XVI.

"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil!-prophet still, if bird or devil! By that heaven that bends above us—by that God we bōth adore, Tell this soul, with sorrow laden, if, within the distant Aidenn,' It shall clasp a sainted maiden, whom the angels name Lenore; Clasp a rare and radiant maiden, whom the angels name Lenore!" Quoth the raven, "Nevermore!"

XVII.

"Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!" I shriek'd, upstarting

"Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore! Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken! Leave my loneliness unbroken!-quit the bust above my door! Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door m

Quoth the raven, "Nevermore!"

XVIII.

And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas, just above my chamber-door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,
And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the

floor;

And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor Shall be lifted-NEVERMORE!

188. THE SARACEN BROTHERS.

EDGAR A. POE."

Attendant. A stranger craves admittance to your highness Saladin. Whence comes he?

Atten. That I know not.

Enveloped with a vestment of strange form,

His countenance is hidden; but his step,
His lofty port, his voice in vain disguised,
Proclaim-if that I dare pronounce it—

Sal.

Whom?

'Aidenn, from Aïdès, a name preferred by the poets for Hades. In HOMER, Aides is invariably the name of the god; but in latter times it was transferred to his house, his abode, or kingdom, so that it became a name for the nether world.-See Biographical Sketch, p. 552.

Atten. Thy royal brother!

Sal.

Bring him instantly. [Erit ATTENDANT.

Now, with his specious, smooth, persuasive tongue,
Fraught with some wily subterfuge, he thinks

To dissipate my anger. He shall die.

[Enter ATTENDANT and MALEK Adhel.

Leave us together. [Erit ATTENDANT.] [Aside.] I should know

that form.

Now summon all thy fortitude, my soul,

Nor, though thy blood cry for him, spare the guilty!
[Aloud.] Well, stranger, speak; but first unvail thyself,
For Saladin' must view the form that fronts him.

Malek Adhel. Behold it, then!

Sal.

Mal. Ad. A brother's!

Sal.

I see a traitor's visage.

No!

Saladin owns no kindred with a villain.

Mal. Ad. O, patience, Heaven. Had any tongue but thine Utter'd that word, it ne'er should speak another.

Sal. And why not now? Can this heart be more pierced

By Malek Adhel's sword than by his deeds?

Oh, thou hast made a desert of this bosom!
For open candor, planted sly disguise;
For confidence, suspicion; and the glow
Of generous friendship, tenderness, and love,
Forever banish'd! Whither can I turn,
When he by blood, by gratitude, by faith,
By every tie, bound to support, forsakes me
Who, who can stand, when Malek Adhel falls?
Henceforth I turn me from the sweets of love:
The smiles of friendship, and this glorious world,

'SALADIN, the hero of this dramatic piece, was born in 1137. He became Sultan of Egypt and Syria in 1168, from which period he is noted for his wars with the Christian crusaders. He died at Damascus in 1193, leaving a brother and seventeen sons to share his power and conquests. Christians and Saracens have vied with each other in writing panegyr ics on the justice, valor, generosity, and political wisdom of this prince, who possessed the art, not simply of acquiring power, but of devoting it to the good of his subjects.

In which all find some heart to rest upon,
Shall be to Saladin a cheerless void,-

His brother has betray'd him!

Mal. Ad.

Thou art soften'd;

I am thy brother, then; but late thou saidst-
My tongue can never utter the base title!

Sal. Was it traitor? True!

Thou hast betray'd me in my fondest hopes!
Villain? 'Tis just; the title is appropriate!
Dissembler? "Tis not written in thy face;
No, nor imprinted on that specious brow;
But on this breaking heart the name is stamp'd,
Forever stamp'd, with that of Malek Adhel!

Think'st thou I'm soften'd? By Mohammed!' these hands
Should crush these aching eyeballs, ere a tear

Fall from them at thy fate! O monster, monster!
The brute that tears the infant from its nurse

Is excellent to thee, for in his form

The impulse of his nature may be read;
But thou, so beautiful, so proud, so noble,
Oh, what a wretch art thou! Oh! can a term
In all the various tongues of man be found
To match thy infamy?

"Tis but a little while to hear thee, Saladin; And, bursting at thy feet, this heart will prove Its penitence, at least.

Too noble for a traitor! The bowstring is.

A more appropriate finish! Thou shalt die!

Mal. Ad. And death were welcome at another's mandate! What, what have I to live for? Be it so,

If that, in all thy armies, can be found

An executing hand.

They're eager for the office. Perfidy,

So black as thine, effaces from their minds

'MOHAMMED, see p. 894, note 2.

All memory of thy former excellence.

Mal. Ad. Defer not then their wishes. Saladin,
If e'er this form was joyful to thy sight,
This voice seem'd grateful to thine ear, accede
To my last prayer:-Oh, lengthen not this scene,
To which the agonies of death were pleasing!
Let me die speedily!

Sal.

This very hour!

[Aside.] For, oh! the more I look upon that face
The more I hear the accents of that voice,
The monarch softens, and the judge is lõst
In all the brother's weakness; yet such guilt,-
Such vile ingratitude,-it calls for vengeance;

And vengeance it shall have! What, ho! who waits there!

Atten. Did your highness call?
Sal.

[Enter ATTENDANT

Assemble quickly
My forces in the court. Tell them they come
To view the death of yõnder bosom-traitor.
And, bid them mark, that he who will not spare
His brother when he errs, expects obedience,
Silent obedience, from his followers.

[Exit ATTENDANT

189. THE SARACEN BROTHERS—CONCLUDED.

Mal. Ad. Now, Saladin,

The word is given, I have nothing more
To fear from thee, my brother. I am not
About to crave a miserable life.

Without thy love, thy honor, thy esteem,
Life were a burden to me. Think not, either,
The justice of thy sentence I would question.
But one request now trembles on my tongue,-
One wish still clinging round the heart, which soon
Not even that shall torture,-will it, then,
Think'st thou, thy slumbers render quieter,
Thy waking thoughts more pleasing, to reflect,
That when thy voice had doom'd a brother's death,

The last request which e'er was his to utter,
Thy harshness made him carry to the grave?

Sal. Speak, then; but ask thyself if thou hast reason
To look for much indulgence here.

Mal. Ad.

I have not!
Yet will I ask for it. We part forever;

This is our last farewell; the king is satisfied;
The judge has spoke the irrevocable sentence.
None sees, none hears, save that omniscient Power,
Which, trust me, will not frown to look upon
Two brothers part like such. When, in the face
Of forces once my own, I'm led to death,
Then be thine eye unmoisten'd; let thy voice
Then speak my doom untrembling; then
Unmoved, behold this stiff and blacken'd corse;
But now I ask-nay, turn not, Saladin !—
I ask one single pressure of thy hand;
From that stern eye one solitary tear-

Oh, torturing recollection!-one kind word.

From the loved tongue which once breathed naught but kindness.
Still silent? Brother! friend! beloved companion

Of all my youthful sports!-are they forgotten?
Strike me with deafness, make me blind, O Heaven!

Let me not see this unforgiving man

Smile at my agonies! nor hear that voice

Pronounce my doom, which would not say one word,
One little word, whose cherish'd memory
Would soothe the struggles of departing life!
Yet, yet thou wilt! Oh, turn thee, Saladin!
Look on my face-thou canst not spurn me then;
Look on the once-loved face of Malek Adhel

For the last time, and call him—

Sal. [seizing his hand]. Brother! brother!

Mal. Ad. [breaking away]. Now call thy followers.

Death has not now a single pang in store. Proceed! I'm ready
Sal. Oh, art thou ready to forgive, my brother?

To pardon him who found one single error,
One little failing, mid a splendid throng

Of glorious qualities--