Page:Rudyard Kipling's verse - Inclusive Edition 1885-1918.djvu/275

 The Councils of Kings called in haste to learn how he was minded—

The Kingdoms, the Powers, and the Glories he dealt with unblinded.

To him came all captains of men, all achievers of glory,

Hot from the press of their battles they told him their story.

They revealed him their lives in an hour and, saluting, departed,

Joyful to labour afresh—he had made them new-hearted.

And, since he weighed men from his youth, and no lie long deceived him,

He spoke and exacted the truth, and the basest believed him.

And God poured him an exquisite wine, that was daily renewed to him,

In the clear-welling love of his peoples that daily accrued to him.

Honour and service we gave him, rejoicingly fearless;

Faith absolute, trust beyond speech and a friendship as peerless.

And since he was Master and Servant in all that we asked him,

We leaned hard on his wisdom in all things, knowing not how we tasked him.

For on him each new day laid command, every tyrannous hour,

To confront, or confirm, or make smooth some dread issue of power;

To deliver true judgment aright at the instant, unaided,

In the strict, level, ultimate phrase that allowed or dissuaded;

To foresee, to allay, to avert from us perils unnumbered,

To stand guard on our gates when he guessed that the watchmen had slumbered;

To win time, to turn hate, to woo folly to service and, mightily schooling

His strength to the use of his Nations, to rule as not ruling.