Page:Poets of John Company.djvu/141

The Rungit's silver fall,
None know the story of their land,
None can its meaning understand,
As does that Sahib tall.

And cheery Gordon, blithe and gay,
Sang as they toiled along the way
To Tibet's frontier far;
That soldier minstrel whose guitar
By Lachen's stream or Lushai hill
Has often cheered the camp, and still
Is heard in Cooch Behar.
And in the vales of Sikkim lone,
As gay he bought her brooch or zone.
Did many a maiden fair
Sigh, as she brushed a tear away,
"He will not buy what eke he may;
"He buys all things throughout the land.
"Oh, would he only buy my hand,
"That soldier debonnair!"

And Sarat Chandra, hardy son
Of soft Bengal, whose wondrous store
Of Buddhist and Tibetan lore
A place in fame's bright page has won,
Friend of the Tashu Lama's line,
Whose eyes have seen the gleaming shrine
Of holy Lhassa, came to show
The wonders of the land of snow.

They journeyed over steep Tendong,
And through the vale of Teesta fair,
By Shilling's slopes and Yeung's Mendong,
And Kubbi's smiling pastures rare
And Ryott's roaring falls.
To where, high perched on Mafi's breast
With banners gay and brazen crest,
Shone Sikkimputti's halls.