“ Few are there like me in the day of the wood-entangled spears, when heroes contend in the fierce charge: O King of the world, thy sea is expansive as the glittering sword among men and dæmons. When the warriors charge—then expose me to them and try my assault—my battle among them. Be thou victorious, with Antar’s aid, and convert, my lord, thy fears into security. Protect but my rear with a thousand lion heroes, and thou shalt view the wonders of my sword and my spear. Thou shalt see a lion driving away the horsemen with a scimitar that surpasses the lightning’s flash in brilliancy. ”

“ Hast thou then, said Monzar, with all this fortitude and eloquence, and propriety of manners, exposed thy life to the sea of death, and endangered thine existence for the sake of an Arab girl? “Yes, my lord, said Antar; it is love that emboldens man to encounter dangers and horrors; and no lover is excusable but he who tastes the bitterness of absence after the sweetness of enjoyment; and there is no peril to be apprehended, but from a look from beneath the corner of a veil: and what misfortune can drive man to his destruction, but a woman who is the root and branch of it!” ”

“ O Ibla, fear not the foe on my account, when they crowd about me, and the war horses charge: for death is but my own form—my own qualities, and there is no prosperity but what is attached to my bridle. I am the youth that fells the horsemen in my strength—a youth whose equal exists not on earth. O breezes! I implore ye by the pillars at Mecca, by Zemzem—by the sacred plains and Mesdelifa,—when ye pass the land of Sheerebah, waft my salutation to Zoheir and his royal sons, and say to the sorrowing Shiboob, hast thou forgotten my faith—renounced my vows? ”

“ At these words the sight of her beauty and loveliness overpowered him. O my mistress, cried he, by the light of thine eyes and the black of thine eyebrows, to me the most sacred of oaths, thy slave Antar has obtained of plunder neither a small nor a large portion, but the whole I have given to thy father and thy uncles. So he presented her the two slave girls and the two strings of jewels that King Zoheir had given him; and he added—the perfumes thou hast no occasion for; thy breath is more delicious and more heavenly; thy perfume is sweeter and more luscious. ”

“ He had scarcely finished his verses when Antar answered him:
“Thou wouldst abuse me, vile wretch, for that I am the colour of that night, whose dangers I [81] dare. If I am a slave, I have slain thy chiefs, and I have overwhelmed them with the vicissitudes of fortune. I am the assaulting lion: in the field of battle I rush impetuously when the coward turns away in flight. The firm-rooted mountains are up-rooted at my vehemence, and let every one who dares to resist me, be certain of death. How many heroes are punished as soon as the lustre of my horse’s front shines in the plain of war! ”

“ How many horsemen, O Ibla, at the edge of my faulchion have torn their hands with their teeth in repentance! but I felled them down on the battle plain, that the wild beasts and eagles and hovering vultures might drink of their blood. I must love the tribe of Abs, were they even to shed my blood unrevenged,—such is my love for thee, thou daughter of noble chiefs! I will endure the burthen of grievances, and sorrows, and captivity, and shew that I am a warrior and the son of a warrior [249] May the peace of God be with thee, O Ibla—soon will I come to thee with my trophies! ”

“ Soon wilt thou meet a Knight, a lion warrior, a chief tried in battle. O then, attack not one like me, for I am a chosen hero. Attack the horsemen, thou dog of the waste, but whither wilt thou escape from me this day? Take this from my cleaving sword, that deals sorrows, deaths and pestilence from the slave of a tribe, that braves death and woe, and never fails.”
Monzar was much astonished at his address to the lion, and he advanced with his attendants, to behold what Antar might do. ”

“ Thy bosom is created as an enchantment. O may God protect it ever in that perfection! To be connected with thee, is to be connected with every joy, but separated from all my world is the bond of thy connexion. Under thy veil is the rosebud of my life, and thine eyes are guarded with a multitude of arrows; round thy tent is a lion warrior, the sword’s edge, and the spear’s point. O thy face is like the full moon of heaven, allied to light, but far from my hopes.”
When Antar ceased, Ibla and her mother were astonished, and their dislike towards him diminished ”

“ I am the Antar of horsemen in the contest, that makes armies and warriors drink of ignominy, a draught from his hand with the polished sword that glides through the neck, in the battle field. Soon will I plunge into the war dust till I encounter Khosrewan, and make him drink of the cup of death; I will make him taste from my sword a draught, after which he shall never taste of pure water. Ye shall see the horse scattered o’er the wastes—the Himyarite chiefs shall be bound on their saddles. I am the lion, foremost in war, and mine arm is the horror of warriors. ”

“ The heights of glory are not attained but at the point of the spear, and patience in the day of battle through the heaviest difficulties, and the challenge of every lion-hero, and long-bearded warrior. Ask my horse of me, when flashes of fire fly from his hoofs. I have a spear-thrust that deals the most excruciating pain, and raises me above all competitors; and my Indian blade cuts through the nocturnal calamities whenever I draw it. I am the son of the black faced Zebeebah that tends the camels. I am a slave, but my fury o’erwhelms the lordly chiefs in the battle. ”

“ I will make the blood to stream from their joints, when the sculls of the warriors leap from the blow of my sword. How many chiefs, when they see me eager in the fight, throw away their arms, and save themselves by flight! I am the bold one. As to [85] the fire of war, I kindle it, and hurl the tribes into punishments and death. Death, in the direful combat, fears me, when the battle-dust rises; and the sand-cloud is like a blazing fire. My joy is in the encounter of heroes, when spears and swords clash in my grasp. How many battle-dusts have I dived into, fearless of calamities! ”

“ Antar was in amazement at what he saw, and the people also stared and gazed at him; and this continued till they came before Chosroe. Monzar stepped forward and saluted him, and prayed for a continuance of his glory and power. Then Antar too paid his homage, and thus spoke:
“May God avert from thee the evils of fortune, and mays’t thou live secure from calamities! May thy star be ever brilliant in progressive prosperity, and increase in glory! May thy sword be ever sharp, and cleave the necks of thy foes, O thou King of the age! ”

“ Antar, the ferocious lion, felt his heart assuaged in the midst of slaughter, and in the concussion of heroes and warriors. He exhibited terrors amidst the concourse of heroes, and scattered whole armies over the plains and the mountains. King Monzar cried out aloud to his troops, and they exposed themselves to the enemy: roused afresh was the flame of war; it fiercely raged, and its sparks flashed; the dust blackened the whole land, so that both earth and heaven were veiled. The ground tottered under the hoofs of the noble steeds, until the sweat even moistened their entrails. ”

“ The Almighty has exposed thee to a lion warrior, that thou mayest fall subdued by my sword, O thou, sprung from the worshippers of the sunbeams, and from those who adore the blazing flames. Fate will repay thee, for it has devoted thee to the fight with me, and to the horrors of my strength. Despair; all thy hopes are frustrated, founded on the crush of thy mace and the warrior-yell. Thou art indeed like the moth, that when it sees the flame, imagines its safety is in its destruction. Stand firm then to the spear-thrust of him whose force thou hast sought. ”

“ O Ibla, were it not for my love of thee, I would not be with so few friends and so many enemies! I am departing, and the back of my horse shall be my resting place; and my sword and mail my pillow, till I trample down the lands of Irak, and destroy their deserts and their cities. When the market for the sale of lives is established, and they cry out, and the criers proclaim the goods, and I behold the troops stirring up the war-dust with the thrusts of spear and sharp scimitars—then will I disperse their horsemen, and the foe shall be cut down deprived of their hands. ”

“ The marriage canopy was instantly pitched, and there was no further demur. The damsels advanced conducting the concealed treasure. Her approach was at that moment sweeter to him than sleep to the wearied eyelids, and he beheld in her the stem of a tall reed, and the rose of the soul. They were immediately united; on the second day Zoheir arose and thanked his fortune, irritated as he had been. He made presents, and distributed the gold and silver, and he made Amroo’s people remain with him, that he might treat them for seven days, when he made the marriage-feast, slaughtering camels and sheep. ”

“ Mount not the horse of Outrage, for it will not rescue thee from the messengers of Death: and soon mayest thou expect him, should’st thou erect in the desert a mansion like the sacred shrine of the Caaba shouldst thou establish similar rites and ceremonies and resemblances to Menah and Zengein and the temple. Away, away, their land is the land of a tribe superior to all mankind; and from them shall appear a noted man, the prophet of God, the torch of darkness, whose faith shall extend east and west with the death bearing-sword of a noble warrior. ”

“ Antar stood unconcerned, and listened to Semeeah’s acknowledgments; he bore no resentment, and praised her in these verses:
“Oh! is it from Semeeah that these tears flow in anguish, and from a heart in flames? Shall her form shadow me? can blows harm me, and shall tears burst in torrents from her eyelids? When her tresses hang dishevelled; she is like the rising full moon, veiled in the darkness of night. The property is thy property, the slave thy slave: and life, and every sense shall be exerted to save thee. ”

“ And when the tribe of Mazin saw Antar’s prowess, the hearts of the heroes were encouraged, and they hastened to the combat; men met men, and heroes heroes; blood flowed and streamed, scimitars glittered, and spears goaded; armour was riven; lives were plundered; the ground was discoloured with blood; the warriors were covered with glory; the flames of war greatly raged; innumerable were the blows and the thrusts, and the easy became difficult: the battle field boiled like the boiling of cauldrons; mighty was every act, and fate descended amongst them. ”

“ But when they came nigh the tents, there appeared his brother Shas; in his hand was a flaming sword, and under him a steed swifter than a cloud when it rains, and his bosom was charged with fury and indignation, and he was about to slay Antar. When his brother Malik saw him, he was aware if he did not keep him away from Antar, he would injure him. How is it I see thee so disturbed? said he. Know, said Shas, this accursed Antar has killed my servant, and I am come to cut his body in pieces with this sword. You must not touch him, said Malik; he who dares to oppose him is a dead man. ”

“ Slaughter is the word!”
No sooner heard Kais the shout of Antar, than he was alarmed and confounded; he pricked on his horse, and turned round upon Antar; but Antar cried out to him—Son of Dibgan, who hast urged thee against the warriors of Abs and Adnan, whom none shall attack but the eagles shall devour his flesh? Thou vilest of Negroes, cried Kais, thou shalt soon see that I am a man not to be wearied in the contest of spears; and as he fell on Antar like the fall of fate and destiny, he thus burst forth—
“I am renowned in every nation for the thrust of the spear and the blow of the sword. ”

“ But, my mother, added Antar, my aunt has once promised to give Ibla to me in marriage, and has engaged herself by contract to that purpose. Hush! said Zebeebah, talk not of impossibilities; this will never happen: how can a slave, without connexion or rank, aspire to marriage with an Arab woman? particularly as you were brought up tending the sheep and the camels! O mother, said Antar, I’ll shew thee wonders; my soul pants for honour and dignity, and with my sword will I dishonour the necks of the Arab chieftains. ”

“ It was about the beginning of the day when Monzar mounted his horse and rode out to inhale the news; when lo! a dust from the direction of Persia appeared, and the whole country was blackened and darkened, and from beneath it came forth Persian horsemen, and the armies of Deelem. Take your implements of war, cried Monzar, ply the blow and the thrust, and protect the families and the women, or eternal will be your disgrace; for truly the offences against propriety in conversation, and the blunders of the tongue are the calamities of man. ”

“ O my mistress, said Antar, I knew nothing of it, but had I known it, I would not have tarried, had my legs been even tied and fettered; and he thus addressed them:
“Darkness hovers over, and my tears stream down in copious torrents. I conceal my love and complain to no one. I pass the night, regarding the stars of night in my distraction, and the tears rush violently from my eyes like a hail storm. Ask the night of me, and it will tell thee that I am indeed the ally of sorrow and anguish. I live desolate, there is no one like me; a lover without friends or a companion! ”

“ The realms of Chosroe I would not covet, were the phantom of my love to vanish from my sight. May the showers of rain ever bedew the lands and mounds of Sheerebah! lands, where the brilliancy of the veiled full moons may be seen in the obscurity of their sable ringlets—where my heart chases among them, a damsel whose eyes are painted with antimony, more lovely than the Houri. Thou mayst see in her teeth a liquor when she smiles, where the wine cup is studded with pearls. The fawn has borrowed the magic of her eye, and it is the lion of the earth that chases its prey for her beauty. ”