I stooped beside and strove to staunch the wound

“I stooped beside and strove to staunch the wound. ‘’Tis vain,’ he said, ‘a trust I’ll give to thee.’ He bade me loose a packet which was bound Beneath his cloak. ‘I charge thee take,’ said he, ‘This token to the one who gave it me; Her picture it contains. Tell her I died While at the post of duty. Thou mayest see Her name within.’ He turned upon his side, And slowly ebbed away life’s dim-receding tide.