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-all the unchanged and unchangeable features of the eternal desert. The personages into whose company we are introduced have the most inimitable air of dignified barbarism; they have no idea of pleasure except what consists in gallopping along the sand on the back of a fardescended courser, or reposing beneath the shadow of some green palmtrees by the side of a fountain.Even their plundering expeditions seem to be undertaken by them more for the excitement of the chase and the combat, than for the sake of the booty itself. And yet their booty is of no despicable kind. The slow caravan is terrified in the midst of the desert by a cloud of dust, more regular in its shape and its progress than those which are tost up by the wind alone, and which form, as it were, the perpetual waves of that limitless ocean. From the midst of the cloud they soon hear the cry of onset, and see the flashing of the javelins. "They come down to the field, and they are like furious lions; they gallop and charge before the warriors. They rush into the scene of blows and thrusts. They dash down on them, mounted on raven-coloured steeds, strong sinewed. Then begins the storm and the bluster-the sport and exertion-the give and take-the struggle and the wrestle and every eye gazes intently, and every neck is stretched out." The prize is "fine linen,”—and “precious stones,"-and "all manner of merchandize;" among the rest, beautiful damsels covered up in long veils, Koptish and Arabian; some having" cheeks like the piony," eyes like the roe of the desert," and " glances like the arrows of death;" others, in the language of Solomon," black but comely."

In one of these expeditions, a noble Bedoueen, by name Shedad, receives as his share a negress called Zebeebah. Like the King of Israel, he has no objection to her dark colour. "She had made a great impression on the heart of Shedad, and he longed for her in his soul. Her form was delicate; her eye inspired love; her smile was enchanting, and her gestures graceful." "In blackness," says Shedad," there is some virtue; if thou observest its beauty well, thy eyes do not regard the white or red. Were it not for the

black of the night, the dawn would not rise."

"Shedad visited her morning and evening; and thus matters continued till she became pregnant; and when her time came, she brought forth a boy, black and swarthy like an elephant, flat nosed, blear eyed, harsh feahanging down, and the inner angles of his tured, shaggy haired; the corners of his lips eyes bloated; strong boned, long footed; he was like a fragment of a cloud, his ears immensely long, and with eyes whence flashed sparks of fire. His shape, limbs, form, and make resembled Shedad; and Shedad was overjoyed at seeing him, and called him Antar, and for many days he continued to gaze on him with delight. But when Zebeeba wished to wean him, he the corners of his eyes became fiery red, grumbled and growled exceedingly, and so that he appeared like a mass of crimson blood; and this was his condition till he was weaned."

"Antar

This hopeful child is, of course, duly prized by his father; but the companions of the foray in which his mother was captured, when they learn that the lady has produced a boy, allege that they were not aware of her fruitfulness, and that Shedad has got too great a share of the booty, in the possession of such a quick breeder. King Zoheir, the patriarch of the tribe, hearing of the dispute, expresses a wish to see the child, who is its chief cause. Antar is brought into the presence, and his majesty is so much terrified by his shocking appearance, that he tosses a piece of raw meat at him, by way of bon-bon. The King's bulldog, however, thinks the present an infraction upon his dues, and snatches it but mark the issue: followed him till he came up with him; he was greatly enraged, and seized hold of him with all his strength. He wrenched open his jaws, and tore them in twain even to his shoulders, and snatched the meat out of his mouth." The possession of "this wretch," as the King calls him, is, however, confirmed to Shedad, who gives Zebeebah a small house to live in by herself with her children. Antar continues to grow every day in bulk and in boldness. One day he is employed to look after some cattle, when a wolf darts upon them from a thicket. Antar " runs after him and smites him with his staff between the eyes, and makes the oil of his brains to fly out from between his ears, and slays him." In short, neither beast nor

boy can resist the prowess of this infant Alcides, and ere long "his name is a terror among all the servants of Shedad."

The first exploit which makes him celebrated in a more extensive circle, is his killing of a favourite slave of Prince Shas, the son of King Zoheir. This is narrated in a style of most patriarchal simplicity.

"One day the poor men, and widows, and orphans met together, and were driving their camels and their flocks to drink, and were all standing by the water side. Daji came up and stopped them all, and took possession of the water for his master's cattle. Just then an old woman belonging to the tribe of Abs came up to him, and accosted him in a suppliant manner, saying, Be so good, master Daji, as to let my cattle drink; they are all the property I possess, and I live by their milk. Pity my flock and cover my nakedness; have compassion on me and grant my request, and let them drink. But he paid no attention to her demand, and abused her. She was greatly

distressed and shrunk back. Then came another old woman and addressed him, O master Daji, I am a poor weak old woman, as you see; time has dealt hardly with me, it has aimed its arrows at me; and its daily and nightly calamities have destroyed all my men. I have lost my children and my husband, and since then I have been in great distress; these sheep are all I possess ; let them drink, for I live on the milk they produce. Pity my forlorn state; have no one to tend them, therefore grant my request, and be so kind as to let them

drink.

"As soon as Daji heard these words, and perceived the crowd of women and men, his pride increased, and his obstinacy was not to be moved, but he struck the woman on the stomach, and threw her down on her back, and uncovered her nakedness, whilst all the slaves laughed at her. When Antar perceived what had occurred, his pagan pride played throughout all his limbs, and he could not endure the sight. He ran up to the slave, and calling out to him, You bastard, said he, what mean you by this disgusting action? Do you dare to violate an Arab woman? May God destroy your limbs, and all that consented to this

act.

"When the slave heard what Antar said, he almost fainted from indignation; he met him, and struck him a blow over the face that nearly knocked out his eyes. Antar waited till he had recovered from the

blow, and his senses returned; he then ran at the slave, and seizing him by one of the legs, threw him on his back. He thrust one hand under his thighs, and with the other he grasped his neck, and, raising him by the force of his arm, he dashed him against the ground. And his length and

When the

breadth were all one mass. deed was done his fury was unbounded, and he roared aloud even as a lion. And when the slaves perceived the fate of Daji, they shrieked out to Antar, saying, You

have slain the slave of Prince Shas! What man on earth can now protect you? They attacked him with staves and stones, but he resisted them all; he rushed with a loud yell upon them, and proved himself a hardy warrior, and dealt among them with his stick as a hero with his sword."

The result of this fray might have proved fatal to Antar, but for the interposition of Malik, a brother of Prince Shas, who takes a fancy to the boy, and intercedes for him with King Zoheir. ther's dwelling in triumph, where he is His majesty sends him back to his faimmediately surrounded by all the females of the establishment, "amongst whom were his aunts and his cousin, whose name was Ibla. Now Ibla was younger than Antar, and a merry lass; she was lovely as the full moon, and she frequently joked with Antar, and was very familiar with him as he was her servant." The particular kindness of Ibla, on this occasion, seems to have made a strong impression on the heart of Antar, and from that moment his love for this merry lass" forms the chief passion of his soul, and the strongest stimulus to all his heroic exertions.

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takes no notice of her admirer, because, The maiden, however, being a slave, and the son of a slave, he cannot for a moment be supposed worthy of a noble born Arabian damsel like Ibla. There is much nature, we think, in this little incident.

"One day he entered the house of his uncle Malik, and found his aunt combing his cousin Ibla's hair, which flowed down her back, dark as the shades of night. Antar was quite surprised, but Ibla ran away as soon as Antar had entered and seen her, as her sable locks waved to the ground behind her. This increased Antar's astonishment; he was greatly agitated, and could pay no attention to any thing; he was anxious and thoughtful."

From this time his "anguish becomes oppressive;" the tears rush into his eyes whenever he sees her; he addresses to her the most fervent effusions in verse, and manifests every symptom of the most authentic passion. He is aware that he has in his present condition no hope, and he resolves to raise himself to the state of a free Arab by means of his sword. In the meantime, however, his passion is suspected, and he is ordered into con

finement by his father; but learning the name of the slave who had betrayed him, his wrath immediately swells into irresistible violence, he bursts his cords like Samson, and, rushing into the field, he immediately slays the object of his resentment in the same shocking manner in which he had already despatched the slave of Prince Shas. This homicide brings him into new jeopardy, and his father and brothers pursue him with intent to kill him. They come up with Antar in the desert, and find him in the act of killing a prodigious lion, pour se disennuyer. As soon as he had strangled this dog of the plain," he rips her up, kindles a fire with dry sticks, and roasts and devours the entire carcase. Shedad and his companions, amazed by this display of strength and stomach, think it prudent to make a quiet retreat; and Prince Malik, hearing their account of what had occurred, again interests himself so much as to procure the pardon of Antar.

Shortly after this, while Shedad is absent, the women are amusing themselves with dancing and music in the garden, when they are surprised by a party of horsemen of another tribe, and carried off in the unceremonious manner to which Arabian ladies are so well accustomed. Among the rest is Ibla. Antar, who happened to be at some little distance, does not hear of this outrage immediately; but returning in a short time, and learning the absence of his love, his rage becomes so great that he runs off, on foot, and singlehanded, in pursuit of the marauders. He engages them with irresistible fury, and ends with slaying seventy of them, and bringing back the whole of the females in triumph-Ibla being mounted en croupe on the horse which he himself rides. The women are pas sionate in their acknowledgments; but their minds are quite distressed by the idea of having been seen unveiled by strangers; and fearing that their lords and masters might conceive a disgust for them in consequence of this exposure, it is earnestly intreated of all present that the affair should be kept a profound secret. On the day after his return, Shedad goes out on horseback to examine his herds and flocks;

"And he perceived amongst his horses some strange ones, and also saw Antar riding upon a black mare. Whence, cried he,

came these animals? and whence got you this mare, that excites my wonder? Now the mare Antar was riding belonged to the

chief of the Cahtanians, and the other horses were those the horsemen rode whom he had

slain; the spoil and all he had collected

were concealed at his mother's. O master, he replied, as I was tending the flocks yesterday, there came some Cahtanians, and with them an immense quantity of cattle; they were much fatigued, and moreover frightened at the Arab horsemen. I followed them, and finding these horses separated from the rest, I took them and brought them back. Thou wicked slave, said Shedad, these are no horses strayed from their owners, thou hast carried them off from beneath their riders; it is on this account thou wanderest alone in these wilds and rocks, and every Arab thou canst meet thou killest him, and thou carest not whether he is of the tribe of Cahtan or Adnan. Never wilt

thou leave off this conduct till thou hast ex

cited feuds among the Arabs, and slain hethee take my cattle to the pasture; and he beat him with the whip he had in his hand; and as he continued to lash and thrash him, no good will come of thee, said he; evil and abominations are rooted in thee; thou wilt breed dissensions among the Arab tribes, and thou wilt make us a common tale among

roes and horsemen ! Never again will I let

nations. His father still beat him and a

bused him, and he bore it all.

"At last Semeeah (the wife of Shedad) came out, and seeing what was going on, she wept bitterly. She sprang forwards and threw herself on his breast, exclaiming, sooner shalt thou beat me than him; he does not deserve such ill treatment, O Shedad. But Shedad became very angry with her, and shoving her away, threw her down into Antar's arms, uncovering her head, and on her back. She rose up and cast herself letting her hair flow down her shoulders. This excited Shedad's surprise. What has happened to this wretch, he exclaimed, that you feel so much affection and tenderness? Loose his bands, said Semeeah, and I will relate the whole story to you. Tell me, said he, and I will release him. Then she he alone had attacked seventy horsemen, told Shedad all that Antar had done; how and had driven them back in confusion and despair, and had secured in safety all their families and children. Then Semeeah repeated these verses:

"O Shedad, hadst thou seen me, my face uncovered, and my person carried off behind the warriors, and the women of Prince Cais in dismay, no resource at hand, and earth. Ibla too! they mounted her behind their veils trailing on the surface of the her cheeks. The slaves whom I encourag a warrior, whilst her tears streamed down ed, fled; every one fled, all trembling in affright. Our families surrounded us weeping in anguish and in misery. Our camels were driven away, and every heart was dis

After

tracted. Then Antar plunged into the midst of them; into the black rolling dust; the atmosphere was involved in darkness, and the birds sunk motionless; their horsemen fled through fear: this one was slain, that made captive; he protected us. he had comforted us all, he pursued them, and the honour of them all was destroyed. O it is right I should respect him; protect him; my honour he protected, and he preserved the honour of us all.'

Semeeah's account of Antar's actions astonished Shedad, and he rejoiced and was glad. It is surprising, said he to himself, he kept all this secret, and his submission to be bound by me! 'tis most wonderful!

Antar stood unconcerned, and listened to Semeeah's acknowledgments; and Shedad came up to him, and released him, and begged his pardon," &c.

Another scene of the same kind, but displaying, in a still more remarkable manner, the peerless strength and valour of Antar, occurs not long after this. King Zoheir himself has gone out with all his warriors to attack the rival tribe of Cahtan. That tribe, however, happen to be on their march to attack Zoheir, and the two armies miss each other by the way. Antar, in spite of all the heroism he had formerly displayed, is still, from feelings of Arab pride, kept in the station of a slave by his father Shedad, and he has not therefore gone forth with the freemen to battle. He is at home, as of old, tending the cattle, when the enemy approaches the tents of Zoheir and his tribe. "He received them as the dry dust receiveth the first drops of rain." He defends the women and the wealth of the king, and puts the Cahtanians to flight. On his return, King Zoheir, understanding what has occurred, clothes Antar in a robe of honour, mounts him upon a fine horse, and entertains him at table" till the wine sported with their senses." Notwithstanding all this, however, Shedad still refuses to acknowledge Antar as his son, and so to elevate him above his servile condition. The hero, unable any longer to endure this in dignity, goes by night to the tent of his benefactor Prince Malik, and having bid him farewell, he mounts his horse, and rides out into the desert to seek his fortune for himself, in the true style of "Cabelleria Andantesca."

He meets a small party of his own tribe, marauding in the wilderness, and joining himself to them, his superior skill and valour soon secure to him the place of captain. A rich Howdah,

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travelling with a royal bride through the plain, forms their first booty. The second is a horse of unrivalled lineage and grace--the illustrious Abjer, thenceforth the inseparable companion of all the adventures of Antar. hoofs," says our narrative, were as flat as beaten coin; when he neighed, he seemed about to speak, and his ears were like quills. His sire was Wasil, and his dam Hemema." Mounted on this horse, armed with the unconquerable Indian sword Dhami, and animated with the love of Ibla, nothing can resist the prowess of Antar. After a variety of adventures in the desert, he is engaged in the most cruel of all his battles with the tribe of Maan, when his friend, Prince Malik, arrives by accident in the field, and is the witness of his victory. The joy and gratitude of Antar, on this meeting, are as enthusiastic as his valour had been. The prince insists that Antar should return with him to the king his father, and our hero consents. They are proceeding on their journey homeward, when Antar's passion seizing him, he thus exclaims:

"When the breezes blow from Mount

Saadi, their freshness calms the fire of my ber I have preserved their faith; but they love and transports. Let my tribe rememfeel not my worth, and preserve not their engagements with me. Were there not a maid settled in the tents, why should I prefer their society to absence? Slimly made is she, and the magic influence of her eye preserves the bones of a corpse from entering the tomb. The sun as it sets, turns towards do thou rise in my absence; and the brilliher, and says, Darkness obscures the land, ant moon calls out to her, Come forth, for thy face is like me when I am at the full, and in all my glory! The Tamarisk trees complain of her in the morn and the eve, and say, Away, thou waning beauty, thou form of the laurel ! she turns away abashed, and throws aside her veil, and the roses are scattered from her soft fresh cheeks. She draws her sword from the glances of her eyelashes, sharp and penetrating as the blade of her forefathers, and with it her eyes commit murder, though it be sheathed: is it not surprising that a sheathed sword should be so sharp against its victims! Graceful is every limb, slender her waist, love-beaming are her glances, waving is her form. The damsel passes the night with musk under her veil, and its fragrance is increased by the still fresher essence of her breath. lustre of day sparkles from her forehead, and by the dark shades of her curling ringlets, night itself is driven away. When she smiles, between her teeth is a moisture com.

The

posed of wine, of rain, and of honey. Her throat complains of the darkness of her necklaces. Alas! alas! the effects of that throat and that necklace! Will fortune ever, O daughter of Malik, ever bless me with

thy embrace, that would cure my heart of the sorrows of love? If my eye could see her baggage camels, and her family, I would rub my cheeks on the hoofs of her camels I will kiss the earth where thou art; mayhap the fire of my love and extacy may be quenched. Shall thou and I ever meet as formerly on Mount Saadi? or will the messenger come from thee to announce thy meeting, or will he relate that thou art in the land of Nejd? Shall we meet in the land of Shureba and Hima, and shall we live in joy and in happiness? I am the well known Antar, the chief of his tribe, and I shall die: but when I am gone, history shall tell of me."

As they draw near the tents of Zoheir, they meet with Shedad. On seeing him approach, Antar immediately dismounts, and kneels before him. His father, struck with admiration of his heroism and his piety, kisses him between the eyes, and they walk home in peace. The women receive him with acclamations of joy, "and none more than Ibla."

In the morning, however, his father's jealousy returns, and he refuses to elevate Antar to the rank of a freeman. His passion for Ibla, in like manner, procures for him nothing but ridicule from the father of that dam

sel; and Antar soon begins to feel, that, after all he has done, a hero, like a prophet, is without honour in his own country. To whatever his father commands, he submits; and such is the force of parental spleen, that he finds himself once more compelled to tend the camels and the sheep. While he is thus meanly occupied, his father's tents are once more surrounded by a party of hostile Arabs, and a bloody combat ensues, in which the invaders have greatly the advantage. Antar refuses to Make any share in the conflict. "Ye have refused me the name of son," says he; "I am but a herdsman slave; it is not for me to fight with the warriors of Yemen." At last, when all hope of safety for their own existence is extinguished in the breast of his father and his kinsmen, they fall at the feet of Antar, and pray him to assist them this once, upon whatever condition he himself pleases to assign. The rank of a freeman, and Ibla, are the boons he asks; and both being grant

ed, the hero once more mounts Abjer, and scatters the enemy "like chaff before the wind." But the faithless father of his mistress repents him, when in safety, of the promise he had made in the hour of his danger. He contrives to defer the fulfilment of his engagement from day to day, in the hope that some rival wooer may arrive, capable of carrying matters with a high hand towards Antar. This wooer at last arrives, in the person of Amarah, an Arab prince, who offers a dower so magnificent, that it quite dazzles the understanding of "A thousand Ibla's father, viz: he and she camels, and a thousand sheep, and twenty Ooshareeyi camels, and twenty horses of the noblest breed, and a hundred silk robes, and fifty satin garments spangled rich in gold, and twenty strings of the finest jewels, and a hundred skins of wine for the feast, and a hundred male, and as many female slaves." This proposal is made in presence of King Zoheir, and Antar hears it patiently to the end. He then bursts forth :

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"Thou he-goat of a man-thou refuse! thou villain! Dost thou at such a time as this demand Ibla in marriage?-thou coward, did not I demand her when she

Iwas in the midst of twelve thousand warand thou and thy brother were flying among riors, waving their bone-cleaving swords, the rocks and the wilds? I then descended

I exposed my life in her dangers, and liberated her from the man that had captured her; but, now that she is in the tent of her father and mother, thou wouldst demand her! By the faith of an illustrious Arab, thou dastard, if thou dost not give up thy pretensions to Ibla, I will bring thy relations and thy parents, and I will down perdition upon thee, and I will curse make the hour of thy wedding an hour of evil tiding to thyself and thy posterity!"

Zoheir interferes to prevent bloodshed, and Ibla's relations having renewed their promise to Antar, the evening is again concluded in feasting, "till the wine sports with them." Next morning it is suggested to Ibla's father and brother, that by craft they may perhaps succeed in putting an end to the proposals of Antar. They call upon him, and ask of him, by way of dower to Ibla, a thousand Assafeer camels, “ that she may boast of them." Antar, in ignorance of the nature of these animals, agrees to the request; but, on inquiry, he soon begins to understand the trick which has been played upon him; for they told him, that "the camels were in

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