Krishna stood wishing to be serviceable, And when to Aristarchus, stout and brave, Paul was commending Mary, at a look From the Indian that imported such desire, Leave was given him to undertake for Ruth. Each of the two life-savers rent a door From off its hinges and thereon secured The women awed in that extreme assay Yet girded to a constancy of calm, And, Stephen helping, lowered them to the deep. Krishna was let down after by a rope, No swimmer he, but Ruth too held the rope And drew him to the float whereon she tossed. Greek Aristarchus was a swimmer born And practised, and he plunged headforemost down, Soon to emerge with easy buoyancy And aim unerring true where Mary rode. The two then--Aristarchus in the lead Teaching the Indian how, and, with the rope Flung to his hand at his desire by Ruth And by him featly bound about his waist, Drawing the floatage forward, while his own He pushed with swimming--won their way to shore. Twice Aristarchus was, for stress of wave, Fain to release his hold upon his float, So fierce the tug, and sudden, at his waist; But he, by swimming and by seamanship Consummate joined to strength well-exercised, Strength by the exigence redoubled now, Both times regained it and thenceforward kept. Mary meanwhile, forsaken, faltered not; She felt the stay of other hands than his. All his advices and permissions Paul Put forth in such continuous sequence swift That well-nigh simultaneous all they seemed: The vessel swarmed with ordered movement mixed, And the sea lived with strugglers for the shore. Of all these only Simon had the cool Cupidity and temerity to risk Weighting himself with treasure to bear off In rescue from the wreck; he his loved gold, Ill-gotten gains of sorcery and of fraud, Secretly carried with him safe to land.