my beloved one. In her eyes eternity reposed; I grasped her hands, and my tears formed a glittering, inseparable bond. Ages were swept by like storms into the distance; on her neck I wept tears of ecstasy for life renewed. It was my first, my only dream; and from that time I feel an eternal and unchanging faith in the heaven of the Night, and in its light, the Loved One. SONG. (From an unpublished Tragedy.) HARK! the bridal bells are ringing, See the bridegroom blithe and gay Serfs are waiting by her side,- She doth give that serf a glance, When they reached the abbey gate, Where was she-the lovely bride? Still upon her steed she sate, Still the serf was by her side: But, ere one their flight could stay, C. H. H. TALES OF A SPANISH VETERAN. HASSAN THE LION-SLAYER.* (Contiuued from page 36.) Nor long did Gonzales remain silent; for shaking off, by a sudden effort, the gloomy thoughts that had taken possession of his mind, he again raised his head, and thus continued his tale, though with a somewhat subdued voice and manner :— "I told you, my friends, that the fair Zadic was beloved by all who came within the influence of her smile; but I said not there was one to whom that smile was as a gleam of light from paradise; to whom her voice was as the song of houries, who loved her with a passion deep and engrossing, and cherished within his breast a flame, quenchless and all-consuming as that fire the cunning Greeks devised of old. The children of the burning East love not as do those of our more temperate climes; their passion is a delirium, a fierce conflict of feelings, amid the tumults of which, when the heart's pulsations are too quick for counting, when the eyes flash fire, the nerves are tremulous, and the veins swell almost to bursting, the admonitions of reason are unheard, or heard but faintly. Of this frenzy of the soul, we Spaniards feel somewhat, owing to the admixture of Moorish blood within our veins; hence the too frequent use of the stiletto, hence the ghastly corpses that float nightly on the Venetian canals, or are borne by the waters of the swift Darro, and by other rivers, to be devoured by monsters of the deep. *To those who, on reading the former portion of this tale, were tempted to exclaim with Pope, "Prose run mad!" the author feels that for his own sake some apology is due. "Hassan" was originally written in blank verse, but in that form it would have occupied far more space than could have been accorded by a popular periodical; it remained then to translate it into simpler prose, and those only who have tried to effect a similar metamorphosis can appreciate the difficulty of the task-the pen will " step to music," as the horse that danced hornpipes at Astley's could not be restrained from responding to the piper, even when harnessed to a mourning coach. An irregularity of style was thus produced in the former number, exceedingly well calculated to confuse the sober-minded reader ;-henceforth it is hoped this fault will be avoided, as the author has resolved entirely to rewrite the remainder of his tale, without more reference to the original composition than is absolutely unavoidable from its dwelling on the memory. "An English poet has asked, 'Know ye the land where the cypress and myrtle Are emblems of deeds that are done in their clime? And Hassan (Zadie's lover) was a true son of the fervid regions, which are in these lines so faithfully depicted; but before entering more fully into the circumstances of our narrative, let us conclude our walk through the vale in which the principal events to be described took place. "Leaving the fountain, then, with its groups of light-hearted maidens, and graceful acacia trees, amid whose boughs the breezes love to wander, we bend our steps upward, through the narrow pass which forms the entrance from the desert to this scene of peace and fertility. There is now scarcely room for three men to walk abreast, and the walls of jagged rock rise up some fifty feet, and then incline inwards till they nearly touch each other; the small space overhead is quite closed up by the vegetation which finds subsistence amid the interstices of the rifted sandstone, so that the passage is dark, and difficult to traverse by reason of the fragments of rock with which it is purposely strewn. The portal is now gained, and we look forth upon a wide expanse of sand, the level of which is unbroken save by the thinly scattered groups of towering palms, delighting the eye with their never-failing verdure, as fertile islands in a waste of waters might be supposed to greet the weary mariner. "But perhaps I weary you, my friends, by thus dwelling upon the features of a landscape; old age is garrulous, and the thoughts of one who has long been a wanderer over the face of the earth, love to fly back and linger amid the bright places that cheered and refreshed the spirit in days gone by. Many pleasant hours did I pass in the valley which I have attempted to describe; and for many acts of kindness am I indebted to the hospitable tribe by which it was then, and I believe still is, inhabited,-the descendants of those who dwelt there at the period of my tale, with which I shall now proceed, and relate, as succinctly as may be, the early history of its principal hero. Hassan's sire was a fierce, bloodthirsty Arab sheik, who dwelt upon the eastern verge of the great desert of Zahara; he was the leader of a predatory band, who had pitched their tents in a mountainous defile, not far from the city of Taboo. They were a daring, lawless crew, inured to hunger, and all the hardships of a desert life mounted on steeds almost as fleet and untiring as the whirlwinds, full often did they bound forth, and with a dreadful shout, surprise the tired caravan; then plunder was the word, and the blood of him who resisted was drank by the thirsty sands. Full often too did they make sudden incursions upon the cultivated lands and pasture grounds of their more peaceful neighbours; bearing away the store of garnered corn, the camels, oxen, sheep, nay, even human beings, whom they sold as slaves, to swell the coffers of their rapacious chief, whose god was gold. Emboldened by success, at length they dared to cast a greedy eye upon the riches of the vale of Fez, and plan an expedition thereinto, for the purpose of pillage and spoliation. But they had better never have been born, than offer an insult to, or inflict an injury on, the powerful Emir who there held rule. Like tigers crouching for their prey they came, when shades of night were stealing fast around; but there were eyes that looked upon their coming, and there were ears that heard their stealthy tread, of which they little recked. Their movements through the day had been observed by a scout, who kept constant watch upon the borders of the desert, and hence the Emir had timely warning of their approach. From the character of the men, and the manner of their coming, no doubt could be entertained of the intention of such a visit, and every preparation was accordingly made to receive them with due honour and respect. 'What!' exclaimed the prince, his very whiskers curling with rage, "shall miscreants like these dare to set foot upon our soil, and with hostile intent too?—They whom we could crush as easily as the nailed foot can a scorpion, as the tawny monarch of the wilds can rend a tender kid? Then, with a laugh of fierce derision, he shouted forth, 'Ah! ah! 'tis good! 'tis very good! praises to Allah's name! They come to their destruction; they beard the couchant lion in his den, and think him sleeping;-think to work their evil will, and then escape; nor feel his talons in their quivering flesh, nor hear his loud reverberating roar! Yes, let them come; we'll feign to be asleep until the fools are well within our reach, then shall they feel our power, then know how vain their puny strength is when compared with ours. Prepare my arms! they long have lain unused, and, like the steed at the shrill trumpet call, my soul rejoiceth at the voice of war, and only grieves to think that they with whom we shall contend are weak and all unworthy! Quick, prepare! we will go forth to view the sport; there is a nest of hornets to be crushed, and we perchance may show them that there is valour in an old man's heart, and strength in his right arm!' "The night has come; and now, from out their hiding places, amid the rocks and sand hills, close by the mouth of the valley, the robbers issue, and cautiously proceed to enter the narrow pass. Their guide is one who is well acquainted with the ground, having there passed his youth and early manhood; love of a roving life in part, in part some fancied slight put on him by the Emir, and lawless passions not to be restrained, had prompted him to desert his home and tribe, and to become one of a band of marauders, who, as I before said, were the terror of the desert. He it was who had excited their chief's cupidity, by telling him of gold and gems in store, of gathered fruits and corn, of flocks and herds, horses and camels, too numerous for counting, and pointing out how easily the guardians of these treasures might be surprised and overpowered, though he knew well that certain destruction waited on the attempt. He had conceived hatred against his new companions, because they did not at once raise him to a station of command among them; and with the narrow cunning of a little mind, which generally over-reaches itself, he had determined to betray the meditated attack of his companions upon the valley, and thus, as he hoped, win back the confidence of the old Emir, and obtain a large reward for his double treachery. But his plans were frustrated; the wicked are ever suspicious, and he was watched too narrowly to allow of any communication with his kindred tribe. Foremost he rode now, his hopes of escape growing fainter and fainter, and by his side was the sheik with yatagan unsheathed, ready to strike him dead, should he prove treacherous. "All seemed to favour the design of the robbers; the night was pitchy dark; no watchmen were abroad, for they had been purposely withdrawn, and they moved on amid the gloom with hearts elate. The men uttered not a whisper; and no sound was emitted by their well-trained steeds, that stepped as cautiously as though endowed with sense, and, with ears erect, seemed listening for the first alarm that might be given. "Now have they passed the fountain amid the rocks; and now have reached the rows of camel-skin tents, whose inhabitants slumber, or seem to do so, in peaceful security; not even the bark of a watch-dog breaks upon the stillness, and onward pass the silent band towards the dwellings of the Emir, and principal |