The blow, though turned, came yet too nigh; To see the red blood flow. He reeled, and on Herminius He leaned one breathing-space; Then, like a wild-cat mad with wounds, The good sword stood a handbreadth out And the great lord of Luna The giant arms lie spread; And the pale augurs, muttering low, In the meantime the axes had been busily plied; and while the bridge was tottering to its fall, Lartius and Herminius regained the opposite bank in safety. Horatius remained facing the foe until the last timber had fallen, when, weighed down with armour as he was, he "plunged headlong in the tide." No sound of joy or sorrow Was heard from either bank; But friends and foes, in dumb surprise, All Rome sent forth a 'rapturous cry, But fiercely ran the current, Swollen high by months of rain: And spent with changing blows: "Curse on him!" quoth false Sextus, But for this stay, ere close of day We should have 'sacked the town!"-- For such a gallant feat of arms And now he feels the bottom; And now with shouts and clapping, He enters through the river-gate, Then follows an account of the rewards which a grateful people bestowed upon the hero. The minstrel thus concludes the legend: When the good-man mends his armour, And trims his helmet's plume; When the good-wife's shuttle merrily Goes flashing through the loom; With weeping and with laughter How well Horatius kept the bridge au'gurs, sooth'sayers. bestowed', conferred'. clam'our, shout'ing. compiled', composed'. concludes, clos'es; ends. contempt, disdain', continua'tion, sequel. crash'ing, shattering. daunt'less, courageous. deft'ly, clev'erly. des potism, tyr'anny. reconstruct'ing, rebuild' ing. record ́ed, narrat'ed. Rome; and he had gone to Rome as an adventurer in the reign of Añ'cus Mar'tius, in whose favour he obtained a high place. Left by that king guardian to his sons, Tarquin set them aside and ascended the throne himself. Roman Consul.-After the abolition of monarchy, Rome was ruled by two Consuls (that is, Colleagues), elected annually. 'Ram'nian.... Ti'tian.-The Patricians, or true Roman citizens, consisted of three tribes,-the Ram'nes, a Latin colony said to have been founded by Romulus, on the Palatine Hill; the Trties, or Sabine settlers, on the Quiri'nal Hill; and the Lu'ceres, or Etruscans, on the Calian Hill charm'ed, bewitched'. Many a flute's low swell Lingers, and loves to dwell Thou hast the South's rich gift A 'charmed fountain, swift, Thou hast fair forms that move With queenly tread; Thou hast proud 'fanes above Yet wears thy Tiber's shore A mournful 'mien ; Rome, Rome! thou art no more As thou hast been! FELICIA HEMANS. (8) On thy seven hills of yore.- Rome | royal colour of the ancients, especially the was built on seven hills, and is therefore called by poets The seven-hilled city." At the time of its greatest glory, the walls of Rome were nearly twenty miles in circumference. Of yore means formerly; in time long past. Purpling the street.- Purple was the famous and costly Tyrian purple. In imperial Rome it was the emblem of sov. ereign power, and would consequently predominate in a Roman triumph, when leaders and sceptred men" were led in procession behind the chariot of the conqueror. REGULUS BEFORE THE ROMAN SENATE. [IN the year 263 before Christ the First Punic War' began; and, after it had 'continued eight years with varied success, the Romans sent the Consul Regulus, at the head of a large army, to carry the war into Africa. On the passage across the Mediterranean, the Carthaginian fleet, bearing not less than one hundred and fifty thousand men, was met and defeated; but in the following year, in a battle on land, the Romans were defeated with great loss, and Regulus himself, being taken prisoner, was thrown into a dungeon, Five years later, the Carthaginians were in turn defeated in Sicily, with a loss of twenty thousand men, and the 'capture of more than a hundred of their elephants, which they had trained to fight in the ranks. It was then that the Carthaginians sent an embassy to Rome with proposals of peace. Regulus was taken from his dungeon to accompany the embassy, the Carthaginians trusting that, weary of his long 'captivity, he would urge the Senate to accept the proffered terms; but the 'inflexible Roman persuaded the Senate to reject the proposals and continue the war, assuring his countrymen that the resources of Carthage were nearly exhausted. Bound by his oath to return if peace were not concluded, he volun tarily went back, in spite of the prayers and entreaties of his friends, to meet the fate which awaited him. It is generally stated that after his return to Carthage he was tortured to death by the 'exasperated Carthaginians. Thus he spoke to the Senate :-] Urge me no more; your prayers are vain, And even the tears ye shed: Accursed moment! when I woke Inly I cursed my breath: Wherefore, of all that fought, was I To darkness and to chains consigned, I recked not ;-could they chain the mind, And there they left me, dark and lone, Then from that living tomb They led me forth, I thought, to die; Oh! in that thought was ecstasy! But no! kind Heaven had yet in store A joy I thought to feel no more, Or feel but in the grave. They deemed, 'perchance, my haughtier mood That he who once was brave- They bade me to my country bear The offers these have borne; They would have trained my lips to swear |