XXVIII.

But this I felt not yet. I could but gaze

On him, my friend; while that swift moment threw

A sudden freshness back on vanish’d days,

Like water-drops on some dim picture’s hue;

Calling the proud time up, when first I stood

Where banners floated, and my heart’s quick blood

Sprang to a torrent as the clarion blew,

And he—his sword was like a brother’s worn,

That watches through the field his mother’s youngest born.