ut in one chamber, where our path must lead,
There sleeps--he must not wake--the oppressor Seyd!"

"Gulnare--Gulnare--I never felt till now
My abject fortune, withered fame so low:
Seyd is mine enemy; had swept my band
From earth with ruthless but with open hand,
And therefore came I, in my bark of war, 1530
To smite the smiter with the scimitar;
Such is my weapon--not the secret knife;
Who spares a Woman's seeks not Slumber's life.
Thine saved I gladly, Lady--not for this;
Let me not deem that mercy shown amiss.
Now fare thee well--more peace be with thy breast!
Night wears apace, my last of earthly rest!"[ic]

"Rest! rest! by sunrise must thy sinews shake,
And thy limbs writhe around the ready stake,
I heard the order--saw--I will not see-- 1540
If thou wilt perish, I will fall with thee.
My life--my love--my hatred--all below
Are on this cast--Corsair! 'tis but a blow!
Without it flight were idle--how evade
His sure pursuit?--my wrongs too unrepaid,
My youth disgraced--the long, long wasted years,
One blow shall cancel with our future fears;
But since the dagger suits thee less than brand,
I'll try the firmness of a female hand.
The guards are gained--one moment all were o'er-- 1550
Corsair! we meet in safety or no more;
If errs my feeble hand, the morning cloud
Will hover o'er thy scaffold, and my shroud."

IX.

She turned, and vanished ere he could reply,
But his glance followed far with eager eye;
And gathering, as he could, the links that bound
His form, to curl their length, and curb their sound,
Since bar and bolt no more his steps preclude,
He, fast as fettered limbs allow, pursued.
'Twas dark and winding, and he knew not where 1560
That passage led; nor lamp nor guard was there:
He sees a dusky glimmering--shall he seek
Or shun that ray so indistinct and weak?
Chance guides his steps--a freshness seems to bear
Full on his brow as if from morning air;
He reached an open gallery--on his eye
Gleamed the last star of night, the clearing sky:
Yet scarcely heeded these--another light
From a lone chamber struck upon his sight.
Towards it he moved; a scarcely closing door 1570
Revealed th