Bokhara. THE RETURN AFTER ABSENCE. H the breeze of the mountain is soothing and sweet, Warm breathing of love, and the friends we shall meet; And the rocks of the desert, so rough when we roam, Seem soft, soft as silk, on the dear path of home; The white waves of the Jeikon, that foam through their speed, Seem scarcely to reach to the girth of my steed. Rejoice, O Bokhara, and flourish for aye! Thy King comes to meet thee, and long shall he stay. In Bokhara's fair orchard soon destined to spring. John Leyden. THE SICK KING OF BOKHARA. 0 HUSSEIN. MOST just Vizier, send away The cloth-merchants, and let them be, Them and their dues, this day: the King Is ill at ease, and calls for thee. THE VIZIER. O merchants, tarry yet a day O Hussein, lead me to the King. HUSSEIN. Alone, Ever since prayer-time, he doth wait, O Vizier, without lying down, In the great window of the gate, Looking into the Registàn; Where through the sellers' booths the slaves Are this way bringing the dead man. O Vizier, here is the King's door. THE KING. O Vizier, may I bury him? THE VIZIER. O King, thou know'st, I have been sick THE KING. O Vizier, be it as thou say'st. HUSSEIN. Three days since, at the time of prayer, A certain Moollah, with his robe All rent, and dust upon his hair, Watched my lord's coming forth, and pushed The golden mace-bearers aside, And fell at the King's feet, and cried: "Justice, O King, and on myself! On this great sinner, who hath broke The law, and by the law must die! Vengeance, O King!" But the King spoke: "What fool is this, that hurts our ears With folly? or what drunken slave? My guards, what, prick him with your spears! And to the mosque my lord passed on. But on the morrow, when the King And through the square his path he took, My man comes running, flecked with blood "How canst thou, ere thou hear, discern If I speak folly? but a king, Whether a thing be great or small, Like Allah, hears and judges all. "Wherefore hear thou! Thou know'st, how fierce In these last days the sun hath burned; “Now I at nightfall had gone forth Alone, and in a darksome place Under some mulberry-trees I found "But in the night, which was with wind And burning dust, again I creep Down, having fever, for a drink. “Now meanwhile had my brethren found "Now mark! I, being fevered, sick (Most unblest also), at that sight Brake forth, and cursed them, dost thou hear? One was my mother Now, do right!" But my lord mused a space, and said, |