442 
C. J. Lyall— Translations from the Hamdseh and the Aghani. [No. 4, 
5 May God requite with shame my people for el-Kulab— 
those of them of pure race, and the others born of slaves ! 
Had it been my will, there had borne me far away from their horse 
a swift mare, behind whom the black steeds lag in a slackening 
throng : 
Hut it was my will to shield the men of your father’s house, 
and the spears all missed the man who stood as his fellows’ shield. 
The matron of ‘Abd-Shems laughed as she saw me led in bonds, 
as though she had seen before no captive of el-Yemen : 
Hut one knows—Muleykeh my wife—that time was when I stood forth 
a lion in fight, whether men bore against me or I led on. 
10 I said to them when they bound my tongue with a leathern thong 
—‘ 0 kinsmen of Teym, I pray you, leave me my tongue yet free ! 
( 0 kinsmen of Teym, ye hold me fast : treat me gently then ; 
‘ the brother ye lost was not the equal in place of me. 
‘ And if ye must slay me, let me die at least as a lord; 
‘ and if ye will let me go, take in ransom all my wealth.’ 
Is it truth, ye servants of God—I shall hear no more the voice 
of herdsmen who shout for their camels in the distant grazing- 
grounds ? 
Yea, many a beast did I slay, and many a camel urge 
to her swiftest, and journey steadfast where no man dared to go ; 
15 And ofttimes I slew for my fellows my camel at the feast, 
and ofttimes I rent my robe in twain for two singing-girls, 
And ofttimes withstood a host like locusts that swept on me 
with my hand alone, when all the lances on me were turned. 
Now am I as though I never had mounted a noble steed, 
or called to my horsemen—‘ Charge ! give our footmen breathing- 
space !’ 
Or bought the full skin of wine for much gold, or shouted loud 
to my comrades stout—‘ Heap high the blaze of our beacon-fire !’ 
Notes. 
The metre is the Tawil , second form. 
v. 4. Of the persons mentioned in this verse Ibn-el-Athir (Kamil, Vol. I, 
p. 469) says that Abu-Kerib was Bishr son of Alqameh son of el-Harith, while the two 
el-Eyhem (Eyhem means foolish, stupid, and was given as a nickname to many people : 
two kings of Ghassan bore it) were el-Aswad son of‘Alqameh son of el-Harith, and 
el-‘Aqib (the chief , lord), whose full name was ‘Abd-el-Mesih son of el-Abyad ; Qeys 
was Qeys son of Ma‘di-Kerib. Of these the last was chief of the tribe of Kindeh, and 
was surnamed el-Asha)j, “ the Scarred” ; he was praised by el-A‘sha. El-‘Aqib and 
el-Aswad el-Eyhem were two leaders of the deputation from Nejr&n to Mohammed at 
el-Medineh in A. H. 9. Of the first I have been able to discover nothing further. 
v. 6. This verse is variously given. Ibn-el-Athir (l. c .) reads— 
