Cosmo De' Medici An Historical Tragedy: And Other Poems: By Richard Hengist Horne |
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HAJARLIS.
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HAJARLIS.
A Tragic Ballad, set to an old Arabian air.
I loved Hajarlis—and was loved—
Both children of the Desert, we;
And deep as were her lustrous eyes,
My image ever could I see:
Both children of the Desert, we;
And deep as were her lustrous eyes,
My image ever could I see:
And in my heart she also shone,
As doth a star above a well;
And we each other's thoughts enjoyed,
As camels listen to a bell.
As doth a star above a well;
And we each other's thoughts enjoyed,
As camels listen to a bell.
A Sheik unto Hajarlis came,
And said “Thy beauty fires my dreams!
Young Ornab spurn—fly to my tent—
So shalt thou walk in golden beams.”
And said “Thy beauty fires my dreams!
Young Ornab spurn—fly to my tent—
So shalt thou walk in golden beams.”
But from the Sheik my maiden turned,
And he was wroth with her, and me;
Hajarlis down a pit was lowered,
And I was fastened to a tree.
And he was wroth with her, and me;
Hajarlis down a pit was lowered,
And I was fastened to a tree.
Nor bread, nor water, had she there;
But oft a slave would come, and go:
O'er the pit bent he, muttering words—
And aye took back the unvarying ‘No!’
But oft a slave would come, and go:
O'er the pit bent he, muttering words—
And aye took back the unvarying ‘No!’
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The simoom came with sullen glare!—
Breathed Desert-mysteries through my tree!—
I only heard the starving sighs
From that pit's mouth unceasingly.
Breathed Desert-mysteries through my tree!—
I only heard the starving sighs
From that pit's mouth unceasingly.
Day after day—night after night—
Hajarlis' famished moans I hear!
And then I prayed her to consent—
For my sake, in my wild despair.
Hajarlis' famished moans I hear!
And then I prayed her to consent—
For my sake, in my wild despair.
Calm strode the Sheik—looked down the pit,
And said, “Thy beauty now is gone:
Thy last moans will thy lover hear,
While thy slow torments feed my scorn.”
And said, “Thy beauty now is gone:
Thy last moans will thy lover hear,
While thy slow torments feed my scorn.”
They spared me that I still might know
Her thirst and frenzy—till at last
The pit was silent!—and I felt
Her life—and mine—were with the past!
Her thirst and frenzy—till at last
The pit was silent!—and I felt
Her life—and mine—were with the past!
A friend, that night, cut through my bonds:
The Sheik amidst his camels slept;—
We fired his tent, and drove them in—
And then with joy I scream'd and wept!
The Sheik amidst his camels slept;—
We fired his tent, and drove them in—
And then with joy I scream'd and wept!
And cried “A spirit comes arrayed,
From that dark pit, in golden beams!
Thy slaves are fled—thy camels mad—
Harjarlis once more fires thy dreams!”
From that dark pit, in golden beams!
Thy slaves are fled—thy camels mad—
Harjarlis once more fires thy dreams!”
The camels blindly trod him down,
While still we drove them o'er his bed;
Then with a stone I beat his breast,
As I would smite him ten times dead!
While still we drove them o'er his bed;
Then with a stone I beat his breast,
As I would smite him ten times dead!
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I dragg'd him far out on the sands—
And vultures came—a screaming shoal!—
And while they fang'd and flapp'd, I prayed
Great Allah to destroy his soul!
And vultures came—a screaming shoal!—
And while they fang'd and flapp'd, I prayed
Great Allah to destroy his soul!
And day and night, again I sat
Above that pit, and thought I heard
Harjarlis' moans—and cried “my love!”
With heart still breaking at each word.
Above that pit, and thought I heard
Harjarlis' moans—and cried “my love!”
With heart still breaking at each word.
Is it the night-breeze in my ear,
That woos me, like a fanning dove?—
Is it herself?—O, desert-sands,
Enshroud me ever with my love!
That woos me, like a fanning dove?—
Is it herself?—O, desert-sands,
Enshroud me ever with my love!
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