29. KEITH OF RAVELSTON.

The murmur of the mourning ghost That keeps the shadowy kine, "O Keith of Ravelston,

The sorrows of thy line!"

Ravelston! Ravelston!

The merry path that leads
Down the golden morning hill
And through the silver meads.
Ravelston! Ravelston!

The stile beneath the tree,

The maid that kept her mother's kine,
The song that sang she!

She sang her song, she kept her kine,
She sat beneath the thorn,

When Andrew Keith of Ravelston
Rode through the Monday morn.

His henchmen sing, his hawk-bells ring,

His belted jewels shine!

O Keith of Ravelston,

The sorrows of thy line!

Year after year, where Andrew came,
Comes evening down the glade,
And still there sits a moonshine ghost
Where sat the sunshine maid.

Her misty hair is faint and fair,

She keeps the shadowy kine;

O Keith of Ravelston,

The sorrows of thy line!

I lay my hand upon the stile-
The stile is lone and cold;
The burnie that goes babbling by
Says nought that can be told.

Yet, stranger! here, from year to year,

She keeps her shadowy kine;

Oh, Keith of Ravelston,

The sorrows of thy line!

Step out three steps, where Andrew stood;
Why blanch thy cheeks for fear?
The ancient stile is not alone,

'Tis not the burn I hear!

She makes her immemorial moan,
She keeps her shadowy kine;

Oh, Keith of Ravelston,

The sorrows of thy line!

SYDNEY DOBELL.

30. THE FAIRY FOUNTAIN.

There is a fountain in the forest called
The Fountain of the Fairies. When a child,
With most delightful wonder I have heard
Tales of the elfin tribe, that on its banks
Hold midnight revelry. An ancient oak,
The goodliest of the forest, grows beside;
It ever has been deemed their favourite tree.
They love to lie and rock upon its leaves,
And bask them in its sunshine. Many a time
Hath the woodman shown his boy where the dark
round

On the greensward beneath its boughs bewrays

Their nightly dance, and bid him spare the tree.

Fancy had cast a spell upon the place

And made it holy; and the villagers

Would say that never evil thing approached

Unpunished there. The strange and fearful pleasure That filled me by that solitary spring

Ceased not in riper years; and now it woke

Deeper delight and more mysterious awe.

SOUTHEY.

31. AN ARAB EMBASSY.

The Persian force, under Rustam, lay encamped at Kadesia (or Khâdesîyah), on the frontier of Sawâd or Irak-Arabi, and was vastly superior in numbers to the Moslems. Saad sent expresses to the caliph entreating reinforcements. He was promised them, but exhorted in the meantime to doubt nothing; never to regard the number of the foe, but to think always that he was fighting under the eye of the caliph. He was instructed, however, before commencing hostilities, to send a delegation to Yezdegird inviting him to embrace the faith.

Saad accordingly sent several of his most discreet and veteran officers on this mission. They repaired to the magnificent city of Madayn, and were ushered through the sumptuous halls and saloons of the palace of the Khosrus, crowded with guards and attendants all richly arrayed, into the presence of the youthful monarch, whom they found seated in state on a throne, supported by silver columns, and surrounded by the dazzling splendour of an Oriental court.

The appearance of the Moslem envoys, attired in simple Arab style in the striped garments of Yemen, amidst the gorgeous throng of nobles arrayed in jewels and embroidery, was but little calculated to inspire deference in a young and inconsiderate prince, brought up in pomp and luxury, and accustomed to consider dignity inseparable from splendour. He had no doubt also been schooled for the interview by his crafty counsellors.

The audience opened by a haughty demand on his part, through his interpreter, as to the object of their embassy. Upon this, one of their number, Na'man Ibn Muskry, set forth the divine mission of the Prophet, and his dying command to enforce his religion by the sword, leaving no peaceable alternative to unbelievers but conversion or tribute. He concluded by

inviting the king to embrace the faith; if not, to consent to become a tributary; if he should refuse both, to prepare for battle.

Yezdegird restrained his indignation, and answered in words which had probably been prepared for him. "You Arabs," said he, "have hitherto been known to us by report as wanderers of the desert; your food dates, and sometimes lizards and serpents; your drink brackish water; your garments coarse haircloth. Some of you who by chance have wandered into our realms have found sweet water, savoury food, and soft raiment. They have carried back word of the same to their brethren in the desert, and now you come in swarms to rob us of our goods and our very land. Ye are like the starving fox to whom the husbandman afforded shelter in his vineyard, and who in return brought a troop of his brethren to devour his grapes. Receive from my generosity whatever your wants require; load your camels with corn and dates, and depart in peace to your native land; but if you tarry in Persia, beware of the fox who was slain by the husbandman."

The most aged of the Arab envoys, the Sheikh Mukair Ibn Zarrarah, replied with great gravity and