-.vAULAY

 
 \
 
 ZZEST 
 
 He rurhcdl ^ajn/t Horatiu/, 
 And /mote with all hiy mi^ht.
 
 1864.
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORIVU 
 
 SANTA BARBARA 
 
 :G?yniv";^^«i 
 
 horatius 
 
 The Battle of the Lake Regii.i.us 
 
 Virginia 
 
 The Prophecy of Capys 
 
 r.\r,E 
 
 7 
 47 
 94 
 
 I2.S
 
 HORATIUS. 
 
 A LAY MADE ABOUT THE YEAR OF THE 
 
 crrY cccLx. 
 
 I. 
 
 T ARS PORSENA of Clusium 
 
 By the Nine Gods he s\vore 
 That the great house of Tarquin 
 
 Should suffer wrong no more. 
 Ry the Nine Gods he swore it, 
 
 And named a trysting day, 
 And bade his messengers ride forth, 
 East and west and south and north, 
 
 To summon his arrav.
 
 THK LAVS UF AXCIHNT RU.Mh. 
 
 II. 
 East and west and south and north 
 
 The messengers ride fast, 
 And tower and town and cottage 
 
 Have heard the trumpet's blast. 
 Shame on the false Etruscan 
 
 Who hngers in his home, 
 When Porsena of Clusium 
 
 Is on the march for Rome. 
 
 III. 
 The horsemen and the footmen 
 
 Are pouring in amain 
 From many a stately market-place ; 
 
 From many a fruitful plain; 
 From many a lonely hamlet. 
 
 Which, hid by beech and pine. 
 Like an eagle's nest, hangs on the crest 
 
 Of purple Aj^ennine;
 
 THE LAVS OF A.\'CIEXT ROMK. 
 
 IV. 
 
 From lordly \'olaterra:, 
 
 Where scowls the far-famed hold 
 Piled by the hands of giants 
 
 For godlike kings of old ; 
 From seagirt Populonia, 
 
 Whose sentinels descry 
 Sardinia's snowy mountain-tops 
 
 Fringing the southern sky; 
 
 V. 
 
 From the proud mart of PiscC, 
 
 Queen of the western waves, 
 Where ride Massilia's triremes 
 
 Fleavy with fair-haired slaves ; 
 From where sweet Clanis wanders 
 
 Through corn and vines and flowers; 
 From where Cortona lifts to heaven 
 
 Her diadem of towers.
 
 THE LAYS OF ANXIEXT ROME. 
 
 VI. 
 Tall are the oaks whose acorns 
 
 Drop in dark Auser's rill; 
 Fat are the stags that champ the boughs 
 
 Of the Ciminian hill; 
 Beyond all streams Clitumnus 
 
 Is to the herdsman dear ; 
 Best of all pools the fowler loves 
 
 The great Volsinian mere. 
 
 VII. 
 
 But now no stroke of woodman 
 
 Is heard by Auser's rill ; 
 No hunter tracks the stag's green path 
 
 Up the Ciminian hill ; 
 Unwatched along Clitumnus 
 
 Grazes the milk-white steer; 
 Unharmed the water fowl may dip 
 
 Tn the Volsinian mere.
 
 Till-: LAVS UF AXCIKXr F^IU.MK. i 
 
 I he harvests ot Arretium, 
 
 This year, old men shall reap, 
 This year, vounL; boys in l^nibro 
 
 Shall plunge the struggling sheej) ; 
 And in the vats of Luna, 
 
 This year, the must shall ibam 
 Round the white feet of laughing girls 
 
 Whose sires have marched to Rome. 
 
 IX. 
 
 There be thirty chosen proj^hcts, 
 
 The wisest of the land. 
 Who alway by Lars Porsena 
 
 Both morn and evening stand : 
 Evening and morn the Thirty 
 
 Have turned the verses o'er, 
 Traced from the right on linen white 
 
 Bv mightv seers of vore.
 
 TllK LAYS OF AXCIEXT ROME. 
 
 X. 
 
 And with one voice the Thirty 
 
 Have their glad answer given : 
 "Go forth, go forth, Lars Porsena; 
 
 Go forth, beloved of Heaven ; 
 Go, and return in glory 
 
 To Clusium's royal dome ; 
 And hang round Nurscia's altars 
 
 The golden shields of Rome." 
 
 XT. 
 And now hath every city 
 
 Sent up her tale of men ; 
 The foot are fourscore thousand, 
 
 The horse are thousands ten : 
 Before the gates of Sutrium 
 
 Is met the great array. 
 A proud man was Lars Porsena 
 
 Upon the try sting day.
 
 THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 XII. 
 
 For all the Etruscan armies 
 
 Were ranged beneath his eye, 
 And many a banished Roman, 
 
 And many a stout ally; 
 And with a mighty following 
 
 To join the muster came 
 The Tusculan Mamilius, 
 
 Prince of the Latian name. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 But by the yellow Tiber 
 
 Was tumult and affright : 
 From all the spacious champaign 
 
 To Rome men took their flight. 
 A mile around the city. 
 
 The throng stopped up the ways ; 
 A fearful sight it was to see 
 
 Through two long nights and days
 
 14 THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 ^^^ 
 
 Izi^ 
 
 XIV. 
 For aged folks on crutches, 
 
 And women great with child, 
 And mothers sobbing over babes 
 
 That clung to them and smiled, 
 And sick men borne in litters 
 
 High on the necks of slaves, 
 And troops of sun-burned husbandmen 
 
 With reaping-hooks and staves,
 
 THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. i 
 
 X\'. 
 Ami droves of mules and asses 
 
 Laden with skins of wine, 
 And endless flocks of goats and sheep, 
 
 xAnd endless herds of kine. 
 And endless trains of waggons 
 
 That creaked beneath the weight 
 Of corn-sacks and of household goods, 
 
 Choked every roaring gate. 
 
 XVI. 
 Now, from the rock Tarpcian, 
 
 Could the wan burghers spy 
 The line of blazing villages 
 
 Red in the midnight slcy. 
 The Fathers of the City, 
 
 They sat all night and day, 
 For every hour some horseman came 
 
 With tidings of disma\\
 
 i6 TIIK l..\^■S ( )!■■ ANCIKNI' K< > M K. 
 
 X\ll. 
 To eastward and to westward 
 
 Have spread the Tuscan bands; 
 Nor house, nor fence, nor dovecote 
 
 In Crustumerium stands. 
 Verbenna down to Ostia 
 
 Hatli wasted all the ])lain ; 
 Astur hath stormed Janiculum, 
 
 And the stout guards are slain. 
 
 Win. 
 
 I wis, in all the Senate, 
 
 There was no heart so bold, 
 But sore it ached and fast it beat, 
 
 Wlien that ill news was told. 
 Forthwith up rose the Consul, 
 
 ITp rose the Fathers all; 
 In haste they girded up their gowns, 
 
 v\nd hied them to the wall.
 
 THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 17 
 
 XIX. 
 
 They held a council standing 
 
 Before the River-Gate ; 
 Short time was there, ye well may guess, 
 
 For musine or debate. 
 
 Out spake the Consul roundly : 
 
 "The bridge must straight go down; 
 
 For, since Janiculum is lost, 
 
 Nought else can save the town."
 
 i8 THE LAYS OF ANXIEXT ROME. 
 
 XX. 
 
 Just then a scout came flying, 
 
 All wild with haste and fear; 
 "To arms! to armsl Sir Consul: 
 
 Lars Porsena is here." 
 On the low hills to westward 
 
 The Consul fixed his eye, 
 And saw the swarthy storm of dust 
 
 Rise fast along the sky. 
 
 XXI. 
 And nearer fast and nearer 
 
 Doth the red whirlwind come; 
 And louder still and still more loud. 
 From underneath that rolling cloud, 
 Is heard the trumpet's war-note proud, 
 
 The trampling, and the hum. 
 And plainly and more plainly 
 
 Now through the gloom appears, 
 Far to left and far to right. 
 In broken gleams of dark-blue light,
 
 THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 19 
 
 The long array of helmets bright, 
 The long array of spears. 
 
 XXII. 
 And plainly and more plainly, 
 
 Above that glimmering line, 
 Now might ye see the banners 
 
 Of twelve fair cities shine ; 
 But the banner of proud Clusium 
 
 Was highest of them all, 
 The terror of the Umbrian, 
 
 The terror of the Gaul. 
 
 XXIII. 
 And plainly and more plainly 
 
 Now might the burghers know, 
 By port and vest, by horse and crest, 
 
 Each warlike Lucumo. 
 There Cilnius of Arretium 
 
 On his fleet roan was seen ; 
 And Astur of the four-fold shield. 
 Girt with the brand none else may wield.
 
 Till', LAYS Ul' ANCIENT RO.MK. 
 
 Tolumnius with the belt of gold, 
 And dark \'erbenna from the liold 
 By reedy Thrasymenc. 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 Fast by the royal standard, 
 
 O'erlooking all the war, 
 Lars Porsena of Clusiuni 
 
 Sat in his ivory car. 
 By the right wheel rode Mamilius, 
 
 Prince of the Latian name; 
 And by the lett false Sextus, 
 
 That wrouy;ht the deed of shame. 
 
 XXV. 
 
 But when the face of Sextus 
 
 Was seen among the foes, 
 A yell that rent the firmament 
 
 From all the town arose. 
 On the house-tops was no woman 
 
 But spat towards him and hissed, 
 No child but screamed out curses, 
 
 .And shook its little fist.
 
 THE LAYS OF A^•CIENT ROME. 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 But the Consul's brow was sad, 
 And the Consul's speech was low, 
 
 And darkly looked he at the wall, 
 And darklv at the foe. 
 
 "Their van will be upon us 
 Before the bridge goes down; 
 
 And if they once may win the bridge, 
 Wiiat hope to save the town?"
 
 THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 Then out spake brave Horatius, 
 
 The Captain of the Gate: 
 "To every man upon this earth 
 
 Death cometh soon or late. 
 And how can man die better 
 
 Than facing fearful odds, 
 For the ashes of his fathers, 
 
 And the temples of his Gods, 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 "And for the tender mother 
 
 Who dandled him to rest. 
 And for the wife who nurses 
 
 His baby at her breast, 
 And for the holy maidens 
 
 Who feed the eternal flame, 
 To save them from false Sextus 
 
 That wroueht the deed of shame?
 
 THE LAYS OF AXCIEXT ROME. 23 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 "Hew down the bridge, Sir Consul, 
 
 With all the speed ye may ; 
 I, with two more to help me, 
 
 Will hold the foe in play. 
 In yon strait path a thousand 
 
 May \vell be stopped by three. 
 Now who will stand on either hand, 
 
 And keep the bridge with me?" 
 
 XXX. 
 
 Then out spake Spurius Lartius ; 
 
 A Ramnian proud was he : 
 "Lo, I will stand at thy right iiand, 
 
 And keep the bridge with thee." 
 And out spake strong Herminius ; 
 
 Of Titian blood was he: 
 "I will abide on thy left side. 
 
 And keep the bridge with thee."
 
 24 
 
 THE LAYS OF ANXIEXT ROME. 
 
 xxxr. 
 
 "Horatius," quoth the Consul, 
 
 "As thou sayest, so let it be." 
 And straight against that great array 
 
 Forth went the dauntless Three. 
 For Romans in Rome's quarrel 
 
 Spared neither land nor gold, 
 Nor son nor wife, nor limb nor life, 
 
 In the bra\e davs of old.
 
 Till'. LAVS OF A.\CI]..\T RO.Mh. : 
 
 XXXI I. 
 
 Tlicn none was lor a i)arty; 
 
 Then all were lor the stale ; 
 Then the L^reat man iielpecl the poor, 
 
 And the poor man loved the L^reat : 
 Then lands were fairly portioned ; 
 
 Then spoils were fairly sold : 
 The Romans were like brothers 
 
 In the brave davs of old. 
 
 XXX Hi. 
 Xow Roman is to Rom. in 
 
 More hateful than a foe 
 And the Tribunes bearil the hiL;h, 
 
 And the Fathers L^rind the low. 
 As we wax hot in faetion, 
 
 Tn battle we wax cold : 
 Wherefore men fiL;lit not a> they fought 
 
 ]n the brave tlavs of old.
 
 26 THE LA^S OF A.XCIF.NT ROME. 
 
 XXXIV. 
 
 Now while the Three were tightening 
 
 Their harness on their backs, 
 The Consul was the foremost man 
 
 To take in hand an axe : 
 And Fathers mixed with Commons 
 
 Seized hatchet, bar, and crow% 
 And smote upon the planks above, 
 
 And loosed the props below. 
 
 XXXV. 
 
 Meanwhile the Tuscan army. 
 
 Right glorious to behold. 
 Came flashing back the noonday light, 
 Rank behind rank, like surges bright 
 
 Of a broad sea of gold. 
 Four hundred trumpets sounded 
 
 A peal of warlike glee, 
 As that great host, with measured tread.
 
 THE LAYS OF ANXIEXT ROME. 27 
 
 And spears advanced, and ensigns spread, 
 Rolled slowly towards the bridge's head. 
 Where stood the dauntless Three. 
 
 XXXVI. 
 The Three stood calm and silent, 
 
 And looked upon the foes, 
 And a great shout of laughter 
 
 From all the vanguard rose: 
 And forth three chiefs came spurring 
 
 Before that deep array; 
 To earth they sprang, their swords they 
 
 drew. 
 And lifted high their shields, and flew 
 
 To win the narrow way: 
 
 XXXVII. 
 
 Annus from green Tifernum, 
 
 Lord of the Hill of Vines; 
 And Seius, whose eight hundred slaves 
 
 Sicken in Ilva's mines;
 
 THE LAVS OF AN'CIENT ROME. 
 
 And Picus, long to Clusium 
 
 Vassal in peace and war, 
 Who led to fight his Umbrian powers 
 From that grey crag where, girt with towers, 
 The fortress of Nequinum lowers 
 
 O'er the pale waves of Nar. 
 
 XXXVIII. 
 
 Stout Lartius hurled down Aunus 
 Into the stream beneath:
 
 THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 2 
 
 Herminius struck at Seius, 
 And clove him to the teeth : 
 
 At Picus brave Horatius 
 Darted one fiery thrust ; 
 
 And the proud Umbrian's gilded arms 
 Clashed in the bloody dust. 
 
 XXXIX. 
 
 Then Ocnus of Falerii 
 
 Rushed on the Roman Three ; 
 And Lausulus of Urgo, 
 
 The rover of the sea ; 
 And Aruns of Volsinium, 
 
 Who slew the great wild boar, 
 The great wild boar that had his den 
 Amidst the reeds of Cosa's fen, 
 And wasted fields, and slaughtered men, 
 
 Along Albinia's shore. 
 
 XL. 
 
 Herminius smote down Aruns : 
 Lartius In id Ocnus low:
 
 30 THE LAYS OF AN'CIEXT ROME. 
 
 Right to the heart of Lausukis 
 
 Horatius sent a blow. 
 ''Lie there," he cried, "fell pirate! 
 
 No more, aghast and pale, 
 I'^rom Ostia's walls the crowd shall mark 
 The track of thy destroying bark. 
 No more Campania's hinds shall fly 
 To woods and caverns when they spy 
 
 Thy thrice accursed sail." 
 
 XLI. 
 But now no sound of laughtci- 
 
 Was heard among the foes. 
 A wild and wrathful clamour 
 
 From all the vanguard rose. 
 Six spears' lengths from the entrance 
 
 Halted that deep array, 
 And for a space no man came forth 
 
 To win the narrow way. 
 
 XLII. 
 
 But hark'! the cry is Astur : 
 And lo ! the ranks divide;
 
 THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 31 
 
 And tlie great Lord of Luna 
 
 Comes with his stately stride. 
 Upon his ample shoulders 
 
 Clangs loud the fourfold shield, 
 And in his hand he shakes the brand 
 
 Which none but he can wield. 
 
 XLIII. 
 
 He smiled on those bold Romans 
 
 A smile serene and iiigh; 
 He eyed the flinching Tuscans, 
 
 And scorn was in his eye. 
 Quoth he, "The she-wolf's litter 
 
 Stand savagely at bay : 
 But will ye dare to follow, 
 
 If Astur clears the way? 
 
 XLIV. 
 Then, whirling up his broadsword 
 
 With both hands to the height, 
 Lie rushed against Horatius, 
 
 And smote with all his miuht.
 
 32 
 
 THE LAYS OF AN'CIEXT ROME. 
 
 With shield and blade Horatius 
 Right deftly turned the blow. 
 
 The blow, though turned, 
 
 came yet too nigh ; 
 
 It missed his helm, but gashed his thigh 
 
 The Tuscans raised a joyful cry 
 To see the red blood flow. 
 
 J^ 
 
 XLV. 
 He reeled, and on Herminius 
 He leaned one breathing-space,
 
 THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 33 
 
 Then, like a wild cat mad with wounds, 
 Sprang right at Astur's face ; 
 
 Through teeth, and skull, and helmet, 
 So fierce a thrust he sped, 
 
 The good sword stood a hand-breadth out 
 Behind the Tuscan's head. 
 
 XLVL 
 And the great Lord of Luna 
 
 Fell at that deadly stroke. 
 As falls on Mount Alvernus 
 
 A thunder-smitten oak. 
 Far o'er the crashing forest 
 
 The giant arms lie spread ; 
 And the pale augurs, muttering low% 
 
 Gaze on the blasted head. 
 
 XLvn. 
 
 On Astur's throat Horatius 
 Right firmly pressed his heel. 
 
 And thrice and four times tugged amain, 
 Ere he wrenched out the steel.
 
 34 THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 "And sec," he cried, "the welcome, 
 Fair guests, that waits you here ! 
 
 What noble Lucumo comes next 
 To taste our Roman cheer?" 
 
 XIA'lII. 
 But at his haughty challenge 
 
 A sullen murmur ran. 
 Mingled of wrath, and shame, and dread, 
 
 Along that glittering van. 
 There lacked not men of prowess. 
 
 Nor men of lordly race ; 
 For all Etruria's noblest 
 
 Were round the fatal place. 
 
 XLTX. 
 
 But all Etruria's noblest 
 
 Felt their hearts sink to see 
 
 On the earth the bloody corpses, 
 In the path the dauntless Three : 
 
 And, from the ghastly entrance 
 Where those bold Romans stood,
 
 ^ 
 
 1 'Yet one niari for one moment
 
 THE LAYS OF ANXIENT ROME. 
 
 All shrank, like boys who unaware, 
 Ranging the woods to start a hare. 
 Come to the moutli of the dark lair 
 Where, growling low, a fierce old bear 
 Lies amidst bones and blood. 
 
 L. 
 
 Was none who would be foremost 
 
 To lead such dire attack: 
 But those behind cried "Forward!" 
 
 And those before cried "Back!" 
 And backward now and forward 
 
 Wavers the deep array ; 
 And on the tossing sea of steel. 
 To and fro the standards reel ; 
 And the victorious trumpet-peal 
 
 Dies fitfully away, 
 
 LT. 
 
 Yet one man for one moment 
 Stood out before the crowil;
 
 36 THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Well known was he to all the Three, 
 And they gave him greeting loud, 
 
 "Now welcome, welcome, Sextus ! 
 Now welcome to thy home! 
 
 Why dost thou stay, and turn away? 
 Here lies the road to Rome." 
 
 LIT. 
 
 Thrice looked he at the city ; 
 
 Thrice looked he at the dead ; 
 And thrice came on in fury. 
 
 And thrice turned back in dread: 
 And, white with fear and hatred, 
 
 Scowded at the narrow way 
 Where, wallowing in a pool of blood, 
 
 The bravest Tuscans lay. 
 
 TJIT. 
 But meanwhile axe and lever 
 
 Have manfully been plied ; 
 And now the bridge hangs tottering 
 
 Above the boiling tide.
 
 THE LAYS OF A.N'CIENT ROME. 
 
 "Come back, come back, Horatius!" 
 Loud cried the Fathers all. 
 
 "Back, Lartius ! back, Herminius ! 
 Back, ere the ruin fall ! " 
 
 U^- 
 
 LIV. 
 Back darted Spurius Lartius; 
 Herminius darted back:
 
 38 THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 And, as they passed, beneath their feet 
 They felt the timbers crack. 
 
 But when they turned their faces. 
 And on the farther shore 
 
 Saw brave Horatius stand alone. 
 They would have crossed once more 
 
 LV. 
 
 But with a crash like thunder 
 
 Fell every loosened beam, 
 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 iiighest turret-tops 
 
 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,
 
 TIIK LAYS OF ANCIH.NT ROME. 39 
 
 And burst the curb, and bounded, 
 
 Rejoicing to be free, 
 And whirling down, in fierce career. 
 Battlement, and ])lank, ami i)ier, 
 
 Rushed headlong to the sea. 
 
 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, 
 
 With a smile on his pale face. 
 "Now yield thee," cried Lars Porsena, 
 
 "Now yield thee to our grace." 
 
 TA'IIT. 
 Round turned he, as not deigning 
 
 Those craven ranks to see; 
 Nought spake he to Lars Porsena, 
 
 To Sextus nought spake he ;
 
 40 THE LAYS OF ANCIEXT RO.ME. 
 
 But he saw on Palatinus 
 
 The white porch of his home ; 
 
 And he spake to the noble river 
 That rolls by the towers of Rome. 
 
 LIX. 
 
 "Oh, Tiber! father Tiber 1 
 
 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. 
 
 LX. 
 
 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
 
 THE LAYS OF ANXIENT ROME. 41 
 
 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, 
 
 Swollen high by months of rain :
 
 42 TEIH LAYS OF AN'CIKXT ROME. 
 
 Ami fast his blootl was flowint^; 
 
 .Vnd he Avas sore in pain, 
 And heavy with his armour, 
 
 And spent with ehanging blows : 
 And oft they thought him sinking, 
 
 But still again he rose. 
 
 LXII. 
 Never, I ween, did swimmer. 
 
 In such an evil case. 
 Struggle through such a raging flood 
 
 Safe to the landing place : 
 But his limbs were borne uj) bravely 
 
 By the brave heart within, 
 And our good father Tiber 
 
 Bore bravely up his chin. 
 
 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!"
 
 THE LAYS OF AN'CIEXT ROME. 43 
 
 "Heaven help him!" quoth Lars Porsena, 
 "And bring him safe to shore; 
 
 For such a gallant feat of arms 
 Was never seen before." 
 
 LXIV. 
 
 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, 
 
 LXV. 
 
 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,
 
 44 THE LAYS OF AXCIEXT ROME. 
 
 And there it stands unto this day 
 To witness if I lie. 
 
 LXVI. 
 
 It stands in the Comitium, 
 Plain for all folk to see ; 
 
 Horatius in his harness, 
 Halting upon one knee :
 
 THE LAYS OF AXCIEXT ROME. 45 
 
 And underneath is written, 
 
 In letters all of gold. 
 How valiantly he kept the bridge 
 
 In the brave days of old. 
 
 LXVll. 
 And still his name sounds stirring 
 
 Unto the men of Rome, 
 As the trumpet-blast that cries to them 
 
 To charge the Volscian home ; 
 And wives still pray to Juno 
 
 For boys with hearts as bold 
 As his who kept the bridge so well 
 
 In the brave days of old. 
 
 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 
 Roars loud the tempest's din,
 
 46 THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 And the good logs of Algidus 
 Roar louder yet within; 
 
 LXIX. 
 When tlie oldest cask is opened. 
 
 And the largest lamp is lit ; 
 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, 
 
 And the lads are shaping bows; 
 
 LXX. 
 When the g(jodman mends his armour. 
 
 And trims his helmet's plume ; 
 When the goodvvife's shuttle merrily 
 
 Goes flashing through the loom ; 
 With weeping and with laughter 
 
 Still is the story told. 
 How well Horatius kept the bridge 
 
 In the brave davs of old.
 
 THE BATTLE 
 
 OF THE LAKE REGILLUS. 
 
 A LAY SUNG AT THE FEAST OF CASTOR AND 
 
 POLLUX, ON THE IDES OF QUINTILIS, IN THE 
 
 YEAR OF THE CITY CCCCLI. 
 
 LJO, trumpets, sound a war-note! 
 
 Ho, lictors, clear the way ! 
 The Knights will ride, in all their ])ridc, 
 
 Along the streets to-deiy. 
 To-day the doors and windows 
 
 Are hung with garlands all, 
 From Castor in the Forum, 
 
 To Mars without the wall.
 
 48 THE LAYS OF ANXIEXT ROMK. 
 
 Each Knight is robed in purple. 
 
 With oHve each is crowned ; 
 A gallant war-horse under each 
 
 Paws haughtily the ground. 
 While flows the Yellow River, 
 
 While stands the Sacred Hill, 
 The proud Ides of Quintilis 
 
 Shall have such honour still. 
 Gay are the Martian Kalends : 
 
 December's Nones are gay : 
 But the proud Ides, 
 
 when the squadron rides, 
 
 Shall be Rome's whitest day. 
 
 II. 
 
 Unto the Great Twin Brethren 
 
 We keep this solemn feast. 
 Swift, swift, the Great Twin Brethren 
 
 Came spurring from the east. 
 They came o'er wild Parthenius 
 
 Tossing in waves of pine, 
 O'er Cirrha's dome, o'er Adria's foam, 
 
 O'er purple Apennine,
 
 THE LAYS OF AN'CIEXT ROME. 49 
 
 From where with flutes and dances 
 
 Their ancient mansion rings, 
 In lordly Lacedsemon, 
 
 The City of two kings, 
 To where, by Lake Regillus, 
 
 Under the Porcian height, 
 All in the lands of Tusculum, 
 
 Was fought the glorious fight. 
 
 III. 
 
 Now on the place of slaughter 
 Are cots and sheepfolds seen,
 
 THF LAYS OF AN'CIKXT RO.MF. 
 
 And rows of vines, and fields of wheat, 
 
 And apple-orchards green ; 
 The swine crush the big acorns 
 
 That fall from Corne's oaks. 
 Upon the turf by the Fair Fount 
 
 The reaper's pottage smokes. 
 The fisher baits his angle ; 
 
 The hunter twangs his boW' ; 
 Little they think on those strong limbs 
 
 That moulder deep below. 
 Little they think how sternly 
 
 That day the trumpets pealed; 
 How in the slippery swamp of blood 
 
 Warrior and war-horse reeled : 
 How wolves came with fierce galloj). 
 
 And crows on eager wings, 
 To tear the flesh of captains, 
 
 And peck the eyes of kings ; 
 How thick the dead lay scattered 
 
 Under the Porcian height; 
 How through the gates of Tusculum 
 
 Raved the wild stream of flight;
 
 THE LAVS OF AXCIF.NT ROME. 
 
 And how ihc Lake Regillus 
 Bubbled with crimson foam, 
 
 What time the Thirty Cities 
 Came forth to war with Rome. 
 
 IV. 
 
 But, Roman, when thou standest 
 
 Upon that holy ground, 
 Look thou with heed on the dark rocl 
 
 That girds the dark lake round, 
 So shalt thou see a hoof-mark 
 
 Stamped deep into the flint: 
 It was no hoof of mortal steed 
 
 That made so strange a dint: 
 There to tlie (ircat Twin Brethren 
 
 Vow thou thy vows, and pray 
 That tiiey, in tempest and in fight. 
 
 Will keep thv head alway. 
 
 V. 
 
 Since last the Great Twin Brethren 
 Of mortal eves were seen,
 
 52 THE LAYS OF ANXIENT ROME. 
 
 Have years gone by an hundred 
 And fourscore and thirteen. 
 
 That summer a Virginius 
 Was Consul first in place ; 
 
 The second was stout Aulus, 
 Of the Posthumian race. 
 
 The Herald of the Latines 
 From Gabii came in state :
 
 THE LAYS F ANCIENT RO.ME. 53 
 
 The Herald of V.2 Latines 
 
 Passed through Rome's Eastern Gate : 
 The Herald of the Latines 
 
 Did in our Forum stand ; 
 And there he did his office, 
 
 A sceptre in Iiis hand. 
 
 VL 
 "Hear, Senators and people 
 
 Of the good town of Rome, 
 The Thirty Cities charge you 
 
 To bring the Tarquins home : 
 And if ye still be stubborn, 
 
 To work the Tarquins wrong. 
 The Thirty Cities warn you, 
 
 Look that your walls be strong." 
 
 MI. 
 Then spake the Consul ^Vulus, 
 
 He spake a bitter jest : 
 "Once the jay sent a message 
 
 Unto the cable's nest: —
 
 54 THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Now yield thou up thine eyrie 
 
 I'nto the carrion-kite. 
 Or come forth valiantly, and face 
 
 The jays in deadly fight. — 
 Forth looked in wrath the eagle ; 
 
 And carrion-kite and jay, 
 Soon as they saw his beak and claw, 
 
 Fled screaming far away." 
 
 VIII. 
 The Herald of the Latines 
 
 Hath hied him back in state ; 
 The Fathers of the City 
 
 Are met in high debate. 
 Then spake the elder Consul, 
 
 An ancient man and wise : 
 "Now hearken, Conscript Fathers, 
 
 To that which I advise. 
 In seasons of great peril 
 
 'Tis good that one bear sway ; 
 Then choose we a Dictator, 
 
 Whom all men shall obey.
 
 THE LAVS OF AXCIF.XT Rf)ME. 
 
 Camerium knows how deeply 
 
 The sword of Aulus bites, 
 And all our city calls him 
 
 The man of seventy fights. 
 Then let him be Dictator 
 
 For six months and no more, 
 And have a Master of the Knights, 
 
 And axes twenty-four." 
 
 IX. 
 
 So Aulus was Dictator, 
 
 The man of seventy fights ; 
 He made ^butius Elva 
 
 His Master of the Knights. 
 ( )n the third morn thereafter, 
 
 At dawning of the day. 
 Did Aulus and ^-Ebutius 
 
 Set forth with their array. 
 Sempronius Atratinus 
 
 Was left in charge at home 
 With boys, and with grey-headed men. 
 
 To keep the walls of Rome.
 
 56 THF'. LAYS OF ANCIKNT RO.MK. 
 
 Hard by the Lake Regillus 
 
 Our camp was pitched at night: 
 
 Eastward a mile the Latines lay, 
 Under the Porcian heitiht. 
 
 Far over hill and valley 
 
 Their mighty host was spread; 
 And with their thousand watch-fires 
 
 The midnight sky was red.
 
 THE LAYS OF AXCIKXT F-JOMK. 
 
 X. 
 Up rose the golden moniiiiL:; 
 
 Over the Porcian height, 
 The proud Ides of (Juintilis 
 
 Marked evermore with white, 
 Not without secret trouble 
 
 Our bravest saw the foes ; 
 For girt by threescore thousand spears, 
 
 The thirty standards rose. 
 From every warlike city 
 
 That boasts the Latian name. 
 Foredoomed to dogs and \ ultures, 
 
 That gallant army came; 
 From Setia's purple vineyards. 
 
 From Norba's ancient wall. 
 From the white streets of Tuseulum, 
 
 The ]3roudest town of all ; 
 From where tlie Witch's Fortress 
 
 O'erhangs the dark blue seas; 
 From the still glassy lake that sleejjs 
 
 Beneath Aricia's trees —
 
 58 THE LAYS OF ANXIEXT ROME. 
 
 Those trees in whose dim shadow 
 
 The ghastly priest doth reign, 
 The priest who slew the slayer, 
 
 And shall himself be slain ; 
 From the drear banks of Ufens, 
 
 Where flights of marsh-fowl play, 
 And buffaloes lie wallowing 
 
 Through the hot summer's day ; 
 From the gigantic watch-towers, 
 
 No work of earthly men. 
 Whence Cora's sentinels o'erlooked 
 
 The never-ending fen ; 
 From the Laurentian jungle, 
 
 The wild hog's reedy home; 
 From the green steeps whence Anio leaps 
 
 In floods of snow-white foam. 
 
 XI. 
 Aricia, Cora, Norba, 
 
 Velitrse, with the might 
 Of Setia and of Tusculum, 
 
 Were marshalled on the right :
 
 OftthrouCth the-watchef-of theni^t *^ Jjl /K
 
 THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 59 
 
 The leader was Mamilius, 
 
 Prince of the Latian name ; 
 Upon his head a helmet 
 
 Of red gold shone like flame : 
 High on a gallant charger 
 
 Of dark-grey hue he rode : 
 Over his gilded armour 
 
 A vest of purple flowed, 
 Woven in the land of sunrise 
 
 By Syria's dark-browed daughters, 
 And by the sails of Carthage brought 
 
 Far o'er the southern waters. 
 
 XII. 
 Lavinium and Laurentum 
 
 Had on the left their post, 
 With all the banners of the marsh, 
 
 And banners of the coast. 
 Their leader was false Scxtus, 
 
 That wrought the deed of shame: 
 With restless pace and haggard face 
 
 To his last field he came.
 
 6o Till-. LAYS OF AXCIF.XT RO.Ml'. 
 
 Men said lie saw strange visions 
 
 Wliich none beside might see, 
 And that strange sounds were in his ear 
 
 Whicli none might hear but he. 
 A woman, fair and stately, 
 
 But pale as are the dead, 
 Oft through the watches of the night 
 
 Sat spinning by his bed. 
 And as she plied the distaff. 
 
 In a sweet voice and low, 
 She sang of great old houses, 
 
 And fights fought long ago. 
 So spun she, and so sang she, 
 
 Until the east was grey. 
 Then pointed to her bleeding breast. 
 
 And shrieked, and fled away. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 But in the centre thickest 
 
 Were ranged the shields of foes, 
 
 And from the centre loudest 
 The crv of battle rose.
 
 THE LAYS OF ANCIKNT ROME. 
 
 6i 
 
 There Tibur marched and Pedum 
 Beneath proud Tarquin's rule, 
 
 And Ferentinum of the rock, 
 And Gabii of the pool. 
 
 There rode the Volscian succours: 
 There, in a dark stern ring. 
 
 The Roman exiles gathered close 
 Around the ancient kinc
 
 62 THE LAVS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Though white as Mount Soracte, 
 
 When winter nights are long, 
 His beard flowed down o'er mail and belt, 
 
 His heart and hand were strong : 
 Under his hoary eyebrows 
 
 Still flashed forth quenchless rage, 
 And, if the lance shook in his gripe, 
 
 'Twas more with hate than age. 
 Close at his side was Titus 
 
 On an Apulian steed, 
 Titus, the youngest Tarquin, 
 
 Too good for such a breed. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 Now on each side the leaders 
 
 Give signal for the charge ; 
 And on each side the footmen 
 
 Strode on with lance and targe ; 
 And on each side the horsemen 
 
 Struck their spurs deep in gore ; 
 And front to front the armies 
 
 Met with a mighty roar:
 
 THE LAVS OF ANCIHM ROMH. 63 
 
 And under that great battle 
 
 The earth with blood was red ; 
 And, Hke the Pomptine fog at morn, 
 
 The dust hung overhead ; 
 And louder still and louder 
 
 Rose from the darkened field 
 The braying of the war-horns, 
 
 The clang of sword and shield. 
 The rush of squadrons sweeping 
 
 Like whirlwinds o'er the plain, 
 The shouting of the slayers. 
 
 And screeching of the slain. 
 
 XV. 
 
 False Sextus rode out foremost ; 
 
 His look was high and bold ; 
 His corselet was of bison's hide, 
 
 Plated with steel and gold. 
 As glares the famished eagle 
 
 From the Digentian rock 
 On a choice lamb that bounds alone 
 
 Before Bandusia's flock.
 
 64 THE LAYS OF AXCIEXT ROME. 
 
 llerminius glared on Sextus, 
 
 And came with eagle speed, 
 Herminius on black Aiister, 
 
 Brave champion on brave steed ; 
 In his right hand the broadsword 
 
 That kept the bridge so well, 
 And on his helm the crown he won 
 
 When proud Fidena:- fell. 
 Woe to the maid whose lover 
 
 Shall cross his path to-day ! 
 h'alse Sextus saw, and trembled, 
 
 And turned, and fled away. 
 .As turns, as flies, the woodman 
 
 In the Calabrian brake, 
 When through the reeds 
 
 gleams the round eye 
 
 Of that fell speckled snake ; 
 So turned, so fled, false Sextus 
 
 And hid him in the rear. 
 Behind the dark Lavinian ranks, 
 
 Bristling with crest and spear.
 
 THE T.AYS OF AN'CIF.NT ROME. ( 
 
 XVI. 
 
 ])iit far to north ^i{bvitius, 
 
 The Master of tlic Knights, 
 Gave Tubero of Norba 
 
 To feed the Porcian kites. 
 Next under those red horse-hoofs 
 
 Flaccus of Setia lay ; 
 Better had he been pruninc; 
 
 Among his elms that day. 
 Mamilius saw the slaughter, 
 
 And tossed his golden crest, 
 And towards the Master of the Knights 
 
 Through the thick battle pressed. 
 ^^3butius smote Mamilius 
 
 So fiercely on the shield 
 That the great lord of Tusculum 
 
 Well nigh rolled on the field. 
 Mamilius smote ^butius, 
 
 With a good aim and true. 
 Just where the neck and shoulder join. 
 
 And pierced him through 
 
 and throucli ;
 
 66 THE LAVS OF AXCIEXT ROME. 
 
 And brave ^"Ebutius Elva 
 
 Fell swooning to the ground ; 
 But a thick wall of bucklers 
 
 Encompassed him around. 
 His clients from the battle 
 
 Bare him some little space, 
 And filled a helm from the dark lake, 
 
 And bathed his brow and face ; 
 And when at last he opened 
 
 His swimming eyes to light, 
 Men say, the earliest word he spake 
 
 Was, ''Friends, how goes the fight?" 
 
 X\1I. 
 But meanwhile in the centre 
 
 Great deeds of arms were wrought; 
 There Aulus the Dictator 
 
 And there Valerius fought. 
 Aulus with his good broadsword 
 
 A bloody passage cleared 
 To where, amidst the thickest foes, 
 
 He saw the long white beard.
 
 THE LAYS OF ANXIKXT ROME. 67 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 |a 
 
 Us<3, : •—. -^ 
 
 
 Flat lighted that L;ood broadsword 
 
 Upon proud Tarquin's head. 
 He dropped the lance : 
 
 he dropped the reins 
 
 He fell as fall the dead. 
 Down Aulus springs to slay him, 
 
 With eyes hke coals of fire ; 
 But faster Titus hath sprung down, 
 
 And hath bestrode his sire.
 
 68 TIIK LAVS OF AXCIKNT RO.MH. 
 
 Latian caj^tains, Roman knights, 
 
 Fast down to earth they spring, 
 And hand to hand the}- fight on foot 
 
 Around the ancient king. 
 First Titus gave tall Cacso 
 
 A death wound in the face ; 
 Tall Cacso was the bravest man 
 
 Of the brave Fabian race: 
 Aulus slew Rex of Gabii, 
 
 The priest of Juno's shrine ; 
 Valerius smote down Julius, 
 
 Of Rome's great Julian line; 
 Julius, who left his mansion 
 
 High on the Velian hill, 
 And through all turns of weal and woe 
 
 Followed proud Tarquin still. 
 Now right across proud Tarquin 
 
 A corpse was Julius laid; 
 And Titus groaned with rage and grief, 
 
 And at Valerius made. 
 X'alerius struck at Titus, 
 
 And lopped off half his crest;
 
 THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 69 
 
 But Titus stabbed \'alcrius 
 
 A span deep in the breast. 
 T.ike a mast snapped by the tempest, 
 
 Valerius reeled and fell. 
 Ah ! woe is me for the good house 
 
 That loves the people well ! 
 Then shouted loud the Latines ; 
 
 And with one rush they bore 
 The struggHng Romans backward 
 
 Three lances' length and more : 
 And up they took proud Tarquin, 
 
 And laid him on a shield, 
 And four strong yeomen bare him, 
 
 Still senseless, from the field. 
 
 XVIIl. 
 But fiercer grew the fighting 
 
 Around Valerius dead ; 
 For Titus dragged him by the fool. 
 
 And .\ulus by the head. 
 "On, Latines, on!" quoth Titus. 
 
 "See how the rebels^ flv ! "
 
 70 THE LAYS OF ANXIF.XT ROME. 
 
 "Romans, stand firm!" quoth Aulus, 
 
 "And win this fight or die! 
 They must not give \'alerius 
 
 To raven and to kite ; 
 For aye Valerius loathed the wrong, 
 
 And aye upheld the right : 
 And for your wives and babies 
 
 In the front rank he fell. 
 Now play the men for the good house 
 
 That loves the people well ! " 
 
 XTX. 
 
 Then tenfold round the body 
 
 The roar of battle rose, 
 Like the roar of a burning forest. 
 
 When a strong north wind blows. 
 Now backward, and now forward, 
 
 Rocked furiously the fray, 
 Till none could see Valerius, 
 
 And none wust where he lay. 
 For shivered arms and ensigns 
 
 Were heaped there in a mound,
 
 TKE LAYS OF A.N'CIENT ROME. 71 
 
 And corpses stiff, and dying men 
 That writhed and gnawed the ground ; 
 
 And wounded horses kicking, 
 And snorting purple foam : 
 
 Right well did such a couch befit 
 A Consular of Rome. 
 
 XX. 
 
 But north looked the Dictator ; 
 
 North looked he long and hard ; 
 And spake to Caius Cossus, 
 
 The Captain of his Guard : 
 "Caius, of all the Romans 
 
 Thou hast the keenest sight ; 
 Say, what through yonder storm of dust 
 
 Comes from the Latian riglit } " 
 
 XXI. 
 
 Then answered Caius Cossus, 
 
 "I see an evil sight; 
 The banner of proud Tusculum 
 
 Comes from the T.atian right ;
 
 72 THE LAYS OF ANXIENT ROME. 
 
 I see the plumed horsemen ; 
 
 And far before the rest 
 T see the dark-grey charger, 
 
 I see the purple vest ; 
 I see the golden helmet 
 
 That shines far off like flame ; 
 So ever rides Mamilius, 
 
 Prince of the Latian name." 
 
 XXII. 
 
 "Now hearken, Caius Cossus : 
 
 Spring on thy horse's back ; 
 Ride as the wolves of Apennine 
 
 Were all upon thy track ; 
 Haste to our southward battle : 
 
 And never draw thy rein 
 Until thou find Herminius, 
 
 And bid him come amain." 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 So Aulus spake, and turned him 
 Again to that fierce strife;
 
 THE LAYS OF AN'CIF.XT RO.ME. 75 
 
 And Caius Cossus mounted, 
 
 And rode for death and life. 
 Loud clanged beneath his horse-hoofs 
 
 1 he helmets of the dead, 
 And many a curdhng pool of blood 
 
 Splashed him from heel to head. 
 So came he far to southward, 
 
 Where fought the Roman host, 
 Against the banners of the marsh 
 
 And banners of the coast. 
 TJke corn before the sickle 
 
 The stout Lavinians fell, 
 Beneath the edge of the true sword 
 
 That kept the bridge so well. 
 
 XXIV. 
 "Herminius! Aulus greets thee; 
 
 He bids thee come with s])ce(l. 
 To liclp our central battle. 
 
 For sore is there our neeil. 
 lliere wars the youngest Tarcjuin, 
 
 And there the Crest of Flame,
 
 74 THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 The Tusculan Alamilius, 
 
 Prince of the Latian name. 
 
 Valerius hath fallen fighting 
 In front of our array : 
 
 And Aulus of the seventy fields 
 Alone upholds the day." 
 
 XXV. 
 
 Herminius beat his bosom : 
 But nev^er a word he spake.
 
 THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 He clapped his hand on Aiisler's mane; 
 
 He gave the reins a shal'cc. 
 Away, away went .luster, 
 
 Like an arrow from the bow : 
 Black Auster was the fleetest steed 
 
 From Aufidus to Po. 
 
 XXVI. 
 Right glad were all the Romans 
 
 Who, in that hour of dread, 
 Against great odds bare up the war 
 
 Around Valerius dead. 
 When from the south the cheering 
 
 Rose with a mighty swell ; 
 "Herminius comes, Herminius, 
 
 Who kept the bridge so well!" 
 
 XWIl. 
 .Mamilius spied Herminius, 
 
 And dashed across the way. 
 "Herminius! I have sought thee 
 
 Through manv a bloody dav.
 
 76 THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 One of us two, Herniinius, 
 Shall never more go home. 
 
 1 \\'[\\ lay on for Tusculum, 
 And lay thou on for Rome ! " 
 
 XXYIII. 
 
 .Ml round them paused the battle. 
 
 While met in mortal fray 
 The Roman and the Tusculan, 
 
 The horses black and grey. 
 Herminius smote Mamilius 
 
 Through breast-plate 
 
 and through breast ; 
 And fast flowed out the purple blood 
 
 Over the purple vest. 
 Mamilius smote Herminius 
 
 Through head-piece 
 
 and through head ; 
 .And side by side those chiefs of pride 
 
 Together fell down dead. 
 Down fell they dead together 
 
 Tn a great lake of gore ;
 
 THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 77 
 
 And still stood all who saw them fall 
 While men might count a score. 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 Fast, fast, with heels wild spurning. 
 
 The dark-grey charger fled : 
 He burst through ranks of fighting men, 
 
 He sprang o'er heaps of dead. 
 His bridle far out-streaming, 
 
 His flanks all blood and foam, 
 He sought the southern mountains, 
 
 The mountains of his home. 
 The pass was steep and rugged, 
 
 The wolves they howled and whined ; 
 But he ran like a whirlwind up the pass, 
 
 And he left the wolves behind. 
 Through many a startled hamlet 
 
 Thundered his flying feet; 
 He rushed through the gate of Tusculum, 
 
 He rushed up the long white street; 
 He rushed by tower and temple. 
 
 And paused not from his race
 
 78 THE LAYS OF A.N'CIEXT ROME. 
 
 Till he stood before his master's door 
 
 In the stately market-place. 
 And straightway round him gathered 
 
 A pale and trembling crowd, 
 And when they knew him, cries of rage 
 
 Brake forth, and wailing loud, 
 And women rent their tresses 
 
 For their great prince's fall ; 
 And old men girt on their old swords, 
 
 And went to man the wall. 
 
 XXX. 
 
 ]>ul, like a graven image, 
 
 Black Auster kept his place, 
 And ever wistfully he looked 
 
 Into his master's face. 
 The raven mane that daily, 
 
 With pats and fond caresses. 
 The young Herminia washed and combed 
 
 And twined in even tresses, 
 And decked with coloured ribands 
 
 From her own gay attire.
 
 THE LAVS OI- AXCIEXT Ro.ME. 
 
 Hung sadly o'er her father's corpse 
 
 In carnage and in mire. 
 Forth with a shout sprang Titus, 
 
 And seized black Auster's rein. 
 Then Aulus sware a fearful oath, 
 
 And ran at him amain. 
 "The furies of thy brother 
 
 With me and mine abide, 
 If one of your accursed house 
 
 Upon black Auster ride 1 " 
 As on an Alpine watch-tower 
 
 From heaven comes down the flame, 
 Full on the neck of Titus 
 
 The blade of /Vulus came: 
 And out the red blood spouted. 
 
 In a wide arch and tall, 
 As spouts a fountain in the court 
 
 Of some rich Capuan's hall. 
 The knees of all the Latincs 
 
 Were loosened with dismay 
 When dead, on dead Herminius, 
 
 The bravest Tarcjuin lay.
 
 8o 
 
 TilE LAVS OF ANCIENT RU.ME. 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 And Aulus the Dictator 
 
 Stroked Auster's raven mane, 
 With heed he looked unto the girths, 
 
 With heed unto the rein. 
 "Now bear me well, black Auster, 
 
 Into yon thick array ; 
 And thou and I will have revenge 
 
 For thy good lord this day,"
 
 THE LAYS OF AN'CIEXT RO.ME. 8i 
 
 XXXII. 
 So spake he ; and was buckling 
 
 Tighter black Auster's band, 
 When he was aware of a princely pair 
 
 That rode at his right hand. 
 So like they were, no mortal 
 
 Might one from other know : 
 White as snow their armour was : 
 
 Their steeds were white as snow. 
 Never on earthly anvil 
 
 Did such rare armour gleam ; 
 And never did such gallant steeds 
 
 Drink of an carthlv stream. 
 
 XXXIII. 
 
 And all who saw them trembled, 
 And pale grew every cheek ; 
 
 And Aulas the Dictator 
 
 Scarce gathered voice to speak. 
 
 "Say by what name men call you ? 
 What citv is vour home .'
 
 TflF. LAYS OF ANCIENT RO.MF. 
 
 And wherefore ride ye in such cruise 
 Before the ranks of Rome?" 
 
 XXXIV. 
 
 '•By many names men call us; 
 
 In many lands we dwell : 
 Well Samothracia knows us ; 
 
 Cyrene knows us well. 
 Our house in gay Tarentum 
 
 Is hung each morn with flowers : 
 High o'er the mast of Syracuse 
 
 Our marble portal towers; 
 But by the proud Eurotas 
 
 Is our dear native home; 
 And for the right we come to fight 
 
 Before the ranks of Rome." 
 
 XXXV. 
 So answered those strange horsemen, 
 
 And each couched low his spear; 
 And forthwith all the ranks of Rome 
 
 Were bold, and of good cheer;
 
 ^^ ,^}^>'^ I The^odf who live for ever i^-^ ^ 
 t'^'v^^ "Are on ourj-jde today." -£^^
 
 THE LAYS OF ANCTHNT RU.MK. 
 
 And on the thirty nrmies 
 
 Came wonder and affric^ht, 
 And Ardea wavered on the lelt, 
 
 And Cora on the rie^ht. 
 "Rome to the charge!" cried Auhis; 
 
 "The tbe begins to yield! 
 Charge for the hearth of \^csta ! 
 
 Charge for the Golden Shield ! 
 Let no man stop to plunder, 
 
 But slay, and slay, and slay ; 
 The gods who live for ever 
 
 Are on our side to-day." 
 
 XXXXI. 
 Then the fierce trumpet-llourish 
 
 From earth to heaven arose. 
 The kites know well the long stern swel 
 
 That bids the Romans close. 
 Then the good sword of Aulus 
 
 Was lifted up to slay : 
 Then, like a crag down .Apennine, 
 
 Rushed Auster throuuh the frav.
 
 84 THE LAYS OF AN'CIEXT ROME. 
 
 But under those strange horsemen 
 
 Still thicker lay the slain ; 
 And after those strange horses 
 
 Black Auster toiled in vain. 
 Behind them Rome's long battle 
 
 Came rolling on the foe, 
 Ensigns dancing wild above, 
 
 Blades all in line below. 
 So comes the Po in flood-time 
 
 Upon the Celtic plain : 
 So comes the squall, blacker than night. 
 
 Upon the Adrian main. 
 Now, by our Sire Quirinus, 
 
 It was a goodly sight 
 To see the thirty standards 
 
 Swept down the tide of flight. 
 So flies the spray of Adria 
 
 When the black squall doth blow, 
 So corn-sheaves in the flood-time 
 
 Spin down the whirling Po. 
 False Sextus to the mountains 
 
 Turned first his horse's head ;
 
 THE LAYS OF AX'CIEXT ROME. 
 
 And fast fled Ferentinum, 
 
 And fast Lanuvium fled. 
 The horsemen of Xomentum 
 
 Spurred hard out of the fray; 
 The footmen of Vehtra; 
 
 Threw shield and spear away. 
 And underfoot was trampled, 
 
 Amidst the mud and crore.
 
 86 THE LA^'S OK AN'CIEXT ROME. 
 
 Tlie banner of proud Tusculum, 
 
 That never stooped before : 
 And down went Flavins Faustus, 
 
 Who led his stately ranks 
 I'rom wliere the apple blossoms wave 
 
 On Anio's echoing banks, 
 And Tullus of Arpinum, 
 
 Chief of tlic \\:)lscian aids, 
 And Metius with the long fair curls, 
 
 The love of Anxur's maids, 
 And the white head of Vulso, 
 
 The great Arician seer, 
 And Nepos of Laurentum, 
 
 The hunter of the deer ; 
 And in the back false Sextus 
 
 Felt the good Roman steel. 
 And wriggling in the dust he died 
 
 Like a w^orm beneath the wheel. 
 And fliers and pursuers 
 
 Were mingled in a mass; 
 And far away the battle 
 
 Went roaring through the pass.
 
 THF'. LAVS UF ANCIMXT ROMK. 
 
 XX.W II. 
 Scnipronius Alratinus 
 
 Sate in the l^astern (late, 
 Beside him were three Fathers, 
 
 Each in his chair of state ; 
 Fabius, whose nine stout i;randsons 
 
 That day were in tlie held, 
 ^\nd Manhus, eldest of the Twelve 
 
 Who kept the Golden Siiield ; 
 And Ser^ius, the High Pontiff, 
 
 For wisdom lar renowned ; 
 In all Etruria's colleges 
 
 Was no such Pontifl found. 
 .And all art)und tiie portal, 
 
 And high above the waU, 
 Stood a great throng of people, 
 
 laut sad and silent all ; 
 Young lads, and stooping elders 
 
 That might not bear the mail. 
 Matrons with lijjs that cjuivereil. 
 
 And maids with faces ]iale.
 
 88 THE LAYS OF AN'CIENT ROME. 
 
 Since the first gleam of daylight, 
 
 Sempronius had not ceased 
 To listen for the rushing 
 
 Of horse-hoofs from the east. 
 The mist of eve was rising, 
 
 The sun was hastening down, 
 When he was aware of a princely pair 
 
 Fast pricking towards the town. 
 vSo like they were, man never 
 
 Saw twins so like before ; 
 Red with gore their armour was. 
 
 Their steeds were red with gore. 
 
 XXXVTTl. 
 
 "Hail to the great Asylum! 
 
 Hail to the hill-tops seven! 
 Hail to the fire that burns for aye. 
 
 And the shield that 
 
 fell from heaven ! 
 This day, by Lake Regillus, 
 
 Under the Porcian height.
 
 THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 All in the lands of Tusculum 
 Was fought a glorious fight. 
 
 To-morrow your Dictator 
 
 Shall bring in triumph home 
 
 The spoils of thirty cities 
 
 To deck the shrines of Rome ! 
 
 XXXIX. 
 
 Then burst from that great concourse 
 
 A shout that shook the towers, 
 And some ran north, 
 
 and some ran south. 
 
 Crying, "The day is ours 1 " 
 But on rode these strange horsemen. 
 
 With slow and lordly pace; 
 And none who saw their bearing 
 
 Durst ask their name or race. 
 On rode they to the Forum, 
 
 While laurel boughs and flowers, 
 From house-tops and from windows. 
 
 Fell on their crests in showers.
 
 go TlIK 1..\^■S OF ANCIENT ROMK. 
 
 When they drew nigh to Vesta, 
 
 They vaulted down amain, 
 And washed their horses in tiic wcl 
 
 That springs by Vesta's fane. 
 And straight again they mounted. 
 
 And rode to Vesta's door; 
 Tlien, hke a bhist, 
 
 away they ])asscd, 
 
 And no man saw them more. 
 
 XL. 
 
 And all the people trembled, 
 
 And pale grew every cheek ; 
 And Sergius the High Pontiff 
 
 Alone found voice to speak : 
 "The gods who live for ever 
 
 Have fought for Rome to-day ! 
 These be the Great Twin Brethren 
 
 To whom the Dorians ])ray. 
 liick comes tlic chief in triumj)!), 
 
 Who, in the hour of fight.
 
 THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 91 
 
 Hath seen the Great Twin Brethren 
 
 In harness on his right. 
 Safe comes the ship to haven, 
 
 Through billows and through gales, 
 
 Y' 'A 
 
 If once the Great Twin Brethren 
 
 Sit shining on the sails. 
 Wherefore they washed their horses 
 
 In Vesta's holv well,
 
 THE LAVS OF ANXIEXT ROME. 
 
 Wherefore they rode to Vesta's door, 
 
 I know, but may not tell. 
 Here, hard by Vesta's Temple, 
 
 Build we a stately dome 
 Unto the Great Twin Brethren 
 
 Who fought so well for Rome. 
 And when the months returning 
 
 Bring back this day of fight, 
 The proud Ides of Quintilis, 
 
 ^Marked evermore with white. 
 Unto the Great Twin Brethren 
 
 Let all the people throng, 
 With chaplets and with offerings, 
 
 With music and with song; 
 And let the doors and windows 
 
 Be hung with garlands all, 
 And let the Knights be summoned 
 
 To Mars without the wall ; 
 Thence let them ride in purple 
 
 With joyous trumpet-sound. 
 Each mounted on his war-horse. 
 
 And each with olive crowned; 
 
 1 
 I
 
 THE LAYS OF AN'CIENT ROME. 
 
 93 
 
 And pass in solemn order 
 
 Before the sacred dome, 
 Where dwell the Great Twin Brethren 
 
 Who fought so well for Rome!"
 
 FRAi.MEXTS OF A LAY SUXG IX THE FORUM 
 ON THE DAY WHEREOX LUCIUS SEXTIUS 
 SEXTINUS LATERANUS AND CAIUS LICINIUS 
 CALVUS STOLO WERE ELECTED TRIBUNES OF 
 THE COMMONS THE FIFTH TIME, IN THE YEAR 
 OF THE CITY CCCLXXXII. 
 
 VE good men of the Commons, 
 
 witli loving heeirts antl true, 
 W'lio stand by llie bold Tribunes 
 
 that still have stood by you, 
 Cc)me, mal-ce a circle round me, 
 
 and mark my tale with care, 
 A tale of what Rome once hath borne, 
 
 of what Rome vet mav bear.
 
 THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 95 
 
 'I liis is no Grecian fable, 
 
 of fountains running wine, 
 Of maids witli* snaky tresses, 
 
 or sailors turned to swine. 
 Here, in this very Forum, 
 
 under the noonday sun. 
 In sight of all the people, 
 
 the bloody deed was ilone. 
 Old men still creep among 
 
 us who saw that fearful day, 
 Just seventy years and seven ago, 
 
 when the wicked Ten bare sway. 
 Of all the wicked Ten still 
 
 the names are held accursed, 
 .Vnd of all the wicked Ten 
 
 Ap])ius C laudius was the worst. 
 He stalked along the Forum 
 
 like King Taniuin in his priile : 
 Twelve axes waited on him, 
 
 six marching on a sitle;
 
 96 THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 'Ihe townsmen shrank to right and left, 
 
 and eyed askance with fear 
 His lowering brow, his curling mouth, 
 
 which always seemed to sneer : 
 That brow of liate, that mouth of scorn, 
 
 marks all the kindred still; 
 l^'or never was there Claudius yet 
 
 but wished the Commons ill: 
 Xor lacks he fit attendance; 
 
 for close behind his heels, 
 With outstretched chin and crouching pace, 
 
 the client Marcus steals, 
 His loins girt up to run with speed, 
 
 be the errand what it may, 
 And the smile fliclcering on his cheek, 
 
 for aught his lord may say, 
 Such varlets pimp and jest for hire 
 
 among the lying Greeks: 
 Such varlets still are paid to hoot 
 
 when brave Licinius speaks.
 
 THE LAYS OF ANXIENT ROME. 97 
 
 Where'er ye shed the honey, 
 
 the buzzing flies will crowd; 
 Where'er ye fling the carrion, 
 
 the raven's croak' is loud ; 
 Where'er down Tiber garbage floats, 
 
 the greedy pike ye see ; 
 And wheresoe'er such lord is found, 
 
 such client still will be. 
 Just then, as through one cloudless 
 
 chink" in a black stormy sky 
 Shines out the dewy morning star, 
 
 a fair young girl came by. 
 With her small tablets in her hand, 
 
 and her satchel on her arm. 
 Home she went bounding from the school, 
 
 nor dreamed of shame or harm ; 
 And past those dreaded 
 
 axes she innocently ran. 
 With briglit, frank brow that had not 
 
 learned to blush at gaze of man;
 
 98 THE LAYS OF A.NXIENT ROME. 
 
 And up the Sacred Street she turned, 
 
 and, as she danced along. 
 She warbled gaily to herself 
 
 lines of the s^ood old song, 
 
 -s?^ 
 
 T^rr 
 
 How for a sport the princes 
 
 came spurring from the camp, 
 And found Lucrece, combing the fleece, 
 
 under the midnight lamp.
 
 THE LAYS OF AXCIEXT RO.ME. 99 
 
 The maiden sang as sings the hirk, 
 
 when up he darts his llight 
 From his nest in the green April corn, 
 
 to meet the morning light; 
 And .Vppius heard her sweet young voice, 
 and saw her sweet young face, 
 iVnd loved her with the accursrd 
 
 love of his accursrd race, 
 And all along the Forum, 
 
 and up tlie Sacred Street, 
 His vulture eye pursued the trip 
 
 of those small Lrlancine feet. 
 
 Over the Alban mountains 
 
 the light oi morning broke; 
 From all the roofs of the Seven Hills 
 
 curled the thin wreaths oi smoke: 
 The city gates were opened ; 
 
 the Forum all ali\c
 
 lOO THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 With buyers and with sellers 
 
 was humming like a hive : 
 Blithely on brass and timber 
 
 the craftsman's stroke was ringing, 
 And blithely o'er her panniers 
 
 the market girl was singing, 
 And blithely young Virginia 
 
 came smiling from her home : 
 Ah! woe for young Virginia, 
 
 the sweetest maid in Rome ! 
 With her small tablets in her hand, 
 
 and her satchel on her arm. 
 Forth she went bounding to the school, 
 
 nor dreamed of shame or harm. 
 She crossed the Forum shining 
 
 with stalls in alleys gay, 
 And just had reached the very 
 
 spot whereon I stand this day. 
 When up the varlet Marcus came ; 
 
 not such as when erewhile
 
 Hoine jhe went bounding 
 Jrom tKej*clioo],nor 
 ] p dreamed of fhame or harm.
 
 THE I. A VS. OF AN'CIKXT RO.MK. loi 
 
 lie crouched behind liis jiatron's lieels 
 
 with the true client smile : 
 He came with lowerine;' forehead, 
 
 swollen features, and clenched fist, 
 And strode across Virt^inia's path, 
 
 and caught her by the wrist. 
 Hard strove the frighted maiden, 
 
 and screamed with look aghast; 
 And at her scream tVom right and left 
 
 the folk came running last ; 
 The money-changer Cris]:)us, 
 
 with his thin silver hairs. 
 And Hanno from the stately booth 
 
 ghttering with I'unic wares, 
 And the strong smith JNIurccna, 
 
 grasping a half-forged brand. 
 And \'()lero the flesher, 
 
 his cleaver in his hand. 
 y\ll came in wi'ath ami wonder; 
 
 for all knew that fair child;
 
 I02 THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 And, as she passed tliem twice a day, 
 
 all kissed their hands and smiled; 
 And the strong smith Muraena 
 
 gave Marcus such a blow, 
 The caitiff reeled three paces back, 
 
 and let the maiden go. 
 Yet glared he fiercely round him, 
 
 and growled in harsh, fell tone, 
 "She's mine, and I will have her: 
 
 I seek but for mine own : 
 She is my slave, born in my house, 
 
 and stolen away and sold. 
 The year of the sore sickness, 
 
 ere she was twelve hours old. 
 'Twas in the sad September, 
 
 the month of wail and fright, 
 Two augurs were borne forth that morn; 
 
 the Consul died ere night. 
 1 wait on Appius Claudius, 
 
 I waited on his sire ;
 
 THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 103 
 
 Let him who works the client 
 
 wrong beware the patron's ire ! " 
 So spake the varlet ^larcus ; 
 
 and dread and silence came 
 On all the people at the sound 
 
 of the great Claudian name. 
 For then there was no Tribune 
 
 to speak the word of might, 
 Which makes the rich man tremble, 
 
 and guards the poor man's right. 
 There was no brave Licinius, 
 
 no honest Sextius then ; 
 But all the city, in great fear, 
 
 obeyed the wicked Ten. 
 Yet ere the varlet Alarcus again 
 
 might seize the maid, 
 Who clung tight to IMuraena's skirt, 
 
 and sobbed, and shrieked for aid, 
 Forth through the throng of gazers 
 
 the young Icilius pressed,
 
 104 
 
 THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 And stamped his foot, and rent his gown, 
 
 and smote upon his breast, 
 And sjirang upon that cokmin 
 
 by many a minstrel sung, 
 
 Wliereon three mouldering helmets, 
 
 three rusting swords, are hung, 
 And beckoned to the people, 
 
 and in bold voice and clear
 
 THE LAYS OF AN'CIENT ROME. 105 
 
 Poured tliick and fast the burning words 
 
 which tyrants (juakc to hear. 
 "Now, by your children's cradles, 
 
 now by your fathers' graves. 
 Be men to-day, Quirites, 
 
 or be for ever slaves ! 
 For this did Servius give us laws .'' 
 
 For this did Lucrece bleed .' 
 For this was the great vengeance 
 
 wrought on Tarquin's evil seed } 
 For this did those false sons make 
 
 red the axes of their sire? 
 For this did Sca:vola's right hand 
 
 hiss in the Tuscan fire? 
 Shall the vile fox-earth awe the race 
 
 that stormed the lion's den ? 
 Shall we, who could not brook one lortl, 
 
 crouch to the wicked Yen ? 
 Oh, for that ancient spirit 
 
 which curbetl the Senate's will '.
 
 io6 THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Oh, for the tents which in old time 
 
 whitened the Sacred Hill ! 
 In those brave days our fathers 
 
 stood firmly side by side ; 
 They faced the Alarcian fury; 
 
 they tamed the Fabian pride : 
 They drove the fiercest Quinctius 
 
 an outcast forth from Rome : 
 They sent the haughtiest Claudius 
 
 with shivered fasces home. 
 But what their care bequeathed 
 
 us our madness flung away : 
 2\\\ the ripe fruit of threescore 
 
 years w^as blighted in a day. 
 Exult, ye proud Patricians! 
 
 The hard-fought fight is o'er. 
 We strove for honours — 'twas in vain: 
 
 for freedom — -'tis no more. 
 No crier to the polling summons 
 
 the eager throng;
 
 THE LAYS OF AN'CIEXT RO^FR. 107 
 
 \o Tribune breathes the word of niiL;ht 
 
 that guards the weak from wrong. 
 Our very hearts, that were so high, 
 
 sink down beneath your will. 
 Riches, and lands, and power, and state — 
 
 ye have them: — keep them still 
 Still keep the holy fillets; 
 
 still keep the purple gown, 
 The axes, and the curule chair, 
 
 the car, and laurel crown: 
 Still press us for your cohorts, and, 
 
 when the fight is done. 
 Still fill your garners from the soil 
 
 which our good swords have won. 
 Still, like a spreading ulcer, 
 
 which leech-craft may not cure. 
 Let your foul usance eat away 
 
 the substance of the poor. 
 Still let your haggard debtors bear 
 
 all their fathers bore;
 
 loS THE LAYS OF ANXIENT ROME. 
 
 Still let your dens of torment 
 
 be noisome as of yore ; 
 Xo fire when Tiber freezes; 
 
 no air in dog-star heat; 
 And store of rods for free-born backs, 
 
 and holes for free-born feet. 
 Heap heavier still the fetters; 
 
 bar closer still the grate; 
 Patient as sheep we yield 
 
 us up unto your cruel hate. 
 But, by the Shades beneath us, 
 
 and by the Gods above. 
 Add not unto your cruel hate 
 
 your yet more cruel love! 
 Have ye not graceful ladies, 
 
 whose spotless lineage springs 
 From Consuls, and High Pontiffs. 
 
 and ancient Alban kings? 
 Ladies, who deign not on our paths 
 
 to set their tender feet,
 
 THE LAYS OF AN'CIENT ROME. 
 
 109 
 
 Who from their cars look down with 
 
 scorn upon the wontlering' street, 
 Who in Corinthian mirrors their 
 
 own proud smiles behold, 
 
 And breathe of Capuan odours, 
 
 and shine with Spanish gold ? 
 Then leave the poor Plebeian 
 
 his single tie to life —
 
 no THE LAYS OF ANXIEXT ROME. 
 
 The sweet, sweet love of daughter, 
 
 of sister and of wife, 
 The gentle speech, the balm for all 
 
 that his vexed soul endures, 
 The kiss, in which he lialf forgets even 
 
 such a yoke as yours. 
 Still let the maiden's beauty swell 
 
 the father's breast with pride; 
 Still let the bridegroom's arms infold 
 
 an unpolluted bride. 
 Spare us the inexpiable wrong, 
 
 the unutterable shame, 
 That turns the coward's heart to steel, 
 
 the sluggard's blood to flame, 
 Lest, when our latest hope is fled, 
 
 ye taste of our despair. 
 And learn by proof, in some wild hour, 
 
 how much the wretched dare."
 
 THE LAVS OF ANCIENT ROME. iii 
 
 Straightway Virginius led the maid 
 
 a Httle space aside, 
 To where the reelcing shambles stood, 
 
 piled lip with iiorii and hide, 
 Close to yon low dark archway, 
 
 where, in a crimson flood, 
 Leaps down to the great sewer 
 
 the gurgling stream of blood, 
 Hard by, a flesher on a block 
 
 had laid his whittle down : 
 Virginius caught the whittle up, 
 
 and hid it in his gown. 
 And then his eyes grew very dim, 
 
 and his throat began to swell, 
 And in a hoarse, changed voice he spake. 
 
 "Farewell, sweet child! Farewell! 
 Oh ! how I loved my darling ! 
 
 Though stern 1 sometimes be, 
 To thee, thou know'st I was not so. 
 
 Who could be so to thee ?
 
 112 THE I.A^S OF AXCIKNT RO.Ml-. 
 
 .\iul how my darliiiL^ lovcil me! 
 
 How L;la(l she was to hear 
 My footstep on the threshold when 
 
 I came back hist year ! 
 .And how slie danced with pleasure 
 
 to see my civic crown, 
 And toolc my sword, and hun^' it up, 
 
 and brought me forth my t;own ! 
 Now, all those thint^s are over — yes, 
 
 all thy pretty ways, 
 Thy needlework, thy prattle, 
 
 thy snatches of old lays; 
 And none will grieve when I go fortii, 
 
 or smile when I return. 
 Or watch beside the old man's bed, 
 
 or weep upon his urn. 
 I1ic house that was the happiest 
 
 within the Roman walls, 
 Jhe house that envied ncjt the wealth 
 
 of Capua's marble halls,
 
 THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 113 
 
 Now, for the brightness of thy smile, 
 
 must have eternal gloom, 
 And for the music of thy voice, 
 
 the silence of the tomb. 
 The time is come. See how he jx tints 
 
 his eager hand this way ! 
 See how his eyes gloat on thy grief 
 
 like a kite's upon the prey!
 
 114 THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Witli all his wit. he Httlc deems, 
 
 that, spurned, betrayed, bereft, 
 The father hath in his desjiair 
 
 one fearful refuge left. 
 He little deems that in this hatid 
 
 I clutch what still can save 
 Thy Identic youth from taunts and blows, 
 
 the portion of the slave; 
 Yea, and from nameless evil, 
 
 that passeth taunt and blow — 
 Foul outracje which thou knowest not, 
 
 which thou shalt never know. 
 Then clasp me round the neclc once more, 
 
 and L^ive me one more kiss; 
 And now, mine own dear little _L;irl, 
 
 there is no way but this." 
 With that he lifted hiijh the steel, 
 
 and smote her in the side, 
 And in her blood she sank' to earth, 
 
 and with one sob she died.
 
 THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 115 
 
 Then, for a little moment, 
 
 all people held their breatli ; 
 And throui;h the crowded Forum 
 
 was stillness as of (le;itli; 
 And in another moment brake 
 
 lortli from one and all 
 A cry as if the \'olscians 
 
 were comint^' o'er the wall. 
 Some with averted faces 
 
 shrieking; fled home amain ; 
 Some ran to call a leecli ; and some 
 
 ran to lift tiie slain: 
 Some felt her lips and little wrist, 
 
 if life might there be found; 
 And some tore up their garments fast. 
 
 and strove to stanch the wound. 
 In vain they ran, and felt, and stanched ; 
 
 lor never truer blow 
 That good right arm had dealt 
 
 in fight auainst a \'olscian foe.
 
 ItG 
 
 THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Wlien Appius Claudius saw tliat deed, 
 
 he shuddered and sank down, 
 And hid his face some httle space 
 
 with the corner of^ his gown, 
 
 Till, with white lips and bloodshot eyes, 
 
 Virginius tottered nigh. 
 And stood before the judgment-seat, 
 
 and held the knife on hi"h.
 
 THE LAYS OF ANXIENT ROME. 117 
 
 "Oh! dwellers in the nether gloom, 
 
 avengers of the slain, 
 By this dear blood I cry to you, 
 
 do right between iis twain; 
 And even as Appius Claudius 
 
 hath dealt by me and mine, 
 Deal you by Appius Claudius 
 
 and all the Claudian line!" 
 So spake the slayer of his child. 
 
 and turned, and went his way; 
 But first he cast one haggard 
 
 glance to where the body lay, 
 And writhed, and groaned a fearful groan, 
 
 and then, with steadfast feet. 
 Strode right across the market-place 
 
 unto the Sacred Street. 
 Then up sprang Appius Claudius : 
 
 "Stop him; alive or dead! 
 Ten thousand pounds of copper 
 
 to the man who brinus his head."
 
 ii8 THE LAYS OF ANCIENT RO.ME. 
 
 He looked upon his clients ; 
 
 but none would work his will. 
 He looked upon his lictors; 
 
 but they trembled, and stood still. 
 And, as Virginius through the press 
 
 his way in silence cleft. 
 Ever the mighty multitude 
 
 fell back to right and left. 
 And he hath passed in safety 
 
 mito his woeful home. 
 And there ta'en horse to tell the camp 
 
 what deeds are done in Rome. 
 By this the flood of people 
 
 was swollen iVom every side, 
 And streets and porches round were 
 
 filled with that o'erflowing tide; 
 .'\nd close around the body 
 
 gatliered a little train 
 ( )f them that were the nearest 
 
 and dearest to tlic slain.
 
 THE LAVS OF ANCIENT ROME. 119 
 
 They brought a bier, and hung it with 
 
 many a cypress crown, 
 And gently tliey uphftcd her, 
 
 and gently laid her down. 
 The face of Appius Claudius wore 
 
 the Claudian scowl and sneer, 
 And in the Claudian note he cried, 
 
 "What doth this rabble here.^ 
 Have they no crafts to mind at home, 
 
 that hitherward they stray ? 
 Ho ! lictors, clear the market-place, 
 
 and fetch the corpse away ! " 
 The voice of grief and fury till 
 
 then had not been loud ; 
 But a deep sullen murmur 
 
 wandered among the crowd, 
 Like the moaning noise that goes 
 
 before the whirlwind on the deep, 
 Or the growl of a fierce watch-dog 
 
 but half aroused from sleep.
 
 120 THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 J3ut when the lictors at that word, 
 
 tall yeomen all and strong, 
 Each with his axe and sheaf of twigs, 
 
 went down into the throng. 
 Those old men say, who saw that day 
 
 of sorrow and of sin. 
 That in the Roman Forum 
 
 was never such a din. 
 The w'ailing, hooting, cursing, 
 
 the howls of grief and hate. 
 Were heard beyond the Pincian Hill, 
 
 beyond the Latin Gate. 
 But close around the body, 
 
 where stood the little train 
 Of them that were the nearest 
 
 and dearest to the slain, 
 No cries were there, but teeth set fast, 
 
 low wiiispers and black frowns. 
 And breaking up of benches, 
 
 and girding u]) o gowns.
 
 THE LAYS UF ANCIENT ROME. 12 1 
 
 'Twas well the lictors might not pierce 
 
 to where the maiden lay, 
 Else surely had they been all twelve 
 
 torn limb from limb that dav. 
 
 Right glad they were to struggle back, 
 
 blood streaming from their heads. 
 With axes all in splinters, 
 
 and raiment all in shreds.
 
 122 THE LAYS OF AXCIEXT ROME. 
 
 Then Appius Claudius gnawed his hp, 
 
 and the blood left his cheek ; 
 And thrice he beckoned witli his hand, 
 
 and thrice he strove to speak ; 
 And thrice the tossing Forum 
 
 set up a frightful yell ; 
 "See, see, thou dog! what thou hast done; 
 
 and hide thy shame in iiell ! 
 Thou that wouldst make our maidens 
 
 slaves must first make slaves of men. 
 Tribunes ! Hurrah for Tribunes ! 
 
 Down with the wicked Ten ! " 
 And straightway, thick as hailstones, 
 
 came whizzing through the air 
 Pebbles, and bricks, and potsherds, 
 
 all round the curule chair: 
 .Vnd upon Appius Claudius 
 
 great fear and trembling came; 
 For never was a Claudius 
 
 yet brave against aught but shame.
 
 THE LAYS OF AN'CIEXT ROME. 123 
 
 Thout^h the great houses love us not, 
 
 we own, to do them right. 
 That the great houses, all save one, 
 
 have borne them well in fight. 
 Still Caius of Corioli, 
 
 his triumphs and iiis wrongs, 
 His vengeance and his mercy, 
 
 live in our camp -fire songs 
 Beneath the yoke of Furius 
 
 oft have Gaul and Tuscan bowed; 
 And Rome may bear the pride 
 
 of him of whom herself is i:)roud. 
 But evermore a Claudius 
 
 shrinks from a stricken field. 
 And changes colour like a maid 
 
 at sight of sword and shield. 
 The Claudian triumi^hs all were 
 
 won within the city towers; 
 The Claudian yoke was never 
 
 pressed on any necks but ours.
 
 124 THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 A Cossus, like a wild cat, 
 
 springs ever at the face ; 
 A Fabius rushes like a boar 
 
 against the shouting chase; 
 But the \ile Claudian litter, 
 
 raging with currish spite, 
 Still yelps and snajis at those who run, 
 
 still runs from those who smite.
 
 THE LAYS OF AXCIEXT ROME. 125 
 
 So now 'twas seen of Appius. 
 
 When stones began to fly. 
 He shook, and crouched, and wrung 
 
 his hands, and smote upon his thigh. 
 "Kind cHents, honest hctors, 
 
 stand by me in this fray ! 
 Must I be torn in pieces.^ 
 
 Home, home, the nearest way!" 
 While yet he spake, and looked 
 
 around with a bewildered stare, 
 Four sturdy Hctors put their necks 
 
 beneath the curule chair; 
 And fourscore clients on the left, 
 
 and fourscore on the right, 
 Arrayed themselves with swords and staves, 
 
 and loins girt uj) for fight. 
 But, though without or staff or sword, 
 
 so furious was the tluong. 
 That scarce the train with might 
 
 and main could brinu. their lord alonu-.
 
 126 THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Twelve times the crowd made at him; 
 
 five times they seized his gown ; 
 Small chance was his to rise again, 
 
 if once they got him down: 
 And sharper came the pelting; 
 
 and evermore the yell — 
 "Tribunes! we will iiave tribunes!" — 
 
 rose with a louder swell: 
 And the chair tossed as tosses 
 
 a bark with tattered sail 
 Wlicn raves the yVdriatic 
 
 beneath an Eastern gale, 
 When the Calabrian sea-marks 
 
 are lost in clouds of spume, 
 And the great Thunder-Cape 
 
 has donned his veil of inky gloom. 
 One stone hit Appius in the mouth, 
 
 and one beneath tlie ear; 
 And ere he reached JMount Palatine, 
 
 he swooned with j)ain and fear.
 
 THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 127 
 
 His cursed head, that he was wont 
 
 to hold so high with pride, 
 Now, hke a drunken man's, hung down, 
 
 and swayed from side to side ; 
 And when his stout retainers 
 
 had brought him to his door, 
 His face and neck were all one cake 
 
 of filth and clotted gore. 
 As Appius Claudius was that day, 
 
 so may his grandson be ! 
 God send Rome one such other sight, 
 
 and send me there to see!
 
 PiopHEcy^! 
 
 A LAY SUNG AT THE BANQUET IN THE CAPI- 
 TOL, ON THE DAY WHEREON MANIUS CURIUS 
 DENT ATUS, A SECOND TIME CONSUL.TRKLMPHED 
 OVER KING PYRRHUS AND THE TARENTINES 
 IN THE YEAR OF THE CITY CCCCLXXIX. 
 
 I. 
 
 VTOW slain is King Amulius, 
 Of the great Sylvian line, 
 Who reigned in Alba Longa, 
 
 On the throne of Aventine. 
 Slain is the Pontiff Camers, 
 
 Who spake the words of doom : 
 "The children to the Tiber; 
 
 The mother to the tomb."
 
 THE LAYS OF ANXIENT ROME. 129 
 
 ir. 
 
 In Alba's lake no fisher 
 
 His net to-day is flinging : 
 On the dark rind of Alba's oaks 
 
 To-day no axe is ringing : 
 The yoke hangs o'er the manger: 
 
 The scythe lies in the hay : 
 Through all the Alban villages 
 
 No work is done to-dav. 
 
 III. 
 And every Alban burgher 
 
 Hath donned his whitest gown: 
 And every head in Alba 
 
 Weareth a poplar crown : 
 .\nd every Alban door-post 
 
 With boughs and flowers is gay : 
 For to-day the dead are living; 
 
 The lost are found to-dav.
 
 tup: lays of anxiext ro.me. 
 
 lY. 
 
 They were doomed 
 
 by a bloody king : 
 They were doomed 
 
 by a lying priest : 
 They were cast on the raging flood : 
 Tliey were tracked 
 
 by the raging beast : 
 Raging beast and raging flood 
 Alike have spared the prey; 
 And to-day the dead are Hving: 
 The lost are found to-day. 
 
 V. 
 
 The troubled river knew them, 
 
 And smoothed his yellow foam, 
 And gently rocked the cradle 
 
 That bore the fate of Rome. 
 The ravening she-wolf knew them, 
 
 And licked them o'er and o'er. 
 And gave them of her own fierce milk 
 
 Kicli with r,i\v flesh and gore.
 
 
 Marcliin^ J'rom Alba lx)n^a 
 To Iheir old drandjirej* hall. 
 
 ^■ ftw w u r .3 0mmmmimmmmm
 
 THE LAVS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Twenty winters, twenty springs, 
 Since then have rolled away ; 
 
 And to-day the dead are living : 
 The lost are found to-day. 
 
 YI. 
 
 Blithe it was to see the twins, 
 
 Right goodly youths and tall, 
 Marching from Alba Longa 
 
 To their old grandsire's hall. 
 Along their path fresh garlands 
 
 Are hung from tree to tree : 
 Before them stride the pipers, 
 
 Piping a note of glee. 
 
 VII. 
 On the right goes Romulus, 
 
 With arms to the elbows red. 
 And in his hand a broadsword. 
 
 And on the blade a head —
 
 132 THE LAYS OF ANXIENT RO.ME. 
 
 A head in an iron helmet, 
 
 With horsehair hanging down, 
 A shaggy head, a swarthy head, 
 
 Fixed in a ghastly frown — 
 The head of King .Vmulius, 
 
 Of the great Sylvian line, 
 Who reigned in Alba Longa, 
 
 On the throne of Aventine. 
 
 VIII. 
 On the left side goes Remus, 
 
 With wrists and fingers red. 
 And in his hand a boar-spear, 
 
 And on the point a head — 
 A wrinkled head and aged, 
 
 With silver beard and hair, 
 And holy fillets round it, 
 
 Such as the pontiffs wear — 
 The head of ancient Gamers, 
 
 Who spake the words of doom
 
 THE LAVS OF AN"C[EXT ROME. 133 
 
 "The children to the liber; 
 The mother to the tomb." 
 
 IX. 
 
 Two and two behind the twins 
 
 Their trusty comrades 00^ 
 Four and forty vahant men, 
 
 With club, and axe, and bow. 
 On each side every hamlet 
 
 Pours forth its joyous crowd, 
 Shouting lads and baying dogs 
 
 And children laughing loud, 
 And old men weeping fondly 
 
 As Rhea's boys go by, 
 And maids who shriek 
 
 to see the heads, 
 
 Yet, shrieking, press more nigh. 
 
 X. 
 
 So they marched along the lake ; 
 Thev marched bv fold and stall.
 
 134 TFIE LA^S OF .Wt'IEXT RoMR. 
 
 By corn-field and by vineyard, 
 Unto the old man's hall. 
 
 XI. 
 
 In the hall-gate sate Capys, 
 Capys, the sightless seer: 
 
 From head to foot he trembled 
 As Romulus drew near.
 
 TtiE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 135 
 
 And up stood stiff his thin white hair 
 And his blind eyes flashed fire : 
 
 "Hail! foster child 
 
 of the wondrous nurse ! 
 Hail ! son of the wondrous sire ! 
 
 XII. 
 "But thou — what dost thou here 
 
 In the old man's peaceful hall? 
 What doth the eagle in the coop, 
 
 The bison in the stall? 
 Our corn fills many a garner ; 
 
 Our vines clasp many a tree ; 
 Our flocks are white on many a hill, 
 
 But these are not for thee. 
 
 XIII. 
 "For thee no treasure ripens 
 
 In the Tartessian mine : 
 For thee no ship brings precious bales 
 
 Across the Libyan brine:
 
 136 THE LAYS OF ANXIEXT RO.ME. 
 
 Thou shalt not drink from amber ; 
 
 Thou shalt not rest on down ; 
 Arabia shall not steep thy locks, 
 
 Nor Sidon tinge thy gown. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 "Leave gold and myrrh and jewels, 
 
 Rich table and soft bed, 
 To them who of man's seed are born. 
 
 Whom woman's milk hath fed. 
 Thou wast not made for lucre. 
 
 For pleasure, nor for rest ; 
 Thou, that are sprung 
 
 from the War-god's loins. 
 
 And hast tugged 
 
 at the she-wolf's breast. 
 
 XV. 
 
 'T^'rom sunrise unto sunset 
 
 All earth shall hear thy fame : 
 
 A glorious city thou shalt build, 
 And name it bv thv name :
 
 THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 And there, un(|uenched througli a£(es, 
 
 Like Vesta's sacred fire, 
 Shall live the spirit ot" thy nurse, 
 
 The spirit of thy sire. 
 
 XVI. 
 "The ox toils through the furrow. 
 
 Obedient to the goad ; 
 The patient ass, up flinty paths. 
 
 Plods with his weary load ; 
 With whine and bound the spaniel 
 
 His master's whistle hears ; 
 And the sheep yields her patiently 
 
 To the loud clashinfr shears. 
 
 XVII. 
 "But thy nurse will hear no master: 
 
 Thy nurse will bear no load ; 
 And woe to them that shear her, 
 
 And woe to them that ^oad !
 
 I3S THE LAYS OF A^XIE^■T ROME. 
 
 When all the pack, loud baying, 
 Her bloody lair surrounds. 
 
 She dies in silence, biting hard, 
 Amidst the dvins; hounds. 
 
 XVITI. 
 
 "Pomona loves the orchard; 
 
 And Liber loves the vine; 
 And Pales loves the straw-built shed 
 
 Warm with the breath of kine; 
 And Venus loves the whispers 
 
 Of plighted youth and maid. 
 In April's ivory moonlight 
 
 Beneath the chestnut shade. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 "But thy father loves the clashing 
 Of broadsword and of shield: 
 
 He loves to drinic the steam that reeks 
 From the fresh battle-field;
 
 THE LAYS OF ANCIEXT ROME. 
 
 139 
 
 He smiles a smile more dreadful 
 Than his own dreadful frown, 
 
 When he sees the thick 
 
 black cloud of smoke 
 Go up from the conquered town. 
 
 XX. 
 
 "And such as is the War-god, 
 The author of thv line.
 
 I40 THE LAYS OF AN'CIEXT ROME. 
 
 And such as she who suckled thee, 
 
 Even such be thou and thine. 
 Leave to the soft Campanian 
 
 His baths and his perfumes ; 
 Leave to the sordid race of Tyre 
 
 Their dyeing-vats and looms: 
 Leave to the sons of Carthage 
 
 The rudder and the oar: 
 Leave to the Greek 
 
 his marble Nymphs 
 
 And scrolls of wordv lore. 
 
 XXI. 
 
 "Thine, Roman, is the pilum: 
 
 Roman, the sword is thine. 
 The even trench, the bristling mound, 
 
 The legion's ordered line; 
 And thine the wheels of triumph, 
 
 Which with their laurelled train 
 Move slowly up the shouting streets 
 
 To Jove's eternal fane.
 
 THE LAYS OF A.VCIEXT ROMh. 14I 
 
 XXII. 
 
 "Beneath thy yoke the X'olscian 
 
 Shall vail his lofty brow: 
 Soft Capua's curled revellers 
 
 Before thy chairs shall bow: 
 The Lucumoes of Arnus 
 
 Shall quake thy rods to see ; 
 And the proud Samnite's 
 
 heart of steel 
 
 Shall vield to onl\- thee.
 
 142 THE LAVS UK ANXIHXT ROME. 
 
 XXIII. 
 "The (iaul shall come against thee 
 
 From the land of snow and night: 
 Thou shalt give his fair-haired armies 
 
 To the raven and the kite. 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 '•The Greek shall come against thee, 
 
 The con(jueror of the East. 
 Beside him stalks to battle 
 
 The huge earth-shaking beast, 
 The beast on whom the castle 
 
 With all its guards doth stand, 
 The beast who hath between his eyes 
 
 The serpent for a hand. 
 First march the bold Epirotes, 
 
 Wedged close 
 
 with shield and spear; 
 And the ranks of false Tarentum 
 
 Are "litterin" in the rear.
 
 THE LAVS OF ANCIHNT ROMR. 143 
 
 XXV. 
 
 "The ranks of false Tareiitum 
 
 Like hunted sheep shall lly : 
 In vain the bold Epirotes 
 
 Shall round their standards die : 
 And Apennine's grey vultures 
 
 Shall have a noble feast 
 On the fat and the eyes 
 
 Of the huge earth-shaking beast. 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 "Hurrah! for the good weapons 
 
 That keep the War-god's land. 
 Hurrah! for Rome's stout jiilum 
 
 In a stout Roman hand. 
 Hurrah ! for Rome's short broadsword, 
 
 That through the thick array 
 Of levelled spears and serried shields 
 
 Hews deep its gory way.
 
 144 THE LAVS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 XXVII. 
 "Hurrah! for the great triumph 
 
 That stretches many a mile. 
 Hurrah ! for the wan captives 
 
 That pass in endless file. 
 
 Ho ! bold Epirotes, whither 
 
 Hath the Red King ta'en flight 
 
 Ho! dogs of false Tarentum, 
 Is not the crown washed white ?
 
 THE LAYS or ANCIENT RO.ME. 145 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 "Hurrah! for the great triunipli 
 
 That stretches many a mile. 
 Hurrah ! for the rich dye of Tyre, 
 
 And the fine web of Nile, 
 The helmets gay with plumage 
 
 Torn from the pheasant's wings, 
 The belts set thick with starry gems 
 
 That shone on Indian kings. 
 The urns of massy silver, 
 
 The goblets rough with gold. 
 The many-coloured tablets bright 
 
 With loves and wars of old. 
 The stone that breathes and struggles, 
 
 The brass that seems to speak ; — 
 Such cunning they who dwell on high 
 
 Have criven unto the Greek.
 
 XXIX. 
 
 "Hurrah! for ^lanius Curius, 
 
 The bravest son of Rome, 
 Thrice in utmost need sent forth, 
 
 Thrice drawn in triumph home. 
 Weave, weave, for Manius Curius 
 
 The third embroidered gown : 
 Make ready the third lofty car, 
 
 And twine the third green crown ; 
 And yoke the steeds of Rosea 
 
 With necks hke a bended bow. 
 And deck the bull, ^Mevania's bull, 
 
 The bull as white as snow.
 
 THE LAYS OF ANCItNT ROME. 147 
 
 XXX. 
 
 "Blest and tlirice blest the Roman 
 
 Who sees Rome's brightest day, 
 Who sees that long victorious pomp 
 
 Wind down the Sacred Way, 
 And through the bellowing Forum, 
 
 And round the Suppliant's Grove, 
 Up to the everlasting gates 
 
 Of Capitolian Jove. 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 "Then where, o'er two bright havens 
 
 The towers oi Corinth frown ; 
 WHiere the gigantic King of Day 
 
 On his own Rhodes looks down ; 
 Where soft Orontes murmurs 
 
 Beneath the laurel shades; 
 Where Nile reflects the endless length 
 
 Of dark-red colonnades ; 
 Where in the still deep water, 
 
 Sheltered from waves and blasts,
 
 148 
 
 THE LAYS OF ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Bristles the dusky forest 
 
 Of Byrsa's thousand masts ; 
 Where fur-clad hunters wander 
 
 Amidst the northern ice; 
 Where through the sand 
 
 of morning-land 
 
 The camel bears the spice; 
 Where Atlas flings his shadow 
 
 Far o'er the western foam, 
 Shall be great fear on all who liear 
 
 The mishtv name of Rome." 
 
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