"What! hast thou banish'd prudence from thy
And shall success be given to one unkind?
Majnún on billows of despair is toss'd,
Lailí has nothing of her pleasures lost;
Majnún has sorrow gnawing at his heart,
Laili's blithe looks far other thoughts impart;
Majnún the poison-thorn of grief endures,
Lailí, all wiles and softness, still allures;
Majnún her victim in a thousand ways,
Lailí in mirth and pastime spends her days;
Majnún's unnumber'd wounds his rest destroy,
Lailí exists but in the bowers of joy;
Majnún is bound by love's mysterious spell,
Laili's bright cheeks of cheerful feelings tell; 890
Majnún his Laili's absence ever mourns,
Laili's light mind to other objects turns."
At this reproof tears flow'd apace
Down Laili's pale, dejected face;
But soon to her glad heart was known
The trick, thus practised by her own
Gay, watchful, ever sportive train,
Who long had watch'd, nor watch'd in vain;
And mark'd in her love's voice and look,
Which never woman's glance mistook.
Her mother too, with keener eye,
Saw deeper through the mystery,
Which Lailí thought her story veil'd
And oft that fatal choice bewail'd;
But Lailí still loved on; the root
Sprang up, and bore both bud and fruit;
And she believed her secret flower
As safe as treasure in a guarded tower.
That day on which she pensive stray'd
Amidst the Grove of Palms--that day
How sweetly bloom'd the Arab maid,
Girt by her train in fair array!
Her moist red lips, her teeth of pearl,
Her hair in many a witching curl;
Haply, on that devoted day,
A gallant youth, with followers gay,
In splendid fashion pass'd that way;
Who saw that lamp of beauty gleaming,
Her luscious eye with softness beaming;
And in his bosom rose the fire
Of still-increasing fond desire.
Resolved at once her hand to claim
(Ibn Salâm his honor'd name),
He from her parents seeks success,
Offering the nuptial-knot to tie;
And, to promote that happiness,
Scatters his gold abundantly,
As if it were but common earth,
Or sand, or water, little worth-
But he was of illustrious birth.
The parents scarce believed the word,
The marriage-union, thus preferr'd;
And, though consenting, still they pray'd
The nuptial morn might be delay'd:
In her no ripen'd bloom was seen,
The sweet pomegranate still was green;
But a future day should surely deck
With a bridal yoke ber spotless neck;
"We will then surrender the maiden to thee.
The maiden, till now, unaffianced and free!'
The promise soothes his eager heart,
And he and his followers, pleased, depart.
Majnún, midst wild and solitude.
His melancholy mood pursued;
In sterner moments, loud he raved.
The desert's burning noon-tide braved.
Or, where refreshing shadows fell.
Warbled of her he loved so well.
The Arab chief of that domain
Which now his wandering footsteps press'd, 950
Was honor'd for his bounteous reign—
For ever succouring the distress'd.
Noufal his name-well known to wield,
Victorious in the battle-field,
His glittering sword, and overthrow
The robber-band or martial foe;
Magnificent in pomp and state,
And wealthy as in valour great.
One day the pleasures of the chase,
The keen pursuit of bounding deer,
Had brought the chieftain to that place
Where Majnún stood, and, drawing near,
The stranger's features sought to trace,
And the sad notes of grief to hear, Which, ere he saw the maniac's face, Had, sorrow-laden, struck his ear.
He now beheld that wasted frame,
That head and mien o'ergrown with hair, That wild, wild look, which well might claim Brotherly kindred with despair,
Dejected, miserable, borne
By grief to life's last narrow verge, With wounded feet and vestment torn, Singing his own funereal dirge.
Noufal had traversed forest, copse, and glade,
In anxious quest of game, and here he found
Game-but what game?-alas! a human shade, So light it scarcely touch'd the ground.
Dismounting straight, he hears what woes
Had marr'd the mournful youth's repose;
And kindly tries with gentle words
To show what pleasures life affords;
prove the uselessness, the folly,
Of nursing grief and melancholy;
But worse, when men from reason flee,
And willing steep their hearts in misery.
The sympathy of generous minds
Around the heart its influence winds,
And, ever soothing, by degrees,
Restores its long-lost harmonies ;
Majnún, so long to love a prey,
Death hastening on by swift decay,
Began to feel that calming spell,
That sweet delight, unspeakable,
Which draws us from ourselves away.
A change now gently o'er him came;
With trembling hand he took the cup.
And drank, but drank in Laili's name,
The life-restoring cordial up.
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