As one who turns a stopcock and arrests A flow of water that need never cease, So Shimei left off speaking, not less full Of matter than at first that might be speech. With indescribable smirk, and cynic sneer Conveyed, sirocco breath of blight to faith In virtue and in good, he went away, Cheering himself that he had somewhat chilled Within the breast of that young Pharisee The ardor of conviction, and of hope Fed by conviction,--but still more that he Had probed and hurt the festering wounds of pride. Saul's first relief to be alone again, Rid of that nauseous presence, presently Was followed by depression and relapse From his instinctive tension to resist The unnerving spell of Shimei's influence. Saul found that in the teeth of his contempt For Shimei, absolute in measure, nay, By reason of that contempt, he had conceived Shame and chagrin beyond his strength to bear. That Shimei, such as Shimei, should have dared To visit Saul, and drill and drill his ears, With indefatigable screw of tongue Sinking a shaft through which to drench and drown His soul with spew from out a source so vile-- This argued fall indeed for him from what He lately was, from what he hoped to be, Far more, in popular repute. The sting That Shimei purposed subtly to infix, With that malicious irony and taunt Recurrent, the intentional affront, All of it, failed, blunted and turned in point Against the safe impenetrable mail Of Saul's contempt for Shimei. But that Which Shimei meant not, nor dreamed, but was, Went through and through Saul's double panoply, Found permeable now, of pride and scorn, And wilted him with self-disparagement. He marvelled at himself how he had not, At first forthputting of that impudence, Stormed the wretch dumb, with hurricane outburst Of passionate scorn; a quick revulsion then, And Saul was chafing that he had so far Grace of rebuff vouchsafed, and honest heat, To creature lacking natural sense to feel Repudiation. Comfort none he found, No refuge from the persecuting though Of his own fall. He tried to brace himself With thinking, "If I failed, I failed at least Not for myself, but God; I strove for God." But, ceaselessly, the image of himself, Humiliated, swam between to blur His vision of God. He could not cease to see Saul ever, in the mirror of his mind, And ever Stephen shadowing Saul's fair fame. BOOK VI. SAUL AND RACHEL.