Bahrám bade slaves set up the imperial throne
Within the pleasance, then in spring-tide beauty.
They brought the turquoise throne at his command,
And set it 'neath a blossom-shedding tree,
They brought forth wine and cups, and minstrels went
Toward the pleasance with the chiefs. The king
Said to his counsellors: “This is the time
Of jollity for men. We all must couch;
Death treadeth under foot the rolls of fame,
The hall and palace. We shall have enough
Of our own company within the charnel,
Men both of mien and stature though we be.
The king and beggar carry when they die
Naught but their good and ill away with them.
What toil soe'er men bear is only loss,
For, when they perish, that will perish too.
That praise of us remaineth is enough,
For crown and girdle are another's share.
Thou needest innocence and uprightness
That thine enjoyments prove not scath to thee.
My years exceed already eight and thirty,
And many a day hath fleeted in delight,
But, after two score years, grief for the day
Of death is instant with us. If one hair
Turn white upon our heads we must forgo
All hope of joy; when musk becometh camphor
'Tis ruined; camphor suiteth not the crown.
Two years more will I spend in feast and sport,
Then, when my strength is somewhat broken, go
Before God's presence, don the woollen robe,
And be not thankless for His mercies to me,
For I have passed my days in joy and had
My share of royal crown. Now for the rose,
The apple, the pomegranate, and the quince!
Let not the golden goblet fail of wine!*

But when I see the apples amber-cheeked,
The heavens dappled like a leopard's back,
The fragrant camomile producing seed,
And wine as ruddy as the reveller,
When air is pleasant, neither hot nor cold,
Earth fresh and water blue, what time we don
Our autumn furs, I must to Jaz to hunt,

And hold a hunting-bout upon that plain
To make me a memorial in the world.
Meanwhile the onager will grow plump-necked,
And compass lion's heart and tiger's strength.
We must take dogs and cheetahs, hawks and falcons,*

For that far faring since it is the spot
For onager and archery, and there
No moment will we rest from chevying.
The plain that I have set mine eyes upon
Is lower Jaz. There tamarisks are tall
As spear-shafts, there too we shall find the lion,
And have a hunting if we bide our time.”
He waited till the clouds of Shahrívar
Arose, then all the world was filled with troops.
From every clime an army keen for strife
Set face toward the monarch of Írán,
Who chose among them chiefs of note as hunters,
And carried with him to the chase a force
Of thirty thousand mounted Scimitars.
They took with them pavilions, tent-enclosures,
Tents, beasts, and shielings, while the underlings
Went on before Bahrám Gúr to dig wells,
To furnish them withal with wheel and bucket,
And run the water into troughs. The Sháh
Came later with his meiny to the chase.
He saw the plain well stocked with onager,
The woods alive with lions, and thus said:—
“Wine is our quarry to-night, for on the sand
Are many lion-tracks, and we must have
A lion-hunt to-morrow. Rest ye then
In health of body and in merry pin,
And let us drink till daybreak, till the sun—
The lustre of the world—is bright again.
Our scimitars shall fell the lions first,
Shall fell those valiant dragons. When the woods
Are cleared of lions then the onager
Shall yield himself a servant to my shafts.”
He stayed that night and, when the morning dawned,
Approached the forest with his men, whereat
A lion, lusty-grown with battening
On onagers, rushed forth, and brave Bahrám
Said to his friends: “Though I have bow and arrows,
And mastery therewith, I will assail
Yon lion with the scimitar that none
May call me coward.”

Donning a shrunk vest

Of wool he mounted on his battle-steed.
Now when that dragon of a lion saw him
It reared, brought down its claws, and sought to strike
The charger on the head.*

The warrior heeled
His steed and with his trenchant scimitar,
What while the lioness made off apace,

Struck at the lion's head and clave the beast
Down to its middle, filling lions' hearts
With fear; yet gallantly another one
Came roaring, one whose mate was suckling cubs.
He smote that lion's neck and parted head
From trunk. One said to him: “O sun-faced Sháh!
Hast thou not any mercy on thyself?
The wood is full of lions and their young—
Cubs that are sucklings. Let the lions be,
For in the autumn-time they breed. This forest
Is three leagues deep, and if thou wert to spend
A year in taking lions wouldst not clear it;
So why impose such labour on thyself?
The Sháh, when first he sat upon the throne,
Fought lions only as the compact was.*

Now thou art Sháh, the world is thine, so why
Fight with them still? Thou cam'st for onager.”
“Old sage,” the Sháh said, “let to-morrow dawn,
And heigh for onager and shaft and me!
But cavaliers and nobles now alive
Can rival me in archery, so when
We give its due to manhood we must take
Account of iron mace and scimitar.”
The archmage said: “Hadst thou ten horsemen
with thee,
And like thee in the fight, then Rúm and Chín
Would have no crown and throne, and men of wisdom
Would ship their goods off. Be the evil eye
Far from thy Grace, and be it thine to feast
Among the roses.”

Then with archimages,

And captains of the host, the Sháh departed
Toward his tent-enclosure from the wood
What while the troops acclaimed him, saying thus:—
“Ne'er may the crown and signet-ring lack thee.”
That paladin then entered his pavilion,
His escort quitting him, and washed his hands
Of sweat. He had with him a trusty steward,
Who draped a fresh tent for him. There they set
Musk, camphor, and rose water, and spread musk
Withal upon the sleeping-place. Each tent
Had golden tables laid with services
Of ware of Chín where lamb and other meats
Were served by the chief server. Sháh Bahrám Gúr,
The eating done, called for a mighty cup
Of crystal, which a fairy-faced cup-bearer
Brought and consigned it to the just king's hands,
Who said: “Ardshír, the great king, he whose fortune
Made old folk young, was founder of our house,
And we are underlings if we be worthy
E'en of that title. Both in fight and feast,
At counsel and at board, give none but him

The title of world's lord. What time Sikandar
Came to Írán from Rúm and wreeked the land,
Since he was both ungenerous and harsh,
And slew kings six and thirty, monarchs' lips
Are full of curses, and earth's surface full
Of vengeance, on him.*

Farídún they praise,
And he is cursed by stirrers up of strife.
Throughout the world may only good proceed
From me to small and great. Bring me a herald,”
He added, “one of goodly voice and leading,
Let him go round the host and thus proclaim
O'er way and waste alike: ‘Whoe'er shall lay
Within the region of Barkúh and Jaz*

Unlawful hands on aught, from jewels, gold,
Dínárs, and furs to mean and worthless chaff,
Him will I horse face tail-wards and will have
Two of the soldiery to lead him hence.
His feet shall be made fast beneath his steed,
And to the temple of Ázargashasp
Will I dispatch him there to supplicate
All-holy God and worship in the dust
Before the Fire. I will bestow his goods
On those whom he hath robbed and wronged withal.
If any horse shall injure growing crops,
Or harm fruit-bearing trees, the horse's owner,
Be he a noble or of no account,
Shall not escape a year's imprisonment.
My work is but to carry from the desert
My portion, then go home again rejoicing.’”
The more part of the traffickers of Jaz,
And of Barkúh, went out upon the plain,
And with their various packs produced a scene
About the host like a bázár in Chín.