So he spake, and, speaking, sheathed And with his harness on his back 22. No sound of joy or sorrow Was heard from either bank; All Rome sent forth a rapturous cry, 23. But fiercely ran the current, Swollen high by months of rain; And heavy with his armor, And spent with changing blows; 24. "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!" For such a gallant feat of arms 25. And now he feels the bottom; Now round him throng the Fathers And now, with shouts and clapping, 26. And in the nights of winter, When the cold north winds blow, 27. When the oldest cask is opened, When the chestnuts glow in the embers, Around the firebrands close; 28. When the goodman mends his armor, And trims his helmet's plume; When the goodwife's shuttle merrily Goes flashing through the loom,— With weeping and with laughter Still is the story told How well Horatius kept the bridge DEFINITIONS.-1. Eon'sul, one of the two chief magistrates of Rome. 3. Strait, narrow. 6. Här'ness, armor. Fä'thers, senators of ancient Rome. 8. Văn'ğuärd, the troops who march in front of an army. 13. Děft'ly, dexterously. 15. Au'gurs, those who pretended to foretell future events by omens. 18. Tur'ret, a little tower. 20. Deign'ing, condescending. Păl a ti'nus, one of the seven hills of Rome. 24. Săcked, plundered. NOTES.-Hō rā'tius, surnamed €ō'eleş, "the one-eyed," on account of the loss of an eye. Polybius the historian relates that he defended the bridge alone and perished in the Tiber. 4. Răm'ni an, Ti'tian. The Romans were divided into three tribes,the Ramnes, who claimed descent from Romulus; the Tities, from Tatius, the Sabine king; and the Luceres, from Lucumo, an Etruscan chief who had assisted the Romans in their war with the Sabines. 7. Tus'ean. Tuscany, Lucca, and that part of the Roman States on the right bank of the Tiber formed what was known as Etruria. 11. Lord of Lu'na. Luna was an Etruscan city, about four miles from what is now known as the Gulf of Spezia. Luna was celebrated for its quarries of white marble, now called Carrara. 12. The she-wolf's litter alludes to the story that Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were exposed like the "Babes in the Wood," and saved by a wolf, who suckled them. 19. Sex'tus, the son of Tarquin, the last king of Rome. They were both banished by the Romans on account of their crimes. 19. Lärs Pôr'se nå, or Por sen'ni, King of the Etruscan town of Clusium. The Tarquins had taken refuge with this king, who marched a vast army against Rome in order to restore them. 26. Ăl'ji dus, a range of wood-covered mountains near Rome. 47. THE HAUNTED HOUSE. THOMAS HOOD was born in London in 1798. He began to write when only seventeen years of age. Most of his writings were contributions to magazines or other periodicals, but he also wrote several novels. He was a very accurate observer, and a man of peculiar and original genius. He had great power both as a serious poet and as a humorist, more especially in that lower form of humor which has given him an unrivaled reputation as a punster. His Bridge of Sighs and Song of the Shirt are among the most perfect examples of pathos in the language. He died May 3, 1845. 1. SOME dreams we have are nothing else but dreams,- 2. It might be only on enchanted ground; It might be merely by a thought's expansion, 3. A residence for woman, child, and man,— A dwelling-place, and yet no habitation; 4. Unhinged, the iron gates half open hung, 5. No dog was at the threshold, great or small; No pigeon on the roof,--no household creature ; No cat demurely dozing on the wall; Not one domestic feature. 6. No human figure stirred, to go or come; No face looked forth from shut or open casement; No chimney smoked: there was no sign of home From parapet to basement. 7. With shattered panes the grassy court was starred ; The time-worn coping-stone had tumbled after; And through the ragged roof the sky shone, barred With naked beam and rafter. 8. O'er all there hung a shadow and a fear; d; 9. The flower grew wild and rankly as the weed 10. But, gay or gloomy, steadfast or infirm, No heart was there to heed the hour's duration; 11. The wren had built within the porch, she found Its quiet loneliness so sure and thorough ; And on the lawn-within its turfy moundThe rabbit made his burrow. 12. The wary crow, the pheasant from the woods, 13. The coot was swimming in the reedy pond 14. The moping heron, motionless and stiff, To guard the water-lily. |