Page:Ancient Ballads and Legends of Hindustan.djvu/117

Rh How vivid was the breast-high grass! Here waved in patches, forest corn,— Here intervened a deep morass,— Here arid spots of verdure shorn Lay open,—rock or barren sand,— And here again the trees arose Thick clustering,—a glorious band Their tops still bright with sunset glows.—

Stirred in the breeze the crowding boughs, And seemed to welcome him with signs, Onwards and on,—till Buttoo's brows Are gemmed with pearls, and day declines. Then in a grassy open space He sits and leans against a tree, To let the wind blow on his face And look around him leisurely.

Herds, and still herds, of timid deer Were feeding in the solitude, They knew not man, and felt no fear, And heeded not his neighbourhood, Some young ones with large eyes and sweet Game close, and rubbed their foreheads smooth Against his arms, and licked his feet, As if they wished his cares to soothe.