ISMAEL; AN ORIENTAL TALE. WITH Other Poems.

BY EDWARD GEORGE LYTTON BULWER. Written between The Age of Thirteen and Fifteen.

LONDON: PRINTED FOR J. HATCHARD AND SON No. 187, PICCADILLY. 1820. {iv} Printed by J. Brettell, Rupert Street, Haymarket, London. {v}

PREFACE.

To court applause by oblique dexterity, or without a due sense of respect for public opinion, impertinently to advance pretensions, is equally revolting to the feelings of an ingenuous mind. But as genius and a desire of fame are naturally allied, and, perhaps, the former never existed without the latter; will not the youthful adventurer be justified in endeavouring to stand well in the opinion of the judicious and discerning, by disseminating his works among them—under a confidence, that the more candid will be pleased with the first blossoms of poetical talent, not only as the fruits of industry, but as presages in maturer years of more elevated titles to distinction? With these impressions, the Author of the following Poems has been induced, by the advice of his friends, to offer the present Collection{vi} to the public. The praise of friends, I am aware, is not always a sufficient reason for publication;—and pieces of poetry, dictated by some local occurrence, or intended as a tribute of politeness or affection to some individual, though at first much admired, may,

nevertheless scarcely deserve to be transmitted to posterity. I am well aware that the strict eye of criticism may discover imperfections, and that a nice ear may, perhaps, occasionally be hurt by a harsh line;—and, that some, from a dread of inspiring into a young mind, a taste for extra-academical fame, may be disposed to extinguish altogether such attempts—yet it would be straining delicacy beyond convenient bounds, if we did not cherish the idea, that there may be others, who may be pleased to look propitiously on the first specimens of genius at so early an age—many of them having been written when the Author had attained only his Thirteenth year, and the whole before he had completed Fifteen years of age. Their claims are not, perhaps, of that superior kind, which will find a place among the first orders of poetry; but the pieces breathe throughout the true spirit of virtuous sensibility, vigour of fancy, and that characteristic manner, which always accompanies strong power of invention;—they display richness of imagery,

and elegance of style, while the language has an{vii} easy flow, and unaffected simplicity, free from that artificial splendor, and obscure magnificence, which modern taste seems to establish as the excellence of poetical diction. Most of the larger Poems in the Collection express in easy language, and at the same time with all the graces of genuine poetry, every sentiment fitted to the occasion on which they were written. Of this, among the lighter ones, the reader will have an agreeable specimen in the verses dedicated to Lady C . . . . . L——, which though on a trivial subject, may, perhaps, give as just and pleasing an idea of this Writer’s poetical talents, as any other single piece among the more trifling ones which we can collect. The Translations of the first Chorus of Œdipus Tyrrannus, and two Odes of Horace, exhibit no small degree of classical attainment: and, however just or otherwise the remark may be, “that the failure of preceding translators has arisen, in a great measure, from a desire to copy the variations of Horace’s

measures;” the present ones convey a correct and spirited explanation of the sense in general, and by observing circumstances and the little figures and turns on the words, (that curiosa felicitas verborum,) they have preserved the beauties, and kept alive that spirit and fire, which make the chief character of the original.{viii}

It will not, therefore, be presuming too much, to hope that these Poems may contain enough to draw from such as value the display of early talents, a favourable reception; and that the Author, under such encouragement, when his taste is more matured, will perfect the produce of his youthful industry, and by diligence add to the stores of a mind formed by nature to accumulate and decorate them—there is only left for me to say,

ADVERTISEMENT BY THE AUTHOR.

Notwithstanding my friend has said so much and so flattering to myself, in his Preface, yet the diffidence and the anxiety which ever accompany a first attempt, particularly at so early an age, urge me to add a few words, however superfluous they may appear. An apology is indeed, perhaps, always requisite for an intrusion on the public, and I cannot, therefore, refrain from offering one for some of the Poems which are inferior to the rest. They were written when but a child—they were the first faint dawnings of poetic enthusiasm,—and that sense of integrity, which should accompany every action, prevented my now altering them, in any material{x} respect. I expressly state the age at which they were written, and I think it but a duty to the public, that they should actually be written at that age. For the same reason, therefore, and not from any arrogant vanity, I have been particularly careful that no other hand should have polished, or improved them.

For the Battle of Waterloo, much ought to be said in apology, when so many far, far more adequate to the task, than myself, have written upon it; and when so many have failed in the attempt, it seems to argue vanity in the design; but such, I may assert, was far from my mind, at the time of its composition. It was begun in a moment of enthusiasm—it was continued from a deep interest in the undertaking—and it was completed from a dislike, I have always entertained, to leave any thing unfinished. But I was myself very unwilling to commit it to the press, and only did so at the express and flattering desire of some intimate friends, who were, perhaps, too partial to perceive its defects.

To the generosity of the more lenient of the public, do I now confide this first attempt for their favour; and, as they scan over the faults with the eye of{xi} Criticism, may the hand of Mercy restrain them from dragging those faults to light.

The solicitude that I feel, would induce me to indulge in a tedious prolixity; but I must remember, that none but myself can be interested in my own feelings, and I will, therefore, no longer detain my readers from the proof.{xiii}{xii}

TO WHOM SHOULD A YOUNG, AND TIMID COMPETITOR FOR PUBLIC REPUTATION, DEDICATE HIS ATTEMPTS, BUT TO A BRITISH PUBLIC? TO THAT PUBLIC, WHO HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THE FOSTERERS OF INDUSTRY, OR GENIUS, WHO HAVE ALWAYS LOOKED FORWARD FROM THE IMPERFECTIONS OF YOUTH, TO THE FRUITS OF MATURITY. IT IS TO THAT GENEROUS PUBLIC, THAT HE NOW COMMITS HIS HOPES AND HIS FEARS. IT IS TO THAT GENEROUS PUBLIC, THAT HE NOW OFFERS HIS JUVENILE EFFORTS, FOR THEIR APPLAUSE! {xv}{xiv}

CONTENTS.

{xvi}

ADDRESS TO WALTER SCOTT, ESQ.

Written at Thirteen Years Old.

ISMAEL;

AN ORIENTAL POEM. In Two Cantos. Written at Fifteen Years Old.

CANTO I.

I.

II.

III.

IV.

V.

VI.

VII.

VIII.

END OF CANTO I.{25}{24}

CANTO II.

I.

II.

III.

IV.

V.

VI.

VII.

VIII.

X.

XI.

NOTES ON CANTO I.

Stanza I.

For the better understanding of several passages in this Poem, I will here subjoin a short account of the claims of my hero, Ismael, to the throne of Persia, and a brief history of his life.

Usum Cassan, king of Persia, gave his daughter, Martha, in marriage to Shich-Eidar, a certain sage, famous for a new sect of religion, and for extraordinary piety and virtue.

At Usum Cassan’s death, he was succeeded by his son Jacup, but he being murdered by his wife, Julaver, a man of high rank, and a distant relation to him, seized the throne, and dying, after three years, was succeeded by Baysinger, and at his death, the crown came to a young nobleman named Rustam.

Though no one had a better (nor indeed so good a) right to the kingdom of Persia as Shich-Eidar, on account of his marriage with Usum Cassan’s daughter, yet his birth being inferior to those who had hitherto reigned, and being so entirely absorbed in the care of religion, and the sweets of retirement; during the sway of the three preceding kings, there was not even any mention of him, or his pretensions. But{56} Rustam was alarmed at the numbers who daily flocked to Shich-Eidar, to embrace his religious principles, and he was afraid of the reverence which the Persians paid to his high virtues and brilliant talents, and of their secret attachment to the race of Usum Cassan; he therefore resolved to rid himself of so formidable an object for his fears, and employed assassins, who murdered the unfortunate sage at his residence in Ardevil. But Rustam was afterwards slain in his turn by Achmet, who is said to have been favoured by the king’s own mother, and aided by her in the death of her son.

The murderer seized the crown, but enjoyed it only six months, when Carabes, one of Rustam’s ancient officers, collecting a considerable body of soldiers, marched straight to Tauris, then the capital of Persia, and surprising Achmet, who was in no condition to resist, put him to death, by the most dreadful (though almost merited) tortures.

The throne being thus vacant, Alvante, a nobleman of high rank, was chosen to fill it.

Shich-Eidar left three sons, who would have shared the same fate as their father, had they fallen into Rustam’s hands. The two eldest fled, one to Asia Minor, the other to Aleppo, and the third, Ismael, then only a child, was secretly conveyed, by his father’s friends, to Hyrcania or Ghilan; where he was protected by Pyrchalim, a nobleman then in possession of several places on the Caspian Sea. Pyrchalim caused him to be reared in the religious tenets of Shich-Eidar, and the youth perceiving that{57} was the best way to acquire popular favour, of which he had great need to support the just pretensions he had to the throne, shewed a great zeal to observe, and to propagate, his paternal sect. As he was possessed of great personal beauty, and inherited all the splendid abilities of his father, combined with great courage and eloquence, he was soon joined, not only by the common people, but also by many of high rank.

His first success in arms, was the regaining certain lands in Armenia, which had been given his mother as her dowry, and afterwards being reinforced by many of Shich-Eidar’s old disciples, he attacked the castle of Mamurlac, and after having taken and plundered it, he led his victorious army to Sumach, the capital of Mesopotamia, which he also took, and gave the spoils to his soldiers. At the noise of these first exploits, and at the immense booty acquired by those who followed his standard, numbers daily flocked to him from all parts, and he soon found himself at the head of a considerable army, with which he resolved to march immediately to Tauris, where Alvante, lately placed upon the throne, held his court. That monarch had but just recovered from the fatigues and confusion of a civil war with Moratcham, his brother (or, as some assert, his son), who disputed the crown with him, and having lost an important battle, had fled from the Persian territories.

The severe persecutions which Alvante had exercised, after his victory, upon several of the chiefs of Tauris, who had taken part with his opponent, rendered his name odious, and presented Ismael with a{58} very fair opportunity, who no sooner came before the city, than the gates were thrown open. Alvante, who suspected nothing of this irruption into his capital, without troops, and aware of the hatred entertained against him by the whole city, was obliged to fly (and as one author relates) in disguise: and Ismael entered triumphantly into Tauris, without shedding the least blood, except of a few of Alvante’s guards.

In the mean time Moratcham had reconciled himself to his brother Alvante, for the purpose of repelling their common enemy, the former hastened to Assyria to raise forces, and the latter was already at the head of a large army in Armenia: there Ismael followed him, and (preventing Moratcham’s joining his brother, which was their intention,) defeated him in a battle, in which Alvante fell, bravely fighting at the head of his troops. Moratcham, hearing of his brother’s fate, carried his army towards Tauris, but Ismael intercepting him, totally routed and put him to flight.

After this, Ismael reigned gloriously for twenty-five years, and died in peaceable possession of one of the most powerful monarchies in the world, having verified the predictions of Shich-Eidar, who was a very skilful astrologer, and who had foretold,—“That this “son of his should one day by his zeal and conquests “almost equal the glory of Mahomet himself.”

Stanza III.—Line 119.

It must be remembered that Ismael first attacked Armenia, &c. before his successes made him so bold{59} as to strike so adventurous a blow as attacking Alvante in his own capital. It was the custom of those who inhabited the provinces, and who were too peaceably inclined to mix in the intestine commotions that so often occur in the East, to remove their families and effects as near the capital as possible, though this scheme must appear very injudicious to one who reflects that the chief city is generally the most harrassed, ultimately.

NOTEON CANTO II.

Stanza VII.—Line 358.

“The hollow blast of Süankos’ shell.”

The Süankos cannot properly be called a war instrument, although in the earlier ages of Persia, and even perhaps in Ismael’s time, it was made use of for that purpose. It is at present often used as a trumpet, for sounding an alarm, or a signal. Its tones are deep and hollow.{61}{60}