14.

They enter'd, and through aromatic paths
Wondering they went along.

At length, upon a mossy bank,
Beneath a tall mimosa's shade,
Which o'er him bent its living canopy,
They saw a man reclined.

Young he appear'd, for on his cheek there shone
The morning glow of health,

And the brown beard curl'd close around his chin. He slept, but, at the sound

Of coming feet awaking, fixed his eyes
In wonder on the wanderer and her child.
"Forgive us," Zeinab cried;

"Distress hath made us bold.
Relieve the widow and the fatherless!
Blessed are they who succor the distress'd;
For them hath God appointed Paradise."

Repeat the warning tale.

Why have the fathers suffer'd, but to make The children wisely safe?

19.

"The Paradise of Irem this,

And this that wonder of the world, The Palace built by Shedad in his pride. Alas! in the days of my youth,

The hum of mankind Was heard in yon wilderness waste; O'er all the winding sands The tents of Ad were pitch'd;

Happy Al-Ahkaf then,

For many and brave were her sons,
Her daughters were many and fair.

20.

"My name was Aswad then-
Alas! alas! how strange

The sound so long unheard!
Of noble race I came,

One of the wealthy of the earth my sire.
A hundred horses in my father's stall

Stood ready for his will;

Numerous his robes of silk;

The number of his camels was not known. These were my heritage,

O God! thy gifts were these;

But better had it been for Aswad's soul, Had he ask'd alms on earth,

And begg'd the crumbs which from his table fell, So he had known thy Word.

21.

"Boy, who hast reach'd my solitude,
Fear the Lord in the days of thy youth!
My knee was never taught
To bend before my God;
My voice was never taught
To shape one holy prayer.

We worshipp'd Idols, wood and stone;
The work of our own foolish hands
We worshipp'd in our foolishness.
Vainly the Prophet's voice

Its frequent warning raised,
REPENT AND BE FORGIVEN!'
We mock'd the messenger of God;

We mock'd the Lord, long-suffering, slow to wrath.

22.

"A mighty work the pride of Shedad plann'd-
Here in the wilderness to form
A Garden more surpassing fair
Than that before whose gate

The lightning of the Cherub's fiery sword
Waves wide to bar access,

Since Adam, the transgressor, thence was driven.
Here, too, would Shedad build

A kingly pile sublime,
The Palace of his pride.
For this exhausted mines
Supplied their golden store;

For this the central caverns gave their gems;
For this the woodman's axe

"The Garden,- copious springs
Blest that delightful spot,

And every flower was planted there
That makes the gale of evening sweet.
He spake, and bade the full-grown forest rise,
His own creation; should the King
Wait for slow Nature's work?
All trees that bend with luscious fruit,
Or wave with feathery boughs,
Or point their spiring heads to heaven,
Or spreading wide their shadowy arms,
Invite the traveller to repose at noon,
Hither, uprooted with their native soil,
The labor and the pain of multitudes,—
Mature in beauty, bore them.
Here frequent in the walks
The marble statue stood

Of heroes and of chiefs.

The trees and flowers remain,

By Nature's care perpetuate and self-sown.
The marble statues long have lost all trace
Of heroes and of chiefs;
Huge, shapeless stones they lie,
O'ergrown with many a flower.

24.

"The work of pride went on;
Often the Prophet's voice
Denounced impending woe;
We mock'd at the words of the Seer,
We mock'd at the wrath of the Lord.
A long-continued drought first troubled us;
Three years no cloud had form'd,
Three years no rain had fallen;
The wholesome herb was dry,

The corn matured not for the food of man,
The wells and fountains fail'd.
O hard of heart, in whom the punishment
Awoke no sense of guilt!

Headstrong to ruin, obstinately blind,
We to our Idols still applied for aid;.

Sakia we invoked for rain,

We called on Razeka for food;

They did not hear our prayers, they could not hear! No cloud appear'd in Heaven,

No nightly dews came down.

25.

"Then to the Place of Concourse messengers Were sent, to Mecca, where the nations came,

"Meantime the work of pride went on, And still before our Idols, wood and stone, We bow'd the impious knee.

"Turn, men of Ad, and call upon the Lord,'
The Prophet Houd exclaim'd;
'Turn, men of Ad, and look to Heaven,
And fly the wrath to come.'-
We mock'd the Prophet's words;
'Now dost thou dream, old man,
Or art thou drunk with wine?
Future woe and wrath to come
Still thy prudent voice forebodes;
When it comes, will we believe;
Till it comes, will we go on
In the way our fathers went.
Now are thy words from God?
Or dost thou dream, old man,
Or art thou drunk with wine?'

27.

"So spake the stubborn race,
The unbelieving ones.

I, too, of stubborn, unbelieving heart,
Heard him, and heeded not.

It chanced my father went the way of man,
He perish'd in his sins.

The funeral rites were duly paid;
We bound a Camel to his grave,
And left it there to die,
So, if the resurrection came,
Together they might rise.
I past my father's grave;
I heard the Camel moan.

She was his favorite beast,

One who had carried me in infancy,

The first that by myself I learn'd to mount. Her limbs were lean with famine, and her eyes

Ghastly, and sunk, and dim.

She knew me as I past;

She stared me in the face;

"Here emerald columns o'er the marble courts Shed their green rays, as when amid a shower The sun shines loveliest on the vernal corn. Here Shedad bade the sapphire floor be laid, As though with feet divine

To tread on azure light,

Like the blue pavement of the firmament.
Here, self-suspended, hangs in air,

As its pure substance loathed material touch,
The living carbuncle;
Sun of the lofty dome,

Darkness hath no dominion o'er its beams;
Intense it glows, an ever-flowing spring
Of radiance, like the day-flood in its source.

The lavish'd misery?

He did but speak his will, And, like the blasting Siroc of the sands, The ruin of the royal voice

Found its way every where.

I marvel not that he, whose power No earthly law, no human feeling curb'd, Mock'd at the living God!

33.

"And now the King's command went forth
Among the people, bidding old and young,
Husband and wife, the master and the slave,
All the collected multitudes of Ad,
Here to repair, and hold high festival,
That he might see his people, they behold
Their King's magnificence and power.

The day of festival arrived;
Hither they came, the old man and the boy,
Husband and wife, the master and the slave,
Hither they came. From yonder high tower top,
The loftiest of the Palace, Shedad look'd
Down on his tribe: their tents on yonder sands
Rose like the countless billows of the sea;
Their tread and voices like the ocean roar,
One deep confusion of tumultuous sounds.
They saw their King's magnificence, beheld
His palace sparkling like the Angel domes
Of Paradise, his Garden like the bowers
Of early Eden, and they shouted out,
'Great is the King! a God upon the Earth!'

34.

"Intoxicate with joy and pride,

He heard their blasphemies;
And, in his wantonness of heart, he bade
The Prophet Houd be brought;

And o'er the marble courts,
And o'er the gorgeous rooms,
Glittering with gems and gold,

He led the Man of God.
'Is not this a stately pile?'
Cried the monarch in his joy.
'Hath ever eye beheld,
Hath ever thought conceived,

Place more magnificent?
Houd, they say that Heaven imparteth
Words of wisdom to thy lips;

Look at the riches round,

And value them aright,

If so thy wisdom can.'

The Sarsar can pierce through, The Icy Wind of Death.'

37.

"I was beside the Monarch when he spake;
Gentle the Prophet spake,
But in his eye there dwelt

A sorrow that disturb'd me while I gazed.
The countenance of Shedad fell,
And anger sat upon his paler lips.
He to the high tower-top the Prophet led,
And pointed to the multitude,
And as again they shouted out,
'Great is the King! a God upon the Earth!'
With dark and threatful smile to Houd he turn'd,
'Say they aright, O Prophet? is the King
Great upon earth, a God among mankind?'
The Prophet answer'd not;

Over that infinite multitude
He roll'd his ominous eyes,

And tears which could not be suppress'd gush'd

forth.

38.

"Sudden an uproar rose,
A cry of joy below;

'The messenger is come! Karl from Mecca comes; He brings the boon obtain'd!'

39.

"Forth as we went, we saw where overhead There hung a deep-black cloud,

To which the multitude
With joyful eyes look'd up,
And blest the coming rain.

The Messenger address'd the King,
And told his tale of joy.

40.

"To Mecca I repair'd, By the Red Hillock knelt, And call'd on God for rain. My prayer ascended, and was heard; Three clouds appear'd in Heaven, One white, and like the flying cloud of noon, One red, as it had drunk the evening beams, One black and heavy with its load of rain. A voice went forth from Heaven, 'Choose, Kail, of the three!'

I thank'd the gracious Power,

And chose the black cloud, heavy with its wealth. 'Right! right!' a thousand tongues exclaim'd; And all was merriment and joy.

42.

"All looks were turn'd to him. 'O Ad!' he cried, 'Dear native land, by all remembrances Of childhood, by all joys of manhood dear; O Vale of many Waters; morn and night

My age must groan for you, and to the grave Go down in sorrow. Thou wilt give thy fruits, But who shall gather them? thy grapes will ripen, But who shall tread the wine-press? Fly the wrath, Ye who would live and save your souls alive! For strong is his right hand that bends the Bow, The Arrows that he shoots are sharp, And err not from their aim!'

43.

"With that a faithful few

Press'd through the throng to join him. Then arose
Mockery and mirth; 'Go, bald head!' and they mix'd
Curses with laughter. He set forth, yet once
Look'd back:-his eye fell on me, and he call'd,
Aswad!'- it startled me-it terrified;-
'Aswad!' again he call'd—and I almost
Had follow'd him. O moment fled too soon!
O moment irrecoverably lost!
The shouts of mockery made a coward of me;
He went, and I remain'd in fear of MAN!

"When from an agony of prayer I rose, And from the scene of death Attempted to go forth,

The way was open; I could see
No barrier to my steps.

But round these bowers the arm of God
Had drawn a mighty chain,

A barrier that no human force might break. Twice I essay'd to pass;

With that a Voice was heard,-
'O Aswad, be content, and bless the Lord!
One charitable deed hath saved
Thy soul from utter death.

O Aswad, sinful man!
When by long penitence
Thou feel'st thy soul prepared,

Breathe up the wish to die,

And Azrael comes in answer to thy prayer.'

BOOK I.

47.

"A miserable man,

From Earth and Heaven shut out,
I heard the dreadful Voice.
I look'd around my prison place;
The bodies of the dead were there;

Where'er I look'd they lay,
They moulder'd, moulder'd here, -
Their very bones have crumbled into dust,
So many years have past!

So many weary ages have gone by!
And still I linger here,

Still groaning with the burden of my sins,
Not yet have dared to breathe
The prayer to be released.

48.

"Oh! who can tell the unspeakable misery Of solitude like this!

No sound hath ever reach'd my ear,
Save of the passing wind,
The fountain's everlasting flow,
The forest in the gale,
The pattering of the shower-
Sounds dead and mournful all.
No bird hath ever closed her wing
Upon these solitary bowers,

No insect sweetly buzz'd amid these groves,
From all things that have life,

Save only me, conceal'd.
This Tree alone, that o'er my head
Hangs down its hospitable boughs,
And bends its whispering leaves
As though to welcome me,
Seems to partake of life:

I love it as my friend, my only friend!

49.

"I know not for what ages I have dragg'd This miserable life:

How often I have seen
These ancient trees renew'd!

What countless generations of mankind
Have risen and fallen asleep,
And I remain the same!

My garment hath not waxen old,
And the sole of my shoe is not worn.

50.

"Sinner that I have been,

I dare not offer up a prayer to die.
O merciful Lord God!
But when it is thy will,

But when I have atoned

For mine iniquities,

And sufferings have made pure

My soul with sin defiled,

Release me in thine own good time; —

I will not cease to praise thee, O my God!"

51.

Silence ensued awhile; Then Zeinab answer'd him; "Blessed art thou, O Aswad! for the Lord, Who saved thy soul from Hell,