Of Ferdoosee. 49 
Unwillingly we must resign them to the 
enemy, 
And tell our sorrows to the winds. 
One narrow chest will now suffice for us: 
The tree, which should have been the anti- . 
dote, is become the poison. 
I planted, cultivated, watered it with care; 
I hung acrownand jewels on itsbranches, (18) 
But when it had raised itself to the sun, 
and expanded its shade, 
It fell to the ground and destroyed my hopes. 
Such is the end of all our labours, 
Nor know I where we should seek our rest. 
Then said Mihraub to Seendocht,— 
Is this then any new thing? 
This transitory world is but an inn; 
One is neglected, and another enjoys every 
comfort; 
One,comes, and another departs, 
And whom hast thou seen that fortune does 
not persecute? ; 
By anxiety of heart thou wilt not drive sor- 
row to the door: . 
There is no contending with the just God. 
(18) Those who are interested in such enquiries will meet with a 
curious dissertation on the high respect paid to certain trees in the 
East, to which an allusion is here made, in the appendix to the Ist vol. 
ef Sir W. Ouseley’s Travels in Persia, p. 359-401, 
G 
