Page:Poems, Consisting Chiefly of Translations from the Asiatick Languages.djvu/41

A fiery dragon on his helmet shone;
And on his buckler beam'd a golden sun;
O'er his broad bosom blaz'd his jointed mail
With many a gem, and many a shining scale;
He trod the founding floor with princely mien,
And thus with haughty words address'd the queen!
"Let falling kings beneath my javelin bleed,
"And bind my temples with a victor's meed;
"Let every realm that feels the solar ray,
"Shrink at my frown, and own my regal sway;
"Let Ind's rich banks declare my deathless fame,
"And trembling Ganges dread my potent name,"

The queen consented to the warriour's pray'r,
And his bright banners floated in the air:
He bade his darts in steely tempests fly,
Flames burst the clouds, and thunder shake the sky;
Death aim'd his lance, earth trembled at his nod,
And crimson conquest glow'd where'er he trod

And now the damsel, fix'd in deep amaze,
Th' enchanted glass with eager look surveys:
She sees the hero in bis dusky tent,
His guards retir'd, his glimmering taper spent;