Imperial Dehli, opening wide her gates, Pours out her thronging legions, bright in arms And all the pomp of war. Before them sound Clarions and trumpets, breathing martial airs, And bold defiance. High upon his throne, Borne on the back of his proud elephant, Sits the great chief of Tamur's glorious race: Sublime he sits, amid the radiant blaze
Of gems and gold. Omrahs about him crowd, And rein the Arabian steed, and watch his nod: And potent Rajahs, who themselves preside O'er realms of wide extent; but here submiss Their homage pay, alternate kings and slaves. Next these, with prying eunuchs girt around, The fair sultanas of his court; a troop
Of chosen beauties, but with care conceal'd From each intrusive eye; one look is death. Ah, cruel Eastern law! (had kings a power But equal to their wild tyrannic will) To rob us of the sun's all-cheering ray, Were less severe. The vulgar close the march, Slaves and artificers; and Dehli mourns Her empty and depopulated streets.
Now at the camp arrived, with stern review Through groves of spears, from file to file he darts His sharp experienced eye; their order marks, Each in his station ranged, exact and firm, Till in the boundless line his sight is lost. Not greater multitudes in arms appear'd, On these extended plains, when Ammon's son With mighty Porus in dread battle join'd, The vassal world the prize. Nor was that host More numerous of old, which the great king Pour'd out on Greece from all the unpeopled East;
That bridged the Hellespont from shore to shore, And drank the rivers dry. Meanwhile in troops The busy hunter-train mark out the ground, A wide circumference, full many a league
In compass round; woods, rivers, hills, and plains, Large provinces; enough to gratify
Ambition's highest aim, could reason bound Man's erring will. Now sit in close divan The mighty chiefs of this prodigious host. He from the throne high-eminent presides, Gives out his mandates proud, laws of the chase, From ancient records drawn. With reverence low, And prostrate at his feet, the chiefs receive His irreversible decrees, from which
To vary, is to die. Then his brave bands Each to his station leads; encamping round, Till the wide circle is completely form'd. Where decent order reigns, what these command Those execute with speed, and punctual care; In all the strictest discipline of war :
As if some watchful foe, with bold insult
Hung lowering o'er their camp. The high resolve, That flies on wings, through all the encircling line, Each motion steers, and animates the whole. So by the sun's attractive power controll'd, The planets in their spheres roll round his orb, On all he shines, and rules the great machine. Ere yet the morn dispels the fleeting mists, (The signal given by the loud trumpet's voice) Now high in air the imperial standard waves, Emblazon'd rich with gold, and glittering gems; And like a sheet of fire, through the dun gloom Streaming meteorous. The soldiers' shouts, And all the brazen instruments of war, With mutual clamour and united din,
Fill the large concave. While from camp to camp They catch the varied sounds, floating in air, Round all the wide circumference, tigers fell Shrink at the noise; deep in his gloomy den The lion starts, and morsels yet unchew'd Drop from his trembling jaws. Now all at once Onward they march embattled, to the sound Of martial harmony; fifes, cornets, drums, That rouse the sleepy soul to arms, and bold Heroic deeds. In parties here and there Detach'd o'er hill and dale, the hunters range Inquisitive; strong dogs, that match in fight The boldest brute, around their masters wait, A faithful guard. No haunt unsearch'd; they drive From every covert, and from every den, The lurking savages. Incessant shouts Re-echo through the woods, and kindling fires Gleam from the mountain tops; the forest seems One mingling blaze: like flocks of sheep they fly Before the flaming brand: fierce lions, pards, Boars, tigers, bears, and wolves; a dreadful crew Of grim blood-thirsty foes: growling along, They stalk indignant; but fierce vengeance still Hangs pealing on their rear, and pointed spears Present immediate death. Soon as the night, Wrapp'd in her sable veil, forbids the chase, They pitch their tents, in even ranks, around The circling camp. The guards are placed, and fires
At proper distances ascending rise,
And paint the horizon with their ruddy light: So round some island's shore of large extent, Amid the gloomy horrors of the night, The billows breaking on the pointed rocks, Seem all one flame, and the bright circuit wide
Appears a bulwark of surrounding fire.
What dreadful howlings, and what hideous roar, Disturb those peaceful shades, where erst the bird That glads the night had cheer'd the listening groves With sweet complainings! Through the silent gloom Oft they the guards assail; as oft repell'd They fly reluctant, with hot-boiling rage
Stung to the quick, and mad with wild despair. Thus day by day they still the chase renew; At night encamp; till now in straiter bounds The circle lessens, and the beasts perceive The wall that hems them in on every side.
And now their fury bursts, and knows no mean; From man they turn, and point their ill-judged rage Against their fellow-brutes. With teeth and claws The civil war begins; grappling they tear, Lions on tigers prey, and bears on wolves : Horrible discord! till the crowd behind Shouting pursue, and part the bloody fray. At once their wrath subsides: tame as the lamb, The lion hangs his head; the furious pard, Cow'd and subdued, flies from the face of man, Nor bears one glance of his commanding eye : So abject is a tyrant in distress!
At last within the narrow plain confined, A listed field, mark'd out for bloody deeds, An amphitheatre more glorious far
Than ancient Rome could boast, they crowd in
Dismay'd, and quite appall'd. In meet array Sheathed in refulgent arms, a noble band Advance; great lords of high imperial blood, Early resolved to assert their royal race,
And prove by glorious deeds their valour's growth Mature, ere yet the callow down has spread
Its curling shade. On bold Arabian steeds With decent pride they sit, that fearless hear The lion's dreadful roar; and down the rock Swift-shooting plunge, or o'er the mountain's ridge Stretching along, the greedy tiger leave
Panting behind. On foot their faithful slaves With javelins arm'd attend; each watchful eye Fix'd on his youthful care, for him alone He fears, and, to redeem his life, unmoved Would lose his own. The mighty Aurengzebe, From his high elevated throne, beholds His blooming race; revolving in his mind What once he was, in his gay spring of life, When vigour strung his nerves. Parental joy Melts in his eyes and flushes in his cheeks. Now the loud trumpet sounds a charge. The shouts Of eager hosts, through all the circling line, And the wild howlings of the beasts within, Rend wide the welkin; flights of arrows, wing'd With death, and javelins launch'd from every arm, Gall sore the brutal bands, with many a wound Gored through and through. Despair at last prevails, When fainting nature shrinks, and rouses all Their drooping courage. Swell'd with furious rage, Their eyes dart fire; and on the youthful band They rush implacable. They their broad shields Quick interpose; on each devoted head Their flaming falchions, as the bolts of Jove, Descend unerring. Prostrate on the ground The grinning monsters lie, and their foul gore Defiles the verdant plain. Nor idle stand The trusty slaves; with pointed spears they pierce Through their tough hides; or at their gaping mouths An easier passage find. The king of brutes
« PreviousContinue » |