172 
C. J. Lyall —Three Translations from the Hamdseli. [No. 2, 
III. 
Ta’abbata Sherra went forth to woo a woman of ‘Abs, of the house of Qarib, who 
first inclined to him and promised to marry him ; hut when he again visited her, he 
found her averse from him. “What hath changed thee?” said he : she answered—• 
“ Verily the honour of being thy wife is great; but my people said to me: ‘ What 
wilt thou do with a man who will surely be slain to-day or to-morrow, and thou be left 
husbandless And he turned away from her, and said— 
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They said to her—‘ Wed him not ! for his life is nought at all: 
the first spear-point that he lights on perchance shall stretch him 
[dead.’ 
And she gave no whit of heed to wisdom, hut feared to he 
the widow of one whom Night enwraps, full of hardihead; 
Little he slumbers or sleeps, and the heart of his intent 
is to gain the blood of vengeance, or face a foeman grim. 
There comes down to fight with him whom his tribe count their bravest 
[man, 
hut not to gain fame of valour does he smite heads in twain. 
5 Little he stores of food beyond what shall stay his need : 
his ribs stand forth with hunger, and his bowels cleave to his back. 
Lie has lain in the wild beasts’ lairs until they know him well, 
and never through fear of him have they lied from their grazing 
[grounds— 
He seeks not to take the hare or the deer by guile or spring: 
long has he fought with men, grey is he and old therein. 
And he who deals ever with warfare, it cannot but be that he 
shall meet one day therein a fall from the hand of Death. 
They see a man whose heart cares not to hunt the deer, 
and if they could grasp man’s hand, they would verily grasp his hand. 
