Parry in tierce! All elegant and smart;
But the lethal thrust no parry can resist
Comes not in this preliminary play.
The defender, so complacent and erect,
Will show another pose another day,
We suspect.
And that grey Grand Old Assailant, who's expert
At beat and re-beat, press, and graze, and bind,
Will try his best at a disabling hurt;
It is not mere parade that's in his mind.