The gallant barb which he bestrode
Had travelled far from home,
And his dun hide on either side
Was wet with snow-white foam;
But minding not his toil he sped
As swiftly as the wind,
To save from foes his regal lord,
The kindest of the kind.
As horse and horseman onward passed,
Still feebler waxed the din,
The echoing tramp and deafening shout,
And roar of culverin.
'Thou bear'st me well, my barb,' he said
'Thou bear'st me well this night
And I with jewelled bit and band
Thy labours will requite.'
But ere another hour had passed,
Down falls the noble steed;
The king dismounts in fear and haste
And looks at him with heed,—
Distended nostrils, starting eyes
And stiffening limbs display
That life with him is ebbing fast
And soon shall pass away.
Beyond the hills by cloudlets ribbed,
The broad-disked moon appears,
And o'er the vasty sea of sand
Its crest of fire uprears;
And far adown the glimmering glen
Advance with headlong haste
A hundred fugitives to seek
The refuge of the waste.
Page:The Bengali Book of English Verse.djvu/55
HUR CHUNDER DUTT.
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