This was the last great tight, for the axes had been plied so vigorously that the bridge now tottered and fell. The two friends of Horatius had leapt across to safety at the last moment, but Horatius did not move. At last, the bridge being quite destroyed, he turned his back upon the foe for the first time and faced the River Tiber.
"Oh, Tiber, father Tiber, to whom the Romans pray!
A Roman"s life, a Roman"s arms, take thou in charge this day !"So he spake, and speaking sheathed the good sword by his side,And with his harness on his back, plunged headlong in the tide.
No sound of joy or sorrow 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 they saw his crest appearAll Rome sent forth a rapturous cry, and even the ranks of TuscanyCould scarce forbear to cheer.
"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, "And bring him safe to shore;For such a gallant feat of arms was never seen before."And now he feels the bottom; now on dry earth he stands; 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, borne by the joyous crowd.
They gave him of the corn-land, that was of public right,As much as two strong oxen could plough from morn till night;And they made a molten image, and set it up on high, And there it stands unto this day to witness if I lie.
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 young and old in circle around the firebrands close;When the girls are weaving baskets, and the lads are shaping bows;When the goodman mends his armour, and trims his helmet"s plume;When the goodwife"s shuttle merrily goes flashing throughthe loom;
With weeping and with laughter still is the story told,Howwell Horatius kept the bridge in the brave days of old.
Lord Macaulay.
Author.-Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800-1859), afterwards Lord Macaulay, was a famous English historian, essayist, and poet. His History of England (5 volumes) made history popular. " He saw history as a great pageant, a series of pictures in which the doings of the people,great and small, appear for the first time along with the chroniclings of court, camp, and Parliament. He made it interesting, first of all to the average man and woman, and he set a new fashion." His little volume of poems, which he called Lays of Ancient Rome, contain many narrative poems which delight young and old with their stirring melody and incident.
Genera Notes.-Which stanza do you think is the most stirring?
Which contains the beet picture? In which ones does the sound of the words suit the picture or the incident? Find lines in the poem that tell that the ancient Romans were not Christians, that they lived in a walled town, and that much of the land was owned by all the people. Some lines are often quoted :- "Then none was for the party, then all were for the state"; " Even the ranks of Tuscany could scarce forbear to cheer." Can you think of any happenings in school life to which these quotations could apply?
LESSON 14
DOuBTINg CASTlE AND gIANT DESpAIR
[Here is a story from John Bunyan"s great book, The Pilgrim"s Progress, which tells of the trials and dangers that threaten a Christian on his way through life. Christian was joined on his journey by Hopeful, and at Christian"s request they left the rough road and followed a track through a pleasant meadow. Night came on, and they lost their way. In vain they tried to find their way back to the road and, tired out, they fell asleep. They were found in the morning by Giant Despair, who lived near by in Doubting Castle.]
Then, with a grim and surly voice, he bade them awake and asked them whence they were and what they did in his grounds. They told him they were pilgrims, and that they had lost their way. Then said the Giant: " You have this night trespassed on me by trampling in and lying on my grounds, and therefore you must go along with me."So they were forced to go, because he was stronger than they. They also had but little to say, for they knew themselves in fault. The Giant, therefore, drove them before him and put them into his castle, in a very dark dungeon. Here, then, they lay from Wednesday morning till Saturday night, without one bit of bread, or drop of drink, or light, or any to ask how they did; they were, therefore, here in evil case and were far fromfriends and acquaintance. Now in this place Christian had double sorrow, because it was through his unadvised counsel that they were brought into this distress.
Now Giant Despair had a wife, and her name was Diffi- dence. So he told his wife what he had done; that he had taken a couple of prisoners and had cast them into his dungeon for trespassing on his grounds. Then he asked her what he had best do further to them. So she asked what they were, whence they came, and whither they were bound; and he told her. Then she counselled him that when he arose in the morning he should beat them without mercy.
So when he arose he getteth him a grievous crab-tree cudgel, and goes down into the dungeon to them, and there first falls to rating of them as if they were dogs. Then he falls upon them and beats them fearfully, in such sort that they were not able to help themselves, or to turn them upon the floor. This done, he withdraws, and leaves them there to condole their misery, and to mourn under their distress.