As from a deadly asp.

“And now he reached the lonely spot

Where he his foe must bide,

And crouched behind a blasted oak

All rent and gaping wide.

“With bended head and flagging tread

The death-doomed foe comes on;

His brow hath lost its haughty frown,

His eye’s fierce fire is gone.

“With bended head and flagging tread