Defeated!-overthrown!-yet to the last Ambition taught me hope; and still my mind, Rome and Jugurtha should have triumphed o'er him. 5. When I slept last, I heard Adherbal scream. him ; Yet wherefore did he scream? Why, I have heard His living scream,—it was not half so frightful. Whence comes the difference? When the man was living, With placid vengeance, and each anguish'd cry For the high glory of Numidia's throne. 6. But ah! 'twas I that caused that living scream, And therefore did its echo seem so frightful: If 'twere to do again, I would not kill thee; * Pronounced ca-tif, a base villain-meaning Bocchus. Wilt thou not be contented?-But thou say'st, He watch'd thy infant years, and gave thee all Hold,-my Numidian cruse is still about me— 7. Gods! I'm in tears!-I did not think of weeping Oh Marius, wilt thou ever feel like this? Ha! I behold the ruin of a city; And on a craggy fragment sits a form How stern he looks! Amazement! it is Marius. LESSON CLXXIV. Rienzi's Address to the Romans.-MISS MITFORD. 1. FRIENDS, I come not here to talk. Ye know too well Strong in some hundred spearmen-only great 2. Each hour, dark fraud, Or open rapine, or protected murder, *Nicolas Gabrini de Rienzi, a remarkable character of the 14th century. He was the son of an obscure miller, yet by his zeal in opposing the existing vices, and by persuading his friends that he was able to restore the ancient glory of his country, he gained the supreme power; and was declared sovereign of Rome, with the approbation of the Pope. This excited the jealousy of the nobles, and he was murdered in 1354. Cry out against them. But this very day, An honest man, my neighbor,-there he stands, The stain away in blood? Such shames are common: 3. I, that speak to ye, I had a brother once, a gracious boy, 4. Rouse, ye Romans !-Rouse, ye slaves! Was greater than a king! And once again,— * Ursini, a Roman nobleman. + Lucius Junius Brutus, one who expelled the Tarquins, and abolished the regal government at Rome, B. C. 509. Marcus Junius Brutus, one of the conspirators who assassinated Julius Cesar. 28* LESSON CLXXV Battle of Waterloo.*-LORD BYRON. 1. THERE was a sound of revelry by night, Soft eyes looked love to eyes which spake again, But hush! hark!—a deep sound strikes like a rising knel! 2. Did ye not hear it?-No; 'twas but the wind, Or the car rattling o'er the stony street: On with the dance! let joy be unconfined; No sleep till morn, when youth and pleasure meet And nearer, clearer, deadlier than before! Árm! arm! it is—it is—the cannon's opening roar! 3. Ah! then and there was hurrying to and fro, And gathering tears, and tremblings of distress, And cheeks all pale, which but an hour ago Blushed at the praise of their own loveliness: And there were sudden partings, such as press The life from out young hearts, and choking sighs Which ne'er might be repeated-who could guess If ever more should meet those mutual eyes, Since upon night so sweet such awful morn could rise? 4. And there was mounting in hot haste; the steed, The mustering squadron, and the clattering car, Went pouring forward with impetuous speed, And swiftly forming in the ranks of war; And the deep thunder, peal on peal afar; * Waterloo, a town of Belgium, 12 miles south of Brussels. It is well known as the scene of one of the most important and hard fought battles in modern times, between the allied British, German, and Belgic troops, under the duke of Wellington and marshal Blucher; and the French, under Napoleon Bonaparte, June 18th, 1815. The French were totally defeated, and the hopes of Bonaparte for ever blasted. + Brussels, one of the most splendid cities in Europe, celebrated for its manufacture of carpets. And near, the beat of the alarming drum Or whispering with white lips-"The foe! They come! 5. And Ardennes* waves above them her green leaves, Ere evening to be trodden like the grass In its next verdure, when this fiery mass Of living valor rolling on the foe, And burning with high hope, shall moulder cold and low. 6. Last noon beheld them full of lusty life, Last eve in beauty's circle proudly gay, The midnight brought the signal-sound of strife, The thunder-clouds close o'er it, which when rent, LESSON CLXXVI. The Power of Eloquence.-CARY. 1. HEARD ye those loud contending waves, Who shall calm the angry storm? And bid the raging tumult cease? See the son of Hermes‡ rise; With syren tongue, and speaking eyes, Hush the noise, and sooth to peace! Ardennes, a chain of mountains between the Meuse and Moselle rivers, in the grand-duchy of Luxemburg. + Athens, the ancient capital of Attica, was founded by Cecrops, 1550 years B. C., and was called Cecropia till the time of Ericthonius, when it received the name of Athens. Demosthenes, the Grecian orator, called the son of Hermes, because Hermes, or Mercury, was the god of eloquence. |