THG 
 
 UNIVERSITY Of CALIFORNIA 
 LIBRARY 
 
 CASE 
 
v 
 
T 
 
 r- . / 
 
IN PRESS 
 
 * 
 
 TO BE PUBLISHED IMMEDIATELY, 
 
 A COLLECTION OF POEMS, 
 
 BY TUB AUTHOR OF 
 
 THIS VOLUME. 
 
THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE 
 
 NEVER 
 
 DID RUN SMOOTH 
 

The 
 
 COURSE OF TRUE LOVE 
 
 NEVER 
 
 DID RUN SMOOTH 
 
 BY 
 
 THOMAS BAILEY ALDRTCH 
 
 <& 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 
 RUDD & CARLETON 310 BROADWAY 
 
 M DCCC LVHI 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by 
 T. B. ALDRICII, 
 
 hi the Clerk's Office of the District COQH- of the United States for the Southern 
 District ol JSIew York. 
 
TO 
 
 RICHARD HENRY STODDARD, 
 
 
 
 Under whose fingers 
 This Story would have blossomed into true Arabian Roses, 
 
 MY SEVEN NIGHTS' RHYMING 
 Is AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED. 
 
 397158 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 PREFACE, xii 
 
 1 . The Caliph Muses, . . . . . .15 
 
 2. How it Struck the Lovers, 19 
 
 3. The Wedding Fete, . 21 
 
 4. How the Little Maiden Wept, 24 
 
 5. How Giaffer Passed the Night, 27 
 
 6. Hearts and Crowns, ..*.... 29 
 
 7. The Afrites give Giaffer a Hint, 32 
 
 8. In the Pavilion, 36 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 In ftooth it teas a goodly time, 
 For it was in the golden prime 
 Of good Haroun Al Raschid. 
 
 TENNYSON. 
 
 ' I ^HE munificence, wit, and affability of the Barmecides, made 
 them the delight at once of Princes and Slaves ; and Giaffer 
 stood so high in the esteem of Haroun Al Raschid, that the 
 Caliph, in order to enjoy his company in the presence of his 
 Royal Sister, the Princess Abbassa, decreed a marriage between 
 them, but with the capricious restriction that they should forbeai 
 the privileges of such a union. The lovers, thinking to overcome 
 the Caliph's whim after marriage, conceded to the condition ; 
 but they reckoned without their host, as lovers are apt to do. 
 The Caliph proved as ice to all their entreaties. Nature, at 
 
 length, broke through this despotic prohibition, and the finale 
 
 is told in the Poem. 
 
xii PREFACE. 
 
 The details which the author has given concerning the Nup 
 tials of Giaffer and Abbassa, are not to be found on the pages of 
 legitimate history ; but that the reader may not think these facts 
 lacking in authenticity, the author would refer him to the 
 Tellmenow Isitsoornot, a work somewhat rare in this country, 
 but occasionally to be met with at Old Book Stalls. To this 
 same Arabic Wonder-Book is Mr. Poe greatly indebted for his 
 Thousand and Second Tale. 
 
POEM, 
 
I. 
 
 THE CALIPH MUSES 
 
 AT Bagdad, in his gold kiosk, 
 Haroun Al Raschid sate one day : 
 
 A-through the carven trellis work 
 The sunshine drifted in, and lay % 
 
 In argent diamonds on his face ; 
 
 And gleamed across the golden lace 
 
 That ran like lightning round his robes ; 
 
 And seemed to split two crystal globes 
 
 Of gold-fish, on two jasmine desks; 
 
 And fired the costly arabesques ; 
 
l6 THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE 
 
 And, falling on the fountain, turned 
 
 Its spray to gems that glowed and burned- 
 
 A spiked knot of chrysolite 
 That made a splendor in the place ! 
 But most it loved the Caliph's face : 
 And it was at the noon of day. 
 On cushions cygnet-soft he lay, 
 
 Unconscious of the garish light; 
 Untasted stood his fruit and ice ; 
 
 Unheeded were the winds that drew 
 
 The lemon trees all ways, and blew 
 The gentlest gales from Paradise ! 
 
 Without, among the myrtle flowers, 
 Two fawns lay sleeping; a gazelle 
 
 Played with its gilded chain, and rung, 
 At every step, a silver bell : 
 
 Two lovers, down the garden-walks, 
 
NEVER DID RUN SMOOTH. 17 
 
 Went hand in hand, like May and June ; 
 And one was as the rising sun, 
 
 And one was as the waning moon ! 
 The fawns may sleep ; the white gazelle 
 
 May spill the lily's cup of dew ; 
 But, lovers, love did ne'er run smooth : 
 
 The wily Caliph dreams of you ! 
 
 The sunlight slid from Aaron's brow ; 
 
 Then from his beard of silken wire ; 
 Then touched his feet, then touched the mats, 
 
 And set their silver fringe on fire : 
 And still he heeded not the flow 
 Of time, that evening long ago. 
 But when the shadow of the mosque, 
 
 Near by, was shattered on the floor, 
 The Caliph turned and ate his ice, 
 
 And drank the drink forgot before ; 
 
l8 THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE 
 
 And smiled like one who, having brought 
 To ripeness some imperfect thought, 
 Is vain of his own wisdom. Then 
 This pearl of kings, this flower of men, 
 Caressed his beard, and softly spake 
 Like one who murmurs, half awake : 
 To have our Vizier ever near, 
 By Attains goodness it is clear 
 
 Tlie faithful Barmecide must wed 
 Our royal sister but I swear 
 
 For them shall be no bridal bed! 
 May countless Marids torture thee, 
 And fill thy slumber with despair, 
 O Caliph ! for thy cruelty ! 
 
NEVER DID RUN SMOOTH. 19 
 
 II. 
 
 HOW IT STRUCK THE LOVERS 
 
 THEN through the Palace, north and south, 
 The edict went from mouth to mouth, 
 
 THE PRINCESS AND THE VIZIER WED! 
 For it was law and gospel then 
 
 Whate'er Haroun Al Raschid said. 
 And nothing loth the Vizier was. 
 
 He mused: It is the GalipKs whim; 
 When we are wed, tlie Clement God 
 
 Will gracious wisdom send to him. 
 And she : We wed, yet do not wed / 
 
20 THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE 
 
 The Just would keep me pure and white. 
 I will be ice. And yet, for all, 
 
 She dreamt about her bridal night ! 
 
 So, after bath, the slave-girls brought 
 
 The precious raiment for her wear, 
 The misty izar from Mosul, 
 
 The pearls and opals for her hair, 
 The slippers for her little feet, 
 
 (Two radiant crescent moons they were,) 
 And lavender, and spikenard sweet, 
 And attars, nedd, and heavy musk. 
 
 When they had finished dressing her, 
 (The Eye of Morn, the Heart's Desire !) 
 Like one pale star against the dusk, 
 A single diamond on her brow 
 Trembled with its imprisoned fire ! 
 
NEVER DID RUN SMOOTH. 21 
 
 III. 
 
 THE WEDDING FETE 
 
 A THOUSAND lanterns, tulip-shaped, 
 
 Of amber made, and colored glass, 
 Were hung like fruit among the trees ; 
 
 And on the garden-walks and grass 
 Their red and purple shadows lay, 
 As if the slave-boys, here and there, 
 Had spilt ajar of brilliant wine ! 
 The stagnant moonlight filled the air; 
 
 The roses spread their crimson tents ; 
 
 And all the night was sick with scents 
 Of marjoram and eglantine. 
 
22 THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE 
 
 t 
 Gay barges, rowed with stiver oars, 
 
 Ploughed through the Tigris in the light 
 Which from the Palace windows gleamed 
 A fall of gold, quick shafts of flame 
 
 That burnt the edges of the night ! 
 And from the open portals came 
 Such music that the heavens hung mute : 
 A houri playing on a lute ! 
 
 Sweet water-falls in unseen dells ! 
 The trilling of some marvellous bird ! 
 And ever and anon were heard 
 
 The dancers' silvery ankle-bells. 
 
 Within a spacious marble hall, 
 
 The Caliph's Chamber of Nine Domes, 
 
 (Six hemispheres of jasper, propt 
 
 By agate columns carved like Gnomes, 
 
 And three, like lilies newly blown, 
 
NEVER DID RUN SMOOTH. 23 
 
 
 
 Of silver,) on a glittering throne, 
 A gorgeous god, a jewelled Fate, 
 The great Haroun Al Raschid sate, 
 And round about on either hand, 
 The royal guests from Samarcand, 
 The lords and emirs of the land ! 
 Before him, on a cloth of gold 
 
 Sown thick with stars and crescents, stood 
 The lovers. On Abbassa's cheek, 
 
 Like roses, blushed the modest blood ; 
 Her form was like the papyrus reed, 
 
 And graceful as the palm-tree's fan; 
 Her eyes were gems; her eyebrows' arch, 
 
 The thin new moon of Ramadan ! 
 And half a head above the throng, 
 
 O'erlooking Sultan, King, and Shah, 
 The Vizier breathed the golden air 
 
 About him, like a splendid star. 
 
24 THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE 
 
 IV. 
 
 HOW THE LITTLE MAIDEN WEPT 
 
 THE music sang itself to death ; 
 
 The lamps died out in their perfume 
 Abbassa, on a silk divan, 
 
 Sate in the moonlight in her room. 
 Her handmaids loosed her scented hair 
 
 With lily fingers ; from her brow 
 Released the diamond, and unlaced 
 
 The robe that held her bosom's snow 
 Removed the slippers from her feet. 
 
NEVER DID RUN SMOOTH. 
 
 And led her to an ivory bed. . . . 
 Go place this alabaster lamp 
 
 Beside the window there, she said ; 
 So if he wake at dead of night, 
 He'll say, "It is Abbassds light /" 
 Then she laid down upon the bed 
 
 With folded hands, a happy maid ! 
 And Slumber kissed her on the eyes, 
 
 And led her to the Land of Shade. 
 
 Her sleep was gentle as a child's, 
 
 An hour or more : and then she sighed ; 
 
 Then stretched her arms out in the dark : 
 And then awoke. My lord! she cried ; 
 
 Then waited, with her cheeks aflame, 
 
 For answer. But no answer came. 
 
 I did but dream ! And then she wept. 
 Alas ! she sighed, I do not weep 
 
 2 
 
26 THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE 
 
 Because, awake, I have not found 
 The one I thought of in my deep ; 
 
 And yet, and yet 0, heart of mine, 
 I cannot tell thee WHY / loeep ! 
 
NEVER DID RUN SMOOTH. 2J 
 
 V. 
 
 HOW GIAFFER PASSED THE NIGHT 
 
 HE could not sleep, for lo ! he saw 
 
 A pair of eyes that banished rest, 
 A star-sweet face, with clouds of hair, 
 
 That fain would lie upon his breast. 
 And straight he thought how fair she was 
 
 How some kind fairy, at her birth, 
 Had left a glory on her brow, 
 
 And taught her all the charms on earth ! 
 Her liair, he said, is silken night ; 
 
 Her eyes in tender mist are drowned; 
 
i 
 
 28 THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE 
 
 Her mcmtli a little ruby place, 
 
 Where pearls far Sultans may be found 7 
 And with this sort of Eastern talk, 
 
 He made the moments seem less long; 
 But, wearying of forced delight, 
 
 He brooded on his cruel wrong, 
 And bit the blood into his lips, 
 
 And tore the turban from his head : 
 By Allah ! that must be the lamp 
 
 In Beauty's chamber ! Giaffer said. 
 And lo ! it was Abbassa's room, 
 
 Abbassa's room just opposite ! 
 
 And in the window was a light, 
 That stretched across the garden's gloom, 
 And seemed a bridge of fire, whereon 
 
 The Vizier might have stolen to her : 
 
 And there he stood, and did not stir 
 
 Until the rising of the sun. 
 
 m 
 
NEVER DID RUN SMOOTH. 29 
 
 VI. 
 
 HEARTS AND CROWNS 
 
 THREE nights did Giaffer watch this light, 
 
 Till morning blossomed in the sky : 
 Three nights Abbassa had her dream, 
 
 And wept; and, weeping, wondered why! 
 And, on the fourth, as sick Haroun 
 
 Walked through the garden, breathing spice, 
 The Vizier broke upon his thought, 
 
 And knelt before the Caliph thrice : 
 Three nights, O Caliph! have Ilain 
 
 In yonder chamber all alone 
 
30 m THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE 
 
 And thrice the Caliph passed him by. 
 . O Heart of Ice! Ear of Stone ! 
 Thou giv'st thy slave a cup of gall 
 
 To drink from as if thou wert Fate ! 
 The Caliph, angered, turned and cried, 
 
 JVow may Hath Ridwan shut the gate 
 Of Heaven upon me wlien I die, 
 
 But I will day thee with this hand 
 If thou forgetest what is writ 
 
 Let slaves obey wlien Icings command! 
 With this he drew his farajah 
 
 Around him, and with haughty frown 
 Paced through the garden as before. 
 
 One ivears a turban, one a crmwi, 
 So Giaffer mused, then be it said 
 
 The difference 'twixt the slave and kin 
 Is this the Crown upon the liead! 
 Marts heart need not be finely wrought, 
 
NEVER DID RUN SMOOTH. 31 
 
 If so lie wear a jewelled ring 
 Upon his brows ! Go to, Harmm ! 
 
 Thou art the slave and I the Icing. 
 The pitying heart endures for aye 
 
 The crown must lie this side the grave : 
 Then greater than a heartless king, 
 
 O Allah ! is thy crownless slave ! 
 So saying, Giaffer smoothed his brow, 
 
 And with his thought on some device 
 For love's sake, sauntered up and down 
 
 The moonlit garden, breathing spice. 
 
32 THE COURSF OF TRUE LOVE 
 
 VII. 
 
 THE AFRITES GIVE GIAFFER A HINT 
 
 Now when the Palace lights were out, 
 And there was neither sound nor sight 
 
 Of life within the lofty halls, 
 
 And Bagdad's minarets and mosques, 
 
 And garden-places and kiosks, 
 
 Were turned to marble by the white 
 
 Round moon it chanced that Giaffer stood 
 
 Pensive within a little wood 
 
 Of mulberry and citron trees, 
 
 Where a low fountain made for him 
 
NEVER DID RUN SMOOTH. 33 
 
 A fairy music, and each breeze 
 
 Came heavily laden with the dim 
 Sweet opiate from the lotus flowers. 
 This spot was haunted by the powers 
 Of Rest, and whosoever came 
 
 In the still midnight there to weep 
 On the world's usage, or in shame, 
 
 The airy spirits put to sleep ! 
 
 No sooner strayed the Vizier here, 
 
 Than viewless Afrites, of no size, 
 Floated around his face, and threw 
 
 The dust of slumber in his eyes ! 
 And while he slept upon the grass, 
 
 Within the fountain's speary rain, 
 A dream of an unknown delight 
 
 Burst like a blossom in his brain ! 
 He thought Abbassa and himself 
 
34 THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE 
 
 Were sitting at a gorgeous feast. 
 The like of which was never spread 
 
 For any Caliph in the East, 
 Or any King, alive or dead ! 
 Such amber pears, and grapes of jet, 
 Such sweetly-swelling mignonette, 
 Such salvers, piled with richest food, 
 
 Such slender urns of precious wine, 
 Such ah ! when fancy makes a feast, 
 
 It costs no more to have it fine ! 
 And so, (he dreamt,) until the peep 
 
 Of dawn they feasted, laughed, and sung ; 
 
 Then music, with its honeyed tongue, 
 Breathed sweetest secrets to their sleep ! 
 
 Thus ran the dream. When Giaffer woke 
 
 'Twas dawn indeed: the dewy air 
 Was rife with fresh mimosa blooms. 
 
NEVER DID RUN SMOOTH. 35 
 
 He heard the call to morning prayer: 
 Then he arose, and bathed his face, 
 
 And smiled ; and by this smile he meant : 
 To-night we'll have a feast like that, 
 
 God help us, in the Caliph's tent 
 The silk pavilion that he raised 
 
 For our especial use, I think. 
 HJtt sleep ! a little piece of bhang 
 
 Would flavor well his evening drink ! 
 
36 THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE 
 
 VIII. 
 
 IN THE PAVILION 
 
 MESROUR, go bring my golden cvp, 
 
 That I may drink my evening drink! 
 And even as Al Raschid said, 
 
 The cup was brought, a golden-pink 
 Great goblet rough with emeralds. 
 
 He sipped and sipped, and slumber crept 
 Upon him. Stop tlie music, -slave ! 
 
 The Icing would sleep. And lo ! he slept. 
 
 Now, near the northern palace-gate, 
 A place as still as still could be, 
 
NEVER DID RUN SMOOTH. 37 
 
 Haroun, like Kubla Khan, did once 
 " A stately pleasure-dome decree " 
 A grand pavilion, under which 
 
 It was his royal wont to sit 
 And smoke the ripe Latakian leaves, 
 
 And laugh at Giaffer's pleasant wit ; 
 And here his Georgians danced for him, 
 
 (He loved a dainty foot and hand;) 
 And here he drank his iced sherbet, 
 
 Until his Highness could not stand. 
 And here the Vizier spread a feast, 
 
 And here the happy lovers sate 
 O Caliph ! you may watch and watch, 
 
 Love laughs at locksmiths soon or late ! 
 
 And there they were, the truant twain, 
 
 Despite the Caliph's cruel ban : 
 They looked into each other's eyes, 
 
38 THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE 
 
 And sipped the wines of Astrakhan ; 
 They smiled at time, and laughed at fate, 
 And scorned the Caliph as they ate 
 The juicy fig, the spicy lime, 
 
 The nectarines from Oman brought, 
 The rosy peaches that had caught 
 The taste and tint of summer time ; 
 And slyly from their finger-tips 
 Threw kisses to each other's lips. 
 
 The scented fountain spread in air 
 A tangled net of crystal thread ; 
 And round about the silken tent 
 
 The lanterns glimmered, white and red; 
 And fairy fingers passed the fruit, 
 And fairy fingers touched the lute, 
 And silver laughter cut the air 
 O, merrily the time went by ! .... 
 
NEVER DID RUN SMOOTH. 39 
 
 Now, while the lamps burnt bright within, 
 The moon stole down behind the sky ! 
 
 i. 
 
 0, cease, sweet music ! let us rest : 
 
 Dawn comes, sang Giaffer, hateful dawn ! 
 
 
 
 Henceforth let day be counted night, 
 And midnight called the morn ! 
 
 n. 
 
 0, cease, sweet music ! let us rest : 
 
 A tearful, languid spirit lies 
 (Like the dim scent in violets^) 
 
 In Beauty* s gentle eyes. 
 
 in. 
 
 There is a sadness in sweet sound 
 That quickens tears ! O, music, lest 
 
40 THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE 
 
 We weep with thy strange sorrow, cease ! 
 Be still, and let us rest. 
 
 Lo! while he sang, the broidered screen 
 
 Which hid the door was thrust aside, 
 And in Haroun Al Raschid strode 
 
 Before the bridegroom and the bride ! 
 Ho ! dog of Viziers, what is this ? 
 
 Ye drug my ivine to give me rest! . . . 
 So sleep tJiou ! And with this he struck 
 
 The Vizier thrice upon the breast ; 
 And where he struck, the crimson blood 
 
 Gushed out, and O, it flowed apace. 
 Then Giaffer turned as pale 's the moon. 
 
 Then forward fell upon his face, 
 And kissed Abbassa's feet, and died ! 
 And great Haroun Al Raschid cried 
 
 So die they whom the Caliph hates I 
 
NEVER DID RUN SMOOTH. 
 
 4 1 
 
 Then three black Mamlouks, three grim fates, 
 Took poor Abbassa by the hair, 
 
 And thrust her from the Palace gates ! 
 
* ' 
 
397158 
 
 
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