CHIBOUQUE.


At Yeni-Djami, after Rhamadan,

The pacha in his palace lolls at ease;

Latakieh fumes his sensual palate please,

While round-limbed almees dance near his divan.



Slaves lure away _ennui_ with flowers and fan;

And as his gem-tipped chibouque glows, he sees,

In dreamy trance, those marvellous mysteries

The prophet sings of in the Al-Koran!



Pale, dusk-eyed girls, with sequin-studded hair,

Dart through the opal clouds like agile deer,

With sensuous curves his fancy to provoke,--

Delicious houris, ravishing and fair,

Who to his vague and drowsy mind appear

Like fragrant phantoms arabesqued in smoke!



FRANCIS S. SALTUS.



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