Page:The Bengali Book of English Verse.djvu/75

Rh Let his foul carcase feed the dogs Upon the public way.'

Oh! gaily in a golden shower The setting sunlight falls Upon the waste of glinting sand Which girds Pokurna's walls. The warder paced the battlements, With heavy steps and slow, And from within arose a cry, A wail of grief and woe. There noble dames shed heart-wrung tears, And rent their glossy hair, And cried aloud for him, the dead, And beat their bosoms bare. And cursed with bitter, bitter words The prince at whose command Was foully slain their noble chief, The bravest in the land.

Far different was the scene within That castle's ancient hall, Where, 'neath the glorious banners Which graced the blackened wall, Five hundred mailed warriors And chiefs of high emprise Around their youthful leader stood, With stern yet moistened eyes. They bared at once their shining blades And lifted them on high, And swore a deep and deadly oath To avenge their lord or die. Full well their solemn oath they kept In many a mortal fray, And sorely rued that haughty prince The deed he did that day.