278 ARNOLD
And reap a second glory in thine age; Thou art my father, and thy gain is mine. But come ! thou seest this great host of men Which follow me ; I pray thee, slay not these ! Let me entreat for them; what have they done? They followed me, my hope, my fame, my star. Let them all cross the Oxus back in peace. But me thou must bear hence, not send with
them,
But carry me with thee to Seistan, And place me on a bed, and mourn for me, Thou, and the snow-haired Zal, and all thy friends. And thou must lay me in that lovely earth, And heap a stately mound above my bones, And plant a far-seen pillar over all. That so the passing horseman on the waste May see my tomb a great way off, and cry : Sohraby the mighty Rustuni 's son, lies here, WJioni his great father did in ignorance kill ! And I be not forgotten in my grave.'
And, with a mournful voice, Rustum replied : ' Fear not ! as thou hast said, Sohrab, my son, So shall it be; for I will burn my tents, And quit the host, and bear thee hence with me, And carry thee away to Seistan, And place thee on a bed, and mourn for thee, With the snow-headed Zal, and all my friends. And. I will lay thee in that lovely earth, And heap a stately mound above thy bones, And plant a far-seen pillar over all, And men shall not forget thee in thy grave.
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