Walked like a man by somnolence unnerved,
Said: “Come! what ails thee that thou canst not keep
Thy footing straight, but more than half a league
Hast moved, with faltering steps, as if by sleep
Or wine o’ercome, and eyes that show fatigue?”
I answered: “O sweet Father! I will tell,
If thou wilt hear me, all that I have seen,
While my limbs failed me and my strength so fell.”
And he replied: “Shouldst thou thy visage screen
Beneath an hundred masks, I still could spell