University of Virginia Library

Need for high faith had sorrowing Zateel.
To him had Hori been, as once himself
To Samiasa; but the loss he felt,
Was for the Shepherd keener than the King:
For Love descends more easily than soars.
But now a void was left which Zerah might
Even fill not in his mind. Not seldom too,
The monarch's mystic destiny awoke
Inquiry, to be satisfied ere long.

By sea, and shore, the Sophist, and the King
Held on their way; until their wandering steps,
Dudael, once again thy lonely waste
Trod, not unknown. New wonder waits them there;
For, fearless of the sands, behold, afar,
Two Pilgrims of the Wild, yet not on foot,
But mounted, as in triumph, on white steeds.
On still they came; and, round about them, thronged,
As by their presence charmed, the desart-beasts.
—There were the Lion, and his Prey; as though
For them they had the ready hunters been,
And for his young provided, with consent
Right leonine—his young, couchant in dens,
Lying in wait, else hid in covert glades.
—The Raven, satisfied, as if his brood
Cried not to God, nor needed, hovered there.
—Peculiar kind, and tallest of the race,
The mighty Ostrich; large, inapt for flight,
Upon her wings; but, powerful of leg,
God gave her swiftness, and unrivalled speed,
That dares the horse, and rider to pursue;
Now fleeing not, she swells the lordly train.
—Patient of desert thirst, the Camel-Bird;
With Cassowary, Rhea, and Emeu;
The Dodo, and the Bustard—giants all,
Yet gentle; iron eaters, not without
Heart for their offspring, watching o'er their eggs,
Laid in the torrid sands, solicitous
With circling flight, or sitting o'er the pit
Which serves them for a nest in cooler climes.
—There were the mountain Goat, and forest Hind,
Whose many moons none knows; they bow themselves,
Bring forth their young, and cast their sorrows out;
Hale are their young, nor need be fed of corn,
Forsaking once their dam, returning never.
—There also the free Pard, whose bands none brake;
Whom, in the wilderness, God gave to house,
And make his dwelling in the barren land:
Afar he sees, and scorns the city throng,
And disregards the crying of the driver;
In purest air, his mountain pasture ranging,
And of his verdant feast in joy partaking.
—There was the Unicorn obedient. Who
Beheld him then, might deem, that he would stand
Beside thy crib, and live upon thine alms,
Bow to thy yoke his shoulder, and for thee
Harrow the vale, or in the furrow plough.
Yet trust not him, for he is strong, nor leave
To him thy labour, doubting not but he
Thy seed will sure bring home, and heap thy barn.
—There came Behemoth: he, whom God did make
Docile, though mighty; eating of the grass,
Ox-like; but with superiour force, and power
Embedded in his navel, and his loins.
No more is seen Behemoth now: . . but, then,
In motion like a cedar was his tail;
His sinews wrapt the shelly substance up;
Even as strong bars, his ribs; and, like strong bars
Of iron, were his bones; chief work of God.
Not him might man, but God, pierce through, and wound.
Mountains, where beasts play wild, to him gave food;
Trees shadowed his repose, in covert hid
Of reeds, and fens; the willows of the brook
Compassed his cool retreat. Was he athirst?
He drank a river, persevering slow,
As Armon might be drawn into his mouth,
So fixed his eyes upon the lessening stream,
While his strong snout brake way through every snare.

The Mastodon, provided with huge teeth
And tusks of ivory, in the incisive bone
Inserted, thick of limb, and with a trunk
Graced like the elephant, rival in height,
Of length exceeding his, herbivorous brute,
Succeeded. Others smaller; and with them
The Mammoth, mighty of bone, and short of neck,
Horrent with mane, and hornèd from the jaw,
Also with tusks, but doubly curved. The Sloth,
The Ai, tree-climber, with reverted look,
While travelling along the line of branch,
Gazing at the observer from below;
The Megalonyx, monstrous brute, of claw
Immense, thrice lion size; were there. Nor there
Wanting the Megatherium. Tardy of gait,
Brief-trunked, brief-tailed, and resting on its hand,
It walked, robust, yet feeding chief on roots,
And to its talons trusting for its food;
Enormous creature; elegant, and light
Of head, and neck; bulky its hinder parts.
—Tiger, and Wolf, with the voracious Bear,
Then tame, there herded gentle. Hunters them
Since seek in jungle, and den, both east, and north.
In thicket hid of wood, and grass, and rush,
The Tiger slinks; meanwhile, the sportsmen band,
Warned by the instinct of the Elephant,
Wake him to roaring, till he covert break;
Then furious war begins, nor peril free.
Lone with his females in tree-hollow, cave,
Or rocky cleft, the hybernating Bear
Immures lethargic: soon the hunter's skall
Them circles with a cordon populous—
Tracked in the snow their doubles, and ringed round
Miles in circumference, silently, with skill,
Till found their lair; attacked with men, and dogs,
Slain are they in their den; or, summer sport,
Roused out the furious brutes, noble sometimes,
With head erect, and spirit fiery,
As of the war-horse, dashing in full speed
At hunter, or at opening for escape,
Fain to take refuge soon in tangled brake;
Beset, and wheeling still from side to side,
They keep at bay pursuers, but at length
Fall dead with many wounds;—they, and their cubs.
So too in glen, the Wolf, sequestered, wild,
Rock-strewn, a craggy dell. A fiercer dog
Is he, and may be tamed; and, like a dog,
He winds his prey afar; yet them between
Is mutual enmity, and when they meet
Stern strife begins, but, in the end of such,
Difference ensues; . . the victor Wolf devours
His victim; but, not so, the nobler Dog
Leaveth untouched the carcase on the field.
The shades of evening set, forth prowls the Wolf,
Timid, yet strong, made but by hunger bold,
All things his prey, in wintery droves he scours,
Ferocious, hot for blood, from meanest thing
To that of man. Now, both with man, and brute,
In peaceful guise he comes, in order due;
Nor shuns man's friend, the Dog, nor seeks to slay.
—With him the simple Hare, Roebuck, and Fox;
Badger, and Stag; Rein-deer, and giant Elk;
In fellowship, together journey on.
Largest of Deer, the Elk, profusely horned,
Majestic creature: when incensed, his mane
Upbristles like the lion's. Graceful, too,
The Draught Deer, swift of foot: in after time,
Him shall the dweller of the realm of ice
Rein to his sledge, the slippery path along
Borne joyous rapid o'er the wild of snow.
The Stag how stately; of the woodlands king:
With beamy crown adorned his antlered head,
Agile of motion, beautiful in strength.
What anguish feels he in the cruel chase;
His eyes weep human tears, ere, panting, he
Resigns his towering front, and dappled skin
To the impatient pack. Of humbler shape,
The Badger's cutting bite frays off the hound.
—The Urus, elephantine in his bulk,
With a red eye, and fiery; thick, and short
Of horn, and neck; with curlèd hair o'erveiled
His forehead—shaggy maned. With these came on
The Lynx feline, meet cousin of the Wolf,
Now mild as he, with the Hyæna Dog,
And the Hyæna's self, the Tiger-Wolf:
Cruel, and fierce, by solitude made stern,
Of flocks, and herds rapacious . . hunger-mad,
Even new-closed graves he rifles for his food.
Now gentle as the gentle Pelican,
Which, with the Cormorant, no glutton now,
The Raven of the Sea, expands on high
His dusky wing; nor fears for lack of food,
His well-filled wallet hanging down his breast,
That with his bill he presses, when he would
Nourish his young in desart, or on isle,
Or feed his brooding female on the nest.
—There, too, the Vulture hovered; and the Roc,
Fabled, or true; . . big, strong, and wide of wing;
Ferocious Bird—but with the Puma, now,
Llama, and Calf, its wonted prey, at peace.
With these the Griffon, bearded or without,
Kite, Buzzard, Falcon. Prominent of brow,
Hook-beaked, the Falcon tribe, and their great strength
Is in their talons, curved, acute, and long;
Tenants of rock, and cliff, and mountain range.
Nor absent was the strong-beaked Vulture-King,
With ruff of ashy grey, and brightly plumed,
Carrion his food; or, wanting this, the Snake,
And Lizard are his meat. Lizard, and Snake
Are here: the Tortoise both of land, and sea,
And Salamander, in the cold, and damp
Rejoicing, with the Frog, and harmless Toad,
Oft musical, and laughing in the fens:
Beaver, and Otter, with the Serpent tribe,
Subtlest of beasts, quick—strong—voluminous,
Plated in mail, and loving best the storm,
The hurricane; rejoicing in uproar.
Python—keen-sighted, patient to restrain
Impulse, until secure to seize his prey;
Beautiful oft, and bright of hue, he lies
Beside the waters; of capacity
Goat, and Gazelle, even Tiger, to receive,
As raven for his maw; once by a god
Slain—great Apollo's shaft: the Boa huge,
That, with enormous folds, involves, and clasps,
And crushes soon the victim it absorbs:
The Rattle-snake, that warns ere it attacks,
Of man afraid, yet dangerous if disturbed:
Naja majestic, with a human face,
Glowing in coloured scales: Cerastes horned;
The agile Viper, elegant, and light,
Tinted, and lively, capable of love,
Of fond attachment, and familiar play
With childhood. Nor were wanting Insects there;
The Bee, and gaudy Butterfly, and Moth,
The humbler Fly, the Beetle, and the Gnat,
With the wise Ant, and irritable Wasp,
The Spider, and the Glow-worm, and all worms,
Not without mind, though creatures of small size,
And worthy their Creatour. Thronging there,
Attendant on those Pilgrim twain, they came,
By Samiasa, then, and Palal seen;
With wonder, and with awe not uninspired.