Idylls and Lyrics of The Nile By H. D. Rawnsley |
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| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
| VII. |
| VIII. |
| IX. |
| X. |
| XI. |
| XII. | XII MENA HOUSE |
| XIII. |
| XIV. |
| XV. |
| XVI. |
| XVII. |
| XVIII. |
| XIX. |
| XX. |
| XXI. |
| XXII. |
| XXIII. |
| XXIV. |
| XXV. |
| XXVI. |
| XXVII. |
| XXVIII. |
| XXIX. |
| XXX. |
| XXXI. |
| XXXII. |
| XXXIII. |
| XXXIV. |
| XXXV. |
| XXXVI. |
| XXXVII. |
| XXXVIII. |
| XXXIX. |
| XL. |
| XLI. |
| XLII. |
| XLIII. |
| XLIV. |
| XLV. |
| XLVI. |
| XLVII. |
| XLVIII. |
| XLIX. |
| L. |
| LI. |
| LII. |
| LIII. |
| LIV. |
| LV. |
| LVI. |
| LVII. |
| LVIII. |
| LIX. |
| LX. |
| LXI. |
| LXII. |
| LXII. |
| LXIV. |
 | Idylls and Lyrics of The Nile |  |
25
XII MENA HOUSE
This was ‘The Way of the gods’ of old,
Full of magic and mystery then,
This is ‘The Way of the gods’ to-day—
Gods whose authority comes of gold,
French, Americans, Englishmen,
Gods who rule as far as they pay.
Full of magic and mystery then,
This is ‘The Way of the gods’ to-day—
Gods whose authority comes of gold,
French, Americans, Englishmen,
Gods who rule as far as they pay.
By the side of the road from over the Nile
The long wire hums, and away in the town
Men speak and whisper across the plain;
And under the Lebbeks for many a mile
The coach rattles on, and the horn is blown,
And the red-coated driver handles the rein.
The long wire hums, and away in the town
Men speak and whisper across the plain;
And under the Lebbeks for many a mile
The coach rattles on, and the horn is blown,
And the red-coated driver handles the rein.
And here at the end of the high-banked road
In ‘the land of the gods,’ where the dead men are,
As white as milk thro' the avenue seen
Is a place of pleasure, the gods' abode;
You can hear the twangle of lute and guitar,
You can see the gods at the balcony lean.
In ‘the land of the gods,’ where the dead men are,
As white as milk thro' the avenue seen
Is a place of pleasure, the gods' abode;
You can hear the twangle of lute and guitar,
You can see the gods at the balcony lean.
26
And out on the daïs beneath the shade,
With talk and tea to their heart's desire,
They watch the players of tennis run;
And the scarab-barterer plies his trade,
The gay-tasselled camel comes for hire,
The ass and his driver wait in the sun.
With talk and tea to their heart's desire,
They watch the players of tennis run;
And the scarab-barterer plies his trade,
The gay-tasselled camel comes for hire,
The ass and his driver wait in the sun.
But when the dark on the desert falls,
When the last rogue-villager hies him home,
And the stars o'er the Pyramid twinkle bright,
The gods sit at ease in their Arab-halls
And feast, while music throbs in the dome,
'Neath starry clusters of magical light.
When the last rogue-villager hies him home,
And the stars o'er the Pyramid twinkle bright,
The gods sit at ease in their Arab-halls
And feast, while music throbs in the dome,
'Neath starry clusters of magical light.
The careless they, tho' they jest above
The graves where old Egypt came with a sigh
With beating of breasts and clapping of hands,
The gods and goddesses laugh and love
With never a thought of the death-hour nigh,
And thread the dance in their rhythmic bands.
The graves where old Egypt came with a sigh
With beating of breasts and clapping of hands,
The gods and goddesses laugh and love
With never a thought of the death-hour nigh,
And thread the dance in their rhythmic bands.
| Idylls and Lyrics of The Nile | |