“’S death! with a page—perchance a king
“Had reconciled him to the thing;
“But with a stripling of a page—
“I felt—but cannot paint his rage.
IX.
“‘Bring forth the horse!’—the horse was brought;
“In truth, he was a noble steed,
“A Tartar of the Ukraine breed,360
“Who look’d as though the speed of thought
“Were in his limbs; but he was wild,
“Wild as the wild deer, and untaught,
“With spur and bridle undefiled—
“’Twas but a day he had been caught;
“And snorting, with erected mane,
“And struggling fiercely, but in vain,
“In the full foam of wrath and dread
“To me the desert-born was led:
“They bound me on, that menial throng,370
“Upon his back with many a thong;
“Then loosed him with a sudden lash—
“Away!—away!—and on we dash!—
“Torrents less rapid and less rash.
