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The Death Of Aliatar. - From The Spanish. (Translations.)

By William Cullen Bryant

Topics: classic

'Tis not with gilded sabres     That gleam in baldricks blue,     Nor nodding plumes in caps of Fez,     Of gay and gaudy hue,     But, habited in mourning weeds,     Come marching from afar,     By four and four, the valiant men     Who fought with Aliatar.     All mournfully and slowly     The afflicted warriors come,     To the deep wail of the trumpet,     And beat of muffled drum.     The banner of the Phenix,     The flag that loved the sky,     That scarce the wind dared wanton with,     It flew so proud and high,     Now leaves its place in battle-field,     And sweeps the ground in grief,     The bearer drags its glorious folds     Behind the fallen chief,     As mournfully and slowly     The afflicted warriors come,     To the deep wail of the trumpet,     And beat of muffled drum.     Brave Aliatar led forward     A hundred Moors to go     To where his brother held Motril     Against the leaguering foe.     On horseback went the gallant Moor,     That gallant band to lead;     And now his bier is at the gate,     From whence he pricked his steed.     While mournfully and slowly     The afflicted warriors come,     To the deep wail of the trumpet,     And beat of muffled drum.     The knights of the Grand Master     In crowded ambush lay;     They rushed upon him where the reeds     Were thick beside the way;     They smote the valiant Aliatar,     They smote the warrior dead,     And broken, but not beaten, were     The gallant ranks he led.     Now mournfully and slowly     The afflicted warriors come,     To the deep wail of the trumpet,     And beat of muffled drum.     Oh! what was Zayda's sorrow,     How passionate her cries!     Her lover's wounds streamed not more free     Than that poor maiden's eyes.     Say, Love, for didst thou see her tears:     Oh, no! he drew more tight     The blinding fillet o'er his lids     To spare his eyes the sight.     While mournfully and slowly     The afflicted warriors come,     To the deep wail of the trumpet,     And beat of muffled drum.     Nor Zayda weeps him only,     But all that dwell between     The great Alhambra's palace walls     And springs of Albaicin.     The ladies weep the flower of knights,     The brave the bravest here;     The people weep a champion,     The Alcaydes a noble peer.     While mournfully and slowly     The afflicted warriors come,     To the deep wail of the trumpet,     And beat of muffled drum.

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"'Tis not with gilded sabres..."

Exploring the themes of classic, William Cullen Bryant delivers a powerful performance in "The Death Of Aliatar. - From The Spanish. (Translations.)"... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...

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Author:William Cullen Bryant

"'Tis not with gilded sabres..." by William Cullen Bryant

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William Cullen Bryant

About William Cullen Bryant

William Cullen Bryant (1794–1878) was an American poet and journalist. His poem "Thanatopsis" (1817) was the first major American poem. He edited the New York Evening Post for 50 years and was a champion of American poetry.

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