Giaour 2

# The Giaour Part 2

a fragment of a Turkish tale

Part 2 Lines 501 - 1000

Text from the 11th Print Edition, 1814

Printed by T. Davison for J. Murray

***This file is in the public domain***

1. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1923.

2. The author died in or before 1940, so this work is also in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 75 years or less. This work may also be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.

### Lines 0501-0600

1. It tell, and caught one stain of earth.
2. The cygnet nobly walks the water
3. So moved on earth Circassia's daughter
4. The loveliest bird of Franguestan!
5. As rears her crest the ruffled Swan,
6. And spurns the wave with wings of pride,
7. When pass the steps of stranger man
8. Along the banks that bound her tide;
9. Thus rose fair Leila's whiter neck:
10. Thus armed with beauty would she check
11. Intrusion's glance, till Folly's gaze
12. Shrunk from the charms it meant to praise.
13. Thus high and graceful was her gait;
14. Her heart as tender to her mate
15. Her mate stern Hassan, who was he?
16. Alas! that name was not for thee!
17. Stern Hassan hath a journey ta'en
18. With twenty vassals in his train,
19. Each arm'd as best becomes a man
20. With arquebuss and ataghan;
21. The chief before, as deck'd for war
22. Bears in his belt the scimitar
23. Stain'd with the best of Arnaut blood,
24. When in the pass the rebels stood,
25. And few returned to tell the tale
26. Of what befell in Fame's vale.
27. The pistols which his girdle bore
28. Were those that once a pasha wore,
29. Which still, though gemm'd and boss'd with gold,
30. Even robbers tremble to behold.
31. 'Tis said he goes to woo a bride
32. More true than her who left his side;
33. The faithless slave that broke her bower,
34. And, worse than faithless, for a Giaour!
35. The sun's last rays are on the hill,
36. And sparkle in the fountain rill,
37. Whose welcome waters cool and clear,
38. Draw blessings from the mountaineer;
39. Here may the loitering merchant Greek
40. Find that repose 'twere vain- to seek
41. In cities lodg'd too near his lord,
42. And trembling for his secret hoard-
43. Here may he rest where none can see,
44. In crowds a slave, in deserts free;
45. And with forbidden wine may stain
46. The bowl a Moslem must not drain.
47. The foremost Tartar's in the gap,
48. Conspicuous by his yellow cap,
49. The rest in lengthening line the while
50. Wind slowly through the long defile;
51. Above, the mountain rears a peak,
52. Where vultures whet the thirsty beak,
53. And their's may be a feast to-night,
54. Shall tempt them down ere morrow's light.
55. Beneath, a river's wintry stream
56. Has shrunk before the summer beam,
57. And left a channel bleak and bare,
58. Save shrubs that spring to perish there.
59. Each side the midway path there lay
60. Small broken crags of granite gray,
61. By time or mountain lightning riven,
62. From summits clad in mists of heaven;
63. For where is he that hath beheld
64. The peak of Liakura unveil'd?
65. They reach the grove of pine at last,
66. "Bismillah! now the peril's past;
67. a For yonder view the opening plain,
68. "And there we'll prick our steeds amain:"
69. The Chiaus spake, and as he said,
70. A bullet whistled o'er his head;
71. The foremost Tartar bites the ground!
72. Scarce had they time to check the rein
73. Swift from their steeds the riders bound,
74. But three shall never mount again,
75. Unseen the foes that gave the wound,
76. The dying ask revenge in vain.
77. With steel unsheath'd, and carbine bent,
78. Some o'er their courser's harness leant,
79. Half shelter'd by the steed,
80. Some fly behind the nearest rock,
81. And there await the coming shock,
82. Nor tamely stand to bleed
83. Beneath the shaft of foes unseen,
84. Who dare not quit their craggy screen.
85. Stern Hassan only from his horse
86. Disdains to light, and keeps his course,
87. Till fiery flashes in the van
88. Proclaim too sure the robber-clan
89. Have well secur'd the only way
90. Could now avail the promis'd prey ;
91. Then ctirl'd his very beard 87 with ire,
92. And glared his eye with fiercer fire.
93. "Though far and near the bullets hiss,
94. "Five scaped a bloodier hour than this."
95. And now the foe their covert quit,
96. And call his vassals to submit ;
97. Rut Hassan's frown and furious word
98. Are dreaded more than hostile sword, GOO
99. Nor of his little band a man
100. Resigned carbine or ataghan

### Lines 0601-0700

1. Nor raised the craven cry, Amaun!
2. In fuller sight, more near and near,
3. The lately ambush'd foes appear,
4. And issuing from the grove advance,
5. Some who on battle charger prance.
6. Who leads them on with foreign brand,
7. Far flashing in his red right hand ?
8. "Tis he 'tis he I know him now,
9. "I know him by his pallid brow;
10. "I know him by the evil eye
11. "That aids his envious treachery;
12. "I know him by his jet-black barb,
13. "Though now array 'd in Arnaut garb,
14. "Apostate from his own vile faith,
15. "It shall not save him from the death;
16. "'Tis he, well met in any hour,
17. "Lost Leila's love accursed Giaour!"
18. As rolls the river into ocean,
19. lu sable torrent wildly streaming;
20. As the sea-tide's opposing motion
21. In azure column proudly gleaming,
22. Beats back the current many a rood,
23. In curling foam and mingling flood;
24. While eddying whirl, and breaking wave,
25. Roused by the blast of winter rave;
26. Through sparkling spray in thundering clash,
27. The lightnings of the waters flash
28. In aweful whiteness o'er the shore,
29. That shines and shakes beneath the roar;
30. Thus as the stream and ocean greet,
31. With waves that madden as they meet
32. Thus join the bands whom mutual wrong,
33. And fate and fury drive along.
34. The bickering sabres' shivering jar
35. And pealing wide or ringing near
36. It's echoes on the throbbing ear
37. The deathshot hissing from afar
38. The shock the shout the groan of war
39. Reverberate along that vale,
40. More suited to the shepherd's tale:
41. Though few the numbers their's the strife,
42. That neither spares nor speaks for life!
43. Ah! fondly youthful hearts can press,
44. To seize and share the dear caress;
45. But Love itself could never pant
46. For all that Beauty sighs to grant,
47. With half the fervour Hate bestows
48. Upon the last embrace of foes,
49. When grappling in the fight they fold
50. Those arms that ne'er shall lose their hold;
51. Friends meet to part Love laughs at faith;
52. True foes, once met, are joined till death!
53. With sabre shiver'd to the hilt,
54. Yet dripping with the blood he spilt;
55. Yet strain'd within the severed hand
56. Which quivers round that faithless brand;
57. His turban far behind him roli'd,
58. And cleft in twain its firmest fold;
59. His flowing robe by falchion torn,
60. And crimson as those clouds of mom
61. That streak'd with dusky red, portend
62. The day shall have a stormy end;
63. A stain on every bush that bore
64. A fragment of his palampore,
65. His breast with wounds unnumber'd riven,
66. His back to earth, his face to heaven,
67. Fall'ii Hassan lies his unclos'd eve
68. Yet lowering on his enemy,
69. As if the hour that seal'd his fate,
70. Surviving left his quenchless hate;
71. And o'er him bends that foe with
72. As dark as his that bled below,
73. "Yes, Leila sleeps beneath the wave,
74. "But his shall be a redder grave;
75. "Her spirit pointed well the steel
76. "Which taught that felon heart to feel.
77. "He call'd the Prophet, but his power
78. "Was vain against the vengeful Giaour:
79. "He called on Alla but the word
80. "Arose unheeded or unheard.
81. "Thou Paynim fool ! could Leila's prayer
82. "Be pass'd, and thine accorded there?
83. "I watch'd my time, I leagu'd with these,
84. "The traitor in his turn to seize;
85. "My wrath is wreak'd, the deed is done,"
86. "And now I go but go alone."
87. The browzing camels' bells are tinkling
88. His Mother looked from her lattice high,
89. She saw the dews of eve besprinkling
90. The pasture green beneath her eye,
91. She saw the planets faintly twinkling,
92. " 'Tis twilight sure his train is nigh."
93. She could not rest in the garden-bower,
94. But gazed through the grate of his steepest tower
95. "Why comes he not ? his steeds are fleet,
96. "Nor shrink they from the summer heat;
97. "Why sends not the Bridegroom his promised gift,
98. "Is his heart more cold, or his barb less swift?
99. "Oh, false reproach ! yon Tartar now
100. "Has gained our nearest mountain's brow,

### Lines 0701-0800

1. "And warily the steep descends,
2. "And now within the valley bends;
3. "And he bears the gift at his saddle bow
4. "How could I deem his courser slow?
5. "Right well my largess shall repay
6. "His welcome speed, and weary way."
7. The Tartar lighted at the gate,
8. But scarce upheld his fainting weight;
9. His swarthy visage spake distress,
10. But this might be from weariness;
11. His garb with sanguine spots was dyed,
12. But these might be from his courser's side;
13. He drew the token from his vest
14. Angel of Death ! 'tis Hassan's cloven crest!
15. His calpac rent his caftan red
16. "Lady, a fearful bride thy Son hath wed
17. "Me, not from mercy, did they spare,
18. "But this empurpled pledge to bear.
19. "Peace to the brave! whose blood is spilt
20. "Woe to the Giaour! for his the guilt."
21. A turban carv'd in coarsest stone,
22. A pillar with rank weeds o'ergrown,
23. Whereon can now be scarcely read
24. The Koran verse that mourns the dead;
25. Point out the spot where Hassan fell
26. A victim in that lonely dell.
27. There sleeps as true an Osmanlie
28. As e'er at Mecca bent the knee;
29. As ever scorn'd forbidden wine,
30. Or pray'd with face towards the shrine,
31. In orisons resumed anew
32. At solemn sound of "Alla Hu!"
33. Yet died he by a stranger's hand,
34. And stranger in his native land
35. Yet died he as in arms he stood,
36. And unaveng'd, at least in blood.
37. But him the maids of Paradise
38. Impatient to their halls invite,
39. And the dark Heaven of Houri's eyes
40. On him shall glance for ever bright ;
41. They come their kerchiefs green they wave,
42. And welcome with a kiss the brave!
43. Who falls in battle 'gainst a Giaour,
44. Is worthiest an immortal bower.
45. But thou, false Infidel! shalt writhe
46. Beneath avenging Monkir's scythe;
47. And from its torment 'scape alone
48. To wander round lost Eblis' throne;
49. And fire unquench'd, unquenchable
50. Around within thy heart shall dwell,
51. Nor ear can hear, nor tongue can tell
52. The tortures of that inward hell!
53. But first, on earth as Vampire sent,
54. Thy corse shall from its tomb be rent;
55. Then ghastly haunt thy native place,
56. And suck the blood of all thy race,
57. There from thy daughter, sister, wife,
58. At midnight drain the stream of life;
59. Yet loathe the banquet which perforce
60. Must feed thy livid living corse;
61. Thy victims ere they yet expire
62. Shall know the daemon for their sire,
63. As cursing thee, thou cursing them,
64. Thy flowers are wither'd on the stem.
65. But one that for thy crime must fall
66. The youngest most belov'd of all,
67. Shall bless thee with a. father's name
68. That word shall wrap thy heart in flame!
69. Yet must thou end thy task, and mark
70. Her cheek's last tinge, her eye's last spark,
71. And the last glassy glance must view
72. Which freezes o'er its lifeless blue;
73. Then with unhallowed hand shalt tear
74. The tresses of her yellow hair,
75. Of which in life a lock when shorn,
76. Affection's fondest pledge was worn;
77. But now is borne away by thee,
78. Memorial of thine agony!
79. Wet with thine own best blood shall drip,
80. Thy gnashing tooth and haggard lip;
81. Then stalking to thy sullen grave
82. Go and with Gouls and Afrits rave;
83. Till these in horror shrink away
84. From spectre more accursed than they!
85. "How name ye yon lone Caloyer?
86. "His features I have scann'd before
87. "In mine own land 'tis many a year,
88. "Since, dashing by the lonely shore,
89. "I saw him urge as fleet a steed
90. "As ever serv'd a horseman's need.
91. "But once I saw that face yet then
92. "It was so mark'd with inward pain
93. "I could not pass it by again;
94. "It breathes the same dark spirit now,
95. " As death were stamped upon his brow.
96. " 'Tis twice three years at summer tide
97. "Since first among our freres he came;
98. "And here it soothes him to abide
99. "For some dark deed he will not name.
100. "But never at our vesper prayer,

### Lines 0801-0900

1. "Nor e'er before confession chair
2. "Kneels he, nor recks lie when arise
3. "Incense or anthem to the skies, 805
4. "But broods within his cell alone,
5. "His faith and race alike unknown.
6. "The sea from Paynim land he crost,
7. "And here ascended from the coast,
8. "Yet seems he not of Othman race,
9. "But only Christian in his face:
10. "I'd judge him some stray renegade,
11. "Repentant of the change he made,
12. "Save that he shuns our holy shrine,
13. "Nor tastes the sacred bread and wine.
14. "Great largess to these walls he brought,
15. " And thus our abbot's favour bought;
16. "But were I Prior, not a day
17. " 'Should brook such stranger's further stay,
18. "Or pent within our penance cell
19. "Should doom him there for aye to dwell.
20. "Much in his visions mutters he
21. "Of maiden ? whelmed beneath the sea;
22. "Of sabres clashing foemen flying,
23. "Wrongs aveng'd and Moslem dying.
24. "On cliff he hath been known to stand,
25. "And rave as to some bloody hand
26. "Fresh sever'd from its parent limb,
27. "Invisible to all but him,
28. "Which beckons onward to his grave,
29. "And lures to leap into the wave."
30. Dark and unearthly is the scowl
31. That glares beneath his dusky cowl
32. The flash of that dilating eye
33. Reveals too much of times gone by
34. Though varying indistinct its hue,
35. Oft will his glance the gazer rue
36. For in it lurks that nameless spell
37. Which speaks itself unspeakable
38. A spirit yet unquelled and high
39. That claims and keeps ascendancy,
40. And like the bird whose pinions quake
41. But cannot fly the gazing snake
42. Will others quail beneath his look,
43. Nor 'scape the glance they scarce can brook.
44. From him the half-affrighted Friar
45. When met alone would fain retire
46. As if that eye and bitter smile
47. Transferred to others fear and guile
48. Not oft to smile descendeth he,
49. And when he doth 'tis sad to see
50. That he but mocks at Misery.
51. How that pale lip will curl and quiver!
52. Then fix once more as if for ever
53. As if his sorrow or disdain
54. Forbade him e'er to smile again.
55. Well were it so such ghastly mirth
56. From joyaunce ne'er deriv'd its birth.
57. But sadder still it were to trace
58. What once were feelings in that face
59. Time hath not yet the features fixed,
60. But brighter traits with evil mixed
61. And there are hues not always faded,
62. Which speak a mind not all degraded
63. Even by the crimes through which it waded
64. The common crowd but see the gloom
65. Of wayward deeds and fitting doom
66. The close observer can espy
67. A noble soul, and lineage high.
68. Alas! though both bestowed in vain,
69. Which Grief could change and Guilt could stain
70. It was no vulgar tenement
71. To which such lofty gifts were lent,
72. And still with little less than dread
73. On such the sight is riveted.
74. The roofless cot decayed and rent,
75. Will scarce delay the passer by
76. The tower by war or tempest bent,
77. While yet may frown one battlement,
78. Demands and daunts the stranger's eye
79. Each ivied arch and pillar lone,
80. Pleads haughtily for glories gone!
81. "His floating robe around him folding,
82. "Slow sweeps he through the columned aisle
83. "With dread beheld with gloom beholding
84. "The rites that sanctify the pile.
85. "But when the anthem shakes the choir,
86. "And kneel the monks his steps retire
87. "By yonder lone and wavering torch
88. "His aspect glares within the porch;
89. "There will he pause till all is done
90. "And hear the prayer but utter none.
91. "See by the half-illumin'd wall
92. "His hood fly back his dark hair fall
93. "That pale brow wildly wreathing round,
94. "As if the Gorgon there had bound
95. "The sablest of the serpent-braid
96. "That o'er her fearful forehead strayed.
97. "For he declines the convent oath,
98. "And leaves those locks unhallowed growth
99. "But wears our garb in all beside;
100. "And not from piety but pride

### Lines 0901-1000

1. "Gives wealth to walls that never heard
2. "Of his one holy vow nor word.
3. "Lo! mark ye as the harmony
4. "Peals louder praises to the sky
5. "That livid cheek that stoney air
6. "Of mixed defiance and despair!
7. "Saint Francis ! keep him from the shrine!
8. "Else may we dread the wrath divine
9. "Made manifest by awful sign.
10. "If ever evil angel bore
11. "The form of mortal, such he wore
12. "By all my hope of sins forgiven
13. "Such looks are not of earth nor heaven!"
14. To love the softest hearts are prone,
15. But such can ne'er be all his own;
16. Too timid in his woes to share,
17. Too meek to meet, or brave despair;
18. And sterner hearts alone may feel
19. The wound that time can never heal.
20. The rugged metal of the mine
21. Must burn before its surface shine,
22. But plung'd within the furnace-flame,
23. It bends and melts though still the same;
24. Then tempered to thy want, or will,
25. 'Twill serve thee to defend or kill;
26. A breast-plate for thine hour of need,
27. Or blade to bid thy foeman bleed;
28. But if a dagger's form it bear,
29. Let those who shape it's edge, beware!
30. Thus passion's fire, and woman's art,
31. Can turn and tame the sterner heart;
32. From these its form and tone are ta'en,
33. And what they make it, must remain,
34. But break before it bend again.
35. If solitude succeed to grief,
36. Release from pain is slight relief;
37. The vacant bosom's wilderness
38. Might thank the pang that made it less.
39. We loathe what none are left to share-
40. Even bliss 'twere woe alone to bear;
41. The heart once left thus desolate,
42. Must fly at last for ease to hate.
43. It is as if the dead could feel
44. The icy worm around them steal,
45. And shudder, as the reptiles creep
46. To revel o'er their rotting sleep
47. Without the power to scare away
48. The cold consumers of their clay!
49. It is as if the desart-bird,
50. Whose beak unlocks her bosom's stream;
51. To still her famish'd nestlings' scream,
52. Nor mourns a life to them transferr'd;
53. Should rend her rash devoted breast,
54. And find them flown her empty nest.
55. The keenest pangs the wretched find
56. Are rapture to the dreary void
57. The leafless desart of the mind
58. The waste of feelings unemploy'd
59. Who would be doom'd to gaze upon
60. A sky without a cloud or sun?
61. Less hideous far the tempest's roar,
62. Than ne'er to brave the billows more-
63. Thrown, when the war of winds is o'er,
64. A lonely wreck on fortune's shore,
65. 'Mid sullen calm, and silent bay,
66. Unseen to drop by dull decay;
67. Better to sink beneath the shock
68. Than moulder piecemeal on the rock!
69. "Father! thy days have pass'd in peace,
70. "Mid counted beads, and countless prayer;
71. "To bid the sins of others cease,
72. "Thyself without a crime or care,
73. "Save transient ills that all must bear,
74. "Has been thy lot, from youth to age,
75. "And thou wilt bless thee from the rage
76. "Of passions tierce and uncontroufd,
77. "Such as thy penitents unfold,
78. "Whose secret sins and sorrows rest
79. "Within thy pure and pitying breast.
80. "My days, though few, have pass'd below
81. "In much of joy, but more of woe;
82. "Yet still in hours of love or strife,
83. "I've scap'd the weariness of life;
84. "Now leagu'd with friends, now girt by foes,
85. "I loath'd the languor of repose;
86. "Now nothing left to love or hate,
87. "No more with hope or pride elate;
88. "I'd rather be the thing that crawls
89. "Most noxious o'er a dungeon's walls,
90. "Than pass my dull, unvarying days,
91. "Condemned to meditate and gaze
92. "Yet, lurks a wish within my breast
93. "For rest but not to feel 'tis rest
94. "Soon shall my fate that wish fulfil;
95. "And I shall sleep without the dream
96. "Of what I was, and would be still,
97. "Dark as to thee my deeds may seem
98. "My memory now is but the tomb
99. "Of joys long dead my hope their doom:
100. "Though better to have died with those