And now he feels the bottom;
    Now on dry earth he stands; 535
  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, 540
    Borne by the joyous crowd.

  LXV

  They gave him of the corn-land,
    That was of public right,[81]
  As much as two strong oxen
    Could plough from morn till night; 545
  And they made a molten image,
    And set it up on high,
  And there it stands unto this, day,
    To witness if I lie.

  LXVI

  It stands in the Comitium,[62] 545
    Plain for all folk to see;
  Horatius in his harness,
    Halting upon one knee: 
  And underneath is written,
    In letters all of gold, 550
  How valiantly he kept the bridge,
    In the brave days of old.

  LXVII

  And still his name sounds stirring
    Unto the men of Rome,
  As the trumpet-blast that cries to them 560
    To charge the Volscian home,[63]
  And wives still pray to Juno[64]
    For boys with hearts as bold
  As his who kept the bridge so well,
    In the brave days of old. 565

  LXVIII

  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 570
    Roars loud the tempest’s din,
  And the good logs of Algidus[65]
    Roar louder yet within;

  LXIX

  When the oldest cask is opened,
    And the largest lamp is lit 575
  When the chestnuts glow in the embers,
    And the kid turns on the spit;
  When young and old in circle
    Around the firebrands close;
  When the girls are weaving baskets, 580
    And the lads are shaping bows;

  LXX

  When the goodman mends his armor,
    And trims his helmet’s plume;
  When the good wife’s shuttle merrily
    Goes flashing through the loom:  585
  With weeping and with laughter
    Still is the story told,
  How well Horatius kept the bridge
    In the brave days of old.

    —­Macaulay

[1] Lars.  Lord or Chieftain.

[2] Clusium.  The modern Chiusi.

[3] Nine Gods.  The chief Gods of the Etruscans were nine in number.

[4] trysting day.  A day appointed for meeting.

[5] Volaterrae.  The modern Volterra.  The walls of the ancient fortress were built of enormous blocks of stone fitted together without cement.

[6] Pisse.  Pisa

[7] Massilia.  The modern Marseilles, originally a Greek colony and a flourishing commercial centre. triremes.  Vessels with three banks of oars on each side. fair-haired slaves.  Slaves from Gaul.