And ZELICA was left within the ring Of those wide walls the only living thing; The only wretched one, still curs'd with breath, But morn is up, and a fresh warfare stirs -- The burning AZIM oh! could he but see The' Impostor once alive within his grasp, Not the gaunt lion's hug, nor boa's clasp, Could match that gripe of vengeance, or keep pace "They have all a great reverence for burial grounds, which they sometimes call by the poetical name of Cities of the Silent, and which they people with the ghosts of the departed, who set each at the head of its own grave, invisible to mortal eyes."— ELPHINSTONE. Loud rings the ponderous 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, "Quick, quick discharge your weightiest catapult "Right on that spot, and NEKSHEB is our own!" 'Tis done the battlements come crashing down, And the huge wall, by that stroke riv'n in two, Yawning like some old crater, rent anew, Shows the dim, desolate city smoking through. But strange! no signs of life-nought living seen Above, below - what can this stillness mean? A minute's pause suspends all hearts and eyes “In through the breach," impetuous Azıм cries; But the cool CALIPH, fearful of some wile In this blank stillness, checks the troops awhile. The well-known Silver Veil!""T is He, 'tis He, 'I meant not, AZIM," soothingly she said, As on his trembling arm she lean'd her head, And, looking in his face, saw anguish there Beyond all wounds the quivering flesh can bear "I meant not thou shouldst have the pain of this:"Though death, with thee thus tasted, is a bliss "Thou wouldst not rob me of, didst 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 "Sruck by a thousand death-darts instantly. "But this is sweeter - oh! believe me, yes "I would not change this sad, but dear caress, "And if thy lips but tell me I'm forgiven, 66 Angels will echo the blest words in Heaven! "But live, my Azım; oh! to call thee mine "Thus once again! my Azıм· dream divine! "Live, if thou ever lov'dst me, if to meet Thy ZELICA 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, Azım, never breath'd in vain, "And may take that He may pardon her, pray "Compassion on her soul for thy dear sake, "And, nought remembering but her love to thee, "Make her all thine, all His, eternally! "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 "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 joy to those they love in this "I'll come to thee in some sweet dream—and tell "Oh Heav'n-I die Time fléeted - years on years had pass'd away, Were living still when, by a rustic grave, Beside the swift Aмoo'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 over him, there play'd A gleam of rapture on his eye and cheek, That brighten'd even Death - like the last streak Of intense glory on the horizon's brim, When night o'er all the rest hangs chill and dim. She, for whose spirit he had pray'd and wept In angel 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 lov'd tide, |