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.
In the meantime the axes had been busily plied; and while the bridge was tottering to its fall, Lartius and Herminius regained the opposite bank in safety. Horatius remained facing the foe until the last timber had fallen, when, weighed down with armour as he was, he "plunged headlong in the tide."No sound of joy or sorrow Was heard from either bank;But friends and foes, in dumb surprise, With parted lips and straining eyes,Stood gazing where he sank: And when beneath the surgesThey saw his crest appear,All Rome sent forth a rapturous cry, And even the ranks of TuscanyCould scarce forbear to cheer.
But fiercely ran the current,
Swollen high by months of rain:
And fast his blood was flowing;
And he was sore in pain, And heavy with his armour,And spent with changing blows: And oft they thought him sinking,But still again he rose.
"Curse on him!" quoth false Sextus. "Will not the villain drown ?"But for this stay, ere close of dayWe should have sacked the town!" -⑦
"Heaven help him!" quoth Lars Porsena,
"And bring him safe to shore; For such a gallant feat of armsWas never seen before."And now he feels the bottom; Now on dry earth he stands;Now round him throng the fathers, To press his gory hands;And now with shouts and clapping, And noise of weeping loud,He enters through the river-gate, Borne by the joyous crowd.
Then follows an account of the rewards which a grateful people bestowed upon the hero. The minstrel thus concludes the legend: -When the good-man mends his armour, And trims his helmet"s plume;When the good-wife"s shuttle merrilyGoes flashing through the loom;With weeping and with laughter Still is the story told,How well Horatius kept the bridge In the brave days of old.
WORDS
augurs, soothsayers. bestowed, conferred. clamour, shouting. compiled, composed. concludes, closes; ends. contempt, disdain. continuation, sequel. crashing, shattering. dauntless, courageous. deftly, cleverly. despotism, tyranny. divide, open up. flinching, yielding.
gallant, heroic.
measured, regular. overwhelming, overpowering. rapturous, joyous. reconstructing, rebuilding. recorded, narrated. rehearsed, recited.
sacked, pillaged. strait, narrow. surges, waves. vanguard, front. wrathful, angry.
NOTES
① The Tarquins,-Tarquinius Superbus, the seventh and last king of Rome, was the son of Tarquin"ius Pris"cus, the fifth king. His efforts to acquire despotic power made for him many foes; and the crimes of his son Sextus (the "false Sextus"of the lay)infuriated the people, who rose under Junius Brutus, expelled the Tarquins from Rome, and abolished the monarchy for ever. This was in 509 B. C.
② Etruscans, the people of Etruria, or Tuscia, a country in Central Italy, with the Tiber asits southern boundary, and including the whole of modern Tuscany, Tarquinius Superbus was a native of Tar Quinii, a town in Etruria, sixty miles from Rome; and he had gone to Rome as an adventurer in the reign of Afi"cus Mar"tius, in whose favour he obtained a high place. Left by that king guardian to his sons, Tarquin set them aside and ascended the throne himself.
③ Roman Consul-After the abolition of monarchy, Rome was ruled by two Consuls (thatis, Colleagues), elected annually.
④ Ramnian……Ti"tian.-The Patricians, or true Roman citizens, consisted of three tribes,-the Ram"nes , a Latin colony said to have been founded by Romulus, on the Palatine Hill; the Tities , or Sabine settlers, on the Quirinal Hill; and the Luceres , or Etruscans, on the Cealian Hill.
⑤ Luna, a town on the northern frontier of Etruria, near which were famous white marble quarries,-now those of Carra"ra.
⑥ Mount Alvernus-probably Mount Albur"nus, near the ancient P?s"turn (nowmagnificent ruins), and south-east of Salerno.
⑦ Lars Porsena.-Lars was a common Etruscan first-name, generally given to the eldest son, whence it came to signify Lord. A younger son was called Aruns . Porsena was king of Clusium in Etruria. He ultimately subdued Rome, and exacted tribute from the citizens.