And speed each task, and tell each message clear,
In scenes where war-trained men were stunned with fear.
“Theodric praised him, and they wept for joy
In yonder house,—when letters from the boy
Thanked Heaven for life, and more, to use his phrase,
Than twenty lives—his own Commander’s praise.
Then followed glowing pages, blazoning forth
The fancied image of his Leader’s worth,
With such hyperbolés of youthful style
As made his parents dry their tears and smile: