by Lord Byron
As soon as they re-enter’d their own room,
For Baba’s function stopt short at the door,
Had settled all; nor could he then presume
(The aforesaid Baba) just then to do more,
Without exciting such suspicion as
Might make the matter still worse than it was.
CIV
He hoped, indeed he thought, he could be sure
Juan had not betray’d himself; in fact
‘T was certain that his conduct had been pure,
Because a foolish or imprudent act
Would not alone have made him insecure,
But ended in his being found out and sacked,
And thrown into the sea. — Thus Baba spoke
Of all save Dudù’s dream, which was no joke.
CV
This he discreetly kept in the background,
And talk’d away — and might have talk’d till now,
For any further answer that he found,
So deep an anguish wrung Gulbeyaz’ brow:
Her cheek turn’d ashes, ears rung, brain whirl’d round,
As if she had received a sudden blow,
And the heart’s dew of pain sprang fast and chilly
O’er her fair front, like Morning’s on a lily.
CVI
Although she was not of the fainting sort,
Baba thought she would faint, but there he err’d —
It was but a convulsion, which though short
Can never be described; we all have heard,
And some of us have felt thus “all amort,”
When things beyond the common have occurr’d; —
Gulbeyaz proved in that brief agony
What she could ne’er express — then how should I?
CVII
She stood a moment as a Pythones
Stands on her tripod, agonised, and full
Of inspiration gather’d from distress,
When all the heart-strings like wild horses pull
The heart asunder; — then, as more or lees
Their speed abated or their strength grew dull,
She sunk down on her seat by slow degrees,
And bow’d her throbbing head o’er trembling knees.
CVIII
Her face declined and was unseen; her hair
Fell in long tresses like the weeping willow,
Sweeping the marble underneath her chair,
Or rather sofa (for it was all pillow,
A low soft ottoman), and black despair
Stirr’d up and down her bosom like a billow,
Which rushes to some shore whose shingles check
Its farther course, but must receive its wreck.
CIX
Her head hung down, and her long hair in stooping
Conceal’d her features better than a veil;
And one hand o’er the ottoman lay drooping,
White, waxen, and as alabaster pale:
Would that I were a painter! to be grouping
All that a poet drags into detail
Oh that my words were colours! but their tints
May serve perhaps as outlines or slight hints.
CX
Baba, who knew by experience when to talk
And when to hold his tongue, now held it till
This passion might blow o’er, nor dared to balk
Gulbeyaz’ taciturn or speaking will.
At length she rose up, and began to walk
Slowly along the room, but silent still,
And her brow clear’d, but not her troubled eye;
The wind was down, but still the sea ran high.
CXI
She stopp’d, and raised her head to speak — but paused,
And then moved on again with rapid pace;
Then slacken’d it, which is the march most caused
By deep emotion: — you may sometimes trace
A feeling in each footstep, as disclosed
By Sallust in his Catiline, who, chased
By all the demons of all passions, show’d
Their work even by the way in which he trode.
CXII
Gulbeyaz stopp’d and beckon’d Baba: — “Slave!
Bring the two slaves!” she said in a low tone,
But one which Baba did not like to brave,
And yet he shudder’d, and seem’d rather prone
To prove reluctant, and begg’d leave to crave
(Though he well knew the meaning) to be shown
What slaves her highness wish’d to indicate,
For fear of any error, like the late.
CXIII
“The Georgian and her paramour,” replied
The imperial bride — and added, “Let the boat
Be ready by the secret portal’s side:
You know the rest.” The words stuck in her throat,
Despite her injured love and fiery pride;
And of this Baba willingly took note,
And begg’d by every hair of Mahomet’s beard,
She would revoke the order he had heard.
CXIV
“To hear is to obey,” he said; “but still,
Sultana, think upon the consequence:
It is not that I shall not all fulfil
Your orders, even in their severest sense;
But such precipitation may end ill,
Even at your own imperative expense:
I do not mean destruction and exposure,
In case of any premature disclosure;
CXV
“But your own feelings. Even should all the rest
Be hidden by the rolling waves, which hide
Already many a once love-beaten breast
Deep in the caverns of the deadly tide —
You love this boyish, new, seraglio guest,
And if this violent remedy be tried —
Excuse my freedom, when I here assure you,
That killing him is not the way to cure you.”
CXVI
“What dost thou know of love or feeling? — Wretch!
Begone!” she cried, with kindling eyes — “and do
My bidding!” Baba vanish’d, for to stretch
His own remonstrance further he well knew
Might end in acting as his own “Jack Ketch;”
And though he wish’d extremely to get through
This awkward business without harm to others,
He still preferr’d his own neck to another’s.
CXVII
Away he went then upon his commission,
Growling and grumbling in good Turkish phrase
Against all women of whate’er condition,
Especially sultanas and their ways;
Their obstinacy, pride, and indecision,
Their never knowing their own mind two days,
The trouble that they gave, their immorality,
Which made him daily bless his own neutrality.
CXVIII
And then he call’d his brethren to his aid,
And sent one on a summons to the pair,
That they must instantly be well array’d,
And above all be comb’d even to a hair,
And brought before the empress, who had made
Inquiries after them with kindest care:
At which Dudù look’d strange, and Juan silly;
But go they must at once, and will I — nill I.
CXIX
And here I leave them at their preparation
For the imperial presence, wherein whether
Gulbeyaz show’d them both commiseration,
Or got rid of the parties altogether,
Like other angry ladies of her nation, —
Are things the turning of a hair or feather
May settle; but far be ‘t from me to anticipate
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br /> In what way feminine caprice may dissipate.
CXX
I leave them for the present with good wishes,
Though doubts of their well doing, to arrange
Another part of history; for the dishes
Of this our banquet we must sometimes change;
And trusting Juan may escape the fishes,
Although his situation now seems strange
And scarce secure, as such digressions are fair,
The Muse will take a little touch at warfare.
DON JUAN: CANTO THE SEVENTH
I
O Love! O Glory! what are ye who fly
Around us ever, rarely to alight?
There’s not a meteor in the polar sky
Of such transcendent and more fleeting flight.
Chill, and chain’d to cold earth, we lift on high
Our eyes in search of either lovely light;
A thousand and a thousand colours they
Assume, then leave us on our freezing way.
II
And such as they are, such my present tale is,
A non-descript and ever-varying rhyme,
A versified Aurora Borealis,
Which flashes o’er a waste and icy clime.
When we know what all are, we must bewail us,
But ne’ertheless I hope it is no crime
To laugh at all things — for I wish to know
What, after all, are all things — but a show?
III
They accuse me — Me — the present writer of
The present poem — of — I know not what —
A tendency to under-rate and scoff
At human power and virtue, and all that;
And this they say in language rather rough.
Good God! I wonder what they would be at!
I say no more than hath been said in Danté’s
Verse, and by Solomon and by Cervantes;
IV
By Swift, by Machiavel, by Rochefoucault,
By Fénélon, by Luther, and by Plato;
By Tillotson, and Wesley, and Rousseau,
Who knew this life was not worth a potato.
‘T is not their fault, nor mine, if this be so —
For my part, I pretend not to be Cato,
Nor even Diogenes. — We live and die,
But which is best, you know no more than I.
V
Socrates said, our only knowledge was
”To know that nothing could be known;” a pleasant
Science enough, which levels to an ass
Each man of wisdom, future, past, or present.
Newton (that proverb of the mind), alas!
Declared, with all his grand discoveries recent,
That he himself felt only “like a youth
Picking up shells by the great ocean — Truth.”
VI
Ecclesiastes said, “that all is vanity” —
Most modern preachers say the same, or show it
By their examples of true Christianity:
In short, all know, or very soon may know it;
And in this scene of all-confess’d inanity,
By saint, by sage, by preacher, and by poet,
Must I restrain me, through the fear of strife,
From holding up the nothingness of life?
VII
Dogs, or men! — for I flatter you in saying
That ye are dogs — your betters far — ye may
Read, or read not, what I am now essaying
To show ye what ye are in every way.
As little as the moon stops for the baying
Of wolves, will the bright muse withdraw one ray
From out her skies — then howl your idle wrath!
While she still silvers o’er your gloomy path.
VIII
“Fierce loves and faithless wars” — I am not sure
If this be the right reading — ‘t is no matter;
The fact’s about the same, I am secure;
I sing them both, and am about to batter
A town which did a famous siege endure,
And was beleaguer’d both by land and water
By Souvaroff, or Anglicè Suwarrow,
Who loved blood as an alderman loves marrow.
IX
The fortress is call’d Ismail, and is placed
Upon the Danube’s left branch and left bank,
With buildings in the Oriental taste,
But still a fortress of the foremost rank,
Or was at least, unless ‘t is since defaced,
Which with your conquerors is a common prank:
It stands some eighty versts from the high sea,
And measures round of toises thousands three.
X
Within the extent of this fortification
A borough is comprised along the height
Upon the left, which from its loftier station
Commands the city, and upon its site
A Greek had raised around this elevation
A quantity of palisades upright,
So placed as to impede the fire of those
Who held the place, and to assist the foe’s.
XI
This circumstance may serve to give a notion
Of the high talents of this new Vauban:
But the town ditch below was deep as ocean,
The rampart higher than you’d wish to hang:
But then there was a great want of precaution
(Prithee, excuse this engineering slang),
Nor work advanced, nor cover’d way was there,
To hint at least “Here is no thoroughfare.”
XII
But a stone bastion, with a narrow gorge,
And walls as thick as most skulls born as yet;
Two batteries, cap-à-pie, as our St. George,
Case-mated one, and t’ other “a barbette,”
Of Danube’s bank took formidable charge;
While two and twenty cannon duly set
Rose over the town’s right side, in bristling tier,
Forty feet high, upon a cavalier.
XIII
But from the river the town’s open quite,
Because the Turks could never be persuaded
A Russian vessel e’er would heave in sight;
And such their creed was, till they were invaded,
When it grew rather late to set things right.
But as the Danube could not well be waded,
They look’d upon the Muscovite flotilla,
And only shouted, “Allah!” and “Bis Millah!”
XIV
The Russians now were ready to attack:
But oh, ye goddesses of war and glory!
How shall I spell the name of each Cossacque
Who were immortal, could one tell their story?
Alas! what to their memory can lack?
Achilles’ self was not more grim and gory
Than thousands of this new and polish’d nation,
Whose names want nothing but — pronunciation.
XV
Still I’ll record a few, if but to increase
Our euphony: there was Strongenoff, and Strokonoff,
Meknop, Serge Lwow, Arséniew of modern Greece,
And Tschitsshakoff, and Roguenoff, and Chokenoff,
And others of twelve consonants apiece;
And more might be found out, if I could poke enough
Into gazettes; but Fame (capricious strumpet),
It seems, has got an ear as well as trumpet,
XVI
And cannot tune those discords of narration,
Which may be names at Moscow, into rhyme;
Yet there were several worth commemoration,
As e’er was virgin of a nuptial chime;
Soft word
s, too, fitted for the peroration
Of Londonderry drawling against time,
Ending in “ischskin,” “ousckin,” “iffskchy,” “ouski”:
Of whom we can insert but Rousamouski,
XVII
Scherematoff and Chrematoff, Koklophti,
Koclobski, Kourakin, and Mouskin Pouskin,
All proper men of weapons, as e’er scoff’d high
Against a foe, or ran a sabre through skin:
Little cared they for Mahomet or Mufti,
Unless to make their kettle-drums a new skin
Out of their hides, if parchment had grown dear,
And no more handy substitute been near.
XVIII
Then there were foreigners of much renown,
Of various nations, and all volunteers;
Not fighting for their country or its crown,
But wishing to be one day brigadiers;
Also to have the sacking of a town, —
A pleasant thing to young men at their years.
‘Mongst them were several Englishmen of pith,
Sixteen call’d Thomson, and nineteen named Smith.
XIX
Jack Thomson and Bill Thomson; all the rest
Had been call’d “Jemmy,” after the great bard;
I don’t know whether they had arms or crest,
But such a godfather’s as good a card.
Three of the Smiths were Peters; but the best
Amongst them all, hard blows to inflict or ward,
Was he, since so renown’d “in country quarters
At Halifax;” but now he served the Tartars.
XX
The rest were jacks and Gills and Wills and Bills;
But when I’ve added that the elder jack Smith
Was born in Cumberland among the hills,
And that his father was an honest blacksmith,
I’ve said all I know of a name that fills
Three lines of the despatch in taking “Schmacksmith,”
A village of Moldavia’s waste, wherein
He fell, immortal in a bulletin.
XXI
I wonder (although Mars no doubt’s a god
Praise) if a man’s name in a bulletin
May make up for a bullet in his body?
I hope this little question is no sin,
Because, though I am but a simple noddy,
I think one Shakspeare puts the same thought in
The mouth of some one in his plays so doting,
Which many people pass for wits by quoting.
XXII
Then there were Frenchmen, gallant, young, and gay:
But I’m too great a patriot to record
Their Gallic names upon a glorious day;
I’d rather tell ten lies than say a word
Of truth; — such truths are treason; they betray
Their country; and as traitors are abhorr’d
Who name the French in English, save to show