High throbb'd her heart, with hope elate,
The Elysian palm she soon shall win,
For the bright Spirit at the gate

Smil'd as she gave that offering in;

And she already hears the trees

Of Eden, with their crystal bells

Ringing in that ambrosial breeze

That from the Throne of ALLA Swells;

And she can see the starry bowls

That lie around that lucid lake,

Upon whose banks admitted Souls
Their first sweet draught of glory take !'

But ah! ev'n Peris' hopes are vain

Again the Fates forbade, again

The' immortal barrier clos'd-"not yet,"

The Angel said as, with regret,

He shut from her that glimpse of glory "True was the maiden, and her story,

2 "On the shores of a quadrangular lake stand a thousand goblets, made of stars, out of which souls predestined to enjoy felicity drink the crystal wave." — From Chateaubriand's Description of the Mahometan Paradise, in his Beauties of Christianity.

-

"Written in light o'er ALLA's head,
"By seraph eyes shall long be read.
"But, PERI, see the crystal bar

"Than ev❜n this sigh the boon must be
"That opes the Gates of Heav'n for thee."

Now, upon SYRIA's land of roses 3

Softly the light of Eve reposes,

And, like a glory, the broad sun

Hangs over sainted LEBANON;

Whose head in wintry grandeur towers,

And whitens with eternal sleet,

While summer, in a vale of flowers,
Is sleeping rosy at his feet.

To one, who look'd from

upper air

O'er all the' enchanted regions there,

How beauteous must have been the glow,

The life, the sparkling from below!

3 Richardson thinks that Syria had its name from Suri, a beautiful and delicate species of rose for which that country has been al

ways famous; hence, Suristan, the Land of Roses.

Fair gardens, shining streams, with ranks
Of golden melons on their banks,

More golden where the sun-light falls;-
Gay lizards, glittering on the walls *
Of ruin'd shrines, busy and bright

As they were all alive with light;

And, yet more splendid, numerous flocks
Of pigeons, settling on the rocks,

With their rich restless wings, that gleam
Variously in the crimson beam

With brilliants from the mine, or made

Of tearless rainbows, such as span

The' unclouded skies of Peristan !
And then, the mingling sounds that come,
Of shepherd's ancient reed, with hum

4 "The number of lizards I saw one day in the great court of the Temple of the Sun at Baalbec, amounted to many thousands; the ground, the walls, and stones of the ruined buildings, were covered with them."-Bruce.

5 The Syrinx or Pan's pipe is still a pastoral instrument in Syria.-Russel.

Of the wild bees of PALESTINE,

Banquetting through the flowery vales; And, JORDAN, those sweet banks of thine, And woods, so full of nightingales!

But nought can charm the luckless PERI; Her soul is sad-her wings are weary — Joyless she sees the sun look down

6

On that great Temple, once his own, Whose lonely columns stand sublime, Flinging their shadows from on high, Like dials, which the wizard, Time, Had rais'd to count his ages by!

Yet haply there may lie conceal'd

Beneath those Chambers of the Sun,

Some amulet of gems, anneal'd
In upper fires, some tablet seal'd
With the Great Name of SOLOMON,
Which, spell'd by her illumin'd eyes,

"The Temple of the Sun at Balbec.

May teach her where, beneath the moon,

In earth or ocean lies the boon,

The charm, that can restore so soon,
An erring Spirit to the skies!

Cheer'd by this hope she bends her thither; -
Still laughs the radiant eye of Heaven,
Nor have the golden bowers of Even
In the rich West begun to wither; -
When, o'er the vale of BALBEC winging
Slowly, she sees a child at play,
Among the rosy wild-flowers singing,
As rosy and as wild as they;
Chasing, with eager hands and eyes,
The beautiful blue damsel-flies, "

7

That flutter'd round the jasmine stems,
Like winged flowers or flying gems: —

And, near the boy, who tir'd with play

Now nestling 'mid the roses lay,

7" You behold there a considerable number of a remarkable species of beautiful insects, the elegance of whose appearance and their attire procured for them the name of Damsels.".

Sonnini.