THE CAMPAGNA SEEN FROM ST. JOHN LATERAN A. de Vere.

235

ITALY.

Ostia.

OSTIA.

HE sea was flushing in the morning's rays,

THE

And from the ethereal heights Aurora's car With rose and saffron gleamed; when suddenly The winds were stilled, and every breath of air, And the oars struggled through the sluggish sea. And here Æneas from the deep descries

A spacious grove. Through this the Tiber pours
His smiling waves along, with rapid whirls,
And yellow sand, and bursts into the sea.
And all around and overhead were birds
Of various hues, accustomed to the banks
And river-bed; from tree to tree they flew,
Soothing the air with songs.

Then to the land

He bids the crews direct the vessels' prows,

And joyfully the shadowy river gains.

Virgil. Tr. C. P. Cranch.

SAY

THE RUINS OF OSTIA.

MAY they, a famous seaport town?
One look abroad I bid thee cast,
Then tell me if thou canst descry
A dwelling here, or there a mast.

Of all its old magnificence

Stands one poor skeleton of brick,
With grass are sown the hidden streets,
The palace ploughed in furrows thick.

And this, the temple of a god,
The body of a mighty thought!

Here vowed the heart, elate with hope

When priests the struggling victim brought,

Hearts like these hearts of ours; that drink
Existence, as an endless cup,

And smile to hear of an abyss

Where life and strength are swallowed up.

These men our brothers were, but built
Of sturdier frame and mind than we;
Tamed by their will, the unruly flood
Led their proud galleys to the sea.

Walk further, let my guidance show
One crumbling tower of Trajan's port.
Strange that Christ's vicar, God-inspired,
Has never had as wise a thought.

Julia Ward Howe.

A

Padua.

PADUA.

NTENOR, from the midst of Grecian hosts
Escaped, was able, safe, to penetrate

The Illyrian bay, and see the interior realms
Of the Liburni; and to pass beyond

The source of the Timavus, issuing whence,
With a vast mountain murmur from nine springs,
A bursting flood goes forth, and on the fields
Crowds with resounding waters. Yet he here
Founded the walls of Padua, and built
The Trojan seats, and to the people gave
A name, and there affixed the arms of Troy.
Now, laid at rest, he sleeps in placid peace.

Virgil. Tr. C. P. Cranch.

PADUA.

L

UCENTIO. Tranio, since, for the great desire I had To see fair Padua, nursery of arts,

I am arriv'd for fruitful Lombardy,

The pleasant garden of great Italy;

And, by my father's love and leave, am arm'd
With his good will, and thy good company,
My trusty servant, well approv'd in all;
Here let us breathe, and haply institute
A course of learning, and ingenious studies. -