Page:The poetical works of Matthew Arnold, 1897.djvu/119

Rh That the hard iron corslet clanked aloud;

And to his heart he pressed the other hand,

And in a hollow voice he spake, and said,—

"Sohrab, that were a proof which could not lie!

If thou show this, then art thou Rustum's son."

Then, with weak hasty fingers, Sohrab loosed

His belt, and near the shoulder bared his arm,

And showed a sign in faint vermilion points

Pricked; as a cunning workman, in Pekin,

Pricks with vermilion some clear porcelain vase,

An emperor's gift,—at early morn he paints,

And all day long, and, when night comes, the lamp

Lights up his studious forehead and thin hands,—

So delicately pricked the sign appeared

On Sohrab's arm, the sign of Rustum's seal.

It was that griffin which of old reared Zal,

Rustum's great father, whom they left to die,

A helpless babe, among the mountain rocks;

Him that kind creature found, and reared, and loved;

Then Rustum took it for his glorious sign.

And Sohrab bared that image on his arm,

And himself scanned it long with mournful eyes,

And then he touched it with his hand, and said,—

"How say'st thou? Is that sign the proper sign

Of Rustum's son, or of some other man's?"

He spoke; but Rustum gazed, and gazed, and stood

Speechless; and then he uttered one sharp cry,—

O boy—thy father! and his voice choked there.

And then a dark cloud passed before his eyes,

And his head swam, and he sank down to earth.

But Sohrab crawled to where he lay, and cast

His arms about his neck, and kissed his lips,

And with fond faltering fingers stroked his cheeks,

Trying to call him back to life; and life