THE SHE KING; OR, THE BOOK OF ANCIENT POETRY

250 THE BOOK OF FOETEY. [PART II.
Fain would I be witli them again,
But fierce reproof return would cause.
This post I hold.
3 When for the west I left my home,
The sun and moon both mildly shone,
Our hearts to cheer.
We'd soon be back, our service done !
Alas ! affairs more urgent come,
And fix us here.
The year is hastening to expire.
We gather now the southernwood,
The beans we reap ;—
That for its fragrance, these for food.
Such things that constant care require
Me anxious keep.
Thinking of friends still at their posts,
I rise and pass the night outside,
So vexed my mind.
But soon what changes may betide ?
I here will stay, whate'er it costs,
And be resigned.
4 My honoured friends, 0 do not deem
Your rest which seems secure from ill
Will ever last!
Your duties quietly fulfil,
And hold the upright in esteem,
With friendship fast.
So shall the Spirits hear your cry,
You virtuous make, and good supply,
In measure vast.
5 My honoured friends, 0 do not deem
Repose that seems secure from ill
Will lasting prove.
Your duties quietly fulfil,
And hold the upright in esteem,
With earnest love.
So shall the Spirits hear your prayer,
And on you happiness confer,
Your hopes above.
VI. IV.] THE BOOK OP POETEY. 251
IV.
The Koo cliung; narrative. SUPPOSED TO REFER TO AND DEPLORE
SOME EXPEDITION OF KING YEW TO THE COUNTRY ABOUT THE H\VAE,
WHERE HE ABANDONED HIMSELF TO THE DELIGHTS OF MUSIC.
There is no account anywhere of Yew's having undertaken an expedi
tion to the country about the Hwae. But it is quite conceivable that a
sovereign of his character should have proceeded to the Hwae to punish
the wild tribes Of the region, and have amused himself as it is supposed
in this piece that he did. Such an expedition would be a historical
parallel to Caligula's against Britain. The Hwae has been a famous
river of China since the earliest times. It rises in the district of T'ung-
pih, department Nan-yang, Ho-nan, and after flowing through the pro
vinces of Ngau-hwuy and Keang-soo, reaches the sea, having had a
course of about 600 miles.
1 How peal the royal bells,
As the Hwae sweeps along to the main!
A tale their music tells,
Waking thoughts in my mind full of pain.
Before me back it sadly brings
The memory of our virtuous kings;
And they live in my fancy again !
2 Loud roll the royal drums,
As the Hwae rushes on to the deep.
A vanished memory comes
In their sound which compels me to weep,—
The memory of our kings of old,
Whose virtue flawless still we hold,
Though the kings in their sepulchres sleep.
3 Bells peal and drums resound,
As the Hwae its three islands displays.
They stir a grief profound
In my heart that no revel allays.
The virtue of our kings of yore
A stamp of truth and beauty bore,
Such as never we see now-a-days.
4 K'in-tfin the bells peal on,
And the lutes in the concert we hear.
Deep breathes the organ tone ;
Sounding stones join their notes, rich and clear.