And now dismount. And hark ye, there, The friends we leave in this fair hall; With princely laughter rose the King, Rose the proud wassail, rose the shout On their knees are two alone; The palfrey and the barb have gone : And the music from its pride What more? Sir Guy, and then Sir Grey, (All which, at least, that mighty claw MAHMOUD.* TO RICHARD HENRY HORNE. HORNE, hear a theme that should have had its dues THERE came a man, making his hasty moan、 *This is Mahmoud the Gaznevide, whose history has been told by Gibbon. "Is he there now ?" said Mahmoud.-" No ;-he The house when I did, of my wits bereft; [left And laugh'd me down the street, because I vow'd I'd bring the prince himself to lay him in his shroud. I'm mad with want-I 'm mad with misery, And oh thou Sultan Mahmoud, God cries out for thee!". The Sultan comforted the man, and said, "Go home, and I will send thee wine and bread," (For he was poor) " and other comforts. Go; And, should the wretch return, let Sultan Mahmoud [know." In three days' time, with haggard eyes and beard, And shaken voice, the suitor re-appear'd, And said, "He's come."-Mahmoud said not a word, But rose and took four slaves, each with a sword, And went with the vex'd man. They reach the And hear a voice, and see a woman's face, [place, That to the window flutter'd in affright: "Go in," said Mahmoud, "and put out the light; But tell the females first to leave the room; And when the drunkard follows them, we come." The man went in. There was a cry, and hark! A table falls, the window is struck dark : Forth rush the breathless women; and behind With curses comes the fiend in desperate mind. In vain the sabres soon cut short the strife, And chop the shrieking wretch, and drink his bloody life. "Now light the light," the Sultan cried aloud. 'Twas done; he took it in his hand, and bow'd Over the corpse, and look'd upon the face; Then turn'd, and knelt, and to the throne of grace Put up a prayer, and from his lips there crept Some gentle words of pleasure, and he wept. In reverent silence the beholders wait, Then bring him at his call both wine and meat; And when he had refresh'd his noble heart, He bade his host be blest, and rose up to depart. The man amaz'd, all mildness now, and tears, Fell at the Sultan's feet with many prayers, And begg'd him to vouchsafe to tell his slave The reason first of that command he gave About the light; then, when he saw the face, Why he knelt down; and, lastly, how it was That fare so poor as his detain'd him in the place. The Sultan said, with a benignant eye, "Since first I saw thee come, and heard thy cry, I could not rid me of a dread, that one By whom such daring villanies were done, a son. Whoe'er he was, I knew my task, but fear'd E ABOU BEN ADHEM AND THE ANGEL. ABOU BEN ADHEM (may his tribe increase) Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace, And saw, within the moonlight in his room, Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom, An angel writing in a book of gold:Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold, And to the presence in the room he said, "What writest thou?"-The vision rais'd its head, And with a look made of all sweet accord, Answer'd, "The names of those who love the Lord." "And is mine one?" said Abou. "Nay, not so," Replied the angel. Abou spoke more low, But cheerly still; and said, "I pray thee then, "Write me as one that loves his fellow men." The angel wrote, and vanish'd. The next night It came again with a great wakening light, And show'd the names whom love of God had bless'd, And lo! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest.* * "On rapporte de lui (Abou-Ishak-Ben-Adhem), qu'il vit en songe un ange qui écrivoit, et que lui ayant demandé ce qu'il faisoit, cet ange lui répondit: "J'écris le nom de ceux qui aiment sincèrement Dieu, tels que sont Malek-Ben-Dinar, Thaber-al-Benani, Aioud-al-Sakhtiani, &c." Alors il dit à l'ange, "Ne suis-je point parmi ces gens-là?"-"Non," lui répondit l'ange. "Hé bien," répliqua-t-il, "écrivez-moi, je vous prie, pour l'amour, d'eux, en qualité d'ami de ceux qui aiment Dieu." L'on ajoute, que le même ange lui révéla bientôt après, qu'il avoit reçu ordre de Dieu de le mettre à la tête de tous les autres." D'Herbelot-Bibliothèque Orientale, (1781). Tom. i. p. 161. in voc. Adhem. |