Antar: A Bedoueen Romance

by Unknown

So he took with him an hundred horsemen, and went his way till he reached the lake of Zatool Irsad, and on seeing King Zoheir, he told him what we have now related as the cause of his coming. Antar was present and heard all that had happened to Hassan, and being much interested about him, he instantly arose and kissing the King’s hand—O my lord, he cried, let me be deputed by you for this service; let me go with Hassan, and I will destroy his enemy. Go, my son, cried Zoheir to Malik,—go to the assistance of your brother, and take with you whomever you please of our warriors, and Antar among the rest, and return not till you have blotted out every vestige of Oosak.

The King then ordered the dinner to be prepared for Hassan and his companions, whilst Malik was employed in getting ready for the expedition, and chose from the tribe a thousand experienced warriors; and in three days Hassan and his associates all mounted their horses with Prince Malik, and Antar the impetuous horseman, and Shiboob as his attendant; and Hassan was the happiest of men in the assistance of the tribe of Abs. Thus they marched on, clad in steel, and their bright cuirasses sparkled on their bodies. And as they rode, said Malik to Antar—O Aboolfawaris, recite to us some of thy verses. Willingly, my Lord, he replied; and thus spoke:—

“I lust after the blows of the cleaving scimitars, and I idolize the thrusts of the well made spears. I long for the cups of death, when they are pure, and they circle round the heads of the illustrious brave. It is the blow and the thrust when the horses stumble among the death-bearing lances, and the armies are in confusion, that please me under the shades of the dust, like the wings of darkness, as the coursers storm over the earth, the barbs of the lances plunge into obscurity, and start from it like the sparkling stars. Faulchions, gleam in it in every direction, like the flashes of lightning in the darkness of night. O by thy life, honour and glory, and eminence, and the accomplishment of hopes, and exaltation of fame are for him who rushes into the combat magnanimously, where alone in the height of glory are the highest honours. Let him thrust among the warriors and the chiefs with a heart unmoved in the fall of sword blows. Let him brandish furiously his sabre and spear in the boldness of his spirit, undaunted at calamities. Let him do justice to the lance of Cahtan in the contest, and let him stretch forth proudly his shoulders with the edge of the scimitar. Otherwise, let him lead a contemptible life in ignominy, and when he dies, his friends will not mourn over him. The beauteous virgins will not weep in anguish for any but the horsemen noble in the hour of trial. I am the hero well known in the field of battle, and I am the eager knight amongst my relations. I am the assaulting lion, and the hero who defends their dwellings and habitations.”

O Aboolfawaris, said Hassan, verily you surpass all the horsemen of the age in eloquence and courage, and generosity and nobleness of mind. You are in truth the jewel of the times. Antar thanked him, and they travelled on for three days, and on the fourth day (for the Lord of Heaven had decreed the glory of Antar, and that no one should exceed him in prosperity) Antar happening to stray a little out of the way, descended into a deep valley: and lo! there were two horsemen engaged in desperate combat. Antar urged on his steed, and coming up to them, Stop, ye Arabs, he cried, and tell me the cause of your quarrel. At the instant one of them stepped aside, and came up to Antar. Noble horseman of the desert and the town, said he, I refer myself to you, for you are able to protect me. I will take your part, said Antar, I will protect you, I pledge myself to you but acquaint me with your story, and what has rendered necessary this combat between you.

Know then, noblest knight of the age, said the youth, that I and this horseman are brothers, of the same father and the same mother; he is the eldest, and I am the youngest; and our father was one of the Arab chieftains, and he was called Amroo, the son of Harith, the son of Teba, and Teba was our ancestor; and one day as he was sitting down, his flocks strayed away, and one of his camels was lost, and as he was very partial to it, he questioned some of the herdsmen about it. One of them said, Know, my Lord, yesterday this camel strayed away from the pasture; I followed behind it, and it still continued to run away, and I after it, till I became tired, and perceiving that it lagged behind, I stretched out my hand and took up a stone, black in appearance, like a hard rock, brilliant and sparkling. I struck the camel with it, and it hit the camel on the right side and issued out on the left, and the camel fell to the ground dead. On coming up to it I found the stone by its side, and the camel was weltering in its blood.

On hearing this, my ancestor mounted his horse, and taking the peasant with him, went to find out the pasture. They passed on till they came to the camel, which they found dead, and the stone lying near it. My ancestor took it in his hand, and considered it very attentively, and he knew it was a thunderbolt; so he carried it away and returned home. He gave it to a blacksmith, and ordered him to make a sword of it. He obeyed, and took it and went his way; and in three days he returned to my ancestor with a sword two cubits long and two spans wide. My ancestor received it, and was greatly pleased when he saw it, and turned towards the blacksmith and said, What name have you given it? So the blacksmith repeated this distich: “The sword is sharp, O son of the tribe of Ghalib, sharp indeed, but where is the striker for the sword?” And my ancestor waved the sword with his hand, and said, As to the smiter, I am the smiter; and struck off the head of the blacksmith, and separated it from his body. He then cased it with gold, and called it Dhami, on account of its sharpness. He laid it by amongst his treasures, and when he died it came in succession to my father, with the rest of the arms, and when my father perceived his death was at hand, he called me to him privately. O my son, said he, I know your brother is of a tyrannical obstinate disposition, one that likes violence and hates justice, and I am aware that at my death he will usurp my property. What measures shall I take? said I. He answered, take this sword and conceal it, and let no one know any thing about it; and when you see that he takes forcible possession of all my property, cattle and wealth, do you be content, my son, with this sword, for it will be of great benefit to you, for if you present it to Nushirvan, King of Persia, he will exalt you with his liberality and favours, and if you present it to the Emperor of Europe, he will enrich you with gold and silver.

When I heard these words, I consented to what he demanded, and took it out, in the darkness of the night, and having buried it in this place, I returned to my father and stayed with him till he died. We buried him, and returned home; but my brother took possession of all my father had, and gave me nothing, not a rope’s end; and when he searched for the arms, and saw not the Dhami, he asked me for it. I denied knowing any thing about it; he gave me the lie, and abused me most violently; at last I confessed, and told him I had buried it in such a spot; so he came with me hither, and searched for it, but could not find it. Again he asked me where I had buried it; and when he saw me roaming about from place to place, he rushed upon me, and cried out, saying—Vile wretch! you know where the sword is, and act thus to deceive me. He attacked me, and sought to slay me, I defended myself until you arrived, and now I demand your protection.

When Antar heard this, his heart pitied him; he left the youth, and turning to his brother, said, Why do you tyrannize over your brother? and do not divide with him the property your father left? Base slave, cried he, highly incensed, look to yourself, and interfere not so arrogantly; and he turned upon Antar, thinking him a common man; but Antar gave him no time to wheel, or direct his reins, ere he pierced him through the chest with his spear, and thrust it ten spans through his back, and threw him down dead. And now, young man, said he, to the other, return to your family, and assume the rank of your father, and should any one molest you, send and inform me; I will come and tear his life out of his sides. The youth thanked him and expressed his gratitude. Now my brother is no more, said he, I have no other enemy: and he departed home. But Antar fixed his spear in the ground, and dismounted from Abjer, and sat down to rest himself; and as he was moving the sand with his fingers, he touched a stone; on removing what was about it, behold! the sword the youth had been seeking. He still cleared away, and drew it forth, and seized hold of it, and it was a sword two cubits in length, and two spans wide, of the metal of Amalec, like a thunderbolt. And Antar was convinced of his good fortune, and that everything began and ended in the most high God.

Antar mounted and pursued his comrades and Prince Malik, bearing the sword in his hand. He shewed it to Malik, and told him all about the youth and his brother, and the sword; of his having buried it, and all that passed between them; and Malik was greatly astonished, saying, This is a gift sent you by the Lord of Heaven.

They marched forward, passing over the wilds and the deserts that day and night; and the next day at dawn, behold there was great dust, and when dispersed, five hundred horsemen appeared all clothed in steel. Go and learn for us, said Antar to Shiboob, what means this dust, and what news there is beneath it. Shiboob quitted them, and returned as quick as a bird on the wing, O son of my mother, cried he, these are your enemies, the army of Gheidac. But the circumstance that occasioned the approach of this horseman was this: it happened that Oosak had demanded assistance of Gheidac, in his meditated attack on the tribe of Mazin.