Journeys Through Bookland, Volume 6 | Page 9

harness on his back
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 above the surges
They saw
his crest appear,
All Rome sent forth a rapturous cry,
And even the

ranks of Tuscany
Could 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 armor,
And spent with changing blows:
And oft they
thought him sinking,
But still again he rose.
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 up bravely
By the brave heart within,
And our good father
Tiber
Bore bravely up his chin.
"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!"

"Heaven help him!" quoth Lars Porsena,
"And bring him safe to
shore;
For such a gallant feat of arms
Was 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.
They gave him of the corn-land,
That was of public right,
As much
as two strong oxen
Could plow from morn till night;
And they
made a molten image,
And set it up on high,
And there it stands
unto this day
To witness if I lie.
It stands in the Comitium,[20-24]
Plain for all folk to see;
Horatius
in his harness,
Halting upon one knee:
And underneath is written,


In letters all of gold,
How valiantly he kept the bridge
In the brave
days of old.
And still his name sounds stirring
Unto the men of Rome,
As the
trumpet-blast that cries to them
To charge the Volscian[20-25] home;


And wives still pray to Juno[20-26]
For boys with hearts as bold

As his who kept the bridge so well
In the brave days of old.
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,
And the good
logs of Algidus
Roar louder yet within:
[Illustration: HORATIUS IN HIS HARNESS, HALTING UPON ONE
KNEE]
When the 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;
And the
girls are weaving baskets,
And the lads are shaping bows;
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
In the brave days of old.[22-27]
[Illustration]
FOOTNOTES:
[1-1] Clusium was a powerful town in Etruria.
[1-2] According to the religion of the Etruscans there were nine great
gods. An oath by them was considered the most binding oath that a
man could take.
[2-3] This line shows us that the writing of the Etruscans was done
backwards, as we should consider it; that is, they wrote from right to
left instead of from left to right.
[3-4] Nurscia was a city of the Sabines.

[3-5] _Tale_ here means _number_.
[3-6] Sutrium was an Etruscan town twenty-nine miles from Rome.
[3-7] The Latins were an Italian race who, even before the dawn of
history, dwelt on the plains south of the Tiber. Rome was supposed to
be a colony of Alba Longa, the chief Latin city, but the Latin peoples
were in the fourth century brought into complete subjection to Rome.
[3-8] _Champaign_, or _campagna_, means any open, level tract of
country. The name is specifically applied to the extensive plains about
Rome.
[4-9] A part of the Capitoline, one of the seven hills on which Rome is
built, was called the Tarpeian Rock, after Tarpeia, daughter of an early
governor of the citadel on the Capitoline. According to the popular
legend, when the Sabines came against Rome, Tarpeia promised to
open the gate of the fortress to them if they would give her what they
wore on their left arms. It was their jewelry which she coveted, but she
was punished for her greed and treachery, for when the soldiers had
entered the fortress they hurled their shields upon her, crushing her to
death.
[5-10] _Fathers of the City_ was the name given to the members of the
Roman Senate.
[5-11] Ostia was the port of Rome, situated at the mouth of the Tiber.
[5-12] Janiculum is a hill on the west bank of the Tiber at Rome. It was
strongly fortified, and commanded the approach to Rome.
[5-13] _Iwis_ is an obsolete word meaning _truly_.
[5-14] When the kings were banished from Rome the people vowed
that never again should one man hold the supreme power. Two chief
rulers were therefore chosen, and