Shall I remain
When ye are gone before?'
He drew the wood from out his side,
And loosed the crimson gore.
XVIII.
"Falling, he raised his broken spear,
Thrice wav'd it o'er his head,
Thrice raised the warrior's cry 'revenge!'--
His soul was with the dead.
XIX.
"Now, one by one, the wounded braves
Homeward were seen to wend,
Each holding on his saddle bow
A dead or dying friend.
XX.
"Two galliards bore the Eesa's son,
The corpse was stark and bare--
Low moaned the maid, the mother smote
Her breast in mute despair.
XXI.
"The father bent him o'er the dead,
The wounds were all before;
Again his brow, in sorrow clad,
The garb of gladness wore.
XXII.
"'Ho! sit ye down, nor mourn for me,'
Unto the guests he cried;
'My son a warrior's life hath lived,
A warrior's death hath died.
XXIII.
"'His wedding and his funeral feast
Are one, so Fate hath said;
Death bore him from the brides of earth
The brides of Heaven to wed.'
XXIV.
"They drew their knives, they sat them down,
And fed as warriors feed;
The flesh of sheep and beeves they ate,
And quaffed the golden mead.
XXV.
"And Eesa sat between the prayers
Until the fall of day,
When rose the guests and grasped their spears,
And each man went his way.
XXVI.
"But in the morn arose the cry,
For mortal spirit flown;
The father's mighty heart had burst
With woe he might not own.
XXVII.
"On the high crest of yonder hill,
They buried sire and son,
Grant, Allah! grant them Paradise--
Gentles, my task is done!"
* * * * *
Immediately after our arrival at Wilensi we sent Yusuf Dera, the Gerad's
second son, to summon his father. I had to compose many disputes between
the Hammal and the End of Time: the latter was swelling with importance;
he was now accredited ambassador from the Hajj to the Girhi chief,
consequently he aimed at commanding the Caravan. We then made preparations
for departure, in case of the Gerad being unable to escort us. Shehrazade
and Deenarzade, hearing that the small-pox raged at Harar, and fearing for
their charms, begged hard to be left behind: the Kalendar was directed,
despite his manly objections, to remain in charge of these dainty dames.
The valiant Beuh was dressed in the grand Tobe promised to him; as no
consideration would induce him towards the city, he was dismissed with
small presents, and an old Girhi Bedouin, generally known as Said Wal, or
Mad Said, was chosen as our escort. Camels being unable to travel over
these rough mountain paths, our weary brutes were placed for rest and
pasture under the surveillance of Sherwa: and not wishing the trouble and
delay of hiring asses, the only transport in this country, certain
moreover that our goods were safer here than nearer Harar, we selected the
most necessary objects, and packed them in a pair of small leathern
saddlebags which could be carried by a single mule.
All these dispositions duly made, at 10 A.M. on the 29th December we
mounted our animals, and, guided by Mad Said, trotted round the northern
side of the Wilensi table-mountain down a lane fenced with fragrant dog
roses. Then began the descent of a steep rocky hill, the wall of a woody
chasm, through whose gloomy depths the shrunken stream of a large Fiumara
wound like a thread of silver. The path would be safe to nought less
surefooted than a mule: we rode slowly over rolling stones, steps of
micaceous grit, and through thorny bush for about half an hour. In the
plain below appeared a village of the Gerad's Midgans, who came out to see
us pass, and followed the strangers to some distance. One happening to
say, "Of what use is his gun?--before he could fetch fire, I should put
this arrow through him!" I discharged a barrel over their heads, and
derided the convulsions of terror caused by the unexpected sound.
Passing onwards we entered a continuation of the Wady Harirah. It is a
long valley choked with dense vegetation, through which meandered a line
of water brightly gilt by the sun's rays: my Somal remarked that were the
elephants now infesting it destroyed, rice, the favourite luxury, might be
grown upon its banks in abundance. Our road lay under clumps of shady
trees, over rocky watercourses, through avenues of tall cactus, and down
_tranchees_ worn by man eight and ten feet below stiff banks of rich red
clay. On every side appeared deep clefts, ravines, and earth cracks, all,
at this season, dry. The unarmed cultivators thronged from the frequent
settlements to stare, and my Somal, being no longer in their own country,
laid aside for guns their ridiculous spears. On the way passing Ao
Samattar's village, the worthy fellow made us halt whilst he went to fetch
a large bowl of sour milk. About noon the fresh western breeze obscured
the fierce sun with clouds, and we watered our mules in a mountain stream
which crossed our path thrice within as many hundred yards. After six
miles' ride reaching the valley's head, we began the descent of a rugged
pass by a rough and rocky path. The scenery around us was remarkable. The
hill sides were well wooded, and black with pine: their summits were bared
of earth by the heavy monsoon which spreads the valleys with rich soil; in
many places the beds of waterfalls shone like sheets of metal upon the
black rock; villages surrounded by fields and fences studded the country,
and the distance was a mass of purple peak and blue table in long
vanishing succession. Ascending the valley's opposite wall, we found the
remains of primaeval forests,--little glades which had escaped the axe,--
they resounded with the cries of pintados and cynocephali.
