Came to me, and I saw a shadowy crowd
Of crouching beings far behind my son,
As vague as ghosts, who filled the silent room;
And then I heard my voice as from afar,
Muffled in gloom, a voice that seemed not mine,
Bidding them leave me; and like ghosts they went:
All but my son, who knelt beside my chair
Sobbing out bitterly some broken words,
That held less comfort than his trembling hands.
“Slowly there came to me the governance