The Vision of Agib: An Eastern Tale [pp. 753-759]

SOUTHERN LITERARY MESSENGER.
the grotto-like entrance of her palace. This entrance
was encrusted with spars that glittered like diamonds
in the brilliant light of a thousand fragrant and pendant lamps. They passed into a spacious hall, the
floor of which was an even surface of white and polished marble, and the walls and ceilings of which,
carved out of the same material, were wrought into
the most exquisite form of real or ideal beauty. The
butterfly seemed to hang upon the flower, the nightingale to sing beside the rose. Foliage, blossoms, all the
loveliest creations of nature, seemed here to have
blanched into the purest marble, and, in losing their
colors, to have acquired a delicate immortality. Mussulman as he was, Agib could not repress a sensation
of pleasure, as his eye wandered along the apartment,
and successively caught these matchless imitations.
But as he looked along its extent, other objects divided
his attention. Graceful dances displayed the winged
beauty of fairy forms, whilst various instruments yielded to the touch of others, the softest melody. Some
stood grouped together, others apart; but each pursued
an amusement, and all combined to dazzle the mind of
Agib, who conceived himself in the region of delight.
On the entrance of the fairy queen, a gesture of reverence thrilled along the crowd, and a submissive alacrity anticipated her will.
To yield repose to the wearied Agib, cushions of the
most downy luxuriousness and brilliant embroidery
were arranged, in an apartment encrusted with jewels,
and ornamented with lamps of moonlight lustre. Perfumes at once the richest and most delicate, floated
in the air; and viands that created hunger were offered
in a service of dazzling splendor. Flowers that seemed
too beautiful to be of the earth, bloomed around him
as if in the;.r native atmosphere; and fairies, each lovely
as an Houri, with snowy wings extended, and small
and rapid feet, gleamed through the dance which the
white hands of others animated with the sounds of
musical instruments, or subdued to a slower gracefulness, by the lingering softness of prolonged and pathetic
notes. A fountain of sparkling water fell dewily into
an alabaster basin, where flowers, birds and insects
were so beautifully carved, that they seemed naturally
to seek and share the coolness and moisture of the
fount. The conversation of the fairy queen heightened
the felicity of Agib, and the prospects which the dangers of the day had interrupted-his merchandize, of
which he had at present no information, even his beautiful and distant Zarah were, in the intoxication of
the present, entirely forgotten. Repose, slumber, and
morning came. Evening succeeded to the flush of
noon. Another day, and yet another-weeks flew on,
the moon had often changed her face, yet Agib was still
in the palace of the fairy. He had never asked to be
restored to Zarah. He still enjoyed the pleasures of
his entertainer's fair domain, still watched the dances,
or hung upon the songs of her attendants. Nor did the
fairy seem weary of amusing him, and with her attentions there mingled an implied deference and tenderness, to which the merchant could not be insensible.
Sometimes, in a pearly car, conducted by winged jays
through the moonlight air, she conveyed him to the
rose gardens of Iran, and there they wandered, during
the night hours, amidst scenes of bloom where the soft
dew drew from the bosoms of the sleeping flowers
their richest odors. At other times they floated in a
light bark on the lake of Kashmere, while long streams
of moonlight met the reflection of their snowy sails,
and with silence around them, and love filling their
hearts with unuttered feelings, they admitted no thought
beyond the present, and were unconscious of all but
bliss. intoxicated with the joy of being beloved by
such a being-pride, ambition, all his luxurious fancies
crowned beyond his wildest dream-Agib glided easily
into forgetfulness of his fond expectant in Aleppo, and
in the fulness of contentment, thought not of the past.
So flowed the current of delight, and Agib was reckless of the pleasures it bore away upon its bosom, for
he exultingly believed it could only sweep to his feet
others of more enchanting freshness. But alas for the
pride of human hope! When the heart throbs highest
with the sense of pleasure in possession, and joy in
prospect, it is ever the nearest to a change-a shadow —
something to urge memory to regret and pain.
It was with a careless heart and easy smile that
Agib learned one morning from the fairy, that the
favorite of the Persian shah had become the mother of
a son of surpassing loveliness; and when she added
that the lady was under her own especial protection,
and that it was her purpose to visit her this day, with
the design of bestowing some gift upon the child, he
did not oppose her temporary absence. When she
had departed, Agib wandered from hall to hall, but
found no longer the charm that had hitherto lighted his
hours. The presence of the beloved one is to our existence as the sun to the world; and when it no longer
illuminates our sphere, all that surrounds us is sad
and gloomy. Agib issued firom the palace, idly seeking
the enjoyment which he usually found, and wearily
counting the moments which slowly lessened the time
of separation. He sauntered listlessly to the side of
the rivulet beside which he had first beheld the fairy.
A beautiful attendant of his queen was there. Often
before had he remarked this girl. She was, as he knew,
like himself a mortal, and her pure and varying complexion, and deep blue eyes, differed from those of her
companions. Of all the inhabitants of the bright oasis,
she only, as Agib had observed, was always sad. He
had noted the glitter of tears upon her eyelashes, even
when she mingled in the dance, and when she touched
the lute, or sung, a melancholy and heart-touching pathos ever distinguished her performance. Interested
by these recollections, which at this unoccupied moment
crowded upon his idle mind, Agib drew near to the
maiden, who sat beside the stream, weaving of the
white lilies that floated on its surface, what appeared
to be a garland.
"You are weaving a chaplet to wear in the dance
to-night, pretty Zorayda!" asked the merchant, paus ing to look at her employment.
"To wear in the dance!" echoed the girl. "1No Oh! no." And she sighed heavily as she answered
him.
"Why, what have you, or any of the inhabitants of
this Eden, to do with sorrow, Zorayda?" asked the
merchant. "I had hoped that here, at least, every one
was happy. Yet you, I have noted, are often in tears,
and the smile is a rare visitant of your lips."
"Rare-rare, indeed," replied the maiden sadly.
"And why are you alone miserable."
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