Page:The poetical works of Matthew Arnold, 1897.djvu/112

74 "Thou strik'st too hard! that club of thine will float

Upon the summer-floods, and not my bones.

But rise, and be not wroth! not wroth am I;

No, when I see thee, wrath forsakes my soul.

Thou say'st thou art not Rustum; be it so!

Who art thou, then, that canst so touch my soul?

Boy as I am, I have seen battles too,—

Have waded foremost in their bloody waves,

And heard their hollow roar of dying men;

But never was my heart thus touched before.

Are they from Heaven, these softenings of the heart?

O thou old warrior, let us yield to Heaven!

Come, plant we here in earth our angry spears,

And make a truce, and sit upon this sand,

And pledge each other in red wine, like friends,

And thou shalt talk to me of Rustum's deeds.

There are enough foes in the Persian host,

Whom I may meet, and strike, and feel no pang,

Champions enough Afrasiab has, whom thou

Mayst fight; fight them, when they confront thy spear!

But oh, let there be peace 'twixt thee and me!"

He ceased; but while he spake, Rustum had risen,

And stood erect, trembling with rage; his club

He left to lie, but had regained his spear,

Whose fiery point now in his mailed right hand

Blazed bright and baleful, like that autumn-star,

The baleful sign of fevers; dust had soiled

His stately crest, and dimmed his glittering arms.

His breast heaved, his lips foamed, and twice his voice

Was choked with rage; at last these words broke way:—

"Girl! nimble with thy feet, not with thy hands!

Curled minion, dancer, coiner of sweet words!

Fight, let me hear thy hateful voice no more!