Page:Poetical Remains.pdf/107

They told a tale of wavering hearts,
    Of treason and dismay:
The blood rush'd through her pearly cheek,
    The sparkle to her eye—
"Now call me hither those recreant knights,
    From the bands of Italy!"*^[1]

Then through the vaulted chambers
    Stern iron footsteps rang;
And heavily the sounding floor
    Gave back the sabre's clang.
They stood around her—steel-clad men,
    Moulded for storm and fight,
But they quail'd before the loftier soul
    In that pale aspect bright.

Yes—as before the Falcon shrinks
    The Bird of meaner wing,

1. * The proposal to capitulate is attributed by the French historian to the Knights of Pisa.