t tore his heart,--still not a word,
Only a stifled sob!

"It is not Sindhu--who art thou?
And where is Sindhu gone?
There's blood upon thy hands--avow!"
"There is."--"Speak on, speak on."

The dead child in their arms he placed,
And briefly told his tale,
The parents their dead child embraced,
And kissed his forehead pale.

"Our hearts are broken. Come, dear wife,
On earth no more we dwell;
Now welcome Death, and farewell Life,
And thou, O king, farewell!

"We do not curse thee, God forbid
But to my inner eye
The future is no longer hid,
Thou too shalt like us die.

"Die--for a son's untimely loss!
Die--with a broken heart!
Now help us to our bed of moss,
And let us both depart."

Upon the moss he laid them down,
And watched beside the bed;
Death gently came and placed a crown
Upon each reverend head.

Where the Sarayu's waves dash free
Against a rocky bank,
The monarch had the corpses three
Conveyed by men of rank;

There honoured he with royal pomp
Their funeral obsequies,--
Incense and sandal, drum and tromp,
And solemn sacrifice.

What is the sequel of the tale?
How died the king?--Oh man,
A prophet's words can never fail--
Go, read the Ramayan.

VIII.

PREHLAD.

A terror both of gods and men
Was Heerun Kasyapu, the king;
No bear more sullen in its den,
No tiger quicker at the spring.
In strength of limb he had not met,
Since first his black flag he unfurled,
Nor in audacious courage, yet,
His equal in the wide, wide world.

The holy Veds he tore in shreds;
Libations, sacrifices, rites,
He made all penal; and the heads
Of Bramins slain, he flung to kites,
"I hold the sceptre in my hand,
I sit upon the ivory throne,
Bow down to me--'tis my command,
And worship me, and me alone.

"No god has ever me withstood,
Why raise ye altars?--cease your pains!
I shall protect you, give you food,
If ye obey,--or else the chains."
Fled at such edicts, self-exiled,
The Bramins and the pundits wise,
To live thenceforth in forests wild,
Or caves in hills that touch the skies.

In secret there, they altars raised,
And made oblations due by fire,
Their gods, their wonted gods, they praised,