Under the solitary moon: he flow'd
Right for the polar star, past Orgunje,[52]
Brimming, and bright, and large: then sands begin
To hem his watery march, and dam his streams,
And split his currents; that for many a league 880
The shorn and parcell'd Oxus strains along
Through beds of sand and matted rushy isles--
Oxus, forgetting the bright speed he had
In his high mountain cradle in Pamere,
A foil'd circuitous wanderer:--till at last 885
The long'd-for dash of waves is heard, and wide
His luminous home of waters[53] opens, bright
And tranquil, from whose floor the new-bath'd stars
Emerge, and shine upon the Aral Sea.

--Arnold.

[1] Oxus. One of the great rivers of central Asia, forming the
boundary between Persia and Turan, or Tartary.

[2] Tartar. A general name given to the tribes in central Asia east
of the Oxus.

[3] Peran-Wisa (Pe'ran-We'sa). The commander of the Tartar tribes
which formed the army of King Afrasiab.

[4] Pamere. A plateau in central Asia.

[5] King Afrasiab (Afra'-siab). King of the Tartars.

[6] Samarcand. A city in Turkestan.

[7] Ader-baijan (Ader-bi'-yan). A province of Persia.

[8] Seistan (Sa-es-tan'). A district of eastern Persia.

[9] Perhaps because he is beginning to feel old, or on account of some
quarrel with the Persian king.

[10] Kara-Kul. A district in Persia.

[11] Casbin. A city in Persia.

[12] Elburz. A mountain range in northern Persia.

[13] Aralian estuaries. The mouth of the rivers flowing into the sea
of Aral.

[14] frore. frozen.

[15] Bokhara and Khiva. Districts of central Asia.

[16] The Tartars use an intoxicating liquor called koumiss, made from
mare's or camel's milk.

[17] Lines 118-134 mention various nomadic tribes; the names are of no
great importance.

[18] Attruck and Jaxartes (l. 126). Names of rivers.

[19] more doubtful service. Their allegiance was doubtful; they were
not bound to follow the army of King Afrasiab.

[20] Kuzzaks. Cossacks.

[21] Khorassan. A province of north-eastern Persia.

[22] Cabool. Cabul, the capital of Afghanistan. The trade route
between Cabul and Hindustan crosses the mountains at a great height.

[23] Iran. The original came of Persia.

[24] in plain arms. Without any device on his shield.

[25] fluted spine. The hollow spike at the top of the helmet, in
which the helmet-feather or crest is fitted.

[26