Page:The Five Nations.djvu/133

 BRIDGE-GUARD IN THE KARROO

the desert changes,

The raw glare softens and clings,

Till the aching Oudtshoorn ranges

Stand up like the thrones of kings—

Ramparts of slaughter and peril—

Blazing, amazing—aglow

'Twixt the sky-line's belting beryl

And the wine-dark flats below.

Royal the pageant closes,

Lit by the last of the sun—

Opal and ash-of-roses,

Cinnamon, umber, and dun.

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