Girt by the people's crowded ring,

Entered the noble bower like one

New-bathed when funeral rites are done.

Where'er he looked naught met his gaze

But empty houses, courts, and ways.

Closed were the temples: countless feet

No longer trod the royal street,

And thinking of his son he viewed

Men weak and worn and woe-subdued.

As sinks the sun into a cloud,