Page:Oriental Sketches Dramatic Sketches and Tales.pdf/105

Rh

Is filled with music as it gently woos The waving clusters of the tamarisk, Or whispers through the clove carnation beds In amorous sighs, lulling the soul to sleep, Steeping the senses in delicious calm. No dreams disturb our slumbers, we inhale Rich perfume as we breathe, and the rapt ear Lists to the gush of fountains, and the song Of night's most thrilling minstrel brought in swells By the spiced gale from distant almond groves.

I fly to oriental plains! but ' tis To wander amid ruins, and to share His midnight meal with the huge vampire bat, Nestling all day within the marble halls Of proud Persepolis. The jackal howls, The serpent hisses, and the eagle screams As my adventurous spirit urges them From their most secret haunts.