Page:The Bengali Book of English Verse.djvu/55

Rh The gallant barb which he bestrode Had travelled far from home, And his dun hide on either side Was wet with snow-white foam; But minding not his toil he sped As swiftly as the wind, To save from foes his regal lord, The kindest of the kind.

As horse and horseman onward passed, Still feebler waxed the din, The echoing tramp and deafening shout, And roar of culverin. Thou bear'st me well, my barb,' he said 'Thou bear'st me well this night And I with jewelled bit and band Thy labours will requite.'

But ere another hour had passed, Down falls the noble steed; The king dismounts in fear and haste And looks at him with heed,— Distended nostrils, starting eyes And stiffening limbs display That life with him is ebbing fast And soon shall pass away.

Beyond the hills by cloudlets ribbed, The broad-disked moon appears, And o'er the vasty sea of sand Its crest of fire uprears; And far adown the glimmering glen Advance with headlong haste A hundred fugitives to seek The refuge of the waste.