Page:Ancient Ballads and Legends of Hindustan.djvu/85

Rh "Oh shame! And canst thou make my weal
 * A plea for lingering! Now I know

What thou art Lakshman! And I feel
 * Far better were an open foe.

Art thou a coward? I have seen
 * Thy bearing in the battle-fray

Where flew the death-fraught arrows keen,
 * Else had I judged thee so to-day.

But then thy leader stood beside!
 * Dazzles the cloud when shines the sun,

Reft of his radiance, see it glide
 * A shapeless mass of vapours dun;

So of thy courage,—or if not,
 * The matter is far darker dyed,

What makes thee loth to leave this spot?
 * Is there a motive thou wouldst hide?

He perishes—well, let him die!
 * His wife henceforth shall be mine own!

Can that thought deep imbedded lie
 * Within thy heart's most secret zone!

Search well and see! one brother takes
 * His kingdom,—one would take his wife!

A fair partition!—But it makes
 * Me shudder, and abhor my life.