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VOL. VI. NO. 15.
<;ljt
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MISCELLANEOUS.
HADJEE MEER MEERZA:
THE LAMB WITH THE LION’S HEART.
An Eastern Romance.
HaDJEE Meer Meerza —or, as he was called among his
brother shepherds, from his remarkable gentleness and courage,
“The L imb with the Lion’s Heart”—was a simple shepherd,
herding hi< flo< k< on the beautiful plain which spreads itself
along nn Is r that famous mountain, Ararat; and a very merry
and happy fellow he was, ami known and loved, that pastoral
country round, for his good humored gibes, his imperturbable
gentleness an I his stout heart. He was not a native of the dis
trict where he fed his flocks, for he was born in the little village
of Huinamloo, which lies in the valley of the same name, on
<he boundary of Persia, where it meets the frontier of the gi
gantic realms of Russia. But, having been hired by old Abdool
Allee, (the wealthiest flock-holder of the country-region around
Erivan,) in one ol his journeys, ns his chief shepherd, he Quit
ted his own pleasant valley, and followed his master amt his
s’beep into the plains on rhe other side of the heights ot Aberan,
which separated him from his own beloved valley—bis own
humble home—ami his <dd widowed mother, who still lived j
happily in her ad >pted Ilitmamloo, surrounded by her children
and their children—one member of her fold only being astrag- j
'gler, the merry M. er Meer/.a. But as she heard from him,
and heard that he did well, she was happy to let him live es- I
tranged from her, knowing that, when he had enriched himself,
he would return, and bless the evening of her life with his af
fection : for she knew that her favorite son, Meerza, loved no
thing so much in the world as his good mother, his rude home,
and his brethren.
Having passed three summers in the plains, the shepherd
longed again to see his native valley; and, having obtained I
from the good Abdool permission to depart, the old man, who 1
loved him as his son, loaded him with gifts, and sent him rich
away ; and away he went upon his journey, rejoicing. One
care only lay heavily on his head, but did not weigh upon his
heart; for he knew that he would be as welcome at his home in
Huinamloo, if lie brought nothing back but his good spirits
and his shepherd’s crook, as if he returned with a caravan of|
wealth which lie could call his own. In passing from the plains
of Erivan, he had to journey over the wild, rocky heights of
Aberan—a desolale region which had long been lhe terror of
rich travellers; for it was the hunting-place of the most fero
cious of robbers, the terrible Caussim Al Kadjer, who had de- 1
tied the soldiers of the great Shah Abbas to take him, and there- 1
fore mocked at the puny efforts of the peasantry to hunt him
down : the country people, accordingly, gave him up, and let
him prey upon whom he listed; fortbey had grown to think
him invulnerable by human hands, and that he bore a charmed
life. All that the dwellers did on either side of rocky Aberan,
was to warn the travellers cf whom they had to meet, and how
to meet him—if they loved their lives, to let him levy toll, and
then they might pass safely. His streugtb and prowess had
spread such a dread es him the country round, that it was be
lieved no single man. nor any number ofmen, could overmatch
him. Hadjee Meer went not away unwarned—but he heeded
it nothing, lie was told that it was in vain to arm himself, un
less he could wield the weapon (with as mighty an arm) ol the
great hero of Persian story, Roostum Beg himself. That
weapon and that arm only could be the safeguard of him who
had to contend with a robber of such liger-like stealthiness, and,
when that failed, and he had missed his spring upon his prey,
ofsuch terrible strength and unsubduable courage as Caussim
Al Kadjer —“ The Blood-lover,” as he was called. Hadjee
Meer laughed, however, when they sought to alarm him ; for
he was young, strong, and had some conceit of his good cour- j
age, “If he was to be conquered,” he said, “it should not be
by fear which slays so many, but by superior prowess.” No
thing but being beaten, and that soundly, should convince him
that he could be beaten. “ And leave me alone to know when
I have had enough of blows to satisfy me that I am beaten,”
said the stout-hearted shepherd. “A hundred blows on body
and brow, are enough C,r me: when I have had them fairly]
counted down, I give up the bargain, unless a few more will ;
decide it on both sides, and then it is as wellto strike on till the
affair is settled, anti the bargain struck.”
It was in a small caravanserai or house of entertainment for
travellers, on the Persian side of the heights of Erivan, that
Hadjee Meer had halted before he had made his ascent. The
dealers in cattle, and traders in black lamb and sheep skins,
and merchant adventurers of Cashmere shawls, cloths and stuffs
•called v*r'wn\y ciutsahs, aleejahx, tafetas, kudduks, culumcars,
feerahun shahees, (or king’s shirts,) carpets of Herat and Ispa
han, velvets of Casimn ami Tabreez, ami other silken, woollen
ami linen good-, rested here with him ; for it was the day Ju
tnah, the Moharnm d.ui sabbath, on which it is not lawful to
■trade, ami, it it can be avoided, to travel. Hadjee Meer was
«nown to many of the merchants, who loved him for his pure
simplicity ol heart, liis honest nature, and unvexable good hti
>nor; and as there are jokers in' all countries, and matter for
mirth— thank In aveu!—all over the face of the earth, the Had-j
Jee s daring journey alone over lhe hill of Aberan, served their
and kept the imnjths of the Mohammedans in a roar.—
-1 lioUgh forty ■■Us ol ( haps and as many beards wagged at him,
am giave Mussukmans rolled over on their carpets in nncoti
trollablr laughter at poor Meer Meerza’s fooli.h bravery,
'' n< li one (l ( the itinerant story-tellers of the country bad taken
or it. tueme, ami was setting in all the lights of ludicrousness ;
ant though a brace of sedately sour moollahs, or priests, and i
tt<.< lai.,or mendicant lunatics, who sal at opposite cor
ilT ‘lt’'* ! ‘ p ,rl , ' ll tl,e travellers, could not smoke
t‘it vaheemms without spitting and sputtering as the jesting
" ll , spite of their habitual gravity, poor Meer bore up
k'lod-huuioredl.y, laughing as loud as the best, and now ami
•' •t contributed hi»joke to swell the uproar to the highest.—
u ie wa. but one voice there which deprecated lhe unfairness
’ * b merriment being enjoyed at the sole expenseofone.
Allis was a brother sli< pherd, who knew that Meer Meerza’s
i.i.Hiy W as no empty boast; and when a cowardly Kertaaneze,
r'l't "i' on bk safety w here more than forty beards seemed
pi against one, carried his mockery beyond a jest, by emp-
of
!
tying his pipe-ashes into a bowl of mass, which Meer Meerza
was lapping up, the brother shepheid cried out to the insolent
Kerman trader, “ Beware, thou mocker, at whose beard thou
throwesl dirt! The shepherd-boy who has brained a lion in
his fold at a blow, and hugged the breath out of a bear, is no
plaything for such a scraper-up of dirt as thou aft, thou puny
reed of a man—thou poor choubcen ! Beware, I say!” The
Kermaneze no sooner heard these things, than, pulling his legs
from under him, and rapidly working his heels against the
ground, he sliuilh d otf on his haunches, and took sanctuary
with the Moollahs: at which proof of his discretion there was
a burst of merriment, and afterwards much murmuring of con
tempt. From this moment the jesting turned from Hndjeer
Meer to the poor shrinking trader : the Hadjee sat respected,
finished his mass in peace, and, that despatched, filled up his
kalleeoon, and settled comfortably down to a bowl of the law
ful maw-ul~hyat, a spirit which the Faithful will drink till they
are drunk, because it is not the forbidden—wine. The sun
being now down, and the sabbath ended, enjoyment had its fill,
till smoke, and opium, and lusty draughts, and, lastly, sleep
came over all the travellers, and, one after another, they sunk
into repose, even where they sat squatted on the Hour.
At sunrise Meer Meerza waked punctually as a shepherd
wakes, and shaking lumselfup, throwing his wallet on his back;
and grasping a sturdy staff to steady his steps in the stony high
places, and, if need were, to defend the little store of wealth
wifli which he was travelling to bless his good old mother, he
set forward on his daylong, dreary journey. The few who
were awake when he departed bade him good cheer, and gave
him “ the blessing of the Prophet” for his protection. The
good-humored shepherd, laughing at their fears for him, then
went his way, as light ol heart and of foot as cheerfulness,
youth, strength, and a good conscience could render him. And
so, during the first five hours of his journey, he trudged merri
ly along, now breaking lhe silence ol the solitude around him
with snatches ofshepherd’s song’s ; and now pausing for a min
ute to gaze reverently upon the sun—admire the wildness of
the scenery—pick up a mountain flower—listen to the twitter
ing of the passing birds, and watch their rapid flight.
Thus amused, some hours of the day passed uncounted away,
and it was noon ere he felt hungry and weary ; for ere he start
ed he had swallowed a score or two of dates, a fruit so strength
sustaining, that many an eastern traveller will journey on from
sunrise to sunset and want no other food. Not so our travel
ler. He had a shepherd’s appetite, which the fresh mountain
air made tiger-keen. He looked around him, therefore, for a
sheltered spot where he might rest awhile, and this he found—a
nook among the dark-blue rocks which wildly spread the heights
of Aberan, near which a little mountai.-v rivulet ran brawling
and wrangling with the impeding stones. There,- throwing
himself on the ground, he opened his well-packed wallet, and
rummaging out some coarse but sweet bread, a flasket of goat’s
milk, and a second flasket, which he had stuffed witii the hair
of the same dog which bad bitten him at the caravanseria.—
Having eaten heartily, and drank up his goat’s milk, and
still feeling thirsty, he laid bis lips to the mountain-stream, and
drew up a long draught of its delicious wate rs. “ Water is not
so strong as goat’s milk, nor so strong as maw-ul-hyat,” said
the shepherd, wiping his mouth upon his rough, coarse kabba,
or humble vest, “ but it will do very well till they abound.”—
And so saying, he turned to flask the second, and took a qual
ifying dram.
Cheerful and refreshed, he now resumed his way, and, in
another hour, approached the spot which the robber was said
most to haunt. It was then, and not till then, that lu; felt an
(indefinable dread—not fear, but some feeling next of kin to it,
—steal gradually over him. “ The air of these heightsis
cold,” said Hadjee Meer, “or else the water, which I drink
too freely, has chilled me, for I feel as if winter searched inv
poor kabba through;” and he shivered, and muttered “ La-il
lah-he-il-ult<lh I" Poor Hadjee ! the dread of danger, which
makes cowards of the strong at heart, who yet, when danger
comes, can meet it firmly, had got fast hold upon his fanev,
and made his strong heart to tremble and his warm blood to
turn water cold. Suspense is ever more terrible than certainty.
He halted a few moments, and looked around him; and, as
far as the eye could reach, no living thing—not even a wild
bird—appeared, distant or near. Loneliness itself is in inspir
er of dread ; and w hen the Speciation of some danger is ad
ded, the heart may well shrink, if it do not faint. Again he
set forward, singing a shephetd’s song as he went; his song
was, however, often interrupted by serious pauses of rumina
tion ; but these gave place, at last, to his own natural cheer
fulness and stoutness of heart, and his singing was as loud and
ns light as ever. Thoughts of the robber, however, still
haunted him, and recurred the more seriously the higher be
mounted the steep path which wgund over the hills. “ This
goat-path is precipitous,” murmured he, breathing laboriously,
“ and might put the stoutest lungs to a goat’s gallop !” and be
halted again, to recover breath. He still deceived himself; it
was apprehension, and not the steepness of the path, which
made him pant and respire so irregularly.
And now he had reached the rugged head of that hill w liich he
had so often gazed upon with wonder al the home-door cf his
childhood; and weary with the toilsome ascent, he flung himself
on lhe ground and once more unbuckling his wallet drew forth
a second dole of bread, swallowed it with ravenous hunger,
and washed it down with a long draught at flask the second.
Home being now in sight, and his body refreshed, his spirits
mounted up as high again as they were low ; and he laughed
and was merry when he turned his eyes towards the beloved ]
valley of Huinamloo. His dread was gone : so, springing upon
his feet, he set forward on his descent, and wantonly amused
himself, as he went almost headlong down the heights, by stri
king with his staff at every stone and sturdy shrub which came
in his way, till one half of it was shivered into splinters; and
as often as he struck a more than common blow he cried, “By
the beard of my father, thus would I beat Caussim Al Kadjer!”
He had now entered upon a dreary path, overhung with
lofty pines, which darkened the ground with their thick masses
of dusky foliage, and threw a solemn, shadowy dreariness around.
Huge rounded pebbles made his steps uncertain, and giving
way as he trod upon them, sometimes threw him down, to the
bruising of many a bone. Gigantic blocks of porphyry jetted
overhead, or lay disorderly around, looking like the vast re
mains of some old mountain altar of the Fire-Worshippers. It
was a wild and melancholy scene, ami he felt its awfulnees creep
over him. Again he rallied, and again plied his staff on the
right hand and on the left, till, just as he was about half spent
with his sport, at one blow so great a portion of it was broken
off, that he had but three strong feet of it left in his hand.—
Half vexed at his folly in thus disarming himself, he struck at
a huge stone in a humorous spite, and again cried aloud, “ And
thus would 1 beat the bones of Caussim Al Kadjer!”
A giant figure, which looked black as a sable bear, in the
darkness made by the sycamores, started up instantly from be
hind the block of stone, and with a growl, which sounded more
like that of a beast than the voice of man, cried “ Wouldst
thou?”
“Even as I said,” answered Meer Meerza, briskly, and not
at all startled by the sudden interposition ; but when he lifted
bis eyes, and beheld « ho it was that had spoken, his band clinch
ed convulsively the poor fragment of his staff, and be fell that
now he had need of the original whole, and another weapon
to boot, to stand up for him. For a moment he quailed, and
in the next he felt assured ; for the danger he had dreaded stood
before him, ami he had not to meet it—it was there; and he
made up iiis mind, and strung up his strong sinews to meet it
like the shepherd who, among shepherds, was known as “ The
I fion-Hearted I jamb.”
“ I take not so much beating as thou hast valiantly bestowed
upon iny stock ami stone representatives,’ said Al Kadjer, with
a surly sort of humour.
“ Rismillah,! Art thou to say how much ? I never give
less when I bestow a cudgelling,” said the shepherd. “If
thou wilt not have all, have none, in the name of the prophet!”
“How, then, shall we agree? lam unwilling to take so
miicji, and thou art unwilling to give less—say we shall decide
it thus: I will take as many blows as thou catisl give me, and
thou shah take two of mine in return. Is it a bargain ? If so,
let us fall to, ami do thou keep lhe reckoning. Come, I will
VIILIj|-:Db<n‘3-:¥lL3jl', GKOBGIA, TUESDAY MfOItNINO, WAY 7,
Owr Conxiicme—Our Country—‘Our JParty.
begin! Score thou one!” And saying this the robber set
upon Hadjee Meer with a staff six feet in length, and of a thick
ness which made him wince to look at it. He parried lhe blow,
however, which else would have laid him sprawling ; and a
second was coming, when he leaped aside, and exclaimed,
“ Caussim Al Kadjer!—for thou art he, and none other—giant
ns thou art, and terrible as thou art to men, had I but a weapon
such as thine, I would make thee to keep the reckoning on thy
bones ! But look at my staff-—it is a straw !”
“Ho ! sayest thou so? None shall report of Al Kadjer that
he took a fair antagonist at a vantage! Here, take my staff,”
and he threw it to the shepherd ; “ for I have its brother; and,
should these fail, deadlier weapons to wind up the quarrel!”
and stooping behind a block of stone, he produced a staff in
all respects like to the other.
Hadjee Meerza unstrapped his wallet, deposited it behind a
] pine, and, being now fairly armed, he shifted his ground, and
I chose an open spot, where the stems of the trees were so far
apart, that his staff might fly freely round his head ; and, plant
ing his foot firmly, awaited the assault. The next hit was again
: the robber’s, and had the shepherd failed to ward it off, he
| would have bitten the dust. He then put in a blow ; but as
liis foot slipped in delivering it, it fell so feebly, that Caussim
smiled in scorn at such boy’s play, and said, “We are not a
match, shepherd, for thou strikest wearily !”
“Sooth to say,” replied Meer Merza, “I am weary, for 1
have journeyed so far, and flung so much of my strength away
upon stock and stone Al Kadjers, that now 1 have to deal with
Al Kadjer himself, I am but as a child!”
“By the sacred mouth of the Prophet, that is honest! I will
not take advantage of thy weariness,” cried Al Kadjer.
“Take it, if thou canst,” cried the Hadjee, put on liis mettle.
“Thon dost not fear me then?” demanded Caussim.
“ I fear nothing that wears a beard,” replied Meerza.
Hearing this confidence, the robber gazed at his young an
tagonist, and having surveyed him from head to foot, and duly
considered his bodily capabilities, he said, “What art thou?”
“ A shepherd in Erivan.”
“Art honest?”
“ I trust I am. I never yet stole a lamb from a neighboring
shepherd’s fold!”
“ Ah, a glorious robber was spoiled when thou wert made a
simple keeper of sheep !” cried Al Kadjer.
Meer Meerza laughed, and said, “Haply; but who shall
murmur at his fate? Not I. lam content to be honest and
right of heart.”
“ Thy name ?”
I “MeerMeerza, youngest son of old Allee Meerza, now with
! the dead, of the valley of Humamloo !”
“ Bisniilltih ! What, and art thou indeed a son of the dou
ble-jointed iron-master of the valley?”
“No other man’s son. My mother said so, and my father
Believed her; for, as she ever respected the Prophet, she spake
the words of truth.”
“ Alee Meerza, saidst thou? Do I live? He was a man!
Bismillah! We have no men like him in these latter days!—
His band was a smith’s hammer! Sacred be the dust upon his
grave!”
“Thou knewest my father, then?”
“By the Prophet, yea! Alee Meerza was indeed a man!
He could handle sword, spear, or start’! Ere I took up his
trade, he broke two of my bones in a caravanserai quarrel.”
“ I inherit his bones,” said lhe Hadjee, with a significant
laugh.
“ Sacred be his memory!” cried the robber. “And thou
art journeying to thy home—and what may that wallet of thine
contain?”
“Some twenty tomauns, sooth to say, which I am carrying
! ns a tribute of piety to my poor mother, with half-a-dozen black
lamb-skins, and four kid-skins, for her winter comforting.”-
“ A pious son !” cried lhe robber, and he sighed heavily.—
The shepherd started at hearing a sigh from such a bosom !
Caussim, after a struggle with his conscience, added, “ By- the
head ot my father, I reverence thee! Thou art a brave, and
good, and pious son of double-jointed Alice! And to show
thee how I love thee ” —and he was silent for a time as if
iiis better nature was contending with bis rapacious habits,
“ o ,ve me a tenth portion of thy store, as tribute, and go
thy ways.”
“ Not I!” cried the Hadjee. “What thou seekest to have,
thou must take it in despite of this strong arm, and this good
staff!”
“ Bravely said !” cried Caussim; “ I love thee more and
] more! lhe poor wretches I have battled with hitherto were
half beaten before a blow was struck on either side; but thou
—come, thou shalt sup with me, and drink with me ; and after
that, it we must fight, we will fight fairly, like friends. The
wager shall be for two tomauns. If 1 win, tbou shalt count
them down : if I lose, I will pay thee down the same. Follow
me.!”
“ Have I looked upon the tomb of the Prophet, and pollu
ted and blinded mine eyes since,” demanded the Hadjee, “that
thou thinkest to lure me into such a pitfall?”
“True, men of my calling,” said the robber, “are to be
doubted ; but I mean thee fairly.”
“ Well, then, a match be it; but, look thou, no tricks when
i I have laid down my’staff!” said Meer Meerza.
“ Ab, it thou still doubles! me, take both weapons into thine
hands,” and be threw his second staff to the shepherd: “And
, now behold, 1 am unarmed !”
“Well,” said the Hadjee, “ for a robber, that looks honest !
I will trust in thee!”
“Follow me, then,” commanded Caussim,” and the shepherd
did undoubting.
“He led him but a little way, when coming, to a rocky re
cess, he entered it, while Meer Meerza loitered at the door, and
immediately he handed out abundance of fruits, a plentiful por
tion of recently-roasted kid, and, lastly, a couple of flaskets of
theunforbidden maw-td-hyat. These he afterwards spread upon
the ground, and invited the Hadjee to fall to. lie did not re
quire twice bidding, for lie looked as ravenously on these dain
ties as if liis eyes had an appetite independent of his stomach.
The shepherd was about to fill his mouth, when the robber to
his astonishment, interrupted him by crying, “Give Allah and
the Prophet thanks, my son, before thou eatest, for these their
mercies!”
“Why, thou presumptuous hypocrite!” cried the Hadjee:
“ Barest thou give thanks to Allah and his Prophet for these
good things, which thou hast violently taken, haply from the
poor, with blows and blood? Dost thank Allah that thou art
a villain—the Prophet, that thou art powerful to shed blood ?
I dare not be so wickedly profane. I shall thank no giver of
this food but he from whom it was forced away.”
Al Kadjer knit his dark brows—as the shepherd sternly kept
his eyes upon him he seemed to blush—and sullenly he sat re
proved. From that moment the robber was morally conquer
ed. The shepherd now fell to; and., after a time, Al Kadjer j
shook off his uneasy thoughts, and began to eat, in silence.
“ Excellent kid-flesh, bv the holy mouth of the Prophet!—
Who caters for thee?” cried the Hadjee, smacking his lips at
the first mouthful, and then cramming in lump after lump, large
enough to have choked a man with moderate dimensions of
throat.
“ Who caters for mo? Those who fear ine, feed me.”
“ Then by lhe bowels of the sacred camel, it is better to be
feared than loved. And this flasket—by the lips of an honest
man, you robbers of men—”
“What!” cried Caussim: “wouldst thou stone my dog at
mine own door ?”
“ W| 11, then, you shepherds of men have belter notions of the
luxuries of life than we poor dwellers of the valley, when we
dream ol them, mid know no more of their sweet sinfulness.
1 am a shepherd and kidherd, too; but muttons and kids are
dainties too delicate for my mean mouth: my masters know
what kids and muttons are, and it is my business to see that they
get them in good condition and in due season ; but as for me
RismiUah! who am I, that 1 should have a mouth?”
“ Rob. then, as I do !” counselled Al Kadjer.
“ Yea, become a lion, and ravage (locks and folds, to have
every man’s hand against me? Nay, by the Prophet, nay !”
I cried the simple sheplicrdi
“ Every man’s hand, as thou knowest, has been uplifted
against me, and, thou scest, has done me little mischief hitherto.
When they have lifted their right arm, ndne was also raised at
the same moment,and fell heaviest,” vauntingly cried AlKadjer.
“ That was yesterday : to-day, or to-morrow, a mightier arm
may be lifted up against thee, and what then ?” quoth theslien
lierd.
“Why, I have lived to-day, and many yesterdays !” exulted
the robber. “What more wilt thou have lived when thy flocks
are folded by another shepherd?”
“ I shall have lived well,” said the shepherd, humbly.
“Tush!” cried Al Kadjer, angriiy. “Good Mooltah (or
priest) Meer Meerza,” he added, with a sneer, “thou dost not
drink !”
“But I will, and that thirstily !” said the Hadjee,, smiling at
his sarcasm; “ Here’s to thy beard: the grace of the Prophet
fall on it like a fragrant oil.” And he bowed to his rude host,
and drank.
And so for some time the antagonists sat beard to beard,
chatting, and chinking ti ckets tmether. The Hadjee, as
merry as a bird, talked till he laughed, and laughed
till he crowed ; but lie failed not to observe that the high
er his good humour mounted, the more grave and serious
grew the robber. Al Kadjer, in his turn, regarded the hap
py lace of Meer Meerza, while it brightened up with mirth,
as it he had not seen such an expression of cheerfulness and in
ward peace lor many moons. He had been accustomed to see
faces agitated with fear, resentment, and abhorrence : the sight
of a lace looking happy and unfearing in liis presence was new
to him; and the Hadjee sometimes paused in his mirth to read
the troubled thoughts in his, written as plainly as holy texts in
the leaves of the sacred Koran. But these ineffectual glimpses
of his better nature soon vanished, and all was darkness in his
countenance ; and again he read in his brow that, notwithstand
ing his unusual sociality, the robber was a robber still, and
meant not to forego his prize, if be might win it. He again
returned to his old demand of a tenth of all he bad ; but the
stout shepherd would not hear of it for a moment. “ Was my
father a worm,” he cried, “ that thou thinkest to tread upon
me so easily ? No—a bargain is a bargain. One of us twain
is to lose two tomauns —I care not which : so, as the day de
clines, the sooner we decide it the better.”
“ Well, even as thou wilt !” said Al Kadjer : “I am in a
good humor this day. or thop wouldst not have thy will thus
Irowardly. I honor thy father, and I respect thy courage,
Hadjee ! Some wealthy coward shall reward my moderation
to-morrow.”
Thus saying, the old robber arose from the ground, and the
shepherd leaped up also, as nimbly as an antelope. “Is it to
be the old weapon ?” asked the former. The Hadjee nodded
assent. “ Well,” added the old man, “ I’ll humor thee. This
has been a white day with me, for I’have done no evil work in
it; and I care not if I finish it in sport. Take thy ground !
And now thy guard, good Hadjee!”
The shepherd lacked not his r< minding: he was on his
guard, as his antagonist soon discovered, to his cost ; for, af
ter some little show of feigning, he dealt him such a blow above
lhe eyes as laid him on the ground. “ Thanks to thy kid and
theunforbidden, that bit is worth a tomaun!” cried Meer
Meerza, exuitingly. But when he observed, after many mo
ments had elapsed, that Al Kadjerstirred not a limb, the con
queror became alarmed, and feared that he had killed him. At
length the robber opened his eyes, and looking up at the sliep
herd who was bending over him with almost the tenderness of a
son expressed in his good countenance, he said feebly, and
kindly, too, “ Hadjee, thou hast vanquished me ! Never man
till now hath made old Caussim Al Kadjer to’bite the dust!—
Ilion hast; but let it not be known on either hand of these
hills, of which I have been the terror ; for when the common
herd shall hear that 1 am vulnerable, there w ill be a thousand
sparrows pecking at the old eagle.”
“ Ah, now do I pity thee !” cried Meer Meerza. ‘“Butlear
not. 1 promise thee, by the true lips of my mother, that none
shall hear ol thy discomfiture ! We met as foes——shall wepart
as friends ? Such friends as an honest shepherd should be
with a but I will not fling a stone at thee now that thou art
hurt! I conk] t>o without thy leave ; but I will not quit thee
till thou stiyest, 1 Go, my son !’ Thon art stunned, not wound
ed ; let me lead thee to thy safe hiding-hole, and then leave
thee! I 1 or look, the sun is down ; and the star that hovered
over lhe hut of my father w hen I was born, shines on it now,
and bids me welcome borne ! Give me thy hand in kindness.
Should we meet again, shall we me< t as friends ?”
“ Ay, for a thousand moons!” exclaimed the robber; and
he trembled w hen the earnest youth snatched his hand, and
pressed it warmly; for now did lie feel how inferior bis prowess
bad been ; that it had been the daring of a brutalized man—
not the unllinchiug bravery, born of a good conscience, and a
heart strong in honesty. Awed and trembling, with glittering
eyes he looked into the face ofthe young shepherd, and said,
“ Meer Meerza, my sou, thou hast the gentle looks of a lamb,
but the heart ofa strong lion ! I an’tlie dust at thy feet ; Go
thy ways! Let thy shadow’ bits; thy mother’s door! Let
the light of thy countenance gladden her eyes ! Let thy come
liness bring back thy father to her heart ! Let thy goodness
satisfy her! Would that I had such a father ! VVould that I
had such a igother ! Would th t I had such a son ! I have
no one who will keep my lamp lit wh n I am in the grave!
Go, and leave me ! The blessing of the prophet go w ith thee !”
And he covered liis face with his hands.
“The prophet be with thee !” piously ejaculated the simple
youth ; and he moved to depart.
“ Stay, my son !” cried AlKadjer. “Take thy two to
mauns, which thcuhast fairly won; and may they turn to thou
sands!”
“I w ill not touch them,” said the shepherd. “ I will not
gather up fallen fruit which the serpent has licked over,”
thought lie, lor he would not speak it, but spared the humbled
man. He would have stayed to cheer him, but thoughts of
one who w’as more entitled to his tenderness came upon him,
and once more Jie moved to depart ; but ere he went away,
he looked compassionately on the miserable mat), still strug
gling in his soul with sin, repentance, pride, and shame. “The
darkness thickens,” said the shepherd. “Lend me thy staff,
to feel out my path among these ruinous rocks and stumbling
blocks of stone.”
“ Take it, my son, and leave me!” And the old man rose,
and, embracing him, turned heavily away. The Hadjee look
ed after him, and saw that he had reached his hiding-place:
then snatching up his wallet, he bounded downwards, leaping
tin craggy places like a kid at play ; and soon he disappea)e,l
in the ibick-cotning darkness, which rapidly rolled up the
heights like a black fog, while night and silence brooded over
his beloved native valley beyond.
“ I have been a thriving rullian, and the terror of my fellow
men—would that i were that simple shepherd !” o-roaned A)
Kadjer, as he slunk into the corner of his lonely lair on the
desolate hills.
Seven days thereafter Hadjee Meer Meerza returned by lhe
same way, and sought to meet his robber friend; but he was
nowhere to be seen. He sought him everywhere, and sought
in vain. Guided by finding his broken start’ On the ground
where he had left it, he wound his wav among the shivered
rocks, and threaded through the till ferns, rude hawthorns,
and lolly sycamores, till he at length discovered the haunt of
the old robber, and trembling lest he should find him dead,
glanced hurriedly into the dark cavern, like a sepulchre with
the entrance-stone removed. He was not there! He was
turning away from the spot when a table-rock, with marks on it
of recent inscription, met liis eyes. He hastily read the lines,
which ran thus:—■“Ashamed of his outlaw’s life, Caussim Al
Kadjerforsakes it lorever; and in some distant region of this
land will, with the blessing of the Holy Prophet, expiate, by
days and nights of contrition, his long career ofcrime and cru
elly. Pray for lhe peace of his spirit, all good Moslemin!—
Prav for him, Hadjee Meer Meerza, the L imb with the Lion’s
Heart!”
“ There is but one God ! Blessed be the name of his pro
phet !” cried Hadjee Meer Meerza, as he descended lhe solitary
heights of Aberan, and looked with tearful eyes upon the plea
sant plains of Erivan. ;
r. T.. ROSINSON, I’RCPKIETOK.
POLITICAL.
THE PROSPECT—MR. VAN BUREN.
When Mr. Van Buren ascended the presidential chair* in
1836, he did not receive the warmest congratulations from lhe
South. The friends of democratic principles, it is true, made a
struggle to secure for him the vote of this State. But they
were vanquished, and the vole of Georgia was thrown away,
botith-Carolina went for neither of the “ Richmonds”—she
preserved a sullen dignity, and cried “ a plague on both your
houses.” Three years only, however, have worked most
mighty changes. The pl tin yet dignified and m inly course
pursued by Mr. Van Bt REN, in his administration of public
art airs, has won the approbai’n n of those who were-inclined to
opposition—and they have been constiained to pruise where
they w ould more freely censure. No President ever lived down
o; position iu so short a time, or did it more effectually, and by
the influence ot principle alone. The moral beauts of integ
rcy was never more strikingly displayed than in his case, and
' is to its power alone we may attribute the change that bas :
taken place in the public mind.
.The only party now able to stand against his pcpularily
may be found among the fanatical disciples cf abolition doc
trines among those who would earn their opinions intoiffect
.at the expense ol freedom itself—and who would light the torch
ol civil war. Common sense, however, will put these madmen
down ; and we have the strongest guarantee, that thtir nefari
ous schemes can never succeed, as long as Mariin Van Bu
ren is President.
It may be said that the general administration lias vet its
unrelenting enemies. True, it has. But they are ’fading
away— the people have drawn oil' from them. Air. Biddle,
the strongest amongst the strong, has abdicated, and withdraw n
from a destructive contest. With him also, has fled lliewatclr
words, the wings of party. The “pressure,” the “crisis,” the
panic have all died away. ’1 be opposition in Pennsylva
nia, h ave, with Governor Ritner, retired to the shades of pri
vate life. In New-Jersey, they are silent. In Rhode-Island,
division in their own camp has destroyed their power. Jn-
Connecticut, they are dying nf a hopeless disease—want of
strength in the body politic. In New-llampshire, they are non
est inventus. In Maine, they arc done over for aye and ever
more. In Vermont, they are tottering; and in the citv of N.
Yorit, they are fairly beaten. Then turn we to the South and
South-West. Nobly have the gallant Carolinas come forward
and avowed themselves. Tennessee is up and doing. Alaba
ma is “true as the needle to the pole.” Mississippi is safe, and
Missouri will not be behind her sisters. Louisiana will shake
oft her Whig fetters ere long, and be numbered in the demo
cratic calendar.
But what shall we say of Georgia ? -It Is true, we have yet
an inkling of opposition. Many, however have risen superior
to prejudice, ami declared that thev cannot oppose the re-elec
tion ol Mr. Van Buren, because they believe him to be a firm
and undeviating friend ol the South. The press of the Slate is
pretty fairly balanced ; yet some ofthe opposition papers have
laid do wn their pens. One of the most able papers of the other
side, the Georgia Argus, has come dirt openly and honorably
] lor Mr. A an Buren, and we do ndWinow ol one of them who
■ could support Gen. Harrison, Daniel Websteh, or Henry
Clay, m preference to that gentleman. Some of them mav
have no choice, but they can effect no opposition dining the
next presidential canvass. The force of public opinion is
against them. The people will not throw away tht ir votes,
and no man deserves them more than Mr. Vanßuren and we
believe he will get them. We war not with men. •We go for
principles alone. What is there between the two parties in
Georgia, to sunder them ? We should wish to know. No
Georg ian can array himself under (he banners of Clay, of
WEBSTER, or of Harrison. No federalist can get his vole.
What act is there of Mr. Van Bur En’s adminirtration that is
not in keeping with the principles of TIIOMAS JEFFERSON,
the aposl'e of democracy ? Ifany can show one, let him speak
out, and we w ill give him a patient hearing. If not, then let
us be one people, as we should be. Let us present an undivid
ed front to the enemy, and inscribe on our banner, “No federal
interference,” —“ No abolition doctrines,” —“ No monopoly,”
and “No tariff.” We, for one, will live and die under this
flag.—s.7 vannah Georgian.
Front the Columbus Sentinel an.l Herald.
THE ENQUIRER.
“Unit happy times, which boast so grave n man!
Stand thou but forth, shame shall once more arise—
See Rome’s third Cato fallen from the skies V*
Wv stand corrected—the chaste and luminous eloquence of
the L quirer has just been shedding around us a blaze of light
and tiuth) a Inch has lilterally dazzled our senses and turned
our brain askance. How foolish were we to have suspected tho
editors of that pure, elevated and classical joint of favoi'mg the
pretensions of Mr. Clay for the Presidency. How imjjiotts
was it in ns to question their veracity on the subject of their
motives vdi ! tyros that we are in the ‘deep and winding wavs
tintb. They tel! us that ‘whether asleep or awake they
will ahv at s tridh on their side, and their cotintrv’s welfare
in vi.'u. JNot Only their sober "waking hours, but even their
very dream? are the essence of truth. With what propriety
might lueir numerous readers exclaim with Shylock, when the
Roman doctor so well const)u -d the law to fit his care, ‘a
Daniel, a second Daniel;’ and how properly may their veracity
be ranked with that of the great Cato, whose integrity for an
age became proverbial, so much so that when any thing mar
vellous and out ofthe common < o irse of experience was assert
?d, it was a usual exclamation with the Romans, ‘I would not
believe such a story were it told me by Cuio.’ But as a sort
of self-justification for our enormous offence, we herewith file
our pica of what we thought would have been some sort of
justification, but now alas offered only as a showing to stav
/udgment. *1 he editors of that print manifest (and who will 1
doubt it?) a burning zeal for their ‘country’s welfare.’ Pre
parations are being made for the contest—always a fierce and
fearful one—for the coming election for the Presidency. Was
it not natural in us to suppose that the editors of the Enquirer,,
with this burning zeal for their ‘country’s welfare,’ would have
entered the lists and declared in favor of one or the other of
the two aspirants for lhe people’s favor ami confidence? No
election so highly important, and none in which the welfare oT
the country is so intimately bound up, and yet the Enquirer
tells its party to lie low, keep dark, take no interest in the con
test. ‘We are not in favor of either of the candidates for the
Presidency ; let us take no part in the election or give the vole
of the State ‘to some distinguished son of the South.’ Now
the conclusions which we drew from this advice and this sug
gested course, were these : That by taking away or prevent
ing Mr. Van Buren from getting the vote of the State, they
would ot course lessen bis chances of success, and of course
increase the chances of Mr. Clay ; or Jiat if they cast the vote
of the State upon ‘some distinguished son of the South,’ and
coaid thereby carry with them perhaps some one or two other
States, they could defeat an election by the electoral colleges
carry the election to the House of Representatives, and the
same having there to be made from the two highest on the list
from the colleges, the election of .Mr. Clay would be secured.
These deductions, it seemed to us, were legitimately drawn
from the course which they were pursuing, and therefore the
irresistible conclusion forced upon our minds was, that they
preferred Mr. Clay to Mr. Van Buren; and as the name and:
policy of Mr. Clay was not very popular in this State, that
they could thus accomplish covertly what they could not ac
complish openly. But, says the Enquirer, ‘we have repeated
ly declared that we could not support Mr. Clay.’ With all
due deference to the Enquirer, we would beg leave to say, that
when our object is the ascertainment of truth, we prefer to take
as our guide not only declarations but acts also; and if acts,
should contradict declarations, we must be permitted to say that
we would sooner rely upon the former for the purpose of ascer
taining the feelings of the ‘ heart.’ This we say was in part
the |)!ea we should have filed,, and we leave lhe country ta
judge of the character of the defence we should have got up»
i But more anon.
WHOLE IVO. 375.