65
Not long did Meer Jah Asiph view
Unmoved his brother's blissful state;
Nor was it long ere envy grew,
And jealousy, and deadly hate,
In the dark soul where pity's beam
Dwelled not—and soon the miscreant planned
With horrid craft a treacherous scheme;
And, aided by his lawless band,
He seized upon the ill-watched keep,
And slew its guardians in their sleep;
And then—but let me draw a veil
Before the horrors of the tale.
Nour Juffeir stabbed, disarmed, and bound,
Beheld with glazed and phrenzied eyes
His wife and infants fall around,
While on his heart the victim's cries
Entered like scorpion stings—o'er wrought,
That outraged heart could bear no more.
