Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB

In the light of the setting sun, that blazed,

Through the clouds of dust by the caravan

raised,

The flash of harness and jewelled sheath,

And the shining scymitars of the guard,

And the weary camels that bared their teeth,

As they passed and passed through the gates

unbarred

Into the shade of the palace-yard.

Thus into the city of Kambalu

Rode the great captain Alau;

And he stood before the Khan, and said:

"The enemies of my lord are dead;

All the Kalifs of all the West

Bow and obey thy least behest ;

The plains are dark with the mulberry-trees,

The weavers are busy in Samarcand,

The miners are sifting the golden sand,

The divers plunging for pearls in the seas,

And peace and plenty are in the land.

"Baldacca's Kalif, and he alone.

Rose in revolt against thy throne:

His treasures are at thy palace-door,

With the swords and the shawls and the jewels he

wore ;

His body is dust o'er the desert blown.

"A mile outside of Baldacca's gate

I left my forces to lie in wait,

Concealed by forests and hillocks of sand,

And forward dashed with a handful of men

To lure the old tiger from his den

Into the ambush I had planned.

Ere we reached the town the alarm was spread,

For we heard the sound of gongs from within; And with clash of cymbals and warlike din

The gates swung wide; and we turned and fled, And the garrison sallied forth and pursued,

With the gray old Kalif at their head,

And above them the banner of Mohammed:

So we snared them all, and the town was subdued.

"As in at the gate we rode, behold,

A tower that was called the Tower of Gold!

For there the Kalif had hidden his wealth,

Heaped and hoarded and piled on high,

Like sacks of wheat in a granary;

And thither the miser crept by stealth

To feel of the gold that gave him health,

And to gaze and gloat with his hungry eye

On jewels that gleamed like a glow-worm's

spark,

Or the eyes of a panther in the dark.

"I said to the Kalif: 'Thou art old, Thou hast no need of so much gold.

Thou shouldst not have heaped and hidden it here,

Till the breath of battle was hot and near,

But have sown through the land these useless hoards

To spring into shining blades of swords,

And keep thine honor sweet and clear.

These grains of gold are not grains of wheat;

These bars of silver thou canst not eat;

These jewels and pearls and precious stones

Cannot cure the aches in thy bones,

Nor keep the feet of Death one hour

From climbing the stairways of thy tower!'

"Then into his dungeon I locked the drone,

And left him to feed there all alone

« ZurückWeiter »