g, from height to height;
They bounded in their mad delight,
And when he touched the mountain's crest,
With reverent welcome round him pressed.
They brought him of their woodland fruits,
They brought him of the choicest roots,
And laughed and shouted in their glee
The noblest of their chiefs to see.
Nor Hanuman delayed to greet
Sage Jambavan with reverence meet;
To Angad and the chiefs he bent
For age and rank preeminent,
And briefly spoke: "These eyes have seen,
These lips addressed, the Maithil queen."
They sat beneath the waving trees,
And Angad spoke in words like these:
"O noblest of the Vanar kind
For valour power and might combined,
To thee triumphant o'er the foe
Our hopes, our lives and all we owe.
O faithful heart in perils tried,
Which toil nor fear could turn aside,
Thy deed the lady will restore,
And Rama's heart will ache no more."(890)

Canto LVIII. The Feast Of Honey.

They rose in air: the region grew
Dark with their shadow as they flew.
Swift to a lovely grove(891) they came
That rivalled heavenly Nandan's(892) fame;
Where countless bees their honey stored,--
The pleasance of the Vanars' lord,
To every creature fenced and barred,
Which Dadhimukh was set to guard,
A noble Vanar, brave and bold,
Sugriva's uncle lofty-souled.
To Angad came with one accord
The Vanars, and besought their lord
That they those honeyed stores might eat
That made the grove so passing sweet.

He gave consent: they sought the trees
Thronged with innumerable bees.
They rifled all the treasured store,
And ate the fruit the branches bore,
And still as they prolonged the feast
Their merriment and joy increased.
Drunk with the sweets, they danced and bowed,
They wildly sang, they laughed aloud,
Some climbed and sprang from tree to tree,
Some sat and chattered in their glee.
Some scaled the trees which creepers crowned,
And rained the branches to the ground.
There with loud laugh a Vanar sprang
Close to his friend who madly sang,
In doleful mood another crept
To mix his tears with one who wept.

Then Dadhimukh with fury viewed
The intoxicated multitude.
He looked upon the rifled shade,
And all the ruin they had made;
Then called with angry voice, and strove
To save the remnant of the grove.
But warning cries and words were spurned,
And angry taunt and threat returned.
Then fierce and wild contention rose:
With furious words he mingled blows.
They by no shame or fear withheld,
By drunken mood