The best dictator of dear Arnold’s love,”
He said—and thus: “I’ll wait my boy’s return,
And from his lips the secret try to learn.”
“Love,” said Lord William, “is a desperate dart,
Not easily extracted from the heart;
Wherein once seated, whether good or ill,
Retains possession—come who, or what will:
It is the buckler of the youth at sea,
The beam of war which gains the victory:
The soldier’s hope: the banner of the soul: