High throbb'd her heart, with hope elate, 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 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, "Than ev❜n this sigh the boon must be 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, 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 More golden where the sun-light falls;- As they were all alive with light; And, yet more splendid, numerous flocks With their rich restless wings, that gleam With brilliants from the mine, or made Of tearless rainbows, such as span The' unclouded skies of Peristan ! 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 "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, Cheer'd by this hope she bends her thither; - 7 That flutter'd round the jasmine stems, 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. |