As if the morn had wak'd, and then
Shut close her lids of light again.
And NOURMAHAL is up, and trying

The wonders of her lute, whose strings

Oh bliss!

now murmur like the sighing

From that ambrosial Spirit's wings!

And then, her voice-'tis more than humanNever, till now, had it been given

To lips of any mortal woman

To utter notes so fresh from heaven; Sweet as the breath of angel sighs,

When angel sighs are most divine. "Oh! let it last till night," she cries, "And he is more than ever mine."

And hourly she renews the lay,

So fearful lest its heavenly sweetness Should, ere the evening, fade away,

For things so heavenly have such fleetness!

But, far from fading, it but grows
Richer, diviner as it flows;

Till rapt she dwells on every string,

And pours again each sound along, Like Echo, lost and languishing

In love with her own wondrous song.

That evening, (trusting that his soul

Might be from haunting love releas'd

By mirth, by music, and the bowl)

Th' Imperial SELIM held a Feast

In his magnificent Shalimar ;-
In whose Saloons, when the first star
Of evening o'er the waters trembled,
The Valley's loveliest all assembled ;
All the bright creatures that, like dreams,
Glide through its foliage, and drink beams
Of beauty from its founts and streams.
And all those wandering minstrel-maids,

Who leave - how can they leave? — the shades
Of that dear Valley, and are found

Singing in gardens of the South 3
Those songs, that ne'er so sweetly sound
As from a young Cashmerian's mouth.

2 "The waters of Cachemir are the more renowned from its being supposed that the Cachemirians are indebted for their beauty to them." Ali Yezdi.

3" From him I received the following little Gazzel or Love Song, the notes of which he committed to paper from the voice of one of those singing girls of Cashmere, who wander from that delightful valley over the various parts of India.” — Persian Miscellanics.

Y

There too the Haram's inmates smile;

Maids from the West, with sun-bright hair,
And from the Garden of the NILE,

Delicate as the roses there; 4-
Daughters of Love from CYPRUS' rocks,
With Paphian diamonds in their locks;
Light Peri forms, such as there are
On the gold meads of CANDAHAR;"
And they, before whose sleepy eyes,

In their own bright Kathaian bowers,
Sparkle such rainbow butterflies, 7

That they might fancy the rich flowers, That round them in the sun lay sighing, Had been by magic all set flying!

4 "The roses of the Jinan Nile, or Garden of the Nile (attached to the Emperor of Marocco's Palace) are unequalled, and matrasses are made of their leaves for the men of rank to recline upon."— Jackson.

5 "On the side of a mountain near Paphos there is a cavern which produces the most beautiful rock crystal. On account of its brilliancy it has been called the Paphian diamond.”— Mariti.

"There is a part of Candahar, called Peria or Fairy Land.”— Thevenot. In some of those countries to the north of India vegetable gold is supposed to be produced.

7

"These are the butterflies, which are called in the Chinese language Flying Leaves. Some of them have such shining colours, and

Every thing young, every thing fair
From East and West is blushing there,
Except -except-oh NOURMAHAL!
Thou loveliest, dearest of them all,
The one, whose smile shone out alone,
Amidst a world the only one!

Whose light, among so many lights,
Was like that star, on starry nights,

The seaman singles from the sky,
To steer his bark for ever by!

Thou wert not there-so SELIM thought,

And every thing seem'd drear without thee; But ah! thou wert, thou wert- and brought Thy charm of song all fresh about thee. Mingling unnotic'd with a band

Of lutanists from many a land,

And veil'd by such a mask as shades

8

The features of young Arab maids, 3 —

are so variegated, that they may be called flying flowers; and indeed they are always produced in the finest flower-gardens."— Dunn.

8 "The Arabian women wear black masks with little clasps, prettily ordered."— Carreri. Niebuhr mentions their showing but one eye in conversation.

A mask that leaves but one eye free,
To do its best in witchery,

She rov'd, with beating heart, around,

And waited, trembling, for the minute,
When she might try if still the sound
Of her lov'd lute had magic in it.

The board was spread with fruits and wine;
With grapes of gold, like those that shine
On CASBIN'S hills;'-pomegranates full
Of melting sweetness, and the pears
And sunniest apples' that CAUBUL

In all its thousand gardens' bears.
Plantains, the golden and the green,
MALAYA's nectar'd mangusteen;3

9 "The golden grapes of Casbin."- Description of Persia. "The fruits exported from Caubul are apples, pears, pomegranates, &c."— Elphinstone.

2 "We sat down under a tree, listened to the birds, and talked with the son of our Mehmaundar about our country and Caubul, of which he gave an enchanting account: that city and its 100,000 gardens, &c."

Id.

3 "The Mangusteen, the most delicate fruit in the world; the pride of the Malay Islands.".

Marsden.