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 passionate 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 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 were those the horsemen rode whom he had thou leave off this conduct till thou hast ex cited feuds among the Arabs, and slain heroes and horsemen ! Never again will I let thee 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 nations. His father still beat him and a bused him, and he bore it all. "At last Semecah (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 told Shedad all that Antar had done; how he alone had attacked seventy horsemen, and had driven them back in confusion and despair, and had secured in safety all their families and children. Then Semeeah repeated these verses: 66 6 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 their veils trailing on the surface of the earth. Ibla too! they mounted her behind 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 tracted. Then Antar plunged into the After "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, She dad 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 indignity, 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, 66 were as travelling with a royal bride through "When the breezes blow from Mount Were there not a Saadi, their freshness calms the fire of my lustre of day sparkles from her forehead, 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." man. In the morning, however, his father's jealousy returns, and he refuses to elevate Antar to the rank of a freeHis passion for Ibla, in like manner, procures for him nothing but ridicule from the father of that damsel; 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 take 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 Ibla's father, viz: "A thousand 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 : "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 riors, waving their bone-cleaving swords, and thou and thy brother were flying among the rocks and the wilds? I then descended was in the midst of twelve thousand war 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 down perdition upon thee, and I will curse thy relations and thy parents, and I will 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 the kingdom of Monzar, the king of the princes of the Arabs, and the lieutenant of Chosroe Nushirvan, whose armies are innumerable." Uncle, said he, I will give you these camels loaded with the treasures of their masters but give me your hand, and betroth me to your daughter, and thus shew me the purity of your intentions. So Malik gave him his hand, and a fire blazed in his heart. Antar's joy was excessive, his bosom heaved, and he was all delight-he started on his feet-he took off his clothes, and put them on his uncle: and Ibla saw Antar's arms, and smiled. What art thou smiling at, fair damsel? said Antar. those wounds, she replied; for were they on the body of any other person, he would have died, and drank the cup of death and At annihilation: but thou art unhurt by them. Her words descended to his heart cooler than the purest water, and he thus address ed her : "The pretty Ibla laughed when she saw that I was black, and that my ribs were scratched with the spears. Do not laugh nor be astonished when the horsemen and armies surround me. The spear barb is like death in my hand, and on it are various figures traced in blood. I am indeed surprised how any one can see my form in the day of contests, and survive.'" Next morning Antar mounts Abjer, and sets off on his perilous journey. He meets at even-tide with an old Shiekh. 66 An old man was walking along the ground, and his face almost touched his knees. So I said to him, why art thou thus stooping? He said, as he waved his hands towards me, my youth is lost somewhere on the ground, and I am stooping in search of it.'" This venerable person welcomes him with a cup of milk cooled in the wind (which, by the way, is no bad method of cooling better liquor than milk), and instructs him touching the road to the land of Hirah, where the precious camels are alone to be found. Antar, after a vast variety of adventures, comes upon the immense horde, and separates with his spear, a thousand camels, compelling the slaves to drive them before him. After three hours, his march is stopped by a prodigious army, headed by the lieutenant of King Monzar. Their numbers present no obstacle to the irresistible Absian, and he is "wiping Dhami" upon them, when, by a sudden stumble of Abjer, he is thrown on the ground. He recovers himself in a twinkling, and is proceeding in his work of slaughter, till his foot slips VOL. IV. upon a bald skull he had just cut off. His enemies leap upon him in scores, and he is bound all over in fetters before he is able to arise. He is now led before King Monzar himself, who at once perceives that he has to deal with him with some affability. While they no common person, and converses with are yet talking, a lion rushes upon the host, and so prodigious is the strength of this furious animal that every thing shrinks before him, and the plain is "like red leather, deep scarlet in hue." Antar immediately proposes to encounter this monster, and the king consents. The guards relax the bonds of his arms, and are about to untie his feet also, but this Antar refused, saying, "leave them bound as they are, that there may be no retreat from the lion." "It was an immense lion, of the size of a camel, with broad nostrils and long claws; his face was wide, and ghastly was his form; his strength swelling; he grinned, with his teeth clenched like a vice, and the corners of his jaws were like grappling irons. When the lion beheld Antar in his fetters, he crouched to the ground, and extended himself out; his mane bristled up; he made a spring at him: and as he approached, Antar met him with his sword, which entered by his forehead, and penetrated through him, issuing out at the extremity of his back bone. O by Abs and Adnam! cried Antar, I will ever be the lover of Ibla. And the lion fell down, cut in twain, and cleft into two equal portions; for the spring of the lion, and the force of the arm of the glorious warrior, just met." This feat establishes him in high favour with Monzar, and he continues to be with him in all his wars, fighting by his side, and performing, on Among other things, there occurs a every occasion, prodigies of valour. quarrel between Monzar and the great king of Persia, Chosroe Nushirvan, whose tributary he is. The actions of Antar, by this means, become well known at the court of Chosroe. and his dependant still continues, when The quarrel between the monarch there arrives at the court of Chosroes a Greek knight, by name Badhramoot. It had been the custom of Caesar to send every year costly presents to the Persian, Emperor, and found him sitting down, and "But one day Badhramoot came to the all his treasures before him; he was selecting the best metals and jewels, and was putting them in cups, and was sealing them up, and was packing them up in boxes, 3 D 392 the ruler of nations. and was preparing them for a long journey "At these words the light became darkness in Badhramoot's eyes. By your exist ence, O King, said he, I cannot allow any one to adore aught but the Messiah, in this world. We must wage a sacred war, and have a crusade against the inhabitants of that land and those cities. How can you submit to this disgrace and indignity, and humble yourself to a worshipper of fire you who are the Emperor of the religion of the Cross, and the Priest's gown? I swear by him who withdrew a dead body from the earth, and breathed into clay, and there same forth birds and Beasts, I will not permit you to send these goods and presents, unless I go also against those people, and fight them with the sword's edge. I will engage the armies of Chosroe, and exert my strength against them; if I am slain, then you may stand to your covenant." Badhramoot accordingly arrives at Modayin, with the presents, and offers forthwith to deliver them into the hands of Chosroe, provided that prince can produce a Knight superior to himself, in the warlike exercises of his profession. If no such person can be found, he will retain the presents, and return with them to Antioch. -His proposal is immediately accepted by Nushirvan, and a space being marked out for the combat, day after day, for many successive days, the Greek Knight engages and baffles all the chosen warriors of Persia. The Great King is sadly dispirited by the fate of his chivalry, and is about to dismiss the Greek in despair, when his vizier advises him to write to King Monzar; for, said he," in such emergencies, the horsemen of Hijaz are most renowned, but our horsemen, O king of the world, are only famed for magnificent entertainments." The hostilities still subsisting between Monzar and his Sovereign, render Chosroe very unwilling to adopt this proposal; but the continued misfortunes of some days more, subdue his spirit, and he at last allows the visier to write to Monzar. "Come hither," said he, " without de [Jan lay, and let there be no answer, but The Arabian King is very glad to "Then Antar rushed down upon the Grecian like a cloud, and the Greek met him like a blazing fire. They engaged like two lions; they maddened at each other like two camels, and they dashed against each other like two mountains, so that they frightened every eye with their deeds. dust rose over them that hid them from the sight for two hours. The Greek perceived in Antar something beyond his capacity, and a sea where there was no rest; he was terrified and agitated, and exclaimed-by the Messiah and his disciples! this biscuit is not of the same leaven-this is the hour of contention; and now is the time for struggle and exertion. So he shouted and roared at Antar, and attacked him with his spike-pointed spear, and dealt him a furious thrust; but Antar eluded it by a dexterous movement, and struck him with the heel of his lance under the arm, and made him totter on the back of his horse; and he almost hurl'd him on the ground: but Badhramoot, with infinite intrepidity, sat firm on his horse's back, and gallopped to the further part of the plain. Antar waited patiently till he had recovered, and his spirit was renewed, when he returned upon him like a ferocious lion, and recommenced the conflict. 64 King Monzar was highly gratified at the deeds of Antar, and felt convinced that he was only sparing him, and dallying with him, and that had he wished to kill him, he would have done it. But the Monarch was perfectly astonished at Antar's courage; and turning to his attendants, said to them-By the essence of fire, this is indeed horseman ship and intrepidity. Never have I remarked such but in an Arab! And he advanced towards the field of battle, that he might observe what passed between these dreadful combatants, and that he might see how the affair would terminate. "Now Bahram, when he perceived that Antar was superior to himself in strength, and was mightier than the Greek in the conflict, felt assured that he would obtain the |
