Each hour, dark fraud,
Or open rapine, or protected murder,
Cries out against them.  But this very day,
An honest man, my neighbor,—­there he stands,—­
Was struck—­struck like a dog, by one who wore
The badge of Ursini; because, forsooth,
He tossed not high his ready cap in air,
Nor lifted up his voice in servile shouts,
At sight of that great ruffian!  Be we men,
And suffer such dishonor? men, and wash not
The stain away in blood?  Such shames are common. 
I have known deeper wrongs; I that speak to ye,
I had a brother once—­a gracious boy,
Full of all gentleness, of calmest hope,
Of sweet and quiet joy,—­there was the look
Of heaven upon his face, which limners give
To the beloved disciple.

How I loved
That gracious boy!  Younger by fifteen years,
Brother at once, and son!  He left my side,
A summer bloom on his fair cheek; a smile
Parting his innocent lips.  In one short hour,
That pretty, harmless boy was slain!  I saw
The corse, the mangled corse, and then I cried
For vengeance!  Rouse, ye Romans! rouse, ye slaves! 
Have ye brave sons?  Look in the next fierce brawl
To see them die.  Have ye fair daughters?  Look
To see them live, torn from your arms, distained,
Dishonored; and if ye dare call for justice,
Be answered by the lash.

Yet this is Rome,
That sat on her seven hills, and from her throne
Of beauty ruled the world! and we are Romans. 
Why, in that elder day, to be a Roman
Was greater than a king!

And once again,—­
Hear me, ye walls that echoed to the tread
Of either Brutus!  Once again, I swear,
The eternal city shall be free.

Notes.—­Rienzi (b. about 1312, d. 1354) was the last of the Roman tribunes.  In 1347 he led a successful revolt against the nobles, who by their contentions kept Rome in constant turmoil.  He then assumed the title of tribune, but, after indulging in a life of reckless extravagance and pomp for a few months, he was compelled to abdicate, and fly for his life.  In 1354 he was reinstated in power, but his tyranny caused his assassination the same year.

The Ursini wore one of the noble families of Rome.

This lesson is especially adapted for drill on inflection, emphasis, and modulation.

LVll.  CHARACTER OF THE PURITAN FATHERS OF NEW ENGLAND. (223)

One of the most prominent features which distinguished our forefathers, was their determined resistance to oppression.  They seemed born and brought up for the high and special purpose of showing to the world that the civil and religious rights of man—­the rights of self-government, of conscience, and independent thought—­are not merely things to be talked of and woven into theories, but to be adopted with the whole strength and ardor of the mind, and felt in the profoundest recesses of the heart, and carried out into the general life, and made the foundation of practical usefulness, and visible beauty, and true nobility.