Great walls with characters cut rough
And deep by some long-perish'd race;
And lo! strange beasts unnamed, unknown,
Stood hewn and limn'd upon the stone.
The iron hoofs sank here and there,
Plough'd deep in ashes, broke anew
Old broken idols, and laid bare
Old bits of vessels that had grown,
As countless ages cycled through,
Imbedded with the common stone.