Boast impenetrable hearts? Hover here, my gentle lory, Gently hover, while I see To whom hath Fate decreed the glory, To the Glendoveer or me. 20. Then, in the dewy evening sky, Ereenia there, before the Maid, And sportive in her sight Moved slowly o'er the lake with gliding flight; Anon, with sudden stroke and strong, In rapid course careering, swept along; Now shooting downward from his heavenly height, Plunged in the deep below, Then rising, soar'd again, And shook the sparkling waters off like rain, The fatal bow of sugar-cane, And flowers which would inflame the heart 21. The shaft, unerringly address'd, Unerring flew, and smote Ereenia's breast. Ah, Wanton! cried the Glendoveer, Go aim at idler hearts; Thy skill is baffled here! A deeper love I bear that Maid divine, A love that springeth from a higher will, A holier power than thine! 22. A second shaft, while thus Ereenia cried, To that sweet Flower of earth they wing their way, 23. Ah! Wanton! cried the Glendoveer, For these are proof, by nobler thoughts possess'd. 24. Rightly Ereenia spake; and ill had thoughts Of earthly love beseem'd the sanctuary Where Kailyal had been wafted, that the Soul Of her dead Mother there might strengthen her, XI. THE ENCHANTRESS. 1. WHEN from the sword, by arm angelic driven, Foul Arvalan fled howling, wild in pain, His thin, essential spirit, rent and riven With wounds, united soon and heal'd again; Backward the accursed turn'd his eye in flight, Remindful of revengeful thoughts even then, And saw where, gliding through the evening light, The Ship of Heaven sail'd upward through the sky, Then, like a meteor, vanish'd from his sight. Where should he follow? vainly might he try To trace through trackless air its rapid course; Nor dared he that angelic arm defy, Still sore and writhing from its dreaded force. 2. Should he the lust of vengeance lay aside? Too long had Arvalan in ill been train'd; Nurs'd up in power, and tyranny, and pride, His soul the ignominious thought disdain'd. Or to his mighty Father should he go, Complaining of defeature twice sustain'd, And ask new powers to meet the immortal foe? — Repulse he fear'd not, but he fear'd rebuke, And shamed to tell him of his overthrow. There dwelt a dread Enchantress in a nook Obscure; old helpmate she to him had been, Lending her aid in many a secret sin; And there, for counsel, now his way he took. 3. She was a woman whose unlovely youth, Even like a canker'd rose which none will cull, Had wither'd on the stalk; her heart was full Of passions which had found no natural scope, Feelings which there had grown, but ripen'd not, Desires unsatisfied, abortive hope, Repinings which provoked vindictive thought: These restless elements forever wrought, Fermenting in her with perpetual stir, And thus, her spirit to all evil moved, She hated men because they loved not her, And hated women because they were lov'd. And thus, in wrath, and hatred, and despair, She tempted Hell to tempt her, and resign'd Her body to the Demons of the Air, Wicked and wanton fiends, who where they will Wander abroad, still seeking to do ill, And take whatever vacant form they find, Carcass of man or beast that life hath left, Foul instrument for them of fouler mind. To these the Witch her wretched body gave, So they would wreak her vengeance on mankind; She thus at once their mistress and their slave; And they, to do such service nothing loath, Obey'd her bidding, slaves and masters both. 4. So from this cursed intercourse she caught Contagious power of mischief, and was taught Such secrets as are damnable to guess. Is there a child whose little lovely ways And when, in time of drought, the husbandman Beheld the gathered rain about to fall, Her breath would drive it to the desert sands, While in the marshes' parch'd and gaping soil The rice-roots by the searching Sun were dried, And in lean groups, assembled at the side Of the empty tank, the cattle dropp'd and died; And Famine, at her bidding, wasted wide The wretched land, till, in the public way, Promiscuous where the dead and dying lay, Dogs fed on human bones in the open light of day. 7. Her secret cell the accursed Arvalan, Might win all hearts, on whom his parents gaze In quest of vengeance, sought, and thus began: - Woe was to him on whom that eye of hate Was bent; for, certain as the stroke of Fate, It did its mortal work, nor human arts Could save the unhappy wretch, her chosen prey; The wine which from yon wounded palm on high 6. Power made her haughty: by ambition fired, The Calis, who o'er cities rule unseen, To point its course. And in the baneful air The pregnant seeds of death he bade her strew, All deadly plagues and pestilence to brew. The Locusts were her army, and their bands, Where'er she turn'd her skinny finger, flew. The floods in ruin roll'd at her commands; Mighty mother! mother wise! Revenge me on my enemies. LORRINITE. Comest thou, son, for aid to me? Tell me who have injured thee, Where they are, and who they be; Of the Earth, or of the Sea, Or of the aerial company? Earth, nor Sea, nor Air is free From the powers who wait on me, And my tremendous witchery. ARVALAN. She for whom so ill I sped, Lives, for Marriataly's aid 8. At this the Witch, through shrivell'd lips and thin, Sent forth a sound half whistle and half hiss. Two winged Hands came in, Armless and bodiless, Bearing a globe of liquid crystal, set In frame as diamond bright, yet black as jet. A thousand eyes were quench'd in endless night To form that magic globe; for Lorrinite Had, from their sockets, drawn the liquid sight, And kneaded it, with re-creating skill, Into this organ of her mighty will. Look in yonder orb, she cried; Tell me what is there descried. 9. ARVALAN. A mountain top, in clouds of light Enveloped, rises on my sight; Thence a cataract rushes down, Hung with many a rainbow crown; Light and clouds conceal its head; Below, a silver lake is spread; The Asuras, often put to flight By their foes' celestial might, In mountain furnaces, the quivering steel, Till, trembling through each deepening hue, It settled in a midnight blue; Last they cast it, to aslake, In the penal icy lake. Then they consigned it to the Giant brood; And while they forged the impenetrable arms, The Evil Powers, to oversee them, stood, And there imbued The work of Giant strength with magic charms. Then she led him to the den, Ah, Sinner! whose anticipating soul Incurs the guilt even when the crime is spared! Joyous toward Meru's summit on he fared, While the twin Dragons, rising as he guides, With steady flight, steer northward for the pole. Anon, with irresistible control, Force mightier far than his arrests their course; It wrought as though a Power unseen had caught Their adamantine yokes to drag them on. Straight on they bend their way, and now, in vain, Upward doth Arvalan direct the rein; The rein of magic might avails no more; Bootless its strength against that unseen Power, That, in their mid career, Hath seized the Chariot and the Charioteer. With hands resisting, and down-pressing feet Upon their hold insisting, He struggles to maintain his difficult seat. Seeking in vain with that strange Power to vie, Their doubled speed the affrighted Dragons try. Forced in a stream from whence was no retreat, Strong as they are, behold them whirled along, Headlong, with useless pennons, through the sky. The silent hours go by, And ye must leave your dear abode of rest. Prepare, O wretched Maid, for further woe! Must own the Tyrant of the World below. At Seeva's shrine must bleed; Again to save the Swerga from his sway. And what must thou, Ladurlad, yet endure! For Providence is just, and virtue is secure. Was 2. They, little deeming that the fatal day come, beheld, where through the morning sky A Ship of Heaven drew nigh. Onward they watch it steer its steady flight; Till, wondering, they espy Old Casyapa, the Sire of Gods, alight. But when Ereenia saw the Sire appear, At that unwonted and unwelcome sight His heart received a sudden shock of fear. Thy presence doth its doleful tidings tell, O Father! cried the startled Glendoveer! The dreadful hour is near! I know it well! Not for less import would the Sire of Gods Forsake his ancient and august abodes. 3. Even so, serene the immortal Sire replies; Beyond the circle of the conquer'd world, Ocean, that clips this inmost of the Spheres, Within that bending shore. Thither fly all the Sons of heavenly race : I, too, forsake mine ancient dwelling-place. And now, O Child and Father, ye must go Take up the burden of your woe, And wander once again below. With patient heart hold onward to the end: Be true unto yourselves, and bear in mind That every God is still the good Man's friend; And when the Wicked have their day assign'd, Then they who suffer bravely save mankind. 4. Oh, tell me, cried Ereenia, - for from thee Nought can be hidden, - when the end will be. Seek not to know, old Casyapa replied, What pleaseth Heaven to hide. Dark is the abyss of Time, But light enough to guide your steps is given; Whatever weal or woe betide, Turn never from the way of truth aside, And leave the event, in holy hope, to Heaven. The moment is at hand; no more delay; Ascend the ethereal bark, and go your way; And Ye, of heavenly nature, follow me. 5. The will of Heaven be done, Ladurlad cried; But placed his daughter in the ethereal bark, The fiery Curse again like lightning shot. And now on earth the Sire and Child alight; Up soar'd the Ship of Heaven, and sail'd away from sight. 6. O ye immortal Bowers, Where hitherto the Hours Have led their dance of happiness for aye, Do ye expect the blow, Now! now!· Before the Golden Palaces, The Asuras and the Giants join the cry; Back starts affrighted Ocean from the shore, And the adamantine vaults and brazen floor Of Hell are shaken with the roar. Up rose the Rajah through the conquer'd sky, To seize the Swerga for his proud abode; Myriads of evil Genii round him fly, As royally on wings of winds he rode, And scaled high Heaven, triumphant like a God. XIII. THE RETREAT. 1. AROUND her Father's neck the Maiden lock'd Her arms, when that portentous blow was given; Clinging to him she heard the dread uproar, And felt the shuddering shock which ran through Heaven; Earth underneath them rock'd, Her strong foundations heaving in commotion, Such as wild winds upraise in raving Ocean, As though the solid base were rent asunder. And lo! where, storming the astonish'd sky, Kehama and his evil host ascend! Before them rolls the thunder; Upward the lengthening pageantries aspire, Leaving from Earth to Heaven a widening wake of fire. 2. : When the wild uproar was at length allay'd, And Earth, recovering from the shock, was still, Thus to her Father spake the imploring Maid :Oh! by the love which we so long have borne Each other, and we ne'er shall cease to bear,Oh! by the sufferings we have shared, And must not cease to share,One boon I supplicate in this dread hour, One consolation in this hour of woe! Father, thou hast it in thy power; Thou wilt not, Father, sure refuse me now The only comfort my poor heart can know. 3. O dearest, dearest Kailyal! with a smile Of tenderness and anguish, he replied, O best beloved, and to be loved the best, Best worthy, -set thy duteous heart at rest. I know thy wish, and let what will betide, Ne'er will I leave thee wilfully again. My soul is strengthen'd to endure its pain; Be thou, in all my wanderings, still my guide; Be thou, in all my sufferings, at my side. 4. The Maiden, at those welcome words, impress'd A passionate kiss upon her Father's cheek: They look'd around them then, as if to seek Where they should turn, North, South, or East, or West, Wherever to their vagrant feet seem'd best. But, turning from the view her mournful eyes, Oh, whither should we wander? Kailyal cries, Or wherefore seek in vain a place of rest? Have we not here the Earth beneath our tread, Heaven overhead, A brook that winds through this sequester'd glade, And yonder woods, to yield us fruit and shade? The little all our wants require is nigh; Hope we have none; - why travel on in fear? We cannot fly from Fate, and Fate will find us here. 5. "Twas a fair scene wherein they stood, A green and sunny glade amid the wood, And in the midst an aged Bannian grew. It was a goodly sight to see That venerable tree, For o'er the lawn, irregularly spread, Fifty straight columns propp'd its lofty head; And many a long, depending shoot, Seeking to strike its root, Straight like a plummet, grew towards the ground. Some on the lower boughs which cross'd their way, Fixing their bearded fibres, round and round, With many a ring and wild contortion wound; Some to the passing wind, at times, with sway Of gentle motion swung; younger growth, unmoved, were hung Others, of Ten thousand thousand lightnings round them fly; Like stone-drops from the cavern's fretted height; |