Leila | Page 6

then, is my lore. Of other worlds know I nought; but of the things of
this world, whether men, or, as your legends term them, ghouls and
genii, I have learned something. To the future, I myself am blind; but I
can invoke and conjure up those whose eyes are more piercing, whose
natures are more gifted."
"Prove to me thy power," said Boabdil, awed less by the words than by
the thrilling voice and the impressive aspect of the enchanter.

"Is not the king's will my law?" answered Almamen; "be his will
obeyed. To-morrow night I await thee."
"Where?"
Almamen paused a moment, and then whispered a sentence in the
king's ear: Boabdil started, and turned pale.
"A fearful spot!"
"So is the Alhambra itself, great Boabdil; while Ferdinand is without
the walls and Muza within the city."
"Muza! Darest thou mistrust my bravest warrior?"
"What wise king will trust the idol of the king's army? Did Boabdil fall
to-morrow by a chance javelin, in the field, whom would the nobles
and the warriors place upon his throne? Doth it require an enchanter's
lore to whisper to thy heart the answer in the name of 'Muza'?"
"Oh, wretched state! oh, miserable king!" exclaimed Boabdil, in a tone
of great anguish. "I never had a father. I have now no people; a little
while, and I shall have no country. Am I never to have a friend?"
"A friend! what king ever had?" returned Almamen, drily.
"Away, man--away!" cried Boabdil, as the impatient spirit of his rank
and race shot dangerous fire from his eyes; "your cold and bloodless
wisdom freezes up all the veins of my manhood! Glory, confidence,
human sympathy, and feeling--your counsels annihilate them all. Leave
me! I would be alone."
"We meet to-morrow, at midnight, mighty Boabdil," said Almamen,
with his usual unmoved and passionless tones. "May the king live for
ever."
The king turned; but his monitor had already disappeared. He went as
he came--noiseless and sudden as a ghost.

CHAPTER III.
THE LOVERS.
When Muza parted from Almamen, he bent his steps towards the hill
that rises opposite the ascent crowned with the towers of the Alhambra;
the sides and summit of which eminence were tenanted by the
luxurious population of the city. He selected the more private and
secluded paths; and, half way up the hill, arrived, at last, before a low
wall of considerable extent, which girded the gardens of some wealthier
inhabitant of the city. He looked long and anxiously round; all was
solitary; nor was the stillness broken, save as an occasional breeze,
from the snowy heights of the Sierra Nevada, rustled the fragrant leaves
of the citron and pomegranate; or as the silver tinkling of waterfalls
chimed melodiously within the gardens. The Moor's heart beat high: a
moment more, and he had scaled the wall; and found himself upon a
green sward, variegated by the rich colours of many a sleeping flower,
and shaded by groves and alleys of luxuriant foliage and golden fruits.
It was not long before he stood beside a house that seemed of a
construction anterior to the Moorish dynasty. It was built over low
cloisters formed by heavy and timeworn pillars, concealed, for the most
part by a profusion of roses and creeping shrubs: the lattices above the
cloisters opened upon large gilded balconies, the super-addition of
Moriscan taste. In one only of the casements a lamp was visible; the
rest of the mansion was dark, as if, save in that chamber, sleep kept
watch over the inmates. It was to this window that the Moor stole; and,
after a moment's pause, he murmured rather than sang, so low and
whispered was his voice, the following simple verses, slightly varied
from an old Arabian poet:--
Light of my soul, arise, arise! Thy sister lights are in the skies; We
want thine eyes, Thy joyous eyes; The Night is mourning for thine eyes!
The sacred verse is on my sword, But on my heart thy name The words
on each alike adored; The truth of each the same, The same!--alas! too
well I feel The heart is truer than the steel! Light of my soul! upon me
shine; Night wakes her stars to envy mine. Those eyes of thine, Wild

eyes of thine, What stars are like those eyes of thine?
As he concluded, the lattice softly opened; and a female form appeared
on the balcony.
"Ah, Leila!" said the Moor, "I see thee, and I am blessed!"
"Hush!" answered Leila; "speak low, nor tarry long I fear that our
interviews are suspected; and this," she added in a trembling voice,
"may perhaps be the last time we shall meet."
"Holy Prophet!" exclaimed Muza, passionately, "what do I hear? Why
this mystery? why cannot I learn thine origin,