What blowing daisies, fragrant grass! An air-stirred forest, fresh and clear. Scarce fresher is the mountain-sod Where the tired angler lies, stretched out, And, eased of basket and of rod,
ye Counts his day's spoil, the spotted trout.
In the huge world, which roars hard by, Be others happy if they can! But in my helpless cradle I Was breathed on by the rural Pan.3
I, on men's impious uproar hurled, Think often, as I hear them rave, That peace has left the upper world And now keeps only in the grave.
Yet here is peace for ever new! When I who watch them am away, Still all things in this glade go through The changes of their quiet day. Then to their happy rest they pass! The flowers upclose, the birds are fed, The night comes down upon the grass, The child sleeps warmly in his bed. Calm soul of all things! make it mine To feel, amid the city's jar, That there abides a peace of thine, Man did not make, and cannot mar. The will to neither strive nor cry, The power to feel with others give! Calm, calm me more! nor let me die Before I have begun to live.
REQUIESCAT+
Strew on her roses, roses,
And never a spray of yew! In quiet she reposes;
Ah, would that I did too!
Her mirth the world required;
She bathed it in smiles of glee. But her heart was tired, tired, And now they let her be.
Her life was turning, turning, In mazes of heat and sound. But for peace her soul was yearning, And now peace laps her round.
Her cabined, ample spirit,
It fluttered and failed for breath.
To-night it doth inherit
The vasty hall of death.
3 Arnold was born at Laleham in the Thames valley, and grew up amid country scenes.
And the first gray of morning filled the east, And the fog rose out of the Oxus stream.5 But all the Tartar camp along the stream
Tos-ing and wakeful, and I come to thee. For so did King Afrasiab bid me seek Thy counsel, and to heed thee as thy son, In Samarcand, before the army marched; And I will tell thee what my heart desires.
Was hushed, and still the men were plunged in Thou know'st if, since from Ader-baijans first
The men of former times had crowned the top 20 With a clay fort; but that was fallen, and now The Tartars built there Peran-Wisa's tent, A dome of laths, and o'er it felts were spread. And Sohrab came there, and went in, and stood Upon the thick piled carpets in the tent, And found the old man sleeping on his bed Of rugs and felts, and near him lay his arms. And Peran-Wisa heard him, though the step Was dulled; for he slept light, an old man's sleep;
And he rose quickly on one arm, and said:- "Who art thou? for it is not yet clear dawn. Speak! is there news, or any night alarm?'' But Sohrab came to the bedside, and said:- Thou know'st me, Peran-Wisa! it is I. The sun is not yet risen, and the foe Sleep; but I sleep not; all night long I lie
5 Now the Amu-Daria. flowing from the plateau
of Pamir, in central Asia, to the Aral Sea.
6 A Turanian chieftain.
7 From "pile"-fur, or hair-like nap.
* Founded on a story in the Persian epic, Shah Nameh, or "Book of Kings." Rustum is the great legendary warrior-hero of Iran, or Persia.
In the Turanian, or Tartar land, which
is ruled over by Afrasiab, an enemy of the Persians, Rustum's son Sohrab has grown up without ever having seen his father; nor does the father know of the existence of his son, having been told that the child born to him was a girl. The rest of the tragic tale may be left to tell itself in the simple and digni fied language which Arnold, in professed imitation of the Homeric poems, has chosen. See Eng. Lit., p. 312.
I came among the Tartars and bore arms, I have still served Afrasiab well, and shown, At my boy's years, the courage of a man. This too thou know 'st, that while I still bear on The conquering Tartar ensigns through the world,
And beat the Persians back on every field, I seek one man, one man, and one alone- Rustum, my father; who I hoped should greet, Should one day greet, upon some well-fought field,
His not unworthy, not inglorious son. So I long hoped, but him I never find. Come then, hear now, and grant me what I ask. Let the two armies rest to-day; but I Will challenge forth the bravest Persian lords To meet me, man to man; if I prevail, Rustum will surely hear it; if I fall— Old man, the dead need no one, claim no kin. Dim is the rumour of a common fight, Where host meets host, and many names are sunk;
But of a single combat fame speaks clear.'' He spoke; and Peran-Wisa took the hand Of the young man in his, and sighed, and
"O Sohrab, an unquiet heart is thine! Canst thou not rest among the Tartar chiefs, And share the battle's common chance with us Who love thee, but must press for ever first, In single fight incurring single risk,
To find a father thou hast never seen? That were far best, my son, to stay with us Unmurmuring; in our tents, while it is war, And when 't is truce, then in Afrasiab's towns. But, if this one desire indeed rules all,
To seek out Rustum-seek him not through fight!
Seek him in peace, and carry to his arms, But far hence seek him, for he is not here. O Sohrab, carry an unwounded son! For now it is not as when I was young, When Rustum was in front of every fray; 80 But now he keeps apart, and sits at home, In Seistan, with Zal, his father old. Whether that his own mighty strength at last Feels the abhorred approaches of old age, Or in some quarrel with the Persian King. There go!-Thou wilt not? Yet my heart fore- bodes
8 A northerly province of Persia.
9 Three syllables, Sc-is-tan; in eastern Persia.
Danger or death awaits thee on this field. Fain would I know thee safe and well, though lost
To us! fain therefore send thee hence, in peace To seek thy father, not seek single fights 90 In vain; but who can keep the lion's cub From ravening, and who govern Rustum's son? Go, I will grant thee what thy heart desires." So said he, and dropped Sohrab's hand, and left
Who roam o'er Kipchak and the northern waste, Kalmucks and unkempt Kuzzaks, tribes who stray
Nearest the Pole, and wandering Kirghizzes, Who come on shaggy ponies from Pamere; These all filed out from camp into the plain. And on the other side the Persians formed;- First a light cloud of horse, Tartars they seemed,
The Ilyats of Khorassan; and behind, The royal troops of Persia, horse and foot, Marshalled battalions bright in burnished steel. But Peran-Wisa with his herald came, Threading the Tartar squadrons to the front, And with his staff kept back the foremost ranks.
His bed, and the warm rugs whereon he lay; And o'er his chilly limbs his woollen coat He passed, and tied his sandals on his feet, And threw a white cloak round him, and he took In his right hand a ruler's staff, no sword; And on his head he set his sheep-skin cap, 100 Black, glossy, curled, the fleece of Kara-Kul;10 And when Ferood, who led the Persians, saw And raised the curtain of his tent, and called That Peran-Wisa kept the Tartars back, His herald to his side, and went abroad. He took his spear, and to the front he came, The sun by this had risen, and cleared the And checked his ranks, and fixed them where fog
From the broad Oxus and the glittering sands. And from their tents the Tartar horsemen filed Into the open plain; so Haman bade- Haman, who next to Peran-Wisa ruled The host, and still was in his lusty prime. From their black tents, long files of horse, they streamed; 110
As when some gray November morn the files, In marching order spread, of long-necked cranes Stream over Casbin and the southern slopes Of Elburz, from the Aralian estuaries,
Or some frore11 Caspian reed-bed, southward bound
For the warm Persian sea-board-so they streamed.
The Tartars of the Oxus, the King's guard, First, with black sheep-skin caps and with long spears;
Large men, large steeds; who from Bokhara
And the old Tartar came upon the sand Betwixt the silent hosts, and spake, and said:"Ferood, and ye, Persians and Tartars, hear!
Let there be truce between the hosts to-day. But choose a champion from the Persian lords To fight our champion Sohrab, man to man. As, in the country, on a morn in June, When the dew glistens on the pearlèd ears, A shiver runs through the deep corn for joy— So, when they heard what Peran-Wisa said, A thrill through all the Tartar squadron ran Of pride and hope for Sohrab, whom they loved. But as a troop of pedlars, from Cabool, Cross underneath the Indian Caucasus, That vast sky-neighbouring mountain of milk snow;
Crossing so high, that, as they mount, they pass Long flocks of travelling birds dead on the snow,
Choked by the air, and scarce can they themselves
Slake their parched throats with sugared mul- berries-
In single file they move, and stop their breath, For fear they should dislodge the o'erhanging
So the pale Persians held their breath with fear. And to Ferood his brother chiefs came up 170 To counsel; Gudurz and Zoarrah came, And Feraburz, who ruled the Persian host Second, and was the uncle of the King; These came and counselled, and then Gudurz said:-
"Ferood, shame bids us take their challenge
Yet champion have we none to match this youth.
Haply he will forget his wrath, and fight.13 Stand forth the while, and take their challenge up."
So spake he; and Ferood stood forth and cried:
"Old man, be it agreed as thou hast said! Let Sohrab arm, and we will find a man.
He spake and Peran-Wisa turned, and strode
| Back through the opening squadrons to his tent. But through the anxious Persians Gudurz ran, And crossed the camp which lay behind, and reached,
"Go to! if Iran's chiefs are old, then I Am oluer; if the young are weak, the King Errs strangely; for the King, for Kai Khosroo, Himself is young, and honours younger men, And lets the aged moulder to their graves. Rustum he loves no more, but loves the young- The young may rise at Sohrab's vaunts, not I. For what care I, though all speak Sohrab's fame?
For would that I myself had such a son, And not that one slight helpless girl I have— A son so famed, so brave, to send to war, And I to tarry with the snow-haired Zal,* My father, whom the robber Afghans vex, And clip his borders short, and drive his herds, And he has none to guard his weak old age. There would I go, and hang my armour up, And with my great name fence that weak old man,
And spend the goodly treasures I have got, And rest my age, and hear of Sohrab's fame, And leave to death the hosts of thankless kings,
Out on the sands beyond it, Rustum's tents. Of scarlet cloth they were, and glittering gay, Just pitched; the high pavilion in the midst Was Rustum's, and his men lay camped around. And Gudurz entered Rustum's tent, and found And with these slaughterous hands draw sword Rustum; his morning meal was done, but still The table stood before him, charged with food-
A side of roasted sheep, and cakes of bread, And dark green melons; and there Rustum sate Listless, and held a falcon on his wrist, 200 And played with it; but Gudurz came and stood Before him; and he looked, and saw him stand, And with a cry sprang up and dropped the bird, And greeted Gudurz with both hands, and said:-
"Welcome! these eyes could see no better sight.
What news! but sit down first, and eat and drink."
He spoke and smiled; and Gudurz made re- ply:-
"What then, O Rustum, will men say to this, When Sohrab dares our bravest forth, and seeks Thee most of all, and thou, whom most he seeks, Hidest thy face? Take heed lest men should
Thou knowest better words than this to say. But Gudurz stood in the tent door, and What is one more, one less, obscure or famel, said:
"Not now! a time will come to eat and drink. But not to-day; to-day has other needs. The armies are drawn out, and stand at gaze; For from the Tartars is a challenge brought 211 To pick a champion from the Persian lords To fight their champion—and thou know'st his
Valiant or craven, young or old, to me? Are not they mortal, am not I myself? But who for men of nought would do great deeds?
Come, thou shalt see how Rustum hoards his fame!
But I will fight unknown, and in plain arms; Let not men say of Rustum, he was matched In single fight with any mortal man."
He spoke, and frowned; and Gudurz turned, and ran
Back quickly through the camp in fear and joy
Fear at his wrath, but joy that Rustum came.
* Zal was born with white hair, and on that account had been cast out to die, but was fostered by a marvelous bird, the simburg, or roe, Cp. 1. 679.
But Rustum strode to his tent-door, and called His followers in, and bade them bring his arms, And clad himself in steel; the arms he chose Were plain, and on his shield was no device, Only his helm was rich, inlaid with gold, And, from the fluted spine atop, a plume Of horsehair waved, a scarlet horsehair plume. So armed, he issued forth; and Ruksh, his horse, 270
Followed him like a faithful hound at heelRuksh, whose renown was noised through all the earth,
The horse, whom Rustum on a foray once Did in Bokhara by the river find
A colt beneath its dam, and drove him home, And reared him; a bright bay, with lofty crest, Dight with a saddle-cloth of broidered green Crusted with gold, and on the ground were worked
All beasts of chase, all beasts which hunters know. 280 So followed, Rustum left his tents, and crossed The camp, and to the Persian host appeared. And all the Persians knew him, and with shouts Hailed; but the Tartars knew not who he was. And dear as the wet diver to the eyes
Of his pale wife who waits and weeps on shore, By sandy Bahrein, in the Persian Gulf, Plunging all day in the blue waves, at night, Having made up his tale of precious pearls, Rejoins her in their hut upon the sands- So dear to the pale Persians Rustum came.
And Rustum to the Persian front advanced, And Sohrab armed in Haman's tent, and came. And as afield the reapers cut a swath
Down through the middle of a rich man's corn, And on each side are squares of standing corn, And in the midst a stubble, short and bare— So on each side were squares of men, with spears
Bristling, and in the midst, the open sand. And Rustum came upon the sand, and cast His eyes toward the Tartar tents, and saw Sohrab come forth, and eyed him as he came. As some rich woman, on a winter's morn, Eyes through her silken curtains the poor drudge
His spirited air, and wondered who he was. For very young he seemed, tenderly reared; Like some young cypress, tall, and dark, and. straight,*
Which in a queen's secluded garden throws Its slight dark shadow on the moonlit turf, By midnight, to a bubbling fountain's sound— So slender Sohrab seemed, so softly reared. And a deep pity entered Rustum's soul As he beheld him coming; and he stood, 320 And beckoned to him with his hand, and said:- "O thou young man, the air of Heaven is soft,
And warm, and pleasant; but the grave is cold! Heaven's air is better than the cold dead grave. Behold me! I am vast, and clad in iron, And tried; and I have stood on many a field Of blood, and I have fought with many a foe— Never was that field lost, or that foe saved. O Sohrab, wherefore wilt thou rush on death? Be governed! quit the Tartar host, and come 330 | To Iran, and be as my son to me, And fight beneath my banner till I die! There are no youths in Iran brave as thou."
So he spake, mildly; Sohrab heard his voice, The mighty voice of Rustum, and he saw His giant figure planted on the sand, Sole, like some single tower, which a chief Hath builded on the waste in former years Against the robbers; and he saw that head, Streaked with its first gray hairs;-hope filled his soul,
And he ran forward and embraced his knees, And clasped his hand within his own, and said:
"O, by thy father's head! by thine own soul! Art thou not Rustum? speak! art thou not he?""
But Rustum eyed askance the kneeling youth, And turned away, and spake to his own soul:— "Ah me, I muse what this young fox may
False, wily, boastful, are these Tartar boys. For if I now confess this thing he asks, And hide it not, but say: Rustum is here! He will not yield indeed, nor quit our foes, But he will find some pretext not to fight, And praise my fame, and proffer courteous gifts,
Who with numb blackened fingers makes her A belt or sword perhaps, and go his way. fire-
And on a feast-tide, in Afrasiab's hall, In Samarcand, he will arise and cry:
At cock-crow, on a starlit winter's morn, When the frost flowers the whitened window-'I
challenged once, when the two armies camped
And wonders how she lives, and what the Beside the Oxus, all the Persian lords
Of that poor drudge may be; so Rustum eyed The unknown adventurous youth, who from afar Came seeking Rustum, and defying forth All the most valiant chiefs; long he perused
To cope with me in single fight; but they Shrank, only Rustum dared; then he and I 360 Changed gifts, and went on equal terms away.'
*For this oriental figure, compare the Rubáiyát, st. xli.
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