And passing through a gateway,

Came out upon a busy wharf,

Where, southward, midway through the city,

The broad Euphrates flows,

His dark flood thronged with merchant-dhows,

And fishing-boats of reed and bitumen,

Piled high with glistering barbel, freshly-caught;

And foreign craft, with many-coloured sails,

And laden deep with precious merchandise,

That, over wide, bewildering waters,