eak.
Hence is my troubled bosom cold
With fear of Rama lofty-souled;
For heavy on my spirit weigh
His favours I can ne'er repay."
He ceased: and Hanuman of all
The Vanars in the council hall
In wisdom first, and rank, expressed
The thoughts that filled his prudent breast:
"No marvel thou rememberest yet
The service thou shouldst ne'er forget,
How the brave prince of Raghu's seed
Thy days from fear and peril freed;
And Bali for thy sake o'erthrew,
Whom Indra's self might scarce subdue.
I doubt not Rama's anger burns
For the scant love thy heart returns.
For this he sends his brother, him
Whose glory never waxes dim.
Sunk in repose thy careless eye
Marks not the seasons as they fly,
Nor sees that autumn has begun
With dark blooms opening to the sun.
Clear is the sky: no cloudlet mars
The splendour of the shining stars.
The balmy air is soft and still,
And clear and bright are lake and rill.
Thou heedest not with blinded eyes
The hour for warlike enterprise.
Hence Lakshman hither comes to break
Thy slothful trance and bid thee wake.
Then, Monarch, with a patient ear
The high-souled Rama's message hear,
Which, reft of wife and realm and friends,
Thus by another's mouth he sends.
Thou, Vanar King, hast done amiss:
And now I see no way but this:
Before his envoy humbly stand
And sue for peace with suppliant hand.
High duty bids a courtier seek
His master's weal, and freely speak.
So by no thought of fear controlled
My speech, O King, is free and bold,
For Rama, if his anger glow,
Can, with the terrors of his bow
This earth with all the Gods subdue,
Gandharvas,(635) and the demon crew.
Unwise to stir his wrathful mood
Whose favour must again be wooed.
And, most of all, unwise for one
Grateful like thee for service done.
Go with thy son and kinsmen: bend
Thy humble head and greet thy friend.
And, like a fond obedient spouse,
Be faithful to thy plighted vows."
Canto XXXIII. Lakshman's Entry.
Through the fair city Lakshman came,
Invited in Sugriva's name.
Within the gates the guardian bands,
Of Vanars raised their suppliant hands,
And in their ordered ranks, amazed,
Upon the princely hero gazed,
They marked each burning breath he drew,
The fury of his soul they knew.
Their hearts were chilled with sudden fear:
They gazed, but dared not venture near,
Before his eyes the city, gay
With gems and flowery gardens, lay,
Where fane and palace rose on high,
And things of beauty charmed the
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