dra, who a spell can make
To turn the anger of the gods away.
Immortal lives the seer beside the sea,
He knoweth death and life, all secret things;
And this alone your servant to you brings.
The goddess sought my hand, which I denied,
And Anu's fury thus I have defied;
This all my troubles caused, show me the way
To Khasisadra, this I ask and pray."

The god's vast face broke out with wondrous smiles,
And laughing, ripples rolled along for miles;
His mouth wide opened its abyss and yawned,
As earthquake gulf, far spreading through the ground.
His roaring laughter shakes the earth around,
"Ho! ho! my son! so you at last have found
The Queen can hate, as well as love her friends,
And on thy journey Ishtar's love thee sends?
A mortal wise thou wast, to her refuse,
For she can do with man what she may choose.
A mortal's love, in truth, is wondrous strong,
A glorious thing it is, Life's ceaseless song!
Within a cave upon the mountain side,
Thou there thy footsteps must to Hades guide,
Twelve _kaspu_ go to yonder mountain gates,
A heart like thine may well defy the fates.
A darkness deep profound doth ever spread
Within those regions black,--Home of the Dead.
Go, Izdubar! within this land of Mas,
Thy road doth lead, and to the west[2] doth pass,
And may the maidens sitting by the walls
Refresh thee, lead thee to the Happy Halls."

The path they take behind the rising sun
The setting sun they pass,--with wings have flown
The scorpion men,[3] within wide space have gone,
Thus from his sight the monsters far have flown.

[Footnote 1: "Mount Masu," the Mountains of Masius, or "Mons Masius" of
Strabo (vi. 12, Sec.Sec. 4, 14, 2, etc.), may be referred to by the author of
the epic. These mountains are now known to the Turks as Jebel Tur and
Karaiah Dag.--Rawlinson's "Ancient Monarchies," vol. ii. pp. 9 and 25.]

[Footnote 2: Mr. Sayce translates thus: "the path of the sun."]

[Footnote 3: He also names the monsters "the scorpion men," and refers to
an Assyrian cylinder on which two composite winged monsters are carved,
with the winged emblem of the supreme god in the centre above them. The
monsters have the feet of lions and the tails of scorpions. See
illustration in Smith's revised edition, by Sayce, "Chald. Acc. of Gen.,"
p. 276. The monsters were supposed to fly ahead of the sun, and as it
passed guide it along its orbit.]

COLUMN VI

IZDUBAR ENTERS HADES--THE SONG OF THE DALKHI IN THE CAVERN OF HORRORS--TH