THE LEAP OF ROUSHAN BEG

HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW

Mounted on Kyrat strong and fleet,
His chestnut steed with four white feet,
Roushan Beg, called Kurroglou,
Son of the road and bandit chief,
5 Seeking refuge and relief,

Up the mountain pathway flew.

Such was the Kyrat's wondrous speed,
Never yet could any steed

Reach the dust-cloud in his course.
10 More than maiden, more than wife,
More than gold, and next to life
Roushan the Robber loved his horse.

15

In the land that lies beyond

Erzeroum and Trebizond,

Garden-girt, his fortress stood;

Plundered khan, or caravan

Journeying north from Koordistan,

Gave him wealth and wine and food.

Seven hundred and fourscore

20 Men at arms his livery wore;

Did his bidding night and day.
Now, through regions all unknown,
He was wandering, lost, alone,
Seeking, without guide, his way.

25 Suddenly the pathway ends;
Sheer the precipice descends;

Loud the torrent roars unseen;
Thirty feet from side to side

Yawns the chasm; on air must ride.

30 He who crosses this ravine.

*By permission of Houghton, Mifflin and Co., authorized publishers of Long. fellow's works.

As the ocean surge o'er sand
Bears a swimmer safe to land,
Kyrat safe his rider bore;
Rattling down the deep abyss
Fragments of the precipice

Rolled like pebbles on a shore.

Roushan's tasseled cap of red
Trembled not upon his head;
Careless sat he and upright;

10 Neither hand nor bridle shook;
Nor his head he turned to look,
As he galloped out of sight.

Flash of harness in the air,

Seen a moment, like the glare
15 Of a sword drawn from its sheath;
Thus the phantom horseman passed,
And the shadow that he cast

Leaped the cataract underneath.

Reyhan the Arab held his breath
20 While this vision of life and death
Passed above him. "Allahu!"

Cried he. "In all Koordistan
Lives there not so brave a man
As this Robber Kurroglou!"

NOTES AND QUESTIONS

Biography. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), one of the greatest of American poets, was born in Portland, Maine. He was graduated from Bowdoin College in 1825. Nathaniel Hawthorne was one of his classmates. While in college Longfellow developed a strong love for foreign languages and also showed marked ability in verse making. He spent three years in Europe and upon his return became professor of modern languages at Bowdoin.

Outre-Mer, his first book, is in prose, and gives an account of his life in Europe From Bowdoin, Longfellow went to Harvard to teach, but in 1854 he gave up his college work and devoted himself to the writing of poetry. By his many translations from foreign tongues Longfellow has greatly enriched our literature; but in his own poems he remained thoroughly and genuinely American. The titles, "poet of culture," "poet of peace, of the home, and history," and "the children's poet," which have been bestowed upon him show the nature of his work and the esteem in which he is held. Longfellow has received great attention and praise from the lovers of poetry in England as well as in America, and after his death his bust was placed in the "Poet's Corner" in Westminster Abbey, where stand memorials to Shakespeare and others who have won imperishable fame.

Discussion. 1. Describe in your own words Roushan Beg's perilous position before the leap. 2. What do you think had brought him to this peril? 3. Read lines that tell how he gained his wealth. 4. Read lines that show his love for his horse. 5. What shows Kyrat's intelligence? 6. To what does the poet compare the leap of the horse? 7. To what does he compare the movement of the horse over the abyss? 8. Does the credit for this leap belong to the horse or to the rider? Why? 9. To whom did the watching Arab give the credit? 10. How would the bearing of Roushan Beg after the leap influence the Arab? 11. Describe the appearance of Kyrat. 12. Compare Coaly-Bay with Kyrat; what likenesses do you find? Would you call this poem a ballad? Why? 13. What other ballad written by Longfellow have you read? What other story of a famous ride, written by Longfellow, do you find in this book? 14. Class reading: "Muléykeh," Browning. 15. Find in the Glossary the meaning of: fourscore; livery; housings; verge. Pronounce: Roushan; khan; chasm; forehead.

son of the road, 161, 4

reach the dust-cloud, 161, 9

Phrases

into the air's embrace, 162, 29 vision of life and death, 163, 20

How They Brought the Good News from Chent to Aix 165

"HOW THEY BROUGHT THE GOOD NEWS FROM GHENT TO AIX"

ROBERT BROWNING

I sprang to the stirrup, and Joris, and he;

I galloped, Dirck galloped, we galloped all three; "Good speed!" cried the watch, as the gatebolts undrew; "Speed!" echoed the wall to us galloping through; 5 Behind shut the postern; the lights sank to rest; And into the midnight we galloped abreast.

Not a word to each other; we kept the great pace
Neck by neck, stride by stride; never changing our place;
I turned in my saddle and made its girths tight,
10 Then shortened each stirrup, and set the pique right,
Rebuckled the cheek-strap, chained slacker the bit,
Nor galloped less steadily Roland a whit.

'Twas moonset at starting; but while we drew near Lokeren, the cocks crew, and twilight dawned clear; 15 At Boom, a great yellow star came out to see;

At Düffeld, 'twas morning as plain as could be;

And from Mecheln church-steeple we heard the half-chime.
So Joris broke silence with, "Yet there is time!"

At Aershot, up leaped of a sudden the sun,

20 And against him the cattle stood black every one,
To stare thro' the mist at us galloping past;

And I saw my stout galloper Roland at last,
With resolute shoulders, each butting away

The haze, as some bluff river headland its spray:

25 And his low head and crest, just one sharp ear bent back
For
my voice, and the other pricked out on his track;
And one eye's black intelligence-ever that glance.
O'er its white edge at me, his own master, askance!