ee;
Me, in my youth anointed heir
Against his wish, he will not spare,
But strike with eager hand the blow
That rids him of a household foe.
Shall I of power and friends despoiled,
In all my purpose crossed and foiled,--
Shall I Kishkindha seek, and wait,
Like some poor helpless thing, my fate?
The cruel wretch through lust of sway
Will seize upon his hapless prey,
And to a prison's secret gloom
The remnant of my years will doom.
'Tis better far to fast and die
Than hopeless bound in chains to lie,
Your steps, O Vanars, homeward bend
And leave me here my life to end.
Better to die of hunger here
Than meet at home the fate I fear.
Go, bow you at Sugriva's feet,
And in my name the monarch greet.
Before the sons of Raghu bend,
And give the greeting that I send.
Greet kindly Ruma too, for she
A son's affection claims from me,
And gently calm with friendly care
My mother Tara's wild despair;
Or when she hears her darling's fate
The queen will die disconsolate."

Thus Angad bade the chiefs adieu:
Then on the ground his limbs he threw
Where sacred Darbha(760) grass was spread,
And wept as every hope had fled.
The moving words of Angad drew
Down aged cheeks the piteous dew.
And, as the chieftains' eyes grew dim,
They swore to stay and die with him.
On holy grass whose every blade
Was duly, pointing southward, laid,
The Vanars sat them down and bent
Their faces to the orient,
While "Here, O comrades, let us die
With Angad," was the general cry.

Canto LVI. Sampati.

Then came the vultures' mighty king
Where sat the Vanars sorrowing,--
Sampati,(761) best of birds that fly
On sounding pinions through the sky,
Jatayus' brother, famed of old,
Most glorious and strong and bold.
Upon the slope of Vindhya's hill
He saw the Vanars calm and still.
These words he uttered while the sight
Filled his fierce spirit with delight:
"Behold how Fate with changeless laws
Within his toils the sinner draws,
And brings me, after long delay,
A rich and noble feast to-day,
These Vanars who are doomed to die
My hungry maw to satisfy."

He spoke no more: and Angad heard
The menace of the mighty bird;
And thus, while anguish filled his breast,
The noble Hanuman addressed:
"Vivasvat's(762) son has sought this place
For vengeance on the Vanar race.
See, Yama, wroth for Sita's sake,
Is come our guilty lives to take.
Our king's decree is left undone,
And naught achieved for Raghu's son.
In duty have we failed,