And he has none to guard his weak old age. 235
There would I go, and hang my armour up,
And with my great name fence that weak old man,
And spend the goodly treasures I have got,
And rest my age, and hear of Sohrab’s fame,
And leave to death the hosts of thankless kings, 240
And with these slaughterous hands draw sword no more.”

He spoke, and smiled; and Gudurz made reply:—­
“What then, O Rustum, will men say to this,
When Sohrab dares our bravest forth, and seeks
Thee most of all, and thou, whom most he seeks, 245
Hidest thy face?  Take heed lest men should say: 
Like some old miser, Rustum hoards his fame,
And shuns to peril it with younger men." deg. deg.248

And, greatly moved, then Rustum made reply:—­
“O Gudurz, wherefore dost thou say such words? 250
Thou knowest better words than this to say. 
What is one more, one less, obscure or famed,
Valiant or craven, young or old, to me? 
Are not they mortal, am not I myself? 
But who for men of nought would do great deeds? 255
Come, thou shalt see how Rustum hoards his fame! 
But I will fight unknown, and in plain arms deg.; deg.257
Let not men say of Rustum, he was match’d
In single fight with any mortal man.”

He spoke, and frown’d; and Gudurz turn’d, and ran 260
Back quickly through the camp in fear and joy—­
Fear at his wrath, but joy that Rustum came. 
But Rustum strode to his tent-door, and call’d
His followers in, and bade them bring his arms,
And clad himself in steel; the arms he chose 265
Were plain, and on his shield was no device, deg. deg.266
Only his helm was rich, inlaid with gold,
And, from the fluted spine atop, a plume
Of horsehair waved, a scarlet horsehair plume. 
So arm’d, he issued forth; and Ruksh, his horse, 270
Follow’d him like a faithful hound at heel—­
Ruksh, whose renown was noised through all the earth,
The horse, whom Rustum on a foray once
Did in Bokhara by the river find
A colt beneath its dam, and drove him home, 275
And rear’d him; a bright bay, with lofty crest,
Dight deg. with a saddle-cloth of broider’d green deg.277
Crusted with gold, and on the ground were work’d
All beasts of chase, all beasts which hunters know. 
So follow’d, Rustum left his tents, and cross’d 280
The camp, and to the Persian host appear’d. 
And all the Persians knew him, and with shouts
Hail’d; but the Tartars knew not who he was. 
And dear as the wet diver to the eyes
Of his pale wife who waits and weeps on shore, 285
By sandy Bahrein, deg. in the Persian Gulf, deg.286
Plunging all day in the blue waves, at night,
Having made up his tale deg. of precious pearls, deg.288
Rejoins her in their hut upon the sands—­
So dear to the pale Persians Rustum came. 290