And plead’st thou for my sire to me?
Know, though thy prayers a death-pang give,
He must not meet my sight—and live!
Well may’st thou shudder! Of the band
Who watch in secret o’er the land,
Whose thousand swords ’tis vain to shun,
Th’ unknown, th’ unslumbering—I am one!
My arm defend him! What were then
Each vow that binds the souls of men,
Sworn on the cross, and deeply seal’d