The Keeper of the Sword
( APROPOS OF THE DREYFUS TRIAL AT RENNES )
Hail to that Breton law by which a lord,
Fate-hounded, — he whose sires had sought the Grail, —
Left with the State his sword, as Honor's bail,
While on a western isle he won reward
Of his brave patience, in a golden hoard; —
Speeding from exile (the wide sea a jail
If but the wrong wind filled his yearning sail!)
To claim once more his heritage and sword.
France, dost thou heed the omen? 'T was at Rennes! —
Where one who loved thee, cruel, — loved thee, blind, —
Now fronts thee proudly with the old demand.
Oh! ... thou hast broke it! ... Haste! the fragments find,
And in the forge of Justice weld again
That undishonored blade for his forgiving hand.
Hail to that Breton law by which a lord,
Fate-hounded, — he whose sires had sought the Grail, —
Left with the State his sword, as Honor's bail,
While on a western isle he won reward
Of his brave patience, in a golden hoard; —
Speeding from exile (the wide sea a jail
If but the wrong wind filled his yearning sail!)
To claim once more his heritage and sword.
France, dost thou heed the omen? 'T was at Rennes! —
Where one who loved thee, cruel, — loved thee, blind, —
Now fronts thee proudly with the old demand.
Oh! ... thou hast broke it! ... Haste! the fragments find,
And in the forge of Justice weld again
That undishonored blade for his forgiving hand.
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