That seed to rank maturity had grown;
The cup was full, and now from branch and root,
The whirlwind came to strip its lawful fruit.
I saw my friends and neighbors march away
With martial tread, in uniforms of gray.
I saw them raise their caps in passing by
And fair hands wave their kerchiefs in reply.
Then I, who had in military schools
Received some insight into army rules,
And, being of a martial turn of mind,