As if they thought to see the wing 8 Of ISRAFIL, the Angel, there;· So pow'rfully on every soul That new, enchanted measure stole. While now a voice, sweet as the note Of the charm'd lute, was heard to float Along its chords, and so entwine Its sound with theirs, that none knew whether The voice or lute was most divine, So wond'rously they went together: There's a bliss beyond all that the minstrel has told, When two, that are link'd in one heavenly tie, With heart never changing and brow never cold, Love on through all ills, and love on till they die! One hour of a passion so sacred is worth Whole ages of heartless and wandering bliss; 8 The Angel of Music. v. note, p. 267. 'Twas not the air, 'twas not the words, As Music knew not till that hour. At once a hundred voices said, "It is the mask'd Arabian maid !" While SELIM, who had felt the strain Deepest of any, and had lain Some minutes rapt, as in a trance, After the fairy sounds were o'er, Too inly touch'd for utterance, Now motion'd with his hand for more: Fly to the desert, fly with me, Our Arab tents are rude for thee; But oh the choice what heart can doubt Of tents with love, or thrones without? Our rocks are rough, but smiling there Our sands are bare, but down their slope The silvery-footed antelope As gracefully and gaily springs As o'er the marble courts of Kings. Then come-thy Arab maid will be Oh! there are looks and tones that dart An instant sunshine through the heart, As if the soul that minute caught Some treasure it through life had sought; As if the very lips and eyes So came thy every glance and tone, Yet welcome as if lov'd for years! Then fly with me, if thou hast known No other flame, nor falsely thrown Come, if the love thou hast for me Is pure and fresh as mine for thee,— Fresh as the fountain under ground, When first 'tis by the lapwing found,' But if for me thou dost forsake Some other maid, and rudely break My bower upon some icy lake When thawing suns begin to shine, Than trust to love so false as thine! 9 The Hudhud, or Lapwing, is supposed to have the power of discovering water under ground. There was a pathos in this lay, That, ev'n without enchantment's art, Would instantly have found its way Deep into SELIM's burning heart; But breathing, as it did, a tone As if 'twere fix'd by magic there, "Oh NOURMAHAL! oh NOURMAHAL ! "Hadst thou but sung this witching strain, "I could forget-forgive thee all, “And never leave those eyes again.” The mask is off-the charm is wrought- His NOURMAHAL, his Haram's Light! |