1

He turns him toward the sound, and, far away
Through a long vista 1), sparkling with the play
Of countless lamps, like the rich track 2) which Day
Leaves on the waters, when he sinks from us;
So long the path, its light so tremulous 3); -
He sees a group of female forms advance,
Some chain'd together in the mazy dance 4)
By fetters 5), forged in the green sunny bowers,
As they were captives to the King of Flowers
And some disporting 6) round, unlink'd
Who seem'd to mock their sisters' slavery,
And round and round them still, in wheeling flight,
Went, like gay moths about a lamp at night 8);
While others waked, as gracefully along

[42];

and free,

Their feet kept time 9), the very soul of song
From psaltery, pipe, and lutes of heavenly thrill 10),
Or their own youthful voices, heavenlier still!
And now they come, now pass before his eye, alba
Forms such as Nature moulds 11), when she would vie 12)
With Fancy's pencil, and gave birth to things(13) no
Lovely beyond its fairest picturings best bang og 'nt
A while they dance before him, then divide 14), dono
Breaking, like rosy clouds at even-tide
Around the rich pavilion of the sun 15),

(15),

e demit
Till silently dispersing, one by one, polymer of biA
Through many a path that from the chamber 16) leads
To gardens, terraces, and moonlight meads 17),
Their distant laughter comes upon the wind 18),
And but one trembling nymph remains behind,

T

1) Korridor. 2) reiche Spur. 3) zitternd; bebend. 4) im bunten Tanz. 5) Bande. 6) scherzen.. 7) fessellos. 8) und immer, immer wieder im Wirbelkreise sie umschwärmten, wie fröhliche Motten um nächtige Lampe. 9) anmuthsvoll die Füsse im Tact bewegend. 10) Aus Psalter-, Flöten-, Lauten- Himmelsklang,11) formt. 12) wetteifern. 13) schuf Wesen.14) trennen sie sich. 15) sich zertheilend wie rosige Abendwolken rings um der Sonne reichen Baldachin. 16) Gemach.717) monderhellte Wiesen.18) hallt zurück im Wind.

Beckoning 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 1),
In its young bashfulness 2) more beauteous now;
But a light golden chain-work 3) round her hair [43],
Such as the maids of Yezd [44] and Shiraz wear,
From which, on either side, gracefully hung

A golden amulet, in the Arab tongue,
Engraven o'er with 4) some immortal line 5)
From holy writ, or bard scarce less divine;
While her left hand, as shrinkingly 6) she stood,
Held a small lute of gold and sandal-wood,

Which once or twice she touch'd with hurried strain 7),
Then took her trembling fingers off again.
But when at length a timid glance she stole
At Azim 8), the sweet gravity of soul 9)

She saw through all his features calm'd her fear,
And, like a half-tamed antelope, more near,
Though shrinking still, she came; then sat her down
Upon a musnud's 10) edge 11), and, bolder grown,
In the pathetic mode 12) of Isfahan 13)

Touch'd a preluding strain 14) and thus began:

There's a bower of roses by Bendemeer's 15) stream, And the nightingale sings round it all the day long, In the time of my childhood 't was like a sweet dream, To sit in the roses and hear the bird's song.

2) im

1) Kein Schleier, ihr schönes Antlitz zu umhüllen. jungen Schamroth. 3) Kettenschmuck. 4) worein gegraben. 5) Spruch. ❝) zagend. 7) der sie ein- oder zweimal flüchtige Akkorde entlockte. 8) Als endlich aber auf Azim scheu ihr Blick sich stahl. 9) Seelenruhe. 10) Musnuds sind gepolsterte Sitze, die gewöhnlich für Personen von Rang aufbewahret werden." 11) Ecke. 12) im rührend weichen Ton. 13) Die Perser nennen, wie die alten Griechen, ihre musikalischen Weisen oder Perdas nach den Namen der verschiedenen Länder oder Städte, wie die Weise von Ispahan, die Weise von Irak u. s. w. 14) grill sie ein Vorspiel. 15) Ein Fluss, der nahe bei den Ruinen von

Chilminar fliesst. "

That bower and its music I never forget,

But oft when alone, in the bloom of the year 1), I think is the nightingale singing there yet?

Are the roses still bright by the calm Bendemeer?

No, the roses soon wither'd that hung o'er the wave; But some blossoms were gather'd,while freshly they shone, And a dew was distill'd from their flowers, that gave All the fragrance 2) 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 't was then to my eyes, Is that bower on the banks of the calm Bendemeer!

Poor maiden!" thought the youth,,, if thou wert sent,
With thy soft lute and beauty's blandishment 3),
To wake unholy wishes in this heart,l lo
Or tempt its truth 4), thou little know'st the art.
For though thy lip should sweetly counsel wrong 5),
Those vestal eyes would disavow 6) its song.
But thou hast breathed such purity, thy lay 7).
Returns so fondly 8) 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 the unchain'd dove,
When swift returning to its home of love,
And round its snowy wing 9) new fetters twine,
Than turn from virtue one pure wish of thine!“

Scarce had this feeling pass'd, when, sparkling through

The gently-open'd 10) curtains of light blue
That veil'd the breezy casement 11), countless eyes,
Peeping 12) like stars through the blue evening skies,

1) Blüthenzeit. 2) Duft. 3) Schmeicheln.

zu versuchen.
7) Lied.
öffnet.

5) lieblich Unrecht riethe.

8) zart. 9) schneeweisse Schwinge. 11) luftige Fenster. 12) lugend.

Look'd laughing in, as if to mock the pair oyed indT That sat so still and melancholy there

And now the curtains fly apart 1) and in

From the cool air, 'mid showers of jessamine
Which those without fling after them in play 2),
Two lightsome 3) maidens spring, lightsome as they
Who live in the air on odours 4), and around

The bright saloon, scarce conscious of the ground 5),
Chase one another, in a varying dance

pol
Of mirth and languor, coyness and advance 6),
Too eloquently, like love's warm pursuit 7):
While she, who sung so gently to the lute
Her dream of home, steals timidly away 8),
Shrinking 9) as violets do in summer's ray,
But takes with her from Azim's heart that sigh
We sometimes give to forms that pass us by 10)
In the world's crowd 11), too lovely to remain,
Creatures of light 12) we never see again!

Around the white necks of the nymphs who danced Hung carcanets of orient gems 13), that glanced More brilliant than the sea-glass glittering o'er The hills of crystal on the Caspian shore 14); While from their long dark tresses, in a fall bel bed Of curls descending 15), bells as musical 16)

As those that, on the golden-shafted trees brow 1 hap Of Eden, shake in the Eternal Breeze 17),

1) auf. 2) scherzend. 3) heiter. 4) Düfte.5) des Bodens kaum bewusst. 6) im Wechseltanze von Lust und Schmachten, Sprödigkeit und Entgegenkommen. * der Liebe heisses Sehnen. 8) sich scheu hinwegstiehlt. 9) schwindend. 10) Gestalten, die uns vorüberfliehen. 11) Weltgewühl. 12) Lichtwesen. Geschmeide von orientalischen Steinen. 14) 'Nördlich von uns, an der Küste des kaspischen Meeres bei Badku, befand sich ein Berg, der wie Diamanten funkelte, was vom Seeglas uud Krystall herrührt, welche er in grosser Menge enthält. Reise des russischen Gesandten nach Persien, 174 Docken sich reich aus den langen, dunklen Flechten ihres Haars, in

15) indess

ergiessend. 16) melodisch. 17) Wozu der Schall der Glocken kommen wird, die an den Bäumen hängen und von dem Winde in Bewegung werden gesetzt werden, so oft die Seligen Musik wünschen,' Sale. <<

Rung round their steps, at every bound more sweet,
As 't were the ecstatic 1) language of their feet!
At length the chase was o'er, and they stood wreathed
Within each others' arms; while soft there breathed
Through the cool casement, mingled with the sighs
Of moonlight flowers, music that seem'd to rise
From some still lake, so liquidly 2) it rose 3);
And, as it swell'd again at each faint close 4),
The ear could track 5), through all that maze of chords.
And young sweet voices 6), these impassion'd 7) words: -

A Spirit there is, whose fragrant sigh 8)
Is burning now through earth and air;
Where cheeks are blushing, the Spirit is nigh,
Were lips are meeting, the Spirit is there!

His breath is the soul of flowers like these,
And his floating eyes 9) oh! they resemble
Blue water-lilies [45], when the breeze 10)
Is making the stream around them tremble!

Hail to thee, hail to thee, kindling power 11)!
Spirit of Love, Spirit of Bliss!

Thy holiest time is the moonlight hour,

And there never was moonlight so sweet as this.

By the fair and brave,

Who blushing unite,

Like the sun and wave,

When they meet at night!

By the tear that shows
When passion is nigh,

1) entzückt.

2) fliessend; sanft.
5) erlauschen.

hob sie sich. 4) Pause.

3) tauchte sie empor; aus all dem 7) leiden

9) feuchte Augen.

10) sanfte

Labyrinth der Saiten und jugendweichen Stimmen.

schafterfüllt. 8) würziger Hauch.

Wind. 11) entflammende Macht.