Then fly with me, — if thou hast known

No other flame, nor falsely thrown
A gem away, that thou hadst sworn
Should ever in thy heart be worn.

Come, if the love thou hast for me
Is pure and fresh as mine for thee,—
Fresh as the fountain under ground,
When first 'tis by the lapwing found.'

But if for me thou dost forsake
Some other maid, and rudely break
Her worshipp'd image from its base,

To give to me the ruin'd place;

Then, fare thee well - I'd rather make

My bower upon some icy lake

When thawing suns begin to shine,

Than trust to love so false as thine!

9 The Hudhud, or Lapwing, is supposed to have the power of discovering water under ground.

There was a pathos in this lay,

That, ev'n without enchantment's art,
Would instantly have found its way
Deep into SELIM's burning heart;

But breathing, as it did, a tone
To earthly lutes and lips unknown;
With every chord fresh from the touch
Of Music's Spirit, 'twas too much!
Starting, he dash'd away the cup,—

Which, all the time of this sweet air,
His hand had held, untasted, up,

As if 'twere fix'd by magic there,-
And naming her, so long unnam'd,
So long unseen, wildly exclaim'd,

"Oh NoURMAHAL! oh NoURMAHAL !

"Hadst thou but sung this witching strain,

"I could forget — forgive thee all,

"And never leave those eyes again."

And SELIM to his heart has caught,
In blushes, more than ever bright,
His NOURMAHAL, his Haram's Light!

And well do vanish'd frowns enhance
The charm of every brighten'd glance;
And dearer seems each dawning smile
For having lost its light awhile;
And, happier now for all her sighs,
As on his arm her head reposes,
She whispers him, with laughing eyes,

"Remember, love, the Feast of Roses !"

FADLADEEN, at the conclusion of this light rhapsody, took occasion to sum up his opinion of the young Cashmerian's poetry, of which, he trusted, they had that evening heard the last. Having recapitulated the epithets, "frivolous"-"inharmonious" "nonsensical," he proceeded to say that, viewing it in the most favourable light, it resembled one of those Maldivian boats, to which the Princess had alluded in the relation of her dream, * — a slight, gilded thing, sent adrift without rudder or ballast, and with nothing but vapid sweets and faded flowers on board. The profusion, indeed, of flowers and birds, which this poet had ready on all occasions, not to mention dews, gems, &c. was a most oppressive kind of opulence to his hearers; and had the unlucky effect of giving to his style all the glitter of the flower-garden without its method, and all the flutter of the aviary without its song. In addition to this, he chose his subjects badly, and was always most inspired by the worst parts of them. The charms of paganism, the merits of re

IV.
page 223.

bellion, these were the themes honoured with his particular enthusiasm; and, in the poem just recited, one of his most palatable passages was in praise of that beverage of the Unfaithful, wine; " being, perhaps," said he, relaxing into a smile, as conscious of his own character in the Haram on this point, "one of those bards, whose fancy owes all its illumination to the grape, like that painted porcelain, so curious and so rare, whose images are only visible when liquor is poured into it." Upon the whole it was his opinion, from the specimens which they had heard, and which, he begged to say, were the most tiresome part of the journey, that whatever other merits this well-dressed young gentleman might possess poetry was poetry was by no means his proper avocation: " and indeed," concluded the critic," from his fondness for flowers and for birds, I would venture to suggest that a florist or a bird-catcher is a much more suitable calling for him than a poet.”

They had now begun to ascend those barren mountains, which separate Cashmere from the rest of India; and, as the heats were intolerable, and the time of their encampments limited to the few hours necessary for refreshment and repose, there was an end to