They perish'd-not as heroes should have died, -Not such their fate: a tyrant's stern command For this young Hamet mingles in the strife, Leader of battle, prodigal of life, Urging his followers, till their foes, beset, Stand faint and breathless, but undaunted yet. Brave Aben-Zurrahs, on! one effort more, Yours is the triumph, and the conflict o'er. But lo! descending o'er the darken'd hall, The twilight-shadows fast and deeply fall, Nor yet the strife hath ceased though scarce they know, [foe; Through that thick gloom, the brother from the 1 Aben-Zurrahs: the name thus written is taken from the translation of an Arabic MS. given in the third volume of Bourgoanne's Travels through Spain. Till the moon rises with her cloudless ray, Where lurks Abdallah?―midst his yielding train They seek the guilty monarch, but in vain. He lies not number'd with the valiant dead, His champions round him have not vainly bled; But when the twilight spread her shadowy veil, And his last warriors found each effort fail, In wild despair he fled-a trusted few, Kindred in crime, are still in danger true; And o'er the scene of many a martial deed, The Vega's green expanse, his flying footsteps lead. He pass'd th' Alhambra's calm and lovely bowers, Where slept the glistening leaves and folded flowers In dew and starlight-there, from grot and cave, Gush'd in wild music many a sparkling wave; There on each breeze the breath of fragrance rose, And all was freshness, beauty, and repose. But thou, dark monarch! in thy bosom reign Storms that, once roused, shall never sleep again. Oh! vainly bright is nature in the course Of him who dies from terror or remorse! A spell is round him which obscures her bloom, And dims her skies with shadows of the tomb; There smiles no Paradise on earth so fair But guilt will raise avenging phantoms there. Abdallah heeds not, though the light gale roves Fraught with rich odour, stolen from orangegroves; [rise, Hears not the sounds from wood and brook that Wild notes of nature's vesper-melodies; Marks not how lovely, on the mountain's head, Moonlight and snow their mingling lustre spread; But urges onward, till his weary band, Worn with their toil, a moment's pause demand. He stops, and turning, on Granada's fanes In silence gazing, fix'd awhile remains In stern, deep silence: o'er his feverish brow, And burning cheek, pure breezes freshly blow, But waft in fitful murmurs, from afar, Sounds indistinctly fearful-as of war. What meteor bursts with sudden blaze on high, O'er the blue clearness of the starry sky? Awful it rises, like some Genie-form, Seen midst the redness of the desert storm, Magnificently dread-above, below, Spreads the wild splendour of its deepening glow. The Vega, the plain surrounding Granada, the scene of frequent actions between the Moors and Christians. 3 An extreme redness in the sky is the presage of the Simoom.-See BRUCE's Travels. Lo! from the Alhambra's towers the vivid glare Oh Heaven! the anguish of Abdallah's soul, The rage, though fruitless, yet beyond control! Yet must he cease to gaze, and raving fly For life such life as makes it bliss to die! On yon green height, the mosque, but half reveal'd Through cypress-groves, a safe retreat may yield. Thither his steps are bent-yet oft he turns, Watching that fearful beacon as it burns. But paler grow the sinking flames at last, Flickering they fade, their crimson light is past; And spiry vapours, rising o'er the scene, Mark where the terrors of their wrath have been. And now his feet have reach'd that lonely pile, Where grief and terror may repose awhile; Embower'd it stands, midst wood and cliff on high, Through the gray rocks a torrent sparkling nigh: He hails the scene where every care should cease, And all-except the heart he brings-is peace. There is deep stillness in those halls of state Where the loud cries of conflict rang so late; Stillness like that, when fierce the Kamsin's blast Hath o'er the dwellings of the desert pass'd.1 Fearful the calm-nor voice, nor step, nor breath Disturbs that scene of beauty and of death: Those vaulted roofs re-echo not a sound, Save the wild gush of waters-murmuring round 1 Of the Kamsin, a hot south wind, common in Egypt, we have the following account in Volney's Travels :-" These winds are known in Egypt by the general name of the winds of fifty days, because they prevail more frequently in the fifty days preceding and following the equinox. They are mentioned by travellers under the name of the poisonous winds or hot winds of the desert: their heat is so excessive, that it is difficult to form any idea of its violence without having experienced it. When they begin to blow, the sky, at other times so clear in this climate, becomes dark and heavy; the sun loses his splendour, and appears of a violet colour; the air is not cloudy, but gray and thick, and is filled with a subtle dust, which penetrates every where: respiration becomes short and difficult, the skin parched and dry, the lungs are contracted and painful, and the body consumed with internal heat. In vain is coolness sought for; marble, iron, water, though the sun no longer appears, are hot: the streets are deserted, and a dead silence pervades every where. The natives of towns and villages shut themselves up in their houses, and those of the desert in tents, or holes dug in the earth, where they wait the termination of this heat, which generally lasts three days. Woe to the traveller whom it surprises remote from shelter: he must suffer all its dreadful effects, which are sometimes mortal." In ceaseless melodies of plaintive tone, But slowly fade the stars-the night is o'er— Morn beams on those who hail her light no more; Slumberers who ne'er shall wake on earth again, Mourners, who call the loved, the lost, in vain. Yet smiles the day-oh! not for mortal tear Doth nature deviate from her calm career: Nor is the earth less laughing or less fair, Though breaking hearts her gladness may not share. O'er the cold urn the beam of summer glows, O'er fields of blood the zephyr freshly blows; Bright shines the sun, though all be dark below, And skies arch cloudless o'er a world of woe; And flowers renew'd in spring's green pathway. bloom, Alike to grace the banquet and the tomb. Within Granada's walls the funeral rite Attends that day of loveliness and light; And many a chief, with dirges and with tears, Is gather'd to the brave of other years: And Hamet, as beneath the cypress shade His martyr'd brother and his sire are laid, Feels every deep resolve and burning thought Of ampler vengeance e'en to passion wrought; Yet is the hour afar-and he must brood O'er those dark dreams awhile in solitude. Tumult and rage are hush'd-another day In still solemnity hath pass'd away, In that deep slumber of exhausted wrath, The calm that follows in the tempest's path. And now Abdallah leaves yon peaceful fane, His ravaged city traversing again. No sound of gladness his approach precedes, No splendid pageant the procession leads; Where'er he moves the silent streets along, Broods a stern quiet o'er the sullen throng. No voice is heard; but in each alter'd eye, No more the clarion from Granada's walls, Wildly their chargers range the pastures o'er- Soft, fresh, and silent is the midnight hour, And the young Zayda seeks her lonely bower; That Zegri maid, within whose gentle mind One name is deeply, secretly enshrined. That name in vain stern reason would efface: Hamet! 'tis thine, thou foe to all her race! And yet not hers in bitterness to prove The sleepless pangs of unrequited love Pangs which the rose of wasted youth consume, A step treads lightly through the citron-shade, Lightly, but by the rustling leaves betray'dDoth her young hero seek that well-known spot, Scene of past hours that ne'er may be forgot? "Tis he--but changed that eye, whose glance of fire Could like a sunbeam hope and joy inspire, As, luminous with youth, with ardour fraught, It spoke of glory to the inmost thought: Thence the bright spirit's eloquence hath fled, And in its wild expression may be read Stern thoughts and fierce resolves-now veil'd in And now in characters of fire portray'd. Changed e'en his voice-as thus its mournful tone Wakes in her heart each feeling of his own. [shade, "Zayda! my doom is fix'd-another day And not a rose hath faded from thy bower; In me the glories of my race must end- 1 "Enjoy the honey-heavy-dew of slumber."-SHAKSPEARE "Ask not if such my love! Oh! trust the mind When doom'd to weep in loneliness, 'twill be "But thou, my Hamet! thou canst yet bestow All that of joy my blighted lot can know. Oh! be thou still the high-soul'd and the brave, To whom my first and fondest vows I gave ; In thy proud fame's untarnish'd beauty still The lofty visions of my youth fulfil. So shall it soothe me, midst my heart's despair, To hold undimm'd one glorious image there!" "Zayda, my best-beloved! my words too well, Too soon, thy bright illusions must dispel ; Yet must my soul to thee unveil'd be shown, And all its dreams and all its passions known. Thou shalt not be deceived-for pure as heaven Is thy young love, in faith and fervour given. I said my heart was changed-and would thy thought Explore the ruin by thy kindred wrought, In fancy trace the land whose towers and fanes, Crush'd by the earthquake, strew its ravaged plains; And such that heart where desolation's hand Must be avenged! and pity and remorse In that stern cause are banish'd from my course. "But the night wanes-the hours too swiftly fly, The bitter moment of farewell draws nigh; Yet, loved one! weep not thus-in joy or pain, Oh! trust thy Hamet, we shall meet again! Yes, we shall meet! and haply smile at last On all the clouds and conflicts of the past. On that fair vision teach thy thoughts to dwell, Nor deem these mingling tears our last farewell!" Is the voice hush'd, whose loved expressive tone The smiling stillness of life's morning hour, In the rich foliage of the South array'd, As, in his native vale, some shepherd's tomb. There, where the trees their thickest foliage Though not for thee with classic shores to vie spread Dark o'er that silent valley of the dead; Where two fair pillars rise, embower'd and lone, The fearful vows that consecrate his sword: "Thou, too, my brother! thou art pass'd away, Without thy fame, in life's fair dawning day. Son of the brave! of thee no trace will shine In the proud annals of thy lofty line; Nor shall thy deeds be deathless in the lays That hold communion with the after-days. Yet, by the wreaths thou might'st have nobly won, Hadst thou but lived till rose thy noontide sun; By glory lost, I swear! by hope betray'd, Thy fate shall amply, dearly, be repaid: War with thy foes I deem a holy strife, And to avenge thy death devote my life. In charms that fix th' enthusiast's pensive eye; Round fair Granada, deepening from afar, O'er that Green Vega rose the din of war. At morn or eve no more the sunbeams shone O'er a calm scene, in pastoral beauty lone; On helm and corslet tremulous they glanced, On shield and spear in quivering lustre danced. Far as the sight by clear Xenil could rove, Tents rose around, and banners glanced above: And steeds in gorgeous trappings, armour bright With gold, reflecting every tint of light, And many a floating plume and blazon'd shield Diffused romantic splendour o'er the field. There swell those sounds that bid the life-blood start Swift to the mantling cheek and beating heart: In whose wild voice there dwells inspiring power 1 Garcilaso de la Vega derived his surname from a single combat (in which he was the victor) with a Moor, on the Vega of Granada. |