Glimm'ring and cold, to those who nightly pray And still he drank and ponder'd-nor could see From EBLIS at the Fall of Man, he spoke : 'Ye shall have honours-wealth-yes, Sages, yes-“I know, grave fools, your wisdom's nothingness; Undazzled it can track yon starry sphere, But a gilt stick, a bauble blinds it here. 1 The cities of Com (or Koom) and Cashan are full of mosques, mausoleums, and sepulchres of the descendants of Ali, the Saints of Persia. Chardin. 2 An island in the Persian Gulf, celebrated for its white wine. 3 The miraculous well at Mecca; so called, says Sale, from the murmuring of its waters. 4 The god Hannaman. "Apes are in many parts of India highly venerated, out of respect to the god Hannaman, a deity partaking of the form of that race."-Pennant's Hindoostan. See a curious account, in Stephen's Persia, of a solemn embassy from some part of the Indies to Goa, when the Portuguese were there, offering vast treasures for the recovery of a monkey's tooth, which they held in great veneration, and which had been taken away upon the conquest of the kingdom of Jafanapatan. 5 This resolution of Eblis not to acknowledge the new creature, man, was, according to Mahometan tradition, thus adopted: "The earth (which God had selected for the materials of his work) was Seen, heard, attested, ev'rything — but true. "Your preaching zealots, too inspir'd to seek "One grace of meaning for the things they speak; Your martyrs, ready to shed out their blood, For truths too heav'nly to be understood; 66 66 66 And your State Priests, sole vendors of the lore, That works salvation ;-as, on Ava's shore, Where none but priests are privileg'd to trade In that best marble of which Gods are made;" "They shall have mysteries-ay, precious stuff, "For knaves to thrive by mysteries enough; "Dark, tangled doctrines, dark as fraud can weave, "Which simple votaries shall on trust receive, "While craftier feign belief, till they believe. "A Heav'n too ye must have, ye lords of dust,"A splendid Paradise,-pure souls, ye must: "That Prophet ill sustains his holy call, "Who finds not heav'ns to suit the tastes of all; Houris for boys, omniscience for sages, 66 "And wings and glories for all ranks and ages. "Vain things!-as lust or vanity inspires, "The heav'n of each is but what each desires, And, soul or sense, whate'er the object be, "Man would be man to all eternity! 66 "So let him-EBLIS!-grant this crowning curse, "But keep him what he is, no Hell were worse." "Oh my lost soul!" exclaim'd the shudd'ring maid, Whose cars had drunk like poison all he said.— He knew no more of fear than one who dwells carried into Arabia to a place between Mecca and Tayef, where, being first kneaded by the angels, it was afterwards fashioned by God himself into a human form, and left to dry for the space of forty days, or, as others say, as many years; the angels, in the meantime, often visiting it, and Eblis (then one of the angels nearest to God's presence, afterwards the devil) among the rest; but he, not contented with looking at it, kicked it with his foot till it rung, and knowing God designed that creature to be his superior, took a secret resolution never to acknowledge him as such."-Sale on the Koran. 6 A kind of lantern formerly used by robbers, called the Hand of Glory, the candle for which was made of the fat of a dead malefactor. This, however, was rather a western than an eastern superstition. 7 The material of which images of Gaudma (the Birman Deity) are made, is held sacred. "Birmans may not purchase the marble in mass, but are suffered, and indeed encouraged, to buy figures of the Deity ready made."-Syme's Ava, vol. ii. p. 376. *Hath inspiration in its rosy beam Beyond the Enthusiast's hope or Prophet's dream; Light of the Faith! who twin'st religion's zeal So close with love's, men know not which they feel, "Nor which to sigh for, in their trance of heart, "The heav'n thou preachest or the heav'n thou art! What should I be without thee? without thee *How dull were power, how joyless victory! -Though borne by angels, if that smile of thine "Bless'd not my banner, 'twere but half divine. "But-why so mournful, child? those eyes, that shone *All life last night-what!—is their glory gone? -Come, come-this morn's fatigue hath made them pale, They want rekindling-suns themselves would fail Did not their comets bring, as I to thee, "From light's own fount supplies of brilliancy. Thou seest this cup-no juice of earth is here, -But the pure waters of that upper sphere, Whose rills o'er ruby beds and topaz flow, "Catching the gem's bright colour, as they go. "Nightly my Genii come and fill these urns“Nay, drink-in ev'ry drop life's essence burns; "Twill make that soul all fire, those eyes all light*Come, come, I want thy loveliest smiles to-night: There is a youth-why start?-thou saw'st him then; "Look'd he not nobly? such the godlike men -The world calls virtue-we must conquer this; *Of powerful beauty on that warrior's heart. 66 66 "Hath some peculiar, practis'd pow'r to please, "Some glance or step which, at the mirror tried, First charms herself, then all the world beside; There still wants one, to make the vict'ry sure, "One who in every look joins every lure; "Through whom all beauty's beams concentred pass, "Dazzling and warm, as through love's burning glass; "Whose gentle lips persuade without a word, "Whose words, ev'n when unmeaning, are ador'd, "Like inarticulate breathings from a shrine, "Which our faith takes for granted are divine! "Such is the nymph we want, all warmth and light, "To crown the rich temptations of to-night; "Such the refin'd enchantress that must be At first, though mute she listen'd, like a dream Seem'd all he said: nor could her mind, whose beam As yet was weak, penetrate half his scheme. But when, at length, he utter'd “Thou art she!" All flash'd at once, and shrieking piteously, "Oh not for worlds!" she cried-"Great God! to whom "I once knelt innocent, is this my doom? "Are all my dreams, my hopes of heav'nly bliss, My purity, my pride, then come to this, "To live, the wanton of a fiend! to be 46 The pander of his guilt-oh infamy! "And sunk, myself, as low as hell can steep In its hot flood, drag others down as deep! 1" It is commonly said in Persia, that if a man breathe in the hot south wind, which in June or July passes over that flower (the Kerzereh) it will kill him."- The venot. C 66 66 Ev'n from thy lips. Go-try thy lute, thy voice, The boy must feel their magic; - I rejoice "To see those fires, no matter whence they rise, "Once more illuming my fair Priestess' eyes; "And should the youth, whom soon those eyes shall warm, "Indeed resemble thy dead lover's form, "So much the happier wilt thou find thy doom, "As one warm lover, full of life and bloom, "Excels ten thousand cold ones in the tomb. Nay, nay, no frowning, sweet!-those eyes were 66 No-he's all truth and strength and purity! "Fill up your madd'ning hell-cup to the brim, 66 Its witch'ry, fiends, will have no charm for him. "Let loose your glowing wantons from their bow'rs, "He loves, he loves, and can defy their powers! "Wretch as I am, in his heart still I reign "Pure as when first we met, without a stain! "Though ruin'd-lost-my mem'ry, like a charm "Left by the dead, still keeps his soul from harm. "Oh! never let him know how deep the brow "He kiss'd at parting is dishonour'd now; "Ne'er tell him how debas'd, how sunk is she, "Whom once he lov'd-once!--still loves dotingly. "Thou laugh'st, tormentor,-what!-thou'lt brand my name? Where now to Love and now to ALLA given, Half mistress and half saint, thou hang'st as even "As doth MEDINA's tomb, 'twixt hell and heaven! "Thou'lt fly?-as easily may reptiles run, "The gaunt snake once hath fix'd his eyes upon; "As easily, when caught, the prey may be 66 Pluck'd from his loving folds, as thou from me. No, no, 'tis fix'd- let good or ill betide, "Thou'rt mine till death, till death MOKANNA'S bride! "Hast thou forgot thy oath?"— At this dread word, The Maid, whose spirit his rude taunts had stirr'd Through all its depths, and rous'd an anger there, That burst and lighten'd even through her de From reeking shrouds upon the rite look'd out! "That oath thou heard'st more lips than thine repeat was it "That cup-thou shudd'rest, Lady, wa sweet? "That cup we pledg'd, the charnel's choicest wine, "Hath bound thee-ay-body and soul all mine; "Bound thee by chains that, whether blest or curst No matter now, not hell itself shall burst! The ancient story concerning the Trochilus, or humming-bird. entering with impunity into the mouth of the crocodile, is firmly believed at Java.-Barrow's Cochin-China. Hence, woman, to the Haram, and look gay, “Look wild, look anything but sad; yet stay*One moment more-from what this night hath pass'd, "I see thou know'st me, know'st me well at last. "Ha! ha! and so, fond thing, thou thought'st all true, "And that I love mankind?—I do, I do— "As victims, love them; as the sea-dog doats "Upon the small, sweet fry that round him floats; "Or, as the Nile-bird loves the slime that gives "That rank and venomous food on which she lives? — But turn and look-then wonder, if thou wilt, That I should hate, should take revenge, by guilt, Upon the hand, whose mischief or whose mirth Sent me thus maim'd and monstrous upon earth; *And on that race who, though more vile they be Than mowing apes, are demi-gods to me! Here-judge if hell, with all its power to damn, Can add one curse to the foul thing I am!"— He rais'd his veil-The Maid turned slowly round, Look'd at him-shriek'd- and sunk upon the ground! Os their arrival, next night, at the place of encampment, they were surprised and delighted to fnd the groves all around illuminated; some artests of Yamtcheou having been sent on previously for the purpose. On each side of the green alley which led to the Royal Pavilion, artificial sceneries of bamboo-work were erected, representing 1 Circum easdem ripas (Nili, viz.) ales est Ibis. Ea serpentium Pater ova, gratissimamque ex his escam nidis suis refert."The feast of Lanterns is celebrated at Yamtcheou with more mifcence than anywhere else: and the report goes, that the Ainations there are so splendid, that an Emperor once, not daring openly to leave his Court to go thither, committed himself the Queen and several Princesses of his family into the hands 4 marinian, who promised to transport them thither in a trice. He made them in the night to ascend magnificent thrones that borne up by swans, which in a moment arrived at Yamtcheou. Te Emperor saw at his leisure all the solemnity, being carried a cloud that hovered over the city and descended by degrees; and me back again with the same speed and equipage, nobody arches, minarets, and towers, from which hung thousands of silken lanterns, painted by the most delicate pencils of Canton.-Nothing could be more beautiful than the leaves of the mango-trees and acacias, shining in the light of the bambooscenery, which shed a lustre round as soft as that of the nights of Peristan. LALLA ROOKH, however, who was too much occupied by the sad story of ZELICA and her lover, to give a thought to anything else, except, perhaps, him who related it, hurried on through this scene of splendour to her pavilion,-greatly to the mortification of the poor artists of Yamtcheou,— and was followed with equal rapidity by the Great Chamberlain, cursing, as he went, that ancient Mandarin, whose parental anxiety in lighting up the shores of the lake, where his beloved daughter had wandered and been lost, was the origin of these fantastic Chinese illuminations." PREPARE thy soul, young Azıм!-thou hast brav'd The bands of GREECE, still mighty though enslav'd; Hast fac'd her phalanx, arm'd with all its fame, at court perceiving his absence."-The Present State of China, 4 "The vulgar ascribe it to an accident that happened in the family of a famous Mandarin, whose daughter, walking one evening upon the shore of a lake, fell in and was drowned: this afflicted father, with his family, ran thither, and, the better to find her, he caused a great company of lanterns to be lighted. All the inhabitants of the place thronged after him with torches. The year ensuing they made fires upon the shores the same day; they continued the ceremony every year, every one lighted his lantern, and by degrees it commenced into a custom."-Present State of China. While some bring leaves of Henna, to imbue The sweet Elcaya, and that courteous tree Meanwhile, through vast illuminated halls, Silent and bright, where nothing but the falls Of fragrant waters, gushing with cool sound From many a jasper fount, is heard around, Young AZIM roams bewilder'd, -nor can guess What means this maze of light and joneliness. Here, the way leads, o'er tesselated floors, Or mats of CAIRO, through long corridors, Where, rang'd in cassolets and silver urns, Sweet wood of aloe or of sandal burns; And spicy rods, such as illume at night The bow'rs of TIBET, send forth odorous light, Like Peris' wands, when pointing out the road For some pure Spirit to its blest abode:And here, at once, the glittering saloon Bursts on his sight, boundless and bright as noon; Where, in the midst, reflecting back the rays In broken rainbows, a fresh fountain plays Which makes the maids, whom kings are proud to High as the' enamell'd cupola, which tow'rs cull From fair Circassia's vales, so beautiful. "Thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes."-Sol. Song. 2They tinged the ends of her fingers scarlet with Henna, so that they resembled branches of coral."-Story of Prince Futtun in Bahardanush. 3 The women blacken the inside of their eyelids with a powder named the black Kohol."-Russel. "None of these ladies," says Shaw, "take themselves to be completely dressed, till they have tinged the hair and edges of their eyelids with the powder of lead-ore. Now, as this operation is performed by dipping first into the powder a small wooden bodkin of the thickness of a quill, and then drawing it afterwards through the eyelids over the ball of the eye, we shall have a lively image of what the Prophet (Jer. iv. 30.) may be supposed to mean by reading the eyes with painting. This practice is no doubt of great antiquity; for besides the instance already taken notice of, we find that where Jezebel is said (2 Kings, ix. 39.) to have painted her face, the origi All rich with Arabesques of gold and flow'rs: And the mosaic floor beneath shines through The sprinkling of that fountain's silv'ry dew, Like the wet, glist'ning shells, of ev'ry dye, That on the margin of the Red Sea lie. Here too he traces the kind visitings Of woman's love in those fair, living things Of land and wave, whose fate-in bondage thrown For their weak loveliness-is like her own! On one side gleaming with a sudden grace Through water, brilliant as the crystal vase In which it undulates, small fishes shine, Like golden ingots from a fairy mine; While, on the other, lattic'd lightly in With odoriferous woods of COMORIN,8 Each brilliant bird that wings the air is seen;Gay, sparkling loories, such as gleam between nal words are, she adjusted her eyes with the powder of lead-ore."— Shaw's Travels. 4" The appearance of the blossoms of the gold-coloured Cham. pac on the black hair of the Indian women has supplied the Sanscrit Poets with many elegant allusions."-See Asiatic Re searches, vol. iv. 5 A tree famous for its perfume, and common on the hills of Yemen.-Niebuhr. 6 Of the genus mimosa, "which droops its branches whenever any person approaches it, seeming as if it saluted those who retire under its shade."— Ibid. 7 "Cloves are a principal ingredient in the composition of the perfumed rods, which men of rank keep constantly burning ia their presence."-Turner's Tibet "C'est d'où vient le bois d'alos, que les Arabes appellent Oud Comari, et celui du sandal, qui s'y trouve en grande quantité."— D'Herbolot. |