Page:The poetical works of Matthew Arnold, 1897.djvu/132

94 Upon the Russian frontier, where

The watchers of two armies stand

Near one another, many a man,

Seeking a prey unto his hand,

Hath snatched a little fair-haired slave;

They snatch also, towards Mervè,

The Shiah dogs, who pasture sheep,

And up from thence to Orgunjè.

And these all, laboring for a lord,

Eat not the fruit of their own hands;

Which is the heaviest of all plagues,

To that man's mind who understands.

The kaffirs also (whom God curse!)

Vex one another, night and day;

There are the lepers, and all sick;

There are the poor, who faint alway.

All these have sorrow, and keep still,

Whilst other men make cheer, and sing.

Wilt thou have pity on all these?

No, nor on this dead dog, O king!

THE KING.

O vizier, thou art old, I young!

Clear in these things I cannot see.

My head is burning, and a heat

Is in my skin which angers, me.

But hear ye this, ye sons of men!

They that bear rule, and are obeyed,

Unto a rule more strong than theirs

Are in their turn obedient made.