Classic Poem

DEDICATION

Unto the blithe and lordly Fellowship,
(I know not where, but wheresoe'er, I know,
Lordly and blithe,) be greeting; and thereto,
Dogs, hawks, and a full purse wherein to dip;
Quails struck i' the flight; nags mettled to the whip;
Hart-hounds, hare-hounds, and blood-hounds even so;
And o'er that realm, a crown for Niccolo,
Whose praise in Siena springs from lip to lip.
Tingoccio, Atuin di Togno, and Ancaian,
Bartolo and Mugaro and Fainot,
Who well might pass for children of King Ban,
Courteous and valiant more than Lancelot, —
To each, God speed! how worthy every man
To hold high tournament in Camelot.