"False brother!" cried Rustem; "what hast thou done? Was it for thee to
slay thy father's son? Exult now; but thou wilt yet suffer for this
crime!" Then altering his tone, he said gently: "But give me, I pray thee,
my bow and arrows, that I may have it by my side to slay any wild beast
that may try to devour me."
Shugdad gave him the bow; and when he saw the gleam in Rustem's eyes,
concealed himself behind a tree. But the angry Rustem, grasping the bow
with something of his former strength, sent the arrow through tree and
man, transfixing both. Then thanking his Creator that he had been given
the opportunity to slay his murderer, he breathed his last.
SELECTIONS FROM THE SHAH-NAMEH.
THE RAJA OF INDIA SENDS A CHESSBOARD TO NUSHIRVAN.
"This account of the game of chess, written by Ferdusi more than eight
hundred years ago, is curious as showing the antiquity of the game, its
resemblance to it as now played, and the tradition that it was invented in
India, and came originally from that country."
A Mubid related, how one day the king
Suspended his crown over the ivory throne,
All aloes-wood and ivory, and all ivory and aloes;
Every pavilion a court, and every court a royal one;
All the Hall of Audience crowned with soldiers;
Every pavilion filled with Mubids and Wardens of the Marches,
From Balkh, and Bokhara, and from every frontier--
For the King of the world had received advices
From his vigilant and active emissaries,
That an Ambassador had arrived from a King of India,
With the parasol, and elephants, and cavalry of Sind,
And, accompanied by a thousand laden camels,
Was on his way to visit the Great King.
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