Flocked Demons with wonderful wings, and Ifreet of horrible shape,

And Djins, with red eyes made of fire; Divs, Peris, and Giants, they came.

They came, at the call of The Name, from Kaf, that engirdles the seas;

From the gloom of the tombs in the graveyard, from ruins on desolate ground;

From the pool and the marsh and the forest; from poisonous blossoms and trees;

Monstrous or dwarfish,-constrained, enchained, subdued by a sound;

The sound of the title of Allah, spoken so as the Angels speak;—

Nor spirits uncomely only, and evil; ethereal bands

Thronged down from their heavenly houses, the great King's service to seek,

Hearing that nameless Name which all things living commands.

And the fowl and the beast were fain to gather, each creature by each,

When Solomon summoned hereby, pronouncing the mystical words.

Moreover, their dumb mouths opened, and the fly and the bee had a speech;

And he knew the heart of the lions, and learned the mind of the birds.

Thus is it writ how he marched by Tayf from the Syrian land

Through the "Valley of Ants" and heard the cry

of that people of clay,

"Hide ye! hide in the earth! for there passeth Solomon's band;

We are many and wise, but we die, if the king's foot cometh this way."

And he laughed, but leaped to the ground, and bowed his forehead and said,

“O Lord God! grant me to learn from the ant the wit to be meek.

I am many and strong, and a king; yet Thou canst instantly tread

The pride of this earth to dust, and the strongest to Thee are but weak!"

Then he viewed the birds, and cried, "I see not amongst ye here

Al-Hudhud, the crested lapwing; what doth she to linger away?

Ill shall it fall for her, who seeketh us water clear, If she find not a fountain for prayers before the

ending of day!"

But they tarried not long till the whirr of her speckled wings

Brought unto Solomon's feet the crested lapwing, who spake,

"I have seen a Queen that is greater than any save thee, O King!

In Seba she reigneth majestic, and glorious kingship doth make.

"There hath she a marvellous throne of silver, figured with gold,

And the head of the throne is a moon in a jasper and emerald curve;

For her people worship the moon." And Solomon answered, "Behold!

Little bird! if thou liest not, this queen shall the Merciful serve!"

Thereafter the message went from the servant of God, the king:

Solomon, son of David, to Balkis, Queen of the
South;

Peace be to them that follow the Name upon Solomon's ring;

Yield thee, and worship Allah; cursed is the idolatrous mouth."

Then Balkis sent him gifts of gold bricks, yellow and red;

And beautiful slaves five hundred, with amber and musk; and a gem

Drilled with a crooked hole, which never a goldsmith could thread;

And a topaz of price, unpierced, and a diamond diadem.

He bade the sea-worm eat a way through the unpierced stone;

And the little ant carry a thread through the ruby's crooked drill.

"Doth she offer to Solomon gifts?" quoth he, on his ivory throne;

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"We are richer than Seba's kingdom! By Allah!" said he, "I will

That one of my slaves bring hither Queen Balkis' jewelled seat;

Thereby shall she learn that the glory is ours, and the knowledge and might."

Then Asaf the wise commanded, and a Djin spread his pinions fleet,

And brought the moon-throne thither, and set it before them aright.

In a guarded house she had shut it, which a thousand bowmen kept,

But when she was come to Salem, lo! Solomon

the king

Sate there on her own gold seat, and Balkis bowed her and wept,

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Saying, "I pray thee, teach me the Name on thy signet ring!

We have sinned against our souls, following lower lords;

Our kingdom we give, and our goods, and our lives, and pure spirits to thine."

Such worship had he of old who knew Al-Wail's words

Which rule the rivers, and knew the sound of the

Name Divine.

SIR EDWIN ARNOLD

61

ELIJAH FED BY RAVENS

I Kings xvii. 6

Sore was the famine throughout all the bounds
Of Israel, when Elijah, by command

Of God, journeyed to Cherith's failing brook.
No rain-drop falls; no dew-fraught cloud, at morn
Or closing eve, creeps slowly up the vale;
The withering herbage dies; among the palms,
The shrivell'd leaves send to the summer gale
An autumn's rustle; no sweet songster's lay
Is warbled from the branches; scarce is heard
The rill's faint brawl. The prophet looks around,
And trusts in God, and lays his silvered head
Upon the flowerless bank; serene he sleeps,
Nor wakes till dawning: then, with hands enclasp'd,
And heavenward face, and eyelids closed, he prays
To Him who manna on the desert shower'd,

To Him who from the rock made fountains gush;
Entranced the man of God remains; till, roused
By sound of wheeling wings, with grateful heart,
He sees the ravens fearless by his side

Alight, and leave the heaven-provided food.

JAMES GRAHAME