amcifwwfrrEWAii^ PS 3503 .r:533G7 1916 V V V -"•^-^v^ 1"":^ ^■«~W-^ -l*-"^^ ^IjH.... '""K - "nmnwf Wltt-IAM RGSE BENLT Class if) c> SOt^ 4 lm\.^ES^ZM^^ GoppglitEi CiJFliRIGHT DEPOSin THE GREAT WHITE WALL The Great White Wall A POEM By WILLIAM ROSE BENET It ILLUSTRATED BY DOUGLAS DUER New Haven: Yai.e University Press London: Humphrey Milford Oxford University Press MDCCCCXVI Copyright, 1916, by Yale University Press First published, December, 1916 DEC -I 1916 ©GI.A446708 TO HENRY MARTYN HOYT, Jr. THE GREAT WHITE WALL THE GREAT WHITE WALL The Lion's Soul Along the purple mountain chains The smouldering crimson sunset ran. It seemed to chant of him who reigns Beyond all reach of caravan. . . "Genghiz Khan lies in the Mountain Altai, The wild red Mongol raider, Genghiz Khan ! "From the country of eternal dark The great blue wolf of his fathers howls. The Mountain Altai thrusts its stark High buttress over the spreading cowls Of obeisant shadows prone on the plain. Passed is his violent crimson reign. Genghiz Khan lies in the Mountain Altai. Around his rock-hewn tomb the tiger prowls ! "Son of a stolen woman, born By a river on a battle-night, Ten thousand headmen heard his horn Buffet the crags with echoes bright. He scourged Al-addin and all Cathay, And drank from Wang Khan's skull, they say,- [ 1 ] The Great White Wall From Karakoram crouching sprang To ravage the great walled land of Wang. "Genghiz Khan lies in the Mountain Altai, With his four strong sons whose names are swords that clang!" The singer in Timur's tent dropped his throbbing drum. "Sepah Salar, great Lord^ your slave is dumb !" With a bear's broad spread of breast^ arched like a bow, Long purple hair^ fierce yellow eyes aglow, He who had now attained Balkh's jewelled throne Rose in his robes. "Go ! I would be alone." Perfumed with ambergris, in gold brocade He paced the pavilion. Suddenly he stayed His steps. Beneath his feet rich rugs, ablaze With color, pulsed turquoise and ruby lights. A haze Of violet incense swirled in the silken gloom. Twelve poles upheld this spacious travelling-room. Inlaid with gold and silver. Two hundred cords Of silk, without, were stretched as straight as swords To ebony pegs. Within, beyond the throne, A large couch loomed crusted with beryl stone. And rumpled rose-silk cloths across it spread. Amid swinging lamps the tent soared overhead Sewn with bright silver-gilt besants on red. [3 ] The Great White Wail And close outside could be heard a murmur of men. The clatter of weapons, a camel's gurgle, again The squeal and thump of an elephant, jangling voices In various tongues — all a camp's unquiet noises. Within, under pillared dragons with widespread wings. Great Timur pondered the ebb and flow of things. Then he clapped his hands. A slave, on swarthy knees, Crawled in. "Fetch the Lord Axalla, The Genovese !" And lithe like a leopard the Chief resumed his stride Till the tent-flap stirred again. Close at his side Stood that earliest friend and Christian. "Your pleasure. Lord!" "Axalla, think you a Berlas can afford To brook these rumors I hear about me now? Doth Timur mean 'It trembles !' — the World? Then how May I reconcile this news of the haughty imperious Late trespasses of the Chinese?" Gravely serious Axalla pondered. "Lord," (his voice was even) " 'Tis the sundry kinds of folk 'neath the cope of Heaven Do most truly give us Heaven to magnify. (I but speak your own words !) For Heaven by diver- sity Is nourished most — and God is one in essence." Quietly dignified in the shadowing presence, [ 3 ] The Great White Wall He inclined his head a little^, and waited mute Green-sashed, of good poise in his Shiraz-silken suit. "Nay, old friend, you mistake me — this is not Holy War. Through the Indian land 'twas the Prophet I battled for. But here I assure my estate, my mission rounds. And — this King of China hath broken his ancient bounds. He is puffed up with vainglory, this boasting one Sends no more ambassadors, calls himself Child of the Sun, And behind the forty-league wall that Genghiz rent Asunder as might a tiger the silk of a tent. Behind his enheartening wall his garrisons Laugh at mine uncle the Khan. . . I must act at once !" "Where hath he trespassed?" "The Province of Leauton Complains. The border provinces everyone Have been raided — cattle and women and harvest thieved ! Last night, two foot-posts running with lights achieved The palace at Quinsai — a horseman relayed it to me This nooning. Their girdles of bells rang mournfully. He said, in the courtyard. Shrilly they began Afar off shouting, 'The viceroys beseech the Khan, The provinces call to the Khan! They are caught in mesh And snared by China ! Where is the Sun of Kesh Who can deliver us .^ Succour, succour we pray !' And I cry, by our Tartar Earth-god, Natigay, It shall not be I" [ 4 ] The Great White Wall Axalla raised one slow hand. "Nay — One God — above . . he is better to understand Prayers ! But these provinces I cannot trust. They quarrel among themselves. They have a lust For insurrection." "Enough !" said Timur then. "I have spoken, Axalla. Bid all my chiefs and men — Yet stay ! We shall feast, a sumptuous repast Must be spread this night — for this is the very last We spend by Quinsai. Tomorrow we march for the South To thrust his treacherous tail in the Dragon's mouth ! "Make ready the great camp-tables. I shall come forth Tonight. The Khan, mine uncle, rides in from the north Before the new moon has risen. He shares my plan." Axalla bowed and withdrew. He knew this man Through whom a poison of secret madness ran. Ah, God nor devil could turn him once he would start. And the King of China's dominions had fired his heart ! Axalla moved swiftly about the camp with orders. For almost a mile on each side it stretched its borders. With thousands of tents, herds of cattle and goats and sheep. Great wains and carts with their plunder burdened deep. And legions of horsemen and footmen. He quickly selected A rabble of slaves. Full valiantly they erected [ 5 ] The Great White Wall The state camp-table, only for Timur himself When he deigned to dine with the others. On oven and shelf They ranged the banquet materials. Fires flared up Along the plain. For now the heaven's blue cup. Vast and inverted over their heads, was alight With swarms of silver stars. Tall torches bright, Sputtering bitumen, and thrust like spears in the ground Spattered bloody flaughts through the shadows prowling around. With thought to sup, the camp's dull clamor increased. And for full an hour the uproar of man and beast Beat like a sea round the tent of Timur the Great. But within, the Chief had shrugged off affairs of state And, wandering toward the back, had raised a certain Brilliant, bird-embroidered, mysterious curtain. He thrust forth his purple head with a cooing noise On his lips. And there answered him an indrawn voice Like distant summer thunder, a rasping growl That was nearer a purr. As his head moved, cheek by jowl To a lion's great black juba you saw it bending. Then, erect, he drew back the curtain. Catlike descending On thick pads, the topaz-eyed Numidian beast Blinked in the jewelled light. His content increased. [ 6 ] The Great AVhite Wall He turned to the throne. He leapt up on the golden throne And sat silent facing Timur. The two were alone. Then — this was enough to set the blood acrawl ! — Slowly the Conqueror bowed his head^ to fall On his knees before the lion^ that took the mould Of bronze, so quiet he sat. "O Kublai, behold. Ancestor, Khan whose palace at Kanbalu Was the marvel of ten nations, whose hunting drew The most famous leopards and falcons from far and near, Whose sorcerers wrought all miracles, whose gear Surmounted all treasuries, who kept aright What Genghiz won, yet ruled in a higher light, — Have I not overcome the Muscovite And scourged the Jetes, made Persia tribute pay. Brought India to the Prophet's light of day, Defended mine uncle, thy grandson; kept the laws, Respected faithfully the Syeds' cause. Brought union unto Maveralnaher Despite all rebels, — plied the silver spur Of Honor as I rode the horse of Day? Lord of great Kubel's seed, whom Teragay Called uncle, — thou who lit the lamps that be The only kingly — Justice and Equity That light the air-hung palace of Royalty, — [ 7 ] The Great White Wall King in the shadow of God, of Noah's line. Bestow thy grace on this design of mine !" Were it not death to pass the Chief's tent-door At this hour of twilight, many had been struck sore Amazed to see him grovelling on the floor Clutching the three broad steps of the golden throne Whereon a staring lion sat alone. The lion turned and shook its kingly head. Then — from a white-fanged, dark red mouth, it said, "Timur ! No warning from the worse than dead Could turn you from your pride. I see your tread Smoke along lands where now life lies like light Warmly and kind. I see the bitter blight Of your black breath sow crimson conflagration Through hills and valleys of many a peaceful nation. Ah, with the new moon on Mount Altai risen. Know you not Genghiz writhes from out the prison Of the grave a blind white snake — that tigers there Crawl from the rocks and ring him round, and scare His filmed eyes, creeping in the blue moonlight With lingering steps flexuous, left and right, — Great cats with orange fur and ebony-black Slashed stripes ? And then with talons they attack The poor pale reptile. Deftly with paw they strike, Withdrawing — and again — and as they like They play the poor snake rustling here and there Over the cruel rocks. From lair to lair [ 8 ] The Great White Wall They leap, noiseless, and bandy the tattered thing That once was Genghiz — a Conqueror, and a King ! But you have only heard your minstrels sing Of his red triumphs, and how his death bereft!" The lion ceased. Its mournful face was cleft By a weary yawn. It looked not Timur's way, Swiftly leapt down, slank to the curtain gay And was gone behind it, where its cage of state Adjoined the cage of Timur, called the Great. II The Camp Banquet Timur with his chiefs was dining. Proudly red were the torches shining. Golden poniards, bright-dyed sashes. Gleamed through the smoke and the torches' flashes! An envoy from the Old Mountain Man Faced The Meteor of Khorassan. Nasir Addeen, a Minister, Leaned across the table to confer With a Scythian captain. There sat chiefs From Kashgar and Shadman, rinsing their beef's Great haunch with a golden drink for darers Poured them by hovering cup-bearers. Calibes and Odmar, the heads of forces. Talked with the Prince of Thanais — of horses. [9] The Great White Wall Ambassadors lied, each one a rogue, From King Dor's to that of the Paleologue 0£ Greece. But the envoy of King Dor, Somewhat drunk, expounded his reasons for His Damsel Court. They were quite immoral ! So (from far Thibet, where women hang coral About dull idols' necks so stony. In the Great Eight Kingdoms, and where huge bony Dogs grow as big as young jack-asses, And necromancers cause tempests in glasses) Two legates began to bellow with laughter. Drowning their mirth in their goblets after. There were also prelates, hermits, and dervishes. (The last eating most!) Black slaves, that serve fishes. Roast deer, camel's meat, melons or fruits. Moved lithely in loin-cloths or silken suits. White Cosmos was poured, the Tartar's mare's-milk. And the goat's rather clabbered gift, who shares milk Also with Man. There were amirs and sirdars. Chiefs noted for various frightful murders, Kazis and muftis, and many a man From Syria and Hindustan. In royal khalats some judges sat. There were begums and moguls, and several fat Syeds in sables and armalines Worth quite two thousand sultanines ; And every jaw was gratefully crunching Buffalo-chops, all teeth were munching [ 10 ] The Great White Wall Cephalonian raisins, pomegranates from Ind, Almond, citron, or tamarind. And one Nestorian monk was still Quivering with a curious thrill As he told his tale of how he went flop Headlong in the haunted Desert of Lop When a great mysterious face appeared On one mountain, and wagged a grisly beard Above him, and all the spirits wailed "Whooo !" Round him and round him, smoky and blue. He was telling it in a vein quite merry To a Sensin from Lapith's monastery Where they all are austere and dress in yellow And worship fire. Do you know, the fellow Hadn't the slightest sense of humor. He listened with rather hostile gloom — or, More like, spleen. "Was it worth repeating!" You could hear him think. . . He went on eating. But beyond was — the Pole Star of Religion, And he was splendid ! As bald as a widgeon And shimmering in his robes he sat Asleep, with a cock to his marvellous hat Made of paper prophecies. Fact enjoins He had bound his own shawl around Timur's loins And placed his own cap on the Conqueror's hair (And this meant power over earth and air!) Blessing the youth, not as yet to start his Nice little forays and slaughter-parties. . . [ 11 ] '"^v^: The Great White Wall And magicians and astrologers, Seers and crystal-gazers and sorcerers, All with conjuration or mumbled prayer Or fireworks spitting sparks into the air. With quadrant and square of prophecy And astrolabe and divinity And long gowns worked with a thousand wonders, And voices lifted in practised thunders. And divining rods like wavering tentacles And others to trace the mystic pentacles, — All such hovered about the fringes. Then Timur suddenly gave them twinges Of boredom by calling, if you please. For "The Chant of Timur's Victories." 'Twas a fighting-song. Men not fain to gird heard Its summons — and after — gladly murdered ! A song-man smote his horn harp to begin While some slaves thrummed drums of crocodile-skin. Chant of Terrible Timur The lofty mountain Kaf commands the world, and higl thereon there stands The nest of burning Phoenix, clapping wings for jubilee Of Timur, he whose luminous mind took up the Prophet's power assigned And tossed the infidel nations on the horns of Tartary ! [ 12 ] The Great White Wall Hear of great Timur! This is he, the loaded earth's strong axle-tree. Kingdoms like shattered potsherds hath he ground beneath his heel. The shadow of God falls on his way, the dazzling light, the goodly ray. The sun and moon before his gaze in dazed amazement reel ! From Fars to Maveralnaher long since a great Astrologer And Prophet came. His garments' skirts gleamed many a magic sign. Unto the Khan he straight foretold, from portents new and scriptures old, Rejeb the red auspicious star a light to rise and shine. And in that light, whose blaze appears thirty and seven hundred years Since the Hegira holy, lo, a marvel should ensue: The awful and tremendous birth of one to conquer all the Earth, The birth of terrible Timur that the waiting heavens knew ! And Timur's parent, Teragay, falling in trance at close of day Perceived the luminous figure of some great Arabian mage. Toward that long-mourned Sepah Salar he held a naked scimitar. [ 13 ] The Great White Wall Teragay whirled and fenced with it, possessed of raptur- ous rage. Then from that blade such sparkles danced as lit the heavens and shook entranced A wild illuminate earth, and from the hand that held it rushed A fountain-jet whose waters wide made green the world. This signified What but the birth of Timur, on whose day the world' was hushed! He stands Muhammed's minister, named from the Koran; trulier Than ever king; he holds upright the pillars of the law. His lineage from the Moguls draws — though Kubel's seed he slew for cause To cleanse the kingdoms. Rigorously he bends them to his awe. Arabian Irac knew his spear in youth ; and for the good Amyr Melk Hussyn from the bleach-green on through Khoras- san was borne. Kutlug, the Amyr's son-in-law — dastard assassin — saw him draw And rout the treacherous Seven on the Prince's hunting- morn. And Timur Khan who overran the palace of the murdered Khan [ 14^ ] The Great White Wall Our Lord plucked writhing from the throne, thrust off his treacherous friends, And scourged the Jetes to howl and flee. Kings bound their loins in fealty. All city chiefs, all nomad tribes to Tartary's farthest ends. He razed the ramparts of Systan and smote the lords of Badukhshan, Whose chepaval and shekaval, wild squadrons, he out- rode. Polonians, barbarians, Udecelains, Hungarians He gripped and threw, and on to new and vaster triumphs strode. His eyes were dilate lamps of light ! The army of the Muscovite Bowed to his arm at Mascha as bows down a field of grain. Tribute they bring in buckets still: three hundred thou- sand duckets. Three leagues he chased them flying, like a cyclone on the plain ! Where level Anatolia smiles his army stretched for fifteen miles. All that innumerable host shouting his name on high. The bending heavens are his bow, the earth his levelled shaft below. He holds the Gates of Iron, and his campfires scorch the sky. [ 15 ] The Great White Wall And galliots come to Trebizond, and caravans from lands beyond Send gifts and gold to Timur, Thibeth, Cashmere^ Tur- kestan. The hordes of Hussyn Sufy he shattered in wrath most terribly. Hitched to his household wain he drives the sun and moon in span. Khuariz subdued he; Balkh and Fars fell to his flashing scimitars. He razed the temples of Kukel o'er Indus as he came. The Brahmans' images he broke. Delhi, Jahanpanah were smoke Behind him. All of Hindustan was fuel for his flame ! He crossed the Ganges for his vow to rip and rend the Sacred Cow, Then turned on Kyser Bayazed, and put the sword to Riim. Huge j anizaries rank on rank before his scything swords- men sank. And black Egyptian mamelukes shrieked as they met their doom. And now disastrous civil war crushed swiftly at the River Br ore Restores him to his kingdom. On this night his glory glows. [ 16 ] The Great White Wall Imaus to Oxus shouts the song of Timur ! Timur ! Stars prolong The chant of Timur ! Timur ! and confusion to his foes ! The rocking, pounding rhythm of the paean ceased. Under the immense and turquoise vault of heaven The great camp smouldered and seethed like a fire quenched With golden liquors. All dark faces turned Toward Timur at the end of the long state table. He inclined his head. When suddenly a guard Stepped from crowding purple shadows into the torch- light And knelt, presenting his lance. "O sovereign Lord, Your uncle, the Khan, is arrived with his retinue Direct from Quinsai. Yet, having ridden fast And far, he will not join your feast tonight. He waits you in your tent." So Timur rose And every voice fell silent as he spoke. "My captains, and you others," were his words, "We march tomorrow with our full fighting strength For the Great Wall of China. This shall be The crown of our achievement, I have borne Too long the insolence of the Chinese King, My mind and sword busied on other matters. See to it, all ye who have my hosts in charge!" [ 17 ] 'See to it, all ye who have my hosts in charge!^'' The Great White Wall III Visions on the March Sunlight shook on all the terrible shimmering shields of Timur's armies Marching to the Wall of China built by Chin the Only- First. In brilliant colors flowed the clouds of Heaven that past all gulling charm is Staunch forever, blind in love, above a world in fury nursed. Ho! The saddle is Timur's bed, his standards wave to music royal. Persian and Arabian horses toss their trappings, prance and fret. Scimitars gleam inlaid with silver, wielded by his cap- tains loyal. Elephants bear his castled howdahs, solid gold with rubies set. Amyrs ride and sirdars ride and moguls ride on milky horses — Purple, green, and crimson silks and turbans wound and tufted shoes Enrich his rustling retinue. The captains of his tramp- ing forces Gleam in brass and silver, studded on lacquered leather. And hues confuse And clash and swim through golden clouds of dust about four-poled pavilions [ 19 ] The Great White Wall Full one hundred^ floored with rugs of soft and glowing Bokhara weaves. Ho ! The loud imperious drum of state shakes out for all the millions A deep-toned beat to time their feet. Thin soft tissues, silken sleeves. Ivory arms and half-veiled faces swim in a mist from swaying litters. Wild outriders toss their lances flashing against the set- ting sun. Pheasant feather and peacock plume from many a march- ing headdress glitters. Bows on backs, a crowd of archers bronzely swings along as one. Herds of antelope, goat, and nihlgao straggle along the armies' fringes. Mimicks, sorcerers, and buffoons in particolored costumes pass. Dancing girls with golden anklets trip in the desert dust that singes. High upheld above their bearers, banners stream from poles of brass. Over all the embroidered arms of Samarcand, The City Splendid, Lion and Sun and Three Great Circles, threefold realms that signify, Blaze on a banner of gold brocade. And, densely by his troops attended, Odmar, leading the Avant-guard, to a blare of terrible horns goes by. [ 20 ] The Great White Wall His captains ride on piebald barbs. Crescent scimitars slash their sashes. Fifty thousand javeliniers rock past with a unison that thrills^ With light green marching loin-cloths bound — dark limbs on which the sunset flashes. Their front is spread like an open fan from the Eastern to the Western hills ! Following these^ the broad Battail, whose chiefs bestride black stamping stallions; Short-nosed men with blubber lips, drooped mustachios, scalp-locks black. Shaved heads gleaming, rank by rank they surge along in huge battalions. And sixteen squadrons of wheeling horse closely follow upon their track. And then, the shouting Arereward looms, its cavalcade of captains swarming, Caps and sashes of figured blue, saddles and housings j ewel-bright, — By companies forty thousand foot behind the Prince of Thanais forming! And last — the Horse Adventurers, the Hope Forlorn. And now the night Creeps down as laden camels pass with melons and grapes and dates all corded; The flocks of bleating black-faced sheep — the lumbering elephants once more — [ 21 ] The Great White Wall While hundreds of yoke of oxen draw the great wheeled houses, closely hoarded, Covered with black or mottled felts — weird paintings splashed on every door; And chests of wickers on other carts, with birds and beasts enscroUed for laughter ; The special tents of Timur's wives, their eunuchs strid- ing grim and tall; White tents for peace, and red for war, and black for mourning following after. Thus passed proud Timur's vast array that thundered down on the Great White Wall! Over the bronze and rugged Western hills The broad sun sank, a despot past his reign ; And, with the evening air that cools and thrills. Great purple shadows crept across the plain. The glitter and murmur of that marching host. Whip-crack and rasped command and trumpet-call. Animal ululations, — all was lost As an absorbing silence swallowed all. The sun's death burnished metal here and there To glance with light unknown to conquest's heat: A light like courage battling through despair. The sign of some victorious defeat. [ 23 ] The Great White Wall From East and West the mountains leaned^ and cast Abroad the spreading cold. Out of the rare Ether of summits it settled down at last Through that pure flowing gold that was the air. On neck and shoulder every man who dreamed Felt the anointing. Then the first files leapt A foaming torrent. And now the whole host streamed Through a great gorge, wherein the waters wept. The high rock walls reechoed. But, pushing through, "Halt !" rang the curt command from lip to lip. For there the armies trembled at a view Had won the Devil to apostleship. And high on Timur's tall white elephant The soft gold curtains of the howdah shake. They part. The tyrant's eyes, now suppliant, Stare like a seventh sleeper's roused awake. So still — ah, God, so still ! For far before And far below their cliff, where veered the road. Dim orange plains flowed like an open moor To where, against the sky, the Great Wall showed. Along a mountainous horizon low Like a coiled frosty dragon-snake it curled Conforming to the summits' ebb and flow And stretching to the ends of all the world. [ 23] The Great White Wall Almost that mile-high mountain seemed to lift, Sacred Pe-cha, beyond it, — for so clear The cold was, that it set their minds adrift On dawns in some far richer atmosphere. A vast mysterious land, — its borders clung With gorgeous fable ! There silver maidens sang, And, from the haunted forests of Shantung, Crawled forth the emerald Dragon King, Lung Wang. From Pih-chih-lee's wide gulf to the dark gorge Of the dragons' gate — a perilous Paradise, Where grinning devils spat flame like a forge And fox-wives wooed lost men with treacherous eyes ! Yes, there the oily Yellow River wound By bamboo palaces and tortoise isles ; Enchanters fought with tigers underground And trees grew snow for miles on orchard miles. And where the far Five Sacred Mountains rose, — Rotund and almond-eyed, his slightest nod Opening a fiery earthquake on his foes — There sate in state the Jade Imperial God! So through the dusk that softly came to shroud, They gazed and marvelled at the Great White Wall; Grandees and horsemen huddled in a crowd. The elephants' breathing pulsing over all. [ 34 ] The Great White Wail By gorge and crag it seemed to crawl accursed. Coiled back to watch them with a lingering eye: That fitting triumph of the Only First Whose wordless tablet crumbles on Mount Tai! With a deep sigh the Prince let fall the silk; Then, turning to a slave-girl white as milk Who crouched among the scented cushions piled Within the howdah, he murmured — strangely mild — "Sing, slave, sing of my dreams, and soothe my spirit !' In the swaying gloom, so soft he scarce could hear it. Her voice began — her lute-strings faintly ringing To the climbing, lulling cadence of her singing: Song of Timur's Dreams Visions and dreams from the horn-gate and ivory gate Through the fastnesses flowing with sleep. Symbol and sign of a Line ancient, gorgeous and great. Planets auspicious and horoscopes, early and late Timur plucked forth from the Deep. Lo, he dreamed him a dream! Out of deep sleep flowed the real on the senses that seem! The Prophet swam first on his eyes. He on whom be the grace Y ,^ Of God, — who divided the moon, [25] The Great White Wall By which miracle shown, He alone has looked £uU on the face Of the Highest ! The One and True Prophet, he pleads to our race. In our souls are we his, late or soon. Aye, from depths of a dream Out of deep sleep loomed that Form that the heathen blaspheme ! "Because of thy noble compassion for Mine/' said the Voice, "For my Syeds thou shepherdest well. Seventy seed of thy line shall arise to rejoice. Earth in their ears shall resound with an excellent noise !" Softly the syllables fell. From the gleam of a dream Out of deep sleep comfort streamed on the senses that seem. And next there appeared a great net that was cast in the sea And withdrawn, and laid wide on the sand. Crocodiles, shining large fish, in its mesh seemed to be. Each golden-geared, with a crown, with a crown and a key! Flashing they shimmered to land. Great tench, carp, and bream Symbolled the cities and lands Timur's sword should redeem! [26 ] The Great White Wall Ere the battle with Tucktumush Khan, lo, he saw the sun rise In the East, but sink back to the East! And before Hindustan he perceived, as it seemed to his eyes. Nests beset with fierce birds, whence he drove them with slings and with cries: So his victories waxed and increased! Victories vain in a dream? . . Nay! Timur rouses. Be faithful, my lute, to thy theme! Camping toward Syria, high on a mountain he stood In sleep. Clouds of dust black and white (The armies of Egypt and Syria) strongly pursued Till rain like straight steel made the plain hiss and boil . . and his mood Laughed aloud in victorious light. O'er the war of a dream Timur was loosed like the heavenly torrents that stream! He saw a vast shade-tree whose branches spread over the skies. Whence in various shower there fell Rich colored fruits — and great cattle with cavernous eyes. Reptiles and birds, all with claws and with clamorous cries, Rushed to feast on the strange miracle. The tree, it would seem. Was the Tree of his House — with the future defaming his dream! [27 ] '^'^ Princess Yin''^ The Great White Wall Falcons^ and Lions^ and Swords, and rich Flagons of Wine Timur dreamed. Sleep disclosed to his reign A Desert — a Garden — each spread for the symbol and sign Of his actions of evil or good: all the gems of the mine. All the carcasses strewn on the plain! In a dream . . in a dream . . Softly! He sleeps. . . Ah, if only the real could but seem! Yes, the Prince slept. The howdah rocked and swung. The golden curtains stirred. The slave-girl curled Her ivory limbs, swathed in their gauzy silks. And rested chin on hand. Kohl-painted lids Drooped over desolate, passionate violet eyes. Thin swirls of incense, from a few pastilles In a white jade bason, fluttered across the shadows. The Prince slept. And, at first, 'twas deep and blank Untraced by any finger of fantasy, — Utter unconsciousness. But at the last After an hour or near, a dim light dawned Upon his somnolent senses. As if veil Over half-transparent filmy veil withdrew To faintest music, gradually he saw A landscape shimmer before him, vivid and clear. Cherry and plum tree with white and rosy blooms Sprinkled a faint green hillside where it rose [ 29 ] The Great White Wall To foothills and to one high snow-capped mountain From fields of tea and channelled paddies of rice. Below, a one-legged marabou on a dam Stood motionless, its head dropped 'twixt its wings. Above, a rosy flamingo floated by. Yet as his eyes concentred on the slope Closer it seemed to move, a nearer picture, Distinct with bright details. He saw the quaint Peaked and scrolled roof of a pagoda temple Higher, where a road wound up between the trees With occasional shallow steps. The temple hung On a cliff that dropped to some great plain just past The border of his sight . . And then he saw. Moving with large sleeves like a butterfly's wings. Her hair curved up like a little scorpion's tail. Thrust through with silver pins, — and her wide robe's Weird-patterned folds falling to tiny feet Set upon ivory pattens, — in all her sweetness Of rosy girlhood, he saw the Princess Yin! She held a willow basket. She was seeking For violets in the grass, and yellow flowers Of the bignonia, and tender thorii~f erns ; Rustling about beneath a russet pear-tree. Afloat like a fairy denizen of Heaven! Her lips moved. Strangely he heard, and knew, her song: [30] The Great White Wall "I am so happy! Ah^ mulberry tree, pretty friend, how happy am I ! willows, willows, weep not ! O butterfly In your brilliant brocade, what wonder you flutter and fly Dizzily twirling into the beautiful sky ! "I am so happy ! Winter is always rain, and foresters binding Their firewood faggots, — and winds that are cruel and blinding ; But the Spring brings his porcelain whistle and bamboo flute And sits making merry music where all the grasses were mute. Yes, even the blind musicians, I hear them tinkling now At their ritual music- frames in the temple of Chow ! "In my father's shooting park the soft-nosed deer Are all afrolic. Fuzzy horns — so funny! — As soft as velvet have just begun to appear On the little ones' heads. . . I shall hang paper money On the mulberry tree, and strew many colored beans Around its roots — and then — will you tell me what it means. Most Honorable Sir Mulberry.'' Will you tell me why 1 am so happy today.'' Oh so happy, so happy am II "The Filial doves are cooing very sweetly All through the oaks. And, at night, the Rabbit-Net Is such a jewelled constellation set [31 ] ^"■^^ The Great White Wall Beyond my window, its beauty beguiles me completely When the egrets are flying across the cloudy moon. Oh soon he will come ! I am sure he will come soon. My excellent Prince, on a pony silver-shod, With sun-patterns on his sleeves and the sash o£ a mountain-god. . . And I shall show him — why, I shall show him you, You funny little yellow duck, with such a waddle Around our straw-stack — your flat red bill and your nodding green-tufted noddle ! "And I shall show him the stack-yard greenbeaks peck- ing. And we will sit at a table of split bamboo And eat lychee-nuts and ginger, and drink pink tea, — And feed the deer in the park wild celery. And count the carp. And he will say to me, 'You are my little barbel taken in a wicker net And your eyes are like the dew on the violet, And your hands are like white sea-shells on the beach !* Oh how very happy we'll be, oh how very happy we'll be, My lordly Lover ! . . That will be pleasant speech ! "So, see, you old black-lipped sheep, cropping on with never a stop. See! I shall drop These acorns and these sow-thistles into this pool So soft and green and cool. For a charm ! . . And I shall try All this month to embroider so faithfully and well And excellently obey the little bell [ 32 ] h^^'^^^^^^:^^^ ^ V ^?jf==^^f^^^" » ^ ■ — " The Great White Wall That the Prince will just have to ride his pattering pony- out of the sky. For oh so happy — oh so happy — oh so happy am I That I wish to cry!" The vision wavered and broke to dancing colors As the Princess ceased her carol. Plunged in darkness. The roots of Timur's heart seemed to wrench and tear With a dreadful anguish mingled of joy and pain. A burning hunger dragged claws across his breast. A mysteriously sweet radiance filled his mind With the licking flames of countless brilliant candles. He stretched his thick-sinewed arms, and deep in his throat Rumbled a hoarse and incoherent cry. He strained toward the vanished dream. And his opening eyes Looked into other stars of frightened violet, Far other ! For through a shaking mist of incense His crouched white slave-girl eyed him across the rugs. Under them jolted and rocked the burly back Of his tramping elephant. Through fluttering silks He heard the rumbling rhythm of his marching host, Mixed with sharp cries and sudden scourging horns. But among the poled pavilions surging down The mountain road, a shrouded iron cage Swayed underneath that lion with Kublai's soul. In misery of the journey, the tawny beast Lay huddled in one far corner. [ 33 ] The Great White Wall What lit his eyes Suddenly now, as he raised his head to listen? Some ghost of a groan from his master's leading how- dah? . . His gaze took a brooding human thoughtfulness. IV The Outer Wall They pitched their camp before the Great White Wall In milky moonlight. Every noise was hushed. Far stretched the picket lines. The tents rose tall. Within his own, great Timur, fever-flushed, Paced the thick carpet. To his breast was crusht A young fresh phantom, a being clothed in Spring, Yet all — illusion? . . Then swift utterance rushed On his ears — he roused — and saw Axalla fling The tent-flap wide, and usher in a Mandarin like a King. With them came Odmar. . . Ah ! He remembered now. This Mandarin was the Lord of Vauchefou. The three made swift obeisance. Timur's brow Cleared with his thought. The night set work to do. Short was that audience, but the talk once through Certain success dazzled in Timur's eyes. This Chinese renegade had sworn he knew The Wall's one hidden flaw. And then the prize Was in their grasp, their entry won to China's sick surprise. [ 34 ] The Great White Wall "For/' said the Lord, "dim lies the Lake Hogeen A short march distant. Only stars can frown Through its thick border undergrowth, the screen To a dark tunnel. And many a flaming town Shall curse the stones that year by year slipped down Into that lake that yonder saps the Wall. I can supply the raftage, lest you drown. You shall slide through as slithering lizards crawl. And then — revenge! Revenge!" he spat with seething gall. "I was a Prince too faithful to my Chief. I rose in rank and station. And my foes Plotted against me. Ah, beyond belief Their treachery, that only my stabbed heart knows ! Cast off — proscribed! And more enormous grows My wrong with every year. I lurk at bay. An exile of wild horsemen. As I rose I fell. My castle crumbles to decay. The Crown divides my lands and all my rich array !" And so, that midnight (twelve days since they left The camp near Quinsai) saw a force embark And silently glide through the deep lake's low cleft Under the walls. The dense and starless dark Noted not silver ripple or twinkling spark. And far above, the great wall's dim patrol Stared with no hope through high swamp reeds to mark The steady rafts draw inward to their goal. The first bore Vauchefou, and Timur's savage soul. [ 35 ] The Great White Wall His captains urged and argued him to stay Lest the scheme prove a trap. He shook them off. Yet as Axalla softly cried, "Give way !" Close by the raft's side came a growling cough. The lion's head reared swimming. By the scruff Strong Timur heaved him up, stilled the dismay, Bade "On !" and stroked the wet mane with a rough Wild tenderness. And rafts as still as they Followed their phantom track on this most weird foray. Gray dawn lay still in limbo when the troops Crawled through dense willow thickets at last, and threw Their mantles round them, whispering in groups. Within the wall the Lord of Vauchefou Straightway toward a strategic hillside drew The muffled host. Dark to the moon's dim lamp There soared one fortress. But when the red sun slew The dragon night, their unsuspected camp At Odmar's signal from without would rush the un- guarded ramp. Timur, his hand smoothing the sparse harsh fur Of the shaggy lion, sate among his spears And heard the voice of an astrologer Deciphering some soldier's dreams or fears. The muttered words were grateful to his ears. He summoned him straightway. "Show my fate !" he croaked Hoarsely. The Conqueror's eyes searched in the seer's [ 36 ] The Great White Wall Who raised a crystal sphere, and, blackly cloaked. Knelt and with fluttering hands its potent ghosts in- voked. He proffered it to Timur. Closely peering The Chief stared through it. But the lion rose With bristling juba. Worse than death his fearing Of what those dim transparencies disclose, For now the glimmering ball floats with a rose Light, now with green, and then through swirling swarms Of sparks a cameo picture grows and grows To vivid life, a breathless portrait forms ! The Chief's eyes blazed. The beast's growl rasped like some far thunderstorm's. About a courtyard of ovens Chattering maids made clatter. A superb and portly person. Stiff rustling in robes, directed Their haste. On trays and salvers Smoking foods were borne. Roast turtle, minced carp, and bowls Of steaming birds-nest soup. About the cobbled courtyard Crowded the bamboo palace With many a peaky tower Red and green and painted With weird fantastical patterns, Bestuck with grinning monsters. [ 37 ] The Great White Wall But down in the midst of the courtyard, Fluttering with excitement, Vibrated the fairylike figure Of the dainty Princess Yin. A face of yellow blush-rose She turned, and pirouetted, Winning her nurse's frown. And instantly, staid and solemn, Took in careful hands the tray Of the purifying libations And entered a door of the palace. The crystal globe was clouded And then again glowed bright. Around small bamboo tables Gorgeous generals, marquises, Mandarins and officers Sat at a farewell feast. The gems on their scabbards gleamed, And crimson lacquer and black Glittered with gold inlay. Then a chief arose and lifted One of the sacred bows. Unbound its wrapped green silk. And bent it — 'mid acclamation From all, who stood up straightway And bowed to a ritual rhyme. [ 38 ] The Great White Wall Then all raised cups of jade And made a mute libation Of the wine the Princess proffered; For among those splendid costumes Like a fluttering bloom from the plum tree Tiptoed the Princess Yin. And then a glistering figure Arose, and bowed, and sang (Through a magic Timur heard it!) The Song of the Great White Wall "From the Eastern Sea to Shensi, the Only First Ruled. He had thousands of headmen at his behest; But all the scholars called him accurst, accurst. Of wolf voice, tiger heart, and pigeon breast! He burned all the cautious classics, and long ago Buried such scholars that melons took root to grow Above their bodies in winter ! Each mandarin Quaked at the will of Chin Shik Huang Ti Chin ! "Yet he raised a wall, a wall — from the Yellow Sea To the ramparts of rough Thibet. And every mile Stand white pagodas built of the bravery Of the bones of its proud defenders. No man of guile Was Chin, but a forthright builder and leader of men. Yet one, in our time, has come like his son again. The King, my friends ! Let your warrior voices ring ! [39 ] The Great White Wall Bow to the East and bow to the West — the King! Bow to the North and bow to the South — the King!" And again the crystal clouded. Now, on a wide white road, Were seen the revolving wheels Of the bright war-carriages Of sandalwood. Within them Behind chequered bamboo screens, With embroidered red knee-covers And helms of vermilion tassels And gold and velvet slippers. The bowing Peers went by. Officers of the army. With leopard-skin cuffs, and collars Of scarlet adorned with fox-fur. Whirled behind pure white steeds Black-maned, and piebald ponies Guided by six silk reins. With golden breast-bands glancing. Jinglers and drummers passed. The drums of lizard-skin leaping; Archers with ivory bows And bowstring-thimble and armlet Of ivory; and footmen With colored lacquer cuisses And lances with scarlet streamers. [ 40 ] The Great White Wall And then the blowing flags With blazonry of birds ; The tortoise and serpent banners With oxtails over all Streaming forth in a wind from the North A violent wind. "The drums beat — the drums Beat — and the Great White Wall Is a whetstone for sharpening swords !" He heard the cry go by. "The orders are black on the tablets. The drums are calling, — the drums !" But he saw at the gate of a garden, Uplifted by armed men. The form of the Princess Yin Stretching her hands to the host. She wept, "The Filial doves Have flown — but the drums are calling. The maces of white jade Dance with the great red bows. And the torches smoke in the courtyard And the princely men go forth !" Timur reeled back, his hands before his eyes. "Aye, they are well prepared. They do not wait. Yet shall our sudden and shattering surprise Strow them like leaves from gate to guarded gate. The hour approaches — the hour that is too late ! And — ah, her face, her face ! She waits me there [ 41 ] The Great White Wali, When I sweep on her like a wind of Fate !" He rose and stretched his arms — and met the glare Full in his own of questioning orbs, the great lion's steady stare! V The Inner Wall "The birds cry out 'Ying ! ying !' " Said the Princess wandering On the flowery temple hillside. "Birds, why do you sing? "Why do you call my name? This day remains the same. The cranes in the marshes crying Answer my cry of flame. "By reeds and tortoiseshell Can one divine it well, This sorrow that eats the heart out. This croak of a broken bell? "The bushy medlars blow And the cherries are pink with snow And Kiang and Han and Ho On their sacred courses flow With yellow-jaws and sand-blowers Winnowing to and fro. [ 42 ] The Great White Wall "But I am sick with dread And dust is on my head^ For the great red bows are bended And the han-pa wait for the dead ! "Hao mo? — are you well? Climbing people, answer and tell If you know how sways the battle. How the mandarins fought or fell ! "Burning perfumes on a tomb. Fluttering papers in the gloom. Sepulchres closed within the mountain, — The white and empty room ! "Courtiers, passing, why are ye White-faced, hurrying. Can it be That the tide has turned against us? Is there then some treachery? "Take the white silk — draw it tight. Recreants, flying from the fight ! So die strangling! For my father Comes a hero home tonight !" Thus, half madly, wandering. Hear the little Princess sing On the flowery templed hillside. While the bright birds call "Ying ! ying !' [ 43] The Great White Wall So she climbed higher in the early morning While hurrying figures streamed along the slope On the temple road. They passed and passed for hours It seemed. Silent and ashen-faced they passed In brown or gray robes fluttering, shuffling through The mounting dust. And then at last she saw Two riders threading bridges through the rice-fields Below. She climbed to the temple and wandered out On its wide rampart high above the plains. Far off it seemed she could see faint waving banners On the Wall — ^but all was very, very far. She viewed the riders from this higher coign Till finally they gained the road below And slowly, painfully began to climb. A strong foreboding laid hands upon her heart. Again she wandered out, drawn down the road. At last she saw the ponies' nodding necks Their spatter of muck and mire as high as the crupper. Their patient faces streaked with darker sweat. Their black lips tossing foam. The riders too Were splashed over all their lacquer. Bareheaded both They rode, with naked scimitars at their sides. One broken and one stained, "Knights . ." she began. "The golden luck dishes of the thousand li Are lost!" coughed one. "By great Chin's chameleon dog Never have I seen such fighting ! This Timur Is far more monster than the Double Double ! [ 44 ] The Great White Wall Horses and furniture and arms are lost. He has brought great artilleries and rams And slings that heave huge stones. But have you heard The worst: it was that execrable Lord The Outcast let them in \" "That let them in? That let them in?" "Verily ! Overnight He sent them through an old breach in the Wall On rafts !" The sunlight reeled around the Princess. "And the King's cousin is taken," the man went on. "Slaughter bestrides the plain of Paguinfou. A squadron of the Tartars following us Press close. The Parthians in escalade Have beaten old Prince Li, and he is slain." "What — what Prince Li?" "Why, the old General, the Good Councillor, Lady, you faint . . here!" "No !" the Princess said Gathering herself erect. "But you? Deserters?" "We ride on a desperate mission to warn the towns And the battalions of the cantons. Come ! You are not safe here. Why, in half an hour The barbarians will be splashing through the rice. Up on my crupper I" And then the man who spoke She saw was but a boy. Through all the mud And blood that stained his face, his white teeth flashed [ 45 ] The Great White Wall In a beguiling grin — that instantly changed. His teeth clicked shut. He clutched his saddle-bow. "You are wounded?" "No!" he gasped. "Nothing! But you Must come with us \" She shook her little head. And lied. "I — I — am waiting for — my father!" And turned and ran in her pattens toward the temple. "Come, come!" said his rough companion. "We mus on ! She says she does not need us. Past a doubt Her parents have instructed her to wait. And we have miles before us, and the hope 0£ the kingdom on our shoulders !" They rode on. At the temple parapet the Princess Yin Leaned sobbing, her bent black head within her arms. Too sudden and too fierce that dreadful news. She could not grasp it. Only, through all her limbs. An utter lassitude of purpose shivered, And she forgot both time and place and peril. Her father, her dear father, her brave father! Then through her grief another face and name Began to thrust. She overheard again The words her father hissed to a councillor Departing from his palace: "Yes! Vauchefou . . The dastard! . . Instant message — for the King!" [ 46 ] The Great White Wall She well remembered how his rising power Was bruited round the kingdom; she remembered— A hot blush stained her cheeks— how he had met And grasped her in that orchard, once, and how Her father's scimitar as suddenly gleamed Between the trees. He stared hard at that Lord, Ordered her to the park,— and, scurrying o&, She heard high voices. It was little later That he was banished. As she thought, her eyes Wandered across the plains. . . No! Was it true? It was not true,— those must be Chinese horsemen Came on so fast! She saw the silver water Flash in the sun under their plunging mounts. Pell-mell, breakneck, galloping on they came By bridge or paddy or any likely way. And how they rode — and what a forest of spears And swords they brandished! . . No, it was not true! She pressed her hands to her eyes, and looked again; Then, all at once, was horribly afraid. As if a vise of ice had gripped her limbs She stood and stared. Now some were near enough — Just splashing out of the rice to gain the road Below there — for her eyes to note their dress. Their barbarous appointments, the strange large horses They sat, their wild formation, the rude crude armor [ 47 ] The Great White Wall They wore so carelessly. The leading squadron Dashed up the first stretch and were hidden by a turn. A great brown dog (as it seemed) came bounding with them. "Sacred ancestors ! Where to fly ?" She ran Round to the temple door. The road climbed steep Beyond the temple, steep and straight away. They would surely see her. Oh, if she had not strayed This morning ! But her mother's stony eyes. She thought, had driven her mad . . her mother had seen Too many wars . . She was wandering again . , And there . . ! Inside the dusky temple she whisked Kicking her pattens far across the paving. The first quick horse-hoofs sounded on the road. Fearfully, like a ghost, she flitted her way Behind a pillar of the deserted house Of the Tao priests — and was lost in distant shadow. But scarcely was she hidden when a blacker Great shadow fell from the doorway. In they swarmed Cursing and laughing, clanking and clattering weapons, Laying immediate hands on the holy altar And haling from it sacred vessel and relic; [ 48 ] The Great White Wall Hacking the images, roughly playing horse. Screeching and roaring, hurling a bloody head. One bore at his belt, about the ranks for a ball. Bellowing. . . And then she saw the Chief, Timur himself (though this she could not know). Standing apart, brooding, biting his lip — A fresh cut from a Chinese scimitar Bloody across his cheek, his dress awry, His felt boots splashed with mire, his purple hair And long mustachios tangled. Yes, and then She caught a glimpse of that large tawny dog Slinking here and there among the roisterers. But when the lion's great mournful visage looked Around the pillar, she was not afraid. It had come noiselessly on velvet pads And stood regarding her. But in its eyes There was something pitiful, and very brave. And nothing cruel. So the slender girl And the great beast stood at gaze a moment's space. Then, craftily, the lion turned its eyes To scan the staggering barbarians Splashing holy wine on the altar steps ; With what seemed one long supple movement, now It slank to a half-hidden little door Behind the girl, and pushed and nuzzled it [ 49 ] The Great White Wall Whining softly^ faintly. She flitted like a glint Of light — both beast and girl were through the door That closed^ upon the instant, noiselessly. But the dark Chief, with a hunger at his heart Gnawing like tigers' teeth, his rolling eyes Turning this way and that in baffled search For the ghost of a phantom of a secret vision, Had seen. He cast an eye upon his men Obliviously shouting and careering. He strolled between the pillars carelessly With the thick blood throbbing thunderous in temples, And he too found the door. He kicked it wide Suddenly with his foot. The girl sat crouched Upon the cliffward parapet, her head Buried in the lion's mane whose muzzle upthrust Beneath her. The small jutting balcony Was hung like a swallow's nest against the wall With no way down. Like a flash the lion turned Snarling; but Timur's eyes were not on him. As the girl, bewildered, raised her weeping face He knew her, and all his blood sang through his body Molten and mad. Here was his long desire! [ 50 ] his The Great White Wall He crossed his arms ; and yet his arms stretched out Beyond his will. But the girl's deathly face Read all the ogrish black enormity Of her country's ruin and her father's death In lines of fire upon that countenance. Tottering she raised herself; with awful eyes She stared upon him. Her bosom rose and fell. The lion stood large and terrible between them. Then, clenching hands, without a single sound Outward she sprang. Against the reeling sky She fluttered the veriest instant, and was gone. With a cry — but as he moved the lion rose Horribly roaring at Timur. He started back. The door behind him filled with faces devilish And daunted. For a moment the issue swung, Until, while hands shot forth to stay his arm. The Chief — all Tartar now — tugged out the blade Of his flashing scimitar. His whistling breath Labored his breast. In true demoniac rage He raised the sword. And then the lion spoke. "Timur!" it said. "Timur! Timur!" it said. The strange voice from the throat of that great beast Standing with bulging tendons, its black mane [ 51 ] ''Horribly Roaring'' The Great White Wall Bristling erect^ its yellow eyes slits of wrath. Clutched at the necks of the barbarians. Terribly again "Timur!" it said. "Timur! Timur!" it said. "The lion dies. My soul will leave its prison. My one good deed was fruitless — but that God, In whose reins is infinite compassion, knows My intent, and gives my weary soul release!" And, as the silence grew, and the great lion Began to sway before them on shuffling feet, "Timur," it said, "0 Conqueror, the world Is ever a wall within a wall; the world Is a golden vessel filled with scorpions And serpents! Are our destinies predicted. Written upon our foreheads? But the Wall, The wall within, the wall you cannot take . . f Slowly the filmed eyes closed. The lion sank In death before them. And then, as if a smoke Blurred everything, they were suddenly aware Of a great form appearing on the sky Above the parapet, in splendid robes Jewelled and girdled, and glorious regalia. . . And Timur knew great Kublai's eyes upon His eyes. The two stood giving gaze for gaze Till the shape faded. [ 53 ] The Great White Wali, Still staring^ the sight of all Pierced through the air — saw, past the plains^ The Wall. Even as they watched, a flame-reddened smoke went up On the nearest tower, — their signal of victory! . H ^_ =_»#-' % \ I iLp-^Km ^tt ^ M. ^