... freight I bear;
It weakens me, my heart hath bled
Till it is weak—but you beware,
Nor do ... 1815.
[167] 1837.
Which ... 1815.
[168] 1820.
... with a Warrior's brow 1815.
[169] 1845.
... had snatched
A spear,—and with his eyes he watched
Their motions, turning round and round:—
His weaker hand the Banner held;
And straight by savage zeal impelled
Forth rushed a Pikeman, as if he,
Not without harsh indignity,
Would seize the same:—instinctively—
To smite the Offender—with his lance
Did Francis from the brake advance;
But, from behind, a treacherous wound
Unfeeling, brought him to the ground,
A mortal stroke:—oh, grief to tell!
Thus, thus, the noble Francis fell:
There did he lie of breath forsaken;
The Banner from his grasp was taken,
And borne exultingly away;
And the Body was left on the ground where it lay. 1815.
But not before the warm life-blood
Had tinged with searching overflow,
More deeply tinged the embroidered show
Of His whose side was pierced upon the Rood! 1837.
The text of 1837 is otherwise identical with the final version of 1845.
[170] These two lines were added in 1837.