"For me, for me,"

Cried NOURMAHAL impatiently,

"Oh! twine that wreath for me to-night."

Then, rapidly, with foot as light

As the young musk-roe's, out she flew,

To cull each shining leaf that grew

Beneath the moonlight's hallowing beams,
For this enchanted Wreath of Dreams.
Anemones and Seas of Gold, *

And new-blown lilies of the river,
And those sweet flow'rets, that unfold
Their buds on CAMADEVA's quiver; †
The tube-rose, with her silvery light,
That in the Gardens of Malay
Is call'd the Mistress of the Night, ‡
So like a bride, scented and bright,

She comes out when the sun's away;

* 66 Hemasagara, or the Sea of Gold, with flowers of the brightest gold colour."-Sir W. Jones.

"This tree (the Nagacesara) is one of the most delightful on earth, and the delicious odour of its blossoms justly gives them a place in the quiver of Camadeva, or the God of Love." — Id.

"The Malayans style the tube-rose (Polianthes tuberosa) Sandal Malam, or the Mistress of the Night."-Pennant.

Amaranths, such as crown the maids

That wander through ZAMARA's shades;
And the white moon-flower, as it shows,
On SERENDIB's high crags, to those
Who near the isle at evening sail,
Scenting her clove-trees in the gale;
In short, all flow'rets and all plants,
From the divine Amrita tree,†

That blesses heaven's inhabitants
With fruits of immortality,

Down to the basil tuft ‡, that waves
Its fragrant blossom over graves,

And to the humble rosemary,

* The people of the Batta country in Sumatra (of which Zamara is one of the ancient names), "when not engaged in war, lead an idle, inactive life, passing the day in playing on a kind of flute, crowned with garlands of flowers, among which the globe-amaranthus, a native of the country, mostly prevails."-Marsden.

"The largest and richest sort (of the Jambu, or rose-apple,) is called Amrita, or immortal, and the mythologists of Tibet apply the same word to a celestial tree, bearing ambrosial fruit."-Sir W. Jones.

Sweet basil, called Rayhan in Persia, and generally found in churchyards.

"The women in Egypt go, at least two days in the week, to pray

Whose sweets so thanklessly are shed

To scent the desert* and the dead:

All in that garden bloom, and all
Are gather'd by young NOURMAHAL,
Who heaps her baskets with the flowers

And leaves, till they can hold no more;

Then to NAMOUNA flies, and showers

Upon her lap the shining store.

With what delight the' Enchantress views
So many buds, bath'd with the dews

And beams of that bless'd hour!—her glance

Spoke something, past all mortal pleasures,
As, in a kind of holy trance,

She hung above those fragrant treasures,
Bending to drink their balmy airs,

As if she mix'd her soul with theirs.

and weep at the sepulchres of the dead; and the custom then is to throw upon the tombs a sort of herb, which the Arabs call rihan, and which is our sweet basil."-Maillet, Lett. 10.

"In the Great Desert are found many stalks of lavender and rosemary." - Asiat. Res.

And 'twas, indeed, the perfume shed

From flow'rs and scented flame, that fed

Her charmed life- for none had e'er

Beheld her taste of mortal fare,

Nor ever in aught earthly dip,

But the morn's dew, her roseate lip.
Fill'd with the cool, inspiring smell,
The' Enchantress now begins her spell,
Thus singing as she winds and weaves
In mystic form the glittering leaves:

I know where the winged visions dwell
That around the night-bed play;

I know each herb and flow'ret's bell,

Where they hide their wings by day.

Then hasten we, maid,

To twine our braid,

To-morrow the dreams and flowers will fade.

The image of love, that nightly flies

To visit the bashful maid,

Steals from the jasmine flower, that sighs
Its soul, like her, in the shade.

The dream of a future, happier hour,

That alights on misery's brow,
Springs out of the silvery almond-flower,
That blooms on a leafless bough.

Then hasten we, maid,

To twine our braid,

To-morrow the dreams and flowers will fade.

The visions, that oft to worldly eyes

The glitter of mines unfold,

Inhabit the mountain-herb †, that dyes

The tooth of the fawn like gold.

"The almond-tree, with white flowers, blossoms on the bare branches."-Hasselquist.

† An herb on Mount Libanus, which is said to communicate a yellow golden hue to the teeth of the goats and other animals that graze upon it.

Niebuhr thinks this may be the herb which the Eastern alchymists look to as a means of making gold. "Most of those alchymical enthusiasts think themselves sure of success, if they could but find out the herb, which gilds the teeth and gives a yellow colour to the flesh