THE SHÁH NÁMEH
123
Such is my vengeance! With unhallowed rage,
Father and Son shall dreadful battle wage!
Unknown the youth shall Rustem’s force withstand,
And soon o’erwhelm the bulwark of the land.
Rustem removed, the Persian throne is ours,
An easy conquest to confederate powers;
And then, secured by some propitious snare,
Sohráb himself our galling bonds shall wear.
Or should the Son by Rustem’s falchion bleed,
The father’s horror at that fatal deed,
Will rend his soul, and ‘midst his sacred grief,
Káús in vain will supplicate relief.”
Father and Son shall dreadful battle wage!
Unknown the youth shall Rustem’s force withstand,
And soon o’erwhelm the bulwark of the land.
Rustem removed, the Persian throne is ours,
An easy conquest to confederate powers;
And then, secured by some propitious snare,
Sohráb himself our galling bonds shall wear.
Or should the Son by Rustem’s falchion bleed,
The father’s horror at that fatal deed,
Will rend his soul, and ‘midst his sacred grief,
Káús in vain will supplicate relief.”
The tutored chiefs advance with speed, and bring
Imperial presents to the future king;
In stately pomp the embassy proceeds;
Ten loaded camels, ten unrivalled steeds,
A golden crown, and throne, whose jewels bright
Gleam in the sun, and shed a sparkling light.
A letter too the crafty tyrant sends,
And fraudful thus the glorious aim commends.-
“If Persia’s spoils invite thee to the field,
Accept the aid my conquering legions yield;
Led by two Chiefs of valour and renown,
Upon thy head to place the kingly crown.”
Imperial presents to the future king;
In stately pomp the embassy proceeds;
Ten loaded camels, ten unrivalled steeds,
A golden crown, and throne, whose jewels bright
Gleam in the sun, and shed a sparkling light.
A letter too the crafty tyrant sends,
And fraudful thus the glorious aim commends.-
“If Persia’s spoils invite thee to the field,
Accept the aid my conquering legions yield;
Led by two Chiefs of valour and renown,
Upon thy head to place the kingly crown.”
Elate with promised fame, the youth surveys
The regal vest, the throne’s irradiant blaze,
The golden crown, the steeds, the sumptuous load
Of ten strong camels, craftily bestowed;
Salutes the Chiefs, and views on every side,
The lengthening ranks with various arms supplied.
The march begins—the brazen drums resound,[1]
His moving thousands hide the trembling ground;
For Persia’s verdant land he wields the spear,
And blood and havoc mark his groaning rear.[2]
The regal vest, the throne’s irradiant blaze,
The golden crown, the steeds, the sumptuous load
Of ten strong camels, craftily bestowed;
Salutes the Chiefs, and views on every side,
The lengthening ranks with various arms supplied.
The march begins—the brazen drums resound,[1]
His moving thousands hide the trembling ground;
For Persia’s verdant land he wields the spear,
And blood and havoc mark his groaning rear.[2]
To check the Invader’s horror-spreading course,
The barrier-fort opposed unequal force;
That fort whose walls, extending wide, contained.
The stay of Persia, men to battle trained.
Soon as Hujír the dusky crowd descried,
He on his own presumptuous arm relied,
And left the fort; in mail with shield and spear,
Vaunting he spoke—” What hostile force is here?
What Chieftain dares our war-like realms invade?”
“And who art thou?” Sohráb indignant said,
Rushing towards him with undaunted look—
“Hast thou, audacious! nerve and soul to brook
The barrier-fort opposed unequal force;
That fort whose walls, extending wide, contained.
The stay of Persia, men to battle trained.
Soon as Hujír the dusky crowd descried,
He on his own presumptuous arm relied,
And left the fort; in mail with shield and spear,
Vaunting he spoke—” What hostile force is here?
What Chieftain dares our war-like realms invade?”
“And who art thou?” Sohráb indignant said,
Rushing towards him with undaunted look—
“Hast thou, audacious! nerve and soul to brook
- ↑ Kus is a tymbal, or large brass drum, which is beat in the palaces or camps of Eastern Princes.
- ↑ It appears throughout the Shah Námeh that whenever any army was put in motion, the inhabitants and the country, whether hostile or friendly, were equally given up to plunder and devastation, and “Everything in their progress was burnt and destroyed.”
