Bahrám said: “Princes, old, experienced chiefs!
The kingship is mine own by long descent.
Why this to-do of yours?”

“Expect us not,”

The Íránians shouted, “to endure more loss!
Not one of us will have thee as the Sháh.
Thou hast an army, but the land is ours.
Thy race hath caused us anguish, toil, and woe;
By night and day we writhe and heave cold sighs.”
Bahrám thus answered: “Yea, 'tis true, for passion
Is king of every heart. If ye reject
Me, why thus seat another in my room
Without consulting me?”

An archmage said:—

“None, whether he be prince by birth or subject,
May shun the path of justice. Join with us,
And choose a Sháh that every one will bless.”
They spent three days upon the task of choosing
A monarch from Írán, and then wrote down
A hundred nobles' names—fit Lustres all
For crown and throne and belt. Bahrám Gúr's name
Was one of them because he charmed the realm.
They cautiously and anxiously reduced
The hundred names to fifty, and of these
Bahrám's name stood the first, who, if he sought
His sire's place, sought but justice. Of the fifty
They wrote down thirty, and they were the choicest,
Most famous, and most potent of Írán.
Bahrám amongst the thirty led again
Because he was a prince—the destined Sháh.
The wise archmages brought the thirty down
To four, of whom Bahrám was leader still.
When the decisive moment was at hand
The Íránian ancients said: “We will not have
Bahrám who is too headstrong and self-willed,
Though brave.”

An outcry rose among the chiefs,

The hearts of all were darkened, and Munzir
Addressed the Íránians thus: “I fain would know,

For good or ill, why ye are full of pain,
And stricken in your souls, about the Sháh
In his untime-worn youth? In excellence
No king on earth can match him, and in looks
No moon in heaven. His poplar shafts pierce anvils;
While with his strength he can uproot a mountain.
Though still a youth he is a sage in counsel,
Well skilled, with bright heart and retentive mind.”
The chiefs, by way of answering him, sought out
Full many a stricken Persian, and assembled
Out of Írán upon that plain all those
That Yazdagird had maimed. One still survived
Lopped hand and foot but still intact of trunk;
Another had lost ears and hands and tongue,
And seemed a lifeless body, while another
Had lost both shoulders, and Nu'mán was all
Astound at those maimed forms. The eyes of one
Had been dug out with nails, and when Munzir
Beheld that sight his anger rose. Bahrám
Was sorely grieved, invoked his father's dust,
And cried: “O hapless one! why didst thou close
The eyes of thine own joy and burn thy soul
In fire?”

Munzir the aspiring said to him:—

“We cannot blink such evil. Thou hast heard
What they have had to say, now answer them,
For kings should not be at a loss.”

Bahrám

Then spake on this wise: “Chiefs and veterans!
Ye all said sooth, and this is even worse!
Well may I blame my sire since I myself
Have had a sample, for he darkened all
My fine resolves: his palace was my prison.
When God had mercy, and Tainúsh released me
Out of the clutches of my sire, his hook
Had pierced me to the soul, for which cause I
Took shelter with Munzir, because I never
Saw kindness from the Sháh. May none possess
His temper, for the man is lost that lacketh
Humanity. Now I, thanks be to God,
Have wisdom, my soul eateth of its fruits,
And to this present I have prayed to Him
To be my guide to good that I might purge
My heart and spirit of such crimes as those
Wrought by the Sháh on these men. I will live
To gratify my subjects' hearts, exist
To worship God according to the Way.
I am the shepherd and my subjects form
My flock. Let all of us seek peace and justice.
Then I have character, discretion, counsel,
And virtue, which no unjust king possesseth,
Because he needs must be unjust and froward,
And we should weep for one that is unjust.

With me are greatness, kingship, and discretion,
Benevolence and wisdom. From Shápúr,
Son of Bahrám, back to Ardshír my sires,
Both old and young, were Sháhs, and are my guides
To wisdom and the Faith, while through my mother
I am the grandson of king Samírán,*

And every way have wisdom for my comrade.
I am possessed of virtue, wisdom, might,
With courage, strength of hand, and horsemanship.
I know none other fit to call a man
In feast, in battle, or in anything.
I have a secret treasury well filled,
And men of name leal to their sovereign.
My justice shall make populous the world,
And all my subjects shall abide in joy.*

Moreover I will make a pact with you,
And pledge my tongue to God. Let us bring forth
The imperial throne of ivory, and set
The bright crown over it, then let us bring
Two savage lions of the wood and, placing
The crown between them, chain them on each side.
Then let the would be Sháh advance and take
The famed crown from the throne of ivory,
Place it upon his head and sit between
The lions as the Sháh, the crown above him,
And under him the throne, for we will have
None else, provided he be just and holy.
If ye reject what I have said then choose,
Ye all! some noble, and Munzir and I,
For Arab chieftains know not how to flee,
With mace and trenchant scimitar will send
The dust up from your king of kings, and strew
Your heads upon the moon. Now for your answer,
And speak advisedly in this contention.”
He spake, then rose and went inside his tent.
All marvelled at his words. The chiefs, archmages,
And all the people of Írán that heard
The wise Sháh's words, exclaimed: “This is the Grace
Of God, not craftiness or lack of wit!
He speaketh naught but what is just, and justice
Well may rejoice our hearts. For his proposal
About the savage lions with the throne,

And royal crown, between them: if they rend him
The Judge will not require his blood of us;
'Tis his own plan, and if he perisheth
We are content, while if he shall achieve
The crown he will have distanced Farídún
In Grace, and we will have no other king.
In brief we give acceptance to his words.”
That night passed by; at dawn the Sháh came forth,
And sat upon the throne. He sent and summoned
The Íránians, and discoursed of yesterday
At large. The archimages cried: “O Sháh,
More knowing than the wise! how wilt thou rule
When thou hast eminence and mastery?
How wilt thou deal concerning right and justice,
So that both fraud and falsehood may abate?”
He answered thus those sages, warriors,
And chiefs: “I will be better than my words,
Will make injustice and informing cease,
And not appoint unworthy governors,
Will rule the world by counsel and by justice,
And, having pacified it, will rejoice
At what my justice hath achieved, will give
Some of my hoarded wealth withal to those
In want, admonish those that are in fault,
And bind them if they err the second time,
Will pay the army promptly and rejoice
The sages' hearts, make tax-collectors just,
And turn their souls from darkness and chicane.
If any one shall die, not having kindred,
And leave excessive wealth, I will bestow it
On mendicants, not add it to my treasures,
Or be enamoured of this Wayside Inn.
I will hold counsel with the experienced,
And take such order as will frustrate greed.
I will consult my ministers whenever
I purpose some new scheme, and not dismiss
The assembly when a man is asking me
For justice, but will give to such their due,
Will utter righteous judgment, and requite
The ill with ill as well becometh rulers.
My witness is all-holy God, and wisdom
Is master of my tongue.”

Then the high priest

And sages—well approved and veteran chiefs—
Exclaimed: “We are thy slaves and bow our heads
To thy command and will.”

Then Sháh Bahrám

Said thus: “Ye men of wisdom and our guides!

If in a year I make my soul and wisdom
Belie my promises I will renounce
Crown, throne, and heritage, and sit thenceforth
Among the luckless.”

Hearing this the sages,

The magnates, and archmages shrewd of heart,
Repented of past words and, being in fault,
Desired to make all well again, exclaiming,
One to another: “Who is worthier
To be the Sháh than he in manliness,
Speech, counsel, birth? None purer hath been born
Within the world! God fashioned him of justice.
May mischief ne'er befall him. We shall have
All good from him, and turn us to the Faith,
And justice. If now we shall speak perversely,
And send our wits to sleep, he with such stature,
Such neck, and arms, is peerless in the world,
While at his back there is the Arab host,
Because in weal and woe Munzir will help him,
And if he win the throne that is his own
Who in the world is better than Bahrám?
What cause hereafter would he have to fear
The Íránians, for what are we but a pinch
Of dust to him?”

They said: “O prosperous one!

Our minds approve thee for our Sháh. None knew
Thy virtues, purity of person, wisdom,
And counsel, and we all of us have paid
Our homage to Khusrau, son of Pashín,*

As Sháh, we all are under oath to serve him,
And stand within his danger, so to speak.
Hereafter if he ruleth in Írán
Our borders will be desolate with war.
One party taketh pleasure in Bahrám,
Another is in favour of Khusrau.
Thine own plan is the right one, and the world
Thereafter will be under thy command:
Ordeal by the lions will suffice,
And thenceforth none will seek the sovereignty.”
Bahrám gave his assent; 'twas his proposal.
At the accession of a lawful Sháh
The high priest with three sages used to go
To him, enthrone him, and felicitate
The throne, then bring the crown of gold—the source
Of glory, right, and Grace—and, crowning him,
Would press both cheeks upon his breast in joy.
The Sháh then would bestow on suppliants
All gifts presented to him. So they put

The crown and throne in charge of the high priest,
And from the city fortunate Bahrám
Departed to the waste. Brave Gustaham
Had two fierce lions which he gave in chains
To the high priest. They dragged the savage beasts
Along, the draggers seeming mad with fright,
And to the footings of the ivory throne
Chained them, and set the crown within a nook
Upon it. All the world—spectator there
Of crown and throne—watched how the prince would fare.