Page:From Constantinople to the home of Omar Khayyam.djvu/416

 244 THE TOMB OF OMAR KHAYYAM

regarded as a shattered idol so far as strict fulfilment is con- cerned ; and that the word gul (again repeated) in the text of the passage translated above is to be interpreted, not as roses, but in a broader sense, as referring to any flower and to the blossoms of fruit trees, the pear and the peach tree {amrud u zarddlu) being especially alluded to in the narrative.^ Never- theless, as Dr. E. Dennison Ross rightly observes, ' it is quite probable that the poet's tomb is, or at least was, annually cov- ered both by rose-leaves and by fruit blossoms ' ; ^ and I may add that the garden today is so rich in roses as almost ' to make one in love with death,' as Shelley said of Keats's burial-place. Nor can I fail to feel that the Cambridge professor, whom I know well, may possibly modify his view if ever he visits Omar's grave.

It is to be regretted that some of Omar's admirers in the Occident do not provide a suitable inscription on the spot to show the renown he enjoys in the West. However, the site where he rests, like the tombs of Hafiz and Sa*di at Shiraz, is preserved from forgetfulness by the mosque which it adjoins. ^ In this respect it is not like that of the great epic poet Firdausi, which is practically forgotten amid the ruins of Tus. It is safe to predict, moreover, that Omar's growing fame in Europe and America will bring other pilgrims to his grave.

We had paid our obeisance, and the word was now 'return.' As we galloped off along the broad road leading back to the town, I scattered some rose-leaves by the way in order that the path to Omar's tomb, if not the grave itself, might be strewn with the roses that he loved.

Before leaving Nishapur that night, we wished to taste a draft from a jug of the wine made famous by Omar's lines. Our messenger returned after a search around the town, only

��1 Browne, Tet more Light on xiv (Gibb Memorial Series, vol. 11). ♦ Umar-i-Khayydm, in JBAS. 1899, ^ gee Batson and Ross, The Bu-

p. 414, and his Lit. Hist. Persia, 2. baHyat, p. 39.

247-248, as well as his preface to the ^ on the tombs of Hafiz and Sa'di

edition of the Chahdr Makdla, pp. xiii- see my Persia, pp. 332-334.

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