But every freeman was a host,

And felt as though himself were he
On whose sole arm hung victory.

It did depend on one, indeed:
Behold him! Arnold Winkelried!
There sounds not to the trump of fame
The echo of a nobler name.

Unmarked he stood amid the throng,
In rumination deep and long,

Till you might see, with sudden grace,
The very thought come o'er his face;
And by the motion of his form,
Anticipate the bursting storm;

And by the uplifting of his brow,

Tell where the bolt would strike, and how.
But 't was no sooner thought than done;
The field was in a moment won.

"Make way for Liberty!" he cried:
Then ran, with arms extended wide,
As if his dearest friend to clasp;
Ten spears he swept within his grasp:
"Make way for Liberty!" he cried.
Their keen points met from side to side;
He bowed among them like a tree,
And thus made way for liberty.

Swift to the breach his comrades fly; "Make way for Liberty!" they cry,

And through the Austrian phalanx dart,

As rushed the spears through Arnold's heart; While instantaneous as his fall,

Rout, ruin, panic scattered all.

An earthquake could not overthrow
A city with a surer blow.

Thus Switzerland again was free,
Thus death made way for liberty.

-James Montgomery.

NOTES

1. Look up the story of William Tell.

2. Rinaldo (rẻ näl′-dō). The famous warrior figuring in the romantic tales of Italy and France. In a transport of rage he killed Charlemagne's nephew Berthlot. For this crime he was banished from France. After various adventures and disasters he went to the Holy Land and on his return succeeded in making peace with the Emperor.

3. Look up the story of the struggle for Swiss liberty in any good history. The incident here retold is one of splendid sacrifice, and one of the most heroic in the annals of patriotism.

4. Look up the meanings of the following words and expressions: rampart, ignoble, humiliate, unmarked, rumination, instantaneous, horrent, impregnable, phalanx.

EXERCISES

1. Upon what story is this poem based?

2. What do the first two lines of the story tell us?

3. Explain "living wall" and "human wood."

4. Explain "conscious stone."

5. Describe the appearance presented by the Austrian line.

6. What forces were opposed to the Austrians?

7. In what spirit did this little band oppose the Austrians?

8. Why did not the Swiss patriots begin the battle at once?

9. Why did they not rush at once to their death?

10. Why would the Swiss forces not retreat?

11. Why must they not fail?

12. Explain "Every freeman was a host."

13. What act fired the Swiss army in this critical moment? 14. What effect had this act on the Austrian phalanx?

15. In what sense did death make way for liberty?

ADDITIONAL READINGS

KNOWLES: William Tell.

HALLECK: Marco Bozzaris.

BROWNING: Incident of a French Camp.

DE AMICIS: The Sardinian Drummer Boy.
MACAULAY: Horatius at the Bridge.

PRINCE: Who Are the Free?

CROLY: Death of Leonidas.

MCMURRY: William Tell.

BROWNING: The Patriot.

DESMOULINS: Live Free or Die.

MRS. HEMANS: The Cavern of the Three Tells.

SIR HENRY TAYLOR: The Hero.

ARNOLD: Self-Dependence.

BRYANT: William Tell.

TENNYSON: Charge of the Light Brigade.

DR. JOHNSON'S LETTER TO HIS DYING MOTHER

DEAR HONORED MOTHER:-You have been the best mother, and I believe the best woman, in the world. I thank you for your indulgence to me, and beg forgiveness of all that I have done ill, and all that I have omitted to do well. God grant you His Holy Spirit, and receive you to everlasting happiness, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. I am, dear, dear mother, your dutiful Samuel Johnson.

son,

HORATIUS AT THE BRIDGE

THE ancient city of Rome was threatened

by an Etruscan invasion. The Etruscans, led by King Porsena,1had made a sudden attack upon the Romans and had succeeded in capturing the hill Janiculum on the north side of the river. The Romans were fleeing in confusion, throwing away their arms as they ran. Horatius, who had been set to guard the bridge, cried loudly to his men, "Men of Rome, it is to no purpose that ye leave your post, and flee; for if you leave this bridge behind you, for men to pass over, ye shall soon find that you have more enemies in your city than in Janiculum. Do ye therefore break down the bridge with axe and fire, and I, with two others, will stay the enemy.' With the brave warriors Lartius and Herminius, Horatius ran forward to the further end of the bridge and for a time stayed the onset of the enemy. Meanwhile the Roman workmen were cutting down the bridge. Before the last beams were cut, the workmen called to the three brave warriors, bidding them come back. Horatius bade Lartius and Herminius return, but he himself remained on the further side. The Etruscan soldiers looked in awe upon the daring Horatius.

1Pronounced pôr sẽ' nå.

2 Pronounced ho-ra' shi-us. 3Pronounced lår' shi us. 4Pronounced hĕr-min' i-us.

"No one dared fight the Roman Chieftain singlehanded, and so, for very shame, they all ran forward, raising a great shout, and threw their javelins at him. These all he caught upon his shield nor stood the less firmly. Suddenly, a great shout was heard on the Roman side, and the bridge fell with a crash into the river. The Etruscans taunted the dauntless hero and called upon him to yield."

The rest of the story is told vividly in the following extract from Macaulay's "Horatius at the Bridge." One cannot read this poem without being fired with admiration for the heroes who defended their native city in the brave days of old.

HORATIUS AT THE BRIDGE

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."

Round turned he, as not deigning
Those craven ranks to see;
Naught spake he to Lars Porsena,
To Sextus naught spake he;