The Works of Thomas Moore

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THE LIGHT OF THE HARAM. Who has not heard of the Vale of Cashmere, With its roses, the brightest that earth ever gave, Its temples, and grottos, and fountains as clear As the love-lighted eyes that hang over their wave ? Oh ! to see it at sunset, ?when warm o'er the Lake Its splendour at parting-a summer eve throws, Like a bride full of blushes, when lingering to take A last look of her mirror at night ere she goes!? When the shrines through the foliage are gleaming half shown, And each hallows the hour by some rites of its own. Here the music of prayer from a minaret swells, Here the Magian his urn full of perfume is swinging, And here, at the altar, a zone of sweet bells Round the waist of some fair Indian dancer is ringmg, f The rose of Kashmire, for Us brilliancy and delicacy of odour, has long been proverbial in the East.?Forster. f Tied round her waist the zone of bells, that sounded with ravishing melody.?Jong' ofJayadeva. Or to see it by moonlight, ?when mellowly shines The light o'er its palaces, gardens, and shrines; When the water-falls gleam like a quick fall of stars, And the nightingale's hymn from the Isle of Chenars Is broken by laughs and light echoes of feet From the cool, shining walks where the young people meet: ? Or at morn, when the magic of daylight awakes A new wonder each minute, as slowly it breaks, Hills, cupolas, fountains, call'd forth every one Out of darkness, as they were just born of the Sun, ? When the Spirit of Fragrance is up with the day, From his Haram of night-flowers stealing away; And the wind, full of wantonness, woos like a lover, The young aspen-trees till they tremble all over.? When the East is as warm as the light of first hopes, And Day with his banner of radiance unfurl'd, .