Narrative and Lyric Poems (first series) for use in the Lower School | Page 5

once more.
LV
But with a crash like thunder?Fell every loosened beam, 460?And, like a dam, the mighty wreck?Lay right athwart the stream;?And a long shout of triumph?Rose from the walls of Rome,?As to the highest turret-tops 465?Was splashed the yellow foam.
LVI
And like a horse unbroken?When first he feels the rein,?The furious river struggled hard,?And tossed his tawny mane, 470?And burst the curb, and bounded,?Rejoicing to be free,?And whirling down, in fierce career,?Battlement, and plank, and pier,?Rushed headlong to the sea. 475
LVII
Alone stood brave Horatius,?But constant still in mind;?Thrice thirty thousand foes before,?And the broad flood behind.?"Down with him!" cried false Sextus, 480?With a smile on his pale face.?"Now yield thee," cried Lars Porsena,?"Now yield thee to our grace."
LVIII
Round turned he, as not deigning?Those craven ranks to see; 485?Nought spake he to Lars Porsena,?To Sextus nought spake he;?But he saw on Palatinus[58]?The white porch of his home;?And he spake to the noble river 490?That rolls by the towers of Rome.
LIX
"Oh, Tiber! father Tiber!?To whom the Romans pray,?A Roman's life, a Roman's arms,?Take thou in charge this day." 495?So he spake, and speaking sheathed?The good sword by his side,?And with his harness on his back,?Plunged headlong in the tide.
LX
No sound of joy or sorrow 500?Was heard from either bank;?But friends and foes, in dumb surprise,?With parted lips and straining eyes,?Stood gazing where he sank;?And when above the surges 505?They saw his crest appear,?All Rome sent forth a rapturous cry,?And even the ranks of Tuscany?Could scarce forbear to cheer.
LXI
But fiercely ran the current, 510?Swollen high by months of rain:?And fast his blood was flowing,?And he was sore in pain,?And heavy with his armor,?And spent with changing[59] blows: 515?And oft they thought him sinking,?But still again he rose.
LXII
Never, I ween,[80] did swimmer,?In such an evil case,?Struggle through such a raging flood 520?Safe to the landing-place:?But his limbs were borne up bravely?By the brave heart within,?And our good father Tiber?Bore bravely up his chin. 525
LXIII
"Curse on him!" quoth false Sextus,?"Will not the villain drown??But for this stay, ere close of day?We should have sacked the town!"?"Heaven help him!" quoth Lars Porsena, 530?"And bring him safe to shore;?For such a gallant feat of arms?Was never seen before."
LXI
And now he feels the bottom;?Now on dry earth he stands; 535?Now round him throng the Fathers?To press his gory hands;?And now, with shouts and clapping,?And noise of weeping loud,?He enters through the River-Gate, 540?Borne by the joyous crowd.
LXV
They gave him of the corn-land,?That was of public right,[81]?As much as two strong oxen?Could plough from morn till night; 545?And they made a molten image,?And set it up on high,?And there it stands unto this, day,?To witness if I lie.
LXVI
It stands in the Comitium,[62] 545?Plain for all folk to see;?Horatius in his harness,?Halting upon one knee:?And underneath is written,?In letters all of gold, 550?How valiantly he kept the bridge,?In the brave days of old.
LXVII
And still his name sounds stirring?Unto the men of Rome,?As the trumpet-blast that cries to them 560?To charge the Volscian home,[63]?And wives still pray to Juno[64]?For boys with hearts as bold?As his who kept the bridge so well,?In the brave days of old. 565
LXVIII
And in the nights of winter,?When the cold north winds blow,?And the long howling of the wolves?Is heard amidst the snow;?When round the lonely cottage 570?Roars loud the tempest's din,?And the good logs of Algidus[65]?Roar louder yet within;
LXIX
When the oldest cask is opened,?And the largest lamp is lit 575?When the chestnuts glow in the embers,?And the kid turns on the spit;?When young and old in circle?Around the firebrands close;?When the girls are weaving baskets, 580?And the lads are shaping bows;
LXX
When the goodman mends his armor,?And trims his helmet's plume;?When the good wife's shuttle merrily?Goes flashing through the loom: 585?With weeping and with laughter?Still is the story told,?How well Horatius kept the bridge?In the brave days of old.
--Macaulay
[1] Lars. Lord or Chieftain.
[2] Clusium. The modern Chiusi.
[3] Nine Gods. The chief Gods of the Etruscans were nine in number.
[4] trysting day. A day appointed for meeting.
[5] Volaterrae. The modern Volterra. The walls of the ancient fortress were built of enormous blocks of stone fitted together without cement.
[6] Pisse. Pisa
[7] Massilia. The modern Marseilles, originally a Greek colony and a flourishing commercial centre. triremes. Vessels with three banks of oars on each side. fair-haired slaves. Slaves from Gaul.
[8] Clanis. The modern river Chiana.
[9] Auser. A tributary of the Anio.
[10] Ciminian hill. A lofty mountain in the northern Apennines.
[11] Clitumnus. The river Clitumno.
[12] Volsinian mere. A lake which took its name from the town of Volsinii (modern Bolsena) situated on its banks.
[13] Arretium. Arezzo.
[14] Umbro. A river in Etruria,--the modern Ombrone.
[15] must. new wine.
[16] Written from right to left.
[17] Nurscia. The Etruscan goddess of fortune.
[18] golden shields. Twelve golden shields kept in the temple of Vesta, and believed by the Romans to be bound up with the safety of their