So listen they the reed, &c.—23, p. 246. The music of the Bedoweens rarely consists of more than one strain, suitable to their homely instruments, and to their simple invention. The Arabebbah, as they call the bladder and string, is in the highest vogue, and doubtless of great antiquity; as is also the Gasaph, which is only a common reed, open at each end, having the side of it bored, with three or more holes, according to the ability of the person who is to touch it; though the compass of their tunes rarely or never exceeds an octave. Yet sometimes, even in this simplicity of harmony, they observe something of method and ceremony; for in their historical Cantatas especially, they have their preludes and symphonies; each stanza being introduced with a flourish from the Arabebbah, while the narration itself is accompanied with the softest touches they are able to make, upon the Gasaph. The Tarr, another of their instruments, is made like a Sive, consisting (as Isidore describeth the Tympanum) of a thin rim, or hoop of wood, with a skin of parchment stretched over the top of it. This serves for the bass in all their concerts, which they accordingly touch very artfully with their fingers, and the knuckles or palms of their hands, as the time and measure require, or as force and softness are to be communicated to the several parts of the performance. The Tarr is undoubtedly the Tympanum of the Antients, which appears as well from the general use of it all over Barbary, Egypt, and the Levant, as from the method of playing upon it, and the figure of the instrument itself, being exactly of the same fashion with what we find in the hands of Cybele and the Bacchanals among the Basso Relievos and Statues of the Antients. - Shaw. The Arabs have the Cussuba, or cane, which is only a piece of large cane or reed, with stops or holes, like a flute, and somewhat longer, which they adorn with tossels of black silk, and play upon like the German flute. - Morgan's Hist. of Algiers. The young fellows, in several towns, play prettily enough on pipes made, and sounding very much like our flagelet, of the thigh-bones of cranes, storks, or such large fowl. -lb. How great soever may have been the reputation the Libyans once had of being famous musicians, and of having invented the pipe or flute, called by Greek authors Hippophorbos, I fancy few of them would be now much liked at our Opera. As for this tibicen, flute or pipe, it is certainly lost, except it be the gayta, somewhat like the hautbois, called zurna, in Turkish, a martial instrument. Julius Pollux, in a chapter entitled De tibiarum specie, says Hippophorbos, quam quidem Libyes Scenetes invenerunt; and again, showing the use and quality thereof, hæc verò apud equorum pascua utuntur, ejusque materia decorticata laurus est, cor enim ligni extractum acutissimam dat sonum. The sound of the gayta agrees well with this description, though not the make. Several poets mention the tibicen Libycus and Arabicus; and Athenæus quotes Duris, and says, Libycas tibia Poetæ appellant, ut inquit Duris, libro|| secundo de rebus gestis Agathoclis, quod Scirites, primus, ut credunt, tibicinum artis inventor, é gente Nomadum Libycorum fuerit, primusque tibia Cerealium hymnorum cantor. — Ib. Or if he strung the pearls of Poesy. — 24, p. 246. Persa "pulcherrimâ usi translatione, pro versus facere dicunt margaritas nectere; quemadmodum in illo Ferdusii versiculo 'Siquidem calami acumine adamantino margaritas nexi, in scientia mare penitus me immersi.'”— Poeseos Asiatica Commentarii. This is a favorite Oriental figure. "After a little time, lifting his head from the collar of reflection, he removed the talisman of science from the treasure of speech, and scattered skirts-full of brilliant gems and princely pearls before the company in his mirth-exciting deliveries."- Bahar Danush. Again, in the same work — " he began to weigh his stored pearls in the scales of delivery." Abu Temam, who was a celebrated poet himself, used to say, that "fine sentiments, delivered in prose, were like gems scattered at random; but that when they were confined in a poetical measure, they resembled bracelets and strings of pearls."— Sir W. Jones, Essay on the Poetry of the Eastern Nations. In Mr. Carlyle's translations from the Arabic, a Poet says of his friends and himself, They are a row of Pearls, and I The silken thread on which they lie I quote from memory, and recollect not the Author's name. It is somewhat remarkable, that the same metaphor is among the quaintnesses of Fuller. "Benevolence is the silken thread, that should run through the pearl chain of our virtues.” Holy State. It seems the Arabs are still great rhymers, and their verses are sometimes rewarded; but I should not venture to say, that there are great Poets among them. Yet I was assured in Yemen that it is not uncommon to find them among the wandering Arabs in the country of Dsjåf. It is some few years since a Sheik of these Arabs was in prison at Sana: seeing by chance a bird upon a roof opposite to him, he recollected that the devout Mahommedans believe they perform an action agreeable to God in giving liberty to a bird encaged. He thought therefore he had as much right to liberty as a bird, and made a poem upon the subject, which was first learnt by his guards, and then became so popular, that at last it reached the Imam. He was so pleased with it, that he liberated the Sheik, whom he had arrested for his robberies.— Niebuhr, Desc. de l'Arabie. A tale of love and woe. — 24, p. 246. They are fond of singing with a forced voice in the high tones, and one must have lungs like theirs to support the effort for a quarter of an hour. Their airs, in point of character and execution, resemble nothing we have heard in Europe, except the Seguidillas of the Spaniards. They have divisions more labored even than those of the Italians, and cadences and inflections of tone impossible to be imitated by European throats. Their performance is accompanied with sighs and gestures, which paint the passions in a more lively manner than we should venture to allow. They may be said to excel most in the melancholy strain. To behold an Arab with his head inclined, his hand applied to his ear, his eyebrows knit, his eyes languishing; to hear his plaintive tones, his lengthened notes, his sighs and sobs, it is almost impossible to refrain from tears, which, as their expression is, are far from bitter: and indeed they must certainly find a pleasure in shedding them, since, among all their songs, they constantly prefer that which excites them most, as, among all accomplishments, singing is that they most admire. — Volney. All their literature consists in reciting tales and histories in the manner of the Arabian Nights' Entertainments. They have a peculiar passion for such stories; and employ in them almost all their leisure, of which they have a great deal. In the evening they seat themselves on the ground at the door of their tents, or under cover if it be cold, and there, ranged in a circle round a little fire of dung, their pipes in their mouths, and their legs crossed, they sit awhile in silent meditation, till, on a sudden, one of them breaks forth with, Once upon a time, and continues to recite the adventures of some young Shaik and female Bedouin: he relates in what manner the youth first got a secret glimpse of his mistress, and how he became desperately enamored of her: he minutely describes the lovely fair, extols her black eyes, as large and soft as those of the gazelle; her languid and impassioned looks; her arched eyebrows, resembling two bows of ebony; her waist, straight and supple as a lance; he forgets not her steps, light as those of the young filley, nor her eyelashes blackened with kohl, nor her lips painted blue, nor her nails tinged with the goldencolored henna, nor her breasts, resembling two pomegranates, nor her words, sweet as honey. He recounts the sufferings of the young lover, so wasted with desire and passion, that his body no longer yields any shadow. At length, after detailing his various attempts to see his mistress, the obstacles on the part of the parents, the invasions of the enemy, the captivity of the two lovers, &c., be terminates, to the satisfaction of the audience, by restoring them, united and happy, to the paternal tent, and by receiving the tribute paid to his eloquence, in the masha allah he has merited. The Bedouins have likewise their love-songs, which have more sentiment and ⚫ An exclamation of praise, equivalent to admirably well! nature in them than those of the Turks and inhabitants of the towns; doubtless because the former, whose manners are chaste, know what love is; while the latter, abandoned to debauchery, are acquainted only with enjoyment.- Volney. The Mother Ostrich fixes on her egg. —24, p. 246. We read in an Old Arabian Manuscript, that when the ostrich would hatch her eggs, she does not cover them, as other fowls do, but both the male and female contribute to hatch them by the efficacy of their looks only; and therefore when one has occasion to go to look for food, it advertises its companion by its cry, and the other never stirs during its absence, but remains with its eyes fixed upon the eggs, till the return of its mate, and then goes in its turn to look for food; and this care of theirs is so necessary, that it cannot be suspended for a moment; for, if it should, their eggs would immediately become addle. - Vanslebe. The light shone rosy? that the darkened lids, &c.-25, p. 246. The blackened eyelids and the reddened fingers were Eastern customs, in use among the Greeks. They are still among the tricks of the Grecian toilet. The females of the rest of Europe have never added them to their list of ornaments. Wreathed the red flower-crown round, &c. -25, p. 246. The Mimosa Selam produces splendid flowers of a beautiful red color, with which the Arabians crown their heads on their days of festival. -Niebuhr. Their work was done, their path of ruin past.—30, p. 247. The large locusts, which are near three inches long, are not the most destructive; as they fly, they yield to the current of This is said to emblem the perpetual attention of the the wind, which hurries them into the sea, or into sandy Creator to the Universe. Round her smooth ankles and her tawny arms. -25, p. 246. "She had laid aside the rings which used to grace her ankles, lest the sound of them should expose her to calamity." -Asiatic Researches. Most of the Indian women have on each arm, and also above the ankle, ten or twelve rings of gold, silver, ivory, or coral. They spring on the leg, and, when they walk, make a noise, with which they are much pleased. Their hands and toes are generally adorned with large rings. Sonnerat. "In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon." "The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers, iii. 18. Were her long fingers tinged. -25, p. 246. His fingers, in beauty and slenderness appearing as the Yed Bieza,* or the rays of the sun, being tinged with Hinna, seemed branches of transparent red coral. - Bahar Danush. She dispenses gifts with small, delicate fingers, sweetly glowing at their tips, like the white and crimson worm of Dabia, or dentifrices made of Esel wood. Moallakat. Poem of Amriolkais. The Hinna, says the translator of the Bahar-Danush, is esteemed not merely ornamental, but medicinal; and I have myself often experienced in India a most refreshing coolness through the whole habit, from an embrocation, or rather plaster of Hinna, applied to the soles of my feet, by prescription of a native physician. The effect lasted for some days. Bruce says it is used not only for ornament, but as an astringent to keep the hands and feet dry. deserts, where they perish with hunger or fatigue. The young locusts, that cannot fly, are the most ruinous; they are about fifteen lines in length, and the thickness of a goose quill. They creep over the country in such multitudes that they leave not a blade of grass behind; and the noise of their feeding announces their approach at some distance. The devastations of locusts increase the price of provisions, and often occasion famines; but the Moors find a kind of compensation in making food of these insects; prodigious quantities are brought to market, salted and dried, like red herrings. They have an oily and rancid taste, which habit only can render agreeable: they are eat here, however, with pleasure. Chenier. In 1778, the empire of Morocco was ravaged by these insects. In the summer of that year, such clouds of locusts came from the south, that they darkened the air, and devoured a part of the harvest. Their offspring, which they left on the ground, committed still much greater mischief. Locusts appeared, and bred anew in the following year, so that in the spring the country was wholly covered, and they crawled one over the other in search of their subsistence. It has been remarked, in speaking of the climate of Morocco, that the young locusts are those which are the most mischievous; and that it seems almost impossible to rid the land of these insects and their ravages, when the country once becomes thus afflicted. In order to preserve the houses and gardens in the neighborhood of cities, they dig a ditch two feet in depth, and as much in width. This they palisade with reeds close to each other, and inclined inward toward the ditch; so that the insects, unable to climb up the slippery reed, fall back into the ditch, where they devour one another. This was the means by which the gardens and vineyards of Rabat, and the city itself, were delivered from this scourge, in 1779. The intrenchment, which was, at least, a league in extent, formed a semicircle from the sea to the river, which separates Rabat from Sallee. The quantity of young locusts here assembled was so prodigious, that, on the third day, the ditch could not be approached, because of the stench. The whole country was eaten up, the very bark of the fig, pomegranate, and orange tree, bitter, hard, and corrosive as it was, could not escape the voracity of these insects. The lands, ravaged throughout all the western provinces, In Persia, "they dye the tails of those horses which are of produced no harvest; and the Moors, being obliged to live on a light color with red or orange."- Hanway. This unnatural fashion is extended to animals. Departing from the town of Anna, we met, about five hundred paces from the gate, a young man of good family followed by two servants, and mounted, in the fashion of the country, upon an ass, whose rump was painted red. Ta vernier. Ali, the Moor, to whose capricious cruelty Mungo Park was so long exposed, "always rode upon a milk-white horse, with its tail dyed red." When Pietro della Valle went to Jerusalem, all his camels were made orange-color with henna. He says he had seen in Rome the manes and tails of certain horses which came from Poland and Hungary colored in like manner. He conceived it to be the same plant, which was sold, in a dry or pulverized state, at Naples, to old women, to dye their gray hairs flaxen. Alfenado, a word derived from Alfena, the Portuguese or Moorish name of this plant, is still used in Portugal as a phrase of contempt for a fop. • The miraculously shining hand of Moses. their stores, which the exportation of corn (permitted till 1774) had drained, began to feel a dearth. Their cattle, for which they make no provision, and which, in these climates, have no other subsistence than that of daily grazing, died with hunger; nor could any be preserved but those which were in the neighborhood of mountains, or in marshy grounds, where the re-growth of pasturage is more rapid. In 1780, the distress was still further increased. The dry winter had checked the products of the earth, and given birth to a new generation of locusts, who devoured whatever had escaped from the inclemency of the season. The husbandman did not reap even what he had sowed, and found himself destitute of food, cattle, or sced corn. In this time of extreme wretchedness, the poor felt all the horrors of famine. They were seen wandering over the country to devour roots, and, perhaps, abridged their days, by digging into the entrails of the earth in search of the crude means by which they might be preserved. Vast numbers perished of indigestible food and want. have beheld country people in the roads, and in the streets, who had died of hunger, and who were thrown across asses to be taken and buried. Fathers sold their children. The husband, with the consent of his wife, would take her into another province, there to bestow ber in marriage, as if she were his sister, and afterwards come and reclaim her when his wants were no longer so great. I have seen women and children run after camels and rake in their dung, to seek for some indigested grain of barley, which, if they found, they devoured with avidity. Chenier. From far Khorassan?-31, p. 247. At Mosul and at Haled, says Niebuhr, I heard much of the locust bird, without seeing it. They there call it Samar:nar, I or, as others pronounce it, Samarmog. It is said to be black, larger than a sparrow, and no ways pleasant to the palate. I am assured that it every day destroys an incredible number of locusts; they pretend, nevertheless, that the locusts sometimes defend themselves, and devour the bird with its feathers, when they have overpowered it by numbers. When the children in the frontier towns of Arabia catch a live locust, they place it before them and cry Samarmog! And because it stoops down terrified at the noise, or at the motion of the child, or clings more closely to its place, the children believe that it fears the name of its enemy, that it hides itself, and attempts to throw stones. The Samarmog is not a native of Mosul or Haleb, but they go to seek it in Khorasan with much ceremony. When the locusts multiply very greatly, the government sends persons worthy of trust to a spring near the village of Samarun, situated in a plain between four mountains, by Mesched, or Musa er ridda, in that province of Persia. The deputies, with the ceremonies prescribed, fill a chest with this water, and pitch the chest so that the water may neither evaporate nor be spilt before their return. From the spring to the town whence they were sent, the chest must always be between heaven and earth; they must neither place it on the ground, nor under any roof, lest it should lose all its virtue. Mosul being surrounded with a wall, the water must not pass under the gateway, but it is received over the wall, and the chest placed upon the Mosque Nebbi Gurgis, a building which was formerly a church, and which, in prefer The Abmelec, or eater of locusts, or grasshoppers, is a bird which better deserves to be described, perhaps, than most others of which travellers have given us an account, because the facts relating to it are not only strange in themselves, but so well and distinctly attested, that however surprising they may seem, we cannot but afford them our belief. The food of this creature is the locust, or the grasshopper; it is of the size of an ordinary hen, its feathers black, its wings large, and its flesh of a grayish color. They fly generally in great flocks, as the starlings are wont to do with us. But the thing which renders these birds wonderful is, that they are so fond of the water of a certain fountain in Corasson, or Bactria, that whereever that water is carried, they follow; on which account it is carefully preserved; for wherever the locusts fall, the Arme-ence to all the other buildings, has had from time immemorial nian priests, who are provided with this water, bring a quantity of it and place in jars, or pour it into little channels in the fields: the next day whole troops of these birds arrive, and quickly deliver the people from the locusts. — Universal History. the honor to possess this chest upon its roof. When this precious water has been brought from Khorasan with the requisite precautions, the common Mahommedans, Christians, and Jews of Mosul, believe that the Samarmog follows the water, and remains in the country as long as there is a single drop left in the chest of Nebbi Gurgis. Seeing one day a large stork's nest upon this vessel, I told a Christian of some of the Samarmog, who perceived the smell of the water through such a quantity of ordure; he did not answer me, but was very much scandalized that the government should have permitted the stork to make her nest upon so rare a treasure, and still more angry, that for more than nine years, the government had not sent to procure fresh water. - Niebuhr, Desc. de l'Arabie. Dr. Russel describes this bird as about the size of a starling; the body of a flesh color, the rest of its plumage black, the bill and legs black also. Sir John Chardin has given us the following passage from an ancient traveller, in relation to this bird. In Cyprus, about the time that the corn was ripe for the sickle, the earth pro-eminence in the town, how much I admired the quick smell duced such a quantity of cavalettes, or locusts, that they obscured sometimes the splendor of the sun. Wherever these came, they burnt and eat up all. For this there was no remedy, since, as fast as they were destroyed, the earth produced more: God, however, raised them up a means for their deliverance, which happened thus. In Persia, near the city of Cuerch, there is a fountain of water, which has a wonderful property of destroying these insects; for a pitcher full of this being carried in the open air, without passing through house or vault, and being set on an high place, certain birds which follow it, and fly and cry after the men who carry it from the fountain, come to the place where it is fixed. These birds are red and black, and fly in great flocks together, like starlings; the Turks and Persians call them Mussulmans. These birds no sooner came to Cyprus, but they destroyed the locusts with which the island was infested: but if the water be spilt or lost, these creatures immediately disappear; which accident fell out when the Turks took this island: for one of them going up into the steeple of Famagusta, and finding there a pitcher of this water, he, fancying that it contained gold or silver, or some precious thing, broke it, and spilt what was therein since which the Cypriots have been as much tor-keeps them extended like great sails of a ship going before mented as ever by the locusts. On the confines of the Medes and of Armenia, at certain times, a great quantity of birds are seen who resemble our blackbirds, and they have a property sufficiently curious to make me mention it. When the corn in these parts begins to grow, it is astonishing to see the number of locusts with which all the fields are covered. The Armenians have no other method of delivering themselves from these insects, than by going in procession round the fields, and sprinkling them with a particular water, which they take care to preserve in their houses, for this water comes from a great distance. They fetch it from a well belonging to one of their convents near the frontiers, and they say that the bodies of many Christian martyrs were formerly thrown into this well. These proces sions, and the sprinkling, continue three or four days; after For these mysterious lines were legible.-34, p. 247. The locusts are remarkable for the hieroglyphic that they bear upon the forehead; their color is green throughout the whole body, excepting a little yellow rim that surrounds their head, which is lost at their eyes. This insect has two upper wings, pretty solid; they are green, like the rest of the body, except that there is in each a little white spot. The locust the wind; it has besides two other wings underneath the former, and which resemble a light transparent stuff pretty much like a cobweb, and which it makes use of in the manner of smack sails that are along a vessel; but when the locust reposes herself, she does like a vessel that lies at anchor, for she keeps the second sails furled under the first. — Norden. The Mahommedans believe some mysterious meaning is contained in the lines upon the locust's forehead. I compared the description in the poem with a locust which was caught in Leicestershire. It is remarkable that a single insect should have found its way so far inland. Flies the large-headed Screamer of the night.-39, p. 248. An Arabian expression from the Moallakat: -"She turns her right side, as if she were in fear of some large-headed Screamer of the night."-Poem of Antara. Glare in the darkness of that dreadful noon.—39, p. 248. In the ninth volume of the Spectator is an account of the total Eclipse of the Sun, Friday, April 22, 1715. It is in a strain of vile bombast; yet some circumstances are so fine, that even such a writer could not spoil them: "The different modifications of the light formed colors the eye of man has been five hundred years unacquainted with, and for which I can find no name, unless I may be allowed to call it a dark, gloomy sort of light, that scattered about a more sensible and genuine horror, than the most consummate darkness. All the birds were struck dumb, and hung their wings in moody sorrow; some few pigeons, that were on the wing, were afraid of being benighted even in the morn, alighted, and took shelter in the houses. The heat went away by degrees with the light. But when the rays of the sun broke out afresh, the joy and the thanks that were in me, that God made to us these signs and marks of his power before he exercised it, were exquisite, and such as never worked upon me so sensibly before. With my own ears I heard a cock crow as at the dawn of day, and he welcomed with a strange gladness, which was plainly discoverable by the cheerful notes of his voice, the sun at its second rising, and the returning light." Beheld the adventurous youth, Dark-moving o'er the sands, A lessening image, trembling through their tears. Visions of high emprise Beguiled his lonely road; And if sometimes to Moath's tent And still of every dream And hope and memory made a mingled joy. 5. In the eve he arrived at a Well; An Acacia bent over its side, Under whose long light-hanging boughs He chose his night's abode. The Paper is signed B., and is perhaps by Sir Richard There, due ablutions made, and prayers perform'd, Blackmore. THE FOURTH BOOK. Fas est quoque bruta Telluri, docilem monitis cœlestibus esse. MAMBRUNI CONSTANTINUS. 1. WHOSE is yon dawning form, The delegated youth? Dim as the shadow of a fire at noon, Or pale reflection, on the evening brook, Of glow-worm on the bank, Kindled to guide her winged paramour. 2. A moment, and the brightening image shaped His Mother's form and features. "Go," she cried, "To Babylon, and from the Angels learn What talisman thy task requires." 3. The Spirit hung toward him when she ceased, As though with actual lips she would have given A mother's kiss. His arms outstretch'd, His body bending on, His mouth unclosed and trembling into speech, He press'd to meet the blessing; but the wind Play'd on his cheek: he look'd, and he beheld The darkness close. "Again! again!" he cried, "Let me again behold thee! from the darkness His Mother's voice went forth "Thou shalt behold me in the hour of death." 4. Day dawns, the twilight gleam dilates, Old Moath and his daughter, from their tent, The youth his mantle spread, And silently produced His solitary meal. The silence and the solitude recall'd And his awaken'd ear The only sound of life. 6. As thus in vacant quietness he sate, A Traveller on a Camel reach'd the Well, And courteous greeting gave. The mutual salutation past, He by the cistern, too, his garment spread, And friendly converse cheer'd the social meal. 7. The Stranger was an ancient man, Bore the fair characters of temperate youth: And reaching over them The large broad eyebrow curl'd. His speech was copious, and his winning words Enrich'd with knowledge, that the attentive youth Sate listening with a thirsty joy. 8. So, in the course of talk, The Old Man answered, "To Bagdad I go." "And I too," he replied, "Am journeying thitherward; Let me become companion of thy way! Courteous the Old Man smiled, And willing in assent. 9. OLD MAN. Son, thou art young for travel. THALABA. Until now I never past the desert boundary. OLD MAN. It is a noble city that we seek. Thou wilt behold magnificent Palaces, And lofty Minarets, and high-domed Mosques, And rich Bazars, whither from all the world Industrious merchants meet, and market there The world's collected wealth. THALABA. Stands not Bagdad Near to the site of ancient Babylon, And Nimrod's impious temple? OLD MAN. From the walls 'Tis but a long day's distance. THALABA. And the ruins ? OLD MAN. A mighty mass remains; enough to tell us How great our fathers were, how little we. Men are not what they were; their crimes and follies Have dwarf"d them down from the old hero race To such poor things as we! THALABA. At Babylon I have heard the Angels expiate their guilt, Haruth and Maruth. OLD MAN. "Tis a history Handed from ages down; a nurse's tale, Which children, open-eyed and mouth'd, devour; And thus, as garrulous Ignorance relates, We learn it and believe. But all things feel The power of Time and Change; thistles and grass Usurp the desolate palace, and the weeds Of Falsehood root in the aged pile of Truth. How have you heard the tale? THALABA Thus on a time The Angels at the wickedness of man Express'd indignant wonder; that in vain Tokens and signs were given, and Prophets sent. Strange obstinacy this! a stubbornness Of sin, they said, that should forever bar The gates of mercy on them. Allah heard Their unforgiving pride, and bade that two Of these untempted Spirits should descend, Judges on Earth. Haruth and Maruth went, The chosen Sentencers; they fairly heard The appeals of men to their tribunal brought, And rightfully decided. At the length A Woman came before them; beautiful Zohara was, as yonder Evening Star, In the mild lustre of whose lovely light Even now her beauty shines. They gazed on her With fleshly eyes; they tempted her to sin. The wily woman listen'd, and required A previous price, the knowledge of the name Of God. She learnt the wonder-working name, And gave it utterance, and its virtue bore her Up to the glorious Presence, and she told Before the awful Judgment-Seat her tale. OLD MAN. I know the rest. The accused Spirits were call'd, Unable of defence, and penitent, They own'd their crime, and heard the doom deserved. Then they besought the Lord that not forever His wrath might be upon them, and implored That penal ages might at length restore them Clean from offence: since then by Babylon, In the cavern of their punishment, they dwell. Runs the conclusion so? THALABA. So I am taught. OLD MAN. The common tale! And likely thou hast heard How that the bold and bad, with impious rites, Intrude upon their penitence, and force, Albeit from loathing and reluctant lips, The sorcery-secret? THALABA. Is it not the truth? OLD MAN. Son, thou hast seen the Traveller in the sands THALABA. A frequent sight. OLD MAN. And hast thou never, in the twilight, fancied Familiar object into some strange shape And form uncouth? THALABA. Ay! many a time. OLD MAN. Even so Things view'd at distance, through the mist of fear, |