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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,
The bird of gorgeous plumery
Poised his wings, and hover'd nigh.
It chanced at that delightful hour
Kailyal sat before the Bower,
On the green bank with amaranth sweet,
Where Ganges warbled at her feet.

Ereenia there, before the Maid,
His sails of ocean blue display'd;

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,
And hovering o'er the silver surface hung.
At him young Camdeo bent the bow;
With living bees the bow was strung,

The fatal bow of sugar-cane,

And flowers which would inflame the heart
With their petals barb'd the dart.

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,
Had Camdeo aim'd at Kailyal's side;
But, lo! the Bees which strung his bow
Broke off, and took their flight.

To that sweet Flower of earth they wing their way,
Around her raven tresses play,
And buzz about her with delight,
As if with that melodious sound
They strove to pay their willing duty
To mortal purity and beauty.

23.

Ah! Wanton! cried the Glendoveer,
No power hast thou for mischief here!
Choose thou some idler breast,

For these are proof, by nobler thoughts possess'd.
Go, to thy plains of Matra go,
And string again thy broken bow!

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,
Feeding her with the milk of heavenly lore,
And influxes of Heaven imbue her heart
With hope, and faith, and holy fortitude,
Against the evil day. Here rest a while
In peace, O father! mark'd for misery
Above all sons of men; O daughter! doom'd
For sufferings and for trials above all
Of women; - yet both favor'd, both beloved
By all good Powers, rest here a while in peace.

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: -
Till they shed tears of joy and tenderness?
Oh! hide him from that Witch's withering sight!

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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;
For gazing, she consumed his vital parts,
Eating his very core of life away.

The wine which from yon wounded palm on high
Fills yonder gourd, as slowly it distils,
Grows sour at once if Lorrinite pass by.
The deadliest worm from which all creatures fly,
Fled from the deadlier venom of her eye;
The babe unborn, within its mother's womb,
Started and trembled when the Witch came nigh;
And in the silent chambers of the tomb,
Death shudder'd her unholy tread to hear,
And from the dry and mouldering bones did fear
Force a cold sweat, when Lorrinite was near.

6.

Power made her haughty: by ambition fired,
Erelong to mightier mischiefs she aspired.

The Calis, who o'er cities rule unseen,
Each in her own domain a Demon Queen,
And there adored with blood and human life,
They knew her, and in their accurs'd employ
She stirr'd up neighboring states to mortal strife.
Sani, the dreadful God, who rides abroad
Upon the King of the Ravens, to destroy
The offending sons of men, when his four hands
Were weary with their toil, would let her do
His work of vengeance upon guilty lands;
And Lorrinite, at his commandment, knew
When the ripe earthquake should be loosed, and
where

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,
Whom my father deemeth dead,

Lives, for Marriataly's aid
From the water saved the Maid.
In hatred I desire her still,
And in revenge would have my will.
A Deveta with wings of blue,
And sword whose edge even now I rue,
In a Ship of Heaven on high,
Pilots her along the sky.
Where they voyage thou canst tell,
Mistress of the mighty spell.

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;

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The Asuras, often put to flight
And scatter'd in the fields of light

By their foes' celestial might,
Forged this enchanted armor for the fight.
'Mid fires intense did they anneal,

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.
Foul Arvalan, with joy, survey'd
The crescent sabre's cloudy blade,
With deeper joy the impervious mail,
The shield and helmet of avail.
Soon did he himself array,
And bade her speed him on his way.
12.

Then she led him to the den,
Where her chariot, night and day,
Stood harness'd ready for the way.
Two Dragons, yoked in adamant, convey
The magic car; from either collar sprung
An adamantine rib, which met in air,
O'erarch'd, and cross'd, and bent, diverging there,
And firmly in its arc upbore,
Upon their brazen necks, the seat of power.
Arvalan mounts the car, and in his hand
Receives the magic reins from Lorrinite;
The Dragons, long obedient to command,

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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.

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The silent hours go by,

And ye must leave your dear abode of rest.
O wretched Man, prepare
Again thy Curse to bear!

Prepare, O wretched Maid, for further woe!
The fatal hour draws near,
When Indra's heavenly sphere

Must own the Tyrant of the World below.
To-day the hundredth Steed

At Seeva's shrine must bleed;
The dreadful sacrifice is full to-day;
Nor man nor God hath power,
At this momentous hour,

Again to save the Swerga from his sway.
Fresh woes, O Maid divine,
Fresh trials must be thine :

And what must thou, Ladurlad, yet endure!
But let your hearts be strong,
And rise against all wrong,

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;
Soon like an earthquake will ye feel the blow
Which consummates the mighty sacrifice:
And this World, and its Heaven, and all therein,
Are then Kehama's. To the second ring
Of these seven Spheres, the Swerga King,
Even now, prepares for flight,

Beyond the circle of the conquer'd world,
Beyond the Rajah's might.

Ocean, that clips this inmost of the Spheres,
And girds it round with everlasting roar,
Set like a gem appears

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;
Nor more the man replied,

But placed his daughter in the ethereal bark,
Then took his seat beside.
There was no word at parting, no adieu.
Down from that empyreal height they flew :
One groan Ladurlad breathed, yet utter'd not,
When, to his heart and brain,

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,
With what a sense of woe

Do ye expect the blow,
And see your heavenly dwellers driven away!
Lo! where the aunnay-birds of graceful mien,
Whose milk-white forms were seen,
Lovely as Nymphs, your ancient trees between,

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Now! now!· Before the Golden Palaces,
The Bramin strikes the inevitable hour.
The fatal blow is given,
That over Earth and Heaven
Confirms the Almighty Rajah in his power.
All evil Spirits then,
That roam the World about,
Or wander through the sky,
Set up a joyful shout.

The Asuras and the Giants join the cry;
The damn'd in Padalon acclaim
Their hoped Deliverer's name;
Heaven trembles with the thunder-drowning
sound;

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;

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