aided might
Shall win thee victory in the fight.
My faith, Azarco, is thy shield;
It will protect thee in the field.
Thou shalt return with victory,
For victory embarks with thee.
But thou wilt say, Azarco dear,
That women's lightness is to fear.
As with armed soldiers, so you find,
Each woman has a different mind.
And none shall ever, without thee,
Me in the dance or revel see;
Nor to the concert will I roam,
But stay in solitude at home.
The Moorish girls shall never say
I dress in robes of holiday;
'Twere vain to make the body fine
Whose soul is on the sea with thine."
With this Celinda came in sight,
Bahata's sister tall and bright;
This to an end her farewell brought,
But not her dark and anxious thought.

AZARCO'S FAREWELL

"Now saddle me the silver gray,
The steed of noble race,
And give to me the shield of Fez,
And my strong corslet lace;
Give me a double-headed lance,
With points of temper fine;
And, with the casque of stubborn steel,
That purple cap of mine.
Its plumes unite the saffron's tint
With heron's crest of snow,
And one long spray of fluttering gray.
Then give it e'er I go,
And I'll put on the hood of blue
That Celin's daughter fair,
My Adelifa, best-beloved,
Once gave to me to wear.
And the square boss of metal bring,
That circling boughs entwine
With laurels, in whose leaves of gold
The clustered emeralds shine.
Adonis, hastening to the hunt,
His heavenly mistress shuns,
The mountain boars before him flee,
And, 'Die,' the motto runs."
'Twas thus the Moor Azarco spoke,
Just as the war begun,
To stout Almoralife
Of Baza, Zelma's son.
Almoralife, brave and wise,
Full many a minstrel sings,
A knight who in Granada
Was counted with its kings.
And when they bring the boss of gold
He heaves a thousand sighs
O'er brave Adonis and his doom,
Who by the wild boar dies.
"O Adelifa, soul of mine,
Rejoice, and murmur not,
Up to the end be merry,
When worms shall be thy lot.
My day of life must needs be short,
Thy firmness must be long;
Although thou art a woman,
Unlike thy sex, be strong.
Be not like Venus, tho' in form
Thou art indeed her peer,
For she forgot in absence,
And did to death her dear.
And when alone, upon my face
And likeness fix thine eyes,
And none admit to do me wr