champion gaily, "When thou art ready, come and try the effects of bow and arrow!" They then engaged with bows and arrows, but without any decisive result. Afterwards they used their hands and arms in wrestling, and Rustem applied as much force as might have shaken a mountain, to raise Sohráb from the ground, but he could not move him. Sohrab then endeavoured to lift up his antagonist, but in vain. Both were satisfied, and forsook each other's hold. Sohrab however had recourse to his mace, and struck a heavy blow on the head of Rustem, who reeled with the pain it inflicted. The laughing stripling, in consequence, spoke tauntingly to him, and Rustem said, "Night is coming on, we will resume the battle to-morrow." Sohrab replied, "Go, I have given thee enough, I will now let Káús feel the sharpness of my sword!" and, at the same moment that he proceeded against the Persian king, Rustem galloped forward to be revenged on the Túránians. But in the midst of his career, the unprotected situation of Káús struck his mind, and returning to his own army, found that Sohráb had slain a number of his warriors, and was still committing great havoc. He called to him, and said, "Let there be a truce to-night; but if thou art still for war, oppose thyself to me alone!" Sohrab was himself weary, and closed with the first proposal. Both accordingly retired to their tents.

In the night Káús sent for Rustem, and observed, that during the whole period of his life he had never witnessed or heard of such overwhelming valour as had been exhibited by the young invader; to which Rustem replied, "I know not, but he seems to be formed of iron. I have fought him with sword, and arrow, and mace, and he is still unhurt. In the warrior's art he is my superior, and Heaven knows what may be the result to-morrow." Having retired to his own place of rest, Rustem passed the night in petitions to the Almighty, and to his brother Zúára he said, "Alas! I have felt that the power of this youth's arm is prodigious. Should any thing untoward happen in the ensuing fight, go immediately to Zál, and think

not of opposition to this triumphant Tartar, for certainly the whole of Persia will fall under his control."

Meanwhile Sohráb, having returned to his tent, said to Húmán, "This old man has the strength and the port of Rustem; God forbid that, if the signs which my mother gave be true, he should prove my father!" Húmán said, in answer: "I have often seen Rustem, and I know him; but this is not the champion of Persia-and though his horse is like Rakush, it is not the same." From this declaration of Húmán, Sohráb felt assured that this was not Rustem.

As soon as the morning dawned both the combatants were opposed to each other; and when the eye of Sohráb fell upon Rustem, an instinctive feeling of affection rose in his heart, and he wished to close the contest in peace.

"Let us together sit and shun the strife,
Which sternly seeks each other's valued life;
Let others mix in fight, whilst we agree,
And yield our hearts to peace and amity.
Affection fills my breast with hopes and fears,
For thee my cheeks are overflowed with tears;
How have I ceaseless sought to know thy name,
Oh, tell it now, thou man of mighty fame."

To this address, Rustem replied, that the words of the preceding evening were of a different import, and the agreement was to wrestle to-day. "I am not," said he, a person of trick or artifice, nor a child, as thou art, but I am prepared to wrestle with thee." Sohrab finding every effort fruitless, all his hopes disappointed, and his views frustrated at every step, dismounted and prepared for the contest. Rustem was already on foot, tightening his girdle previous to the struggle.

Like lions they together tugged, and strained
Their nervous limbs ;-and from their bodies flowed
Streams of red blood and sweat. Sohrab with force
Equal to a mad elephant's, raised up

The champion, and upon the sandy plain

Dashed him down backward. Then upon his breast,
Fierce as a tiger on a prostrate elk,

He sat, all ready to lop off the head.

But Rustem called out in time, and said, "According to the custom of my country, the first time a combatant in wrestling is thrown, his head is not severed from his body, but only after the second fall." As soon as Sohráb heard these words, he returned his dagger into the sheath, and allowed his antagonist to rise.

When the youth returned to his tent, and told Húmán what he had done, the Túránian chief lamented deeply the thoughtlessness of his conduct. "To ensnare the lion," said he, "and then set him at liberty to devour thee, was certainly a foolish thing!" But Sohrab said, "He is still in my power, being inferior to me in skill and strength, and I shall to-morrow be able to command the same advantage.' To this, Húmán replied, "The wise never look upon an enemy as weak and contemptible! "

When Rustem had escaped from the battle with Sohráb, he purified himself with water, and prostrated himself all night in devotion to the Almighty, praying that his former strength and power might be vouchsafed to him. It is said. that in the first instance God gave him so much strength, that in placing his foot upon a rock it sunk to its centre. But as he was thus unable to walk, he prayed for a suitable diminution of power, and the prayer was accepted. With this diminished power, though still prodigious, he was now again favoured, and on the following day the fight was renewed. "What! here again?" said Sohráb, triumphantly.

Again their backs they wrestling bend,*
Again their limbs they seem to rend;
They seize each other's girdle-band,
And strain and grasp with foot and hand,
Doubt hanging still on either side,
From morn to sombre even-tide.

*Wrestling is a favourite sport in the east. From Homer down to Statius, the Greek and Roman poets have introduced wrestling in their Epic poems. Wrestlers, like the gladiators at Rome, are exhibited in India on a variety of occasions. Prize wrestlers were common in almost every European nation.

At length Rustem made a powerful effort, and got Sohráb under him. Apprehensive however that he had not strength enough to keep him there, he plunged his dagger in the side of the unhappy youth, and fatally prevented all further reEistance. Groaning heavily, the dying Sohrab said: “Alas! I came here in anxious search of my father, and it has cost me my life. But if thou wert a fish, and sought refuge at the bottom of the ocean, or a star in the heavens, my father will be revenged on thee for this deed."-"What is thy father's name?" said the champion. "His name is Rustem, and my mother is the daughter of the king of Samengán. On hearing these words, the world faded before Rustem's eyes, and he fell senseless on the ground. After some time he rose up in deep agitation, and asked Sohráb what tokens he possessed to prove the truth of his assertion,-“ for I am Rustem!" he said in agony. "Alas!" rejoined Sohráb, "the instinctive feeling was ever at my heart, but, wonderful to say, it received no mutual assurance from thine! If a token is required, ungird my mail, and there behold the amulet which my mother bound on my arm, and which Rustem gave to her, saying that it would be of extraordinary use on a future day." The sight of the amulet was an overwhelming blow to the father-he exclaimed in bitterness of soul: "O cruelly art thou slain my son! my son! What father ever thus destroyed his own offspring! I shall never be released from the horror of this dreadful crime, and therefore better will it be that I put an end to my own existence !" But Sohrab dissuaded him from this resolution. "It has been

The old poet Drayton in his Poly-Olbion alludes to this manly exercise in England.

This isle in wrestling doth excel;

With collars be they yoked, to prove the arm at length,
Like bulls set head to head, with meer deliver strength:
Or by the girdles grasp'd, they practice with the hip,
The forward, backward, falx, the mar, the turn, the trip:
When stript into their shirts each other they invade,
Within a spacious ring, for the beholders made,
According to the law.

my destiny thus to perish, it can be of no avail to kill thyself. Let me depart, alone-and thou remain for ever." Rustem, in utter despair, flung himself on the ground, and covered his head with dust and ashes; whilst Sohráb continued writhing and fluttering like a bird, from the anguish of his wound.

When the people of Káús perceived Rakush riderless, they reported to him that Rustem was dead, and a loud wail of sorrow arose from the whole army. The messenger who was sent to ascertain the particulars of the misfortune, found Rustem rolling in the dust in the deepest affliction, and Sohrab at the point of death; and raising up the head of the champion, asked him what had happened. "I have done that," said he,

"which has made me weary of life. I have, in my old age,

slain my son!" Zúára, his brother, hearing this, turned in sorrow to Sohrab, who said to him: "Such is my destiny, such the will of fortune. It was decreed that I should perish by the hand of my father. I came like a flash of lightning, and now I depart like the empty wind." Both Rustem and Zúára were inconsolable, but Sohráb again tried to soothe them, and said, "No person remains for ever in the world; then why this grief?" He then addressed Rustem, "O let not those who have followed my fortunes be put to trouble, or punished on my account, they are not to blame." And Rustem set his mind entirely at rest about them.

Gúdarz was now sent by the champion to Káús to ask him for a cordial balm which he possessed of wonderful virtue, in the hope that it might restore Sobráb to life. But when the king heard the request, he said: "Doubtless the cordial will make him better, but I cannot forget the scandal and disgrace which this youth heaped upon me even in presence of my own army. Besides which, he threatened to deprive me of my crown, and give it to Rustem. I will not serve him."

When Gúdarz heard this cruel speech,
Which flinty heart alone could teach,
He hastened back and told the tale;
But though it was his fate to fail,