Page:The Works of Lord Byron (ed. Coleridge, Prothero) - Volume 2.djvu/89

CANTO I.] Wide-scattered hoof-marks dint the wounded ground;

And, scathed by fire, the greensward's darkened vest

Tells that the foe was Andalusia's guest:

Here was the camp, the watch-flame, and the host,

Here the bold peasant stormed the Dragon's nest;

Still does he mark it with triumphant boast,

And points to yonder cliffs, which oft were won and lost.

L.

And whomsoe'er along the path you meet

Bears in his cap the badge of crimson hue,

Which tells you whom to shun and whom to greet:N9

Woe to the man that walks in public view

Without of loyalty this token true:

Sharp is the knife, and sudden is the stroke;

And sorely would the Gallic foeman rue,

If subtle poniards, wrapt beneath the cloke,

Could blunt the sabre's edge, or clear the cannon's smoke.

LI.

At every turn Morena's dusky height

Sustains aloft the battery's iron load;

And, far as mortal eye can compass sight,

The mountain-howitzer, the broken road,