mmm^ lifornia onal lity Z E I L A; THE FAIR MAID OF CABUL. TALE OF THE AFFGHAN INSURRECTION, AM) MASSACRE OF THE BRITISFI TROOPS IN THE KHOORD-GABUL PASSES. In Six ©antog. " Horror ubique animos, simul ipsa silentia ten-ent." — Virgil. " Janua lethi vasto respectat hiatu." — Luceetius. By CHARLES FINCH MACKENZIE, Esq., LATE 41st (THE WELCH) REGIMENT. LONDON: PRINTED AND PUBLISHED (FOR THE AUTHOR) BY PALMER AND CLAYTON, 10, CRANE-COURT, FLEET-STREET ; AJ^D MAY BE HAD OF ALL BOOKSELLERS. 1850. THIS WORK IS INSCRIBED, AS A TOKEN OF REGARD AND GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE, TO THE 41sT (THE WELCH) REGIMENT, AND MY COMRADES IN FIELD AND QUARTERS, DURING FOURTEEN , tears' SERVICE IN BURMAH, INDIA, AFFGHANISTAN, SCINDE, AND GREAT BRITAIN. TO THE 41sT REGIMENT, THIS DEDICATION WILL BE RENDERED THE MORE ACCEPTABLE, BY ASSOCIATING WITH IT THE HONOURED AND LAMENTED NAME OF GEORGE SHEAFFE MONTIZAMBERT, LATE MAJOR IN THE 41ST AND IOTH REGIMENTS, WHO FELL GLORIOUSLY IN THE FLOWER OF LIFE BEFORE MOOLTAN, DEC. 10, 1848. " EST QU^KDAM FLERE VOLUPTAS, EXPLETUR LACHRYMIS, EOERITURQUE DOLOR I " PEACE TO HIS ASHES! COMFORT TO THE DEAR ONES OF HIS EARTHLY LOVE ! HIS SCHOOLFELLOW, FRIEND, AND COMRADE, FROM BOYISH DAYS TO MANHOOD, PAYS A MOURNFUL TRIBUTE TO DEPARTED WORTH AND HEROISM ! THE AUTHOR. Dec. 10, 1849. 130437« PREFACE. An object of the deepest and most jilial interest has sanctified the Author's labours throughout the composition of the present work. Obstacles of an entirely unavoidable and unfore- seen nature have conspired to delay the publication up to the present moment, and the Author would therefore hope, that his best apologies, for the pro- tracted period which has elapsed between the ap- pearance of the book, and tiie notification of their kind desire to patronize it, will be received by the Subscribers in the same spirit, as that which, in the first instance, may have induced them to subscribe; and with such just appreciation of the circumstances which have called it into existence, as those circum- stances may be considered to merit. The Author has found it necessary to abandon his original design with regard to the form and contents of the volume. During its progress through the press, it occurred to him, that his more elaborate Poem, " Zcila, the Fair Maid of Cabul," was not so complete in its details as he could have VI PREFACE. wished it to be, and, as, possibly, his supporter* may have been led to expect; or, at all events, were in- dubitably entitled to deserve at his hands ; and also, that a much larger body of notes would be requisite than he had originally anticipated. These consi- dei-ations necessitated the enlargement of the Poem from five to six cantos, and other additions to the text, extending to upwards of two thousand lines, with their equivalent accessory amount of notes. Hence the minor poems, which were to have origin- ally concluded the volume, have been from necessity excluded, and will form a portion of a forthcoming- work, which it is the present intention of the Author to publish, should sufficient inducement be held out to him by the success of his first effort. Whether the Author was justified in this exclusion, or otherwise, he must leave to the kind estimate of the Subscribers, on the following cogent grounds. Firstly: the large additions, to the extent already stated (an extra canto and many hundreds of sub- sidiary lines), and the more copious form of the notes, irrespective of its more general completeness, and the increase of interest given to the Poem, in the development and amount of incident, may be, it is suggested with all deference, considered a reasonable and adequate equivalent for the sup- pression of the minor poems. PREFACE. VU Seeondly : the Author has unfortunately disco- vered, too late, that the present size of the work, taking the limited number of his Subscribers, and the publishing price into consideration, already pre- cludes the possibility of its being, at the outset, even triflingly remunerative ; indeed, he will be exposed to a certain loss, should he fail in obtaining, eventu- ally, an ' adequate accession of support beyond that, which he has already had the honour to receive — a support, moreover, that he could never have hoped for from the public at large. Consequently, however much an Author's am- bition may have been served, the less secondary and original objects of his undertaking will incur great risk of being ultimately and irremediably defeated. He begs, therefore, to leave his justification to the better judgment of tlie Subscribers, whether he has made his peace with them for the abandonment of his original design, or unduly failed in adhering to the strict letter of the first circulars he had the honour to submit to the larger proportion of his patrons. It being unfortunately but too true, that poetry now-a-days, however brilliant its character, very rarely assumes that strong hold upon public sym- pathy and encouragement which it ought to possess, and in by-gone times could always command, the Author's hopes, founded upon an entire conscious- Vlll PREFACE. ness of the mediocre nature of his production, cannot anticipate for it even the trivial amount of public patronage which has been bestowed on works of an avowedly superior order, whether in relation to the affluence of interest, or the commanding in- tellect and inspiration displayed in their composition, to all of which, neither the present work, nor its Author, dare lay the most remote claim or pretension He has simply, under certain influences of a pecu- liarly domestic nature, and for the worthiest of objects, unbiassed by any considerations of literary ambition, endeavoured to describe and embody, in a metrical and narrative form, the scenes which came under his personal inspection and observation, and such incidents as Avere related to him during his presence at Cabul, and various parts of Affghanis- tan, with the " Veteran Army of Candahar," under the late lamented Sir William Nott, K.C.B. ; and whenever his own enquiries and experience have failed to assist him in the essential development of his story, he has drawn largely upon the stores of others who have traversed the same ground, and been participators in all the dreadful scenes which they have so much more graphically and faithfully depicted. To the works of the heroic Lady Sale — Captain Eyre — Dr. Atkinson — the Rev. J. N. Allen — Vigne, and the Author of " Long Engagements," the Author is much indebted, and he begs to tender his best acknowledgments to these authors for the PREFACE. IX assistance and information he has derived from their works. The Author is assured that this, his first Hterary attempt, goes forth under the kindest and most con- siderate auspices, although he must confess himself somewhat discouraged and alarmed by the appre- hensions of some of his dearest and most intimate friends, who have expressed themselves somewhat astounded at, and doubtful of, the success likely to attend the effrontery, which has dared to handle a sub- ject of no ordinary difficulty, and further aggravated the crime by clothing that subject in a six-canto garb. The Author dare not question, or gainsay the justice of these views, and, consequently, the support he has already received he feels to have been dictated by motives of no common order, and which he is proud to know, and he trusts that he mav be so understood in the fullest possible sense, must ever command his every most unqualified sentiment of a grateful and enduring recognition. CHARLES FINCEl MACKENZIE. 1 Q, Southampton- place , Cambcrwell. Dec. 10, 1849. Page ERRATA. 46, Line 20, for uiicur'b read imcurb'd. 90, 3, ,, slunierb slumber. 123, 2, delicate dedicate. 201, 20, ,, Shireef's Sliireef. 253, 15 ,f were where. 245, H, ,f soul sole. 283, 16, ,, craven's cravens. 301, 16. )S iSootkfili s I, BootUliak's. LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. Colonel Sir Richard England, K.C.B., late 41st Regt., Bath. Lieut.- Colonel Gore Browne, C.B., 21st Fasileers, late 41st Regt. — 2 Copies. Lieut. -Colonel J. Simmons, C.B., late 41st Regt. — 2 Copies. Captain the Hon. 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Miss Julia Turnley, Richmond Lodge, Belfast. Miss Rix, Regent's Square. J. Edmund Window, Esq. F. R. Window, Esq. J. Ryan, Esq., M.D. ' ADDITIONAL SUBSCRIBERS. His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge. The Right Hon. the Earl Seafield — 2 Copies. The Dowager Lady Keane, Mecklenburgh Square. Rev. J. Ketley, Charles Street, Berkeley Square, and Friends- 50 Copies. Major Williamson, 27th Regiment. G. C. Goldsmid, Esq. The Rev. Ambrose Smith, Ruckinge Rectory, Kent. Mrs. Stains, St. Peter's Street, Canterbury. Mrs. Edward Watts, Hythe. A. Daniels, Esq. Henry Donovan, Esq., Ballymorc, Camolin, Ireland. James Handy, Esq., Stamford Street. Z E I L A; THE FAIR MAID OF CAEUL, CANTO THE FIRST. Z E I L A. CANTO THE FIRST. I. O'er Cabul's far-fam'd clustering vines,' No more the summer sun declines ; — O'er orchard, bow'r, and shady grove The signs of early Autumn rove, And russet tints o'er nature fling A sober dim apparelling ; — The waning earth seems strewn with gloom, And mournful of her summer bloom ; — The year, grown ancient and sedate. Lacks the broad, genial beams which late, With affluent sheen and fervid j)OwV, Gladden'd its lost meridian hour ; — • And summer smiles no longer strew The rugged steeps of Behmaroo,'^ Or sport the heathery shndjs among. Which stud the slopes of Seali Sung!^ B ZEILA : II. Aurora's bright and matin lip No more may dewy nectar sip, From all the bright-Ieav'd, fragrant flowers, Which bloom'd in Cabul's thousand bow'rs — '* Those matchless bow'rs, so bright and gay, Her boast through many an ancient day, Ere fell her glory to decay ! Where the queen-rose, in stately bloom. And orange-flow'r late mingled fair. And sigh'd their beauty and perfume Upon the still, enaraour'd air, Is heard the death-song of the flowers. Mourning their lov'd, lost, summer hours. III. Less bright and genial are the dews Chill falling o'er the violet's hues ; The butterfly-wand'rer journeys on, With drooping wing and faded, For the lights of his summer love are gone, And fate's approaching footstep wan Hath his own bright pinions shaded ; — THE FAIR MAID OF CABUL. 3 And o'er the terrac'd vineyards too ^ Is spread a sickly, changeful hue, And woodland brake, and verdant vale, Have still the same, lorn saddening tale ! In each ephemeral leaflet sere, Whirled earthward from the parent tree, A voice of presage, sad and drear. Tells the year's coming destiny In sorrowful monotony. IV. Nor may the Bul-bul's pensive note^ On the light evening breezes float. As wont, when summer twilight woo'd The descant of her tuneful mood — Nor comes she out, 'neath the clear blue sky. To watch those sprinkled lights on high, Shedding around night's breathless calm Bright beams of love ; while from the bow'rs Rose through the air the perfum'd balm Of countless, dew-gemm'd, clustering flow'rs — No more is thy twilight chaunting heard, Tiiou lonely and disconsolate bird — n 2 ZEILA : Hush'd is the summer's dirge — thy wail Fled by on its last and lightest gale ! V. Hush'd, too, the mysterious music made. By numberless and brawling rills,'' Meandering through each woodside glade, Or leaping from the girdling hills. Which with exultant pride look down O'er Cabul's city of renown, — ^ Where many a goodly, gorgeous sight Inspires the gazer with delight — Her palaces and storied halls — Her bastion'd, battlemented walls — Her holy shrines — the Musjid Shahee — The Durbah-Kaneh — Harem- Serai — Shah Timoor's — Baber's regal tombs — ^ The Shor Bazaar's artistic domes. Whose picturesque magnificence, Hath handed down to endless fame Khan Ali Merdan's princely name,'** And opulence and munificence ! THE FAIR MAID OF CAUUL. The Bala-Hissar, fam'd afar," Proud Cabul's stalwart citadel, Whose lordly height beseemeth well Its fitting purposes of war ! VI. Would'st glad thy far exploring sight, And Cabul's city fairly view, Seek Kaja-SufFa's westward height '^ When morning beams are o'er the dew — And, midway up that mountain-steep, Thou'lt mark a lonely burial-place, Where, requiem'd in their wakeless sleep, By the bleak winds which o'er them sweep, Are laid the throngs of Moslem race. With loose-pil'd stones 'tis cinctur'd round,- While humble and unhonour'd mound, '^ And marble head-stone, stately tomb. Profusely stud the shelving ground. Yet, sinless of sepulchral gloom, Tliis " City of the Silent " springs,^' Bride-hke, array'd in blossomings. 6 ZEILA : Here creeping wild-flowers modest bloom, And waft abroad their bland perfume — With unassuming beauty shine Amid the haughtier wreaths which twine Around each sculptur'd, turban'd head/^ In pious memory of the dead : While cypress bough and foliage wave Their verdant honours o'er each grave ! And here, with sooth'd and musing breast, Thy pilgrim-toiling thou may'st rest ; Or, with enraptur'd gaze, look forth On every hand — east, south, and north. Thy wond'ring and exploring eye Each various scene shall quick descry ! VII. Cast down thy searchful gazing now — Where frowns, in stately might and tall. The Bala Hissar's eastern \vall. O'er the broad swamp, and vale below, The village roofs of Beni-Sher '^ Cluster in lowly beauty there, Surrounded by their gardens fair. THE FAIR MAID OF CAUUL. Behold ! beneath thee, broadly spread, Lies the hush'd city— thou might'st deem 'Twere some lone sanctuary of the dead, So noiseless, solemn, doth it seem. No human step appears to explore it, To burst the spell of silence o'er it — Nor doth the gush of voices come To glad thee with life's busy hum — The mingling house-tops stretch away, In chequer'd, singular array, Flatten'd, arena-like, and blending With the far plain beyond extending, While round the embattl'd hills are bending '' In semicircular display. Frequent, the dark-hued patches dot The outskirts of the level scene. Marking each fair and favour'd spot. Garden, and grove, and vineyard green. Clambering the terrace-groov'd hill-side, In fruitful and luxuriant pride ! 8 ZEILA VIII. NoM% further north, gaze out again, Along the far receding plain — Westward, Behmaroo's storied height Falls boldly on thy wandering sight, Flanking, with broad continuous span. The roadway to the Kohistan — While Seah-Sung's low hills expand, Opposing on the eastward hand — Strewn o'er the plain, which lies between, Peering above the orchards green. The clustering forts are dimly seen ; And mark each strong and feudal hold"^ Of haughty Khan and Chieftain bold. IX. Doth martial musing chain thy mind? Sad recompense thou'lt surely find. If fall, in mute and just surprise, Thy practis'd and prophetic eyes Where the ill-fam'd Cantonment lies !'^ Oh ! monument of feeble skill ! Oh ! offspring of one ruling will ! THE FAIR MAID OF CABUL. 9 Oh ! sorry strongliold ! wrought and plann'd With scarce the merit of desi2:n — Hemm'd in — o'erlook'd on every hand, The neighbouring forts and heights command Each inmost or more distant line ! Oh ! was it, that our Ensrlish blood Hath ever 'gainst fierce odds withstood. Victorious and triumphantly, The battle shock on open field. Unaided by the rampart's shield, That thou wert fashion'd thus, to be The grave-yard of our Chivalry ? On whom may fall the signal blame. Be their's the deep and lasting shame — Be their's the woe which, harrowing, roams Through Britain's desolate, bleeding liomes — Be their's, with shrinking soul, to hear The phantom wail, and shriek of fear, Yell'd, constant, o'er the severing wave. From that barbarian, distant clime Of treach'rous wrath and damning crime. Where Britain's thousands, for all time, Have found a wide, unhonour'd lirave ! 10 ZEILA : X. The westering breeze's sigh is gone — No more, the rustling thickets through, It mingles with the plaintive tone Of night-bird's song, or stock-dove's coo ; For harsher sounds are on the air, Than erst bespake its presence there — And the leaves are falling fast From the many-tinted trees. And float through the air, upcast By the chill and gusty breeze — And the flowers droop and fade Round Baber's regal tomb,^" And the music, by its fountains made, Hath an echo of grief and gloom. And now, o'er vineyard, bower, and grove, A dim and sadden'd gleam reposes. Like the last smile of lingering love. Ere the heart's winter o'er it closes ; As though sad nature vainly sought, In that one melancholy smile. Some anxious and o'erburthen'd thouQ'ht From out her being to beguile. THE FAIR MAID OF CABUL. 1 I Foreshadowing, in its aspect sere, The coming winter's stern career, When, verdureless and shorn of all The ripen'd beauteousness and bloom Which grac'd their summer carnival, The fields put on their shrouds of gloom. r Sad emblem of unweeting man, Of life's autumnal da}^, Which, dwindling to its shortest span. Grows darker as it steals away, Unchequer'd by one cheering ray; And nought, save life's expiring sigh, To break its drear monotony ! XL How changed — how sad — how full of gloom Each murmur'd sound — as thougli the tomb Were vocal with the notes of wail Of restless phantoms, dim and pale. Burst from the grave's uneasy trance, To echo forth their charnel tale, Its desolate liorrors to enhance ! Around, witlj (|uick, affrighted wing, 'J'hc fitful gusts arc eddying ; 12 ZEILA : Their echoes dismal tidings bear, From the keen north wind's distant lair, Where Himalayah's summits rise,^^ In snow-clad grandeur, to the skies ; While every sere, discarded leaf Hath its own slender tale of grief; And mountain tree and shrub no more Wear the fresh tints they whilom wore — Bright and beauteous were they ever In their spring-tide, or summer sheen. Ere Autumn winds, and stormy weather, Despoil'd their foliage of its green ! XII. Oh ! why doth gloom o'ershade each brow, E'en as the fair tilings of tlie earth Seem shadow'd o'er? Why seems it now. From menace more to draw its birth, And secret, rankling, deadly hate, Than human woe, or adverse fate ? Wliy hush'd the songs, whicli erewhile hung In joy-wreath'd accents on the gale. 23 THE FAIR MAID OF CABIJL. 13 When even's mellow twilight flung Its beauty over bow'r and vale ? Though " Allah hu Ackbar" invites,'=^ As wont from immemorial time, The faithfuls' reverent, pray'rful rites, From Sehr's awakening matin prime. To Kooftun's twilight, tinkling chime, The Muezzin's wonted call to prayer,^* Far echoing through the yielding air, Hath lost its cheerful, volum'd tone, As though the speaker's soul had grown Downcast, and sorrowful, and lone ! XIII. Why doth the stalwart Barukzye," With restless and indignant eye, Each passing Affghan vengeful scan. Who wears no emblem of his clan ? Within the City's precincts now. Stern groups, in sullen converse met, Breathe out full many a lawless vow, And many a dark and bloody threat — 14 ZEILA : The hated, false, and Suddoozye brood, Their foes — the curses of the land — Against their common country's good Have turn'd a traitor hand — Their chieftain " lords it uncontroU'd," And fills a totterino' throne. Upheld by British foemen's gold. And British aid alone ! 2G XIV. Oh ! thou. Shah Shooja — pujipet King — '■' Imbecile and misgoverning ; Thou ! o'er whose long debased soul, No virtue holds a due control — Thou ! false alike to friend and foe — ^^ False to thy birth-land, and her woe — Cruel, rapacious, and forsworn, Beware — beware ! The coming morn Of Retribution is at hand. When the night-darkness of the land, And fell Oppression's cankering blight, Shall yield to Freedom's holier light ! THE FAIR MAID OF CABUL. 15 Beware ! Fate's keen and vigilant eye Now gloats above thy destiny ! Full soon, one vengeful AfFghan knife "^ Shall seek thy long proscribed life ; For vow'd and plann'd the signal doom Which shall consign to traitor's tomb ! What though the striker bear thy name 7^" Not his shall be the assassin's fame ; But thousands shall applaud the blow Which lays the tyrant sovereign low, And vaunt, thy double treach'ry's meed, A glorious and a patriot deed ! XV. Oh ! evil and misguided hour,^^ Which prompted England's liaughty pow'r To force upon a lawless nation A ruler, by the general voice Erewhile hurl'd from kingly station. As odious to that people's choice ! Ill hatli it ever far'd to school Their hearts to brook Shah Shooja's rule — IG ZEILA : With a fealty nought may alter, In each secret sympathy, Motive find they none to falter, In their olden loyalty. With expectant hearts they yearn — ^^ Hearts that chafe and hearts that burn, For the exil'd Dost's return ; And, — 'mid pray'rful rites at even, When first the eve-star springs to heav'n ; Or when the mornino- twilight's glow Faintly streaks night's paling brow ; And the Muezzin's voice proclaims The firstling hour devotion claims, — The pray V prescribed for sovereign's weal,^^ Lengthen'd days and lengthen'd fame, Bears, in its suppliant appeal. No blending of Shah Shooja's name ; And many a breast with hope swells high. While pondering each ruthless deed, Which shall achieve the mastery. And triumph of the Barukzye, O'er the scorners of his creed ; And rumour's thousand tongues are rife, With portents of a coming day. THE FAIR MAID OF CABUL. 17 When dark rebellion's deathful strife, Shall brook no tyrant's sway — When many a well-fought field shall tell, Who rul'd the fate of war — Who taught the accursed infidel, What 'Affghan patriots are, When, with one common will they rose, As Freedom's voice outspoke. To bid them crush their birthland's foes, And rend her galling yoke ! XVI. Look to thy fading laurels now, Britannia ! for a master mind. With competent skill, hath plot design'd To tear them from thy brow ; For Cabul boasts one resolute man, The astute Ameenoollah Khan — The chief of Loghur's fertile plain,^* And many a broad and fair domain. Who, when his subject hills around. To his nagura's warning sound. 18 ZEILA : Re-echo wide and far,^^ May bring ten thousand vassals brave, Ready equipp'd with shield and glaive, To swell the ranks of war ! Of parentage obscure and base. He holds an all-exalted place, 'Mid Cabul's men of fame ; — For well, the camel-driver's son, His way to lofty station won, And bears a dreaded name, For talents — cunning — bravery — Yet most for subtlest treachery. XVII. Time was, when e'en the exil'd Dost, Khan Ameenoollah, fear'd the most, Amid the turbulent array Of hostile Khans, who brook'd but ill, The merciless, despotic will, And iron rigour of his sway ; And long, 'neath dark suspicion's ban, The wily, disaffected Khan, THE FAIR MAID OF CABUL. 1 9 Dismiss'd from jeergha and durbar, — Forbad the city's walls to near — So rul'd the usurper's tyrant fear — In exile roamed afar ; — Or haply, in his fort immur'd, The Loghur Chieftain, thus secur'd 'Gainst courtly plot or kingly threat, By dark intrigue injustice met ; Till some less inauspicious hour, Recall'd the banish'd Chief to pow'r, To lord it fearlcssl}^ where late He barely 'scap'd a traitor's fate, And where accounted was his name, A by-word, and a branded shame ! XVIII. The hour of Kooftun long hath past, — Of Moslem's daily prayers the last, — The Tublee Sehum's note is dumb,^^ And hush'd the city's busy hum — The midnight hour steals slowly on. While footsteps, ever and anon, Through the night silence echoing, Witli quicken'd pace and iron ring,^^ c 2 20 ZEILA : Within the city's ample walls, Are seeking AmeenooUah's halls ; For many a guest is look'd for there, The secret Jeergha's schemes to share ; And many a wily plan devise. With ready heart, and subtler skill — And deeds of treacherous emprise, To fashion to their bloodier will ; While their rough spirits, all elate. With fierce and undissembled hate Of the haught Briton's martial fame. Their uprous'd, vengeful souls inflame, By holiest vow on battle blade — By holiest vow on Koran made, And Mahomet's prophetic name \^^ XIX. Now, AmeenooUah's dome within. Rises the conclave's wordy din ; Nor may one voice dissentient dare A deprecating semblance bear — Nor sooner heard the recreant note. Than daggers glisten at the throat ; 38 THE FAIR MAID OF CABUL. 21 For nought may curb the lawless blood, Which circles, with impetuous flood, Such hearts of stern and stubborn mould. As shape the council's angry mood, Whose ruthless lineage is enroll'd, Tlirough many a distant, bloodstain'd age, On Cabul's dark, historic page, Which countless legends doth record, Of the avenging, slaughtering sword — Of deeds of treachery untold, And savage rapine uncontroU'd — And deadly hate, and deadlier strife. And fell, uncompromising feud. Resented by th' assassin's knife," Or self-will'd hand, with blood imbrued. Of rival, maid, or wife ! XX. Nor may the Khans assembled now, Their foregone lineage disavow ; For there be those, whose deeds may vie With aught of foullest, darkest die ; Whose fiery temp'raments may mock The tempest's most unfetter'd shock — 22 ZEILA : Whose appetites for blood may suit Alone th' untara'd and tameless brute ; Or those terrific, monster forms, Which Affghan superstition deems O'errule the devastating storms, And guide the lightning's livid beams ;■ The howling demons of the waste, Whose origin hath fable traced From the dread GhooUee Beabaun ;*' The Giant Demon, he who broods Amid the mountain solitudes Of Khyber and Damaun,^^ And pathless deserts stretch'd between Cabul's fair city and Iraun ;^^ Where nought of greeny life is seen ; Nor track the lost way-farer guides ; And here the rav'ning Ghool betides, 'Mid the mirage's treach'rous tides,^^ To lure along the sun-scorch'd strand, Of toilsome, wildering, boundless sand. The lorn, unweeting traveller on. With hopes of rest, and water won ; — Prowling he lurks, with foresight keen, T' appease his appetite obscene ; — THE FAIR MAID OF CABUL. 23 Fell and inhuman his repast ! The lonely spectre's gaze, once cast Upon his victim, vain were flight — Nor rescue from the monster's might May be for those, whom thirstful wants. Or chance betrays within his haunts ! XXI. Full warranty of deathful scath — Full warranty of heinous wrath, And tokens dire of murd'rous plan, Unhallow'd treachery — damning ban. And furious mood and threat'ning vow Beseem the conclave^s parlance now ! Sage Ameenoollah leads the van — While " Ai Shawash" incessant greets ^^ The speaker's eloquent conceits ; For all the nobles, muster'd there,^'* His wild enthusiasm share Moollah Shikor — Nawaub Zemaun — The fierce, implacable Sultan Jan — Syud Gliolaum Moyenoodecn — The Moollah Momund— Khan Shireen, '24 ZEILA : The Meerza of the Kuzzilbashes — The Sirdar of the Hazirbashes, The bold and chivalrous Shumshoodeen — The chieftain of the Jiibbar Khail — The brother of th' exil'd Ameer, Gaunt Jubbar Khan— and Kojah Meer- AbdooUah, lord of Pisheen's vale, The leader of the Atchukzyes — Mahommed Shah, the powerful Khan, And chieftain of the fierce Ghilzyes — Osman, chief Khan of Kohistan — Taj Mahommed — Abdool Rahim — The Khans Sekunder — Zoolficar — Kureem- And Sultan Khan, and Shah Razee, With sirdars of less hauo'ht degree : And never, since the race of Ghore,^' In the stern, boist'rous times of yore, Allegiance to their Shah forswore. Was like assemblage known^ — Or like conspiracy thus plann'd. To ravage and convulse the land, And hurl their monarch's musnud down, By deed of regicide renown. 48 THE FAIR MAID OF CABUL. 25 XXII. And thus, amid the mingled clang Of martial arms, and loud acclaim, When most revil'd the British name, Ran Ameenoollah's fierce harangue : — "And shall we brook the foul disgrace The Kaffir heaps on our ancient race ? Must we our nerveless spirits school. To fawn and cringe to British rule. With freedom — birth-land bought and sold For the accurs'd Feringee's gold ? *^ Shall the Feringee's gentler voice Ravish, unscath'd, our household joys ? The recreant daughters of our land ^° Stretch out the soft enticing hand Of fellowship, and all resign Their yielding nature's frail design, To amorous dalliance, and their charms Confide to our oppressors' arms ! The laced Rhoobundees, cast aside,*^ No longer their bright features hide ; But, careless of their country's woes. They wive them with its bitterest foes ! 26 ZEILA Tliey taunt us — ceaselessly revile, And insult upon insult pile ! Declares each braggart infidel, In AfFghan promises may dwell, Nor faith, nor truth, that they, A wide interpretation claim For shameless guile, the fitting name — That honour's fair and stainless fame Our household dictates disobey — That no more ruling feature they In Affghan character descry, Than dark deceit and treachery ! They tell us too, in ribald words, How Affghan wives despise their lords, And scandalous proverb quote: — ' An Affghan dame in Boorka-cover Is never without a secret lover' — ^^ Woe worth each lying throat ! XXIII. " And shall we, thus, endure the shame Which shapes the coward's recreant fame. And, rather suffer, than repel The sarcasms of the infidel ? THE FAIR MAID OF CABUL. 27 Than, by one bold, ennobling deed, Smite down the scorners of our creed, And, spurning far the swordless sheath. Bravely do battle to the deatli, 'Till friends aveng'd, and birth-land freed, Be won each proud, immortal wreath, For patriot brow alone decreed ? Yes ! once again I ask, must we With hearts to dare, and brands to wield, Our birthright and supremacy, Tamely, to British influence yield? Perish the thought ! and perish ever Each soul beneath Jehennum's flood, ^^ Of sulphurous fire and hissing blood, Who strives not, with uncurb'd endeavour, To let the wide spread carnage tell. How Affghan breth'ren fought, and fell ! To rend the Kaffir's galling chain. Let us our hearts' last blood-drop drain ; Nor longer brook the tyrant sway, The infamous Shooja holds this day ! Be death or slavery our choice — Each mausoleum hath its voice — 28 ZEILA : Each humbler tomb — each worshipp'd shrine, Where sleep the great ones of our line — Shall their proud dust be thus defil'd, By the infidel step, and the coward's pray'r. While we, to baseness reconcil'd. The hateful badge of bondage wear ? No ! with bold effort nobly strive, Nor doubt to burst th' oppressor's gyve ! " XXIV. Thus spake the veteran, sturdy Khan — Th' assembled chiefs admirins; scan The broad indignant flush which streaks His furrow'd brow and burning cheeks. And the wild lightning of his eye. As ceas'd the foregone rhapsody ! " Ai Shawash " from every mouth Echoed, discordant and uncouth, Along the vaulted dome, nor pause Seem'd destin'd to their loud applause, Which, ever and anon, outbroke, Afresh and clam'rous, as before, While the aged Chief, whose trait'rous lore, Such boisterous sympathies awoke, THE FAIR MAID OF CABUL. 29 Bends forward, in a reverent guise, His portly form — with down-cast eyes And placid mien, smooths meekly down His long and ample beard, bestrown With age's senile silvering; With rapid touch, o'ernumbering His rosary's each more sacred bead ; The while, religious, muttering The holy Fathah of his creed — " Allah Bismillah ! God is great — '* And his sole prophet, Mahomet ! " XXV. At length, th' applauding uproar grew Faint and more faint, then wan'd away To perfect silence — brief and few The moments yielded to her sway. Ay ! brief the respite now vouchsaf 'd By the ungovern'd minds, which chaf'd And swell'd, with sudden ardour fired, By the old Chief's appeals inspir'd ; Nor may they patiently observe The wonted calmness and reserve. 30 ZEiLA : Befitting the repose subdued,^ And gravity of Affglian mood, When matters of some high import The Jeergha's consultations court ! XXVI. The din of acclamation o'er, Silence resum'd her reign once more. Sudden, a voice of ominous note The transient lull resentful smote — In parlance rough and undisguis'd, Each echoing cadence ran — And thus, was quickly recognis'd The sonorous voice of Jubbar Khan ! ^^ Stalwart of form — ancient of mien — Full seventy summers had he seen, And many a dark and dismal scene Of dire mishap and bloody strife, Spread o'er a long and turbulent life.— The Dost Mahommed's brother he. And Chieftain of the first degree — A proud, resentful Barukzye ; For, ever, had the old Nawaub Been Shooja Shah's arch enemy ; And well, in victory of Gundaub, THE FAIR MAID OF CABUL. 31 Of Neemlah's vale, and Eshpaun's height/^ Did Jubbar Khan's proverbial might Turn 'gainst the Shah the doubtful fight. — Full oft the Dost had sorely rued More adverse fortune, dire defeats, But for a brother's choleric mood, Impetuous charge, and valorous feats ! XXVII. Such the old Chief, who seeks to gain, With dignified, emphatic strain. The Jeergha's suffrage once again ; To whom the Khan, in accents dread : — " By Allah ! bravely, nobly said ! 'Tis well t' apostrophize the dead ! To Ameenoollah be all praise, Such ghostly monitors to raise, — The warrior souls of bygone days — At juncture critical, as now Invokes the patriot's sternest vow. To expiate disgrace and shame. So long familiar to our name — To wipe away the coward stain Which clings, dishonouring, to our fame ! 32 zEiLA : Doth not the blood of kinsmen cry, Aloud, for vengeance, still in vain ? Ay ! blood unshed on battle plain — For, hath not merciless butchery Consign'd the faithful and the brave. To an unwept, unhonour'd grave ? A spectral, unappeas6d shade Flits o'er th' unhallow'd — tombless spot, Where martyr'd Akram Khan is laid,^^ By Zoormut, and by us forgot ! Must we his dismal, fatal lot, From our iced souls unheeded blot ? Yet, was he styl'd, contemptuously, A robber of the worst degree — Denounc'd— bann'd— track'd and hunted down, Like the brute tenant of the wild. He refuge sought in Zeho's town — Yet least secure when most beguil'd By trustful faith in one he lov'd. Who execrable traitor prov'd. Yielding his wife's confiding sire To his exultant foemen's ire, A base, dishonouring death to die 1 Oh ! that these lips should e'er unfold THE FAIR MAID OF CABUL. 33 Such hideous — thrice-dyed perfidy — Yet must the guerdon'd price be told — 'T was gold — the Kaffir's damned gold ! XXVIII. " Nor may the Zoormut Chieftain's blood, With suppliant pray'r, alone invoke An outrag'd kindred's deadliest mood, And the avenging dagger's stroke ! Doth not the Meer Akor lie low ? ^' Smote by the headsman's trenchant blow. To Paradise his spirit pass'd. Breathing defiance to the last ! And what the crime, which vengeful gave Each to a shrineless — caitiff grave ? With patriot voice, they dared to raise The battle cry of ancient days — Bare to the sun the falchion's sheen — Unfurl the Prophet's banner green — "" The mem'rable — the sanctified, Full oft with infidel blood-spot dy'd ; Whose waving folds, o'er many a scene D 34 ZEILA : Of carnage and victorious fight. Have flaunted to the sun's broad light ! They dar'd, defiant, to proclaim, In Allah's and his Prophet's name. The war religious, to expel The contumacious infidel ! Yes ! thus they dar'd ! yet what befel These strivers for heroic fame, Needs but scant eloquence to tell — Opprobrium, and the death of shame ! XXIX. *' Our most remote and barbarous times, Nor annals, nor traditions yield, To parallel the heinous crimes, Which days more modern have reveal'd — Crimes which outhorror and outshame The darkest stain on history's page. Though, ne'er so afiluent, it proclaim Foul deeds of many a murd'rous age ! And what their name — and what their race, Who thus pollute — who thus disgrace 62 THE FAIR MAID OF CABUL. 35 Our Affghan homes — our AfFghan fame By deadliest deeds of wrath and shame ? Attest ye martyrs of our line ! Ye spirits canoniz'd — divine ! Who, from your blessed place on high, Invoke our vengeance in the cry — * Perdition to the Suddoozve ! ' What did thy surname, ' Sir Ufraz,' *'' Avail thee, or thy sacred cause, Oh ! slaughter'd, reverenc'd Pyndah Khan, Against the bloody Shah Zeman ? That ruthless monster, who the boon Of vision snatch'd from Humavoon, Insulting e'er with fiendish glee A brother's darken'd agony ! Thou too. Oh chivalrous Futteh Khan !^' The idol of our Barukzye clan — • Erewhile the world-renowned Vizier, Now worshipp'd as a saintly Peer ! ^^ Thou too attest the subtle hate — The hideous tortures which they plann'd, The signal horror of thy fate Wrought by the assassin Suddoozye band D 2 63 36 zlila: XXX. " Oh, glorious sire ! oh, glorious son! Ne'er might a thousand blinded Shahs,— Ne'er might a thousand WufFadars^^ To death, in retribution done, Avail to appease your restless shades, Whose loud-voic'd blood in wrath upbraids Th' inglorious, criminal apath}' Which fetters still the Barukzye, Demanding whence the fears which cast O'er the proud victories of the past Oblivion's veil — why still remains His portion the indelible stains Of obloquy, who still retains The pride to boast him an Aftghan — With base, unblushing hardihood, Who claims to share the kindred blood Of Barukzye, and yet disdains T' avenge the glorious stream which ran Through the undaunted, princely veins Of Pyndah and of Futteh Khan ! THE FAIR MAID OF CABUL. 37 XXXI. *' Oh ! foul and double infamy To Affghan honour, Affghan name ! Dishonouring to our lineage high — Th' ancestral spirit, which we claim From our ennobl'd sires of old, Hath grown supine, debas'd, and cold ; Or, not one unapproving voice, Would mar our concord, or absolve From this night's terrible resolve ; Nor falter, with reluctant choice, 'Twixt honour's loud and sacred strain, Or obloquy's o'erblasting stain, 'Till heav'n's dread malison exhaust Its swift-wing'd levin, and its most Exterminating vengeance shed, O'er each denounc'd Feringee head — O'er each dishearten'd, craven band. Which desecrates our groaning land — Or tears, with matricidal hand. Her very vitals — This shall be. Nor tamely wrought, nor tardily, If, vow'd in compact, we agree, 38 ZEILA : Nor doubt th' outlasting, signal scaith, And letlial ravage wliicli shall burst O'er the contemners of our faith, And haughty Shooja's race accurst — Welcome the most appalling death, If ere expir'd my latest breath, These aged eyes triumphant gaze, E'en through their dark and curtaining haze, Might view, in wildest agony, The last doom'd Briton writhe and die !" XXXII. Such were the words of omen dire, Which spake the Khan's ferocious ire. For matter 'tis of just renown. That courtesy of speech ne'er hung On Jubbar Khan's untutor'd tongue — Nor yet, less wide, redoubted known. The rankling hate which rules his breast, Obedient to his ire's behest. Whene'er the hereditary race, Of Cabul's ancient monarch's hold The foremost and imperial place— ^' Nor may it vantage to unfold, THE FAIR MAID OF CABUL. 39 The undismay'd malignity, Which, nurtur'd by some violent theme, Seeks to o'erbrand the Suddoozye With odium of the fellest dye. When countervail'd each frequent scheme Of daring, plotting Barukzye ! XXXIII. Though every gestur'd phrase that burst Impetuous from the speaker's tongue, Breath'd tenfold doom to foe accurst, And maddening fir'd the unslak'd thirst Of vengeance, and tlie thoughts which sprung Each heart's remotest depths among. Alone in strife and treachery nurs'd, They sought not to applaud the lore Fierce Jubbar's angry parlance bore — They sought not with approving speech. The ancient chieftain's ear to reach ; Yet, in that studied silence dread. More foul resolve might well be read — More staunch adhesion to the cause Of blood they all must vow to share, 40 zEiLA : Than could or loud, or long applause Of thousand voices mingl'd there ! Spoke their dread purpose from each mein — Each darken'd brow and kindling eye, E'en as the levin-flash is seen Outleaping from the blackest sky In fetterless omnipotence ; — Nor less of silent eloquence Dwells in each short, convulsive gasp, As the quick hand's familiar grasp Impatient seeks the dagger's hilt — That cherish'd instrument of guilt ! Oh ! that the broad and gory flood, Could there and instant be outspilt — Though burden'd with th' accusing blood Of thousand victims, timeless slain, Oh ! not unguerdon'd, or in vain Its mission dire 't would wreak again ! XXXIV. Whose voice salutes the conclave now ? Abdoollah Khan's, the Atchukzye !^^ He of the swart and rugged brow — He of the fierce and scowling eye — THE FAIR MAID OF CABUL. 41 He whom the crones of Pisheen's vale, Make hero of full many a tale Of tragic, foul barbarity — He at whose odious, monster name. The sternest brows have learnt to pale — Which mothers whisper but to tame The waywardness of childhood's years ! Oh ! in that name what thousand fears ! Traitor thrice branded — falsest friend — Murd'rer — inhuman fratricide — Nought e'er availed that heart to bend, Where ire's demoniac passions blend — Nor pity might one im])ulse guide. Nor subterfuge avail to hide The dread, malignant treason stor'd In every action, glance, or word — Liar ! rapacious, and austere, Without or parallel or compeer — Monster in human form confest. Whom 'twere haught homage to detest — "The Atchukzye, AbdooUah Khan" — Enough such name to blast and ban— And thus the chieftain's parlance ran : — 42 ZEILA : *' Bismillah ! but the words I've heard Full well my spirit have bestirr'd ! Nor shall assent of mine be lost To every bold and patriot word, Which wills the vengeance of the sword, Shall smite th' accurs'd Feringee host ! Know ye, oh Khans ! the thoughts which rule The hireling soul of Britain's tool. The insidious Shooja ? Know ye, all Our heads by him are doom'd to fall ? E'en now his myrmidons prepare The knife, the scaffold, and the snare. Wherein our nobles shall be caught, And to a fate condign be brought — See, and peruse ! This scroll shall tell The plottings of the Infidel !" XXXV. Oh ! little hath each chieftain need, Such document in turns to read — Nought monstrous, or of fiendish guise, May now^ their deep vow'd hate enhance — Nor aught of perfidy surprise Their keen and treason-practis'd eyes — THE FAIR MAID OF CABUL. 43 The inveterate Khan's enquiring glance Is bent all furtive and askance On ev'ry hand, as though he sought To read each chiefs o'erruling thought — As though he fear'd the scrutiny Of each unwondering, scornful eye, Might fathom the deception plann'd By his own base and secret hand. And yet another scroll is seen, Clutch'd by those fingers lank and lean — Ostensibly the missive bore The Shah's all genuine, kingly seal — Ungenuine still the traitor lore Assum'd his mandates to reveal — The writing erewhile o'er it trac'd — The task Abdoollah's, and the skill — Expung'd hath been, and now replac'd With forgery of the royal will. Dooming to death and direst scaitli Each follower of the Christian faith. XXXVI. " How say ye, Khans ?"— the chief pursued — " Wliat think ye of the scorpion brood — 44 ZEiLA : What think ye of the shadow king, So thirstful of our noblest blood, Thus all sagacious, pandering To Britain's envoy and his plot, Which thus each chieftain Barukzye Would yield to chains and slavery ? Nay more — our dark, coercive lot May not be borne in fatherland, But where their London skirts the strand ! ^' By Allah ! 'tis a brave design ! Be retribution as condign And monstrous as the scheme thus plann'd, To tear us from our native land ! There be assents concurrent here. Which by the sword must first be won— And hearts, which yield not unto fear. Must first grow craven and undone — Must abject and degraded sink In idiot fears on danger's brink. Or e'er accomplish'd or begun This scheme of Britain's witless son ! Be it then ours to falter not In the swift vengeance they have earii'd — THE FAIR MAID OF CABUL. 45 Let plot be met by counterplot — Back on themselves be whelming turn'd The flood-tide of each bloodiest tli ought, Thus with such scheme abortive fraught ; 'Till foiling horror, hopeless dread Be pour'd on each malignant head, And seas of their own traitor gore Sweep them for ever from our shore ! Behold ! this missive shall proclaim Perdition to the British name — It bears the Shah's undoubted seal — This 'mid the city widely spread, Shall to the people well appeal To gird them for their proper weal — Be ours its purport to reveal, 'Till merciless and duly sped Be ev'ry bolt of vengeance shed. To compensate the outrage thus Doom'd and prepar'd for them and us !" XXXVII. 'T were waste of words and time to tell What further in the conference fell — 46 ZEILA, No more the conclave they prolong — Each ruthless and conspiring Khan Hath told his tale of hate and wrong, And urg'd full many a hell-born plan, Project, and plot, too well conceiv'd In cunning, fateful treachery. Which soon, alas ! must vengefully, In blood and carnage be achiev'd ! Fate's hideous tablets are inscrib'd With names malignant and proscrib'd — The kingly, and of lesser grade. Are darkly, side by side, array'd — The time — the modes of scaith defin'd — All to one common doom consign'd ! Woe to the doom'd^ — the unweeting doom'd ! The unforseeing and the brave ! Ere sinks the morrow's sun entomb'd Beneath the broad and burnish'd wave. The voice of mourning shall ascend, Dismay'd, uncur'b, and desolate. For many a tried and trusty friend, — O'er many a slaughter'd comrade's fate ! END OF THE FIRST CANTO. Z E I L A. CANTO THE SECOND. Z E I L A. CANTO THE SECOND. I. There is a lonely spot of ground/ With sylvan beauty fenc'd around — Embosom 'd in a shady dell, Whence nature's glad outpourings swell With many a fair, harmonious sound — The streamlet's voice — the west wind's sio'h Fitful and joyous, wandering by — The song-bird's wild and tuneful note In mingl'd chorus o'er it float ; And clumps of tall, time-honour'd trees. Lift their broad branches to the breeze ; Though long by-past their summer prime, The drooping mountain ash and lime, And climbing shrub, and poplar pale, Wave to the passing Autumn gale ; £ 50 zEiLA : While skirting each broad avenue, Or natural path of livelier green, And shady parterre strew'd between. Bursts ever on th' enraptur'd view, 'Mid thicket green or russet bow'r. The wild thyme sweet, the autumn flow'r. And plants of every shape and hue. In wild luxuriance beauteous springing. And their commingl'd incense flinging O'er every breeze above them winging ! II. Where'er the loitering footstep strays, More charm'd becomes the wondering gaze. As thouo;h fair nature cluster'd here The remnant beauties of the year, And held her farewell revel court In her most favour'd, last resort ; Battling rude Autumn's sturdier pow'r. Already strewn on hill and bow'r — Adown the cragg'd and circling hills Gush forth innumerable rills. From out their mimic caverns dashing, And joyous in the sunlight plashing, THE FAIR MAID OF CABUL. 61 As if they strove, with eager flow, To join the beauteous scene below. Sprinkling each shrub with beads of light In their unbated, sportive flight ; 'Till the broad stream, impetuous rushing,^ 'Mid tangled briar and clust'ring rock, And foam- wreaths whirling from the shock, Receives their headlong, tribute gushing — Thence, wav'd o'er by each skirting wood. Reflected in its brawling flood. Pursues its less obstructed way, 'Mid darkHng pool and crescent bay Scoop'd in its sedgy margin, while Each graceful and o'erarching willow, Now strives to kiss each mimic billow, Which sweet gives back its passing smile ; E'en as some coy and merry maid. In beauty's witching cliarms array'd. Alone, witli wreathing smiles, repays Each ardent and admiring gaze ! III. Oh ! in the bypast summer time, When flow'r and shrub were in their prime, e2 52 O'Z ZEILA : And floods of fragrance fill'd the aii; From oleander — rose — wild-thyme — • Sweet eglantine and tulip fair — ' While o'er the sky, serenely blue, No cloud-spot flung its marring hue. And the broad sunbeams' ambient play Had chas'd each sullen gloom away ; How sweet to rest, or careless rove, Amid each cool and blossoming grove, Nouglit breaking the repose profound Save the near streamlet's rippling sound ; Or some enamour'd, gentlest breeze, Which ruffling stirr'd the listening trees, Yet timorous seem'd, as though it dar'd Scarce wake the calm its presence scar'd — As when the pliant fingers rove, With timid skill, melodious strings. Yet vibrates every pulse of love. Responsive to their murmurings — ■ Sweet thus to musing rove, or dream. On the sward's verdant bosom lapp'd. In calmest, lightest slumbers wrapp'd — What pensive, pleasing pain to deem That, when th' eliminating beam THE FAIR MAID OF CABUL. 53 Of life and destiny draws near Its waning confines, sad and sere, 'Twere joy, like the surrounding flowr's, Unbeedful of the shortening hours, To sigh away a life of bliss Amid such fairy scene as this ! IV. And yet a deep solemnity This still, sequester'd spot o'erbroods, As though some sad divinity. Haunted its leaf}'^ solitudes, And, with unquiet spirit, woo'd The undisturb'd tranquillity Subservient to its mournful mood, Seeming in accents of reproach, Thus desecrating step to chide, That chance, or due design might guide Within her precincts to encroach : — " Stranger ! if haply hither wend Thy errant footsteps, lightly tread — 'Tis holy ground, and reverend — The ashes of the mighty dead 54 ZEILA : Slumber where yon Arghowans wave* Above imperial Baber's grave !" Yet little 'vails her tender moan — In vain each deprecating tone — No gloom sepulchral ye may trace Round mighty Baber's resting-place; For wheresoe'er the exploring gaze O'er each recording tablet strays. Sinless of awe, its form supplies Less of devotion than surprise — Nor may imagination trace Object more eloquent of grace, And structural chasteness to outvie The Musjid's snowy rivalry,^ Whose spotless beauties more beseem Creation of fantastic dream. When slumber, with a soothing hand, Waves o'er the soul her viewless wand. Delusive, urging us to deem We sojourn in a fairy land. Nor may adventurous stranger's eye, Surpris'd to sudden ecstacy. By each allurement clust'ring there, Abode more fitting or more fair THE FAIR MAID OF CABUL. 55 Ascribe to wood-nymph or to fay — E'en when he threads his homeward way, So fondly the retentive mind Lingers o'er scenes left far behind, His memoried eye rescans, amaz'd. Each charm whereon it lately gaz'd — Each fountain and each small cascade, Which ever joyous music made — The cresting dome — each light arcade — Each arch with due exactness springing To its sharp point — each column flinging Its slender shaft athwart the shade, Cornic'd with emblem and design Of wreathing flow'rs and graceful line Of polish'd fret-work, tasteful strewn The frequent intervals between. All fasliion'd skilful, and outhewn From marble of the snowiest sheen ! V. Not stranger's step alone intrudes Within these still, umbra