TID M

H

Would have met death with transport by his side,
Here mute and helpless gasped ;-but, as they died,
Looked horrible vengeance with their eyes' last strain,
And clinched 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 raised,
Showed them, as in death's agony they gazed,

Not the long promised light, the brow, whose beaming
Was to come forth, all conquering, all redeeming,
But features horribler than Hell e'er traced

On its own brood;-no Demon of the Waste,

No churchyard Ghole, caught lingering in the light
Of the bless'd sun, e'er blasted human sight

With lineaments so foul, so fierce as those

Th' Impostor now, in grinning mockery, shows:-
"There, ye wise Saints, behold your Light, your Star—

"Ye would be dupes and victims, and ye are.

"Is it enough? or must I, while a thrill

"Lives in your sapient bosoms, cheat you still?

"The Afghauns believe each of the numerous solitudes and deserts of their country to be inhabited by a lonely demon, whom they call the Ghoolee Beeabau, or Spirit of the Waste. They often illustrate the wildness of any sequestered tribe, by saying, they are wild as the Demon of the Waste."-Elphinstone's Caubul.

M

"Swear that the burning death ye feel within
"Is but the trance with which heaven's joys begin;
"That this foul visage, foul as e'er disgraced

"Ev'n monstrous man, is—after God's own taste;
"And that-but see!-ere I have halfway said

My greetings through, th' uncourteous souls are fled. "Farewell, sweet spirits! not in vain ye die

"If EBLIS loves you half so well as I.—

"Ha, my young bride!—'tis well-take thou thy seat; "Nay, come-no shuddering-didst thou never meet "The Dead before?—they graced our wedding, sweet; "And these, my guests to-night, have brimmed so true "Their parting cups, that thou shalt pledge one too, "But-how is this?-all empty?—all drunk up? "Hot lips have been before thee in the cup,

"Young bride—yet stay-one precious drop remains, "Enough to warm a gentle Priestess' veins ;—

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

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"Of slaves, exclaiming, 'There his Godship lies!'
"No-cursed race-since first my soul drew breath,
"They've been my dupes, and shall be ev'n in death.
"Thou seest yon cistern in the shade-'tis filled
"With burning drugs, for this last hour distilled :
"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 Heaven took back the Saint it

gave;

"That I've but vanished from this earth awhile,
"To come again, with bright, unshrouded smile!
"So shall they build me altars in their zeal,

"Where knaves shall minister, and fools shall kneel;
"Where Faith may mutter o'er her mystic spell,
"Written in blood-and Bigotry may swell

"The sail he spreads for heaven with blasts from hell!
"So shall my banner, through long ages, be

"The rallying sign of fraud and anarchy ;—
"Kings yet unborn shall rue MOKANNA's name,
"And, though I die, my spirit, still the same,

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«Il donna du poison dans le vin à tous ses gens, et se jetta lui-même ensuite dans une cuve pleine de drogues brûlantes et consumantes, afin qu'il ne restât rien de tous les membres de son corps, et que ceux qui restoient de sa secte puissent croire qu'il étoit monté au ciel, ce qui ne manqua pas d'arriver.”– D'Herbelot.