Page:The Slave Girl of Agra.djvu/267



And they met! And Agra's forces, Man Singh's countless host,
 * Broke the fiery Chohan band,
 * And the flower of Mewar land
 * Made its last heroic stand
 * And fell when all was lost!

Evening closed on Haldighata—fleet was Pratap's steed, O'er the rock and darkened vale the Rana fled in speed!

'Nila Ghora ra Aswar! Rider of dark steed!
 * Stop, for far away thy foes,
 * Stop, for shades of evening close,
 * Stop, a brother brother knows,
 * And needless is thy speed!'

Blood is thick, and Pratap's brother, long his bitter foe, Clasped the hero in his bosom, linked by common woe!

In a cave the Queen of Pratap cooked her nightly food,
 * And her children broke their bread
 * In the jungle dark and dread,
 * Where the leopards softly tread,
 * The cobra lifts its head!

Dauntless still through years of struggle Pratap's clansmen stood, And the Bheels of Aravelli guarded rock and wood!

Twenty years had come and gone! The forces of Mewar
 * Fell at last on Agra's men,
 * Broke them on the purpled plain,
 * Strewed the earth with countless slain,
 * And ended was the war!

Those who fled from Dewir's battle spoke to Agra's King: 'Chain the tempest of the hills, but chain not Pratap Singh!'