Thou boastest as thou oft hast done
When far away his ranks were ranged,
And the fierce fight had not begun;--

"Go, Zaide, to the Alhambra go,
And there defend thy soldier fame;
For every tongue is wagging there,
And all, derisive, speak thy name.

"And if thou fear to go alone,
Take others with thee to thine aid;
Thy friends are ready at thy beck,
And Zaide need not be afraid!

"It is not in the palace court,
Amid the throng of ladies bright,
That the good soldier, by his tongue,
Proves himself valorous in the fight.

"It is not there his hands can show
What in the battle he can do;
But where the shock of onset tests
The fearless heart, the iron thew.

"Betake thee to the bloody field
And let thy sword thy praises sing;
But silence is most eloquent
Amid the courtiers of the King."

Thus Tarfe wrote, the Moorish knight,