v.
Thou laugh'st, tormentor,-what!-thoul't brand
my name?
Do, do-in vain-he'll not believe my shame-
He thinks me true, that nought beneath God's
sky
Could tempt or change me, and-so once
thought I.
But this is past-though worse than death my
lot,
Than hell-'tis nothing, while he knows it not.L
Far off to some benighted land I'll fly,
Where sunbeam ne'er shall enter till I die;
Where none will ask the lost one whence rhe
came,
But I may fade and fall without a name!
And thou,-curst man or fiend, whatever thou art,
Who found'st this burning plague-spot in my
heart,
And spread'st it--h, so quick !-thro' soul and
frame
With more than demon's art, till I became
38 THE VEILED PROPHET OF KHORA ASAN.
A loathsome itinr,t all pd..ulence, all tiami
If when I'm ...ric"---
** H ..I.I, 1'.iricel ri.'.ia ., 1,olJ,
Nor tempti ,m rnae-bv I,,.-'n, rul half n. bold
Thp pun) t.irl Jlhia dir witih I-rt..g liurn
\'uhan the crin.lIde' [ct.l h'.I Jan ....' -
And o th..-u'll I],. or '.lh i hal, c 'e up .dll
Thy cha:le donir.n.",-_ i t. Hlaran. I hAl,
Where now to Love, and now to ALLA given,
Half mistress and half saint, thou hang'st as even
As doth MEDINA'S tomb,'twixt hell and heaven!
Thou'lt fly1 as easily may reptiles run,
The gaunt snake once hath fix'd his eyes upon;
As easily, when caught, the prey may be
Pluck'd from its loving folds, as thou from me.
No, no, 'tis fix'd- ..let good or ill betide,
Thou'rt mine till death, till death MoKANAi's
bride!
Hast thou forgot thy oath !"
At this dread word
The maid, whose spirit his rude taunts had stirr'd
Through all its depths, and rous'd an anger there,
That burst and lighten'd ev'n through her des-
pair!-
Shrunk back, as if a blight were in the breath
That spoke that word, and staggered pale as death.
-Yes, my %v.:.rn bride, lit otser. sWek in
ST e rnrinenl liry co( rerninai i[nc Ti-',hiuLs, or
humminL ,iid. 'nlterIl' il% h 'F.np'ni ly i lc. in T n ,r'lh
of ihe crocoille. i' firi) bein-j vd in Ja va.-Bar-
roa's Cochin-C(h a.
THE VEILED PROPHEr OF KH'ORASS.li. 39
The 1.rijdal flai-thilie hIrnel vault %as ourn!
In-qead oi e'.,ijt an.) L.jhiL, for thee and me
H,.,e Lic rn'h .-ir.mi, if -lN StL mornlily -
G i. l-t r.L g dijath-lighi =.h'nr nii lie e were
Ari.d .r .--r !nj *LS, a r.w ulf c...dl.y dcaJ,
I Ir. i,..i. l p'.ir.u in Itit r l i -'m.' .'_. J.d u ..,'
F rumC rtckIia .ihr,-ul.., upjin it.i rie I.-oLk'd out!
That i.lb thiju h..lr.J'it rinur .. lpip itarn hire
That up--th..u h.il.:r.:t.l:idy-wa-s ;h sweet
That .tup %u ple]d'dJ, ih.: clirineil'cchoicel wine
HI-lah boani.d thac-ay-btiody and i.ol all mine ;
BounJd lheL bL hiaii.=, that. nt hilh'.r tnlcl ctr curst
No mnaulcr nfv-, nut tihll illl" shall burtit!-
Hentc, woman, to the Haram, and look gay,
Look wild, look-an, tun'g but sad;-- t i idy-
One -i. mi.-rilt more-'-[li.f1-m ihat ltis mght bath
pafied.
I sec Ftil lhou ki.iw'utl me, knn-o'.l me amll at
HI.! hi! and so. for.d thing, thou thought'si all
true,
And thau I lov'J mankiUd !-I do, I do-
As 'naim., love tihemn; a- the sra-Jog dots
Up...n the imiall -.eet r. that rjund him floats;
Or a, thr Nilc-btrd lios- ith -li7me ilj 1 gits
That rink and vcn.:im..us i'oud on witch she
li'.e !"
And, now thou see't nvmy wo'iii angl.', hue,
IirIum r-dk-m rin pia [NAl. v-i ] 3tS- eat IIg.
F BerFiltiiiiim popdlFlur rvia. gralLirrii.anqie ex
hi iil.s e-ncai -u.- i .rir -S-l*i
40 THE VEILED PROPHET OF EHORASSAN.
'Tis time those features were uncurtain'd too;-.
This brow, whose light--oh, rare celestial light!
Hath been reserved, to bless thy favor'd sight !
These dazzling eyes, before whose shrouded
might,
Thou'st seen immortal man kneel down and
quake-
Would that they were Heav'ns lightning for his
sake!
But turn and look-then wonder if thou wilt,
That I should hate, should take revenge, by guilt,
Upon the hand, whose mischief or whose mirth
Sent me thus maim'd and monstrous upon earth;
And on that race who though more vile they be
Than mowing apes, are demi-gods to me !
Here, judge, if Hell with all its power to damn,
Can add one curse to the foul thing I am!"
He raised his veil-the maid turned slowly
round,
Look'd at him-shriek'd-and sunk upon the
ground.
ON their arrival, next night, at the place of en-
campment, they were surprised and delighted to
find the groves all around illuminated; some ar-
tists of Yamtcheou having been sent on previous-
ly for the purpose. On each side of the green al-
ley which led to the Royal Pavilion artificial scen-
eries of bamboo-work were erected, representing
arches, minarets, and towers, from which hung
thousands of silken lanterns, painted by the most
dehcate pencils of Canton. Nothing could be
THE VEILED PROPHET OF KIORASSAN. 41
more beautiful than the leanfs af the mango-trees
and acacias, shinr.r in ihb. light oif the h Imboo
scenery, ahh:h ched a luIrre round as soft as that
or the nighti.. .. Penatan.
I. L Risi. hbow ecr. ',h.j was too much
occupied hbv the -'a. M ry ,f Zr.Lir t and her lov-
er. Iogaie a thought to anyithnlhg sie except, per-
hap-, him %iho relatedJ it. hurnd ,n Ihrouch ihis
eciee A -pleiindor I., hir p'lini,-gr.altly to the
nmori[ricatil.ri of the plor urtiit ofr amcltieou.-
and was I;.iluwev witi ejuil rapidly bv the great
Chamberlain, cursin. as he went, that ancient
Mlanrdnn. bho-ie parental inriery in liheliing up
the shore" "r the la.e, whirii hi .eb-ld daoiiier
had wandered and been lo.t, w .s 'he orin of
then.o Intati. ChUinmae illirrinaut.ri,. 1% without
a m-rmint'_ delyv y..urg F'ir iiMOR was UlroTJU-
ced, and P'iDLnI.LN. wiho could ncter make up
his mand as to the m.rtas of a put,. til he knew
the rel;giou3 ett, t'i lh. h he belongeJ. wasabout
to a-k him vwhEth.:r Le ia,, a Shia or a $Sooni,
when LaiI.i roo'e imnpauentlv clapped her
hand ft.r deunce. ant. the southh liing stated up-
on the muanud near her. proceedol .-
Pi.P.inE thy sou. young A. tin! th,.u hast
brai'd
The bands of GURELE., Asl mighty, though en-
,lav'd;
Hast lae'd her phalanx. arm'd with all i-s lame
Her Macedonian pikes and alobt.c olf'laine;
All this hait fronted, with lirm heart and brow,
But a more perilous trial waits thee nov,-
42 THE FILED PROPHET UF KHORASSAN.
Woman's br;,ihl eYes, a dazziing h-t o l'ey.&s
From cver3 laid %bfL. %omnn amdes or sighs;
Ol'eeri) he asj L. maV change to rja,-
His black or azure banner in their blaze;
And each sweet mode of warfare, from the flash
That lightens boldly through the shadowy lash,
To the sly, stealing splendors almost hid,
Like swords half-sheath'd, beneath the downcast
lid.
Such, AZIM, is the lovely, luminous host
Now led against thee; and, let conquerors boast
Their fields of fame, he who in virtue arms,
A young warm spirit against beauty's charms,
Who feels her brightness, yet defies her thrall,
Is the best, bravest conqueror of them all.
Now, through the Haram chambers, moving
lights
And busy shapes proclaim the toilet's rites,-
From room to room the ready handmaids hie,
Some skilled to wreath the turban tastefully,
Or hang the veil, in negligence of shade,
O'er the warm blushes of the youthful maid,
Who, if between the folds but one eye shone,
Like SEB A'S Queen could vanquish with that
one ;*-
While some bring leaves of Henna to imbue
The fingers' ends with a bright roseate hue,t
*" Thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine
eyes."---Sol. Sonz.
t" They tinged the ends of her fingers scarlet with
Henna, so that they resembled branches of coral."-
Story of Prince Futtast in Bahardanush.
THE VEILED PROPHET OF KHORASSAN. 43
*Sr bright that in the mirror's depth they seem
Lik- lip- A c.ral brain..he- in the stream;
And othlris nnS tle coh.-'. 'tly dye.
To LLt Ihit l.:C, dalk lIhru-h I.:. there cve,"
\1t.ich makw.- die maid,. whom klngs are proud
Io ull
Fron:. fair ('ic,-.ia's 3 vales, io b jiutiful.
All is inm mton ; rimi..|plumrs, and pearls
Ar.. h.uii, ia: r wL.ci, ;--i-,ne yviurp.cr eirls
Are i.,'iie Iby in.-o'rilight to the iirJen he.!.-
To father fr.:h C:'l chiapli-l Ir heir head;
f.y. r, iiur- 4 e etL. thI-..aLh mournful 'u to cee
He,.% ea, h prier. a carl ind front tlat tree
N% lich t.rri. .s to riund her chddlho.d's innocent
An. i1he Jilear rieldi and frirndhips fhr away.
The riiin i I i .i I hi. a t t.- 1. hold
In her full lapri ti -'h mp ir' leae of gold,f
Tuhnk, of the itne when t-, the C; i rr.' flood,
Her lile pljyniai, e.attalr'd m.,ny a bud
Liporn hIr lorig bljck har.r, nith _el.e?? gleam
Ju-t 1.npp-I. l:,rm lln. ch'niie-ralted 'ream ;
\\ tiJ.. the ,.,unie 1 ii n. haute.nld bIy the smell
Of le r .en nii:urltain ,:wi-rs., a5 h.s j pell,--
The .werei E-IVya.t and the couriteous tree
*.. TI.- w ..Ir.Fn 1.1-i .k-n 1 l it l.; ] r.i in.ir eIl ids
0 I|i .i p...Ji.r riim l inb.1 l jril i.oti nl "--. a /e
I T hr .p .r ...' intE il. .,-. l l I n Il i- ( 1.. ,-
i.r- d ( i vln.,i.: iia II.l t.I 11 k Ir-ir ril' ir. Insiap w irr. -rn
lice :uip J li.. ti. i. ii r l, P .-i t in nign el-teinl .l-
I A i irr .*. r, iie [- ,. uriie, atid c-mmon un
In.. hill uI \l' hi. r.".....'.l ..i, r.
44 THE VEILED PROPHE.r 0F KHORISSAN.
Which bows to all who seek ils canpyv'-
Seces eadl'd up round her by th'.e nmigic scents,
The well, thc camucl, and her fithe'm tri, ;
Sighs for the home she left with little pain,
And wishes e'en its sorrows back again!
Meanwhile, through vast illuminated halls,
Silent and bright, where nothing but the falls
Of fragrant waters gushing with cool sound
From many a jasper fount is heard around,
Young AIzx roams bewilder'd-nor can guess
What means this maze of light and loneliness.
Here the way leads o'er tesselated floors,
Or mats of CAIRO, through long corridors,
Where rang'd in cassolets and silver urns,
Sweet wood of aloe or of sandal burns;
And spicy rods, such as illumine at night
The bowers of TIBrT,t sends forth odorous light
Like Peri's wands, when pointing out the road
For some pure Spirit to its blest abode!-
And here at once, the glittering saloon
Bursts on his sight, boundless and bright as noon;
Where, in the midst, reflecting back the rays
In broken rainbows, a fresh fountain plays
High as th' enamelU'd cupola which towers
All rich with arabesques of gold and flowers;
And the mosaic floor beneath shines through
*Of the genus mimosa, which droops its branches
whenever any person approaches it, seeming as if it
saluted those who retire under its shade."--Miebur.
1 Cloves are a principal ingredient in the compo-
sition ofthe perfumed rods, which men of rank keep
eonstantly burning in their presence."---Turner's
Tibst.
THE VEILLD PROPHrET OF fHORAsS&N. 45
The eprinkhlin of that fountain's siltery dew
Like the wi:v, eslteinine ahellis if every dye.
That on the nrtrzin .f the Rtd cea lie.
Here t..) he truace the kind vi'itin;,S
Of lvom n'- l. n ihj,.ie tir. I iing thing.
Of land and wae., who,)t faLt.-in bondage
thrown
Por tlh-ir we1k lo eliiiie--, like her own !
On one ,J.:. leiai-;;n with a Eudden grace
Through watLr. brilliant a. the crystal vase
In lhich it unJulaiea em.nill ikJlie6 shine,
Like golden innuts from a f'iry mine;
h bile, on the other. laItc'd lightly in
Wll.h oil-.ri;r-'ui w.od- ul (-' MoIN" .
Ea.-b brlit ]nt bui that iingi thie air is seen;-
G(ay, sportl.inia I,.:.ri
The erinmon ou lu-oms of the coral tre-e.t
In [he ivirn i l.:; l lndi.L'- i runiry ea;
NlMeca'a Itlue ,-cr'Jd preu'vn.t and ihe thrush
O f I1d.j .-4 1, -...e h v:ly g.-rt'linr 'ih,
. t\e .rni .c froI. m I-e .ill pae..:.,Ja'_ tp;-
Tl' .-e oliln bir.l-., thit, t ibhe spi(e time drop
*" C.. 1-' i v.ii n :ra I L .'tI.:.. ni- ei.? Arrabes
apr i-i .i I_ *."in.iri -r C-.-I. il s..r..1 il. NiJ 5'y
s.-urt'- n cr In.j qij atitl r L'll' rl..ut
I ThoiJ .aie ..ii' s arillo .ij i.it'lr.ci %iML the coral
tiri-e "*-Bjrr.o
I In l ,M .. a It.r. r r qu r.tii .1F r.l" tilicu pierTans
wn-ch r..-nr nui ,ifr r.I .r nroue. :nuLh tleas kill."--
Pat .a1e rr -r h L- f.i .nhr r-ius
T ri '.'..i iiurti I- l. l:.uirrie, nmonE ih' tir'l
rti. -l r i.' tlir II ll s 1 rcliedl ..n tIle aarrrd
pu -) i'. Ur.d 'r..rn in-nc .-inli'. i i1 rfnrlolijlous
s -Ivarnne. H. h do nii
II Rirdlu of rar'arti- ihii.h at clue nalrmeg seaon,
46 THE VEILED PROPHET OF KHORASS.N.
About the gardens, drurk with that stcct food
Whose scent haLh lur'd them C'er the summer
flood;
And thu.,% that under Araby'sa sol sun
Build their high nests of budding cinnamon;-*
In short, all rare and beauteous things that fly
Through the pure element, here calmly lie
Sleeping in light, like the green birds,t that
dwell
In Eden's radiant fields of asphodel!
So on through scenes past all imagining,-
More like the luxuries of that impious King,t
Whom Death's dark Angel, with his lightning
torch,
Struck down and blasted even in pleasure's
porch;
Than the pure dwelling of a Prophet sent,
Arm'd with Heaven's sword for man's enfran-
chisement-
Young Azimr wander'd, looking sternly round,
His simple garb and war-boots' clanking sound
But ill according with the pomp and grace
And silent lull of that voluptuous place!
come in flights from the southern isles to India, and
"the strength of the nutmeg," says Tavernier, "so
intoxicates them, that they fall dead drunk to the
earth."
"That bird which liveth in Arabia, and buildeth I
its nest with cinnamon."-Brown's Vulgar Errors.
S'" The spirits of the martyrs will be lndffd in the
crops of green birds."- Gibbon, vol. ix. p. 421.
t Shedad, who made the delicious gardens of Trim
in imitation of Paradise, and was destroyed by light-
ning the first time he attempted to enter them.
T' VKi,LD PROPHET OF KHORA.-.S&N. C
Is this then," Lhought the youth, is this the
waIy
To free man's spirit from the deadrninF- sway
Of worldly iloth :-to teach him hitl htie lives
To kn..i. noi bH. lut that "h,.:h virtu'e ges;
And whe,:r he dies to Ita.e b- s ,Iary nanit
A light. a i n.J-m rk t..n Ith- .:rlu .1 Iv .e i
It swa noit -o. land ol the ctrnic.,us thought
And daring detdI! Ihy goiJ-hike @a.3e Liug i;
It wa. nult thu., 'n i :'.i r- ul intI .,n -me,.
Thit FrcedLjn rur-'Jd lhr iucrtd :rntrp-mt;
Oh nt- Lt-eatl Ibi' htliti-ilin., wititlring glow
Ofr tuch dull luxury did th-se mr, ries crow,
With which she ririath'd bher word. wvhen she
would diJe
Irmimortil iJ,:d-; but in the bric;ng air
Of Iudi,-ol lemperance.--.f tiabt Lich, ran',
Ethere-Jl rturle. tlinch rlone i..n L.re the,
Li''. h ajlth, and. lu-ire int i Fr i ...rii,' wreath!
W'ho, itat -rvcy. di -piii uI tarth we press,
T hl. ip., k I'l if[, It, Ii rf L II it AllJti rl .,
TbjL iir1 .I ".i lI r.-is 'wixn t t tl., L. n. Jlit.ac seas,
Th. [a.1.. the f'utur,, iwo cit rnilti !I
S..,uld. c.ull th.- t.r.ihr ..pot. Ar i. lC ba ir,',
i her he rii thotJi L.dild ha~n a priud temple di-re,
A nare. that lnng sh.li ha.llu-n all i; .p.ace.
Anr.. be ea.'h purer s.,ul' high reirina pljie '
But nio-it cannot be that oin,. h.hoim God
Hai sent to brh-ak the wizjrd FaaI.hood'. rod,--
.A prophet of the rruth, nhoie nis-i-ion dmwrn
Ile. rights from Heavin, Lhould thus prol'ne his
cause
48 THE VEILED PROPHET OF EHORASSAN.
With the world's vulgar pomps,-no, no-I see-
He thinks me wtal-this Vlire of luxury
is but to tempt, to try the eaglet gaze
Of my young soul:-shine on, 'twill stand the
blaze!"
So thought the youth ;-but ev'n while he de-
fled
The witching scene, he felt its witchery glide
Through every sense. The perfume, breathing
round,
Like a pervading spirit-the still sound
Of falling waters, lulling as the song
Of Indian bees at sunset, when they throng
Around the fragrant NIuICA,* and deep
In its blue blossoms hum themselves to sleep!
And music too-dear music! that can touch
Beyond all else the soul that loves it much-
Now heard far ofl so far as but to seem
Like the faint, exquisite music of a dream;-
All was too much for him, too full of bliss:
The heart could nothing feel, that felt not this.
Soften'd, he sunk upon a couch, and gave
His soul up to sweet thoughts, like wave on wave
Succeeding in smooth seas, when storms are
laid;
He thought of ZELICA, his own dear maid,
And of the time, when, full of blissful sighs,
They sat and look'd into each other's eyes,
"My Pundits assure me that the plant before
us [the Nilica] is their Sephalica, thus named because
the bees are supposed to sleep on its blossoms."-
Sir W. Jones.
THE VYILED PROPHET OF KHORASSAN. 49
Silent and happy-as if God had given
Nought else worth looking at on this side heaven I!
"O0 my lov'd mistress I! whose enchantments
still
Are with me, round me, wander where I will-
It is for thee, for thee alone I seek
The paths of glory-to light up thy cheek
With warm approval-in that gentle look,
To read my praise, as in an angel's book,
And think all toils rewarded, when from thee
I gain a smile, worth immortality!
How shall I bear the moment, when restored
To that young heart where I alone am lord,
Though of such bliss unworthy,-since the best
Alone deserve to be the happiest !-
When from those lips, unbreathed upon for years,
I shall again kiss off the soul-felt tears,
And find those tears warm as when last they
started,
Those sacred kisses pure as when we parted!
Oh my own life !-why should a single day,
A moment, keep me from those arms away "
While thus he thinks, still nearer on the breeze
Come those delicious, dream-like harmonies,
Each note of which but adds new, downy links
To the soft chain in which his spirit sinks.
He turns him tow'rd the sound, and, far away
Through a long vista, sparkling with the play
Of couniilej lamps,-Lke the rich track which
Day
Leaves on the waters, when he sinks from us;
4
50 THE VEILED PROPHET OF KHORASSAN.
So long the path, its light so tremulous;-
He sees a group ot lkerale forms advance,
Some chain'd together in the mazy dance
By fetters, forged in the green sunny bowers,
As they were captives to the King of Flowers;-
And some disporting round, unlink'd and free,
Who seemed to mock their sister's slavery,
And round and round them still, in wheeling
flight
Went like gay moths about a lamp at night;
While others walk'd as gracefully along,
Their feet kept time, the very soul of song
From psaltery, pipe, and lutes of heavenly thrill,
Or their own youthful voices, heavenlier still!
And now they come, now pass before his eye,
Forms such as Nature moulds, when she would
vie
With Fancy's pencil, and give birth to things
Lovely beyond its fairest picturings!
Awhile they dance before him, then divide,
Breaking, like rosy clouds at even-tide
Around the rich pavilion of the sun,
Till silently dispersing one by one,
Through many a path that from the chamber
leads
To gardens, terraces, and moonlight meads,
Their distant laughter comes upon the wind,
And but one trembling nymph remains behind-
Beck'ning them back in vain, for they are gone,
And she is left in all that light alone:
No veil to curtain o'er her beauteous brow,
In its young bashfulness more beauteous now,
THE VEILED PROPHET OF EHORABSAN. 51
But a li-ht golden chain-work round her hair,
Such as the m.aida of a zu and SHi.-IZ wear,
From which. oun ether side, gracefully hung
A golden Amulet, in th' Arab ti:ricuc
Encraien o'er 'nth e:.n.c imrnrirtal blne.
fromr holy writ, or bard .crr.:e les .J.n mp;
While her lflt hand. as brinkinml\ she st.,od,
Held a rti.ll litr of lg.il.J .auJ sand.il-wo.'d,
whichh cin;e ..,r ti e, hi,: tou,:h'd wilh hurried
strain,
Then t...ok her tremblnz necrs oil' aanin.
But %ohen at length a tninl glance blhe stole
At A.\zi, the %,leEt c rtl 1' soul
S'he saw through all t6l I1'jutres calm'nJ her fear.
And, like a ill'ta.im'J unri,:.lpe, more near.
Though shrinking still, she came ;-then sat her
Uipirn a musriuT's' edle ; and, I..ider grown,
In the pathetic mode of I r.in.t
Toui-h'd a prcludijng strrin, and ihuS began:-
There'3 a bower ol rozes Lb Bi.rlii'tiLRs'li
_trc am,
And the nightingale sings round nt all the day
long:; [drecan,
In the urne of1" nm chlddho.id 'twas like a sweett
To sit tn the rose aend Liear th. bird's bong.
t MusnuJile bre cuahionEd waaia, uuitlly rescred
for personal ordiltinrliiri
I Th-e Persiiani, like the nlcienit r-eka. call ih.ir
musdcal mcdec or Perijas by itr. names r-f dftrernt
countries, or cires as, the mode of Isfanan, the
mode rf Irak, e c
I A river which flows near the ruins rf ChiJminar.
59 THE VEILED PROPHET OF KHORA8SANS
That bower and its music I never forget,
But oft when alone, in the bloom of the year,
I thin k-is the nightingale singing there yet!
Arc ihe roses still bright by the calm BaIna.-
No, the roses soon wither'd that hung o'er the
I wave,
But some blossoms were gathered, while freshly
they shone,
And a dew was distill'd from their flowers, that
gave
All the fragrance of summer, when summer was
gone.
Thus memory draws from delight ere it dies,
An essence that breathes of it many a year;
Thus bright to my soul, as 'twas then to my
eyes,
Is that bower on the banks of the calm B3r-
DEMEEI !
Poor maiden !" thought the youth, if thou
wert sent,
With thy soft lute and beauty's blandishment,
To wake unholy wishes in this heart,
Or tempt its truth, thou little know'st the art.
For though thy lip should sweetly counsel wrong,
Those vestal eyes would disavow its song.
But thou hast breath'd such purity, thy lay
Rtrurns so fondly to youth's virtuous day,
And leads thy soul-if e'er it wander'd thence-
So gently back to its first innocence,
That I would sooner stop th' unchained dove,
WR vIlXe eROPBT or KHORASSAN. 53
When swift returning to its home of love,
And round its snowy wing new fetters twine,
Than turn from virtue one pure wish of thine."
Scarce had this feeling passed, when, sparkling
through
The gently open'd curtains of light blue
That veil'd the breezy casement, countless eyes,
Peeping like stars though the blue evening skies,
Look'd laughing in, as if to mock the pair
That sat so still and melancholy there.-
And now the curtains fly apart, and in
From the cool air, 'mid showers of jessamine
Which those without fling after them in play,
Two lightsome maidens spring, lightsome as
they
Who live in th' air on odours, and around
The bright saloon, scarce conscious of the ground,
Chase one another in a varying dance
Of mirth and languor, coyness and advance,
Too eloquently like love's warm pursuit:-
While she, who sung so gently to the lute
Her dreams of home, steals timidly away,
Shrinking as violets do in summer's ray,-
But takes with her from AzIx's heart that sigh
We sometimes give to forms that pass us by
In the world's crowd, too lovely to remain,
Creatures of light we never see again!
Around the white necks of the nymphs who
danc'd,
Hung carcanets of orient gems, that glanc'd
More brilliant than the sea-glass glittering o'er
54 THE VEILED PROPHET OF KHORASSAN.
The bills .:.f rrsal on the Caspian shore;'
Wh'ule from their long. dark Ire.se. in a Ud.l
Of curls descending, bells as musical
As those that, on the golden-shafted trees
Of EDEl', shake in the Eternal Breeze,t
Rung round their steps, at every bound more
sweet,
As 'twere th' ecstatic language of their feet!
At length the chase was o'er, and they stood
wreath'd
Within each other's arms; while soft there
breath'd
Through the cool casement, mingled with the sighs
Of moonlight flowers, music that seem'd to rise
From some still lake, so liquidly it rose;
And, as it swell'd again at each faint close,
The ear could track through all that maze of
chords
And young sweet voices, these impassioned
words -
A SPIRIT there is, whose fragrant sigh
Is burning now through earth and air;
Where cheeks are blushing, the Spirit is nigh,
Where lips are meeting, the Spirit is there!
"To the north of us, [on the coast of the Cas-
pian, near Badku] was a mountain which sparkled
like diamonds, arising from the sea-glass and crys-
tals. with which it abounds."-Journey of the Rus-
sian ambassador to Persia, 1746.
*1 To which will be added, the sound of the bells,
hanging on the trees, which will be put in motion by
the rind proceeding from the throne of God, as often
as the blessed wish for music."-Sale.
THE VEILED PROPHET OF KHORASSAN. 55
His breath is the soul of flower. like ithee,
And his tlo.jiri" cve--oh thMey resemble
Bluhe "ater-liite.' v.r-.n the iureze
I- mnikj.g the sirea-rn lro)und them tremble!
Hail t., thee, h.il to thee. kindling power!
pirit ol S I..:. pir, ? n i o li.- !
Thb holieat tuie i' i'e rnoonliait hour,
Ani there n:vetr wa, mnioonhght so sweet ia
this.
By the rir and! have,
"W h btluhihnm unite.
Like the seun J the ir nae.
When 1t v meet at nilghil
By the tear that stli.m
WVhen pa-n.nrn i- n;ih,
A; the raii-drre, tiew.
Fron the heat of the sky v
B. It- lir-t l,-,e-beat
Of the Vyutlful heart.
B;i hee li.,i: ti meet.
.AnJd tie p[ ,n to part!
By all diat thou h-jst
'I' mo..rt ll guiern.
\''i,-h-,, could it last.
e'l irl ent wer heav.r !
We call thoe h;ther. entr.anL;ie Power!
Ijperit of L-.oe I ?.peri of 131j, !
t* t'h blue lInis, wn.v:lt grows in CaOlinmee and
Irn Periea
56 THEIR VEILED PROPHET OF KIORASB&AN.
Thy holiest time is the moonlight hour!
And there never was moonhght so sweet as this.
Impatient or a scene. whose luxuries stole,
Spile of himsell, too deep inio his soul,
And N here. 'midst all thaL the young heart loves
Flowers, music, smiles, to yield was to be lost;
The youth had started up and turned away
From the light nymphs and their luxurious lay,
To muse upon the pictures that hung round,-
Bright images, that spoke without a sound,
And views, like vistas into fairy ground.
But here again new spells came o'er his sense ;-
All that the pencil's mute omnipotence
Could call up into life, of soft and fair,
Of fond and passionate, was glowing there,
Nor yet too warm, but touch'd with that fine art
Which paints of pleasure but the purer part;
Which knows ev'n beauty when half veil'd is
best,
Like her own radiant planet of the west,
Whose orb when half retired looks loveliest!
There hung the history of the Genii-King,
Trac'd through each gay voluptuous wandering
With her from SAaA's bowers, in whose bright
eyes
He read that to be blest is to be wise;-*
For the loves of King Solomon, [who was sup.
posed to preside over the whole race of Genii] with
Balkia, the Queen ofSheba or Saba, see D'Herbelot,
srd Ibl Notes on the Koran, Chap.ii.
THE VEILED PROPHET OF KHORASSAN. 57
Hfere lo.nd ZUiLL.ili Wu0o with open arms
The Hebrew boy, who flies from her young
charmrrs.
Iel, ying, t. rras I.) aze. and, hall undone,
\lishe that hai-en and che could /,,jUh be won!
And here Mminat'Fr.n. briri fur Io:ve ard guile,
Forgets the Koran in his Mary'a tmnile;-
Then heckons rome kind ang -rl 1'rom aLtore
WVith a new iesi to cori-ecrato their lo-e!
V ith rapid Etep, yvt plIa'd arid lina: rfing eye,
Did the uutlh para ihe-.e piciur'd rtuni, b..
And hiitened 11i a ca-'rnilitll, ahr:n the light
of the ,ilin ni..un came inr, and Ir.ally bright
The fiilds wilihit %ere -een, leep.ng u st all
As if no lite remainl'd in breeze or rill.
Here paused he, Mlule the muri, now less near,
Brcath'd iaih a h:laer lanpj.ie on l-" ear,
A6 though the distance and that heavenly ray
Through which the sounds came dl.atring, look
away
All that had be, n i.:.o earthly in the lay.
Oh roulI he ltilen to ciach ounlu unimov'd.
And by that liabt-nor dreamn ol her he lov'd 1
Dream on, uncons ous boy ahile Yret thou
may "i-,t
'Tis the lat blhS thy soul shril ever larie.
Trm'- wile .-i Poriphia r Ihus warned by ire Orien-
T11 I'-N. J.lr.llnr. in If. lit rirarcrn .I.-..ph is
irr aiii. .. i inuil '\ iheaI p-,effine i jl -'-.n.ancr.
I Th i r'lri.cil ra .1 ,llstIr.-n..:' an'lnir ain 5laiy,
the L c.. ii.ri, A.. J-i..hi.i.,l...n .,i a ...h lih added a
eitw. h'.plr i.. iri. i(,r in, nir a rae ralui.d in Gagaler's
.A'te' jir, .*ul..ca, p ilA
8 THE VEILED PROPHET OF KHORASSAN.
Clasp yet awhile her image to thy heart,
Ere all the light, that made it dear, depart.
Think of her smiles as when thou saw'st them
last,
Clear, beautiful, by nought of earth overcast;
Recall her tears, to thee at parting given,
Pure as they weep, if angels weep, in heaven!
Think in her own still bower she waits thee now
With the same glow of heart and bloom of
brow,
Yet shrin'd in solitude-thine all, thine only,
Like the one star above thee, bright and lonely:
Oh that a dream so sweet, so long enjoy'd,
Should be so sadly, cruelly destroyed!
The song is hush'd, the laughing nymphs are
flown,
And he is left, musing of bliss, alone;-
Alone ?-no, not alone-that heavy sigh,
That sob of grief, which broke from some one
nigh-
Whose could it be ?-alas! is misery found
Here, even here, on this enchanted ground ?
He turns, and sees a female form, close veil'd,
Leaning as if both heart and strength had failed,
Against a pillar near;-not glittering o'er
With gems and wreaths, such as the others wore,
But in that deep-blue melancholy dress,*
BOKHARA's maidens wear in mindfulness
Of friends or kindred, dead or far away;-
And such as ZZLICA had on that day
*" Deep-blue is their mourning color."-- Hanway.
ruHE VEILED PROPHET OF KHORA3SBAN. 59
He el-' h. r-n hicn i drt heart too full to speak.
HLe t..ok any h..r la-t i-.arai teirs upon his
cheek.
A strange emotion rtir- within him,-more
Thin mer c.:,ripas-i.r.n e'.-r iked bel. re;
UIrici 'Io -iul he ope. ; i arms. wh;le -he
Springs Irnard is inith Lhi.' I-t energy,
But. Awooriinm in that one contulsive bound.
Sinks. err -he rcarh hi- arms, upon theground ;-
Her elil lills off-her laiul hands clasp his
'Tis se herself!-'tis ZELICA he sere-!
Bui. ah. so paI,, so rhang'd-ronr tut a lover
i'.id in that wreck of be.vi.y's6 shruie discover
The once ador'd diviniri ev'n he
Stood for soime moment mule. and doubtingly
Put back ihe tinglet. from htr t.row, and gaz'd
Upon tho-e lids where once such lustre bl-z'd,
Ere he could think she was indeed hi own.
Own darling maid, v hom he A) lonr had known
In joy and sorrow, eauriful in both;
\Vho e'nl when grierlf as heavieei-when loth
HIe Ift lihr f,.r the war --i that w ,rtl hour
'.i in her orrow like the swre-t ni;ht-ilower.'
\' hin darknes bhngri t ii. iep-na cloii out,
And spreads its sigh.- like frankincense about!
** Lo.:'k up. my ZELICA-one moment .how
Tho-c gentle i-e t., me, that I may know
Thy li,t. thy luelincs 13s not all g..ne,
*Tn : s.rr.wr'il ncLt.anihea, rich begins to spread
ris.l Ih odors l'ler iun-el.
60 THE VEILED PROPHET OF KHORASSAN.
But hA're, at least. shines as it ever -hone.
Come, look upon thy Azi.1-one dear glance.
Like tius- f lold, .*re hea',.,n I' h.hatcver chance
Hath brought hire hire. oh 'Iwas a blesd one!
There-my ,s'ev r hJs-tbhe move-d. a kiss
hath run
Lika the first 'hoot o f lile through eerv ein,
And now I clasp her mine. all rune again!
Oh the dehght-noew, in ihis v.ry h.-.ur,
W hen. hid the whule rich world L'een in my power
I should ba'e ingledJ jut thee, :nl\ dihe,.
From the whole .'.rld'. collected treasury
To th hac th i: her-t.-i hari, thus lordiv o'er
My own be-,i pureat ZI.LIC. once more!"
It was indeed thn touch of th.':e Iov'd bps
Upon hrr eyrs that chj'd their short eclipJe,
And. gradual as the n,)Ow, at heaven's breath,
Melts orl'and show- the azreo flowers beneath,
Her lids unclus'd, and the brigtht cyes were seen
Gazing on his-not as they late had been,
Quick, restless, wild-but mournfully serene;
As if to lie, ev'n for that tranc'd minute,
So near his heart, had consolation in it;
And thus to wake in his beloved caress
Took from her soul one half its wretchedness.
But when she heard him call her good and pure,
Oh 'twas too much-too dreadful to endure!
Shuddering she broke away from his embrace,
And, hiding with both hands her guilty face,
Said, in a tone, whose anguish would have
riven
A heart of very marble, "pure .-oh heaven."
THE VEILED PROPHET 01b KHORASSAN. 61
That tone-those looks so chang'd-the with-
ertng blight
Thai bin and .,:vrrow leate wherever they light-
Thr- J-ad dlep.J:.r.Je..-" of h,..,i Aunk vcEs.
I 'here' on.re, had he ihuo ati her L.' ;uirprise,
He would have Len hun-i'llf, I.:. happy bo, !
RW-erl: d in a lhouand nl.:hL' of jo\ !
A.nl Ib..n lhel p.lle. lhat, bright ur,h.,ly place,
1\ here nce I n hd hbenetilj alctih winning grace
.\nd] .ha.irm oi Id'.dor, ia th..: riper tra% e5
16a va-y covtinn_ ijl' wei t alJim-leaJeb;"-
All struck upLr. te henri, -,ui.den anid cold
As di aih it-11 .-.1 ne-ed not Io be told-
No.. n.-he aeci it all, plaili a3 ihc brjndJ
Of L.arruni -hami' can marTk-whtaie'rr the hand
Thai could from heao'n and hun .uch bnghtLnea
'Ti- done--to hav'n and h;m she's I t forever!
It wam a drEadful moment : not ihe iwrae,
The lingering. lil-tsni nniiery of vyiarl.
Could match th., minuic'. lngugish-all theworst
Of s)rwian'6 elerirnitn in hil a dark bur-t,
Broke -,'er ILIa siul. and. %,lh one craih of fate,
Laid the whole b..pcs of h.,- lil de-olae !
"Oh .-urne iii- not," the cried, as wild he
Il ,'d
His dJ6perale hand towi'r.- hea%'n-"- though I
am lost,
ConcerTiine the vipers, which Pliny says were
freqi-i am)i ih, halh banm-trees. I made %try phr-
IIctllir inrq.Jir sarcral were brougnit me alive, boit
in ambo and Jiada "--Brcre.
62 TmH VEltEiD PROPHET OF KHORASSAN.
Think not that guilt, that falsehood made me fall,
No, no-'twas grief, 'twas madness did it all!
Nay, doubt me not-though all my love hath
ceas'd-
I know it hath-yet, yet believe, at least,
That every spark of reason's light must be
Quench'd in this brain, ere I could stray from
thee!
They told me thou wert dead-why, AzIw, why
Did we not both of us that instant die
When we were parted ?-Oh, could'st thou but
know
With what a deep devotedness of wo
I wept thy absence-o'er and o'er again
Thinking of thee, still thee, till thought grew pain,
And memory, like a drop, that, night and day,
Falls cold and ceaseless, wore my heart away!
Didst thou but know how pale I sat at home,
My eyes still turn'd the way thou wert to come,
And, all the long, long night of hope and fear,
Thy voice and step still sounding in my ear-
Oh God! thou would'st not wonder, that, at last,
When every hope was all at once o'ercast,
When I heard frightful voices round me say
Azira is dead !-this wretched brain gave way,
And I became a wreck at random driven,
Without one glimpse of reason or of heaven-
All wild-and ev'n this quenchless love within
Turned to foul fires to light me into sin!
Thou pitiest me-I knew thou would'st-that
sky
Hath nought beneath it half so lorn as I.
THE VkiLi, D PR..'Hier or KHORAS. AN. 63
The lein.l, who) lur'd mie bither-hi-r conie
lfr tihlu t .'. art Ik-i. If he should ,.:j r-
T ..I.I ,i. *u -' illh.:-- .:.. r woh- i .ul:h hk 'l hdrI,
.- I...ulJd b i rui li'd .i i li.. i ..- h. it-
I IihIh,.e., ,il f ,t Ill h I .rlir-r i,,Ji t iph r,':.
V'h...,,, l.l ,_Jd ul t lr,-ih, ll I b l .-b -.*n ',l /,f lt
p. r, .
I ho.il.l I -r. i% r In.' ii thy dear ;-iht,
. Li. Iri'ik trimii thoui pure e lcs etern ii ;lit
Thin, iink hink lj- I, hI.w ma-ilrde'd I uU lt be,
T lh.ipe t r Ihil nrli CouldJ h '1 i, Il.,J w .r dt e!
Thou fe.: ',- lor irie-J., tvep- !-- that I
Ki" .if it ihi i..r! but, no-these lip are curst,
They m-l nu.i tluch thee:-one ..IiVric caress,
Sie l. 1 -....I mr ,iiLenri if "l'.retifulcraes
l'ie hAd irlun ih..;se ar3 a. j.,I t/.,! ohall be,
'hrui'Jd Lin in soul', J.,ep nicmern till [I die!
The Ia ,.,Ir j,y's last reli.c- here below.
T'i. one. -w, dri.-.p in rail lai waste of wo.
MN, heari lhaw itreaur'd from attee ion's spring,
T i..'ih.. and coi l it.- i jdl, ,iihcrri.n:
liur thiu--?, thou intu i eo-for ever go;
This pi .:.r i. io or ih'l -i- .r the: uli no:
Di.] I but tell thee half, thy i.rrur'd brain
Would burn lihe nine. arid marine o w-il again!
En.:-uc.h liht iuilt rEtlns [here-that hearts, once
Now painted. chill'd and broken, are his food.
Enough, thai ie are partai-that there rolls
A good of headlong fate between our souls,
t64 THE VEILED PROPHET OF KHORASSAN.
Whose darkness severs me as wide from thee
As hell from heav'n, to all eternity !"-
ZsMIcA! ZELIA !" the youth exclaimed,
In all the tortures of a mind inflam'd
Almost to madness-" by that sacred heav'n,
Where yet, if pray'rs can move, thou'lt be for-
given,
As thou art here-here, in this writhing heart,
All sinful, wild, and ruin'd as thou art!
By the remembrance of our once pure love,
Which, like a church-yard light, still bums above
The grave of our lost souls-widch guilt in thee
Cannot extinguish, nor despair in me!
I do conjure, implore thee to fly hence-
If thou hast yet one spark of innocence,
Fly with me from this place."
With thee! oh bliss,
Tis worth whole years of torment to hear this.
What! take the lost one with thee ?-let her
rove
By thy dear side, as in those days of love,
When we were both so happy, both so pure-
Too heavenly dream! if there's on earth
cure
For the sunk heart, 'tis this-day after day
To be the blest companion of thy way;-
To hear thy angel eloquence-to see
Those virtuous eyes for ever turned on me;
And in their light re-chasten'd silently,
Like the stained web that whitens in the sun,
Grow pure by being purely shone upon;
THE % iL rED PHOI'tlL.r OFiK KIIURlIa, .N. 65
And bthou til[ p'ray I.'; mi.-- IIne.a ithoi wvilt-
.\ i'r dJii .ti pt, li.,ur. -.h,:n l u,.,u rii, o0" guidt
I.'omeh' al, it -I'r ltit bra't,lI h 'i'l lilt Til 'Eve s,
F ull of ,..i I r-i, i hlaI ite Jit rL' rajv kies-,
Ar,.! p i, fj |., n.i 1 h. ., i 'j, ill I ,'ir djre
TO l'i ., LN 1., h -dul _.in. r: Ibh r. *-
'.11 Lr ,...J arx.,:-, k. ihl y "LV. mC I ni clhijiJ
F.r t:. r neir rh',. p e ;[.J Pr...iu'' Iii ,
M idll I..r th% A .l., .rljiinb, i'e n.y Fr-lJ Ic.mli-v n.
.1rl L.I. Ilic. I kv ItM %ity ln.i 1.1 hbeaien!
U Jh s,, I'll l, Ll L -i..." --
'ar'- had -he sa;J
'Th,, *i L h i l.... r, -, lirni a ,,;, d .-p and
A ii. i 'r ..1 | ,,'K '.l cr.; *ir. tu h iJjel
Fr,. ,, rl., .r r.'t *lfe- ., l/trllin_ "Ill is to
R mns t-i-.,ijh ti ci,- ..rniernt hi..r, -Thy r,,rh!
lih ..*'tl !"
Oi h, jh. t'rl he" I a,.-ln, ,? tth't mid'- lo, k :-
* 'T 1..'," li. i ra I .,' r.-.. w h.l ir rr.:.r .ok
l1h r !rii_...I n'..r.-, n r .lur's -h, li ht-r Pl-_,
Ttii..'h ithroui.Jh the cxsement, now, nouyhtl but
Itir. ,ic
A.\l r n i.iiil- hT 1!, 1.., w r, -een. calm na be LFre-
* "I i' I.. 'rl .] arj. h.-- .ilj. all t ..c,-
I 0-fiy lip. i.,i Stit. ..r allr... a rir'ed iiio-
My iioh, rno .ath. ,h GoJ! 'IL all 1.)o true,
True a- tih norm in ihis c-lid hiart t ii--
I am NMomaNN.'. L..rdi.'-hiL, Azim, hi..-
The D.c d i.ood rund u6 while I poke that vow:
Thiir blue lips echo'd i -I hear them now .
661 THE VEILED PROPHET OF KHORASSAN.
Their Pees glar'd *:n me. while I pledged that
bhn .
'Twa' burnine blu..J--I I-l it in my noul!
Ani lie V..'d ]ir.dectni,-hi! I'le seen tIl-
Whait ajrin.' krn.'i n.t ul'-so I-,ul a sitht.
S ,u horitt.lr-uh ni ay's 'hiu i r 1e
W\'hat /t- lies hid frmin all but h.:-ll ani me!
But I 'ruzt hence-nol'nIT-1 aml] n:tl Irine.
Nor heai'n'', nor lI's, rnr aught that is
dliiln'-
Hold rue nor-ha !-hink'-t thou the lienis that
bticr
Hec-,Jr, cririnnt suinder hand '--thus. thcn-for
ever I"
W\'i'h all that strength .Jhich madness lends
Ihie Wivk,
She tilung .V'vy hi, rm ; andi, Miiih a shrick,-
W\hh.:c sound, th-,uh he Ahould linger out more
Than wrc h r'er told, can richer lricve his ears,-
Flew tip thr.:u.gh that Iong avenue of li;ht.
I'lell', as .:.mre iirkl, inmmou. b.ird ol noif hr,
Across the bun, and cojn "as Cout olf sight.
LALL.I Rootii could think of nothing all day
hut the mi-.ryv of these rwo oiune lIo.ers. Her
gayery nas gone, and shbe IAoked pensitely even
upon FA.nADESn She felt too, without know-
ing why, a sort of uneasy pleasure in imagining
that Azia must have been just such a youth as
THE VEILED PROPHLr OF KHUR.ASAN. 67
FERAMORZ ; jut as worthy to enjoy all the Iles-
ings, t'i'h.:ut any of ihe panig, of that illw6=ie
pa&-ion, rthlch too olri.n. liUe thie ,unny apples
of Isikihir. i. all swefltrnes on one .ide, and
ial billerll-es o.'n the otnh r.
As they pa-sJ along a ?eqie.i tred-J r;er aftcr
sunset, they 6av a young 11,1dodo gul upon the
hank, ihosue employment .'remed u to ihem so
sv'rarwe, ll'ht th, v -lopli lihtir p.alJrtreens to
obf-rvle her. Yhe h iIl Lihied a sn. il lamp. filled
with oil of r.t.oa. an, plia 1ig in m.n earthen
dim-h, adornal wilb a wrr-jth .*I lf.luwtri, ha'd eom-
ralted Ii iih a trnmbinig hind to the ilream,
and anas no. .nxmi.,j-ly iwal-hJng ii-_ progrt:ss
dow.'n the current, he,:dle-s of the LyJ% cavalcade
which had.,l.r3an lip tl',-e h:-'r. I.ILLI R,ouaK
wa. all curio.ir) *-nhtiit. -re of her an lndanris,
who. hd.J ibd upon th hbarnk. ,f lhhe Ganges,
hereee tlhi t:rem.-n.y i ,) Ir'qulenli, lhat oliten,
in the douk of ihr eterm'n. tlhc rt,. r ia ,.-en git-
terire all oirr with ltAh1-, like the 'lt..n-ala or
Sea iil' St.ara.) inr .rmid iw' Prn.:em ihat 11t was
the u-ujl 'way in h,6..h h-e fr;cnl- ..- 'hu._e "ho
had C.:'ne on dr .i r.:.'- :.,a.e; oirtred up sows
fmr their ,.l- return. If It'e lamp sunk irnme-
didlIely. ihr mmrim a"- di. rirou, 1; t',lt if nlerint
shining lJin lh-e irea.m, and crrinlnurd to burn
till enntrly outr o.-igli, ihe return ol the telomed
object wias.- non-iderd a rctiln.
LaiLL. RoKmu. as thev mujted on. more than
once looked back, to observe how the young
Hindo-o's lamp proceeded; and, while she saw
68 THE VEILED PROPHET Of KHORASSAN.
with pleasure that it was still unextinguished,
she could not help fearing that all the hopes of
this life were no better than that feeble light upon
the river. The remainder of the journey was
passed in silence. She now, for the first time,
felt that shade of melancholy, which comes over
the youthful maiden's heart, as sweet and tran-
sient as her own breath upon a mirror; nor was
it till she heard the lute of FERAMORZ, touched
lightly at the door of her pavilion, that she waked
from the reverie in which she had been wander-
ing. Instantly her eyes were lighted up with
pleasure, and, after a few unheard remarks from
FADLADEEN upon the indecorum of a poet seating
himself in presence of a Princess, every thing
was arranged as on the preceding evening, and
all listened with eagerness, while the story was
thus continued:-
WHoss are the gilded tents that crowd the
way,
Where all was waste and silent yesterday ?
This City of War, which in a few short hours,
Hath sprung up here, as if the magic powers
Of him, who, in the twinkling of a star,
Built the high pillar'd halls of CaITAiw n,*
Had conjur'd up, far as the eye can see,
This world of tents, and domes, and sun-bright
armory!-
The edifices of Chilminar and Balbec are sup-
posed to have been built by the Genii, acting under
the orders of Jan ben Jan, who governed the world
long before the time of Adam.
THE VEILED PROPHET OF KHORASSAN. 64
Princely pavilions, screened by many a fold
Of crimson cloth, and topp'd with balls of gold;
Steeds, with their housings of rich silver CpLin,
Their chains and poitrels glittering in th, sun ;
And camels tufted o'er with Yemen's shrll,.
Shaking in every breeze their light-ton'd bells !
But yester-eve, so motionless around,
So mute was this wide plain that not a -ound
But the far torrent, or the locust bird*
Hunting among the thickets, could be heard;-
Yet hark! what discords now, of every kind,
Shouts, laughs, and screams, are revelling in the
wind!
The neigh of cavalry; the tinkling throngsr
Of laden camels and their driver's songs;-
Ringing of arms, and flapping in the br-eze
Of streamers from ten thousand canopies;-
War-music, bursting out from time to time
With gong and tymbalon's tremendous chime;
Or, in the pause, when harsher sounds are mute,
The mellow breathing of some horn or flute,
That, far off, broken by the eagle note
Of the Abyssinian trumpet,t swell and float !
Who leads this mighty army 1 ask ye
"who ."
A native of Khorassan, and allured s.ouhward
by means of the water of a fountain, between u rlunaz
and Ispahan, called the Fountain of Birds, of a r.ecr
it is so fond that it will follow wherever thai waiter
is carried.
t "This Trumpet is often called in Arv'amnia,
nesser cano, which signifies, The note of the Eagle."
--Note of Bruce's Editor.
70 THE VEILED PROPHET OF KHORASSAN.
A nd mark ye not those banners of dark hue,
The Night and Shadow,* over yonder tent ?-
It is the CALIPH'S glorious armament.
Rous'd in his palace by the dread alarms,
That hourly came, of the false Prophet's arms,
And of his host of infidels, who hurl'd
Defiance fierce at Islamt and the world;-
Though worn with Grecian warfare, and behind
The veils of his bright palace calm reclin'd,
Yet brook'd he not such blasphemy should stain,
Thus unreveng'd, the evening of his reign;
But, having sworn upon the Holy Gravet
To conquer or to perish, once more gave
His shadowy banners proudly to the breeze,
And, with an army nurs'd in victories,
Here stands to crush the rebels that o'er-run
His blest and beauteous Province of the Sun.
Ne'er did the march of MASAIn display
Such pomp before ;-not e'en when on his way
To MEccA's Temple, when both land and sea
Were spoil'd to feed the pilgrim's luxury;
When round him, 'mid the burning sands, he saw
Fruits of the North, in icy freshness thaw,
The two black standards borne before the Ca-
liphs of the house of Abbas, were called, allegorically,
the Night and the Shadow. See Gibbon.
t The Mahometan Religion.
$ "' The Persians swear by the tomb of Shah Be-
sade, who is buried at Casbin ; and when one desires
another to asseverate a matter, he will ask him if
hb dare swear by th Holy Grave"--Struy.
SMri od,. in a erele [,ilrairurt'e to Mecca, ex-
peadcd w, %riillon of dinars -ji g .old
THE VEILED PROPIIFT OF KHORASSNAT. 71
And could his lharffuy lip lbi, athl the 'Iw
01I I, M C.'. 'arl. milln urnI ol PIn -In SranW;
N.,r e cr d, a i' iina'lit l if'rtu r rLi idm n I thl il,
Puur Ir.nji ih. krn ,.I. ..] II l -r 4_ Alphat.
Finr1. In Il.* vin. ilt PI'I.41l crf the Ru.k.t
On l.,i Iir li.hi uin.Urr ial-i L ti j, ol lii',a'il N ic,,k ;t
T'1iri ( 'lIijl.a 'r o' U .'i.i- ri- pr.-,d 1.) tea
"liat l.al-iiI. i.t I i. ir ,)rj, rlna ia rai ur. etryr ',
M -II n.r.. li iw t aI 'i' 11I- r I. h *,JLi. % I j,'"ijlil.
NIlax'd % lhb IhI rai.Jrd. Ilak a' h'rr iI 'he-~ouh ;
An'i Ililal, v Ijairn:'r. IIa aia l>' it,'b,ah'd i.ran.k,
F[t.,rn thi Ijar ii. .r A i k'I s;.' -rtd L.anks.
iabia im %str kri-'r'n Irolii. [t.e Ill. ..1' MNI rrh,II
Al,.J i- ,ii i .~ a .,-arni'd Mu f.r. andJ Miid-ce.I
al.iran tr.
N.-,r Ie a. I riuim, r. ih.tu:h i.ir'e rine and ruLde
In Wt rtit'- Ul'1,) an I- ii I rit Iauiliaude
'11[ ir. Ita',i L'.% ,i :l. ...r 13 c r.[.rr;a,-:.n wrong'J.
R)iJ.J aII' i a iI :. ..l 1 lai mpost..r hrt.ng'd.
,. iJ .: h l .- I 1., ka, .. f h 1, r.-!,- l;,,l.
Buni.inri .alhd Iin jdajln.a4 itt tli .auliiiLl mt 'id.-
M .r I,.. .. -t .tI.. raI I r. r It. r. aia I un -
r Ti c I I. l i. .I I.\1, ..r .iIa.'i P i'iii.
{ au.. '- '. .i r, 1
I Fr.. h..r..- mil'..'I F.1 i L r it.. na Kr.(rl rti.
01 ii arm a aa rillr' n- 1- i 1. i e '* r. -.- i a-li [a..r 2i1iJ
4 i ir. r : j I. i. r -. i b l'" r a ra n .. Itf'nr
R .'r fI1..i .I. .. Wr .X,.T
i [le' t iln alli il a IT i "- l ,ort .tfi-. r i
II AtJi, u b ab .
72 THE VEILED PROPHET OF KHORASSAN.
Many who felt, and more who fear'd to feel
The bloody Islamite's converting steel,
Flock'd to his banner;-Chiefs of the UZBXcK
race,
Waving their heron crests with martial grace ;*
TuncoMANS, countless as their flocks, led forth
From the aromatic pastures of the North;
Wild warriors of the turquoise hillst-and those
Who dwell beyond the everlasting snows
OfHIrnoo Koss,t in stormy freedom bred,
Their fort the rock, their camp the torrent's bed.
But none, of all who owned the Chief's command,
Rush to the battle field with bolder hand,
Or sterner hate, than IRA.'S out-lawed men,
Her worshippers of fire-all panting then
For vengeance on the accursed Saracen;
Vengeance at last for their dear country spurn'd,
Her throne usurp'd, and her bright shrines o'er-
turn'd,
From YEZDs's[| eternal mansion of the Fire,
The Chiefs of the Uzbec Tartars wear a plume
of white heron's feathers in their turbans."-Account
of Independent Tartary.
T "In the mountains of Nishapour, and Tous, in
Khorassan, they find turquoises "--Ebn Haukal.
$ For a description of these stupendous ranges of
mountains, see Elphinstone's Caubul.
0 The Ghebers or Guebres, those original natives
of Persia, who adhered to their ancient faith, the re-
ligion of Zoroaster, and who, after the conquest of
their country by the Arabs, were either persecuted
at home, or forced to become wanderers abroad.
|" Yezd, the chief residence of those ancient na-
tives, who worship the Sun and the Fire, which lat-
ter they have carefully kept lighted, without being
TraE VEILED PriOPHErOF KHORASSAN. 7"
W'h-re oeei .it.uali in dre rrm or1j hcat'n expir ;
FIromn B rki, nr.il th.-'e iounr'..in. o blue flame
Thal burrut inti the I .'-pi ." I;. ir, tUiV came,
('ard~i- I*-r n itl *r % ,lim lhI, -' L-;1 vlr 10 i,'d.
-o e 'I |.I|C' Lf' bij .lI' d thi-l ni" rr.ihit L ld
Such w.'- ,a h- h id aid us l"l.LIdiaOu hl-it,
Thali ibh -tri ih, i ..liy hdi-ll r. Vtl.t
.Xr.-u.id te Plt i.ph ,iit I .all .-i:' ill Lnt
Ihl l i I rl thr..u.l h i, I. I '. 'l. ,I..t riy [l od,
1 .1t r na h.. <1 Ih i h ,' :.,, ,e h o r ,. e re
"'I' ce tialh ti.i .-Ur. 'p.l t,: c .rdlil't L.
Ar.l .', n gd.il .liid l .,u..I Ih..,.. n .p|lJ ii icel;
\\'il .J. -tr jilnl i'1' ,'ariinj)er ir' |.i rnu.,,,,-rlJ t L.u e,
S uiik i[, h. .-heat 'i- Ir, a II.at r..is..n I-le
lI; i t0 I thi prni.itide I .i'Jtii i- NB"'d.
i i[ir. ricd ie '.d ueti i- nd% a-irojd!
" Or., 'i-'rdijs ol od'd h,. paninC r, L C I tila
**Thr..r f.r the liin;n-h a.'r. lor him who
liil !"
]h..'Jl[III ir. ul r \r -.I jn ll i -* r Q.j Ji,.i11 i i.r [ .
l c t.i II. I -c **r I, ..r... I I'r. II. I rif.. -.n d
I-. '.- r *
I hi i i i ,d i r l lj .l l t l li -. i ; r. r n J
t l N i l 'Iflr i *. ] 1 -" I i k : r r ." | i 1 r It U I I 1 1 i
S j n n n. r1,1 ,i : l l linnn. L lr l I, 1 i l d n i l ir '
ar Ba, F.
NJ ToIE VL'ILED Piol-'LUr (fF KHURAsSAN.
" On. braue- i,%, r. crz. -.n," M.. %.NN i ines,
" And Ehl.i Lblrl UI, rteire'al s lr iha ILes!"
Nowv ionie, Ih Iruri, IL. U rrin-. ib.:- di. -
Th'"y ClS 6 -ltr, elrn.-Ihe L'aLiFLI', LroiupS
Mo,,R.' N.%'. -.ll l .'k |h, I. L'k banrer down,
And now the Unent World's impenal crown
Is just within his grasp-when, hark! that shout!
Some hand hath checked the flying Moslem's
rout;
And now they turn-they rally-at their head
A warrior, (like those angel youths who led,
In glorious panoply of heaven's own mail,
The Champions of the Faith through BEDAR's
vale,*)
Bold as if gifted with ten thousand lives,
Turns on the fierce pursuers' blades, and drives
At once the multitudinous torrent back,
While hope and courage kindle in his track,
And, at each step, his bloody falchion makes
Terrible vistas, through which victory breaks!
In vain MOKANNA, 'midst the general flight,
Stands like the red moon, on some stormy night
Among the fugitive clouds that, hurrying by,
Leave only her unshaken in the sky!-
In vain he yells his desperate curses out,
Deals death promiscuously to all about,
To foes that charge, and coward friends that fly,
*In the great victory gained by Mabomed at Bedar,
he was assisted, say the Mdusselmans, by three thous-
and angels led by Gabriel, mounted on his horse Hi-
aznum--The Koran and its Commentators.
THE VEILED PROPHET OF KRHtRAASAN. 75
And 6eernm oR a'" the (-;r.lt Arch-enimy !
The panic apr.'i-* a rmira I. !" throughout
The MNoilm ra'l:<, "a imi'acile" thevy shout,
All ajirl (n hint i lath, who.e c'oningr seems
.A litil. a Walu'Y -lrh j. break. in irearns
An. ttry e -w.),d i'ue da J'etr L.dlo.s dim
The- rie,.lle tr.ark the lo.,J.hi tr l.ll..1wine him!
RAtht toa'rd JAl M.Ja N n.w he celei- hi. pith,
Imparient cl- iei. ani h-.u'il tIhe b.Ill of % nrth
He be-r- f.romT h'ne i'n wan-itliehli i. a'jfl burat
From w.ikrr heids, andJ -.ui but bh All-navy Lurst,
T. br.ak j'er hLrn the rmihtiest and the worst!
But %,in his -. ed-r-ua',jh Ir that huur ofat bloo
Hid all GCod'; seraphs rijanid NoK NNA N lod,
With swordi, .'r fire, really like laie to fall,
M.aa.NsNA' sul w.juld have delled them all;-
Yet now the ruih o1' Iugitise, I..o strong,
Fur biilinarr tjr.'c, burr-ir *-ct fl ',,ri ang ;
In ainr. he errui.iles 'mid the wedg'd array
Of l. ine M i'u Lhunds.-he is borne a ivy ;
And ihe s.le lI .') hei bellied spirit kLrnow
In thei fir'..:-d right E--murderrmn a; he goes!
A.; a rrnti nievLr. whom lhne tuirenm'. might
S.'rpri.ea in *unme parclh'd ravine at right.
TtUrni e'en in drowning, on the wrtlhed fl.)cks,
Siaepl w.th hii in lhati .ow-il.i.. iro.m ihe rocks,
Andi to 'he la:l devo'Jriril uon his way,
Blo.s,'les the -rream he harh not power toi stay.
** NIla II ,\li !"-the el i shout renew-
Alla .kat !-"-the 'aliph't in MEROU.
rre l-.rnbir. ,.r cry 'ine Ar ia, Vila Abikarl"
Bays Oacley mians., Go14 mo5t mighty."
76 THE VEILED PROPHET OF KHORAS8AN.
Hang out your gilded tapestry in the streets,
And light your shrines, and chaunt your zira-
leets;*
The swords of God have triumph'd-on his
throne
Your Caliph sits, and the Veil'd Chief hath
flown.
Who does not envy that young warrior now,
To whom the Lord of Islam bends his brow,
In all the graceful gratitude of power,
For his throne's safety in that perilous hour?
Who does not wonder, when, amidst th' acclaim
Of thousands, heralding to heaven his name-
'Mid all those holier harmonies of fame,
Which sound along the path of virtuous souls,
Like music round a planet as it rolls!
He turns away coldly as if some gloom
Hung o'er his heart no triumphs can illume;-
Some sightless grief, upon whose blasted gaze
Though glory's light may play, in vain it plays!
Yes, wretched Azix! thine is such a grief,
Beyond all hope, all terror, all relief;
A dark, cold calm, which nothing now can break,
Or warm or brighten,-like that Syrian Lake,t
Upon whose surface morn and summer shed
Their smiles in vain, for all beneath is dead !
Hearts there have been, o'er which this weight of
wo
Came by long use of suffering, tame and slow;
The ziraleet is a kind of chorus, which the wo-
men of the East sing upon joyful occasions.
J The Dead Sea, which contains neither animal
nor vegetable life.
THE VEILED PROPHET OF XHORASsAN. "7
But thine, lost youth! was sudden-over thee
It broke at once, when all seemed ecstac ;
When Hope look'd up, and saw the gloomy Past
Melt into splendor, and Bliss dawn at la -
'Twas then, ev'n then, o'er joys so freshly blown
This mortal blight of misery came down !
Ev'n then, the full, warm gushings of thy h..iri
Were check'd-like fount-drops, frozen a? they
start !
And there, like them, cold, sunless relics hang
Each fix'd and chill'd into a lasting pang !
One sole desire, one passion now remains,
To keep life's fever still within his veins.-
Vengeance!-dire vengeance on the wretch who
cast
O'er him and all he lov'd that ruinous blast.
For this, when rumors reached him in his light
Far, far away after that fatal night,-..
Rumors of armies, thronging to th' attack
Of the Veil'd Chief,-for this he wing'd him
back,
Fleet as the vulture speeds to flags unfurl'd,
And came when all seem'd lost, and willy
hurl'd
Himself into the scale, and sav'd a world;
For this he still lives on, careless of all
The wreaths that glory on his path lets fail:
For this alone exists-like lightning-fire
To speed one bolt of vengeance, and expire !
But safe as yet, that spirit of evil lives;
With a small band of desperate fugitives.
That last sole stubborn fragment, left unnven
78 THE VEILED PROPHET OF KHORASSAWN
Of the proud host that late stood fronting heaven
He rain'd Mnou,,-breath'd a short curse of
blood
O'Er his lost throne-then pass'd the Jisox's
fl.,od,*
An!d Ljathering all, whose madness and belief
null .r.v1V a Saviour in their downfall'n Chief,
Raji'dl the white banner within NEKsSHEB's
geites,t
.And there, untam'd, th' approaching conqueror
waits.
Of all his harm, all that busy hive,
With music and with sweets sparkling alive,
He took but one, the partner of his flight,
One, not for love-not for her beauty's light-
For ZELICA stood withering 'midst the gay,
Wan as the blossom that fell yesterday
From the Alma tree and dies, while overhead
To-day's young flower's springing in its stead !
No, not for love-the deepest damn'd must be
Touch'd with heaven's glory, ere such fiends as
he
Can feel one glimpse of love's divinity!
But no, she is his victim ;-there lie all
Her charms for him-charms that can never pall
As long as hell within his heart can stir,
*The ancient Oxus.
t A city of Transoxiania.
"You never can cast your eye on this tree, but
you meet there either blossoms or fruit; and as the
blossom drops underneath on the ground, [which is
frequently covered with these purple colored flow-
ers,] others come forth in their stead." etc. etc.---
Xisshef.
THE VILF'i P/ROPIiEr IF hilOAiASAN. '9
I.)r om.r L ira Irv .f .4 1 wn is left in her.
To n.ilI arit i I' rui.- i,, l.. .h,,i.
't1 li a .1 i.i:. -- i i..- Ir r u.r.ll'. l
i j.-lir'l ['. 11: I, i 'll- I., 1. at i.., j c ., .-jil l
1 1 l.lill.l i .1-i- l [,..lr'ili.Ly -)ul-
'I'h I hr- lrii ill i ; 'l i- II. i .' ;i. lr.r .l.
''lh ii r .ii, hit., r,, .i.l. id r i,, ., "ill t.ut brh t!
silh i. s Ite 1 Iw 1, I i..I I. t1.i re III, l s
UIl,,lhr'.l ,iii lt,-j i Lir'. ii' Iii e> .-,
.A Il.'lll or t 'hat w 1 | 1,.l ,.]|l hi..I-lrl.rr rl irne.
T h, '- h. il.,, u i in. i r ..,''li h...ir, il 'ri.-tijn t'm -,
[Jul ,Ithr tijk' n. WvaiUl hiJ'-lvsk- thiat
ritcI
.A l lI, JO.I | rli' i n ,nrw :-.n ,I" il,,,A ht Inl [& l.1
l ui uhi iih the l 'c.' hate liL] himrr-libr
I Irk.,
it)er \,.ii plinit, il i-,h iiiht h.dJ clie made
Jd ri,
Ihji. l ,ri.'rrs. couril, a th li ;r 'i .ld ;] hle i
Thli -I.iiic:lr I'. 'i t'i l.l,; jon -h.mnr: j .ihtt-
F'ar a' rlh-ir l.rm.i Ji l. l _,a'-,a tii,.v -h,, ed.
Tt-. i ori ,liv i.tit iii h n .-deic.I rj'r er prad,
A niJ lt it in r lr 'ir l., lill ihi.L % l h'
Arni.--.r the l.turli' driJ -r,.,.t, ..'Eir blich the
I,.,, i]
In all its irm'd mL'r;_rier,'rii ,,,',"''Ik itj nri.
l' t, is l r,:-, lr':. m hti lII', hal[It-nj,:ril.i
Mori %,-vt % iew' that mubiLUUdJe Of itnt-;
Th, D'mn-,,r.& If Per ir, mrr I.r.ira ,.
t :arreri mint.'rul trie dire-ili i I1, India during the
r ilny su aita ,n r4 nia 7 r.a"c.
8O TilL VEILED Pul0PHlrT OF RHORASS.N.
Nay, smiles to think that, though entoil'd, beset,
Not less than myriads dare to front him yet;-
That, friendless, throneless, he thus stands at bay,
E'en thus a match for myriads such as they !
" Oh! for a sweep of that dark angel's wing,
Who brush'd the thousands of th' Assyrian King*
To darkness in a moment, that I might
People hell's chambers with yon host to-night!
But come what may, let who will grasp the
throne,
Caliph or Prophet, Man alike shall groan;
Let who will torture him, Priest-Caliph-
King-
Alike this loathsome world of his shall ring
With victims' shrieks and howlings of the slave-
Sounds, that shall glad me ev'n within my grave."
Thus to himself-but to the scanty train
Still left around him, a far different strain;-
Glorious defenders of a sacred Crown
I bear from Heav'n, whose light, nor blood shall
drown
Nor shadow of earth eclipse ;-before whose gems
The paly pomp of this world's diadems,
The crown of GERASiHI, the pillar'd throne
Of PAavIZ,t and the heron crest that shone,t
Sennacherib, called by the orientals King ofMous-
sal.---D'Bsrbelot.
Chosroes. For a description of his Throne or Pa-
lace, see Gibbon and D'Herbelot.
t The crown of Gerashid is cloudy and tarnished
before the heron tuft of thy turban."---From one of
the elegies or songs in praise of Ali, written in char-
a"ters of gold round the gallery of Abbas's tomb.---
See Chardin.
THE VEILED PROPHET OF EHORASSAN. 81
Magnificent, o'er ALIu' beauteous eyes.,
Fade like the 4Larc bnhpn morn is in the skies.
Warriors, rejoice- the port, to w ti-h we've
p-s.'d
O'er de-sn.tv's dark wavre, brams out at last!
Victor'as our own-'ns written in itht Book
ULpon ihoab' lease nrne but the anigrl look,
That l-i.'te -repire hall beneath the power
Of her grea.i foe fall broken in that hour,
When the rmoln'- micljgi orb, before all eves,
From Ni.KHL.aB's. Holv Well porrenioui.vshall
Now turn and see "-
Thev turn'.l. and. ia he spoke,
A sudden spl-ndor all urolun. them broke,
And ihey beheld an -rb, .nple arnd bright,
Rie fr.,rr, the Hola Wrll an.] cast its linht
R.'unil the ii'h cr aJrid tle plain 1 .r mile'-
F'liltrnrnlta irjh radianri .'- r the cil'il tles
Of nany a dome and Iii'-roif'l nuniaret,
A- autumn s.un-, hed r..u.d them %hen they set.
Jntarit fr..m .II %th- .v- it' illu i ep -..' n
miirrriiir rr ..kr k ,hraIl.,,u- di' ir !"
The Ghebt r town'd. thikniip hii r.Jl St ir
"T, h-jiieily of Ali's .? m% o-) eriarkabile,
ithal wn server ihv I'erelarin uIulj dJorrnie, aneihine
a6 tl ny tint iti r .\ H1it.or itn' L3eof AI."
*.I'tb.trtin
1 II d l-vli p-.ndi rit d u nri...,i r' p-.. -s e i la i1-
q i '- K-hrtl'llr n I i .iiiI ,r lir ultet' IF. rnll. dli
ifn..i ,'1 1n ptl i An rp-l llilri llrll i u 'm11,hli l. a ia Lune
quI pI riit ..i n- j lum iie juqu'a a1.1 disiarnr- d pl.iJieutii
~.i.i '* 'H'eroiit. H nt, he na.a talled :l azea l
dcnmah.r.r Itue Moon-m akl
6
82 THE VEILED PROPHET OF KHORASSA1&.
Had wak'd, and burst impatient through the bar
Of midnight to inflame him to the war!
While he of MouSSA'S creed saw, in that ray,
The glorious light which in his freedom's day,
Had rested on the Ark,* and now again
Shone out to bless the breaking of his chain!
"To victory !" is at once the cry of all-
Nor stands MOKANBA loitering at that call;
But instant the huge gates are flung aside,
And forth, like a diminutive mountain-tide
Into the boundless sea, they speed their course
Right on into the MosLEM's mighty force.
The watchmen of the camp who, in their
rounds,
Had paus'd and e'en forgot the punctual sounds
Of the small drum with which they count the
night,I
To gaze upon that supernatural light-
Now sinks beneath an unexpected arm,
And in a death-groan give their last alarm.
On for the lamps, that light yon lofty screen,*
Nor blunt your blades with massacre so mean;
There rests the CALIPH-speed--one lucky lance
May now achieve mankind's de liverance !"
*The Shechinah, called Sakinet in the Koran,---
See Sale's Note. chap. ii.
t The parts of night are made known as well by In-
struments of music. as by the round of the watchmen
W i tl WASWid StMIt Arms--See BuTitder's Oriental
CUsatoms. vol. i1. p. 119.
t "The Serrapurda, high screens of red cloth, stif-
fened with cane, used to enclose a considerable space
rounrd the royal tents."--Xotes on the Bahardanue4.
THE VEiLED PROPHEr OF KHO. ASAN. i43
Desperate the d;,--iuch a they ,nly ratl.
W'ho vf rnure I'..r a .iirld.J, iid ta I ir lait.
But FaIe's no l.jnLs:r with 1n.rn l.--I l, I..r tbiide
Spjrii:; up, ti nit them th r..u.. -h ithe 'tii'iLnring
Aihde.
An.J. aa Ihe 0ilI ;. hir,l, nt I,.,.,n -...fn
Pu.jr I, tihe i.1i-like b t..i liiiL .it lh
To) 1ih! -hrill htnti.r.l'i .riirnm.n-till. at 1. north.
The righty ri.n.jp riT;ir- .l i all ie ~srel-ni:h,
And bi. k 10 N .iil r.i ,'alL .ct, ring ihr plain
W\ith rantl..ni l.,ughtlrr, druica the advcniturois
IT 1IIn ,
Amnion tih last .:.f i b:ln, the silvtr Veil
I- ,een clitinring at ,it-e.. like the,. wline -ail
01 -I.1ne t.P-'.l it-cl. un I sorntv niiiht
Catching the it-mpcit'. niomeniary light!
And I'tih nr.. /i.'' hr..uiaht the prouJd spirit low?
N ..,rd i -.'d Ih hir.. r .-. .:g ik'l ii' ,d -ring No.
Th.'iJsh billf Itie wr.-chre.t th:ri ii rnu h he led
T., 1hrne ,ri an i.:lbjry, lit di-irJa''J r.d dead,
''t rr'-ri.iiin, h "rs, hnTi, r.ih i nll rinkrinZ criest,
.' ,oIll l .,X!" tl-,r..-rn.-,. jnd ,:1..] m it, I r- t.
AndJ th'.v t cl'ii.J t.III-- )h, Olw loter a v
II.-irat Lial Iok vlu,:h o,-0l, In' ..ul ,way;-
T'ih tb, I_, l .iJ'c t1 til;rik itbt it can play
\\;th hei.-rn's rirb..--.clrh\kitini may doubt
The ;lnine i;..,IJ their t -rt.uluble L71c,; outl
Hult Faith. f'ti nil, Falth. "nce v.'j.Jdd fat
Tj urnme de.r Ijl-ehoodJ, hug_. it to the la It.
Frrr, il .rper t rf., iir.c- r--:, r tit K uz'rnr.n
ar'i r--- 'Lij 3 eleirjnicaisj .ri- y- -- -.V er' '.- Tr.Hi-er.
84 THE VEILED PROPHET OF KNORASSAN.
And well th' Impostor knew all lures and art,
That LuciFEn e'er taught to tangle hearts;
Nor, 'mid these last bold workings of his plot
Against men's souls, is ZELICA forgot.
Ill-fated ZELCA had reason been
Awake, through half the horrors thou hast seen,
Thou never could'st have borne it-Death had
come
At once and taken thy wrung spirit home.
But 'twas not so-a torpor, a suspense
Of thought, almost of life, came o'er the intense
And passionate struggles of that fearful night,
When her last hope of peace and heav'n took
flight:
And though, at times, a gleam of frenzy broke,
As through some dull volcano's veil of smoke
Ominous flashings now and then will start,
Which show the fire's still busy at its heart;
Yet was she mostly wrapp'd in sullen gloom,
Not such as AzxI's, brooding o'er its doom,
And calm without, as is the brow of death,
While busy worms are gnawing underneath!-
But in a blank and pulseless torpor, free
From thought or pain, a seal'd up apathy,
Which left her oft, with scarce one living thrill,
The cold pale victim of her torturer's will.
Again, as in Manou, he had her deck'd,
Gorgeously out, the Priestess of the sect;
And led her glittering forth before the eyes
OIf his rude train, as to a sacrifice;
Pallid as she, the young, devoted Bride
Of the fierce NILs, when, deck'd in all the pride
THRI VEILED PilliPkiEr OF KHOIR.SSAN. 85
or nuptl l p.,ip, shr -inks n'to his tii.! "
.A ni umlft lirhe r rii i,,d nmi.J hjr., down her
he i.,
An.] iu.i .ld on:. n it r.-tn I'r.in thr, diad,
Amin l ih i i: l.i, ,:ii' ad. the lirnid ,iiull tell
His cr.Julji t l,,. s i s 1 .4rin chlirm or sr ell
Pies-zed hbr not%.-.in. Iroi thai id. rkcn'd
Nihould J .Jn cre lone the'r Farth's- .ili'rance.
Or 11, at rimes. V,..aJ'.d b.y Quill sht- ni.
Htr S. ul vA a rou_'.d, jir.I 'di n l" i ilJni.eis
Calini,
Instant li.: bL',l I .bl, i' h rnr would trarn lale
Her riri?' in' ia ..rily r l.jt-.
\ioul,,l h'Jl htaVd'n'. Siii as in iher lbs-hing eyes,
And call her shriekl- i:- lariniuagf of the skics!
But a: il lE tili h-' jri.s- -p.-r in- men
GatherLn, ai'ounl ; 'an I .nne io rn .I i .. liean
All thial the -nworJ had lIe-l unrea.p'di :-in %am
At m,'.rn an.d ':e aicro,- the n.'rihrrn plain
He lo-.i.- impatient I".-C he pr,,.-,',l -p:arsi
i11 the i ild h..idc aril T'.Arrr i l r.i..r l int errs.
Th.-\ c'.,m- runt-hv.ilt bh. tiChrCl' bh.l.:gurcera
Engines n ,l.' I1-1 in. unkn.: n blcaire.
.\ndJ hli-rril.l is lit 1 --iint lir=.. ih-it Ilv
A 'ub [.nrn m illi lJ'r....li..h 11 i hi" dly. *r-:ilt. in
in r.il irf P in I.i. lif s-d ..i th- N il : '..r ir.- -. r-w
m3ke n ir ..-n oi -a ir in n ir Aliaip.- i ',-rl. n 'i which
Ihp lel iae en n rmir ol' Ihl. I trolhel ni :, and ihrow
It lii i Ii Ii r r .j.'. lr.,
I Tre GIeLk oie, ivhiLh isas occasoJna11y lent bylay
86 THE VEILLID PROPHET OF liHORtA;alN.
En% rcutl[ 'd ilh -imoky iLmes ibrough the dark
k',.
Arnd red-hot clobe., ihat, pl.ri'in i,. iil..y mt.unt,
Discharge, as from a kindled Naptha fount,
Showers of a consuming fire o'er all below;
Looking, as through th' illumin'd night they go,
Like those wild birds* that by the Magicians, oft,
At festivals of fire, were sent aloft
Into the air, with blazing faggots tied'
To their huge wings, scattering combustion wide!
All night, the groans of wretches who expire,
In agony, beneath these darts of fire,
Ring through the city-while, descending o'er
Its shrines and domes and streets of sycamore:-
Its lone bazaars, with their bright cloths of gold,
Since the last peaceful pageant left unroli'd;-
Its beauteous marble baths, whose idle jets,
Now gush with blood ;-and its tall minarets,
That late have stood up inl the evening glare
Of the red sun, unhallow'd by a prayer:-
O'er each, in turn, the dreadful flame-bolts fall,
And death and conflagration throughout all
the Emperors to their allies. "It was," says Gibbon,
"either launched in red hot balls of stone and iron,
or darted in arrows and javelins, twisted round with
flax and tow, which had deeply imbibed the inflam-
mable oil."
At the great festival of fire, called the Sheb
Seize, they used to set fire to large bunches of dry
combustibles fastened round with beasts and birds,
which being then let loose, the air and earth appear-
ed one great illumination; and as these terrified crea-
tures naturally fled to the wood for shelter, it is easy
to conceive the conflagrations they produced."-
Richardson's Dissertation.
THE VEILED PROPHET OF KHOiLASSAf. 87
The deauiite c;1y hold hlgh Itlival!
Ms ," o s- ,; the i.-.rld i. his no mrn.re;-
IUnr -ir i .ir[ill 1.iii hii' -.-ip i, o'i'r.
W" Whl! jr.).pi, |,w '"-ihis, w;th unbllush-
;n .. h... I,
Hei h,,I- ii: I. who ,-. Ii ri, hr. ir him speak,
I iI all it .er I l : h...J .t rodj iil ihun ing.
A i.d I. lti lciihi Li. 1.,nL l h.. .pl'.i, ini .-
-*" W ih ,ir.'Aau- not.. !-n.:. h lien at length
tt 're.:
Home inr I h, c- c r' ii 1" .u,,-i
H-,rne o'er itih -ery |ti i.l.lof u'-e4:;
1 h'en .111 Ir.jm our r ,rnk hjl- lliAin',l away
T'h'-.e pri-r r hr.richt.-. hr ke.[i il Lis ray
Iil it'..i iiTr u-, ifi wie tind .a- I:neth
Hi-tr. of hi lIht .,,l hl.ilrei of hi.- strength,
Th"'e ,h.-ji- IT who Atill ur,, the Iall
O1 Li;nr and thr..in tniurith[ m over all!
Hike v'a tIhrn loi,.Wi, w-ik lmurinurcrs asyou are,
[I fruth r. lhim, who. wig vour Liiiah, vour Star ?
Have v.iu I;.ri 'he eye i:i' al'ry. hid.
erei t.ih iti ,-I. the fluorinee .I whose lid
C..ul. Ilik: the sun-_ir..ke uf the dJerrt, w;ther
]lionn: 4" s.-- a- '.ii. ..- ( 'h.ef l irn 1is hither ?
L.-rg hbite ,is lithlbJLn.4 elipt-i-).o Ion,--but
.11 ,-vth i1, i!l tIh' un nl ir;z ..1f thi- brow!
'To-r.i.l'it-M, -_ .in',J mn:.i! 'l'tu,-ry rviaht,
I t-liJ] .' .l 1 I r I. 1 ;.i ri'e,
11 hre, hi-inl dlcep r:fr. he-. rach earlyy limb
Wi th .ianrids -ueh ai f.i-t He-ver,' chertubin,
An.] I indlil up your -.:iul;. now .unk irid dimn,
\ iLth that pure niine Ith, dirk-e-'yJ du1idJ abo)e
88 THE VEILED PROPHET OF KHORA'&aN.
Keep c:ial'J wilh preciouai musk for those they
lose'-
I will m seif uncurtain in v-our siht
The wonders ,-rof lh brow'.= inellible lightly
Ther, lead you IUrih. and] wilh a "1k di% a.rse
Yon In riadrJ, honing through the unnrrse !"
Eager thev li-ten-while il-w aerent darts
New hli'e int.:. their ..ill'.d and hop..--ck heart.L;
Sueh trLl.:h ro.lj, .it a [the t.,.i drau:hEl suijipl.es
T.' ITa Up....n ih lzak,- vi.ho drink,- ar..d lis !
V dlJI,, they p, ..ni tbeir lani'.v ..i ih.- iliht
Ol'the fa r -.ikirring -i.n, andi sIhol l-t.-i1cht !"
"To niahi," thi, ir lChiifl're-ee I..- :. a v,,ce
01" tfiend-ike im ., ktr i that [.;. ,, 11 rr-...ii e
Deludc.Jd i.tin--rnter h.uh thi' rth
.9e.e-n moiurrnrini half s.i mournftul ai th ir rrirth!
H.re, to the t'w. w nh.4, ir..,n f'rimn; had .loiod
This racking waste of L. fine and of bl..i-d,
Faint, dsing ivretche,. clunc, firoin whom the
;hout
Ofl nuinph like a miraiajc' laugh broke out ;
7Tier,, other, lighte.l by the -moullering lire,
Dani'd, likr %in cho;r al..iui a fliJierAl pvro.
Among the dlad J rid Jtu J ;tretr'd around .,-
1Whlir s.-om' pile irtit l. I..Jk'. ntii..n.d friu hig
n.,und
Plu.-kin. the fiery dirt l.% nh.. h lie bld.
In ghastly transport wav'd it o'er his head:
*"The righteous shall be given to drink of pure
wine, sealed; the seal whereof shall be musk.'---
Koran, chap. lxzxiii.
THE VEILED PROPHET Of KNORASSAN. 89
'Twas more than midniAht now-a fearful
p|iJI"?q
Hla] lol..w'J ihe long hours, the wild applau.ie,
ThJ lately I'ro ihon .' r.-:,al 'iurdr.s bur t.
\ here the \'~-l'd dernon hIld l.hi leat arcur[t,
\hetl Zr.Lir-A-ila-, p...r ruL i'd heart,
In ,-ry horror ,.,oni'd I. Lb-ir it. [I n !-
\ as bh..lh'l [. thc Lb.- jui, u b a 'i, .
\1h.., iwh, hi- q JiiuriiLe p the .-ummoinii. c'ase,
G(rri tla. k. as Ih..cuh ihe -il.,w.rii [.. he l'radt'
( 'onpa -'d himr romi,. ..Jr. *'re hI. eould r,'peat
His ,n s ..efe hrou li. I-I Ldi I-" i hei r h I.-'r
hliu.ded.riag i.- n.ii-:,a ...ul-I;.IL paii ,:,1 I ear,
A pr-a,.:e rhat h':r own d-.rk dr..nm ,a neat'r.
Iui'Jd tcr-v i'cliiig and ir.,jueah Rei-,n ba-k
Once noire to wrinte hr lastj. upr.n the rick.
All romrn. .i 'd airniquil -ti'.n hit lue had
ced 3'd.
A i'1 diiiJrt .' ih.i!, ih rnli.-m ii. I.,
His tery holls, anid ih&ouch Itie bha.ens look'dn
red,
'rIni but -ome Jatrant c.,nillLT.it'.ion'r spread.
BDt hark -se ,_op.--he Lti[ir---drcadful
"T- b r ltIrmrIi.ttor'T l.iLuh-and non. a croan.
. lon, dJ' Lli-gr.,in ri.niiae irrh ir-icnc thi. be
The pi .'- ol inrth, tt.,- bow'er of retirl !'
'ht nl. r-. II.JLY .L t %hal a '..c t
'Was ier irr L.re h.:r By Ith b lhrt.rui-rino light
0!"f he p.c d, nri. mixed w.ih the flare l1 brand
That round lay ubrnnim, dropped from Lielcas
hands,
90 THE VEILED PROPHET OF KHORASSAN.
She saw the board in splendid mockery spread,
Rich censers breathing-garlands overhead,-
The urns, the cups, from which they late had
quaffd,
All gold and gems, but-what had been the
draught .
Oh who need ask, that saw those livid guests,
With their swoll'n heads sunk, blackening, on
their breasts,
Or looking pale to Heaven with glassy glare,
As if they sought, but saw no mercy there;
As if they felt, though poison rack'd them through,
Remorse the deadlier torment of the two!
While some the bravest, the hardiest in the train
Of their false Chief, who on the battle-plain
Would have met death with transport by his
side,
Here mute and helpless gasp'd ;-but as they
died,
Look'd horrible vengeance with their eyes' last
strain,
And clench'd the slackening hand at him in vain.
Dreadful it was to see the ghastly stare,
The stony look of horror and despair,
Which some of these expiring victims cast
Upon their soul's tormentor to the last;-
Upon that mocking Fiend, whose Veil, now
rais'd,
Show'd them, as in death's agony they gaz'd,
Not the long promised light, the brow whose
beaming
Was to come forth, all conquering, all redeeming;
THE VRLLLD PiROPuEr or KHORASRA.N. 91
But featurLs horrniler than Hill e'er trac'd
OIn its L an ir-..id :-nro .Iin.n of tL.e aste,"
No chturcth-.ard -Gholt., ctujht linctring min he
Of the blli-.'J i.in. e'er l jtcJd human sight
1% iLh Ilin irih n rit' -iI liul.- o I;,.rcc as ihwse
'1 h' i l .-ljw r ri,, rin griinlI r nikerv. show,.
"Ther,, i.: n. .jas, ..t.ljid vur Lijht, voour
Ye (u',./i.1 I.e dup- ,and ri..rrms, nrd ye Iar'.
1 i ii',,u t *r i iu t oh I. ta hrill
l.i ir ....ur .jr.p ii, l .i.ri.-r rche,'ai u s Ill
.'L i r iti I the lurnirrf i .ith Vy I.rel within,
1- but a feran c W-ilti ;ti, h H,,v'n'- .ih begin ;
I Lja b1- ii ul iab.:, bul .; c r ldgrai'd
LEr nronl-.iu' Iiiii. j- alicr (;,d a o,> n lslte;
.A il thai-liul it .-r, I hait itJll-wvy Sdid
MAI cmrr.g. [ihrouh, lb' Lhiuriteus souls are
1'1. :J.
Furm.n l ?,o. .- t l [.rii~! ijii in vadn ye die,
II EbuiL- l', l ....,i. h 'a ni: l a- [.-
iHa. i yung li.d, !-'1,i nell-lake Lthu thy
sLl|[ ,
N ,, c..Ii--rn shuLAitring-Jdi.t lhou neVLr
'The dad L., I.rt '-they pric'd our n.edduii,,
rljj.] j il i.] jI .rl .'. .I'l ti. .It.-ijr' .r i .. ,. ,t .Ij *J lV
.1 l,-,r.l .1 J.-r.,,', U h, ,Ti 1Int s 1 1I irh (.'h ,.Tfe liti.e 1-
bnil ..K r <.ia l i.*[ lin- \i .1 *- Ths) OI llih ii ''l. a ifl p |fr?
H lid ..I : Li .Tn,:i ',ln 1 Ib1 uilw, -j'Effw LlEi j c's
I dibb.j
92 THE VEILED PROPI.LT OF KiluRiiJ AN.
And theie, my gues io-auiht, hate brimm'd so
true
Their pIarinc 'edp, itht Iothu shalt pledge one
But-h-oi s ta '-- i thi lmpy !--all drunk up !
Hl lip4 hs .i- L'b-n IL lure ih.:e in the ctup,
Younr bride..- ,.l aLi -jnt prenoue drop re-
maine.
Eniath i.. Hurrn a ertl? Pi, f'.'l..' l'LI.-
Here, drink-and should thy lover's conquering
arms
Speed hither, ere thy lip lose all its charms,
Give him but half this venom in thy kiss,
And I'll forgive my haughty rival's bliss!
"For me-I too must die-but not like these
Vile, rankling things, to fester in the breeze;
To have this brow in ruffian triumph shown,
With all death's grimness added to its own,
And rot to dust beneath the taunting eyes
Of slaves, exclaiming There his godship lies!'
No-cursed race-since first my soul drew
breath,
They've been my dupes, and shall be, even in
death.
Thou see'st yon cistern in the shade-'tis filled
With burning drugs, for this last hour distill'd:
There will I plunge me in that liquid flame-
Fit bath to lave a dying Prophet's frame !
There perish, all-ere pulse of thine shall fail-
Nor leave one limb to tell mankind the tale.
So shall my votaries, wheresoe'er they rave,
Proclaim that heav'n took back the Saint itgave;
THE VEILED PROPHET OF K[IORASSA.N. 93
That 'vr. bar vanikh'd fror this earth awhile.
To iw.ne -in rrh p.rihl unhri?'id':d smile
S.j hjil h I t.uil mI .. iah3rs 7U. Lj[eir Zil,
\1i.-r- kriv;' A-hill aurw..,r. and look hball
Wlir e F-i'ih ma. mutrnu r o'er hr my ritirc pell,
W'riltter in blo....J-ndj 13igotn. n m. 'ri.
The ;.Al he el.rcdi lur li'e nii with blasts from
I1,i !
Sill ny L'bani .', thr'uih lone a.2et be
Thb' rill %.g .2.n ii i'Lcrd aiid nir.h by;
Kinir v' unh.nri, -hill rue M-i.N.s "'s namiPe,
And ihou;h i di.-, ply p[rilr, .ill thl.- sare,
Sh ll Ik -i' .ro ld ii .ll it., ii tinr rj -trile,
And ill aril .i.i.rJ, th-ai wore ; bls- o a- I ll.!
Bai hirk ih';r 'Mii.itrei cuirne -hake'- ih: wall;
11hy /, 1 li,--tlI. I in bra e tr ,-. ill ;
N.. Ir-,,r. rf ne h ill ,TCI Ihe ,'in ,h.ii. ) come,
.%nJ I .irioi io U.,- F"ith. .:,r-tiiuii'lh r. jamb.
N.,v i-iirk h,.t riL iJil ] wretch lI.,r m.-.
In ire ....1 l p .ir'r, -.jrrAi t n gn i D '.
Ifr .prting a.J andii r.i. athe ii.-rt w..riJwere
Quirk li.,J II., Luinine r, t.r- u'er hii head,
A ,I Zi Li,. i a liri-il'.in [ire r eri.;
0 1 th".;- 1"dJ..- ,alla Ith-,-rdJv II'inr, lh rii n :
TI, ,ull.% i .-r i:ilj-,Ie on tiill rurr m'i t,. l.rr.th,
In all A th t-fr:IlIul vJi .rnr -c ... l.'ii !
NM ..r.: li,,.- e ...lr l, l...i, l.; ,h. t, "uh .ltl.-y t.ll,
fr. ih, I...ne ( 'Si.. a t n .* il.-nt" di II,
*' Tnr e hi.i- ill a Lr I r r .... .ir burial
grli.uijri h h'.r, ii.%. :- i etirr a iLl rt, i ?o poellial
91 THE VEILED PROPHET OF KHORASSAN.
And there unseen of all but ALLA, sit
Each by its own pale carcass, watching it.
But morn is up, and a fresh warfare stirs
Throughout the camp of the beleaguerers.
Their Globes of fire, (the dread artillery, lent
By GREECE to conquering MAHADI,) are spent;
And now the scorpion's shaft, the quarry sent
From high balistas, and the shielded throng
Of soldiers swinging the huge ram along,-
All speak the impatient Islamite's intent
To try, at length, if tower and battlement,
And bastion'd wall, be not less hard to win,
Less tough to break down than the hearts within.
First in impatience and in toil is he,
The burning AzIx-oh! could he but see
Th' Impostor once alive within his grasp,
Not the gaunt lion's hug, nor Boa's clasp,
Could match the gripe of vengeance, or keep
pace
With the fell heartiness of Hate's embrace!
Loud rings the pond'rous ram against the
walls;
Now shake the ramparts, now a buttress falls;
But still no breach-" once more, one mighty
swing
Of all your beams, together thundering !"
There-the wall shakes-the shouting troops
exult-
name of Cities of the Silent, and which they people
with the ghosts of the departed, who sit eachatthe
head ofhis own grave, invisible to mortal eyes. "----
Elphinstone.
THE VEILED PROPHET Of KIIORA3'AN. 95
Quick, quick discharge or weichtiit catipull
Riht on that p.:.1-aind NLKNili ii i our n !"
I. ,rn-the balilei.rnt' con- c'radlhiing J.twn,
Andi lhe h giie t.il.l, y lih. -Irik.'1 r'n in In [wo,
l- tlriih. lik _-ie -.1 t** '.'llr .r, rF-in 11' '. ,
ll j t hn lJ in, d l'.D l l',- v lo i.,kina lbr].oughr
Bui -trjrin. noj -in-..l lil--nuht litili tfen
b,.,-I, ", l,.I. n-.s h L dn ti, 4illr,-_- nn,. ,n ,
A nlrilh'.i jlaii-t. -usprinJ'i all lii'jrti .ri.1J ,. ye-
** in thr..j:h Ilic t-reach." vi.p.lu [ u6 .%i/. i, .:- ;
B u th, ,..l (.', .ii r, l irti l ..I .1 4 % '.,Ih
[rI ru1 blanJk ctulln -- ,bhecdi d th roup,.. while.
Jul tllen, liLuri'. wv;th iloit sti, pi,. n.'J
I'r., h r niiu lLh ruiin',il .i ; arijd. th .re lare.''l
.IA U ri n iii tjl r it, all iles viuld -1 ?e
Th, v-ll ij,.nn 'Sier \I-ed--'"J';s He, '"iA
He.
M '..K s nri.l Aon' !" they sihfout ,r.jundJ;
Y i,, .,; A. ti fornim hi. -I' id ,prrn,;- I-) the
'* Nl .n I oli ( '.il;ph !" t-iniie, hi e cr. --, ihe task
T., cru-i \..n 1i Lri-.g Ii .'l li- ', l.l [ a k."
[ .E ,' he ,l .rt- t.., h,.,-r 11.E C :i ,..i. |.,'.
\1 t :[.11 %lJeIIrs wldl |,. ." '. ru_,n el..wn
.A nd I111 rilm.. co:,,-o till Ith-Y r,' ntar "
Tih n. wh u tl..us.J ru:h.:.. on A/.im's _p,.ir;
ANid, n ..IIl|iL 111' tlhue Ill in Ijtli 6%. -hi .-
(-h --'it h11i ZLiL .LI'-. lIC-blo'-. t tih.-i n !
." I mn. J t r.:.I, .1z i'," -..o b.Ln lv iij ..j,
S3en. md all nr.ii.n thin i ri. tl.n I t -i en .i-r--
90 TUH VEILED PROPHET OF KHORASSAN.
"I meant nor tjo'iu should't ha% e ihe pain of
this;
Though death, with thee thus tasted, is a bliss
Thou would'st not rob me of, did'st thou but know
How oft I've pray'd to God I might die so !
But the Fiend's venom was too scant and slow;
To linger on were maddening-and I thought
If once that Veil-nay, look not on it-caught
The eyes of your fierce soldiery, I should be
Struck by a thousand death-darts instantly.
But this is sweeter-oh! believe me, yes-
I would not change this sad, but dear caress,
This death within thy arms I would not give
For the most smiling life the happiest live !
All, that stood dark and drear before the eye
Of my stray'd soul, is passing swiftly by;
A light comes o'er me, from those looks of love,
Like the first dawn of mercy from above;
And if thy lips but tell me I'm forgiven,
Angels will echo the blest words in heaven!
But live, my AZIM ;-oh! to call thee mine
Thus once again! my Azim-dream divine!
Live, if thou ever lov'dst me, if to meet
Thy ZzLICA hereafter would be sweet,
Oh live to pray for her-to bend the knee
Morning and night before that Deity,
To whom pure lips and hearts without a stain,
As thine are, AziM, never breath'd in vain,
And pray that he may pardon her,-may take
Compassion on her soul for thy dear sake,
And, nought remembering but her love to thee,
Make her all thine, all His, eternally!
THE VEILED PROPHET OF KHORASSAN. 97
Go to those happy fields where first we twin'd
Our youthful hearts together-every wind,
That meets thee there, fresh from the well-known
flowers,
Will bring the sweetness of those innocent hours
Back to thy soul, and thou may'st feel again
For thy poor ZELICA as thou didst then.
So shall thy orisons, like dew that flies
To heav'n upon the morning's sunshine, rise
With all love's earliest ardor to the skies!
And should they-but, alas! my senses fail-
Oh for one minute! should thy prayers prevail-
If pardon'd souls may from that World of Bliss
Reveal their joys to those they love in this,-
I'll come to thee-in some sweet dream-and
tell-
Oh heaven-I die-dear love! farewell, fare-
well !"
Time fleeted-years on years had passed away,
And few of those who, on that mournful day,
Had stood, with pity in their eyes, to see
The maiden's death, and the youth's agony,
Were living still-when, by a rustic grave
Beside the swift Amoo's transparent wave,
An aged man, who had grown aged there
By that lone grave, morning and night in prayer,
For the last time knelt down-and, though the
shade
Of death hung darkening o'er him, there plav'd
A gleam of rapture on his eye and cheek,
That brighten'd even Death-like the last streak
Of intense glory in th' horizon's brim,
7
98 LALLA OOMK.
When night o'er all the rest hangs chill and dim :
His soul had seen a vision while he slept;
She for whose spirit he had pray'd and wept
So many years, had come to him, all drest
In angel's smiles, and told him she was blest.
For this the old man breath'd his thanks, and
died,-
And there upon the banks of that loved tide,
He and his ZaLECA sleep side by side.
THE story of the Veiled Prophet of Khorassan
being ended, they were now doomed to hear
FADLADEEN'S criticisms upon it. A series of
disappointments and accidents had occurred to
the learned Chamberlain during the journey.
In the first place, those couriers stationed, as in
the reign of Shah Jehan, between Delhi and the
Western coast of India, to secure a constant sup-
ply of mangoes for the royal table, had, by some
cruel irregularity, failed in their duty; and to
eat any mangoes but those of Mazagong was, of
course, impossible. In the next place, the ele-
phant laden with his fine antique porcelain, had,
in an unusual fit of liveliness, shattered the
whole set to pieces;-an irreparable loss, as
many of the vessels were so exquisitely old as
to have been used under the emperors Yan and
Chun, who reigned many ages before the dynas-
ty of Tang. His Koran too, supposed to be the
identical copy between the leaves of which Ma-
homet's favorite pigeon used to nestle, had been
mislaid by his Koran-bearer three whole days ;
nor without much spiritual alarm to FADLADEEW,
AN ORIENTAL ROMANCE. ::
who, though professing tohold, with other lovil
and orthodox musselmans, that salvation cold
only be found in the Koran, was strongly su-p. c-
ted of believing in his heart, that it could only be
found in his own particular copy of it. Wh- en
to all these grievances is added the obstinacy of
the cooks, in putting the pepper of Canarn inni
his dishes instead of the cinnamon of Se't,,dL..
we may easily suppose that he came to tle iva.t
of criticism with, at least, a sufficient degrtc -.1
irritability for the purpose.
In order." said he, importantly swinging
about his chaplet of pearls, "to convvy tti
clearness my opinion of the story this yr.ijng
man has related, it is necessary to take a re iew
of all the stories that have ever-" M goj..d
FADJLADEEN ;" exclaimed the princess iirerrupt-
ing him, we really do not deserve thai ion
should give yourself so much trouble. YVur
opinion of the poem we have just heard, v ,ll I
have no doubt, be abundantly edifying, uiihoui
any further waste of your valuable erudilun."
"If that be all," replied the critic,-eii.drenrly
mortified at not being allowed to show how miii h
he knew about every thing but the subjeF.r im-
mediately before him-" If that be all thaol s re-
quired, the matter is easily dispatched lie
then proceeded to analyze the poem, an thiI
strain, (so well known to the unfortunate btrds
of Delhi.) whose censures were an infliction Irom
which few recovered, and whose very pra.tes
were like the honey extracted from the bi ier
flowers of the aloe. The chief personages of the
story were, if he rightly understood them, an ill-
favored gentleman, with a veil over his face; a
100 LALLA tOOKH.
young lady, whose reason went and came ac-
cording as it suited the poet's convenience to be
sensible or otherwise ;-and a youth in one of
those hideous Bucharian bonnets, who took the
aforesaid gentleman in a veil for a divinity.
" From such materials," said he, what can be
expected ?-after rivalling each other in long
speeches and absurdities, through some thous-
ands of lines as indigestible as the filberds of
Berdaa, our friend in the veil jumps into a tub of
aquafortis; the young lady dies in a set speech,
whose only recommendation is, that it is her last;
and the lover lives on to a good old age, for the
laudable purpose of seeing her ghost, which he
at last happily accomplishes, and expires. This,
you will allow is a fair summary of the story;
and if Nasser, the Arabian merchant, told no bet-
ter, our Holy Prophet (to whom be all honor and
glory !) had no need to be jealous of his abilities
for story-telling."*
With respect to the style, it was worthy of
the matter ;-it had not even those politic contri-
vances of structure, which make up for the com-
monness of the thoughts by the peculiarity of the
manner, nor that stately poetical phraseology by
which sentiments, mean in themselves, like the
blacksmith'st apron converted into a banner, are
La lecture de ces Fables plaisait si fort aux Ara-
bes, que, quand Mahomet les entretenait de t'His-
toire de I'Ancien Testament, its lea meprisaient, lui
distant que celles qua Nasser leur racontait etaient
beancoup plus belles. Cette preference attira a Nas-
ser la malediction de Mahomet et de tons ses disel-
ples.---D'Herbelot.
t The blacksmith Gao, who successfully resisted
the tyrant Zohak, and whose apron became the Roy-
standard of Persia.
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