fect convent hied.
There, by the aid 'twas thine to lend,
Made perfect, all my labours end.
Thus, mighty Prince, I now have told
My race and lineage, high and old,
And local tales of long ago
Which thou, O Rama, fain wouldst know.
As I have sate rehearsing thus
The midnight hour is come on us.
Now, Rama, sleep, that nothing may
Our journey of to-morrow stay.
No leaf on any tree is stirred:
Hushed in repose are beast and bird:
Where'er you turn, on every side,
Dense shades of night the landscape hide,
The light of eve is fled: the skies,
Thick-studded with their host of eyes,
Seem a star-forest overhead,
Where signs and constellations spread.
Now rises, with his pure cold ray,
The moon that drives the shades away,
And with his gentle influence brings
Joy to the hearts of living things.
Now, stealing from their lairs, appear
The beasts to whom the night is dear.
Now spirits walk, and every power
That revels in the midnight hour."

The mighty hermit's tale was o'er,
He closed his lips and spoke no more.
The holy men on every side,
"Well done! well done," with reverence cried;
"The mighty men of Kusa's seed
Were ever famed for righteous deed.
Like Brahma's self in glory shine
The high-souled lords of Kusa's line,
And thy great name is sounded most,
O Saint, amid the noble host.
And thy dear sister--fairest she
Of streams, the high-born Kausiki--
Diffusing virtue where she flows,
New splendour on thy lineage throws."
Thus by the chief of saints addressed
The son of Gadhi turned to rest;
So, when his daily course is done,
Sinks to his rest the beaming sun.
Rama with Lakshman, somewhat stirred
To marvel by the tales they heard,
Turned also to his couch, to close
His eyelids in desired repose.

Canto XXXVI. The Birth Of Ganga.

The hours of night now waning fast
On Sona's pleasant shore they passed.
Then, when the dawn began to break,
To Rama thus the hermit spake:
"The light of dawn is breaking clear,
The hour of morning rites is near.
Rise, Rama, rise, dear son, I pray,
And make thee ready for the way."

Then Rama rose, and finished all
His duties at the hermit's call,
Prepared with joy the road to take,
And thus again in question spake:
"Here fair and deep the Sona flows,
And many an isle its bosom shows:
What way, O Saint, will lead us o'er
And land us on the farther shore?"
The saint replied: "The way I choose
Is that which pious hermits use."
For many a league they journeyed