12
III.
As when thy state at Dresden thou art keeping;
Nor with the golden epaulettes outpeeping
From under pink and scarlet trappings gay
(Raiment of doctors) through the area led;
While galleries peal applause, and Phillimore
For the supreme superlative cons-o'er
The common-place-book of his classic head;
Uncrowned thou com 'st, alone, or with a tribe
Of volant varlets scattering jest and jibe
Almost beside thee. Yet to thee, when rent
Was the Teutonic Cæsar's robe, there went
One portion: and with Julius, thou to-day
Canst boast, I came, I saw, I went away!
Come back again, my olden heart!—
Ah, fickle spirit and untrue,
I bade the only guide depart
Whose faithfulness I surely knew:
I said, my heart is all too soft;
He who would climb and soar aloft,
Must needs keep ever at his side
The tonic of a wholesome pride.
