Anther

“ I am of the race of Abs, the valiant lion of the cavern. If thou art Badhramoot, I am called Antar among men. It was easy for me to vanquish the armies of Chosroe in the contest; and soon will I overthrow Cæsar’s self with my spear. Hear the words of an intrepid lion, resolute, undaunted, all-conquering. I am he of whom warriors can bear witness in the combat under the turbid battle-dust. My sword is my companion in the night-shades, as are also my Abjer, and my lance and my spear in the conflicts. Night is my complexion, but day is my emblem; the sun is unquestionably the mirror of my deeds. ”

“ Antar advanced towards the King, kissed his hands, and thus addressed him:
“O King of the universe, I thank thee for the vast gifts thou hast bestowed upon me; thou hast granted me favors I cannot bear; thou art the most beneficent of all that tread the earth! thou art the man to whom all Kings bow in the day of battle; every Arab and every Persian. But thy slave still lives in the agony he endures from his love, his weakness, and his passion. He lives far from his friends, for whom he thirsts; and languishing for Ibla, he lives restless in torments.” ”

“ 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! ”

“ And know, my son, the most ignorant of men is an envious man. Now Antar just then entered, and as he had overheard all their conversation, he thus spoke:—
“This flame is for Ibla, O my friend, her lustre illumines the darkest night. She blazes—her form is in my heart, and the fire of love is in my soul. Her gently waving form has kindled it like the branches whose motion refreshes the [130] breeze. Her breath diffuses a lively odour, and in her perfumes I pass the night in paradise. She is a maid whose breath is sweeter than honey, whenever she sips the juice of the grape. ”

“ May you ever be under the protection of God! Thus Antar went on talking with the King, when, Shedad coming up to him, Antar ran towards him and kissed his feet in the stirrup, thus saying;
“O my Lord, I am come begging forgiveness; the slave is come like a criminal; the sword and warhorse would fail, should presumption ever bear sway.” ”

“ I am the well known Antar, the chief of his tribe, and I shall die: but when I am gone, history shall tell of me.”
Antar’s eloquence and intrepidity made the Prince’s heart bound with joy, for not an Arab amongst the neighbouring or distant tribes could equal him. Verily, said Malik, the spirit of God animates you, and inspires your mind; for you have attained the full expression of words, and are perfect in rhymes. They went on, passing over the wilds and the deserts, until they approached their own country, when Malik sent forward one of his [124] men to give notice of his coming. ”

“ ANTARA, or. as he is usually called, Antar, an early Arabian warrior and poet, famous as the author of one of the poems hung up in the Kaaba at Mecca, and as the hero of a romance which bears somewhat the same relation to Arabic literature which the Arthurian legend bears to our own. He was the son of Shedad-el-Absi, a warrior in the army of Zoheir, by Zabuba, a negro slave who had been captured in some plundering expedition; and, if we can trust the Arabian romancist, he bore strong evidence of his negro origin. ”

“ 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. ”

“ What can men do, said Monzar, when double their numbers attack them? and they are overwhelmed by those who do not fear their carnage? Man, said Antar, must patiently resist, and drink of the cup of death as he drinks the purest water, and not fly or run away. I am now in your power, and I demand of you the marriage dower of Ibla, my uncle’s daughter; restore me my sword, my cuirass, my arms, and my horse, and give me a thousand men to defend my rear ”

“ Antar heard all they said, and Shedad praised his son Antar, informing the king of all he had done, and all he had composed in prose and verse, and related the whole story. All this, cried the King, greatly rejoiced at the courage and eloquence of Antar, I anticipated at the time he slew the slave of my son Shas; I knew he would be the refuge of every petitioner. Who can execute such deeds or perform such acts! doubtless he will rise superior to all his contemporaries. And he called out to him, and ordered him into his presence. ”

“ Arabs in that country, and their property and camels very abundant; with them is my object, and what my uncle has demanded.
Shiboob trembled and was confounded at this intelligence, for he knew the country. Why not stop till morning, said he, that thou mayst acquaint King Zoheir and Prince Malik? for they may perhaps be able to assist thee in this affair. Return my brother, and expose not thy life to difficulties and dangers. Away! away! cried Antar; not a word; none but the Creator of mankind can aid me; I must destroy my accursed enemies. ”

“ Verily, said they, O my cousin, the foe is come up with us, and to day will our booty be torn away, and our sculls will fly off. Know, my cousins, said Antar, that death will not be wanting, neither will it increase; but I have long wished for such a day as this, for I have not given up the tribe of Abs; my heart is fixed on returning home; and this fortuitous circumstance has happened to us by the will of Him who disposes life and death. Now is the flame of war at hand, and sorrow and anguish are approaching. Whoever among you is ready to fight, let him fight ”

“ Annister drew a faint, hissing breath. In the star-shine, for there was no moon, the fingers showed in a luminous grayness against the sill, clawlike, malformed, like the talons of a beast, which in effect they were.
Annister knew them upon the instant, for, in far-off Java, for instance, he had seen those hands, or, rather, the same and yet not the same. And in that instant he had acted.
Both hands upon the window-sash, he brought it down with a crash upon those fingers; there followed a yelp of pain, inhuman, doglike—a groaning curse—the slam of a falling ladder—a heavy thud—silence. ”

“ The princes returned to their tents, Antar preceding them like a lion, repeating these verses:
“I will not cease to exalt myself by my deeds, till I reach Orion in my ambitious projects. Here I care not for those who abuse me, fearful of death and separation from life. But I will reduce my foes and my railers by force, and I will be patient under sufferings and in praise. I will strive to attain what I desire, till death snatch me away. I will arm my mind against worldly lusts, that I may be considered noble-minded and faithful. ”

“ Terrified at Antar’s words cried Harith, what is it thou sayst, Aboolfawaris? For God’s sake return with me, trouble not thyself about such matters, and do not banish thyself from amongst us; our property is not so small; and verily I am astonished how my father and brother could let thee depart alone. I told no one of my departure, said Antar; My lord my uncle demands of me camels that we have not, and are not in our tribe, and I have engaged to procure them, and I have said yes: and he thus continued. ”

“ Introduction The romantic figure of Antar, or Antarah, takes the same place in Arabian literature as that of Achilles among the Greeks. The Cid in Spain, Orlando in Italy, and Arthur in England, are similar examples of national ideals put forth by poets and romance writers as embodiments of a certain half-mythic age of chivalry, when personal valor, prudence, generosity, and high feeling gave the warrior an admitted preeminence among his fellows. The literature of Arabia is indeed rich in novels and tales. ”

“ In less than an hour he drove them from the plunder. As soon as the Absians heard the sound of Antar from under the cloud of dust,—Verily, Antar, the magnanimous warrior, will overcome them, said they; may God assist him! This is indeed true intrepidity, and he deserves half the spoil; for if the heroes drink the cup of death, the greatest share will fall to him, for verily the eye of the sun cannot be concealed. Thus their hearts were purified towards Antar, and they all returned to his assistance. ”

“ Antar related all that had passed with his uncle Malik and the tribe of Abs and so forth; and when the King was certain that his affection for Ibla was unshaken, and that his love could not possibly admit of increase;—I am truly surprised, O Absian, said he, at your forbearance and your reserve, your grievances being of such a nature. O my lord, said Antar, I swear by the existence of your munificence, that is unbounded, and the liberality of your hands, that can [289] never be forgotten. I am a dead man among the living! ”

“ Antar smiled, and presented himself before Ibla’s mother. O mistress, said he, what think you of these our enemies? verily they are eager for their prey. O Antar, said she, my force and spirits are exhausted; in a moment we shall be the prisoners of our enemies, and they will scatter us over this desert. O my mistress, said Antar, give Ibla to me in marriage, and I will disperse [78] your enemies at a single onset. I will reduce them to annihilation; and I will give you their horses and their armour as a dower. ”

“ At about nine o'clock the Baron's servant came round to know whether he had left a pocket medicine chest the night before. I questioned the servant, and found the Baron had given him a list of the places where he had been, and that he had asked at several already. The medicine chest wanted, proved to be the one found in Mr. Anderton's room. On the pillow I found also a piece of paper in Mr. Anderton's handwriting, of which I enclose a copy.
6.—Pencil note found on the pillow of Mr. Anderton.
Let no man condemn me for what I do. God knows how I have fought against it. My darling! ”

“ Annister, in the passage of an eye-flash, understood. This was the man whom he had encountered in the vestibule of the smoker, and, of a sudden, memory rose up out of the past, and, with it, a picture: a padded ring under twin, blazing arcs; the thud and shuffle of sliding feet; a man, huge, brutish, broad, fists like stone mauls, yet, for all his bulk, a very cat for quickness. ”

“ The unanimous opinion of the East has always placed the romance of Antar at the summit of such literature. As one of their authors well says: "'The Thousand and One Nights' is for the amusement of women and children; 'Antar' is a book for men. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The third man, as Annister could see, was tall and heavily built, with broad shoulders and a curiously small head. He had a sharp, acquisitive nose, and a mouth tight-lipped and thin. Annister, versed in reading men, was abruptly conscious of an instinctive and overmastering repugnance. For the man’s eyes were cold and cruel, sleepy-lidded, like a snake’s, roving between Annister and the conductor in a furtive scrutiny. ”

“ Antar went apart from them for a while into the rocky plain, then galloped, and challenged them to the contest, thus addressing them;—
“When my foe sues me for a debt, I settle the debt with the Redeinian spear: [2] my scimitar’s edge shall extirpate ye all, and shall justly decide between you and me. I am exalted by my sword and spear far above the minutest stars and the two bears. Foul wretches! ye know not my power, but the inhabitants of the two hemispheres shall feel it. The grasp of fortune has not destroyed my strength, and the fingers of time have not been stretched out against me. ”

“ Annister, though you have guessed something from the change in the expression of his countenance. For years he has been like a carrier of typhoid, spreading the contagion of his own sinful nature wherever he went, himself unpunished, even admired, looked up to and patterned after. Do you want to keep such a man alive? Do you think, do you really believe, Dr. Annister, that the genius of such [Pg 327] a man as that, whatever it is, could make amends to the world for all the evil that he does?”
“You forget, Mr. Gordon, that it is no part of my purpose to keep him as he is. ”