| Show BOOKS i-BOOKS IN BRIEFF BRIEF BRIEF- F Father Meets Stranger Son SonIn In Il Death Fight By fly ELIZABETH C C. C JAMES JAI s AND RUSTUM by Mathew Arnold Is laid in the days of long ago when men roen fought to gain personal glory and to be known as the heroes of their tribes The story opens in the gray light of approaching dawn on a vast plain near the River of at Persia Two armies sleep in their tents opposite each other on the spreading plain They arc are the Persians and the Tartars Tartars Tar Tar- tars who have been enemies these many years In the quietness of night one soldier does not sleep All night he has lain awake Noiselessly he slips through the R camp toward the tent of ot Peran Wisa a aged commander of F the Tartar army L L' Who is there Elizabeth th asks Peran Wisa James rising In his bed It is I I. I Sohrab coming to ask aska a favor of cf you oh kind one spoke the vibrant voice of the young sol sal dier What is it that you want myson my myson myson son Pecan Peran asked To fight in single combat against the champion of the Persian army was the request Peran Visa sighed Can you not be satisfied to be as a son to me and to remain a leader in the army Story of Rustum But Dut Sohrab held to his request telling Peran Wisa the story of his life and why he sought to gain renown re reo re- re flown in single combat Sohrab's father was Rustum mighty of ancient days who had left his young wife for war before their child was born He lIe had Instructed his bride to send him word concerning concern concern- ing their child so that if it were a son the father might return and teach him the art of ot warfare But Dut the young wife determined not not notto to lose her son and when Sohrab was born she sent word to Rustum that their child was a daughter ENGLISH CRITIC AND POET Dr Thomas Arnold head master master master mas mas- ter of or Rugby Chapel In la reality as well as In the novel Tom Browns Brown's School Days Oars was the father rather of or Mathew 1 Arnold English Rag Eng Rich lish poet and critic Mathew Arnold was born In 1822 He lie attended Oxford university university uni uni- where here he later became professor of or poetry With his family background and his work as Interpreter of poetry he be became became became be be- came the leading literary critic of England Ills personal altitude attitude toward analyzing literature underlies underlies underlies un un- un- un the best of literary criticism crill cism today I In the early morning a flag of truce was carried onto the field that separated the two armies An order order or der for peace for the day was given Rustum to Fight The Persian leader approached Rustum and told him of the challenge challenge chal chal- lenge but the warrior shook his head and said that since the Persian Per Per- sian scan prince favored the young fighters fighters fight fight- I ers in court he should favor them themon themI I on the field of honor But Dut the leader I implored Rustum for the glory of the Persian army so that at last he hei i yielded but only if U be he fought dis Raised guised The two warriors walked onto the center of the plain They were I armed with metal shields and breast plates and carried and spears Rustum wore no insignia in signia on his weapons lIe He spoke I am a tired warrior You may meet your death today needlessly Let us drop this fight and make makepeace makepeace makepeace peace between us and you come and live with me as my son eon Feeling a strange sensation Sohrab Sohrab Soh Soh- Soh rab cried Are you the mighty Rustum Rustum then cried It does docs not I matter who I am ami On guard Sohrab Is Killed They began to fight Long and hard they waged back and forth forthover forthover forthover over the plain Then swinging his cudgel Rustum hurled it and the shock threw him to his knees Enraged at being on his knees with both armies watching the older old er cc man seized his spear and roared Rustum Sohrab was surprised to hear the name of his father and he dropped his shield and stepped backward The fIhe charging spear of Rustum thrust through his side Sohrab had received a death wound but his spirit was not killed Rustum taunted him but Sohrab answered with burning tone Walt Wait until my father the mighty warrior Rustum learns leams that you have killed his only son Rustum turned pale Rustum never had a son he cried Sohrab showed the sign of the griffin on his arm The other man fell feU to the ground He Ue seized his arms and would have killed himself had not Sohrab stopped him Th The younger man in a weakening tone urged his father to live 0 Q Ben Bell Syndicate Syndicate Service |
