And speak of war, battle, and pestilence,
Sprinkling this talk with questions, better spared.
On what he might himself have seen or felt
He all the while was in demeanor calm.
Concise in answer: solemn and sublime
He might have seen, but that in all he said
There was a strange half-absence, as of one
Knowing too well the importance of his theme
But feeling it no longer. Our discourse
Soon ended, and together on we passed