Chapter III: Book I: Flesh-Fire

“Daily walked, in radiant beauty,
To and fro, the Sultan’s daughter;
In the twilight, where the fountain
Ripples o’er with crystal water.
Day by day the youthful slave stood
In the twilight, where the fountain
Ripples o’er with crystal water.
Daily he grew pale and paler.

“Once at evening came the Princess
To his side, with hurried accents:
‘Tell thy name, for I would know it;
And thy home, thy sire, and kindred.’

“And the slave replied:
‘My name is Mahomet. I come from Yemen,
And my race is the race of Asra,
Who must die if love they cherish!’”

—HEINRICH HEINE, “The Asra.”

THE FLAME-GATHERERS